So Far So Good

So far my small hive#3 is hanging in there.
The weather has gotten down to the low 30's. But, they are still in the hive buzzing around.
Had to put some sugar syrup in the top of the hive to help out. I really want to see them make the winter
and turn that little hive into a much larger hive in the Spring.
It's been fun starting my hives this year...

My Bees This Winter

Checked on my bees this time while home off the road.
They are looking pretty good so far but, the real cold hasn't hit this area as of yet..
Had to put an inside feeder in Box#3. The smallest hive of the three.
They are my latest hive and was put out later then the others this year. By feeding them
I am hoping they survive the Winter and become a good honey producing hive for me.
My plans are to split my hives and add a few more shortly after Spring hits...

Checked Out The Hives 09/23/2012

Checked out all three hives this past weekend. They are looking pretty good so far.
The cool weather has the workers pushing the drones out of the hive as they prepare for winter coming.
Hive #3 has the least number of bees but they look strong and have a good number of bees on each frame.
I put 4 new frames on top of the brood box to see if that would help encourage them to make new
cells to store sugar syrup or pollen in so they could eat in the winter..
Looking forward to the spring when I can start making splits to increase the number of hives I have..

Little Concern Hive #3

Things have been for the most part going well with all my hives this year...
I had to re-queen hive#3 because the queen had such an erratic brood pattern. It could have
caused the hive be become weak and susceptible to attack by other bees and mites.
I went into the hive last Saturday ( 09-01-2012) and located the queen quickly on the brood
frame. She looked pretty active but, I think she is having trouble locating empty cells to lay her
eggs. The reason for that is, I believe the old queen was working so slow that the workers were
filling the cells with sugar syrup before she got to them to lay her eggs/brood.
I have been giving them all bee vitamins added to the syrup to help strengthen the hive and
hopefully build the hive a little quicker in number.
I will check on them (hive#3) in the morning (09-10-2012) to see if the queen is doing better now
that she has been in there for two weeks.
If, she looks like she may need more help. I may take a frame of brood from my stronger hive#2
and place it in hive#3 in an effort to help the new queen hatch out more brood strengthening the hive.
So far this year I have really enjoyed taking care of my hives and can't wait till Spring of the year to
hopefully make some splits and add to my hives.

Queen Cell

This queen cell was removed from hive #3 before re-queening the hive... 3/4" long and about 1/2" wide..

Hive #3 Re-Queened

After checking hive #3 a couple of weeks ago. Found out that the queen wasn't doing a very good job.
By looking at the brood patterns on each frame. She was having issues laying new eggs before the worker bees filled the brood cells with sugar syrup. So, they were working harder to store winter supplies then she was putting new eggs in the cells. She has to make new brood faster then they are dieing off or the hive dies as well.
So, today was time to re-queen. We found her and had to kill her to prevent issues with the new queen being introduced to the hive as the leading lady now.
I really hated having to killer but, that's what has to be done in order to re-queen a hive.
In nature the old queen would have been superseded by the new queen. So, she only had one of two options. #1 she could leave when the new queen hatched out or #2 be killed by the new queen and other worker bees because of the new queen having better pheromones telling the other bees in the hive that she is now the new boss. So, the out come would have been about the same for the older queen. That's just nature and beekeepers have to deal with it for the survival of the hive and the out come means the rest of the hive will make it through winter. This also means that there will be more honey for the beekeeper and the next generation of bees. I am always amazed about what I learn about my bees and the work that it takes to have good healthy bees and end result a lot of honey. Love my bees.

Hives Doing Great

After checking the hives out and getting a good report on their health. I added a new deep super to the #1 hive. They are coming a long well enough that I feel they well weather the winter this year. Will be their first.

Just an Update

My third hive that was put in place three weeks ago seem to be coming along okay.
I keep feeding syrup to them to help them make new cone and fill out as much foundation
as possible.
I want them to be as ready as soon as they can be for this coming winter.
Nancy, the AG. Bee inspector is coming by today to check out the hives. I think all will
be well.

My Third Hive Yaaaa...!

Today was a great day. I finally got my third bee hive setup and the ladies are doing fine this evening.
It was a really hot day and I was a little concerned about getting my bees in their hive at high noon.
It was about 98' degrees and a slight breeze but, they had to get put in their new home. I put a little smoke on them with my smoker and they were so calm I didn't even use my bee suit to transfer the frames from the nuc to my brood box/hive.
Put a front entrance feeder on the hive box and just let the ladies get themselves cooled off a bit and they settled right down to business as usual..
Love my bees...

Pictures will be here tomorrow evening...

