Filling the Feeders

This evening after work we headed up to the farm to prep the hives for large scale feeding.  I took off the old candy boards, which were about finished off anyway and replaced the inner covers for the spring season.  About a month ago I made several entrance feeders and decided to put them to good use.  I had Dawn make up 1.5 gallons of 1:1 sugar water and I placed 3 1-quart feeders on the inner cover and placed a hive box and lid over them.  That gives each hive enough sugar water for several days.  I hope to get up there soon and see how much water they are consuming this early in the season.

Busy as Bees Today

Dad and I spent the day at the farm with our focus on honey bees.  We teamed up on building hive components including bottom boards and telescopic lids.  How I wish I had a right angle bender for the aluminum to cover the lids...things would go a lot faster!  After lunch I suited up and headed out to the hives to rearrange things for spring production.  I dug into the West Hive first, found the queen who was laying eggs and had probably day 3 larva in the comb...I was so excited.  I placed the queen and brood frames in the bottom box, removed the honey super, and got things squared away.  The East Hive also had brood, but I couldn't find the queen.  I moved the brood frames into the bottom box as well....I was really surprised how much honey the East Hive had in the hive!  I need to get up there this week to check on the feeders and maybe set up multiple feeders on top of the inner cover so I don't have to check that often.

Here is the West Hive during Spring Inventory.  I repositioned all the frames for Spring Production.

Here is my West Hive Queen Laying an Egg!!!  Is this cool or what!!!

Here's one of my West Hive bees with a strange growth on her butt.

Bees Vital to Pollination!

This is an interesting quote from United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) executive director Achim Steiner.

"The fact is that of the 100 crop species
that provide 90 percent of the world's food,
over 70 are pollinated by bees."

Dropping Numbers

Aaron & I went up to the farm today to check on the bees.  The East Hive was looking good, so I stuck a Brood Builder pollen patty on top of the frames, stuck in a drone frame, and went to check the other hive.  What I found I didn't like.  A few weeks ago the West Hive was looking strong, but this time they were few in numbers and hadn't eaten much more on the original pollen patty I have them in January.  There were few bees on top and most were in between the frames.  I checked to lower boxes and found nothing except dead bees on the bottom board screen.  I used the mouse guard to rake out many, many dead bees out of the bottom board....it made me sick to see so many dead ones when the other hive is still strong.  I put a Brood Builder patty and stuck in a drone frame, and began the long process of trying to figure out what to do next.  I did make up some 1:1 sugar water and set up a feeder for each hive; I check on them later on in the week.  Aaron and I then went to the wood shop and worked completing ten inner covers and getting all the wood cut out for 15 telescopic covers.  Next time we'll assemble the lids and start on the mating nucs.

Bee School in Kentucky

Today I went to the bee school in Henderson, Kentucky, which was the same one I attended last year when I decided to commit to beekeeping.  This time I took Dawn, Aaron, and my friend Dick Loy.  They didn't have quite as big of a turn out as last year, but still quite a crowd.  I went to workshops on marketing your bee products, swarm control, bee nutrition, and raising queens.  It was a lot of fun, and I think all of us had a good time a learned a good bit as well.

Recipe from Liquid Kitchen

For those who enjoy liquid adult refreshment, this may be worth a try.  It is called a Honey Hum Collins and utilizes a water and honey solution as part of the recipe.  Kathy Casey, the gal in the video, is also a beekeeper and has her own brand of honey called "5130 Honey", which is the address of her beeyard. If you give this a try, please post your thoughts below in the comments section.

Plans for Expansion

I love the Spring-like weather we are having, and my thoughts turn to what I want to do with my apiary this year.  I've been talking with Dawn, and we have decided on expansion of the bee operation beyond my initial hopes of adding six more hives.  If the weather cooperates and I am able to successfully split my two existing hives, then I hope to use them for harvesting worker bees for starting new hives in June.  In May I'll be taking a queen rearing class and will be bringing home a frame of queen cells to raise, and I hope to give as many as possible a new hive as a birthday present!  We'll see how the best laid plans of mice and men work out....more to come.

Bees Doing Great!

Dawn and I went to the farm today to check on the bees.  It was around 50 degrees and they were buzzing all around taking their cleansing flights and cleaning out their dead.  Over the past month it looks as if they have each eaten about 5 pounds of sugar from the candy boards.  They had also eaten about a 5th of a full pollen patty.  I'm hoping that they worst of winter has passed, and I can start feeding them sugar water and building up brood.  I'm hoping to split the hives in late March. 

Added Pollen Patties

I shared with a beekeeper my frustration with the aggressive nature of the West Hive, and he suggested trying some pollin patties to see if a change in nutrition will result in a change in temperment.  It was was quite cold today, but I was up at the farm and decided to stick in a couple of patties - one for each hive.  The East Hive was down on the frames appearing quite slow, while the West Hive was at the top buzzing loudly at my presence.  Well, we'll see what happens.

