June 24: Supering the Super Russians

At about 6:30 pm tonight (in the 70s), I inspected both hives.

Italians
I saw lots of Italian eggs. Yeah! They have drawn out more frames in their 2nd brood box and look like they have gained in population. Since there is still syrup in the feeder, I left it on, though they may not be taking it.

Russians
The 3rd brood box on top is full of larvae! I pulled out 2 frames which contained both wax-capped (older) and uncapped (younger) larvae. Very nice frames. I've included a closeup pic (see above) of the brood with nurse bees. It's time to add a 4th box to the Russians which will be the honey "super" (same type of box as the other brood boxes but this box will be devoted to honey collection).

Here are the details of my 10 step inspection process:

1) I lit the smoker (with cedar chip bedding as the fuel) and puffed smoke first into the front of the hive to distract the guard bees and then up around the top cover.
2) I removed the brick, top cover, and inner cover and set them aside on the ground.
3) Using my hive tool, I pried out and inspected 2 frames in the top box.
4) I sprinkled powdered sugar over the top box (bees between the top frames get misted with sugar) to stimulate grooming behavior for mite control.

5) I added a queen excluder to keep the queen from laying eggs in the honey super (see left). The metal grid allows the smaller workers to pass through but theoretically, the queen cannot fit and she stays down in the brood boxes.
6) I added the super with a drilled ventilation hole and 10 frames (4 with honey from last year and 6 frames of foundation from last year).
7) I put the inner cover, then the outer cover, and then the obligatory brick (to keep the covers from blowing off) back on top of the hive.
8) I removed and inspected the vaseline-covered poster boards and checked for mites. Mites appear to be under control.
9) I refilled the water trough.
10) I put out the smoker and dumped its contents.

Very well-behaved bees tonight! No stings.

June 23: Top Feeder Update

The Italians have about 3/4" of syrup left in their top feeder. There were quite a few bees up there. I plan to open both hives tomorrow for a more thorough inspection.

June 15: What is healthy? What is normal?

I inspected my 2 hives today. I feel a little disappointed. I guess I was expecting more progress and now I'm worried. It doesn't help that I just watched "The Silence of the Bees" on PBS about disappearing honey bees (Colony Collapse Disorder). I'm trying to do my small (very small) part to help save the bees, but I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. As if the future of honey bees rests on my shoulders!

A recap: Both colonies were started from packages installed on April 20. One of the hives got started late due to a failed queen which I replaced in mid-May. The other hive made tremendous progress but seems to be slowing down considerably if you measure in terms of capped frames.

Hive A: Italians: 2 medium boxes: top box is partially drawn out and I see eggs but not many bees and not very much activity presumably because of the late start with the queen troubles and progressive die-off of older bees.

Hive B: Russians: 3 medium boxes: bottom 2 boxes are completely drawn out and capped and top hive box is partially drawn out but with little nectar or pollen. A lot of bees but they don't seem to be making much progress on that 3rd box.

Are these hives doing well? Is this normal? Are we in a nectar/pollen dearth? Should I be feeding? Should I combine the hives? I have no idea. I'm an amateur. A novice. A beginner. A newbee.

And that's why I rely on information from the International Beekeeping Forum. The people are polite, helpful, and respond quickly. I've posted my concerns to the forum. I'm sure the masters will have good advice and reassure me!