2008 Diary of a Small Apiary

The Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association (Metro) is fortunate to have access to a small, four hive apiary that is used for a variety of educational purposes. The apiary is also intended to be the source of bees for a large observation hive. Metro began participating in the care of this apiary in early Spring of 2007. This Diary will be a record of how these honey bees do during 2008.

Our goal for 2008 is to have robust hives in the fall of 2008 that will stand a good chance of surviving the 2008 – 2009 winter. This will require that we pay careful attention to the condition of the colonies during the summer, particularly the bees’ need for water during dry periods, and for both carbohydrates and protein when the nectar flows have declined. In addition, we will adhere to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices that relate to caring for honey bees.

Most beekeepers believe that colonies should be placed in the sunniest area available. It is particularly good to expose the hives to morning sun as early as possible. Providing some protection from the late afternoon sun, however, is beneficial here in Atlanta.

All wood ware in this Apiary is of the ten-frame-per-box size. The configuration of each hive is as follows: Each hive stands on two standard concrete blocks. The base of each hive is a Walter T. Kelley IPM screen bottom board. Two hive bodies that comprise the brood chamber are set on this base. Shallow supers with nine frame spacers will be placed on top of the hive bodies as required during the nectar flow. An inner cover with a notch about one inch wide and three-eighths of an inch deep is placed on top next, then a bit of twig over the notch to enhance the movement of air through the hive, and finally the outer cover.

Never set up a hive on a solid bottom board. Research done over a period of several years at the University of Georgia Honey Bee Lab in Watkinsville, Georgia, has demonstrated the value of screen bottom boards in managing populations of Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) and small hive beetles (Aethina tumida), and in controlling the humidity and temperature inside the colony. The screen is kept fully "open" and unobstructed twelve months of the year. A good image to keep in mind is of the honey bee colony as an efficient chimney.

This Diary is in chronological order. Asides and general remarks appear as indented paragraphs.

Martha Kiefer, Gerard McCann, Jerry Wallace, and Cindy Bee write the Diary. Martha is the editor. Contributors are Gerard McCann, Cindy Bee, Jerry Wallace, Richard Kiefer, Jim Ovbey, Jennifer Berry, Evelyn and P.N. Williams, and John Sherrod. Cindy and Dick have been thoughtful and generous editors.

Cleaned up fallen limbs, weeds, and other debris that accumulated during the winter. Cleared toward the south end of the area to allow space for a fourth hive, and decided how the hives should be arranged for easy use during hive inspections. This means that the fronts of the hives must all be facing the same direction and be in a side-by-side row, thereby creating a “safe” side in the back of the hives and a “bees-coming-and-going” side in the front. A four foot square piece of weed cloth was laid where each hive was to be placed. Two concrete blocks were set on each piece of cloth, and one and one-half bags of shredded pine bark mulch was spread on the cloth. The hive bodies were set on the blocks and given a preliminary adjustment.

The weed cloth is just to keep the area a bit tidier than it might be without it. It will in no way thwart small hive beetle larvae that are attempting to enter the soil for their period of pupation. We learned from Jamie Ellis, Ph.D. that these larvae are too fast and determined for a mere cloth to serve as any kind of barrier or control.

Two or even three bags of mulch would be better at each hive location. More will be added later.

Gerard made an inventory of all equipment and wrote a list of things required. Gerard had gone through and cleaned up much of the wood ware previously, but he completed the task at this time. Very old or otherwise unusable frames of foundation were discarded.

It was clear from remarks made by several speakers at the Georgia Beekeepers Association winter meeting in February 2008, that honey bee professionals believe that all wood ware should be clean and well maintained, and that frames and foundation should be discarded every two years, or three at most. (Up until now, the advice has been to discard old comb and foundation about every five years.) When light no longer passes through the wax and foundation, it should be replaced. If the foundation is black plastic, it must be viewed across the top at a flat angle with a strong back light.

When you are evaluating your own frames of drawn comb, keep in mind that bees draw out new comb best during the nectar flow, so when practical, this is the time to replace old foundation and comb.

Another task done at this time was preparing a stock of a dozen quart jars of sugar syrup. Syrup for use in the Spring is made in the following way:

This syrup formula is what is called one-to-one: one part sugar to one part water. The 'part' may be either weight (one pound of sugar to one pound of water) or volume (one cup of sugar to one cup of water). In July, we will begin using a two-to-one formula: two parts sugar to one part water.

