Dormant Bees

Great Small Hive Beetle News For My Hives

I attended my first Montgomery County Beekeepers Assn meeting last evening where there was a presentation on hive beetles.  I learned that the beetle larvae, upon hatching in the comb, descend to the surrounding dirt where they pupate.  Since my hives are on my roof, the larvae will be unable to finish their life cycle so I should be beetle free shortly!

THANK YOU Mount Vernon Triangle CID

New DC Honeybees TV Video: split update, small hive beetle, foundationless frame

And Some Good News on Colony Collapse Disorder

See this link:

New York Times Article

60 Minutes Colony Collapse Disorder Story

As we approach the fragile winter season, I thought some might like to review this story.  See this link:


http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3870476n

Jeff

Ordering Package Bees

I am starting to reach out to apiaries around the country to check pricing and availability of package bees in the following species:

• Minnesota Hygienic
• Buckfast
• Italian
• Russian

Apiaries typically begin taking orders in November and sell out quickly.  I am looking forward to testing out these different strains and providing colony splits to our friends and sponsors.  Key for me is taking delivery of the packages as early in the spring as possible to take advantage of our mild weather and early nectar flow so we can get some 1st season honey from these hives.  Two of these packages will go into our Sponsor hives in the Mount Vernon Triangle.

If you are thinking of starting a hive this spring please let me know at info@dchoneybees.com and I will make certain to order you a package.

Garden Hives Available

Have the most bountiful flowers and vegetable garden in the neighborhood by having us install a garden hive on your property, rooftop or balcony.  These hive are perfect for small scale pollination and are a great introduction to this hobby.  If you find beekeeping to your liking we can move the colony from this garden hive into a full-sized box and get your girls working on producing honey for your pantry and friends.

We have these 5-frame hives available today for installation, and can order additional hives in your choice of color, or natural.  These hives are hand-assembled with screws for durability and longevity.  Ordering today puts you in a position to be ready to accept a package of bees early in the spring.  If you reserve a package of bees today for spring we can pass along that discount to you and give you your choice of bee breeds.   I have some strong colonies I can install in these hives for those needing instant gratification, but I cannot guarantee they will survive the winter.  Please continue to support our mission of increasing the bee population in and around Washington, DC. 

Contact me at info@dchoneybees.com for questions or orders.

THANKS!
Jeff.

Let's Review Ahead of Winter

I introduced two more new queens from B Weaver Apiaries yesterday (one split, and one queenless hive), my last of the season.  

Of the original two 10-frame nuc colonies I purchased from sustainablehoneybees.org in August, I now have:

• Two colonies growing in those original nucs;
• Two colonies growing in Langstroth equipment;
• Three colonies growing in 6-frame nucs that I built.

Of these colonies all but the Langstroth hives have been queened with B Weaver queens.  One queen in an original 10-frame nuc seems to be on her last laying legs and I do not expect this colony to survive.  The balance of the B Weaver queens seem to be laying well.

In the Langstroth hives there is the original Carniolan queen in one hive, and one hive that is rearing a new queen.

I have been feeding these colonies rigorously with 1/1 syrup and homemade pollen patty substitutes. The healthiest of these hives have been taking 1/2 gallon of syrup every 2 days.  I have also been treating for small hive beetle with boric acid using the fatbeeman's innovative technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_KDPp8H6PU

I will bring the nucs off the roof and set them out back when the weather cools so I can monitor and feed more easily during the winter.  I am hopeful that all the money I've spent to re-queen and split colonies will pay dividends in spring with surviving, healthy, and productive colonies.  I will move all frames to Langstroth equipment and permanent sites in early March weather permitting.

Our First Rooftop Beekeeping Partner

The Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District (MVTCID) has agreed to let us place two hives on the roof of their new office located at 4th and Eye Streets, NW near the CityVista development.  These hives will represent the commencement of the MCTCID's sustainably initiative that intends to enliven the urban environment by providing habitat for the area's fauna while promoting the planting of local, native vegetation.  We are proud to have the CID as our first sponsor!

We expect to be able to populate the hives with new bees this March.....stand by for our progress on this blog.

"Cut Me Micky!"

Being so cocky about managing these hives without protection has its drawbacks.  I thought I was supposed to get some immunity to these stings after a spell!!

Some Results of My Splits Experiments

• On the split into the small nuc where the fail queen reappeared....dead colony and the queen has gone awol.

• On the other half with the queen cells...cells now hatched.  I have not looked into that hive yet, but next week hope to see some eggs to verify we have a laying queen there.

• On the splits with the original two B Weaver queen introductions....one hive is going gang busters and the other is very quiet in spite of the queen running around.  I did not see any eggs so am fearful that this queen may be on her way out.  

• On the split with the 3rd B Weaver queen I rescued from the ball of bees...now accepted by the colony, released from cage, and I will check for viable brood next week.

Queen Envy

Having a little queen envy.  I put the word out to a few apiaries that I was looking for two queens for one more split.  I was assuming that if they have an email address that they look at it regularly.  With no response from multiple sources within 24 hours I went to my go-to group B Weaver, which by the way has treated this beginner beekeeper with extreme kindness, to get my additional pair.

But I really want to try out so many other queens too!  Russians, Kona Queens, Buckfast, etc etc.  It looks like my spring will bring more hive splits than honey as I reconnect with those who kindly reached out in spite of my lack of patience.

Jeff.

I Found the Queen, ALIVE!

Improving My Nuc Design

I have changed from using my four-frame nuc as shown in my earlier video to a six-frame nuc with stackable boxes to expand the hive.  I use 1 x 12 stock boards for the top and bottom, and 1 x 8's for the sides.  If anyone wants to see how this looks I will post some photos.  The dimensions of the pieces are listed below:

6-Frame NUC (MEDIUM DEPTH)
Bottom (1 X 12) 21 3/4
Top (1 X 12) 22 1/2
Sides 19 1/4
Ends 11 1/4
Plywood Inserts 9 3/4 X 6 1/2

6-Frame NUC STACKING BOX(MEDIUM DEPTH)
Sides 19 1/4
Ends 11 1/4
Plywood Inserts 9 3/4 X 6 1/2