It is almost the middle of January, and the honeybee hives I have "manged" going into the fall are still very full and active. With unseasonably warm temps, I was allowed to go into each hiave yesterday, and am confirming their strong STRONG presence....even have brood in the hive in my yard.
I removed the queen excluders on 2 of the hives..the ones I left 2 supers of honey on through the winter, and put a pail of sugar-syrup on 2 of the hives. All bees are bringing in lots of pollen!!
I lost 100% (3hives) of my hives last year, but hopefully am going into Spring with 4 full, happy hives of bees.
Will keep you posted!! ;0)
remember to always be kind...which is only slightly different from being nice....
kb
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Friday, November 9, 2012
Good news, bad news.....
Eleven days ago I treated my green hive with Formic acid, at the suggestion of Jennifer Berry......(she actually suggested Formic acid or Apilife Var). When I went back into day, they look great!! Two supers of honey, that I am leaving for the winter.
The 3 hives at the Grebels' are looking good too! I did move a full super from Genesis to blue, and put the half drawn out one onto Genesis. Exodus hive seems to be weakest, but has full super waiting for winter. My fingers are crossed that they will survive the winter.
Good news is that all hives look good......bad news--- no more harvesting of Honey this year!!
Bee kind!
K B
The 3 hives at the Grebels' are looking good too! I did move a full super from Genesis to blue, and put the half drawn out one onto Genesis. Exodus hive seems to be weakest, but has full super waiting for winter. My fingers are crossed that they will survive the winter.
Good news is that all hives look good......bad news--- no more harvesting of Honey this year!!
Bee kind!
K B
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The very reason.....
The very reason I started this blog was for me to document how my hives are doing....so I could keep up with them.....
I am a terrible "records keeper" as far as my hives go, and I really want to improve in that area.
Today I visited my 3 'out' hives. Those are the hives not located in my backyard, but at my mentor's place, about 12 miles from my home. I need to name them, so I can keep them straight.
Genesis and Exodus are now the names of my 2 original hives. Genesis is rocking out right now. Full of bees, brood, honey and pollen, and not a terribly high number of small hive beetles. Both of those we started in the spring from Rossman packages. I didn't see the genesis queen,but no need to....all the evidence was there. Two weeks ago I put a gallon of sugar water syrup on all the out hives, and the Genesis & Exodus hives had consumed it all. Goldenrod is in full bloom and gorgeous now, so I'm going to hold off on the feeding a few weeks. The Exodus hive is named that, because last year one of my strongest hives going into the fall, obsconded. Disappeared..took part of my heart with it.......hope that doesn't happen this year.
The 3rd 'out-hive' is my newest woodenware, painted a pale blue. I LOVE the color. It just so happens to be my most feisty hive. It has a new queen I got in March of this year from Rossman 's...the bees were given to me when a friend took my empty brood chamber and put it on his deep, very early in the Spring. Made lots of bees, so he let me have them--- I just put on a new queen. There was about a half a quart sugar-syrup left on that hive,so I just left it. It is 'eat up' with small hive beetles...also saw a couple wax moths on the inner cover-but none in the supers or brood chambers......also had the wax moths in the outside of the exodus hive inner cover....but nothing on the inside. Indeed a name for my blue hive. Just might keep it simple and call it Blue...
My green hive at home in the backyard is also " eat - up" with the small hive beetles.....but it is rocking out with honey, brood and pollen too. It is the only one with the sadsadsad varroa mite issue.
Still not sure how I want to treat that. Please, if you have suggestions, LET ME KNOW!!!
The three out hives were treated in the spring with vaporized vinegar and they do not have the problem my green/home hive has. My mentor is treating the out hives on Thursday with the vinegar, again. Maybe I could borrow his 'gizmo' for my green, home hive.
I know this is so boring...no photos or funny stuff.....but it is the START of documentation for me! I'm celebrating....it's October, and I still have my four. Yippee!
Bee kind to one another!
KB
I am a terrible "records keeper" as far as my hives go, and I really want to improve in that area.
Today I visited my 3 'out' hives. Those are the hives not located in my backyard, but at my mentor's place, about 12 miles from my home. I need to name them, so I can keep them straight.
Genesis and Exodus are now the names of my 2 original hives. Genesis is rocking out right now. Full of bees, brood, honey and pollen, and not a terribly high number of small hive beetles. Both of those we started in the spring from Rossman packages. I didn't see the genesis queen,but no need to....all the evidence was there. Two weeks ago I put a gallon of sugar water syrup on all the out hives, and the Genesis & Exodus hives had consumed it all. Goldenrod is in full bloom and gorgeous now, so I'm going to hold off on the feeding a few weeks. The Exodus hive is named that, because last year one of my strongest hives going into the fall, obsconded. Disappeared..took part of my heart with it.......hope that doesn't happen this year.