New colonies, whether started with nucs or packages, must be fed syrup continuously until the colony is well established. Bees placed in hive body with all new foundation, in particular, must be fed continuously to stimulate and provide the energy the bees require for comb building.

Nucs were picked up from a producer of nucleus hives in central Georgia on March twenty-seventh and were placed in the apiary on the twenty-eighth.

One package of bees was installed this evening in Hive #2. A jar of syrup was placed in a Boardman feeder in the front entrance of the hive.

One four-frame nuc was installed in Hive #1. The four frames of bees that were in the nuc were transferred from the nuc into a hive body that contained six frames of drawn comb from 2007. The six frames were separated into two groups of three, and pushed to either side, thereby creating on open space in the center. This is shown in the picture below. The four frames from the nuc were placed in this center space in exactly the order they were in inside the nuc box. A quart of syrup was placed in a Boardman feeder in the front entrance of the hive. The inner cover was placed above the hive body into which the bees had been placed, the extra boxes that would become part of the structure of this hive as the season progressed were placed above the inner cover, and finally the top cover was put in place.

It is a good idea to use a Boardman feeder for spring feeding. Because it is a clear or translucent jar, you can easily monitor how much and how quickly the bees are consuming the syrup, and will know when a new jar should be put on the feeder. This will also be an indicator to you of when the nectar flow begins, how it progresses, and when it ends.

The nuc in the picture above illustrates a different feeding system. A hole exactly the size of the lid of a one quart canning jar has been drilled in top cover. The jar of syrup, with the lid that has been punched with tiny holes in place, is then inverted and placed into the hole.

Drawn comb is one of a beekeeper’s most important assets. It takes a lot of energy for young bees to draw frames of wax comb. If some of this product – wax comb -- can be carried into the next year, the bees will devote their energy to other tasks. In the spring, of course, this is caring for brood and gathering nectar, converting it into honey, and storing it. All of the frames of drawn comb that were in the hives in this apiary during 2007 had been placed in a freezer for two or three days before being stored. This period at below freezing temperatures kills the eggs of wax moths and other pests that may be present in the frame, foundation, or wax. Frames treated this way may be stored in hive bodies or supers that are stacked outside but have had all outside access closed off. One way to achieve this closing off is to turn the bottom board upside down and stack the boxes on the now inverted bottom board.

Frames that have been treated in a freezer may also be placed in black plastic garbage bags -- one hive body filled with frames or two supers filled with frames to a bag – tightly closed, labeled, and stored outdoors in a closed shed or a tightly sealed plastic storage bin. Storing them inside your house is not a good idea because it is too warm.

If you have a place that is out of the weather, you may be able to place your supers there. Just be sure that there is plenty of light and air reaching the frames. This will discourage wax moths.

A second four-frame nuc was installed in Hive #3. A quart of syrup was placed in a Boardman feeder in the front entrance of the hive. In the picture below, the queen is on the upper right side of the frame, marked with a yellow dot. This is a beautiful frame of honey bees and will provide a great start for this hive.

The International Queen Marking Color Code system is as follows: White for years ending in 1 or six, Yellow for years ending in 2 or 7, Red for years ending in 3 or 8, Green for years ending in 4 or 9, and Blue for years ending in 5 or 0.

Visited the apiary to make sure that each hive had a supply of sugar syrup. The weather turned cool and grey yesterday and today is even cooler, with a high of about 50^o expected. Even though this visit was not to open the hives, it is too cold today to do so. Quick inspections can be done at 55^o if there is no wind. Longer inspections should be done only when the temperature is above 60^oso as not to chill the brood.

One package of bees was installed in Hive #4. Frames of both drawn comb and new foundation were placed in the hive body. A second hive body was placed on top of this. Six frames of drawn comb from 2007 were then placed in this top box. An inverted jar of syrup with a perforated lid was placed on top of the frames that were in the lower box in the empty space in the upper box. This is a novel placement of the jar of syrup that Curtis uses. It is closer to the cluster than it would be if it was in a Boardman feeder and probably somewhat easier for the bees to get to. It would be an especially good idea if cold weather is expected.

