Three observations about Brigid
Nov. 19th, 2011 01:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
It's been cold and wet for the last few days in the Mid-Atlantic. I looked in on Isis yesterday for the first time in two weeks, there were a couple dozen or so mites in the drawer, where her western sisters seem to have all but completely stopped shedding mites back in October. Once the mite drawer is removed it allows ample light in from underneath with which to view the screened bottom board through the entrance. After the demise of the Kthb I've been using this technique to further monitor colony health. Granted, we're talking a pass/fail system here. I wonder how many conventional beekeepers bother to check on the mortality rates of their colonies after the earliest extended stretch of cold weather as it is expressed by the carnage on their hive floors. I have nothing to compare this to other than the condition of the Ktbh earlier and, so far, it's not as bad as that was. . . yet. Isis' screen was stacked with dead bees. Hundreds. I would be surprised, amazed if she survives the winter.
Brigid and Lada, on the other hand, seem to be doing quite well, especially Brigid who occupies the exact location of the prior two hives from the 2010 and 2009 seasons, under a large elm where she catches the very first rays of the morning sun, is situated in dappled shade throughout the rest of the hot summer day and, finally, spends the entire winter in the direct sunlight after the leaves have all dropped. In short, a rather ideal placement - location, location, location!!!
The next point I'd like to make about Brigid is that I'm relatively certain she swarmed back in May, and probably shed several casts since that time. That the Mother of Brigid is a product of natural selection and mated with local bees, probably those across the river from the apiary up on Guard Hill Road, as can be seen in summer coming into town. I've noticed that the bees of both Brigid and Lada have taken on a darker appearance than the bees of the original swarm that came with the packages. This is a positive indication that I'm probably correct about her having swarmed, breeding and I'm encouraged by what I've read that darker bees tend to be more hardy than lighter strains.
The last point I'd like to make about Brigid is that is this hive has never been opened, was not fed sugar or anything else at inception, was not augmented with extra boxes back in the summer; in fact, has had absolutely no human intervention since the package was installed in April, 2011. The bees of Brigid are those that, now well into November, are showing no signs of varroa on the mite board (only shed wax scraps from cappings) and are still quite active on any day when the temperature edges into the 60's. The only thing that concerns me about Brigid (I mean, other than the fact that they were all founded from artificially inseminated and packaged bees) is that she's still only a single cinder block off the ground.
Brigid and Lada, on the other hand, seem to be doing quite well, especially Brigid who occupies the exact location of the prior two hives from the 2010 and 2009 seasons, under a large elm where she catches the very first rays of the morning sun, is situated in dappled shade throughout the rest of the hot summer day and, finally, spends the entire winter in the direct sunlight after the leaves have all dropped. In short, a rather ideal placement - location, location, location!!!
The next point I'd like to make about Brigid is that I'm relatively certain she swarmed back in May, and probably shed several casts since that time. That the Mother of Brigid is a product of natural selection and mated with local bees, probably those across the river from the apiary up on Guard Hill Road, as can be seen in summer coming into town. I've noticed that the bees of both Brigid and Lada have taken on a darker appearance than the bees of the original swarm that came with the packages. This is a positive indication that I'm probably correct about her having swarmed, breeding and I'm encouraged by what I've read that darker bees tend to be more hardy than lighter strains.
The last point I'd like to make about Brigid is that is this hive has never been opened, was not fed sugar or anything else at inception, was not augmented with extra boxes back in the summer; in fact, has had absolutely no human intervention since the package was installed in April, 2011. The bees of Brigid are those that, now well into November, are showing no signs of varroa on the mite board (only shed wax scraps from cappings) and are still quite active on any day when the temperature edges into the 60's. The only thing that concerns me about Brigid (I mean, other than the fact that they were all founded from artificially inseminated and packaged bees) is that she's still only a single cinder block off the ground.