Pest Control Community

Welcome to my world as a (very, very, very) novice beekeeper in Montgomery County and an employee of American Pest Management.  I call this Murder in the Hive, in three parts.

Act I: Beginning beekeeping 101

My interest began in the form of a 6-week course instruction on the basics of beekeeping, presented by the Montgomery County Beekeeper’s Association (MCBA).  The course completed with an on site field trip to visit the several hives situated at Brookside Gardens in Silver Spring, MD.  In late April, I then installed 2 nucleus hives on my suburban property in
Silver Spring.

The following images were taken shortly after installation in early May.

Bees hanging out on drawn comb.

Removing frames for inspection.

The makings of a new hive.

Act II:  Trials and Tribulations - things are heating up in June!

Bee stings, smoker fuel and propolis oh my!

A month or so into the adventures of beekeeping and there is no shortage of excitement surrounding these suburban hunnies.  The nectar flow is full on in
Maryland; our bees collecting primarily from flowering trees such as Black Locust and the Tulip Poplar.  “During the peak of the nectar flow, a good, strong colony can gain 10 to 20 pounds in one day,” says
Wayne Esaias, a biological oceanographer at NASA and hobbyist. “In
Maryland, that goes on for a few weeks in late spring, and then, suddenly, it’s over.”

In our case, Hive #1 is thriving, while Hive #2 moves into the summer with less than satisfactory brood production and little to no honey stores.  Both of which are equally important to winter survival.  By now we’ve seen 14 stings under our belts and have misidentified swarm cells for our violation of the “bee space,” overcrowding for “bearding”, “bee bread” (selling for $19.95 a bottle at specialty and holistic shops no less!)  for pollen and larva for “Royal Jelly” …among other first impressions.   I’m absolutely certain they won’t be the last and some days I wonder how I ever graduated Beekeeping 101.  My partner and I attempt to work the hives once a week, weather permitting.  As the nectar flow tapers off and summer daylight hours grow long, the girls are keeping busy…

and then, rather suddenly…

Act III:  The Queen is Dead!

Take whatever skills you thought you learned the previous three months and throw them out the window!   Send frantic emails to fellow beginner beekeepers in hopes that one of them might have a consistent answer for you, God bless ‘em.  What is going on in Hive #2???  Is it….could it….could they possibly be nearing a swarm?  Are these swarm cells or queen cells?  Did we allow too much bee space in the hive and the girls took their sweet time building elaborate, duplex-style brood comb?  I’m afraid that I am far not prepared for whatever might be coming.

General consensus suggests that we have a serious problem on our hands!  From what I understand, these are supercedure cells, which indicate the the colony is raising their own queen. What next?  An uprising?

This could quite simply mean one of two things; the existing queen is failing, or she’s already dead.  Redrum, Murder in the hive!

To be continued….

TAGS:  Honeybee, bees, propolis, honey comb, American Pest Management, MCBA, beekeeping, Silver Spring Maryland, Pest Control, Pest Maintenance, bee stings, Montgomery County Beekeepers Association,