Curtis inspected each of the four hives for the first time since installing the bees. The purpose of this inspection was to assess how the bees had settled in, with an eye to preparing the colonies for the nectar flow which will begin within a few days here in Atlanta. Curtis also checked to be sure that the queens had been released from the queen cages in Hives #2 and #4 that were started with packages.

It is best to check on queen release after about three or four days. After that, hives started from packages should be left undisturbed for about three weeks. The jar of sugar syrup in the Boardman feeder, however, must be kept full.

Hive #1: Nuc that was installed on March 29, 2008. The tops of the frames in the brood box were thick with bees.

Hive #3: Nuc that was installed March 30, 2008. Lots of brood! One person in the group commented about there being ants under the outer cover. This is not unusual in a bee hive, or cause for concern.

Hive #4: Package that was installed April 5, 2008. The queen had been released from the cage and Curtis found her but there is no evidence – eggs or brood – that she had begun laying. This is not a cause for concern at this point.

The package of bees had been put into a hive body containing ten frames of drawn comb from 2007. One of these frames was capped honey, also from 2007. A second hive body contained six frames of foundation and an inverted jar of syrup was installed as described above under April 5.

Curtis pointed out that the cluster had moved into the upper box, so the two hive bodies were switched. The box in which the syrup jar and cluster had been – the upper box -- was now on the bottom. The syrup jar was removed and placed into a Boardman feeder in the front entrance. Three frames of foundation were added to the space where the jar had been. The hive body that had been on the bottom was now placed in the top position.

Until recently, experienced Georgia beekeepers thought that one hive body plus one super of honey was adequate to meet the bees’ food requirements, both during summer and fall, and throughout the winter months. The view today is that the bees need more food stores than can be accommodated in that configuration. It is better to have two hive bodies for the colony -- one for the cluster and one for the stored pollen and honey that you reserve for the bees. (The reality inside the hive is not this regimented. The cluster typically begins in the lower hive body and moves in an upward direction into the upper hive body.) The obvious advantage of this is, of course, that there is more food for the bees. But in addition, such a configuration makes it straightforward to maintain the cluster in the lower of the two boxes by simply switching their relative position when you find that the bees have moved up into the higher of the two boxes.

Straightforward, yes, but the large boxes are very heavy, weighing eighty pounds or even more. Unless you are very strong, this can be a challenge if you take care of your bees by yourself. One system you can try if you have a helper is for each of you to put the fingers of your left hands into the hand holds on the long side of the box, and the fingers of your right hands into the hand holds on the short side, and then lift the box. This is fairly easy. The hive bodies can also be lifted with a hive lifter, but this is a costly tool and also requires two people to manipulate.

One expert beekeeper in Georgia has switched all of his equipment to the smaller, eight frame size wood ware, and many others support this system. If you are a new beekeeper, you may want to consider starting with this size equipment.

Another option is to use two medium supers in place of each hive body. However, if you decide to adopt this system, use medium supers exclusively for everything -- even as honey supers -- to avoid confusion with shallow frames and boxes that look so similar. This is a good technique if you are not using a queen excluder. Sometimes a queen will work right up the middle or to one side of a stack of boxes. When this happens, it's easy to simply swap brood frames with frames from the bottom that contain no brood.

We learned a useful technique from Curtis for managing at least some of the hive bodies and supers that are idle before the nectar flow begins. When one or both of the brood chamber boxes have been set up, the inner cover is placed on the top hive body, and on top of that several odds and ends of boxes can be placed, with the top cover last. The secret to success with this is the placement of the inner cover: It keeps the colony in a space that the number of bees in the hive at the moment can manage. All four of the hives in this apiary had multiple boxes above their inner covers. Part of this inspection was to rearrange all the hive parts, relocating the inner cover to accommodate the growing number of bees, brood, and stores of honey and pollen.

This colony consists of two hive bodies and two supers. It was started with the installation of a nuc on March 29, 2008. Today there is a lot of activity at the front entrance. The syrup jar is empty and probably has been for over a week or more. We will probably "get away" with this because the hive bodies included drawn comb, capped honey, and nectar from 2007. In addition, the nectar flow around the apiary has begun.

The queen was found in the upper hive body where there were many eggs and larvae. All of this activity was on the center four frames.

