Thursday, May 31, 2018

More food

I put four more pounds on each hive. They have drunk very little of their syrup. Maybe next week I will split four pounds between them...

Sunday, May 27, 2018

More food, and burr comb

I mixed up 8 more pounds of sugar to put on the hives. I got 4 pounds on the Salomium, but when I opened up the attic of the benedictium, there was too much burr comb (with brood!) on the feeder for me to feel comfortable working it without smoke, a brush, and a veil.

So I put on their 4 pounds today.

Quite a bit of brood up there in the attic. I don't like that.


Sunday, May 20, 2018

Oxalic acid, brood

My oxalic acid came in on Friday, so I mixed up a liter of 3.5% solution today.

I went out to the hives, and there was plenty of brood. I saw quite a few larvae when removing burr comb, and I saw no mites. So maybe I didn't need any oxalic acid after all, which is just as well, since it's too late to treat.

Happy Pentecost.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Food

Time to replace the feeder pails. There was a pint of syrup left in each, but it was getting moldy.

One gallon each, 4 pounds of sugar each.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Food

Put on two fresh feeders, 1 gallon each, each with 4 pounds of sugar.

Both of the old feeders were sucked dry.

Both queens have escaped, and plenty of pollen is going into both hives.

Friday, May 4, 2018

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Benedictium and Salomium

Installed two packages of bees today, named the Benedictium and the Salomium. It's awfully late, but the fruit trees are in bloom, and of course I'll feed them.

Put one feeder pail on each hive, each with 4 pounds of sugar.