2011-09-04: The Great Honey Heist

It was a warm and humid day when I arrived at my parents' to finally remove the honey suppers from Artemis. I noticed that the double nucs had many bees hanging out on the outside in what I believe is an example of bearding. Having workers hang out outside helps to keep the interior cooler on hot days, especially since the double nucs don't have screen bottom boards.

 

 

I worked fast since I could hear a thunder storm coming in. The top medium super looked more or less untouched, I was overly optimistic when I added it. The other two were not as full as I have hoped. It looks like that at some point the bees had removed honey up the middle, either because of need for food or space, and the queen had laid some brood in there. They were mostly already hatched, but a few capped brood remained (including some hatching as I watched). But I pulled them all off and put them in my wheel barrow and carted them off to the porch.

 

And then it rained. A lot!