Bliss Buzz - Winter Hive Inspection/ Beekeeping Journal

We had a warm enough day (in the 60s) a few days ago for me to go into my hive, Monkey, who I feared had died.  I had noticed she was not active when the others (Stella and Balsamic) were on days in the 50s and that she had not been clearing out the dead.

Lovely, natural brood comb, notice it's differently colored than honey comb.

I also did not hear her when I did my listening.  Throughout the winter I will check on them when I just want to know they are alive in there and to say hello (I don't disturb them often though).  I put one ear up to the hive and close the opposite ear, then knock quietly twice.  This creates a quick rising buzz from the cluster.  Hello gals I say with a smile in my heart.  I talk and sing to my bees during the rest of the year; they know my voice and often even teach me songs and melodies, like Yaje teaches Icaros.  Anyway, I am not a singer, so only the bees get that; they don't seem to mind my lullabies and chants.  :)  In fact, I fancy that they like it.  I do know they pick up on one's mood when one is in or around the hive and singing has a calming effect on us both.  One does not want go into a hive in a hurry or angry, though sitting by a hive when angry will help one to process that powerful emotion into a more productive one.  It's like taking a walk in the woods - Nature has that effect.

Monkey on left, Balsamic on right.

Monkey was indeed dead and I greatly mourn this loss.  This was her 6th winter; she was treatment-free and the culmination of my years of small-scale beekeeping.  My basic goal being to create and support genetics that do well in my area with all its inherent qualities along with my management style which is simply to let the bees do their thing and bee healthy and support them in that however I can.  I feel they know better than me what they want and need.  This is my tenth year but I still feel I've only touched the tip of the iceburg in getting to know the Honey Bee.  Which is partly because of how deep the understanding goes, partly because much of what one is initially taught is wrong imo and I had no like-minded mentor and had to find my own way, luckily with the bees help, and partly because for most of these years I only had 2 hives, though I expanded to 3 a few years ago, and 4 last year.  I am considering doing more, but do not want it to get out of hand like my books and plants have, ha.  Particularly, I'd like to provide locals with locally adapted treatment-free bees (beyond all the swarms I have allowed over the years).

Death - a part of Life.  Death begets Life, Life begets Death...

All the dead bees from the hive in the bottom of a large wheelbarrow; I will feed them to the birds - a treat for them.

Stella before clearing...

...after clearing the entrance for ventilation.

So, the inspection became an autopsy.  I found no signs of disease or serious pest infestation, Monkey had plenty of stores (3 medium supers of honey), and a large enough population (about volleyball sized cluster).  The cluster however was a super below the stores and not next to any, so they may have starved.  I do not understand why they would not be at, or move to, their stores as we have had plenty of warm enough days intermittently throughout the winter for them to do so.  I wasn't able to get any response to this question in beekeeping groups online, as to why this would happen...maybe with climate change and the sporadic weather (we had 70 degree days in late Fall not too far from single digit nights in early Winter) they got caught unaware; there were a lot of single bees throughout the hive doing their thing.  They did not have any brood to stay with to keep warm, so no discernible reason to not move.

Or maybe she was not queen-right.  I could not find the queen during the autopsy and I went through the hive thoroughly.  So maybe she died in the fall or winter and they did not have the means to replace her without brood.  So sad. I am told that hives will just give up when this happens.  Which makes sense since they would be doomed anyway (unless I as a keeper had a warm winter day to go in and notice this and could remedy it with brood from another hive - this being a long shot but the type of interference/support I do give the bees).

Another possibility is that they got too moist and then chilled, but this theory I feel is the least likely as there is no mold in the hive, I have screened bottom boards, quilt boxes on top, and the hive next to Monkey made it with similar conditions.  The only difference was Monkey had an entrance reducer, Stella and Balsamic did not, but I just can't believe this is it as most beekeepers seem to recommend a reduced entrance, but something to consider nonetheless...  Also we had this serious blizzard you see in the pictures that landed us with 31" of snow that did block the entrances of all hives for hours while we shoveled to them, but again 2 made it, so I don't think that's it.  Alas, there is no definitive answer and so we go on...

