My best hive has a 10 frame super that has 2-3 good honey frames and 2-3 more with a lot of nectar or uncapped honey. The brood box is doing fine lots of eggs/larvae/capped brood pollen and nectar.
Being new , I want some honey, I?m excited
Can I take a couple full frames out, squeeze the end frames into the middle and add a couple of new undrawn on the outsides?
I guess my question is what do I do now?
Salty,
Being in south Florida, especially if you are in a heavy residential area, I would expect your flow to just keep on going especially if you are getting weekly rains. Sounds like your flow is still on because you still have nectar.
Go ahead and pull 2 capped frames and enjoy. I suspect you have a lot more honey coming in this year.
Commercial beeks up here only winter in one deep box. They do have to feed sometimes.
Jim Altmiller
Jim, they say we are in a drought. 12 days of no rain, temps in the 90"s.
Ace,
Same here only longer. I thought I saw some big storms down south but I have no idea where Salty is.
We are supposed to have rain today. We are praying for it.
Jim Altmiller
Flash storms. Don't last but 5 minutes. Evaporate almost as fast. I think salty is on the treasure coast not far from me.
When correctly setup and managed;
all the honey in the supers is for you. Everything in the brood box(es) below is for the bees.
In other words, take anything or everything you want to from the supers. Take nothing from the brood chambers.
In your question, you are talking about honey in the super. Based on above, yes of course take what you want. Caution though to check that what is in the super is actually ripened honey. Bees will also use the super to stash incoming nectar until they get to process it. A frame may be full and heavy with -honey-that is raw nectar. Look for frames that are 50% capped. Take only those.
Hope that helps!
We had a little dry spell but lord did it make up for it last week. And now the daily pop up showers stroll through. I?m mowing the grass high just in case pop ups stop.
I?m sure you mean 50 percent of a frame and not the comb as I think 🤔 I don?t use nectar for anything . Do they use this nectar in the brood box or will it all get made into capped honey?
Thanks friends
More to come
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 04, 2019, 03:19:55 PM
We had a little dry spell but lord did it make up for it last week. And now the daily pop up showers stroll through. I?m mowing the grass high just in case pop ups stop.
I?m sure you mean 50 percent of a frame and not the comb as I think 🤔 I don?t use nectar for anything . Do they use this nectar in the brood box or will it all get made into capped honey?
Thanks friends
More to come
They can use up to 2 times more space for nectar storage and processing than what it will be after it is stirred and ripened into honey. Nectar takes up a lot of space.
On an in rush (aka flow), they push that excess nectar up into the super to keep the brood nest clear for queen and brood. They later bring it back down to feed to the brood. What they do not need to bring back down will stay up there. They will get on with ripening and capping it.
When the flow is on, super twice the space you think you will get for honey. If you are expecting one box of honey, put two supers on.
My second to last dumb question-
How does one know a flow is on ? My guess would be frame inspection because I?m not seeing any little brown jugs with XXX flying in :cheesy:
I was told by a 93 year old, still active beekeeper to catch a returning bee and squeeze its abdomen. If the flow is on, a drop of nectar will come out of her mouth.
Watch the entrance activity. During a flow it is fast paced.
When you?re in the hive, during a flow, if you are gentle, the bees will ignore you. During a dearth, they get aggressive and if you are paying attention, you will start seeing robbing. The bees coming in are not going to the normal entrance. They are entering at the open frames on top and any frames that are out of the hive. When you see this, it?s time to quickly close the hive up and get a hose and sprinkler out that puts out a constant spray in all directions, and put it on top of the hive/hives.
Jim Altmiller
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 05, 2019, 12:23:16 AM
My second to last dumb question-
How does one know a flow is on ?
When a flow is on hive gains weight which means honey is being stored instead of being consumed.
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 05, 2019, 12:23:16 AM
My second to last dumb question-
How does one know a flow is on ? My guess would be frame inspection because I?m not seeing any little brown jugs with XXX flying in :cheesy:
By external observation. The sun is shining, the air stinks of floral aromas, and the landing board at the hive entrance is busier than Orlando International Airport.
By internal observation. Lift the lid. The appearance of white wax along the top bars of the frames.
