Yesterday I went to the apiary in the Black Forest.
I wasn’t surprised to see Hive 5 bearding, because the last time I was there I noticed a lot of bees on the landing board. Bearding is mainly caused by overcrowding (which is always a good sign in my book). I suppose it is called bearding because it gives the hive a look of having a man’s full beard.
The inside of the hive is literally full of bees and there is no room for other bees to squeeze in. So, all the bees that cannot fit inside the hive “hang out” on the outside.
Before adding another deep super, so the ladies hanging out on the outside can go inside and begin building more comb, I closely inspected some of the bees’ thoraxes. Notice the yellow spots on some of the ladies backs? Not sure what that is, but I am currently doing research to find out. I will keep you posted on what I find.
ltfields
August 30, 2012 at 5:43 pmHot of the press,,, Found out that the yellow spots on the ladies heads and thorax is pollen. Apparently they have been visiting jewelweed (“touchmenot”). The flower is orchid shaped, and the pollen is rubbed on their thoraxes and heads when they go after the nectar at the bottom of the flower. Thank you for the information Deknow.
Self
September 23, 2012 at 2:02 pmcool videos Im livnig in cyprus and last year we planted around 1000 pomegranate trees. Now we are planing to set up 100 be hives..we have an experienced professional to get us started but i really wanna get into beekeeping.we dont have any courses that I can attend so your videos are a great help to understanding beekeeping. Thank God I still have a bit more time to learn.Thanx again.