Update

So about a week ago I opened the hives to see that the huge amount of comb. They had drawn and FILLED over a frames worth of comb. I borrowed a suit the other day and decided to cut it out and salvage what I could. Unfortunately, they didn't like this at all and I felt I needed to smoke them. Interestingly enough the bees did get RATHER preoccupied with the smoke and a large number of them took to the air, but were not aggressive. I did cut the comb, but it lacked the strength for me to salvage it. I ended up setting it down and letting the bees salvage their nectar/honey/pollen.

This comb was not quite empty at the end of the day, but it now resides in a bucket until I decide to melt it down.

I filled the boxes with frames in the empty space (the reason for the stray comb).

This morning they were drawing on ALL of the frames in those boxes, so they got a fresh feeding and a FULL box each of frames with starter strips (short pieces of foundation held in with popsicle sticks held in horizontally in the groove).

I plan on checking on them in about a week, but feeding them between now and then.

They seem healthy, but I have noticed that the activity at the entrance has gone way down! Both hives seem relatively docile now, but somewhat more defensive than they were there at the beginning.

Also, in the feeder this morning I noticed my first small hive beetle. I guess I better get some traps set out!

COMB!!!

I went to check on the bees yesterday. I actually opened them up to see what they were up to on the inside. Well, what I discovered was the BOTH hives have an enormous amount of comb that they've built up from between the center frames in the bottom box into the second box. It goes up probably 4" and extends the full length of the hive. The real problem though is that they then built comb at 60-90 degree angles sideways from this comb. So, they've attached it to several neighboring frames. I tried to reach in with the hive tool to scrape it off, but those girls did not like the hive tool. I put my hand in and nothing, but I put the hive tool and several came buzzing out after it. I was able to put several more frames in.

I know why they did it. Apparently, they like to build up and not sideways. There were empty frames on the bottom and I had several empty frames on the side of the top. The middle top was empty however. Since they would prefer to build without foundation and prefer to build up, that's exactly what they did. So, I put as many frames as I could fit into the boxes. I couldn't get the bad comb out as I don't have a suit and I really don't want to anger the girls in this condition. I am going to see if I can borrow a bee suit from a friend.

Stung and stuff

So I actually got stung a few days ago. I removed the comb piece a couple days before that. When I got stung I had actually not done anything, but give them some sugar water. I read somewhere that I should work the hive in the middle hottest part of the day, since that's when they're all out of the hive and there are the fewest bees in the hive. So, following the advice I removed the covers and put in sugar syrup around 11 or so. Then put the covers back and stood about 8-10 feet from the hive just observing all the activity looking to see if they were bringing in pollen.

Then completely without warning BAM! I got stung right in the middle corner of my right eyebrow. I'll admit it scared me; I have NEVER been stung by a honeybee before. I was stung years ago by a yellow jacket with a mild reaction. However with the honeybee, it was a slight burn at first, then I RAN to the house (100 yards or so) and made a 'beeline' for the bathroom mirror so I could remove the stinger. I removed it put on ice and took some antihistamine. By then it was seriously burning with a slight throb. It really took a lot out of me though; I didn't want to do much after that. Within a few hours though I was still a little drained, but was outside chopping wood for some fence posts.

The next day the location was tender, but no noticeable difference other than a very slight upraising. Lesson learned: Work the bees when they are LEAST active!

The comb I had removed is so awesome to look at!! They made it completely without any foundation or anything and it's nearly perfect hexagons with a very slight angle upward. This makes them all 'cups' to store whatever the bees put in there. Pretty awesome.

Today, this morning, I went out about 7am and it was about 50 or slightly above. There were no bees outside the hive, though oddly enough I think I may have seen one come out of nowhere and go through the entrance. I gave them some sugar water with no apparent disturbance to the hive. Then went to the entrances and tried to change them over to the larger size reduction. One didn't have it, so I just pulled it out on one side to leave a second entrance. The other one had the larger reducer on the opposite side of the small one. I thought nothing of this and left it. Again all of this with no bee activity.

