11/10/10

Ruth's hive report

Los Angeles Backwards Beekeeper Ruth says:
It had been a while since I looked in on my hives, and with all the talk about robbing and dearth, I just wanted to make sure everything was as good as it looks from the outside. Here is my report, from a bee yard that is near to a small wild canyon in the Palisades.


Looks to me like they created theri own entrance reducer out of newspaper pulp! (Newspaper was used for the several swarm-merges I did.)


I was glad to see so many bees. And a little surprised! Notice the beautiful pristine white comb they made on that last frame, upper right.


Pollen cells, with honey above. Notice the drone brood in the middle.


Here they built comb across the frames. I hate to cut it but, had to.


They got worked up and stressed out as we finished up and clustered around the entrance for a few minutes. Then all was back to normal.


View from the bee yard. They've got a ton of wild fennel and mustard. Sweet!

—Ruth