Maintenance

Early this lovely cool summer morning, we checked our hives; did some maintenance:

1. placed a Crisco-slathered file folder on a cookie sheet below each hive to monitor varroa mites;

2. opened the yellow hive, and found that the comb in the first-given (i.e. the top super of three) honey super is partly capped (see fourth photo, below);

3. opened the red hive, and it seemed at first that they had done nothing in their honey super, so we decided to take this off and feed them, but in the course of emptying the super of frames, we found that comb has been partly raised (see the second photo); we pulled the east-most comb of their top brood super, and found this full of capped honey; we pulled a centre comb of this brood super, and found brood (see third photo below); so we put the hive back

together exactly as we had found it. This third photo is interesting because it shows the brood-globe which bees create within a Langstroth hive--honey (food) on the outside, brood within the "globe".

The first photo, above, shows the Young Beekeeper, having emptied the contents of his smoker into the metal garbage can placed for that purpose, airing his smoker, which he will then place on top of the metal garbage can's lid.

We will check our bees again, in a week. Tomorrow, I will drive to Cambridge and pick up two additional shallow (honey) supers and frames to match.