Colorado Swarm Boom

Evidently it's not just me, there are bees swarming all over Colorado!  It's a great time to be beekeeping!  Here's a report from 9News in Denver.

If you see a swarm please call the Northern Colorado Beekeeper's Association Swarm Hotline at 970-213-3099

20 Million Bee Swarm

Bees swarm after being released from a tractor-trailer that overturned carrying them near Newark, N.J., Tuesday, May 20, 2014, on the ramp from Route 896 to Interstate 95. (AP Photo/The Wilmington News-Journal, Suchat Pederson)

As if honeybees aren't facing enough already, a semi overturned with 460 hives in Delaware.  The ensuing swarm was estimated to be between 16 & 20 million bees.

http://www.weather.com/news/millions-bees-close-newark-delaware-highway-20140520

If you see a swarm please call the Northern Colorado Beekeeper's Association Swarm Hotline at 970-213-3099

Plan to Curb Bee Deaths - NBC News Article

Here's an article from NBC News about Varroa Mites and Neonicotinoids as contributing factors for Colony Collapse Disorder.  It was also interesting to read that 15% losses are considered acceptable in commercial beekeeping.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/hope-honeybees-experts-pitch-plan-curb-deaths-n105651

 

2014 saw bee losses at 23%, which is much better than 31% in 2013.

Feed the Bees

I’ve been feeding the bees once a day for the last few days.  It’s really easy, just a 1:1 mix of sugar and water.  I usually use hot water from the electric kettle so I don’t have to heat it over the stove.  You stir it until it’s clear, and then let it cool and serve it to the bees.

Bees feeding in a top feeder

I’ve got a top feeder that I purchased last year.  It works really well, however, I wish it  wasn’t level in the bottom of the feeding tray.  If it had a slight downslope, all the sugar water would run back to the bees, but they manage to lick up nearly all of it.

The swarm bees, or any new hive, needs a ton of fuel to build out all the comb they need.  It’s very taxing on their little bodies to produce so much wax, especially if they have to search and collect their own nectar.  So we supplement them with sugar water for a while to help them out.  You need to inspect the hive every couple days to keep an eye on their progress.  Once they are established, then it’s important to stop feeding them so they don’t get lazy.

The lilac's are out!

Frankenhive's Purple Body

Frankenhive as of this Morning

 All the frames came yesterday, so this morning I was able to swap a finished and painted purple bottom body onto Frankenhive.  The bees ended up getting pretty mad because they are all hanging on the inner cover and the fake outer one I had installed.

I tried to move quickly and most of them were okay, but the ones that were on the cover weren't real pleased.  I had a few scary moments having one then two more inside my veil.  I had also tucked in my t-shirt, but not my long sleeve shirt.  I got a glancing sting on my elbow where one had crawled all the way up my shirt and was all the way out in my shirt sleeve.  I must have had about ten more trapped between my two shirts.  I was pretty lucky not to have gotten a serious sting.  My next purchase better be a real bee suit.

I'm a bit concerned that all the new frames I've installed ended up in the bottom hive body.  I need to find out if this will cause a problem with the empty body on the top.

I was also able to install one of my new hive outer covers.  I'm going to paint the other two inside to hopefully reduce condensation and fight mold.  We'll see how it goes.

No wonder it feels like I've got sawdust in my eyes.

 Aaaaaaaaaaand it's about time to clean up the garage.

Bummer

Hand Holds and Outer Covers

Tonight I was able to get some more done on Frankenhive.

First, I must say beekeepers are tremendously giving people.  I've found a ton of great resources that beekeepers are sharing for free on the internet.  So thank you all, for your generosity.  It's benefiting the bees in my backyard.

I found this video by Cleo Hogan about making a jig to cut the handholds with a circular saw.

Beesource also has a link to the plans for the Handhold Jig.  It was easy to make, and works quite well.

I found a roll of Aluminum flashing 20”x25’ at home depot which is PERFECT for the hive outer covers.  I worked off the same Langstroth Plans that I'd downloaded for the hive bodies.  I modified them a bit to fit the materials I had.  I cut them to the dimensions specified, even though they seemed long, knowing I could easily cut them down.  I dadoed the smaller pieces by 3/4x3/8.  This made the cover fit much better around the hive body.  Maybe still a little long, but it should provide plenty of ventilation.  I then cut a 1/4 dado on the upper inside of the frame pieces.  This was to drop int he 1/4 luan I planned to use for the top of the cover.  I assembled the frame with glue and brads, then glued and stapled the top in place.  Then I rolled out the aluminum flashing and cut it to length.  It's thin enough you can score it with a razor knive a few times and then it will fold and snap cleanly.  The flashing is easy to work with and forms nicely around the cover.  I pinched and folded the end corners and was able to staple the flashing into place.  They came out great.

Handholds, Jigs, and Outer Covers . . . Oh my!!

Now it's pretty much down to cutting all the hand holds and painting.

Inner Covers

Langstroth Hive Inner Cover with Vent

After work tonight I was able to get some inner covers made.  Thanks again to Beesource, I found some great plans for the Langstroth Inner Covers.

I'm starting to make 3 Sets of everything.  I figure this will give me a few extra of the more detailed parts, so I'll have them on hand to be ready for the next swarm.

