Trail Camera Pic's

Cheeeeeese!

Wild Turkey's

Something smelly is over yonder. Click to enlarge to see the skunk

My camera has given me around 100 photo's this last week. The natives must be restless.I really liked the deer and skunk. I hope my electric fence has been keeping the skunk out of the beeyard.

Setting Up a Hive for Winter

To bring a hive though winter we need the hive set up as follows.

• At least 8 frames of adhering bees. Meaning there should be bees covering both sides of at least 8 frames.
• A young queen that has not gone through a winter yet.
• Bees that are as mite free as possible.
• The hive should have been fed 2 gallons of syrup treated with Fumigilan.
  
• The top box should have 8 full frames of honey and one partially full. The partial should be located in the middle of the top box.
• If you don't have enough honey the choices are, add a candy board on top of the hive or add granulated sugar on top of the hive. See how I did this on my last January post.
• A top entrance is required so the bees can go on cleansing flights during the winter.
• If you have a screened bottom board, the slide drawer should be in.
• The entrance reducer is in now to keep out mice. The large opening is installed upside down. It is upside down to keep the entrance open as hive debris collects on the bottom board throughout the winter.
• A moisture release board is put on top of the inner cover.
• Black cardboard winter cover is put over the top of the hive. A hole is cut where the upper entrance is located. One of the top flaps is folded down against the back of the hive. The other 3 flaps are folded over on top of the moisture board. This is very important, This is done to vent the moisture board and get rid of moisture buildup in the hive. A cardboard cover will cover two deep hive bodies. If you have 3 deeps, the bottom box will not be covered. This is not a problem. Cover the box with the telescoping cover. This will not fit over the winter cover. Rest the telescoping cover on top of the cardboard cover and place a rock or brick on top of it to hold it down. I cover my hives around Thanksgiving weekend, sooner if we are going to get dumped on with snow.
  
• Don't over insulate the hive. This can cause an early demise of the hive. If the hive is to warm the bees may start rearing brood and run out of food.
• A wind break is helpful on the north and west side of the hive. If the hives are in the open with no protection from winter winds. Stacking hay bales around these sides can be beneficial.
• At the end of my video I mistakenly called the Telescoping Cover the moisture board. Steven Speilberg would be disappointed.
  

Click on the arrow to see the video.

Last feeding?

Shielded Immersion Heater

Heater has to be fully submerged in the syrup

This pail of corn syrup was granulated, You can see the granulation in the bottom of pail. One hour of heating, and it was clear.

It is getting late, very late. When it is getting chilly out the bees don't take the syrup very well. They don't like cold syrup.
When I have to feed late in the season, it is important to give them warm syrup.
The easiest way to heat syrup is an immersion heater.
I use a 120 volt heater. It is made to drop it in the syrup. It is not to be used with honey, as it is not food safe.
The syrup warms quickly, caution is required not to leave it unattended when in a plastic pail.
The warm syrup is put on the hive and is taken down very fast by the bees.

Early Oct, What is left?

It is the first week of Oct. By now mite treatments should be getting finished up.
If you haven't fed 2 gallons of fumigilin do so now. The later it gets, the less likely the bees will take down syrup.
Make sure entrance reducers are in. The cooler weather will make the mice look for a warm place.
Other than that it is a waiting game.
I usually put winter covers on around Thanksgiving. To early and the hive is to warm. They might then keep raising brood and eat their winter stores.
Keep an eye on the weather, if we are going to get a big snowstorm, put them on.
Last year it didn't get cold until mid Jan. That is when I covered mine, and they all made it.
Temps in the 30's are a cakewalk for bees. It is the teens and lower that make covering a must.

The Bear Story is becoming a Saga

Claw marks and teeth marks are a bears calling card.

.
a bite of beeswax.

Last night I was hit by the bear again.
This time it was my shop. The bear got the door opened and was surrounded by a roomful of beekeeping equipment.
Woodenware, bee suits, feeders, extractor, all of no interest to the bear.
He did head over to the box of beeswax blocks and handled them with reckless abandon.
I saw the door open at 5:30 am. A mangled beeswax block, now a welcome mat at the doorway entrance.
Luckily the beeswax was all that was damaged.

Bears are not photogenic.

The camera is turned, not in the direction it was in before.

On the right side of this picture it looks like the face of the bear. The reader has to be the judge.

I was hoping for a picture of the bear with the trail camera.
Unfortunately the bear doesn't like the paparazzi chasing him.
The camera popped off 3 pictures at 4:02 am. One is of some branches the other is what looks like a bear, but is quite fuzzy. The third was unreadable.
When I went to change out the SD card I found the camera ripped off the tree and laying on the ground.
The buckle is broken, I hope the camera is still ok.

Nightmare at the Honey House, BEAR!!!!!

I had a visitor last night.
A Black Bear (Ursus americanus).
It was trying to break into my honey house. Lucky for me it came up short.
I think my Golden Retriever (Canis lupus familiaris) put the run on him.
My wife heard the dog barking.
A pail of wax cappings was tipped over and a few honey bees (Apis mellifera) were robbing off the cappings, the bear did consume some of the cappings.
My bee yard has a electric fence ( joltus hurtus) around it, and was untouched.
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