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 -

Highland Honey Video

Here's a pretty good little video about a honey operation in Boulder.  It makes me excited for spring!

The Beekeeper from Spencer Sarson on Vimeo.

Mid January Report

Entrance Activity

The bee girls were out this weekend.  It has been so warm the last few days, as in nearly 60.  Pretty toasty for January, and a welcome relief after some of the real cold days we've had.

I'd checked on them several times and was able to hear them in the hive.  So I knew there were some in there, but I was still a bit worried.  I left two extra frames of supers on, to give them the extra honey stores, but I was concerned that it was too much volume for them to have to heat.  So I've been eagerly awaiting a warm day to do a quick inspection.

Carniolan Cutie

Saturday there was a lot of activity at the entrance, and Sunday actually looked busy.  I popped the top of the have and was able to look down in and see some activity.  They seem to be doing great.  I put out some water for them and closed everything back up.  It's fun just to see them out.

A bit later I was getting into our trailer and one of them was pretty determined to fly into one of the photos on it.  I saw her try four times.  There's nothing to forage, but a few were out having a look.  They haven't touched any of the super frames, so they should have plenty of honey, but I should probably research getting a pollen patty put in for them.

Hooray for the bees!

Winter Buzz

There's not a whole lot going on right now.  It's late December and we've had some below zero weather.  About a month ago, before it really hit, I cut some 2 inch insulation for the bees and covered the hive.  I cut a piece for the top too.

There have been a lot of die off bees at the hive entrance.  I've also seen a lot of dead on the floor of the hive.  But I can still hear the bees in the hive, so I think they are doing okay.  I'm hoping for another really warm day so I can take a peek inside.

Scientists Discover Molecule Linking Neonicotinoids to Honey Bee Viruses

Italian scientists think they've found the molecule that links honey bee immune systems with pesticides . . . let's hope they're right.

http://www.nationofchange.org/scientists-discover-key-molecule-linking-neonicotinoids-honey-bee-viruses-1382712918

A World Without Bees

Here's an article from Time Magazine about the storm of troubles facing bees today.

First Harvest

At the NCBA Beginning Beekeeping Class, they cautioned us not to expect to harvest any honey our first year.  I pulled out five heaping frames today.  I am so excited, and so proud of the bees.  It's been a great year for bees in Fort Collins.

I went up to Copoco's to get a gate valve and a food grade 5 gallon bucket, a scraper, and a a bucket filter.  It's not worth renting/borrowing an extractor for just 5 frames, so I tried scratching open the supers and letting it drain out.  But since it's September and already cooled off a bit, the honey isn't viscous enough to drain out.  We've got loads of flies this time of year too, so I decided it was best to scrape out the comb and honey all together.  It will destroy a lot of work by the bees, but I want the honey that badly.

The scrapped out honey and wax makes a lump that looks a bit like creamed corn.  The golden honey drains out pretty quickly.  After it was mostly drained I took the wax that was left and left it in a strainer overnight to let gravity do it's work.  This separated some more honey, which I ran through the bucket filter to combine with the rest of the honey.

I got some half pint and jam jars (4 oz).  It's one of the lightest honey's I've ever seen, nearly water white on the color grade.  And it tastes AMAZING.  I think because I don't have to over filter it or heat it (because I'm not planning on selling it at this point), the honey is very raw.  And FRESH!!  It was in the hive just a few hours ago and was capped in the last week or so.  It's AWESOME!!

Levi & Rocket's Honey 2013

I wanted to start beekeeping because I know honey bees are in trouble.  Being a gardener and someone who appreciates the earth, I want to help them.  I really love being able to grow and preserve food for myself.

To keep bees is to see the hand of God.  The more I work with them, the more they teach me.

Winterish

We've had a fairly cold week, and a few inches of snow.  It's actually our first week with a hard freeze.  I've been a bit concerned with the bees, and I haven't had a chance to do an inspection because it's been either too cold or very overcast.

Today I jumped at the chance to do an inspection when I heard it was in the 60's.  Sure enough when I got out to the hive, the poor girls were crowded around the small opening of the entrance reducer.  They're still working hard and coming back with loads of pollen.  I pried out the entrance reducer before I got the smoker going just to give them a chance to unload.

The two top supers showed significant improvement.  It's been at least two weeks since I moved the empties out and took off the third one.  There's a lot of newly capped honey.  It even looked like they were laying down more comb.  And there's still a lot of uncapped nectar, which I don't want to take out of the hive, since I can't harvest it.

I wore a white suit today for the first time today. They seemed to be a lot more relaxed.  I smoked them pretty good, but the white suit seemed to really help.  I don't know if it's sting proof, but i suppose I'll find out sooner or later.

I wasn't able to get the frames out of the hive bodies.  they are so caked with propolis, when i tried to pry them loose, it was actually the hive frame that cracked first.  They seem really healthy.  I looked down into the top hive body and it looked completely full of honey.  I looked under the bottom hive body too, and it looked really clean too.  I didn't separate them since I had no idea where the queen might be.

I'll have to do some more research, but I think they are looking good heading into winter.  I'm planning to wrap the hive with some kind of insulation, perhaps styrofoam, to help them keep warm.  I'm really pleased to see how well they are doing and so proud of their hard work.  It's been a fantastic year to start beekeeping in the Rockies!

