Cats and Bees

Posted on May 15, 2016 by onedogrunning

When I got my bees one of the things I wondered was would they get along with my cats? Would they think the kitties were small furry threats and attack them?

Well, what has happened is that the cats have decided they like the bees very much and I usually have at least one small furry supervisor for each hive inspection.

If they’re not lounging on top of empty brood boxes or trying to sharpen their claws on queen excluders, they’re posted on or beside the hives keeping watch. The bees don’t seem to mind one bit.

Checking the New Hive

Posted on May 7, 2016 by onedogrunning

Truthfully I’ve been poking around the bees every day since they arrived. Mostly just to do things like check the feeder, replace an old cover, straighten a super, remove the metal strapping (got a nice sting on the nose for that!) And of course, just observe them doing their thing, bringing resources back to the hive.

I like to think that they are getting to know me. I don’t want to disturb them overly, and I know that bees are inevitably crushed each time I pick through the hive, so I forced myself to wait as long as I could. The weather has been gorgeous and sunny, but oh so windy. Too windy? Bees can fly up to 15mph, so anything greater than that is probably a bad idea. So yeah, I opened them up anyway.

Hello new hive!

I haven’t used my veil or gloves since the day I installed the nuc. I like the freedom of no gear but I also don’t know my bees all that well yet. If I plan to learn from my hives this year, it means figuring out exactly what makes bees mad. Therefore I have ordered a full bee suit and plan to use it. Except maybe the gloves.

The sting on the nose was a nice tension-breaker, and it truly made tears well up in my eyes! But I had no reaction other than a lingering pain for maybe 30 minutes and a tiny zit right on that spot the next day. I realize now I was stung because I was causing a lot of vibrations with the metal strap against the hive, at dusk, on a recently transplanted colony, with no gear on. Lesson learned.

Looking good ladies!

Some people say bee venom helps prevent cancer. According to some guy who stung himself all over the body for science – the nose is the most painful spot, so take it from me, the worst pain possible is not really that bad. Kind of like an extra fierce onion fume shoved right up your sinus. Bee venom is acidic, so a paste of baking soda and water should give instant relief when you do get stung.

Squashed bees… Do I spot the queen?

So yeah, I’ve opened up both hives briefly and there are a few things I know I need to do.

First I need to get my bee suit in the mail. Then the hives need to come off the pallets, as they are currently too high off the ground to work comfortably once they grow. I’d like to build a narrower custom stand for them to make them easier to work around. I also need to do a thorough check of each hive to identify queens and brood and the overall state of affairs.

The new hive hasn’t touched their sugar water, and I’m hoping that’s because natural resources are plentiful. My inspection today showed capped brood, honey and lots of pollen, but I chickened out before checking all the frames. My recent check of the top box of the more established hive showed pretty much the same thing.

The established hive shortly before the metal strapping came off

Projects include fixing the old hive cover, making some ventilated top quilts, building nuc boxes, painting and assembling supers and frames, building screened bottom boards and attending a bee workshop next weekend. Yay bees!

Installing My First Nuc

Posted on May 5, 2016 by onedogrunning

Well today turned out nicer than expected, albeit a bit windy, so I decided to install my nuc. I didn’t want them to get too crowded in there as I know they work fast!

I got my brand new smoker lit for the first time with some pieces of burlap, and pried off the nuc lid. Since there are only four frames in the nuc box, but room for five, the bees have already started drawing out comb in the empty space. These combs were just tiny nubbins when I picked up the nuc two days ago, so you can see just how quickly they are constructed. Aren’t they elegant looking?

The next thing to do was to remove the little nails that were holding the frames in place so they wouldn’t shift during travel. Easily done with a pair of pliers. Then it was just a matter of carefully removing the four frames and installing them in the center of the new hive, in the same order that they were removed from the nuc.

All frames transferred

While removing the frames, I did a quick inspection of each one. It was tough to see well because of all the bees, but I was able to identify some capped brood and some drone comb, as well as some drones. I couldn’t locate the queen, and I’m not going to worry about that too much right off the bat. I didn’t see her in the box after the frames were gone so I assume she made it in on a frame.

These stragglers all eventually found their way inside

After installing the frames, I mixed up a 50/50 sugar water solution and installed a feeder inside another deep box on top of the inside cover. This will help the bees draw out all the comb on the new frames which so far only have foundation.

