April 23…Bee Beard’s new look, complete with peacock feathers. My wife says he looks like he’s yodeling. I say the hat is ‘functional.’ and I’ll get used to it, but no one can call us “mainstream.”
I know this isn’t a lovely hackle like Johnathon Powell’s log hive ‘thatch roof’ covering. but the hive had to be fixed before attracting a swarm and this is swarm season. My wife suggested this stylish lid probably because she knew it would take me a long time to figure out a wooden solution. A ‘long time’ means Pat’s not contributing to the gardening effort.:)
The top of the hive has to vent the air through the quilt box without letting in any rainwater. How did the rainwater get in? See below.
This is the underneath. That crack can leak all the way through, letting the El Niño rainwater into the top of the hive.
I took the hive apart, cleaned out all the comb, and torched every square inch (and centimeter).
I cleaned out the base of the hive too, of old soggy sawdust and little critters like ants and even earthworms. I replaced it with new sawdust and even some mint for the mites.
Earthworms? How did they get through the screen mesh on the bottom.
I melted some old comb and stuck it back on the very torched top bars. A muslin cloth will cover the bars, then the quilt box goes on top.
A new quilt box goes in. It fits perfectly…after the third time I reconfigured it. Hey, I’m not a that good of a wood worker, but I try, try again.
This is the key to the whole thing. Let the hive breathe, but don’t let the yellow jackets in. I drilled some holes in the top and screened them over.
The observation window is cleaned up and fitted back in. It’ll be covered with a wooden plug. I like to see the bees comb building progress.
Then the hat goes on. Believe it or not, we had to get just the right one. This one lets the air come through under the hat, but keeps the rain out. My wife says, “Something is still missing.” We find a store that sells peacock feathers.
After not finding any decent logs, Hal bought some rough-cut red cedar and built this ‘log’ hive last year. This picture was taken after a swarm of bees decided on their own to move into it in May 2015.
This was in July last year. The bees built natural comb about 3.5 feet long. The entrance to Hal’s observation hive is seen on the left.
Looking through the observation window, you can see beautiful natural comb.
Hal’s observation hive was full of natural comb and bees at that time too.
So you can imagine the heartbreak of realizing the #4 hive was a goner in late September. Hal took it down and opened it up…
We took the lid off #4 after we suspected it had died out. We were impressed at the length of the comb…but unimpressed at the lack of honey. It’s possible it was cleaned out by yellow jackets last summer because we could see a pile of cappings on the hive floor.
Not to be discouraged, Hal cleaned out #4 hive and tacked on some screens.
Feb. 9, 2016…screened off the ventilation holes to keep the yellow-jackets out…
…added some honey comb and new foundation, and re-homed it.
Late February 2016…Number 4 hive on location, braced against a tree for support, baited for more bees and in plenty of time for a nice swarm of bees to repopulate it.
Feb. 9, 2016…Log hive #5, showing the observation window and cover. This hive is approximately 2″ thick (5 cm) and 8′ (2.4m) tall. A sheet of plexi-glass is mounted inner-most of the window which starts at just about the end of the foundation. I always admire Hal’s craftsmanship.
Another look at #5 log hive, awaiting its move to the new location. This photo shows the square access ‘window’ to a screen towards the bottom of the hive. Above the square is a slide-out mite board. Also pictured is the cover to the access hole. Hal explains how it works in the video.
Grandson Brodie Parrish helps Hal take off delivery straps.
Hive #5 just about ready for an April swarm. Hal is sharing his bee expertise with the younger generation.
Patti, a young 80 year-old, built this fountain and pond completely by herself.
Patti’s Poem
“Hal is Hooked on Bees”
Oregon’s spring will be here before long
Birds will twitter their unending song
Trees, shrubs, flowers will come alive
Orchards and gardens soon will thrive
But, without the honey bees we are lost
Salubrious summer sun is tossed
On our gardens where we toil and till
Hoping bees come with a working will
Years ago we had plenty of Bees so true
But when the old century turned into new
Along came CCD, bee colonies collapsed
Trumpets began playing dead Bee Taps
Bee deaths plagued my husband dear
A calm bee keeper for many a year
Now we tell how he learned to care
To save Bees so all the world can share
In 1995 our friend thought of us to show
How Honey Bees helped our garden grow
A lush home garden must have bees near
Pollination! Don’t even consider sting fear
Two bee hives placed near our front door
Our friend kept stacking up supers galore
With the boxed frames beeswax filled
A new swarm brought in the honey swill
Every week supers were piled on high
Hives grew seven feet nearer the blue sky
We saw pollen carried into the new hive
On every bee’s legs & the colony thrived
Our friend baited Hal, he just had to say
Bees dance! To show where to work today
Scouts fly to find tree homes that are okay
Then they dance to show swarms the way
Well, Hal was hooked, he had to try
Do the bees really dance, as well as fly?
