The Honey Factory

[OhZark Biddies]

Does anyone else’s hive(s) smell good right now? Mine have that funky fermented bee bread/honey smell... I don’t know why but I find that so pleasant when standing down breeze of the hive.

 

[R2elk]

I have a weird question. Would it work to have a hive in a greenhouse with a pipe going to the outside? So the bees leave the hive and are inside the greenhouse and then use the pipe to go outside of the greenhouse? Thinking that would be a good way to overwinter without having to wrap the hive up, plus you could keep some things blooming in the greenhouse for them all winter, if nothing else you could grow clover in nursery flats for them.

I doubt it. In my opinion, bees don't seem to be the type of insect that would use a pipe. It is sometimes hard enough for me to get the bees to go back out the open door that they came in through in my greenhouse.

 

[R2elk]

Does anyone else’s hive(s) smell good right now? Mine have that funky fermented bee bread/honey smell... I don’t know why but I find that so pleasant when standing down breeze of the hive.

During a good nectar flow,the smell when walking past the hives is so strong that I can practically taste the honey. Mine is not a fermented smell.

I did have a hive that one year did smell of fermented honey and when I harvested it, it was fermented.

 

[Kusanar]

I doubt it. In my opinion, bees don't seem to be the type of insect that would use a pipe. It is sometimes hard enough for me to get the bees to go back out the open door that they came in through in my greenhouse.

I know I had seen some where the hive was in a building with a pipe right on the hive entrance for them to go outside, but they didn't stop in the building on the way out. I had my doubts on if they would use it if they had room to fly in between. Thanks

 

[OhZark Biddies]

During a good nectar flow,the smell when walking past the hives is so strong that I can practically taste the honey. Mine is not a fermented smell.

I did have a hive that one year did smell of fermented honey and when I harvested it, it was fermented.

I think what I smell most often is the fermenting honey in the pollen cells (bee bread) ... but right now I pick up the sweet honey smell mixed in there too... we’re just coming off the blackberry flow and have elderberry, white clove, sweet clover and some other miscellaneous things going strong still too... at least for a little longer

I get that butterscotch smell in the late summer from the goldenrod flow... but right now it’s a bit sweeter smelling ...

I like to go sniff the air around the hive on the warm nights as they’re fanning the hive entrance... just something that I can’t get enough of for some reason

 

[karenerwin]

it’s tomorrow now

I got the split done by the time you posted today!! I'm working on posting pictures now!

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I got the split done by the time you posted today!! I'm working on posting pictures now!

 

[karenerwin]

I split my bee hive today!
I was amazed at what a difference a week or 2 made!!
The only thing I am not sure about is if I got any frames with eggs/larvae at the right age. I can’t see the tiny eggs with my glasses on and I need my glasses on to see everything else!
So I’m posting a bunch of pictures. You guys can help me look!!

I did not put this frame in the new hive but I can go back and add it if I need too.

This is the frame that I think is almost all honey. Am I right? Are the white cappings in the top left corner where they are capping honey?

The picture above and below are the other side of the frame in the 2 previous pictures.

These last 2 pictures are looking down into the top brood box of the original hive. All the frames I took out (4 of them) came from this upper hive body. They only had 2 frames that didn’t have much going on. Although that first picture may have eggs that I just can’t see. 1 frame was almost all honey and it looked like they were starting to cap some of it (but I could be wrong about that part).

 

[karenerwin]

Here are more pictures from the original hive today. I believe all of these frames stayed with the original hive.
Comments and insights are welcomed!

The previous 2 pictures are of the same frame, same side.

The picture in the foreground is the original hive. I put the super on today just because there was so much honey in the top brood box ( in my opinion). I did put in 4 empty frames to replace the 4 I took for the other hive, so maybe the super doesn’t need to on yet. But I wasn’t sure and this seemed right to me. In the background, with the pink top cover, is the new hive. I did put in a frame feeder which I really don’t think they will need since there is a frame of almost all honey in there. But since I’m not an expert and I was told to put a feeder in for them and then check in a couple of days to see if they are eating it, that’s what I did.
Now to wait and see if the new hive successfully makes a Queen for me (and then the wait to see if she finds enough non related drones to take her mating flight with) and hopefully through all of this she doesn’t get eaten by a hungry bird!!
Oh, and if anyone sees the Queen in any of these pictures, please let me know! I don't think I saw her so I believe that she was hanging out in the lower brood box, which I did not get into.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Here are more pictures from the original hive today. I believe all of these frames stayed with the original hive.
Comments and insights are welcomed!
View attachment 2198557View attachment 2198558View attachment 2198560View attachment 2198562View attachment 2198564

The previous 2 pictures are of the same frame, same side.
View attachment 2198571
The picture in the foreground is the original hive. I put the super on today just because there was so much honey in the top brood box ( in my opinion). I did put in 4 empty frames to replace the 4 I took for the other hive, so maybe the super doesn’t need to on yet. But I wasn’t sure and this seemed right to me. In the background, with the pink top cover, is the new hive. I did put in a frame feeder which I really don’t think they will need since there is a frame of almos all honey in there. But since I’m not an expert and I was told to put a feeder in for them and then check in a couple of days to see if they are eating it, that’s what I did.
Now to wait and see if the new hive successfully makes a Queen for me (and then the wait to see if she finds enough non related drones to take her mating flight with) and hopefully through all of this she doesn’t get eaten by a hungry bird!!

Nice job!... I can’t tell from the pictures if you got what you needed, maybe someone else can... but you’ll have to keep us posted...

were they well beehaved? And did the hive smell good? Lol