Thursday, May 24, 2012

BEEEEEEEEES! And two cuties to help the bee-phobic soothe their palpitations.

Last week I had a peek in my two hives, which were one hive until I made a split about two weeks ago. The original hive is doing great with a beautiful, full brood pattern (i.e. lots of eggs, larvae and capped brood.) The orangey-brown stuff on the cells below is the caps over developing larvae. Baby bees develop and chew their way out of the cell when they're ready.

What made me laugh was that I didn't notice the queen bee on this frame until I got inside and saw my photos! Can you see her? (Hint: she is longer than the other bees with a darker spot on her thorax.)





Maybe this will help. She's the big girl in the photo above!





Can you see her? Hint #2: She's hanging out near the frame edge in both photos.

If you give up, scroll down ....




I've circled her for you!








Alas, she doesn't wear a crown. But she does have royal attendants who follow her around, grooming and feeding her. Those the worker bees circling around her, above.

And now, to resuscitate Owl Wood, who is not a fan of bees (but I keep trying to convert him!), we have some kitty cuteness...



Butter wouldn't melt!



Julius' new favourite haunt. Makes it hard to print things!

And I am off to videotape some ducklings. Stay tuned! Unfortunately the last three eggs turned out to be duds, but we do have five adorable ducklings now.






34 comments:

  1. ... "Baby bees develop and chew their way out of the cell when they're ready." ...

    We Hutsons had much of a similar childhood!

    I think that I must have been (bee-n) sacrificed to bees in a previous life or something, it's not a conscious or rational fear for me, just instinctive and primal! It also doesn't help that I sat on a bee when I was aged about four years ...

    When I saw the swarm in Pear Tree Log's garden the other day and heard the deafening buzz I didn't know whether to fall over on the spot or run. Show me grizzly and I'll cheerfully strangle it for you, but a bee or a wasp in the room with me and it's game over!

    All I can say for your bees is - nice cats!

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    1. I have a nice image of you Hutsons chewing away... ;)

      Your sister's swarm sounded a little cranky. Not the best way to meet a bee!

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  2. I have the same feeling towards snakes as the previous post has for bees...so I get it. Great photos, Natalie. I still am amazed at Emily's markings.
    The retired guy just came home with 'Great value' honey from the grocer store. I just looked at him and he said "all honey tastes the same". What do you want me to tell him for you?:)

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    1. Sssssigh!!! I am going to save you a jar of honey from my next harvest, have you put a blindfold on Retired Guy, and have him do a taste test with some no-name crap (which is often blended with honey from China, because it doesn't have to be 100% Canadian honey to say "Product of Canada." I will convert him! :)))

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  3. That is too many bees for me but I adore the cats. Have a nice time.

    Hugs
    Elna

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  4. Glad you put a circle around the Queen , otherwise I could have looked till tomorrow for her ;-)
    Me too like to lay on my mom´s printer :)

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  5. those naughty worker bees are checking out their Queen's butt! One of them is measuring it with his antennas :)

    Glad to see Emily's collar is off :)
    Can't wait to see more duckling pictures and video. They grow up so fast!

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    1. Hahaha ! I think you're right about the butt-measuring!

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  6. Note to self....do not become a beekeeper because unless Queen bee arrives with a huge yellow circle around her, I'm screwed.
    Jane x

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    1. I know plenty o' beekeepers who have real trouble spotting a queen, so you won't be alone!

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  7. That was a real "Where's Waldo." A good trip through a bee hive.

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    1. That's an excellent comparison! WEll, maybe "Waldette"!

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  8. Well, we could say that the darker spot on Queen Bee's thorax is the "crown". I think you are having fun with your bees. But I understand, 'cause we do, too. And, doggone it, those kitties are so cute, I'd like a couple. But, doggone it, my dog will gone it : ( So, I'll just have to stare at yours.

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    1. Ah, some dogs and cats just do not mix!

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  9. Well now that you pointed out the Queen Bee I can see her very clearly. I would not have picked her out (ever) from the photo you tweeted. Pretty darn contented looking cats. Hope they know how good they got it with you guys :)

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  10. I love Emily's markings and Julius cracks me up!

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  11. I expected the queen to be much bigger than the rest. I wonder how the other bees know she's the queen. Anyway, I find the kitty in the pink bed to be really unusual and distinctive!

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    1. I think the know her by the pheromones she gives off! :)

      That's Emily in the bed. She was dumped at our farm in January as a tiny kitten. How she got those exotic markings, I'll never know!

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  12. Boy, I loves me some bees. These are great pictures! Also, I was very pleased that I was able to spot the queen in both pictures - that's the first time for me! - before I scrolled down for the answer.

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    1. Excellent work! You need a beehive on your balcony!

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  13. Anonymous10:32 pm

    Fascinating. I found the queen after viewing the second photo, but it took a long examination of the first.

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    1. That's great you found her! I'm impressed.

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  14. Lovely cats! I think the swarm we had the other day, and the stings which have followed, have put me off bees for a while!

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    1. STings are no fun, especially in the plural! :(

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  15. I found her on the first hint! Without the hint, however, I was screwed. I think there is a lot to learn from cats. They have been teaching me napping techniques for years, but I am not yet a Master of Napping.

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    1. I think my cats are PhDs of napping... ;)

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  16. Andrew7:35 pm

    Has that 3-D printer just printed out a cat?

    Amazing how fast technology advances.

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  17. Your queen is a beauty! We tried to find our queen last weekend, but alas it was hard. We don't have marked queens, and then it doesn't help to have big drones in there too. Anyway, the bees were getting annoyed with us and we closed up the hive.

    Hmmm...my computer has cat hair all over the keyboard...

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    1. I just got three nucs and all the queens are marked so they'll be pretty easy to find now!

      I have cat hair all over my keyboard too.. :)

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  18. That was so interesting seeing the Queen Bee. Wonder how she becomes the Queen. Maybe just because she is bigger and older.
    I agree that the dandelions should be left alone. I think they are kind of pretty. Have a great Monday.

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    1. Marg, the bees build a "queen cup" which becomes a "queen cell", and they feed the larva royal jelly (food with extra enzymes) that turns a regular worker larva into a queen bee!

      Hope you had a great Monday too!

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!