Anatomy of a dead hive...

If you read my last post, you saw that my big mother hive, the yellow hive, died without warning.  I was suspicious that the colony died of starvation, but wouldn't know until I did a thorough exam of the inside.  So with the weather being in the 60s for the last few days, I decided to take the hive apart to see what I could find.  And sadly, what I found confirmed my suspicions.

But before I get too far ahead of myself, let me say that just the other day, I noticed quite a few bees flying in and out of the big yellow hive.  I started to question if the bees in the yellow hive were really dead or if they were just cold and in some type of suspended animation.  Maybe the warmth had stirred them from their slumber and they were now alert and back to being honey bees?  But sadly, I learned that I was right all along and the colony really was dead after all. 

As you can see in the picture above, there is plenty of honey left in the yellow hive.  You can see where the bees ate their way along the honey frame from the bottom.  And the two surviving hives, the orange and the lime, knew there was honey here.  The bees I saw flying in and out of the yellow hive were robber bees from the neighboring hives who knew that a honey gold mine lay next door.  It was easy to tell they were mine because the robbers were darker Carniolans, while the deceased inhabitants of this hive were yellowish colored Italians.


Here is the frame where I found the dead cluster.  Looks are deceiving.  While they look alive and just standing there, they're very much dead.  Its as if they just died where they stood...frozen in time forever.  When I raked the dead bees away, you could see dead bees inside the cells, head down, trying to get food.  While there was plenty of food in several of the frames all around them, and candy patties just above them, they didn't move because of the cold and that caused them to starve to death.

The dead monarch lies among her daughters.  You can see the dead queen here, easily identified by the green dot on her back (indicating she was of 2009 stock).  This cluster on the left was in the same clump of bees as above but they were on the opposite frame.  As you can see, the queen was in the middle of the mass and died where she stood along with her daughters.  I will miss this queen and wish all of mine were of the same dynamic quality she was.  As I mentioned before, she was a terrific layer and kept this colony going with beautiful brood frames ever since arriving in 2009.  

A sure sign that the colony starved.  Here you can see that the bees, trying to get food from the cells, died head down.  These bees were covered by the bodies of their sisters who died where they stood.  It baffles me that the bees didn't move over one frame where lots of honey waited for them.  Instead, they died trying to get what was left out of these cells.  I didn't try to remove the bodies from the cells and will leave that for next colony that moves in the yellow hive weeks from now.

The good news, I have a package of bees coming from Mark Bennett at the Chatham, Virginia, branch of Dadant and Sons in early April.  With the frames in the yellow hive already drawn with wax, and honey still available too, it will give the new colony a leg up on establishing themselves.  And I plan to split the orange hive this spring too, so I should have plenty to keep me busy.

Until next time, "bee" vigilent in keeping your colonies alive until the spring thaw which I hope is very soon.  Until then, you have my very best wishes!

The silence of the hive...

The yellow hive is silent.  That's because all life inside her has ceased.  Suddenly and without warning, all of the life and activity that makes a honey bee colony exciting came to a cruel and abrupt end.  And I've thought about it extensively since I discovered it days ago.  Needless to say, it has broken my heart.

Last Thursday night, I decided to go check the hives by "listening" to them.  As many old-time beekeepers will tell you, you may not see a lot of activity around a hive in winter, but you can always listen for life inside.  While many beeks will put their ear to the hive and tap the sides it to arouse the colony, I use a medical stethoscope instead.  Just as a doctor will listen for signs of life through his stethoscope, I listen for life with mine too.  The stethoscope works well because you can put it all on the sides of the hive and better find where the colony is positioned.  Plus you don't have to do all of that bending and stooping to put your ear to the boxes.

I listened to the orange hive first and heard the distinct sounds of buzzing inside the top brood chamber.  Then I moved to the green hive, and while not as loud, I could hear the bees in the top box.  But when I moved to the yellow hive, the strongest colony in my yard, I could find no sounds anywhere.  I moved the scope to the sides and the front and back, and no matter where I moved it, there was no noise of any kind.  That's when I immediately knew that something was seriously wrong.

Not being able to stand it, I carefully opened the top of the hive...and my heart sank.  I could see dead bees all in the bottom, and a small cluster in the middle of the frames at the top -- all dead.  There were no bees anywhere else.  Trying not to panic, and thinking they may be so cold they couldn't move, I closed the top and went inside the house.  But in my heart, I knew they were all dead.  I was so upset that I sent my friend Jared a text message with the news.  I guess I just had to tell to someone.  After we talked, I decided that I would check on the next warm day which would be over the weekend.  The forecast was calling for temperatures in the low 50s, so I knew I would get the chance to look inside.

