Bees hanging out

Last Wednesday I went to a local neighbourhood policing meeting. We discussed the problem of groups, (usually youths) hanging around outside each other's house. I couldn't help think this is exactly what my bees do.

I have been  observing the hive at different times of the day. It is noticeable that the bees are more active (as expected) at certain times of the day. In mid-afternoon, and when the air temperature is high it is then a large number of bees appear to be just 'hanging out'. At their most vigorous mode the hustle and bustle outside the hive must resemble some kind of rush hour traffic.

Before I had the bees I had always assumed they will come and go very much like planes do at an airport. What I had not expected is this 'hanging out' together. When they do this many bees would just be milling around outside the entrance seemingly just chilling out. Maybe there is something we don't know about honey bees. 

HIve inposection

Since the last inspection I took a good friend's advice and left the bees alone to "get on with things" for over 2 weeks. The weather last week was very poor. We had regular down pours. Some part of the country got a whole month's worth of rain in just 24 hours.

My son was very excited so my wife put a veil and a big coat over him and asked him to stand a little distance away and watch. He is asking for a proper bee suit.

On opening the hive I saw that none of the foundation frames in the super, which I added 2 week's ago, have been worked on. I did expect some sign of these foundations being drawn. Moving on to the brood box the picture was very different. All but two frames are now fully drawn. Frame 2 is half drawn and already has some honey. That leaves frame 1 still waiting for the bees to work on. The next few frames are all full of honey, but there are no obvious signs of brood cells. Then came frame 7  which has quite a few sealed brood cells. The following three frames also have plenty of brood.  I saw one bee emerging and also some grubs. But no sign of the queen this time round. There are a few drone cells. My eyesight is not the best and I am still finding it difficult to see any eggs. I shall properly get a more experienced keeper to come and have a look at my hive just to make sure things are as they should be.

Without doubt there will be no honey for me this year and am happy to let the colony to build itself up for the rest of the season.

Second inspection

My pear trees are full of fruits, and the two Buddleias on either ends of my hive are now in full bloom, so my bees have not got far to go for food. Yesterday I woke up rather early at 5 am and noted that the bees were already going out foraging.

I have been very busy with work this week so hive inspection was delay until today. I found the bees calm as before. They have not yet drawn the first three new frames at the near end, that I put down when they first arrived. From the fourth frame on ward there definite signs of recent activities. 

The original frames from the nuc are now well developed. The new drawn frames are full of store. The one empty new foundation that I placed at one end, right next to the original nuc frames, are now drawn and heavy with honey. I saw the queen again still loitering on one of the original nuc frames. There are seal brood cella some of which are drone cells, Everything look healthy enough. I tried but cannot see any eggs, or grubs. It's not easy seeing through the veil. I am thinking of getting someone who is more experience to have a look for me. Just for now I am happy that they are alright.

I am planning to put a super on top soon this will give them more space for storing food. As yet I have not decided if I should have a super as half of a brood chamber. This will give the hive a 'brood and a half' and should build up the colony nicely. Again I need to consult a more experience keeper. After the recent robbing incident I reduced the entrance with a mouse guard. This seemed to have done the trick. Yesterday as things appear to be better I finally removed the guard and now the entrance is back to normal.

First inspection

It's been ten days since I hive the nuc so today I had my first  inspection.  A friend, Christine, also a beekeeper came and help. My wife, Gina, took the photos.

Since yesterday's excitement with the robber bees I wasn't sure what we shall find.  After the normal smoke treatment I opened the crown board. The bees were calm and going about their business. 

Last Saturday I put six new frames down. The first four frames of new foundations remained undrawn though some bees were milling around.  The fifth frames shows sign of building activities. There was even some capped honey stores. The sixth frames had definitely been worked on.  We were watching out for the queen all the time. Once we got to the nuc frames it is obvious that a lot of work has been going on. It felt much heavier then when I picked them up last weekend. Some frames were very heavy with honey and pollen. We saw a few grabs and even a new bee emerging from a cell. Because of my eye ( I saw stung on my cheek on Sunday and by now my left eye lips had closed up) I couldn't see properly to search for signs of new eggs.

On the eight frames Christine spotted the Queen bee (click on the photo to get a better view). There she was  dotted in green.  She was just busy moving around, we assumed, searching for cells to lay her eggs in. It was surprising how fast she actually moves. One minute she is on one side the frame the next minute she disappeared and reappeared on the other side.

To finished off I placed frame one, which is new, at the other end of the hive so that the bees can work on it and give the hive a more even development. We closed up and sat down for a cup of tea.

Robber Bees!

Today we had a cool start then as the day progressed the temperature climbed slowly till it became quite hot. After a morning trip away I took a casual look at the hive. There appeared to be more then the usual number of bees at the entrance. I was first puzzled then became a little concerned because of the amount of noise they were making. Someone was not very happy.

I could see many workers returning with pollen, but there were also quite a number of bees just hovering in front of the hive. Something was happening though I wasn't quite sure what. Were they too hot, or something else? I watched for a while then to my horror I saw two bees tumbling out of the entrance fighting! Robbing!  I thought. I ran into the house and jumped into my bee suit and lit the smoker. I needed to reduce the entrance. Grabbing a handful of grass I got close to the hive and after a few puffs of smoke some of the bees flew away I stuffed some grass into the entrance. Some returning workers were a bit confused by the changes and started to walk to and fro on the entrance block. After a while things seems to calm down a bit. As things had been settling down so well up till now I was a bit shocked by this sudden turn of events. 

When I looked again, a few minutes ago, things seemed to have improved a lot. The bees are getting back to their normal rhythm.  Some of the grass has been removed by the bees. I am waiting for the sun to go down so that I can do a proper job in reducing the entrance. I am thinking of using my mouse guard and tape some of the holes up. There must be more bee hives near me than I expected.

Ouch!

It has been very busy for me this last two weeks. This is unusual but good because 'busy' means paid work. The down side is that I have hardly any time this week to enjoy my bees. I had been rising early and spending  all day in some small spaces only merging at the end of the day with juts enough time to take a peek at the hive to make sure the bees are feed.

Since hiving my bees lat Saturday they have taken five lots of feeds (1 kg of sugar to 1 pint of warm water per feed). At first I wasn't sure if I should continue with the feed, but a kind member of my local association, Jenny, told me that I should especially with the current weather pattern over our area being so strange, and the honey flow is not brilliant.

When my bees arrived last weekend the sun was smiling and all's well with the world. If anything it was too hot. Then  came Monday and poor weather was forecasted. I was a bit worry about the bees so I went to the bottom of the garden to take a look. I stopped quite near the hive and watched the comings and goings. I must have been there for minutes when the sky darken and there were sounds of distant thunders. As the bees hadn't bother me so far I thought I was alright where I was. One lone bee (probably bothered by the sudden change in weather) decided otherwise and started to buzz me. 

It's true what people say about the different sounds that bees make. This buzz was definitely a "go away, haven't you got a home to go to" sort. It got louder and in my face. I walked away quickly. It followed me, down the garden, buzzing. Then the inevitable happened: I felt a sharp pin on my unprotected head. It must have been a 'gentle' stab because I saw it flew away. As I nursed my wound indoor the heaven opened up. It was hailing, and this is June! I still have a little lump after three days. I shall remember to wear a hat next time.