Rocket got one too

My dear sweet helper dog got a sting too!  This was actually earlier this summer.  I  felt pretty bad for her when I noticed she had a swollen eyebrow.  She's been a champ about it though!

The Stinging Saga

Ahhhhhh!  I got stung again today!

I was just out looking through the supers.  I wanted to get out the empties that I'd put in for the girls to clean up after the harvest.  It was late, and dark, but I went out anyway.  I started reorganizing, and was able to clear out a whole super's worth of empties, or at least frames without comb drawn out.  But the girls were not in a very good mood.

I could hear the guard bee swarming me, and they were crawling on my veil.  Actually, I had two inside the helmet.  So I ran off and was able to pull it off before I got stung.  I shook them out and put everything back on since I still had to put the hive back together.

I went back over and the bees were definitely mad.  I put the supers back on and could hear another bee very close.  It had gotten quite dark, so I could barely see her crawling on the front of my veil.  I tried to brush her away and then froze, realizing I might have a third bee inside my hood.  Sure enough, when she got to the white veil seam she walked OVER it . . . meaning she was inside.  I bolted, but struggled with the knot so I couldn't get it off.  I felt her bump my face just below my eye and then the sharp burn.

I knew it was going to be bad because it was centered in the soft tissue just below my lower eyelid.  Ahhhh!  Having already seen some beekeeper face stings, I knew it was bad bad news.  I raced in and pulled the stinger out in a matter of seconds.  Pinched and rinsed, washed my face and took some benadryl.

I was pissed.

I went outside and put the helmet on AGAIN.  I put the inner cover and top cover and the brick back on as fast as I could and put away all my gear.  I got an ice cube and laid on the couch.

My latest sting at about 30 minutes . . . still smiling

Still smiling 4 hours after a bee sting to the face

 By the time I went to bed, my eye was nearly swollen shut, and I was realizing I was having another bad reaction.  My breathing was fine, and it was hot, but not especially painful.  So I took two more benadryl and ibuprofen, and was quickly asleep.

Swelling 12 hours after being stung in the face by a bee

When I did finally wake up, the mirror confirmed for me that benadryl isn't strong enough for any of my allergies.  My eye was completely swollen shut.  The skin hurt from being stretched so tight, and it was hot.  Awesome.  It's not like you can call into work and say "I got a bug bite and won't be in today."  So I took a shower and a double dose of Zyrtec and went.

I was actually pretty amazed that people that aren't in my department don't really look at you in the face when you pass them in the hall, so no one . . . no one . . . said anything in passing.  However, the people who do look me in the eyes were all shocked.  I looked bad enough that people didn't give me a hard time, they were actually very compassionate and concerned for me.

I was grateful that I really didn't feel that bad . . . aside from having a fat head.  I took another double dose of Zyrtec (4x for the day) but it didn't really seem to help either.

24 hours after being stung in the face by a bee

This warped smile was 24 hours after the sting.  It was beginning to really itch as the swelling went down and I started to get some feeling back.

Bee sting at 36 hours

 The next morning I looked worse again.  I think being laid down was the biggest factor.  I decided to double up on Allegra to see if it would help.  It's the most effective for my grass allergies.  And more ibuprophen.

I don't mind the stings so much, and the swelling isn't even that bad.  It's that it takes 3 or 4 days for me to get back to normal.

Still swollen at 60 hours

4 days and still a bit swollen

 So I guess the moral of the story is to be sure you don't have any open folds in the back of your veil.  I'm pretty sure that's where they were coming in from.  I need to figure out how to tie it tighter or perhaps wear my coat over it.

That and it's probably time for me to get an epipen.  This definitely isn't anaphylactic shock, but I do react much worse than most people.  I can see how multiple stings or a freak sting inside the mouth or throat could put me in really dire shape.  Better safe than sorry.

Super 2

It turns out that this has been a spectacular year to start beekeeping.  After having added the first super, i was disappointed that the bees didn't seem to be moving up into it.  There was very little wax being put down, and I was afraid that they had slowed down.  But recently there has been steady progress, and then suddenly they had 7 frames drawn out with nectar already in it.  So I put together two more supers and put the second one on today!

I'm so proud of the girls.  It's not even August yet, and they've nearly filled their first super.  We're gonna have honey this year for sure.  I can only imagine how many supers they'd have filled if they hadn't spent so much energy producing all that honeycomb.

They have gotten pretty aggressive because the hive has so much honey in it.  I got stung and swarmed a few days ago trying to clean up all the cross comb.  I didn't realize it, but my sweatshirt had probably 20 stingers in it, which was why i was getting swarmed.  And I had one get up under my veil.  I didn't feel her until she was crawling up my neck onto my  cheek.  I immediately got away from the hive but ended up getting stung right in front of my ear.  Lucky for me, there wasn't much skin there to swell.  So I've learned to keep my veil tighter . . . and smoke the little buggers.

The story of honeybees and their importance in sustaining life

Honeybees in peril.  They're kind of fragile little things . . . if you hadn't already noticed.

http://www.naturalnews.com/041194_honeybees_neonicotinoids_pesticides.html