Weekly Maintenance & Inspection

I just returned from a trip to Los Angeles and found the screened bottom boards I ordered from Simpson's Bee Supply had arrived. I'm very pleased with the quality of their products and they ship very fast! I made arrangements for my brother, Brian, to stop by and help install them on Saturday 8/5. The process was straight forward and it only took us a few minutes to get the SBB in place on 3 of the hives. I now have SBB on all 4 of my hives. This should assist the colonies in keeping the hives well ventilated. Brian got stung once and has helped me once previously, and was stung then. He's 0-2 when in my Apiary (LOL ! ! !). On both occassions the area around the sting was very swollen and remained that way for a couple of days. Luckily, I've only been stung once since acquiring my hives. Unfortunately, that was on the inside of my thigh. After tucking in my shirt I failed to zip my pants back up. That was a lesson learned the hard way. It has been 4 weeks since then and it still itches like crazy.

We also did a cursory inspection and found that everything is normal. My "June" hive population has exploded and they are continuing to draw out the foundation. Overall, I'm pleased with everything and I'm planning to naturally medicate for mites in the next couple of weeks. I'll also give them some 1:1 sugar water with Honey B Healthy to sustain them until the Fall honey flow begins. If it begins at all.