2 New Bee Yards

Mark and Robert left the house early to move bees to a bee yard they'd set up recently at the Tripletts' camp house. They did not bring home the cute puppy someone dumped off there, but they now have 3 hives on the five stands that are in place.

When they returned (by way of the Old Country Bakery), I was attempting to clear the raised beds and get them ready to plant. I'd taken the day off work to catch up after an incredibly busy weekend spent entertaining friends from south MS, and had two tomato plants from the MSU Horticulture Club plant sale that really needed to be planted. It was a beautiful, cool morning, so I figured I'd best get busy.

Robert figured out that his dad really wanted me to join them on their adventure to Prairie Wildlife and I wouldn't go until my job was done, so he grabbed a hoe and got busy whacking at the bermudagrass and weeds that Mark had toasted with glyphosate a couple weeks ago. In no, time, we had the beds cleared and my tomato plants in the ground.

Off we went to West Point, to install a dozen bee hive stands in partnership with the owners of Prairie Wildlife, which has about 1,200 acres of restored prairie that is blooming with native flowers and grasses. It's eye-popping pretty.

While Mark set the stands where he wanted them, Robert investigated the pond. Within moments, he was walking toward me with something in his hands . . .

. . . a young frog, with its tadpole-tail still showing a bit.

Later, he found blackberries.

We met Xavier, who made sure the bee stands were approved in the location Mark selected. Later, we met Doug, and some very friendly mules but by that point in the day my camera battery was dead.

After we set the stands, we went on a Bee Rescue mission, but that is another post, and not for the faint of heart -- neglected bees in the shade = wax moths, hive beetles, termites, and slime. :-(

Honey Assessments: How Much Will There Be to Harvest?

On Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, we checked our bee yards.  Here is the temperature on Saturday:

Mr. Barham came over and gave us 8 cantaloupes to take home.  We'd finished 10 Mark had picked up Tuesday. They're that delicious.

Everything thrives at the Barhams' house, including the bees.  We counted at least 6 honey supers ready to harvest.  Mark moved them up and moved less full supers down so that the full ones would be easier to harvest and the bees would work more in the open supers. You can see how the bees reacted to the heat: bearding on the front of the hives.

At Harley's, we have 3 colonies and they're doing okay, but there won't be any surplus honey to harvest. The nearby fields were planted in corn, which is not a plant loaded with nectar for bees.

At Mayhew, we sweated through our clothes it was so hot (TMI, right? No shade like we had in Steens) and have six supers to harvest, we think. We shifted some supers around, added some queen excluders in hopes of trying to get some comb honey developed, and found more brace comb than we'd like, which is wasted effort for the bees. Those Back Saver Hive Stands sure came in handy since there was sticky honey comb on the bottoms of the supers and frames and we were moving three around at once.

Mark is hoping for a break in the weather. He talked to a bunch of cotton farmers this afternoon at a wedding reception and they say the humidity should be down Tuesday or Wednesday.

He's anxious to harvest . . . but look at the honey streaming out of the bottom of the broken brace comb. With this heat, it's really going to flow! 

Third Time is the Charm!

Tonight as we finished supper, Mark got a phone call.  Birney Imes again. This time the bees were in Columbus, at a local coffee shop.  He said the bees were hanging off a sign, two feet from the ground.

Good-bye, quiet Friday night at home. Hello, bees! Because it was getting darker by the minute, we threw our gear into the truck and sped toward town.  At a stoplight, we saw our friends Jay & Gay, who seemed highly amused by our excitement about our "date."

We arrived at Kudos (which was closed) and couldn't find the bees anywhere.  Mark asked an employee at the gym next door, and he hadn't seen any bees.  I began walking toward a far corner of the parking area to investigate a small metal sign by the driveway.  Mark was in his truck, prepared to drive around the neighborhood looking for the swarm.

Then I saw them, covering the corner of the sign, facing away from the building and the parking lot.  Right next to the road!

Mark set up the bee box in record time.  He sprayed them with sugar water, and I held his atlas underneath them to serve as a slide.  With one strong WHAP on the back of the sign, he knocked the bees into the box. The put the extra frames in, put on a moving screen and top, and loaded the hive in the back of the truck.  It took less than 10 minutes.

We drove out to Barhams' Bee yard, and called Frances en route so they knew to expect a truck driving around in the dark.

This is BB1 (white) and BB2 (yellow), the latter of which arrived just yesterday. The lack of numerical order is going to bug  me.

