Hello Beeks,
Well I've finally gone all in and got some bees after reading books, watching videos and scouring the forums for months.
I thought I knew a lot until I put on the "Michelin Man" suit and walked up to the hive. First bee that left the landing board got a heavy puff of smoke and hit the ground, 1st casualty. Then I opened up the hive, I was so nervous I really don't remember what I saw besides a small area of drone cells, a lot of capped brood and bees, lots of bees.
I wanted to check the hive because there were so many bees coming and going that the entrance was getting clogged up. In a 10 frame deep I had 4 frames of capped brood, 3 frames of stores and 2 frames of drawn comb.
I added another 10 deep with wax foundation and opened the entrance.
The bees are local survivors from a long time reputable bee keeper. He installed a 5 frame nuc into my 10 and observed it for a few weeks to make sure the queen was laying and the colony was thriving.
I'm feeding a 2:1 sugar mix with a drop of vanilla per 16 oz on a Boardman feeder, they have taken a little over 2 gal in 4 days.
I saw my first SHB tonight, but only about 5 dead bees off the porch so far.
My concern is if they can eat that much without being robbed. I put together a short video for you to watch, any comments would be appreciated.
Karl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNxa8-rMtfo&feature=youtu.be
Well I've finally gone all in and got some bees after reading books, watching videos and scouring the forums for months.
I thought I knew a lot until I put on the "Michelin Man" suit and walked up to the hive. First bee that left the landing board got a heavy puff of smoke and hit the ground, 1st casualty. Then I opened up the hive, I was so nervous I really don't remember what I saw besides a small area of drone cells, a lot of capped brood and bees, lots of bees.
I wanted to check the hive because there were so many bees coming and going that the entrance was getting clogged up. In a 10 frame deep I had 4 frames of capped brood, 3 frames of stores and 2 frames of drawn comb.
I added another 10 deep with wax foundation and opened the entrance.
The bees are local survivors from a long time reputable bee keeper. He installed a 5 frame nuc into my 10 and observed it for a few weeks to make sure the queen was laying and the colony was thriving.
I'm feeding a 2:1 sugar mix with a drop of vanilla per 16 oz on a Boardman feeder, they have taken a little over 2 gal in 4 days.
I saw my first SHB tonight, but only about 5 dead bees off the porch so far.
My concern is if they can eat that much without being robbed. I put together a short video for you to watch, any comments would be appreciated.
Karl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNxa8-rMtfo&feature=youtu.be