9/11

:(

So This Is What Hot Bees Look Like

We’ve just had a week run of 90 degree weather. The bees weren’t happy about it. But they haven’t been happy about many things lately. They didn’t like Dave mowing the lawn a few weeks ago, but they seem to have gotten over that (poor Dave – stung 12 times!!). Most evenings the Crosby hive has a pile of bees sitting out on the doorstep. Ovechkin doesn’t do this as much, which is weird because Ovechkin has more bees. I think Crosby is spatially challenged. I don’t have high hopes for their survival over the winter.

Garden isn't so great. Total produce so far: 3 tiny cukes, 1 zucchini, 5 cherry tomatoes. Corn, beans, pumpkins, and heirloom tomaotes all a bust due to deer, raccoons, and/or weather. Finally got some Irish Spring soap and hung that up as the dried blood wasn't detering the deer at all. Well, there's always next year. But there are lots of insects, so I guess that part worked.

A Photo Journal

Just Checking In

Not much happening with the bees. We’ve had rain every day for seems like forever but probably more like two weeks. I opened the hives today and both Ovechkin and Crosby are doing well. Ovechkin’s pace has slowed, but I’m thinking that’s to be expected three weeks post swarm. They are busy building comb in the super though. Crosby still is staying to the same five frames only they’re building up now. I alternated some empty frames with full ones and found large cells between the top and bottom frames. Queen cells? Maybe. I’ve backed off a little on the sugar syrup because I have a suspicion that’s what caused Ovechkin to swarm – overcrowding and ample food. But all the bees seemed happy and not aggressive at all.

On to the garden news: I found a black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar out among the tomatoes. It was happily munching on some Queen Anne’s Lace that is still abundant no matter how much I weed (which isn’t that much, so I shouldn’t complain). We popped it into a jar and have been giving it a steady supply of new leaves and it seems happy: eating and pooping. I’m hoping we can keep it that way until it forms a chrysalis. I also found my hay bale is pretty nasty so I didn’t throw it on the garden. But I did find some camel crickets so that was kind of cool. And the bumblebees are out in full force. Check out the cute girl in the photo who stopped for a rest in the garden. Lots of native pollinators around my garden – my honeybees don’t seem to linger here. They must be attracted to the exotic flowers at the neighbors!

Somethings's Afoot

I went out to check on the bees today and give Crosby a new jar of sugar syrup. Both hives were busy; it was a sunny day with just a few clouds so the bees were out taking advantage of the good weather. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and it poured last night. I watched Crosby for a little bit and then turned to find out what Ovechkin was up to.

I noticed there were many drones flying in and out. I’m assuming that this means one of the queens has hatched and went on her mating flight. There were still a lot of workers up in the top super and the comb is being built right up against the inner cover. Dave says there were a bunch of bees flying around last week on one of the nicer days. I’m hoping it was just because it was nice out after so much rainy weather. This has definitely been quite an experience. I’ve reached the end of my semester at school – congrats to everyone in my group. We worked really hard and now we have a short break before the August semester starts. Also -- many thanks to my advisor, Tatiana. She has put up with my many projects for the last year and given me excellent gardening advice!

As for the garden, I had my biggest strawberry harvest today (see pic above) and my potatoes are growing like crazy. Still no sign of the corn or the pumpkins, but I think they’ll be sprouting up in the next week or so. They certainly have had a lot of rain.

Hive Check

I opened the hives today to get an idea of where they stand post swarming. Crosby has many bees, but they are still in the first five frames. They had built a fair amount of comb on the inner cover. Unfortunately, it ripped open when I took off the cover and this upset the bees tremendously. I got a couple of good pictures of them gathered around the open cells in ever widening circles. I decided to put the next brood box with empty frames on to satisfy their vertical urges. I think if I was braver, I would have taken out the bottom frames and alternated empty with full ones. But I’m very nervous about squishing the queen seeing as this hive re-queened itself less than three weeks ago. They are eating the pollen patties I’m putting in, which is better than they were doing in April.

