Kirk's first swarm of the year

The swarms start early in LA. Spring has sprung!

Kirk writes on his Facebook page:

Bob's your uncle.

Getting a new beekeeper going

Michael is a new Backwards Beekeeper in LA. He and his wife Vinh have a great urban farm setup in Glassell Park with lots of happy chickens, vegetables, fruit trees, and now a bee hive.

Michael's bees have a nice spot on the hillside where they get plenty of sun. He had been a bit concerned that the hive hadn't expanded in the last few months since it arrived, so we opened it up to take a look.

The queen is laying in a nice pattern and the bees are storing honey, so this hive is ready to grow like crazy once our LA spring arrives in the next couple of months.

If you're ready to become a new beekeeper, make sure to get your gear ready soon. The swarms will be arriving before you know it!

In LA, it's year-round beekeeping

Here's the view this morning at the entrance of our #2 hive, which lay empty until a passing swarm moved in just a few weeks ago.

Bees thrive all year here in LA, which means it's always the right time to learn beekeeping—and your next opportunity is this weekend!

The holidays make it hard to meet on the last Sunday of November and December, so we've scheduled one more meeting for 2012 on Sunday, December 9 at 11am, at Golden Road Brewing. This meeting will be outside on the covered lawn, which should be much quieter than the indoor area was for our last meeting.

Golden Road brews great beer and also has a full menu. Come hungry and thirsty to support our hosts.

Here's all the info about our next meeting.

Spring is coming to LA

Kirk says:

Ed in Kagel Canyon sent me this pic. The swarms are about to start.

LA's spring has sprung

LA Backwards Beekeeper Kathryn sends this photo of bees on a friend's bottlebrush tree. We are in a world of pollen here in Southern California!

Snow bees in Newfoundland

We Southern California beekeepers will be complaining about rain and cold this weekend. Well, take a look at what our Backwards Beekeeper friend Phillip in St. Johns, Newfoundland saw when he went to take a look at his hives a few days ago:



And yes, those hives have living (and tightly clustered) bees inside. They're looking forward to spring, whenever that is up there.

Winter bee activity goes to 11

Several people have posted on our Yahoo group that their bees are going bonkers with activity lately. Here at Feral Honey HQ, it's the same story—lots of activity from the first light in the morning until well into the evening.


This forager is way into our English Lavender.


Here's hoping for plenty of spring rain and another great year for honey in 2011!

From our Newfoundland correspondent

We Southern California beekeepers who are complaining about temperatures dropping into the 40s at night should shut our traps, because take a look at what (very well-dressed) Newfoundland Backwards Beekeeper Phillip is doing right about now:

We wrapped both of our hives for winter today and did pretty much what David Burns does in his How To Wrap Your Hive for Winter video/beekeeping lesson...

As far as I know, each hive is packed with honey to keep the bees alive for the winter. The wrap acts as windbreak and maybe gives the hive some extra warmth when the sun comes out. The mouse-proof entrance reducer will keep the mice out of the hive. The insulation between the inner and outer cover will keep the hive warm and prevent condensation from building up and dripping on the bees and killing them. Bees can take the cold, but it’s the wet that kills them more than anything (so I’ve been told). The upper entrance will provide some ventilation for excess moisture to escape. Theoretically, I shouldn’t have to touch the hives until late February or March, when I might have to feed them pollen and syrup if their winter stores are running low. Whatever happens over the next few months, I can’t do anything about it. So I’m just going to relax.

Wrapping Hives For Winter (Mud Songs)

Extra points for the Star Wars reference, Phillip.

Kirk mentors a new beekeeper

Here's Kirk's recap of his Saturday bee tour, guiding a new beekeeper through the process:




















Dan has more on his blog.

Kirkobeeo: Swarm time is coming

Kirk says:

Yes, It's spring time. I put some old nuc's with comb in them for swarm traps.

kirkobeeo

Once this next bunch of rain clears out, I'm doing the same. I want freshly-swarmed bees!

Kirkobeeo: Signs of Spring

Kirk says:

I have noticed in Silverlake there are always signs of early spring. As a beekeeper you should make yourself aware of the early spring indicators.

Here are mine. This is the first to bloom and the bees love these cactus. Over the next three weeks the blooms on these cactus really fill out. You might be able to see the bees on the close up.

I will keep you updated with more pics as the flowers develop. Also the other indicator is the Peach tree in the Chinatown garden. I checked today it is about 3 weeks away from blooming. Drive around your bee locations and make yourself aware of what is in bloom!

kirkobeeo