Hello everyone. A lot of information to put out since my last posting. I have had some major events occur in the Apiary. In short it looks like we still only have 2 laying Queens because I think I rolled my marked queen during an inspection. Good news is that there are already emergency queen cells so hopefully that colony will be up an running soon. I will discuss the last two inspections and post videos of them in my next posting. For now I want to leave you with a quick tutorial on how I make my 1:1 Syrup for my one gallon feeders. I hope you enjoy.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Thursday, May 26, 2016
It appears all is well
Things are beginning to look up. All three hives are up and running and look to be thriving. But I will get to that in a minute. First I want to apologize for not having a video of my package hive (#3) being inspected. Ronan and I were all set to go this past weekend and the GoPro died on us about 30 seconds in. Lesson learned there, make sure I charge the battery the night before.
Fortunately, that was the only bad thing that happened that day. We had a great inspection. Ronan did all of the smoking and helped to inspect individual frames. The queen was located and going strong. I found eggs on many frames. Workers were bringing in pollen and doing what bees do. I wish the video had worked. I made up for it later though.
On Monday, I did the inspection of Hives #1 and #2. Both of those inspections were like opposite sides of a coin. When we last looked at Hive #1, there was still no sign of a mated Queen. It was being blamed on the rainy weather and the fact that she hadn't had a chance to take a mating flight. I went through each frame meticulously looking for a queen, mated or otherwise. One thing interfering with the inspection was the number of drones. Much like the queen not being able to mate, neither had the drones. They live as long as the workers if they don't mate, so the hive was full of them. Being that they are so much bigger than the workers, it really masked the presence of a queen.
I was able to video this inspection. However, it is extremely long. I spent a lot of time looking for any evidence of a queen. Finally, I found a few cells with eggs. I am talking about maybe 20 cells in total. I spent probably a good five minutes just looking at that one frame trying to ensure what I was seeing were eggs. It makes for a very boring video, but if you are a diehard follower and want to see it, it is HERE
I never did see a queen, but convinced myself that what I saw were eggs. I intended to go back into the hive later in the week to see if the eggs had turned to larva. I went in today (Thursday) and found what looked like a little royal jelly in the cells that had eggs. But better than that, I found more eggs! Almost an entire frame full of them. I am finally convinced we have a mated queen and she is doing what she was born to do. This weekend's inspections will confirm it and hopefully I will finally spot the queen
After my inspection of Hive #1, I immediately moved to Hive #2. This inspection turned out to be what I would consider to be an ideal inspection. I moved through the hive quickly, located eggs, and brood in all stages. I saw no sign of disease and the bees were working at peak efficiency. The whole inspection only took about 15 minutes and makes for much better viewing. I managed to get a good shot of the queen moving across the frame and a good shot of a frame of eggs. I highly recommend this video and you can find it HERE
Needless to say I am super happy to have all three hives up and running. Now I can just try to manage them and not take such drastic action on Hive #1. It is a good thing that I got new woodware, because with the colonies growing, I am going to add some more supers shortly. That being said, I have some painting to do this weekend to ensure they are ready to go.
That is about all I have for now. I hope you all have a great Memorial Day Weekend.
Fortunately, that was the only bad thing that happened that day. We had a great inspection. Ronan did all of the smoking and helped to inspect individual frames. The queen was located and going strong. I found eggs on many frames. Workers were bringing in pollen and doing what bees do. I wish the video had worked. I made up for it later though.
On Monday, I did the inspection of Hives #1 and #2. Both of those inspections were like opposite sides of a coin. When we last looked at Hive #1, there was still no sign of a mated Queen. It was being blamed on the rainy weather and the fact that she hadn't had a chance to take a mating flight. I went through each frame meticulously looking for a queen, mated or otherwise. One thing interfering with the inspection was the number of drones. Much like the queen not being able to mate, neither had the drones. They live as long as the workers if they don't mate, so the hive was full of them. Being that they are so much bigger than the workers, it really masked the presence of a queen.
