For want of a brick

All I needed to do was put a brick on top of the hive.

Because I didn't do my part to protect my bees, they died. I went out to check on them on Christmas Eve, and they were very dead. The wind had blown the outer cover off, and they couldn't take it. I still want to get a few hives going, and this won't stop me, but it saddens me to know that I could have done better.

Stay tuned in 2006 for further adventures!

Wax Moth control with B401?

I read on someone else's blog about a new wax moth bio-control agent that they are trying in europe! Here's hoping B401 will help. And while they are at it, I hope they can find a control for the small hive beetle too.

Update: B401 is available from a Canadian Supplier - BeeWorks. (Thanks Robo.)

Small Hive Beetles

I read recently on the local bee group's mailing list that the small hive beetle was found in Tulsa County. This pest is like a wax moth that eats anything! It sounds like a good defense would be to cover the ground with black plastic, so they couldn't pupate and complete their live cycle. This would be a good weed control solution too. Of course, the best defense is a good strong hive, but we as beekeepers are responsible for the environment surrounding our bees.

Possible actions:
Ground Cover (black plastic)
Seal alternate entrances to hive (cracks)
Combine weak hives (this is generally a good practice in today's environment)

If any fellow beekeepers have some good suggestions, post a comment!

As I learn more, I'll update this posting, or add a link to other entries on the subject.

Bees in a farm implement

I'm going to tell the story about some bees that were in the sealed hydraulic box (8 inches square by 5 feet long) of a farm implement. I was informed that bees had taken up residence in the impement about august 27th, 2005. The bees had move in when the implement was in a distant field, and had hitched a ride home with no stinging or problems, but the farmer wanted them out. Fall is not a good time to remove bees from a hive, especially when we can't wire their comb into the new hive. I'm sure that I made a few mistakes, and that there was a better way, but I did my best!

Week 1. Smoke them into a hive - 9/3/2005.
I prepared a hive at my brother's house. A number of years ago, I gave him all of my bee equipment, ... and he still had it. He gave me all that he found, but I didn't know that he had crimped brood foundation at the time, so I gave the bees bare cleaned frames. This was mistake number one.

Out at the hive, first I did some gentle smoking, to cause bees to gorge on their honey. Then I taped up all of the holes except for their main entrance. Finally, I added a screen and positioned the new hive right next to theirs, with the cover off, and an excluder wedged in place between the old and new hive, so the bees could crawl over. Then, over about an hours time, I smoked them out. They crawled right over to the new hive. When it was nearly dark, I went over to the neighbor's barn and rescue about 30 bees using a paper bag. They were quite glad to find their hive-mates! I started feeding with a boardman feeder and some old honey (OUR OWN! not honey from an unknown source).

Week 2. 9/10/2005
I took 5 frames out, examined 1 week later - using smoke. Using smoke on such a tiny hive - this was mistake number 2. There were eggs in every cell that didn't have honey/syrup in it. I took the frames home and wired foundation, using a soldering gun to melt the wax. This took about 10 or 15 minutes per frame!

Week 3. 9/18/2005
I discovered that the bees had killed their queen. I guess the stress was too much for them. I found queen cells and 2 drone cells, and added wired foundation for frames 4 through 10. I am now feeding with a jar over the inner cover, protected by a second brood box. I added a pollen substitute, and thinned down their sugar so it wouldn't granulate in the feeding holes.

Week 4. 9/24/2005.
I observed bees at entrance and added sugar syrup. The bees aren't taking to the pollen substitute very well. I used a recipe from a Bee Encyclopedia by Roger Morse. I think the bees needed a much sweeter blend to tempt them to take it, and they needed a much smaller patty. I initially gave them a huge slab that covered 3 frames, but I later trimmed it to a single strip across the 3 frames (about 15% of the original).

Week 5 - 10/9/2005
I checked their sugar water, but I didn't do any real manipulation. I'm letting them "do their thing" when it comes to the queen. I don't know for sure if they will survive the winter, but if they do, I'll give them a good italian queen then.

Week 6 - 10/19/2005
I checked on the bees again. There were 50 to 100 robber bees outside the hive. Most of these looked like hybrid italians, but 1 or 2 were german black bees! I covered up the crack they were trying to force their way into, took away the sugar water, and left without opening the hive up. I know from experience that if the robbers get a good taste of sweets, they will wipe out such a tiny hive.

Lesson learned: Do not disturb bees that are stressed.  Try to work them without smoke.

Keeping bees - why are YOU doing it?

If you own honeybees, why?

This may sound like a strange question, but there is a point behind it. Some of us keep bees for the simple pleasure of seeing them prosper at our hands, or perhaps just to learn more about nature, while others keep them as a business. I'm sure there are as many reasons as there are beekeepers, but when you go out to the bees, whose interest do you put first - yours or the bees?

If you put the bees first, you will avoid smoking a colony unless absolutely necessary, whereas if you smoke each hive as a matter of course, you are probably putting your own convenience first. Everyone has "that one hive" that is grumpier than the others, but rather than smoking them so much, perhaps ask yourself if they are fighting off robber bees, ants, wax moths, skunks, etc. ... or perhaps they are in too much sun. It's always possible that their queen is at fault, but remember that sometimes it is just that they have the most honey - they are defensive for a reason! Try being more observant next spring, and be kind to your bees!

I have a theory that bees can remain stressed for a while even after the root cause of their stess has been eliminated. In other words, there is a stress recovery period. I think any time their home is greatly disturbed, there must be a period of calm to allow them to settle down, or their performance will suffer. Hopefully, I will be able to study this more next year.

My Introduction to Beekeeping

This is my first entry, so I thought I would introduce myself.
My first exposure to honeybees was when I was about 16 years old.
A 2 pound swarm had located itself in an old building near our
house. A local bee man came over and tried to hive them. The
bees were wonderful and very gentle (gray bees - perhaps caucasian),
but he just laid the brood comb in front of the new hive, so the
bees took up residence UNDER the bottom board, next to their brood.
I went out there several times, hoping they would find their new home,
but to no avail. I felt sad as I watched the bees die, but I
didn't know any better. If I was hiving that swarm today, I
would wire every drop of brood into the new box!

Following this, I went to the Bartlesville library, and read
every book they had on bees. I read Root, Dadant, Morse ... all
of them. The next spring I ordered hives and two 3 pound
packages from Walter T Kelly, and had the hives plus a swarm for
2 or 3 years, until a pesticide spray wiped me out. At the
time, I was in college and didn't have time or money to restart.

In October of 2005, I will be moving back to the country, and I'm hoping
to start a few hives next spring.

Lesson learned: Bees do not want to leave their brood!