I just checked all the hives today and am laughing every time I come across a pink hole of honey in the midst of yellow honey in the honeycomb. I haven't been proven in my theory, but I think that this pink "nectar" the bees are collecting is the red fluid people fill hummingbird feeders with. Someone at the Fair this weekend was asking me how to keep bees away from her hummingbird feeder. She said the birds couldn't get close to the feeder without getting chased away. I didn't have any good suggestions except for telling her to try and change her point of view because now that she is feeding a different "pollinator" than she expected. Enjoy the bee show!
Anyway, the hives are looking great. I'm a little sad because I'm only going to check the hives one more time in October and then I will close the hives up with a kiss and a wish that they will survive to April. I guess I'm going to have to find another awesome hobby/ obsession to fill my time with. Ice climbing?
I did check on the South Broadway bee trapout and discovered that there was a wrench in the operation. A dead bee was blocking the only way out for the bees. Ack! I suspect it has been a few days since they were able to get out of the hive judging by the collection of dead bees at the base of trap funnel. Easy fix. I used a stick to pull out the dead bee and the rest of the bees came rushing out.
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| We can't get out! |
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| Jessie, you're my hero! Let's get out of this trap |
Also, I found this beautiful green beetle at the entrance to my hive "Japan". Bad idea dude. The bees had discovered the beetle and were stinging at it and trying to pull it away from the hive.
Luckily, about a year ago I went through this entire process to learn what it all meant. I can tell you, though; I really wish I would have had this resource to get me started! The hole on the carpenter bee trap mimics the entrance of a carpenter bee nest. No bait or poison is needed. These carpenter bee traps have been extensively tested and is proven to work. After being trapped, carpenter bees will release a pheromone to attract more carpenter bees into the trap. The long-term carpenter bee solution youve been looking for!
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