J got a bee suit for Christmas and finally put it to use this weekend.
We thought we might try giving the bees some more space so we added a second hive body. This meant that I had to watch a you-tube video on how to put the foundation in the frames. V's boyfriend was visiting and was a great help in this process.
We also went ahead and added a super. This is where the bees should store the honey. Later in the summer we will add a second super.
The bees were outgrowing their original hive body and making comb on the inner hive cover. I had a new one we put on and left this one out so the bees could clean it off. We'll reuse it if the bees swarm and we start a new hive.
The suit worked perfectly, no stings. But I've also heard that if you are giving the bees things they aren't aggressive like they would be if you were taking things away. So the true test of the suit will be in the fall when we go to steal the honey.
2 comments:
Bugs of all kinds scare me, especially the ones who sting or bite, even the beneficial ones, I'm sorry to say.
But I *do* recognize their absolute value & admire that you are such a diverse farm family.
I bet fresh honey tastes amazing! I read that honey NEVER spoils, that they've even recovered perfectly good honey from Egyptian tombs.
I love fresh honey but I will leave the bee keeping to the pros! that suit certainly looks safe
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