New episode of the podcast is up and can be found on Podbean (or wherever you listen to podcasts). Check it out!
Well, we’ve been at home due to the coronavirus. You might recall that my husband works at a university, and they were quite quick in cancelling classes, extending Spring Break so that professors had time to prepare the move to online teaching, and then eventually closing the university to all but essential staff. My husband has been working at home but also goes in daily to check on his research animals.
It’s a pretty big adjustment for him as he can’t do his research from home, although there’s always paper work, classes, grants, and papers to be done. For me, it’s really not much of a change as I was basically a hermit to begin with. I do miss my favourite coffee shop, getting to see my friends, and generally having the freedom to nip out for any little thing. As it stands, we’re under a ‘shelter in place’ order so I only leave the house for groceries once a week. It’s interesting to see what sells out week by week. I have not had an issue finding toilet paper, thankfully! Early on, people were buying up a lot of canned goods but very little fresh food. This week, the meat and freezer sections were heavily picked over, and I can’t find a whole chicken anywhere!!
Neighbours and friends have been asking for eggs so we’re running a little lower than usual. The memes about crazy chicken people suddenly being in fashion are tickling me pink! I feel that for sure.
I'm getting a little stir crazy so I'm trying to focus on the garden when the weather allows it. I got some good work in on my drainage project, which mainly involves a whole lot of digging and moving earth around. I hurt my back pretty bad the first day by overdoing it but I've figured things out since then. Sadly, it wasn't enough to prevent the yard from flooding with the heavy rain we have had but this is an on-going issue and I don't expect to fix it in one season.
As for my bees, things have definitely changed on that front! If you watched my short videos on Instagram you’ll know the gist already but here is the full update I promised.
Jan 11th, 70F, activity at all 3 hives in line with what I would expect to see from them all.
Jan 31st, 35-39F, hives 2 and 3 had bees flying out to die in the snow; nothing from hive 1 but there was a strong heat coming from them, and a lot of moisture run off on the bottom board. I started to worry there was too much moisture and became concerned about their survival.
March 8th; this is when everything changed. Hive 1 (Cerridwen) is absolutely boiling with bees and activity. Cluster is at the top but big and strong. Added a little extra fondant for them. Hive 2 (Macha), which was my weakest hive, is now my second strongest with a smaller cluster than #1 but still looking strong. Gave them more fondant as they were going through it faster. Hive 3 (Morrigan; my homegrown queen) had no external activity and I thought they were dead. Quick look showed a small, weak cluster, very high up. Signs of unopened/uneaten honey on the outer edges, lots of dead bees visible, seem in bad shape. I cleared out the dead bees that I could reach, and added fondant. Closed them up and hoped for the best!!
March 9th, 60F and sunny. Put pollen sub out. Noticed increased activity at all 3 hives.
March 12th, 52F, moderate wind. Took the mouseguard off hive 3 and started scooping out a TON of dead bees; they had totally blocked the lower entrance. Cleared as much as i could, replaced mouseguard, and added more fondant and pollen sub to candy board.
First thoughts: what happened to hive 3? They were my largest colony going into winter and seemed very healthy. But they also always had the higher mite count of my 3 hives so it’s possible they’re suffering from a mite transmitted disease (although no sign of nosema, deformed wing virus, or dysentry at this time). Wondering if the queen started laying earlier than the other colonies, leading to a bigger die off as the colony worked hard to maintain brood nest at 94F. That would explain the smaller cluster and how it seemed to take a while to see foragers; might have more young bees who needed time to age up. Due to mite concern, I am considering doing a sugar roll mite check as soon as I reasonably can for this hive as I don’t think they can spare 300 bees for the alcohol wash but I want to make sure they’re not at a high mite count.
Then I got the chance to really go into the hives.
March 26th:
50-60F, sunny, moderate wind, overcast in PM with threat of rain
Time: 4pm ish
Hive #1 (Cerridwen; 5th generation Ohio):
Very active and numerous (largest colony)
Found queen! Still marked with pink
Queen on very last outer frame on the left side of upper box; frame of eggs, another frame with some capped brood.
Added an extra deep box as they are PACKED full of honey and pollen. Also moved a few frames around to give queen more space to lay (did NOT separate brood, tho).
