Joel’s first outfit.

Once again I have allowed a lull in posting.  I want to explain myself since the busiest part of my beekeeping season is NOW and I haven’t posted at all.  It is not that I have lost interest in the blog or beekeeping.  I have had other things going on……

Two weeks ago today my wife gave birth to a little boy – Joel.  Since then both of us have been re-prioritizing.  I haven’t lost any passion for beekeeping as his first outfit will show.  Our lives have been ruled by the every 2 – 3 hour feedings and diaper changes.  It has been a crazy adjustment, but Mom and Joel are doing great. 

That being said I hope to be back posting very soon.  Over the course of the last two weeks I have been able to visit all but two bee yards.  My overwintering success this year is not as good as I would have hoped.

More on that will be coming soon.

1005 in 2010.

I do not know what caused it yet, but I am relatively sure at least one hive has expired.  1001 was one of my first two colonies.  I bought it as an established hive from a beekeeper that was going out of business.  It had been on the previous owner’s program of yearly requeening, massive doses of sugar syrup and chemicals treatments to kill nosema and varroa.  How did I make this determination?  This seems like a long and tortuous story, but bear with me and I will get to the point.

Attic Boxes in action last year.

First some background information:  The winter of 2012-2013 was a first.  After being involved with several cutouts last summer I was having second thoughts about making things too easy on my bees over the winter.  In all previous years I had converted swarm traps into attic boxes every fall. I did this with the idea that I wanted ALL of my colonies to overwinter.  Some of the cutout observations made me change my tune to wanting only the most robust and healthy hives to overwinter.  This will not only get rid of my inferior genetics, but free up boxes for 2013′s swarms.

Doesn’t look to cosy to me.

The cutout from 7/28/12, was a major factor in my changing view.  I featured it in the post Saturday Morning Cutout.  This hive was located in the North-West corner of a house that had been abandoned for 25-30 years.  It is very flat here and during the winter the North and West winds can be brutal.  The space that the hive occupied was approximately 15″ x 4″ x 10 FEET.  Only about 3 feet at the bottom was left for brood and other hive activities.  The rest all the way up to the top was filled with capped honey.  The only thing between the bees and the outside air was some very dilapidated wood siding that was riddled with holes.   The house had some insulation between some of the studs but NOT in this corner cavity.  The bees living here were a little ill tempered, but definitely had what it took to survive.  These are precisely the type of bees that I want living in my hives, good honey producers that don’t need a beekeeper around in order to survive.

Top entrance inner cover.

I had initially hoped for more time last fall to do a proper trial of overwintering techniques when writing What to do.  Due to time constraints and last years mold problems I decided that instead of the attic boxes all hives would get one of my top-entrance inner covers.  All hives were provided with one form of winter protection.  I made sure they at least had some form of windbreak from the North and West, but beyond that they were going to be on their own.

I was passing by a place with three hives on it on 3/7/13.  I had a lot to get done that day so I didn’t get a chance to do anything more than snap a couple pictures and place my ear next to the hives for a listen.  At the time humming was audible from only two of the hives.  It wasn’t until I got home and looked at the pictures that I made an amazing observation.  The uninsulated inner covers gave away a secret as to what was going on inside.

1001 Snow Covered

1005 Melted

1208 melting

On 3/7 there was still some snow around.  The two hives that were humming, 1005 and 1208 showed obvious snow melt.  The silent hive, 1001 had a nice pile of snow on top.  I theorize that heat generated by the surviving colonies melted the snow on top since there was no insulation.  I don’t know if anyone else will even find it interesting, but I did.  We pharmacists are a nerdy bunch. It is too early to determine if this method of overwintering was a good idea or not.  The fate of more hives will need to be determined…. more on that in late April.

Once the weather breaks and I have a day off I will break 1001 apart and attempt to diagnose the problem.  Until then I will just have to wonder.

What do you think?

Current reading.

This is the bottom drawer of our Entertainment Center.  It is the one place in the house I am allowed to keep my current reading materials.  How many beekeepers out there have a pile of bee literature laying around like in this?  I keep old bee magazines because believe it or not there are times I will revisit a subject in my mind and reread an old article.  Not all of the magazine’s contents are on-line and I like having a hard copy around anyway.  If I am going to keep them I need to have them organized better than in the bottom of a drawer.  So once a year I bind them together with para-cord to make a book.