Then, later in the day I went to see how they fared with the larger entrances. The BUSY hive was just fine with their two entrances. The lazy hive was throughly confused with the entrance on the "wrong side." So I got a long stick and pulled the reducer out because there was A LOT of activity at their entrance. Today it seemed the hives had switched personality. The lazy hive was Super Busy, and the Busy hive was laid back. This activity level persisted through the day. Watching the entrance both hives are bringing in a fair amount of pollen, though I don't know what's normal. It seemed that anywhere from 1 in 10 to 1 in 3 bees were coming in with pollen caked on their legs.

Pollen colors have changed in the last few weeks. At first they were anywhere from deep yellow/orange to shiny red/orange (likely dandelion and hen bit). Now they are anywhere from a very pale dusty yellow to a solid yellow. I saw a few with pollen that almost looked white. I'll have to check some pollen charts to see what they might be bringing in. I know there is henbit, dandelion, some little blue flowers on weeds, clover and dogwood all blooming in the yard. There were some peach, crabapple, and tulip magnolias flowering a few weeks ago. The dutch clover is barely blooming at all.

Comb Building

So, I checked the bees the other day and noticed that one of the hives has decided it's a good idea to build comb on the feeder. There's a comb about 2" thick, by about 3" wide and about 6" long growing from the feeder entrance. Gotta get that thing outta there!

Nearly a week in

It was clear and warm for a couple days as of yesterday. So, when checking on my bees they have been VERY active. They were covering the entrance of the hive, which is reduced to about .75x1 inch. I also noticed that not all, but several were bringing in pollen. They were visiting the in hive feeder, but not with much gusto. The queen had been released from the mild hives cage, so I removed the queen cage.

The bees that had been left on the packages when they were removed several days ago, were dead. They did not leave the boxes and so died exactly where I had left them. Poor girls!!

I also noticed, that the bees seem to still have nosema as there were yellow/tan dots EVERYWHERE on the hives and surrounding area. On top of the more active hive were several unrelated bees. They were much fuzzier and close to double the size of my bees. They however did have bee type wings and seemed to have bee physiology. Never seen bees like them though. I'm about 90% sure they weren't moths or flies, so they had me stumped.

The personality of the hives has remained consistent. The left hive is REALLY active inside and out and the right side hive is not so active inside or out.

Package removal

So I went out this morning at the advice of others on the forum to remove the boxes. It was mid 40's and overcast. I started with the more active hive. They didn't seem to care much until I started really separating things. They had already started building comb on the package box. The queen was already out of her cage. I certain hope she didn't get squished in all the ruckus. I tried to be as gentle as possible, but of course I did squash a few, I think. I left the queen cage and package cage outside the hive so the girls could get back, since they wouldn't get off.

I went back to the house to give them a few minutes to calm down. Unfortunately, I think two girls tried to sting me. I had two shirts and a pair of pants, so I didn't get stung. I found them on my clothes though one with stinger stuck and still attached. The other had already lost it's stinger and was wandering around on my shirt.

I was much more cautious with the second hive, now that I had done it once. It's queen was still in the cage so I left it on top of the frames. I just put the extra frames in the top box rather than removing it. I also left a lot more bees outside the hive rather than angering them by shaking them. I hope they're ok.

Day 3

Checked on the bees today. The bees were mildly active doing some cleansing flights. The front of the hives had significant yellow spotting. Opened the top covers to see that they were working the syrup and there was plenty of syrup. Weather remained cold all day, so I was not able to open and remove the package boxes and feeding cans. Hopefully it will be warmer and dry soon. Weather is calling for rain for the next few days. Tomorrow looks like lots of rain and high in the mid-fifties. Couldn't trust the weatherman today, not getting my hopes up for tomorrow.

My method, equipment, and plans

I bought my bees from Wolf Creek Apiaries after hearing a few podcasts that were interviews with John Seaborn, the apiarist of Wolf Creek. I first heard them in Los Angeles before moving and was thoroughly excited because they are only a couple hours away from where I was going to be in Tennessee. With patience and good timing I was able to get my bees from them. What excited me about them is that they practice relatively natural practices utilizing only essential oils in pest management as well as strictly raising small cell, 4.9mm , bees. These bees are purportedly more able to handle the mite infestations and require less outside pest management. Also, small cells equals more bees, which means more bees to collect, manage pests, etc.

