Not 1, Not 2, But 3 Hives!

The bees before I got rid of entrance reducer

Look how tall the hive is!

Bee in house #2

Bee in house #1

Bee house #1

Sorry for not posting last week. I have been swamped! For the past few days the weather has been in the high 60s/low 70s. The bees sure love it. Last Wednesday I noticed some bees going into one of the empty birdhouses in the yard. Turns out there is a bumblebee hive there. Then today I saw bumblebees going into another empty birdhouse. Seems like I have two bumblebee hives in my yard, plus the honeybees. I am like a big bee farm. Last week Sunday I checked the hive by myself. I had trouble getting the smoker started, but after a few tries it worked. Unlike today where it worked perfectly in front of Corky. The bees have moved up into the second box, and today I added a third. The hive is getting tall. Bees have hatched, so my population is getting much bigger. Since there was so much commotion at the entrance to the hive, I felt it was time to get rid of the entrance reducer. The bees still only come in on the left side though. I planted lots of flowers on the weekend, so I have been seeing bees flying around them. Well, hope no more new hives come into the yard.

-Audrey

O The Seattle Weather

For the past days it has been cold, cloudy, and windy here in Seattle. Not good bee weather. Still, I have seen some bees buzz'n about the hive and yard. Before the bees had come I installed a birdbath for them to drink out of. It is cute and next to the hive, but no they don't like it. Instead, the bees have discovered one of the empty pots in my yard full of dirt. They suck the water from that. It is hilarious to watch them sip the water. I can sometimes see their tongues.

Today I opened the hive without Corky! Since it was chilly I did it fast, just so the bees wouldn't get cold. They have moved up to the second box, but the first one still isn't full. Hmmm, maybe they don't want to fill it all. I saw the queen, which is of course good. Sadly, I had problems getting the smoker started, so I did without the smoke. I could tell the bees were more upset that I was in their house, for they kept staring at me. Well, hope the weather clears and it gets hot so they can go out exploring more.

-Audrey