I see I did not update on the fact that the queen I bought for Hive #1 died--probably a great deal my own fault. But to skip on and not dwell on that.
I thought that the bees in Hive #1 would probably survive long enough for me to get my two new colonies and--well, when I poked my nose in the box Saturday, all that was left was a clusters roughly about the size of my fist. Not enough--and they sure weren't going to make it until the other queens had enough space to start laying.
Alright, maybe I ought to back up to Thursday, April 28th. My new bees arrived on that date, in the AM. I got them installed, despite cool and damp and returned to cooking up a storm for my sister's wedding. Essentially, I forgot about them for the most part until late last week when I finally got around to lifting the lids on a warmer day.
I think it was partly due to the cool and wet weather we have been having that they had not built quite as much comb as I was expecting, but I saw no brood, though I did see some honey in what little comb had been constructed. Observing the inner bowls of the new hives, I sadly decided that the other bees weren't going to survive long enough, so I went ahead and robbed the three frame of honey out of that hive.
I have therefore, been draining honey in a rather messy, hap-hazard, on and off, fashion since Saturday afternoon.
The set-up looks like this:
I thought that the bees in Hive #1 would probably survive long enough for me to get my two new colonies and--well, when I poked my nose in the box Saturday, all that was left was a clusters roughly about the size of my fist. Not enough--and they sure weren't going to make it until the other queens had enough space to start laying.
Alright, maybe I ought to back up to Thursday, April 28th. My new bees arrived on that date, in the AM. I got them installed, despite cool and damp and returned to cooking up a storm for my sister's wedding. Essentially, I forgot about them for the most part until late last week when I finally got around to lifting the lids on a warmer day.
I think it was partly due to the cool and wet weather we have been having that they had not built quite as much comb as I was expecting, but I saw no brood, though I did see some honey in what little comb had been constructed. Observing the inner bowls of the new hives, I sadly decided that the other bees weren't going to survive long enough, so I went ahead and robbed the three frame of honey out of that hive.
I have therefore, been draining honey in a rather messy, hap-hazard, on and off, fashion since Saturday afternoon.
The set-up looks like this:
I'm finally working on the third frame and I may have a couple of slightly dusty, wax-infused honey by the time I get done. :) It tastes nice even if it looks a bit dirty. So, if you get any, just be prepared to spit tiny hunks of comb out. The stuff gets caught in my teeth terribly and it makes me wonder why some people like to chew the stuff.....
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