Lots of Activity at the Hives Today! Wax Moths, Drone Larvae

Beautiful day today and while I was out walking the farm, I stopped by the hives for a quick look. WOW! So much activity going on in front of the hives! Bees were flying every which way. My first thoughts were robbing, but that was not the case. Think it was just a traffic jam for the ladies trying to get out and do thier business on this beautiful sunshine day! If you click on the picture you will see how many are flying just outside the hive.

When I opened the outside cover on Hive #1, I found a WAX MOTH! Not good! They can and will destroy your hives! I think they were able to get in while I was ventilating the hives during that super hot spell we had last month. I was trying to move the moth so I could take a picture when one of the bees snatched her up and immediately killed her!

Still slow going as far as comb building is going. But I have been assured that this is perfectly normal. Tons of pollen being brought back into the hives. Look at this picture...Amazing to see all of the different colors of pollen the girls bring back. Again, click on the picture to enlarge it to really see!

Both hives are still going strong. Take a peek at the sheer number of bees that are loading this hive...

And finally, loads of drone larvae on the bottom of one frame! Couldn't believe how many there were! Also saw a few baby bees being born again today! Doesn't matter how many times I see it, it still is simply wonderful to watch!

August Update! Bees are happy, but slow to make comb!

Just went into the hives after spending a week in the Outer Banks. Both hives look queenright (meaning they each have a queen and she is doing her job) so that is a good thing (as Martha Stewart would say!!)!

They are so slow to draw comb though. I added the medium supers back at the end of June...and NOTHING! No drawn comb to speak of! I tried shifting the medium super and putting it BETWEEN the two deep supers to see if that would force them to draw comb on the meduims. Nope! Didn't happen!

Then on one of my favorite beekeeping forums, I read about spraying the foundation with sugar water. The idea is that hopefully the bees will feast on the sugar water and draw comb on those frames.

Keep your fingers crossed that this wil work! Very important this time of year as I want to have strong hives to make it through winter here in Pittsburgh.

Drawn comb is really important so that the Queen has sufficient room to lay and keep the hive healthy and strong. No drawn comb...no place for the queen to put her eggs.

This is a really heavy frame loaded with capped honey, capped brood, and a bit of larvae and eggs. Can you tell by the smile on my face how in love with beekeeping I am!!!!!