Adventures in Bee Keeping

Ty, my Siberian Husky, travels the path we take to visit the bee hive

In the Beginning...

I began my beekeeping journey alongside Donald, who, unfortunately, is no longer with us.

He was the driving force behind setting up a beehive, acquiring a nuc, and embarking on our journey as beekeepers. We never had a stable location until we moved to Texas, where establishing the hive became one of his top priorities. Donald took great joy in harvesting honey as a reward for his dedication to caring for the bees.

I never gave much thought to bees before moving to Texas, but once I had one, it was love at first sight. It turns out I have a natural talent for beekeeping; I hardly ever get stung and am captivated by them. Their survival skills and the entire process of their life cycle—from diligently collecting pollen to transforming it into honey—are truly remarkable.

I have Italian bees, known for their gentle nature, voracious eating habits, and tendency to thrive beyond their hives. This often leads to more bees when managed properly—woot! I'm in the process of splitting the hive, but I’ll evaluate their progress come spring, especially after the recent challenges we’ve faced.

Over the years, we've gained valuable insights from our experiences, discovering what strategies have been effective and which ones haven't. Unfortunately, we lost a hive due to a regrettable miscalculation in hindsight—a decision made by Donald, it wasn't me! I protested but was rejected.

Starting afresh was challenging and set back our expansion plans. However, I’m happy to report that this story has a positive conclusion!

The Challenge of Toppling Boxes

In May 2024, the Houston derecho accompanied by an EF-2 tornado, with wind speeds reaching up to 100 mph affected my area.

As you can see, my bees are sheltered beneath a tree, which provides crucial shade from the scorching temperatures that can exceed 100°F in my little oasis. 

While checking the damage to the houses, I spotted fallen trees (not particularly significant damage in comparison, but it certainly wasn't insignificant).

When I checked the bees, I could see the boxes were tipped over! My heart raced as I spotted the two deep boxes toppled onto the ground!

I rushed over to the bees, fearing they had been swept away by the storm and would find their lifeless bodies floating in a puddle.

Getting closer, the buzzing sounds of bees made me sigh in relief. They were alive!

It felt as though an angel had gently placed the two boxes and their stand on their side. The deep boxes remained together, thanks to the efforts of those 50,000 clever little girls who had glued everything in place to prevent it from separating.

The hive was mostly intact, resting on its side. The girls were agitated, and at that moment, I was powerless to intervene. For the first time since I began, I felt a sting. They were in protective mode and didn’t want me or my furry friends nearby.

If my house were turned on its side, I would be furious as well. So, I couldn’t hold it against them. Still, I understood that they needed to be set back upright.

Manhandling the Hive

My initial instinct was to handle them directly, so I purchased my first proper bee suit and set out once it arrived. I attempted various methods to push the bees back up, including pulling them, applying brute force, and utilizing straps and levers, but none of these approaches proved effective.

The stand’s legs were too long for me to manage, making it impossible to lift the two boxes along with it. By the time I figured that out, the bees had completely swarmed my face screen, and they were far from pleased. I definitely lost some cred from them that day. I returned home feeling defeated but still determined. These were Donald's bees, and I was committed to rescuing them.

At that moment, one might consider seeking assistance.

Beekeepers can be quite fascinating. At least in my region, they seem to be! The local commercial beekeeper is eager to accept your money for their products but isn't accessible through email. It’s amusing how they don't email, considering they spend most of their time outdoors.

While I'm not the only beekeeper in town, hobbyist beekeepers have a different vibe compared to those who run beekeeping farms. At least around me. 

However, I was confident that I could solve this. 

My first attempt at getting the bees right was as painful as watching this

​
​Finding the Right Approach

I returned once more, this time taking the opportunity to inspect the bee hive from every angle. I noticed that bees were clustering on the sides of the box, indicating there were openings at the top and sides. Typically, their front door is at the bottom.

I stepped away from the stand only to be surrounded by a battalion that seemed to be on edge. I was dressed in my suit which might be safe but made the situation even more unsettling. They had never shown such agitation before. It was evident that they were distressed and ready to protect themselves.