Many eggs, larvae, and capped brood cells were in the bottom hive body. The bottom bars of four of these frames had wide rows of drone comb, solid with capped larvae. During the inspection, the hive body was tipped onto its side so that all of this comb could be scraped off and discarded.

This is a good place to mention Bee Space, This phenomenon was first observed by the Reverend L. L. Langstroth, a Philadelphia minister, in 1851. His insight was that, left to their own devices, honey bees always construct their colony in such a way that all empty spaces are three-eighths of an inch wide. If a space is smaller than this, they will fill it with propolis. If it is larger, they will fill it with comb. His discovery lead to the design of standard size hive parts that we use today.

The photograph below illustrates the construction of comb in a space that is larger than three-eighths-inch.

The two hive bodies were switched so that the queen would be in the bottom box. Each frame in both boxes was examined and the positions of several frames in each box were shifted to encourage the bees to draw out comb where they had not done so. Here again, in the same way that you transfer frames from a nuc into a hive body in exactly the order they were in inside the nuc, it is important not to separate brood frames from one another. This could deter the nurse bees from tending the young or leave the young bees exposed to low temperatures outside the cluster should the weather turn colder.

The two supers were replaced on top of the two hive bodies, and then the inner cover. A twig about one-half inch in diameter was placed over the notch on the inner cover and then the outer cover was added. The twig will increase the ventilation throughout the colony. Additional remarks about ventilation are at the beginning of the Diary.

This hive was started with the installation of a package on March 27, 2008. The bottom hive body contained a good amount of brood and there was some activity on the center frames in the upper hive body. One frame of capped brood from Hive #3 was placed in this hive as described in the following paragraph and graph. A jar of syrup was placed in the Boardman feeder in the entrance.

A package of honey bees contains about three pounds of bees. These bees are collected in hives set up for the production of honey bees, and both very young bees and those nearing the end of their lives are included. Because there is this range in the ages of the bees, when they are put into an empty hive, some of them die each day. Therefore, the number of bees in the hive declines. At the same time, the bees are preparing comb in which the queen deposits eggs that will produce young bees in twenty-one days. On this twenty-first day, when the young bees begin emerging from their cells, the decline in the total number of bees ceases and begins to rise. This moment is called the turn around. So you can see by studying the graph below, that intervening at some point in the time between A and B by placing a frame of capped brood and additional bees into the hive shortens the time required to arrive at the point of turn around. This technique works best during a nectar flow.

A: 10,500 bees from one three pound package placed in hive body. This graph assumes that there is fully drawn comb in the hive on Day 1. Queen begins laying 1000 eggs per day.

AC: Death of all bees in the package at the rate of 250 (~ 1/40 of 10,500) per day.

B: Moment of Turn Around: First possible day for emergence of new brood causing a net increase in number of bees in the hive to begin

D: Day 36, when the number of bees in the hive equals the number that was placed into the hive from the package on Day 1.

BDE: Rate of increase in bees in hive: 750 per day. (1000 newly emerged bees per day minus 250 deaths of old bees from package per day equals 750 bees net increase in population per day.)

E: Day of death of last bees from the package. Slope of line will rise to indicate net increase in population of 1000 per day. This is not shown on this graph.

B₂:This is Day 61, forty days after first emergence of new bees, and the day on which the first of the new bees begin to die.

Another technique that can be considered when there is a weak hive is to physically switch the entire weak hive with a strong one. The weak hive will now be the destination for the large number of field bees from the strong hive, enlarging the work force.

The conditions inside this hive, which was started with the installation of a nuc on March 30, 2008, were similar to those found in Hive #1. The remarks about that hive apply to this one. One frame of capped brood and its attendant bees was removed from this hive and placed into Hive #2 to give it a sooner-than-normal increase in population. This population flow is illustrated in the graph above.

This hive was not inspected because it was installed only two weeks earlier. A new jar of syrup was placed in the Boardman feeder.

This was a quick visit to check on the syrup jars, particularly the one on Hive #4, the weakest of the four hives. Hives #2, #3, and #4 were each given full jars of syrup on Sunday, April 20. In each case, slightly less than one-third of the syrup had been consumed over the four days since the jars were filled. Clearly the bees are finding abundant sources of nectar which they prefer to sugar syrup.

Another quick visit to check on the syrup jars. Each of the jars was down about one-third. The jar on Hive #4 was topped up.

