Two Different Bees

Two Different Bees
Italian to the Left - Carniolan to the right

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Honey Season Finale

As the season comes to a close I feel grateful for how well the bees did this year. It was two of the hives first year so to get any honey from them is quite exciting. I think that when it is a nuc you can expect to get honey your first year but with a package of bees you may not expect to get as much. The only problem now is that we have many frames of honey that the bees have not quite capped yet. I will have to do some major rearanging before the fall ends so that we can make sure that the hives are not TOO TALL.
This is a photo of the beehive installed at the White House. Michelle Obama wanted it for her organic garden. You can see that it was successful due to how high it is however I believe they made a mistake putting it on such a high stand. Notice the racheting straps they had to use to keep it secure. I would love to see them trying to work the hive with a ladder. I think many beekeepers would agree that the stand is just too tall.


Our total from the hives for 2010 was 16 gallons. Most beekeepers report their harvest in pounds so if you need that it should be around 192 Lbs give or take a few. And not including what was spilled down the drain or what leaked on the floor or what the beekeeper ate whilst harvesting. MMMMMM COMB!!!

That is about 5.3 gallons per hive. That is probably just around normal with the crazy super wet spring we had. It was so wet that the bees could not get out and work the fruit trees! I am not complaining, last year we had 2.5 gallons and this year we have 16!!!

Next Step = get ready for winter!

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