A New Bee and Big Inspection

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Mr. Bee and I went without the kiddos this time to do a bigger inspection and move some boxes around to get ready for the "honey flow".  This is when the nectar flows are in peak and the bees make tons of comb and honey, and it's important for us to make sure they have plenty of frames available to work on.

While Mr. Bee and I were getting suited up to do our big inspection, I saw a strange insect pollinating some little wildflowers nearby.  Upon a closer look, I was amazed that it looked just like a honeybee...except with a bright green body!  I've looked into it and I'm pretty sure this was a "Green Metallic Bee", of the genus Agapostemon.  According to Wikipedia, there "are some 45 species" of this type of insect, and their range goes all the way from Canada to Argentina! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agapostemon) (photo below mine)

Green Metallic Bee, Clear Lake, MN by Erica Knudson
Our girls are working hard.  The third hive (my hive) is falling behind.  Their temperament is still volatile and the hive was not as busy out in front when we arrived.  Mr. Bee took apart the frames in the brood box to inspect, and he felt very sorry to have done it.  Taking the frames apart ripped open a lot of comb that held developing larvae, so it may set them back a little more.  We left the brood frames alone in the other hives.

The middle, "second" hive is trucking along normally.

We feel the first hive, "Rhema's Hive" is doing really well.  The following photos are from that hive.

Lots of comb and honey...


...and happy beekeepers.


 (I finally thought to set my timer and get a shot of the both of us!)


The wood frames are turning out to be a great change.  The bees are really drawing the comb out thick, and it's beautiful!


On a couple frames we saw some longer cells, which I believe are for drones (male bees) (below).  They were all lined up on the bottom of the frame, so I'm looking into whether this is normal or if the bees are doing this to manage something like mites (a pest to honeybees). I'll get back to you on this. We did feel, though, that it wasn't excessive or worrisome, so it feels like these bees are on top of things.  


The area in front of the bees is growing beautifully and wild.


My favorite shot from the day is definitely this one:

by Erica Knudson

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