Queen Sophia

Terrible news...I lost a queen.  She died during the transit from the Plantation to her new home in Jerry's backyard.  Jerry has several colonies of his own and allowed me to keep the two colonies in his backyard during the sewer pipe laying endeavor by the city of Miami through the Plantation.  The queen could have passed for many reasons, but the important take away remains that re-queening needed to happen ASAP!  How do you get a new queen that has already been bred?  The Internet.

Lighting the smoker.

Taking apart the hive.

The bottom box.  I was checking to see if another queen returned that the colony produced...there was no evidence of a new queen.

Removing frames.

As you can see, there are no filled cells...no eggs, larvae, NOTHING.  This is hard evidence of a lack of a queen.

Empty frames...sucks.

The queens death was recent enough that bee populations have not been greatly affected yet.

Worker bees can sense when queens are ill, old, or need to be replaced and will start to make a new one.  They tried in my hive, but they were not successful.  Also, it is better management practice to re-queen with young queens from reputable apiarists because it prevents the growth of Africanized colonies.  So I introduce to you, for the first time, Queen Sophia.  Emily thinks Sophia sounds Italian enough...and it the name is close to my niece's name.

Queen Sophia in her cage with some workers.  This is how she came shipped to the house.  She is the big one on the right.

When colonies lack strong leadership, they get lethargic and protective at the same time!  The queen introduction got a little ugly and I had to wear the hood and gloves.  Oh, I forgot to mention that it was overcast and thundering in the distance...you think I would learn my lesson about working the bees on ugly days.  Anyways, I was very thankful I had my hood and gloves nearby or I would have paid for the weather by more stings than I already got (two, direct hits to the thumb)!  I left her in the cage for two days before going back to get her ready for release.  When I returned to the hive, the bees were bringing in lots of pollen and their temperament had improved greatly!  I popped the cork out of her cage and put in a marshmallow.  I will go back in two more days and see if she is released and laying.  Why a marshmallow?  The bees can eat through it and release Queen Sophia into the hive while it is all closed up.

The hood comes out.

Chickens share the yard with the bees...they stay clear of the hives.

Taking care of business all dressed up!

Queens Sophia's official welcoming to the hive.  She cannot be released immediately or she will be killed.  A few days later I came back and set her up to be released into the hive.

The other colony, however, is producing small amounts of honey and has become a bit more protective themselves.  Also, the amount of propolis (a sticky bi product bees use to seal things up) was ridiculous!  When I was taking the boxes apart they would POP and the bees would get airborne and start stinging me.  Needless to say, I am still learning and a little embarrassed I had to whip out the protective gear.  I will continue to keep it close by, but most of the time I am able to work the hives without it (plus it is super hot out and the gear doesn't help).

That is about it...oh wait, forgot to mention one lesson I learned a very hard way: smokers are HOT!  As I was quickly scooping all my gear up to get out of there, I picked up my smoker and let it rest against my arm equating to a second degree burn instantly.

Swelling thumb.

The burn...the blister already popped...gross.

 Thanks for reading, send me your questions at buenobees@gmail.com and I can address them here.  Until next time, bee nice to your neighborhood pollinators!