Log
6/13/09 Beeman: Queen on third frame, Looking for places to lay eggs.
6/7/09 11:55 PM Beeman:Lots of young bees visible and see area of hatched cells near lower front of 1st frame, I figure a wave of new bees should be hatching soon.
6/4/09 10:45 pm Beeman: Capped brood second frame all the way up to top bar. Area also looks well populated, even a group of workers on 3rd frame. Pollen moving out of 2nd frame, (it seems.) Innen 21.7 Aussen 17.5
5/31/09 1:35 am Beeman: Yes Ants. I wonder if they're coming in around the entrance flange. I see capped brood, second frame, lots of nectar 3rd frame.
5/30/09 Firespirit: Ants on tube and hive outside.
5/28/09 12:40 am Beeman: Larvae visible second frame. Pollen stores strong yet appear to be diminishingon 1st frame, shifting on 2nd frame.
5/27/09 1:15 am Beeman: More activity / Brood on 2nd frame. Queen active/visible lower frame. New Hatchlings active bustle all of first frame, one third of second frame. Nectar visible third frame. Innen 18.9, Aussen 15.8
5/25/09 10:40 pm. Beeman: Most pollen stores out of first frame, eggs visible center lower second frame, both sides. Innen 20.3, Aussen 15.4
5/15/09 2:30 am. Beeman: Lots of new hatchlings observed, brood patch expanding, pollen stores still strong but queen is laying around them, also pushing towards entrance on lower edge under pollen. Innen 18.4, Aussen 9.8
5/9/09 1:00 am. Beeman: Still seeing hatchlings but not as many compared to a ew days ago, I see larvae and eggs various stages plus capped brood, Queen expanding brood patch to bottom of frame and also starting to push towards front of hive, at least on lower region. Pollen surrounds patch on other edges. Foragers seem to be increasing in number from idle bees visible on bottom of hive. Innen 20.1, Aussen 15.0
5/1/09 2:30 pm. Beeman lots of new hatchlings visible walking around.
4/29/09 10:45 pm Beeman: Pretty large area of capped brood again, good pollen and nectar/honey stores visible ~9x6 Patch mostly capped, interspersed with larvae/ various stages, eggs towards bottom and back edge. Pollen surrounding on 3 sides, and nectar above. Innen 21.6, Aussen 12.5 Thermostat 72 Treemometer 53
4/25/09 Beeman: One capped drone cell visible on left side.
4/23/09 Beeman: More brood getting capped.
4/19/09 1:00 am. Beeman: I see several areas of larvae approaching pupae stage. Pollen stores look substantial, new hatchlings observed. Some nectar stores. Innen 23.0, Aussen 15.5
4/1/09 Beeman: More new bees visible, large capped brood, more larvae visible.
3/30/09 Brand new bees visible, (extra furry,) Queen laying eggs busily.
3/20/09 Beeman: Nice quantity of capped brood. maybe eggs on second frame.
3/6/09 12:05 am. Beeman: Tight energized cluster, feels warm. Innen, 15.8, Aussen 8.0.
3/6/09 12:50 pm. Beeman: Bees flying, pollen visible on some legs innen 20.1, aussen 19.7, Treemometer 65 deg F
3/5/09 9:00 pm. John_S: Queen laying eggs, bees flying, 48-50 deg.
2/9/09 Beeman: Half dollar size patch of capped brood on left side. not so defined on right.. Innen 18.0, Aussen 3.4
2/5/09 8:45 pm. Beeman: Some larvae, some capped brood visible, maybe eggs but not easy to see. Innen 19.1, Aussen -7.3
2/1/09 1:10 pm. Beeman: Bees flying. Innen 18.8, Aussen 8.5, Treemometer 42.
1/31/09 10:30 pm. Smaller more compact brood area mostly small larvae and eggs it seems. Left side patch seems larger.
1/31/09 4:30 pm. Firespirit: Bees in tube flying.
1/30/09 12:30 pm. Firespirit: Marley and me saw queen looking for place to lay eggs.
