smiling in south carolina

Cracking the hive! SOoooo....This hive check just happened to be scheduled at 3 pm on the hottest day so far this year...at least in the high 90s and I'm sure hotter under all that protective gear. This here is an example of pure dedication to the bees.  On Sunday, my bee friends Chris and Ken came out to accompany me on an overdue hive check. Chris is a Midlands Association Mentor, a  four -year bee veteran with four hives and Ken is a NewBee like me, with one hive (all Langstrom). Despite the heat,  these guys were prompt and up for the task.  Funny story:  It turns out that Chris and Ken used to be neighbors a few years ago until Chris and his family moved to another part of Forest Acres, so we had a sort of reunion there at first, with an update or two on their families.   We suited up and and cracked the hive in full sunlight.  Smoker packed full of pine straw going,  the bees were as calm and forgiving as one could ever hope fo...

 I came home tonight to find the girls hanging out on their front porch, so to speak. The temperatures in Columbia have been in the 80s and 90s all day so I figure they are keeping the hive cool by staying outside a bit longer.  They are still gobbling up the syrup,  about 1 quart every two days.  Notice that I am now feeding them on the front with an exterior feeder. Tomorrow-HIVE CHECK!

first off an apology to my bee girls: I might have used a bit too much smoke, since the smoker made so much smoke.  it was pine straw and dried lavender. The bees did seem to be in smoke nervous mode for a while, but they calmed down once I finished up. I was a bit nervous myself, this being the first solo check up.  No stings, though!   First thing I noticed upon removing the roof was that the small family of ants that had been enjoying free access to the sugar syrup was now a full-fledged colony in the making, with a pile of ant eggs.  yuk.  again-I texted Rick for advice.  Bees don't mind ants or ant eggs AT ALL apparently.  Because I do mind them, I got rid of them.  They will probably be back, knowing how ants are so devoted to their task (much like bees). Further down, there was new drawn comb and a little bit of honey even in the recently added level two super, not much honey, but some!  and the level one super was HEAV...

   Found the bees clustering quietly outside the hive on Tuesday 4/19.  Got nervous, texted my Bee Guy Ricky and he suggested that I remove the entrance reducer, as they might be a bit crowded in and out with all the new bee life and activity.  Yes. I should have thought of that myself!  (but being a Newbee, I didn't).  Removing the entrance reducer almost immediately solved the issue and days later the bees are still using the original left-side entrance primarily, event though the entire bottom is available.  cute. So I use this glass dish filled with pretty rocks and rainwater for a bee water source and I love it!  It is on the (mostly cool and shaded) deck and it allows me to watch them drink and interact in a casual way.  Notice that I don't keep it TOO clean...there is some natural debris, leaves, a piece of honeycomb (their fave), and they seem to like the natural set up.