Hive Inspection 5/6/12

Mary, Myrina, QC, Nuc #5, Heléna, Nuc #6, Nuc'd Swarm
72°F
Cloudy
Calm

Myrina has not moved up into new medium box yet.  Gave her another gallon of 1:1 syrup. 

Mary has lots of eggs and pretty brood patterns.  She's really coming back online.

Queen Castle (2nd) still has two capped Queen cells.  Added more 1:1 syrup.

Queen Castle (1st) received a frame from Nuc # 5 with several large capped Queen cells and a honey & nectar frame.  Added 1:1 syrup

Nuc # 5 may no longer be Queenless.  Some eggs were found on a frame in top box.  The bottom box had a frame with Queen cells.  The frame and another honey frame were placed in the QC.  Lots of bees.  'Boiling' behavior observed.

Heléna is Post Swarm.  Her top Honey super remains undrawn.  It was removed.  One Honey super is still on about half drawn out.  It was placed between both brood boxes.  Her population is good in spite of the swarm.  Other than a hatched Swarm cell a hatched Supersedure cell was found.  Bees making more Supersedure cells.  Some 'Boiling' behavior.

Nuc #6 has seven torn down Swarm cells and a hatched Supersedure cell.  She also has TWO queens.  The old white marked one & the new virgin one.  The old queen is still laying her butt off.  High population.

Nuc'd Swarm is loaded with Laying workers.  Some drone sized cells may have had fifteen to twenty eggs in them.  No Queen was found though they have drawn out all five frames.  These bees will be dumped out in front of my Neighbors weak hive this week.  It is gone, done, finis.

Plan to inspect Melissa in a day or two.

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Myrina Swarmed!

!

(insert curse word here)

Myrina swarmed today.  I hadn't been through her for a month.  Otherwise it may have been caught in time.  Too much of my focus has been on the Nucs.  Mary will be inspected tomorrow to keep this from happening there too.

The wife called me late morning to tell me about the swarm.  When I got back to the house the swarm was still in the tree; 50 feet up that is.  While i was driving the Wife put out a 10 frame Deep box with wired foundationless frames (we have no extra drawn frames) and lemon grass oil as a make-shift Swarm Trap.  Wouldn't it be nice if that worked out.

I did an inspection on Myrina as soon as i got home.  The honey super was still undrawn.  The top Deep was bound with honey and swarm cells.  The swarm cells, both hatched & unhatched, were removed.  A new queen was found and she was marked.  The bottom Deep had a few swarm cells in it to but was not honey bound.  Plus, there was a Supersedure Cell in it.  The Supersedure cell was left alone.  No pests were found.

SO, maybe the queen stopped laying a while ago; preparing for the swarm.  Since then the bees filled the brood sections with honey & made Swarm cells, 17 total.  Several of the swarm cells had hatched.  Yet this is the first time we've seen her swarm.  The population is still good.  If the honey frames had been drawn out they could have still made surplus this year.  Not likely now.

I guess the Supersedure Queen will emerge soon and do away with the new queen i found & marked.  I expect the personality of the colony won't change much though.  Since 2008 these 2 colonies, Myrina & Mary, have been very consistent in that respect.  Which leaves me with a colony that like the last 2 years wont produce anything.  My patients is wearing thin with these bees.  We'll see...

When I was finished with the inspection and going back to work the Swarm was still in it's tree.  Unless they move into the Swarm trap the Wife put out they'll be gone for good.

* * *

The Swarm way up in the tree

7 Swarm Cells

8 Swarm Cells

I found this Queen & marked her

The population in Myrina is Still good

A Supersedure Cell in the Bottom Deep

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Inspection 4/21/2011

Nuc #1, Nuc #2, Nuc #3
70°F
Sunny
Slight Breeze


A quick look at the Nucs before the monthly Club Meeting.  In case there was an issue i needed to ask the membership about .  Fortunately I didnt see anything that look like a problem.

Nuc #1 is looking great now with 3 frames of eggs & larva.  The pattern looks as solid as it can be.  I did see a cell with 2 eggs in it but only once.  I'll check again this weekend to look for more.  I don't want a laying worker problem.  

3rd row of eggs, 3rd cell from the left;  2 eggs

The larva was on each of the brood frames.  She must have begun laying soon after the first inspection.  No capped brood yet but that will happen soon.

Larva from Nuc 1

The brood looked good so it was a surprise to see the they're Superseding.  When the Nuc was first made the bees my not have begun to make queen cells for a day or more.  That would allow any fresh eggs to become older and less likely to form into a good queen.  The best queen cells coming from day old eggs to 3 days old at most.  This queen seems alright but the bees know better.

Supersedure Cell

I'll check this nuc every few days to see what happens with the queens.  Once the new bees begin to emerge another Deep box could be put on the nuc.  In the mean time i'll stop feeding them sice they have plenty of food and the Flow is about to start.