I also bought my woodenware from a local supplier, Bon Aqua Springs. Trevor, who makes the woodenware, was mentored and is supported by the Seaborn's. They specialize in medium 8 frame hives. This is becoming a popular trend nowadays. There could be many reasons, but my reasons are that they are local, the hives bodies are easily interchangeable (so any frame can be put anywhere) and a full box will be less heavy. I'm not weak, but prefer to save my back if I can. They also utilize the essential oil treatments. What I didn't know, but love is their top frame feeder. It allows me to simply take the covers off the top and pour syrup without disturbing the hive since the feeder occupies the entire top box. The only bees disturbed are the ones currently feeding and the process is very quick. Yay for Bon Aqua Springs!

I intend on using as little treatment as possible and when I do treat I want to stay with essential oils as much as possible. The exception will be the treatment of boric acid for ants and small hive beetles, if I have to treat for these.

Queen's not dead

I found out from several sources that this was NOT my queen. YAY!!!

These are my workers though. I find it interesting that the one worker is SO much bigger than mine. Also notice that it has it's stinger out which suggests it stung someone or something. Given that this hive is a hundred yards from any edge of my property where people might be and none of my family has been stung, it must have been from another hive or had a fight with my bees. When you look at them in real life there is a VERY significant difference in size. The wings are longer, the head is larger, it clearly must be from a nearby hive and not mine. My bees are all small cell bees.

Day 2

Day 2

Woke up today to cold weather. It's in the 40's. I've read never to open the hive below 50 so, the hives stay closed today. I'll have to remove the package boxes tomorrow when it's supposed to be 60.

I was told on the forum today that all my 'bothering' the bees is risking having them leave. So, I'll leave them alone, but I do need to remove the boxes as soon as "weather permits". That means when it's warmer and not wet.

Found a couple dead bees outside the front of the hive. One was larger than my bees, so it's either a queen (!!SCARED!!) or a bee from somewhere else.

Just got em

Alright today is technically day 2, but I'm recalling day 1.

I picked up the package in the morning and came straight home and put them in the hive about an hour later. Ok, call me stupid, but I installed them with no equipment (veil, etc) at all. YEAH - no stings.

I simply removed the cork from the candy side of the queen box and hung it between two frames. I accidentally pulled the wrong cork on the first hive, but was able to pop it right back in without incident when I didn't see candy - oops!!! The weather was really windy and a little cool so I was told to remove a few frames and put the package in the hive and let the bees find their own way out. I did this.

A couple hours later I went to check on them. One hive was barely active - no bees outside the hive at all. The other one however had dozens of bees at the entrance reducer, several buzzing all over and had me a bit concerned. I opened up the inactive hive and they seemed peaceful and content humming quietly. I didn't dare open the busy hive.

Later they were still the same - a buzz of seemingly angry activity in one hive and nearly no activity in the other. I opened both to check to make sure I had bees in the one and to check on the queen in the other. It started to rain so I didn't get a chance to check on the queen.

Later I opened only the covers on the hives to give them sugar syrup with an essential oil stimulant recipe. This doesn't really expose the hive as the feeder occupies the entire top shallow box. An hour later the hives were both less active and when I opened the covers they were both actively drinking/feeding. I am guessing the angry hive didn't have any food.

I strapped the hives down and called it a day as there was a big storm coming through with tornado warnings and watches close by.

Stimulant recipe - 1 gallon of water to 8lbs of sugar. I boiled the water and gradually added the sugar while stirring. Then added about a teaspoon or two of lemon juice to invert the sugar. I let it remain at a rolling boil for about 10-15 minutes. Then I added 2 drops of tea tree oil, and 8 drops of lemon grass oil with an additional 1/2 cup of water. The oils and extra oils were added to a separate jar first and shaken vigorously then added to the sugar syrup. This made about a gallon and a half of stimulant syrup.