Yes, said our friend as he harvested honey
And that liquid gold lasts longer ‘n money
Honey! The only food that never spoils
Made by the Honey Bees unending toils
On Crest Acres the World Record was set
Two hives gave more than anyone bet
Honey, six hundred and thirty pounds
Hard to believe, when it was so near town
That honey was soon taken with care
It was like St. Nicholas had visited there
Our friend put honey in a clear pint jar
Sent to the County Fair, to the Judge’s bar
Clear as glass, our honey took first prize
Friend gives pint to Hal, enticement-wise
Seven supers of honey were taken away
But the winter-ready hive has honey today
The Queen rests, as her ladies slip along
Used-up drones no longer sing their song
Wind rakes and the rains soak forest trees
The Queen is surrounded by her lady bees
They work the winter cleaning wax cells
Waiting ‘til warmth rings the Queen’s bell
Lady bees search out dry days in winter
Like to leave their warm, comfy center
They’re full, eating plenty of pollen soup
On good days, they fly out to take a poop
Early spring pulls the Queen’s trigger
She lays 2500 rice-sized eggs – not bigger
Every day at each cell she carefully stops
Each of the six-sided cells gets one drop
Right at ninety degrees the brood is kept
While the warm neat hive is cleanly swept
As the nurse bees crawl quietly about
In 21 days little bees chew their way out
Coquille Valley’s growth is super awesome
Good and plenty spring/summer blossoms
The Queen works, but may get moody too
Gather her team and swarm into the blue!
Patti Strain, January 2012
Updated: March 15, 2016
2016 has not been a good year for my bees. My ‘end-of-year’ hive status saw four bee hives that had activity. Now I have only one.
After being in denial for a few weeks, I figured I’d face up to the fact this Warré was a goner.
Dec. 25, 2015…I had pulled off the empty top box and pinned some protection from rainwater getting in. It was too late.
Feb. 7, 2016…This is the top box. There was plenty of honey on the four outboard bars, but very little in the middle.
The two combs in the middle section were mostly empty as can be seen in the photo to the right.
The few bees that are left are head-first into the cells. I believe that’s a sign of starvation. There was plenty of honey two frames away. Could it be they were too weak that they couldn’t reach the honey bars?
There’s honey on this bar.
…and more on this one.
Dec. 20, 2015…I assumed that bees entering with pollen indicated a laying queen. Yes, there were some dead bees on the screen, but there were also bees removing them from the hive.
Biting the bullet I figured I’d better find out ALL the bad news…and opened up Bee Beard log hive. Somehow rainfall had gotten inside here too, even with the hat and headband. Because of El Niño, we’ve had copious amounts of rainfall. Yes, it’s good for the forests, but not so good for the bee hives.
2-20-16 I pull off Bee Beard’s hat.
Footnote to above…I’d like to make a waterproof ‘hat’ for this hive. If anyone has a suggestion, please pass it on to me.
A look at the quilt box. SOW BUGS…this can’t be good.
With the quilt box removed, more sow bugs.
With top bars pulled off, honey is visible…lots of it.
Some combs are solid with honey.
…but these combs are mostly empty.
Wow…look at that orange pollen.
So why have these hives died back? Could it be the El Niño effect? Record rainfall in December? Ron lost his hives around December. This year I didn’t cover my hives very well. I should have been more careful.
Another thing that’s been bothering me for awhile is the questionable source of swarms I get from time to time. Where are they coming from? I’m beginning to realize they might be coming from the commercial hives in the cranberry bogs. The commercial hives, I just learned from a cranberry grower, come straight up from the almond orchards in California.
These ‘almond orchard bees’ could be infecting my bees and I DON’T GET any payment.
March 25, 2015…..Less than 3 miles (4.8 km) distance away from my bee hives is the staging area for the commercial cranberry hives. These hives are most likely coming from the almond orchards south of us in California. They were being held here prior to being placed in the cranberry bogs. Arrrrgh! Bog bees…”diseased and loaded with mites.”