I was able to video this inspection. However, it is extremely long. I spent a lot of time looking for any evidence of a queen. Finally, I found a few cells with eggs. I am talking about maybe 20 cells in total. I spent probably a good five minutes just looking at that one frame trying to ensure what I was seeing were eggs. It makes for a very boring video, but if you are a diehard follower and want to see it, it is HERE
I never did see a queen, but convinced myself that what I saw were eggs. I intended to go back into the hive later in the week to see if the eggs had turned to larva. I went in today (Thursday) and found what looked like a little royal jelly in the cells that had eggs. But better than that, I found more eggs! Almost an entire frame full of them. I am finally convinced we have a mated queen and she is doing what she was born to do. This weekend's inspections will confirm it and hopefully I will finally spot the queen
After my inspection of Hive #1, I immediately moved to Hive #2. This inspection turned out to be what I would consider to be an ideal inspection. I moved through the hive quickly, located eggs, and brood in all stages. I saw no sign of disease and the bees were working at peak efficiency. The whole inspection only took about 15 minutes and makes for much better viewing. I managed to get a good shot of the queen moving across the frame and a good shot of a frame of eggs. I highly recommend this video and you can find it HERE
Needless to say I am super happy to have all three hives up and running. Now I can just try to manage them and not take such drastic action on Hive #1. It is a good thing that I got new woodware, because with the colonies growing, I am going to add some more supers shortly. That being said, I have some painting to do this weekend to ensure they are ready to go.
That is about all I have for now. I hope you all have a great Memorial Day Weekend.
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Bees and Bears
Well life sure has a way of keeping me away from this Blog. I did hive inspections on Saturday and Monday. Here it is the following Thursday and I am just now writing about it. It did take a little time to upload all of the videos. There are 5 new videos for your viewing pleasure. I try to link the videos in my blog posts. If you would rather read updates more often, let me know. I will do that and post videos separately as they get uploaded. Please comment on the videos so I know what kind of content you want to see. For me, recording the whole inspection allows me to go back and review what I found and make notes in my log book. I realize as a viewer, they may become monotonous. If you like them how they are, that is great, it makes it too easy for me. However, if there is something you would like me to talk more about, or focus on, I can edit the videos to just show that content. As I have stated before, this blog/vlog is as much for you as it is for me.
Now let's get down to the good stuff. I inspected hive #1 this past Saturday. My goal was to find a Queen and ensure she was laying eggs. Remember, I pulled my marked queen from that hive in order to do an artificial split before they swarmed. There were multiple swarm cells and it appeared that a new queen was inevitable. I was confident that it was going to be a success. You can see by the picture below that I was looking forward to seeing the new queen. Even Moose was excited
Alas, it was not meant to be. There was no sign of a queen. No eggs were laid and I did not find a queen. Not only that, but almost all of the capped worker brood had hatched. The weather had been very rainy over the last two weeks. It could be that a queen hatched, but was unable to make a mating flight. This is the same reason my package bees were delayed. The good news is that Jen actually suited up and got into the hive. The video of the inspection can be found in here in PART 1 and PART 2, Jen's reactions are funny. You can tell she is nervous but does a great job and I think has a better appreciation for an inspection.
My initial thought was that I was going to need to do a combine and put the marked queen back in her original hive. I discussed it with Larry and I had to reconsider. The reason being, if there was a queen in Hive #1, then they would fight. IF the marked queen died and the the other queen failed to mate, I would have two hives without laying queens. Instead, it was decided to take a frame of eggs from Hive #2 and put it in Hive #1. If there was no queen in there the workers will draw out an Emergency Queen Cell and raise a new queen. The video of everything that took place in that procedure is HERE I would know within 48 hours if they had drawn out the Emergency Cell. There was nothing there on Sunday, so I would have to wait until Monday to find out.
Monday is where the fun begins. I had the Den 1 Bears from Pack 395 in the apiary for a demonstration of a hive inspection. I chose to use Hive #2 since the queen is marked and there are frames in multiple stages of use. Here they are gathered while I give them some safety rules.
I then gave them a demo on lighting a smoker.
When it came time to start the inspection, one of the scouts volunteered to suit up in Ronan's gear and help with the inspection. He was so excited.
He wasted no time getting his hands in the hive and had no apprehensions. Check out his skill.
The bees were also on their best behavior. There were no stings even though the Scouts got up close and personal.
I also got a hold of drone and was able to pass it around. Some of the Scouts who were afraid of bees actually held it. Drones are a great way to help people overcome their fears.
Their reactions to the whole experience are great. You can see them HERE
After the inspection, I went into Hive #1 to check for an Emergency Cell. Another Scout suited up and helped me out.
He pulled the frame that had eggs in it and we looked for any sign that the workers were making a new queen.
Unfortunately there was nothing to be found. HERE is the link for that video. The only thing that I can imagine is going on, is that there is a Virgin Queen in the hive and she has just not mated yet. I will check again this weekend and if there is still no sign, I may do another swap with a frame of eggs. If that fails, then I think I will have to combine the original queen back in Hive #1
That wraps up this past weekend. Since then, I have received my latest order from Brushy Mountain. I will be posting an unboxing video in the next few days. Let me know if there are any other video topics you want me to cover.
