Friday, October 21, 2011
My top bar hive has screen on the bottom, as per the original design. In preparation for winter, I finally made a cover for the bottom. It's just a board that's braced on either end. I plugged the entrances with wine corks beforehand to keep the bees from watching me work. When I pulled them out, a few came right out. I still probably need to put some insulation of some sort inside the hive.
Monday, October 10, 2011
I just finished watching several videos on YouTube. Amazing! The last one was of someone removing a hive from an attic. He vacuumed the bees, cut off and saved the comb, installed the comb in a hive, and put the bees in. Others were about harvesting the wax and robber bees.
I started because one video was recommended which showed skips (?) in Germany. Check it out.
I started because one video was recommended which showed skips (?) in Germany. Check it out.
No Hive Beetles!
It warmed enough to take another look. I couldn't see a single hive beetle! No idea whether they are hiding or gone, but I like it. There were a few on the bottom screen the other day, so I squashed them or brushed them off.
There seem to be fewer bees. Very few are sleeping outside overnight and inside was less crowded. This is the right side, which would have been full of bees earlier:
The left side is similar:
The dark brown comb on the bottom was in a pic posted 9/16 with many filled cells. I thought maybe they were drone. Anyway, they've hatched. The dark brown is because this is brood comb which is constantly reused and retains some materials from each new bee which gives it the color.
There has been a curious behavior for a week or two. I'll see a bee grabbing hold of another bee and trying to drag it away. Sometimes they succeed and often just fall off the doorstep. The bee being attacked is bigger, so I wonder if it's a drone. I saw it again today but in the left side of the hive.
There seem to be fewer bees. Very few are sleeping outside overnight and inside was less crowded. This is the right side, which would have been full of bees earlier:
The left side is similar:
The dark brown comb on the bottom was in a pic posted 9/16 with many filled cells. I thought maybe they were drone. Anyway, they've hatched. The dark brown is because this is brood comb which is constantly reused and retains some materials from each new bee which gives it the color.
There has been a curious behavior for a week or two. I'll see a bee grabbing hold of another bee and trying to drag it away. Sometimes they succeed and often just fall off the doorstep. The bee being attacked is bigger, so I wonder if it's a drone. I saw it again today but in the left side of the hive.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
First Time
I'm experimenting with transferring the bee journal to a blog. The photos are making a pdf file prohibitive for mailing. One of the first steps is to see if I can post to previous dates and backload. I started a 9/16 entry, so that works. Positioning the photos is awkward.
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