SECOND STORY HONEY & CANDLES
  • Home
  • About
    • The Team
    • Honey
    • Our Hives
    • Recipes >
      • Chocolate Clusters
      • Grilled Eggplant
    • Beeswax
    • Candle Care & Use >
      • Candle Care
      • Candle Safety
      • Wax Removal Tips
  • News
    • "The Buzz" Newsletter
    • Honeybee News
    • Beeline Blog
  • Shop
    • Beeswax Candles
    • DC Honey
    • Beeswax Bars & Bricks
  • Events
  • Home
  • About
    • The Team
    • Honey
    • Our Hives
    • Recipes >
      • Chocolate Clusters
      • Grilled Eggplant
    • Beeswax
    • Candle Care & Use >
      • Candle Care
      • Candle Safety
      • Wax Removal Tips
  • News
    • "The Buzz" Newsletter
    • Honeybee News
    • Beeline Blog
  • Shop
    • Beeswax Candles
    • DC Honey
    • Beeswax Bars & Bricks
  • Events

Apiary Report: First Inspection of 2019

3/27/2019

 
When the first 65F day of the year falls on a weekend I feel like I've hit the lottery. It means I can suit up and do a full inspection in each of my hives.  I'm always a little rusty at the beginning of the year so I like to write down the things I need to look for when I open up each hive.  Below you can see the list I made for myself for my first inspection on Sunday. To keep track of everything I see I use this hive inspection form available from my local club:  http://www.dcbeekeepers.org/downloadable_files/DCBA_Hive_Inspection_Form.pdf
I'm happy to report that all five of my hives made it through the winter and the queens are laying well. Each colony is bringing in lots of pollen and nectar from the early-blooming plants in my neighborhood. Crocus, henbit, corn speedwell, hellebores, witch hazel and the maple trees are all blooming. These early food sources are critical to the survival all kinds of pollinators, not just honeybees. 
The 2019 beekeeping season looks off to a good start!

Checklist: First Hive Inspection of the Year

  • Do I see signs of the queen?  
    • If I don't then I'll make a note on my inspection form so I can strategize with my mentor about how I might tackle this situation (e.g., combine with stronger hive, give them a frame of eggs to make their own queen, give them a capped queen cell)
    • I should see eggs, larvae and capped brood of various ages.  I'll make a note of how many frames of each for a ballpark estimate of hive strength
  • What is her laying pattern? Is it consistently strong or is it spotty?
    • If spotty I'll make a note of that so I can strategize how I want to deal with the situation.  
    • Does the queen have enough room to lay more eggs?  I wouldn't expect to see lots of open nectar at this point in the year but if I were feeding liquid syrup the bees might be filling up the brood nest.  I'll want to make sure she doesn't feel crowded out. 
  • Where is the brood nest? How populous is the hive?
    • Are the bees and brood all in the top box?  Is there any brood in the bottom box?  If the brood nest is all in the top box I might switch the boxes and put the brood nest on the bottom board and put an empty box with drawn comb and some frames of pollen and honey in the box above.  This is called "reversing" the hive.
  • Do I see drones?
    • Are they walking around the frames? Do I see one or two or dozens?
    • How much drone comb is present? Is it capped? How old does it look?
  • What is the temperament of the hive?
    • At this time of year I expect my bees to be calm. If my hive is "hot" (aka really cranky) this time of year then something isn't right. I'll make a note because if this persists then I'll need to come up with a plan to re-queen, likely soon.
  • Do I see queen cups (dry, empty) or queen cells (wet, or capped)?
    • What kinds of queen cups/cells do I see? Are they wet or dry?  Are they capped?  How many do I see? I'll need this information start doing the math on when my queen might emerge, be mated and start laying.  
    • Where are the cells positioned on the frame?  Are they along the bottom of the frame (typically a sign of a colony preparing to swarm)? Or are they in the middle of a frame (an "emergency" cell typically a sign the colony is re-queening on its own)?
    • I'll make notes on my inspection form indicating the frame on which the QC is located, the number, type (swarm/emergency), and status of each queen cell/cup.  
    • I'll also take my sharpie and make an indication on the top of the frame and outside of the woodenware so that the next time I go in my hive I don't have to waste time looking. The bees can build up these cells and break them down very quickly after the queen has emerged so if she has hatched between my inspection and the next one I might not find that cell again without my sharpie marks.
  • Do my bees have enough food?
    • Do I need to feed? How much 1:1 sugar syrup should I plan on making up? There is still a few weeks to go before the nectar flow ramps up and I don't want my bees to starve while they're expending most of their energy raising new bees.
  • What else do I notice in the hive?
    • How do the wings on my bees look? Are they perfectly formed or are they shriveled up? 
    • Do I see small hive beetles? If so I'll make a note to stock up on unscented swiffer sheets to install in my hives on my next inspection.
    • Do I wax moths? I will make a note that this hive may have to much real estate to patrol and that I need to remove some boxes or combine them with a stronger hive.
    • Do I see lots of brown streaks inside my hive? 
    • Are there other signs that are interesting to note?  I'll record these things and take pictures.  If I don't know that I'm seeing then I'll post to the group and ask my mentor to help me.
  • What else do I notice in my apiary?
    • Now is the time to think about how I might want to tidy up my apiary before Spring hits and I won't have the time. Are there new rat holes I need to take care of? Refreshing gravel walkways to do?
    • What is the state of my woodenware? Do I need to order replacement equipment? Plan to refresh the stain or put on a new coat of paint?

