After a very hot and dry August, September has seen a higher than normal amount of rain due to some tropical storms in the Gulf working their way up to central Texas. When we left for India and France on August 31st, everything was brown and dry, but after a few short weeks of good rain, Austin is green again and all the plants are taking the opportunity to bloom once more.
The girls are also taking advantage of this new nectar flow and have drawn out comb in the 3rd super and have filled it almost all with brood. This is the super I added right before our trip so in three weeks they have drawn out comb on 8 new frames and already have capped brood.
The 4th super is now a mix between brood and honey with the 5th and 6th supers entirely honey. I really don’t want to add a 7th super on the hive which would effectively make the hive taller than me. Instead, I’m going to take advantage of this nectar flow and harvest some more honey next weekend.
Last inspection I also noted a lot of white pollen being stored in the hive and was curious about its source. We think we have solved this mystery. Bind Weed is everywhere now and upon closer inspection of the blooms, we noticed lots of white pollen on the tips of the stamen.
Our closer inspection also turned up lots of bees who are quite taken with this plant.
All in all, this hive has totally exceeded my expectations for my first year as a beekeeper, and I’m hoping for a good fall so that Large Marge and the girls will be prepared for the upcoming winter months.
Urban Beekeeping in Austin, Texas 