Honey Bees bringing in pollen

The package of Honey Bees has been in the hive 30 days. At 1:30 this afternoon I decided to see if I could get some pictures of them bringing in pollen.

I like the way they line up to come in.

I like this photo because you can really see the eye on the one in the air.

I took these out of the video at the bottom. I see 2 distinct colors of pollen. None of the Spiderwort are blooming now. I don’t know where they are getting it.

A couple of very full sacs.

It looks like a lot of pollen for a small number of Honey Bees, but then…what do I know.   I ‘m not sure what percentage of bees are pollen bees, nectar bees and water bees. I do know that the water bees will take nothing but water. We had some getting water from our boat a few years ago and didn’t realize what they were doing. So we put a plate of honey near them and they ignored it. They had a job to do and they did it.

You have to watch very closely to see them come in with the pollen they are so fast. They seem to know exactly where to land unless another bee is clogging up the “skyway”.

Orientation flight this afternoon. It gets very busy for a few minutes then they all head back inside to finish their jobs. It’s fun to watch the workers try to get inside with all the traffic. You can see one with pollen just in front of the hive opening. They just keep on working.

Honey Bee orientation flights? 3.25.13

This is a late published post…didn’t realize it hadn’t been posted.

The package has been in the hive for 12 days.

Each afternoon I notice a lot of activity around the entrance. I am always worried about robber bees since this is a hive just getting started and doesn’t have the numbers they need to really defend it.

I have the entrance reduced….I hope it is small enough so they are able to successfully defend it. If I need to reduce it more let me know, but they did manage to keep the big red ants out.

Whenever I notice this activity I go sit in the chair and watch them. So far, I have not noticed any signs of fighting, and there always seems to be several Drones in the mix. That is the only time I see Drones.

You can see how much bigger the drone is compared to the worker on the R. They also have a much louder buzz when they dive bomb you, but they don’t sting. Once they mate with a Queen they die. That is their only job.

I took a video of the coming and going. After 15 minutes or so it was one way traffic  back into the hive until just the normal foragers were leaving and returning.

While all this was going on the workers were still bringing in pollen.

Sometimes it was like a traffic jam….but no fighting.

From my reading I understand that as bees mature they have different jobs. When they are old enough to become foragers they start doing orienting flights.

If you beekeepers can see something else in the video…please let me know. Just a beginner here, I need all the help I can get. I want this hive to survive.

 

Honey Bees on Spiderwort 4.10.13

I planted a few Spiderwort plants last year and loved watching the Honey Bees gathering pollen.

There are a lot of plants along the road that will be mowed down by the city very soon. I transplanted several in my yard. I’m trying to make it easier for my small package of Honey Bees to grow and become a nice strong hive. Hope that not having to travel so far will increase their life span.

I sit on the porch and watch them. Then I run down to the hive and see if I can spot them coming in. Who knows…they could be feral bees or from someone else’s hive.

It’s amazing how much they can carry.

I’ve got about 25 good sized plants and about that many small ones. I hope I have twice that many next year.

The blooms only last till mid afternoon but new ones open the next morning. I never realized how pretty the little stems were until I cropped this photo…you can see a drop of dew on the leaf.

What a little beauty!

Hive check 4.8.13

It is a nice warm day, 76*. There are a few big puffy clouds and I opened up the hive when they were overhead so there wouldn’t be any chance of comb damage from the Florida sun.  It’s amazing how hot it can be.

I stacked 2 medium suppers on the cover so I would have a place to put a frame or two.

Jim was suited up, taking pictures and making sure the smoker was working in case I needed it.

I gave them a little puff or two then pulled out a frame.

The first frame had one small comb from the TBH. I put that in the holding box, then slid the next frame with a small comb to the outside. Frame 3 also had a small comb.  Then lifted this one out.

This comb was originally in the TBH that swarmed. That is why it has the nice straight edge on the bottom. I had to cut it to fit the Lang's frame. We trimmed the ends of the top bars so they would fit up inside the frame then Jim put 2 screws in the top to hold them in place.

You can see the other small comb. That came from the TBH too. The 4 frames with 2 screws in the top were originally in the TBH. The one in my hand, one in the holding boxes and 2 in the hive body with the screws.

Here is a close up.  Looks like nectar and pollen?

