All is Good Under the Sun!

We visited the bees Monday May 24th. I have to say that I have a positive report from our three hives. In Chanhassen, the colony is thriving and healthy. I located the queen, she is laying eggs fabulously, and new bees are born every day now. The honey bees seemed content and happy. No need to replenish the sugary water nor the pollen patty. I noticed that the bees do not eat and drink from our gallons of sugary water or the pollen patty. Suburbia seems to benefit our bees! When I look around the apiary, it is plain to see, trees ,wild flowers, clover and so on, are abundant and easily accessible to all our honey bees.

Then Ben and I drove to Shakopee. We were prepared and had loaded into our car, 2 hive bodies to add on top of the single box for each beehive. The purple colony was calm and busy. There were lots of brood, and a lot of new smaller honey bees. They are so cute, all golden first, then as they age, brownish bands appear on their thorax. We had refilled the 1:1 sugar syrup 4 days ago, so the buckets were still full. I did not spot the queen, but since we saw eggs..it was enough. It was getting crowded in there, and 7 out of 10 frames were already filled. We decided to add another box on top of the first one. I took a brood less frame from the bottom hive body, leaving 9 frames below. I placed it in the center of the new hive body that will be on top. This helps the colony to expand into the second box quickly.

The green hive had been "transformed" on May 20th, when we combined the nuc and the former residents. I am very happy and relived to announced that the Italians honey bees are back home and sharing it with the newcomers. This seemed to be our most populous colony. Since, we adopted a Carniolan queen, she is supposed to be black; I thought that it would be easy to see her...I did not. The frames were very heavy loaded with brood, nectar , pollen and the bees were extremely busy... we could not see the foundation of the frames! We also added a second hive body using the same technique. As I had mentioned before, there is not a lot of food available for our bees, so we are very vigilant and pay extra attention to their supplies, but after only four days, everything seemed fine. I am convinced that when we return next week, we will have to feed them. I also would like to see with my two eyes the queens, I know they are there because I can see eggs, but I would just feel better!

PS: I am sorry I don't have any pictures this time...I had forgotten my camera at home

Last Effort of the Day

Ben and I were back home before our last kid was up in the morning to get ready for school! However we were not done for the morning... to help our bees, we decided to scrape the three frames that we had brought home. As you can see on the picture, there is a lot of larvae (white) all males, and some nectar (shiny), wax and a small amount of pollen (yellow and brownish). We chose to add this step because it would have been a lot of "unnecessary" work for the honey bees; we figured that they have other things to do. Let me tell you that it was a juicy, gooey job! We both took turns.

After that distasteful job, we were left with a puddle of wax, larvae and nectar... alas the frames were clean and reusable. We were done for the morning and I needed a large coffee!

Later in the afternoon, we returned to Shakopee to transfer the 5-frame nuc into the green beehive. As we opened the nuc, we realized that these frames were absolutely loaded with honey bees, brood, nectar and pollen. They were very heavy, and thick.

As the picture shows, the frames were "glued" together. Honey bees have a tendency to do that because they are perfect mathematician-architects: in their hive, they will be relentless at sealing things together if the space between the two is bigger than 3/8" or 1cm. It is called the bee space, which enable the bees to move freely around the hive...no more, no less...just perfect.

Then, Ben placed the 5 nuc-frames into the wooden hive body, then we added the three freshly "cleaned" frames, plus 2 new ones: a total of 10 frames; we shook the rest of the stubborn honey bees from the nuc box over the open beehive: our colony was now set.

We put the first hive body back on the bottom board, deposited a pollen patty on the top bars, replaced the inner cover,and gave them 2-1 gallons of sugar syrup. We added a second hive body to protect the buckets, put on the telescopic cover and 2 bricks to secure the colony. We watched for a little while, and everything seemed to be fine. The buzzing was calm but energetic. I gave them few words of encouragement, and we left. Despite being hot, and sticky under our bee suits, we just beamed. We had done our best. Now the honey bees have to take over, there is nothing else we can do for them, and I think they know that.

The Last Endeavor at Shakopee Green Beehive

At last, our supplier was ready for us. The nucleus colony was available to be picked up in Stillwater. This mini-hive replica (4-5 frames with a queen), is a working beehive. It functions exactly as a "normal" size beehive. The foragers go out in the morning at first light and collect nectar and pollen, others tend the brood, and attendants care for the queen. Therefore, we had to pick up the nuc at night (8:30pm) to make sure that every bee was home after a long day working!

