Harmony Hollow Apiaries

Bee Yard Inspection and Class

During today’s bee-class, we went through several established hives as well as a few hives that have been recently brought in from removals from people’s homes.

Wall-to-wall brood! This beautiful queen has been hard at work – laying eggs wall-to-wall in her domain. This is going to be a great queen to be a source for larvae to graft into future queens for hive expansion.

Rainy Day Removal – Deck

These bees were living in a 16″ wide joist-space under the back porch deck at a local condominium. Unfortunately, it was an overcast and rainy morning – so while the removal DID go smoothly – the bees let me know that they were displeased with being exposed to the rainy elements today. They had a good amount of honey, and the queen is a beaut! Once the comb was put into the frames – the bees readily came into the box – and the queen was easily located.

Something’s Squirrelly!

Unexpected Removal (1st of 2 today)…This spot has had bees in the past (years ago) – and about 3 weeks ago – the homeowner noticed bee activity again. They were referred to me for the removal – so with the height – I borrowed scaffolding from another beekeeper. Once I got up there – it was curious – that no bees came out to meet me. None. Zip.. Zilch… I’m betting that they had scout bees checking the place out. I went ahead and opened up the previously opened soffit area – and 4 very tiny baby squirrels dropped down onto me. Quite startling! The homeowner went ahead and hired me to do some other work/maintenance around their home to try to ensure that there would be no further squirrely intrusions.

Aggie Bees – Dynamite Shed

The Dallas Texas Master Gardener program (Texas A&M University) is taking over a new (to them) property – but an old dynamite shed on the land has had honeybees in the walls of it – off and on – for the last 25-30 years. After being called out to evaluate the situation, and starting the removal this morning – it was evident that (a) the hive had recently swarmed. and (b) the new queen (if there was one) had not laid ANY eggs yet. There was some emerging drone brood in the hive, but NO worker brood or freshly laid eggs or larvae. The population of the hive was LOW – and there were a LOT of drones. I presumed at that point that there was not a queen present. I removed all the comb, and started vacuuming bees. Afterwards, I was placing lids on my buckets of old comb, and saw a queen! I went through the bucket looking for her – and eventually found her. Not too big – maybe freshly mated. I’m leaving her in a nuc with attendants overnight to collect up the remainder of the flying bees – and they’ll make it to the farm tomorrow afternoon.

Oasis Cafe – Emergency Swarm Call

Morning coffee at The Oasis Cafe after an emergency bee swarm response in their parking lot.

Friendly Bees – Removal

These bees have occupied this space for about 10 days. Even though it was a rainy morning, these ladies were gentle (no stings) and have a LOT of brood and nectar. Looking forward to seeing how they fare at the farm.

Whole Foods – Public Appearance

Talking about our beneficial pollinators today at Whole Foods at Forest/Preston from 12-3.

The Blind Butcher – Swarm

Doing our part to keep our pollinators safe – at The Blind Butcher.

Swarm at Redenta’s in Dallas

This swarm decided to land at a local nursery in Dallas ( Redenta’s Garden Shops. ) They knew who to call! These friendly ladies eagerly marched into their new (temporary) home. Their box will be upgraded to a 10-frame model in the morning at the bee yard. No suit, no smoke, no gloves – just Bee Love.!

Second Floor Dormer Removal

This colony swarmed last Friday while I was out of town. Another beekeeper snagged the swarm, however the parent colony was still in the home. Way up in the soffit of a 2nd story dormer.. The homeowner had spray-foamed their entrance in an effort to kill the bees… I opened up a hole for the bees last Saturday – and completed the bee removal this afternoon. Once opened up, there were plenty of bees, capped brood, and queen cells. I pulled 8 queen cells, then noticed that one was open – that was not open when I had pulled it 15 minutes earlier… And I watched another queen emerge. Here’s the rest of the queen cells – and a pic of the biggest queen cup I’ve ever handled. wink emoticon – they will be a good addition to the bee yard – and the queen cells can go into splits to make new hives.