Movin' on Up...

 

Back before the great exodus, our bees needed an upgrade to their living quarters.

With a little smoke, things get under way.

We have one hive of Carniolans and one hive of Italians.  Both started with 2 hive bodies.  The Carniolans are known for their quick ramp up in the Spring, which is holding true for us so far.  Over half of their second hive body was already filled with comb and so we decided to add another body to each of the two hives to avoid potential swarming as much as possible.  It'll be interesting to see how summer temps impact their run.  We are assuming that the steadily chugging Italians will catch up soon enough.  This is a picture of one of the top hive bodies. Amazing work, ladies.

 

We couldn't have asked for better comb alignment on the top bars.

Although the feeders had been empty for a couple weeks after the dandelions and fruit trees flowered, the bees were still intent on trying to find more syrup there.  As a result, there were a lot of bees working their way around behind the protective screening of the feeders and they were a real pain to get out.  C3, with a generous display of willpower and persistence, managed to get every bee out of both feeders with only a very few casualties.

All in all, the whole process was over almost before we realized it and the bees are now housed in an even more deluxe apartment in the sky.

I haven't owned bees very long, but the longer I have them the longer I wonder why I've not had them for longer.  They just work and store and prepare.  Past the initial investment in hives, supplies, and tools they keep on giving with very little for expectations in return.  They are beautiful to watch, increase yields of plant life within several miles of home, and create honey.  All by just going about their business and taking up all of 10 square feet of otherwise unproductive land in the backyard.

Carry on!