Blue Hive Gets Second Super
Tonight I was pushing the limits of how late in the afternoon I could do an inspection.
It was after dinner time, around 7pm, and the sun was just beginning to set with only another hour of good daylight left. The hives were in the shaded part of the yard by now and most of the foragers were home for the evening.
Why did I check on them so late?
I had a sneaky suspicion, that despite my doubts they would draw out any of the foundation in their super I added two weeks ago, rain is in the forecast for the next two days and they might need my attention.
Last week I added (but forgot to mention) a new ventilated cover. We made the frame for another inner cover, but used #8 hardware mesh instead of a solid board. This would allow air to escape easier under the outer cover, and had a notch for the bees to use as an upper entrance.
Below is my view of the super when I lifted the telescoping cover.
There were bees everywhere. They were walking all over the top bars and I only had the cover off long enough to snap the picture. This Blue and Purple hive has kept me on my toes.
I got pretty excited to see that many bees over the tops of the super. I though maybe, just maybe they've been working on drawing it out and filling it.
So I picked up frame #2, and "Whoo Hoo!" it's completely drawn out on both sides, and completely filled with nectar!
So I pulled out all the other frames in the super, and they are all 100% drawn out and filled with nectar.
I'm so proud of them!
So the Blue and Purple (and Green) hive get's a second super added on top. It's another new super of foundation only. I wonder if they'll find enough nectar out there somewhere to draw it out too?
I did a very quick check on the white hive while I was standing there. They're using a borrowed hive-top feeder from my dad's house. They really seem to like it better than jars or baggie method.
Having sugar on them still, they were able to draw out the last frame of the bottom brood box, and 5 1/2 frames in the top brood box. At this rate, I hope they'll be done with the top brood box in a few more days.
The queen's brood pattern is looking much better, and there appear to be more bees in the hive now. We'll give her a bit longer, and then decide if we should re-queen before late fall/winter arrives.
How is the nectar flow in your area? Have you harvested already this year?
It was after dinner time, around 7pm, and the sun was just beginning to set with only another hour of good daylight left. The hives were in the shaded part of the yard by now and most of the foragers were home for the evening.
Why did I check on them so late?
I had a sneaky suspicion, that despite my doubts they would draw out any of the foundation in their super I added two weeks ago, rain is in the forecast for the next two days and they might need my attention.
Last week I added (but forgot to mention) a new ventilated cover. We made the frame for another inner cover, but used #8 hardware mesh instead of a solid board. This would allow air to escape easier under the outer cover, and had a notch for the bees to use as an upper entrance.
Below is my view of the super when I lifted the telescoping cover.
There were bees everywhere. They were walking all over the top bars and I only had the cover off long enough to snap the picture. This Blue and Purple hive has kept me on my toes.
I got pretty excited to see that many bees over the tops of the super. I though maybe, just maybe they've been working on drawing it out and filling it.
So I picked up frame #2, and "Whoo Hoo!" it's completely drawn out on both sides, and completely filled with nectar!
So I pulled out all the other frames in the super, and they are all 100% drawn out and filled with nectar.
I'm so proud of them!
So the Blue and Purple (and Green) hive get's a second super added on top. It's another new super of foundation only. I wonder if they'll find enough nectar out there somewhere to draw it out too?
I did a very quick check on the white hive while I was standing there. They're using a borrowed hive-top feeder from my dad's house. They really seem to like it better than jars or baggie method.
Having sugar on them still, they were able to draw out the last frame of the bottom brood box, and 5 1/2 frames in the top brood box. At this rate, I hope they'll be done with the top brood box in a few more days.
The queen's brood pattern is looking much better, and there appear to be more bees in the hive now. We'll give her a bit longer, and then decide if we should re-queen before late fall/winter arrives.
How is the nectar flow in your area? Have you harvested already this year?
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