The Barrel Bees

I do enjoy a swarm call that comes when I've just finished wrapping up my work on the hives. I'm available and already wearing my bee gear. I got a call via my web site in mid July. There was a swarm in a subdivision in the southwest end of the city..

Or at least it was a swarm but they had found a home. In a barrel.

 The bee scouts had found a medium/small sized barrel sitting outside on a deck.  It was being used as a plant holder and it had a perfect cork sized hole in its side. Not only that, the barrel was 1" thick, giving great R factor and it was located under the soffit of the house, providing warm from the bricks and protection from the rain.   Bees are so clever they never case to amaze me.

There was even a little pond a couple feet away providing a source of water. Clever bees. The bottom of the barrel was open, resting on the wooden slats of the deck. When I heard barrel over the phone I was thinking pretty large but this barrel was cask sized and quite manageable.

I picked up the barrel and when turning it upside down I could see about 4 or 5 medium pancake sized combs which the bees had created. I could guess the bees had probably been there for a few days to a week. I placed a bottom board and deep down next to the barrel and then tipping it upside down I shook the bees out. As usual, many bees went into the deep (it had frames) and many went into the air.

When this happens the bees will continue to go back to their original location so I then placed the deep as close to their original spot as I could. The slats in the deck boards confounded the bees when walking on the boards so I used a few leaves to create a bridge so they could walk back and forth.

The homeowners stayed inside most of the time and took photos through the patio window. But they were brave enough to come out and look.

  I explained how the cloud of bees in the air will slowing come lower and lower when they smell their queen in the hive and that within about 30 minutes or so most of the bees would be inside the hive.

And it happened just like that. But I'm not one to leave any bees behind so I left the hive there until after dark. I returned and picked up the hive, and the pieces of comb that had broken off but they had honey in them so I took them too so I could give them back to the hive.

I set the hive up on a new platform at the Heeman's bee yard. On top of the hive I set another inner cover on top of the first one and set the pancake sized combs on that.  The bees could travel into it to rob out the honey and wax if they desired. And they did--all the honey and the wax.

The hive did very well all summer and even though it was a late swarm (they said a July swarm "ain't worth a fly") they're worth a lot to me to replace losses. I gave them some frames of drawn combs with honey to give them a boost and also pollen patties.

The rest they took care of themselves.

I got a buzz of bumblebees

(Catching up on Spring 2014)

I heard that bumble bees like their nests on or low to the ground and that the best way to make them happy is to take a mouse nest and put it in a box with a small hole.

 

At home I had a mouse nest in my compost bin outside that I left alone so I could use it when I was ready.

 

I took a wooden unpainted bird house and put half the mouse nest in it.  I set it on the ground next to a pillar and held by a brick on top.

 

It was situated under the soffit of my outside patio so it was mostly out of the rain. All the advice online (Y-tube is best) on raising bumble bees says to use upholstery stuffing--the cotton, not polyurethane which catches on their feet.

 

I watched a video on nurturing-nature that showed a queen looking for a nest.

She focused strongly on a dead mouse corpse so it showed how she was scenting on mice looking for an old mouse nest she can use.

 

I was so happy when within two weeks a bumblebee queen had moved in. We've had a ton of rain lately so I put a piece of plastic on the bird house roof to keep the rain out. When I did this I could hear lots of buzzing inside so even though it was cold and wet outside there was a warm buzz on the inside.

 

A few days later it was still cool but not raining and I sat outside for an hour or so and watched workers coming and going from the box to my back yard flowers  I was so thrilled to have provided a home for bumble bees.

 

About a week later I went out to check on the nest and sadly found the bird house on it's side and the inside was empty.  A skunk attack I think.  I felt so bad.  I could only hope the bees were able to fly away.

 

Hard lesson learned that a bumblebee nest on or close to the ground must be secured so that skunks or maybe raccoons cannot tip it over or interfere with it too much.

The Wild

 I love The Pines.

 

[early spring photo]

 

Originally the land was a gravel pit which would explain the gorgeous large pond at the base of the hills.  The rest has been let to go naturally and it's grown into a lovely meadow filled with native plants and flowers.

 

The property is now conservation land.

 

Beekeepers are permitted to set up (with permission) on conservation land.

 

If you are having trouble finding a decent bee yard for yourself you might want to touch base with your municipality and any conservation organizations in your area.  You might be surprised and find a great spot.

 

But there are challenges to this property.  I've blogged about the raccoons that live in this wild area.  Another issue is field mice.

 

They moved into my large plastic bins with glee and made nests in the bottom.  Every spot that provides some shelter from rain was quickly moved into.

 

They chew through duct tape pretty readily too.  I'm glad there are owls and hawks in the area to hunt them.

 

I left two inner covers sitting out and two weeks later I came back to see mommy mouse nursing her two babies.  She got up to run away, dragging her babies who were clutched to her nipples.  I let them go.

 

I'm learning that in my new wild yards I can't leave stuff out like I did at my old yard.  Here the wild encroaches and takes every opportunity it can to make a home.

