April 8th, 2010 by Paul

Well Melody and I finally made it to a bee meeting.  It has been 3-4 months since the last one we went to.

There is a group that meets with a “roundtable” question and answer session 1/2 hour before the meeting.  I was pretty much just listening in on it.

In the meeting we had one of prior commercial beekeepers show us some gadgets and tips.  One was an entrance reducer that had a triangle shaped opening.  The opening could be adjusted by how much of the triangle was visible.  He also had a good idea with a fondant patty.  The patties will usually collect moisture, he put a ping pong ball in the plastic bag so that the condensation would run to the lowest point and drip off the ball.  He also had a hive insulator made out of foam board, not sure if I but into the need for something that hasn’t been used in the “old days.”  The bees made it then, so they should now as well.  He also discussed the Styrofoam nucs that were being used in the Bee Labs in Wooster, Ohio.

Charles also offered to e-mail bee recipies (feed, additives, …) to anyone that e-mailed him.  I asked and it is a pretty comprehensive list including a sugar water additive that sounds just like that commercial product but at about 1/10 of the cost, will have to try that one.

We also talked about using plastic frames and how to wax them to get the bees to accept them better.

April 5th, 2010 by Paul

Well the feeder jars emptied out this weekend.  It took them a couple of weeks to drain them out, so I am thinking they are not needed anymore.  I might just try one more set.

I spent a couple of minutes with some bee observations.  Both hives bees coming an going, at least a bee landing every second.  At first I didn’t see any pollen on the bees, no problem, I will throw pollen patty on there later.  A few minutes passed and I emptied out an old bucket.  This put me at eye level with the landing board.  With this view I noticed that both hives had bees coming in with pollen, about every other bee.

Staying at ground level I tried to watch the bees as they came in.  Not one single bee could fly a straight line into the hive.  I don’t knot if they were just overloaded with nectar or pollen or just never fly straight…

March 24th, 2010 by Paul

It got cooler again in the mornings (mid 30’s to 50.)  The bees come out in the afternoon after the sun had warmed everything up.

I am finishing up putting together about 60 frames and also a bee-vac.

Most of the action right now is in the Garden Sub-Blog.

March 23rd, 2010 by Paul

I flipped out the deep hive bodies on both of the hives today.  Betsy flipped out too…

Both hives had the majority of the activity going on in the upper deeps, there was plenty of brood  and capped and uncapped wax.  The bees were down to about half a quart, I will wait till they are almost empty before I put in a full jar.

Flipping the lower deep hive body to the top and the upper deep hive body to the top is done due to give the bees more space.  They move or work upwards in the hive.  This will give them the lower hive body,  which was empty, and will provide more space for brood  (baby bees) rearing.

March 19th, 2010 by Paul

Well, I had really good success this season, it might have been beginners or dumb luck for me.  After talking to some fellow local beekeepers it seems like they didn’t.  I thought I would share the ’secrets’ that I used…

Here is the Summary

Don’t over inspect, feed in Fall and Spring, no drugs, screened BB left open all winter, and no hive wrap

Here are the details

Package installed late spring 2009, I missed a bunch of the early nectar and pollen due to the late package arrival.  The bees spent the first few weeks building comb on their empty frames.

Hive inspections – over the summer/fall an inspection every month and none in the winter – about 6-8 total.  I wouldn’t like my roof ripped off of my house… even if you do put my roof back on.

Chemical used for pest control – none.  I know there are many “new” and old medications out there, but I figure that the bees should be able to take care of that themselves.

Screened Bottom board – left open all winter.  A little fresh air, outer cover had no spacers to leave it propped up.

Hive Wrap over the winter – None.  I figure if there is a hole in the hive body the bees will seal the holes.

2009 Spring Feeding – Fed the bees sugar syrup until they wouldn’t take it any more.  I am not sure, but it was probably 2-3 gallons per hive.  This was mainly for their initial build-up.

2009 Fall feeding – each hive had the about 4-5 gallons of  2:1 sugar water to consume.  They took it all, due to late start and poor foraging due to overly high temps.  I stopped feeding once the temperatures dropped below freezing.

2010 Spring feeding – once temps were over 32 daily I put a feeder of 1:1 sugar water, bees are taking it slowly.
Feeding – left a pollen patty of Feed Bee at the last fall inspection. Put one in at the first quick inspection in the spring.

Pulled no (zero) honey in this year.  Mainly let the bees build up their two deeps.