A BEE thread....for those interested in beekeeping.

[Honey Maid]

bugseye, it shouldnt be a problem. Very first hive I ordered, I ordered one that was already painted, the entire bottom board was painted, so that must be normal. I've since switched to screened bottom boards. Have fun!

 

[Bugseye]

Thanks!

 

[thehackleguy]

A good site is Urban Beekeeping Headquarters for beginners! www.urbanbeekeepinghq.com. It is my site, I've made plenty of mistakes so learn from mine!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Some pictures yesterday:

 

[Hatchery Hive]

Nice pictures....Bravo!

 

[mak1]

good job ! ur hive survived. I know many hobby beekeepers that their hive died.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Yes. I checked mine on monday and they were all dead. I had put in a sugar cube about 2 weeks ago and saw a few but did not look very long as I didn't want to keep open to long. I had fed them with a sugar board over winter, gave a sugar cake recently, and they still had plenty of food left on board, so they didn't starve. I had been noticing them out on our warm days even up to a week ago. Don 't know what happened. It was my first hive. But a friend of mine is going to help me catch a swarm. That is what these were, from last summer. Oh well, that happens alot from what I hear.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Some pictures yesterday:

Beautiful pics! Good job!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes. I checked mine on monday and they were all dead.

I had put in a sugar cube about 2 weeks ago and saw a few but did not look very long as I didn't want to keep open to long. I had fed them with a sugar board over winter, gave a sugar cake recently, and they still had plenty of food left on board, so they didn't starve. I had been noticing them out on our warm days even up to a week ago. Don 't know what happened. It was my first hive. But a friend of mine is going to help me catch a swarm. That is what these were, from last summer. Oh well, that happens alot from what I hear.

Bummer. I lost my first hive the first winter as well, the local beekeeper I spoke with thought it was due to mites. I reinstalled the following spring, and have had these bees now for 3 years. At my last inspection I noticed they replaced my original queen. There is a new queen and she is not marked. (my original queen was marked yellow)

 

[xoxocammyxoxo]

Rosemary is a HUGE one and grows almost anywhere. Anything that flowers a lot is great. Lilacs, lavender, clover, etc.

As I understand it..........Drones are needed for mating. A virgin queen has to choose a drone to mate with in her first flight. Then she never leaves the hive again unless she swarms.

I was planning on growing lavender and was bummed when it didn't start growing in my pot.... then I realized two days ago looking at my seed packages that I never planted it

I will look up lilacs and some other things.

Yes. I checked mine on monday and they were all dead.

I had put in a sugar cube about 2 weeks ago and saw a few but did not look very long as I didn't want to keep open to long. I had fed them with a sugar board over winter, gave a sugar cake recently, and they still had plenty of food left on board, so they didn't starve. I had been noticing them out on our warm days even up to a week ago. Don 't know what happened. It was my first hive. But a friend of mine is going to help me catch a swarm. That is what these were, from last summer. Oh well, that happens alot from what I hear.

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope this next group goes better.