I inspected Hive #2 today. The bees were so docile, I think I could have gone without any protective clothing. I took off my gloves afterwards and took this photo:
The sun came out today after some heavy wind and rain that washed away what I hope is the last of the snow. The temperature went up to 11°C. I scraped out some dead stinky bees and debris from the bottom boards of both hives. Hive #2 hasn’t been too active around its bottom entrance this year. Hive #1 is a different story.
I still don’t know where they’re getting the pollen, but I’m impressed.
NOTE: THE HIGHER RESOLUTION COOL PIX BEGIN HERE.
It was only about 7°C in the backyard today (45°F), but it was enough for the bees in Hive #2 to bring in some pollen for the first time this year.
I’ve embedded a slide show below, but to really get in and see the individual specs of pollen on the bees and their fuzzy little hairs, go to my Picasa page, click on the first photo in the series and click through them individually. The details in the close-up photos always show up better on the actual Picasa page.
Read on . . . »
NOTE (April 11/11): The following has been updated more than once since it was originally posted. The updates appear near the bottom. The title of the post has been changed to reflect the reality of what he had to deal with. Both of the top hive feeders leaked all over the hives and the bees. We had to switch to inverted jar feeders instead. It was the messiest biggest headache of our beekeeping experience so far. We have no love for hive top feeders.
It was about 7°C in the backyard today. The weather forecast doesn’t call for much rain and the temperatures are supposed to be well above freezing all week. So we decided to add top hive feeders to both hives, filling up one side of each feeder with about 8 litres of syrup (a little over 2 US gallons). But first we modified the feeders by stapling screens to the reservoirs:
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It went up to 2°C today and a few bees were flying around, so I quickly opened each hive and gave them what I have decided is absolutely their last feeding for the winter. I got it all on video but was by myself and didn’t have time to take any careful photos. All I got was this — Hive #1 after adding another candy cake and another pound of pollen patties:
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Hive #1 was crowded with bees on top (both of them were). It seemed to have plenty of sugar left, though not much pollen. Hive #2 wasn’t a pretty sight when I opened it up. I’ll talk about that after the video.
Read on . . . »
We put about 4 pounds of candy cakes in each hive on January 28th. Then a half-pound pollen patty on February 18th (with an extra candy cake in Hive #2). It went up to 5°C in the backyard today, blinding sun, no wind — the usual ripe conditions for adding candy cakes and pollen patties. So that’s what I did.
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Exhibit A: Hive #1 after I smoked it and pried open the insulated inner cover. You can see they’ve been chowing down well on the 2-week-old pollen patty (half a pound) and the 1-month-old candy cakes (about a pound each).
Read on . . . »
THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN UPDATED SINCE ORIGINALLY POSTED.
Jenny and I added some pollen patties (and one candy cake) to our hives today. Here’s the video, and then I’ll talk about it and show you some pictures.
UPDATE (Feb. 19/11): Now let’s talk about what we did wrong and what we’d do differently. Number 1: We don’t like to smoke our bees, but if we could go back and do it over again, we’d smoke ‘em first. A few good puffs of smoke through the upper entrance may have driven the bees down below the top frames. That would have made it much easier to slip in the pollen and sugar — and it would have prevented me from squishing a clump of bees between the pollen patty and the inner cover when I put the inner cover back down (possibly squishing the queen). Number 2: Use a candy board instead of candy cakes. That’s not a mistake but a preference. If we had installed a 15-pound (6.8kg) candy board in January, it would have eliminated the need to feed the bees for the rest of the winter (some pollen would be in the candy mix too). The bees could congregate on the top bars all they like and we’d never have to bother them. Candy boards are heavy and unwieldy, but if it means we can leave the bees alone longer (which is usually a good thing), I’m all for it.
Read on . . . »
THE FOLLOWING WAS LAST UPDATED ON OCT. 18, 2011.
Winters in St. John’s, Newfoundland, provide a messy mixture of rain, snow and high winds with irregular periods of freezing and thawing. Wrapping Langstroth honey bee hives with a Type 15 asphalt felt isn’t a bad idea. Neither is installing mouse-proof entrance reducers. Preventing condensation, though, is the top priority. A 1-inch thick piece of R5-rated hard insulation over the inner cover in the winter position will prevent condensation from building up inside the hive during the winter. We used a 1.5-inch thick piece of insulation during our first winter (because we couldn’t find anything else) up until the end of January. Then we had to switch to insulated inner hive covers because the regular inner covers don’t provide enough room for candy cakes and pollen patties. A shim lifting a regular inner cover up an inch or two would provide enough space. However, an all-in-one insulated inner hive cover might be more convenient. It requires moderate carpentry skills (which means we’ll probably go with the shims instead), and it’ll cost a little more, but here’s how we made them if anyone is interested. We’ve tested them, and they work.*
Read on . . . »
Here’s a short video I shot yesterday of the bees orientating themselves to the hive and bringing in pollen. I also let the bees fly around my head and I show off one of the board feeders.
SWITCH TO THE 480p SETTING FOR SHARPER AND SMOOTHER VIDEO PLAYBACK.
See the previous post for a close-up shot of the bees loaded down with pollen.
It was cold and wet today until about 3:30. Then it warmed up, the clouds parted and the bees came out of Hive #1 and made the most of the warm weather in a big way.
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Within 20 minutes of leaving the hive, many were coming back loaded down with pollen. You can see balls of pollen on their legs in this close-up.
That’s what we like to see.
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