#phippshoneys

Looking back at my video notes from the last four months, it's easy to see how the Phipps Observation Hive queenie's abdomen has really decreased in width and length after she abruptly stopped laying in mid-September right when the brief fall flow really cut back hard. Even with the size reduction, her attendants are still grooming/feeding her well. We've been giving this indoor hive some supplemental pollen to see if it would stimulate a little additional bee brood rearing but this queen seems on holiday for the rest of the 2016 season. They do seem to have adequate overwintering bee population since they live at +60 degree F all year and can be fed 2:1 syrup consistently. Currently they are taking down that cane sugar feed + HBH +1/2 strength Complete. #bees #beekeeping @phippsconservatory #phippshoneys #queenbee #pamperedbees #luckygirls (at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens)

This Observation Hive is made up of four deep frames strategically stacked so that the open space for storing upcoming fall nectar flow is the two higher frames and brood chamber is the primarily the lower two frames. Maintaining a balance of population level can be tricky in these hives. We need to keep their numbers up this time of year to have sufficient nurse bees to raise the strong overwintering bees but if these bees hit a heavy fall flow it's not unknown for nucs to swarm in late August or early September from small enclosures like this one. Constant monitoring will help us keep tabs on flow and population levels if we may need to make adjustments. It's pretty tedious to load bees into this sort of hive so hopefully we can leave them alone to find their own balance. #bees #beekeeping #phippshoneys #observationhive #beeteamwork (at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens)