Before my bees arrive onsite where my hives are, I decided to open them up one more time and make sure no other critters have moved in within the month they were sitting empty out in nature. I am mainly concerned of ants, and do have a solution for this when they do become an issue. But luckily all was quiet in the hive and the wax appears untouched. So my bees are good to go to be installed in these two hives very soon, just a few days away now.
I inspect the outside of the box to see if I find any insect trails like slugs or snails. And I look for any signs of ants crawling around. Nothing found so time to open the box.
Pulling out the frames I look for anything that may have disturbed the wax I painted on awhile back. Looks like its still on there nice and thick. I did not see any wax fleckings at the bottom of the hive so I think I am good there.
Opening the other beehive I search for any signs of intruders as well but come up with nothing. Thats great! Probably just too early in the season for any critters to try to move in yet. By the time my bees are established they should repel anything that tried to make their way in.
The frames in the second beehive look okay as well, no signs of disturbance or anything living on them. I think beeswax may not be very appealing to most wildlife, unlike the honey the bees produce.
Closing up the hives I discuss my findings and what is next for my bee project.
Very soon I will have my two packages of bees, and will be time to install them in to the hives. I have watched a few videos on how this is all done so looking forward to it, but also nervous since I have never handled honey bees.
Looking forward to getting them in the hive and established, maybe they will reward me with some honey this year. But I just hope they stay in good health, honey can come later once they are ready for me to harvest some. I cannot take too much as they need alot of it to get through the winter, but we shall see if they over produce and maybe I can take some for myself many months from now.