🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝

[drstratton]

This is only year 3 for me. Most definitely still a novice, but I have learned a lot of “what not to do” in those 3 years .

I've learned a lot of "that" in just 1 year and I'm sure I'll continue to learn "that" every year...lol

 

[5Australorpasaures]

24 more Queen Line jars sanitized and sterilized. Refractometer came calibrated. Honey at 17.5%. Never a doubt.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Put a gallon of feed on each hive (3) Thursday, today chked them and they have consumed 2.5, 2.75 and 2.75. Made up another 2 gallons today so still 2 gallons in reserve, not enough. My mix of 8:4 qts gives me 2 gals of syrup. So another batch this wk end. Hummingbirds don't look so bad now.

 

[Apis mellifera]

First rainy overcast day of fall and probably mostly foragers are clustering together in an overlooked piece of equipment, a slatted rack. Some beekeepers think of them as an ottoman, a useless piece of furniture, but I always liked them and have them on all of my hives except nucs. My nucs have a 1" gap below with no racks.

https://www.honeybeesuite.com/slatted-racks-everything-you-need-to-know/

 

[Sally PB]

I had never before heard of a slatted rack. Interesting!

 

[R2elk]

First rainy overcast day of fall and probably mostly foragers are clustering together in an overlooked piece of equipment, a slatted rack. Some beekeepers think of them as an ottoman, a useless piece of furniture, but I always liked them and have them on all of my hives except nucs. My nucs have a 1" gap below with no racks.

https://www.honeybeesuite.com/slatted-racks-everything-you-need-to-know/
View attachment 4221828

Very interesting. While I have seen other people's hives with bees bearding, I do not see bearding on my hives even on the hottest days.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Very interesting. While I have seen other people's hives with bees bearding, I do not see bearding on my hives even on the hottest days.

It's kind of hard to take a photo of the bees clustering in a slatted rack, looking into the entrance. They aren't bearding, just hanging out in the rack until they can go back out and forage.
This is bearding!

 

[R2elk]

It's kind of hard to take a photo of the bees clustering in a slatted rack, looking into the entrance. They aren't bearding, just hanging out in the rack until they can go back out and forage.
This is bearding!

As I said, I have seen bearding on other people's hives but not on my own hives.

 

[drstratton]

Put a gallon of feed on each hive (3) Thursday, today chked them and they have consumed 2.5, 2.75 and 2.75. Made up another 2 gallons today so still 2 gallons in reserve, not enough. My mix of 8:4 qts gives me 2 gals of syrup. So another batch this wk end.

Hummingbirds don't look so bad now.

 

[drstratton]

First rainy overcast day of fall and probably mostly foragers are clustering together in an overlooked piece of equipment, a slatted rack. Some beekeepers think of them as an ottoman, a useless piece of furniture, but I always liked them and have them on all of my hives except nucs. My nucs have a 1" gap below with no racks.

https://www.honeybeesuite.com/slatted-racks-everything-you-need-to-know/
View attachment 4221828

I was thinking about adding these into our hives. It's been awhile since I researched them, there's been so many other things to learn. Definitely something that's been on my radar. Thank you for the information.