Checking Hive #4

Seems I've done a lot of checking on Hive #4.  Not sure about having a queen, what was going on in the hive, did they have wax moths - just lots of questions this summer.  But I checked on Sunday and lots of brood and bees.  Did see three wax moth worms on the top super but took them out and didn't see any signs of moths anywhere else.  Did see a few hive beetles but not as many as last time.  So, all in all, I'm thinking this hive will be fine.  I'll need to check later before cold weather sets in to make sure they have enough food.  But I'll do that for all the hives.

Hive #4 Queen

Check up day for Hive #4.  I was concerned about the queen situation and not much activity compared to the other hives.  I had checked last week and reversed the deeps, saw a couple of empty queen cells but not a clear picture of what was going on.  I'm happy to report there is a queen.  Didn't see her but saw brood, eggs and new emerging bees.  And the bees are bringing in pollen.  Did see lots of hive beetles but they were at the top of the hive.  Nasty little devils.

I'll check again in 2-3 weeks.  Even though it was about ten thousand degrees, the bees were okay.  No stings.  We've had thunderstorms and hot, humid weather - it's that time of year.

Some of the Girls



Dumpling, Elly May, Miss Minnie


It's been so hot but the girls have been fine.  This week has been rainy so everybody is a little happier - bees included.

Morning Glory Tepee

May 21 - transplanted - July 2 - they're still growing!

Honey Help

Denton came over today and we took off 7 supers.  Then we went back to his house and did the actual extracting.  He has all the equipment and a great set up to make a big job easier.  

He uses a leaf blower and blows the bees out of the supers -

prop the super in the chair and blow away.  He always blows the bees back toward the hive - I guess it's like a hurricane for those girls.

Then put a trash bag over the hive so there's no bees getting in the super again. 

It was an all day job and I never would have taken 7 supers without his help - we figured I got about 100-125 lbs of honey today. 

Hive #4

Hive #4 is missing a queen.  I knew something was wrong when I look at all the hives and this one has the least activity.  You kinda get a feel for what's happening and how each hive works when you can look at them several times a day - they're at the end of my garden so when I'm outside it's easy to see. 

So I opened the hive yesterday and sure enough, no sign of a queen and no brood.  But lots of open queen cells - maybe 6 or more.  I decided to leave well enough alone and hope they make their own queen.  I'll open the hive in about two weeks.  I can look at the front of the hive and see if they're bringing in pollen - that's a sure sign of a queen in the hive.  There's lots of bees in the hive and drones.  Again, don't know what happened to the queen. 

June Flowers