Required Materials:
A heavy duty 3 hole punch
paracord
scissors
a lighter

Steps: 
Every month after I read through a magazine I 3-hole punch it.  This helps me keep track of issues I have been through.  If there are no holes then I’m not done with that issue.  Then they get stored in the drawer until I have read the December issue.  They are then bound as follows:

1. Organize the magazines in proper chronological order with January on top and December on the bottom.
2. Place them on a table so that the 3-holes are hanging over the edge.
3. Put the spool of paracord on the floor at between your feet.
4. Starting at the TOP, run the paracord through the holes in a kind of figure 8 type pattern.
5. At the BOTTOM run the cord around the compiled volume and then back through the same holes making your way back to the TOP.  During this step it may be necessary to separate the issues a little to get the cord through one at a time.  That is why it is important to keep things loose with plenty of slack during this stage.
6. When you get to the top you need to remove all of that slack and push the book together tightly. This is a very important step.  If you aren’t careful the thing won’t feel like a book when you pick it up.
7. BEFORE you cut your cord you need to tie this thing together.  I do this by first taking as much slack out of the thing as possible by pulling really hard on the cord.  I then hold the book with my legs while holding an end in each hand.  Cross it over and pull it tight like you were beginning to tie your shoes.  Place your thumb on the knot as in the picture.  Then form a second knot in the same fashion pulling it tightly against the first one.  After the second knot is complete jerk on each free end repeatedly to pull the knot VERY tight.
8. Cut the cord allowing enough excess on each end so that you can re-tie it in the event you need to take the volume apart.  I had been missing a 2010 issue of Bee Culture until one day last summer.  I just took the book apart and placed the missing issue.  The volume was then rebound.
9. It is important to melt the cut end of the paracord to keep things from unravelling.  In a safe location use the lighter to melt the end of the paracord.  It may light on fire.  When the end begins to change from its frayed appearance to an almost liquid looking ball, BLOW IT OUT.  If you allow it to burn too long the cord will melt and begin to drip in hot liquid form.  So don’t do this over your carpet.Be extremely careful not to touch the melted end until it is completely cool.  This can take some time so be patient.  It hurts bad enough that you want to avoid getting burnt.

Once completed you will be able to keep your yearly subscriptions in order.  Don’t ask me what you do with them when you have 25 or 30 years worth laying around.  I am not to that point yet.  Check back with me then, I will be working on a plan for that eventuality.

Bee Culture’s IndexSomething to remember, Bee Culture has a Year End Index that will help you when you are trying to find an articles in the future. The Index is always toward the end of the December issue.  I have no idea why American Bee Journal does not do this.  It is extremely helpful.

All of the pictures I took for this post are in a folder on Photobucket.  I will warn you they aren’t in chronological order.

What have you been up to?

1005 historically a great hive. Active 2/7/13

Checked in on three hives Thursday 2/7/13. They were observed at about 11:30. The outside temperature was 45 degrees F. There was activity from only one of the three colonies. A steady stream of bees came and went from 1005, but 1001 and 1208 were both absent of activity. 1001 and 1208 were strong going into winter. Is it time to mark them down as Goners?

1208 showing no activity on 2/7/13.

I won’t discount the other two hives just yet. I have noted differences between hives in the early Spring before. Some colonies will come out in low to mid 40’s while others refuse to leave the box until temperatures reach into the 50′s F. One such case was noted last year with hive 1101, which overwintered well, but showed no activity early on. Once March rolled around and the temperatures got a little higher they finally emerged.

Hive 1101 on 7/6/2012.  Showed no activity 1/5/12.

Flashback to LAST year:  I knew going into Fall 2011 that 1101 was one of my strongest colonies ever. They were located at my home apiary so I would observe them often. On 1/5/2012 there was an entry in my log. It noted that of the three hives here two showed signs of life.  1101 showed no activity. My Spring inspection on 3/16/12 showed that 1101 was in fine shape with the following entry:

3/16/12 – Activity good, Removed attic box-25. The super that I left over the winter was still almost totally full of honey. Ultimate deep heavy, penultimate deep fairly light, bringing in pollen. Nadired 2 mediums under the two deeps. Placed two shallow supers on top alternating foundationless frames and drawn comb, the top super has 9 frames in it. Removed IPM-corrugated plastic – Varroa were present Mouse guard removed.