1/28/09 Firespirit: Bees in tube- not flying-
1/26/09 John_S: Noticeable increase in workers. Accumulation of dead bees near beginning of entrance tube ( too cold?)
1/25/09 Beeman: Population increase visible, queen laying. Some failed pupae visible.
1/21/09 Beeman: Hatchlings and egg laying, population looks a bit larger, but not sure yet.
1/20/09 John_S: Normal brood rearing,
1/18/09 Beeman I saw a new hatchling, observing queen laying eggs.
Photos
Current photo of Hive and bees Winter 2/10/09 ~10:45pm. Feeder jar visible on left, Logbook, pen, clamp, and thermometer visible on lower right. Innen 19.4 deg. C, Aussen 10.8 Deg. C
Log
1/14/09 Beeman: Brood area, roughly icicle shaped patch about 2 inches wide about 6 inches long on both sides and in center of lower frame. Changed bottle around lunchtime this afternoon, looking closer I see they have stores around edges of brood. Innen 17.9, Aussen -11.7
1/10/09 John_S: Mature Brood (Larvae) observed. Nuc has shifted to feeder side. Capped cells, also.
12/29/08 11:00 pm Beeman: Bees seems to be out of honey stores. started feeding yesterday, filled trough, but it was empty today, restarting drip tonight.
11/22/08 Beeman: Clustering on bottom frame about 3/4ths covered. Innen 19.2, Aussen 3.6, Treemometer 32.
11/12/08 Firespirit: Bees flying, 50 Degrees.
Log
10/8/08 11:15 pm Beeman: Innen 18.4 Aussen 13.4 I see nectar stores in brood frames-No more capped brood visible. Capped honey stores seem low in my opinion.
9/29/08 John_S: Vastly reduced brood rearing, Nectar in majority of both brood frames. population looks somewhat diminished 15-20%
9/12/08 Beeman: I see nectar all along edges of second frame, Brood still strong.
9/8/08 3:30 pm. Beeman: Tons of pollen coming in, all bright, (almost neon) Orange. I'd estimate more then 2 out of 3 returning with pollen.
9/7/08 John_S: Nectar well down on sides of middle frame. Queen roaming a lot but laying a few eggs.
8/21/08 10:30 pm. Beeman: Brood area seems smaller, queen still laying eggs in center of patch. Innen 26.0 Aussen 23.9
8/18/08 11:30 pm. Beeman: Although nectar stores decrease and honey stores increase, there are empty cells on top edge of second frame near back of hive. Are they shrinking hive for seasonal reasons instead of of storage reasons, or visa versa? If the rains ever come will they fill up?
8/12/08 Beeman: I see a drone, it's being groomed heavily by worker, is he visitor or local drone?
8/11/08 John_S: Strong egglaying capped brood all the way to top bar of middle frame. Drones appear to be all gone.
7/31/08 John_S Vigorous egglaying activity. Today to October 31st. Life span for eggs laid today. Watch for honey storage vs brood patch.
7/28/08 12:40 am. Beeman: Anthropomorphisation! This queen does not want to be lonely! Just observed her laying an egg in burr comb between 1st and secod frame, in what looked like drone suitable sized cell. Tight boundary between honey, pollen and brood. Third frame bearing capped honey but still a lot of open nectar there. Queen still laying eggs full heartededly workers laid today will hatch Aug 18th and have a lifespan ~6 weeks from then. and expected to die ~9/29/08. Queen seems unconcerned or perhaps overly concerned with that date and trying to get as many workers made for that as possible. She may expect a late fall and ample time to draw down population in weeks to come. I am looking for nectar to be stored in brood area. second fram specifically as a sign of a shift in policy. I see a healthy looking drone flexing his abdomen. Innen 23.2 Aussen 18.3 Treemometer 66F T-stat 72F
7/25/08 John_S: They look fairly well maxed out, watch for capping of honey storage vs. decline of rearing.
Photos
New comb being drawn out on replacement frame. the three sections of comb are independant but nearing a merge. 7/10/08.
Front porch and workers enjoying the evening before harvest 7/5/08.
