Welcome B2.1

“B2” unfortunately did not make it through the winter as you may already know.

“Club Fergie” made it through another winter and is going strong. As I observe the foragers daily about every 4th one is returning with pollen. Pollen is a wonderful sign as it means they are feeding larva. Spring is a time for a population explosion to replace the fall and winter dead as well as get the hive ready for the spring nectar flow. More bees in Spring = More Honey in the Summer. When I checked on them a month ago they already had larva and capped brood a great sign of a healthy hive in mid-March in Central Virginia.

Today my wife and I made what is becoming for me an annual trek down to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm in North Carolina to get a package of bees. I was hoping to expand a hive into my in-laws backyard this year but with B2's passing this package is now going to be used as a replacement. Someday I will attempt to make my own nucs, so I can get out of the bee buying business, but until that time Brushy Mountain will continue to be my source.

At Brushy Mountain with my new package of bees.

The werepanda spoke to them in werepanda language, a silent little language the bees can understand.

“Foragers come and foragers go,

Swarms come and swarms go,
Soon you will have a hive to call your home.”

All day we had been fighting with storms while we were traveling, at one point where we had stopped for lunch, a tornado had recently gone through a few miles away. This was the sight that greeted as we pulled off the highway back home. Perhaps this is a good luck sign for B2.1 in hopes that their hive be full of golden honey this year.

B2: Bad Bee News

I have been putting off checking B2 the last few days because it has been cooler and breezy. Today was calm so even-though my excellent photographer wasn't here to document it all I still had to do it.

So far so good some activity at the entrance, pollen being gathered.

Under the hive cover not much activity around the inner cover.

Looking better, I see some new drawn comb. Bees working.

Oh No! Where is the rubber band? Did the cage fall? Sinking feeling

Cage is still in place. Queen has been released, but where is she?

Bad news on the bee front, the big waxy cell on the side of the frame is called a “Supersede Cell.” Looks like supersede procedures have begun and Queen Bingo was nowhere to be found. Looks like she is either gone for good or not the Queen the hive needs her to be.

Today I only saw a handful of eggs and less than 10 larva. Hopefully the queen was here as recently as 3 days ago. Will do thorough hive check on the weekend to see the status of the queen, even if I missed her, the fact that the hive started with making the cell tells me she was either rejected by them or in poor health. It is good that they had some eggs in order to go into emergency mode, I just hope the eggs I saw are actually fertile eggs and not the byproduct of a laying worker. An egg produced by a worker is infertile and can only become a drone.

Now putting these photos together I have this sinking feeling that when the bees chewed through the rubber band, when it snapped could it be possible that it killed the queen or injured her? I may never find out, but I do know next time around I am going to play it safe and move to twine or florist wire just in case that is what caused this current situation.

Sharing my Knowledge

Melissa, as I have previously mentioned, made the trip with me down to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm to pick up bees. This year is her first year in beekeeping. Although I had read 3 books on the subject attended meetings with the Richmond Beekeepers, watch a video of an installation, as well as witnessed a live installation demonstration, I still remember my feelings of doubt as I first touched a package of bees. What made it easier for me when I arrived home was that I had the support of my wife to assist me in the new venture. Melissa’s husband fully supports her new venture, he however has a very real fear of bees. Knowing this I decided to be available for her during her installation just in case those feelings of doubt surfaced. I only offered a couple of words, but she didn't need my help at all. Her confidence during installation shows she will be a successful beekeeper. Here are a few pictures of Melissa with her new hive on Day 1.

Misting down the package with sugar water, this not only makes the bees sticky and temporarily makes them unable to fly. Having 10-12,000 bees this isn't perfect odds to get every one, but it allows you to be able to deal with a couple hundred instead of a couple thousand.

Removing the shipping lid, under this is where the travel feeder is as well as the cage containing the queen. Both are removed before the introduction happens.

“The Dump” The moment when the majority of the bees with quickly learn where their new home is. Imagine if almost all of those bees weren't sticky with sugar water. The queen cage had been transferred to the frame in the very middle right below where the mass of bees are being dumped.

Last, here is her new hive ready to go. The package was placed in front of the hive to allow any ones that were left behind the ability to quickly find their way to the hive entrance as soon as the hive sets up some scenter who will use their pheromones to send out a signal to any lost bee in the area the way back yo the hive. As you see, right now the hive only has one level so that it controls the growth of the hive to fill the brood box before adding a second. Having one level also makes it easier for it to defend itself against pests as well as maintain the correct temperature. In this area of Virginia our average last frost date is still a couple of weeks away so being able to cluster on those colder nights is very important to the well being of this new hive.

