Spring bee report.
Re: Spring bee report.
The numbers of bees flying are going up and their color looks like it might be changing; we had a carniolan queen who produced 'grey bees' which are smaller and greyer than the italians the new queen will produce.
I'll open the hive this weekend and have a quick check.
I was watching the hive entrance after work and saw a guard bee bulldog a honey-robber bee (bees from a different hive will try to steal honey) until they both fell off the bee-porch. Really dramatic.
Lots of things coming into full bloom right now, lavender, poppies (Calif. Ladybird and Dannebrog), 3 (of 4) types of sage, borage, some late jasmine, and a few of the sunflowers which the bees like for pollen. The Kahili ginger still has a ways to go before blooming.
yrs,
rubato
I'll open the hive this weekend and have a quick check.
I was watching the hive entrance after work and saw a guard bee bulldog a honey-robber bee (bees from a different hive will try to steal honey) until they both fell off the bee-porch. Really dramatic.
Lots of things coming into full bloom right now, lavender, poppies (Calif. Ladybird and Dannebrog), 3 (of 4) types of sage, borage, some late jasmine, and a few of the sunflowers which the bees like for pollen. The Kahili ginger still has a ways to go before blooming.
yrs,
rubato
Summer bee report.
You realize of course that it has been summer now for some days?
A sufficiently copious dose of bombast drenched in verbose writing is lethal to the truth.
Re: Spring bee report.
Where I live you don't have to be in a zone to keep the equivalent of 6 boxes of bees. (Is that 2 super-hives?)
You do have to make arrangements for your bees flightpath to exit up and over the properties and not to traverse across them to leave. This can present such problems for some potential keepers that they can't until they have reconsidered their positioning. You are required to have sufficient watering points in your yard so as your bees do not need to seek water on other property. (Yes I know you can't train the buggers. But if you can keep sufficient water within their view you may be able to encourage some from drinking at your neighbour's pool)
However, if you have a neighbour who is allergic to bees, you will be shut down or required to remove your bees eslewhere.
You do have to make arrangements for your bees flightpath to exit up and over the properties and not to traverse across them to leave. This can present such problems for some potential keepers that they can't until they have reconsidered their positioning. You are required to have sufficient watering points in your yard so as your bees do not need to seek water on other property. (Yes I know you can't train the buggers. But if you can keep sufficient water within their view you may be able to encourage some from drinking at your neighbour's pool)
However, if you have a neighbour who is allergic to bees, you will be shut down or required to remove your bees eslewhere.
Bah!
Re: Spring bee report.
I found the queen! And she is a sexy-sexy hot little momma too. Nice dense brood developing and the frames are starting to fill up a lot more with honey, pollen and baby bees.
I put the queen excluder back and added a honey super (the eternal optimist that I am). Nice gentle bees too. Hardly ruffled when I opened up the hive.
I think I forgot to mention that 2wks ago I saw a baby bee being borned! It was really cute. I saw some movement in an area of capped brood and when I looked closer I could see that a spankin' new bee was cutting her way out of a cell. I came to a full stop and just watched for a few minutes.
yrs,
rubato
I put the queen excluder back and added a honey super (the eternal optimist that I am). Nice gentle bees too. Hardly ruffled when I opened up the hive.
I think I forgot to mention that 2wks ago I saw a baby bee being borned! It was really cute. I saw some movement in an area of capped brood and when I looked closer I could see that a spankin' new bee was cutting her way out of a cell. I came to a full stop and just watched for a few minutes.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Spring bee report.
A baby bee coming out of its cell?
Wow!
Reminds me of when I left home.
Wow!
Reminds me of when I left home.
A sufficiently copious dose of bombast drenched in verbose writing is lethal to the truth.
Re: Spring bee report.
Way cool!
Hey for sig? 'The Bee Whisperer'
...de nada.
Hey for sig? 'The Bee Whisperer'
...de nada.
Re: Spring bee report.
Big gardening weekend.
