Experienced beekeepers in the upstate SC, Ga, I want to split my strong hive, which contains plenty of stores from last fall, and let the split make a new queen. How soon can I do this? What I mean, is how soon will there be adequate drones for good fertilization of a new queen? My first season last year, I ended up in the fall with two strong hives, although one was a super strong hive, and I lost one of them, a deadout. I am thinking the super strong one robbed out the lesser one, as I had them close togethr (about a foot apart, I will use more seperation in the future). As my surviving hive has always been very strong, I am sure that I have good queen stock, and want to split it, and make a new queen, as soon as possible. In the Anderson, Abbeville, Hartwell, Elberton area, how soon can I attempt this safely? On the hive I lost, I never had any trouble finding the queen, but this super robust Hive I have, I have never been able to find the queen, It has always been very highly populated with bees, and I just have never been able to find her. When I do make my split, I will try to find her, but if I cannot, I will divide the hive, and let the queenless one make a new queen.
By the way, my bees are about 10 miles from where I live, and when I make the split, I am thinking I want to move the split to where I live. Would this be satisfactorily? mainly because I want it where I can watch it closely.
Also, when is considered the start/finish on the average for the "flow"?
Well, I found my queen this morning, been looking for her for a year. I finally found her, and caught her in a queen catcher, was going to put her in my queen marking tube and put a paint spot on her so I could keep up with her, but while trying to transfer her from the catcher to the marking tube she dropped free, and I was transfering her over the open hive, so I guess (hope anyway) that she fell down between a couple of frames. I could not relocate her.
Hi Lakeman!
I am not an experienced beekeeper, but the answers I have gotten to similar questions are:
Not sure when the flow starts, but I think it is in April. I have been told the flow ends here in atlanta in July. I have been told July 4th is harvesting time then august-september are dearth and then a small flow in October. I'm thinking it might (?) be similar in the north GA area, but maybe shaved by a few weeks?
It seems the most common answer I've seen about when to split is in about a month's time right as the flow is starting.
Again - i'm first year, I really don't know this stuff, just passing on what I've gleaned from reading.
Hope you find your queen again! Good on you for being cautious and transferring over the hive!
love,
ziffa
I'm also not an experienced bee keeper - coming out of first winter with both of 2 hives intact. But I've also been investigating for months options on making increase, and just thought that I would point out a couple of conclusions.
1) You need a strong hive to produce honey - even if you don't care if you get any or not, you need to produce some for your bees.
2) If you do an even split you will have 2 weak hives instead of one strong one.
3) After our flow is over here - July 1 - there is still time to make increase and for the hives to build up.
You might consider doing an asymmetrical split at the beginning of the flow where you find the queen and give her just enough resources to get by and establish a new hive. Then the strong hive can raise a new queen (which a strong hive can do better than a weak one) and during the period where there is no open brood they will also be able to store away even more honey without all those mouths to feed. Then when your flow ends, you can split the big hive again if you want to.
I have built me a complete nuc hive, consisting of a bottom board. a deep 5 frame brood chamber, with a matching medium 5 frame super, and a matching inner cover, and telescoping top.
Main flow starts her in April with white wax usually about the second week. Flow is usually over around first week of June or so. I sometimes get a good flow in one yard from something in July. Depends on the rain. May be neighborhood flowers as this yard is close to city limits. I get no flow to speak of in the fall.
Quote from: sc-bee on March 10, 2010, 04:32:27 PM
Main flow starts her in April with white wax usually about the second week. Flow is usually over around first week of June or so. I sometimes get a good flow in one yard from something in July. Depends on the rain. May be neighborhood flowers as this yard is close to city limits. I get no flow to speak of in the fall.
With such a short season how much honey can a good hive produce in a normal year?
Average is usually around 35-45 pounds or so. Of course sometimes you get a boomer. Two extras per hive is a good year for most in my area.
Quote from: sc-bee on March 11, 2010, 12:20:29 AM
Average is usually around 35-45 pounds or so. Of course sometimes you get a boomer. Two extras per hive is a good year for most in my area.
I would be happy with that this year. At least it would put an end to those questions of "Are you going to get any honey from those bees?"