More Bees are Better !!

Attended a Hive Management Workshop put on by the Eastern CT Beekeepers Assn recently, and came home with another package. (I couldn't help it - they looked so pitiful with their little eyes pleading with me to take them home). That's the single hive body on the right. Then, I split a frame from each of my larger hives and put them into the 5 frame nuc and introduced a Carniolan queen the next day. Obsession? No!

So far, so good ...

Checked the hives yesterday. Both queens roaming around laying nice brood patterns. Still some chalkbrood showing up, hopefully that will clear up. One hive is working on filling the first honey super, the other hasn't started yet, but looks like they will soon. I have been using the green Pierco drone comb for mite control, removed both of them yesterday, as I don't like having to take the whole hive apart to change them once the honey supers are on. Went through them and found no varroa! Maybe I'll have a good year.

Brood !

Here's a nice brood pattern. Both queens are laying nicely, I'll probably add another hive body this weekend. Adding more plants to the "bee garden" - (I hope they appreciate it).

Inspections ...

Both queens are out and the bees seem to be settling in nicely. The weather has been a bit up and down, but they are flying about, checking out their new territory on nice days. (I have captioned the images for my niece's school class).

Bees have arrived !

The bees arrived on Sunday. There were about 25 people waiting at the pickup location for their bees, and they all looked like it was Christmas and their birthdays rolled into one.  It's grest to see so many folks excited about beekeeping, whether it's for their own enjoyment or to sell honey. Of the approximately 100 food crops we utilize, bees have something to do with about 70 of them, so thank a bee the next time you have a meal.

Starting Over ...

All 3 hives died this winter - looks like they had broken cluster to feed and the cold got them. They had plenty of stores, just didn't make it. New bees will arrive in a couple of weeks, I'll hive them up and hope for the best this year.

On a different note, I attended a meeting of the Eastern Connecticut Beekeepers Association this past Sunday, where Michael Palmer of Vermont spoke about overwintering nucs, splitting hives to make nucs and queen rearing. If you ever have a chance to see Michael speak, do so. While you may or may not agree with everything that he says and does, he is a terrific source of information (and a really nice guy).
I'm hoping to split a hive with one of his Northern queens this year if they build up enough.

What the Heck??

My #3 hive, started from a package this spring, had been doing well up until about a week or so ago, when I noticed that they were becoming a bit less active than before. The goldenrod hadn't quite started blooming, so I figured that they were just hanging back until the flow started. NO, not that simple. I checked them Saturday, and they had no stores, no brood (!!) and NO QUEEN!   I don't know what might have happened, but was able to get another queen yesterday from my bee mentor, put her in, filled the feeder and added a pollen patty. Now to wait a few days and check to see if she was released. Hopefully they will be able to build up for the winter - otherwise I'll have to do a combine with another hive. One thing I have found is that I learn something every time I go out to the hives, even if I just stand there and watch.