Signs of robbing: the brown staining on the front of the hive is left by robbers during a massive robbing attack. The robbers stuff themselves with honey and then excrete some as they start flying home. If you see more bees than you expected zipping in and out if the hive at this time of year, brown staining on the entrance side of the hive is a sure sign of robbing. Other things to look for:
- Unlike returning foragers laden with nectar and pollen, robbers may not shoot right into the entrance. Instead, they fly from side to side, waiting for an opportune moment to sneak past the guard bees.
- You may see bees fighting at the entrance or on the ground in front of the hive. These are the guard bees defending their colony to the death, and this behavior is a sure indication of robbing.
- Unlike foragers that leave the hive empty, robbers leave the hive heavily laden with honey, making flying difficult. They tend to climb up the front of the hive before taking off, and once they’re airborne, there’s a characteristic dip in their flight path.
Photo courtesy of Oliver Frank
Using 8 frames in a 10-frame honey super allows the bees to draw 'fat' combs, making uncapping easier because the combs protrude past the frames, and also making harvesting more efficient due to having fewer frames to uncap per box of honey. This approach is also more "natural" as bees not on frames draw wider combs for honey storage. Photo courtesy of Oliver Frank.
Bees clustering below the brood chamber. This shows the bottom of an overturned slatted rack. Photo courtesy of Oliver Frank.
Honey-bound hive discovered during a January inspection. Check those supers!
Honey bee chaining
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Honey Extractor Brace -- plywood brace Kirk cut to fit the extractor's diameter and screwed to the bench. He also screwed the straps to the bench.
Master Builder Kirk Welton
Queen returning to the hive after a flight
Knute
2015 San Mateo County Fair Blue Ribbon -- Kendal Sager and Brigitte Roay
A carfull of package bees!
Tori Muir
Marianne using the Guild's extractor
Bringing home package bees
Tori Muir
Kimberley Navabpour holding drone frame
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Hauling a segment of a bee tree
Lothar Schicker
Cutting open a bee tree
Lothar Schicker
Honeycomb inside a bee tree
Lothar Schicker
An Italian bee working apple blossoms
Swarm of bees on a holly branch
Tori Muir
Virgin Queen honey bee
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Queen bee with retinue and eggs
Knute Ream
Queen bee and retinue (top center)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Queen bee (right side of photo, black thorax) being fed
Photo courtesey of Sally Mellville
Honey bee eggs at bottom of cells (tiny white rice-like shapes on left)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
honey bee larvae developing in cells
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
good brood pattern; solid pattern of capped brood, surrounded by pollen and capped honey on edges of frame
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Honey bee swarm
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
open queen cell at bottom of hive frame (center photo); swarm cell
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
two queen cells; swarm cells
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
active swarm
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
filling smoker with leaves to prep for lighting
©Rob D Brodman/Sunset Publishing
drone brood to right of worker bee brood (in front of gloved finger)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
drone bees walking up edge of frame (3 drones along line of honey cells and wood frame)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
drone frame full of drone brood with some drones emerging from their cells
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
cutting out drone frame for IPM
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
dusting hives with powdered sugar for mite control (IPM)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
homemade solar wax melter (styrofoam box/cooler wrapped in foil with piece of glass on top)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Small hive beetle infestation — note the typical 'slime' on the comb!
Photo courtesy of Oliver Frank
Small Hive Beetles (SHB) active on frame of worker bees (SHB inside cells on left)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Queen and Mites
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Varroa mites on backs of worker bees (circled); Queen (oval)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Varroa mites on backs of bees (circled)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Varroa mite infested drone brood
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Varroa mite on back of center bee; drone on lower right towards center
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Varroa mites (4) and hive trash on sticky board
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
evidence of Varroa mite; white droppings (feces) on cell walls
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
wax moth infestation and droppings (white web, brown-red pellet droppings)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Wax moth damage
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
wax moth larva
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
wax moth
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Poor brood pattern; dead larvae and pupae in cells, sunken cells
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Spotty brood pattern
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Evidence of laying worker (hive absent of Queen), multiple eggs in one cell (a queen cell in this case)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Chalkbrood (white cells in center)
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), also called Curly Wing
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Symptom of American Foulbrood (AFB), "ropy test"
©Kimberley Navabpour/Sunset Publishing
Serge Labesque speaking at November 2012 meeting
Serge Labesque teaching a class on making splits (1 of 2)
Serge Labesque teaching a class on making splits (2 of 2)
Top-bar Beekeeping Demo (1 of 3)
Top-bar Beekeeping Demo (2 of 3)
Top-bar Beekeeping Demo (3 of 3)
Removing a swarm of bees from a house — locating the hive
Removing a swarm of bees from a house — exposing the hive
Removing a swarm of bees from a house — the new hive within the walls
Removing a swarm of bees from a house — vacuuming the bees out of the hive
Removing a swarm of bees from a house — fresh white combs
Removing a swarm of bees from a house — straggler bees (6 of 7)
Removing a swarm of bees from a house — honeycombs from the hive (7 of 7)
Swarm of bees in a swarm trap made from a flowerpot