Jim taped the box with duct tape, and on our way we were. We arrived home by 10:00pm with our new family. Because the nuc is made of cardboard, and the bees could be hot, we set it outside in the front of the house, hoping the occasional raccoons, and cats will not visit during the night.

Our new made-up colony has a queen from the Carniolan race (A. m. carnica). This race of honey bees is from the mountains of Austria and Yugoslavia. An advantage, is that it maintains a smaller winter colony compared to the Italian bees and thus requires a smaller amount of honey store to survive the harsh winters of Minnesota. Also, the queen is not golden like the Italian queen but shiny and black. ( I did not see her yet). However, the rest of the honey bees making up the nuc is from "unknown" origin. A nuc is put together by taking a frame here and there from the strongest colonies in an apiary. Thus it can be a mix of Italians, Russians, and Carniolans which Jim raises. As the queen lays more eggs, the newer bees will have 1/2 the traits from their mother's, and should be grayish to black in color. I hope that everyone will get along, and work together. This new hive is looking like the United Nations!

Now the real work for us began. By 7:00 am the next morning, we were walking along the Shakopee field trying again a "new" technique to save the colony. We stopped at about 30 feet from the green colony and placed the nuc on the ground. The honey bees in the nuc were already awakening and buzzing. Ben took the green body hive filled with 10 frames of chaos, and walked 100 feet away from the beehive location. We were advised to "shake" ALL the bees from each frame.

I can tell you that the bees were mad at us, aggressively flying strait at us. We used the smoker to calm them somewhat. How would you feel at 3:00 am in the morning if someone came and shook you out of bed, with no reason?

The big idea was that by displacing the bees from the frames, the workers would go back to their hive location, but the laying-workers being fat and heavy would not be able to fly back, thus would not interfere with the new family, and new queen.

Only 3 frames were full of brood, a little nectar and some pollen. We had to take them back home to clean them.

However bees are tenacious and really wanted to go back on their frames, so as Ben was shaking the bees to the ground, I was placing the frames under a blanket to protect them. When the frames were free of bees, we walked back to the green beehive location, and place the nuc in its place.

Ben open the entrance, to let the nuc honey bees meet their new environment, and their Italian sisters! Yes, they had returned from the crazy wake up call to their address to find out however that a new house had "appeared".

The Italians honey bees were taking a look at the newcomers. We left the scene to return later in the afternoon to transfer the nuc frames into the green wooden hive, giving everyone a chance to acknowledge the other. It was 8:00am, and the purple hive was starting to wake up. We walked back to our car, satisfied by our last effort to save our darlings.

Regular Visit to the Apiaries

If I had to give a gold star to the "Best Colony" , the Chanhassen one would win the prize. Those honey bees are working hard together, and in harmony. Although I did not locate the queen, we could see that the combs are progressing nicely. Lots of eggs, larvae, pollen, nectar and a small amount of honey that they use themselves. As a result, this hive is thriving. I am so glad that at least one colony is following "The Book"! Just like a kid who develops following the stages in order! We always have one like that!

Today ( May 18), we had to add a new hive body because the honey bees are industrious, and their queen is prolific, and not to mention that spring is about 15 days ahead of schedule. Therefore, the colony is expanding and needs more room.

During that visit, Ben and I removed the bottom cork plug, as the weather become more seasonal; it allows the hive to have a good air circulation especially as the days will be warmer during the summer season, making the beehive cooler.

We made the entrance bigger because now the bees are used to their dwelling and are more mature to defend their "property" better. We checked the syrup and pollen patty, and the honey bees seem to find other sources of food because I only had to replenish half of the sugary elixir! I think that this colony is our best because of its location where food is abundant: there is always something blooming on this property or close by, and the dandelions are still around. Knock on wood!

Then Ben and I went to Shakopee... I have to remind you that those 2 hives are located on the side of a field soon to be planted with vegetables and fruits like tomatoes, peppers, onions, maize, strawberries and so on. However right now, the field has been plowed but it is bare. I can see that this land is rich and loamy, and it will produce later on in the season, but otherwise there is nothing much for the bees. The newly planted apple trees are done blooming, and only few young transplants have been planted. It will be a while before the honey bees pollinate those soon to be beautiful, juicy fruits and vegetables. In the meantime, we have to make sure they have good nutritious food, in the for of syrup and pollen patties.

