Bee Beard

In really hot weather, bees will sometimes form a “beard” on the outside of the hive. When we saw this happening we were concerned that there was something wrong, but this is just a method of controlling the hive temperature. Some of the adult bees leave the hive and hang out on the outside in order to allow more air flow to get into the hive and cool it down. Its important that the temperature inside the hive be controlled so that the baby bees can develop correctly and so that the honey being stored can cure in the comb. The bees on the “porch” at the bottom are also helping to cool the hive by fanning the opening with their wings.

We added a new super filled with frames today. The extra space should help cool the hive and it will provide more space for storing honey. This super has a queen excluder so that the queen can’t lay her eggs in the coomb and it will be 100% honey storage. Once this super is filled up, we will finally be able to harvest honey for ourselves!