Ovechkin is humming and busy. They are still off the sugar syrup so should be making honey. The multiflora rose bloom is in full swing in the neighborhood so they shouldn’t have any problem finding nectar sources. After half the hive swarmed, we had rainy weather for four or five days. They probably succumbed to hypothermia if they didn’t find a home within the first twenty four hours after leaving. The remaining bees are busy in the first honey super making comb. I noticed that these bees are starting their comb in the middle of the box. I wonder if that makes a difference to how many frames they fill.

Garden update: I’ve been picking strawberries and I have four cucumber seedling started. I’m almost ready for another tire on my potatoes. It’s coming along nicely, I hope.

Holy Honey Bees, Batman!

I took the jars out of the Ovechkin hive last night and this is what I found this morning. All able bodied foragers out looking for nectar. Pretty awesome sight! I hope Dave doesn't want to mow the lawn today. I'm hoping they didn't swarm. I have to go check them today. Stay tuned...

UPDATE: Yep, they swarmed. Half of Ovechkin - gone, with a dozen queen cells in the second brood box. Damn.

Oh well. Let's see where this goes now.

More Crosby Bees

Warm Summer Morning

I felt so bad about not posting any pictures last night, I went out this morning and took a few shots. These are the Crosby bees around their sugar syrup feeder.

Big Doin's

So, as promised, the post. If you remember, the Crosby hive was not living up to its full potential and was being outpaced by Ovechkin. We decided that a look see was needed to find out exactly what Crosby was up to.

Saturday was a beautiful day, a bit breezy but no matter. I donned my bee suit and Dave got on his hat and gloves and fired up the smoker. After taking off the inner cover we saw that Crosby was still working on the same five or so frames as the last time we looked. I found this a bit discouraging, but proceeded to pull out the frames, looking for some kind of clue as to exactly what the heck was going on. When I pulled out the first really full frame of comb and bees Dave said “There’s a blob of something on this side.”

I turned over the frame and low and behold, a thing I’d only heard about: The Almighty Queen Cell that you can see more about here. The books all say it looks like a peanut and, by the gods, it does. A really large peanut, but certainly nothing like the rest of the cells. There were also eggs and open cells of larva. I’m assuming that something happened to Crosby’s queen that necessitated a new queen be raised up. If all went well, the queen should have hatched by now – or be really close to hatching. That means she’ll go on her mating flight in the next week and be merrily laying eggs soon. In a month there should be a new hatch of bees flying around Crosby. On the down side that means I’ll be feeding Crosby for a lot longer than I wanted to, but those are the breaks.

I went into Ovechkin today and found that the second brood box is almost filled. I added a super with ten frames and will remove the sugar syrup jars for the last time once they’re empty. Ovechkin will be officially self sufficient. Just in time for the multiflora rose bloom.

In the Garden: the corn is growing, I’ve lost one of the cucumber plants so I planted some more seeds, and the eggshells seem to be working keeping the slugs away from the basil. I retested the soil for nitrogen and there appears to be high levels (yay!).

Apologies for lack of pictures… I should have taken some of the queen cell, but my gloves were all syrupy and nasty and I didn’t want to muck up my camera.

A Quick One

Lots of exciting things happening with the bees and the garden. I promise I'll get back with a real post soon. Just as a tease - Ovechkin is fabulous and Crosby gave us a surprise last Saturday when we checked it...

Look Dad! Potatoes!!!

A few months ago, when I was planning my study and what I wanted to plant in my vegetable garden, my Dad gave me a great idea for planting potatoes: Take a tire and fill it with good quality, loose soil then add some potato eyes. When the plants get a few inches above the soil, add another tire and soil. Repeat as needed. He said I should be able to get quite a few potatoes when I knocked the stack of tires over in the fall. I was excited to try it.

Last week he asked me if I started the potatoes yet. I hadn’t. But Dave had gotten me my first tire and it was sitting out in the driveway. Then Dave asked me today if I was going to do anything with the tire. So, I dragged my sorry butt to the hardware store for some galvanized ¼” wire (to keep the mice out but let worms in) and began the project.

