Yesterday went to the Beekeeper's house and got these pictures. Quite an experience wearing the bee suit in 95 degree temperature at two in afternoon in south Florida :biggrin:
We got no stings and it was a rare experience to see Lowell take the hive apart. He did it gingerly and took it apart level by level. He explained the process to us as he went along.
There is only one QUEEN for the whole hive of 60,000 bees. They fly away to get pollen a distance of three miles. They make 5-6 trips back to the hive each day to deposit the pollen. Their social structure is very interesting and it sure works for them. The queen was sent from Hawaii and she cost $18.00 plus postage... AND the female bees are the workers and they do all the work ..
Lowell said the best book on beekeeping is 'Beekeeping for Dummies'. He is a master beekeeper and has a license/registration etc. etc. He found the bees up under his eaves in his house and that's how he got interested in it some years ago. At that time he called a beekeeper who came and got the bees into a hive.. Lowell has worked with them ever since.
I'll try to get you all some honey soon..I think the hive will be harvested in another three weeks. I hope to get those pictures too so I"ll be back.
Maybe I can get Patrick to make a 'sticky' out of this :biggrin:
You can see the same pictures with much better color on my gallery HERE
First the bees have to be smoked so they move inside and out of the way.This was taken when he was down to the last level and that's where the queen lives. She can't go higher than that box. That grill is called a 'queen excluder' because it keeps her down there.
This is the beekeeper with a honey cone panel that he's just pulled out of the hive
Here's the beekeeper showing the panel to my husband who is hiding a distance away from the hive :smile:
This is a closeup of the cells and bees.The yellow cells are filled with pollen which is protein for the bees. The dark ones are nectar ready to be made into honey. The capped ones are full of honey and ready.
This is me on right with the beekeeper, Lowell. The golf cart is for a 'fast getaway'.
Here's a honey cone tray. You can see the cells that are capped. The capped cells are full of honey and ready for shipment
We got no stings and it was a rare experience to see Lowell take the hive apart. He did it gingerly and took it apart level by level. He explained the process to us as he went along.
There is only one QUEEN for the whole hive of 60,000 bees. They fly away to get pollen a distance of three miles. They make 5-6 trips back to the hive each day to deposit the pollen. Their social structure is very interesting and it sure works for them. The queen was sent from Hawaii and she cost $18.00 plus postage... AND the female bees are the workers and they do all the work ..
Lowell said the best book on beekeeping is 'Beekeeping for Dummies'. He is a master beekeeper and has a license/registration etc. etc. He found the bees up under his eaves in his house and that's how he got interested in it some years ago. At that time he called a beekeeper who came and got the bees into a hive.. Lowell has worked with them ever since.
I'll try to get you all some honey soon..I think the hive will be harvested in another three weeks. I hope to get those pictures too so I"ll be back.
Maybe I can get Patrick to make a 'sticky' out of this :biggrin:
You can see the same pictures with much better color on my gallery HERE
First the bees have to be smoked so they move inside and out of the way.This was taken when he was down to the last level and that's where the queen lives. She can't go higher than that box. That grill is called a 'queen excluder' because it keeps her down there.
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This is the beekeeper with a honey cone panel that he's just pulled out of the hive
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Here's the beekeeper showing the panel to my husband who is hiding a distance away from the hive :smile:
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
This is a closeup of the cells and bees.The yellow cells are filled with pollen which is protein for the bees. The dark ones are nectar ready to be made into honey. The capped ones are full of honey and ready.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
This is me on right with the beekeeper, Lowell. The golf cart is for a 'fast getaway'.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Here's a honey cone tray. You can see the cells that are capped. The capped cells are full of honey and ready for shipment
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
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