Using cut comb to feed our bees
admin2020-03-30T16:27:49+00:00
30
03, 2020
24
01, 2016
Warm January weekend
admin2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00We finally got a nice warm weekend where I could go out to Hye and check on the girls. I had seen some things online about people's hives absconding in December because it was so warm, and someone else posted a picture of a mouse that got into their hive and ate a hole in [...]
23
11, 2015
Winter feeding
admin2015-11-23T02:22:35+00:00With the weather turning colder, it's time to switch from liquid feed to solid feed. Apparently, having extra liquid in the hives (even in the feeder above the frames) can chill the hive when the temperatures drop. So, instead of boiling sugar into water to make a simple syrup, we put 7.5oz of water into [...]
8
11, 2015
She’s alive!
admin2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00Kona is near the top with a blue dot on her head. We did another inspection today to see how the bees are doing and to feed them again. Hive 1, of course, was thriving. They've been building comb and capping honey like crazy. Every time we open their hive, they've consumed ALL [...]
26
10, 2015
All Hail The Queen
admin2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00We received our new queen from Hawaii on Friday afternoon. She was shipped UPS in a box with vents in it and inside that box was her wooden queen box that included her, 3 or 4 'attendants', and a piece of sugar candy. She can't feed herself, so the attendants feed her during the trip [...]
21
10, 2015
Getting a new Queen
admin2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00The queen is larger than the workers and comes marked with a dot on her upper back. We FINALLY found someone who can ship us a new Italian queen. An Italian queen bred in Hawaii to live in our Texas hive. She's going to be quite worldly! Since she's coming from Hawaii, we've [...]
21
10, 2015
How bees make a new Queen
admin2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00Queen cell, also called a swarm cell or a supercedure cell. I've had quite a few people ask me about the queen bee; how long does she live, what happens if she dies, etc. I had a few answers, but never had a very complete answer (at least not in my head). I [...]
18
10, 2015
Quick Inspection
admin2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00We did a quick check of the bees this afternoon, mainly just to feed them. Last weekend, we put a medium box on hives 1 and 3 to give the bees a little more room. Hives 1 and 3 have been building like crazy and we didn't want them to get honey bound during the [...]
9
10, 2015
Buzz-zilla!
admin2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00We went out to the hives on Saturday to check on the girls. We noticed last weekend that hive 2 wasn't nearly as strong as the other two, so we wanted to check for activity and see if we could find the queen, or some indication that she is laying. We went about our normal [...]
19
09, 2015
Picking up the bees!
admin2017-07-21T16:26:33+00:00Three 4-frame NUCs wrapped in mesh bags in the hatch of my car. We got up bright and early to drive to Navasota, TX to pick up our bees. We had bought 3 NUCs of bees, 1 for each hive. A NUC (short for 'nucleus') is basically a mini-hive. It has 3 or [...]