The only wire I could get was a five foot roll. This turned out to be optimal. I had enough for under the tire and to put over top of the wheelbarrow to screen soil. After placing the tire in the garden, I trucked out to the woods where we’d been dumping leaves and branches for ten years or so. At the bottom of the pile was nice, dark soil. Lots of branches, but that’s where the wheelbarrow screening station came it. I saw lots of millipedes and centipedes – great stuff to relocate to the garden. Also a couple of small worms.

Once my tire was full of soil, I added a little bit of potting soil – just to keep the mix nice and fluffy, added the potatoes, and watered. Now I’ll see if it works :)

Side note: No bee attacks !!!!

Ovechkin and Crosby (not a hockey post!!!)

At last!!! News to blog about! I suppose I should start: the hives now have names. That’s right. I can be totally dorky and refer to my hives with actual names instead of “right hive” and “left hive.” The right hive is Ovechkin (the tall one in the picture) and the left hive is Crosby (the short one). Dave refuses to address them that way.

I’ve been keeping track of their syrup intake over the last two weeks. Ovechkin has gone through 17.5 cups and Crosby consumed 15. Ovechkin is definitely the stronger hive; so strong that I went out this afternoon and added the second brood box of frames to it. Crosby isn’t making comb as fast as I would like. Last Saturday there were still six frames empty in Crosby. If Crosby doesn’t shape up by the end of summer, I may have to combine it with Ovechkin. We’ll see. There’s still plenty of blooming time left.

It was pretty cool seeing the bees bubbling all over the frames in Ovechkin. The queen must be hard at work.

Even better, the bees have stopped attacking me when I putter around the yard.

Garden update: I planted tomatoes, basil, radishes, rosemary, arugula, and zucchini two weeks ago. I had to go out last night and cover them all because frost was in the forecast. I’m glad I did. It was chilly this morning (32 and an icy windshield at 7 AM). I’m planting the cuke seedlings this weekend. They’re on the porch hardening off right now. I’m also putting in my corn seeds and planting my potato eyes in the tire (Dad’s idea). Dave picked me up a few bales of hay and I’ve put that down as mulch. So that’s shaping up very nicely. I’ll have to post a picture once everything is planted.

Why Do My Bees Hate Me?

There is something about me the bees don’t like. Maybe it’s my shampoo or deodorant. Maybe it’s my full blown panic when they get stuck in my hair. Who knows. But when they find me it’s ugly. I had one bee chase me all the way to the garage. Another stung me in the arm, got stuck in my hair and wound up smooshed on the kitchen counter with me in hysterics. My husband just shook his head and went back upstairs muttering “You’re the one who wanted bees.” So I’m giving them - and me - a break. I’ve only gone out to the hives to change their jars of sugar syrup and that involves a minimum of disturbance. We’ll see what happens next weekend when I should lift the inner cover to see if they need another brood box put on.

In light of that, this is a soil post. I got the results back from the Connecticut Ag station. My phosphorus and potassium were fine as was the pH. Nitrogen and organic material were extremely lacking. The report recommended adding cottonseed meal. I put almost 3 lbs on my little plot and sowed a cover crop of wheat, peas, and vetch. I took a picture today, 3 weeks post planting. Not too bad. I have at least another week or so before I start transplanting my cuke and zucchini plants. I’m going to send Dave out for a couple of bales of straw to put down as mulch too. The state says I have sandy soil so I’ll have to be careful. Nutrients leach out quickly and it tends to dry fast. Now if only I can get out to work in it without the bees freaking out.

I Hate the Bees

I can't go out in the yard without them attacking me. I feel like a hostage in the house.

Eggs at Last!!!

Today was the big day – the one where we took the frames out, one at a time, looking for the queens and eggs or brood. The sun was out, the day was warm, and the bees were flying. Dave and I headed over to the hives. I brought the frames for the top brood box in case the bottom boxes were filled. Both hives had bees in the empty top brood box drinking sugar syrup from the jars. We decided to take out the feeders from inside the hive – we just couldn’t fill them with the weather being so bad. The jars will be easier to deal with. It doesn’t disturb the hive so much to open the top and replace the jar. I’ll just have to check them every couple of days.
It’s strangely peaceful handling the frames. I have to move slowly to allow them time to get out of the way and avoid squishing them. And so far they’ve been wonderfully co-operative. Even the one that somehow got in my hood was removed with no stinging.

