Spring Is Early

Officially spring is still a couple weeks away, but things don't appear to care what the calendar tells us.  It's been warm the last few weeks with daily temps getting above 50F+ and also very wet!  There is a ton of stuff blooming, but getting out there between rainstorms is making it hard to get good photos.  Plums came into full bloom this week which is the first big tree and the bees are definitely noticing. 

I was lucky enough to get a few hours of sunshine this morning and was able to check all the hives.  Some are weak and have tiny patches of brood, but two stand out in particular and will be my breeder queens this year.  Unlike previous years I plan to replace all the queens of week hives this year rather than try and keep them going and waiting to see how long they will last before mother nature kills them.  Often these weak hives will build up and look great by the blackberry flow and it's easy to forget they almost didn't survive winter.  Last year I picked one of these queens to be a breeder queen because I got distracted by their great buildup and as a result I lost all the daughters over winter.

One of the hives I want to breed from this year is the Rosemary hive. I like this hive because they stored a good amount of honey and have kept the hive bottom board spotless all season.  The hive was split early spring last year and didn't have any other brood breaks.  My main concern is that the daughters from winter 2014 both died leaving queenless hives.  Other concerns are that they build crazy comb, and don't ignore you during inspections.  Sometimes that can turn into aggression with daughter hives.

The other hive I want to breed from is Quickdraw.  They already have capped drone brood and are building up very quickly and I'll be needing to do swarm management before the end of the month.  These bees are a little different from the other hives in that they stored a LOT of pollen mid summer and then had a big buildup during the dearth and then somehow replaced all the pollen with honey going into fall.  They build straight comb and ignore you during inspections.  However they didn't dry all the nectar and some of it fermented leaving the hive bottom board a bit "wet".  I also found a fair number of dead bees in the back of the hive on the bottom board.  Perhaps the dead bees were from trying to remove the fermented nectar. 

Sadly my camera battery died and I didn't get any hive photos today.  

Crocus are a great pollen source.

Calendula tends to start booming a little before the dandelions.

Lawn Daisy is already out in bloom.

Winter Daphne (Daphne odora) is a delicate shrub starts budding during the peak of our winter and is in full bloom by early spring.  These evergreens have thick waxy looking leaves with varieties ranging from either solid dark green, or yellow variegated.  The long lasting pink/white flowers are sweetly scented and tough enough to hold up in our late winter storms.  Plant in well-drained soil that can fully dry out between watering as they will quickly die in soggy or deeply watered locations which is why they have a reputation for being short lived plants.  A key to getting great blooms is to plant them in a location that gets morning sunlight and afternoon shade.  Pruning should be minimal and focused on removing diseased or dead branches keeping in mind that this is an open branched bush that needs airflow.  They can be easily started from cuttings, but will not transplant.

Most varieties of the Which hazel are just finishing up their bloom.

Dandelions are in bloom and are great pollen and nectar source.

Back to the bees,

- Jeff

Indications Of An Early Buildup Due To Mild Winter

Winter has been mild this year!  I've been able to open and inspect hives on nice days several times this year when typically I would be lucky to get a peak before mid March.  Looking at my flower photos you might think Seattle is a tropical oasis at the moment, especially if you are under a blanket of snow!  However it's not spring... yet, but we do have some late winter blooming plants that are moving full steam ahead.  I also have seen some late fall plants that should have shut down with winter that are still going.  This means a good amount of pollen and nectar is available for hives to use for buildup.  The worry now would be a winter storm cutting off that food supply for more than a couple days and a hive dying because it had over extended it's resources.

Crocus are coming up and are great pollen sources.

Camellia's are still going strong and the late winter varieties are starting to pop.

Winter Heather is going strong and a good nectar source.

Snowdrop (Galanthus) is coming up.

Bergenia cordifolia seems to bloom whenever the weather is mild.

I came across a whole hedge of English Ivy in bloom the other day.  You can see some older blooms that are fruiting but new blooms should have wrapped up last fall.

Vinca minor is starting to bloom.

Hazelnut catkins (three long parts) and flower (tiny bud coming off the branch with a touch of pink at the tip) are getting close to blooming.

Dandelions didn't take much of a break this year and are already coming back into bloom.

Iris Reticulata is coming up.

Mushrooms are everywhere right now. I don't see bees on the mushroom bodies, but have read that they do collect the mycelium, which would explain cases where I have seen them in soil.

Jasminum nudiflorum is almost finished blooming.

Garrya elliptica (Coast Silk-tassel) have impressive catkins right now offering up polling and nectar.

Helleborus are in bloom and a good pollen source.

Daphne odora is starting to bloom.

Collard blooms are a great food source.