This colony was started on April 5 from a package and has, therefore, been in the hive for thirty-six days. Looking at the graph of Turn Around that is above in the remarks of April 9, today is close to the time when the number of bees in the colony could be expected to equal the number of bees that was in the original package.

The colony is comprised of two hive bodies and one super. As stated above in the remarks of April 24, because we are in the middle of the nectar flow, the bees are consuming the sugar syrup in the Boardman feeder slowly. The jar on this hive was half full.

The super of drawn comb contained some nectar in the center frames, and also some bees, but the outer frames were empty.

The upper hive body contained both frames of drawn comb and frames of new foundation. There was brood in some of the frames of drawn comb.

The lower hive body also contained both frames of drawn comb and frames of new foundation. Frames in the center contained eggs, larvae, and capped brood. The brood pattern, however, was not solid. This is probably because of the mixing of frames of drawn comb with frames of new foundation.

To reassemble these two hive bodies, all of the frames of drawn comb, especially those in the upper hive body that contained brood, were grouped with the other frames of brood that were in the lower hive body. Frames of new foundation and frames of drawn comb were grouped together in the upper hive body.

The most important thing to remember is that bees cannot be made to draw comb unless the nectar flow is in progress. Their genetic makeup programs them to perform when there is a need. Honey bees do not plan ahead. If the calendar indicates that it is May first, and the nectar flow is in full swing, the bees will not have started to build comb in mid April to be ready for May first. They wait until they smell the nectar and taste it before they will build the comb in which to store it. To conserve energy, honey bees will ignore frames of new foundation and take advantage of the drawn comb, even though it is scattered here-and-there in two hive bodies.

Here are some facts about comb and a summary of Do's and Don’ts for using frames of foundation:

Hive bodies always contain ten frames. You may place either ten or nine frames in the supers.

There are two very important lessons specific to assembling frames inside hive bodies that were illustrated in the inspection today of Hive #4:

We did not see the queen, but this was not necessary because the presence of eggs, larvae, and plenty of frames of capped brood was clear evidence that she is present in the hive.

This colony was closed without the super. (See below.) The twig was replaced between the inner cover and top cover to enhance ventilation.

This colony was started from a nuc and is very strong. This colony is comprised of two hive bodies and three supers. The three supers were completely filled with honey, though not all had been capped. (Each filled super weighs about thirty to thirty-five pounds!)

Beekeepers disagree about the use of queen excluders, but I believe that in this case, one should be placed between the supers and the two lower hive bodies. However, before installing the excluder, it would be important in this situation to find the queen and know that she was in the lower two hive bodies.

Like Hive #4, we did not find the queen. The complicating factor was the wind. When a frame was taken out, the bees simply clustered on the upper or lower corner of the frame. Very likely she was on a frame we examined, but we did not see her, just plenty of evidence that she was there: Tons of capped and uncapped brood, eggs, and larvae. A very strong colony indeed.

I took the super that had been on Hive #4 and put that closest to the brood chamber on this hive to give them more space. I plan to add another super of foundation to this hive next weekend.

This colony was started from a package and is doing well, but needed a little management. It is comprised of two hive bodies and one super. Brood was found on some of the frames in the upper hive body, so all of these frames were removed and placed into the lower hive body, consolidating them with the other frames of brood in that box. Frames of foundation in the lower hive body that did not contain brood were removed and consolidated with similar frames of foundation in the upper box. This is similar to the situation that was found in Colony #4, the other hive started from packaged bees, and the solution was the same. This is described above in the May 11 entry.

We spotted the queen in the upper hive body, set that frame aside and continued our inspection.

It is certainly helpful to have an empty hive body into which frames that have already been examined can be placed while the inspection continues.

Because the queen was not marked, we marked her with a yellow dot, the only color I had with me at the time. (The International Queen Marking Color Code system is explained above in the remarks of April 30. The official color for 2008 is red.)

The second photograph is of the queen inside the tube that holds her securely while being marked.

This colony is doing well. I just need to get them focused on drawing comb on the foundation.

We placed a full quart jar of sugar syrup into the Boardman feeder, replaced the inner cover, set the twig in place, and added the outer cover.

