Swarm goes into nuc

Late Sunday afternoon I looked into the bee yard and saw the sky full of bees. They were gathering on the fence just behind the hives. I went out and took some photos and video and thought I would let them stay till the next day since it was late and already getting dark.

It has been too hot to go into the hives and pull queen cells. When you don't pull the queen cells out this is what happens. But with 110 heat index the thought of putting on a bee suit is too much for me to endure.

The next day I got a nuc, (a small five frame hive) with four empty frames and a frame of honey. I started scooping from the fence. I would put mu hands onto the frames and the bees would just crawl off my gloves into the hive. I had scooped about half the swarm into the nuc, looking for the queen with every handful. I never saw her... but all of a sudden I heard a loud buzzing and all the bees took flight. The ones on the fence left and the bees in the nuc started pouring out as well. I was sad to see them go but I wished the love and light. I took a few photos of them in the top of the pecan tree.

I had an appointment and when I returned home they had left the tree. I took the nuc and put it on the the feeding table I have in my bee yard. I saw some bees but I thought it must bee the other hives robbing the frame of honey. I did not put the top on the hive because I wanted them to have easy access to the honey. Several days passed before I looked at the hive. I thought the robbers should have had time to clean the frame. When I looked into the hive to my amazement they bees were building cone on the empty frames. My girls had not flown the coop but had gone into the nuc. I was so excited... but also I am not sure what I need to do to move the bees to a new location. They can not stay on my feeding table.

I am going to my bee meeting tonight and I will ask several of the more experienced bee keepers what they would do.

The bees are amazing little creatures. I am so happy they did not leave Sasserfrass Hill but decided to stay. We bee happy.!!!

Ms Deb

Weather has been cooler and wetter

Last week we had two days of only 90 degrees, which was almost cool, com paired to the 110 degree heat index we had the week before. I worked in my yards. I planted some plants friends had given me. I cut my grass and my elderly neighbors grass. It was actually pleasant working outside.

I found a very small swarm of bees on my umbrella very late last Sunday evening. Experts say if it is a small swarm and you remove the queen, the worker bees will go back to the hive they came out of. I did find the queen and put her in a bug box along with several attendants. I have a friend that needs a queen. I think she will be a welcome addition to her hive. I hope she will be happy and live a very productive life across town.

My queen and her attendants have been in the bug box for a week now. I hope she will survive until my friend returns on Tuesday. Until then she is getting honey and water. I have never kept a queen for so long in a bug box. I am not sure how long you can keep a queen in a cage... We will see...

Good luck my tiny queen.

Ms Deb

We have had lots of rain

Today is July 8th and we have had more rain in the last few weeks than we have had all year. We were in a nine inch deficit until a few weeks ago. Afternoon showers has turned the grass green and the flowers are blooming again. We are very grateful.

Jennifer Berry from the University of Georgia Bee Lab, came down and spoke to our Clark Hill Bee Club. She said the forecast was for cooler and wetter July and August. At the time it had not rained in weeks and it was 101 degrees... I thought... from your lips to God's ears...I think he heard, because it has been raining since her predictions.

The bees have been festooning on the hives in the evenings. Which is equivalent to us sitting out on the porch trying to stay cool.

We are getting the old four frame, hand cranked extractor out and we will be extracting honey from some of our hives next week. The Augusta Chronicle Newspaper reported Luke Thompson called and want to bring a photographer out and do a story on extracting honey. It will be exciting and I am looking forward to seeing how much honey the girls on Sasserfrass Hill have produced so far this year. The girls work hard for the honey ... and I am sure it will be impressive to see the beautiful liquid gold pouring from the extractor.

We made a big batch of Lip Balm last week. We gave out over twenty samples. Everyone said they really liked them and think they are the best recipe so far. We also have to make a big batch of lotion bars and fill several orders. Hopefully we will be making lotion bars next week.

Things are buzzzy on Sasserfrass Hill so I will sign off and get to work.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

We checked six of our ten hives today

This morning Rick and I checked six of our hives. We put a queen cell into two separate hives on June 5th, and I am happy to report each has a new prolific queen. I was so happy to see my attempts at re queening was successful. All the hives were doing well and making honey.

I have several honey supers ready to be extracted. I guess I should be extracting this week.

I have an old Dadant stainless steel honey extractor. It was a gift from an old family friend whose husband had bees some thirty years ago. It is a four frame, hand crank model. I do fantasize about the twelve frame radial ...Mac Daddy model sometimes. . .but I am very grateful I have an old family heirloom.

