here comes sunshine

What a difference the sun makes. Yesterday not a sound, not a bee, no sign of life. Today, in a word, action. Bee lines, and bee flight. Waggle dances and foraging. Pollen and nectar, and bees working hard to create a home within the box. While my fear around the bees seems to have subsided, I still feel a bit clumsy. I imagine if I were a bee I would feel my movement to be a bit jarring and jostling. I need to move more smoothly and with more speed. It is difficult for me to locate the queen and try to spot eggs with so many bees crawling on the frames. It is harder still to pull the frame out of the hive and put the frame back into the hive without crushing a bee or two. And it is hard on my spirit to crush a bee- perhaps I am too sensitive to be a bee keeper, or perhaps I'll grow to recognize the essential importance of the whole hive rather than the individual bee. I did notice today that the queen has grown a bit larger, and while I could not find her eggs, I did see capped brood. This means she is laying and that the hive will be replenished by her offspring once the bees from the package have died off. Since the lifespan of a honeybee is about six weeks, and when I put them into the hive they were all around two weeks old, in four weeks time, most of the bees should be the first generation offspring of the Queen. Then there will be a genetic link between the bees beyond the bond of the hive.

bees arrive, blue hive, day 17 

rain and more rain

It has been raining for 6 days now, and there is no sign of my bees. I knocked on the hive wall and heard nothing, and the bees I have seen are a few dead bodies by the entrance. I am concerned that the queen does not have enough food to lay eggs, though I have kept the entrance feeder full of sugar water, and have put a pollen patty on the frames. The queen will only lay as many eggs as she has food to feed them. No warmth here has stopped the nectar flow, and the rain has kept the bees inside for warmth. I am concerned that my new queen has not begun to lay eggs, though I can't check since I was told not to open the hive before or during rain. Hopefully this weather will turn soon.

the queen is out

Day four and the queen has left her cage. After three days of imprisonment it seemed she needed some help getting out, and I needed to know she was safely out after seeing her trapped in a three inch cage with two live and one dead attendant sharing such a small space. On day two I had removed the cork at the bottom of the cage, hoping the workers would quickly eat the candy that kept them from their new queen. But removing the cork was not enough to help her out, so yesterday I dug a nail into the candy seal that the workers typically eat to free her, giving her a small hole and allowing the workers help on operation queen freedom. This afternoon I found the cage empty. The queen, I was told, always hangs out on the center two frames, so I removed the cage and pulled up the center frame covered with the most bee activity. And there my new queen was, on the first frame I pulled, surrounded and covered by a crawling, active, frenzied mass. She was almost too hard for my novice eyes to see- not too different in size than the others, but a yellow-brown color with a longer abdomen.
Now that she is free she will leave the hive one time only to mate with many drones. Then she will return to the hive and never leave again. The sperm from her mating can be stored inside of her for five years. And for the duration of her life she will spend her days laying eggs, thousands and thousands of eggs, determining the gender of the eggs, creating workers or drones depending on what the colony needs. The crucial player but an imprisoned life. The queen but the captive. What would one have to do in this lifetime to come back to play such a role?

bee suits

My mother told me she would lose sleep knowing I would reach my sleeveless arm into the active hive, so for my birthday my parents presented me with a full bee suit (as seen in the photographs below). "But I'm only keeping one hive," I said, graciously accepting the gift but knowing I might feel slightly embarassed walking past my neighbors looking like a toxic waste inspector. "And most bee keepers don't even wear gloves when they work," I added. But not wanting my parents to lose sleep and also secretly ecstatic at the extra coverage, (and knowing that bee keeping is not about being too tough to want to avoid the stings), I have proudly worn my bee suit for two days running, and will continue to do so throughout my bee keeping journey.

My new motto: "Why get stung...listen to your mother." And thankfully I have, as my bees seemed very angry yesterday as I poured them into their new blue home. They had a long drive up from hot Georgia, 9000 stuck in a small screened in box, the queen suspended in a small cage with a dead worker next to her. I would be angry too, traveling in such conditons. I did not help the tension either, with my clumsiness due to thick gloves; I was not a picture of grace down there in the yard. My directions on the ground, I followed them precisely and slowly, a beginner and a kinesthetic learner. The gloves unfortunately affected my grip as I dropped the can of syrup once, bumped a couple of frames together, and shook the queen cage. I felt awkward throughout the entire process, but the job did get done and I am proud to say I did it. My favorite part was pouring the damp bees (sprayed with sugar water) into the box- much like emptying a can of beans into a pot, it made the same sloppish sound as the bees spilled out. But I grew overheated in the suit and slightly frustrated at my lack of grip, and even mad at the bees who continued to take many cheap shots at my head(which, thanks to my parents was well caged). Like an amateur, I did puch one persistent bee as it flew towards me repeatedly, and then regretted losing my temper like I did. After all things were complete, I headed up the meadow towards home, sweating in the suit and adrenaline dancing, but still interested in this path and feeling somewhat accomplished at having done something completely new. It is not everyday we get to try something we have never done before. after my somewhat success, I spent the night worried about bears, as my electric fence did not go up until this afternoon, and worried for the queen having to be in that tiny cage with a dead attendant by her side. (She seemed alright today, smaller than I expected, though I hear stress makes the queen a bit smaller).