Closeup of foundation and beeswax attachment method.
After harvesting the top frame this is what I replaced it with 7/5/08.
By July 5 Top frame filled with capped honey. Burr comb sections provide a glimpse inside the storage cells.
Top Frame filling with Nectar, Late June
Population density in brood chamber late June this year
Log
7/19/08 1:20 am Beeman: This post lacks photos. Camera is elsewhere for the night. I plan to upload pictures soon when I have a little spare time. I opened covers to observe this morning, and I see capped honey cells again on the third frame, also observe Queen on third frame. This is new, wonder, is she just hungry, is she checking stores, checking on recent new comb building results, or just generally assesing the colony's stores for planning. I'm probably personifying but I know she's not laying eggs in cells full of nectar and am naturally curious. Although previously I regretted changing out 3rd frame, hive seems to have recovered the invasion quite graciously, and now I just hope they refocus on winter stores in time to fill up at least half of second frame with honey.
7/16/08 10:15 pm. Beeman: New comb spans edge to edge, filling up with nectar too. Population Numerous Don't know if they feel cramped but both brood frames are packed, honey frame (3rd) Not so dense but still lots of bees. Queen laying eggs as I watch.
7/15/08 10:30 pm Beeman: New comb almost complete. Cells almost filled with nectar. Brood patch still seems to be fully utilized, population looks near max.
7/6/08 10:00 am Beeman: Things seem to be settling back down.
7/6/08 00:12 am Beeman: Returned home after more then a week absence yesterday, found 3rd frame completely full of capped honey. Decided to harvest and replace frame with new foundation today. Big mess, difficult operation, After done my initial assessment is, it was a bad idea. I had difficulty prying frame free, bees bubbled over top of hive, and out of tube, (gate failed to seal entrance) and didn't notice until friend pointed out the mass exodus through tube. Also when done I thought i had brushed bees clean off the hive before returning to window, but turns out quite a few bees climbed or fell down in the gap between glass and masonite cover, so for future reference, brush clean bees of hive, without covers before bringing inside house. This mistake cost me effort chasing down and capturing > than a hundred bees in house after done. As I said, even after, I regretted the operation. Afterwards there was diminished population inside hive, bees were visible outside on window pane and in Grass where they congregated while I was working. Queen looked spooked behaviorily. Summary, things should be ok in future, should check on things in the morning, am confident they'll sort things out, but still if I had to do it over again I would reconsider the whole operation.
6/25/08 9:15 am Beeman: Comb on third frame reaches all the way to front edge of hive.
Log
6/22/08 11:00 pm Beeman: Capped honey on third frame.
6/21/08 Beeman: The hum is steadily increasing, Firespirit has mentioned it on several occasions last few weeks, but population is increasing, new hatchlings daily, new eggs filling cells that hatch. Brood nest still expanding almost completely to edges of first frame. Second frame patch may be stable in size, but not sure, cell by cell the brood patch seems to grow. Third frame seems to be handling the incoming nectar it seems, new comb has reached back edge, 2/3 of the way to the other. Nectar visible in almost all of the cells. no capped honey there yet.
6/16/08 12:05 am Beeman: Comb on third frame has reached the top bar. it is not completely flat comb Burr comb anchors both edges on either side and comb bends in opposit directions. I think things may smooth out now that top and bottom of comb is secured. Queen laying eggs on second frame. Lots of capped honey on that frame also at least 1/3 of cells. May be clearing honey out of first frame to make a more compact brood nest.
6/7/08 8:35 pm Beeman: Pretty large work group on bottom of third frame. Also storing nectar in burr comb between frames, expect hatchlings on second frame tomorrow evening, that should mark the beginning of an increase in number of hatchlings arriving daily.
New Emergance
This video shows the emergance of a new hatchling. This hatchling is a daughter of the queen I've been so concerned about lately. In essance I saved the queen by adding workers, and the queen is now saving the hive by producing new young.