Like Colony # 1, this hive was started from a nuc and is very strong. There are two supers of beautiful white, capped honey. These bees had built comb between the bottom bars of the highest super and the super below it. When I scraped off this bridge comb – all filled with honey -- everyone in the group who wanted to taste the honey was able to. The bees definitely need more space, so we added a super of new foundation directly on top of the higher of the two hive bodies that contain the brood nest, and then put the already filled supers on top of this new one. (See notes about comb above.)

We did not locate the queen, but we really were not looking for her, either. We know that this hive is prospering. The very solid brood pattern and tons of bees are all the evidence we need to know that she is there.

When scraping drone comb from the bottom of one of the frames in Hive #3, we observed young Varroa mites in the drone brood. This photograph, taken from the internet, shows a honey bee larva with several attached Varroa mites.

Here is a brief description of the life cycle of Varroa mites: Within a hive, Varroa mites reproduce on a 10-day cycle. The female mite, after detaching from an adult bee, enters the cell of an uncapped larva. The mite shows preference for drone brood, but will use what is available. Once the bees have sealed the cell, the female Varroa mite begins to lay eggs. She then dies. As the young bee develops, so will the mites. As soon as the new bee is able to leave its cell, the mites attach themselves to this new bee. This life cycle of the Varroa mite is dependant upon the existence of brood within a colony.

Given the population of bees in Colony #3, which I estimate to be thirty-five to forty-five thousand, the IPM board should be inserted below the screen bottom board on the next inspection so that we can estimate the number of Varroa mites in the hive and insure that we are not exceeding the economic threshold of mite populations. Given that we plan to care for this apiary without the use of chemicals, and that there are honey supers on the hive, the only intervention we could use is sprinkling the tops of the frames with finely granulated cane sugar. The presence of the granules of sugar on the bees' bodies prompts grooming among the bees which, in turn, causes the mites to fall off of the bees and through the screen bottom board to the ground.

We went into this hive briefly, just to check the arrangement of the frames. All of the frames of drawn comb are consolidated in the bottom box. The bees have begun drawing comb on the foundation in the center of the second story.

We found the queen, and marked her with a yellow dot. (See photographs and remarks above.)

The jar of sugar syrup in the Boardman feeder was empty so we replaced it with a full quart jar to encourage comb building on the foundation in the upper hive body.

Added a super with frames of foundation to the top. The bees had filled the super of drawn comb added last week. Moral of this story: During a good nectar flow, bees can fill a super of drawn comb with honey in one week.

This visit to the Apiary was just a quick check on the hives. Everything looked good. A little weeding should be done, plus some bamboo control.

This colony is two hive bodies and five! supers. A little bearding -- actually more like hanging out -- on the front above the entrance.

These two colonies were started from packages and each is two hive bodies. They have been fed syrup continuously since the installation of the packages. Today both syrup jars were empty and were replaced with full ones.

This colony is two hive bodies and three supers. The syrup jar was empty, but I did not replace it. I wrote on each super that jars of syrup had been on the hive during the time the three supers were being filled. Any stored 'honey' in these supers, therefore, may well have been made in part from from sugar syrup. We may decide to feed the honey from this hive back to the bees.

Sourwood trees in and around Atlanta are in full bloom now, but the major nectar flows are nearly at an end. We need to be attentive to the decline in nectar supplies in coming weeks so that we will know when to start our summer and fall feeding program.

This early afternoon visit was a quick look at the Apiary, and was exactly one week after the last visit on May 31. It has been very hot with more of the same forecast. The temperatures are at or above ninety degrees and there has been no rain in the past week. It's summer in Atlanta.

Both Hive #1 and Hive #3, the hives started with nucs, had small beards. Hive #2 had consumed the entire jar of syrup that I placed on the hive last week, so I replaced that empty with a full one. Hive #4 had about one-quarter of a jar of syrup left, so will replace that another day.

It is over ninety degrees today. When I entered the apiary, I noticed immediately that the flight pattern of two or three of the hives had changed. The bees were leaving from the front of the hives as usual, but then flying up and arcing in the direction behind the row of hives. I put a full jar of syrup on Hive #4, replacing the one that was one-quarter full two days ago.

