Life as a Spectator Sport

I pulled the top cover off one hive yesterday and discovered a million ants and their egg cases on top of the inner cover. Lifting one corner of the top cover on the other hive revealed a similar mess. I didn't know whether the ants were down in the hives themselves, and fearing to make things worse if I opened the hives up any further, I just left everything as it was until I could ask more experienced people at the beekeepers meeting last night.

Lotta help that was.

The first person I spoke to was deeply concerned. "Oh no, that's really bad," he said. "Try putting some salt on the inner cover, That should keep them from coming back. And put a ring of salt on the ground around each hive."

Another fellow, listening to the conversation, broke in. "You don't want to do that," he objected. "You'll get deer in the bee yard."

"Over where you live," put in a third person, "you'll get bear, and they'll have your hives knocked over on the ground and your comb all tore up."

The second man said, "Everybody gets ants now and then. The bees won't let them down into the hive itself--they'll kill any that try to get in. Just pick up the top cover and check every now and then, and brush them off if they come back."

That calmed my worst fear, that the ants had infested the hives themselves. So I asked whether, in view of the fact that one hive had bees all over the outside, a sure signal of imminent swarming, whether I should just add a shallow super or should put on the new big brood chambers I had planned to add.

More argument.

"Sure, put the new brood chambers on," said one person. "That will give them a lot more room than just a super."

"But she already has one shallow super on each hive," said the man who had brought me the bees to begin with. "You don't want to put a new hive body on top of a super."

"You don't need but one hive body anyhow," said one of the few knowledgeable woman in the group. "I don't use but one, and just add supers as I need them."

I listened to all the conflicting opinions, and finally added just one shallow super to each hive, hoping that will be enough to stave off swarming. I can't tell for sure, but I think the other hive has already swarmed. There are plenty of bees around the opening, but when I tried to smoke them, they became very angry and aggressive. I'm told that's what happens when there is no queen in the hive. Considering their mood, I didn't mess around with them any longer than it took to put the super on top and replace the covers. The woman I was speaking with at the meeting has promised to come over on Saturday and look at the situation, and walk me through some of the procedures I still feel very uncertain about.

Update on June 14—And Saturday having long since passed . . . Mary did come over, and while we were walking down to the bee yard, I heard the distinct sound of bees, lots and lots of bees, overhead in the pines. The second hive had swarmed, as I had feared it would, and apparently at some point very recently. We never did find them, but Mary confirmed that I still have two working hives with queens. She was bemoaning our inability to find the swarm, but I am oddly relieved. The worst thing they could do, from my point of view, was to fly away with my investment. Now some of them have flown away, but I still have two active hives full of bees, so as far as I'm concerned, the worst is over. I still have to watch for parasites and disease, and I definitely have to acquire some more supers to add to what is already there, but I still have at least as many bees as I started out with. Next year, I'll worry about hiving swarms, but right now I'm doing well just to open the hives up and look inside.

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RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email to liz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002