August is here. So now is the time to get your bees ready!
   Ready for what!?
   Now is the time for me to get them ready to prepare for winter!

   I have been arguing with a few hives that did not want to build up. Today I removed those queens and did newspaper combines with hives that were doing better, but were still not at the top of their game. This will give them the bees and resources to boost their ability to be ready for winter. I moved two colonies that were from late removals into nucs and will overwinter them in those nucs.
   I also opened one of the mean hives I was planning on requeening in the spring, and took six stings in about 3 seconds..   So that hive is no more. The queen was pinched and her hive split up and combined with other hives. The other mean hive I had apparently took the hint and were as gentle as kittens when I opened their hive. They have a reprieve, at least until spring.
   Next weak I begin treatments for mites. I am down to 42 hives.. I thought I had 45, but apparently I cant count.
   I added a new outyard about a week ago, taking six hives to the new location. I like it so much I will probably move a few more out there next spring. We have had enough rain that a flow is still on, and the goldenrod will be blooming shortly. I have high hopes for the fall flow. It has been an excellent summer for the bees!
   I will update the blog with pictures in a couple days.

  Most packages and nucs are doing well. A couple of the packages superseded within four days of releasing the queens. I allowed them to go for it, and those queens are now laying. One of the nuc's decided to supersede? A dozen cells that were all over the place. From the top of the frame to the bottom bar..   I took advantage of the extra cells and made up a few nucs a bit early. I will replace those queens with my own choice/raised queens in another week or two. I will raise a few queens from the VSH queens I installed.  Of the five, I have 4 laying well and growing like mad. As of the last inspection the 5th was no where to be found. No eggs or young larvae in the hive. She was marked and clipped, so not sure what happened to her. I checked the hive again yesterday. Capped brood was emerging, and still no eggs or young brood. After a very thorough search I installed one of the queen cells in the hive. I will also replace this queen, but she will get some brood going while quality queens are raised and mated.

Twenty six hives at the home yard. Getting too many. When new queens are mated and laying I will move several to outyards, keeping 15 or so at this yard. I like to keep the younger hives and nuc's here so I can keep a better eye on them.

I moved these two IN from an outyard, swapping out two I had here with them. A lot of bees, but they also seem to have a lot of mites.  I am finding four and five mites per drone cell. They got treated the moment they arrived with OA Vapor. They will get treated twice more, and by then I will be raising queens to replace these queens with. These hives were two I inherited on a purchase of equipment, so they need a bit of TLC to get them in line with the rest of my hives. Despite the mite load they have quite a bit of nectar and honey, but DWV and other problems tell me that a crash is imminent if I do not take steps to save them.

   We have had a decent spring, with good amounts of rain. A good flow is still in progress. New hives are building up rapidly, old hives are bringing in the resources in leaps and bounds. I have no complaints about the spring weather to this point. With luck it will be a great year!
   Swarms seem to be eluding me. I get calls, but within minutes the swarms dissipate and move on, usually well before I get there. I have managed to get eyes on one swarm so far this year, but as I arrived and began to prepare to catch them, they took to the skies...  Swarm traps have been infective so far as well. I am wondering if making them larger was the wrong thing to do? I also have a feeling that the loss of so many feral hives this winter has left some excellent hive sites open for the taking, and that most nearby swarms are heading for those sites as fast as they can get there.
   I have two appointments to give estimates for cut outs. With luck I will get those jobs and be able to add a couple more hives. With more luck I can get my Camera operator up to snuff and get a good Vid of it!
    I hope Spring has been good to you and your bees!
   Scott

   Package bees ready for pickup from Tim WIlbanks / Kalona Honey Company.
   Being there to help distribute the packages was great. It always amazes me how friendly bee people are. I grew up in a small town, so I am used to everyone being friendly, but bee people seem to take it that one extra step.

   Tim came back from Georgia with nearly 700 packages of bees on this trip. There are a PILE of bees stacked in his garage. Throughout the day Friday people trickled in and picked up their orders. Always friendly and always happy to talk bees. The day passed so fast that I was startled when my wife called to say she was on her way home from work.  An enjoyable day to be sure. Tim, his wife and kids are good people to know. Tim Grew up with bees, so can spout bee information with only a "little" nudge in the right direction. Friendly Iowa Hospitality at its best.

