Monthly Archives: December 2011

Bees vs Mites – Battle Lost

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

Activity at the Berkeley hive was near zero today when the other hives were thriving like it was Spring. This colony was started this year from a huge swarm rescued in Menlo Park. They grew exponentially into five mediums, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey Bees | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Weather Is Warming

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

What a crazy Winter. Weeks of freezing conditions and now forecast for the next few days is supposed to be in the high 60s to even low 70s! Warm weather, little to no rain thus far, could that mean a … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey Bees | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beehive Thermal Images Update – Temp Dew Point 27F

Posted on December 23, 2011 by

It’s going to be even colder tonight compared to last night. Here are some updated thermal images of some of the hives. It’s mighty cold already out there, 33F and dropping.

Posted in Honey Bees, Misc | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Below Freezing Last Night

Posted on December 23, 2011 by

Ouch! It hit below freezing last night. 28.9 °F. Even I was cold inside the house with the thermostat turned to 72F. My poor bees! I’m going out tonight to take another thermal snapshot of the colonies tonight. This morning the … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey Bees, Misc | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Weather Update – December 2010 vs 2011 & Winter Solstice

Posted on December 21, 2011 by

Year end is upon us and Winter solstice for 2011 is tomorrow, December 22, 2011. Just taking a look between December 2010 weather compared to this year. Last year we received a ton of rain in December and the temperatures … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey Bees, Misc | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

December Honey Harvest Going To Hong Kong

Posted on December 18, 2011 by

My parents are taking a trip to Hong Kong next week and wanted to bring some yummy natural honey for the relatives. So today we harvest three frames of honey that will be going overseas.

Posted in Honey, Honey Bees, Los Altos | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lost Three Hives

Posted on December 17, 2011 by

The month of December continues to be freezing cold and it really hurts the colonies that are low in population or weak from whatever reason. We have been watching a few of our strong hives these past few months and … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey, Honey Bees | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thermal Images of Bee Hives – Air Temp 38 F

Posted on December 4, 2011 by

It’s so cold outside I didn’t even want to go out to take these thermal images of the bee hives. It’s currently 38F air temp with a dew point of about 34 F tonight. It’s crazy cold and the bees … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey Bees, Misc | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Freezing December Nights

Posted on December 4, 2011 by

The daytime times in December has been decent but when the sun does over the horizon it is a whole different story. Last night temps dipped near freezing where we woke up to frost. Tonight isn’t any different as temps … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey Bees, Misc | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment