Recently I was invited to work in the bee yard of a fellow club member and I jumped at the chance. Janice, another new beekeeper, and I had spoken with Stan at a recent club meeting and he invited us to his bee yard in Wagoner. We decided to meet at the bee yard around 2:00 in the afternoon. The sky was overcast, the temperature was around 60 degrees and there was virtually no wind.
Once we arrived, Stan said the purpose for today's visit was to check his hives to see how they had survived over the winter months and to ascertain whether they needed supplemental feeding. Janice and I were anxious to get a chance to see the bees up close as we are both making preparations to set up our own hives in a few weeks. We felt that it was important for us to become more comfortable around the hives so that we wouldn't be so nervous when our own bees arrived. Stan currently has six hives at his property in Wagoner and warned us that a few of the hives might be a little "grumpy".
With that said, we were ready to head to the bee yard...
First, we needed to put on the appropriate clothing so that the bees won't have a chance to sting us. We all three wore hats, veils and gloves...
Next, in order to calm the bees while opening the hives, smoke is used by way of a hand held bellows smoker. Stan lights the smoker with the use of small stove pellets and a little bit of dried grass...
Janice was the designated smoker, and did a great job of keeping the bees calm. Smoke is pumped at the entrance to the hive so that it may permeate upward and calm the bees inside while the hive is opened from the top...
Janice and I were anxious and ready to see the inside of the hive as Stan removed the telescoping cover and pried open the inner cover...
Standing next to the hive, you could hear the bees buzzing as we peered down into the frames. It was an amazing sound while at the same time a little unnerving. We were looking to see what type of food sources were available to the bees (i.e. honey and/or pollen) and also to see where the bee cluster was located...
A few frames were pulled out to see what type of honey store was available to the bees as well...
Beautifully golden capped honey was found in this hive and we knew that they would have plenty to eat till the weather warmed completely and spring foraging would begin...
Peering down into the hive, you could see the worker bees on the sides of the frames. This time of year, the day time temperatures can have quite a range and the bees prefer to fly out only on warmer days. Most of the rest of the time when it is cold, they are clustered in a ball shape within the hive to keep themselves warm. That is why it is important for them to have plenty of food available so that they do not starve over the winter months. Come spring, when the daytime temperatures warm, the bees will begin flying out of the hive to forage for pollen and nectar to raise their brood...
Yum...capped honey...just what the bees (and beekeepers) love most...
Janice looks like she is having a good time...you can see the smile on her face. Can you also see the golden colors inside some of the cells in the upper left corner? That is pollen that the bees have stored so that they can feed it to the brood...
Now that we had checked all the hives and given extra food to those that were in need of it, it was now time to tidy up the bee yard before we go home...
As a new beekeeper, there is nothing more helpful than to visit a bee yard and gain hands on knowledge from other beekeepers. Janice and I were both very appreciative to Stan for letting us come and help him 'work his bees'.
Stan feels that he has three very strong hives and has plans to come back in a few weeks after the weather has warmed and split them into multiple hives. Janice and I both make plans to come back and help Stan with that process and spend more time with the bees...
This has been a very good day for me and hopefully for the bees as well. I have gotten an introduction into the life of a beekeeper and look forward to my own experience.
My bees will be arriving by shipment the first week in April and I am looking forward to sharing that experience with you as well. I have been working on getting my hives ready and will post more pictures when I have them completed.
Stay tuned...
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