Bees

It’s hard for me to believe, but in two weeks of weather that was only in the 60’s(F) most days, the ladies chowed through almost a half a tray of the candy I made them. Now, I’ve been known to eat my fair share at the table, sometimes with obvious consequences, but this… no, this … Continue reading »

Now that the fall is upon us, the threat of mice in the hive is a real one.  Each fall, as the days grow colder and food is a little harder to find, some field mice decide it’s worth checking out a bee hive. The trick of course, from a mouse’s perspective, is venturing into … Continue reading »

I’m certainly not a cook, and I barely dabble in baking, but today I made the ladies a pie. Not your traditional human pie of course, but a mixture of: * 9 pounds of sugar (a 4 lb and a 5 lb bag) * 2 cups of water * 1 cup of MegaBee protein supplement … Continue reading »

Bee candy that is… The process, which seems easy, is trickier than it looks. Get a whole lot of sugar, a little water and slowly heat over a stove. Bring it to about 234F, and pour it into a mold. Let it cool in the mold to room temperature, and pull it out of the mold. … Continue reading »

Although the summer is officially over, the bees are very active, possibly more active around the entrance than I have ever seen them. This is good, as the last few days have had bad flying weather, and their foraging has fallen off because of it.  I’ve decided to inspect them as little as possible from … Continue reading »

I ventured inside the hive today, and was in for a minor disappointment. While the hive itself is rockin’ with the original brood box chock-full-o’-bees/honey/brood, the lower medium super has barely any comb drawn out – perhaps only 1/8 of a single frame after two weeks. So as we are about to enter the Fall, … Continue reading »

Did you know the BCBA has a Google Group? If you raise bees in Barnstable Country, please join us at the address below. While you don’t need to be a member to join this group, I’d highly encourage you to do so. The group is just starting, but we hope to make a meeting place … Continue reading »

A few days ago, I wrote about crazy comb, my name for burr or wild comb. I’d found it on my fourth hive inspection in the new medium super I had put on top of their brood box. While trilled that they were building new comb, I was confused as to how to understand this … Continue reading »

Well, according to beek right-of-passage, I became a full-fledged beek today – I was stung. Like so many had warned me before, it’s when you get sloppy that it happens. When you don’t do what you know you should. When you cut corners. So there I was, in my polo shirt, bathing suit and flip-flops, … Continue reading »

I set out to do the 4th hive inspection today accompanied by my dear friend Christopher, after too much rum from the night before. Since it was his wife was the one who got me interested in this unusual hobby, I thought it was only fitting to drag him along, for his photographic skills if … Continue reading »