It takes more time just to get the saws set up than it does to actually cut and assemble it all.  I'm sure if I do enough of these, I'll know how many board feet to rip, and I can do all my 3/8 and 1/4 dadoes in a single pass, so I don't have to keep taking it out and resetting it.

But it's been a joy just to see the parts come together and also to have the tools, and even some scrap 1/4 luan (plywood) in the garage that I can use.

Swarm Bees Bearding on Frankenhive

The Bees seem pretty happy out in Frankenhive for the time being.

Frankenhive

Once you get going on a woodworking project, you start to remember all the nuances of your table saw and tape measure, and that the dado blade marks are a little off.  It’s actually been really enjoyable to be working in the garage and making all the pieces I’ve needed.

I started off ripping the 1x’s to the proper width for the hive bodies and supers.  I then ran over to a friend’s house to use his sliding miter saw and cut them to the lengths needed.  I was very pleased that I had very little waste wood.  It became apparent later on, that a Langstroth Hive is purposely designed to fit common lumber dimensions.  A Lot of the “waste” pieces turned out to be the proper width for other parts I needed.

You always need "help" in the garage

I couldn’t get my router jig set up as it’s a Craftsman, and I have to have a special plate for my Porter-Cable router to work with it.  Sears doesn’t seem to know what it is, so I just ended up dadoing a simple rabbet joint.  One thing that made it a lot easier to put the hives and supers together was shooting a few brads into them after I’d glued them.  It was easy to get them square and assembled.  Then I drilled pilot holes and put in a few screws.  They’ll be plenty strong once the glue is dried.

10 Frame Supers and Hive Bodies

I was reminded that I need to push down harder on the dado cuts.  Some of them wandered, and I had some warped lumber too.  So things didn’t fit quite as perfectly as I’d like, but the bees don’t care.

All in all, I was very pleased with my work, and it felt so good to make something.  And I used just about every tool I own, which is always fun.  (and I felt very blessed to have everything I really needed.

Primer on the New Hives

The Swarm

Well, it’s a good thing I went to NCBA’s Swarm School back in March.  I was prepared, but not really.  But let me back up.
Things have looked fantastic in the hive, and it’s warmed up, so I took off the winter insulation.  The bees seem healthy and happy, and they are bringing back pollen.  I was making them mad doing a hive inspection, so I closed it up and left them alone before I got down to the brood frames.  There was already a lot of new honey in the supers, so I was excited that it looked like they were nearly already caught up to where they had been at the end of last summer!  But I didn’t realize I had trouble brewing below.  I’m not sure if I would have identified the queen cells that were down in the brood frames, but it would have warned me that a swarm was imminent.

So I’ve learned a lot about swarms and building hives in the last few days.

I knew what to do with a swarm and how to capture it, but i was completely unprepared in regards to equipment.  I had been added to the swarm list mostly because I wanted to observe a capture, and though “oh, if I get some hives built, then maybe I’ll take a swarm.”  I didn’t realize it would be my own bees that would be one of the first swarms of the year.

I was on my way to church and could hear trouble at the hive.  They sounded very angry, and at a glance I could see 5,000-10,000 bees swirling over the lilacs.  It was either a major robbery (which is unlikely to happen to a healthy colony), or a swarm beginning.  I’m grateful it was a Sunday, and i’m grateful I was able to observe the entire process.  The swirling moved to the back yard, and I thought perhaps they would land in the neighbor’s short pine tree.  I wasn’t suited up, so I wasn’t able to observe much, but it wasn’t long before I spotted the swarm in the lilacs.

Bee Swarm - 4 May 2014 - Fort Collins, CO

Here's some cell phone footage of the mayhem of the swarm before they'd really settled down.  (Set it to HD)

I guessed that the mass of bees had to be more than 20,000.  It was a huge swarm.  My initial thought was to put them back in the hive and try to keep them there, but after I got suited up and looked, it didn’t look like there was any room for another bee.  No wonder the queen had left.

But that was the problem, she’s such and excellent queen, that I didn’t want to lose her.  There was nowhere open to buy equipment, so I was really in a pinch.  I called the NCBA Swarm Hotline - (970-213-3099) and Beth encouraged me to pass on the swarm or scramble together equipment.  She also informed me that it’s hard to tell how long a swarm will stay put.  It can be a few minutes, a few hours, or even a few days.  No matter what, it was an urgent situation if I was going to keep these bees.

God bless the people a Beesource.com!!!  They have put together plans for a lot of different beekeeping woodenware.  I was able to download Langstroth Hive Plans.  I dashed to home depot to get 1x12s and 1x8s to make supers.  It took 12 hours, but I managed to get a Frankenhive put together.  It was after midnight, that I went out to check on the swarm, and they were sound asleep.  I thought it’d be best not to move them until morning, with the light, so I could see them, and they could see the new hive.

I was up early the next morning, and my prayers had been answered, the swarm was still in the lilacs.  It was actually nice and cool too, which was good for me.  Bees are a bit like lizards in that they are lethargic when they are cold.  I was VERY lucky.  I place two have bodies under the swarm and cut through the branch.  One of the things they mentioned you need to deal with a swarm is help . . . and after having caught one . . . yes, you need help.  The swarm was heavier than I thought, and I . . . well . . . just watch the video.

They all seemed to be moving in, so I moved Frankenhive to a semipermanent place in the back yard.  There wasn’t a lot I could do for them except pray, and try to get home soon so I could build some inner and outer covers.

- to be continued -