Added a Super

Since the hive has taken off so early this year I have added a super. This will expand the hive and provide a place for the bees to add honey for me to harvest. This year I am only putting 9 frames into the box. This will allow for the bees to draw the comb out farther and place more honey in each cell. This actually result in greater honey production... so they say. I have a bar that spaces each frame an equal distance apart.

New bee suites

Aleena and I got new bee suites. There is no way for the bees to get into sting us. I guess we have a bit more confidence with them on. The real test will be mid summer when the hive is full with 50,000 bees and the get agitated.

Start of Year 2

It is the middle of April and Aleena and I went in to the hive for the first time this year. The bees have been active for a good month now and we expected a population explosion. We were right there was a lot of bees and the next batch will hatch in a week or so. As you can see in the photo there is honey in the hive, so they have food. There is not a lot of pollen, so I will need to get them a supplement for that.

Proof They are Italian Bees

It starting to warm up and the bees are out looking for food where ever they can. They are bring back some pollen, so there are some flowers out there. Also, they have been in the compost bin. They really have taken to the espresso grounds we dump in there. I should have expected that they are Italian Bees.

Warm Winter Day

On a warm winter day the bees will remove any bees that died in the hive. While it seem like a lot, remember there are thousands of bees in the hive.

They will also leave the hive to take care of business, thus yellow spots in the snow. This is a good sign that the hive is making it through the winter.

Prepare for Winter

Just prior to winter, I wrap the hives with a insulating wrap. The bees will remove all Drones during the fall. There is a hole part way up so the bees can get out during the winter.

Honey Harvest

The harvesting of honey takes time. It starts by using a heated knife to cut the wax cap off of the sealed cells. Then the frames are inserted into a centerfuge to spin the honey out.

It takes time on straining the wax from the honey, but thats OK.