Mouse guard still in place
Removed quilt box but left candy board in place for now as weather erratic (better safe than sorry)
Put wrap back on
Deep box on bottom (filled with honey), med box with queen and brood in middle, empty deep on top with built up comb (ready to fill).
Will need to watch closely to prevent swarming as weather improves
Hive #2 (Macha; remaining Southern queen):
2nd strongest colony
Found queen!
Queen in top box (medium) with some capped brood and honey
Reversed boxes; moved empty (deep) box with built up comb to the top, and med box with queen and brood to the bottom
Removed mouse guard and used it as an entrance reducer
Candy board on; added pollen sub
Good honey stores and pollen coming in (pale green/off-yellow)
Hive #3 (Morrigan; homegrown queen; Southern/Ohio cross):
Found queen!
Queen in top box with a tiny amount of capped brood and the rest honey
No room for brood in top (deep) box so moved some frames around
Bottom (deep) had 4 frames of honey left untouched.
Reversed boxes
Took mouse guard off
SO MUCH HONEY LEFT; WHY??
Candy board on; added pollen sub
Still hanging in there; hoping they rally!
New thinky thoughts: why does every hive have so much honey?? Is it possible for a colony to be honeybound going into Spring? Clearly, Morrigan was not laying early because she has so little brood. Cluster too small to stay in touch with the food? I emailed one of my teachers for their thoughts!
*
Tri-County Beekeepers Workshop
42nd annual Spring workshop
March 6-7th
Wooster, Ohio
Talks, educational series, vendors galore, socials
Started on the evening of the 6th; mainly social
Saturday, 7th, full day of talks, workshops, shopping, etc.
Founded about 35 years ago, and mainly serves Wayne, Holmes, and Ashland counties but welcomes members from all over Ohio. Meet monthly on the last Wednesday of each month at the Honey Bee Lab on the OSU Wooster campus.
Things I liked:
So many vendors!! Big names like Mann Lake and smaller, local businesses. Managed to pick up a great deal on Thymol/Apiguard treatment and Apivar; also saw new items like artificial wax combs (BetterComb), and a company that uses bee propolis for all kinds of skin and health care products (Beepothecary).
I missed the online registration and emailed about registering on the day. Instead, I was kindly registered that evening and was able to pick up my badge/bag and pay on the day. Yah! Huge thanks to the VP of TCBA, Randall Westfall, for handling all enquiries and for being kind enough to get me registered.
Good variety of talks as well as 3 part workshops
Free coffee and snacks!
Lunch provided for extra fee, and 2 lunch times arranged so as not to overwhelm dining area
Everything managed really well
Space was good
Big ‘Q&A’ session at the end of the day with a number of experienced keepers, scientists, apiary inspectors, etc.
Things I did not like:
Parking was a bit chaotic. An attendant to direct people would be a huge help.
Some talks were placed in the dining area, which was too open of a space and made it hard to hear the speaker.
I couldn’t do everything!!
Some people are just rude (remove noisy kids during talks, don’t interrupt the speaker, WEAR DEODORANT)
The workshop started bright and early on Saturday at 8am for registration. There was also live music, coffee, and pastries provided. At 9am, Randall Westfall, the VP of TCBA, welcomed everyone and gave a brief speech.
At 9.30am was the keynote address: “Sustainable Apiary - Dream or Reality?” by Michael Palmer. This is the talk that had the biggest impact on me and gave me a lot to think about!
Michael Palmer is the owner and operator of French Hill Apiaries in St Albans, Vermont.
From his ‘about’ page:
“Mike Palmer bought his first two packages of bees from FW Jones Company of Quebec in 1974. They cost $10.50 delivered. Neither colony made it through the first winter, but he kept trying and built up to 200 hives by 1981.
In 1982, Mike got a job managing the bees owned by Chazy Orchards in Chazy, New York and did so until 1986. Then he convinced Chazy to sell their bees to him, so at that time, he had more than 600 colonies.
Mike began raising his own queens in 1998 and has been doing so ever since. Today, Mike raises about 1200 queens and manages over 1000 colonies, with some 600-700 production colonies, and hundreds of nucleus colonies.
He has lectured on his methods of beekeeping all over the world.”
