So the congestion in the observation hive is increasing again. It is 10 days since I first noticed a capped queen cell and none have hatched. I hear the queens quacking off and on. The bees are all over the queen cells that I have found. I wonder […]
When Kristien and I arrived from setting up the cloake board at the farm, this is what we found! We swept them into a bag and then dumped them into their new quarters. I have a short video of the marching but I don’t know how to post that. […]
All signs are there! The observation hive is packed with bees. And last night the bees capped a queen cell! I think this means they will swarm on Tuesday or Wednesday!
Did a quick check of the hives in my yard and the one on the farm. All 4 are still going strong!
This is the first I have seen her lay on the outside of the frame for weeks!
The day before the winter solstice, the bees became frenetic. I could hear them buzzing from the next room. I went and observed and I was unable to detect what could possibly be causing the disruption. Is the winter solstice really that exciting an event for a colony of bees? […]
On November 4, a single yellow jacket found it’s way into the hive. Chaos ensued!! […]
I have always wanted an observation hive. When I first started keeping bees, I was advised not to start with one as they are more difficult to keep thriving than a full size colony. Then, when I began to look at the cost of assembled observations hive, I pretty much […]
I did an inspection of the California Nuc that I bought from Allen this spring. This is the colony that I took most of the brood from when making up nucs. At the time it seemed the strongest. It paid the price. The brood pattern is spotty. This is actually […]
I got up bright and early this morning, closed off the queen castle, packed up the nucs and castle and took off for the out yard. I got to the yard to find that Kristien had done an excellent job at leveling and making secure the two pallets I had dropped […]