My wife suggests I ask Bill W. if he sells any Warré nucs. Bill lives inland about 150 miles (241 km). I tell him of my suspicions of commercial hives. His reply…
“Hello Pat, I don’t have Warré nucs for sale. I get a lot of “bad” swarms also. These are mostly from poorly kept urban high density colonies having bees from poor commercial sources. I pick up a lot of swarms with poor genetics and failing queens. It has caused me to put out more hives and rely upon higher colony failure. In the Willamette Valley, many commercial beekeepers will keep their colonies here when not busy with almonds or cranberries or something else. Good luck. -Bill”
The Grand Kids Log Hive is most likely inhabited by “bog bees.” Maybe I should say “was inhabited,” because it’s been silent for almost two months. I thought it successfully superceded, but I’ve not seen any activity since early January.
After assuming my troubles have come from the cranberry “bog bees,” I asked Steve about his bees. We had gotten a swarm of bees, (most likely they were from cranberry hives) last year, May 30th.
Feb. 17….. Steve sent this photo and said…”My bees are fine, but I fed them 50 lbs of sugar in the fall.” Should I rethink feeding sugar to them?
Then there’s Pete’s beehives. I asked him recently about his bees. He is near cranberry bogs too. “They’re doing great. Out flying every non-rainy day, getting into madrone blossoms and other things, possibly even gorse, bringing back all kinds of pollen.”
Bob (of home-built bee vac fame) said his hives were doing fine too. Bob is located near the bogs too. Hmmm, maybe I can’t blame my bee problems on the bogs.
February 23…the Green hive in the tree is the only active one left. The bees are flying in small numbers on sunny days…even bringing in pollen, but again in small numbers. When our willow tree blossomed, I expected to see bees all over it. I was disappointed. Few bees were seen. Maybe it was the almost constant rain.
Since my tree hive seems to have lasted through everything, I decide to try another one. I’ve got to do some trimming around it, but this will be the location for the next one. It’ll hold Warré sized bars, but it’s too heavy to lug around for a bait hive, so I’ll be trying to attract a swarm.
I’ve got to cut back the laurel hedge limb and holly tree. Then I’ll custom fit the hive box between the trunk and the angled limb. I’ve tried it. I think it’ll work.
Bottom line…I think it was the El Niño rainfall. I chose NOT to cover my Warré bee hives this winter. Why not? I didn’t see other beekeepers cover their hives up. I think the difference this year is my observation window covers are slightly warped (outward) Some rain possibly entered there. With so much more rainfall this year than in other years, it was just too much. Somehow the rain got into Bee Beard Log Hive too. I’ll have to work up some kind of ‘head gear’ to shed water. As for the Grand Kids Log hive? I still have to figure that one out. Maybe it WAS a weak, diseased strain of bees from the commercial hives.
October 8…..Grand Kids Log hive might be showing signs of a comeback.
About a month ago, I was in despair about this hive. The temperature had dropped, I saw drones flying out of the hive, and the number of bees around the entrance had declined.
Sept. 3…The temperature has dropped to 87˙F. I’ve seen this happen before. The temperature drops indicating there is no brood up here. It could either be that the eggs are being laid in a different section or that no eggs are being laid at all.
Sept. 3…..I’ve been seeing more comb now. I’m not happy about it because it means there are fewer bees. What is happening?
Sept. 17…Then I saw a drone exiting. I took it to mean I had a laying worker. Not good. This hive is ‘going down.’
Sept. 21…The bee population is dwindling. What more evidence do I need that this hive is history?
Oct. 4…Temp has risen 2˙F. That’s interesting.
Oct. 6…Are there more bees up there?
Oct. 17…..It looks like there’s a lot more traffic here. I hope they aren’t robber bees.
Oct. 23…..WOW! Look at all these bees inside!!! The hive must have superceded, but why had I seen drones last month?
Note: I asked this question on beesource web site. Harley Craig answered “…those drones could have been from anywhere in my limited experience when you see a lot of drone interest in a particular hive they typically have a queen getting ready to mate or just had one return.” Maybe drones were already sniffing out a new prospect. 🙂
November 4…New comb has been built. This new queen is ambitious, but is November a good month to be building new comb?
Standing tall, Bee Beard Log hive is doing well since it was revived in August 2014. It swarmed at least once on May 11 of this year, but that swarm moved on without us getting it.
Sept. 23…Lots of good orange pollen being carried into this hive. This hive will go into winter without me intervening in any way.
Sept. 17…These birdhouse bees are doing so well, I’m starting to think that small bee hives are the way to go. This hive has no other openings other than the entrance. I don’t understand how they can survive without much ventilation, but they are doing well, which is a good way to head into their second winter shadow.
Here’s a closer look at the entrance showing how crowded they are.
