New Bees

Time for the new bee season to start.   Since all my bees died during the winter, we're starting new again this year.   I installed two packages on April 27.    We got them from Kelley Bee.  [Note:  When they give you a date, that's the ship date, not the arrival date, contrary to what they say in the literature they send.]

Eric suited up, but I didn't.   Package bees aren't defending anything, so they're really docile.   It's great to have one person suited up just in case, but I really like working the bees with minimal protection, so I just wore what I had on. 

Here I am dumping the bees in the first hive.    Lots of bees flying around.   One landed on my ear and another on my nose, then wandered over to my eye.   Neither stung,  though I admit I was thinking, 'Dang.  That's really gonna hurt.'   [I did get pinged once later on the thumb.  No biggie.]

I had a good plan going in and had drawn a pic of the stacks and had a list of what we needed to do.    Lily took the pictures, kept notes and read off the directions.  Eric lifted stuff, handed me tools and brushed that one bee off my face.

We had a lot of frames with comb from the deadouts, so I used all of those frames for these packages.   I put an empty frame in the center and hung the queen cage there.   [There just wasn't enough room to stick her between two drawn frames.  We tried.]

When I checked the queens three days later, both hives had drawn quite a bit of new comb in that frame.   I'll definitely do that again.  

I made a couple of changes in the setups this year.   I changed over to solid bottom boards.   We'll add slatted racks just above those when the weather gets hot.  Then I put the deep for the brood, then a 2" shim [the green one] that I use to give me a bit of extra space for dry sugar.    I had saved all of the sugar/candy board from the deadouts, put it in the freezer for the rest of the winter, and fed it to the packages [after defrosting].  I had a gallon of sugar and honey that I split between the new hives.

Then I put on the inner cover [entrance up] with a medium above that so I can feed syrup from jars later.   I put the telescoping cover over that. 

You can see how the hives look in this shot.   The new hives have the empty packages in front of them.  

The remaining hives will get nucs in a couple of weeks.  We'll put one nuc in the long box on the table, and the other nuc in the center deep hive.  

I have one more space for a hive in the row and I think I'll save that for extra supers.   If I keep a bottom board and top cover on the stack, that'll keep moths and vermin out and the supers will be handy for later. 

The bees seem happy with their new homes and are bringing in the pollen.   I checked the queens after three days.   I released one, but the other was so close to being released by the bees, I decided to let them finish.   I'll check them on Sunday to make sure the queens are laying. 

Installing Windows

We brought some of our new windows home during the holidays.   We went with a stock size so we could afford to get bigger windows.   These are 36x60.   Lots of light!

The trick was how to install these very heavy windows in the 2nd story without dropping one or doing physical damage to any of us.

You have to install windows from the outside of the house so that you can seal them up tight against
the elements.



This means installation happens from a ladder.  But there's no way that even a strong guy can safely carry a big window up a tall ladder, swing it around, caulk the opening and install the window.    Without hurting something.
 

So Eric devised another plan, using two extension ladders, one in front of the other.

He set up a smaller ladder between the big ladder and the house.   He'll climb up the ladder with the yellow rope, which is set at a proper, safe distance from the house.  

The shorter red ladder is for holding the window.  At the top of that ladder, Eric put a Pivit Ladder Leveling tool.   That gave him a place to park the window until we got the rough opening caulked and ready to go.  

It worked this way:

1.  The girls and I carried the window to the rough opening.  Eric climbed the ladder.

2.  It took all three of us girls to lift the window, tilt it and get it through the rough opening, where Eric caught it and parked it on the Pivit, leaning against the house.  Claire and I held onto the window the whole time.

3.  Eric caulked around the sides and top and passed the caulk gun in to me, and I caulked the bottom of the opening.

4. Eric lifted the window into the opening, centered it and Claire and I pulled it into place. 

5. Eric nailed it into place. 

6. We cleaned  the smeared caulk off the windows with mineral spirits.   Installation is messy.

We installed 6 windows over that weekend.   Only 5 more to go and 3 of those are much smaller.  

Cardboard Nuc Boxes

The nucs I just got came in these handy dandy cardboard nuc boxes.

Unfortunately, the woman who was minding the store where I picked them up gave me wrong information, and if I had done what she said, I would have been in quite a pickle.*  Luckily, I didn't trust what I was hearing and I didn't do what she said.  I don't want the same thing to happen to someone else, so here's a quick description of what's going on with these nucs.

1.  The lids: My lids were not taped on.   If they had fallen over in the car, it would have been a problem.    I suggest a bit of tape across the tops, just in case.

2.  The small holes at the bottom of each end:  These are hive entrances.    In the pic you can see the small hole is open on the right nuc box.   Notice that there is no screen on this entrance - that's so the bees can get in and out like a regular hive.    However!   On the other end of the box, that small bottom hole is covered by white plastic mesh, so you can open the other side and they can get some air without getting out.   [Clever ones will get out anyway.]  Make sure that you know which end is which before you open the vent. 

