The State of the Queen at Blue Heron

In the 91 degree heat, I stopped by Blue Heron at 2:30 today. The queen cage was put in place on Thursday night. It's Tuesday and I thought the queen should be released by now. I opened the very calm hive to find the bees walking around in the area of the queen cage.

I lifted out the cage, but the queen was still in there!



The black tube that holds the fondant was eaten almost to the end. I thought by now they would have released her, and in a different kind of queen cage, they probably would have. The typical queen cage has about 1/2 inch of fondant between the bees and the queen. This cage has about 1 inch (see the black tube) of fondant. They have almost eaten all the way through it, but not quite.

I decided given the calm demeanor of the hive and the small amount of sugar left and the fatness of the queen (she's grown since Thursday) that the bees are accepting her. I could have direct released her at this point, but decided to leave her there and let the bees let her out in their own way.



This was a rather dissatisfying trip, so I took Hannah, my dog, and explored the community garden that the Blue Heron bees are pollinating.

I saw bees on onion flowers.



The bees were all over most of the flowering plants in the garden.



I also noticed straight cucumbers (denoting good pollination - thanks, bees).



Here's a view of the pathway leading away from the garden (and Hannah, of course).



Here's a view of half of the community garden that our bees at Blue Heron are pollinating.

Fall Wildflowers at Black Rock Mountain Lake

I love the fall with the golden rod and blue asters.


The picture below is Euonymous Americanus, also called "Hearts A-Bustin'"--I love seeing it in the fall. It's an American native plant and is found all over the east.

Bees Must Like Licorice!

My bees really like anise hyssop. It is licorice flavor and must release its nectar early in the day. After sunup for a few morning hours, you can find my bees (and bumblebees and other varied bee types) sucking nectar from the anise hyssop.

Yet Another Swarm Chooses Me!

When I drove into my carport from work today, there were bees buzzing all around this little nuc stored with some bee equipment on the side wall of my carport. Another swarm has chosen my house for its home.

Yesterday I saw lots of scouts buzzing around the nuc which at that time had no bottom board. Just in case, before I went to bed last night I went out and put a bottom board under the nuc. This evening it is full of bees. I only watched them zooming in and out and didn't really check it out. I did lift the top enough to see bees crawling on the tops of the frames. This isn't a large swarm -it isn't boiling over with bees, but they definitely have moved in to stay.


In a way they have chosen wisely. The nuc is up on a brick wall about knee high. It is protected from the elements by the carport roof and it faces directly east.

Against this home choice is the fact that my carport light comes on automatically at 6 PM and stays on until 11. The nuc is 3 feet from my kitchen door, the door just about everyone uses to enter my house. And as you can see, they don't have a direct flight out of the nuc - it faces a stack of frames, boxes, slatted racks, and bottom boards, although I will be putting most of those pieces of equipment into use in hives this weekend.


I can't believe that this is the second swarm to arrive in my yard this year. Perhaps these are cast from my own hives, and maybe they are from somewhere else....none of my hives seem at all diminished. I guess now that I am a beekeeper, the smell of equipment and other bees in residence draws the swarm.

I imagine after they've settled in about a week, I'll relocate them somewhere in my backyard. Where, I don't know since I already have eight hives. I could put them next to Devorah under the tree in my yard, rather than on my deck.

Meanwhile my abelia is in full fragrant bloom. Abelia is a member of the honeysuckle family and blooms most of the summer. Every day it is covered with bumblebees. I think the nectar may be far down for honeybees, but today I noticed my bees working just as hard on this abelia as the bumblebees were.


Here's a bee hanging on the abelia blossom, not quite nectar oriented yet! Addendum, June 11 I have just watched both bumblebees and honeybees for about 15 minutes on my abelia bush - they all gather the nectar from the space where this honeybee is getting it - between the calyx and the corolla. So the bee in the picture is in fact harvesting nectar for the camera.