1001 (left) with no activity 2/7/13.

I don’t want to stress my bees.  They may not be ready to come out yet so, I will not check these hives until there is a sunny, warm, still day.  I will have to wait until then to determine the fates of 1001 and 1208. Within the next 3 or 4 weeks all 30 of the hives will be needing that still warm day. Once the Spring inspections are completed I will post an update to the Obituaries link. I am hoping for the best, but there’s always a couple that don’t make it.

On a side note, I have a request……

Has anyone ever read or heard an adage, something like, “wax moths will not destroy your equipment while the trees are free of leaves”. At this point I can’t remember if I dreamt it or what, I thought I read it, but I cannot find it again.   Am I losing my mind?  maybe..

Leave a comment…

Some of the boxes most needing of attention.

Last week marked another period of sustained cold weather.  In the last week and a half or two there have been night-time lows near zero degrees F.  We also have had a couple of days peppered in there where it nearly made it to 60 degrees F.  I’m getting more than a little nervous thinking about what’s going on in the hives.  To keep my mind off of the uncertain status of my bees I busied myself with hive maintenance.  I have been working at our new place with no heat so extreme cold resulted in a schedule change.  I spent a couple of days being thankful that I had access to a heated shop.

Last Summer I purchased some used boxes for $2 a piece (see New Beekeeping Friend).  At the time I though I was making out like a bandit, but upon closer inspection I don’t know how I made out on the this deal.  Many of these old boxes were very loose in the corners and a lot of nails were backing out. Without serious attention they would not be usable at all.  Even with serious attention some of the boxes will be converted to swarm traps.

Three types of nips and a screwdriver.

I had a couple tools on hand to help out with getting these boxes in shape.  The next time you are at a flea market keep your eyes pealed for nips or nippers.  I have been using what my Dad called “Bull Nips” since I was a kid to pull nails.  These tools have many potential functions, so they are useful to have around.  Pulling nails was one of my most hated jobs growing up, but all that experience came in handy on this particular day last week.

nails from 13 boxes

Thirteen of the boxes needed to have nails pulled and screws put into the holes.  It really doesn’t seem like that many, but there was a considerable amount of time involved refurbishing these things.  Two inch, triple coated deck screws were used to tighten the  joints.  I hope they provide a couple years of service to justify doing this work and the expense of the screws.  Remember, I keep telling myself, they can always be turned into swarm traps.

I have been up to some other stuff too, but that will wait for another post.  How are your hives doing?
Hope you are busying yourself in preparation for the Spring.  Dandelions will be here before you know it.

Below are pictures of all three types of nips used last week. 

Bull Nips – I have been using them to pull nails since I was a kid.  A must have tool for me.

Tile nippers – but also awesome for getting under a nail.

Another style of nips that are useful for pulling nails.  I don’t know what they are really for.

Some of the 40 new supers.

On the list for 2013 is getting a bunch more hive equipment ready. Thanks to the strength of the honey sales from fall 2012 more deeps and supers could be purchased without going into the RED. Due to all of the other stuff that has been going on I chose NOT to make my own hive ware this year. I hope that next year at this time there will be less going on and I can make this stuff myself to save some money.  Right now I just can’t do it.

Medium and deep frame construction.

Fortunately I’m not depending on bees for my livelihood. It is not feasible to make this my sole form of income and I am fine with that as long as the bees at least support themselves.  Currently they are at least paying their own bills.  The number of production hives will be between 20 and 30 in 2013. All hives will need between 4 and 6 supers a piece. For more specifics on putting frames together see Getting Framed from February 2012.

That unheated garage is a hard place to return to night after night. While out there I usually will have a glass of home-made wine and listen to some podcasts. One that I recommend is from The Beekeeper’s Corner. Kevin approaches beekeeping subjects from multiple angles. His presents good information and you can tell he is on a quest to figure out what will work best for his beekeeping operation.

