Two new hives and a nuc

We put the new bee equipment together today.  I buy the not assembled and not painted stuff because it is cheaper and I want to paint it like my other hives.  When we put them together we use water to wet the wood at the joints and then a little bit of premium wood glue.  Then we put the pieces together and use two big wood clamps to hold it together.  We use a builders square to make sure that the hive boxes are square and then I nail them together.

We got 3 deeps instead of 2 like I had last year because the U of M class said that 3 work better in Minnesota.  I should have enough equipment now that I won't have to buy more unless I expand.  I now have 4 complete hives.  I plan to winter 2 of the 4 hives and the other ones will just be used to make honey.  I may change my mind and try to winter all 4.  I will also have to expand my bee yard because I'm adding 2 more hives.  There is a lot of snow here still and I can't do that until it warms up more.  I can't divide the 2 hives I have until sometime in May anyway.

Here are the two new hives.  They have 3 deeps and 2 supers.

New hives

I also got a Nuc for Christmas.  It is not the kind that babies use.  It is used for selling bees to other beekeepers.  I'm going to try to catch a swarm with it.

March 8th check-up

Yesterday we went to Nature's Nectar to get some more bee equipment.  I bought enough equipment for two more hives.  Dad and I went to the University of Minnesota's Beekeeping in Northern Climates - Year 2 class a couple weeks ago and we learned that we will need to divide the colony in early May.  If we don't divide them, they may swarm.  I'm going to use the new equipment to do the divide.  If all goes well I should have 4 hives when we are done.  Here is how I'm planning to do it.

We also bought pollen patties.  We will put them on the hives to give them pollen until it is warm enough and there is pollen to get.  We also got two new feeder pails so we can feed the bees if they are out of their honey.  

Dad checked on the bees again this morning and they are still alive.  Tomorrow it is going to be 40 F out and the bees should come out some tomorrow.

Here is a picture of me at the U of M bee class.

March 1st update

Came up to clear out the driveway and check on Zander's bees.  It is March 1st, it was -24 degrees Fahrenheit last night, -7 degrees now.  Going down to -21 tonight.  Got stuck in the driveway.  Left the shovel in the shed.  Only 3 foot drifts 15 feet out from the shed.  Got my cardio in by leaping through the snow to dig the door open.  Got the shovel out and then shoveled the car out of the drift I drove it into.  Then I brought out the tractor with the snow blower and got that stuck in the snow 3 times.  So ya, I'm about done with this winter.  I think the bees are about done with the winter.  Next week it is supposed to warm up to a whopping 20 degrees.  Heatwave a coming!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

The bee yard on March 1st.  -7 degrees.

Shoveling out to the bee yard to check to see if they are still alive.

Closeup of the bee hives.  A few dead ones outside the hive.

Are the bees still alive?  Yep.  Both hives are still alive.  Saw a bee through the top hole on of the hive on the right.  Didn't see any bees in the hive on the left.  I was able to hear them inside the hive keeping their cluster warm.  They just need to make it another couple weeks then hopefully it will be warm enough that they can get out and get some pollen off the willow trees.

January Apiary Update

We took a couple of picture back in January of the apiary.  It was about 25 degrees Fahrenheit out that day and a couple of bees flew out of the hive.  When it warms up they leave the hive for evacuation flights (they don't do their business in the hive).  Some make it back and some don't.

Bees that didn't make it back to the hive.

This bee didn't make it.  Frozen in the snow. 

Frozen bee

This bee flew out while we were in the bee yard and it couldn't make it back to the hive.  We picked it up and put it by the entrance to the hive and it crawled back in.

Time to go back in the hive.

Bee Yard Update

It looks like winter is here!  We have snow now and the bees have been "winterized".  Here is a picture from the Bee Yard this morning in Hinckley, MN:

My Bee Yard - December 4th 2013

We forgot to turn off the electric fence around the bee yard.  Hopefully the snow won't wreck the fence.  

Last weekend we were up north and we checked on the bees.  The hive on the right in the picture had a few bees coming in and out.  The hive on the left didn't have any activity but you could hear them inside.  When it gets cold out (less than 55 degrees F)  the bees cluster together inside the hive.  They also move their wing muscles to generate heat.  Somehow they are able to keep the temperature of the cluster between 65 and 75 degrees F and a constant 92 F in the center of the cluster (learned in my bee class).

Another interesting thing is that there are no male bees in the hive now (drones).  The female bees kick them out when it starts getting colder.  It isn't good to be a male bee in the winter.

I hope the bees will make it through the winter.  As long as it doesn't get really cold for a long time they should be ok.  They should have enough honey stored up for the winter.  If it stays really cold for a long time the bees could starve.  When it gets cold they form a cluster and they won't break the cluster to move inside the hive unless it warms up a little bit.  If we get a warmer day, the bees will move the cluster to other honey stores in the hive.

Honey is good for you!

There was a good article in the Star Tribune about how honey is good for you.  Check it out.
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/kids-health/233349851.html

Winterizing the Hives

We winterized the hives this weekend.  We should have done it on Saturday but instead we did it Sunday.  It snowed about 2 inches.  Here is a picture of the bee yard in the morning.

October 20 - Bee Yard

We also installed mouse guards.  These are to keep the mice from getting in the hive.  They like to go in the hive because the bees keep it warm and it has honey in it.  There are holes in the guard that are small enough for the bees to get through but the mice can't fit.

Installed Mouse Guard

The moisture board is for soaking up moisture.  In the winter the bees make heat and cause condensation to happen.  The moisture board keeps water from dripping on the bees and freezing them.

Moisture Board Added

The winter wrap is like winter jacket for the beehive.  It is black because it absorbs heat better from the sun.  It also helps keep the wind from freezing the bees.  

Installing the winter wrap

Now we wait until February to check on them again.  Hopefully they can make it through the winter on the honey they have stored up.