Hive Check : In search of my Queen

Today was so beautiful - no wind, warm temperatures and sunshine galore.  A perfect day to get back into my hives. 

My mentor Margaret called me the other day in response to an email I had sent to her and John about the overabundance of drone cells in my package hive.  "You're just going to have to take out every frame and find the Queen" she said.  "But they're calling for rain the next three days, so you'll have to wait for nicer weather."  Oh, sure, find the Queen.  Easy for her to say, she's a pro!  Taking the frames out is certainly easy, but finding a Queen amongst all the workers and drone bees is, well, like finding a needle in a haystack to my untrained eye. 

Before I was able to don my beesuit and veil and get to work (because I had errands to run), I was able to go out and just observe the hives for a few minutes.  There was a lot of activity just outside my nuc hive.  It looked like orientation flights to me.  This happens when new bees emerge from their cells,make their way outside, and fly just outside the entrance of the hive to orient themselves to the location of their home.  It made me smile to think that I had a group of new bees (haha, newbies) and it got me thinking that maybe today I'd witness the birth of a new bee.  When it comes to these bees I am like a kid - bees seem less like a hobby and more like magic. 

Errands needed to come first so I had to settle for snapping this one shot.

After running my errands I was able to come home, put on my gear and collect my equipment.  Since I now have a clean shed, I also now have a safe place to keep my bee equipment that is really close to my hives.  I was able to light my smoker much more quickly than before and got a good, steady smoke started.  An empty cooler served as a table to put the empty super on (I'd need somewhere besides the hive to put the frames once I'd checked them for the queen).  I had my camera at the ready.  Now I just needed the Queen to make an appearance and my worry would be alleviated.

Once the outer cover and inner cover were removed this was what I saw in the package hive.  There were more bees on the tops of the frames than I remember seeing before, I think this is a good sign.  I am hoping it's a good sign.  I don't want to lose this hive! 

While I was looking for the Queen, I noticed that there were actually bees emerging from their cells!  If you look closely at the photo to the left the dark spot in the center of the shot is actually the head of a bee.  I spent quite a long time looking at this and hoping to see it finally free itself from the cell, but I had the hive open so long I was starting to get worried about robbers. 

In looking for the Queen, I did manage to figure out what the drone bees look like.  The have bigger eyes and a more rounded abdomen than the worker bees - which I already knew - I just hadn't seen one in the hive before.  The drones are males and come from unfertilized eggs.  Workers are female and are born from fertilized eggs laid by a properly mated Queen.  Anyhow, I had hoped that this darker bee might have been the Queen but it's unfortunately not.  I've had my bees a month now and feel like such a slow learner.

Ultimately today I didn't find the Queen.  She keeps eluding me - that means now that I have to ask my mentor and her husband if they have time to come by this week and help me find her.  I don't mind asking for the help, I actually look forward to having someone in my hives with more experience than I have. 

Hive Check : squished beetle and drone cells

I went into both hives today. Lighting the smoker is still an issue for me, I’m going to have to get organized and have paper and untreated twine on hand to help out.  I tried using just leaves but the wouldn't light and then I tried adding paper but the paper wouldn't light.  I did get smoke but it didn't last long and it was thin.

My nuc colony was abuzz with action and the second super was nearly full so I put the third super on top like I planned to do. There are still queen cups on several frames and I couldn't see inside them well enough to find out if there is anything in them.  Are they thinking of swarming?  I am trying not to panic, bees have been at this longer than I have, but I have this insatiable desire to know what's going to happen with my hives! 

My package colony isn’t doing as well and I’m sure that there is a problem with the queen. I also saw a hive beetle on the inner cover so I knocked it off and squished it.  There are drone cells all over most of the middle frames and the pattern of open and capped cells is haphazard.  I could have a drone laying queen or I could have a colony of laying workers.

Amendment 8-10-10 The beetles that I have been seeing are NOT the dreaded hive beetle.  Those guys are domed and have antennae with bulbs on the ends.  The beetles I have been seeing are super fast but they are brown and elongated. 

