The past few weeks I have been searching the internet for hive plans. I decided this time around that I didn’t want a Warre hive. I love my hive, but I want to try out other hives also.
Kenyan Top bar Hive
The Kenyan Top Bar Hive is really appealing to me, but I since I’m getting nucs at the end of June, I know this isn’t the best option. The nuc will be in a traditional Langstroth box. I still wanted a Top Bar Hive and did a search to see if there was such a thing as a “Rectangular top bar hive” I thought this would be ideal since I could easily transition Langstroth frames into the hive.
Tanzanian Top Bar Hive
Turns out there is, and it’s called the “Tanzanian Top Bar Hive!” This weekend, I’ll be purchasing the wood and hopefully I’ll have time to build my own Tanzanian Top Bar Hive. Since I love the observation window, I believe I’ll add one to my Top Bar Hive. My daughter is excited since I told her that she can help.
I’m also thinking of ventilation tray at the bottom of the hive. Something I can “open” during the summer months and close once the weather gets cool.
Much to my surprise, I saw that they were over half full! That really had me curious since I wanted to know what was different this time around. I was feeding them in about the same length of time, but in the last two hive inspections they were almost out of the sugar syrup. Hmm… it seems the honeybees found reliable sources for their nectar? I know one source is our chestnut tree since I’ve seen a lot of them around there and I imagine they are happy with the multitude of pollinating crops on our property too and the surrounding properties/farms also. I doubt that the honeybees are hanging around our mulberry tree, since from my readings it seems they are wind pollinated. It’s nice to see that the honeybees aren’t as dependent on the sugar syrup.
You know what’s even better? I was pleased to see capped worker cells and I even spotted the queen! There she was on the last frame I’d inspected in the top box, surrounded by her workers. I even saw her going to an empty cell to lay an egg! If you remember, a few days ago, I mentioned that I hadn’t seen the queen on earlier Warre hive inspections. I “knew” she was in there somewhere based on the clump of activity I was seeing, but I didn’t actually spot her.
Outside the Warre hive I saw a flurry of activity from some ants! With the recent rain the cinnamon deterrent is now gone, time to do some outside maintenance tomorrow.
Naturally, this was the only occasion that I chose NOT to bring my camera! Sighs… oh well, let’s hope there will be other occasions.
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.
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.
Some of you might be curious as to how my honeybees are faring this morning. I installed the honeybees yesterday. They’re in a brand-new location far from the apiary in Georgia. They also have a new queen…
Warre hive around 5:30 a.m. All the honeybees are inside.
This morning, around 5:30 a.m., I checked on them and as I suspected none of them were flying around outside. I didn’t panic and think they had absconded.
See all the honeybees in this large cluster? They’re around the queen.
When I removed the observation window cover this is what I saw, the honeybees clustered around their queen. You can’t see her in that pile but she’s there. I’d say that they’ve accepted her.
Our Warre hive is hidden by foilage
My Warre hive is partially hidden by all the foliage, if you’re walking down our dirt road you’d eventually see the hive but without an invite there would be no reason to be on our road. Fallen trees block the dirt path that leads to woods, which is still on our property.
Later today, I’ll be heading to Richardson Farms with the sole purpose of acquiring more plants that I know honeybees love. Also on the list will be herbs that repel mosquitos; Argeratum, Catnip, Citronella, Horsemint and Marigolds.
Tomorrow will mark a week that I’ve had my honeybees.