On Sunday, the temperature rose to 54 degrees, so I went out to look further.  My suspicions were correct, the colony was dead..I only found one lone bee crawling around between the frames.  While I didn't dismantle the hive because I want to do a more intense examination later, I could see that they apparently starved to death.  The honey was gone from the middle frames while there was honey left in the frames to the sides.  And while there was a candy pattie directly above them, they didn't move one inch from the cluster, so they apparently starved.  It was the saddest sight I've seen in my beekeeping experience.  

This was my first colony of bees.  This is the colony I cut my teeth on to be what I hope is a better beekeeper.  This was the only colony I harvested honey from.  The queen was a champion because she was an excellent layer and the workers kept a great hive.  They were extremely gentle and it was true delight to work this colony.  Plus it was just a month ago that they were alive and thriving. 

And then all of a sudden, poof, they're all dead.  

This experience has taught me a valuable lesson.  No matter how confident you feel about your bees, never take it for granted that they'll be around in a week or a month from now.  While you may see a lot of life outside the hive, you need to know what's going on inside the hive too.  Outward appearances can be deceiving.

Unfortunately its too late for my bees in the yellow hive.  As soon as its practical, I'll move their honey to the other hives to keep them going for what's left of this winter.  And I'll introduce a new colony to the yard this spring.  Life will once again come to the now silent and desolate hive.

Goodbye, girls.  I'll miss you.  Pleasant flights!

*Note: The bottom picture is from the fall of 2009 when the yellow hive (it was still white then) was making food stores for the winter.  As you can see, the workers did a terrific job of making honey, and the queen laid an excellent pattern.

Another nasty winter storm hits my area!

The same nasty winter storm that has crawled across the southeast for days finally made it to my area of North Carolina on Monday.  The same winter storm that drove major cities like Atlanta into a frenzy this past Sunday, complete with snow and sleet and freezing rain, arrived here like a lamb on Monday afternoon.  But as soon as night fell, that gentle lamb turned into a ferocious lion and brought my area to a virtual standstill.  Hour by hour, the storm grew heavier with snow that was topped by sleet.  All of this while the temperature hovered around 27, 28 degrees.

Here's one of the pictures I made of the snow while it was pouring down later in the evening.  I just had to share it since it looked so cool.  Check out the streaks from the snow during the photo exposure.  Impressive I think.

Winter drags on.

Could bee venom one day be used for contraceptives and HIV protection?

Unconventional idea for antiviral contraceptive gel wins
Gates Foundation grant

From the American Bee Journal which reprinted from it Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

A vaginal gel that affords both contraception and HIV protection using nanoparticles that carry bee venom is one of the bold, unconventional ideas that won a 2010 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Grand Challenges Explorations is a Gates Foundation initiative to foster innovative projects in areas where unorthodox thinking is most urgently needed. Recipients receive grants to explore creative solutions to global health issues.

Sam Wickline, MD, professor of medicine, of cell biology and physiology, of physics and of biomedical engineering at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is one of 65 scientists selected in November to participate in the grant program.

Wickline proposes to develop a contraceptive, antiviral gel containing trillions of nanoparticles that will target both HIV and sperm and deliver a bee venom toxin that will incapacitate them.

“Sperm and HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus that can lead to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS) are remarkably similar in their natural mechanism of genetic transmission,” Wickline says. “Both need to fuse with their target cell in order to deliver their genetic payloads – DNA in the case of sperm, and RNA in the case of HIV.”

Wickline’s plan is to use the very means by which sperm and HIV operate to destroy them. “The idea is to trick each to fuse with a synthetic Trojan Horse – a nanoparticle that will overwhelm sperm and HIV in numbers and in destructive power.”

It is an unconventional and creative plan for sure, but it is grounded in proven technologies and research-based knowledge. If the idea shows promise, the initial seed money grant can lead to additional funding.

The Trojan Horse or decoy that will be used to attract the sperm and HIV is a lipid nanoparticle created by Wickline and colleague Gregory Lanza, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, that has already been proven safe for clinical use. Given the size of nanoparticles – spheres of around six millionths of an inch in diameter – “Trojan Pony” may be a better metaphor.

