So, I've neglected to update. A big part of this is a lack of interesting photos. A big part of that is being so focused on simply trying to keep my bees alive (and not getting stung) that I forget my camera.
Winter is upon us in just a few days and my bees are safely nestled in their wooden box. They managed to store some honey and cap it, but not nearly the 40 lbs a healthy hive would need to survive the winter. That's a lot of honey!
Once fall arrived, I realized that my bees situation was desperate and if they were to make it to spring, they'd need some help. I guess that's why they call us beekeepers and not beewatchers. I made sure to continue supplying the bees with sugar water from my feeder, but this truly is bee junk food. Not to mention, my ant problems returned thanks to the sugar, albeit in the form of tiny ants this time.
Watching the bees fend off the miniature, by comparison, ants is fascinating. The ants are too small for the bees to attack. Instead, they "herd" the ants away, flapping their wings and vibrating furiously. Undoubtedly some ants evade this technique, but it keeps them from overwhelming the bees' access to the sweet sugar water. The ants were incredibly numerous, though, and enough of a problem that I scattered diatomaceous earth (DM) around the legs of the hive and along the trail of ants through the grass. There is a lot of controversy surround DM and its safety for use around hives, but I've noticed no ill effect on the bees as it is not a chemical and must be transferred to the inside of the hive to be harmful. I'm sure the ants caused some traces to enter the hive, but not nearly enough to cause as much a problem the ants were.