A podcast that I feared had gone the way of the dodo is the Organically Managed Beekeeping Podcast. After a long lapse Craig released an episode on 12/31/12. I was glad when I saw he had put out some new content. I will be the first to say that the word “organic” like “natural” when used in reference to beekeeping immediately puts me on guard, but Craig’s podcast is really good. He has done some interviews that anyone thinking of treatment-free beekeeping really needs to listen to. I highly recommend the three part series from 2011 with TheFatBeeMan. His episodes are packed with information and sometimes you can benefit from a second or third listen.

Keep in mind that some of the opinions expressed in these podcasts may differ from your own and/or mine. You may hear about treatments and maybe even some feeding. Instead of focusing on differences in opinion I enjoy listening AND LEARNING from both. There is enough divisiveness in beekeeping already. Don’t believe any beekeeper solely based on their word, even “experts” who have books out there, but you can take those ideas and test them yourself. After testing you may find value in said ideas or you may determine they won’t work for you. You never know unless you try.

So what have you been up to? Spring will be here before you know it.
Do you have any podcasts you recommend while I toil away hour after hour out there?

The chickens hate the snow.

A new year and an entirely different ballgame. In my last post way back on December 20th I posed the question Where the heck is the cold weather? Someone must have been listening because that question has been answered. We got a healthy dumping of snow Wednesday 12/23/12 and since then the temperatures have plummeted with lows down into the teens and Accuweather’s “real feel” temperature being reported in the single digits. In the last week and a half our little homestead has been transformed into a winter wonderland. I don’t know how all of the bees are coping but the chickens hate it.

Hive Site 01

Since all of the snow arrived I have not had access to some of my hive sites. I finally made it to Site 01 one day last week. Though covered with snow all of them were humming. 1005, the hive in the middle has holes drilled in the center of the deeps. Some of the holes have been occluded completely with propolis, but I could clearly see bees in there clustered moving ever so slightly. Though the bottom entrances were covered with snow they were left alone. All three hives have top entrances so I am not concerned with snow removal from the bottom one. I peeked up under the telescoping outer covers and all three top entrances were unobstructed. I will be trying to make it to other hive sites soon.

I have determined that I hate not having bees at my house. I miss looking out my back window and seeing them there. Since moving them away in preparation for some 2013 splits some events have occurred adding to the craziness that will be 2013. This year we will be building a house and moving. During the last several weeks I have been going through the old dilapidated house that is currently there salvaging what I can. That will continue for the next several weeks during any off time. Along with that my wife and I are expecting a new little beekeeper in the early Spring of 2013. According to the latest ultrasound it is supposed to be a little boy. We are both very excited. There are a myriad of projects that must be completed in 2013. I have a list, but won’t bore you with it.

How am I going to get everything accomplished? Heck if I know, but as always I will find a way. To everyone I wish you a Happy New Year. I hope your hives are all holding out and you have interesting things to look forward to in 2013!

Have anything interesting you would like to share?

Dandelions blooming in the side ditch 12/06/2012.

While taking a walk with my family a couple of weeks ago I noticed a blast from the past. Dandelions blooming in December?  Strange as it may be, there they were. I snapped a picture. They didn’t look very spunky, but they were blooming none the less.

So what does it mean? Heck if I know! 2012 was marked by what I can only describe as a “bunch of discrepancies”. All of the blooms and weather patterns took place at odd times. Events seemed to be out of sync with the dates on the calendar. I had maples blooming on 2/3/12 see Maple Trees are Blooming. Many things including the Dandelions bloomed early. The Black Locust began to bloom in April, three week earlier that what I would call “normal”. In 2011 I caught my first swarm on 5/27/11.  The first confirmed swarm caught in my area in 2012 was on 4/7/12.

This December currently is bearing a likeness to December 2011. Where the heck is the cold weather? In this area the ground usually goes through a substantial freeze and thaw cycle during winter time. We have had frosty nights, but no extended cold period freezing the ground for a week or more. This was similar to last winter. I recall not 1 week lacked at least one flying day for the bees.  In my area several school systems had NO school cancellations due to cold or snow.

There was a much greater incidence of Small Hive Beetle in 2012. I have read that cold winters are beneficial in reducing SHB numbers. It would be nice to have a colder winter to test this theory. Perhaps it will get cold in January and February.

If the winter is mild will there be increased incidence of SHB in 2013?
Are you keeping records of weather trends and phenology?
Have you noticed any patterns?