The best moment so far though was this morning: 6:30 and the sun only an hour born and the birds early talking, and the bees flying softly around the entrance feeder, and the apple blossoms sweetening the air and popping their fresh pink skins, and the warm layer of the sun's early rays mixing with the cooler underlying breeze, as I watched the scene from a short distance and took a breath in and out and in and out, and thought to myself that this must be why people like to keep bees, to steal this sweet still moment in time.

mothers know best 

bees still in Georgia

My nerve up, I arrived at Warm Colors Apiary to pick up my three pound package of bees, only to find a note on the door that said the bees were delayed until tomorrow. It is a long hot drive from Georgia, and I can only imagine having a truckload of steaming bees with me at the wheel. Not a good picture. I am happy there is a local beekeeper willing to make the journey. Along with the note from the Conlons were three notes scrawled by frustrated customers who had driven hours to pick up their bees, only to find the place empty. I felt sorry for them and fortunate that I have only a five minute drive. I looked at the beautiful sun and opted for a bike ride instead. No frustration here- just the gift of one more day to get ready and glorious spring weather to enjoy.

womens gloves

A cold day in western Massachusetts, just three days before "beeday", otherwise known as the day that my bees are lifted from the back of the truck into my waiting, glove-covered hands. The bees are probably on the highway now, riding up from warmer Georgia. I hope this weather shifts- it is cold enough to need a fire today, and raining. I spent part of the day painting the last coat of shaker blue onto the hives. My artist neighbor says it looks like recycling bin blue. Why does paint always look different on the card stock sample? The later part of the day was spent trying to locate four cinder blocks and a pair of work gloves. It seems every other day that I move around not looking for cinder blocks I find them; in the woods, on roadsides, in the basement. Today, there was no cinder block in a 30 mile radius. I hope for more luck tomorrow. And another unsuccess- my workgloves- why does every garden and hardware store, (even in liberal, strong woman centered western Massachusetts) carry leather work gloves for men starting in a size medium, while for women they carry floral gardening gloves, made of delicate fabric, that are simply useless? I should have known to make the trip to Ashfield Hardware- and here is an unsolicited plug: a female-owned hardware store in Ashfield, Massachusetts that carries Womanswork gloves, nails by the pound, a ball of twine that will last 5 years (my brother had one for 9 years to tie up his newspaper recycling), any hardware needs you could possibly have, plus sodapop and ice cream cones. And you can get a great slice of pizza next door at Country Pie. I am heading there tomorrow- I should always remember to check there first. It is worth the extra driving.

fun with flickr

bee magic

Watch a bee dance from flower to flower- it is bee magic and bee miracles. A honey bee gathers its energy from nectar and its protein from pollen- both of which are plant products. Bees are vegetarians,(wasps are carnivores), gathering all of their sustenance from plants. It is a mutually dependent relationship, that between the bee and the flowering plant. As bees visit flowers to collect pollen they inevitably cross-pollinate the flowers, which in turn allows the plant to grow seeds and reproduce. Plants produce more pollen for bees in turn, and lure them in with colored petal patterns and nectar- a small drop of sweet liquid. While many insects and some birds enjoy nectar, only bees can turn nectar into honey. Again, bee magic and bee miracles. No bees, no flowers, no flowers, no human food. I'll get into that later. But next time you find nourishment from a fruit or vegetable, remember the honey bee that made it happen.
How does it work, this bee-flower connection? When a bee moves about a flower its hair, which works much like velcro, gets covered in pollen. Bees also use their mouths and legs to gather pollen, and when coated, they comb the pollen off of their bodies into pollen baskets which rest on their hind legs on some, and on the abdomen of others. The nectar is carried in their honey stomach, which is the first chamber of three stomach parts. Back at the hive, bees regurgitate the nectar into the cells to feed the young and themselves. In New England a typical beehive uses 440 pounds of honey for itself, leaving only 12 days or so a year when bees are building up surplus food. Remember that then, the next teaspoon of honey you stir into your tea or smear over toast- that this gift of surplus honey was regurgitated from the first of a three chambered stomach, the honey stomach, of the honey bee.

preparing the hives

A tip for the novice: befriend an owner of a nail gun. Two hive bodies, one bottom board, and twenty frames later I would still be hammering nails if it weren't for my carpenter neighbor who yelled out his window to ask me if I had built my equipment yet. I took him up on his offer to help and we worked together, assembly line style. As I glued the pieces together, he fired in the nails. Hives, frames and bottom boards need to be well put together. Imagine pulling a frame from the hive, covered with brood, drones, nurse bees and perhaps a queen, only to have it come apart and fall to the ground. Better to build strong hive bodies and frames. Second tip: ask for help- you can always pay the favor back with honey and bee lore.

The hive bodies, bottom board and telescoping cover were put together and are currently being painted. If they are to last through the New England weather they will require a coat of primer and two coats of paint. The primer went on Sunday- the painting will begin tomorrow. I will use an exterior paint- and I have settled on blue for the hive bodies and yellow for the honey supers. After the paint comes the solar electric fence. What took me two hours to build, a bear can destroy in five seconds flat. I have seen a bear pull my compost bin apart with one swipe of one paw and continue to completely eat the contents of the pile in fifteen minutes. I can only imagine,(but don't want to experience), how quickly a bear could eat my bees. The old maxim of an ounce of prevention then, and the fence will go up before the bees arrive on May 10.

shadow through wax foundation 

priming a hive body