Another beekeeping year and yet another attempt to keep up this blog.
There was so much I should have written about last year but didn't. Probably my hi-light came in August down in Marion when I was fortunate enough to introduce Charlie and Katie Sheldrake to my bees. Although young(6 & 8?), they trusted me enough to get them close - with protection of course- and they were rewarded with the taste of fresh honey direct from a frame. We collected enough for them to take some home with them. They also witnessed the birth of several bees breaking free from the comb.
I can sum up the year overall as this: the hive in the Norwood community garden was strong. It survived the winter and spring and continues to look good. My Marion hives looked good, although one hive was much stronger than the other even though they were side by side. Unfortunately the weaker hive did not make it through October - one day they all were gone, no signs, no warning. The other hive survived through winter; but, spring was not kind to them. They looked strong but slowly dwindled away. I initially saw brood, then nothing.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
New bees in Marion
I really didn't think I'd be able to find and buy a package of bees so late into the season, but I guess they are late coming up from Georgia.
I bought a 3 lb package of bees along with a queen. I picked them up yesterday and installed them today in the hive.
Click here to Watch me install bees
I bought a 3 lb package of bees along with a queen. I picked them up yesterday and installed them today in the hive.
Click here to Watch me install bees
Friday, May 10, 2013
I'm in here waiting for you ... Got'ya!
May 9 Checking on the Marion Bees
Ouch
We ran down to check on the Marion bees after work and to give them some 50/50 syrup. A quick look when I got there, both hives looked good, so I walked back to the house to mix the syrup and get my bee suit on. It was getting dark and I didn't cherish the thought of doing too much after sunset so I was working fast. I carried the syrup in two containers down to the hive area, set them down and flipped the hood over my head on the bee suit, securing it with the 2 zippers. Nice and tight nothing getting in. I walked over, put the syrup into the two hives. One has a top feeder that takes about 2 gallons, the other has an inverted jar feeder that sits inside a deep. I closed both hives up, and started to walk away.
Bzzzzz, bzzzzz, bzzzzzz. Not unusual, they frequently buzz around me, on on near the veil. Nothing to worry about.
Bzzzzz bzzzzzz - this time quite loud. Obvious it was only a single bee. By now I am 20 feet from the hive.
Ouch! What? How'd you get in here? Either this was a carryover bee from last night's foray at the NGC bees or else one managed to sit on my hat as I was putting the hood on. She was inside the veil and stung me cleanly on the neck, right next to the adam's apple. Yes it hurt, but I was more surprised than hurt.
Her last words udoubtedly were "Yup ... I was waiting for you. Yes, I got'ya!"
Ouch
We ran down to check on the Marion bees after work and to give them some 50/50 syrup. A quick look when I got there, both hives looked good, so I walked back to the house to mix the syrup and get my bee suit on. It was getting dark and I didn't cherish the thought of doing too much after sunset so I was working fast. I carried the syrup in two containers down to the hive area, set them down and flipped the hood over my head on the bee suit, securing it with the 2 zippers. Nice and tight nothing getting in. I walked over, put the syrup into the two hives. One has a top feeder that takes about 2 gallons, the other has an inverted jar feeder that sits inside a deep. I closed both hives up, and started to walk away.
Bzzzzz, bzzzzz, bzzzzzz. Not unusual, they frequently buzz around me, on on near the veil. Nothing to worry about.
Bzzzzz bzzzzzz - this time quite loud. Obvious it was only a single bee. By now I am 20 feet from the hive.
Ouch! What? How'd you get in here? Either this was a carryover bee from last night's foray at the NGC bees or else one managed to sit on my hat as I was putting the hood on. She was inside the veil and stung me cleanly on the neck, right next to the adam's apple. Yes it hurt, but I was more surprised than hurt.
Her last words udoubtedly were "Yup ... I was waiting for you. Yes, I got'ya!"
Looking Good at the Gardens
May 9
Checking on the Norwood Community Garden (NCG) bees tonight quickly before it rains. They seem content. I can see many arriving on the landing board with their pollen sacs full - always a good sign. When pollen is coming in to the hive, it means there are bee larvae to be fed. I added a deep box on top and placed a gallon feeder filled with 50/50 sugar mix as an added help to get them established here.