Hive #4 was inspected first. It had less activity than Hive #1 and was furthest from the gate into the apiary. The hive is composed of two deep hive bodies. Brood was noted in both hive bodies, but was very spotty. This is indicative of a poorly performing queen, the presence of Varroa mites, or virus issues. Unless this queen has been added within the last couple of weeks, I recommend that the queen be replaced at the first opportunity or, at the latest, in the fall. Even with feeding, I would be surprised if this hive would overwinter.

The bees in this hive were gentle. Very little smoke needed during the inspection. The queen, marked with a gold colored dot, was found in the upper hive body. With the exception of two late arrivals, I believe everyone in the group saw the queen.

Hive #1

Hive #1, the largest colony in the apiary, was inspected next. It is composed of two deep hive bodies that comprise the brood chamber, with five shallow supers for honey above the brood chamber. The shallow super directly on top of the brood chamber, super number one, had worker and drone brood in several frames. Shallow supers two, three, four, and five were jammed with honey. The honey appeared to be very light in color and had a wonderful floral essence according to those who tasted it. There was lots of bridge comb on the frame tops between supers, but none on the inner cover.

The laying pattern of the queen was judged to be acceptable for the time of year and nectar flow conditions. All the shallow supers were full of bees, so no queen excluder was put on due to the time that would have been required to get all the bees out of honey clogged shallow supers. I inspected the middle frames of second deep hive body where there were several full frames of brood noted. The laying pattern was good. I did not inspect hive body number one or look for the queen because of the very large number of bees in this hive and the number of frames that would have to be gone through.

I wish all my hives were like this one!

Jerry Wallace

Photograph by John Jones

June 24

Gerard ordered a queen for Hive #4. She will arrive in about two weeks.

July 6

Gerard installed the new queen in Hive #4.

We also placed a jug of 2:1 syrup on Hive #4 and Hive #2. These two colonies were started from packages and are comprised of two hive bodies. They will not become any larger than this during 2008. Our task is to provide these bees with enough food to support the bees that are in the colonies now, and to encourage continued brood rearing throughout the Summer and into the Fall. Because the nectar flows in Atlanta are over, and because these colonies have only modest amounts of stored honey at this time, it is for us to provide them with supplemental food. The feeding today is the first portion of five gallons of 2:1 syrup that we intend to feed to each of the four colonies between now and the end of the year. Feeding of Hive #1 and Hive #3 will begin after the honey supers on these colonies have been removed. A record of this feeding is attached to the end of the Diary.

In the entry of February 24, the formula for Spring feeding is described: one part sugar to one part water, by either weight or volume, whichever is easier for you. The Summer and Fall formula, however is more concentrated: two parts sugar to one part water. It is more difficult to dissolve the sugar in this formula. The most straightforward way to mix this is to heat the water in a very large pot until boiling, or nearly boiling. Add the sugar. Stir and continue to heat until you see that all the sugar is dissolved. Allow the syrup to stand at room temperature until it cools before pouring it into containers for storage or placing in the colony.

To reduce the likelihood of crystallization, add about one tablespoon of vinegar to each quart of cool syrup. The jugs we are using hold three quarts, so I add three tablespoons to each jug.

July 7

Checked each hive to be certain the jugs were placed correctly. In both hives, many bees were feeding from the jugs. The activity at the entrance to Hive #4, the colony with the new queen, was the busiest and most 'purposeful' that I have ever seen around that hive. An entrance reducer was placed in each hive with the opening about three inches wide in the open position.

July 11

The queen has been released.

July 20

Photograph by John Jones

The inspection today is of Hive #2 and Hive #3. Neither of these hives seemed particularly aggressive which was evident by the activity on the landing boards of both hives, as well are the area around the stacked supers on Hive #3. We approached Hive #2 first since it wasn’t as active as hive #3.

This is a good point to remember when doing a hive inspection in your own apiary: Always approach the hive that’s the least aggressive to avoid the air becoming filled with bees which could agitate the other hives. It also reduces the likelihood that you might be stung. When a bee stings, it releases the here's-the-place-to-sting pheromone on your skin, and you'll carry that signal with you as you open other hives.

Hive #2 is composed of two hive bodies, an inner cover, an empty hive body on top of the inner cover that surrounds a jug of 2:1 syrup set on a small cake rack which is on top of the inner cover. This is covered with the outer cover. This colony needs to be watched. It isn’t in bad shape, but supplement feeding of syrup should be continued. The brood pattern was tight, but there were empty holes throughout. I wouldn’t really call this “spotty.” A possible explanation for this is that the queen had been fertilized by one or more of her own offspring and the nursery bees had pulled those particular eggs out, leaving the holes in the otherwise nice pattern.