​What I won't be doing today 
  • I won't be taking mite counts.  
    • I've got a lot to do in each hive so my plate is already full.  And, it is too early in the season for me to sacrifice 300 bees from each hive to get the count.  I'll likely wait a 3-4 weeks to take my baseline mite counts for the year.
  • I won't be installing frames of foundation
    • the nectar flow isn't on yet so it is too soon to give the bees foundation frames to build out and that empty space to heat and patrol.

When I come inside afterwards I'll review my notes and think about what I saw.  From this I'll be able to plan what I need to do in the coming week including:
  • what beekeeping supplies and equipment I'll need to order
  • If and how I need to manage the queen cells/cups I saw
  • how much sugar I need to buy and syrup I need to make
  • if and how I might deal with weak hives


Spring has sprung at the Second Story apiary

3/25/2019

 
The longer days and warmer weather have brought out the blooms.  Happy Spring!
Picture

135,000 Round Trips in One Day

4/22/2018

 
Picture
3Despite the unseasonably cold Spring we've had here in DC, the hive I have sitting on a postal scale is off to a strong start. The scale shows the live weight of the bees plus the nectar they collect.  I make a note of the scale weight each morning and before bed each night. On April 12th the bees brought back over 5.4 kilos (12 pounds) of nectar! Considering the fact that each bee's honey stomach only holds 30mg of nectar that means the bees made more than 135,000 trips that day to bring back nectar.
Nectar is 80% water. The bees use this to feed themselves and they will also dry down the nectar to convert it to honey to eat later in the year. Honey is less than 18% water content. The bees fan their wings to evaporate the moisture and dry the nectar down. The sawtooth pattern in the plot of the line is a result of the bees drying off the moisture in the nectar overnight. This pattern will continue as long as the flowers and trees are blooming and continue to give nectar.
Last year the nectar flow began at the end of March and continued through mid-June, an unexpectedly long bloom period for Washington, DC. My four hives were so strong and the nectar flow went on for so long that I had to have two harvests - one in June and the second in July. I've only got one hive that is likely to make a honey crop this year so my fingers are crossed we get a nice long bloom!

Spring Is Sprung!

3/30/2018

 
Picture
It took long enough but Spring appears to have finally arrived in DC.  Yesterday the weather was a perfect 77F and sunny day which the bees loved. I hope Spring has arrived for you too!

Snow? Really?

3/22/2018

 
Picture
Picture
These are the views from the Second Story Apiary on the first and second day of Spring? Can you spot the difference between the two photos? If you spotted the beautiful coating of snow in the second photo you would be right!  We got over 4 inches of wet snow on the second day of Spring.  Happily, the cold doesn't seem to have hurt the blooms or the bees.  The bees were happily flying to and from the hive on the third, much warmer, day of Spring.

Bug's World Insect Fair

3/18/2018

 
Today I was at Bug's World, an all-about-insects fair sponsored by the Entomological Society of America at their 2018 conference held in Annapolis, Maryland. Hundreds of kids of all ages streamed through the event learning about the bugs in our backyards and how to create pollinator-friendly gardens. Visitors got an up-close look at tarantulas and other insects, saw a larger-than-life statue of a mosquito and learned how to make their gardens more bug-friendly and their homes less-so. My table celebrated honeybees and products of the beehive. ​​
Picture
To tell the story of life inside a hive I brought a frame filled with honey held safely within a windowed display case so visitors could see what honey looks like when it is still in the honey comb. Few people had ever seen a frame full of honey before and asked lots of questions about it. I also brought a nucleus (aka five-frame) hive so that visitors could see what the inside of a hive looks. It was a great opportunity for visitors to not only see but also smell a beehive. Many people remarked that the inside of a hive smells like honey and beeswax!