Summer Bees 2014

When people hear that I'm a beekeeper they always ask how the bees are doing.

 

They've heard the news and now most people are familiar with the problems bees are experiencing.

 

After losing 60% of my hives in the spring I was carefully optimistic that my remaining hives would grow and do well in the summer, especially since we moved.

We're now in two new bee yards that put us as far away from corn as we could get (which isn't really as far away as we should be.  Southwestern Ontario is heavily planted in corn for ethanol). 
 

The hives did build up and appeared to do well in spring and early summer.   I did my usual spring treatment for AFB, Nosema and mites.

 

Most of the hives built up as usual in late spring and created queen cells.  I did splits and even  nucs. for new hives.

 

But as the summer moved on the number of bees did not max out like it usually would in mid summer.  Most likely like last year they were requeening multiple times--the same issue as last year.

 

My answer for the summer of 2014 has been that the bees are okay but not great.  I must add to this that we did not have a hot sunny summer as we usually do and I think this played a huge part.

 

[Photos from The Pines.  The tall pole in the background has an Osprey nest site at the top].

Mid Winter Hive Check (2014)

(Catching up on winter 2014)

 

I try at least once in mid winter to check on the hives, especially if there's been lots of snow.

 

I like to make sure their bottom entrance is clear of snow and debris so they can exit the hive.

 

There is a top entrance as well, which is left open in winter to diffuse moisture from the hive (never block this or cold water droplets will form inside the hive and drip on the bees).

 

The hard part is getting into the hives.  I've had some experiences where the snow is hard and crusted on top and once you step your leg sinks to thigh deep.  One time there was mud at the bottom and it sucked my boots off.

 

I use a knapsack to hold my tools so my hands are free to use the ski poles.

 

On a sunny winter day it can be a pleasant hike.

 

I don't bang on hives or disturb the bees and putting an ear on the hive you won't hear the buzz this time of year since the cluster is smaller.

 

But I do peek in the top entrance and I will most often see guard bees resting just inside the entrance.  On warm sunny days they'll even be poking out the entrance. 

I always consider that a good sign.

 

I observe bee poop on the plastic wraps as well.  We can be quick to conclude nosema but both 2013 and 2014 we had a very cold winter.  I believe when it's very cold the bees slip just outside to poop and then get back in quick.  I think if they tried to fly out it'd be too cold and they wouldn't make it back.

 

This photo of bee poop and a few dead bees isn't unusual for the middle of winter.

 

Oh, and if you take a hike to your hives, make sure you have your cell phone in case you get yourself stuck in a snow bank!

Best Robbing Center

I've gone through a few different methods of setting out sticky items for the bees to lick clean, from empty pails to emptied sticky honey frames.

There are a few issues that come up when leaving frames outside, mostly rain and wind that flaps the tarp around (often blowing it right off) and then there's the wild animals looking for a meal.


At The Pines bee yard my traditional method of setting frames on a table wouldn't work.  This yard has some clever acrobatic raccoons which have shown me they can get into anything I set up no matter how high I set it up.

I put my problem solving to work and I thought over different methods but all of them had pitfalls.

Then one morning quite unexpectedly  I woke up with the solution.

I had two large outdoor rabbit hutches which I was not using.  They had single roofs which would take care of rain and snow and they have a wire face which would keep the raccoons out.  The lid was even hinged so I could lift it and set the frames inside.  Perfect solution.

I put one in each yard.  One yard we call The Pines because of it's soaring pine trees.  It's beautiful there just to sit and watch nature and the bees.  I put that rabbit hutch on top of a large wood box and weighted everything with bricks.  The black tarp helps to add heat from the sun.

So far it's stood up well... but raccoons are problem solvers too.  Time will tell

Canadian Beekeepers file Class Action Law Suit against Bayer and Syngenta

A quote from CBC News:  Canadian beekeepers are suing the makers of popular crop pesticides for more than $400 million in damages, alleging that their use is causing the deaths of bee colonies.

Dad and I have signed up for the class action law suit filed by Canadian beekeepers  against Bayer and Syngenta, the creator of the neonicotinoid pesticide, coined by beekeepers as "neonics".

The issue is of course neonics and the extensive damage this pesticide is doing to bees.  Bees have suffered terribly and beekeepers have suffered huge financial losses.

There are videos on the net and multiple news articles  showing bees struggling and dying painfully on the ground outside their hives.  I won't go to see it.  Too painful to watch.

The process will be long and drawn.  Most beekeepers in our club have signed on.  The expense of the lawsuit is absorbed by our lawyer Siskinds Law Firm.

The lawyers came to our club bee meeting in October 2014, and I was very pleased with the huge amount of research they have done on the topic.  They have thoroughly educated themselves on the subject.

If-
-or I should say when--we win we'll receive a cash reward and Siskind would gain a percentage which should hopefully cover their costs.

But more importantly, when we win there won't be neonics any more and the bees will be saved.

For more information here's a link to CBC news:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/canadian-beekeepers-sue-bayer-and-syngenta-over-neonicotinoid-pesticides-1.2754441