On 3rd July, Sunday, I split Molly Brown. I took out the queen and five frames of brood, added 2 frames of brood and a pollen patty to create the new split. I noticed it was time to split MB when supersedure cells were being constructed.
On 7th July, I checked the queenless MB and the emerging queens were piping. It was the first time I heard the queens piping. Was really quite a moment to relish to hear such a sound and observe how the bees behave differently while queenless. " Piping is most common when there is more than one queen in a hive. It is postulated that the piping is a form of battle cry announcing to competing queens and the workers their willingness to fight. It may also be a signal to the worker bees which queen is the most worthwhile to support." Wikipidea.
The bees were running around as if insecure and lacking identity. They were attacking my fingers and the hive tool. Was an unusual behavior and I had the hunch that I should slip on my gloves with queenless MB. Found at least 10-12 supersedure cells. Destroyed all but two cells. One cell was capped and piping, the other is a big cell and uncapped. Was in dilemma which should I keep. I placed a green thumbtack to identify the frame where the supersedure cells are to check when I go in this weekend to check on the development of the cells.
About Me
- Bees of Stoney Creek
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- I am a beekeeper in Vancouver, British Columbia. The bees forage all the way up Stoney Creek by Burnaby Mountain.I am committed to not exposing my bees to chemicals for pest control or a quick fix to their health. I am committed to keeping them without treatment and I am working very hard to make this a success. I prefer my bees to feel like their sister's in the wild and a little bit more comfortable with the care I provide. Enjoy the pictures and follow my beekeeping endeavours.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Ant Problem
Ants have discovered the sweet oasis from the hive and they have been mobilizing themselves to take over the colony. I opened up the hive last week and the ants have used the inner cover board to carry ant eggs about a thousand of them to be hatched above the hive. I check the hive every week otherwise, I'll be keeping ants. The ants has made the bees edgy and it has made beekeeping more challenging. The bees have shorter temper as they are more defensive throughout the day. I've been wearing gloves to not get stunk. They have also been propolizing cracks around the inner cover to stop ants from coming into the hive.
I have since placed the hive over a stand that is surrounded by a pool of cooking oil to prevent the ants from climbing into the hive. So far that has managed to reduce the amount of ants significantly.There are still ants but I think they are climbing in from the overhanging weeds. I used pasta bottle lids to hold the oil and some unused Ikea parts to create the stand.
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