The purple beehive is doing fine, growing and developing well, but at a slower rate than the Chanhassen colony. Thus, we did not have to add a new hive body yet, but I anticipate that if the weather is nice and warm in the next few days, it will be needed, when we visit next time. The honey bees have filled out about 6 of the 10 frames with brood, pollen, nectar and little honey for their consumption, in a bee-like pattern.

Due to the field's bareness, the honey bees rely and drink a lot of 1:1 sugary syrup and eat their pollen patty ravenously. Their 2-1 gallon pails were completely empty, and the patty almost done. That was a surprise that I did not expect because there are millions of dandelions and a lot of trees around... maybe the honey bees are finicky with their food and prefer the "man-made" one. We simply replenished the buckets with freshly made sugar syrup, and give them a brand new pollen patty.

I had to smile because the honey bees at the purple house had a friend, (an Eastern tent caterpillar) visiting them...maybe countryside bees are more welcoming to new visitors!

Now the spirited and "Infamous Green Beehive" was still struggling. Laying workers were still laying drones' eggs in an awful and irregular chaotic pattern, where brood, pollen, nectar and mishapped cells seem to be the norm. It is a noisy, and loud colony which is in complete disarray. It is pitiful to see. Obviously, since now there are probably almost an equal number of females to males ratio, the only activity of this colony seems to be eating and drinking! Foragers (females) are decreasing, because no new females have been born in the last month due to the loss of 2 queens, and the normal life cycle of bees. This can be seen not only by looking at the big drones' eyes walking around but also I noticed that their nectar store is practically nonexistent.

We can see that the honey bees are doing their best on this frame but it is very messy, and the pattern is far from being honey bee-like.

To help this colony, we have asked our supplier to make us a nucleus colony: It is a small colony, 4-5 frames with every life-stage on each frame and a queen. We dearly hope that this alternative will save this otherwise doomed colony.

The Queen that Should Have Been

What a disappointment it was! I knew the odds were not in our favor. Only 30% chance that the new young queen would be accepted by the colony, at the green beehive in Shakopee. The workers-laying bees probably thought that they had a queen...after all they were caring for the eggs and larvae already. What they did not figure out was that those eggs and larvae are not from a queen but from a regular-Plain- Jane worker! I could they be so mislead? That's an oddity of nature.

As I looked carefully over each frame, the same scenario as last time was unrolling in front of my eyes. The honeybees did not do any more work, not much wax, 3-4 eggs per cell, some drones were capped, they look like the "kix"cereals, perfectly round.

They have that shape because drones (males) are a little bigger than their sisters, taking more space in the cell. Notice the pearly little larvae in the picture!

The honeybees also took the time and energy to make a cell reserved for queen. It looks like a little elongated tube sticking out of the foundation.

Another hint that the queen had not survived was the noise; the loud buzzing made by disorganized bees. After I closed the hive, I realized that I had send the queen to a "certain" death; I had released her onto the foundation hoping she would take charge...alas it was not meant to be.

This colony is now doomed, the workers will die of natural cause, ending the drone-laying cycle. The drones will starve because they do not forage and there is no reserve in the hive for them to eat. I have to mention that in nature, it would have been the same result. In trying to help, I wanted to defy "nature"...this time it did not work. It is by our failures that we learn. And I did! Something positive came out from that Greek "tragedy".

Since we have all the set up for a third beehive, we will start another one! Yes, we are stubborn or fools, time will tell! Now that we are almost mid-May and that we live in dear Minnesota the only viable option for us, because of our short season, is to start a new colony using what its called a "nuc" or nucleus. As the name implies: It is a small community of bees, 4-5 frames of capped brood, honey, pollen and worker bees taken from a healthy regular colony. A young new queen which is not related to any honeybees or brood already present, is added to the nuc. t My supplier in Stillwater will put one together for me, and I will pick it up next week. These few days will allow him to make sure the young queen is accepted and laying eggs. I want to put the odds in my favor this time!

Other positive development, the purple colony (Shakopee) is doing fine and filling the frames nicely. The honeybees had drank a lot of syrup, so we refilled up the 2 2-gallon buckets. We saw the queen, and the egg pattern is regular and orderly. The humming calm, as their state

of mind.

Julie, at the Chanhassen apiary, pouring the sugary syrup onto the buckets not gasoline! Don't be fool by the container!!!

