Well the drought is really doing a job on my hive. This is the 4th year of the drought and 4th year I haven't gotten any honey.
Did an inspection last week and absolutely no honey in that hive in any of the supers. Good population of bees, healthy looking and calm. But what the heck are they living on??
Anyway I have started to feed them to save them.
Annette
Do they have anything on top, around the brood? Got to be getting enough to survive. Sorry you have had such bad luck, for so long.
I'd feed 2:1 sugar:water for a bit. that way they will eat it right away. its more similar to honey then 1:1.
make sure they have plenty of water too...droughts are rough
for all sorts of reasons....my hives are a bit weak, so I'm feeding for a couple of weeks to help out. If they want it, they can eat it...
I wish I could share some rain with you. We just had our second wettest june on record. My mentor of sorts is saying his hives were losing weight due to not being able to get out of the hive and the rain washing the pollen and nector off the flowers and then not staying dry for long enough. My field is full of flowers. My first bees, about a week old are hitting my cucumbers.
gww
Last I checked we had 8.33 inches of rain for the month of June. Lately it has been raining almost every day. The milkweed is starting to bloom and it would be real nice of the bees could get to it. I would be happy to send you some of our rain.
Hi Annette!
4 year drought. Ouch.
Raising bees is hard enough [for me anyway], but the weather makes things so much harder. Wish I could send you some of our rain.
Thanks all for replying to my post
I am feeding 2:1 now. This hive was 4 medium supers. The 4th super was empty, no drawn out comb at all. I removed this super.
3rd super down all beautiful drawn out comb, some brood on 2 frames, rest of frames totally empty.
2nd super down, I just lifted the super and felt it light as a feather. Might have been some open nectar, but so light.
Never looked at the bottom super since they don't usually store honey down there.
Anyway, my hives have never made much honey since they are not in a very good foraging area, but I have always been able to take something. This year a commercial beekeeper placed 150 hives next door to my hives so now there is so much competition for whatever there is.
Anyway, I will continue to feed until they store something.
Always appreciate the help and responses.
It has really gotten harder to keep bees, but I continue and hope.
Take Care
Annette from sunny California (going up to 108 today)
I am amazed at how much it rains in some parts of the country. My brother lives in New Jersey and every time I watch the weather there it is raining.
We are on rationing this year and boy oh boy if it doesn't start raining soon this year, don't know what to do.
"Anyway, my hives have never made much honey since they are not in a very good foraging area, but I have always been able to take something. This year a commercial beekeeper placed 150 hives next door to my hives so now there is so much competition for whatever there is."
150 hives, I get upset when I see 54 hives right next to me, a short stones throw from my property. They are on national forest land. I never complained because they have been being placed there for longer than I owned the property.
I was just told by a commercial Beek friend that they are not allowed to bee within a 1/2 mile from residential property. All I have to do is mention it to the forest managers and they will not bee able to place them that close our house. These bees come from down south where the AHB are dominant.
You may have the same rules, if they are on public land.
Jim
They are on private property. Just arrived there this spring. The man has several hundred hives placed all over the county. He sometimes comes and gets these hives and trades them for others. I was very upset when I saw all these hives, especially since his hives are drinking from our small pond which is in a patio area where people eat. With the weather so hot, the amount of bees is unbelievable. I'm not afraid, but other people are uncomfortable.
But the main thing is the competition for forage.
Thanks for the reply Jim
Well... On a positive note if your bees ever raise a new queen there should be plenty of drones to mate with.
Annette...if you aren't in a good forage area.....why would someone drop 150 hives on a property adjacent to you?
I really cant say why he placed his hives here, although I don't think it matters to him because he moves his hives around to different orchards all the time. He is always rotating the hives for different ones.
Annette your drought has made it up here. Spring came early and that gave them a chance to build up and store, but now everything is dry except where I water the buckwheat. I feel your pain. the honey I thought I'd get this year, is going to have to stay on for them, and it won't be long before I have to feed too.
Dry western Oregon. Who'd a thunk it?? :oops:
Hi Kathy
I'll see how much longer I can keep these bees alive. It seems to get harder each year. I started beekeeping in 2006 just when all the colony collapse started. I can only dream how much easier it must have been to keep bees many many years ago.