3. Larger holes in center of each end:   Those are vent holes and the bees need those to be open when the weather is hot.    In my boxes, there was mesh covering the large holes on both ends so that either end could be open for ventilation.    That should have been explained to me and I should have been told to open the vents as soon as I got home and got the bees out of the car to rest before installing them.  

4.  The insides [Sorry no pics!]:   There is a cardboard separator on each end of the nuc box that keeps the frames in place during handling and traveling.   It's nice....except when it's time to install the nucs.   Be really careful to let the bees know which end you're starting at so the queen can get away from that first frame you take out.   It's very easy to roll the bees with that first frame.   The separators prevent you from scooting the next frame over before you lift and take it out!   I worked slowly and in both nucs, the queen was on the back side of the very last frame I removed.  Smart girls.  

5. Installation:  I received no instructions on installation from the place where I got these bees and was not told to ventilate the bees or how.*  I used common sense to get them home, out of the car and up to the site, where I put them in the shade immediately, then I followed these instructions for installation. Since I did not know where the mesh was in the boxes, I had to keep the boxes completely closed until installation and I was afraid I'd roast the bees.   I waited only 20 minutes or so to let them rest after I got them home before I installed them.   I prepped the new hives, smoked them a bit and opened the nuc.  I tapped the side and top of the frame I would be starting from and lifted the first frame out carefully.   Be careful not to roll the bees!  

Tip:  After you get that first frame out, you can sort of tilt the bottom of the next frame away from the others as you get it out.  That will help prevent rolling in those cardboard nuc boxes.    [I also have a plastic nuc box that I use as a swarm trap - it has no frame separators on the ends so it's easy to slide the frames over before you take them out.]

We checked every frame for brood, stores and the queen.   Both nucs were full of brood and the queen was marked on one of them.  I must say that the bees were nice and calm even though they'd just endured more than an hour in the car and the trundle up the hill and had been closed up completely for who knows how long.  

I did not have to return the boxes.  One of the reasons that nucs are so expensive these days is that suppliers are using more of these cardboard things and you're paying for them.   They're plenty durable for a ride home, but they're not really keepable, so I stripped out the mesh pieces and recycled the cardboard.  


*I can no longer recommend that store for bees or equipment.   The beekeeper himself is wonderful, but the store manager has lost my business forever.  

New Bees - Finally!

After paying for these bees in January, I was finally able to pick them up on Thursday.   The season was slow starting this year and everyone is excited to get their new bees.  

We decided to go with 2 nucs this year instead of packages, like we did at first, so we could get a head start.    I'm glad we did.  The pic at top shows bees going in the Hello Sweetie hive a few hours after Lily and I installed them.  Notice the bee flying with with pollen.   Yay!

Nuc is a clipping of the word 'nucleus' as in 'nucleus hive'.    It's a laying queen plus 5 frames of drawn out comb, brood and bees.    A reputable dealer will make sure that there are plenty of eggs and larvae and that the queen is a good layer.    I was not disappointed.   The Hello Sweetie hive had 4 1/2 frames of eggs and larvae.   The Bowtie hive had 5 full frames of eggs and brood and was looking for more space.  

I laid a leafy weed on their doorstep to help them know to re-orient when they fly out and come back to their new home.  

After an hour and a half ride home and being trundled up the hill in the wheelbarrow, these bees were making a lot of noise in the cardboard nuc boxes they came in.   We let them rest for an hour, then installed them.   I was a bit nervous with all the noise and we suited up complete with gloves, which I hardly ever wear for inspections.   I was extremely pleased to find that they are nice and calm.  

So, I finally have two hives up and running for this year.  [Bowtie on left, Hello Sweetie on right]  Whew!   

After a lot of thought about why we lost our bees during the winter [even though they had candy boards and were wrapped appropriately], I've come to the conclusion that one hive was weak from a large mite load and all three hives were just too small to weather the polar vortex.   My goal this year is to grow lots of bees in every hive.    We will feed sugar water for the entire season and try to get very large hives that can stand the variable winters here.  

I'm praying to St. Deborah and St. Gobnait, who are the patron saints of beekeepers [Could be the same person, actually] to help me out.  Help me raise lots of bees and big hives, ladies!

Bee installation, or - What not to feed your bees

Our bees are here and successfully installed.    Now, I just hope they like their new homes and stick around.

This is how it went.

First, we did a lot of reading.   A lot of talking.   A lot of studying.

A lot, I tell you.

We painted and placed the hives in full sun on a little hill in front of a big hill.   They should be happy here. 

We watched a lot of videos of bees.

We watched this vid of Beemaster installing bees and we decided to do it that way.

So, Eric went and picked up the bees at Graham's because I was at work in town that day.   And when we all got home around 6:30, we gathered everything up and went to the hives.

When we got it all together, Eric and I looked at each other and said, "I don't want to wear the suit.  If the guys in the vids can deal with gentle bees with no gloves and veils, then we can, too."

