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

[tmoore8595]

Quote: It has been unusually cold here in Alabama. The bees have been out on warm days for the last 2 months, but warm days have been scarce. They have been out in large numbers for the last few days.
If your bees are already making wax, and the hive has a large population of bees, I would think it is time for a honey super. Do you have one or two brood boxes?

 

[GreenAcresChick]

I am trying to start a hive this year. I have a topbar hive I placed in a protected area between a couple of fields. I put beeswax on the topbars and bated with lemongrass essential oil. I figure if God sends me a swarm I'll take it from there. I live in south Alabama maybe 5 miles from the Gulf. When should swarms start flying around here? Our temps are 60-70 during the day.

 

[tmoore8595]

I am trying to start a hive this year. I have a topbar hive I placed in a protected area between a couple of fields. I put beeswax on the topbars and bated with lemongrass essential oil. I figure if God sends me a swarm I'll take it from there. I live in south Alabama maybe 5 miles from the Gulf. When should swarms start flying around here? Our temps are 60-70 during the day.

I caught a swarm 2 weeks ago and put it in a brood box with 10 frames of foundation. I checked it today and they have already drawn out comb on 6 frames and have eggs, larvae and capped brood on 2 frames.
They should already be swarming in your area. Don't be disappointed if you don't catch a swarm, it's not that easy unless you have a lot of bees in your area.

 

[sgtmom52]

It's a nice day here in Pennsylvania, so I finally got a chance to take a look at the hive here at the house. Six out of seven are looking strong. The seventh died out from dwindling. Plenty of honey left, but the cluster dwindled down to the point that they could not keep warm and survive. Did find the dead marked queen.

It is still a little too cold to do a total tear down, so we just looked down between the frames, took off the mouse guards and added syrup feeders.

 

[NevadaRon]

It has been unusually cold here in Alabama. The bees have been out on warm days for the last 2 months, but warm days have been scarce. They have been out in large numbers for the last few days.
If your bees are already making wax, and the hive has a large population of bees, I would think it is time for a honey super. Do you have one or two brood boxes?

I have two brood boxes. I didn't really want to tear into them yet because as I say, this warm weather is unusual and it will certainly be back below freezing, at least at night, before too long.

ETA: Picture of a piece of comb I had to scrape off the inner cover. It looks awfully yellow - is that normal?

 

[happyhensny]

I have two brood boxes. I didn't really want to tear into them yet because as I say, this warm weather is unusual and it will certainly be back below freezing, at least at night, before too long.

ETA: Picture of a piece of comb I had to scrape off the inner cover. It looks awfully yellow - is that normal?

It depends on what type of pollen they were getting. I have "Beekeeping for Dummies" and there is a photo in there of different colors. Purple, green, blue. Actually pretty cool.

 

[sgtmom52]

I have two brood boxes. I didn't really want to tear into them yet because as I say, this warm weather is unusual and it will certainly be back below freezing, at least at night, before too long.

ETA: Picture of a piece of comb I had to scrape off the inner cover. It looks awfully yellow - is that normal?

Perfectly normal burr comb. Hang on to all that extra wax you get (including cappings) ~ pound for pound it can sell for as much as honey. You can also melt it down and make candles, lip balms, etc as well as use it for many other things.

 

[tmoore8595]

ETA: Picture of a piece of comb I had to scrape off the inner cover. It looks awfully yellow - is that normal?

New comb is usually lighter than that. It may be old comb that was torn down from other places in your hive and reused. My bees have not started making new comb yet. They won't make new comb until there is a honey flow or they are heavily few with honey or sugar water.

 

[NevadaRon]

Thanks everyone! This is sagebrush country so most likely that would be the main source of pollen, although there are of course other types of high desert shrubs. Also, there is a large alfalfa ranch just to the south between me and the Carson River. BTW the small amount of honey on that piece of comb smells wonderful - I can't wait!

 

[mommameg]

I'm just getting into the homesteading thing, but only have about a half acre of land. I also have 3 small children. I'd love to keep bees, because raw honey is a million times better than store bought, and I just love the idea of having that and a little extra pollination of my trees and garden wouldn't hurt, either! But I do have some concerns. Would it be wise to keep one beehive behind our fence in the backyard, or would there be too many bees buzzing around and stinging the kids? I'd appreciate any input!