Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Bees were, well....busy today.

The weather's been warming up and today the bees were pretty active. Almost too active. I had noticed that the feeder was empty and when I replaced it full they just started going crazy. I just finished the box and frames for one more brood section so the bees have more room. I've heard that if they feel like they're running out of room they can swarm and I didn't want that to happen. So, when I saw so much activity outside of the hive this afternoon I assumed the worst only because I still have no idea what I'm doing and what to expect from these insects. Here's a little video. Enjoy.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

BEES!!!!

So I've been thinking about it for a couple of years and now I've finally done it. I brought home a hive full of bees today.
I got in touch with a man out in Indian Trail and drove out to his house this afternoon. He and his wife have about a 6 acre spread of woods, meadows with goats, a big pond and I don't know how many bee hives.

I after loading a few full frames into my hive box and one bee sting on the back of my neck (I wasn't wearing a veil.) I drove back into Charlotte and starting getting the colony into it's spot.


These are pretty amazing creatures. As soon as I opened up the little hatch on the front a few streamed out. They hovered around the entrance for a few minutes and within 20 minutes were already buzzing around the front and backyard foraging for nectar. I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and organizing my shed and checking on the entrance of the hive from time to time. And when the sun finally started going down and my backyard was getting dark, I could see the last few scout bees coming in for the final landing of the day. A little while later the hive was quiet. I guess I'll find out in the next couple of days if they all want to stay awhile.