Early Mid-Season Update

It’s the week of the Fourth of July and that’s normally when we have the start of greatest flow of nectar in our area. Spring was wet, though, and summer has taken it’s time to appear (I think it is finally safe to say it is here). We are watching to see if and how the beekeeping year is affected by these factors. Regardless of how long it feels like it took for summer to make itself known, it is here, and you can tell by looking at the hives. Trees and grass and wildflowers are surrounding them, and it’s just beautiful. 

We did decide to do something unique this year. Beekeepers using the Langstroth hive (the type we use) generally use 8, 9 or 10 frames in each box. Mr. Bee prefers 10-frames, but they are larger and quite noticeably heavier. I prefer 8 frames since they are easier for me to lift and they make for nice, tall stacks at the end of the season. (We have enjoyed using 9 frames in a 10-frame box, but that is a story for another day.)

Orange pollen coming in!

As you know, we have two hives this year. We decided that we would help each other with inspections and the beekeeping work in general, but that “his hive” would be a 10-frame and “my hive” would be an 8-frame. This way, we could make clearer observations about how the bees responded to the space differences and how we work with the different sizes.

Having this difference has been really fun so far. We did add a second box to each hive relatively early because of our schedule the following week and since Carniolan honey bees are prone to early season swarming, but we later realized the hives would have likely been fine waiting. We weren’t sure if the extra space was a setback, but I think not. Bees in the wild make hives in large tree cavities, after all. My philosophy is that too much space is better than not enough. Despite that small question we had, the bees are strong and healthy and we are excited about the new comb and even new honey storage that we are starting to see. 

“His hive” has been steady and we just added a honey super so that they will have space to start in during the nectar flow. When I walk up to the hives to see how the activity looks at the entrances, there is always a great flow of traffic in and out of this hive. One or two inspections ago, this queen showed us one of the best brood patterns we have had. 

“My hive” has also been growing well and progressing. I added another super on my hive earlier, since the bees have less space to fill outwards before they move upwards. In terms of honey storage, I am fairly certain they are not any further ahead than the other hive. That being said, I have really enjoyed being able to lift and carry the hive components with a little more ease. In both of the hives, the clean white color of the brand new comb and the smell of new honey has been delightful. 

We have been enjoying summer with full focus, as Minnesota as many Minnesotans do. Our days have been filled with gardening, sprinklers, sidewalk chalk, bug spray and ice cream in the evening sun. The kids have tried fishing this year, which has produced some very proud moments for all of us.  Scout has also enjoyed a lot of time playing frisbee fetch outside and we look forward to getting her to the lake a few times this summer, too. 

Our hope is that the next update will include lots of new, stored honey, and healthy, strong bees (and not too much sunburn for me).

Take some time to be outside today, and notice some native pollinators if you can.

Happy Independence Day!