When the alfalfa and the Russian olives started blooming a couple of weeks ago I put two supers on both Ida and Georgia. I always feel optimistic about the first alfalfa nectar flow and hope the bees will need two supers to contain all the nectar they are bringing in. It never happens that way though- it is a long slow process with the bees steadily bringing in nectar all summer long. By the end of the summer I expect to have three (maybe four if it is a good year) supers on each hive.
As I checked the hives today I found that both Ida and Georgia have some nectar on their second super. There is not a lot, just a little in a few frames. In their first supers they both have at least some nectar in every frame. Here is s picture of the nectar they are collecting.
I think, if you zoom in on the picture, you can see the sun reflecting off the nectar in the center right part of the frame. This was photo is from Georgia and was actually taken last week. I did not have the camera with me today.
Ida is ahead of Georgia in both nectar collection and population. Ida has three or four frames in her super that are almost completely full of nectar. I expect to see some capped honey next week.
Svetlana is slowly progressing. I have been feeding her sugar syrup to help her draw comb on the frames in her two deep hive bodies. I thought she would be all filled out and ready for her first honey super today, but she still has a couple of frames to draw before that can happen. I will make her more sugar syrup today. I think that by next week she should be ready to go, and we will have honey on its way from all three hives.
As I checked the hives today I found that both Ida and Georgia have some nectar on their second super. There is not a lot, just a little in a few frames. In their first supers they both have at least some nectar in every frame. Here is s picture of the nectar they are collecting.
Ida is ahead of Georgia in both nectar collection and population. Ida has three or four frames in her super that are almost completely full of nectar. I expect to see some capped honey next week.
Svetlana is slowly progressing. I have been feeding her sugar syrup to help her draw comb on the frames in her two deep hive bodies. I thought she would be all filled out and ready for her first honey super today, but she still has a couple of frames to draw before that can happen. I will make her more sugar syrup today. I think that by next week she should be ready to go, and we will have honey on its way from all three hives.
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