May 14…Ron got this one. He lives just up the road. I’m happy to report that Ron says they are doing well. They are active and bringing in lots of pollen. They can be seen flying well here…
Sept. 23…I’m down to only one Warre hive now. It’s doing well with lots of pollen coming in. You can see Bee-atrice Log hive ‘shuttered’ in the background. When the wasps were running rampant inside, I had to wrap it up. I’ll clean it out (scorch it) come spring and try to attract another swarm.
Bees head into the Warre loaded with pollen. This hive is heavy. I haven’t taken any honey from it. I think they will make it through the winter without me feeding.
Sept. 23, 2015…Sad to say, the Grand Kids Log hive is not going to make it. The temperature started falling in mid July, and now I see wasps nosing around and drones flying out.The Grand Kids are back.
Sept. 3…Temperature is down to 87F (30C)
Sept. 21…Looking up into the empty combs, I see a lack of bees. Clearly the queen isn’t laying and I’ve seen a few drones exiting. Footnote: This hive must have superceded a queen, because there are not only new bees, but also new comb. This is the only hive I can see from the house…from where I eat actually, and I gotta say, I’m so happy to see the bees flying to and from this hive when I sit down to eat!!!
Steve says his swarm ‘is hanging in there,’ but he’s starting to feed again because they haven’t built up enough comb to get them through the winter.
We are headed into autumn with four hives, which is all I ever really wanted, but I had really hoped that Grand Kids Log hive would be among the survivors. It begs the question…are smaller hives better? I’m beginning to think so. I’ve thought about partitioning off the big log hive, but then there might be air flow issues. The birdhouse bees seem to deal with lack of air flow, so maybe it won’t be an issue. Right now I’ll let nature take it’s course and hope I can attract another swarm in spring.
The new Echium Bee Bed is filling in well. From the colorful lobelia in front to the tallest Tower of Jewels echium plant, they all attract bees.
July 3…The Hugelkulture bed is looking so much better since we weeded, planted, and mulched with compost and wood chips.
A view from our garden bench in July reveals the garden in full glory.
July 3…The dwarf sunflowers are open and attracting bees already. It’s older siblings can only watch with envy.
This deer seems to be asking me the question…”What are you doing out here at this time in the evening, this is MY time?” In the video you’ll see why she looked up…she picked up the sound of the camera’s zoom lens. Their hearing is phenomenal, but luckily their eyesight isn’t that good. I’m standing in the sunlight just a short distance away, but she can’t see me very well.
Arrrgh! Deer damage!
I’m not sure if there’s any reason to net what’s left of these potatoes. They have been stripped of their leaves by the ‘cute’ deer. 😦
I mulched this corn in the morning…by the afternoon, the deer had already sampled it. A temporary fence is now in place to protect it…I hope it recovers.
This tomato’s only crime was to be planted at the end of the bed where the deer could reach it easily.
Planted from seed last year, these Hollyhocks have survived the deer twice. We’re so happy to finally see the blooms, but we’ve yet to see any bees on them.
March 17th…Since it was my birthday, I skipped work to see how Brian was progressing on the faces. The ‘quilt box’ has been added on top and Brian is figuring out what kind of carving he will add to the very top for the purpose of shedding rainwater and to add another uniqueness to my already different looking hive.
Here he describes what he has done and what is remaining to be done. He plans to be done in a week and that means I better get prepared for it…SOON!
March 16…The sun came out so I was able to get some time outside. The pencil lines line up with the top bars on the top of the log hive.
This shows the first few cuts in the quilt box. I’m using an electric chain saw plugged into my solar system with canola oil to lubricate the chain. (I don’t want any hydrocarbons in my hive)
This was so easy I made a bunch of cuts…
…and then pushed them out.
Then I enlarged it outwards towards the pencil line.
I cleaned up the insides with the “Sa-burr” wheel on a handheld grinder.
The #8 screen will hold the quilt and the sawdust at the top of the hive. This will enable the bees to regulate the temperature and ventilation of the hive by plugging up or eating through sections of the cloth.
I took a photo of this old ‘quilt’ taken from a Warré hive. You can see where the bees have chewed spaces (I assume) for ventilation into the box above that’s full of sawdust to hold the hive scent. The upper box has another ‘quilt’ to keep the sawdust from falling into the interior of the hive.
I’ll take the quilt box to the wood carver so he can shape up the structure on top of it. I think he’s going to carve a type of birdhouse top that will shed water.
Bee-atrice log hive is on the left. The inner tube is a draft reducer, not what it looks like, so no snide remarks!
