By the time Mohan* and I got out to the hive, it was in the shade and there was a cool breeze. This limited how much time we could inspect the hive as it's important not to expose the brood to cool temperatures for very long. Within 20 minutes, we determined that the queen is alive by the presence of eggs and young larvae. The pupating brood were also healthy and free of any disease.
The colony has lots of honey stores as well as pollen which the young bees mix together to form what's known as “bee bread”. They feed this to the developing larvae, as it is the perfect combination of carbohydrates and protein needed for growing bees. Sugar syrup supplemented with Honey Bee Healthy essential oils was added to the hive's feeder. This is an organic method to help protect the bees from the parasitic varroa mites whose growth is stunted when they come into contact with many types of essential oils such as spearmint, tea tree and wintergreen oils.
As it was cool out and the colony is a medium size, we didn't add the screened bottom board which is used to trap varroa mites and increase ventilation in the hive during the warm months. That can wait until the colony has had time to build up its numbers. For now, the winter wrap is still on the hive to help keep the bees warm so that they can concentrate on raising the young ones.
It was a relief to see that the colony has a healthy queen and that, generally, the hive is performing well. After not being in their hive all winter except for a moment's peek, it was also a joy to see our gentle and ever hard working bees up close again!
*Mohan Sukhdeo helped Nigama with hive inspections today. Having been on the bee committee since the beginning, it was lovely for him to finally get a closeup look!
The colony has lots of honey stores as well as pollen which the young bees mix together to form what's known as “bee bread”. They feed this to the developing larvae, as it is the perfect combination of carbohydrates and protein needed for growing bees. Sugar syrup supplemented with Honey Bee Healthy essential oils was added to the hive's feeder. This is an organic method to help protect the bees from the parasitic varroa mites whose growth is stunted when they come into contact with many types of essential oils such as spearmint, tea tree and wintergreen oils.
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| An earlier picture of Hive 2 - even a few weeks ago they were very strong. |
As it was cool out and the colony is a medium size, we didn't add the screened bottom board which is used to trap varroa mites and increase ventilation in the hive during the warm months. That can wait until the colony has had time to build up its numbers. For now, the winter wrap is still on the hive to help keep the bees warm so that they can concentrate on raising the young ones.
It was a relief to see that the colony has a healthy queen and that, generally, the hive is performing well. After not being in their hive all winter except for a moment's peek, it was also a joy to see our gentle and ever hard working bees up close again!
*Mohan Sukhdeo helped Nigama with hive inspections today. Having been on the bee committee since the beginning, it was lovely for him to finally get a closeup look!
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