Lorax

I also went into winter with a fourth hive, Lorax, whom unfortunately did not do well and was fairly weak going into late Fall, meaning she had low population and not a lot of stores (she was new this year, and an out-of-state, not treatment-free package, something I intend to never purchase again).  She ended up being robbed which I caught happening but did nothing about.  The irony is I think it was likely Monkey who robbed her as Monkey was such a strong, vigorous hive.  I allowed this because not only did I think there wasn't much I could do short of propping Lorax up with lots of artificial feeding, but also because I don't feel inclined to support weak genetics and dying off is the way of the wild.  I want bees that survive without much interference on my part.  I will give a little food if that is the difference between life and death, but after this robbing, it was no simple matter and robbing is hard to stop.  Also, this hive not being like the others and therefore not having interchangeable components means it's hard for me to manage.  This was my second try in this hive, which is a hexagon, made with Sacred Geometry in mind, and more tree like.  I may just use it as a bait hive again...  I realize through my involvement with beekeeping groups online that the source of my bees is largely the problem and I am fighting an uphill battle from the start because of it.  Monkey was also an out-of-state, not treatment-free package, but she made it and kept making it!

The very edge of Monkey's cluster, dead.  Note the bright pollen in a few cells and the queen cup upper left.

Luckily Stella is her split so I have Monkey's genetics there.  Balsamic was a package, so exciting to see her making it and she sat right beside Monkey so similar situation environmentally (small woodland clearing, semi-shade).  Stella sat in the sun in the garden and was a hot hive, and yes I mean her mood in addition to temperature.  I had a fig near her I expected to shade her, but it did not grow as expected.  That will need to be remedied this year as I think the summer sun may have been a bit much...

Another queen cup, this one at the bottom and likely from prior swarming; the ones higher up are for supercedure.

I also have Monkeys genetics in the wild woodland bees she birthed by way of swarm over her 6 seasons.  These wild bees are likely to be the drones that mate my queens.  I happened to be around for 2 of these swarms and it's a magical experience when the air fills with bees and the buzz cacophony fills the entire yard as they come out of the hive and group.  Unfortunately, they gathered about 30' up in the same tree each time.  I hope to put out more bait hives this year, though I've not had any luck with them in the past.  And I still am putting it out there to collect swarms others notice but do not want, but have yet to have this work out either. 

Medicinal Propolis

 Overall I am sad about the loss of Monkey but the positive in this situation is that I have not lost the genetics completely and I have lots of stores for the remaining hives that will assist them getting through the winter, coming into Spring strong, and maybe I will even get to harvest some honey this spring...  Mourning the loss of my friend during autopsy was mixed with the blessed sweetness of fresh honey that I licked directly out of the hive with gratitude.  Loss is all the more extreme when mixed with the Love that created it.

Also, I harvested lots of Propolis in the process of autopsy and will be making an herbal blend of "sick room" incense with it soon that I will sell through Ravenwind Botanica.  I plan to split the remaining hives come Spring and surplus honey will go to them first, along with all this wonderful drawn comb, giving them a huge head start.  And I will leave you with a very recent video of the vibrant Stella after most of the blizzard snow had melted.  :)








On another note, I am excited to see how my Mason Bees wintered over and this Spring am putting out Leafcutter Bee houses...  Bliss.

The Solution to Hive Beetles - or, Who's Living in my Hive?

"Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt – marvelous error! –
That I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
And sweet honey
from my past mistakes."
- Antonio Machado

Well, I think I may have found the solution to hive beetles and maybe even wax moth!  Ha!

Did she kill the bee or did she eat one that died naturally from old age or the horribly cold winter we had?  The hive was full of "fresh" dead bees.  I feed them to my songbirds at the feeders when I clean out a dead hive.

