backyard beekeeping is really fun
and a lot less painful than you might think!
watch our third-week hive inspection.
we need to make sure the queen is working...
we shook the bees into this, our very first hive, about three weeks ago. they've been flying around like crazy ever since.
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| roses are blooming in los alamos. so much nectar! |
we checked two weeks ago and discovered that the queen had been released from her cage by her retinue. the queen comes in a little wooden cage with a candy plug. you hang the cage inside the hive and the other bees lick the candy until the plug disappears and the queen can escape through the hole.
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| queen cage without plug (left) and with (right). the white stuff is candy. |
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| bosley working the smoker |
the sound of the bees really freaked me out during the last inspection,
so bosley kindly offered to do it.
steps:
- smoke the hive entrance and wait 30 seconds (the bees think the hive is burning and so gorge themselves on honey in preparation for flight. this makes them heavy and dozy).
- remove the lid
- smoke the bees down into the hive
- remove and check the closest frame
- check each frame for brood, larvae, eggs, honey, pollen, and other stuff to make sure things are going along as they should. a "good" situation is 1.5 frames covered in capped brood. we have 3! lots of rain and lots of flowers are to blame.
- put the frames back exactly as they were before you took them out (the bees have a brooding pattern and they like to keep it)
- put feeder on top
- add sugar syrup (this keeps the bees going while the honey cures and the colony grows)
- put the lid on top
watch the video!
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| cute yellow beetle and bees drinking from the turtle pond fountain. |
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| me - safe inside |
beekeeper: bosley gravel
dog: daisy
photographer: beth mccormack
model in third photo: alissa benevidez
music: scorpions
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