Honeychick Homestead

Homestead, Health, and Happiness

Hive Check with Pictures of Lorde!

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Last Sunday I finally got the chance check my hive! This was my first time opening it since I removed the top feeder, and I really didn’t check much that time. I’ve been reading more about beekeeping, and one book recommended not disturbing the hive for more than ten minutes. Umm, that’s not much time for this newbee!

My goal for this hive check was to look for Lorde, make sure there weren’t any ants in the hive, check the brood, look for eggs, see how much comb they’d built, and feed them. Over all, things went well. My skills working with the hive are improving…I only killed two bees this time! Injuring, and killing bees is part of being a new beekeeper, at least that what the book said! I have to move much slower than I realized when removing, and replacing the hive boxes. Those boxes are already heavy, and they aren’t even full of honey!

There was lots going on in the hive, and thankfully there were no ants, or mites! I was surprised that very few bees had moved up to the top box, it was almost empty. I saw some eggs, and some capped brood. Capped brood have larvae in them, and soon new bees will hatch. There was also a little bit of honey, and possibly the start of a queen cell. I’m not really sure if that’s what it was. Next time I check the hive I’ll see if it’s still there.

Here’s pictures of the process, enjoy!

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Cosmo Mom’s Lyme Story

One neat thing about starting a blog is I’ve been introduced to some new, and informative blogs. I found Brandi’s blog, Cosmo Mom with a Twist of Lyme shortly after I starting blogging. Her Lyme story highlights how much “Lyme denial” exists in the medical field. It’s disturbing that she knew she had been bitten, and still had several doctors tell her she couldn’t possibly have Lyme Disease.

She was diagnosed in 2011 and continues to be treated for Lyme and co-infections. Her blog has lots of information about Lyme Disease, and great stories about her family. She recently wrote about running her first 5K! I would appreciate if you took the time to read her story, and her blog.

Here’s Brandi’s Lyme Story

 


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Ant Attack!

My bees in Verbena colony are still alive, and they didn’t swarm while I was on vacation, YAY! I added another box before leaving, to make sure they had plenty of room. I also added an extra barrier method to make sure ants didn’t get into the hive. I put Tanglefoot on each leg of the hive stand, and I put it on the trunk of my fruit trees too.

Tanglefoot is a very sticky, organic product that is applied around tree trunks to help avoid insect infestation. Any insect that attempts to climb up the trunk gets caught in it. It must be reapplied periodically, so first I wrapped the legs and trunks of my trees with plastic wrap, then applied the Tanglefoot on top of the plastic wrap. This method will allow me to easily remove, and reapply the Tanglefoot.

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