So I went out to check the bees. The weather here has been wild, to say the least. Temps go from the mid seventies one day to the mid forties the next. I figured the bees would be running through some food, I just didn’t expect to find as many bees as I did.
I realize, today was certainly not the best day to mess with the bees, being about 50 and overcast. Regardless, I had to feed them, as we are expecting warmer temps and rain over the next several days. The last thing I wanted was to lose a hive to starvation.
So I popped the lid, and bees were boiling out of the upper brood box. Way more bees than I expected, and they were not terribly happy to have be poking around. Lesson number one of the day, become one with the smoke. I should have smoked them. Instead, I retreated, lit the smoker, and returned to attempt once again.
I ended up filling the feeders of each of my hives completely with 1:1 sugar syrup. They still had pollen patty left over, so I figured they were good to go and buttoned them up.
I took a quick video of at least part of the experience, it is posted HERE.
