Bees!

The second swarm of bees installed in my Top Bar Hive has indeed settled in nicely, and is busy busy busy. You know, like bees. I've been peeking probably more than necessary, through the little portal window on the side, but I'm curious and was a little nervous about their health and inclination to stay.

I was, until today.

Opened up the peeper window, and FINALLY got to see what was inside that mass of bees. Usually when I open the window, the bees are all clustered up towards the front quarter of the hive, hanging on to each other and generally being mellow. That's because I usually check in the evening, when I have time...and when the bees are all in for the night. Crowded digs make it hard to see what's going on. But today, I opened it up midafternoon, and saw several sheet-straight, beautifully white combs being made. Rock on. Go little buggers go! The wax is so amazingly white, not at all like the yellow beeswax you see being sold after it's been used in a hive. And did you know that wax is secreted by the bees themselves? It's like bee sweat!

I observed them for a little while, and darned if I didn't see several GINORMOUS bees coming in and out. Big, shiny eyes and huge abdomens, almost black. Drones. They're the males of the colony, whose only purpose in life is to go hang out in some Drone Bar In The Sky, waiting for virgin queens to fly by so they can all make a nab for her. The rest of the time they just hang out and bum food off the worker bees. I know some men like that...fortunately for them, humans don't also follow the bees' practice of kicking all the drones out to freeze to death at the start of winter.

One of the things that made me decide to peer in the hive at midafternoon when the bees were all very active was the fact that yesterday I got my new Sheriff-style beekeeping jacket and leather long-sleeved gloves. It is totally the bomb. Easy to put on, zippered at the neck so the hood can be thrown back, secured with velcro as well to keep the truly intrepid bees from finding their way through the opening where the zippers all meet. Double plus bonus, it actually fits me, which was of some concern as I'm not a tiny woman. Found it on eBay, though they also sell them in various beekeeping shops online, and at Ruhl's Bee Supply in Portland, OR.

Speaking of Ruhl's, I picked up another little tidbit of "country wisdom" from them today. When the blackberry petals fall, the supply of food for the bees has about run its course. Soon after, hives are prone to robbing and predation by yellow jackets. Given how much clover we have in our grass, and how long its growing season is, I'll be waiting to see if that's the case. I hope my girls can get their combs built and filled before the growing season is over!