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

I did it by myself!

We added the second box

It is hard to see, but the queen has the green dot on her.

I didn't know I had all those bees on me!
Smoking
Today I opened the hive all by myself! Also, I never got stung. The queen has been laying eggs, and almost all of the first box has been covered. So, I added a second box. The bees gulped down all of the sugar water, so there wasn't even a drop left. For the next two weeks I will be checking the hive by myself, but on the third week Corky will return just to make sure everything is going smoothly. Well, the hive is thriving, and I should get honey by June/July.

-Audrey

Sting

Alas, the time has come. I have been stung! I was sitting by the hive when a bee came over to investigate my face. Stupidly, when it landed on my eye I flicked it away. But, it still had time to graze my eyebrow with its stinger. I forgive it. On a more positive note, I opened the hive today! All was well. Queen Titania had been released and started laying eggs already. With help from Corky I captured the queen and put a green dot on her head to mark her. The bees had also made honey comb. While watching the bees daily I can see that the bees are bring back lots of pollen. I wonder where they get it? My neighbor, Sam, told me he has seen many bees in his yard lately after years with no bees. I think they are doing their job. Well, all is good in the hive. Hope it stays that way.

-Audrey

The First Few Days

For the past two days the bees have been extremely quiet in the morning. I think it is because of our cool and damp Seattle weather. Also, the clouds have been covering the sun, so they don't get as good of start in the morning. But, by 11-12:00 the bees start to move. In the afternoon there were about one-hundred bees outside. It was crazy! This night I changed their sugar water that I use to feed the bees. They had nearly finished all three bottles! The bees sure love sugar. Hope all is well in the hive.

-Audrey

THE BEES HAVE ARRIVED

I am standing with the hive

Bee butt

A few of the inmates
THE BEES ARE FALLING

The little box is where the queen is. A marshmallow is at the entrance of the little box to keep her in. The workers will chew through it to let her free.

My bee explainer and helper, Corky, shows how to transfer bees into the hive.
Mom and me. The workers.

A birdbath the bees can drink from
The hive!!!
My helper, Teddy. He stole mom's garden glove.
All seven boxes

Painting

Me painting the boxes blue
Grandpa and me

Grandpa building the beehive

Hello. I am Audrey, a 13 year old girl from Seattle. I have always loved bees, so after going to meetings at the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association I ordered bees from California. The Queen is Italian, so supposedly she is calmer. Today, was the greatest day, for she arrived. Her name is Queen Tatania after the fairy queen in A Mid Summer's Night Dream. For the following year I will be documenting my attempt at beekeeping, showing what it is like being a first time beekeeper, hopefully making honey and selling it, and surviving the winter. Hope you enjoy!

-Audrey