Episode 4: The One Where the Bees Are Annoyed

This past Sunday was rainy, cool, and otherwise horrible on multiple levels, so I did not get to inspect the hive. The weather broke, though, as it does, and yesterday was beautiful. Since it was a work day, I didn't head out until after 6. I skipped the extra shirt and leggings under the jeans this time and was much more comfortable.

I seem to have gotten the hang of the smoker now, and had it going with minimal effort this time. After a little puff at the entrance, I pulled off the top of the hive. While watching it earlier in the day, I noticed some ant activity on one side. They seemed to be attracted to the dead bees that had be squished under the lid at some point. I Googled "ants in beehive" and the general consensus was that ants are annoying, but not really a big problem, so there is not much you need to do. I was happy to see that they weren't actually inside the hive. I snapped a picture and when I went back to look, I discovered that the ants were doing something. Anyone have any guesses as to what they are moving around here? Ant larvae? Bee larvae? Something else?

What...the...hell?

When I went to remove the last few top bars before the follower board, they were glued in with propolis. I popped them off with my hive tool and wondered about this. I decided to take it as a sign that things were going well. The bees are currently building comb on bar 7 that appears straight. I pulled it out and inspected it with no problem. Last week when I checked bar 6 it seemed a bit crooked, so I tried flipping it. This backfired on me because the bees just attached it to bar 5, so I wasn't even able to pull bar 6 out by itself. I could have cut them apart, but I didn't want to cause too much damage, so I pulled bars 5 and 6 together. There was open and capped brood, pollen stores, and nectar stores. Bar 4 was not cross combed and upon inspection I saw some capped drone cells. Some of my recent readings suggest cutting this comb out to help control Varroa, but with such a new hive, I think I will just let it be. There are conflicting opinions on this and I don't think I've decided just yet. 

Bars 2 and 3 were also cross combed, and instead of just letting them be, I decided to pull them out. In hindsight, I think this is what really set the bees off into a defensive mode. There was much more buzzing around my head and one bee landed on my glove. I could tell it was a guard bee just from its behavior. I was hoping it would just fly away, but it continued to buzz and crawl around as I put bars 2 and 3 back into the hive. In an effort to dislodge her, I shook my hand, and then was stung in the glove. I actually watched it happen with some sort of strange fascination tinged with guilt. At least I remembered to smoke the area where the stinger was left to mask the alarm pheromones and avoid attracting any more annoyed bees. They just seemed much more aware of and concerned about my presence this time. Numerous bees were buzzing my head during the entire time I was working the hive. I think another contributing factor was the later hour. Less workers are out foraging later in the day. After the sting (which only punctured the glove, not my hand) I really had to resist the urge to drop everything and run. Since I started with the bees, I've really gotten my tendency to run and swat when I hear buzzing under control. I think I probably still flinch a bit, but I keep still. Seeing that bee sting me was a real challenge to my self control, but I managed to keep it together long enough to close things back up.

So, sighted on this inspection: capped brood, open brood, drone brood, adult drones, adult workers, pollen stores, and nectar stores. Not sighted: her Majesty the Queen (still!) but I choose to believe she is there. I'm starting to think finding the queen is like seeing a unicorn. 

When I was doing some initial research, I came upon Two Honeys, a couple of women working both traditional and top bar hives in another Cincinnati neighborhood. I got in touch with them a couple of weeks ago to ask about mentoring and the possibility of getting a second hive. After talking to Liz, I thought I might be okay to continue going it alone, but seeing how much cross comb is now there with only 7 bars of comb and my inability to find the queen are causing me to re-assess that decision. I think I may need some help after all. Liz said she could come by and work with me for an hour for $25. The advice of someone experienced may be priceless. 

In the mean time, I continue to enjoy watching the bees. Having this hive has made me appreciate my backyard in a totally new way. 

Photo by Marc D.M. Croswell 

It is more of a sanctuary now than ever. 

They thought death was worth it, but I 
Have a self to recover, a queen. 
Is she dead, is she sleeping? 
Where has she been, 
With her lion-red body, her wings of glass? 

-Sylvia Plath, Stings