Spring Swarm Prevention

3/3/2018

 
Picture
Book Review: Swarm Essentials by Stephen J. Repasky

​It is a truth universally acknowledged that a beekeeper in possession of an overwintered hive must be in need of swarm prevention. Where does one go to learn the signs that one’s colony is preparing to swarm? Look no further than Stephen J. Repasky’s “Swarm Essentials: Ecology, Management, Sustainability” (2014 Wicwas Press).
As Spring approaches there is no better time to (re-)acquaint yourself with the biology of swarming (including its advantages and causes of swarming). Once you understand why bees swarm you can apply different strategies Repasky recommends to prevent swarming of your colony.
Even with the best of intentions sometimes you can’t dampen the instincts of bees to swarm so Repasky shares insights on how to manage the swarm when it happens as well as how to deal with the parent colony in its post-swarm state. Rounding out the book is a chapter on techniques for catching swarms illustrated with photos and tales of swarm catching adventures by the author.
Of all the things in this slim volume, my absolute favorite part is Appendix III “Beekeeper Decision Making Chart During Swarm Season.” This flowchart alone is worth the price of the book. I have a laminated photocopy of the flowchart and I make sure to bring it with me on every hive inspection I do from late March to late May.
Do yourself and your bees a favor in the next couple of weeks - get a copy of the book and read it from cover to cover so you can anticipate and manage (or mitigate) the 2018 swarm season for your colony. Long live the queen!

Signs of Spring!

2/19/2018

 
Despite the cold, grey, misty weather this morning here in DC I was delighted to see these signs of Spring on my walk with Echo.
Picture
Snowdrops!
Picture
Not sure what this is but I know it isn't forsythia. Any ideas?
Picture
Star magnolia
Picture
Quince

Spring has Sprung

2/16/2018

 
Even though Punxsutawney Phil has declared there are six more weeks of Winter to go, you'd never know it by looking inside one of my beehives.  As far as the hive is concerned it is Spring!  The queen has been busy for the past few weeks laying eggs.  Somehow she has known, despite the long stretches of below-freezing temperatures, that the days are growing longer.  This signal has told her it is time to lay eggs, hundreds of them.
Now that there are eggs in the brood nest the worker bees must work hard to keep the bee nursery at 96F to ensure the eggs are warm enough. The bees cluster around the eggs and flex their wing muscles to generate heat.  This effort takes a lot of energy. They begin to consume their honey stores at a faster rate. This is a dangerous time for the colony.  If they consume their Winter honey stores before the Spring bloom begins then they die. But if they don't keep the hive warm enough, the next generation of bees will freeze.  As a beekeeper I try to keep a close eye on things and top up their food stores if needed.
Picture
The eggs will take 21 days to mature into worker bees. in the photo on the left you can see a series of photos showing a worker bee emerging from her cell after her 21 day incubation.

Newly emerged worker bees take another 20 days to mature until they are ready to fly and forage for nectar and pollen.  By early March the hive will be teeming with thousands of new bees ready to fly and forage for much needed pollen - the protein needed to raise healthy and strong bees. 
Fingers crossed all is well in the hives!

Elevate Your Candles

2/9/2018

 
 The New York Times had a great article on how to choose a candle stick, holder or platform to display your candles to their finest effect.  So many beautiful selections!  If you're looking for a candle to use in one of these artistic creations you have come to the right place!

Book Review: Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey

1/20/2018

 
PictureBrother Adam in his home apiary at Buckfast Abbey in 1983 showing the nice performance of one of his Greek combinations. Photo: Erik Osterlund
Brother Adam in his home apiary at Buckfast Abbey in 1983. Photo: Erik Osterlund, Beesource.com
Optimism, patience, perseverance and hope are some of the qualities a beekeeper must have. - Brother Adam

What can we learn from a beekeeping book that was written over 40 years ago? It turns out quite a lot if that book was written by legendary beekeeper and queen breeder Brother Adam from Buckfast Abbey in Devon.  