BB1 had to give up their feeder when the new hive arrived yesterday, but we think there's plenty of nectar and pollen to be found, and they were going like gangbusters on Sunday. They should be fine!

The newest hive, BB3, is in the center.  We had to take this jar feeder from the hive at our house because we don't have any feeder boards available, and our order won't be ready until Friday (we'd hoped for tomorrow since we'll be in Alabama for a wedding anyway).

Tomorrow we plan to work our yard on Bee Hill, remove the feeders from 2, 3, & 4, add supers to those three, check to see if we need to add supers to the rest, and then take the feeder boards and feeders to Barhams' Bees on Sunday.  We'll likely take a few Back Saver 1000 hive stands too, to expand that yard.

We have just 2 more hive covers at this point, so if we get more than 2 swarm calls next week, we'll have to get creative!

We were alerted to another swarm earlier today, but it was on campus at the chapel, and the bees were about 35 feet up on the carillon tower.  Since it's Super Bulldog Weekend and the location was nearly impossible to access, we had to let them go.  I hope they found a better home on their own!

Back Saver 1000 Bee Hive Stands Installed at Barhams' Bees

As I mentioned in an earlier post, our friends Eldon and Frances Barham allowed us to put three Back Saver 1000 bee hive stands near their lake.  Before we set them up, and I use the term "we" liberally, Mark cleared the spot with his weed eater.

Next, he used his compass to find east/southeast so the hive entrances could face the rising sun. The warmth helps them rise and shine!

Next, he measured so the stands would be spaced equal distances apart.  (Can you say OCD?)

Andrew waited at the truck until he was needed to perform a special task.

The Great Balancing Act: Andrew stood on a board while Mark whacked the stand into the ground. It took great trust, considering Mark forgot a mallet and was using an axe. After I shot these pictures I stood by Andrew so he had something besides Mark's head to hold onto. They were both happier with that arrangement.

When the bubble hit level on both at the front and back and lengthwise, we were done.

It's a good thing we put in three . . . as you can read in a future post!

Spring Expansion as Bee Population Explodes

Hive 6 with its newly added, painted deep super.

On Friday, Mark decided to check the bees without me.

Hive 1 -- see how many bees were in the air?

After the chaotic addition of supers due to the population explosion and discovery of brood built between the boxes, he called me.  I rushed home from work, took notes on the three remaining hives, and snapped pictures. 

Brood built in the wrong place = dead baby bees. Gross.

In short, he added a deep and medium super to hives 1, 5, & 6.  Moved a feeder from 5 to 2.  We'll add deeps to the others this week. 

Empty brace comb = wasted effort for the bees, more wax for candles.

Empty supercedure cell = possibility they requeened themselves.

Hive 5 needs re-leveling after the flood!

Three expanded hives, with some lost bees on the back of Hive 1.

When we checked the hives Saturday, the difference in temperament was amazing: the formerly aggressive hives had settled noticeably and were making use of their new space. What's fascinating is that in some hives, they haven't filled all of the frames with wax/comb, yet they'll build brace comb on the tops and bottoms of frames where they congregate.  Mark said, "I'm sure glad I have those back saver bee stands," as working in those conditions without any help was a bit of a challenge. Maybe next time he'll wait for me!

Back Saver Bee Hive Stands

Hive stands on the trailer.

Mark picked up 25 aluminum bee hive stands, his "Back Saver 1000" model. 

Features include:

• all welded aluminum construction -- won't rust
• extended platform holds hive cover and supers as you work (and keeps equipment off the ground)
• rain cups to deter ants 
• height raises equipment to comfortable working height
• fits standard hive bodies and bottom boards

Mark designed these with the help of our friend Jody Reyer, a welder.  The initial prototypes were welded steel that was then galvanized.  The weight and cost made them impractical, and the rain cups were too low. Click here to see one of the prototypes. The first aluminum model was improved in weight, but still had the rain cups improperly placed.  Finally, the new version appears to have all of the elements Mark initially desired. 

Side view.

Top view.

He uses treated lumber to brace the ends.  He wants me to do a pictorial guide to assembling, as he figures most beekeepers will prefer to do the braces themselves rather than pay extra shipping for lumber and screws. But, knowing Mark, he'll do whatever the customer wants!

Hive stand in use during inspection.

If you're interested in purchasing a hive stand ($189 plus shipping), contact Mark at 662-418-4422.