Done, just in time as here come the rains.
Checking on the Norwood Community Garden (NCG) bees tonight quickly before it rains. They seem content. I can see many arriving on the landing board with their pollen sacs full - always a good sign. When pollen is coming in to the hive, it means there are bee larvae to be fed. I added a deep box on top and placed a gallon feeder filled with 50/50 sugar mix as an added help to get them established here.
Done, just in time as here come the rains.
The Nucs Are Here!
After several delays in the delivery of the bees, my nucs are here for pickup. I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of these bees so I can re-establish my two hives that are at the Marion house, and establish the new hive that I have placed in the Norwood Community Garden.
How does one go about getting bees for a hive, and just what is a "nuc"?
You can get bees in a number of ways:
1) If you are lucky, or smart, or particularly crafty, you can catch a swarm, or track feral bees to their hive location and catch them in the wild. You capture the queen and thousands of workers. Not something that most newbies will do.
2) You can buy a "package". Typically this is a 3 pound package of bees along with (usually) a virgin queen in a separate cage. You install the bees by literally pouring them into the open hive. You suspend the queen in her cage between some frames and allow the bees to get used to her pheromones (she is new to them, they are not her offsprings). There is a candy plug in the end of the cage, and over the course of manys days, the candy is eaten away, freeing the queen. By then, the bees are used to her pheromones and (most usually) accepts her into the hive. About 3 weeks from that point you should start to see new baby bees.
3) You buy a nuc ... or nucleus. This is in essence a mini somewhat established working hive. It has 5 frames, usually with mostly fully drawn out comb. There is a mated queen, laying eggs. There is packed pollen, larvae, and perhaps some honey. You put the 5 frames into your 10 frame hive in exactly the same order as they were in the nuc. There are several thousand (10?) worker bees. The hive is immediately off and working. No delays.
So I bought 3 nucs at $110 each, and put one in the Norwood Community Garden bee hive, and two down at the Marion hives.
The nucs don't take long to install. More time is usually spent getting the suit on, smoker lit, and pieces all together.
At the NCG hive, I had several spectators watching and taking pictures. I handed Vic Babel a hat and veil to put on. He had a long sleeve sweatshirt on already. I told him that he could get quite close as I installed the frames from the nuc, and as long as he didn't wave his hands about in panic, the bees should not bother him. I think he was a bit to a lot nervous at first, particularly when several hundred bees came out at once and began flying about - mostly at me. Vic did great. Several landed on him, many were buzzing about the veil, and he stood calmly in one spot watching. He had a great introduction to the bees. That install went well, as did the two down in Marion that I did by myself.
How does one go about getting bees for a hive, and just what is a "nuc"?
You can get bees in a number of ways:
1) If you are lucky, or smart, or particularly crafty, you can catch a swarm, or track feral bees to their hive location and catch them in the wild. You capture the queen and thousands of workers. Not something that most newbies will do.
2) You can buy a "package". Typically this is a 3 pound package of bees along with (usually) a virgin queen in a separate cage. You install the bees by literally pouring them into the open hive. You suspend the queen in her cage between some frames and allow the bees to get used to her pheromones (she is new to them, they are not her offsprings). There is a candy plug in the end of the cage, and over the course of manys days, the candy is eaten away, freeing the queen. By then, the bees are used to her pheromones and (most usually) accepts her into the hive. About 3 weeks from that point you should start to see new baby bees.
3) You buy a nuc ... or nucleus. This is in essence a mini somewhat established working hive. It has 5 frames, usually with mostly fully drawn out comb. There is a mated queen, laying eggs. There is packed pollen, larvae, and perhaps some honey. You put the 5 frames into your 10 frame hive in exactly the same order as they were in the nuc. There are several thousand (10?) worker bees. The hive is immediately off and working. No delays.
So I bought 3 nucs at $110 each, and put one in the Norwood Community Garden bee hive, and two down at the Marion hives.
The nucs don't take long to install. More time is usually spent getting the suit on, smoker lit, and pieces all together.