The 3rd 'out-hive' is my newest woodenware, painted a pale blue. I LOVE the color. It just so happens to be my most feisty hive. It has a new queen I got in March of this year from Rossman 's...the bees were given to me when a friend took my empty brood chamber and put it on his deep, very early in the Spring. Made lots of bees, so he let me have them--- I just put on a new queen. There was about a half a quart sugar-syrup left on that hive,so I just left it. It is 'eat up' with small hive beetles...also saw a couple wax moths on the inner cover-but none in the supers or brood chambers......also had the wax moths in the outside of the exodus hive inner cover....but nothing on the inside. Indeed a name for my blue hive. Just might keep it simple and call it Blue...
My green hive at home in the backyard is also " eat - up" with the small hive beetles.....but it is rocking out with honey, brood and pollen too. It is the only one with the sadsadsad varroa mite issue.
Still not sure how I want to treat that. Please, if you have suggestions, LET ME KNOW!!!
The three out hives were treated in the spring with vaporized vinegar and they do not have the problem my green/home hive has. My mentor is treating the out hives on Thursday with the vinegar, again. Maybe I could borrow his 'gizmo' for my green, home hive.
I know this is so boring...no photos or funny stuff.....but it is the START of documentation for me! I'm celebrating....it's October, and I still have my four. Yippee!
Bee kind to one another!
KB
Friday, September 28, 2012
Cause and Effect....
Last week I treated you to photos of varroa mites....those pesty mites that invade honeybee hives and wreak havoc on the brood. I had an "extra" 15 minutes this afternoon, so I decided to just sit outside my backyard hive and watch the bee activity. There is alot of coming and going...beautiful flights both ways, some pollen baskets FULL. It is so relaxing just watching the bees...then I see 6- 8- maybe even 10 honeybees in the grass in FRONT of the hive, struggling to crawl around....as if the St. Augustine grass was some huge jungle or something. I thought....those must be the older foragers, leaving the hive to die. Upon closer inspection, I see the deformed wings that is a tell-tell symptom of varroa mite infestation.
What's a mother to do???
I'm in the process of deciding...treat or not to treat? It is a VERY strong hive...I would love to see it make it through to next season. I love my little honeybees, and it makes my heart hurt to see them struggling so...
The following photos are for educational purposes only....
The first is of a bee I found in the grass...notice the misshapen (almost nothing) wings. The next one is of bees I 'rescued' from the grass to photograph (then returned them to the grass from whence they came.)
So sad...I know none of them will make it...so very sad!!)
kb
What's a mother to do???
I'm in the process of deciding...treat or not to treat? It is a VERY strong hive...I would love to see it make it through to next season. I love my little honeybees, and it makes my heart hurt to see them struggling so...
The following photos are for educational purposes only....
The first is of a bee I found in the grass...notice the misshapen (almost nothing) wings. The next one is of bees I 'rescued' from the grass to photograph (then returned them to the grass from whence they came.)
So sad...I know none of them will make it...so very sad!!)
 |
| Two little stubs where the wings should be. |
 |
| Same condition here. The top one offers more of a silhouette of the deformed wings. so sad.....
|
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Just a few hours left.....
My kitchen is clean. That's really not a big deal, because my kitchen is usually clean, because I don't 'cook' like I used to do. Tonight, because of the fresh vegetables on hand, and pork chops begging to be fried the old fashioned way, I cooked. I used 2 iron skillets seasoned to perfection and a teflon coated one, just so the "all done" timing would be just right (meant to be said with that squeaky little voice--so annoying).
Anyway, supper was goooood......kitchen is all cleaned and the coffee pot is set to come on at 0515 because I have to work tomorrow.
Just after the aforementioned tasks were completed, I strolled outside...just because...and I realized this is the last day of summer, 2012......the last day of summer....I stooped down four feet in front {and slightly to the side} of my backyard beehive, just to see what honeybees do on the last day of summer. I so much enjoy watching them flying in and out...There is pollen still around here!!!! (Goldenrod is blooming now, and I love thinking how much that will help my bees get through the growth spurt (Lord-willing) in the spring. The bees were flying in low, coming in from all directions--like the airplanes do at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international.....such precision...so motivated....so task oriented. I might even harvest another super of honey in a few weeks...The top super is FULL now...but I can't decide whether or not it is 'excess' yet..I'll see what happens in the next few weeks with this fall "flow" on. I have started feeding sugar-syrup to all 4 of my hives this week. Hopefully, they will all make it through the winter..but today is the last day of summer, not the last day of autumn.....not too early to be thinking of the springtime!!!
