Honey Bee Maintenance: Checking the Hive
I am a novice beekeeper. Currently, I have two bee hives and they are both thriving. Two years ago I had one hive and they survived through the first winter but then I lost all of the bees by the end of spring. I think the hive lost its queen and just wasn't able to recover. They were eventually overtaken by every other flying insect; yellow jackets, hornets, and other honey bees. They came in and stole all their honey. My bees were either killed, left to find a better home, or joined another hive.
This spring I started again. This time with two hives. And this time, I've learned a thing or two.
Things I've learned when raising bees:
- Bees need you. They can be totally self-sufficient, but since you've provided them a hive you need to make certain it's an adequate size or they will find another place to live.
- Check the hive at least every two weeks. You are looking to see how full the frames are. If ¾ of the frames have comb you want to add another box with empty frames. You are also checking for brood. Is there new larva? Is there capped larva? Is there honey? Are there any queen cells?
- When checking the hive and pulling out the frames, wear a bee suit. Yeah....I thought I didn't need to wear one one time...
- Never wear black fleece when checking your bee hive and pulling out frames....see above. Black fleece resembles, perhaps ....a bear. They really don't like big black fuzzy things getting into their hive.
- Check for the queen. I don't see the queen very often, but there are signs of a queen. If the queen is present and active, you will see lots of larva at different stages. The picture below shows worker bees tending to the larva. The open cells contain larva at different stages and the ones with the caps are in the pupa stage. The total development time is 21 days for worker bees. Notice the bee towards the top center with yellow on either side? That is pollen stuck to its legs. Pollen is fed to the larva or turned into honey.
The queen bee can be seen in the picture below. She is the HUGE bee in the center. I don't know how she can be so elusive most of the time. Once you find her, you know it right away. The cells she is walking on with the white coating contain honey.
I love watching my bees. They are truly fascinating. If you've ever wondered where the term, "Busy as Bees" came from, all you need to do is watch a bee hive. I don't suit up when I am near my bee hives. Only if I am going to open up the boxes and pull out all the frames. That is when they think I am a predator. At other times, they don't pay me any notice at all.
The orange on the bee above is pollen. This bee just landed and is working his way into the box. The picture below shows how busy the opening is. The bees are constantly moving and flying in and out of the boxes.
I still have a lot to learn about beekeeping. I'm hoping for healthy hives and lots of honey!
Check out Harvesting Honey!
You might also enjoy reading these posts:
Honey Bees Starting a New Hive
and Honey Bees
Amanda says
I think these posts are fascinating! I never knew the thing about wearing black. Very cool.
Kathy says
There are probably some bee keepers that don't worry about the colors they wear...for me...no black fleece!
Kushi says
Informative post.Loved reading it. Thanks for sharing.
Rahul @samosastreet.com says
Great explanations here. Thanks Kathy. Enjoying your blog.
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Oh geez, you are MUCH braver than I am, Kathy! While I would love to have bee hives, I'd be too scared of them!! Glad your hives are thriving this year! Thanks for sharing all your tips.. you never know, one day I may muster the nerve! Cheers, friend!
Kathy says
I just hope my bees keep on keeping on. 🙂
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
Wow! I didn't know you are a beekeeper. Your bees and hive are just so beautiful. Love such posts, Kathy. Thanks for all the info.
Kathy says
I'm still learning the ropes of beekeeping.
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says
That is seriously super cool, Kathy! I loved this post! Good to know about not wearing fleece around the hive, not that I'm gonna get that close 😉 I love seeing bees in the garden...it's wasps I don't like. I'm sure they purposely chase me. Bees are much nicer 🙂
Kathy says
Those little bees just stuck all over the fleece...and yes, I did get stung. I don't like wasps either.
Manali@CookWithManali says
wow this was very interesting, loved reading it! Thanks for sharing all this information Kathy!
Kathy says
Thanks! I find the bees very interesting. I'm glad you do too!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
So interesting Kathy!! You're braver than me for sure!!
Kathy says
Honey bees are pretty gentle....until you start disturbing their hive. They don't like that very much!
Geraldine | Green Valley Kitchen says
Love these posts, Kathy - and I'd love to have a bee hive or two. How much honey do you harvest from them? I'd love to see a post on how you gather the honey. Thanks for an educational post!
Kathy says
Hopefully I can harvest honey this fall. Will keep you posted as to how much!
David @ Spiced says
Love this post, Kathy! I've always toyed with the idea of how fun it would be to have bee hives...but I thought they might not do well this far north. Clearly they do ok though since that photo of yours shows the hive covered in snow. Do they come back each spring? (You might have to wait until next year to answer that one I know...) Either way, I love it! You're gonna inspire me to try my hand at beekeeping one of these days!!
Kathy says
The bees stay in the hive all winter (if you are lucky :)) Sometimes they won't survive a winter, but often they do just fine.
Miriam - londonkitchendiaries.com says
How exciting to have your own bee hive! Bees are such fantastic creatures - I always try to have bee friendly plants in my garden. They especially love my lavender ♡
Kathy says
Lavender is a great plant for bees! Good for you for making certain they have plenty of great plants.
mira says
My friend also has bees and it was pretty interesting reading this post! Thanks for sharing!
Kathy says
Thanks, Mira!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
Hey Kathy -- love your bees and hive. Learned a lot, even though my close friend Susan has bees and she tells me all about the process. I know it takes a lot of educating to learn to be a bee keeper. Love all these great pictures and I can just imagine how rewarding it is to taste that sweet golden honey. So delicious!
Kathy says
I still have so much to learn. I'm hoping I get a lot of honey 🙂
Fran @ G'day Souffle' says
How fascinating! I was stung once by a bee on my finger tip and it was so painful. A very interesting post with lots of information!
Kathy says
Ouch! I've been stung by my bees many times....wearing the black fleece didn't help. They do hurt, but yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps are much worse than bee stings.