check out this bee guy

STYLE | June 23, 2009
Dining & Wine: The Beekeepers Ball
Benjamin Norman for The New York Times
Beekeepers, friends of beekeepers, people who like to dress as bees, bee-dressed children, and fans of local food were in attendance at a fund-raiser at Water Taxi Beach at South Street Seaport.

Obama's beehive

The bees are buzzing!

Today was a gorgeous day and when it's this nice my thoughts always turn to the bees. We've been checking them out weekly or so to keep the top entrances open and to check for numbers of dead bees. One hive seems to have a lot more dead than the other, but it made us wonder if that hive was still alive. Maybe there weren't any bees left alive to remove the dead ones.

Craig always said to look, smell, and listen. We can't look at them yet and can't smell anything, so today we got Don's stethoscope out and took it over to the hives. We placed the scope over the top entrance hole and heard a lovely humming coming through loud and clear from both hives!

I guess I am a worry-wart beekeeper, but I was so happy to know that both hives were alive. I know we aren't out of danger yet; I worry about whether our bees had enough stores to make it all winter. It's very hard to have to wait to open the hives.

We've ordered two more bee packages for April delivery. If both our hives survive the spring we'll be able to build our apiary to four hives. I think that's about all we'll be able to handle as hobbyists. I'm looking forward to comparing how the bees do who don't have to spend all their energy building comb like the package bees will have to do.

Wishing that all of your bees make it through and that you can continue to enjoy the bees again this year!

Bee Mary

Beekeeping calendar

At the potluck, Craig talked about the calendar developed at the Cornell University Master Beekeeping Program. Cornell has led the world in showing the best practical beekeeping techniques for many decades. Here's the link:
http://www.masterbeekeeper.org/calendar/calendar_home.htm
- you may want to copy and paste onto a place on your computer, as in a bookmark, where you can refer to it now and then.

great photo, Jen!

I now use it for a desktop screen image, says Dave.

Foulbrood Disease

BEWARE OF FOULBROOD

F/B is extremely contagious.  There is no cure.  The first warning sign is SMELL.  (Remember, Look, Listen and Smell).  Whenever you get into the brood chamber, inspect the sealed brood.  If the brood caps are broken and the larvae is rotting in the cell, it is probably F/B.  

THE FINAL TEST IS TO TAKE A TWIG, PUT INTO THE DECAYING LARVAE AND PULL OUT.  IF IT PULLS OUT LIKE A STRING, YOU HAVE AMERICAN FOULBROOD.

I repeat, THERE IS NO CURE!  If you discover an infected hive, be aware that everything you have used is now contaminated.  Especially your hive tool, hands, etc.  I keep alcohol with me for such an occasion.

You must destroy the hive.  Do this in the evening, after flight has stopped.  Use a pump up type sprayer filled with soapy water and pull every frame and spray the flightless bees.  They will quickly drown.  Put everything into double, heavy duty garbage bags.  In the fall you will burn everything in a BIG bonfire.  Textbooks will say you can salvage the boxes (only) by scorching the inside with a plumber's torch, but I would not trust it.

Foulbrood is spread by robbing.  As the hive weakens (because there is no brood hatching), it will be robbed out by other hives, infecting them.  This is why it is SO CRITICAL TO CATCH A DISEASED HIVE EARLY.  

ALSO BE AWARE THAT IT IS THE STRONGEST HIVES THAT OFTEN CATCH FOULBROOD.  This is because they are strong enough to overwhelm a weakened (diseased) hive.

 

There is a medication, terrimyicin (sp?), that PREVENTS F/B.  Many beekeepers use it in the spring and fall, in the form of patties.  I do not.  However, if I discover F/B, I do treat all my hives in the yard, since I am convinced there is a feral hive in the area that may infect the rest of my yard.  I will post the recipe for patties in a comment below.

One other thing.  So now you have these bags of rotting hives sitting in your garage waiting for the burn ban to be over.  In September, you have forgotten all about it and left your garage door open, only to discover hundreds of bees flying into the garage and lapping up the honey that is seeping out of the garbage bags.  NOT GOOD!  

Combining Weak Hives

If you have a couple weak hives, or perhaps a swarm and a weak hive, you can combine them and create a productive hive as follows:

Remove the bottom board from one hive place it on top of the other hive with a piece of newspaper between.  Cut slits in the newspaper with your hive tool.  

The bees co-mingle slowly and probably will not kill the queen that is strange to them.  The combined hives will often run for a time with 2 queens resulting in dramatic improvement in numbers of bees.  Eventually the queens will battle it out and the stronger will survive.