His talk at the workshop appears to be an expanded version of an article he wrote for the ‘Henderson County Beekeepers Association’, which can be found here: http://hcbeekeepers.org/a-better-way-by-mike-palmer/
The main focus of his talk is overwintering nucleus colonies and why this can be such a huge benefit to beekeepers.
Why nucleus colonies?
Constantly buying new bees/queens is expensive
Honey surplus money goes towards new bee purchase; where is the profit?
Holding on to poor colonies so as not to have to buy more bees
Splitting strong colonies to reproduce = less honey surplus
Is there a better way?
Can any bee yard be truly self-sustaining?
Getting started:
Sacrifice a non-productive colony (a colony that is healthy but rarely produces surplus honey for harvesting)
Split into 4 nucleus colonies
2 frames brood, empty frame, honey comb for each nuc
Formation: honey, sealed brood, mixed brood, empty comb
Give mated queens (follow appropriate introduction method)
Managing nucleus colonies:
Mainly consists of swapping out frames of brood with empty comb so the queen has room to lay
Expand the colony upwards
Super above; bees will go up to store honey
Adding supers also allows proper temp and humidity regulation (to prevent absconding)
Can always make new nucs from current if population exploding
Make what Mike calls ‘bee bombs’: give brood frames from nucs to struggling colonies to expand their population
Overwintering:
If using 4-5 frame nucs, place 2 next to each other; they will cluster by the shared wall
Or can use regular deep box with a divider in middle; they will cluster around divider
Can wrap as you would your regular hive
Use nucs for:
Replacing winter losses
Making increases
Re-queening weak colonies
Brood factories
Making more nucs!
Cell builders
In 2011, from 50 overwintered nucleus colonies, Mike made 35 cell builder colonies, 330 new nucleus colonies, over 330 new queens, and 4400lbs of honey.
Terminology note: what is a ‘cell builder’? “Special bee colonies that are established with the specific purpose of raising queen cells.” From the following website.
*
Top bar hives workshop by Christy Hemenway.
From her website:
“As the founder of Gold Star Honeybees, Christy Hemenway is working to reintegrate honeybees and organic agriculture. The movement toward small, organic, local, diversified farms creates a ripe environment for this. Gold Star Honeybees' signature top bar bee hive supports the honey bees' natural systems - especially the making of their own beeswax honeycomb - and supports the beekeeper by being an easy-to-manage hive system. Hemenway offers classes and workshops across the country to teach new beekeepers about stewarding bees. She makes very clear the connection between bees and our food system, the health of the planet, and our own long-term health”
She has written 2 books:
She builds and sells top bar hives, offers classes and talks (small or large), and even has a Patreon.
She has a global Facebook group set up for top bar beekeepers.
As well as regional groups, which you can search for on this page.
Her workshop consisted of 3 talks, each with a question and answer session at the end.
‘Top Bar Hive How & Why’
‘Top Bar Hive Management for Beginners’
‘Advanced Top Bar Hive Management’
The following are notes I made during her talks. I will go into top bar hive beekeeping in greater detail in another episode. Consider this more of an introduction!
Why top bar hives?
“All about the wax!” -Christy’s favourite saying!
The 3 Cs: cell size, comb shape, chemical contamination
Minimize heavy lifting
Ergonomically friendly
Self-contained (no adding extra boxes)
Frames:
Use of spacers for comb spacing
Comb collapse is a risk (especially during hot weather)
Always consider the placement of each frame when inspecting
Supplemental feeding:
Use an in-hive feeder to prevent robbing
Can feed syrup and fondant (as with a Lansgtroth)
Consider building a fondant ‘honey comb’ for the winter (article here)
Mite treatment:
Do regular mite tests (no need to treat if below threshold)
Christy prefers oxalic acid dribble
Apply between the frames
Entrance placement:
Side center
Side end
End with landing board
Les Crowder prefers side end; see his book for more details
Style of hive:
Based on entrance placement, usually
Different styles
Landing board option
Viewing window option
Number of bars
Christy recommends 30 bars (better success overwintering at this number)
Management differences:
Use of follower boards
Uni-directional honey
Mid-season shift
Placement of hive:
Level-absolutely crucial! Don’t guess; be sure
Wind (windbreak can save your bees over winter)
Sun
Pets
Kids
Neighbours
Mailman, etc
Acquiring bees:
Swarm: yes
Package: yes
Nucleus colony: extremely difficult
Feed your bees!
