bee_folk | Jun. 18th, 2011

I really have no idea how people work these top bar hives. Clearly I've a lot to learn. Upon lifting the first bar it was obvious that these bees don't give a rat's ass for guides or order anything beyond their own. I couldn't really tell from here how extensive this pattern was throughout the hive so I closed it back up on this end and started at the other end of the hive where the follower board divides the space. . . .

When I established this hive I put in a couple of top bars in this end (roughly the middle of a ~4' hive) which had been drawn and harvested with "well-formed" comb and a couple others with guide strips in place. Oh, so this is where they drew their inspiration! Clearly, not from any serving suggestion on my part. . . But then, what do I know about organizing a brood nest? A lot to learn. . .

It is also fairly apparent that Brigid has swarmed. Without opening the hive I guess that I'm missing 6 to 10 thousand bees. Last week the daily temps were in the upper 90's and they looked mostly like the photo, only worse. This week in the mid 80's there's nary a bee on the porch that isn't coming or going and the lemon yellow comb has been drawn all the way from the ceiling to the floor (almost) and is visible at the entrance of the hive, Hell, the entrance of the hive is visible!!! Lada appears to be well on their way to doing the same. Godspeed, ladies! Go forth into the world and do some good!

I can't say that I wasn't warned that Russians had a particular tendency for swarming. That, their hygienic behavior and a gentle temperament are what attracted me to give them a try to begin with. Plus, it's not like I had plans to take any honey from them this year anyway. This is the year of quiet observation and laissez-faire beekeeping; not trying to control everything; asking rather than demanding. I only wish I could've been present to recover the leavers. That was a prodigious set of ovaries that took to the wing.