My Bees Starved to Death!

This is an update to my previous post dated March 27.
 
My bees starved to death.  They had about 20 lbs of honey left in the hive and a division board feeder that was full of sugar water.  The queen started laying to build up for the spring, but the cluster of bees was relatively small and unwilling to move away from the brood nest to access the honey stores during a cold snap because they needed to keep the brood nest warm.  This caused the bees to starve to death.  What a shame!  The easiest indicator of starvation is that a large portion of bees were found dead deep in the cells head first, but not near the honey, they were near the brood nest.

On a warm day prior to the cold snap I should have moved the end frames (they had most of the honey) to positions immediately on either side of the small brood nest (there were only two frames with brood).  That way the bees would have had honey adjacent to the brood nest for use during the cold snap.

OK so it happened again! I lost another one!

March 26, 2013

I lost another hive.  This time it was Harry.  I don't understand what happened.  There were thousands of dead bees in the hive.  There was a little brood (workers and drones), some honey and some pollen.  I didn't see any sign of foulbrood, hive beetles, or Varoa.  I noticed that they did drink some of the sugar water I gave them in the division board feeder.  But I also found some new queen cells, though none opened.  Does this mean the old queen perished or left?  I doubt she left because of the quantity of bees still in the hive.  A quantity equal to what I would expect to carry over the winter into the new spring.  So she might have died.  But how, and why?!?  This situation really curtails my hopes for this year's honey season.

However there are a couple of opportunities here;
         1)  I have a new box full of fully drawn comb with honey to give one or more new hives a nice start.  This might help us harvest more honey this year with the new colonies because they won't need to draw out all new comb and they will have some stores to start out with.  There just won't be any production from the established hive that didn't make it through winter.
         2)  I have a learning opportunity with the South Central Honey Producers of Kansas meeting this coming Saturday afternoon.  There will be a lot of veteran beekeepers attending from whom I might learn something about this situation.

My first bee installation!

April 2011

I just published my first package bee installation.  I did this little project in April of 2011 and used an inferior camera to record the project.  The bees were about 2 weeks late and I think this was due to some inclement weather in California, which delayed their spring build up.  I constructed my own Warre hive during the winter and cleared out a small place next to our tenant's hive (tenant's at that time - they have since moved back into town).

Ramona was out of town and Carlton was not at home either.  So, unfortunately, I did the deed on my own.  But it was still an amazing experience on a beautiful spring day.  After I dumped the bees, I had thousands of them buzzing in the air around me and the hive.  They weren't the least bit aggressive and I got to witness some of them perform their jobs.

It didn't take long for them to recognize the entrance to the hive and that this would be their new home.  The queen's presence in the frames told them this.  So, in due course, I witnessed bees scenting at the entrance to inform the lolly-gaggers that this was where they were supposed to live.  Also, later in this series you will see a young bee remove a dead bee from the landing board.  The young lady that removed the dead bee from the landing board had to wrest her charge from "Ed" who was trying to pull the dead bee into the hive.  Oh well, I hope "Ed" learned how to do her job correctly.

Part 1 - Bee Delivery, Set up the sugar water, Install the queen, and Dump the bees.
http://youtu.be/Rmg5wtPFDhw

Part 2 - I added two boxes to the hive and covered the hive with the quilt and the top.
http://youtu.be/MzXMcTV_WoY

Part 3 - I opened up the package the bees were delivered in to make it easier for the remaining bees to access the hive.
http://youtu.be/LuZWCFLblHo

Part 4 - Some post installation observations.
http://youtu.be/UsGbYwsJXaI

Time to clean up the left-overs!

It's true, if possible, whenever possible, the bees will clean up the sticky mess!  There are thousands of them trying to clean up after the honey extraction and they sound like thousands of tiny fans running at the same time.

I'm tired of not being able to see the embedded videos on my iPad.  I am sure I am not the only experiencing this issue.   Here are some links to the youtube videos instead.

http://youtu.be/IAp4U9fw0Ag

http://youtu.be/nx-0sXuKixQ

Now I'm Fired Up!

There is nothing like a harvest to re-ignite a fire in the belly.  I built five brood boxes and seven medium depth honey supers the other day.  I plan to paint them but Ramona hasn't decided on a color.  It is time to assemble some more bottom boards and I think I will make some migratory lids with some lumber I have laying around.  I purchased some clover, alfalfa, and inoculant for the two acres of pasture that are adjacent to the four acres of wildflower that I sowed earlier this spring.  I intend to sow the seed around the end of March.