New hives REQUIRE feeding
Feeding honey is not recommended
Feed sugar syrup
Feed fondant
1:1 vs 2:1 (Spring vs Fall)
Inspections:
First year, you are a wax shepherd!
Lift every bar; look at both sides
Hive health and build up
Queen right
Take early action
How to inspect?
Be intentional
Bee math: always count from day 1
Have a plan
Prepare
Anticipate
Watch and learn so you know what things look like
Look for signs of disease
Always be mindful of gravity! Comb attached to frame at just one point.
Keep notes
When to inspect?
Consider temperature
Consider weather
Observe the bees attitudes
Okay to close things up and come back another day
How often to inspect?
Early season and swarm season: every 7-10 days
Late season: every 2 weeks
Late Season assessment:
Assess for winter in August/September
Consider Fall forage in your area
Minimum 6-8 bars of honey
Good growth = 20+ bars full
Winter prep:
Bottom board closed
Entrances minimized
Mouseguard: ¼ inch hardwire cloth
Follower boards/space/comb
Propolis seal
Keep notes
4 letter words for winter:
Wind: hay bales, foam insulation, tarp skirt, trees, shrubs, etc
Food: 6-8 bars minimum, back fill, cluster position, fondant
Cold: penguins! Rotation of outer cluster bees to inner cluster
Moisture and air flow:
Hive design: no space at top of hive for condensation to gather due to comb attachment
condensation
Mold
Ventilation
Harvesting honey:
Cut comb
Crush method
600 micron strainer recommended
Wax rendering! Don’t waste this resource.
*
Okay, so what did I learn?
First, this workshop is an incredible resource! For supplies, education, and socializing.
Second, I definitely want to invest in top bar hives. There’s so much about them that I am intrigued by; the fact that they’ll be easier on my back is a huge plus, and I love the idea of all that natural comb. I recently started reading ‘Top-Bar Beekeeping; Organic Practices for Honeybee Health’ by Les Crowder and Heather Harrell, and I intend to pick up Christy’s books too.
The talk on overwintering nucleus colonies made me change my Spring plans. Instead of creating a split from my 2 strongest colonies (to prevent swarming and create more colonies), I am planning on making 1-2 nucs and overwintering them.
This leads into advice I received from my teacher, Apiary Dave: he suggested I take frames of brood (eggs to capped) and add them to the weakest hive using the newspaper method. Basically, placing a nuc ontop of the weak hive and letting them merge.
To do that (per his suggestion):
Shake all bees in weak hive (#3) into one box and cover with newspaper
Poke a few holes in newspaper
Place empty box over the newspaper
Go into strongest hive (#1); find the queen and place her frame somewhere out of the way and safe (an empty super or nuc box, for instance)
Remove a few frames of brood (eggs to capped) and place in box above newspaper; fill in remaining space with frames (built up combs would be best, if available)
Add inner and outer cover to close up the weak hive
Replace the frames of brood from strongest hive with empty frames (built up is best)
Return queen and her frame to her colony and close up the hive
Within a few days, the weak colony should have united. Make sure no queen cells have appeared in the top box on the added brood frames. If all looks good, remove the remaining newspaper
Monitor weak colony. This boost of brood should help. If not, consider requeening, preferably with a local queen.
Not only is this advice very helpful but it relates back to just why overwintering nucs can be so beneficial! Imagine if I had come out of winter with my 3 colonies AND 2 nucleus colonies. I could add a strong nuc (without the queen) to my weakest colony (as a ‘bee bomb’) and watch as that combined hive exploded with productivity. I'd then have a queen from that nuc ready to build up again. I could also requeen the weak hive with one of the queens from the nucleus colonies.
I’m also pleased to say that Dave agrees with my identification of mites potentially being the issue as mite weakened bees can die off very suddenly during winter and in large numbers, as I saw with hive #3. He suggested considering requeening if the colony fails to show improvement as that could indicate poor genetics/mating.
*
That's it for this week! Stay safe out there, my friends. As always, hug your hens and then wash your hands! Take care of yourselves.
Enjoy some chicken dust bathing zen: