A long day with Texas bees

[Gypsi]

Posting this so Ledifini can see his bees, we saw his queen and either my thumb blocked her photo , or it didn't. First: Ledifini:
http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n406/gypsi_fw/PA040502_zps9c7d409d.jpg

Fresh drawn honeycomb http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n406/gypsi_fw/PA040503_zps6be00b74.jpg

There is lots of brood under those nurse bees http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n406/gypsi_fw/PA040504_zpsbd4c7d4a.jpg

I didn't have to reduce the light contrast to spot Ledifini's queen, right in front of my big thumb http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n406/gypsi_fw/PA040505_zpsf48c2817.jpg

Good thing I got the queen in the last pic because I can't find her in this one: http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n406/gypsi_fw/PA040506_zpsda786139.jpg

My hives are next.  My camera card filled on his and I cleared a few slots so not too many pics but we got some surprises

[Jen]

Nice pics and always like a face to a name. Sure like to see bees all over the brood like that 

[ledifni]

It was a fun day...and I feel much better knowing there's a healthy queen and plenty of bees inside the hive.  I was getting worried after all the robbing and hive beetles.  Thanks for getting the pics Gypsi

[Gypsi]

He rode out to my house to help me merge my queenless hive 1 with another hive, and my choice to merge it with was hive 2, the split I made when I bought a central Texas queen from Bweaver.  I had bought a queen for hive 1, but either they kicked her out or she made a departure, I had a toddler here the weekend after I added her and could not investigate the lump of bees under the bottom board...

And we were planning to get stickies under the hives. 
Hive 1 was still queenless. But hive 2, when I got ready to stack it on top of hive 1, appeared queenless. No eggs, no brood. So closed up with feed jar, move on to hive 3, confirm brood and stick hive 1's 2 boxes on hive 3. Above inner cover and a newspaper, with feed jar on top.
Then on to the big hive, was my beautiful golden queen still safe.  No problem finding uncapped and capped brood there.
Beautiful laying pattern: http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n406/gypsi_fw/PA040507_zpsddb79a7b.jpg

Pollen and beebread same frame. http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n406/gypsi_fw/PA040508_zps17f55014.jpg

The big hive got stuck with a medium of all but 1 empty frame during the 19th or 20th of September split. They really needed one of hive 1's two Boxes of stores, comb and waxworkers, so I needed an inner cover to support the newspaper division to add. And I'd messed up and left it on hive 2.

And in opening hive 2 (going to be added to some hive or another), found a lady on the lid. The new queen came out, went up between the inner cover and the lid, and never found a place to lay apparently. Two sets of eyes peering through the pile of bees on top of her, the dark central Texas queen really was there, and has since been put IN the frames, no inner cover, and we swiped that beautiful brood frame from my big hive (whose queen is endlessly prolific and patient)  The third queen: http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n406/gypsi_fw/PA040509_zps9a78a3bf.jpg

So hive 2 is now hive 1.  In hive 1's place for now a medium box with a frame in it.  Returning workers already got dumped into the top of hive 3 before closing it up again after getting the big hive its long overdue box of comb (above newspaper of course.)

Chaos reigns.  Have to do something about hive 1's workers, either get them more comb or empty them into the top of a hive with their sisters tomorrow.

For now, yes we have pictures. Enjoy!

[tbonekel]

Love to see this stuff from my backyard. You are not that far from me.

[riverbee]

enjoyed the photos gypsi, thanks!

[Gypsi]

Glad to have got some River!  still need to clean out my camera, had very limited space at the time.

[Gypsi]

Wearing bifocal contacts for bookkeeping.  I have pulled the stickies from my sbb's to check for mites, mainly see chewed wax, but without reading glasses there will be no mite count available.  Drumroll please!

[Gypsi]

the new hive 1, which hasn't had an egg laid in it since the new queen went in on 9/19, had 2 varroa mites on their sticky.   Brood breaks are good for slowing varroa reproduction, and this hive had a long one, since it was a split from hive 3 my big hive, and given a new queen who lost herself between inner and outer covers. Hopefully she will start to lay. (with great satisfaction I squished the still living mite on this sticky, sounded like squishing a flea.

Hive 2, the returned spring queen of vsh descent,has had the least brood stolen from it and the least brood break as they came up from about a cup of bees in early May.  4 mites on the sticky.

Hive 3, my "big hive", the only one I kept this spring after the sell off, had 2 mites on the sticky.  But I have been swiping her brood and her drone brood (which the chickens did enjoy after I counted mites) so while she hasn't stopped laying, her eggs and larva have gone far and wide, including Ledifini's hive.

Stickies were in 48 hours.  Hives 2 and 3 have Varroa Sensitive Hygenic bees that are quite gluey.  Hive 1's queen is not laying yet, she is a Beeweaver queen, the bees in her hive are also VSH

[Gypsi]

That new hive 1 has uncapped brood today, the Lady is laying!

[riverbee]

........ !!!

gypsi, just wanted to say, love the name of the thread....

[Gypsi]

I don't think ledifini had any idea how long the day would be when I picked him up, hence the name.  We were suited up in moderate heat for Texas for 5 or 6 hours between his bees and mine I think.  at least 45 minutes at his house, and at least 4 hours here anyway

[Jen]

4 hours is A Lot to me. Hope you got A Lot accomplished 

[riverbee]

"I don't think ledifini had any idea how long the day would be when I picked him up, hence the name.  We were suited up in moderate heat for Texas for 5 or 6 hours between his bees and mine I think.  at least 45 minutes at his house, and at least 4 hours here anyway"

probably not gypsi, but you know what, pretty cool helping and teaching another beek .........

[ledifni]

We did get a lot accomplished   And no, I had no idea it would take that long, but I don't mind at all.  It was fun

So -- Gypsi and I inspected my hive last Saturday, and found the queen healthy with brood.  We only looked at a few frames, but from what I could see they only have a couple of outer frames to fill.  Would this Monday (1 week + 2 days) be too soon to do another inspection and maybe add a medium?  I don't want to bother them unnecessarily, but then again I don't want them running out of space either.

[barry42001]

Good to see she's coming around and getting with the program. :-)

[Gypsi]

Tomorrow may be another long day with Texas bees before the cold front comes.