Are you getting any rain up there?? Such unusual weather.
After all the 100 degree days, we have had a row of very cool weather which is like a dream. All windows are open in the house and cool air comes in. No need for A/C. Makes me happy.
Take care
Annette
No rain and we had 100 and 90 degree days for over a week. Unusual for us, but actually easier for the bees to manage short term than those years where it rains all summer. Now they are saying we are in for another El Nino years, so we'll be plenty wet again....but good for you guys. You'll get some much needed rain! They freak up here when we have one dry year. They'd never make it with 4 :-D
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/07/09/el-nino-california/29921633/
Quote from: annette on July 10, 2015, 04:34:37 PM
Hi Kathy
I'll see how much longer I can keep these bees alive. It seems to get harder each year. I started beekeeping in 2006 just when all the colony collapse started. I can only dream how much easier it must have been to keep bees many many years ago.
Are you getting any rain up there?? Such unusual weather.
After all the 100 degree days, we have had a row of very cool weather which is like a dream. All windows are open in the house and cool air comes in. No need for A/C. Makes me happy.
Take care
Annette
Annette,
My father and father in law both kept bees for about 20 years, they started in the late 70s. Both got out of it by 2000.
My father in law kept about 20 hives and hardly lost any. He tried to start up 2 years ago with 5 hives going into winter. None survived. Last year he had 2 hives, neither survived. He teaches beekeeping at the local college and at 2 local clubs. It is a whole lot harder than it used to bee.
Jim
Quote from: kathyp on July 10, 2015, 10:07:49 PM
No rain and we had 100 and 90 degree days for over a week. Unusual for us, but actually easier for the bees to manage short term than those years where it rains all summer. Now they are saying we are in for another El Nino years, so we'll be plenty wet again....but good for you guys. You'll get some much needed rain! They freak up here when we have one dry year. They'd never make it with 4 :-D
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/07/09/el-nino-california/29921633/
Kathy,
It looks like that means we will have another very wet winter. That is good. It means the grass will grow and I will be able to buy less hay and feed during the winter.
Jim
It means the grass won't grow here and the pastures will be muddy. I'll have to buy more. :cheesy:
Last January when they started building our new house, it was raining like crazy. When the cement truck came they went through our main driveway. They turned it into mud. It was so bad that when you walked through it you sunk down until you were standing on the tree roots only. We installed a construction gate to save our driveway. For the next 2 months we had to race across the mud pit to keep from getting stuck. In the 10 previous years we never had problems with our driveway.
Jim
"Annette,
My father and father in law both kept bees for about 20 years, they started in the late 70s. Both got out of it by 2000.
My father in law kept about 20 hives and hardly lost any. He tried to start up 2 years ago with 5 hives going into winter. None survived. Last year he had 2 hives, neither survived. He teaches beekeeping at the local college and at 2 local clubs. It is a whole lot harder than it used to bee.
Jim"
Thanks Jim for that statement as it makes me feel much better. Over the years I have always wondered if I am doing something wrong, but I believe my beekeeping practices are sound.
It must be hard for your dad to teach beekeeping without the bees.
I pray they are correct about the wet winter coming up. It would be awesome to see rain.
Thanks for that link Kathy
Quote from: annette on July 14, 2015, 12:11:32 AM
"Annette,
My father and father in law both kept bees for about 20 years, they started in the late 70s. Both got out of it by 2000.
My father in law kept about 20 hives and hardly lost any. He tried to start up 2 years ago with 5 hives going into winter. None survived. Last year he had 2 hives, neither survived. He teaches beekeeping at the local college and at 2 local clubs. It is a whole lot harder than it used to bee.
Jim"
Thanks Jim for that statement as it makes me feel much better. Over the years I have always wondered if I am doing something wrong, but I believe my beekeeping practices are sound.
It must be hard for your dad to teach beekeeping without the bees.
He has 2 hives that were swarms that he removed this spring. He keeps trying. Don't quit.
Jim
I guess after 10 years I will keep going.
Thanks