Checking on the Queens

If you can believe it, we had a frost the first evening! It was a great comfort to see bee activity around 10 am the next morning when things warmed a bit. We watched their movements while planting three evergreens along the back fence, and had the dogs out with us so everyone could begin acclimating. We were particularly pleased to notice the dogs absorbing (in their own canine way) the reality that this wasn't just one little creature that went BUZZ! in an amusing pattern, this was a group of creatures--and they were outnumbered.

By now we've noticed the first hive has more bees are flying around, they seem more industrious in general, and they've ingested more sugar syrup (hive 1=syrup jar is 1/2 full and hive 2=3/4 full). So on day 3, it was time to check and see if the queens were alive and well. The bees already looked active by 9 am, and it was turning into a warm and sunny day. Fortunately, we both could take some time extra off from work at lunch, and at 12:45 pm, we suited up! Hats, veils, long jeans and button-down shirts....rubber bands around the sleeves....a small basket of tools, including the smoker. We decided on Erin operating the smoker while I took off the hive covers. I decided not to wear gloves to better feel what I was doing.

So there we were, two inexperienced beekeepers using the smoker and opening hives for the first time....I slowly removed the outer cover, and just as I removed the inner cover and could stare at the frames with bees on them, the smoker went out, and I whispered (hold your ears, children) "Oh, #+@*" Believe me, the books warning us about this didn't make us feel any less stupid. Erin, as she always tends to do in a crisis, kept us calm. I mean All of us. She re-lit the smoker, she talked to me, she talked to the bees--it turned out all right. The smoker went out 4-5 more times during this whole visit, but we did our best.

We needed to take the first super off, since the queen cage was on the bottom, which gave a little crack!....In the first hive, I spilled sugar syrup from the entrance feeder since it no longer had the weight from a top super to hold it in place. It was so fascinating to see the bees moving around the hive and frames, and I was relieved they didn't seem to mind us much. As a matter of fact, after several minutes, we had the distinct feeling hundreds of little dark eyes were watching us. Not in a menacing way, they still seem very small and fuzzy. Without having much to compare them to, we thought them active and totally involved with their labors....the queen had been released from her cage!

We put all back in place, and moved to the second hive. This one didn't seem quite as active, and I'm not sure there are as many bees....we found the queen still in her cage! Now the activity level made more sense--she hasn't been able to start laying eggs. It was like the other bees were waiting around to really get on with things. I gently popped off the screen wiring of her cage and set it back into the hive, waiting several moments. When we checked the cage once more, she was gone. Looking back, we can see this was a risky choice. Maybe the hive needed more time to accept her. Maybe she flew away and we missed it. As it turned out, all went well--the hive accepted her, and she did not fly away. Thank goodness. We closed the hive and went inside to process!

The first thing we noticed was that our legs were trembling. It was so different to work in a hive of bees, and we were jubiliant neither one of us got stung. I can already see how watching the Keith Delaplane video has helped trememdously--we were able to watch how he moved around the hives, how slowly and steadily and confidently he worked, how he could gently brush bees aside. We agreed that we suck at using the smoker. And we forgot to give them the protein patties.

A couple hours later, I suited up and returned to the hives with the protein patties. I was determined the smoker would NOT go out on me during this procedure, and I got a good flame going. It was no problem to place the patties on top of the frames and put the covers back on. It seemed like the second hive was already slightly more active. The trouble is, my smoker never went out, and by the time I was through, the whole back yard smelled like a forest fire. I sincerely hope the neighbors weren't home.