Last Harvest and Winter Prep

Pulled the honey supers today and extracted four more frames. Deep, rich goldenrod honey and very sweet. I started feeding the thick, fall syrup, too. The first batch contains fumidil b to ward of nosema, and two tablespoons of HoneyBee Healthy. I really need to get on top of the varroa mite infestation. I noticed a few dozen dead and dying bees outside the hive with deformed wing virus which is caused by mites. I also witnessed the poor, stupid drones being evicted from the hive. I guess that what comes of a lifetime of loafing and pleasure. Let that be a warning to us all. HA!

Mike and Ellen, prospective beekeepers, stopped by to take a look at things. They seemed very interested and my amateurish mucking about didn't seem to disuade them at all. I hope they take up this sweet hobby. After I extracted the honey today, I put the empty frames against the hive so the girls could feast on the residual honey. Guess this passes for their Thanksgiving.

Goldenrod Honey

On Saturday, September 18 I extracted 30 lbs. of goldenrod honey. I think I'm getting the hang of this. No problems with scratching off the cappings and running the frames through the extractor this time. I didn't extract about five nearly full frames because sections were still uncapped. The goldenrod is still blooming, the weather is still warm and beautiful, and the bees are still wildly foraging so I'm hoping to extract some more in October. Still lots of capped brood and the second deep is full of honey. Looking good for fall and winter. Now about those mites....

Busy Late Summer Hive

Mid September and busy, busy hive. Click "play" to see and hear the commotion. Opened everything up today, too. Both supers are nearly fully capped. Looks like I'll harvest next week. Unfortunately, I saw varroa mites for the first time. Once I harvest the honey, I'll see how bad the infestation is and take corrective action. I hope the coloney won't be so weakened it can't survive the winter.

Late Summer Activity

Checked on things today. One super is full of capped honey. The other has a lot of filled cells but no cappings. Her Majesty is still prolific. Lots of eggs and capped and uncapped brood. There's much foraging and bees are bringing back loads of pollen. No sign of trouble so all is well. These girls are just fabulous.

Hive Check

Things are looking very good in the brood box. Lots of capped brood in a nice tight pattern, and young larvae, and eggs in evidence. No sign of parasites or disease, either. I was also pleased by the rapid repair of cells in the honey supers, and was delighted to see that many of the frames are filled and some are even capped. Not a bad week's work for those busy bees.

42 Pounds of Deliciousness

In my haste to start extracting today, I decided not to smoke the bees or wear gloves. Accordingly, I received numerous stings, all on my right hand and arm, so tonight it's blown up like a balloon. Apparently, bees don't like having their honey stolen. Usually the ladies are gentle and put up with my hamfisted hive manipulation techniques. Also, the Porter bee escape may not be the best way to rid the supers of bees. A few dozen remained in each super, but they were easily brushed off when I pulled the frames for extracting. Only was stung once then. Extracting itself went very well. The total haul was 42 pounds, and the honey is delicious. It's very light, although a few frames contained areas of very dark honey. It's also very sweet and has a slightly minty taste. From the bee forums I follow, this may because of basswood or locust blooms. As I walked my dogs tonight, I noticed for the first time that the creek that runs behind the house is lined with big basswood trees in spots. There are also many of them in the nearby park near Lake Michigan so maybe that theory is correct. Last year most of my honey came from goldenrod and it was darker with a slight spiciness. I used the last of it yesterday and sure am glad I have more homegrown honey to keep me supplied. I've already received requests for gifts of my honey. I don't know if I'll be selfish or not. Probably not.

Honey to harvest

Popped open the hood today and discovered the two supers are nearly full of capped honey comb. I don't have another super, so next week I'm going to extract it and return the empty supers to the hive. I'm hoping that the busy, busy girls will have enough time to fill them again with nectar from the vast amount of goldenrod that has started blooming and blooms until the first frost. Last year, I placed the supers about this time, but I didn't start seeing capped honey until the end of August, yet they nearly filled both supers. I removed burr comb from the hive bodies and the upper deep is full of capped honey, and the brood chamber contains honey, pollen and capped brood. There are numerous empty cells but with the dark wax, cloudy sky and bad eyes I couldn't see eggs. Didn't see the queen either but that's not a surprise with me. Will put the bee escape in on Sunday and extract on Monday.