Viburnum tinus (Laurustinus) is still going strong. They have been blooming all winter.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis) includes several different species that are native to Eastern North America, China, and Japan ranging in colors from yellow to red that bloom during winter on bare branches after the leaves have fallen.  Looking around our northwest gardens the species we typically find are from Japan (H. japonica) and China (H. mollis) or crosses between the two.  The American species start blooming in late fall between October and December, and the Asian species typically bloom between January and March.  They start blooming while the previous years seeds are still on the branches and thus get the Latin name hamamelis which means "together with fruit".  The seed pods contain two black seeds and will pop when mature throwing the seeds a short distance away.  When not showing off their impressive winter blooms, they have attractive soft green leaves in summer.  They need to be planted in a sunny or mostly sunny spot that has fertile soil, and will also need regular watering during dry summer months.

Rosemary is still going and loved by the girls.

Sarcococca ruscifolia flowers might not be noticed, but their vanilla scent is hard to miss.

Hive checks (1/6/2015)
Today was around 53F and did visual entrance activity checks on the hives.

• Rose, Rosemary Daughter, Ballard Daughter, Rosemary, Solis and Dyno all had entrance activity. 
• The Ballard hive didn't have any activity but did have a robber or guard bee hanging around the entrance. 

Hive checks (1/19/2015)
The weather was so-so today and a few bees where flying from Rose, Rosemary Daughter, Ballard Daughter, Rosemary hives.

• There was no activity in the Ballard hive, so I pulled the back frame and there they were, and sadly they weren't equally as happy to see me. I pulled the last frame of comb (empty) out and replaced it with a frame of honey and added a cup or so of dry sugar in the back. Usually they are like kittens during inspections so I'm second guessing that something is wrong other than they really didn't want to see me today. Perhaps it's a lack of food or maybe the queen is dead. Will need to wait for a bit nicer weather to investigate further and for now I know they have food and hope they have a queen. 
• Rosemary hive also got a frame of honey. They had an empty bar in the back so there was room for another comb of honey. Rather than putting it in the very back placement I moved it one frame in (there was still honey on that frame, but not the back side. This way they will be able to cluster around the new frame if they should need it, although the cluster looked to be covering several frames forward. 

Hive checks (1/25/2015)

The sun was out today and temps were over 60F!

Rose
There are several frames of bees and they have a good amount of stores left.  I did not see the queen or signs of the queen.

Rosemary daughter
Same situation as the sister in the Rose Nuc.  There are several frames of bees and they have a good amount of stores left.  I did not see the queen or signs of the queen.

Ballard daughter

This hive is not typical of what I usually see for overwintering behavior.  Brood production never shutdown and they are using over half the hive.  I would also think that a big hive like this would burn through resources and starve, but to the contrary they actually have good stores.  Not only do they have stores, but they have either uncapped honey or fresh nectar in the brood area.  There is also a little surplus pollen being stored, but mostly anything that comes in is getting used for brood production.

The broodnest extends over 5 frames and is at least double the size it was when I inspected in early December.  The brood nest starts 6 frames in from the entrance.  One concerning issue I saw is that they have what looks to be a supersedure cell on a frame.  The angle of the cell made it very difficult to see into it to determine if there was anything in there besides royal jelly and sadly the photos I did get only add to the uncertainty, but I doubt they would waste royal jelly on an empty cell this time of year.  I saw a few drones in the hive, but I doubt there would be many other hives around with drones for mating.  However if you need a new queen, then you have to try.  Fortunately the old queen is still going, so they likely wont get rid of her until she gives out or they have confirmed the new queen is laying well. 

Supersedure cell with royal jelly.

Here is the queen.  She looks good, but they think something could be wrong.  Maybe 5 frames of brood isn't good enough?!

Lots of pollen coming in.

More pollen.

There were 5 frames of brood like this.  Most hives have small patches if anything.

Ballard

I like to think I know what my queens look like, however when I saw the queen in this hive I was thinking, who are you.  While she doesn't look all that dissimilar from the photos I have I am still left feeling like this might be a late fall supersedure queen.  I last saw the queen in here on my 10/4/2014 inspection.

There were hardly any stores left in the hive and I have them several frames of honey on each side of the broodnest.  There was a tiny patch of brood and many cells with eggs in them.  There aren't a lot of bees left in this hive but they are trying.

Hard to see but there is a little royal jelly and little larvae in this patch of cells.

Here is the queen.

Rosemary
This nuc is full of bees and they looked to be in good shape.  They have good stores and the broodnest covers 3 frames.

The queen looks good.

Small patch of brood.

Solis
They are alive but struggling. I cleaned a lot of dead off the bottom of the hive.  Didn't see much of a brood area but did see the queen.  They have a few frames of bees and good stores. Bottom of the hive was damp and opened another ventilation hole.  This hive is in a damp location in general.

The queen and several cells of crystallized nectar.

Dyno,
Saw the queen and a small patch of eggs.  They have a few frames of bees and have plenty of stores.  Lots of dead bees on the bottom of this hive as well that I cleaned out.  Sadly I also saw a small yellow jacket trying to get in!

The queen was being photo shy, but she has a tiny cluster with eggs.