Its not supposed to be this dark when the clock strikes eight o'clock. Tomorrow equal hours of light as dark, then the dark starts to 'take over'. I'll be counting the days till Dec. 21st when the light begins to make its move back....just a few hours left of summer.....mmmm....it has been a mighty good one. I am so thankful.
'see' you in the fall!!!
;0)
in the mean time.....bee kind!! ;0)
If I were more "computer saavy" I could get the captions lined up with the photos....HELP!!
Anyway--here is what they are:
first photo: drone brood......
second photo: uncapped drone brood wtih visible varroa mite
third: an uncapped drone larvae with varroa mite attached......culprit.....that's all I gotta say.....
///except these are MY frames, so they are MY varroa mites..ughhhh!!!
...
Anyway, supper was goooood......kitchen is all cleaned and the coffee pot is set to come on at 0515 because I have to work tomorrow.
Just after the aforementioned tasks were completed, I strolled outside...just because...and I realized this is the last day of summer, 2012......the last day of summer....I stooped down four feet in front {and slightly to the side} of my backyard beehive, just to see what honeybees do on the last day of summer. I so much enjoy watching them flying in and out...There is pollen still around here!!!! (Goldenrod is blooming now, and I love thinking how much that will help my bees get through the growth spurt (Lord-willing) in the spring. The bees were flying in low, coming in from all directions--like the airplanes do at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson international.....such precision...so motivated....so task oriented. I might even harvest another super of honey in a few weeks...The top super is FULL now...but I can't decide whether or not it is 'excess' yet..I'll see what happens in the next few weeks with this fall "flow" on. I have started feeding sugar-syrup to all 4 of my hives this week. Hopefully, they will all make it through the winter..but today is the last day of summer, not the last day of autumn.....not too early to be thinking of the springtime!!!
Its not supposed to be this dark when the clock strikes eight o'clock. Tomorrow equal hours of light as dark, then the dark starts to 'take over'. I'll be counting the days till Dec. 21st when the light begins to make its move back....just a few hours left of summer.....mmmm....it has been a mighty good one. I am so thankful.
'see' you in the fall!!!
;0)
in the mean time.....bee kind!! ;0)
If I were more "computer saavy" I could get the captions lined up with the photos....HELP!!
Anyway--here is what they are:
first photo: drone brood......
second photo: uncapped drone brood wtih visible varroa mite
third: an uncapped drone larvae with varroa mite attached......culprit.....that's all I gotta say.....
///except these are MY frames, so they are MY varroa mites..ughhhh!!!
...
Friday, July 6, 2012
Five-minute Frida (see Gypsy Mama!!)
Subject matter for Gypsy mama's five-minute Friday is
"Story"
If "Every picture tells a story" and "A picture paints a thousand words", i wonder what teh picture of my life is telling....
As I look at the picture of the top of my desk, I see such a collection of things. it tells a story of what we put in front of us, every time we sit here. Depending on WHO is looking, it could tell a different story.
Transfer that thought to the picture of my life...I am wondering how many different stories it tells , depending on WHO is looking.......is there enough of a common thread to tell the story I want to be told--or am I so different, that 2 people who do not know each other could swap notes on who they think I am, and agree--yes--that is the person I know her to be...
every life tells a story!!
oops..five minutes up...not enough said!! ;0)
"Story"
If "Every picture tells a story" and "A picture paints a thousand words", i wonder what teh picture of my life is telling....
As I look at the picture of the top of my desk, I see such a collection of things. it tells a story of what we put in front of us, every time we sit here. Depending on WHO is looking, it could tell a different story.
Transfer that thought to the picture of my life...I am wondering how many different stories it tells , depending on WHO is looking.......is there enough of a common thread to tell the story I want to be told--or am I so different, that 2 people who do not know each other could swap notes on who they think I am, and agree--yes--that is the person I know her to be...
every life tells a story!!
oops..five minutes up...not enough said!! ;0)
Friday, June 8, 2012
Five-minute Friday: Expectation
The five-minute Friday is from the Gypsy Mama blog, and challenges us to just write for 5 minutes on given subject. I have set the timer and am off with it!!! Expectation.....this word struck me as I read it because I am a Labor and Delivery nurse, and every patient I see has definite expectations regarding the new life coming into the world. Sometimes our 'expectations' get tangled up with 'potential' and neither are met....I have been accused of setting expectations of others too high, but I am a believer that all things should be done to the best of our ability, and I am left confused why anyone would do anything otherwise....A scripture comes to mind: "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord"....expecting today to be a great day, full of thankfulness and gratitude for all thd expectations I have seen fulfilled--with joy and laughter--and I am content.
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