House Guests

Wouldn't you love it if unexpected, uninvited guests arrived at your house and planned on moving in to live with you?  Well, if you don't care for a couple showing up unannounced, then how about when 30,000 show up?  :)

Hey - look on the bright side - they bring their own sweetener for breakfast and tea time!!!!

Meet your new roommates - 

"The Swarm"

 Swarming is the natural process by which beehives reproduce themselves.  When they start to feel crowded in their current home, they start thinking about and making plans for swarming.  They will first try to raise a new queen by starting many queen cells.  Once the bees have a new queen (the first to emerge from the queen cells kills the other competitors), the old queen will leave the hive with a large portion of the bees.  Before she can fly away, the old queen's attendants put her on a diet, to thin her down.

Once outside the hive, they will land at a temporary spot and send out scout bees to look for a permanent home.  I think this swarm thought they found their permanent home.  See the hole above the window?  Good thing I arrived before the queen moved in there! Then the homeowner would have needed an EXTERMINATOR rather than a beekeeper!

For this swarm, I used my bee brush to knock the bulk of the bees into a hive body I had already prepared in advance.  Hunter and I hoped the queen was in the center of the large cluster that had just been brushed into the box.  I passed the box down the ladder to Hunter on the ground and put a lid on it for a few minutes, while waiting on the bees flying around to attempt to recluster themselves.

Next, Hunter used a cardboard box to gather more bees from the wall and I dumped them into the hive on the ground.  If I had already been positive I had captured the queen the first time, then this step would not have been necessary.  If the queen was indeed the hive, the bees would begin to 'fan' her scent at the entrance, which would draw the remaining bees to the hive.

When we felt sure the queen was not on the wall, we left the hive on the ground until the next night to allow the bees time to move into the hive.  We arrived after dark 24 hours later to remove the hive to its new location. 

Since then, the hive is doing well and the queen is busy building up the bee numbers.  This hive will not produce any surplus honey this year, since it was caught so late in the season.   What I can expect from it is that they will draw a box of new comb.  When a swarm arrives at its new home, the bees can draw new comb at an amazing speed, because they have spent quite awhile gorging themselves on honey for the move! 

The picture below is the result of a swarm not finding a proper location to build their new home (for Ohio's climate anyway) and no one noticing until they had put a lot of work into their comb.  We were called to remove it by the property owner before the hard winter set in, which would have finished them off  This was our first year of beekeeping and sadly for the bees this new beekeeper did not know what he was doing.  I think I crushed the queen between the combs, and the hive did not make it. :(  This picture does not do justice to the exquisite work they had performed on that natural hive.

My son, eat thou honey, because it is good:  and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul:  when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off. Proverbs 24: 13,14

What? No hive air conditioners! What kind of beekeeper am I?

Heat wave strikes!  Temps over 100 degree F.

People run to their houses or cars to stay cool.

Bees?  Well, let's just say they "Hang Out".

They also spend a great deal of time around the pond.  Not cooling off like we do, but gathering much needed water for the hive.

Geneva, our 3-year old sweetheart girl, noticed some of the bees ended up in the water.  At dinner she wanted to pray, and prayed that the Lord would "help the bees in the water."

The pictures above are from the few hives I keep in the back yard. (Note to all beekeepers:  if you place hives in the back yard of your home, make sure the hives and all supers are painted nicely.  This will save your wife the trouble of informing you they are not!)

In my bee yards I have placed water tubs.  I am attempting to give the bees a source of water close to the hives to preserve their wings from unneeded flight time.  This also helps to keep the bees out of neighboring ponds, pools, bird baths, etc. 

Of Grubs and Miniature Beekeepers

Our little lady, Geneva Hope, has been our "farm's" mascot (pictured on our main page in the bee costume) for 2 years. It is time now to pass the costume down to baby sister, who has just turned a year old.
But that is just fine with 3 year old Geneva, for she proudly announces that she isn't a honeybee at all!
"Me a Gwub now," is what she proclaims when it is her turn to help on the 3 hives we keep by our backyard pond. 