Back to the bees,

- Jeff

Spring Buildup and Thoughts on Splitting Hives

The usual iffy winter months of February and March turned out to be mild for the girls this year with no major storms passing through.  The hives have been building up and look like they will be in good shape by the end of April.  In talking with many beekeepers is seems that this was another hard year for the bees and many beekeepers are seeing very high losses.  

From dawn to dusk, they are always working.

There has been is a good selection of flowers available and I have been seeing a lot of pollen coming in.  The cherries and dandelions are out in force right now providing the bulk of resources. We also have been getting short waves of nice weather (as opposed to 24/7 rain) which really gives the hives an opportunity to collect good pollen and fresh nectar.

Cherry blossoms.

Flowering Red Currant

Corylopsis (Winter Hazel)

Hive Splitting as a Management Option for Overwintered Hives

Spring has arrived in soggy northwest fashion bringing with it a variety of blooming flowers and the girls have been busily working them to bring in food to build up their numbers.  Overwintered hives might struggle a bit at first but once they hit that sweet spot they will explode in numbers and can quickly make plans to swarm.  This is the time of year that you will want to maximize the hives buildup to produce the largest workforce possible while suppressing the swarming instinct.  Each hive is a little different in how fast it will build up and it is necessary to make inspections every 7-10 days to check for swarm cells.  However if you are a bit of a lazy beekeeper and/or don't have enough time there is another option to consider as a swarm preventative which is to make a split.

There are many ways to split a hive and the simplest is to equally divide all the resources between the two hives making sure both new hives have eggs and young larvae.  The side that doesn't get the queen will create emergency queen cells from young larvae.  You can also take several frames and the queen from the hive to make a nuc letting the stronger hive make the queen cells.  Timing is important and ideally you want to make a split when the hive is strong enough and there are plenty of drones available.  Some hives will be ready to split in late April and others early June so you have to watch the weather, but you usually should start a split before the first major flow.

After starting a split you need to check back in about a week to make sure that queen cells in the queenless half look good and are close to being capped.  You should see multiple cells which will indicate that everything is going well and a new queen will be emerging in the next week.  At this point you will want to leave the hive alone for 2-3 weeks to allow the new queen to emerge and go on mating flights and eventually start laying.  After the queen starts laying the hive will take another three weeks for these eggs develop into workers and you can confirm the new queen has a good laying pattern.  Pausing for a moment consider the math here and you can see why this is an effective way to prevent swarming as it will take about two months before the hive is adding new bees and building back up again.

There are also a few other advantages to making splits.  You build on the genetics of your overwintered hive and will raise a new locally mated queen.  The queenless hive goes through a brood break which can help with mites and brood diseases.  You now have a nuc backup in case something happens to one of your queens or as a resource you can sell to another beekeeper.  Also the brood break allows the workforce of your queenless hive to focus resources on nectar and pollen collection and can potentially boost your harvest if timed correctly with the flow.  There are also many things that can go wrong when making a hive queenless so be sure to consult with an experienced beekeeper or mentor before starting.  Good luck.

Evergreen Clematis

The Big Leaf Maple is a fast growing northwest native found primarily between the Cascades and the coastline.  They will outgrow the native evergreen trees but at the cost of having brittle branches and a shorter life span.  Often home to a variety of wildlife and mosses they provide summer shade and an inescapable downpour of leaves in fall.  While there are many varieties of maples in the area the Big Leaf Maple is the largest and often grows into large twisted masterpiece of the landscape.  The blooms of these giant trees can create a minor flow if we are lucky enough to get several days of sunshine in a row.  If you find yourself under one of these trees on a sunny spring day be sure to listen for the hum of the bees.

Big Leaf Maple Blooms

Forsythia blooms. I've been seeing the bumble bee queens in these as well.

Daphne odora 

 Rhododendron

Vinca minor

Aubrieta deltoidea

Daphne laureola in bloom. This may look nice in the garden but it is a noxious weed and unlike many of the others that the bees love, the sap, leaves and berries of this one are toxic for us and pets.

Hives checks (3/30/2013)

Geeks
Saw the queen and several frames of brood.  The hive is growing and they look like they will be in a good place by the end of April.

Icon Daughter
Saw the queen and several frames of brood.  This hive is building up quickly and saw several patches of drone brood on the way and some newly emerged drones.  I wouldn't be surprised if these girls try to swarm before the end of April.

Solid brood pattern getting capped.  You can see a few drones here as well.

Rebels
To my surprise I saw a small patch of brood and the queen running around.  I'm not sure how they are still alive with maybe a few hundred bees, but they are.  The lack of storms this month is probably the only reason they are still around.  I've got my fingers crossed for them.

Surf
This hive is building up faster than I thought.  They are covering about half the frames in the hive at this point.  They had 2 full frames of drone brood on the way and many drones already running around.  I suspect they will want to swarm before the end of April which is on par with what I've seen before from this queen line.  I guess they didn't get the memo that most other hives died or aren't that far along yet and they need to wait for them to make drones.

Several frames of drones coming in this hive which is a sign they might try for an early swarm.

Here is a shot of the queen herself.

Back to the bees,

- Jeff