We found maybe five of the frames have been partially built on. The left hive had more eggs and brood, but both had them in even patterns. There are sealed honey/sugar syrup cells as well as pollen. I’m reading Wisdom of the Hive right now by Tom D. Seeley. He says that pollen gathering is more sporadic than nectar gathering since they only use pollen to rear brood. I watched the hives earlier this morning and found that about 20 bees per minute were entering the hives with pollen. I thought that boded well for having brood and it did.

The left hive is still stubbornly trying to build feral comb off the cover. I’m hoping that with the removal of the inner feeders this will stop. The piece I scraped off today had eggs in it (see pic). All in all, a very good day with the bees.

One Week Post Installation Inspection

One week post bee installation and a gorgeous day well into the 60s mean a hive check! Our first one since last week’s debacle. I was a bit nervous after how agitated the bees were during the installation process, but it turned out to be fine. Dave and I suited up, lit the smoker and headed over with our sugar syrup, pollen patties, and hive tools. We decided to open the right hive (the bigger one) first. At the first puff of smoke there was an angry buzz from inside the brood box. When we took the cover off, we found that the bees in this hive had eaten most of the previous pollen patty. I took out the second to last frame far from where they bees were working on foundation and gently slid the other frames over until I got to the feeder. It was bone dry, so we took it out to refill it. The queen cage was empty but I couldn’t find the queen. The bees are drawing out comb though, on five or so of the frames. We filled the feeder and placed a new pollen patty with the remains of the old one and covered the hive back up.

The left hive (I really have to think about naming them) was pretty much the same except the pollen patty was almost intact and there was a smaller area being worked with comb, but more progress was being made. I was able to take pictures and this is what’s at the top of the blog. We even saw a bee come back with her legs orange with pollen. Much more exciting for me than Dave, I think. The queen cage had to be pried out of the comb –the bees couldn’t move it so it became part of the nest. I’m sure they’ve fixed the damage by now. This feeder was also dry. I hesitate to go into the hive too often because it’s been pretty cold out – low 50s for much of the week. I’m thinking of supplementing with a jar feeder. If I put that on top of the inner cover, I can replace it without opening the hive all the way.

The only thing that worries me is that we didn’t do a full frame- by- frame inspection so I’m not sure if the queens are alive and laying. Next time we open them, which I’m thinking will be next weekend because we have chilly, wet weather for the week ahead, I’ll do a more extensive check. This one was more of a get your feet wet kind of thing.

I found that working with the bees is oddly calming. Every movement is slow and precise. I became aware of the different sounds of the hive – especially the loud, annoyed, panicked buzz of a bee trapped in between frames as I moved them. I enjoyed my time out there with them. It was so different from that first day. Hardly any bees landed on me. Dave’s gloves were stung a few times but he was using the smoker so they didn’t like him very much. He was still fine with just gloves and a veil.

I realize now how traumatic the travelling must have been for them, then the banging of the package on the ground, and the pouring into the hive. They are wonderfully adjusted now and I’ve taken to going out in the morning to check on them. Both hives were buzzing happily after yesterday’s intrusion.

Arrival of the Bees

Well, it finally happened. The bees arrived. I’ve learned many things in the last twenty four hours; most important is that my son is not the best person to bring along when picking up bees. That is, unless you want someone with you who is constantly nervous. Let me explain. We went to Southbury to pick up our fabulous packages of bees at Hannan Honey. The trailer full of packages was there as well as five other cars in the narrow driveway. I was last in line and, true to my worrying nature, worried about how everyone in front of me wanted to leave. They were all pretty cool, though. Except for that one guy who was complaining about his packages, but we didn’t let that get to us. We were given our packages right away and even had them loaded into the car. Unfortunately, there were some loose bees crawling around the outside of the boxes. Kirk spent the whole ride home giving me a play-by-play as to where the loose ones were.

