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I've been keeping this blog for all of my beekeeping years and I am beginning my 19th year of beekeeping in April 2024. Now there are more than 1300 posts on this blog. Please use the search bar below to search the blog for other posts on a subject in which you are interested. You can also click on the "label" at the end of a post and all posts with that label will show up. At the very bottom of this page is a list of all the labels I've used.

Even if you find one post on the subject, I've posted a lot on basic beekeeping skills like installing bees, harvesting honey, inspecting the hive, etc. so be sure to search for more once you've found a topic of interest to you. And watch the useful videos and slide shows on the sidebar. All of them have captions. Please share posts of interest via Facebook, Pinterest, etc.

I began this blog to chronicle my beekeeping experiences. I have read lots of beekeeping books, but nothing takes the place of either hands-on experience with an experienced beekeeper or good pictures of the process. I want people to have a clearer picture of what to expect in their beekeeping so I post pictures and write about my beekeeping saga here.Master Beekeeper Enjoy with me as I learn and grow as a beekeeper.

Need help with an Atlanta area swarm? Visit Found a Swarm? Call a Beekeeper. ‪(404) 482-1848‬

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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Small Absconded Hive is Still OK

I've left the robber screen on the small nuc to help this tiny cluster of bees and the queen. It isn't completely closed up - on the right side you can see the opening. However, a robber aims for the front door and the bees who live in the nuc are drawn to the queen, so they will go to the side opening without any problem.



It's extra cold in Atlanta for this time of year. Tonight the lows will be in the 30s for the fourth night in a row. I didn't want to disturb the colony but wanted to look for signs of life so I lifted up the inner cover and found these happy girls looking up at me.



There are two Boardman feeders inside the empty second box of this nuc with pint jars on them to accommodate the shorter size of the medium nuc. The bees do not seem to be taking the syrup, however. This weekend I may pour the syrup into two sandwich bags instead. I didn't want to put a gallon Ziploc in the nuc because bees tend to drown if baggie feeders fold over on themselves. There isn't enough room in the 5 frame to allow the Ziploc to lie flat, but two sandwich bags would.

A poster on Beemaster says that he pokes holes in the Ziploc with a pin and bees can then get the syrup without drowning, but I tried that and the bees completely ignored the baggie. Slits seem to work better for me.

If it warms up this weekend, I'll open this box up again and see if the larvae are developing in the two frames of brood that I found the last time I looked.

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11 comments:

  1. Hi Linda,
    I created a bee blog for my husband early last year!
    http://beefreakie.blogspot.com/

    It's been a crazy and wild ride for sure. Great blog!

    Andrea
    Dallas, Texas

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous4:54 PM

    Great blog. Good Job


    Norma

    San Francisco, Ca

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  3. the snaps taken are really nice!!!

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  4. those photos are amazing. Very cool.

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  5. Anonymous10:51 PM

    I like your site. We got our first honey this year. I started with one hive two years ago and made millions of mistakes. It's a miracle they lived. But live they did. We added a second hive and caught our own swarm for a third. The honey is yummy and makes me feel so proud. I agree about the knee highs. I like silk much better.

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  6. Linda,

    You look terrific in your beesuit! It's funny, my partner and I recently decided to a) become urban beekeepers and b) get married.

    While I absolutely refuse to get a traditional white wedding dress, you can better believe I can't wait to get my white beekeeper's outfit!

    Great blog!

    Sue

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  7. So glad to have stumbled on your blog and all the bee links. I'm a new bee keeper in Victoria in Australia and learning too. Sadly I lost my first hive over winter as it was so cold and wet (I think that was the main reason) and have only received a new swarm about three weeks ago. They are doing fine so far, and I hope they remain so. Sue McB

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  8. Anonymous1:40 PM

    Congrats on the blogs of note and keep up the great work on this blog! I love it.

    I used to have 15 hives of my own in Alpine California in 70s. Brings back memories.

    Have a great day!

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  9. Anonymous8:08 PM

    I love this blog. And over 400 posts is incredible. Keep it up.

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  10. WOW, these pictures are amazing! Your blog is great.

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