Thanks for reading and watching. I have been told that people are having trouble commenting on the blog. If that is the case, comment on a YouTube video instead. I will read them and take whatever advice you have. Thanks again.
Now let's get down to the good stuff. I inspected hive #1 this past Saturday. My goal was to find a Queen and ensure she was laying eggs. Remember, I pulled my marked queen from that hive in order to do an artificial split before they swarmed. There were multiple swarm cells and it appeared that a new queen was inevitable. I was confident that it was going to be a success. You can see by the picture below that I was looking forward to seeing the new queen. Even Moose was excited
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| The Hike up the Hill |
Alas, it was not meant to be. There was no sign of a queen. No eggs were laid and I did not find a queen. Not only that, but almost all of the capped worker brood had hatched. The weather had been very rainy over the last two weeks. It could be that a queen hatched, but was unable to make a mating flight. This is the same reason my package bees were delayed. The good news is that Jen actually suited up and got into the hive. The video of the inspection can be found in here in PART 1 and PART 2, Jen's reactions are funny. You can tell she is nervous but does a great job and I think has a better appreciation for an inspection.
My initial thought was that I was going to need to do a combine and put the marked queen back in her original hive. I discussed it with Larry and I had to reconsider. The reason being, if there was a queen in Hive #1, then they would fight. IF the marked queen died and the the other queen failed to mate, I would have two hives without laying queens. Instead, it was decided to take a frame of eggs from Hive #2 and put it in Hive #1. If there was no queen in there the workers will draw out an Emergency Queen Cell and raise a new queen. The video of everything that took place in that procedure is HERE I would know within 48 hours if they had drawn out the Emergency Cell. There was nothing there on Sunday, so I would have to wait until Monday to find out.
Monday is where the fun begins. I had the Den 1 Bears from Pack 395 in the apiary for a demonstration of a hive inspection. I chose to use Hive #2 since the queen is marked and there are frames in multiple stages of use. Here they are gathered while I give them some safety rules.
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| They are good listeners |
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| Little boys are fascinated by fire. |
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| New assistant. |
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| Looks like pro |
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| No Fear |
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| Drones are fun. |
After the inspection, I went into Hive #1 to check for an Emergency Cell. Another Scout suited up and helped me out.
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| Another future beekeeper |
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| Let's see what's going on. |
That wraps up this past weekend. Since then, I have received my latest order from Brushy Mountain. I will be posting an unboxing video in the next few days. Let me know if there are any other video topics you want me to cover.
Thanks for reading and watching. I have been told that people are having trouble commenting on the blog. If that is the case, comment on a YouTube video instead. I will read them and take whatever advice you have. Thanks again.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Very busy beekeeper
A lot went on at the apiary over the past few days. With three hives going, there was a lot to be done. I ended up making four videos so that delayed the blog by a day or two.
On Saturday I went into Hive #1 to see if the new queen had hatched and was in the hive. Things did not go as I had hoped. I saw no sign of the new virgin queen. In addition to that, I found three capped Swarm Cells. I don't know what is going on in there. It could be a queen hatched and has not mated yet, so the workers are still rearing another queen. I would have thought that the hatched queen would have killed the other queens in their cells. Several of the cells were chewed open and cleaned out. It could also be that something happened to the new queen so the bees are preparing to raise another. Or possibly they are still planning to swarm. This doesn't seem likely to me, since they appear to be queenless at this time and have plenty of room. For you experienced beekeepers who are following, watch my video. PART 1 and PART 2 can be seen at those links. Part 2 is rather long. I was anxious because I couldn't find the queen and had no idea what was going on in the hive. Let me know if you have any idea what is going on.
I then moved on to Hive #2. This was the first inspection of the hive since I moved it. Recall, it was originally in a Nucleus Hive after the split. This inspection went much better. The bees were drawing out comb and bringing in food stores. I found brood in all stages which means the queen is doing what she was born to do. If things continue like this, Hive #2 will be in good shape going into the winter. This video is an easier pill to swallow and can be found HERE It is a good example of how quick an inspection should go.
Finally, I inspected Hive #3 on Monday. I was originally planning on having Ronan's Cub Scout Den over to observe. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best. It had been raining most of the day. I couldn't do the inspection until around 7pm and it was overcast. Not ideal conditions at all. Having never been in that hive, I did not know how the bees would behave and I did not want any accidental stings. I called of the Den meeting to be on the safe side. In hindsight I could have had them over as the bees were very well mannered. My wife was out there taking pictures and had no issue at all. Below are some pictures which show off her talent.
