Perhaps I'm still a bit green to judge whether it's a strange year, but here's a few things I've seen in my locale.
1) We had a very dry Spring and early Summer this year, everything is late and my bees are dependent upon wildflowers. The wildflowers are finally now in full bloom.
2) Oddly, we have been getting regular rains in the form of afternoon thundershowers for most of this month (Denver area and east is a high plains desert, semi arid)
3) Three colonies in particular are refusing to work the honey supers and instead stuff the top brood box with honey.
When I pull the frames of honey out of the brood box and replace with empty frames (foundationless, per Michael Bush), they build with giant comb cells and restuff with nectar, continuing to ignore the honey super.
4) 40% of my hives have superseded their queens and 25% went queenless.
5) Swarms were more sparse than last year.
6) Nectar flow is a lot lower than last year.
1, 5 and 6 are probably connected, but not sure if any of the others are. Right now it just seems like the bees are hunkering down for winter to come at any moment while we're still in mid-July. Most of my winter studying was on how to maximize honey production, the season isn't over yet, but seems like I've been working harder than the two previous years and yielding much less honey.
Thoughts anyone?
using an excluder? if so, take it off.
it has been a strange year. i got 0 swarms when i usually have more calls than i can handle. even my swarm traps on the berry fields came up empty.
looks like it will be a skimpy honey year also.
After 50 yrs of doing this and other aspects of farming I will say there is no such thing as a "normal" year. Every year or for that matter every day is different. Just wake up and deal with it. Now throw in different hive characteristics and it will drive you crazy. I have on hive I started from a nuc that is on its third super with two brood boxes wall to wall with brood. Its sister nuc will be lucky to fill one.I have a couple of cutouts that are going like gangbusters and others that need constant care. Its called farming. Don't blame yourself unless you were totally neglectful. This has been a 50 yr learning experience for me.
Remember you are only the caretaker. You serve at their whim. Pay attention to these boards and learn different tricks. Stick with what works best for you and expect that to change next year.
It's all my fault. Sorry everyone! Two years ago I decided to make a go of selling honey and got my business license. The weather really seemed to go to heck after that.
My old friend, Murphy......If anyone sees him, I've got a bounty on his head. I'll pay in honey, when I get some....
Quote from: kathyp on July 21, 2011, 11:54:42 AM
using an excluder? if so, take it off.
it has been a strange year. i got 0 swarms when i usually have more calls than i can handle. even my swarm traps on the berry fields came up empty.
looks like it will be a skimpy honey year also.
Hey Kathy, I am using an excluder in two hives only. Those two hives are the only ones that are really producing. I have four supers atop both of those hives and the queens are cranking out the brood. The other hives, the problem children, do not have excluders.
Quote from: skatesailor on July 21, 2011, 12:07:21 PM
After 50 yrs of doing this and other aspects of farming I will say there is no such thing as a "normal" year. Every year or for that matter every day is different. Just wake up and deal with it. Now throw in different hive characteristics and it will drive you crazy. I have on hive I started from a nuc that is on its third super with two brood boxes wall to wall with brood. Its sister nuc will be lucky to fill one.I have a couple of cutouts that are going like gangbusters and others that need constant care. Its called farming. Don't blame yourself unless you were totally neglectful. This has been a 50 yr learning experience for me.
Remember you are only the caretaker. You serve at their whim. Pay attention to these boards and learn different tricks. Stick with what works best for you and expect that to change next year.
Sage wisdom from a voice of experience. Thanks.
The supers that they won't get into - are they new, empty, and what type of foundation are you using?
If they are new and empty, you may need to bait the bees up into them by swapping some of the frames out with some comb from the filled honey supers on the other hives. And if you put open honeycomb up there, they will continue to draw that out until they hit the foundation on the other frames.... :roll:
Yeah, foundationless stuck into the middle of the brood nest will result in beautiful frames of pure drone comb. Take those drawn out drone combs and stick them on the outside of the brood boxes -the queen is less likely to lay there and it will be used for mostly storage.
The bees are alittle more hesitant to use plastic foundation, and foundationless supers as well. Sometime they need a bit more incentive.
Rick,
These are medium supers most with drawn comb.
--John
Quote from: The Bix on July 21, 2011, 05:16:50 PM
Rick,
These are medium supers most with drawn comb.
--John
Well, that is strange then!!! :shock: