On the timeline, we’re are now in November, 2022. September and October were taken up in family time, other interests, and of course building hives, frames, and roofs.
Throughout the summer, I had been visiting with a cousin on Facebook who lived in south Missouri. She and her husband had kept bees for a few years with good success.
She invited us to come down to her house and watch and, to some degree, participate in the fall inspection of her hives. I was looking forward to the opportunity.
But first, we had to obtain some protective gear. My cousin recommended this jacket and these gloves.
I knew from talking with my cousin she has Langstroth hives. She also said she had a horizontal hive. I was especially interested in seeing that one.
Time for the inspection
We got to her house around time for dinner and after visiting with my cousin, her husband, and an aunt I hadn’t seen in at least 15 years, it was time for the inspection.
We put on our protective equipment and went outside. We loaded a bunch of equipment onto their four wheeler and walked down to the apiary. Once we were there, the bee smoker was lit and the inspections began.
Every hive was opened and inspected. Every frame was removed to check on the overall health of the hive and checking for the queen. A huge number of bees surrounded us and the buzzing was loud, despite the smoker being used.
Any excess honey was removed and each hive was treated with oxalic acid to help control Varroa mites. The hives were also rearranged for winter and were given a bag of sugar for food to help with winter coming.
As we were finishing up, I stepped away from the hives and took off my veil. This resulted in me getting stung when I pulled off the jacket. A bee had gotten trapped in the netting of the veil.
It turns out that her horizontal hive is similar in design to the one found here. As a side note, I almost went this route when planning what would work best in my circumstances.
At the end of the day, we were given two jars of honey that was, and is, absolutely delicious. It was a great day and I learned a lot.
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