Bearding
Here is a photo Kathy took today of the bearding that has been going on almost daily on the original hive. It is very full of bees. I have opened to the middle opening and have raised the outer cover fairly high, so they should be getting some ventilation and I have also added the super since they had drawn out most of the frames in the 3rd hive body. They should have enough space but there is a ton of honey and nectar in the hive and it must be very warm and humid in there. Don't blame them for hanging out on the porch.
I love how they are clustered there at the bottom of the hive. Very cool to see! I saw the bees making a little chain across frames in our hive. Now I know how they cling together like that.
ReplyDeleteWow! Your bees must be really busy that they already filled out the frames in the 3rd hive body. Jim, do you sell honey with the comb in it?
Michelle, sorry to be so long responding. No, we have yet to harvest any honey, since this is only our second year with the bees. We are way ahead of last year, though, even after the split, so I hope to get honey this year. We will probably extract it this time, since we are using foundation in the frames. Then we will have already drawn frames for next season. I really hope to try some natural, foundationless frames in the new hive and see how that goes. Getting some comb honey would be great.
ReplyDeleteVery exciting that your bees are progressing along nicely! Please share how the foundationless frames go. That is something I know absolutely nothing about. I've seen pictures and the way the bees fill them out is fascinating.
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