A toxin derived from the substance bees insert into their victims when they sting is the agent that will destroy the sperm and HIV. The toxin, called melittin, comprises more than half of the dry weight of the venom of the honeybee Apis Mellifera.

The nanoparticles will carry a synthetic version of the toxin melittin to the targets.

“Cells readily take in melittin,” Wickline says. “But once it gets in, it pokes holes in cell membranes to destroy the cells."

A local biotech startup company, Kereos Inc., is testing melittin as an anti-cancer agent.

Since melittin can annihilate almost any cell, the trick is to target the melittin to the specific cells intended for destruction (cancer, sperm, HIV) without causing collateral damage to other cells in the body.

Wickline and colleague Paul Schlesinger, MD, PhD, associate professor of cell biology and physiology, attacked that problem two years ago when they developed “nanobees,” the name coined for nanoparticles that sequester melittin so that it neither harms healthy tissue nor is degraded before it reaches the intended target.

Wickline and his colleagues have also developed the ability to add agents to the nanobees to cause them to home in on specific target cells. Although nanoparticles are a few thousand times smaller than the dot above an “i,” each can carry hundreds of thousands of molecules on its surface.

“We have the ability to attach and swap in various specific targeting molecules to nanoparticles that will bind with receptors on the surface of selected cells,” Wickline says. “This gives the particles the ability to home in on specific target cells.”

To get the nanobees to hook up with sperm and offload their lethal cargo, Wickline intends to target a well-known “docking site” on the sperm cap. Sperm cells, which are roughly 160 times bigger than the 250-nanometer particles, will be swarmed with nanobees.

HIV virions (individual HIV particles), which are less than half the size of the nanoparticle, will be captured and destroyed with special molecules attached to the nanobees that bind to complementary molecules on the virion that play a role in initiating HIV fusion to cells.

Although these nanoparticles have been proven safe in the body, they are too large to move outside the vaginal vault, and will remain on site in surveillance for sperm and HIV until washed out by the body’s natural fluids.

“We believe this can succeed because both sperm and HIV are built to target, fuse and discharge their cargo,” Wickline says. “Our nanoparticles are similarly built to target, fuse and deliver their cargo. These attributes will enable a process of mutual assured destruction in a sequestered biological environment.”

If successful, Wickline’s idea could have enormous benefits for women, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that accounted for 68 percent of new HIV infections among adults in 2008. Women and girls in this area continue to be affected disproportionately — in some countries up to four times higher than males.

Sub-Saharan Africa also has the world’s highest fertility rate — 5.6 children per woman and twice the world average. The region’s population is expected to increase to 1.6 billion people by 2050 unless women are empowered to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

A contributing factor to the vulnerability of women to both HIV and unintended pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa is fear of violence from male partners if condom use is suggested. This technology could enable women to protect themselves without the need to seek approval from male partners.

While bringing the technology forward for clinical use by women would require many months of testing, the concept is supported by a recent trial of vaginal gel-based anti-HIV drugs in South African women. That study found that gel based delivery systems can substantially decrease the spread of AIDS with no harmful side effects.

Wickline has assembled a multidisciplinary team of collaborators to carry out the proof of concept activities that the grant funds. Kelle Moley, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, will contribute expertise in reproductive biology; Lee Ratner, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, of molecular microbiology and of pathology and immunology, will serve as the authority on HIV and human retrovirus infections; Schlesinger will provide expertise in membrane biophysics; and Josh Hood, MD, PhD, instructor in medicine, providing expertise in immunological targeting.

Warmer weather brings the girls out! And the bee candy is a success too!

Like most of the country, we've been in the dreary pits of winter lately.  The weather here has been frigid.  We've already had two significant episodes of wintry precipitation with another on the way next week.  This is the time when I look out the kitchen window and wish that I could suit up, fire up the smoker, and head for the hives.  Soon enough I suppose.  Spring will be here before you know it.      

But out of the cold weather we've had lately, a warm day finally emerged last week.  As the sun was shining bright, the temperature reached into the 50s, and the bees emerged from their hives.  Here you can see the girls from the yellow hive as they decided to venture out and enjoy the warmth.  This is the biggest colony I have, and even in winter their numbers are high.  Click on any of the pictures to see the larger version.  

