Cool, Cloudy - Not much for me to do

Good morning, it is a cool and cloudy morning. There is not much to do for the bees at this point, all hives have extra frames and bars to fill with comb, the queens are laying brood and there are plenty of blooms so downtime for me. I will clean up more honey frames and get two more supers set up in the next 2 weeks. We are headed into a slow bloom time so honey produced now will be collected and I will put a deep (9") super of 10 frames for the bees to store honey for the winter. In the late summer when those plants bloom, there may be another honey surge. What they put up then will be what they have to get thru the winter. They need about 80 lbs (1 full deep super) of honey for the winter.

The bees continue to fascinate me. Did you know...
-bees have been around for 30 million years?
-they beat their wings 11,400 times per minute( who counted that)?
-average honey production per bee in their lifetime is 1/12 teaspoon?
-they can fly 6 miles away from the hive and go 15 miles per hour?
-worker bees are all female?
-it takes 556 workers to gather 1 lb honey from 2 million flowers?

We are blessed to share in their labors.

Holy Moley, it's cool

Well, all the fields have been cut. Some clover is reappearing in the first cut fields so at least the girls have that to visit. It will be a while this morning before they head out. Cool, cloudy and feels like rain. The cows and new calves have been released into the pasture and they are so cute. It is heaven living here.

Now all I really have to do with the hives is visit them next week to remove the drone frames, a plastic frame that encourages comb built a bit larger to lay drones (boys) in. A lot of male bees are not needed, they do not make honey, clean, feed the young and the varroa mite ( thought to be one of the problems with Colony Collapse Disorder) loves to crawl in with the drone larva and lay their own offspring. By prevent the hatching of the drones, I can reduce the levels of mites in the hive. I do this by removing the capped drone cells and freezing the frame for 2 days. I replace it in the hive with another and repeat every 21 days.

Studies have shown this is very effective for mite control. I put the frozen frame back into the hive (warmed up) and the girls will clean it out and reuse it.

Women in Beekeeping

Part of me started beekeeping because I love honey and like bees, but another part is always thinking of ways to gain extra income. At my age (looking at 60) and my occupation (bodyworker) I would not quickly be hired if my self employment did not pay the bills. And now with the unemployment stats, women find themselves working too many hours still for only $.75/dollar paid to men in equal jobs or face a prejudice again of taking a job away from a man. Who knew that beekeeping was a feminist occupation, historically.

In an interesting article in June 2010 issue of Bee Culture magazine, Tammy Horn explains that The Langstroth hive design improved many women's life subtly. Beekeeping was one occupation women could have that did not lower their social status. In fact, there were many women beekeepers serving leadership roles in beekeeping associations. Many women were widowed or delegated primary income status with wounded spouses after the Civil War. Women were not allowed to vote, could not own land, their children were their husband's, divorce would ruin them (hard to imagine now, be careful of wishing for the "good old days") but they could sell honey. Beekeeping fed many families and balancing family and working was often discussed in bee journals. Women in positions of leadership showed there was respect and deference to their knowledge and ability to organize, as well as trusting them to lead.

So I am following in feminist footsteps by beekeeping. That pleases me, one of these days, this will not be a consideration or thought. May it happen soon.

Langstroth hives

Went strawberry picking yesterday am. Reaping the benefits of bee pollination. They were very sweet and early because of our early hot weather. Then I put shallow supers on both these hives yesterday for honey. The hive on the left had comb built on most the the 10 frames in the top box so they are really ready to store honey. The right side hive is closer to what I would expect after 2 weeks. I am sure they will catch up by fall. There is usually a down time in honey production in July until the fall flowers come into bloom. A honey-loaded shallow super weighs 40 lbs.

First sting of the year on my wrist- she got caught up in the cuff of my glove. Poor girl! Tried taking 2 Benydryl right away and it didn't itch as bad but it still is swollen. I really need to figure out this hyper reaction.

Photos of the Top Bar hive

A lovely spot for the Top Bar hive- the horses wander over to watch

Top Bar when bees first went in



The comb built out by the bees after one week



Top Bar Hive

Ready for Honey super

Sorry I didn't get to post yesterday. I visited all three of the hives and took photos but can't find the cable to link the camera to my computer. Isn't always that way? Minor details & photos will come soon. "St Anthony, help me find the lost cable." Here is a cartoon I found and a Langstroth hive photo from last year.

Langstoth hives are ready for a honey super. That means the girls have drawn comb on 15 frames almost in the 2 hive bodies (brood chamber) so the queen can lay lots of brood and now they will start focusing on making honey. It has been perfect weather too. Sunny with enough rain at night to keep blossoms coming and not windy. Bees do not fly if the wind is too strong or it is raining. Their wings don't function well if wet. These 2 hives are out where the former hive was, at the edge of the hayfields. They make glorious clover/alfalfa honey that is light in color.

I worked on contruction the frames and attaching foundation to 2 shallow supers yesterday. Almost ready to go out. Because they are honey supers, I only put a 2 inch strip across the top. I don't spin the frames to extract the honey, I cut the comb off like you would with comb honey, crush it and strain it thru cheese cloth and a strainer. That means the comb must be built fresh each time which slows the bees down on honey production (that is why comb honey costs more) but I feel it give the honey a fuller taste, keeps the pollen & propylis particles suspended in the honey which is the stuff that helps with allergies and healing.

Top Bar hive is thriving- comb is drawn on all the bars between the feeder boards so time to add more. As it expands to the end of the hive, they will start filling these with honey too. They were all hanging like monkeys again. Took a photo, hope it comes out.
Stay sweet.

Thunderstorms last night

Boy! were they great. Jane, my dog, crawled into bed with me and the cats (I have 8) so I was wide awake to enjoy them. The beehives are still standing and since the bees come from Georgia, it shouldn't phase them. They don't fly in the rain so it will be a day of cleaning, making comb, sealing the hive with propolis. Some of the hayfield was cut and baled so yesterday they must have gone out the entrance and thought "whoa, who took the clover?" I am sure they quickly found more. The rain means the clover in front of them will grow faster. It might be time to add a honey super to the Langstroth hives. I prefer to use shallow supers because the weight of a filled deep super is 80 lbs. A filled shallow super is half that and easier for me.

The first time I went out to collect honey, I drove my car out, planning on putting the super into the back. Funny how I forgot to factor in the bees who continue to stay with the honey even if I want it. So that meant a car full of bees- time to find another plan. Now I take out an plastic lidded container and I take frame by frame and brush off the bees while walking away from the hive. Usually the bees give it up at a distance. There are always hanger-ons so I cover the container so they can't get back at it. They will steal it back if left out.