Queen bee, perhaps soon to be replaced

Nuc #2 has plenty of capped brood left in her as well as 3 Queen cells.  2 have been capped while 1 is being capped now.  So by the weekend after next a queen should have emerged.  Another week after that, or shortly after, there might be eggs in this nuc.

Queen Cell 1

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Queen Cell 3

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Queen Cell 2 with a....'What is that!'

I took this picture of the queen cell as the bees were capping it.  I didn't see the image until later.  Which is when I noticed the odd looking bee in the blue oval.  It appears that her abdomen is elongated like a queen.  She doesn't appear to be bigger than the drone either.  If it was an obvious queen i think i would have noticed her.  I'll check this nuc this weekend as well to see if i can find anything else.

One more issue was the mesh reducer on the entrance.  Because of the threat of early robing i cut a mesh reducer to fit a single bee.  I didn't think about drones & queens at the time though.  I found frame 5 completely covered in drones.  Just sitting there doing more nothing then usual.  I realized then they might not be able to get out of the hive; though i saw no bee waste stains anywhere.  It also means a queen couldn't get out of the hive either.  I made the entrance bigger and left it at that. 


Nuc #3 had lost most if it's swarm cells.  They had been torn down and replaced with regular comb.  I looked and looked for a queen but never saw one.  Hopefully in a few days i will find a bunch of eggs.  Then I'll know she has a queen.

Bunch 'o bees

Her population is great for a nuc but shes is in a 10 frame box not  a 5 frame nuc.  They wont be able to defend their space as well but have no pests yet.  

Both Nuc #1 & Nuc #2 had their Inner Covers finally put on. 

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Myrina's Nuc & New Queen

Today's weather was Sunny & warm which is what I've been waiting for to make the second Nuc.  Myrina's population is increasing rapidly and I've been worried about her swarming.  I did not plan for a full inspection.  Only to make the nuc and close everyone up afterward.

As I took it of i saw the bees had not begun to draw out the Honey Super.  Oh well!.  I started removing the frames from the top brood box.  Lots of bees, lots of capped brood cells, & lots of drone cells.  To look for eggs I had to push the bees around on the frames to see into the cells.  I was also looking for the Queen of course.  I meant to locate then isolate her before i took any frames for the nuc.

It didn't take long.  Queen Myrina was in the top box on frame #5.  Not the blue marked VSH daughter from 2010 but a new Unmarked queen!  Whoa!  I grabbed the marking tube from the tool box and chased her around the frame for a few seconds before i managed to catch her.  She was laid to the side for later.  Then I took the frame she was on and the 3 adjacent frames and put them in the Nuc; they had plenty of eggs.  I put an extra honey frame in the nuc and it was full.  A towel was placed over the nuc while I finished up with Myrina.

All 4 frames were replaced with drawn crimped-wire frames saved from Duchess.  The remaining brood frames were checker-boarded some what to move the end frames into the brood nest.  Then I marked queen Myrina with a white marker and let the paint dry for a minute.  After which she was released back onto a brood frame.

The New Queen Myrina

At this point I closed up Myrina and grabbed the nuc to take to its stand.  The Screened Bottom Board & Telescoping Cover were waiting there for the Nuc.  All of it was assembled and there sat Nuc#2.

A Nuc from both Hives

As I closed the cover on the new Nuc I noticed that the bees were Very quiet.  Hopefully by next weekend they will have a handful of Queen cells made.  Also the Slatted Rack was added at the start.  I hope it will allow the bees to keep the bottom of the frames warmer so they have more queen cell candidates.  I should have done that with the first nuc.  Nuc#2 has 4 full frames of bees in it.  Which is what I've been told is a good amount.

The New Queen Myrina.  The last time I saw the blue marked 2010 queen was in October.  Yet all spring there has been plenty of brood.  I feel like she may have been replaced after the boxes were reversed.  I couldnt have been last year since it would have been to late for drones to be around.  There was also no problem with egg laying early this year.  There was a slow down after the reversal.  I assumed it was related to the reversal but it may have been when the supersedure occurred; or she died and was replaced.  I havent seen any queen cells yet this year.  A full inspection is in order now.

The good news is that Myrina is requeened.  I'll not worry as much about her swarming now.  The new queen performance is Fantastic.  The brood frames were filled from edge to edge with brood.  The pattern was completely solid.  Possibly the best looking brood frames I've ever seen.  I hope the queen in Nuc#2 ends up the same.

On a final note the beekeeping neighbor and I both noticed TONS of drone cells in our hives this weekend.  Almost entire frames of them.  All our queens are local to this area.  I hope it is normal for here but I do not recall so many drone cells before.

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Duchess Queenless?

Not good.  Going into Duchess to add the Apistan treatment I could find no brood or eggs.  The bees were more defensive than normal.  There were many queen cell looking structures that were being torn down by the bees.  Only one of which had an exit hole out the bottom.

