bees busy but where

Very few bees were seen on the abundant rose and blackberry blooms. So many other bees were attracted to the roses and blackberries that their buzz could be heard from several feet away. Hilary found a ragged little bird at a busy gas station, after spending time in a warm incubator here and fed baby food, he/she is thriving. Jack looks like a stunted sparrow.

hot hive

The bees acted like they were interested in swarming, forming large clumps on the outside of the hive and fanning. This behavior was probably due to the hot weather and so the entrance reducer and inner cover were removed to increase air flow. The clumping behavior is reduced.

culture results

The microbial load in the burr comb made larvae removal difficult without contamination, suspect larvae counts from comb contact. The Aspergillus and the Penicillium were tested with a Paenibacillus standard, some inhibition seen, suggesting both paenibacilli antifungal activity and fungal antimicrobial activity. This would have to be repeated with different dilutions, but worth future perusing.

"Clostridium botulinum can cause sickness in very young children, and infants under the age of 1 years old are most at risk. Honey may contain Clostridium botulinum spores which can grow in the digestive tract of children less than one-year-old because their digestive system is less acidic. The bacteria produces toxin in the body and can cause severe illness. Even pasteurized honey can contain botulism spores and should be not be given to children under the age of 12 months.
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/138970/09/11/04/honey-dummy-could-have-killed-tot
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/139794/08/08/31/botulism-babies-and-bad-advice
http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol"

Great article on bee keeping, good history!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/27/AR2010042704010.html?referrer=emailarticle

checking bees and taking samples

A lot of burr comb was removed. A small portion of it contained larvae. With our best sterile technique, we removed some for laboratory testing. The bees look active and healthy. Pictures of Dorothy, Paul and Hilary.

Hilary may be a "bee whisperer" one flew up the leg of her baggy pants and she reached inside and gently removed it, no string or dead bee. The microbial tests will be finished in a few days.