Thursday, February 21, 2013

Third hive gone

Warm out the other day so I lifted the lid on the last hive and found that only a handful of dead bees were left.  Lots of honey and pollen inside.  This hive had been re-queened this spring too.  It was active right up to the last bad freeze   Have no idea where they all went, kind of sad.  I guess we'll have to see how the new batch does when they come this spring.  Spoke to another bee keeper from up in Ithaca and he says they have lost over 100 hives so far.  He says he's never seen it this bad.  Will have to monitor for mites more closely and treat just before winter.   Later

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

TBH inspection

Today I opened the TBH and found that the bees had deserted, only a handful left and dead.  Just like the nasty hive.  I am now wondering about the third hive, but its to cold right now to open it.  There was plenty of honey in the TBH so it must have been CCD or a high mite count.  My mite testing for the other hive came up negative though, so not sure just what it was.  Could not find bees anywhere, they must all have left during the last warm spell.

I ordered 2 new packages from Better Bees from upstate NY, hope I get better service than the last year from White Oak.

Got some nice comb honey, but because of the cold, and the thick honey, I'm having trouble filtering it out.  May take a couple of days.  Later

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Free Honey Bee swarm removal Staten Island


Staten Island Honey bee Swarm removals and rescue
Free Bee Removal Staten Island

Call 646-201-2461

I remove honey bees only!! and do not kill them.

Swarms will be removed for free.  If you need Honey bee removal from inside your home or other buildings, call for a free estimate.   I am a retired restoration specialist, having restored some of the finest homes and buildings in the U.S. so any destructive work will be put back to better than new condition.  Ask for Pete