The ants and the bees – advice needed!
Feeder with ants
David Zvi and I went to visit hive #2 today and found the hive hosting a ton of ants. We were going to add some sugar syrup to help boost their growth but when we got to the hive we found that the top feeder was almost full. In this hot sun we expected the syrup to go in just a few day but here it has been almost two weeks and the feeder is almost as full as it was two weeks ago. Also, you can see in the photos that there are lots of tiny ants. I did not see any inside the hive but there were so many in the sugar syrup that they almost covered the surface.
Closeup of feeder with ants
Can anyone tell me how to deal with this? Why are the bees not taking the sugar syrup? Is it normal to ignore the syrup? When I mentioned the ants to a local beekeeper, he was not concerned. I know that bees are in danger of drowning and that is why I put the pine needles in the box but I was surprised to see ants that drowned in the syrup. I decided to move the hive about five feet and brushed off as many ants and I could. I also dumped most of the syrup and a lot of the dead ants and filled it with fresh syrup.
I was pleased to see the amount of comb that is in the hive. Almost all the foundation has comb on it and almost all of the comb is filled. I will wait another week before putting on the queen excluder and super. I would like to get rid of the ants. Even though they don’t seem to be affecting the hive, I don’t like the fact that the bees did not touch the syrup water.
Capped brood and larvae
As I spend more time with the bees I take the time to get more acquainted with their ways. I took a close look at one of the older brown combs that came with the nuc. I was able to peer inside the comb and see the growing larvae. I tried to take some pictures and I hope you can make out the difference between the capped brood and the larvae inside the cells. The bee breeder mentioned that this queen lays her eggs in an ellipse. You can see the shape on the frame that David Zvi is holding.
David Zvi, who took pictures on our visit to hive #1, assisted today and was great. He got right in there and lifted a frame or two. Not a fan of bugs, he held steady and quickly grasped how the hive works. For some reason, the bees were really buzzing this afternoon and they were all over us. Notice the bee above his head!
I would appreciate any advice from the experienced beekers on the condition of the hive. Please leave a comment so others can learn from your advice as well. Thanks!
Uncategorized | Stephen | 
June 10, 2009 7:35 pm
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By paul davis, June 10, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
Greetings, Stephen! I’m a novice beekeeper in northern Florida, U.S.A., but can share my limited experience with you.
We have a bad problem with ants on our farm and I’ve tried three different feeders. This feeder (http://tinyurl.com/leoawt) is inverted over an inner cover then an empty super is put around it and the outer cover on top. Of the three feeders I’ve tried, this one has the least access for the ants. I did have ants set up a colony inside the super that held this feeder, but they weren’t getting into the hive or the sugar syrup.
As for the girls not taking up the syrup, it could be that you are having a strong nectar flow in your area. What is blooming? As soon as certain things go in bloom my girls will all but ignore the syrup in favor of the nectar.
I may be in Israel later this summer. Probably fly in to Tel Aviv and will spend a little time in Afula. Do you live near there?
I wish you luck!
pd
By Stephen, June 10, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
Paul,
We are south of Tel Aviv. If you are coming this way, please stop by. Rehovot is home to the Hebrew University agriculture school and they do bee research here.
By BirchLeaf Designs, June 18, 2009 @ 2:48 pm
Greetings from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA! We are also novice beekeepers, but have the guidance from highly experienced beekeepers. Do you put your bees off the ground? We have our bees up off the ground a few feet on a homemade bench, but you could use pallets too. Also, we use a top feeder pail or yogurt pot with holes in the lid – this goes upside down in an empty super on the top of the hive. We really like the yogurt pots the best, they don’t seem to leak as much as the pail feeders and they are inexpensive.
Your bees may not be taking the sugar water because of an increased nectar flow…
Not sure if it is necessary, but we also “water” our bees…we leave water out on the lids of 5 gallon buckets for them to drink – we put a chunk of wood on the lids too, so they can get out of the water should they fall in.
By BirchLeaf Designs, June 18, 2009 @ 3:11 pm
Oh, here are a few links to some of our bee pics…
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=80380&id=621618876&op=6
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=85286&id=621618876