DHS garden bees cont...

My plan for the DHS garden hive was to split a hive that I got this year as a nuc. When I checked two weeks ago the hive was strong enough to split and I wanted to re-queen it as well since the bees weren't the most enjoyable to work. Things didn't go as planed at all.

First, Wednesday, when John and I went through the hive it wasn't as full as it had been, but we proceeded. This was mistake number one. We looked and looked for the queen. We just couldn't find her and didn't see eggs, but did find larvae, capped brood and plenty of pollen and honey. We took the split over to the DHS garden and waited for the queens to arrive on Thursday.

When the package got here Thursday one of the queens didn't make it. Bummer. I went though the hive here again to see if I could find the old queen and just couldn't see her or really much in the way of larvae or brood. Now it was time to make a decision. The hive here couldn't survive like we left it. We should have gone deeper into the hive to make sure they had plenty of brood, but since they are so aggressive we didn't look all the way like we should have. That was mistake number two.

My husband and I went and picked up the split and put it back with the other bees from the original hive and then took the CSX swarm to the garden. I really like this hive and hope they will be happy at their new home. I didn't want to chance that we missed the queen and that she was at the garden. Lots of non bee people will come into contact with them and gentle is what is needed.

Today I went back through the hive looking for the old queen. I really want to replace her. I looked and looked over the frames that had brood. No queen was to be found. No eggs were to be found. A queen was present at least with in the last week from the size of the small larvae, but I also found lots of emergency cells and a few incomplete swarm cells. The queen that did make it needed a home. So after a hour of looking and looking I put her in the hive. Hopefully if the old queen is still present the new queen will win the fight. If not I just spent $70.00 for nothing. My bee confidence has been shaken.

DHS garden

A senior at Decatur High School had the idea to start a community garden on a unused corner of land that the school owned at the corner of Commerce and E Howard. Here is a nice article about this inspiring young lady.

My friend John and I are partnering to put in and maintain a hive at the garden. We also hope to have a chance to do some educational sessions about bees, pollination and honey.

John has already put in the hive stand, work table and water station.

I have ordered two queens from purvis brothers and we are going to do a split from a hive of mine (Luna) that started as a nuc this year. This hive has done well, but the bees are hotter (aggressive) then I would like, especially for the garden, so I will take 1/2 the brood and bees with one of the new queens and put it at the garden. I'm also going to find the queen that is in the hive now and replace her with a new queen. Honey production is important, but enjoyable beekeeping is just as important.

Propolis and bee excluder

I really don't know much about propolis, except why they make it and what its used for. I don't know really what it is and why they are making so much this time of year. It seems to be a reddish color and everywhere. With the heat it's very sticky like chewing gum.

I believe that Demeter is ready to have the medium of honey pulled off so I put in a bee excluder between the two deeps and the medium. The bees can go back down into the deeps, but can't re-enter the medium. Hopefully I can just go pull the whole medium off and it be bee free tomorrow a.m.

Chunk honey

The 2 frames of honey I pull the other day had such a pretty white capping that I thought I would bottle it as chunk honey. Watching Linda's video on chunk honey was helpful. I think my finished product is quite nice.

TBH woes

Yesterday I did a little inspection and pulled any frames that were fully capped to extract and give them some more room. I think it's to late in the flow to add new boxes so I will just pull frames as they are finished.

The TBH I believe has a laying queen. Very little brood was spotted and it was all drone brood. I cut out two pieces of brood frame w/ eggs from the CSX swarm and Luna and put it in the TBH to see if they will raise a new queen.

The CSX hive has fully drawn out and filled the Deep they were put in, but isn't touching the medium I put on top a couple of weeks ago.

Luna is busting at the seems w/ two deeps full of brood and about 40% of the medium drawn out and filled w/ nectar.

Demeter is my strongest hive w/ two deeps full of brood and the medium on top 80% capped.

Edited: It just occurred to me while looking at these pictures that I didn't put the comb in w/ the the cells slanting up. Damn, I just can't get a colony to flourish is this hive

UGA honey bee program at Young Harris College

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to get to attend the annual Beekeeping Institute at Young Harris College. The college is located in the beautiful blue ridge mountains of North Georgia.

I believe my favorite topic was beekeeping in Brittan by Keith Fielder. He spoke with such enthusiasm about the rich traditions of beekeeping that have been passed down for generations. He showed us lots of wonderful slides of the vegetation, castle walls with skep holes, and the local corner markets that are common instead of the one stop shopping were used to. Here in the US it is said ask 10 beekeepers a question and get 11 answers. Apparently in Brittan if you don't follow protocol your shunned in the bee community.

I think the scariest thing I learned was in Gregg Hunt's lecture, Honey Bee Defense Behavior. He has spent the last 15 years in studying in Mexico the African bee that all of us are hoping to not encounter. The pictures were breath taking of the rolling green hills and ruins, but the pictures of gloves covered, and I do mean covered with stingers were enough to make you rethink beekeeping. They have been know to kill horses and other livestock as well as people. Atlanta is right on the boarder of where they think they will stop.

While I was at YH I took a written and practical test and passed so now I'm a certified beekeeper. Next year maybe I will try for the journeyman's level.

Lots of building this week temp 77-60 cloudy

I noticed quite a bit of comb building finally happening this week.

The CSX swarm has drawn out about 90% of the deep. Larvae and worker brood were present. Added a medium with 5 starter strips, 4 popsicle sticks and one frame from Demeter that was mostly drawn out and had nectar in it. I find it really helps get them going in a new box to bait them. I'm feeding them, but they don't really seem very interested.

Luna is still only about 25% done drawing out the medium,on top of a single deep, so I will continue to watch for now. Worker brood spotted.

Demeter is almost done drawing out the medium on top of two deeps. So I know I will at least get some honey this year! I hope I will need to add another medium at the end of next week.

The TBH has drawn out the starter stip and extended downward with it about another 1.5inches but doesn't seen to want to start another row w/ the popsicle stick starters. I might have to put in another starter strip, but really think if she hasn't starter to lay yet they are doomed anyways. I hate to loose them but wanted to know what they could do w/o intervention. I do have sugar syrup out but they aren't taking it.