Jupiter

Happy is the bee that the sun shines on

151124a Hat Bee

This bee landed on my hat (while I was wearing it) and hung out long enough for a picture. © Erik Brown

The cold is slowly coming to Virginia. Most of our days have been warm enough for the bees to fly, with only a handful of fall days colder than 50 degrees (10 Celcius). A couple frosty nights here and there but again most nights well above freezing. Tuesday I finished some winter preparations on the hives, and it was in the mid-50’s. The top bar hive was especially buzzing for a good 15 or 20 minutes, with dozens of bees checking out the bee yard.

According to Jürgen Tautz in his book The Buzz about Bees, so-called orientation flights generally occur only when a queen is present. So I’ll take this activity as a good sign. Continue reading →

You may bee right

Now that winter is fast approaching, I finally checked for varroa mites in my hives. I should have done this over the summer, even once a month starting in May or June. Then I would have some good numbers for how my hives fared over the course of the year. Alas, tis not the case.

Venus

Our top bar hive Venus on October 4, 2015

Between vacations and family and work this summer, it seemed like I was only home long enough to catch my breath and do quick inspections of the hives. So one day I realized it was the end of August and I’d done no more than think about the possible mites in our hives. Continue reading →

We hold these truths to bee

Our top bar hive Venus on August 9, 2015

Our top bar hive Venus on August 9, 2015

Feeling somewhat philosophical lately. Perhaps I’ve been a beekeeper so long now (4 months!) that the urge to reflect on my vast experience has come upon me. Either that or I can only provide repeated hive updates for so long on this blog, and thus want to write something profound.

Nothing profound to offer, unfortunately, but a couple musing on tools, truths, and the hives. Continue reading →

Bee on the level

Top Bar Hive Forages

Foragers coming and going from our top bar hive Venus, with other bees bearding by the front entrances. You can see our Langstroth hive Jupiter in the background.

I have been in and out of the hives this month, and am a bit overdue with this update. With all the rain we’ve had the flowers continue to bloom and I can only hope the forage remains plenty. As soon as the heat settles in, probably right after our frequent rainfall ends, the nectar will likely dry up as well. Continue reading →

How doth the little busy bee

TBH Comb

A top bar hive comb near the three entrances to the hive.

With the blooming season moving into summer, our top bar hive continues to crank out bees. Italian bees are known for going full steam ahead, and ours seems to be no different. I checked the hive on June 25 and so thought I would share this update.

Before covering our top bar hive, I’ll begin with some changes to our two langs, and finish with some pictures of wild bees around our yard. Continue reading →

You can lead a bee to water

Bee Pond and Hives

Our small water feature for the bees, consisting of a water lily and a few fish. The rug you see here is an old outdoor rug we no longer use that does a great job keeping the weeds down.

Our county ordinance requires that bee hives have water available within 50 feet. While this is good practice, of course, the bees have their own thoughts on the matter. Despite my work to set up a small water pond near our hives, the bees completely ignore it.

To be fair, the neighbor’s pond is bigger and better shaded. I’m sure their water is much better tasting as well.

In addition to discussing our water source, I have an update on our Langstroth hives to share, of the three steps forward, two steps back variety. An update of our top bar hive will appear in a future post. Continue reading →

Good Fences Make Good Bees

150607 SawzallA shout out to my blogging buddies The Prospect of Bees for inspiring my recent purchase of a Milwaukee M18 reciprocating saw, shown here surrounded by pieces of fence rails. Prospect’s recent infomercial of a post on the 12-volt version of this saw inspired some research and an eventual purchase. Since this is my first and likely only cordless saw, I settled on the 18-volt version, finding a special online deal from Home Depot that included the complete kit (saw, charger, battery) as well as an extra battery.
Continue reading →

Long Live the Queen

We’ve been experiencing the joys and challenges of beekeeping. Overall I am reasonably happy with our progress. For our two Langstroth hives, one is booming and one has a new queen. The top bar hive continues to perplex me, though it seems to be doing well. Read on for the recent hive report.

May 23 Hives

The hives on May 23, showing how we added a third box onto one hive (Mars) and reduced the middle hive (Jupiter) down to a single deep.

Continue reading →

That Which We Call a Hive

150517 HivesDoes naming something give us power over it? Fantasy books will often incorporate this idea as a key aspect of their world, from A Wizard of Earthsea to Eragon. I admit to being a long-time fan of the genre. In such books, knowing the true name of an object allows control over it.

I’m not sure if this is true with beehives, but names provide a measure of familiarity and comfort. We finished naming our hives this past week, so I thought a blog post was in order. Continue reading →