2009 Field Day - Alamance County Bee Class

What can I say about our field day? If I could only use one word...it would have to be ...

AMAZING!!!

What is this little girl doing? Just looking at me? LOL

WOW, everyone was geared up and ready to go...
(well, the instructors were ready but didn't wear any gear...WOW!)

Here they are lighting the smokers ...the smoke distracts the bees.

Remember the whole... am I allergic thing?
Guess what? I still don't know! I had my Epi-Pen in my pocket...
and Benadryl in my lunch bag...but didn't have to use any of it...

The girls didn't sting anyone ALL day...we were out there 4 hours...playing with them! Moving them out of the way with our fingers...in their area...their part of the world...and nothing!

I held one of these frames ...yes, just like the one in the photo above...
honeybees all over the frame...and nothing...NO STINGS!!!
They are sooo very gentle.

Here is a photo of one of my bee friends ...
Stephanie
...holding a frame full of bees...

Can you see the little white dot on the end of this toothpick?
This is an egg!

This is my hand...
I'm holding a drone (male bee) which was in the last stage
before becoming an adult bee.

(We were checking for Varroa Mites)

You could actually see the three sets of legs...
the eyes (as you can definitely see here) and little grooves of the body.

This is a container of bees (3 inches)
covered in powdered sugar.

This is a test for Varroa Mites...
where when you shake the container over water...
the mites will fall out and float on top...
the powdered sugar dissolves.

Then, you are able to count
how many were on this sample of bees.

I held this frame of bees... Love them!!!

You know...I knew I wanted to be a beekeeper...
but after this field day...it really sealed the deal!

Waiting on their arrival...April 9th!

It's Almost Time...

Well, the time is quickly approaching!

Just imagine...in 3 weeks...

I'll have 13,000 bees...
my new babies...awwww...


Well, I am preparing their home which I picked up today from Busy Bees Apiary in Chapel Hill.

Jack Tapp and his wife are simply wonderful!!!
So extremely helpful...love them!

(Isn't this just sexy? LOL)

Here is a picture of the hive in my living room...

My hive is an 8 frame hive unlike the original 10 frame hive

invented in 1851 by Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth.

(My dad's first name and my middle name...

WOW...helps me to remember this fact.)

Here is a picture of
one of the frames...
so many little cells on
this sheet of foundation.


Foundation is attached to the frame
to encourage the bees
to drawn out the cells evenly.


They use the hexagonal shape
vs. say a circle so they won't
waste wax and space is maximized
since cell walls are shared.

In this photo, you'll also notice the frames are kinda close together
with a little space between...which is called Bee Space...
it is 3/8 of an inch...if the bee space is violated...

The bees will use Propolis (another product of the hive which

comes from the resin of trees) to fill in the empty space

which ends up glueing everything together.

I went to Walmart and picked up some Boiled Linseed Oil used

to seal the wood while leaving the beautiful, natural wood look.

Also, I purchased a pair of men's work

pants to use as my bee hive apparel...

they are nice an baggy and light colored...

I'll use some rubber bands around my ankle to keep the bees out... (smile)

At Busy Bee, I also purchased my other beekeeping accessories...such as...

my hat and veil...in the picture above...my hive tool...entrance feeder...etc.

Well, it's me again (as if you needed another picture of me in my hat and veil) LOL

Excited about my venture...ready to experience the bees!

Wanna Plant a Bee Garden...

(I found this little setup at Home Depot...think I may try it...)

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100650595&N=+500493+90401+5486

I know the bees will travel approximately 3 - 5 miles away from their hive to find nectar. I want to make it a little easier for my babies. This will provide a home which is a little more inviting by having a profusion of flowers, trees and shrubs. I'm thinking... a mint garden...you know...the delicious herb that your grandma or great aunt used to put in her sun tea.

In class we discussed how certain flowers will give the honey a slight variation in taste...like mint...there are a lot of mint varieties...but they all would melt into an amazing flavor of it's own. Of course, it's not like I can tell the bees not to go elsewhere for their nectar collecting...but...it would be nice if some could have a hint of mint.

Here in North Carolina, we have many different nectar sources that bees just adore...

Red and Sugar Maple, Dadelion, Blackberry, Raspberry and Sourwood just to name a few.

There is something called Kudzu which gives honey a taste of grapes. Mmmm, that sounds good!

http://www.roanoke.com/extra/wb/wb/xp-110573

(info about the Kudzu vine)

Bees also need a source of water, such as a dripping faucet, birdbath, or pail with some floaters (to make sure they don't drown). I'm thinking a nice solar birdbath fountain. A fountain which will circulate the water which will lessen the chance of mosquitos trying to breed.

They use the water for cooling the hive by evaporation and also to thin the honey

when being fed to larva. A strong hive on a hot day can use over a quart of water a day,

this occupies 800 workers each making up to 50 trips to the water hole a day.

By the way, when I first get my bees, I will feed them

Simple Syrup (1 part water and 1 part sugar) until they are up and running.