Exploring the World of Bees…
I was notified of a swarm on campus and requested to remove immediately. Swarm was located in a small flower bush about 2 feet off the ground. Swarm was approximately 10 inches. Swarm was transported in a Nuc box with old frames. Swarm was placed in 3 Warre boxes. Bees are darker in color, slightly aggressive and spend considerable time cleaning. Started the colony with 1 frame of capped honey and 1 brood frame. Hive labeled WildCA18A.
Two bee packages were installed. These package are an Italian/Carniolan hybrid from ApisHive.com. The two new hives will be labeled Dakota18A and Dakota18B. Dakota18A was installed into 3 Warre boxes at Niagara Way. Dakota18B was installed on campus at Woody’s pond into 1 Langstroth deep brood box.
Wild17 hive was treated for mites, oxalic acid, 2 caps, 10 minutes.
Wild17 colony has survived and overwintered in 2 Warre boxes. Partial inspection looking for queen. The colony is queen right. Treated for mites, Oxcylic acid, 2 caps, 10 minutes. Added 1 Warre box. Added more sugar candy to the top board.
The commercial colony has disappeared. Last inspection was 4 weeks prior and while I did not find the queen, I did see capped brood and larva. The boxes are full of resources but no capped brood. There are dead bees in the bottom of the hive but not nearly enough to account for the entire colony. I think they just abandoned the hive. Maybe there was a nectar dearth.
Wild17 Colony is doing just fine and numbers look excellent.
The commercial hive is going strong still. All boxes have been built out with honey stores . 2 boxes are full of brood. Queen is laying.
The commercial hive has produced so many frames of honey I needed to remove some and give them more space to grow. 4 frames were removed and replaced with empty ones. We had a quick honey harvest.
The commercially sourced bee genetics are growing fast. The queen is laying. The bees have been bearding on the outside of the box. I added another Warre box.
The Wild17 Colony appears to be looking healthy. The queen is laying.
Both colonies have great entrance activity. The wild caught colony does have a very different behavior and is more aggressive.