My Bees Keeping Cool

Here are my bees cooling off after a really hot day. I was surprised to see them

at 9:30 pm outside the hive hanging like a beard from the landing board....

Always something new and neat to see when it comes to my bees...

Happy Bees

It's been pretty hot the last few days. But, the ladies are doing well. Got a little rain today and it cooled off everything and my plants got a break from the heat which they needed.
Had some cold water melon while watching TV and gave my bees a taste. Didn't take them long to locate the melon and they started landing on it licking up the melon juice from the rhine...
Hoping to have my third hive sometime this week...Still enjoying my bees..

My Bees Doing Well

It's been a couple of weeks that I found a second queen in my first hive. From looking and watching it from the outside it seems to be well. I see a number of worker bees flying into the hive with pollen on their legs.
They have slowed down eating sugar syrup to about a quart every other day.
Can't wait to get my third box hopefully by this weekend.

Bees Doing Great

It's been a while that I have looked inside my hives. But, from the outside they appear to be doing great at this time.
I stand by the hive and watch them bring in a lot of pollen on their hind legs. They dart right into the hive and disappear inside.
Still have an entrance feeder on both hives. They don't seem to be eating to much of the sugar syrup anymore.
I'm working towards my next hive very soon. I really want one more started this year. Then I hope to make splits in the Spring next year..
Love my bees.

Swarm Is Back

Checked on my hives and there seemed to be a  swarm around one of them again.
Reduced the entrance again and will have to wait for results. Hope for the best.
I want my girls to do well. Not be robbed after all their efforts to store honey..
 Amy help with this issue would be welcomed.
Thanks
Tom

New Issues In The Bee Yard

So far so good with the new hives this year. Got a good bill of health from the inspector which made me happy.
But, now comes a new issue. Japanese Beetles in the yard and they are getting on my grape vines as
well as other plants in the yard.

Checked some bee forums and left a couple of messages. Waiting on an answer.
Sent a message to Nancy the Bee Inspector. Hope for an answer from her soon.
Well, will have to wait and will find out what I have to do.

Had a swarm show up at my first hive again today. Put an entrance reducer making the entrance even smaller this time. Put a second short piece of wood blocking the entrance. Will see how that works at a  later date.
My girls are a little work but., still loving every minute with them.

Beekeeper Field Day June 2nd.

Today was a really nice June day to be out riding around to different apiaries in Stanly County.
About 12 to 15 beekeepers and Nancy, the NC Bee Inspector, took a trip around the county to check on bee hives and give advice to the keepers. The hives that were inspected were found to be in good condition and making some really good honey so far this year. Learned a lot of new ideas and heard some good advice on things to do to keep our hives happy and healthy.
The longer I have my hives the better I enjoy being a new beekeeper.

A special thanks to Nancy Rupert with the NC Agriculture Bee Inspection.

Thanks Nancy for checking my bees for me.

This hive was at an apiary we stopped at.

This little guy was at another apiary and was just watching

everyone looking at the hives. He let everyone know he was there.

He sounded off about three times. Hard to believe that he can make

such a noise.

This frame is out of my hive. Looking good.

First Hive Growing

Today I put my first medium super on my first hive. Checked it out and they have covered all but two frames. So, I set another medium super on top for them to work on.
Checked out my second hive and they are still working well. They have four frames to work on still so something next week I'll set another medium super on it.
I really enjoy my new hobby and just watching my bees at work.

#2 Bee Hive Ready May 18,2012

Got a call this morning and was told that my next hive/nuc was ready to pick up.
My friend, Mr. Pete Whitley and I drove over to Concord,NC and as we arrived I saw them sitting in their nuc/box ready for transport to their new home, my yard.
We are going to let them sit next to their hive to get use to being here until Sunday after Church. Then Mr. Whitley and I will transfer the frames to the hive and they will be at home sweet home. Love it...

Checked Out My First Hive

This morning my friend, Mr. Pete Whitley and I checked out my first hive to see what the girls were up to.
They looked like they were doing well and progressing well. Had filled another frame with nectar and pollen.
They were walking  over the empty frames getting ready to start working on making cone to store honey.

Next Hive Soon

Called about my next hive and was told they are not quite ready yet.
If the Queen is laying well by Wed. this coming week. I will have my next hive placed in the yard.
Really enjoying having my hive. Really amazing just to watch.

Busy Little Bees

Today was an interesting day observing my hive. There were more bees outside the hive today then any other day since I have placed them in the yard.
They appeared to be upset about something but, I had no idea what it could have been.
So, I waited a while and checked on them again. To my surprise they were all calm and back in the hive as usual.
Its been raining on and off the last two or three days but that seems to have no effect on their behavior.
They just continue to do their bee thing and are happy doing it.
I have been working in my shop on the other end of the yard and they have been coming in the shop visiting me then headed back out. Enjoyed the visit and they went right back to work.
Really enjoying my new hive.