Final 2010 Wrap-Up

Today was a beautiful day at the farm.  The temperature was around 60 degrees and it didn't start raining until the afternoon.  Dawn and I went up to swap candyboards and store 11 cases that hold 260 deep and medium frames for the new hives next year. 

It tell ya, that West hive is the most aggressive swarm of bees I have ever encountered....yes, I used the word aggressive.  I normally call bees defensive, because that is how they react, but this hive is something else.  Dawn and I suited up to check the candy boards and see how much they have eaten.  The bees were taking advantage of the break in the weather and were flying around the entrance a little bit.  When Dawn raised the candy board we found the cluster right there, and it wasn't even 1 second before several score of bees took to flight and immediately started going after our veils.  They went after us like a gun shot!  Dawn was a bit unnerved, but held her own.  They had eaten quite a bit of the sugar, so I replaced the board with a fresh one.  I'm pretty sure I want to replace that queen this spring...This hive has been increasingly problematic since the late summer and I'm getting fed up with them.  A new queen sounds like the answer I need.

This Candy Board Started as 10 Pounds of Sugar on November 6th

 Up Close and Personal with the West Hive Bees

After Dawn headed back home, I worked in the wood shop and assembled a few more medium hive boxes.  I need to find a nice and warm location this winter where I can paint the boxes.

Boxes Ready for Painting

The Cluttered Worshop



End of the Year

It's hard to believe that today is the 28th of December and 2010 is coming to a quick curtain call.  What an adventure this year has been with my hives.  A year ago beekeeping was the farthest thing from my mind, and today we have a bee club in Effingham and I have plans to expand my bee operation to a total of 8 hives.  Who would have thought it? 

Well, I haven't seen the bees since the beginning of December when I swapped out one of the candy boards, and as soon as we have a little break in the weather, I'm gonna swap out the boards again for fresh candy. 

So, what does a beekeeper do during the winter months?  He reads about what other beekeepers have been doing, and he plans for next year with his apiary.  I have 6 hives to finish (assembly and painting) and I have assembled frames being delivered (don't want to have to put together that many!).

Tucking in for Winter

Our neighbor at the farm, Matt Figgins, dropped off some straw bales so I could create a windbreak for the bees this winter (they had no cover from the north or west).  I had already installed metal entrance reducers to keep the mice out.  I hope this gives them good protection until the spring!

Memories from 2010

Assorted Photo Memories from the 2010 Beekeeping Season.  As you can see, it was a fun year!

The Bees Have Arrived!!!

Installation on April 17, 2010

Making Sure the Queens Are Released.

Jessica Getting More Comfortable Helping Dad.

A Proud Beekeeper and "His Girls".

Dang Girls!

The Extraction Party!  Smell That Honey!

Girl Scouts Learn About Bees.

Maybe I Need to Get Some Smaller Suits?

Preparing for More Hives in 2011.

Grandpa, Can I Help???

Candy Boards

This week I have been continuing to feed the bees with a 1:1 sugar solution, but with the cold weather, they have not been using as much, so decided to made some candy boards.  I hunted up some recipes, picked apart the reviews and settled on this one: 5 pounds of sugar, 1/3 TBSP of cidar vinegar, and 1 cup of water.  Bring water and vinegar to a boil, then slowly add and stir the sugar until it's all in.  Raise the heat to 250 degrees F at the border between firm ball and hard ball, then turn off the heat and stir until it drops to 200 degrees and pour into the boards.  My boards are made from 1/4 inch chipboard cut 16.25X20 inches so they fit my hive boxes.  I then cut 2x4 pieces into 1.75X1 inch strips to made the sides.  I can easily made a double batch and put 10 pounds of sugar in each candy board.  My second board I tried getting to hard ball, but it didn't work that well; I boiled out too much water and it's is a bit granular on the surface.  I then placed them on the hives and I'll check in a week or so to see how the bees like them.  I plan on making another set of candy boards to keep in the ready if I need to swap them out.

100th Post

This morning I realized that I had submitted 99 posts to my beekeeping blog, so I decided to do a little reflecting for #100.  My first reaction was "WOW!"  It's hard to believe that I actually blogged this many entries...I have always abandoned any diaries or journals way before this point. 

As I looked over my first blog postings, I thought back to the beginning of this year remembering my thoughts and emotions regarding beekeeping.  Back then I was amazed with the little creatures, facinated with the craft of beekeeping, but not sure if it was going to work for me and the family.  I remember starting this blog after attending the bee school in Henderson, Kentucky.  Hearing the fantastic presenters and talking with the rep from Dadant convinced me to call Dawn and tell her I wanted to actually do this crazy idea.  For some reason she agreed, and I bought some tools and two bee suits.  The next day I decided to document this experience for myself and others and the blog "Larry's Got Bees" was born.

Have I learned anything from this beekeeping experience?  Beekeeping is a bit like herding cats...they are intelligent creatures with a stubborn will of their own, and the best you can do is follow their leading!  But again, 8 months of blogging, 100 posts, and an amazing 2010 for my new craft of beekeeping...who would have thought it???