This video I try something different. I aim the camera more directly into the hive. Check it out HERE and let me know if you like the format. I plan to move the camera a little closer next time now that I know how it turns out.
Anyway, this was another good inspection. The queen had been released from her cage and was already laying eggs. The workers wasted no time drawing comb and were not phased by my small cell foundation. I may keep small cell in there if they continue to use it. I also spotted the queen. That made me extremely happy after not seeing one in Hive #1. 2 out of 3 ain't bad as they say. They had drawn out 5 frames so I did not add another box. They will probably need one by the time I inspect again, so I will be prepared to add.
That about does it for this blog entry. I will leave you with one additional photo. It is of one happy beekeeper.
Until next time....
On Saturday I went into Hive #1 to see if the new queen had hatched and was in the hive. Things did not go as I had hoped. I saw no sign of the new virgin queen. In addition to that, I found three capped Swarm Cells. I don't know what is going on in there. It could be a queen hatched and has not mated yet, so the workers are still rearing another queen. I would have thought that the hatched queen would have killed the other queens in their cells. Several of the cells were chewed open and cleaned out. It could also be that something happened to the new queen so the bees are preparing to raise another. Or possibly they are still planning to swarm. This doesn't seem likely to me, since they appear to be queenless at this time and have plenty of room. For you experienced beekeepers who are following, watch my video. PART 1 and PART 2 can be seen at those links. Part 2 is rather long. I was anxious because I couldn't find the queen and had no idea what was going on in the hive. Let me know if you have any idea what is going on.
I then moved on to Hive #2. This was the first inspection of the hive since I moved it. Recall, it was originally in a Nucleus Hive after the split. This inspection went much better. The bees were drawing out comb and bringing in food stores. I found brood in all stages which means the queen is doing what she was born to do. If things continue like this, Hive #2 will be in good shape going into the winter. This video is an easier pill to swallow and can be found HERE It is a good example of how quick an inspection should go.
Finally, I inspected Hive #3 on Monday. I was originally planning on having Ronan's Cub Scout Den over to observe. Unfortunately, the weather was not the best. It had been raining most of the day. I couldn't do the inspection until around 7pm and it was overcast. Not ideal conditions at all. Having never been in that hive, I did not know how the bees would behave and I did not want any accidental stings. I called of the Den meeting to be on the safe side. In hindsight I could have had them over as the bees were very well mannered. My wife was out there taking pictures and had no issue at all. Below are some pictures which show off her talent.
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| Headed to apiary |
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| Queen is almost center frame |
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| Ronan inspecting a frame |
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| Working together |
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| Good shot of comb drawn out because of queen cage |
Anyway, this was another good inspection. The queen had been released from her cage and was already laying eggs. The workers wasted no time drawing comb and were not phased by my small cell foundation. I may keep small cell in there if they continue to use it. I also spotted the queen. That made me extremely happy after not seeing one in Hive #1. 2 out of 3 ain't bad as they say. They had drawn out 5 frames so I did not add another box. They will probably need one by the time I inspect again, so I will be prepared to add.
That about does it for this blog entry. I will leave you with one additional photo. It is of one happy beekeeper.
Until next time....
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
New Addition to the Apiary
Well today has been an eventful day. I got an email Sunday that my package of bees was ready for pickup. With the rainy weather, I was not sure how it was going to go. Fortunately the sun decided to come out so I took a peek at the Apiary. When I got there my initial hive looked like this.
I gave my mentor a call and we determined we would probably need to add another box. I took a peek and they had drawn out 6 frames of comb. Normally a box is added when 7-8 frames are drawn out, but by their actions, I think 6 was that magic number.
So the next activity of the day was to transfer the Nuc from my split into a full size box. They had drawn out comb on the two frames of foundation I put in with them. So with five drawn frames, I put an additional box of foundation on top to ensure they had plenty of room.
With all that business taken care of, I rolled out to Gaithersburg, MD to pick up my bees. There was a stack of packages and I just picked the one I wanted. Since the package came before my most recent order from Brushy Mountain, I had to purchase some new wooden ware. I got a new inner cover, outer cover and bottom board.
Then as I was checking out, I heard the unmistakable sound of a car being hit by another car. Unfortunately one of those cars was mine. Another patron backed straight into my car. The result looked like this.