At the NCG hive, I had several spectators watching and taking pictures. I handed Vic Babel a hat and veil to put on. He had a long sleeve sweatshirt on already. I told him that he could get quite close as I installed the frames from the nuc, and as long as he didn't wave his hands about in panic, the bees should not bother him. I think he was a bit to a lot nervous at first, particularly when several hundred bees came out at once and began flying about - mostly at me. Vic did great. Several landed on him, many were buzzing about the veil, and he stood calmly in one spot watching. He had a great introduction to the bees. That install went well, as did the two down in Marion that I did by myself.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Year 2013
OK, it's another year, and yet another promise to blog more. Unlike 2012, this year we'll not be selling 1 house, buying and moving into 2 others, celebrating the wedding of 2 of our children, and closing a storage unit that eyes had not set on in 10 or more years. My bees (and my golf) will be a priority this year.
The year 2013 will be different for many reasons. First, I have 3 hives this year, one more than last year. One is in a community garden in our new home town of Norwood. The other two hives are down at our Marion vacation/retirement home. I can't wait to compare and contrast the taste of the honeys from these two different locations. Putting it in wine terms, the terroir should result in a different taste. Second, one of my "followers" over the years is moving from England to this country. Her father is and has been a close friend and colleague. He is now moving over as manager of our group. It is a great honor to work for him, and the teamwork that will result from this change will be phenomenal. Yet, one of the biggest bonus benefits of this change at work is that he'll be moving here with his family, and I will finally meet his two youngest daughters. For several years now, Charlie has followed with interest my bees, and I periodically would send her some of my bees' honey. I really look forward to meeting Charlie and Katie. I can easily foresee Charlie as the next little beekeeper and bee savior. This is one 9 year old that I can't wait to see don a petite beesuit and veil and stand next to me observing the bees in their daily activities. From what I know of her, it won't "bee" long before she'll want to have her hands (with gloves) in the hives, handling frames, and observing bees up close and personal. If she'll have me, I'd love to mentor her.
My community garden hive is yet another opportunity to share my bees with others and educate during the process of beekeeping there. This year there are 64 plots in the garden, and therefore many opportunities for those gardeners and friends to see the bees and learn a bit about them as the bees and I interact. I have a garden plot there this year. We should see better pollination and better vegetable production with the bees so close by. I hope to not only educate the gardeners but also their families and friends as they come to the garden.
In 2013 I am also invited back to the Farmer's Market in Norwood center to do another bee introduction to the young children. Last year I jumped at the opportunity to help educate a group of children ages 4-10 on how to identify honeybees from wasps (yellow jacket and hornets), describe what they do, and taste some of the fruits of their labor. I am not sure who had more fun last year, them or me. We'll do it again this year, and hopefully we‘ll see another group of children walk away and begin to think more deeply about bees and their role in the world in which we all live.
Yes, 2013 should be a great year!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
2012
I have a new bee resolution for the coming year, and that is to blog more.
I am thrilled to say that both of my hives have survived through the "winter" months. The unusually warm temperatures here in March have seen the bees out for many of the days bringing in pollen - just look at those colored and full pollen sacs in the picture below.
Although last night dipped into the 20's as will tonight, I don't think it'll have a negative effect on the hives as I have not disturbed them at all to this point by thinking of rotating the deep supers.
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We have the house up for sale and looking to move to another town closer to where my grandson, Colin, will be going to a private high school next year. Needless to say, one of the important criteria we are trying to prioritize high on the list of "wants" for the new place is that the yard must be suitable for the bees. I will obviously learn what it means to pack up the bees and move them, and I hope to blog it in detail.
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I hope it'll be (bee?) a good year for all bees.
- Posted using BlogPress
I am thrilled to say that both of my hives have survived through the "winter" months. The unusually warm temperatures here in March have seen the bees out for many of the days bringing in pollen - just look at those colored and full pollen sacs in the picture below.
Although last night dipped into the 20's as will tonight, I don't think it'll have a negative effect on the hives as I have not disturbed them at all to this point by thinking of rotating the deep supers.
************************************************************************************************
We have the house up for sale and looking to move to another town closer to where my grandson, Colin, will be going to a private high school next year. Needless to say, one of the important criteria we are trying to prioritize high on the list of "wants" for the new place is that the yard must be suitable for the bees. I will obviously learn what it means to pack up the bees and move them, and I hope to blog it in detail.
