Sunday, May 17, 2015

RIP Myrtle

The girls have been in their hives for 9 days, and already there are signs of big trouble.

When I checked Myrtle last Monday, there was burr comb (extraneous, or in the wrong spot) attached to the inner cover. This isn't good. I scraped off a big chunk and pushed it into an empty frame. (they're all empty...another un-good thing). My bee teacher said that was the right thing to do.

I checked her again yesterday and not only did they not build more comb in the frames like they were supposed to, they had re-filled the top cover area with more burr comb. It was really beautiful comb,but sadly, it can't be connected to the inner cover. I pulled it off and put the chunks in the frames and took away the top feeder and box, just so they wouldn't do it again. They weren't taking the feed anyway.

Today I got there and there were paltry few bees in the box and absolutely no evidence of Queen inside. Then I found her...dead.  She was dead and laying in front of the hive.

< sigh >

Ok, so how's Maud?

Well, the Maud hive has a lot more bees than Myrtle, and there are several frames, heavy with drawn out comb. There is a lot of nectar in the cells and a nice bit of pollen. These are good things. However, I cannot, for the life of me, see any eggs, or any larvae. This is not good. I wore my glasses and looked for a long time, but I just couldn't see a queen. The bees are all different sizes. The drones are easy because they're the size of Refrigerator Perry, but the queen looks a lot like other bees, only really long. I just can't see her, that is, if she's there.

So if Maud doesn't have any brood, I won't have anything to give to Myrtle. Not to mention, if Maud doesn't have any brood, the hive will wind up like Myrtle soon enough.

These little bees are in my charge and I'm letting them down. They're both queenless, and going down before they ever got a chance to thrive. I have emails out to seasoned beeks who will hopefully have something good to tell me. What I need is brood, and I need it fast. Maybe there is someone out there who can sell me a couple frames.

Ugh. This is a learning experience, but right now, I don't feel like I've learned anything.

4 comments:

  1. Well now don't I feel like a fool for yelling at Myrtle. But remember -- this is why oldest children are so uptight while those of us who came along later are so laid back. Our parents learned to relax. You will, too.

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    1. Thank you, Deena. You're right, I'm totally uptight, but I'm not giving up.

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  2. Ugh. Sorry about Myrtle. But I'm keeping fingers crossed that if you see lots of activity and can't confirm seeing a dead queen for Maud you just missed her in there.

    Apparently, one of K's friends from knitting in RF has asked if I want to have bees on her property. A better conversation to have in Feb! It's a little late to get started.

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    1. Kyle, this is the time to prepare for next summer, for sure. Learn as much as possible, which you are already doing, and then you can spend the fall/winter building equipment, etc. Order your bees early, like January-ish.

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