 Chewed up Queen Cell

There was plenty of brood last time i was in the hive.  I cant know what happened but my guess is I accidentally mashed the queen during the last inspection.  It looks like they tried to create several emergency queens.  Which may have produced a Queen.  Unfortunately there really isn't any drones left for her to mate with.  Which leaves her a virgin queen, unable to lay eggs to help the colony

Now, maybe she did find a drone and has come back to the hive but hasn't started to lay eggs yet.  I need to check one more time next week to be sure.  If not she's been handed a death sentence.

In the Beemaster forum Michael Bush said that bees from a queenless hive can drift to a queen right hive if it is nearby.  Duchess sits next to Mary.  He also said a queenless hive in Fall can face major robing pressure.

If it turns out she is queenless I plan to combine her with Mary using the newspaper method.   Duchess's top Deep box which is filled with honey will be placed on top of Mary.  All Duchess's bees will be shaken into that one box.  If the combination works Mary will be a very strong colony with more supplies than she can use.  Duchess's bottom Deep box will go into the freezer to be utilized for a different hive in the future.

I will talk to people in the bee club at the meeting next Thursday.  I'll figure out what I'm going to do then.

aun Aprendo

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Requeening Begins

The time has come to requeen both Mary & Myrina.  Mary has been weak since last Summer.  I didn't requeen her then because I didn't know about that kind of stuff.  By the time I figured it out it was November and to late in the year.  Myrina was strong, productive, but old.  This is a good time to do her as well.  However, last inspection I could not find queen Myrina & the bees weren't acting queen-right.  Both Mary, since last year, & Myrina, from the last inspection, have had spotty brood & chalkbrood. 

I had meant to requeen in April but the local queen supplier didn't have any ready just then.  After which a bear shredded his apiary.  I've been waiting on his next batch to requeen.  When Myrina went south I decided to do it now.  Unfortunately I could not locate any queens.  So I had to wait some more.  Then last week the email went out that another beek had available queens.  I made the call & will pick up 2 VSH Italian queens Tuesday morning.

Which means i need to pinch any queens in the targeted hives.  Both have marked queens and Myrina should be queenless.  Or so I thought.  First into Myrina.  I wanted to make sure she was without a queen.  Suiting up in 98 degrees and inspecting 20 deep frames is no picnic but it must be done.

I had a Medium honey super on Myrina but they hadn't touched it.  So off it came.  Her population was down too and I noticed the Chalkbrood had vanished.  The amount of frames with brood had increase as well.  And many 'Eggs'.  Uh oh. Continuing the search found the capped brood to still be spotty but lots of eggs & larva.  The residing queen was eventually found on the second to last frame in the bottom box.  UNMARKED!

So apparently they had replaced or superseded the last marked queen.  Enough time has gone by.  I never did find any queen cells though.  I did watch the new queen for a bit.  she was scrambling around the frame randomly dropping eggs out her hind end.  Not putting them into cells at all.  Are they supposed to do that?  Well enough for me.  Myrina has always been very defensive.  Even if she's been trouble free I'm tired of putting on armor every time I want to look at her.  This daughter of her's would likely bee a good queen but still as mean as her mother.  So I removed her from the hive.

Mary was much easier on me.  She was on frame #2 in the top box.  She was easy to spot with that big blue paint dot on her back.  She was pulled from her hive as well.  Though I saw no signs of chalkbrood in Mary either.  Which is strange since she's always shown some sign of it over the last 2 years. 

So 2 queens out of their hives and into the freezer.  The freezer because I had no heart to mash them.  The bees will realize they're queenless tomorrow.  Tuesday I will place a new queen in each hive.  If all goes well the break in brood will only be a week.  Which Myrina has already done when she made the last queen.  Each will be back up to par before August, so should be set for Winter as far as population goes.  I'll update as the requeening progresses.

Also, Myrina's Bottom Board was replaced with a Screened Bottom Board.  That should help with keeping the hive cool.  The temps this year have been way up in the 90's each day.  3 old crimped wire frames in box 1 & 3 plasticell frames from box 2 were replaced with undrawn crimped wire frames.  The old frame because the bees had stopped using them; they were completely empty.  The Plasticell frames because the bees were also ignoring them; never drawn out.  The crimped wire wax foundations should entice the bees back to using the frames.

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Inspection 8/9/9

Mary & Myrina
95 F
Sunny

Mary
Many bad things here. Varroa mites, watered bee bread, chalk-brood, many dead bees in the hive, little to no new brood, spotty pattern, two possible supercedure cells. Am I losing her? Did I accidentally mash the queen during the last inspection? I think it's time to be in panic mode.

(click me)
Red circle = Withered wings

Green circles = Chalk/Foul brood
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(click me)
Green circles = Varroa mite
Blue circle = Dead bee

She is now down to two brood boxes, an excluder, & a honey super (1/3 full)

Myrina
It seamed like I've seen more bees working at the entrance. Yet there is very little new brood in the hive. I will keep an eye on her to see if she develops similar symptoms to Mary.

She has drawn no honey comb this year. I took off the honey supers. She's only two brood boxes now.