Hello Beepeeple!

[Happy Chooks]

Thanks, me too!

 

[Maggiesdad]

Yesterday was a good day in the beeyard. My best colony has requeened themselves, and she is mated and laying! So that just leaves one more nuc... the one that I tore open the qcell during the transfer. They had made a few emergency cells on the fresh wax bars that I pulled for the combine, so I have to stay out of that one for a little bit longer.

Do y'all want me to to blow this thread up with pics?! I've got some good ones...

 

[Maggiesdad]

These pics were taken on the 16th of June... The corn is "Early Sunglow". It was really interesting watching how the workers gathered the pollen. There were two methods - the first was to dangle from the anther, tickling it and dumping the pollen onto the underside of the bee and then gather it to the pollen baskets.

Here she swings by a leg as she packs the baskets...

the second method was to go to a leaf joint, which acted as a funnel for all the windblown pollen...

...and then the bees would scrabble in the pollen pile, looking for all the world like a puppy digging a hole!

the scrabblers stayed low on the stalks, going from leaf to leaf and the tassel bees stayed on the tassels, no interchanging of the gathering places.

I definitely will be succession planting small plots of sweet corn here, to help with brood rearing. They seem to love it, and if I'm growing it, I know it's free of undesirable materials.

 

[Maggiesdad]

So... the hive I made queenless on May 29, had two bars of comb pulled from it to make the split, and then four more bars of brood comb removed when I put together the nucs. I gave them back a bar with two palm sized pads of comb w eggs - in case something went awry with the queencell I left them. I figured they could make emergency cells on the edges with the young brood if they needed to. Evidently everything was good, though - they've capped the brood and joined the combs and added to them!

 

[Maggiesdad]

Same hive, a little further in - is that? Yup! Young larvae, swimming in RJ. And stick eggs just below.

And the flip side - even more!

And then right below that, a queen cup in waiting...

Next comb in - the new queen, TCB. sorry the pic is fuzzy, the light was failing and the flash didn't go off. She was hauling freight, too, so I wanted to close the hive back up. Very pleased with yesterday's inspection.

 

[Maggiesdad]

And here's the hive (split) with the original best queen. I originally pulled her with just two brood combs. Her box had a feeder, since I knew she'd lose her foragers being right in the same yard. Had some problems with robbing until I screened their opening and removed the feeder. I gave her two more brood combs and blammo - she laid them right on up! I wish the camera could see equally straight into all the cells...

The second comb - another queen cup lower right...

And the flip side of that one... There she goes - lower right.

This is one of the combs that I pulled with her, on May 29th... So things are looking good in there.

Hope I'm not boring you all -just wanted to share. I love studying these up close on the monitor... I can't see squat thru the veil.

 

[Latestarter]

Not boring me... Love looking at your comb and bees. Makes me think maybe I should have gone w/the TBH vice Langstroth. It's amazing how dark that comb has become in so little time since drawing it out. I'm gonna have to check on mine tomorrow early before it gets too hot. Hope to see the queens and some straight, fully drawn and filled comb!

Some nearby farmers did plant something other than corn. Looks like squash of possibly melons. They aren't flowering yet, but hopefully soon. I'd really like to get the 2nd deep on the hives and see them explode with new bees so I can get a little honey this fall. Not planning on it at this point Keep on sharing those pics!

I know what you mean about not being able to see through the veil. I have to use auto focus and hope it's picking the right focus point as I have a through the lens SLR digital. Then I wait to see on the computer screen if I got anything good.

 

[mikiz]

Not boring at all dad! I love seeing all your pics of the girls its so exciting to see how they're doing!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Not bored here either. Great pictures! Looks like everything is going well!

I too have to take pictures, it's too difficult to see fine details through the veil. Besides, I don't want to keep the hive open any longer than I have to, and the pictures give me the time to study it later.

 

[Maggiesdad]