Tag Archives: Pollen

Bees, Belize, Farming, Pets

A New Hive For a New Colony.

Gnome.SmilingGround-breaking News  in the world of Stingless-bee Beekeeping: Today was a good day to check on the bees.  Unfortunately my last transfer was not successful (bringing my success rate to a ridiculous 50%) and it was time to clean the dead hive and make some improvements for another transfer.

Dead Brood Comb in the Brood Chamber.
Dead Brood Comb in the Brood Chamber.
Dead, Rotting Brood Removed.
Dead, Rotting Brood Removed.

After cleaning and disinfecting the hive I added some improvements to deal with the cause(s) of this problem:  parasitic fly and too much space. Number One:  Seal the hive with beeswax.  No excuse for this really…it has been laziness on my part.

Sealing up the Hive Parts with Bee's Wax.
Sealing up the Hive Parts with Beeswax.

And Number Two:  Bypass the honey pot chamber for three to six months (maybe longer) until the bees have completely taken over the brood chamber using blocks of wood that fit together in such a way that they only leave a small passage through the honey chamber.

Blocks of Wood Bypassing the Honey Chamber.
Blocks of Wood Bypassing the Honey Chamber.

To commemorate this simple hive, I have called it the Gnome Mark III Stingless-bee Bee Hive. The previous UTOB Hive ended up having two established colonies (again), one in the honey chamber and one in the brood chamber.

Brood in the Honey Chamber (again).
Brood in the Honey Chamber (again).

This is what I transferred into the new GM III hive today.

Removing Brood Comb.
Removing Brood Comb.
Brood Comb Successfully Transferred.
Brood Comb Successfully Transferred.

The rest of the Honey, Pollen and Wax were harvested for a Munchkin with a sweet tooth!

Our first small harvest of honey, pollen, wax and propolis.
Our first small harvest of honey, pollen, wax and propolis.

May we all experience the joy of fresh stingless-bee honey! Cheers!!

Bees, Belize, Farming

Messing With The Bees!!

Gnome.OroToday I moved some bees into my new hives!

I had a colony of stingless bees living in my electricity breaker box; needless to say, not the best place for them…

Wild Bee Hive in Breaker Box.
Wild Bee Hive in Breaker Box.

The first thing was to remove the wax surrounding the brood chamber…

Exposed.Brood.Comb
Brood Comb Exposed.

I then had to carefully pry all those combs out in out in one piece trying not to damage anything as much as possible.  I then carefully halved the comb (since I made two hives) and put them in their new brood chambers…

Half.Brood.Comb.in.Brood.Chamber
Half of the Brood Combs Gently Placed in Each Hive.

The covers were then all sealed up and the hives moved closer to the house for protection and observation.

This was also the first time we tried stingless bee honey.  It was delicious; sweet but more watery than normal honey and with a truly intense floral aroma.  It was like drinking liquid flowers.  We also tried some of the pollen and the only word I can think of to describe it is amazing.

Unlike the bees we are familiar with, the honey and pollen is stored in pots…

Stingless Bee Honey and Pollen Pots.
Stingless Bee Honey and Pollen Pots.

Here’s a closer look without my grimy paws in the way…

Honey and Pollen Pots.
Honey and Pollen Pots.

I’ve spent the whole morning looking at my new friends and they are starting to zoom in and out of their new homes, making it nice and comfy for themselves.

I can’t wait to build more hives!!!

I hope you are having as wonderful a day as I am!!