Another peek under the cover - or - come and get it!

This is a continuation of the earlier post from Friday, January 15th, where I checked under my hive-top for the first time since the somewhat blast of unusual weather our region has experienced.  

We had yet another nice day here on Saturday. It was a little overcast, but the high temperature got up to a nice 57 degrees. Needless to say, it was another good day for my busy bees to be out of the hive too. And they were all over the place. 

As you recall, I checked under the telescoping cover on Friday. I saw my girls under the inner cover (above) but didn't remove it because I really didn't want to disturb them much. But as the day turned into night, I had this gnawing feeling that I really should have checked under the inner cover to see just how their honey store is doing. And I figured that if the weather was nice enough on Saturday, I would check again to put my mind at ease.

So Saturday rolled around and I went out again with just my veil. No smoker this time either. Curious, yes, but none of the bees were overtly concerned when I opened the hive. They rather ignored me to be honest. I took my hive tool and tried to pry an end frame out but that wasn't going to work. As most of you know, when propolis gets hard, its like glue, so those frames would not budge. But armed with my magnifying glass, I was able to peer down between the frames.

As you can see here, the end frame #1 had some open caps. In October, this frame was full of honey, but it appears that maybe they started eating from the outside and they're working their way in. As I was examining the frames from above, I took my hive tool and gently raked it across some of the open caps and they crumbled. So I knew they were empty and had been cleaned by my hygienic bees. No ooze or anything, just flaky white wax.

While the girls had a meeting to decide just what the heck was going on and why I was back for a second visit in two days, I moved over to frame #10. And as you can see on the inside of the frame, they still have some honey that hasn't bee touched. A few caps at the top had been opened, but for the most part, it was still full. When I took my hive took and touched a couple of caps, golden honey oozed out. So it looks like their food store is still okay, but I know that I'm going to have to keep an eye on it pretty soon to make sure they're okay and do an emergency feeding if necessary.

Speaking of feeding in winter, I've been reading a lot about winter feed and what some people do. I can already tell you that my bees won't get corn syrup because I've just heard way too much negative feedback about it and the problems it causes. And I know first-hand that sugar syrup will easily freeze in hive-top or Boardman feeders. So if it becomes necessary to feed my bees in cold weather, I think I'm going to try the dry sugar method that Michael Bush has discussed on his website. But instead of doing it like some people and sprinkling the cane sugar across the tops of the frames or on top of a newspaper, I think I'm going to make something sturdy to hold the sugar on the bars. And can you guess what I'm going to use? Corrugated plastic! As you may remember, I still have a few of those signs (simular to campaign signs) that didn't pass inspection, so now I've found a new use for them. When I make my newest project, I'll take pictures and show you how I did it.

Before I close, I noticed that even more pollen was making its way into the hive on Saturday. The foragers who returned to the hive while I was inspecting had varying amounts of pollen, some with nothing, some with just a small bit, and some were loaded down. Obviously my girls have been gossiping about the pollen gold mine out there and they decided to check it out. It was really good to see them working.

And one more note, I didn't see any small hive beetles in the hive, and as I examined my honeybees with the magnifying glass (one that would make Sherlock Holmes proud) - I didn't see any varroa hitching a ride either. Not very scientific, I know, but it made me feel better that none were under the watchful eye of my spy glass.   

Bee good, everybody!   

Weather warning: Batten down the hatches...err...hive!

When bad weather is coming, sailors use the phrase, "batten down the hatches" which means to prepare for the worst. Although I'm no sailor, that's just what I'm having to do here...batten down the hatches, or maybe I should say...the hive! 

The weather forecasters here in my area are calling for severe weather, most say bitterly cold, over the next few days. While the daytime temperatures will be in the 30s, the nighttime temperatures are dipping into the upper teens, low 20s range. Not taking a chance that it could freeze my honey bees, I've decided to shut off the screened bottom board until the temperatures climb back up a little warmer.

Closing off screened bottom boards in cold weather can be the subject of controversy among beekeepers. Some never shut off their bottom boards..while others say that when the weather gets nasty, they shut it off to restrict air-flow inside the hive and make it easier for the cluster to conserve heat. My though is this...if screened bottom boards make it better to increase ventilation for the bees in the hot summer months...closing it off during extreme cold temperatures to reduce the frigid air-flow can't be all that bad. So I have elected to close it off until the temperatures stabilize again.

I am really fortunate that I have friends in the sign business. Steve Moore and his wife own Southern Screen Printing and Graphics, and they make all sorts of signs including campaign signs and those signs you see for big sales..and they also make special notice signs for our local city government. The signs are made of heavy-duty plastic corrugated cardboard which is basically weatherproof. Unfortunately for Steve, if they make a mistake in the printing, they have to throw the sign away. But his loss is my gain. I asked Steve if I could have some of the throw-away signs for my bee hive..and he gladly handed me about ten of them. So I brought them home and had them in my garage...knowing that I would use them at some point. And now is the time. Thanks, Steve!

As you can see in the pictures, the corrugated cardboard is perfect to slide right under my screened bottom board. I did have to trim off about six-inches down the length of the sign, but nothing else. Luckily I have a spare screened board in my garage and was able to use it for a guide. So I inserted it under the hive and pushed it in.

Voila! As you can see to the right, the sign is pushed all the way to the front of the hive, and now the screened bottom board is completely shut off from the outside air. Plus I have enough excess on the edge that I can just reach down and pull the sign out and not have to dig around to grasp it. Oh, and he also had some plain white signs that had flaws in them, so I can use those to do mite counts when the need arises. Plus I have enough extra signs to use for my new hives that pop up in the future.

Here's an idea. If you're like me, I hate to see campaign signs sit around for weeks or months after an election. So now you can see just how those signs could be put to good use after their original usefulness is long gone. Of course, don't get yourself into trouble taking them if it is against the law. 

As I close this out, I would like to take time to wish a happy new year to one and all! May 2010 be your best year ever in so many ways!