But we finally made it home in one piece. We got all our supplies together, suited up in our spiffy bee suits, and headed to the hives. Dave had done a tremendous job making the stands and sinking them into the ground so the bees would be on stable ground. I must say here that looking at a box of bees doesn’t give you the same thrill as opening said box and dumping three thousand of the little bugs onto the hive. And they all fly around you. And poop on you. I can’t say enough about the pooping. There was a lot of it. We got both hives safely installed, made sure they both had pollen patties and syrup, and headed in. That’s when I noticed a bee had crawled up my pants. FYI – no matter how gingerly you try to take off straight leg jeans, you are bound to get stung if there is a bee above your knee. I did and it hurt, but it ended up not being nearly as bad as the stings described in Robbing the Bees.

We lost some overnight – it was rainy and cold, but not many. This morning the hive you see us working on in the picture had bees at the entrance and was emitting a loud hum. The other hive wasn’t as loud and had no bees at the entrance. I don’t know what this means. Dave thought it may mean the quiet hive doesn’t like rain – it is wet and cold this morning. As of yesterday both queens were alive. I’m going to give them a week or so to settle down before opening the hive to check on them again. Next time, I’m taping my pants legs so they can’t crawl in.

In garden news: I’ve removed all the grass and planted a green manure crop of vetch, oats, and peas. I mixed them with inoculants and hope they have enough time to grow a bit before Memorial Day planting. I only found one earthworm. Even after my mustard water experiment (2 TBSP mustard powder mixed with 2 liters water poured into a 12” x 12” hole to get the worms to come up). Still waiting to hear from the state re: the soil test. Dave has embraced the compost heap and has been throwing stuff on it.

The Digging Bees

It was gorgeous out today and I *almost* got over the fact that we couldn’t get our bees this weekend. It was nasty windy yesterday, so it was probably for the best. As it was I got all depressed this morning reading about genetically modified plants and then watched the episode of The Tudors where Anne Boleyn gets her head chopped off. Don’t get me wrong - I am not a big Boleyn fan. My sentiments have always run towards the Seymours but I was feeling particularly weepy this weekend and this hit me.
Fast forward to needing a walk out in the sun. I had been out in the yard earlier and noticed these big dirt piles that looked like ant hills. We had a nest of ferocious black and red ants under a rock and I hoped they weren’t spreading. They bite and it hurts…
When I got outside, I noticed all these bees flying close to the ground. And then one of them poked its head out of a hole I had presumed to be an ant hill. I found out that these are digging, or ground, bees. They’re found in dry clay or sandy soils. They aren’t aggressive and they help aerate the soil. Apparently they’ll be around for six weeks or so then go off to wherever it is that’s next on their itinerary.

In the picture there is a bee in the hole and another crawling around the outside. They are solitary - no big hives for these guys.

They are cute little buggers. Seems I have bees after all.

The Beauty of Interpretive Tests and Bee Update

After the results of the testing I did a few days ago, I decided to try again. This time, I decided to be more patient. I made sure I let my soil sample sit for a few hours after shaking with the testing solution. I measure the clear liquid into the small test tube and added the nitrogen test tablet. After the five minute wait, there was still no real color, so I left it to sit overnight. This morning I found a deeper pink than I had previously. So the question is: Does the color naturally deepen the longer it sits and is the five minute time imperative? If so, my nitrogen is lower than low. If time is not a factor then I have low to medium nitrogen in the soil.
I did send my soil sample off to the Connecticut Agriculture lab yesterday, so I guess I’ll know in one to two weeks how accurate home sampling is.

Bee Update: I got a call Monday night from my bee supplier. The bees are delayed so I'm picking them up on April 11th now. Almost there!

The Intermittent Gardener

Well, it was a beautiful day yesterday. I got out to the garden and raked the fall leaves off. Dave had finished painting my second hive on Friday (yay Dave! Love that man) so I didn’t have to worry about that. WARNING: this is a soil post. My study this semester is Pollinators, Plants, and Soil so things like this are bound to happen on the blog. You can totally ignore this and come back next weekend (we get the bees in six days!!!) or continue on if you like.