So that’s it! The first nuc is installed and the bees now have lots of room to build. I did wear my veil for the installation but I didn’t wear my gloves. I don’t think the veil was even really necessary and I don’t really like how it obscures my view of the bees. I may try without it next time. I wasn’t stung at all today and the only damage was a very minor burn on a baby finger from the smoker. It’s hot!

All done!

Even More Bees

Posted on May 4, 2016 by onedogrunning

Today I went on a little excursion to pick up my second colony of bees, a complete three box mature hive with drawn comb and a brand new queen. They were purchased from an 85 year old German beekeeper who after 60 years of keeping bees has decided to retire. I went a bit early to observe the banding of the hives in order to get them ready to transport, and I was able to get some photos of the process.

I feel really privileged to be able to take over this hive of bees from such a seasoned keeper, and even more lucky that he has offered to mentor me on an ongoing basis if needed. He is quite close by and has many years of bee knowledge under his belt.

My hive is the third one from the left in the above photo, with the brick on top.

So it looks like I officially have all my starter bees! As it was cloudy today, I decided not to hive my nuc yet and will wait until the next sunny day which should be Thursday. I learned a lot today and can’t wait to dig into my new hive and check it all out! Thank you so much to the other volunteer beekeepers who helped me get it home!

Bees Settling In

Posted on May 3, 2016 by onedogrunning

I took the foam block out of the entrance last night after the bees had settled for an hour, as instructed. They were mad! They came boiling out ready to deal with whatever had been vibrating and bouncing them all over the place an hour earlier. I decided to back off and let them calm down. It began to rain lightly so I covered the top of the nuc with a board and called it a night.

The next morning I went to check on them and they were busy at work, flying in and out of the nuc like they had always lived here, packing little orange, yellow and white pollen balls on their little legs. Adorable! A few bees came in completely covered in orange dust, and the beekeeper I bought them from mentioned that those bees have been into the scotch broom. Well I’m glad they like it because we sure have plenty of it on the island!

Parsley cat is not too sure what to make of this!

My First Bees!

Posted on May 3, 2016 by onedogrunning

The selection of nucs for sale

I drove three hours today to pick up my very first nuc of bees not far outside of Victoria. Boy am I excited!

Close up of some of the nucs

The gentleman who sold them to me was very knowledgeable and told me he’s been keeping bees since 1974. Apparently he used to work for a large apiary in southern California for over 27 years. I was glad he knew what he was doing, as I didn’t ask many questions before committing to the trek. He was also kind enough to allow me to snap a few photos.

The main apiary

I needn’t have worried, as he had a nice little selection of nucs that were made from his strongest overwintered hives. He was on a good varroa treatment schedule using oxalic acid and thymol which he explained to me. He recommended the oxalic treatment during the winter when there is less brood (since the treatment can’t penetrate the cells) and the thymol treatment around the end of August after the honey harvest. (Thymol needs hot weather to work).

He said that he breeds for honey production, colony strength and gentleness. He admitted he doesn’t breed for hygienic bees per se, but that his colonies were all very strong and so he might as well be. (Hygienic selective bred bees are much better at keeping themselves clean of varroa mites.)

Opening up my nuc

He showed me his active hives and then got out the smoker to show me the nuc. It’s a four frame that is positively chock full of hard working little ladies. It must weigh about 30 pounds. He secured the four frames to one side with two nails to avoid shifting, and the top was nailed on as well. The entrance was sealed with a little block of foam. Once I got them home I was advised to allow them to sit for an hour to let them settle, and then remove the foam. Since it was dark when I arrived home, I will wait to do the transfer into the hive until tomorrow.

Finally home!

I also have a lead on a full, three box complete hive with bees and drawn comb for a good price, and I think I may pick it up so I have two hives to compare. I’ll keep you posted!

Two More Beehives

Posted on April 30, 2016 by onedogrunning

It’s official, I have bee fever. Yet I still do not have a single bee tenant.

Of course, I am still on the waiting list for a nuc and I have also signed up for the local swarm retrieval list, even despite having zero experience. A friendly neighborhood beekeeper has promised to alert me if there is an easily accessible swarm reported in my area, and that he will come and show me the ropes and even let me keep the bees! Fingers crossed.

In the meantime I have purchased two more hot wax dipped hives to match my first one, and I have set them all up in the dappled sunshine under my wild cherry tree facing south east. I have also applied lemongrass oil swarm lure to them just in case any scout bees happen along.

I have also stocked up on deep and medium supers and frames to fill them, since as I understand it when you need one you need it now. I have also acquired a bee smoker and found plans to build myself a couple of simple wooden nuc boxes for the future. Wish me luck!