​For Christmas I was given a copy of 
Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey. In reading it I was delighted to be transported to Buckfast Abbey in the early 1930s and 40s as Brother Adam recounted his experiences of hive management and lessons learned. Today, beekeepers have a wealth of information about bees and beekeeping at our fingertips. But for Brother Adam, trying to rebuild the Buckfast apiary after the extinction of the native English honeybee by disease, it was a steep learning curve.  
​
At the time, the abbey beekeepers were learning to work with varieties of newly imported European honeybees and desperate to try to find a strain that could not just survive but flourish in the cold and damp English weather. ​
In this slim volume Brother Adam shares the innovations they made and perfected for their beekeeping equipment, hive management practices and bee breeding.  Some of the things he notes as critical to success at Buckfast Abbey:
  • The larger the brood nest the more easily and quickly a queen can build up the colony
  • The more room the queen has to lay the less likely the colony is to swarm
  • The success of the hive depends on the health and productivity of the queen
“...there is no strain of bees that will meet the wishes of everyone. Moreover, there is no perfect or ideal bee. The choice in every case will mean a balancing one set of advantages against another set of disadvantages, and an eventual adjustment to the idiosyncrasies of the bee favoured.- Brother Adam on which type of bees are best.
Insights into Buckfast Abbey hive management practices:
  • Buckfast replaces frames of comb every four years to minimize disease and other detrimental things stored in their wax
  • Buckfast beekeepers requeen each colony with an overwintered queen every Spring (this is a lot easier for them to do than a hobbyist because they breed and raise their own queens (600-1200/year)
  • Brother Adam and the Buckfast beekeepers manage 600 hives and many of his tips speak to working smarter and more efficiently. Some of tips can be eye-opening for a hobby beekeeper  - for example his technique for mixing up 1200 gallons of syrup by the hundredweight bag of sugar.
“But we never had or will have a mastery of the honeybee. She is wild by nature and will at all times have her own way and will unfailingly follow her instincts. It is up to us to understand her ways and adjust ourselves to her truly marvellous nature, not attempting the impossible of ‘mastering’ her, but rather doing all we can to serve her needs. -- Brother Adam on being called a bee master
Not everything Brother Adam shares is applicable to beekeeping in our time and place. In the forty years since this book was written researchers have learned a lot about bees, their biology, and of course today there different threats to bee health. In addition, the beekeeping environment Brother Adam is writing about is local to Devon, England not our weather or seasons.  ​
Brother Adam writes with a distinct voice thanks to a rich vocabulary and strong opinion on how to manage bees.  The book is engaging and accessible to a intermediate-level beekeeper who has familiarity with more specific beekeeping terms and techniques. The photos of Buckfast apiaries and equipment are fascinating to explore.
Who would enjoy this book? Anyone who is looking to learn from a legend in beekeeping and who wants to know more about beekeeping techniques, evolution of beekeeping equipment and history of beekeeping. Last but not least, Brother Adam shares his recipes for mead in the last chapter. I fully intend to try the Buckfast recipe after my next honey harvest.

2018 Honeybee Calendar Now Available!

1/15/2018

 
Picture
I searched high and low for a calendar that celebrated the wonder and beauty of honeybees.  When I couldn't find one I decided to make one myself.  You can buy a copy of it on Lulu.com using the button below.
Support independent publishing: Buy this calendar on Lulu.
It is a full-color, 12-month 2018 calendar with macro photos of a queen bee, worker bees, tiny eggs, beehives, bees working flowers, honey and more! Designed to delight the beekeeper and honeybee lover in your life! 10% of all sales go to support the DC Beekeepers Alliance (http://www.dcbeekeepers.org/)

Beekeeping Goals for 2018

1/8/2018

 
Picture
  • Establish an "out yard" for my hives
    DC law permits a resident to have just four hives per apiary. I have four hives on my second story porch (two full-sized hives, two nucleus aka "starter" hives).  An out yard will give me the ability to expand the number of hives I can manage and ultimately the amount of honey and wax I can harvest. 
  • Learn more about varroa mites and share my knowledge with others
    The aptly-named Varroa destructor or varroa mite for short, is an invasive pest that all beekeepers must now worry about. Researchers are actively exploring all aspects of varroa biology, reproductive lifecycle, locomotion and environmental requirements in order to develop effective treatment strategies to rid honeybees of this pest. Publications about the mites appear each month so staying current is a challenge and figuring out how to use this information to take effective action is even more difficult.  In 2018 I hope to be able to learn more and share that information with my fellow beekeepers.  
  • Improve my record-keeping  
    I try to take notes every time I visit my hives but this year I'll be more observant about the world around me. This is the year I'll be sure to add notes about the weather and what is blooming so I can compare these signs of Spring from year to year.

