Picture of our garden.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
New Pictures
We just took some pictures to day of the bees and the back yard. Hope you enjoy.
This is the watering hole. Keeps them away from the salt water pool.
Picture of our garden.
We do not use any harmful Chemicals, All organic.Except for fire ants. We hate those little buggers.
This is a picture of an Experiment top entrance
Picture of our garden.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Great Inspection
Today I did an inspection of my two Hives. The last time I did an inspection one hive was doing great. The queen was laying like a machine, beekeepers that have come to help me out said I should start making queens of that one. The second hive I have not found the queen for two and a half three weeks
But today there she was just doing great. She is Golden in color and very long and fat. I do go on beesource chat a lot in the evening and everyone was starting to give me a hard time because I have whined about my missing queen. They tell me I am a worry wart. I guess I am, But missing a queen is a hard thing to go threw for a first time beekeeper. It felt like I did something wrong and she left me. But now I have a new one and she is great. The hives look good. The one with the queen is doing ok, I would of thought that starting out with a Nuc they would be going like gang busters, but that did not happen, I did lose the queen early in the season two weeks after they were installed. So if you look at it that way they are doing just fine, I think a little lite. The second hive lost its queen like I said 2 ½ to 3 weeks ago and have not recovered just yet. I have been lucky have only had maybe 20 SHB and have not seen the verroa Mite yet. But they tell me it is still early. I try to use little smoke when I inspect the hives so this is what I do. Remember I am new at this just a Rookie and this might not work for you. I smoke the entrance and bottom of the hive. I use a SBB. Wait a minute or so, then lift the top and smoke just a little. Wait two Minutes then open her up. No more smoke is used. When I inspect the hives I will mist the bees with sugar water and some HBH,this calms them down fast and lets me work the hive for at least an hour. I am not that fast. Each frame gets a little mist . This could also help with the verroa because the bees are cleaning themselves and others. I was also getting worried because I did not see any drones, but this time there they were with their big bug eyes and fat bodies they do stick out. My next inspection will have a lot of pictures. Also three days ago the bees in the lite hive were in a frenzy just flying every were and making all kinds of noise. I thought it could have been a swarm starting. But lucky me it was not. A big yellow jacket got into the hive and they all attacked it and killed it then they were dragging it out the front door. Me and the wife say them drag it out and toss it over the edge and then giving the team high fives going back to the bar for some more refills. Go home team!!!! It is hard to not root for the home team. We have a salt water pool 75 feet from the hives so we thought we might have some problems with so un wanted swimmers so we set up a small 24 X 12 plastic container with rocks sticks and pine straw on the other side of our garden hopping to get them to swim there, and it worked they love it and very few bees have had any swimming accidents so far. Three of my neighbors have commented that they have seen more bees in there garden this year than ever before. Not sure it is because of our bees but I still take credit. So tonight all is good in bee land. One other thing I did find out just by accident. When I am done with the bees I will go smoke all the shrubs and plants in the back yard and some of the grass area, we have found less mosquitoes and we are now able to sit outside during the early evening and enjoy the yard. Good by for now and remember keep you jacket zipped and your smoker lit and have fun, because they are.
But today there she was just doing great. She is Golden in color and very long and fat. I do go on beesource chat a lot in the evening and everyone was starting to give me a hard time because I have whined about my missing queen. They tell me I am a worry wart. I guess I am, But missing a queen is a hard thing to go threw for a first time beekeeper. It felt like I did something wrong and she left me. But now I have a new one and she is great. The hives look good. The one with the queen is doing ok, I would of thought that starting out with a Nuc they would be going like gang busters, but that did not happen, I did lose the queen early in the season two weeks after they were installed. So if you look at it that way they are doing just fine, I think a little lite. The second hive lost its queen like I said 2 ½ to 3 weeks ago and have not recovered just yet. I have been lucky have only had maybe 20 SHB and have not seen the verroa Mite yet. But they tell me it is still early. I try to use little smoke when I inspect the hives so this is what I do. Remember I am new at this just a Rookie and this might not work for you. I smoke the entrance and bottom of the hive. I use a SBB. Wait a minute or so, then lift the top and smoke just a little. Wait two Minutes then open her up. No more smoke is used. When I inspect the hives I will mist the bees with sugar water and some HBH,this calms them down fast and lets me work the hive for at least an hour. I am not that fast. Each frame gets a little mist . This could also help with the verroa because the bees are cleaning themselves and others. I was also getting worried because I did not see any drones, but this time there they were with their big bug eyes and fat bodies they do stick out. My next inspection will have a lot of pictures. Also three days ago the bees in the lite hive were in a frenzy just flying every were and making all kinds of noise. I thought it could have been a swarm starting. But lucky me it was not. A big yellow jacket got into the hive and they all attacked it and killed it then they were dragging it out the front door. Me and the wife say them drag it out and toss it over the edge and then giving the team high fives going back to the bar for some more refills. Go home team!!!! It is hard to not root for the home team. We have a salt water pool 75 feet from the hives so we thought we might have some problems with so un wanted swimmers so we set up a small 24 X 12 plastic container with rocks sticks and pine straw on the other side of our garden hopping to get them to swim there, and it worked they love it and very few bees have had any swimming accidents so far. Three of my neighbors have commented that they have seen more bees in there garden this year than ever before. Not sure it is because of our bees but I still take credit. So tonight all is good in bee land. One other thing I did find out just by accident. When I am done with the bees I will go smoke all the shrubs and plants in the back yard and some of the grass area, we have found less mosquitoes and we are now able to sit outside during the early evening and enjoy the yard. Good by for now and remember keep you jacket zipped and your smoker lit and have fun, because they are.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Got a call today asking about the bees
The person who sold me the two NUCS of bees called today asking how the bees were doing . I told him we could not find the queen and some of the bees looked a little lite. He said he will be sending 3 to 5 pounds for me to install. One more thing to learn how to do the news paper install, should be fun. I made this watering hole out of a large plastic bucket, some rocks to fill the bottom, laid pine straw on it . The filled it with water. used some sticks to help keep the pine straw so what out of the water. The bees love it and they stay away from my built in pool.
I have to be one of the luckiest first time beekeepers these two NUCS are so gentle that the neighbors, my family all just walk up to the hives and watch the bees, they should not stand in the flight path and don't go closer then the white fence and so far everyone has been fine , even my two boxers the older one cleio lays under the plum tree and they do not bother her.
we don't even mind that the blue birds fly and catch some of the bees for there young
I do a hive inspection every Friday afternoon We do no treatment any synthetic chemicals. I will do a bee drench, powder sugar, etc.... The bees I am using are Russian/ VSh . I would love to get some bees from the Purvis brothers in late summer ( The Golden Bee Line ) after reading about the success with this bee I want to try two.If I start two Nucs late summer.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
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