My son Japhet with bee smoker (a big pain to light it). Jennifer in background. Smoking the bees makes them think there is a forest fire. They then eat honey in preparation to leave. This keeps them busy and makes them docile.
Opening the bee hive.
Checking honey content of combs. The bees tend to use lower part of hive first, with brood (eggs and larva) in the bottom section, honey storage in the upper ones. It is best not to have more space than the bees actually use, since it is work for them to take care of it.