Not to be outdone, the girls in the lime green hive came out to bask in the sun.  I've worried more about this hive than the others, and I've had my doubts about their survival.  But out of all three colonies, this one had more bees hanging around outside the entrance.  Even though this is a Carniolan breed which is generally darker in color, you can see some lighter, yellow bees in the foreground.  Those are younger bees which indicates to me that the queen has been laying.  In all probability, this is probably the first time they have ever been outside the hive. 

I wanted to check and see if the bees were taking the bee candy I made over the holidays.  And as you can see, they are.  While the lime green hive had adequate stores, the orange and yellow hives seemed to be rather low.  So I made bee candy to help get all three colonies through the winter.  After all, its not the temperature that kills bees in winter...many times they starve to death.  In my opinion, the bee candy patties I made are much better than using the "mountain camp" method of feeding.  That's because it doesn't leave a big, gummy mess like the mountain camp method does.  Plus the candy patties are fairly easy to make.  I made enough to feed the bees through this winter, so once they finish these patties, I have more in storage.

The bees have eaten a hole in the side of this bee candy patty.  Another thing that makes this method unique is that the natural heat from the cluster inside the hive had risen and softened the patty.  That made it easier for the bees to take it apart and consume it.  This is just one of several patties that the bees had made holes in.  The other patties are the ones I had broken in half and they had a jagged edge for the bees to start working on.

A part of the warm weather ritual for the bees includes housekeeping.  That also includes removing dead bees from the hive.  Bees are extremely hygienic and will not tolerate trash and dead bees to clutter their house.  Here you can see some dead bees lying on the stand in front of the entrance.  I watched the bees as they would drag some of the dead ones outside, then dump them over the front.

A housekeeping bee rests on a leaf after she dumped her dead sister on the ground.  While many bees will just dump the dead ones outside the hive entrance, some will actually pick the dead bee up, fly away from the hive, then dump them.  After that manuever, she'll fly back to the hive to begin the task all over again.  The living bee is on the leaf, and just behind her (in the white circle) is her dead sister.  

Overall I was very pleased and excited to see that my three colonies were so active on a warm day.  While there is very little I can do with my bees at this point, I know that this is the time to start getting prepared for the spring.  Before you know it, it will be swarm season, time for splits, starting new colonies, experimenting to see what works and what doesn't, and just enjoy what beekeeping is all about. 

Here's hoping that 2011 will be a very successful year for your beekeeping endeavors, and in your personal lives too!  I have a feeling that 2011 is going to be a great year for all of us!

Bee happy, fellow beekeepers!

How to make candy for your honey bee colonies!

It was in February of 2010 that I worried that my bees may starve through what was left of the winter.  When we started out last winter, the hive was heavy with honey.  But it was a long winter, and like every other living being, the bees ate to survive.  The hive became very light and I could tell that their honey stores were depleting.  That's when I decided to use the "mountain camp" method of feeding to keep them from starving.  With the mountain camp method, which you see above, basically you lay a piece of newspaper or wax paper across the top frames, then you add a layer of sugar, wet it with warm water, add another layer of sugar, wet it, then keep repeating until you build up a decent store of food. Pros: The bees have food and shouldn't starve. Cons: Its messy and gums up the hive.

A few months ago, I knew my bees were running somewhat low on stores.  So to beef them up, I fed them 2:1 syrup until they stopped taking it.  Then I considered using the mountain camp method again to get them through this winter.  But then I saw a blog post where fellow beekeeping friend and blogger, Steve at Steve's Apiary in Cedartown, Georgia, posted a recipe for bee candy.  When I saw his blog post, I figured I would give it a try.  It looked easy enough and might be fun.  So I ran down to the grocery section at Walmart and purchased the ingredients, but you can find them at any grocery store.  I doubled Steve's recipe since I have multiple hives, but you could cut it in half if you need to.  Here it is:

Bee Hive Candy  
Ten pounds of granulated sugar
32 ounce bottle of clear Karo Syrup
2 1/2 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar (to keep it from crystallizing)
Pure vanilla extract
Heavy grade paper plates (don't use foam plates)
Candy thermometer

First I put the sugar and Karo Syrup in a large, stainless steel stock pot. Then add the water and the cream of tartar.  My advice is to use a pot with a heavy bottom.  If you don't, when the syrup starts cooking, it will burn and you'll have to start over again.  I started out with a high heat, then once it starts to boil, I turned it down to medium high.  Oh, and prepare to stir, stir..and stir some more!

