March 21 Maple Tree Sap and the Honeybee

Just for fun a week ago my daughters "tapped" our large Sugar Maple tree in the front yard and attached a small empty plastic water bottle below their "tap".  Low and behold, hours later it was filled with sap.  They ran to tell Dad, who caught their excitement and by that evening the tree had two official taps with 5 gallon buckets below and we had a book titled, "Maple Sugaring at Home."  Today is one week later and my husband and the girls started boiling approximately 15 gallons of sap this morning on an outdoor fire. The maple syrup we will obtain from that 15 gallons and the entire day spent  boiling it will most likely provide enough for one Saturday morning pancake breakfast.  I'm sure every drop will be savored!
This tree they tapped is about forty feet from my hives.  In between checking on the sap and keeping the fire going, my husband and I were putting together ten hive bodies for spring splits.   When I had finished pounding in the last nails, I walked out of the garage into the sunshine and  noticed some action around the Maple tree. I walked over to the tree and there on it's trunk crawled 10-15 honeybees.  It appears they like the sap too!  It is only 45 degrees F. today and close to 20 mph winds, but these girls are out there doing their thing!


The tap with the sap dripping down onto trunk of the tree.

Getting a drink.

Honey bee hunting from sap on the trunk.

Honey bees on Maple tree trunk that has sap dripping down onto it.



Honey bees flying in 20mph wind to visit our Maple tree that has sap dripping down the trunk.

High hopes for a good Spring and healthy bees to split. Deep hive bodies put together today. Plan to use Mel Disselkoen's method of On The Spot Queen Rearing again this year. All my OTS queen colonies from last year  have made it through winter and are doing well.

Happy 1st day of Spring, 2015!

As if on cue, my crocuses opened today.  It is spring, amazing spring where everything is renewed and new life abounds everywhere.  I love it!  I think those of us that endure long winters of snow, ice, wind and subzero temperatures cherish it all the more. You can imagine my joy today when I bent down to inspect the crocuses and found honeybees scurrying around inside the cupped petals.  The cup or bowl like shape protects the bee from the wind so she can do her work.
 All three hives appear to be doing well.  I placed a pollen substitute patty on each hive on March 11 and continue to monitor the need for more sugar brick or pollen. I have left the tar paper wrap on for now as the temperatures are still dipping below freezing at night.

1st day of Spring, 2015.  Honeybees on Crocus. Wish I had planted more Crocus bulbs last fall.



Honeybee on Crocus.  Pollen!! March 20, 2015. West Michigan.

My youngest excited to be able to help now that she has a suit and pumped up about Spring and the Honeybees!

Why? and Spotty Snow.

It was near 35 degrees F. today with bright sunshine.  A nice afternoon to watch the hive entrances for any activity.  About 10 feet from the hives I noticed a dead bee here or there in the snow. Coming closer, I encountered little orange blots dotting the once pristine white blanket of snow.  Moments later a honeybee flew right by my face. I got closer to the hives and could see Honeybees coming out of the top entrance hole of Hive A.  Many a bee must have decided the bright sunshine meant warmer temps because one after another they would leave the entrance, fly about 5-10 ft. and then dive bomb into the snow.  This concerns me as I can't imagine the cluster is all that large at this time of year and to lose so many bees to this activity they seemed so keen on doing cannot be helpful to this hive's survival.  I realize the bees must take cleansing flights, but it seemed a bit too cold for this activity today.  Many never made it back to the hive.  The other 2 hives only had an occasional bee leaving the hive.  Honeybees, they always leave me wondering.

 Bees from Hive A exiting their top entrance hole thinking it's a beach party just because the temp. is over 30 degrees F. 

Dead bees outside the hive with dotting of bee excrement in the snow.

Blessed Bee!

Today is March 2, 2015 and my bees are still alive! Despite the coldest February on record, the girls are still hanging in there. I placed sugar bricks on each hive, the last weekend of January.  Hive C took to the brick right away, Hive A did not bother with the brick until about mid February and Hive B still has not touched their brick. Hive B has the medium and 2 deeps, they sound like they are in the middle box and haven't even touched the 10 frames of honey in the top box so understandable that they haven't bothered with the brick.

I was blessed to be able to leave our sub zero Michigan temps in February and head to Florida where I could get my honey bee fix. My happiest memory there was of a multitude of honeybees hovering and enjoying a Bottle Brush Tree (I'm sure that isn't the proper name, but you'll understand when you see the pictures of it).  The buzzing and activity was so intense, I expected the bees to abscond away into the sky at any moment with the tree in tow.

Placing the brick gently over the cluster, January 31, 2015.  People have told me the sugar brick looks like an ice chunk or snow.  Trust me, it is just sugar, water and essential oils.

One week after the brick has been placed the bees have taken down a decent amount!

 

Honey Bee on Bottle Brush Tree. Thanks to the nice man in Saint Cloud, Florida who let me stand in his yard and gawk at his tree for a 1/2 hour! 

Honeybee on Bottle Brush Tree bloom.

Bottle Brush Tree. Wish I could grow one in my yard. The bees loved it!