Woo Hoo! Added ANOTHER Super!

Just took a gander out to the bee hives today and decided to take another "peek"! Gently opened the hive, and lo and behold...they filled out every (all 10 of them) frame in the medium super! Last time i checked was Last Thursday so in 4-5 days, they have completely filled the comb with honey. Still uncapped though. I added another medium super on top of that one! Can't wait for my first taste of honey from my very own hives this year!!!

I had to do it!!! I peeked!!!

I just had to check on the bees yesterday, just had too! You are not supposed to open the hives too often and I had just been in there a few days ago. But we had 95 degree weather for a few days and then it cooled down rapidly the next day to about 70 degrees. I was worried and just HAD to check on them....

They have made comb!! That is the best news ever! That means a "flow" is on and they are working their little butts off to bring as much nectar into the hive to make me some honey!! Yahooooo!!!

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!!!!!

A bee counter!!!

Found this great bee counter on the Mother Earth News website!  You can click on it to keep track of how many honeybees are in your area!!

Pennsylvania State Bee Inspection! Varroa Mites, Sugar Rolls, Babies are Born, and Honey Bound Hives!

The Pennsylvania State Bee Inspector came to visit the bees today on the farm! My mentor, Mr. Fine had given me her name and told me to have her come out and do an inspection which is required by PA State Law.  Bonnie came out and was absolutely wonderful!  Thank goodness I had Travis with me so he could remember details I couldn't.  She was such a wealth of information!  My inspection report came back very very good!  Found one varroa mite on Hive 1 doing a sugar roll and Hive 2 she found one while looking at frames actually on the bee itself!  How she was able to catch that was beyond me!  She gives Travis a run for his money on being the best spotter ever!  Here is a pic of me and Bonnie...notice she does not wear gloves or a suit and I am completely covered from head to toe!

The sugar roll consists of taking a frame (making sure the queen is not present on it), shaking them into a bin, scooping out a cup, putting them in a mason jar with a screened lid along with a tablespoon of powdered sugar.  Gently shake and roll the jar so the bees are coated with the powdered sugar.  Then shake out the powdered sugar onto the bottom of the bin or your telescoping cover.  The mites will free from the bees and will fall onto where you are shaking them while the bees remain still inside the jar.  This is a noninvasive test that will sample your varroa mite count.  The bees can be dumped right back into the hive, No harm, no foul!

Now here is a pic from Hive 2 in which she found a mite on a bee within a frame!  I am so amazed that she spotted that!  She is VERY good at her job!!!

As she was going through the frames, she spotted a baby about to hatch!  Look at this picture...Do you see it?

It was exhilarating to watch a baby bee being born/hatched!  She was wobbly when she came out and Bonnie just directed her in the right direction! Travis and I could not believe how lucky we were to witness that!

And finally, it was definitely time to add a few supers to the hive!  I have stopped feeding the sugar water and added one medium super to each.  There was really very little room left for the queen to lay her eggs because it was so filled with honey and nectar.  So I finally know what the term "Honey Bound" means!!  You can see in the picture that each cell is either filled with capped brood (the larvae or baby bees!), capped honey, or nectar.  No room for the queen to lay eggs!  Hopefully they will work on the super next and she will have plenty of room to do her thing!!

Officer Stoffer Does It Again!!!!

Ok, my husband is offically the "BEST BEE SPOTTER" in all of the land!  I mentioned before how he can spot the queeen like nobodys business.  Well yesterday, he outdid himself! 

As he was pulling over a speeder (on our street, no less), he happened to notice a hive about 20 feet up in an old tree directly across the street from our upper portion of our farm! 

Lots of activity going on!  I was actually at the post office so when he called me after he made the stop, so I rushed home thinking my own bees had swarmed.  But mine were perfect!!