Log
6/3/08 10:30 pm. Beeman: I see a lot of new hatchlings emerging, on both sides of lower frame. Pollen and honey stores Piling up in some cases, and or being rapidly consumed or shifted in others. Capped honey visible on top edges of both frames, Building being started on third frame, from bottom up it appears. Queen laying eggs on both sides of first and second frame as cells open up.
5/27/08 8:25 pm. Beeman: I see capped brood (pupae) on second frame right side. Seeing some new hatchlings.
5/27/08 12:50 am. Beeman: Looking at brood patch, I see what amounts to a pretty solid pattern of capped brood on lowest frame. Seeing larvae at various stages on second frame in a patch extending upwards in the center third of the frame, pollen and nectar stores forming to edge of patch. This queen is adapting well. I'm thinking of reviving an old tradition of naming Queens. This individual bee survived definate undecided circumstances for a long period over this last winter. She seems to be recovering well. Will think on names, "Queen Phoenix" comes to mind.
5/22/08 12:50 pm. Beeman: New hatchlings observed on left side.
5/19/08 11:30 pm. Beeman: Queen observed laying eggs on second frame (Lower third of frame center right side.) Eggs found there, Left side no. Seeing Capped cells Larvae in various stages of development, Solid pollen stores, and eggs almost to edges of frame on first frame. Good job queenie! Pattern is spottier than I would prefer, but one should consider her diet, the available space after her reintroduction to the brood patch, and the capacity of available workers to care for new eggs at first. For now things look good and I'm content to wait and see.
5/17/08 Beeman: Seeing new hatchlings today, lots of nectar on upper part of second frame. Eggs found almost to edges of first frame. - Near front and top edges, rear edge still has pollen. Since frame with larvae and workers I added to hive was transferred away from the hive it came from on the 27th of April. tomorrow is the 21st day since then, meaning the last of the eggs moved here back 20 days ago will be hatching by tomorrow at the latest. any hatchlings after the 18th will be children of this queen.
5/14/08 00:10 am. Seeing royal jelly and larvae on both sides but more on right, seeing some nectar storage on
5/10/08 Beeman: Watching Larve developing into capped brood. Still expecting to see more developed Larvae then I do. Queen is apparently capable of producing viable workers but is she able to do it sufficiently? I do notice the beginnings of a queen cell, wheter intended for Swarm or supersedure, not sure. In any case there are sufficient workers on hand for current needs.wondering if they'll move up to second frame?
5/7/08 11:50 pm. Beeman: Nine days after queen reintroduction. seeing visible larvae, (which must have come from this queen.) Some, (not a lot,) on verge of being capped for pupation, but also smaller larvae and still eggs. Queen visible laying eggs. Workers hatching simultaneously. Numbers visibly increasing. Some workers on second frame cleaning and anchoring frame with propolis and burr comb.
5/1/08 10:10 pm. Beeman: Looked in on hive a couple times today, during lunchtime I observed pollen laden foragers returning, pretty steady traffic, during day temps were in the mid fifties, and partly sunny. Just now observed queen laying an egg. I think I can see eggs in cells that were in use by pupae recently. Makes me think she has been laying eggs today. I also see new hatchlings emerging. Problem, Firespirit says the noise is loud, I hope they settle in soon.
4/30/08 8:10 pm Beeman: Released queen and moved bees in tow stages. Took some work to clean glass. Switched top frame to groove bar and wax bead for cut comb. (Ambitious!) Some dead bees were in caged area (3-4,) two of her attendants were alive at the time of release. Saw new hatchling bees. Queen visible in cluster walking around, inspecting cells, will check for egg laying activity later.
4/30/08 John_S: Released queen among replacement brood and bees. - They appear to accept, no egglaying observed yet. 3 day +_ supersedure cell at top of lower frame, queen observed chewing (attacking?) cell.
Save the Queen!
This video shows the queen that had been much discussed, looking healthy, walking about the comb, inspecting cells looking for empty ones to lay an egg in. as she walks she passes comb with nearly full grown larvae, capped pupae, all her own progeny, as well as pollen stores. There is, as always, the constant worker activity ensuing around her, one may easily note the antennae activity.
There are log entries to be updated between today and the last post, hope to get to that soon.