************************************************************************************************
I hope it'll be (bee?) a good year for all bees.
- Posted using BlogPress
Location:Barnstable Rd,Norfolk,United States
Sunday, September 25, 2011
MAQS
MAQS?
Mite Away Quick Strips.
I've been too busy to do mite checks, and when I did, I found I had a pretty good infestation. Fortunately MA has approved the use of MAQS this year, and even more fortunately, as late as Sat Sept 17th, I was able to find some of these MAQS at Behavin' Apiary in RI. Everett is always such a good source of info, comradery , and supplies! I put the 2 strips per hive on Wed night Sep 21 ... Bees weren't happy I was there and I got stung twice! Once through the leather gloves, and once when one crawled up under the bee suit pants legs, under my pants, and up on my calf. By the time I was able to get to that sting it was 15 min later and lots of the poison had been pumped into me. It was sore 24 hours later, but, very functional, and no swelling.
I do hope this works. The hive seems to be back to normal activity levels, so I will wait the specified 7-10 days at 50-92 F to see how we did. I'd like to see these bees survive the winter!
- Posted using BlogPress
Mite Away Quick Strips.
I've been too busy to do mite checks, and when I did, I found I had a pretty good infestation. Fortunately MA has approved the use of MAQS this year, and even more fortunately, as late as Sat Sept 17th, I was able to find some of these MAQS at Behavin' Apiary in RI. Everett is always such a good source of info, comradery , and supplies! I put the 2 strips per hive on Wed night Sep 21 ... Bees weren't happy I was there and I got stung twice! Once through the leather gloves, and once when one crawled up under the bee suit pants legs, under my pants, and up on my calf. By the time I was able to get to that sting it was 15 min later and lots of the poison had been pumped into me. It was sore 24 hours later, but, very functional, and no swelling.
I do hope this works. The hive seems to be back to normal activity levels, so I will wait the specified 7-10 days at 50-92 F to see how we did. I'd like to see these bees survive the winter!
- Posted using BlogPress
2011 has come and almost gone
Well, I had the best intentions this year - to blog as much as I did the first year, chronicling my adventures with the bees as a second year beekeeper. What happened? I'd like to say it was my work (employment) that kept me from blogging, and to some extent that is true. I really wish I could say it was the amount of time I spent golfing at Norfolk Golf Club, but, it wasn't. I think it was a combination of a lot of things ... work, family, vacations (count them, 3 - Italy for a week, CapeCod for a week, and California for a week), time spent revamping NorfolkGC.com website (the real reason I didn't write), and some degree of laziness for sure.
Today is Sep 25th, and the season is winding down. We started with 2 nucs this year, and we've been fortunate enough to get a honey harvest - despite all of the rain we had. Of the 2 hives, one seems to be more fond of putting honey on the medium super than the other, and therefore more productive. However, all told between the two hives the total tally is 24 pounds of honey that I have taken. And at this point, I think each hive still has approximately 30-40 lbs for them for the winter. I am not taking any more for me.
For as long as I live, I will cherish the memory of walking into the house with my first medium super of honey. Charlotte asked me what I had, and when I described what it was, she immediately came over with a spoon. Scraping down the comb, breaking it slightly, and scooping up that honey, it couldn't get any fresher that that. The smile on her face is what I live for, and she was smiling from ear to ear as she tasted that honey. She hordes it now :).
Charlotte has bought some 1/2 lb jars and come up with some labels. We have 2 different names on the honey labels: The Literary Bees and The Quotable Bees. Each label is unique and personal with quotes from famous people. We have given some honey away to friends, and we have saved some for Christmas gifts. We have had some (truth be told, more than some) that we've mixed with bourbon at 10 at night. It's been a good year, I've let the bees do their own thing, and they have done it well.
It is an amazing process to watch these bees do their work. Busy as a bee really does describe how they act if you ever are able to sit back and watch a hive. They come and go so quickly from the hive, it's like watching time lapse of planes landing at an airport.
Ever wonder what it takes to make honey?
How many flowers will a bee need to collect nectar from to make one tablespoon of honey?
The answer is 2000 flowers
How many flowers does a bee visit to make a pound of honey?
To make a pound of honey the bees need to visit about two million flowers, and in doing this they will fly something like 55,000 miles -- the equivalent of more than twice around the world.
