Bee Saga

Bee Natural July and August brought a flurry of bee activity. I was worried about the TBH and air circulation, through a series of unfortunate events, I ended up contributing to a moth infestation. I sought answers from everywhere, anywhere and the result: "The best method to avoid moth infestation is to have a strong hive. A strong hive will keep the best out" I found it totally annoying. DUH, I already knew I had a hive that wasn't thriving... But I didn't know why. It had moths everywhere, but no more. I got advice from UC Davis. This nice man named Eric Mussen said to pick out the larvae, determine if there is a queen in there, freeze combs to rid them of moth larvae, and only return what the bees could cover." I removed combs the bees couldn't cover. I froze combs, keeping some, returning some. One comb broke in the freezer because someone at my house forgot to be careful with the comb and manhandled the freezer. I suspect my husband, but I can't prove it. I got up early every day and perused the hive for wiggling things and flying things. I became adept at smashing the fat moth larvae. They popped like coconut filled packets. The queen was gone. The queen I ordered came within 24 hours. I hung her, requeened the hive, continued on my morning moth patrol, and the hive didn't get any more moths, but still the hive was down to two handfuls of bees. No mites, no AFB, just no bees. I joined every bee site between San Diego and Sacramento. Eric told me to feed the bees and I made a weak syrup which they refused. I made a stronger syrup and they loved it. Within 24 hours of feeding the bees the queen laid eggs everywhere. In about 15 days I will have double the population. Finally, Finally, progress. I also bought pollen, mixed it with Karo and put it in the hive. If they can't find pollen, they can eat that. They actually didn't like it. I called a bee keeper, Jose Heredia. Jose is the only stranger who returned my calls and came over to help me troubleshoot the problems in person. He even got stung. First, he had never seen a top bar hive and suggested I burn it. My serious face conveyed that I didn't think he was funny. Like politics and parenting, people tend to endorse only what they know. I understood. He lit my smoker and unceremoniously stuck the smoke end in the door and began pump the bellows. I HEARD A SCREAM I knew his smoker was too hot and too close to the comb, but how would he know, he had never seen a Top Bar hive. I whacked his hand with the smoker and out flew the queen. She must have been on the other side of the door. "That's the queen" I said and tried to pick her up, but she darted around on the ground. "Let me pick her up," he said, and as he tried to pick her up with his non gloved hands, she avoided him. He got her, then she jumped back to the ground. Her wings were clipped. She couldn't go far. I picked her up and dropped her inside a fat comb. She was sure mad. There were several combs, but none had eggs. Jose said, "This hive is dying. That's a really nice queen, but the hive is too small to forage or take care of her, they will die." "What if I bought a full hive and split it. I could put five combs in each Langstroth box, search for the queen, and requeen with my good queen." "You can do that, but they will probably reject her and kill her. It's late in the season and you might go into winter with two weak hives instead of one strong hive." It's about a 140.00 dollar learning experience. "Look, I'll bring a full hive, a healthy hive, and I'll work with you to keep it healthy. I'll even treat for mites when you get them. Your not gonna get any honey from this hive. They put all their resources into building comb and then starved. You should have been feeding them." "I did feed them" "Let me see the syrup," and he swirled the container. "It should be thick like honey, this is too watery. Too much work for them to thin it down. I'll teach you how to make syrup." With that we closed the hive. I learned to make syrup. I made a bag feeder of honey and placed in in the top bar. Within a day, I had to go out of town and would not be there to see if the bees survived or thrived.

June quick check.

I checked the bees, just for a peek and saw their progress. It's slow going. It looks pretty darn tidy in there. Lots of bees, but not nearly as many as I think there should be.

First look into the hive

The bees had a rough start, instead of 2 day shipping, it took 6 days. It was during a heat wave, many were dead, including the queen. They got a new queen, but had to wait 4 days before she was released. The queen cage had fallen from the raffia and I had to release her, that was May 29, I had no idea what to expect, except that I really wanted to look, but was told to wait a week or two after releasing the queen. It has been 13 days. Tonight was the night. It was also time to change the bottom. I had paper and a piece of styrofoam on top of the bottom screen; it seemed like a temporary fix to the large holes in the screen. Later, I realized it wasn't very efficient. They needed something more solid to work the air flow for hive cooling. It was 107 today, that is very hot for bees. Chuck, the bee top bar maker, made me two bottom boards to slide into place. After taking the lid off, it was easy to take the bars from the far side where the bees had not progressed. The styrofoam was easy to remove. Now it was time to place the boards. It looked empty inside, but then I saw comb, perfect comb. Also, the bees were on the shady side of their top bar hive, obviously staying cool. It was amazing to look into the hive and see what they were doing. They seemed a little mad that I took off the paper at the bottom. It wasn't until I pulled it out that I realized their hive went all the way to the bottom. The paper had a little pollen on it. I left it on top for them when I was done. When I lifted the bar, I was looking down on it, not sideways, so I didn't see the honey that showed up in Katja's picture. Looking down into the hive, the comb was beautiful. It was just as I imagined. Hexagonal comb, perfectly shaped, hanging from the top bar, waiting for the queen to fill. I hope she is in there. I didn't really inspect for her because the 107 degree temp made me think twice about handing bars with comb. We looked at the bars, but they seemed annoyed by us and the heat. We just looked into the hive without pulling too many bars out. They have comb on 5 bars with 15 bars still empty and awaiting the rest of their ambitious season. I put the bars back and had two straggles. I helped them get back in. After putting the lid on, there was one coming home. HOME. I am so proud of these girls and their home! A special thanks to Chuck Schilling for making the top bar, and Katja Edgar for all the photos. And to Brian for supporting my transition from near empty nest as a mother, to full hive woman!