Here’s a better shot of Bee-atrice log hive. The blue tarp in the background is protecting my Tower of Jewelsechium plants and artichokes. I’m hoping they will bloom this year because the nectar is so good for the bees and they’ll bloom all summer.
The outside temperature is a frosty 34˙F. Barely above freezing. It’s no wonder the bees aren’t flying today.
While the outside temperature is 34˙F (1˙C), the inside is 50˙F (10˙C), which means there is something warm inside. Someone should have cleaned off the cob webs before he shot the photo. 🙂
Looking through the observation window of Bee-atrice Log Hive reveals lots of honey. It’s such an improvement over last year’s status of ‘no bees.’
This hive in the tree swarmed three times during summer. Two went to Bob and one we transferred into Del’s Warre hive below.
Del’s Warre hive…the bees came from the green hive in the tree. After hanging on the pine tree for about three days, I tried to get them to crawl into an inverted swarm catcher scented with lemon grass oil. No luck. They finally disappeared. I thought, “Good, I’ve got enough hives,” only to find them on a branch of this spruce tree. After they had hung out for a total of 6 days, I dropped them into this hive that I had planned to donate to the bee club. Lost it…see below.
Del’s hive catches the afternoon sun. Some bees responded to the warmth and gathered outside.
12-31-14…Birdhouse bees. These bees came from Mayor Mary’s backyard birdhouse swarm. When I couldn’t get them to move into my new Warre, I ‘posted’ them here. Today they are not flying. Too cold. You can see frost on the ground in front. They are in the shade possibly until March.
A closer look at the birdhouse bees still shows no bee activity. Guess I’ll have to wait til it warms up. This hive is in the coldest part of the property. If they make it, it’ll be because they are strong bees, not because I treated them.
Warre 3…These bees came from Warre 2, May 10, 2014. They built up fast but only in the top box. This ‘shelter’ leaves something to be desired because every time we get a stiff wind, the sheets of fiberglass blow off, thus the reason for the tie down. Lost it…see below.
So there it is…from three hives a year ago to eight hives this year. As a third year natural beekeeper, I believe in letting my bees swarm. I like the article written by British beekeeper John Haverson that “Swarming Bees are Healthy Bees,” so I don’t destroy the queen cells or otherwise try to thwart their natural tendency to swarm.
I go against the recommendations of my local bee association which advises to kill the varroa mites. I know there are beneficial mites in the hive. According to long time beekeeper Michael Bush, who wrote “The Practical Beekeeper,” there are over 30 kinds of mites in a typical hive. If you are killing varroa mites, you are upsetting the ecology of the hive. I think we should let the bees adapt to living with mites. Conversely, if we poison the mites, they will eventually build up a resistance at the expense of the bees.
Since we have just started winter, I know that it’s possible that some hives won’t make it, especially if I choose not to feed them. Those would be the weak hives. As a fairly new beekeeper I’m constantly questioning whether I’m doing the right thing. Right now, I am of the mindset that we should not be propping up weak hives because we will be passing on weak genetics. In my humble opinion when you capture a swarm, you should not kill that queen, but keep her with the swarm. She has survived the winter and proven herself. All my bees have come from swarms.
If my bees can make it to early February, the pussy willows will bloom and weather permitting, nectar and pollen will be available in a critical stage of winter.
Yesterday I noticed honeybees on the gorse blossoms down the road from me. This was a happy surprise because I don’t usually see bees on gorse blossoms possibly because gorse is harder to work (or so I’m told), but if there’s nothing else available, the bees will be able to get nourishment. Some individuals around here hate the gorse. It’s spiny thorns make it impossible to walk near, it grows prolifically, and it’s blamed for burning the town in the big 1936 fire.
March 4th note…We lost Del’s hive. It’s not a surprise because it never really built up any ‘honey weight’ pre-winter. I haven’t taken it apart yet, but when I do, I’ll clean it out, put in observation windows, and donate it back to the bee club.
We lost #3 Warré too. I took it down last week after I saw robber bees visiting it. There was still some capped honey in the combs. About 125 bees were dead on the bottom. Some of the combs were moldy, so I’m guessing it’s been dead for awhile. Both hives were weak hives. While I’m upset at having lost them, I’m thinking that maybe it’s for the best because if the bees can’t survive in our relatively mild winter, maybe they shouldn’t be in the gene pool. I’m down to six hives now, but the willow tree has been blooming for about three weeks and I can see the bees bringing in orange pollen and that means nectar too!
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 