And we did.   We installed two packages of bees into our hives, placed the queens, fed them, covered them, etc - barehanded and with no veils.

It was amazing.   Here are the pics.   [Note:  Lily took the pics.  With bees swirling all around.  Fearless.  In a skirt.   With no protective clothing on either.  Wow.]

Our packages, the way they came from Graham's

All the lovely buzzing.  They sounded like an air conditioner.  

These two bees traveled for heaven knows how long on the outside of this package.   Eric noticed them when he put them in the car.  They were still there when we installed them.

First a little smoke to make sure everyone is calm.   Probably not necessary, but since we were not in suits and veils, we thought we'd make extra sure they were calm.

Just a few puffs.

Then Eric took the wood off the sides and bottom of one of the screened sides. 

And the bees started coming out as soon as they could squeeze through.   Which we weren't really prepared for.   

Then they were swirling through the air around us. And we weren't quite ready to dump.   And we missed that little staple in the middle.    But finally we got it and dumped them into the hive.

This is the doublewide hive.  It has a Tardis on the front and a window in the back.   It was designed for top bars, but they weren't ready yet, so we used regular deep frames.   I'll checkerboard them out and add top bars as we add more supers. 

Here are the bees in the Tardis hive.   We only put them in half.

One thing we hadn't thought of well enough was how to keep the bees completely out of the other half.   A couple of girls got in there, so I left a reduced entrance so they could get out of that side and in with the queen.   I hope they do.

And here is the queen!   She has some attendants in with her.  On the right side of the box is a compartment filled with candy.   We opened that up to the other bees, so they could eat her free.   Then she'll lay and lay and lay.

I put her box on the bottom of the hive, under the frames.

Look at the empty box the bees came in.  See that can?   It's still 2/3 full of syrup that they put in for the bees to eat in transit.   We can use that to feed them with once they're in.

In the meantime, the bees were getting diluted honey to eat.   These are regular jar feeders.  I did a 1:1 solution of honey and water. 

That turned out to be a BIG MISTAKE. 

I found out today that honey might carry the spores for American Foul Brood.   Don't feed your bees honey unless you know exactly which hive it came from at that it is free of American Foul Brood.  Unfortunately, I found out too late.  If we do get AFB, we'll have to burn everything. 

In all of the reading and studying and researching and talking to people, no one ever mentioned that 'strange' honey might kill your bees...until I mentioned on a forum that I was feeding honey, but by then it was too late.  Fingers crossed that we'll dodge that bullet.

I put them on sugar water now.   [They're not actually eating much - good nectar flow now.]   UPDATE BELOW!

Here I am installing the second package.   We had a better idea of what to do this time and it went a bit smoother.   [Yet another reason to do more than one when you start out!]

Once the bees were in and the queen was in, it was time to close up the hive.

First I put in the frames we had taken out to make room for the bees.    Since the bees are everywhere, I put the frame in gently and slowly and let the pressure of it tell the bees to scoot.   It took a bit for some of the bees to get the message, but they did.   Then I pushed all the frames together so there's not too much space between them where the bees can go crazy with burr comb.   We don't want burr comb.  Then I put the tops on.

Here are the fronts, with the bees in, tops and feeders on.  You can see a lot of bees in the air.  They soon gathered on the hive and feeders.  The bees love the honey water. 

Lots of bees still on the front of the flower lang.  That's the one we did last.

While Lily was taking pics, some bees decided to check her out.   She took this pic of her own hand, herself.  

These bees are very very gentle!  

When we got done, we watched the Beemaster's vid again to see what we could have done better.   Turns out we did better than we thought we did.  His bees started escaping, too.   It's normal.

We checked on the bees the next morning and despite the damp, they were orienting and moving around. 

Already the hives have different personalities.

UPDATE:  We forgot to completely sterilize the whole feeder units.   So we brought the entire units in - bases and all - and took everything apart to bleach it.   The syrup is a waste, and I'm sorry for that, but we've got a ticking time bomb unless we're careful.     

I put the bases and all the lids - including the extra ones - in a gallon bucket.  Then I filled it with hot water and a good glug of bleach - 1/3 cup or more, then some antibacterial dish soap and let them sit for a bit.   I rinsed each jar out and set it in/filled it with the bleach water to soak for a bit, then washed it out thoroughly and rinsed it again.   All 4 jars that way.   Then washed the lids and bases and rinsed them well.    Now we're putting in 1:1 sugar water solution.    The bees will be a bit confused, but maybe an apian smorgasbord is a good thing?   

This is very stressful, but hopefully a good learning experience for us and anyone who reads the blog.   I don't want anyone to have to go through this if they don't have to.

The good news is that one of the less extreme treatments for AFB is to put the bees in a new box with foundationless frames [burn all the old wood equipment] and have them draw all new comb - which is exactly what we're doing in the first place.  Apparently there's a chance that they'll metabolize the bad spores while they're drawing comb and render the spores harmless. 

Fingers crossed!