Clovers and alfalfa are legumes, which means they are able to get nitrogen from the air for their own use, unlike other non-legume plants.  But they are only able to use nitrogen from the air if Rhizobium bacteria are present in nodules of their roots.  To ensure that the Rhizobium bacteria is present you need to provide those bacteria initially; therefore the need for inoculant.

We are expecting two new colonies in early April and I still need to move the McFadden hive to the farm.  The McFadden hive is full of very mean bees and my amateurish attempts to move them have, so far, been thwarted.  I stapled hardware cloth over the various holes in the hive and every time I think I have the colony buttoned up they find another escape route.  So, last weekend I ordered a moving net to cover the whole enchilada.  Once I get them moved I can tidy up the hive and make it weather proof.  If they are on my own place, I can work the hive at my leisure.

By the way, have I mentioned yet how much I appreciate my new shop.  This was a winter long project, working many weekends and nights, and it is almost finished.  I was very comfortable assembling the new hive boxes with a work bench and tools at hand.

The Taste Test

March 16, 2013

Well.  Jim and Sharon tasted the honey yesterday morning.  They agreed that it had a little twang to it but couldn't place the source.  They were OK with my honey removal and extraction process, so there isn't any concern about it having too much water.  Too much water content will allow the honey to spoil, otherwise, honey has a shelf life of forever.  The bees cap the honey when the water content is perfect and all of the cells were capped.  Also, I didn't provide them any fall sugar water so we know this honey wasn't created from refined sugar.

Oh well.  I don't think there is much more to be said about this issue.  I ate more last night when I finally made it home and decided that it was just...different.

OK, The Honey Taste Test Date is Set!

March 13, 2013

I contacted Jim and Sharon and they are ready to taste the honey.  No one has complained, but I am still concerned.  These veteran honey producers are willing to test it and I can't wait for their nod of approval.  I think the honey has a smokey overtone that is a little bitter when it first hits the mouth.  After the palate gets the full taste the smokiness disappears and the nice honey flavor comes through.  I think I know why this is happening, but I'm not going to explain it until I get Jim and Sharon's assessment on Friday.  See you Friday.

What kind of honey is this?

March 12, 2013

Ok.  I don't know what this is.  It's sweet like honey.  I like it in my coffee and on my toast, but there is something different about it.  My sweet wife, my son, and my brother in law all say it is just fine and tastes like normal honey.  I'm not so sure.  I am so "not so sure" that I am going to take some to a decades long commercial honey producer for a taste test on Friday.  On my way to work I drive by the cafe where Jim and Sharon eat breakfast every morning.  I really can't wait to get their opinion.

We Have Honey in the House!

March 8, 2013

We harvested a little over 41 lbs of honey from 73 lbs gross weight (supers, wax and honey).  We are very happy with the harvest.  But what a sticky mess!  I was up to my elbows in honey.  Anyway, what follows is a pictorial history of the process.

Jars and lids are clean and ready to go.

The cats are in prison.

Extractor, supers, scraper, and tray are ready.

De-capping with the knife.

Loading the centrifuge.

The harvest (some jars were already given away).

Recognizing that Ramona and I put in 5 full days between us to scour the house, prepare the processing area and process the honey, I decided that I really only want to extract once a year (if possible).   However, I have a plan to collect as much clover honey as possible this summer and if we end up with as much fall honey as we did in 2012 we'll have two extraction cycles.  I am particularly fond of clover honey.

Overwinter Stuff

March 8th, 2013

Over winter things slow down at Airyriperakes.  In early January I made some bee candy and put it on top of the frames in my two remaining hives.  I also mowed 4 acres (roughly) and broadcast my seed mix.  I hope I timed it right.  We were expecting moisture on the very Saturday I put down the seed, which is why I was at the farm before dawn.  That particular front never materialized but we've received some nice rain and snow since then.  I am really looking forward to the bloom, which will be very visible from the road and from the farm house on the east side of the pond.  Needless to say we won't be haying that meadow again.  In the picture below the wildflower field is beyond the old barn and grain bin.

Ramona and I decided that we will extract our honey tomorrow.  I'll take vacation today and get everything ready for the extraction.  I'll also make a batch of sugar water and start spring feeding today.  Ramona spent the last two days deep cleaning the kitchen.  Now that is a labor of love (for honey).