Busy Bees

The bees are very busy with warm, mild weather. Last week we opened the hive and moved an empty frame into the center of both hive bodies. The activity at the entrance to the hive would suggest their numbers have really increased. We will look at them again mid-week and see if we need to add the third hive body. We're using 3 since we are using mediumsized (6 6/8 inches) hive bodies rather than deeps. We may just have to rotate another frame in the middle. If it looks like there are 8 or more frames with comb, we will definitely add the third body. We also rotated the entrance opening to allow a bigger opening. It might have been a little premature since it dropped into the low 50's last night but I think that will not happen often.

Fruit trees are past bloom. White clover is becoming very abundant. So far, we have seen few bees on our clover. We really wonder where they are going when they pour out of the hive 5 or 6 at a time, flying off.