After exchanging information and finishing my transaction, I was headed back home. Fortunately my car could still be driven but the window will not roll up. Does not bode well with the rain in the forecast. Once I got home, Ronan and I installed the package. We took video of the process and you can find it on my YouTube channel at THIS LINK.
I now have three active hives. It is more than I had planned on for my first year, but that is the life of a beekeeper. I had to close up shop quickly so that I could get Ronan to all his evening activities. When I got home, I was able to get this shot of the Apiary.
That about wraps it up. Next thing to do is to check to see if the queen has been released. I will do that next week. If she has not made it out or the queen cage I will have to release her myself. I am hoping that is not the case and she makes it out and starts laying eggs in the next couple of days. Thanks for following along.
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| Lots of Activity |
I gave my mentor a call and we determined we would probably need to add another box. I took a peek and they had drawn out 6 frames of comb. Normally a box is added when 7-8 frames are drawn out, but by their actions, I think 6 was that magic number.
So the next activity of the day was to transfer the Nuc from my split into a full size box. They had drawn out comb on the two frames of foundation I put in with them. So with five drawn frames, I put an additional box of foundation on top to ensure they had plenty of room.
With all that business taken care of, I rolled out to Gaithersburg, MD to pick up my bees. There was a stack of packages and I just picked the one I wanted. Since the package came before my most recent order from Brushy Mountain, I had to purchase some new wooden ware. I got a new inner cover, outer cover and bottom board.
Then as I was checking out, I heard the unmistakable sound of a car being hit by another car. Unfortunately one of those cars was mine. Another patron backed straight into my car. The result looked like this.
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| My Poor Car |
After exchanging information and finishing my transaction, I was headed back home. Fortunately my car could still be driven but the window will not roll up. Does not bode well with the rain in the forecast. Once I got home, Ronan and I installed the package. We took video of the process and you can find it on my YouTube channel at THIS LINK.
I now have three active hives. It is more than I had planned on for my first year, but that is the life of a beekeeper. I had to close up shop quickly so that I could get Ronan to all his evening activities. When I got home, I was able to get this shot of the Apiary.
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| The Apiary Grows |
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Too Much Too Soon????
I completed my first weekly hive inspection this past weekend. It was a mix of good news and bad news. The actual process of the inspection went off without a hitch. I had two dads from Ronan's Cub Scout den, and their sons, observing the whole thing. One of them attended the Beginner Beekeeping Short Course with me and decided not to start this year. Seeing the inspection made him regret not starting.
The girls were really well behaved. Ronan and I were suited up, but Jen, my two friends, one of their sons, and Moose were all in their normal clothes. They were all moving around the hive and not one of them was stung or even bothered by the bees.
Ronan was helping to record the inspection, but I lost him about half way through. We found a drone and he spent about the next 20 minutes showing it to his friends. Here are a few good shots.
As I said the inspection went really well. You can watch part one AT THIS LINK and part two AT THIS LINK.
In the video you will see what ended up causing me some concern and ultimately some extra work. During the inspection I noticed several Swarm Cells with larva in them. That meant that the hive was inevitably going to swarm. This was most likely caused by over crowding. When I did the initial install, I stacked the frames the same way they came out of the Nuc. Since bees prefer to move vertical and not lateral, they felt as though they had no space. I figured they had plenty but I was wrong. Had I put another box on top they may have been OK. Ultimately they filled what comb they had drawn out with nectar due to the flow being in full swing. This left little to no room for brood and the workers decided it was time to swarm. Swarming is how bees propagate the species by dividing the colony and raising a new Queen.
I was also concerned because I did not find the Queen on my initial inspection. I was not concerned initially because I saw eggs which meant that she had been there recently. The more I thought about it, I realized she may have swarmed the day before and I would have still seen eggs. It just gnawed at me and I decided I had to go back in and find her. I went back in and quickly moved through the frames and was able to locate her. This gave me some sense of relief because at least I knew I still had a mated Queen.
At this point I had several options, but I did not know what I "should" do. That is when I knew it was time to call my mentor. I gave Larry a call and he said that we should do a split and he would be over the following day to help out. He brought over a Nuc box and we opened the hive again. It was a good thing too. He said the Swarm Cells looked to be about 7 days old. Swarm Cells get capped on the 8th day and then it is bye bye to the Queen and the workers she takes with her. We did another hive inspection (no video for this one) and found the Queen again. We moved a frame of nectar and two frames of brood into the Nuc box. We also gave them two frames of foundation to build on. Hopefully we tricked both haves into thinking they swarmed. So now the Apiary looks like this.
