Hive Inspection 5/30/11

After my failed attempt at trying to inspect the hive last time, I decided to get on the internet and order some more beekeeping supplies (smoker, coveralls, gloves).  I got suited up and went out to check out the bees to see what was going on.  I had thought that maybe something was wrong with them because they had become so defensive since the other 2 inspections I had done.  It turns out there didn't seem to be anything wrong afterall.  I found the queen on the first bar I pulled out of the hive, so that wasn't the problem.  After concluding the inspection I decided that maybe they were being extra defensive because of the sheer population increase or the fact that they now have a ton of stored honey and pollen that they're trying to defend.  The inspection went pretty well even though they were still being defensive.  Since I was covered from head to toe, I didn't get stung at all this time.

A couple of things that I discovered this time around:

1.  As soon as I pulled the roof off of the hive, I saw one SHB scurrying around, but as soon as I saw it, the workers were chasing and trying to sting it.  It is the only SHB I saw on my inspection... no infestations or anything, which I thought might have been agitating them.
2.  It appears that they are turning hatched brood comb into honey and pollen comb after the bees emerge and the cells are cleaned.
3.  Since the bees are currently occupying the middle of the hive, with the follower boards on both sides, they are expanding to the right where the empty bars are.  Since they came with only one honey comb (which was placed on the left), and 4 brood combs, as each comb of brood hatched out, the brood moved to the right where the new comb was being made.
4.  After pulling out all of the bars that had comb, I found 7 bars with honey and pollen, but 2 of the bars had 2 rows of comb, so it turned out to be about 8 1/2 combs of honey and pollen (some capped, some not).
5.  The first natural comb that they built was made into honey, but they added a very clear dividing line and  extended it down where brood was then laid (there are pics).
6.  I didn't really see any drones while I was inspecting.  I guess I wasn't looking too hard for them either though.  I'll have to make a point to do that next time.

There's my queen, in the middle of the first bar I pulled out.  (Look for the white dot on her thorax)

Newest bar of full, natural comb with brood in it.

Back side of the brood comb in the previous picture.

The empty slot is where the comb in the previous picture belongs.

I love pictures with the bees just spilling out everywhere.

New, unfinished comb that the bees are working on now.  I'm not really a fan of how they're putting 2 rows of comb on one bar.  It makes inspections much more difficult, but I'm not destroying the comb.

Capped honey comb, previously brood comb.  I could feel a big difference in the weight of it when I lifted it out of the hive.

Bees everywhere =)

You can see the workers starting a bee chain on the extended part of comb.

The comb with the division between uncapped honey and brood.  The extension on the bottom is the brood.

Back side of the comb in the previous photo.  This bar also has 2 rows of comb on it.

Garden Update 5/30/11

I got home early in the morning from being out of town visiting family and friends in Tennessee for Memorial Day weekend.  Upon inspection of the squash bed, I stumbled upon a little hatchling bird that was definitely out of place.  I thought it might be a Robin, but the mom definitely wasn't one.  After consulting Google, I decided to put it in a makeshift nest in the tree that it came out of.  I had seen the mother fly into her nest on several occasions, but since it was so high up in the tree, I had to give it its own nest.  The reading that I did said most baby birds won't survive if you try to care for them yourself, even if your intentions are good, and that as long as the bird hasn't been abandoned, the mother will still take care of it.  I hope everything works out, because this baby bird is a cutie!  I also did a hive inspection today, which I will document in a separate post.

Hatchling bird in the squash bed.

Zucchini almost ready for picking.  Perhaps in a day or 2 =)

Ichiban Eggplant plant

Tomato bed

Tomato bed

Pears!

Cummins Falls

Eric and I took Aidan and Marianne up to Cummins Falls just a couple of miles from her apartment.  The hike was pretty steep but we made it down just fine.  I helped Aidan down, but I couldn't have done it without my VFF!  We decided that we couldn't actually make it down to the bottom of the gorge, but Aidan and I got in the water up at the top of the falls so he could wade around.  I got him a fun floatie thing at Walmart before we went.  He was nervous and wanted to get out at first but LOVED it after a few minutes.  We had a good time.  We also took some family pictures later in the evening and then went to Cheddar's for dinner.

I went in the woods across from my sister's apartment in search of cicadas since they've emerged from the ground again.  The very first ones I saw were a mating pair.  I love hearing their shrill calls.

My sister's fiance' told her to take this picture because of how funny Eric and I looked together ;)

New Trailer

Eric and I went up to his dad's property in Knoxville today to pick up the small trailer we're taking to PSG.  It definitely needs new decking and rails, but has lots of potential and is the perfect size!  I already went ahead and bought a new trailer light kit for it also.

Red Top Mountain Camping

Eric was in the mood to go camping so I reserved a campsite earlier in the week and we headed out early Saturday afternoon.  I got stung on my right hand early in the day while attempting to do a hive inspection.  The bees seemed really agitated about something.  I was already going to close the hive up (after only pulling one bar out), and one of them stung me before I managed to get the bar back in the hive.  That ended up cutting our camping trip short, but didn't prevent me from going.  We arrived and set up camp on Saturday and went swimming in Lake Allatoona.  The water was still pretty cold, but I managed to sweet talk Eric into joining me in the water.  It was a nice relaxing day, and after dark, we laid in the tent talking for hours.  I don't normally get the time luxury to be able to do things like that, so it was really nice.  We were supposed to camp another night but decided to leave early because my hand was so swollen and in pain from the sting.  I should have just left the hive alone until we got back from camping.  I'll remember not to do that next time, and I'm definitely going to have to get some more beekeeping gear so I can figure out what's going on without getting stung again.

Our campsite

Lake Allatoona

Getting ready to go swimming

He found a froggy

Lake Allatoona