I’ve really been troubled as to what to do for the colony in the observation hive. After a great deal of debate, I decided to put the queen and brood back down into the Nuc, move them into the shed and insulate them for winter… hope it works. Here are some of the details:
That evening, I moved them into the shed, insulated them and created a plastic entrance/exit out of the shed (pictures from the following day).
Here is a short video showing some of the details from the observation hive used in the 4-H Farm Day exhibit – (Hint) I’m already working on plans for another one!
The Loudon County 4-H office holds an annual “Farm Day” in which they bring 4th graders from all over the county to Sweetwater Valley Farm for a day of exhibits and learning. This year, I was asked to be an exhibitor for beekeeping and wow, what an experience!
I decided early on that I wanted to build an observation hive for the event and after it was finished, I performed a split from one of my hives and asked a friend of the family to foster them until they could return. I don’t think it was too much of a hardship for Angie, she’s pretty eager to get her own colony as soon as possible (thanks again Angie).
Melissa created a really great tri-fold board; we gathered up wax chunks, candles, protective gear, a smoker, the solar wax melter, an empty hive, a model hive, captured some hive beetles, gathered propolis and comb along with all kinds of interesting display stuff and headed down to the farm. At the event, I had three 4-H’ers (Emily, Robby, Eion) that really stole the show, they did an outstanding job all day long talking to students and teaching them about honey bees. We were told there were over 500 students – 27 classes, probably 20 students per plus parents, teachers, event staff and tons more – how great is that.
News Harold Article – http://news-herald.net/story/14836
