The nerve of some Princesses

My bees decided their digs were not accommodating enough, so they have swarmed, right onto the top of a tree by my back porch.  That's enough to make a girl purse her lips and expel air rapidly.  I mean, if they're going to go, GO.  Don't taunt me by hanging around my yard.

It started with a whole lot of activity around the hive this morning.  If there is high activity of the buzzing kind in front of the hive, it can be what is known as Orientation Flight.  The new bees need to know where they are and how to get back to their hive after a foraging trip.

This was not Orientation Flights.  This was buzzing all around the front and sides and back of the hive with bees milling about on the "flight deck" of the hive. 

 

 

 

Time to break out my gear.

 

 

I lifted this super off once I'd loosened the corners, and gasped when I found queen cells (yay) with exposed and immature Queens (oh damn). 

 

photo courtesy of Wikipedia 

 

My greatest fear is squishing a Queen.  Followed closely by taking off a super and tearing apart their wax cells, exposing them and more than likely ending their quest for Queendom.  I just put the hive in grave danger.  My hope is that my little Princesses are rearing more Queens, more than the 5 or so white larvae I saw..  As it stands, there is no mobile Queen in my hive, she's still incubating.  The hive creates several Queen Cups before the current Queen and up to 60% of the population of my hive goes off to find other accomodations.  Once the swarm leaves, the hive is Queenless until the virgin Queen is born and mated. 

While inside my hive, I put on a super with mostly drawn out comb so that I can try to harvest something for myself this year.  My hope is that the bees continue to draw out this comb and use it for additional honey storage!

 

Still hanging in there

My bees are out today, with temperatures in the 60's this doesn't surprise me.  What surprised me - the last baggie of sugar water I put on the hive for feeding had some left inside it.  Apparently the bees didn't need it all.  That's a good thing.

With weird weather, and having a track record of losing hives, I opted to put another baggie of 2:1 on the hive just now.  I want to make darn sure that they don't starve this year.  Tomorrow's temps should be near 70 (seriously, it's winter people).  And it may be raining.  So if the bees are stuck inside the hive, they can focus on storing the sugar water I've introduced today.

Keep crossing your fingers for me.  I can't bear to lose another hive.

Oh Great

It's been such a warm winter that my bees have made their way through their winter stores and are at the top of the hive.  Not good.

I managed to get outside today and fed the little darlings.  But, even so, there is a chance this hive will go the way that all of my previous hives have gone.

I have to make sure to get some fondant made.  And any day that's remotely close to 53 degrees needs to be a feeding day.

I won't go so far as to say I've failed with my beekeeping hobby.  But I'm pretty close.

Stay tuned?