Pandora's Box - opening up my bees - UPDATE on #19 (and pics!)

[ninnymary]

Journey11....When will you know if some of the bees make it? A few weeks, couple months?

Mary

 

[Ladyhawke1]

I know this may sound silly to some, but it has been my experience that if your intentions toward other creatures are genuine and that you are not trying to cause them any intentional harmthey will tolerate a lot of interference if they feel you are trying to help them. :bee :bee :bee

 

[journey11]

I'm going to open them up again Saturday (weather permitting) and see what they have done with the broken mess in the topmost box. I tried not to have them open too long...but I don't know if any of that brood will make it. Hopefully they did not get too cold. I fully expect any other brood in the frames (which I didn't touch) will be fine. There was equivalent to about 3 frames (because they were not in frames) that were affected, and 3-4 frames that were not bothered. This will hurt their numbers, but it is a very healthy and otherwise strong colony. The queen? I didn't get to check for her/any new eggs. If she's there, they'll be fine. I will look for that Saturday. I am hoping that by switching the boxes that she will have been moved down to the bottom (with the box) and that will give them room to work upward. They will probably swarm anyway. I am going to set up an extra box and try to be ready for them.

I don't know enough about bee behavior right now to know if I've handled this right. I figure they'd rather I didn't "help" them!

 

[msbear]

I would love to do bees one day! Good for you guys that are giving it a swing. You'll be the ones with the knowledge in a couple years that will give folks like me the start I need.

Sad story about the grill deserves a good story:

My dad is a logger and came upon a job to remove some of the larger trees in a heavily wooded area. One tree dropped and it was dead but was FULL of hive and a live colony. He knew exactly what to do and called a beekeeper who came and scooped them all up. When the bee keepers arrived they curiously investigated the old farmhouse that was due for demolition later that month. Upon entering the old house, dad and the keepers heard more buzzing. They pulled down the old paneling to discover a very old and very large hive that occupied HALF the house from floor to ceiling in between the wall joists. They collected the bees and the honey and said that particular kind of honey was very special for some reason We got a couple quarts of it and it was super dark and super delish! :bee

 

[lupinfarm]

When we had bees in the goat shed we couldn't have PAID a beekeeper to come collect them! They said the risk of disease entering their hives was too high and to just kill them. Every. Single. Beekeeper.

 

[journey11]

Wow, did they think they already had some disease or was it just because they were feral? Some beekeepers will prefer a feral or escaped swarm because they are already adapted to the local area. But I imagine anyone with more than a few hives might worry about passing something on that could wipe out their operation. You can have a lot of money invested in bees, for sure.

 

[lupinfarm]

To my knowledge they weren't infected but the risk that they *could* be was too high, there are a lot of commercial apiaries around here and quite a few people who make a living off their own "back yard bees" so the potential for disease to spread is scarey.

 

[lesa]

Interesting- the bee keepers around here would knock each other to the ground, for free bees....

 

[journey11]

I got to work with my bees today. Went back to correct the "mess" of natural comb from last time where I had put it back together in a new super and left it so the bees could clean it up. My hope was that the brood that wasn't opened would continue to develop and emerge.

Everything worked out beautifully. The bees did their thing, cleaned out all traces of mess and rebuilt new natural comb (still connected to the inner cover with the other that was there before)....AND they filled it all with beautiful capped honey, just ready for me to harvest!

I removed the whole thing intact, smoked the bees off of it and took it up to the house to individually remove the combs. I am crushing them and extracting the honey tonight. Found two different types of honey in there, one very light yellow and floral tasting, the other medium-amber colored and much richer flavored.

The colony is very strong and the queen is laying great. So far no indication that they intend to swarm.

I got such a rush working them this time. I had FUN! They are so fascinating and these bees I have are so very gentle. No stings today. They took no interest in me--they were more concerned with their honey. I felt really calm and confident with them today. They weather was perfect and no humidity, so it was a great day to work them.

Hope to post some pics later when I have more time! :bee

(ETA: Got 26.6 lbs. of honey!)

 

[Beekissed]

I love hearing about these things! I am resisting the urge to check my bees too often but I am doing a look see on the hive each evening and they seem very content from how they look and sound. Not opening or anything...just looking at the activity and listening to the hum.

I must admit that I get a little nervous when I work the bees but I am trying to act more calm around them....my first instinct is to swat bees! :bee