Today was 2 days after installation of the bee colony. Time to check. The main issue is removal of the queen cage. If she's in it, it's time to release her into the colony. As it turned out, the candy plug was gone. I did not poke through the colony to find her. Too much disruption in that. The way they are clustered together, I'm thinking the queen is at the center of the cluster.
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Hard to see due to lighting. Significant comb already made. Where do they get the energy and food to do that? I do have sugar syrup in the hive. In the morning, it was chilly and they were almost all in the hive. In the afternoon, it was warmer. I thought I saw a few foraging some dandelions. Not many. It's still chilly for foraging.
Today was 2 days after installation of the bee colony. Time to check. The main issue is removal of the queen cage. If she's in it, it's time to release her into the colony. As it turned out, the candy plug was gone. I did not poke through the colony to find her. Too much disruption in that. The way they are clustered together, I'm thinking the queen is at the center of the cluster. .JPG)
Hard to see due to lighting. Significant comb already made. Where do they get the energy and food to do that? I do have sugar syrup in the hive. In the morning, it was chilly and they were almost all in the hive. In the afternoon, it was warmer. I thought I saw a few foraging some dandelions. Not many. It's still chilly for foraging.
Hi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a hive like that. Looks cool. I kept bees (with my dad and a brother) back in high school. Just a typical box-shaped hive.
Looks like there's no comb starter or frames in your hive. What keeps the bees from building combs spanning across the top bars?
-Jason-
Jason, this is a "Kenyan Top Bar Hive". They are kind of trendy in the pacific NW and New Mexico, and among organic types. The bees pretty much know to build their honeycomb on ridges on the top bars, although sometimes the comb needs to be adjusted. You are right there is no comb or frame. The comb eventually gets cycled out, so there is no pesticide buildup. Top bar hives are less productive of honey compared to the box-type Langstroth hives. They are much easier on the back. Lift one bar at a time, instead of a whole box of comb. Nice to hear from you Jason!
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