Dealing With Ants

Over the last few days after setting up my new hive. I observed large black and red ants attempting to gain access to my hive and the sugar syrup supplied to the bees.
So, I did put out some ant killer under the small building next to the hive. I tried to insure the bees would not get to it.
This seemed to slow them down but, I have still observed them getting at the sugar syrup feeders which I placed on building blocks separate from the hive.

I was told to put out cinnamon around the hive and at first it appeared to have some effect. But, a day or so later they were back at the syrup supply.

It's been raining a bit and that slowed them down but, I'll see what happens over then next few days..

My bees are leaving the hive although they are still pretty heavily eating at the sugar syrup. I have seem a few today with pollen on their hind legs which is a good sign that they are foraging pollen and nectar.

Something Interesting

Today I was watching my hive and saw something really strange.
I saw a much darker bee come out of the hive and sit on the landing a few minutes.
He started buzzing his wings and flew to the ground.
He crawled around a while and I thought I would try and put him back on the landing.
I took a small stick and he crawled onto it. I placed him back at the hive entrance.
He sat there a few second and flew back to the ground again. He started crawling
away from the hive. I did this again a couple more times and she continued to fly
back to the ground. I have no idea if the dark bee lived or not but, I will continue to
look for more darker bees from this point.
If any has any idea why this happened. Please post for me. It would be interesting to
know if this occures with bee a lot.

Here's my little ladies hard at work. They started to gather at the entrance just before it started to sprinkle a little rain. They all finally disappeared inside as the rain started coming down a little harder.
Don't have too say, get out of the rain girls...Smart little ladies...amazing...

Just Waiting On The Bees

Here's mom sitting in her lawn chair waiting on the bees to arrive at the bee trap...
Hang in there Mom Curry. They will show up sooner or later...I love you for all you do
for me even now...

New Learning Experience With Bees

Today, turned in to a rainy day. So, I started wondering what bees did if the weather changed from a sprinkle to a good down pour.
So, when it started to sprinkle I stood out front of the hive and just watched what was going on...
I now give a lot of credit to bees and saw first hand just how smart they are. As the rain sprinkled. They still flew around the hive and not to far across the yard from the hive. After a few minutes I noticed that most of them started flying in front of their opening but still not landing. Then the rain picked up just a little more and I saw the landing gear extend and they began dropping in on the landing deck on the front of the hive.
From there they crawled right on in out of the rain...It was funny watching..No one had to tell them to get out of the rain..
Bees are little creatures but, smarter then some I have known....smilessssss....!
After the rain it was a little cool. A few did come back out but most still stayed in and dry. It was also later in the day and I guess they decided to just call it a day and start over tomorrow morning when the sun comes up...Love my little ladies...

This is my raspberry bush among others I have planted to make my yard bee friendly...

This is my new peachtree that was planted about three weeks ago...
Can't wait till my grapes vines get long enough to produce some sweet grapes...

My Second Trap

I finished making my second bee trap today. I got it set up in my sisters yard..
There are a few bee's buzzing around her yard. So, I set a second tray to see what happens...
Come on mother nature...fill this trap with little bees...Amen...

BEES Are Ready

Finally got the call I have been waiting for. MY BEES are ready....
Will be picking them up Tuesday morning early...
Then will introduce them to their new home at my house...

This is a picture of my first Bee trap that I made and set out in my mom's backyard.
There are bees flying in and out of it already. I hope their hive's first swarm will find
their new home here for me...
Working on my second bee trap now...

Bee Hive 2012 My First Blog

This year I attended classes at the Stanly County Ag Center sponsored by The Stanly County Bee Club.
It was presented by Toni Hill who invited other members and speakers that really put some good information out there for new beekeepers.
I'm sure happy that I attended and learned a lot on taking care of bees health wise and for doing a good job I would also be rewarded by my bees producing honey for me.
Right now I'm not sure if I'm going to try and sell what I get this year. But for sure by next year I'll have a well taken care of hive that will produce me some honey for the table and to share with some friends and family.
My bees should be here soon and I'll surely take some pictures to show them off. I am really full of anticipation on getting started and watching them do their little bee thing and I watch their progress along the way.
I hope to have others enjoy my BLOG as it grows and others place their posts here as well.
I welcome everyone and their pictures if they wish to do so...
I think it would be neat to keep track of others and their progress with their thoughts on beekeeping.
Putting out good information on bees and updates on the health and care..
See ya soon...
Tom