At a crucial point, I stumbled and almost fell onto the boxes. Thankfully, I managed to avoid crushing them, but I ended up getting hurt in the process. The bees retreated, seeing as I was being an idiot and they didn't have much to fear from the town fool, but I was finished. At least on that day. 

Third time's a Charm... right?

Not so much for me. 

I went back with the same plan as I had for the second time. I was going to use straps to heave them up. But again, no matter how I tried, the stand just wouldn't let me lift everything up. I was going to have to do this manually. 

Manually meant taking the boxes apart. I didn't want to do that. They had already abandoned the bottom box in favor of the top. But they were getting defensive and my hive is very healthy. Which is a good sign, it's just hard to see when they're clamoring all over you. I have a bee shield I have to look through every time I go see them now. 

But I kept thinking about how I could do this with as few casualties as possible or at least not being Godzilla. 

While I tried to lift the whole set up I noticed the boxes (without the stand) were easy to lift. The base prevented getting the boxes upright. So I decided to take the stand away and prop the boxes vertical on a wood plank set on the ground. ​That made me feel better but it was time to leave them be.

But I didn't want to leave them like that. Wood on wood is still wood on the ground. They needed to be up off the dirt floor. The stand gives them autonomy from ants, crawlies, critters and pooling water.

Dirty Little Trick

Somewhere, on a forum, someone said bees don't fly at night. 

They lied. 

If bees don't fly at night, my bees are superwomen. They do effing fly at night, TYVM. Go ahead, ask me how I know. Okay, I'll tell you. Because I tried to move their box in the pitch black. It did not go well. I try to forget about it. 

But, bees can't do much in 55° weather. 

This is risky if done in winter because of cold shock. It's harder for them to warm up than cool down. But it was the perfect weather combination of cool in the morning, hot in the afternoon. If I timed this right, they would be okay. 

Sneaky, risky, but I had a new plan.

The Final Showdown

​I thought about the bees many a night trying to get their issue solved. The box needed to be off the ground. It's wood. It will eventually disintegrate. Then where do they live? In an old shanti that used to be a super? No. I would not let that happen.    

* A super is a shallow box beekeepers use to maneuver their stock around.

I went at 6:00am, smoker in hand, tools at the ready, fully suited and ready for the swarm. When I got to the head of the animal trail we use to get to the bees, I prayed to Donald for his strength (that guy had raw muscle and was abnormally strong). I put my hands together and prayed to God to let there be as little casualties as possible.

Then I set off on the tiny trail, got to the boxes, lifted both boxes as one unit together up onto the waiting stand. 

They were up!

I scooted the bottom box onto the base. Everything was wonky but they were off the ground! 

By that time, even at 60°F I had bees blocking my view. They were all over my mask shield and weren't gonna take it anymore! Not being able to see things well, I ventured off feeling accomplished! 

Some of them accompanied me all the way home and I introduced them to my flowering beans.

"I know it's fall," I said to the hitchhikers. "I know you don't go 5 feet from the hive, but please pollinate my vegetables." ​

Back to Normal

The boxes were up but the work wasn't finished.

The bees were using the roof as an entry, the two boxes were cattywumpus and the bottom box wasn't quiet on the stand. 

​Things were a little precarious for a week. 

Mimi tries to find a new pathway to replace the old way we used to take to see the bees

But knowing cooler weather prevents bees from coming out in force, I could go back, and make things the way they were before. 

As of today, the bees have a roof and don't need to defend that part of the hive, they have two straight boxes that are aligned corner to corner, and the base is on the stand as well as it can be. 

The bees still use the crack where the two boxes meet as an entry way, but the time the boxes were on the ground has made these particular set of flows unique. The bees may use the middle for their entry or they may use the actual bottom as it was intended for their comings and goings one day. It's up to them. I've done all I can to ensure their survival this winter. 

Until next time...
...happy reading!

​~ Stephy