FLIR ONE Hive check

The FLIR ONE Generation 2 is a small infrared camera that plugs into a smart phone. 

It can't be beat for checking hives in the winter when you don't want to open them.

As usual, click one to enlarge,

Some of the hives 

Looks like the feral hive in the wall upstairs is also doing well! 

(to the right of the window)

The top bar swarm that moved in.

Useful for finding anything putting out heat. It can even register the output of a single insect.

A honey bee entering the top bar hive.

(the little white spec)

This is an alder bug on the window

Our first Honey beecut out.

They were behind two sheets of plywood in an old unused horse stall with a John Deere backhoe in the way.

As cutouts go, I guess this was pretty easy. I'm not sure if I would want to do a hard one. It took a little over 5 hours total. 

Started late around 3pm, but it all worked out well.  Only a couple of bees flying when we left just before dark. We got most all of them.

Found the queen behind a comb in the upper section!! I left the upper piece of plywood on until the lower part was cleaned up.

You notice how few bees were on me. They were very tame.   I only smoked them a little at the start & vacuumed the guard bees first.

They are very small bees and there are a lot of them!

We got ten frames of brood banded, but they had very little honey put up but the blackberries will be blooming very soon. I'll give them something to get by on until then.

As usual, click on one for a larger slide show

Lots of drone brood