Ahhh.........springtime in Northcote,
the bees are buzzing,
lots of movement around the hives lately,
lots of movement around the hives lately,
a cloud of workers to and fro all day.
Maybe some honey....?
ready!
(using tape and gardening gloves, since I mislaid my gauntlet ones)
We tend to pick our lettuce at night, by torchlight....
that's the flight path, right across the vegie patch.
Metropolis on the left, and the Other
First, the Other...
Plenty of Honey, but no more than last time. The 2 frames I'd moved up were the same, and the 6 frames around them were still pretty much untouched.
Lots of nectar in the middle box , though, a sign of hope.
The weather has been gorgeous lately, and there's plenty of blossoming around Northcote, a few of the Banksia street-trees around here are fairly humming as you walk under them, along the footpath.
Plenty of grubs downstairs.
Check the worker and drone side by side, top right.
The drone looks stumpy and fat, like a size 12 arse in a size 8 bikini.
Check the worker and drone side by side, top right.
The drone looks stumpy and fat, like a size 12 arse in a size 8 bikini.
Here's the classic comparison, though they vary between sub species of Apis Mellifera.
Brood, some of it quite solid
Meanwhile, next door in Metropolis...
plenty of action at the turnstiles.
(That's the Other in the background, sorting itself out again after having been pulled apart and re-assembled.)
A few bees lurking under the lid
The whole table this hive sits on has been slowly bowing lately, meaning that it sits at a bit of an angle.
If you don't get the gaps between the frames right, or if they are fully glued up with wax between the frames, you get voids, which the girls dutifully fill up with random burr-comb.
Looks awesome to see their freestyle efforts, but I cut it off, and put it back straight.
Sorry, girls.
Sorry, girls.
Taking the queen excluder off, they had bridged across with brood comb, so when I took it off it exposed a section through their brood.
See the eggs in there?
those little grains of rice..... 3 of them...
scooping them back in before closing the lid
some beautiful new white comb.
I sat down for about ten minutes after, and was constantly being harassed by a squadron of pissed off bees. I thought I'd wait till they backed off, but they didn't.
Lately they dive bomb me occasionally when I'm in the yard, for no good reason. Kranky.
This one on my glove was attacking the camera.
Sting Tally:This season: nil so far
2011/2012 season: 41 (Jonas 30 Adrian 1 Edis 6 Jazmina 3 Rima 1)
2010 / 2011 season: Heaps
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Honey Tally:This season: nil so far
2011/2012 season: 49 Litres
2010 / 2011 season: 34 Litres
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That's about 1 sting per Litre.
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