It was really hot this morning with all of our protective gear on. We could only check six of the ten hives. With temperatures climbing to 98 degrees today, I was lucky to get six inspected.

We sell our honey at Wild Birds Unlimited on Washington Road, in Augusta, GA. I delivered the larger, pound and half jars of honey on Friday and they ask me to bring in some of my lotion bars and lip balm. Our products are made with all natural botanical oils, Shea, mango or cocoa butters and 100% pure beeswax. We use no chemicals, preservatives or petroleum in any of our products.

I will be happy and very fortunate if Wild Birds decides to carry Sasserfrass Hill lotion bars also.

The hot temperates are hard on us and our tiny pollinators. Make sure you drink plenty of water and keep a clean supply of water for the birds and the bees. They need our help and will appreciate our efforts.

Stay Cool,

Ms Deb

It's Hot, Hot, Hot on Sasserfrass Hill...

The weather forecast is 98 - 102 degrees every day this coming week. My hives are in the brutal afternoon sun. I put up the bees umbrella's this week... It has been so hot in the afternoon and evenings many of the bees sit out on their front porch.... much too hot to go inside. I am going to try to give them more shade with plantings and I want to use the bamboo from my backyard to build an arbor or pergola, some type of shade.

I have been doing a little research.
I hope to come up with an attrictive, inexpensive and clever way to give the bees a little afternoon shade.

We had a powerful storm Wednesday evening. Several huge old oaks fell and hit a transformer, the entire neighborhood lost electricity. Our power went out about 9pm Wednesday evening and did not come back on until 6am on Friday. I must admit, it was miserable Thursday night. Rick bought a generator and we had a few fans stirring the hot air around, it did help a little. It made me very grateful for air conditioning, ice cold water and all the modern conviences we take of granted.... I hate to admit it but I think I was a tiny bit whinny.... sorry but it was really hot....it was 85 degrees inside my house.

Rick and I are going to go through the hives, frame by frame, in the morning (weather permitting) to pull queen cells, check on the queen cells we put in on June 5th., and check to see if it is time to extract some honey.

We had rain three day in a row, the plants are singing and the grass looks green and happy. We are grateful.

Bee Well,

Ms Deb

Checked and Pulled Queen Cells

Hello Everyone,

Rick and I went through all ten hives Saturday and pulled lots of queen cells. I would have had swarms next week if we had not done our chores. It is a lot of work, you must look carefully at every frame making sure you don't miss a single cell or you will be looking at your bees in the top of a tree. That amonts to a loss of lots of bees, honey and $$$$ !!!

We got a call today from a man saying he had honeybees in a tree in his yard. He said the bees have been in the tree for at least three years. I went over to check and saw a very gentle healthy colony of bees. I am going to do a trap out and try to bring these girls to Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm. What is a trap out you ask??? You place an adapted funnel over the opening of the tree, using wire and duct tape. You must make sure the bees can get out, but can not get back into the tree. The funnel has wire at the end of the spout, to prevent the bees from returning home with their pay loads, of nectar, pollen or water. I will place an empty hive full of frames just outside the tree. So all the forging bees can not return to the tree, so hopefully they will find the new hive an acceptable new home.

I must find a queen to put into the hive. Hopefully the bees will accepted her and she will become the new queen of the colony. It will take several weeks for this transfer to happen... I will be patient and wait and see.

It is nasty hot with no rain in sight. Plants are drying up faster than normal... I am worried what August will bring to hot dry Georgia . . . Keep your bird bath full of cool clean water for the birds and the bees. They will appreciate it.

In this photograph the bees are outside trying to stay cool. The temperature inside the hive is currently too hot for the girls to be comfortable.

Stay Cool,

Deborah

The "Girls" are making Honey

We have been very busy at Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm. The "Girls" are hard at work coming and going all over the bee yard and beyond. We went through the hive with honey supers on Saturday, Rick helped me with the heavy lifting. The honey supers weights close to 80 pounds. They have capped off lots of the supers and I am waiting for them to finish each one.

We have gone over and checked several new beekeepers bees. It looks like everyone will have an excellent spring harvest.

We are as busy as the bees with speaking engagements, making lotion bars and lip balms, graduations, class reunions, plantings and spring chores.

We will post more later, look at the time ...where does time go???

Bee Well,

Ms Deb