I inspected my hives yesterday. The weather was good for working with bees. There was a lot of pollen and nectar coming into the hive. Overall, the bees were very docile, and I was not stung. In fact, they were so calm I could have worked them without a veil.
I did not notice the queen in 'A' hive, but I saw her last week, so I am not worried. In 'B' hive, I noted a lot of eggs and young larvae in the freshly drawn-out foundation, which means that the queen was there laying those eggs just a couple of days ago. In fact, 'B' hive is doing so well, and has drawn out so much of the new foundation that I gave them a week ago, that I will soon need to add the third deep hive body. I may do a brief mid-week inspection to check their progress.
Both hives had lots of pollen coming in, but B hive had the most foragers bringing in pollen. This is a very good sign, as pollen is primarily consumed by brood and very young bees. So when the bees are bringing in pollen, it means they are raising lots of new bees, a good indicator that the hive is healthy and flourishing.
In this picture of the entrance of B hive, you can see several foragers returning with loaded pollen baskets. I count five of them:
In this picture, I am uncapping a couple of worker cells. My cousin is with me, and I wanted to show her the developing pupae in their cells. If you look in the top left of the frame, you can see reflections from the surface of uncapped honey in the cells. This frame was loaded with honey, pollen, and brood, and was very heavy. I had to rest the frame on the hive body in order to free my other hand.
Both hives appear to be doing very well, and I am very excited. I think I may get more honey this year than I initially expected. I will be producing honey in the comb, the only way to eat it, in my opinion.
I finally got my honeybees. I picked up two singles on the 15th of May, and put them very near an apple orchard. The day after I put them in place, I added a second deep hive body to each, as they were already getting crowded in the single hive body. Also, I have replaced all of the original equipment (hive bodies, top covers, bottom covers), except the frames, with my own brand-new equipment.
I did a full inspection of each hive yesterday, and spotted the queen in one hive, but did not see her in the other. Both hives appear to my novice eye to be very strong, with a great deal of activity at the entrances. There are lots of bees coming and going, and many of the returning foragers have loaded pollen baskets.
I visited them today, and walked around the area to see what is blooming, and what flowers the bees were working. I noticed the bees working Cercis reniformis (not native to this area, they were in large planters), Dandelions, Horsechestnut, Cardinal Red Osier Dogwood and False Honeysuckle.
This is a somewhat hasty journal entry, and I hope to make more complete journal entries in the future.
Here is a picture of my hives:
My hives are located at the Minnesota Horticultural Research Center, which is right across the street from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. I think that there is no better site in the entire state for honeybees. There is always a steady supply of flowers providing abundant sources of nectar and pollen for my honeybees. There is no plant in Minnesota which is not represented at the Arboretum, and there are many non-native species growing there as well. I suspect that because of the unique location, I am in a much better position than most beekeepers, in that I have a more constant, uninterrupted source of nectar and pollen.
I am very excited to taste the honey from my hives.
During my visit to the area today, I noted bees working on: Weigela florida, Peashrubs, Lonicera trichosantha (honeysuckle), Berberis koreana (Korean Barberry), Japanese Barberry, Kolkwitzia amabilis (Beauty Bush), Viburnum trilobum (Cranberry Bush), Elaeagnus umbellata (Autumn Olive), Cottoneaster allochrous, Spirea, and Black Lotus.
Also, I took some pictures. The first is a honeybee working on a Peashrub:
The second picture is of a honeybee on the front of one of the hive bodies. I was writing across the front with a Sharpie, and I think she was attracted by the smell. This picture is an answer to ufx's question as to why I got into beekeeping. If you can pardon the minor typo (I was writing from memory), and my kindergarten-level Arabic penmanship, the answer is there in black and white.
