It's au revoir - not goodbye.

For the record, the weather continues to be fine and warm with ivy still in blossom.  It has a pale greenish-yellow pollen, I think, from what I see on the bees and around the garden.  There's also this vivid orange pollen still whose origin continues to escape me.

We are off to foreign climes tomorrow so it was the last opportunity to check on everything bee-wise and to exchange the super (c/w 5 drawn frames and some nectar) with the brood chamber.  Everything went fairly smoothly with the bees adjusting to their new furniture layout quite quickly.  "Jeez, I never noticed that frame there before!" "oh well" and that was that.  Temperament-wise they were in great form - still no stings. The photo left shows one of the girls posing for the camera. Hardly a puff from the smoker was necessary - these girls certainly know how to behave themselves! 

There was plenty of sealed and unsealed brood (see right) but I think the Queen has slowed down her laying rate but that's to be expected.  There were a few eggs so she's still there, although it goes without saying almost that we didn't see her!  April/May is the time to re-mark her when the colony population is far lower and she should be easier to find - fingers crossed.   A few drones still roam over the frames looking slightly lost.  Stored levels were looking well but given that we are going away for ten days and the weather is so unpredictable here, I added on my newly-acquired Ashforth Feeder (full hive dimensions and about the height of a super - the bees feed at one end.  

I then realised that since, I had never used this feeder before, I didn't know whether the crownboard goes above or below - bit of a Homer Simpson moment!  Anyway, it's now above the feeder and that's where it's staying until we get back although I can't see that there's a major advantage either way -  my logic was that it's preferable to have the syrup as near to the bees as possible and that the heat from the cluster in the winter will keep the syrup from getting too cold.  Any thoughts folks?

I added about 4 pints of syrup which is probably more than necessary but I'd rather play safe. I replaced the "varroa board" on the open mesh floor (for better heat protection at night) while my friendly assistant and fiancée, Elva, tied up the brushwood screen along the fenceline to the north which should help protect the hive from those cold winds between December and February.  

Take care y'all my bee buddies and talk to you when we get back.

P.S this photo looks a bit scary to me.... "You Looking at Me?"

Coming or going?

Well, the weather's gone completely topsy-turvy.  It was a gorgeous day here as stable high pressure sits over north-western Europe.  It's forecast to stay like this for a good while.


I was looking to top-up the bees' feeder during the still, late afternoon sun.  Again lots of pollen coming in and thankfully no sign of further bee deaths near the hive.  I didn't want to disrupt anything under the crownboard so it was a quick in-and-out.  The hive's in a corner of the garden so it's very convenient for this type of feeding. I added a couple of super foundation frames too - I just want them to draw out the comb ready for next year. [I'm not interested in honey at this stage].


It strikes me though that the bees' internal "clocks" must be so confused - something akin to "seasonal" jet-lag.   The sun crossed through its solstice position as the rain poured and the gales blew.  [It's the third summer in a row that's happened!]  As the nights lengthen and the leaves on the trees turn, suddenly there is this "unseasonal" spell.  It was probably in the mid 20's in the full sunshine sheltered as the hive is.  The problem is that the nights are really quite cool ~ maybe 5 or 6 Celsius.  It got me thinking about global warming etc. It raises lots of questions about the way that nature will react to these changes.  We all know the importance of the honeybee and their poor predicament.  I'm convinced they don't need this stress too!!

Autumn cometh!

The weather here has been absolutely dreadful for the last fortnight but there was no option this morning but to inspect inside the hive.  The temperatures remain very cool still far below what we could expect.  It's struggling to get to 16 degrees and the wind has been quite strong. [I am not helping the cause of the Irish Tourist Board, am I?] The inspection had to be a rapid affair for fear of chilling any brood.

Despite this, the girls still seem to taking every chance they get to fly outdoors for reconnaissance and refilling the fuel tanks. They were still bringing in plenty of the vivid orange pollen although I remain unsure where this originates given our surroundings.  It's fairly rural here with a lot of what is known as "bog" all around.  In beekeeping terms, these low lying peat bogs can be tremendously important due to the heather which flowers around this time of year.  The story of the peat bogs is a long one and is crucial to the tale of Irish history especially in terms of the supply of heating fuel.  [Horticulturally, there is a growing movement away from the use of peat particularly in domestic gardening products e.g. compost materials  because of the recognition that the peat is limited [see http://www.ipcc.ie for further details].  I will return to the subject of peat another day maybe.

Many beekeepers or beeks - a term I learned from Mark in NC - take their hives to the moors and bogs to allow their bees to forage on the heather during the latter part of summer.  A honey known as ling is a speciality in itself but that's also a subject for the future and something which I hope to try out in 2010.

Getting back to this morning, the hive stores were dangerously low although there's been no serious harm as I could see - just a reduction of stored honey in the brood chamber but I hope that this can be raised back up through some intensive feeding.  Given the late start there was always going to a limited opportunity for supering and it looks like the weather isn't going to allow it now.

Interestingly, I noticed the presence of several drones once again which surprised me as I thought they'd been given the elbow by now, especially given the low levels of supplies. Although I never seem to spot her, I am sure that the Queen is laying well and the drones don't indicate anything amiss. Definitely something to keep an eye on though.

Probably the most important plant in this area for late flowering is the evergreen common ivy (hedera helix) which is just starting to come into flower. It's really the bees' last opportunity to stack up on those extra goodies prior to the winter -  we have ivy over some of the walls around our cottage garden although, in beekeeping terms, more would be better. Planting for honeybees is going to be an important part of how we progress the garden.  Maybe I should plant some ivy around the local gardens in the local area when the neighbours aren't looking!

