Update after the Yellow Jackets

A few weeks ago, I checked on hive #4. I wanted to see if there was any queen activity in the upper brood box. The bees have been filling that with sugar water/nectar and there was no queen activity. So I asked my husband to assist me with taking the upper brood box off so I can inspect the lower brood box on the following day to see if the queen was laying eggs or signs of new bees delvolping. There were no signs of her laying or new bees.

There are things that could other factors that affecting a queens laying, for example, food sources, Honestly, at that time it was a tough time to evaluate a hive and if a queen is present. It was very dry and the flowers were not blooming like they should be. So, I’m relying on other factors of the hive as well. For example, are they clustering in a certain area in the hive, if they are bringing pollen, the sound of the hive, and if the bees are calm on the comb.

With this particular hive, it was a bit defensive. Bees were flying around a lot more than normal, as if they were agitated. There were no signs of a cluster indicating the bees were surrounding a queen to protect her or the brood and plus they were louder than normal. All signs pointed that this hive is queenless. I could have been wrong, there were still a lot of bees in there and I could have missed her, but with caution and with a plan “bee”, I ordered a new queen. The new queen arrived and, since I had a shim on top of the hive for food, I placed her on the top of the frames in her queen cage. With in five days, the bees ate all of the sugar cork and the queen was released from her cage.

Hive #7 and #8.. hive #7, the bees were very calm on the comb, not a lot of flying around when I opened the hive. I saw a nice calm cluster on the frames some newer larva and capped brood. I felt the that hive was queen right (having a queen). Hive #8 had a small cluster of bees, still calm on the frames and I saw the queen. Ok, that is a good sign, phew! I wish that colony was bigger though. I’m planning a “bee” plan if they don’t build up quickly.

I did a quick inspections of the hives at Burr Farm. They seem to be doing well, BF hive #2, they have been clustering at the from of the hive, to the point that their own bees are having a hard time getting into the hive. Which is fine, because they will eventually go into the hive, there is space for them and that clustering activity protects them from robbing activity. BF hive #1 and BF hive #3 didn’t have that protection, and I saw one of those yellow jackets hovering around the front of one of the hives. I tried to “remove” it while it was hovering in the air with my foot, but missed. I added entrance reducers in front of the main openings of the two hives. This will help the bees manage who comes into the hive.

On a brighter side since these inspections, it has rained a few times, the goldenrod is blooming, aster is blooming, I see other plants blooming as well. Also, I’m receiving notifications that pollen is at a medium/high levels, which means that there are food sources available for the bees. The sun flowers on the mound of dirt are blooming and the bees are loving it. I see pollen on bees going into most of my hives. These are very positive signs, hopefully, for a strong start for the winter for the bees. Fingers crossed that all will go well.

I thank you for reading and as always bee kind. Please enjoy the pics.