Category: Bee Keeping Journal

WildCA18A hive opened. Eggs found. Larva found. Good entrance activity. Hive numbers look great. Very calm bees. Top box very heavy.

Dakota18A not opened. External observations may indicate that the colony has swarmed. Did not open to check for queen cells.

Wild17 not opened. External observations hows many more bees at entrance.

Dakota18C hive opened. Marked queen found. Eggs found. Larva found. Colony needs more empty comb to build into. New comb is being built. Low numbers of bees inside and outside the hive.

Dakota18B hive opened. Eggs found. Larva found. Bee numbers inside and outside hive look excellent. New comb being built in both lower brood box and super.

WildCA18B hive opened. Eggs found. Larva found. Extremely spotty brood pattern. Consider a re-queen.

Dakota18B, filled frame feeder with syrup.

Dakota18C, filled frame feeder with syrup. New Carniolan queen still not free from cage. Released queen into colony split and visually checked that she was accepted. Immediately queen piping could be heard.

Dakota18A inspected. Empty Warre box moved to bottom of hive stack. All other boxes are full. That makes this hive 6 boxes in total. New empty Warre bottom box should solve the crowding problem with this hive. Still plenty of frames for brood.

Dakota18B hive inspected. Eggs found. Queen found. Decided to split colony. 3 Brood frames moved to South East hive stand. 3 blank foundation frames added to Dakota18B.

Dakota18C split created at South East hive stand. Split started with 3 brood frames and 1 honey frame. Colony started with a purchased Carniolan queen. Filled frame feeder with syrup.

Dakota18A hive opened. Empty Warre box added to top. Due to hotter temperatures, daytime and night time entrance is crowded and bearding.

Wild17 hive inspected. Larva found. Top box full of honey. Number 3 box is filled with brood. Number 4 box is half open frames. This hive is aggressive. Do not open without smoke and bee suit. Stung 4 times.

Dakota18B hive inspected. Eggs found. Queen found. Syrup feeder filled. Smoke used not bee suit needed.

WildCA18B hive inspected. Eggs found. Queen found. Syrup feeder filled. Smoke used not bee suit needed.

WildCA18B moved to campus at South East corner hive stands. Also empty hive body was moved as well. Smoke used but no bee suit needed.

Dakota18B hive inspected. Eggs found. Queen found. Frame feeder added and filled with Syrup. Smoke used but no bee suit needed.

Dakota18A hive inspected. Eggs found. Queen found. Good hive numbers. Smoke used but no bee suit needed.

Additional swarm catcher installed on campus, hoisted up into cottonwood trees next to field on West side of campus.

WildCA18B hive opened only to refill the frame feeder. Colony consumed all of syrup. No inspection performed.