Hi guys. Just want to update you all on my hive. They survived the winter. YAY There was some moisture and mold that seems to have come in between a slit in the supers that they didn't get sealed properly or in time. Or I put on too late which is the most likely cause. I was going to wrap but didn't. Should have I guess. lol ...even with that stupid wood shaving pillow and little basket I built. I do think I need more vent holes next year.
They were in a deep with 2 supers on top. On Saturday, finally, it was a nice day when I had a day off so I looked in. They were all in the top super and they even still had some capped honey. They're bringing in some pollen and I also saw open honey cells. There were so few bees, I actually saw the Queen! lol I was so excited (and still am) to know she's still in there. She looks more mature. Do queens maybe get a little darker with age? How can you tell a young queen from an old queen?
In the link, you can see how many bees there are per frame. There are about 5 frames with that same amount of bees on it, 3 of which have little batches of fresh capped brood. My bees are an Italian/Carniolan MT mutt mix and from what I read, they overwinter in small clusters and build up quick. But I wonder, how small is too small of a cluster? I would imagine that if they were hanging in a ball, they'd be no more than softball size. Idk, I just don't see many pictures of northern spring clusters. All the pictures I see are of bees coming off of almonds, booming out of their boxes. lol There was a guy recently on the MT fb page who posted his 2nd year spring inspection and he didn't seem to have many more bees than me and he was in Great Falls, 3 hours north of me. So maybe this is normal? Anyway, I just expected there to be more I guess. We ARE just getting going here though. I finally saw my first dandelion yesterday. All the buds on trees and bushes are still closed but they're close. So, needless to say, I'm just happy that they made it through the winter and that I still have a queen and bees and it looks like they're starting to build up along with the flora, possibly. lol I am so grateful that I have some extra drawn comb this year!
I wanted to mention that my spring bees are much bigger than my late fall bees. It's crazy to think that the queen is possibly contemplating what's coming up and then accordingly lays eggs which mature into smaller bodies which will need less feed and energy. Then in the spring she realizes again what's coming up so she chooses eggs that will make bigger, stronger workers that can do all that heavy spring cleaning and foraging. It's possible that she has some crazy control issues. Am I right?...LOL ...I only have one hive which wintered one season so lol...I'm making this up lol ignore me although I bet there is some truth in it :grin:
I have most of my new hives put together and painted, I just need to do some minor details. I also need to build 2 more top covers. I was too cheap when ordering (and well, the $ were already racking up lol) so thought I can just build those suckers. When talking to my husband though, he says he does not have a tool to do that slide lock thing to make a migratory cover. (oh lord sorry he's not here to ask what it's called lol) You guys know what I mean? If you have some plans for a cover that I could easily make myself, I'd appreciate it. Bob does have very many tools otherwise.
http://s284.photobucket.com/user/MTBeeGirl/media/2017%201st%20Spring%20Inspection/image.jpg1_zpsrajmzhxj.jpg.html?sort=2&o=0
Keep your hive tools sharp and your smokers lit. I wish everyone a happy year with the bees! <3
Yvonne
YAY for you ;-)
"There was some moisture and mold that seems to have come in between a slit in the supers that they didn't get sealed properly or in time. "
"I do think I need more vent holes next year. "
Aren't you contradicting yourself there. You say you have too much air coming in, so you will add more?
Quote from: iddee on April 10, 2016, 11:54:37 AMAren't you contradicting yourself there. You say you have too much air coming in, so you will add more?
Idk. Yes. Maybe. The moisture was coming from between the two top supers; the upper brood nest and the honey storage box I left them. We get a lot of snow and blowing snow. It's very windy. It must have been from that. There was no moisture in the honey super only going down the upper brood nest. I had a wood chip pillow in a wedge above the honey. I had a small bottom board entrance, I drilled a small hole on the bottom of that chip wedge and then they had a little entrance through the inner cover which I had facing down. From what I gather at this point of my reading, it would have been better had I drilled a hole in each side of the super containing the chip pillow, but ABOVE the chips because the air gets drawn up and out in all directions which keeps things dryer? I don't know. I am no engineer and have been struggling with this hole air flow thing.
Our record cold temp is about 0 F., so I don't know either. It just seemed that way when I read it. Maybe others in the north can chime in.
Yay! Go bees? From what I read, getting your first hive thru the first winter is (statistically) a significant accomplishment. It represents a lot of study and prep and financial outlay and risktaking. Congratulations.
yah it was tough overwintering the girls...I think we got into the 40's twice ;-)
Quote from: yes2matt on April 10, 2016, 02:45:01 PM
Yay! Go bees? From what I read, getting your first hive thru the first winter is (statistically) a significant accomplishment. It represents a lot of study and prep and financial outlay and risktaking. Congratulations.
THANK YOU Matt! I really appreciate that! I have been studying as much as possible and just trying very hard. I can assure you though that my bees have it a lot tougher than those bees Jeff's got down in FL. 40's pft even iddees 0 record cold is laughable lol :wink:
That's great news, Yvonne!
For the moisture issue - I put door shims on top of one end of my quilt box to make sure it had great ventilation on top of the quilt and it made a huge difference in how dry things stayed. No mold, no wet. On the box [empty] where I just stacked a spare quilt box and lid with no ventilation, I had very wet shavings and a lot of mold. I think you're right to add more ventilation on top of the quilt.
Hey now....44 degrees is darned cold :cool:
That's a great idea about the shim, Robin. I'll try that this year. Thanks! How are your bees doing?
I hear ya Jeff. In January I was down in AL visiting my dad. It got down to the high 30s, low 40s. The wind was blowing a bit and it was frickin FREEZING. All that moisture in the air makes for a much different cold. But yeah, I've lived in FL for a while so nah. It's not that cold. lol
....so does anyone know how to tell an old queen from a new one? Or a virgin one from a mated one? I always see comments on pictures about the age or fecundity, but I wonder what they're seeing.
My bees are very happy that it has finally stopped raining and started to warm up. They were very busy today when I walked out there. I'll go back in this weekend for a very quick peek to see how many frames they cover and if they need a 2nd box. I'm just thrilled they lived. I'm pretty darned sure it was the ventilation over the quilt box - and a simple tar paper wrap that made the difference this year. That cluster was TINY when they came out of the winter [fist sized - barely a nuc]. There's no way they would have lived without the quilt box. Too damp and cold here.
Thank you MT Bee Girl. I try telling folks that the cold down here will fool you. So will the heat. I was in the Gulf War with temps in the 120s (so we were told). I came back home to Alabama and the sun ate me up.