2 Packages of bee's

[nepenthes]

Just got two bee's it was way to cold for them to fly (35*f) hence the no suit, they have feeders so I put them in the hive. 4 pound package, one Russian one Italian. Cant wait for spring! videos when I get a chord.

 

[AneesasMuse]

That is sooo cool! My Daddy used to keep bees when I was young, and I always helped him get the "good stuff"

These pics bring back lots of great memories!

Thanks!
~Aminah

 

[PINK1081]

Good luck with your new bees. Looks like a great location. I have not tried Russians yet. Keep us posted as they fill out those frames with new wax.

Jim

 

[Tleilaxu]

For some reason I always thought you were a girl LOL. Sweet pics you must keep us posted. I have always wanted to keep bees.

 

[nepenthes]

Hopefully we get a new camera and I can get nicer shots, and HOPEFULLY we can get a chord that works for the camera, then I can upload movies.

LOL @ Tleilaxu, what ever gave you that impression? I guess nepenthes does sound a little feminine.( click here it explains my name)

I will keep you guys updated. I wanted to try carnolians at first, but when i found out how they swarmed all the time I didn't want that. I know if things go well i want to try starting a nuc.

 

[Tleilaxu]

I used to grow nepenthese and their name is taken after a greek goddess... more precisely her cup she used to administer a drug... Sweet bees again

 

[nepenthes]

Unfortunetaly I lost both hives

-starvation cause they couldn't break the cluster to get to the feeders it was too cold.

-it being to cold

I'm ordering two more packages... hopefully i get them on a better day.

 

[Tleilaxu]

When you do take pics of the two species side by side for comparasion purposes, I have never seen a Russian honey bee. Oh what my friend does in weather like that is he leaves them in the garage (in the container they arrived in) and sprays them with sugar water. That helps until its warm enough to put them out, you would be surprised at how much heat those suckers can make.

 

[nepenthes]

When I get a camera... Ill take pictures. They are the same species, different race. Kind of like temperament differences, hygienic differences things like that, some times they have different coloration. I know some Bee's can be almost black, some can be completely blond. Just like the Americanized Bee's, they are still honey bee's just different temperaments.

 

[Tleilaxu]

Thats kinda what I meant I wanted to see if they looked differnt, you know like an orange goldfish and a white one. Although you are quite right with the behavior bit.

 

[nepenthes]

I plan on preserving one of the queens drones and workers. So I can show you when I get the chance!

 

[Tleilaxu]

OK but I prefer live specimens in my photos but still eagerly await the pics nonethless. I know you take great pics.

 

[nepenthes]

I Will either be getting the bee's from the same guy, OR I will be ordering them so they will come in the mail. The ones coming in the mail will be Faster, but picking them up makes me feel a little more, secure?

I don't have a Camera any more, I had a fire about a month and a half ago, other wise i would take those "Great" pictures you speak of! lol, Best I can do is Take Pictures with the Video Camera which doesn't take half bad pictures, but they aren't the greatest.

 

[nepenthes]

Ok So we got a new camera, I will get the difference in color between the two bee's.

We also have the bee's installed We have video, just no way to upload it.

 

[HepCatMoe]

cool bees.

you could try uploading to photobucket or youtube.

edit: or did you mean you dont have the hardware?

 

[nepenthes]

I dont have the Hardware.

 

[nepenthes]

Some more Pictures

 

[HepCatMoe]

it looks fun, but i would be scared of all those bees!!

ive seen a couple swarms around my house lately (here in phoenix az) and i might stop to watch em for a while, but i dont go anywhere close.

the swarms are pretty big, and i assume theyre out starting a new colony. no way for me to count the bees, but id say they are spheres about 10 - 15 feet in diameter!!

with that many active bees i stay far out of the way.

 

[nepenthes]

sounds kind of big if you ask me, but I would be careful they could be AHB. They arent all that scary. I sit out side of the hive watching them carry out the dead (from the first two packages, some bees climbed into the comb to stay warm and died in their). Its neat to watch them come back with Red, Orange, Yellow, White pollen.

 

[HepCatMoe]

they were definately pretty big swarms (although ive never seen any other swarms before). i could be exagerating though. the first i saw on the covered parking like 2 apartments down from me. the second was in a small tree (maybe 12 feet tall). i was jogging and i had to jog into the street to get around it, and there were still bees whizzing past me.

when i say 10-15 ft in diameter, im not saying its super dense. probably the densest part is only a couple feet... i didnt actually get that close to em. they were pretty intimidating to me.

in my moms garden back home (in WA state), there are always tons of bees, and i have never had any problem with em. but ive never seen anything like this before, as far as sheer numbers go and being super active.

ps i see the smoker in one of those pictures, had you just smoked the bees before the pics?