Oh My Ouchie!

These photos were taken during our 5th week of beekeeping.  This being our first year, with every inspection we are learning something new and exciting.  I just love this photo, look at all the bees!

I love seeing full frames of brood! That whole middle section are bee larvae waiting to be born.

 

Paul looks so happy holding up the frames!  The reason being, this is the first time we've seen honey on the frames! The honey on these frames are for the bees to eat.  Nonetheless, this makes us super happy to see that they are producing honey since so far, all we have seen is brood and pollen.

Is this not a marvelous site? All on the right side is capped honey!! 

Another look from a different angle. On the left is capped honey.

Here again is a closeup! Honey on the top and capped brood on the bottom.  All the holes you see are where baby bees were born and emerged from.

When we pull the frames out to inspect, the bees barely notice us.  They continue on doing what they are doing.  Making wax and honey and feeding the babies.

However, sometimes the bees feel defensive and will protect the hive by stinging. I got stung 4 times during this inspection on my hand. Boy did it hurt.  When you get stung once, there is an attack pheromone that is set off, and more bees go after you.  Thus is why I was stung 4 times in the same area.

 

Despite getting stung, we moved on to visit our other hive 4 blocks away on the rooftop.  Getting stung is part of beekeeping, you just have to get used to it. In this photo we are removing propolis from the frames. Propolis is a sticky substance that the bees collect, usually made up of tree sap.  The bees use it as a sealant or glue to fill in gaps within the beehive. They put the propolis all along the edges of the frames and box, and we remove it so that it doesn't build up too much.

Checking the frames.

Look at all that capped brood! A lovely sight. We also see signs of honey in these hives too!

Frames are covered with bees.

Simply gorgeous!

This frame is mostly pollen.  All the dark color on the right is pollen.

In this photo, you can see on the left the propolis between the frames edge and the box. It's the dark brown substance. This sticky sap makes it hard to maneuver and take out the frames. This is where our hive tools come in handy, we use the hive tool to pry the frames loose from the propolis.

A welcomed sight! Here we see the Queen. Do you see her?

 

A better look.  See her now? Everytime we do an inspection, we always look for the Queen to make sure she's still alive.  Without a Queen, the hive will not survive. When we see her on the frames, we breathe a sigh of relief.

The next day, after the hive inspection, my hand got really swollen from the beesting. I mean, really, really swollen.

 

So swollen that I couldn't bend my fingers.  I saw my doctor and she said that it's likely that I have a mild allergy to bee venom.  She prescribed me a steroid to help with the swelling and in 5 days I was back to normal.  I must say, my body's reaction to beesting venom really scared me.  In all my life, I've never gotten stung this badly before.  My doctor tells me that the more I get stung the more my body will build a resistance to bee venom.  So in a way, I should look forward to getting stung more often.  Too bad it hurts.... a lot.