To read what Melissa had to say about the installation go visit her here.

Brushy Mountain Package Pick-Up

B2-day had arrived. My package of bees for the new hive was ordered back on February 3 and now was time to go an pick them up. Mady had decided that she wasn't up for the trip this year so it was Melissa, a new beekeeper, and myself making the trip. We left my house around 6:15AM and arrived at Brushy Mountain Bee Farm a little after 10AM a distance of about 250 miles.

The entrance and a customary photo op.

Here is a line of beehives that Brushy Mountain Bee Farm keeps. One of the nice things that Brushy Mountain does is that they do a package installation demo. This is a wonderful opportunity to finally see first hand what so many new beekeepers read about as they are starting out. I know last year what a great confidence builder it was for me to experience so I made sure that Melissa had a chance to see it also.

Melissa enjoying the package installation demo.

After taking the time to look around the scratch and dent store, and the main retail store it was time to get our packages. Here is a picture of the stacks of bees awaiting their new hive homes with different beekeepers.

Stack of packages. One thing to remember is that although there is 10-12,000 bees included in these packages, they are only temporary, the most important thing you are getting here is the queen. Unfortunately, with the life span of a worker bee, these bees will be dead in 3-6 weeks replaced by the new bees of the queen will produce once she begins laying when she is released in a few days.

Me with my new package ready for “B2” when I get home.

The making of “Bee Tea”

B2-day is upon us. I get my new package tomorrow. However, before I am off to bed I needed to get ready by making up a batch of “Bee Tea.” This is an alternative to the “Bee Juice” mentioned in most beekeeping material which is just a 1:1 sugar water.

In the early stages of a new hive, one needs to provide the hive with nourishment. I made up some “Bee Tea” tonight which is 1 cup pure cane sugar : 1 cup weak chamomile tea and adding a couple of generous pinches of sea salt (helps digestion) and a couple of pinches of ground thyme (added nutrients). "Bee Tea" is a way to help build the bees immune system naturally.*

*I have Ross Conrad from Dancing Bee Gardens to thank for this tip.

The gallon jug holds 10 cups each of tea and sugar, which is about 15 cups mixed. I use the mortar and pestlel to grind the course sea salt with the thyme together. I reuse the same tea bag for all 10 cups of tea which makes weak tea.

The bees will be fed this for the next 4-6 weeks. The solution helps in the drawing out of comb. When the comb is drawn out it will be used to store food and rear young.

B2: is ready to go

On Saturday, my second trip to Brushy Mountain Bee Farm in Moravian Falls, NC will commence to pick up this year's package bees. Besides my every loving co-conspirator we are also traveling along with our friend Melissa who will also begin keeping bees this year.

This is the location of the new hive in relation to “Club Fergie”. Bees need less than a foot of space between hives, so there is plenty of room in my bee yard for them to peacefully coexist. One thing about location, You want your bees to have a good mix of sun and shade. Morning Sun is crucial in getting the hive woken up and the foragers out working the day. By mid-day you ideally want the hive sitting in a shady location to help alleviate some of the heat in the hive. A bee hive will maintain a constant temperature of about 90ºF and anything the keeper can do to assist with this is beneficial for all parties.

Here it is “B2” ready to go. On Saturday we are picking up a 3lb package which includes about 10,000 bees and a queen. This will become their new home in a short time.

Just a little about this set up. Beekeeping requires certain equipment, but it doesn't have to cost a fortune to buy everything.

The hive components were purchased at Brushy Mountain last year in their “scratch and dent” shop. Since the hive it sitting outside and subject to everything nature has tho throw at it, it was not important for me that it start out perfect. I saved about 50% doing this. Another angle to take is to build your own components. The internet is full of great DIY plans.

The hive stand was built with scrap wood from “The Big Orange Depot”. Once again less than perfect wood in odd sizes can easily be acquired for $1.00 or less a board. The design for the stand was my creation influenced by simple engineering principals.

The hive pad was built using found materials. The landscaping timbers were found in the trash, the bricks came out of a dumpster, and the rocks were shoveled out of the street gutter. It was put together over a thick layer of newspapers that came out of recycling. The newspapers prevents growth of plant material from poking through the rocks. It took me a few months to acquire everything, but once I knew that I was going to need a new hive location last year the planning began.