Enjoying and dealing with the ups and downs of life in rural Maine.
Humming along
Posted 06-09-2012 at 05:28 PM by Zymer
Finally, a break in the rain long enough to check the hives. Walked down the drive to the eastern side of the field, then followed the treeline at the ravine between the front and back fields. Along the way I noticed some activity at the new raspberry canes about midway, loaded with blooms and bees buzzing about. Stepping in and partway down the gully I observed them- small, and black/white colored. Hmmmm, not my bees, mine are dark yellow/orange and black. Why aren't *my* bees here? Oh, well.
On to the hives. Both hives showing a good amount of activity, good, I was a little worried about the 2nd one which had (until now) been showing a lot less activity than the first. Checked the syrup feeders, Hive 1 at about 1/4, Hive 2 at about 1/3. Makes sense- the first had started with more bees and more activity than the second (I think one of the nucs was 'leaking' on the 50 or so mile ride home.
I guess I'll have to cook up another batch of syrup tomorrow...maybe I'll catch the weather report first and see if it looks likely that I'll be able to leave them for a few more days to see if they are still taking it.
Took a closer look at the activity at the hives...after shooing the dog away and having her sit some distance off- she had come right up to #1 with me, as she's done before with no problems (except for teaching her not to snap at them), but one coming in on a low approach got stuck in her fur and I didn't want her to get stung if she panicked and started thrashing about.
Odd, the bees in #1 seem to prefer the lower entrance while the bees in #2 seem to prefer the upper entrance. Anyway, after observing the activity at the entrance(s) to #1 very closely, it dawned on me that some of them were small, and black and whitish...newly hatched probably...but a different color?
Aha, mystery solved, I think, after studying some pictures of different breeds (I'm certainly no expert on telling them apart...not yet anyway). The nucs must have been assembled with some Italian workers and a Carniolan queen...and a Carniolan queen was what I specified. So, I'm getting what I wanted- Carniolans are hatching out and the Italians will all be gone in a few weeks. Perhaps those were my bees at the raspberries after all.
OK, done for this trip. Called the dog and headed back to the house.
I still need to stain and poly some medium supers, so I can swap them with the as yet unfinished hive bodies over the feeders. Then, at some point I'll have to swap out the unfinished hive bodies that are currently in use. The unanticipated opportunity and decision to go ahead with the project resulted in a need for speed in getting the hive bodies and frames assembled and put in place, and no time (or money) to put finishing (and protective) touches on them. Unfortunately, the stain/paint/poly that I had on hand has been out in the garage during several sub-zero winters...and I hadn't ever before noticed the warning on the labels- "Protect from freezing", so I don't know if any of it is any good anymore. I'll find out some time, but not by using my new hives as test pieces.
On to the hives. Both hives showing a good amount of activity, good, I was a little worried about the 2nd one which had (until now) been showing a lot less activity than the first. Checked the syrup feeders, Hive 1 at about 1/4, Hive 2 at about 1/3. Makes sense- the first had started with more bees and more activity than the second (I think one of the nucs was 'leaking' on the 50 or so mile ride home.
I guess I'll have to cook up another batch of syrup tomorrow...maybe I'll catch the weather report first and see if it looks likely that I'll be able to leave them for a few more days to see if they are still taking it.
Took a closer look at the activity at the hives...after shooing the dog away and having her sit some distance off- she had come right up to #1 with me, as she's done before with no problems (except for teaching her not to snap at them), but one coming in on a low approach got stuck in her fur and I didn't want her to get stung if she panicked and started thrashing about.
Odd, the bees in #1 seem to prefer the lower entrance while the bees in #2 seem to prefer the upper entrance. Anyway, after observing the activity at the entrance(s) to #1 very closely, it dawned on me that some of them were small, and black and whitish...newly hatched probably...but a different color?
Aha, mystery solved, I think, after studying some pictures of different breeds (I'm certainly no expert on telling them apart...not yet anyway). The nucs must have been assembled with some Italian workers and a Carniolan queen...and a Carniolan queen was what I specified. So, I'm getting what I wanted- Carniolans are hatching out and the Italians will all be gone in a few weeks. Perhaps those were my bees at the raspberries after all.
OK, done for this trip. Called the dog and headed back to the house.
I still need to stain and poly some medium supers, so I can swap them with the as yet unfinished hive bodies over the feeders. Then, at some point I'll have to swap out the unfinished hive bodies that are currently in use. The unanticipated opportunity and decision to go ahead with the project resulted in a need for speed in getting the hive bodies and frames assembled and put in place, and no time (or money) to put finishing (and protective) touches on them. Unfortunately, the stain/paint/poly that I had on hand has been out in the garage during several sub-zero winters...and I hadn't ever before noticed the warning on the labels- "Protect from freezing", so I don't know if any of it is any good anymore. I'll find out some time, but not by using my new hives as test pieces.
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