The Best Part of Young Harris

Obviously the best part of the Young Harris Beekeeping Institute is sharing information and getting to know beekeepers from Georgia and surrounding states.

Here's my fun lunch group from the last day. We had a great time at the lunches. (The food leaves something to be desired but the company is well worth hanging out in the cafeteria.) We all shared the experience of the day with each other. I didn't take pictures at the most fun event which was the shrimp boil held at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds on Friday night. The food is really delicious there and the people are all more relaxed because we're through with all the tests.



Tests? Yes, the Beekeeping Institute is put on by the University of Georgia and The Young Harris College. Most people come to try to get certification at some level. You can take the beginner level - which is Certified Beekeeper. That's what I did last year. The next level is Journeyman (must have two years of beekeeping under your belt) followed by Master Beekeeper and Certified Master Craftsman Beekeeper (those two take at least five years). I believe that Bill Owens is the only Certified Master Craftsman Beekeeper in the state of Georgia. Also available at Young Harris Beekeeping Institute is a class to certify Welsh Honey Judges.

I took the Journeyman tests both written and practical and turned in my proof of the required five public service credits I had earned.

I sweated bullets. I was pretty sure I had passed the written test, but the practical test included some entomology that threw me for a loop. So I wasn't feeling very hopeful as I sat down at the end-of-the-institute convocation.

When Dr. Delaplane called out the name of the person who had passed the Journeyman level, I was not that person, so I sat back in my chair and thought, "OK, maybe I'll try again next year."

Then after a pause, I heard Dr. Delaplane announce, "And Linda Tillman." I was thrilled. He commented that this blog influenced my certification, so thank you to all of you who come to read about my beekeeping adventures and comment on my efforts.



I keep a statcounter on the numbers of people who visit each day and now it averages 300/day from all over the world. Since January 1, 2007, Google reports that 1,989 people have watched my video on crush and strain harvesting and 2,848 people have watched the one on how to make a solar wax melter. Thank you all for your interest and for visiting so often.



I also entered the photograph below in the photography section of the honey show and it won second place. What a great day for me all the way around!

Bees on Anise Hyssop

The anise hyssop is blooming and the bees are going crazy. I see all kinds of bees on it. Huge bumble bees sway on the blossoms. My honeybees are everywhere and there are tiny sweat bees, and other bees I don't recognize. Obviously the bees of all kinds love this plant. I found out about it on the Beemaster Forum and have been thrilled to have it in my garden.

Honeybee on Echinecea

This morning when I walked outside to place the solar wax melter on my garden walkway, I saw this bee working hard on the purple coneflower.

In this picture you can see pollen on her back legs.

Amazing effort! She is probably an older field bee because the hair on her thorax has been worn off.

Bees on the Butterfly Bush

Last year I saw butterflies on the butterfly bush, but never bees. Maybe this year with the worst drought in 50 years here in Georgia, the bees are desperate. These butterfly bushes grow just about 6 feet from the deck where the hives are. The bees are having a glorious time on these bushes.

My Bee and a Friend on Echinecea

My Echinacea started blooming yesterday (who knows why since we are in the middle of a terrible drought with so many watering restrictions that by all rights the plants should have given up the ghost).

I went out to find a bee (one of mine, of course) and a friend of unknown identity enjoying the pollen.

Bees on the Butterfly Weed

I love it when the butterfly weed blooms (Asclepias tuberosa). Last year I got some good bee pictures on the butterfly weed.


Over this past weekend, my butterfly weed burst into bloom. The flowers have lots of nectar and the bees love it. I see bumblebees on this plant as well. Here are my pictures from the butterfly weed of 2007.

Look closely at these pictures--in the third one, you can see the bee's tongue extended into the flower. (Double click on the picture to make it larger).

If you want to plant this for your bees, plant seeds. It has a deep tap root and is very hard to transplant.

Butterfly weed lines the edges of the highways in Georgia at this time of year. I had so many good photos that I simply made a Web Album. Click on the first photo to see the rest.

Butterfly Weed and Bees