Now I have to wait 14 days to check on both of them. This will give time for any brood to hatch in the initial hive, the new queen to hatch, and the queen to mate. If it is successful, any eggs I see in the hive will be from the new Queen. The Nuc is a little more tricky. Some, if not many, of the workers are leaving the Nuc and returning to the original hive. This is because they are so close together and the workers remember the location of the original hive. I checked on them today and only saw one worker returning to the hive and no guard bees. Once the brood in there hatch, they will not know anything different and they will only return to the Nuc. Hopefully enough workers stay to raise the new brood and make the Nuc strong.
I was not expecting my bees to swarm so soon. Lesson learned is to make sure they have plenty of room. If all goes well, I will have three hive once my package gets here (That is a whole other story.) If all three are successful then I will have gotten one hive for free.
I guess that is about it. Check out the videos and make sure you like, share, and subscribe. Pass the word to your friends if you like the content and I will be sure to keep it coming.
The girls were really well behaved. Ronan and I were suited up, but Jen, my two friends, one of their sons, and Moose were all in their normal clothes. They were all moving around the hive and not one of them was stung or even bothered by the bees.
Ronan was helping to record the inspection, but I lost him about half way through. We found a drone and he spent about the next 20 minutes showing it to his friends. Here are a few good shots.
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| No Stinger on a Drone. Feel free to pet. |
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| Just hanging out with Ronan |
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| Look at those big beautiful eyes |
In the video you will see what ended up causing me some concern and ultimately some extra work. During the inspection I noticed several Swarm Cells with larva in them. That meant that the hive was inevitably going to swarm. This was most likely caused by over crowding. When I did the initial install, I stacked the frames the same way they came out of the Nuc. Since bees prefer to move vertical and not lateral, they felt as though they had no space. I figured they had plenty but I was wrong. Had I put another box on top they may have been OK. Ultimately they filled what comb they had drawn out with nectar due to the flow being in full swing. This left little to no room for brood and the workers decided it was time to swarm. Swarming is how bees propagate the species by dividing the colony and raising a new Queen.
I was also concerned because I did not find the Queen on my initial inspection. I was not concerned initially because I saw eggs which meant that she had been there recently. The more I thought about it, I realized she may have swarmed the day before and I would have still seen eggs. It just gnawed at me and I decided I had to go back in and find her. I went back in and quickly moved through the frames and was able to locate her. This gave me some sense of relief because at least I knew I still had a mated Queen.
At this point I had several options, but I did not know what I "should" do. That is when I knew it was time to call my mentor. I gave Larry a call and he said that we should do a split and he would be over the following day to help out. He brought over a Nuc box and we opened the hive again. It was a good thing too. He said the Swarm Cells looked to be about 7 days old. Swarm Cells get capped on the 8th day and then it is bye bye to the Queen and the workers she takes with her. We did another hive inspection (no video for this one) and found the Queen again. We moved a frame of nectar and two frames of brood into the Nuc box. We also gave them two frames of foundation to build on. Hopefully we tricked both haves into thinking they swarmed. So now the Apiary looks like this.
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| 5 Frame Nuc as a new home |
I was not expecting my bees to swarm so soon. Lesson learned is to make sure they have plenty of room. If all goes well, I will have three hive once my package gets here (That is a whole other story.) If all three are successful then I will have gotten one hive for free.
I guess that is about it. Check out the videos and make sure you like, share, and subscribe. Pass the word to your friends if you like the content and I will be sure to keep it coming.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Hive Inspection Video is Ready
So I have spent the last couple of days trying to edit my video for you all to view. I had a great version where I added all these annotation to describe things that were happening just off screen or explaining comments that Larry made. Unfortunately when I tried to split the video in half for easier viewing, all the notes were lost. Then I tried adding some of the pictures that my wife took to emphasize some of what was being said. Needless to say that was an abysmal failure. Ultimately what we have left is a 35 minute video with one picture of my queen. I know it is long but it is pretty informative. I tried to talk as much as possible to describe what I was seeing and ask questions to Larry. I may try editing later but for now I just wanted to get it out there for all to see. I find the queen around the sixteen minute mark. If you are short on time, that is probably the highlight of the video. If you want to stop it there I understand. The video is also cut short because the battery ran out. The only thing missing is when we reassemble the frames and put the hive back together. With that all being said, I think it is a pretty interesting video with lots of good information. I hope you enjoy. Please don't forget to like the video and subscribe to my channel if you want to see more videos.
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