Happy New Year!

1/1/2018

 
Picture

Beekeeping 2017 The Year in Pictures

12/30/2017

 

Reflecting on Beekeeping in 2017

12/27/2017

 
Honey bee visits a pink flowerPhoto by Kevin Watson
At the end of each year I like to take time to reflect on what I learned as a beekeeper, think about what I can do next year to be a better beekeeper and set goals for the coming year.

​What did I learn this year?

  
​​

In my fourth year of beekeeping I learned: 
  • Always have an escape plan 
    You don't want to get stuck on top of a garage roof with a bunch of angry bees inside your veil and no quick way to escape.  Be sure to have a plan and communicate it to others, especially if you need to call upon them if you get in trouble. 
  • Two heads are better than one
    During a hive inspection when you run into something interesting (aka a problem), it is always nice to have a partner there to help you, give you a second opinion, be your problem-solving sounding board.  In 2018 I will resolve to do more side-by-side beekeeping.
  • Always have a spare
    You never know when you're going to need that extra piece of equipment - a second hive tool, additional medium honey super, spare veil.  This year, my hive populations were booming and I found I needed the parts for two additional nucleus hives.  Having extra equipment on hand allowed me to lend it out to other beekeepers in need. 
  • Never turn down an opportunity to engage with other beekeepers
    I learned so much from fellow beekeepers this year who have shared their stories at beekeeping club meetings, in email exchanges and while I worked side-by-side with them inspecting hives. In the coming year I hope to find more of these opportunities and perhaps attend the 2018 Eastern Apicultural Society conference in Hampton Roads, VA.
  • Be an ambassador for bees
    This year the Prince George's County (MD) Government sought to change zoning rules. The changes would have made beekeeping illegal for most and impractical for everyone else in the county. The Bowie Upper-Marlboro Beekeepers Association (BUMBA) mounted a powerful and successful campaign to block the changes. BUMBA mobilized support for their position by calling upon the thousands of PG county residents who had attended one of many BUMBA outreach events as well as beekeepers in neighboring jurisdictions and nationally to voice protest to the proposed zoning changes.  As a beekeeper I need to do as much as I can to educate my neighbors, friends, colleagues and other members of the public who have questions about bees.  In 2018 I vow to do more work with BUMBA and the DC Beekeepers Alliance to spread the word about bees and other pollinators.

    What did you learn in 2017?

Merry Christmas from Second Story Honey

12/25/2017

 
Picture

What are the bees up to in the winter?

11/25/2017

 
This time of year when the nights are long, the temperatures are cold and we turn the calendar from the old year to the new I get a lot of questions about how my bees are doing.  I love questions about bees!
Today the bees are safely nestled in their hive grouped in what is known as their winter cluster. The bees primary goal for the winter is to keep their queen alive. The queen is the future of the hive. To protect her, the worker bees pack themselves into a tight ball with their queen at the center. By flexing their flight muscles the 20-30,000 worker bees collectively generate heat - enough to keep their queen a toasty 75F day and night. 
The bees in the center of this ball constantly shift position and slowly move towards the outside of the cluster to allow the colder bees on the edge of the cluster to take their turn in the toasty core.  Along their journey to and from the edge of the cluster to the middle, the bees will eat some of their winter honey stores.  On the days that the weather warms above 55F the bees will take turns to make short flights to eliminate their waste.  
Sometime in late January as the days begin to lengthen, the queen will begin to lay the first eggs of the 2018 season.  When she does, the bees in the cluster will increase their efforts to keep the eggs and unhatched larvae at a constant 96F.  This work is energy-intensive.  To fuel their efforts the colony will consume upwards of 60 to 80 pounds of honey over the course of the winter.  
This cold and dark time of year is one of mixed emotions for me as a beekeeper because there isn't much I can do for the bees at this point.  I'm anxious wondering whether each of my hives has enough honey stores to keep them well fed despite the fact I left more than 80 pounds of honey in each hive.  I'm happy for the free time I gain each weekend because I'm not having to actively manage my hives. But most of all I'm hopeful about the new year ahead and the beekeeping adventures I will have.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    March 2019
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Thank you for supporting Second Story Honey and the bees!