Enlarged opening
Rain and more rain, and, did I mention humidity? With quite a little gathering of fanners on the apron, I decided to go ahead and open the hives fully by removing the reducer, which had been placed in the larger opening. You can really smell the honey coming from the big hive, and I can imagine they are working hard to get things dry in there.
Bees are still all over the spiderwort, of which we have plenty, and are now seen on the white clover. There are still so many things in bloom that they should be getting plenty of pollen/nectar, provided they can get out. We have not had as much rain as folks in southern Iowa but still have had well over 4 inches and we're only mid-way through the month, with rain forecast 5 of the next 6 days.
I had an interesting experience the other day. My aunt, Paula, wrote saying that Kelli, her daughter, had a squirrel nest (actually a wood duck house) full of bees and wondered what to do. I'm not to the point yet where I want to do extractions, so I looked on the state apiary registry for someone nearby in that county. I chose the person with the most hives and called him, explaining the situation. He was a bit puzzled how I got his name and number, but I explained that and he was more than happy to oblige. It actually is his son's "hobby", which he began when he was in kindergarten. Dad has been his "assistant". His son is now 12. They did go to my cousin's where they confirmed the bees were indeed honeybees. I did not go, since this is over an hour and a half away so heard the story from my aunt. The nest was 12 feet up on a tree, secured with lag bolts. They brought an extension ladder and the son climbed up. Unfortunately, about the worst possible thing happened--the nest, heavy with bees, comb and honey, came loose much faster than anticipated and dropped to the ground before the boy could secure it. You can picture it--bees all over the place. They did manage to get the nest back up and on the tree, with the hope that most bees would return to it. They decided to leave it alone and did go back and retrieve it the next day, wrapping it in canvas. They hoped the queen survived but planned to order one if she didn't. The boy now has 8 hives, I believe, with plans to have 16 by the end of summer. Quite a project!
Bees are still all over the spiderwort, of which we have plenty, and are now seen on the white clover. There are still so many things in bloom that they should be getting plenty of pollen/nectar, provided they can get out. We have not had as much rain as folks in southern Iowa but still have had well over 4 inches and we're only mid-way through the month, with rain forecast 5 of the next 6 days.
I had an interesting experience the other day. My aunt, Paula, wrote saying that Kelli, her daughter, had a squirrel nest (actually a wood duck house) full of bees and wondered what to do. I'm not to the point yet where I want to do extractions, so I looked on the state apiary registry for someone nearby in that county. I chose the person with the most hives and called him, explaining the situation. He was a bit puzzled how I got his name and number, but I explained that and he was more than happy to oblige. It actually is his son's "hobby", which he began when he was in kindergarten. Dad has been his "assistant". His son is now 12. They did go to my cousin's where they confirmed the bees were indeed honeybees. I did not go, since this is over an hour and a half away so heard the story from my aunt. The nest was 12 feet up on a tree, secured with lag bolts. They brought an extension ladder and the son climbed up. Unfortunately, about the worst possible thing happened--the nest, heavy with bees, comb and honey, came loose much faster than anticipated and dropped to the ground before the boy could secure it. You can picture it--bees all over the place. They did manage to get the nest back up and on the tree, with the hope that most bees would return to it. They decided to leave it alone and did go back and retrieve it the next day, wrapping it in canvas. They hoped the queen survived but planned to order one if she didn't. The boy now has 8 hives, I believe, with plans to have 16 by the end of summer. Quite a project!
That is amazing for someone so young! I admire that.
ReplyDeleteI'm ok with heights but heights and bees would never work for me. I'd have to call someone to do that job too.
BTW/the rain is really something this year. We are lucky to have a week go by with one day of sun. I suppose it is better than a drought???