How many bees does it take to make one pound of honey?
A single bee can collect about 1/12 teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, so it would take the life's work of about 560 workers to make a pound of honey.
The product they make is so very good, so very tasty.
- Posted using BlogPress
Today is Sep 25th, and the season is winding down. We started with 2 nucs this year, and we've been fortunate enough to get a honey harvest - despite all of the rain we had. Of the 2 hives, one seems to be more fond of putting honey on the medium super than the other, and therefore more productive. However, all told between the two hives the total tally is 24 pounds of honey that I have taken. And at this point, I think each hive still has approximately 30-40 lbs for them for the winter. I am not taking any more for me.
For as long as I live, I will cherish the memory of walking into the house with my first medium super of honey. Charlotte asked me what I had, and when I described what it was, she immediately came over with a spoon. Scraping down the comb, breaking it slightly, and scooping up that honey, it couldn't get any fresher that that. The smile on her face is what I live for, and she was smiling from ear to ear as she tasted that honey. She hordes it now :).
Charlotte has bought some 1/2 lb jars and come up with some labels. We have 2 different names on the honey labels: The Literary Bees and The Quotable Bees. Each label is unique and personal with quotes from famous people. We have given some honey away to friends, and we have saved some for Christmas gifts. We have had some (truth be told, more than some) that we've mixed with bourbon at 10 at night. It's been a good year, I've let the bees do their own thing, and they have done it well.
It is an amazing process to watch these bees do their work. Busy as a bee really does describe how they act if you ever are able to sit back and watch a hive. They come and go so quickly from the hive, it's like watching time lapse of planes landing at an airport.
Ever wonder what it takes to make honey?
How many flowers will a bee need to collect nectar from to make one tablespoon of honey?
The answer is 2000 flowers
How many flowers does a bee visit to make a pound of honey?
To make a pound of honey the bees need to visit about two million flowers, and in doing this they will fly something like 55,000 miles -- the equivalent of more than twice around the world.
How many bees does it take to make one pound of honey?
A single bee can collect about 1/12 teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, so it would take the life's work of about 560 workers to make a pound of honey.
The product they make is so very good, so very tasty.
- Posted using BlogPress
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Looking good
Between the poor weather and me being so busy of late, I have not had the opportunities to really get inside the hives to properly check on the bees. I do check the outside activity almost daily and can easily see lots of flights coming and going, can see many pollen laden bees landing, I assume all is OK on the inside.
On Sunday the 19th, I was finally able to do proper hive inspections. Each hive has 2 deeps and a medium super on them. Both hives show capped brood, young larvae, nectar and pollen stores, and capped honey in both deeps. Neither hive is building comb into the medium super. Lots of activity. Interesting is that the bees this year appear to quickly fly up into me as I pull a frame out for inspection - this is behavior I don't recall seeing in the bees of last year. They weren't angry enough to be pinging off the veil or trying to sting the gloves; but, I was well aware of them flying about me for 15 sec or more as I first pulled a frame ... almost as if each frame had their own set of guard bees.
I did find the queen in each hive, and I saw no indications of moths, beetles or mites. I reassembled the hives, leaving the medium supers on top for expansion. Only one hive has a queen excluder on it as I currently only own one of them.
I'll post pictures as soon as I transfer them from the camera.
- Posted using BlogPress
On Sunday the 19th, I was finally able to do proper hive inspections. Each hive has 2 deeps and a medium super on them. Both hives show capped brood, young larvae, nectar and pollen stores, and capped honey in both deeps. Neither hive is building comb into the medium super. Lots of activity. Interesting is that the bees this year appear to quickly fly up into me as I pull a frame out for inspection - this is behavior I don't recall seeing in the bees of last year. They weren't angry enough to be pinging off the veil or trying to sting the gloves; but, I was well aware of them flying about me for 15 sec or more as I first pulled a frame ... almost as if each frame had their own set of guard bees.
I did find the queen in each hive, and I saw no indications of moths, beetles or mites. I reassembled the hives, leaving the medium supers on top for expansion. Only one hive has a queen excluder on it as I currently only own one of them.
I'll post pictures as soon as I transfer them from the camera.
- Posted using BlogPress
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