I wasn’t planning on opening the Warre hive hours after I’d already been in there, but this morning around 5:30 a.m., I wound up doing another hive inspection.
Honeybees steadily making comb
Why was I back in my Warre hive so soon. Well, I was specifically searching for eggs because I realized on my prior inspections I hadn’t seen any. I did notice that there was something going on at the bottom of the hive, but I really didn’t have a chance to do a thorough search. That doesn’t mean the eggs aren’t there. I didn’t even open the next box where they’ve already started building comb.
Honeybee Inspection: The honeybees have built a lot of comb in a few days
However I did open the observation window, which is in the second box and there was a lot of clustering activity. Part of my reluctance to open the second box is that I don’t want to unintentionally kill honeybees. I’m hoping that doesn’t happen as long as I’m careful.
This weekend, when I feed them, I’ll pull out the second box and check for the queen and eggs.
Tomorrow will mark a week that I’ve had my honeybees.
About an hour ago, I checked on them armed with 1:1 sugar water that was put into my top bar feeder. Click on the link to see what it looks like. The mason jars hold 16 oz.
It’s a good thing that I went out there this evening instead of waiting until tomorrow morning, both feeders were empty! I had just refilled the honeybees feeders this past Saturday. The honeybees sure have an appetite! I had a few guard bees checking me out. One landed on my bee veil to check me out but after I put their sugar water in and replaced everything they went back into their hive.
The best time to go inside the hive is in early morning and evening time since the honeybees are normally inside. When I cracked open the hive around 8:00 p.m., the honeybees were still working.
Since Saturday they’ve filled up the entire first box with comb and are have now moved into the second box. I am impressed. I didn’t stay in there long, the mosquitoes were out and I haven’t properly sprayed the area with neem, and although I and my daughter and I were fine with our natural mosquito repelling body spray, I simply didn’t want to be around that area.
Judging by the way they’re eating the next time I check on them will be Friday. I’ll take the time to take some up/close and personal shots of the honeybees and perhaps look for the queen too.
I haven’t done any knitting or sewing posts in a while, which isn’t too surprising since I’ve been excited about my honeybees. And although the past few weeks this site has been filled with numerous posts about my adventures in beekeeping, I’m still finding the time to be creative.
This past weekend, I finished another knitted hat that’s been added to my ever growing pile of hats that will be given to NICU babies and Cancer patients.
Knitting: Work in progress cowl, no pattern I’m just playing with different stitch combinations
And a few days ago I moved onto the above knitted cowl. I’m not following a pattern, just playing around with stitches. This is a combination of stockinette and seed stitch. I don’t think you can really see the stitch definition in the above picture.
Of course the knitting is made possible by using my lovely Hiya Hiya Steel Sharp circular knitting needles. The knitting needle size is 3. When it comes to knitting I normally knit with small needles, it’s just my preference.
A few days ago, Curls of Curls & Q, wrote about landscaping their back yard. Check it out if you have the time the before and after pictures are amazing.
Anyway, Curl’s post made me realize that I hadn’t made any of my natural insect repelling sprays! I’ve been so caught up with my honeybees that I haven’t thought about spraying my garden.
With the garden showing signs of our labor, it’s high time I get out there and protect all of our efforts, right?
Since I needed to update my garden sprayer, I logged onto Amazon and purchased the metal Stanley Lawn & Garden Sprayer. Which makes a nice upgrade from the plastic sprayer that I was using. If parts wear out I won’t have to purchase a brand-new sprayer, I just need to replace the part.
Neem oil, is my favorite oil that I used to keep the insects at bay. I spray plants once every four days, using a total of six applications. Insects that ingest the plants sprayed with neem become sterile and prevents egg production. I even spray this brew around mosquito friendly areas.
What’s even better the beneficial insects, like butterflies, honeybees and spiders aren’t usually affected. It’s recommended to spray your garden with neem oil in the early morning or evening, so you don’t douse the beneficial insects.
Later this week, I’ll post more about the awesomeness of neem oil and I’ll make sure I include a simple recipe.