Hive Check : Going back in time

April 17th 2010

What you see here to the left is a picture of the package of bees that I picked up on April 17th, 2010.  A package is made up of bees and a queen from different hives.  Until these bees had been placed into the package most of them had never been near each other.  They must be kept together like this for several days so their individual odors mix and become one and so they can all get accustomed to the pheromones of their new queen.  The queen cage and the feeding can are both suspended from the top of the box.  If memory serves, this package of bees was from Georgia.

The picture to the right is my husband carrying the nuc (pronounced nuke).  Inside the box are local bees and a queen that have been with each other for some time. The queen has laid some eggs and there will be larva on the foundation.  This hive of bees won't have to work as hard as the package bees because they are 5 frames ahead of the game.  I heard that nucs were much better to start out with and had originally wanted two but was able to only get one.

April 27th 2010

This picture to the left is of the inner cover with honeycomb attached to it.  The picture is upside down but that's how it would have looked if I had been able to take the picture as I was lifting off the inner cover. 

The picture to the right is the other half of the comb that the bees built in the empty super.  If you look closely you can see the plastic zip loc bag that I'd used to feed the bees the sugar water.  I'd placed the empty super on top of the full one so that I could leave the bags full of sugar water in the hive.  This extra comb was built in the empty space - had I checked the hive a few days before I probably would have caught this and wouldn't have had to destroy this beautiful comb.  I've saved the wax so I can melt it down and make something fun.

To the left you can see some honeycomb with some actual honey in it.  I was absolutely elated that I was going to be able to try some honey for the first time, we weren't anticipating any until next year.  You'd have laughed if you saw me chewing the honey out of the wax comb and exclaiming how good it was and how excited I was that I had my own honey!  Many mistakes turn out to be negative experiences but this one had a yummy ending!

If you'e been curious about a bee's stinger, here is a picture of one on the edge of a super.  To get an idea of the size, look at the picture of the stinger that is on the tip of my glove.  A poor bee lost it's life because it thought it would sting me on my glove.  Fortunately for me the glove was just thick enough. 

Hive Check : Hive beetles and queen cups

I was finally able to get back into my hives today to do some inspections.  I wanted to get out before today but Monday we spent time making our doghouse and yesterday was just too cold and rainy.  I am thankful that today I did not get stung.  I don't seem to be allergic but I do have a local reaction that includes swelling and redness and an insane itch.  Getting stung doesn't hurt it mostly just annoys me.  The last sting occurred because I let a bee crawl up the inside of my pants so I wore protective gaiters over my boots and pant legs.  I have a hard time seeing through the mesh of the veil so I took my camera out with me.  I also found that it was easier to see into the cells with the sun at my back shining onto the frame.


Nuc colony
The morning when I did my check it was pretty cloudy and cold which meant that most of the bees were in the hive.  This hive is doing very well, with two medium supers. The top super is nearly full. I am going to put a third super with frames and foundation on it today or tomorrow - I have one that is ready to go.  Putting it on today would mean bothering the bees again and I'm not sure I want to do that. 

I noticed a lot of brood cells both capped and uncapped and things look organized for the most part. I also noticed what looked to be a queen cup or supersedure cell. The last time I looked into this hive I physically saw the queen, could I have inadvertently squished her when I was doing my inspection?  She doesn't appear to be an underproducer - this hive is full of bees!   An entrance reducer was fitted into the entrance of this hive to reduce the chance that robbers and uninvited insects will have access to the hive. 

Package colony
These bees were much less aggressive with me this time than last time. Almost all the foundation is drawn out on the one medium super. I saw capped and uncapped larvae. I did not see the queen but I wasn’t looking for her either. I did not see any evidence of hive beetles this time, last time there was one on the inner cover. I installed my entrance reducer on this hive as well, I have to give my bees ample opportunity to thrive. The bees are feeding off the sugar water I put in a few days ago.  This hive is definitely not a strong as the nuc hive, but they seem to be holding their own.

Brushy Mountain confirmed today that they have received my order but said it won’t be able to process my order until the 18th.  I did a rotten job of planning - this order has my spur embedder, eyelets, eyelet punch and form board - all things I need to put together my next set of frames with foundation.  I had borrowed these tools from my mentor before and have since returned them because I thought I'd get my tools sooner.  I don't want to borrow again and wear out my welcome so soon, so I'm going to have to cross my fingers that the items get here before my package colony builds out the frames on the outer edge of their hive.