We bought a used hive, and it's all 8 frame. I'm glad. I'm going to stick with that setup, because of the weight factor.
The president of the Grand Rapids, MI bee club runs everything with 10 frame medium boxes. He messed up his shoulder and has a construction business, so he has to be careful...
We have lots of trees blooming right now. Redbud is done, hawthorn is just about done, cherry is coming on strong.
Do bees like catalpa? We have a big one, and several little ones are coming up around it.
Ok! Thank you.
We will have below freezing temps again next week. Should I put syrup out anyway? The farthest out forecast says 30-33 overnight lows a week out.
I opened the new hive. Hubby is visiting his dad in NC, so I was on my own. This was the first time going in solo, so I was a bit nervous, and I didn't take any pictures.
This is what I saw.
Lots of bees. They had not finished the left over sugar in the feeder box, but there wasn't much left...
This is the "new" hive, the split off the original one. We took the deep box, the medium, and the feeder. The medium had whatever was left of the honey the original crew put up.
I have an entrance reducer on, and there is an access hole in the deep box. I used the "small" opening for the...
I am so looking forward to getting some of our own honey this year! Last year, we left it all for the girls who did all the work, since we just had the one hive.
If the winds die down, I'll be looking in on them tomorrow. Right now, we have 40-50 mph gusts.
I planted some last fall. My neighbor has a lot, and some has escaped into the field. I've read it "becomes invasive," but if it can take over the the brome grass, more power to it.
We also have purple dead nettle, and I've seen girls with the neon magenta pollen in their baskets. So cool...
We used Formic Pro last August. Right now, we'll have low temps too low, or that's what I would have ordered. I will order it for the summer treatment.
The new hive is showing more activity. I see a dozen bees coming and going. I plan to look into the feeder on top of it on Saturday. We have a...
We went out to look at the hives. The old one is very active. The new one... not. I did see a couple of bees come out, and I did hear buzzing when I put my ear down by the entrance.
:fl:fl:fl
In my Mann Lake order, I got a varroa check washing cup.
When we peeked inside, we set the top box on an upside down lid on the ground. When we put it back, we saw plenty of mites. π¬ That's what had fallen off the bees. I counted 8.
I'm really :fl:fl:fl that we have treated in time to save...
Well. We were going to "peek" at the bees. Oh. My. The hive was bursting.
I will say up front: We don't know what we're doing. We may now have two hives (we split it), or they may all die from varroa mite issues.
We treated with Apivar (both old and new).
All positive thoughts/wishes/prayers...
What do you look for when deciding whether to make a split?
What about timing? Someone at the meeting said when the dandelions are in bloom is when you split, if you're going to.
After the meeting on Wednesday night and looking at a lot of stuff online, my brain is overflowing.