This is a superstition, that I’ve heard throughout my life and while I’ve seen it with others I never experienced it on a personal level until recently.
Last week, one of the older family friends died. She was 91 years old. Also my father’s cousin passed away, she was in her 60’s, and my aunt (my mother’s sister and the one with the brain tumor) died this past Friday. She was 76 years old.
Out of the three, my aunt is the one I saw the most and it has affected me more than the others. I haven’t shed any tears over her death, that doesn’t mean I don’t miss her. I do, I’m just not the type that cries. I imagine the funeral will be packed. My aunt was involved with a lot of outreach ministries through her church. She stayed active. I’m happy that she’s not suffering anymore and I know I’ll see her again in heaven.
First inspection of my Warre hive: Honeybees have already started to making honeycomb
The workers had released the queen and were already building comb as shown in the above picture.
First inspection of my Warre hive
The queen is already laying eggs and was surrounded, several bees deep, by her protective workers. Since I don’t want to disturb the honeybees anymore than absolutely necessary, after filling the top bar feeders, I closed up the hive and counted my blessings. I’m very happy that the honeybees have decided to stay.
I must say that I’m glad that I ordered the large bee suit (I wear a small). I’m able to put my regular clothes on under the suit and still have plenty of room.
Yesterday, is when I’d originally planned on doing my first beehive inspection, however the day long rain put a stop to that. This morning, seeing clear skies, I promptly headed out to the hive to get the inspection out of the way. In total, I was in the hive less than five minutes. As I’ve already mentioned, I don’t want to disrupt the honeybees more than I have too. I want to be as hands-free as possible.
Since I enjoy insects so much, especially honeybees, It’s only natural that I’m also thinking about the comfort of my daughter and myself, as I work on my honeybees brand-new home. We love to watch them!
Do mosquitoes bother bees?
curls and q recently posted..Fiber Sandwich
Mosquitoes don’t seem to bother the honeybees. In fact, I see one or two resting on the outside of the beehive (glowers) but I can’t say the same thing about us! Additionally ticks are rampant in the area where the Warre hive is which means it’s not really smart to hang out there for long… not if you don’t want to have one of those suckers on your body.
Once we came back from Richardson’s Farm we had a tiny wagon load of plants. The plants I’m using are effective, I’ve used them in our garden for years as “natural pest repellents”. We have about an acre of organic garden on our property. The pests are controlled by using pest repelling plants (mint, lavender, citronella, garlic, etc.) and other natural remedies.
It took about two hours to break up the ground enough so that the flowers and herbs could be planted. The reason is simple, that part of our land has a lot of clay and rocks. It was a serious workout just to make the earth soft. Admittedly, this type of soil doesn’t make it the easiest setting for a flower garden but it’s doable. You just need patience.
Red Cedar Chips
More Landscaping and Before and after photos
Tomorrow, part of the area where we’d be hanging will receive a lot of attention from me to make it less tick & mosquito friendly. For starters, I’ll be tilling the ground and then I’ll lay down a carpet of red cedar chips (which is a mosquito and tick repellent). Honeybees don’t seem to mind red cedar. There are many beekeepers that have hives made of red cedar wood. Red cedar is very durable, and supposedly hives made with the wood don’t have to be waterproofed with paint.
The area that’s getting a “landscape makeover” is far enough away from the honeybees that they won’t be agitated by us checking them out. Although I’d love to put a grill back there, I think I won’t since I’m concerned that the potential smoke that could drift in their area might make them think that their hive is on fire.
This summer, I’m seriously thinking about building my own man-made koi pond. When I finally decide to do this, it’ll be located about 500 yards away from our “bee sanctuary.” I’ve always wanted one, and if I’m going to install it somewhere, I think that location will be a great spot, further back is level ground and it doesn’t have as much clay/rocks. My only concern are the feral cats in our small community.
I’ll be sure to post before and after shots of the area.
Tomorrow will mark a week that I’ve had my honeybees.
