Originally I focused my research on a more mainstream approach to beekeeping; the plan was to get my hands on some langstroth hives, buy some nuc colonies, the usual. What really troubled me was that I couldn't understand how to make high quality honey with this approach; for example, as someone with only cursory understanding of beekeeping, I thought that 'feeding bees sugar = bad honey; no sugar = good honey'. But most articles I read seemed to imply that feeding sugar syrup was a necessity.
In the end, I stumbled upon some videos on natural beekeeping in Layens hives on Youtube, and after some research decided it was the approach I wanted to take.
I ordered 2 20 frame hives and 2 very well built swarm traps from horizontalhive.com; the plan was to hang those traps on the properties where the hives would be
In addition, I'm planning to make 4 simple cheap swarm traps out of plywood and hang them on public land; i've spotted some good trees along petaluma-point reyes road; they are right outside the fences, so I won't have to trespass any private land
The equipment arrived in early January:
The only surprise was that I had to paint the hives myself; I understood some degree of assembly would be required, but, as a city boy, I have no experience painting anything, so originally it seemed like a bit of a setback, but it turned out to be not too hard; maybe one day when I get really burned out as an engineer I can paint beehives for a living
One mistake I made - I ordered beehives without upper entrance recommended for hot climates; I discovered my mistake when hives were already on their way; I managed to make upper entrances myself, but they will not be as large as I would want, since I didn't want to drill into the insulating wool. Anyway, I think it should be fine.
Another thing I learned from youtube videos was that bees enjoyed some kind of pattern on the hive, so decorating the front part is encouraged; It might be a superstition, but I decided I would give it a try. Unfortunately, I'm not much of an artist, but laptop stickers with flowers cost very little; I decided I could make a pattern out of them at almost no cost
I hope the bees will appreciate the effort
Also, I will need to order 20 more frames and some wax foundations (right now I have 12, just enough for the two first swarm traps). Planning to order them in mid february
We had a very warm February so far. I saw manzanita blooming on Sunday, February 6. All the decorative cherries and apple trees in my neighborhood are covered in flowers. I believe this situation increases chances of an early swarm; I will be hanging the swarm traps earlier than i originally planned
Feb 12: with the help of a friend who has good woodworking equipment, built 4 extra swarm traps
We did not exactly follow instructions from horizontalhive.com, instead we used them as an inspiration; nevertheless, I got 4 extra nice sturdy swarm traps that fit 6 layens frames. That is 6 traps total.
Ordered extra frames and foundations. They are arriving soon.
Feb 13: Installed the hives and fancy swarm traps in the main hive locations
Southern Hive:
Northern Hive:
As soon as i recieve the extra foundations, i will set up the homemade traps on public land
Feb 16: The foundations finally arrived! I got them installed into frames and added slow release tubes with lemongrass oil. Now the bees will find my swarm traps irresistable
Tomorrow I will try to set them up along Petaluma-Point Reyes Road. I have spotted some really nice trees outside fences, I think it should go well
As I was loading tools and swarm traps into the car, I noticed a bee on the roof. It is way past sunset, it is unusual to see bees around this late. Was it attracted by the scent of lemongrass? It must be really effective. I am suddenly feeling very optimistic about the whole endeavor
Feb 17: Managed to hang 3 out of 4 swarm traps today before it got dark
Will hang the remaining one during the weekend
Feb 18: I checked the two swarm traps I left at hive locations. No luck so far. Of course, chances of getting a swarm this early were very low, but I felt I had to check, since it's been almost a week. I was hoping to maybe see some scout activity, but no such luck. Anyway, I'll check again next week
Feb 19: I have hanged the last swarm trap today
Now all I have to do is wait. Let the swarms come, I'll be ready
Mar 1: No swarms yet, but here's a picture of a bee in my neighborhood
Mar 3: Checked the traps on public land, still no swarm
One of the swarm traps got vandalized; the rope it was hanging on was clearly cut with something sharp. I found the box in the ditch nearby, still intact. I have no idea if it was a nearby land owner, or some tourist, but i decided to move the swarm trap to a new location
Mar 10: Checked the swarm traps. No bees, but at least all boxes are intact
Mar 18: Checked all swarm traps, still no luck; the trap at the Southern Hive location has some bee activity around it; these might be scouts. If so, a swarm might arrive in a few days. Thermal camera shows that the box has the same temperature as the tree it's on, so i'm confident there is no bee colony inside
I've seen bees in the general vicinity of swarm traps before, but before they never displayed such interest in the box; i hope it is a good sign
Mar 25: Still no bees in any of the traps, though we should be deep in the swarm season now
I decided to add a little more lemongrass oil, just in case. I don't have a lot of slow release tubes left, so I went for the napkin in a zip lock bag option
Plus a few drops in the cracks between the frames. That is in addition to the slow release tubes that are already there. I hope the bees won't find this level of lemongrass suspicious
I was a little concerned that the boxes we built ourselves might be damp inside; we had a few rainy days, and I had no chance to test them for rain, so it was possible they would have water inside. But today I checked all of them, and no, absolutely dry and comfy.
Well, maybe I'll get luckier next week
Apr 1: Still no bees; time to think of a plan B
I have put down a deposit for 2 bee packages, so when they are available I can be sure I can get them from a nice place; it might be more wise to wait a little longer for the wild swarm, but I feel that if I wait more, I won't have a lot of options for getting packages, and will really be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
If I don't get a wild swarm, this is where my bees are coming from: AprilLanceBees. Based on what they have on the website, they seem like a nice place with less industrial practices than usual
And if I do catch a swarm before that, all I lose is a deposit
Apr 8: Checked all swarm traps today, no bees
Took down the traps at the hive locations, moved the frames into hives. The bees certainly like the lemongrass smell, I had to shoo away several foragers while I worked
Tomorrow I'm picking up the commercial bees. I'm leaving the 4 traps in public land, maybe I'll still get a swarm. Will have to get an extra hive in that case