water

Bees need a lot of water. I was surprised today when I checked the waterer and the water was full when I left, and empty when I returned. It just seemed odd. How could they bee that thirsty? it was 89 degrees, and perhaps hotter in the hive. I don't know, but my bees are thirsty. They aren't the only ones. There is a hive three blocks away near the park. Those bees drink them fly off to the park. I watch them. They are fatter than my bees and stockier. They also do not disturb my hive. I replaced the water and also left the hose on to a drip in case the water ran out again. I am going to need a better water system. Since it was a day full of journalism and AVID, I didn't get to spend much time out there, however, it sure was a nice warm day perfect for bees to gather pollen, nectar, water and grow fat.

Zen with the Queen

Today is the day the queen should be released. I am so excited, yet a bit fearful. If she is dead, it could mean hive collapse for these ambitious bees. Most people check on their hive with a smoker, but I don't have one yet. My friend Keith couldn't come over with his smoker so the choice was to go buy one or suit up and help the bees. At some point one has to suit up and do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, even without the crutch of the smoker. At least I have gloves and a veil. Besides, if I am going to be a bee keeper, I have to start trusting the bees to know how to interact with me. I suited up, went out, opened up the hive so smoothly that the bee on the lid remained. I removed the bars in the middle, the divider board, and could see the queen cage I had hung with green raffia had fallen.

NO!

There were bees on each side of the screen. I picked it up careful and felt a bee squirm under my finger. I moved my finger and she was fine. Before walking out I put my hive tool and some snub nose pliers in my pocket. When I looked closer at the cage I could see they had almost eaten through the candy, but it would be another day at least. Instead of leaving it be (pun intended). I carefully lifted the queen cage with all the bees on it and could see 6 live bees inside with one dead. The dead one was not the queen, this queen was elegant, dark, unmarked, but obviously by her size, the queen. I believe she is Italian while my bees are All American. I gently pried open the screen with my snub nose pliers being careful not to lose my grip, not to disturb the bees, and not to squish any of the ladies. I said hello to the queen then gently shook them all out. The bees immediately started guiding the queen toward the new comb. I had divided the 20 bars of the top bar into ten by placing a divider after number ten. When I removed the divider I could see they were festooning and making comb all the way to bar 7 where the queen had been hung. They incorporated the raffia into their comb.

Martha Stuart has nothing on these girls.

The bottom of the cage was clean, unlike that first time Keith and I checked and it looked like Hiroshima. My scooping out the major part of the dead bees that had fallen out of the package bees cage was the right thing to do. It left the house bees less to do so they could focus on comb. The bees are collecting pollen and nectar, also I have seen them drink water. They are doing everything they should do. My next job is to check the comb to make sure they are making correct comb. I picked up the lid and the same bee was still resting on top. I placed the lid on and snoozed right through it. Today was monumental for me. I realize that it is the last regular day of school for my daughter who is a junior in high school. I will have to trust that she knows how to carry herself, even as she goes from home to college. In the meantime, while some people have empty nest syndrome, I will have a whole different kind of nest.

Leaf Cutter Bees

I watched these weird looking bees and I wasn't actually sure they were bees. They moved so fast, like wasps, but yet went deep into the digitalis plants. One fatter bee, guarded the towers of pink blooms in the pot near my pathway. It darts at other bees, then humps certain bees that go into the flower. Other bees are chased away. He also darts over to the other digitalis and guards those too. He burns a lot of energy going back and forth. He even chases off bumble bees. After a bit of research I found out these are leaf cutter bees. These are Megachile Brevis, and they are probably living nearby. It can't be far. These bees are not social. They don't have a hive or honey. They come out in spring and frolic. The female lays eggs in a little tunnel shaped like a straw. She deposits something like a ball of nutrients, an egg, then puts a little leaf disk to separate the layers of eggs. As evidenced from the roses, they cut small circles. I don't know if they deposit eggs every now and then or all at once, but once those egg babies are laid, nothing more is needed of the ladies and they die. The larvae eat all the sustenance and incubate into bees. It isn't very romantic. The male in my yard latches right onto the girl and does a few seconds of pushing then flies off. He uses the plants as his chick magnet, chasing off all others that might threaten his copulation zone. The honey bees are all over the butterfly bush. I will look into their little habitat tomorrow. I will try to add pictures of the carpenter bees, but for now, all I get is a blur.

Bee Whisperer

I watched a movie about a horse whisperer. It was called, "Buck". I don't know if Buck knew he was a horse whisperer. I wish I was more of a bee whisperer, but I am clumsy and in being clumsy, the bees can get squished. Also, I am not that smooth and slow in my movements, and I need to improve. The bees had a few days on the sugar water. Last night I brought it in so that they venture out and get used to their digs. In the front today, I observed some honey bees and what might be leaf cutter bees. They are hairy and move differently than honey bees. Only a few bumble bees were out today, and many flowers are in bloom. I want more flowers. More tastes. My bees are all over the basil flowers. They might love the taste of basil, but they might also use something in the pollen or nectar in a medicinal way. They are smart girls. They know where their waterer is and they use it. In and out they fly without really causing any disharmony. The dogs bark and chase the cats. The cats chase lizards and occasionally get birds. The chickens cluck and go after my plants, but overall, nothing the bee does makes any negative impact on the peace of the day. They are busy and peaceful. I feel better that they are alive and part of my family.