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