First of all I had a look a the Dannebrog poppies and there is a bee orgy going on in there! In one flower there were never less than 3 bees having a pollen-gasm burrowing through the anthers and piling it up in their pollen baskets (and transferring some to the stigma along the way). I've never seen bees working so feverishly before.
Next, I planted a flat of baby's tears to replace some ground cover that has died back over the past 5 years. There are two flats of moss, Irish and Scottish, to cover some new areas. I planted another Kahili Ginger a little ways from the one planted 4 years ago to fill in, and balance that area a little better.
I also planted a Calif. native iris under the Fireglow Japanese maple in honor of Joe Ghio, former mayor and famous for producing award-winning varieties of native iris.
Some general mucking out, trimming back, and cleaning up to do as the day gets on.
The bumble bees really love the french lavender, there are quite a lot of them in the yard this year. I'm always glad to see them.
The sunflowers in the front are blooming more and more each day but without attention from the bees yet. Usually the masses of pollen they produce is a big attraction for both European and native bees.
yrs,
rubato
First of all I had a look a the Dannebrog poppies and there is a bee orgy going on in there! In one flower there were never less than 3 bees having a pollen-gasm burrowing through the anthers and piling it up in their pollen baskets (and transferring some to the stigma along the way). I've never seen bees working so feverishly before.
Next, I planted a flat of baby's tears to replace some ground cover that has died back over the past 5 years. There are two flats of moss, Irish and Scottish, to cover some new areas. I planted another Kahili Ginger a little ways from the one planted 4 years ago to fill in, and balance that area a little better.
I also planted a Calif. native iris under the Fireglow Japanese maple in honor of Joe Ghio, former mayor and famous for producing award-winning varieties of native iris.
Some general mucking out, trimming back, and cleaning up to do as the day gets on.
The bumble bees really love the french lavender, there are quite a lot of them in the yard this year. I'm always glad to see them.
The sunflowers in the front are blooming more and more each day but without attention from the bees yet. Usually the masses of pollen they produce is a big attraction for both European and native bees.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Spring bee report.
Which came first, the gardening or the bee-keeping? Sounds like both support the other very well.
Re: Spring bee report.
Gardening came first. Every place we have lived since 1990 I've planted something even though they were all rentals until 2002. And then a rental again from Jun 2003 to May 2005. We did have bees in the late 199os but they were in a friends yard.
I have bad news about the hive. The decline was too far along to stop and the hive is about dead. It is only a matter of days, at most. We'll pull a couple of frames to have a beekeeper look at and see if there is something we should have caught.
There is a chance we can buy a hive this summer and move it into the yard but I suspect it's a remote possibility. We'll probably be starting up with packaged bees next spring again.
yrs,
rubato
I have bad news about the hive. The decline was too far along to stop and the hive is about dead. It is only a matter of days, at most. We'll pull a couple of frames to have a beekeeper look at and see if there is something we should have caught.
There is a chance we can buy a hive this summer and move it into the yard but I suspect it's a remote possibility. We'll probably be starting up with packaged bees next spring again.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Spring bee report.
I'm sorry to hear that, rubato.
Re: Spring bee report.
I have my differences with rubato and even chide him on occasion about his bee-keepig pursurits.
I'm allergic to bee stings, the last time I ended up in the hospital.
I must offer a salute to rube and whoever takes the time, trouble, and expense to raise bees. Without bees, life on earth would not exist.
I'm allergic to bee stings, the last time I ended up in the hospital.
I must offer a salute to rube and whoever takes the time, trouble, and expense to raise bees. Without bees, life on earth would not exist.
Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Spring bee report.
Gosh Bosco, thanks.
I really am kind of upset about losing the hive. I like to come home and sit by the hive and watch the girls for a little bit each day. I'm going to miss that.
yrs,
rubato
I really am kind of upset about losing the hive. I like to come home and sit by the hive and watch the girls for a little bit each day. I'm going to miss that.
yrs,
rubato
Re: Spring bee report.
Hey! Try an ant farm! 
I jest ...poorly. *ducks runs*
I jest ...poorly. *ducks runs*