I’ve had my home soil test kit sitting on the counter for almost two weeks now; taunting me with its test tube and tablets. I broke down yesterday and gathered a soil sample. I let the soil dry in the sun and by 9:30 last night I couldn’t wait any longer.

A bit of background here. I’m an intermittent gardener. Last year I had a couple of plants that didn’t perform well at all. I figured it was because I know next to nothing about gardening. The first year I planted my garden was 1997. A real garden. Tomatoes, beans, zucchini. I think I had another the year after that. I was mulching with grass cuttings from the lawn. Then Dave stopped using the bagger and that was the end of that. I don’t use fertilizer or any other amendments. My thinking was that I hardly use the soil so it had to be packed with all kinds of good stuff. The soil test results, I imagined, would speak for themselves.

The first test I ran was for pH. I added the soil and tablet and shook the heck out of the test tube – which I would do repeatedly for the other tests – and in one minute I got a lovely green colored solution. My pH was 7.0. Neutral, neither base nor acid. I was hoping for a number closer to 6.0, but this wasn’t too bad.

On to nitrate testing. I was looking for a pink color. As you can see in the picture (first test tube on the left, by the pink dots), I was disappointed. Low. A mere 40 lbs available per six inches of soil. I was surprised. I thought that by neglecting my soil I was allowing organic material to accumulate, thus increasing productivity. My potassium and phosphorus tests were no better. Low in both cases. I needed to make a plan.

I hopped online and did a quick search of soil testing facilities. I thought that if I get a test by the lab, it will back up my results. The labs suggest amendments to the soil as well – another bonus. Here in Connecticut we can get our soil tested for free. It probably takes a little longer to get the results back (1-2 weeks), but it’s the end of March. I have time.

This morning I was out getting core samples from my pathetic patch of land. They’ll take a day or so to dry out and then I can send them on to the lab. Hopefully their results will be the same. I did request organic amendment suggestions on the sheet, so I’m looking forward to what the lab has to say.

This was a great experiment. I learned I have awful soil, which is my own fault. But I also know I can remedy the situation. No longer am I the intermittent gardener, thrusting plants in the ground without a thought as to how good the soil is. I understand the intricate play of macroinvertebrates, fungi, and bacteria in the soil that plants need to grow. I’m looking forward to the next step – the addition of materials to increase the productivity of my small patch of veggies.

In The Beginning

There were two unpainted hives. And about four weeks until I had to pick up my bees. But that’s not really the beginning. The beginning was when I decided to do a study on soil for college and what would be better than throwing in keeping bees. A first hand look at pollinators. A unique hands on experience that would supplement my online learning.
That was before the doubt set in. What if I killed them? I know they’re just bugs, but I would be responsible for their well being.

After reading a few books and going to the Connecticut Beekeepers Association’s all day class I felt a bit better. A bit.
I jumped right in and ordered my hives, assembled but unpainted. They arrived in three huge boxes that Dave put in the garage. Over the next week I would go out and visit the boxes, waiting for a day that would be warm enough to paint them outside. My painting skills leave a lot to be desired and I’m no longer allowed to paint in the house.

Last Sunday was just the day. It was slightly nippy, but warm in the sun. I set up my pallet and Dave let me use some of his equipment (now covered in white paint).
The frames that came with the hives had been used before and there are bits of propolis still stuck to them. Propolis has this wonderful, sweet smell to it and while I was working, a neighborhood honey bee flew up and checked everything out. I only saw the one bee and wasn’t able to get a picture, mostly because my hands were covered in white paint by then. But it was pretty cool.

After four hours of painting, I only managed to get one hive done. I’m not kidding about my skills. Dave has offered to paint the second one so I can move on to other schoolwork, like writing my papers and this blog. I’m pretty excited. Only about three weeks now before we pick up the bees. I have yet to decide exactly where I want to put the hives. I have to potential places picked out. My uncle has graciously offered me a spot on his land that looks to be way better that any place in my yard.
This weekend or next Dave will be making the stands so the hives will be off the ground and away from those pesky skunks. We’ve decided not to do an electric fence right away – I was worried about bears -but we’re going to take a wait and see attitude. There won’t be much in the box this spring to attract any unwelcome visitors and there’s always next year.