This is a comb they built themselves….. it looks like sealed brood. If I am wrong please let me know.  After I saw this I decided to quit while I was ahead. I didn’t want to go deeper into the brood nest or risk hurting or losing the Queen.

Here’s a look at frame #6.

All the girls were nice and quiet. Didn’t seem to mind my presence so maybe I wasn’t giving off any anxiety scents. It looked like there was comb on the other frames so I didn’t mess with them.

Since there were 3 frames with small comb started, and the others filled out,  I decided to place a medium on them.  If they continue to look active and bring in lots of pollen, maybe I wont have to open them again for awhile. Darn!! 

I always wonder how much damage I am doing when I start moving stuff around and do I remember to put it back as I found it.

How do the feral bees manage without a keeper poking her nose into their business every few weeks?

I have more fun sitting in a chair watching the ladies coming and going than I do watching TV. Much more interesting. When they get tired of me sitting there…someone will buzz me and I go on my way.

They’ve been in the hive 26 days….I think the numbers should start increasing soon, if they haven’t  already.

I know there are a lot of bees out foraging and it looks like there are a fairly good number on the combs that I pulled, and even more on those that I didn’t…..does it look like more than a package would contain? I hope so…..

White Marked Tussock Moth 4.3.2013

My friend, Debbie, had 2 small Willow trees that she no longer wanted….I did. We went to her place and dug them up….brought them home and planted them.

I have read that Willows are good for bee forage. Don’t know if these are the right Willows but will give them a try….they can always end up firewood if not.

I was watering one and spotted this little White Marked Tussock Moth. Only one so I let it be.

It’s really kind of a pretty little thing. Almost looks like it has a furry little tail.

Unfortunately, fuzzy pretty little caterpillars can cause rashes etc. So I don’t pet fuzzy little caterpillars. Funny….I played with all kinds as a kid and don’t remember any problems.

Jim’s latest project

We bought this truck knowing it would need some body work. The hood had a lot of pits in the paint…all the way across the front.

I was busy with the bees and didn’t get a picture of the damage..but here is what it looked like after he finished the body work

Evidently it had a flat tire and damaged the R fender. Took a couple of chunks out of it and put a big crack in it.

The L fender had a couple of dents…he made a tool to pull them out them filled them in.

The L  rear fender also had a big crack and some other damage.

The top of the fender had several chips and small cracks.

We don’t have a paint booth or a building big enough to put the truck in….so he pulled it out into the drive…..taped paper where he didn’t want paint and got started.

The heavy rain last night had packed all the dust down and that was a big help.

Had to get one bee off the hood.

and then a second one landed….I was sure hoping the swarm wouldn’t decide to see if it was a big hive.

And the finished product after 5 coats…..the fender with the worst damage behind the rear wheel.

Not bad for a back yard paint job….

Sure wish I could show you what it looked like before he started on it.

3.21.13 Swarm still in the tree

It rained last night and rained hard. Don’t know how the bees managed to stay together…but they did. They are in the same leafy tree. Guess they are smarter than I gave them credit for.

It’s 9:30 am…sun is shinning on the swarm.

I checked the hive stand at 3:30 am and no ants. Then I started thinking about the little hive catcher. It has 5 frames in it. I had some comb in the fridge and thought that if I melted it and put fresh wax on the bars that a scout might find it attractive and pass the word on to the Queen.

They didn’t make a move all day…just scouts.

3.22.13

I set up a super with frames…didn’t have a top or bottom so improvised. Trying to give them ever chance I can.

My friend, Debbie, called and I told her about my temporary  set up and she said George had a hive I could have…I jumped in the car and headed to their house. Had to take the 29 Gazelle…

Jim was painting the truck.

The hive needed cleaning. The bees had left. I got right to work scraping the old wax off and using a torch to sear all the corners and any place hive beetles might lay. Once I had them clean I set it in place of the temporary hive. Thought for sure with all the nice fresh smell and 2 frames of pollen they would move right in.

It was down to 40* last night…I don’t think they’ll hang out for another day.

I have been watching this swarm for days…hardly daring to walk away for a few minutes.

Jim and I were busy in the shop…both working on hive frames…suddenly we were getting lots of bee company…he went out to the tree…they were gone…and they didn’t move into any of the hives.

I’ll leave the empty hives set up…March is swarm season…maybe someone will move in or we can catch a swarm.