Black Widow spiders!  Ha!

I went into winter with 3 hives and one died so I split its contents (honey, pollen, and comb) between the other two to keep until Spring (as they and the freezing temperatures will do a better job of protecting it than any other means I have), but this meant that there was lots of open space in the hives.  Well one of them, Organza, had heavy winter losses and I was concerned she may have died (we had 60mph winds and lows in the single digits this winter), so I went in to inspect Thursday since it was in the 70s and sunny.  I found the hive alive and well (with Queen) though the bee ball was about the size of my fist and loose.  Since temperatures have warmed and the hive has plenty of food, I feel she will do okay.

Anyway, enough background info, get this, I found 7!  seven! Black Widows IN THE HIVE.  I have issues with hive beetles in my hives (no mite issues as many others do) and had seen a couple wax moth larvae at the top when inspecting on a cooler day (but not going further into the hive because it was too cold).  Well, not a single hive beetle in the entire hive!  and no signs of wax moth or their larvae I had seen earlier.

Such Sheer Beauty.

I think the huge population loss was from the weather, but I s'pose the Black Widows may have played a role too?  So maybe not truly an answer, but an interesting consideration nonetheless.  Black Widows are not hunters; they stay put in their webs, so any insect they eat has to basically go to them.  I imagine the bees could learn where they are and stay away (in situations such as this where there is lots of space in the hive).  Seems this type of thing would happen naturally in hives in trees.  Also, I have a feeling the Black Widows were merely being opportunists (food, warmth, protection from the elements) and not ravaging killers.

I took the spiders out gently and put them in the woods to go about their lives elsewhere.  I am just glad I didn't get bit as I know to be careful where I put my hands and bare feet in the yard, but never thought of the danger in my hive.  I don't wear gloves when working the bees and had put my hand right into the area where I spotted the first Black Widow, pictured above.  Ack.  Never considered there being something more dangerous than a bee sting in the hive!

Organza is getting renamed because of this, from now on she will be called 'Friend of the Widow.'  :)

Harvested Propolis for Medicine-making.

I cleaned up the extra supers and got Friend of the Widow down to 3 medium supers, two full of honey and pollen and one just open comb.  Some of this honey will go on my new packages that are coming soon along with the cleaned up open comb supers I took off - no Black Widows!

Swollen Lymph Nodes and an Herbal Remedy

So, once I arrived at work yesterday, I realized my lymph nodes in my face and neck were quite swollen and very painful...ack.  It hurt to talk or chew, plus I had some upper back, neck and shoulder tension.  Not having much on hand, I just kept hydrated, took some Vitamin C, and made up an herbal remedy when I arrived home.  Thinking I may have the start of the flu, or worse, I knew I needed to act to hopefully nip it in the bud since I am leaving for a trip in a few days.

This is what I did, along with a Zinc lozenge.

Using what I had on hand (meaning I may have used other herbs had I had other herbs on hand), I decocted, in about four cups of water,  a few tablespoons of Red Root and a small handful of dried Elderberries to which I infused a few small handfuls of Red Clover.  I strained this and saved the marc to re-use the next day.  I split it into two doses,  having one before I went to bed.  To each dose, I added a dropper each of Usnea and Propolis tincture and a spoonful of raw honey.

Golden Propolis from my Bees.

When I awoke the next morning, the swelling and pain was reduced to less than half.  I drank the other dose and made my second decoction with the leftover marc, making two more doses, one of which I will have tonight, the other tomorrow morning.  I will make another batch if needed tomorrow afternoon.

Look at that beautiful, rich, full color.

Here is a photo of the beautiful Usnea I harvested for the tincture.

I will harvest some Lemon Balm from the garden today and add it to a bath tonight to help relax the muscle tension.  I'll also infuse it in my evening dose above for its anti-viral effects.