Lastly, I noticed half a dozen dead workers on the ground around the hive.  Not too alarming but I'm noting this for my own records.

With the refilled circular feeder in situ I will be checking this daily for signs of uptake and keeping it full so as to build up the stores again.

Sorry about the epistle but it's been a while...

Bee-Bo - social networking website for bees

Sorry about that!

Well, I did a check of the hive yesterday after work and things still appear to look fine. The weather continues to be generally summery compared to the whole of July which was seemingly the worst in 50 years or so. I can easily believe it!

All the same, lots of bees were flying (a good sign) and there was plenty of activity around the hive entrance.

The smoker wasn't going too well - I consider this is a real skill which I am far from mastering - I had to stop a couple of times and relight it.

Starting at the rear of the hive [I have the frames running parallel with the front gable entrance - this is the "cold way" I think],I worked my way through each frame. There was plenty of honey, both uncapped and also with the thin waxy seals which the bees cover the cells with when they're full. A couple of the frames were surprisingly heavy - full of the sweet golden liquid.

The sunshine wasn't so strong by this stage and I saw lots of cells with tiny single eggs standing upright at the cell base - remarkably again just like the books say! [Bees seem very well-read!]. The fresh eggs also appear to be in the scattered cells previously left unfilled with the exception of the cells corresponding with the wired frame reinforcement which she leaves alone. These eggs are only one day old so I know that the Queen, again escaping my clutches, was around within the last 24 hours so I'm not concerned that she's unhappy with her surroundings.

I looked through the rest of the frames for anything out-of-place but it all seems normal. Noticeably there were fewer drone cells and adult drones than last week which probably indicates that the ladies are preparing to settle down for the off-season and don't need these guys around anymore eating their food and generally getting in the way - a true matriarchy!

There were still cells on the outer frames which contained the multi-coloured pollen.

Having untidily topped up their syrup reservoir (I really need to improve how I do this!) and helped myself to the excess wax from the crownboard (a kind of ceiling), I replaced the roof and duly retired to leave them for another week to continue to rear the youngest family members. These potential infant bees will likely form the over-winter population that will keep the hive warm and support the Queen through the long winter days until the lengthening days of next spring.

Below is a video of the bees gorging themselves on honey after I'd puffed some smoke.

Eggs-celent

I carried out a hive inspection this morning as the weather was unusually fine and there were lots of bees flying. I also knew that I would certainly need to refill the feeder with syrup.

The bees were well-tempered and my increasing ability to keep the smoker producing lots of smoke is clearly helping. They had drawn fresh comb on the recently added frames. It still amazes me how they do this.

For the first time, I was able to positively identify plenty of eggs although I never actually saw the Queen. From the presence of eggs, she was there within the last 3 days so I'm happy with that. There was lots of capped honey, sealed and unsealed brood, a few drone cells (significantly higher cappings) and the odd drone too. I will try to get hold of some queen-marking paint so I can re-mark the Queen to make her easier to spot.

There was less visible stored pollen than last week although that is possibly due to the weather of late and the fact that it's being used to feed all the new brood the bees are rearing. Fresh pollen (protein) was being brought in by the foragers during the morning so I am not too worried but it depends on the weather for next week. I need to check what I should use as an emergency supplement. The syrup I think only replaces the nectar (carbohydrates). Brace comb is fairly prevalent although I am putting that down to the mix and match frames which came with the nucleus and which didn't match my own exactly.

Elva was stung through her rubber gloves so that was her initiation. No nasty reaction so that was a relief! Her gloves are a bit on the large side so I think that's making her frame manipulations a bit on the bumpy side.

I forgot the camera which was a shame as I would have got some interesting photos of the bees lined up like soldiers on parade along the top bars as they tucked into the stored honey. I also want to see how well the photos look on the blog.

Generally, despite Elva's wee incident, the bees were well-tempered although I have realised that I have to keep my voice down as the vibration from my normal speaking voice seems to upset them slightly.

I have a couple more frame spaces left to fill the brood box before I can put on the first super.

Starting off......

After several weeks of evening classes, many evenings spent reading and researching the various types of hardware before eventually purchasing my hive, I recently took delivery of my first nucleus of bees from the local association in Co. Offaly. [ Thanks, John S].

Suddenly everything about keeping bees became real and the responsibility for these little creatures fell on my shoulders. Doubts over my abilities started to emerge.

The first "inspection" was more of a bee-transfering exercise from the nucleus to the main hive. Conditions weren't ideal so I didn't really have enough time for a full "check-up". As the books say, I added a new foundation frame and gave them some syrup. I shut them in for the night (not literally) and breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the vital signs were there although not seeing the Queen or eggs was a worry although I put that down to the overcrowding and my inexperience.

The proper inspection took place after 4 days. All the food was gone and they seemed a lot more settled. Still no Queen or eggs! Plenty of honey stores, capped and unsealed brood and pollen of various colours. There were a couple of drones which was a surprise. More syrup was added (the weather here is currently extremely mixed - torrential downpours followed by glorious sunshine) to help supplement Mother Nature's bounty and to assist drawing the new foundation.

My concern over not seeing the Queen is troubling me slightly. [I know this is what all beginners think!!] However, I wonder why there is so much fresh pollen about. Why no Queen cups if she's gone? I think I'll have to do another check in a few more days and look for the presence of eggs and uncapped larvae again and work back from there.

More to follow...