Honey Bees
“The keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.”
―
Hive Inspection: Queen Cage Removal, and Moving the Afterswarm
This weekend we needed to inspect all four hives for a variety of reasons, but the two hives with the highest priority were the new hives containing the bees from the packages we installed last week, as it was time to remove the Queen cages. Package Hives The Rosemary...
Installing Our Package Bees
When we first decided to venture into beekeeping, one of the considerations was where would we source our bees? The two most common, and economical choices, are either to catch a swarm, or to purchase bees in a 'package' from a commercial apiary. Not sure if we'd be...
Hive Inspection: Hoping for a Well Bred Queen
Last week we inspected both the Saliva Hive (primary swarm), and our smaller nuc hive (afterswarm), and noted that the difference in progress between the two hives was due to the presence of a mated Queen in the primary swarm, and a virgin Queen in the afterswarm...
Hive Inspection: Colony Comparison
Despite a run of cool and cloudy weather, and a few sprinkles on Saturday, we did manage to inspect both hives Sunday afternoon, and the difference in progress between the hives is notable. The Primary Swarm Inspection The first colony of bees we hived at the end of...
The Afterswarm
We've known for some time that the colony of bees residing in our neighbor's attic is very robust. They've survived multiple winters without medications, or supplemental feed. However, as happens in all hives sooner or later, these bees have simply run out of room....
Hive Inspection: Brood and Burr Comb
We didn't plan to do a hive inspection again so soon, but it turns out it was good we checked our swarm hive, now named the Salvia hive, this weekend. Since the bees arrived all signs have been suggesting that the hive is functionally normal even though we...
First Hive Inspection
The swarm we collected on Thursday, and housed in a new hive in the orchard, so far seems to be doing very well. On Sunday afternoon, as the weather was warm and beautiful outside, we decided to conduct a brief cursory inspection of the hive. As new beekeepers it's...
Impromptu Beekeepers
Spring has finally arrived! Our phenomenally appalling weather for almost all of March has thankfully moved on. Last week we had mudslides and fallen trees everywhere, but this week the sun is shining, and we've been enjoying some glorious spring weather. With the...
Bee-ing Prepared: Hive Assembly
As we mentioned in our Newbees post, we're gearing up for our first honey bees this spring. Before the bees arrive however, we need to ensure we have a place to put them! Although there are a few different styles of hives available to today's beekeepers, we opted to...
Newbees
This spring, like so many before us over the centuries, we're venturing into the exciting world of beekeeping! Honey bee on bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) We both have some limited previous experiences with honey bees. I personally was very fortunate in middle school...