File:20130522-NRCS-LSC-0226-v6.webm

English: Checking the USDA Apiary.

Transcript 00:01 USDA (logo) United States Department of Agriculture 00:04 The People’s Garden (and People’s Garden logo) 00:06 (Text) A Tour of the People's Garden Apiary 00:09 The People’s Garden Apiary has two bee hives… 00:13 on top of the Whitten Building… 00:15 …which is the headquarters of the United States Department of Agriculture, in Washington, D.C. 00:21 We chose the location of the apiary, where there was adequate ventilation, where the hives could face… 00:27 …east, or southeast, where they could be protected from the bad weather from the west and north… 00:34 …and where it would have some afternoon shade. The top of the Whitten Building in front of the utility area is the perfect area. 00:42 The first thing we would do, is pick up our bee suits, the smoker, the bee gloves, the ankle wraps. We’d go up to the roof. We would put our suits on. 01:07 I’d light the smoker., and I like to use dry white pine needles as my fuel. 01:17 And, we would exit the hard patio surface up there through the gate, down the sidewalk… 01:23 …to the east end of the roof, where the two beehives are. 01:29 When we first approach the hives, 01:30 …we just give a little… 01:32 …puff at the entrance to calm the bees down. 01:36 What it does is mask that attack pheromone. You normally wait about 30 seconds then you could proceed 01:43 …to removing the lid of the box, and removing the honey supers, which are the smaller boxes on top of the hive. 01:52 This is what they… 01:54 …call capped honey that’s ready to be harvested. 01:58 And, then proceed to the brood chamber, where…

02:03 …those are the two larger, deep supers, as the call them, on the bottom of the hive.

02:09 Let me turn this up on it’s side. Now you notice it’s all "glistney." 02:12 It’s actually full of nectar. 02:15 Normally, you remove a frame or two, starting at… 02:19 one ends. And, look and see if you can see any eggs… 02:24 …because our objective is really to see if the queen is Okay. 02:27 And, the way to see if the queen is Okay, is to see if there are any eggs. You don’t have to see the queen; all you have to do is see those eggs… 02:34 …and you’ll know the queen is there. You start closing it back up…

02:38…exactly the opposite as when you opened the hive up. 

02:40 And, when you are all done, you put the lid on, and you’re done. 02:52, (Text) Visit Us. usda.gov/peoplesgarden People’s Garden logo. 02:54 (Text) 20130522-NRCS-LSC-226 Thanks to USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service National Agricultural Engineer Wayne Bogovich for production support. USDA Multimedia by Lance Cheung. 02:56 USDA (logo) United States Department of Agriculture USDA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER. TO FILE A COMPLAINT OF DISCRIMINATION, WRITE TO USDA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, 1400 INDEPENDENENCE AVENUE, S.W., STOP 9410, WASHINGTON, DC, 20250-9410, OR CALL TOLL-FREE AT (866)-9992 (ENGLISH) OR (800) 877-8339 (TDD) OR (866) 377-8642 (ENGLISH-RELAY) OR (800) 845-6136 (SPANISH FEDERAL-RELAY).

Caption:

Take a virtual tour of the People’s Garden Apiary, atop the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) headquarters’ Whitten Building, in Washington, D.C., where People’s Garden Volunteer Beekeeper and Natural Resources Conservation Service National Agricultural Engineer Wayne Bogovich, checks-in on 40,000 happy healthy Italian honey bees, on Wednesday, May 22, 2013. USDA Multimedia by Lance Cheung.