A bee starts off as an egg, then larva, followed by pupa (which Geneva calls a grub) and ends up as an adult worker, field bee, drone, etc, but Geneva is doing it the other way around - giving up her bee costume for a "gwub one" - she does indeed look very like a little squished up larvae in her white bee suit, gloves, veil, boots that are all 4 sizes too big!

May she long enjoy being Daddy's little helper in the beeyards.

So the bee flourisheth (about 42 days)

For He knoweth our frame - He remembereth that we are dust.

As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.

For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall remember it no more.

 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and

His righteousness unto children's children,

To such as keep His covenant and those that remember His commandments to do them.

Psalm 103:14-18

A worker bee in the summer will live for about 4 to 6 weeks.

In that time she will produce about 1/12th teaspoon of honey!

I guess that is why it is so good to the last drop.

Beekeeping Mentors - Not just mentors, dear friends Part 2 of 2

Did anyone wonder WHAT happened to us the last 2 months? I can't avoid the "busy as a bee" cliche!

I  need to pick up with where I left off in highlighting the individuals the Lord has used to play a key role in our honey adventures.

              Meet our family's decade-long honey supplier - turned - beekeeping mentor -

    DWIGHT WILSON, of "Dwight's Honey" farm

Mr. Wilson didn't start teaching us once we became beekeepers - he has been giving our children explanations and fascinating details for years - the children received wonderful science lessons at his honey house almost every fall as he was extracting the season's sweet success. He has a vibrant way with words and facts that capture the full attention of old and young, experienced or not.

Mr. Wilson instructing Cassidy in battling the vicious, silent, almost invisible enemy -

the Varroa Mite

Looking for the queen  - when splitting a larger hive in half to form a new colony, it is necessary to locate queen to make sure she remains behind with old colony

Beekeeping isn't his only passion

Due to his serving spirit, he has enjoyed teaching archery skills to all of my clan, and many others

Here he is creating a thrill of new adventures in the boys, which led up to their first hunting

expedition this past fall. Hard footsteps to walk in, for we are sure he never misses his mark.

Dwight with his sweet helping wife, Jerry make a great team.

With the looks of this hat, one might think he used to be a SAILOR

Dwight, Thanks for your willingness to give and serve beyond measure - we appreciate you, not just for what you do, but for the great guy you are. You aren't just our beekeeping mentor, you are a terrific friend.

***A parting warning to all who choose to associate with Mr. Wilson.  It was his suggestion that we start some hives to supply our store with honey.   I told him I did not have time to even consider it the first time he suggested it.  He then quickly put in that it would be great for the boys to learn.  After a few years of saying no, I agreed to start with 20 hives (17 more than he recommended for a beginner). 

Long story short, by the end of the year (2009) I had 200 hives and am now a full time beekeeper.

Not sure if it was something in the honey, fresh honeycomb, or the bee venom when stung that caused me to love beekeeping.  I am sure that Mr. Wilson knows the answer and will use his trick on more unsuspecting, innocent, future beekeepers again; so be forewarned.  ***

All package bees installed

All bee packages installed.

Anyone tired yet?

Better rest while I can.  Queen bees start coming in next week for making hive splits, the package bees installed earlier need another box, weather is getting close to being acceptable for mite treatments on overwintered hives, less than two weeks till I need to deliver hives to apple orchard for pollination, still more equipment to clean up from the dead hives. 

Although beekeeping is hard work,  I am grateful to the Lord for his blessings.  It is amazing to witness God's creation at work.  He created the sun, which the plants were created to use.  He created the honeybee to help the plants reproduce.  He designed into the plants the secretion of nectar, which the honeybees need and desire for their honey production.

Since the rush of life wants to crowd out what is truly important, make sure you slow down and take time to ponder and praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Super Stars

I forgot to mention that keeping Super Stars on staff comes with special challenges.

Super Stars can sometimes be very high maintenance.

Hunter & Mr Stoller caught in a rain-shower - so much for a break in the weather!

Other Super Stars think they can just sit around watching the work being done

"Monkey"