We saw few drones and small amounts of drone brood in appropriate places. There were some small hive beetles, but mostly in adult form, though we did see one small hive beetle worm coming out of a cell. However, in the bottom chamber, the last frame had several dozen adult beetles on it. We took it to a flat concrete brick outside the fence and shook them off so we could smash them more easily. A driveway or sidewalk is best for this.

The queen has worked up mainly on the left side rather than the center. The colony needs more honey stores than it currently has. If this doesn’t happen before winter, or if the beetles continue to be a problem, I suggest reducing the colony to one brood chamber and moving the frames containing brood to the center with frames of honey stores on the outsides.

At this point I would continue to feed Hive #2 and to watch the beetle population as we move into the hot, dry, late summer weather.

Hive #3 is composed of two hive bodies and three supers. It is doing very well, with several supers of beautifully capped honey. Both brood chambers were looking fine with a nice brood pattern. There were plenty of pollen stores in the brood chamber as well as honey stores surrounding the brood. There was indication of brood in all stages of development, so we didn’t worry about not finding the queen. We only noted a few small hive beetles on the inner cover.

Cindy Bee and Skylar Bee

Photograph by John Jones

Before the Hive Inspection described above, Cindy, Skylar, Gerard, and I looked into Hive #4 to see how the new queen was doing. Skylar spotted the queen on the third frame that Cindy removed from the upper hive body. Cindy commented that she was a bit small, but that this wasn't a concern. The bees are working hard and there is brood at various stages of development. The hive has several frames on which no comb has been drawn. There is very little stored honey.

Martha

July 25

Since July 20, the bees in Hive #2 and Hive #4 had each consumed just under one quart of 2:1 sugar syrup from the jugs. Cindy, Gerard, and I discussed our concerns about Hive #4, and decided to try a different, more stimulative feeding regimen in hope that the bees will reduce the deficiencies described above. Other ways of assisting these bees that we are discussing include adding bees, adding frames of brood, and adding frames of honey from one of the more robust colonies. The colony will be evaluated from time-to-time in the coming months to keep track of how they are doing and what they need.

I removed the jug of sugar syrup and replaced it with a full jug of 100% honey. I also placed a pollen patty, torn into quarters, on the top bars of the frames in the upper hive body, underneath the inner cover. The bees began eating the edges of the patty while it was still in my hand. It is risky to feed pollen patties this early in the year because they are attractive to pests of the bees, so I plan to check on how things are inside the hive on July 28.

August 17

We removed the five supers from Hive #1. I placed a jug of 2:1 syrup on top of the inner cover, covered this with an empty hive body, and replaced the top cover, propped up with a small stick for ventilation.

All the supers that we plan to take from the colonies in the Apiary have to be loaded into our car and driven to our home where we extract them. Needless to say, every step of this process had to be thought through carefully. The steps we went through were simple, but worked perfectly and greatly extended the time we had to do the extracting. The trick to the system was wrapping each super as it came off the colony in a four by six foot sheet of sturdy plastic that was cut from the type of heavy weight drop cloth sold in hardware stores for about four dollars. Each super was wrapped like you would a present, and sealed tightly and completely with tape.

The bees had been driven out of the supers using Fisher's Bee-Quick on a fume board. Very few, if any, bees remained in the super when it was removed from the colony and placed on the sheet of plastic. Once it had been taped, bees could not get out of the package and the only creature able to get in was ants. When we arrived home, the supers were stacked in a wheel barrow until the next day, when they were extracted. You will note below that the supers that were removed on August 24 remained for four days in this wrapping before they were extracted. Considering how time consuming robbing and extracting are, and what hard physical work all parts of this task are, this simple idea removes the pressure to do a lot in a short time.

August 18

We extracted one hundred and ten pounds of beautiful, light amber honey from the five supers.

August 24

There was a hive inspection today during which several jobs were done, one of which was removing the three supers from Hive #3. You can see one of the frames from these supers in the picture above.

August 28

We extracted seventy pounds of light amber honey from the three supers.