I performed a quick check on the top feeder in Ramona’s hive. The girls had sucked it dry so I filled it up again. I really meant to visit on Wednesday, but work unfortunately got in the way. This should see them through the weekend when I’ll check to see that Ramona has been released from the queen cage.
Tag Archives: austin
Queen Ramona and a Tale of Two Stings
I picked up my package this morning from Bee Weaver and went straight to Baab-Brock Farms to install.
Last year, I had a heck of time getting the syrup can and queen cage removed from the package while wearing gloves. I opted not to wear gloves this year because bees are generally docile when they don’t have a home to defend. Here is a shot of my removing the cage before they had fun attacking my hand.
After getting stung on my right and left hand, I put my gloves back on for the rest of the installation. Here I am attaching the queen cage to a frame.
Next up was shaking the bees into the hive.
I then added the frames back into the hive.
Now all eight frames are back in the hive and spaced properly.
I placed the package at the entrance so any bees left in the box will find their way into the hive.
All that was left was filling up the top feeder and closing the hive up. Here is a shot of both hives.
Except for getting stung, it was a straight forward installation. I’ll come back mid-week to check the syrup level in the feeder and next weekend I’ll verify that Ramona has been released.
Filed under beekeeping
The Venus Hive
A friend sent me a link to another local Austin beekeeper’s blog, and one of his posts was about the Venus Hive he just purchased. The video he took is below.
It certainly is a cool looking hive, and I’ll definitely be following his blog to see how it works out. My only concern would be the size of some of the frames in the main brood section if you ever needed to get them out to inspect.
Filed under beekeeping, equipment
Vanishing of the Bees
I’ll be attending a screening of the Vanishing of the Bees this evening at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. If you would like to see this movie, here is a link to the upcoming screenings around the country.
Filed under beekeeping, education
Large Marge takes her honey dark…like her men.
I pulled 8 full frames of honey off the hive today. The bee escape worked great, and there were only a handful of girls left in the super that were easily removed. I still don’t have an extractor so I harvested the honey using the crush and strain method. One of these days I would like to get a small extractor, but right now this method isn’t too time consuming plus I like the added benefit of having beeswax for projects.
Overall, I pulled off just shy of 25 pounds of honey which was very dark compared to last year’s fall harvest which in turn was darker than the initial 2010 spring harvest. I think I’m going to break down and send a sample off for pollen analysis because I’m very curious about the pollen counts. Here is a side by side shot of last year’s fall honey on the left and the recent harvest on the right.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where I reveal the not so sweet side of honey harvesting.
Filed under beekeeping, honey
T-Minus One Week
I received an e-mail today that my package of bees will be arriving next weekend. I’m very excited about the prospect of starting a new hive, and I’m sure Queen Ramona Flowers is anxiously awaiting her new home.
Filed under beekeeping
Bread Makes You Fat?!?
With the new package showing up in a few weeks, we are busy prepping the site and equipment for the new queen. As a huge fan of the Scott Pilgrim comic series (and the subsequent movie), the photography/artistic unit have been expending their energies drawing/inking/lettering the 7 evil exes on the hive supers. Here is a snap shot of the progress so far, and I’ll be adding photos in the upcoming weeks of the final results.
Obviously the new queen’s name will be Queen Ramona Flowers.
Filed under beekeeping, equipment, Fun
Bees on Cross-Vine
This is the first year I’ve really noticed bees on our cross-vine.
We planted it because hummingbirds are really supposed to like it, but I don’t think I have really ever seen any sort of bird/insect interested in this plant until today. I’m glad something is taking advantage of it.
Filed under beekeeping, pollination
They ain’t lying, dryer lint is super flammable…in your smoker
I was using newspaper as the initial ignition source in my smoker, but since I don’t actually receive a newspaper at home, it was always a pain remembering to pick one up when I was out and about. I decided to start saving all the lint from my dryer to see if would work well as an alternative to paper.
I’ve used it a few times now, and I think it works great. I also now believe all the stories about how if you don’t clean out your dryer vent on a regular basis, it is just a matter of time before your house ignites into a fireball of Downy freshness.
Filed under beekeeping, equipment
Art Commission B Side
I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the opposite side of the Day of the Dead piece I commissioned from Cindy Raschke. Since the medium is basically one gigantic piece of paper-mâché, she painted both sides. I’m sad this side won’t be visible once the piece is hung, but it was a bonus I wasn’t expecting, and I wanted to share it.
Filed under beekeeping, Fun
Urban Beekeeping in Austin, Texas 