Fall Cleanup

The bees and I are working on our fall chores:

Cleaning out the smoker. After two seasons of use, it was full of ashes and melted wax.

Visiting the last of the flowers. It's still sunny and warm in the middle of the day and they are very active. Lots of bright gold pollen still coming in from who knows where.

The first frost is probably coming soon. I have feeders on two hives and they're finishing off a gallon in three days. Time to hit the grocery store for more sugar!

Drone Layer II

So much for my original plans to re-queen that hive that had the drone layer! The new queen (hatched from a swarm cell in late spring) went MIA the end of August. Not good. I thought maybe she was taking a break because of a high mite load but that was wishful thinking. 

Luckily, my good buddy Peggy had an extra nuc on hand to share with me and I put it on the hive.

It was actually more than just a nuc, it was in about 8 frames worth of brood and honey, practically its own hive.

I put it right on top of the queenless hive with a sheet of newspaper underneath. The paper was gone in a few days. I checked it yesterday and the queen if laying eggs which was great to see. She was hanging out down in the middle box. I rearranged everything so it's back to a two-deep hive with brood in the bottom and honey + feeder on top. Hopefully they'll adjust well and get ready for winter.