In Chanhassen, the colony could not be better! The honeybees are peaceful, and happy. They are busy foraging. We also had to add sugar syrup. It is good that we visited them today because this week will be cooler, and less sunny than normal. When the temperatures get low and it is gloomy; the honeybees are just like us...they stay home! However, I have to feed them because they don't have enough reserve in their "pantry" unlike most Minnesotans who are unimpressed to have snow in May!!!

Overall both colonies are doing great. I am learning new things because of self-inflicted mishap, and natural wonder of nature. This is part of being a beekeeper, we are supposed to be faced with challenges, that make us think and solve problems. It is very rewarding.

Ben showing a good frame from the purple

hive in Shakopee.

Honey, nectar, larvae and pollen.

Oh, The Amazing Nature!

Nicolas and Ben getting ready.

We went to our apiaries yesterday...I was hoping that the queen in the "infamous" green Dwelling #2 in Shakopee would be in charge and very proud. Before I opened the hive, we could clearly see that the bees were calmer than previously, few were at the door and others flying around seemingly happy.

Karine and Ben observing!

Then, I opened the hive and started to remove the first few frames; nothing much was going on, but this was expected. Then, I pulled a frame full of honeybees, some wax was present even some pollen. So that was encouraging, finally the bees had done something...they seem to be organized. I lifted another frame, feeling better. I was excited to see eggs...then horror... I saw a lonely cell with 3 eggs. Then I knew we had a failure, a queen Never lays 3 eggs in a single cell...she is meticulous and precise just like a Swiss watch.

Lots of bees. Wax, pollen and eggs!

Then I skipped some frames and looked at the cage, still hanging ... and still occupied by the queen. She was still caged after 8 days! She was attended by few busy bees and therefore did not die of hunger. The candy plug was almost all eaten but not enough for the queen to leave the cage. I opened it myself and she walked gingerly onto the foundation.

Karine releasing the new queen.

Now the key question is this: if she was in the cage then who laid the eggs? Well, here is what probably happened: after losing the original queen and getting a new queen the bees got organized and starting building comb and collecting food. After a few days, the workers sensed that something was odd since the queen was not laying eggs. Therefore a worker bee (or more) became a laying worker(s). Laying workers develop in the absence of a proper queen, whose pheromones usually prevent the development of workers' ovaries. But the real trigger are the pheromones associated with brood recognition. That is why, in few rare cases (like here unfortunately), a worker can start laying eggs in the presence of a true queen. Dr. Spivak said that this phenomenon is rare but can happen!

Now, we have a laying worker or possibly more than one, laying eggs. Those eggs have not been fertilized because the worker did not mate. Those laying workers will only be able to produce males, which won't do much for our colony; except mating with a queen from another hive. So, if you are following this biology lesson :) a colony with laying worker bees is essentially doomed because no workers can be born, consequently no queen can be raised, and no food can be stored.

However, in this gloomy picture there is still a little bit of hope! I released the queen on the foundation. If we are lucky, the queen will take charge, start laying eggs, and the laying workers will go back to their normal activities. However, there is a 70% chance that the queen will be killed by the worker bees because they all think that they already have a queen, and that this new one is an impostor! The next 5 days will be decisive, and by Monday (May 10th.) I will have to inspect the colony carefully, looking for the queen to see if she has been finally accepted. If I locate the queen, we will be back on track. If not, the colony will die slowly.

What is comforting is the fact that we started 3 colonies, and 2 are perfectly happy! The Chanhassen colony is thriving. We saw pollen, wax, eggs, and pearly little "c" shaped larvae. Those are the future generation of honeybees! We could see that they obviously worked hard. Their pollen patty was only a little bit consumed and they seemed to have drank half of their ration of sugar syrup. Spring being ahead this year, seems to be helpful to the bees, as they have lots of choices for their diet, and many species of plants are already in bloom. This colony was calm, quiet and flying gently around without a fuss.

The purple beehive in Shakopee was equally serene. The bees were hovering peacefully around, going about their business. Eggs, larvae, wax, pollen and nectar could be spotted too. The only main difference that I could observed was that they drank and ate more than their Chanhassen compatriots! I have to remind you that this hive is sitting on the side of a field which is not planted yet, so maybe they have less "real" food to eat. But overall, the colony is doing great.

I am looking forward to inspect the green #2 hive in Shakopee next Monday. I wish to find the queen well. I will only add some sugary syrup and half a pollen patty on the 2 other hives. It is fascinating to me to see how nature works, and the effect that it can have on us. I think sometimes we forget, and we should not because we are part of it too.