  The bees were installed Saturday afternoon. One dead queen that Tim quickly replaced. Getting packages from someone who has a vested interest in seeing the bees he sells you SURVIVE is a bonus that is hard to find now days.
   I posted a vid of the days proceedings under the getting started Page. Scroll down to the Package installation section to find the video. I got a few stings, that was fine, then the wife got it, that wasn't so good....   She CONSTANTLY yells at all of us if we swear, so Revenge by posting this ONLINE is SWEET!!!!  Until she sees it, then I will probably PAY!!

   Keep your bees Happy!!!!!
   Scott

  Most of the cutouts I had scheduled were canceled because the bees did not survive the winter, but slowly more calls are coming in. I have a cut out scheduled in a couple of days, so with luck we will get vid and pictures, as well as add some seemingly hard to get bees to the Apiary.
   As you can see in the picture, the dandelions are in full bloom. I cultivate them as you can see in the picture below.

   I have about six acres of dandelion infested yard and pasture. I love it, but I am quite sure neighbors are shaking their heads.
   With swarm cells showing up, Swarm season is about to start. Captured swarms will hopefully add to the hive count. The fun is about to begin! Stand by for updates!
   Scott

  April is over half way done. The temps are forecast to be more springlike.. so what should I be doing at this time?

   I went through my hives, reversing the hive bodies and adding in fresh new frames for the bees to begin filling.
   Opening up those brood chambers to help reduce the tendency to swarm in two or three weeks.
   I am feeding like crazy. Natural pollen and nectar is starting to come in, and I am still feeding 1/1 syrup and Ultra Bee pollen sub. The reason for this is because I intend to split for artificial swarms. I also have nuc's and packages incoming. Having a spare frame of brood for them will boost them beyond belief.
   For a package, installing them does not mean instant growth. If you use drawn comb to install them on, New bees are still 21 days away. Un-drawn frames will take even longer. A frame of capped brood when you install, will give them new bees within a day or three. This will help those bees accept the queen and not be as inclined to supersede her. Package bees will begin to decline rapidly during that 21 days, so give them some population and let that new queen strut her stuff!
   A frame of brood also helps anchor them, both packages and nuc's to that new hive body you just put them in. There will be less bees that decide they don't like what you have offered.
  If you treat your bees, they should be done, or be getting done depending on your method of treatment.  Mine were treated with Oxalic Acid Vapor the last two Fridays, and they will get another treatment next Friday. That should hold them until late August.
   You should have you new equipment ready, and if you put out swarm traps, they should be going up very soon.
   You should be prepared to catch swarms when your called, and if you do cut outs you should have your gear ready to go on a moments notice.
   As stated, packages and nuc's will be ready and or arriving soon. You have them set up and ready to install? Your newly painted hive boxes are well aired out and the paint good and dry?
   Tis the season, we have had all winter to prepare for the spring and summer, now all that work is about to be utilized.
   If you are anything like me, you will suddenly find that your preparation was inadequate somewhere along the line. I hope for a few swarms, and a few cut outs. As it stands I have about ten extra boxes just for those eventualities. I will probably need 15 extra hives..  thats how it usually goes, but better to fall a little short than a LOT short and miss the opportunity entirely.
   Theres a lot about to happen, stand by for the final countdown!
   Scott

   The bees are beginning to bring in pollen. The brood pattern is starting to expand. It wont be long before the hives are booming and the dandelions are blooming. I hope everyone is ready for Spring!
   My wife bought out another beekeeper, and I spent the day going through all of the equipment. 30 to 40 hives, an extractor, honey tanks, decapping tanks, hot knives and all manner of everything a beekeeper who has been keeping bees for many years begins to collect.
   I still have to go through the woodenware to clean, inspect, repair, paint, etc.. but this should give me everything I need besides a few nuc's and the BEES to reach my goals this year and next year.
   I have Vids planned and will be updating the site as I get them edited and uploaded. The temps are going to be good this week, so I should be able to get quite a lot done. Stand by for updates!
  Scott