12-13 at Hive Site 05. Wind break installed.

The weather has been really pleasant for December here in Eastern Indiana.  We have experienced some cold nights, but there haven’t been any extended cold weather periods.  Most of the hive sites provide the hives some natural cover from North and West winds.  At two sites there is no cover, so snow fence was put up last week to provide a wind break.  This was a recommendation from several mentors as well as many books.  I have been doing it for years.

Mold on inside of Attic Box.

It hasn’t been cold, but it sure has been damp.  Rain has been falling much more frequently than it did all last summer.  At present I am glad that most hives have top entrances  instead of the Warre attic boxes used in previous years.  I had fair overwintering success with the attic boxes, but noticed a lot of mold in the burlap last year after removing them from the hives.  This was documented in What to do?.  I theorize that the top entrance will allow moisture to escape and prevent such mold problems.

Last winter I lost 3 of 14 hives (21.5%).  The winter of 2010 resulted in the loss 2 out of 5 hives (40%).  I had planned to experiment with several different overwintering strategies, but due to time constraints 24 hives  got top entrances and 6 are sporting a normal inner cover.  It will be interesting to compare outcomes both between the groups this year and as compared to previous years strategies.

Is everything ready for winter in your apiary?

The bees of 1205. These two are quite dark, but there is a high variation in coloration amongst the sisters of this hive.

There hasn’t been much activity on the blog the last several weeks. I have been readying for winter, but still have been checking bee related things regularly. Though it is not quite officially winter yet the winter anxiety has begun for me.  My favorite winter pass-time is worrying and waiting.

There has been much less activity out of the hives. Two weeks ago I was off of work for the first week of deer season here in Indiana. There are hives on the hunting property. This is the FIRST year I’ve heard bees flying while sitting in a tree stand. I don’t know exactly what they were looking for in the woods, but I heard the distinctive frequency of several workers buzzing around me on many occasions. I did find dandelions blooming in several locations early in November, but I did not see any in this woods.

1206 – Back in October.

There are three hives at this site. These hives were observed daily as I would walk past them  on my way home. A couple of days it warmed to almost 60 degrees and two of the hives showed good activity at the restricted entrance. One hive 1206 showed no activity. There is a possibility that 1206 has already expired. It was not as robust as the other two hives at this location. There is nothing that I can really do for them now, so it is watch and WAIT and worry.

I am not going to write 1206 off yet. In the past I have stated that each hive has its own personality. Some hives maintain a presence at the entrance all winter long letting me know they are there on sunny days.  I have also had other colonies that only come out on the nicest of days for cleansing flights.  They could be in there snug as a bug in a rug with no desire to show themselves.

I remembered a similar hive from last year.  The genetics do not come from the same place, but 1106 was looking at a similar situation going into winter last year. 1106 made 2 supers worth of honey in 2012 and was not fed or treated.

Log of 1106  – 9/12/11 – AG – This hive really surprised me today.  The last time I looked at it, there was almost no comb construction in the top deep.  Today all of the frames have been drawn out.  The construction of the comb looks ugly, but much of it is full of capped honey.  I thought it was a gonner last time I checked it.  May make it through the winter.

10/24/2011 – No activity at entrance, but good activity inside.  Much cross-coming in upper deep.  Some probability of overwintering.  Top deep probably 50-75% full of capped honey.  Added Mouse Guard, Attic box and plastic bottom insert. “

At the same site 1205 shows great promise.  These bees were at the entrance every day, even on cold mornings.  This was one of the largest swarms I caught all summer (and perhaps ever).  I am nearly certain that this group came from feral stock.  It came from another one of the places that was near an apiary “of old”.  There have been no managed hives in the area for at least 10 years.  They are one of the best catches of 2012.

Looking back at my records I see that the same pattern produces high catch rates for example 1203, 1204, 1207, 1208, 12010, & CV1201 all the same pattern.  From 2011:  1104, 1106, 1109, 1110, & 1111.  Ask around this winter and find similar SPOTS where you live.  If you put traps in a similar location you are likely to catch bees for free.

I am ready for March to get here. In order to keep from worrying 24 / 7, I’ve begun work on wooden-ware that will be used next year. There will be more on that in a future post.

What are you doing this time of year?

Are you having doubts or worrying about certain hives?