The Honey Bees Report!

Photo: Chris Higgins

Honey bees in pumpkin flower in Arizona

Shakopee Apiary:

The field has a lot to offer to our bees, they seem to take advantage of the nice weather and the vegetables.

The Italian Purple colony is doing awesome! The first super is almost full.We added a second one, to gather more honey. This means, we will have honey this year! We did not do a full inspection, just looked to see if we could see

eggs , and we closed it up again. Sweet and simple.

The Carniolan Green colony is a bit weak. It has a small population with only 2 large boxes. I had discovered few days earlier that they had some mites. Varroa mites, to be exact. In order to treat the bees, the pail of sugary syrup was removed. The medication used is based on extract of thyme, and to be fully efficient, the beehive has to be as closed up as possible. Therefore Ben cut a thin wooden board to close the bottom of the beehive. We then plugged both circled openings in each box; leaving the large bottom entrance open for the bees to come and go as they please. I placed the little tray of thymol near the brood which will be slowly released throughout the hive. It will be on for 2 weeks. The a second tray will be added to complete the treatment. We have decided to treat our bees now rather than later for 2 main reasons: This medication works best during hot, warm days; and we will not harvest honey from this colony. Otherwise it is best to use thymol after the honey harvest in the Fall.

Chanhassen Apiary:

Both colonies seem fine. The honey bees are buzzing around, bringing in nectar. However the supers on both colonies are not drawn out yet. I think that they have to pick up the pace a little! We thought that the swarmed colony with the old queen, was not draining well after the rains; so Ben inclined the whole colony by placing few shims under the entire beehive.

Ben spotted both queens, so I "painted" their thorax with a little blue paint, this year international color. I grabbed the queen as delicately as I could with my bare fingers, and with a toothpick dipped in blue paint I applied a few drops...not an easy task...especially for the first time. After dabbing the queen, she was placed in a closed hair roller to dry. I cannot say that I am like Picasso, as I put a little bit of paint on their heads, and plenty on my fingers. But it is a first for sure. Sorry no pictures this week, I had forgotten my camera. Next time we should be able to spot both queens better.