The syrup has to reach 240 degrees Fahrenheit.  And it will.  Just keep watching the heat and stir, stir..stir!  At first, the syrup is cloudy but as the syrup heats, it becomes more of a clear liquid.  What do you do now?  Just keep stirring.  When it starts boiling, take your candy thermometer and keep checking it until the mixture reaches 240 degrees.  Once you get there, turn the heat off and continue to stir the mixture.

Keep watching your candy thermometer, and when the temperature drops to 180 degrees, you can begin to pour it in the paper plates.  But before that, I added a healthy splash of pure vanilla extract to give the mixture some smell to attract the bees.  But be CAREFUL!  The candy started to splatter after I poured the vanilla in, and I had to back away until it settled down.  But as I stirred the candy, the sweet smell of vanilla filled the air.  From the pot, I poured the mixture into the paper plates with a metal ladle.  The entire mixture was enough to fill nine large Chinet paper plates. 

If you don't think that all that stirring is enough to build up your biceps and triceps, then maybe scrubbing and washing the pot and spoon will give you a workout.  Actually it wasn't that bad at all.  I'm sure the dish washer would easily remove the candy residue, but I just decided to wash it the old fashioned way.  

How did the bees like it?  See for yourself!  The next day, I broke a few of them in half to give them a rough edge and to make it easier for the bees to get started.  Before I put the candy in the hive, I laid down a sheet of wax paper and punched small holes in it so the bees could easily get to the candy.  I also sprinkled some Mega Bee pollen substitute around too.  The bees went right to it and started eating away.  I consider this to be a great success.  So did the bees.

The next time I make bee candy, I think I may experiment some.  I may try some essential oils or maybe a splash of Honey-B-Healthy.  Or I may try some other natural additives to see what the bees are more attracted to, for example, citrus or mint extracts.  Oh, and by the way, I couldn't help but test the final product to see what it tastes like.  My opinion?  Marshmallows.  Its nowhere as fluffy as a marshmallow, but tastes just the same.  I'm no fan of marshmallows.  So I'll leave the candy for the bees.

Just a note: You can find cheaper syrup besides Karo brand, but I wouldn't.  Karo lists just corn syrup and water in the ingredients.  I found a cheaper brand that was full of preservatives and things I'd never heard of.  It pays to read labels.  Second, unless you're an excellent candy maker, you need to use a candy thermometer, and if you don't have one, buy one.  Don't chance it because you will mess it up.  And last, be careful.  The boiling candy mixture is extremely hot.  If it gets on your skin, you can count on a really nasty burn.  Protect your hands with protective, insulated gloves...maybe something like an Ove-Glove.            

If you decide to try it, good luck!  And thanks to Steve for passing along his recipe.

Christmas brings a honey of a package! Beekeeping goodies and a white Christmas!

Christmas morning brought all sorts of gifts to my house; clothes, gift-cards, edible treats and more.  One thing Santa Claus delivered (for me of course) was beekeeping goodies!  I got new beekeeping overalls, new gloves, and a stainless steel honey extractor!  While I was perfectly okay with the "crush and strain" method, Santa Claus decided that was a little time consuming, so he had those hard working elves make an extractor and he delivered it during the night.

The description, written by those nice people at Dadant and Sons (I'm sure they guided Santa's elves) says: Stainless steel hand powered. Capacity: 2 frames (9 1/8" deep maximum) per load. Stainless steel extracting basket and top assembly. Piano style continuously hinged lid. Easily converts to 175-lb, storage container. Frames must be removed and turned to extract both sides. 1½" plastic honey gate included. Tank: 304 stainless steel 14" dia. x 23¼" tall, all welded construction.  It looks like the slim, old-timey washing machine like my Great-Grandmother used to have.

As I said before, I was happy with the crush and strain method.  But I guess Santa Claus figured that with multiple hives, and chances are more coming this spring, an extractor would be the ideal gift! 

Who am I to second-guess Santa?  He's one smart man!

We also had the surprise of a white Christmas.  Honestly I don't remember the last time we had a white, snowy Christmas, but it was a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday.  Christmas morning started out sunny and bright, but the clouds gathered as the day progressed, then the snow started after lunch.  The weather forecast called for 3" to 6" of snow, and by holly...I mean by golly, we got it!  Needless to say, it was absolutely beautiful and created memories for many!


Merry Christmas to all!