.
https://youtu.be/FHa7_Xxjfe8
Was wondering about a SBB would solve this front porch sitting. They?re out there every day all day - it?s a full sun hive - I was thinking about removing the flow frames and trading out traditional .
Second video is a good hive that talked about above taking honey from.
I saw this activity 2 weeks ago and now today at 9 am . 30 minutes later it?s back to normal
https://youtu.be/iU_S76rzBNo
Can I slide a deep between the honey flow super and the brood box? They are quite busy in the flow frames
I also understand beeks stance vs FF but I had a lot of money a few months ago and bought everything I wanted
They look like good healthy hives. If anything I would add insulation under the top to stop the radiant heat from the sun.
Jim
Open up the entrance on the plastic hive as much as you can.
I would like to see you use the flow frames next year when the hive is fully established before the main flow. Use the flow frames as the third box.
In that video. The bee activity flinging about in front of the entrance is normal. The event is the young bees, the next wave of new foraging force, orienting to the hive. This happens mid to late afternoon everyday that the weather is nice. The number of bees depends on the size if the brood patch that age group that day came from. No problems, a good thing, carry-on.
Look up -orientation flights- to learn more about it.
Awesome awesome awesome!!! I almost turned the sprinkler on thinking it was robbing!
Reading how much science you all know so overwhelmed me, I started thinking that even beekeeping may be too hard. But I have found so much welcomed help here. Thankyou
Thanks for the help.
Jim that is an insulated top on the plastic hive - kinda like a cooler for drinks - if you?re talking about the wood hive , it has an inner screen top with that cathedral roof and holes , what else could I use?
I also put swifters in my hives but what?s the next tool for SHB ?
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on June 04, 2019, 11:14:41 PM
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 04, 2019, 03:19:55 PM
We had a little dry spell but lord did it make up for it last week. And now the daily pop up showers stroll through. I?m mowing the grass high just in case pop ups stop.
I?m sure you mean 50 percent of a frame and not the comb as I think 🤔 I don?t use nectar for anything . Do they use this nectar in the brood box or will it all get made into capped honey?
Thanks friends
More to come
They can use up to 2 times more space for nectar storage and processing than what it will be after it is stirred and ripened into honey. Nectar takes up a lot of space.
On an in rush (aka flow), they push that excess nectar up into the super to keep the brood nest clear for queen and brood. They later bring it back down to feed to the brood. What they do not need to bring back down will stay up there. They will get on with ripening and capping it.
When the flow is on, super twice the space you think you will get for honey. If you are expecting one box of honey, put two supers on.
Will watching this nectar storing or honey making in the super tell me about my brood box? As in if there?s a lot of nectar vs honey does that mean the queen needs more working room?
This hive was formed from under
A neighbors landscape rock.
This seems to bee a healthy strain - they may have requeened on their own after bringing them home.
Would you and how would you make another hive from this?
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 07, 2019, 12:35:40 PM
... Will watching this nectar storing or honey making in the super tell me about my brood box? ...
Salty - I can only answer this one question. The answer is NO. How much nectar is coming in, does not show the health of the brood chamber - until it's too late (or nearly so). Problems, that need to be dealt with (to keep the hive healthy), can be developing in the brood chamber while massive amounts of nectar are pouring in. Speaking from personal experience here - by the time you see honey production problems (flowers blooming, but no continued increase in nectar/honey) you will have waited too long to deal with the problem(s). Occasional brood nest inspections (alcohol wash, visual, etc) will help you know if everything is fine, or your intervention is needed - maybe every 2 months until you learn the cycles of problems that you are faced with in you area. That's my thoughts.
Hopefully others will chime in regarding this, and your remaining questions.
Salty,
Jim that is an insulated top on the plastic hive - kinda like a cooler for drinks - if you?re talking about the wood hive , it has an inner screen top with that cathedral roof and holes , what else could I use?
Screen tops sounds like a good idea to us but they do not work for the bees. Every hive I have has one. From experience, I now have an insulation board on top of the STBs. The bees can control the temperature of the hive much better with the insulation board than with it open. I also have another insulation board in the top.
Jim Altmiller
Quote from: Acebird on June 07, 2019, 11:11:01 AM
Open up the entrance on the plastic hive as much as you can.
I would like to see you use the flow frames next year when the hive is fully established before the main flow. Use the flow frames as the third box.
So stick a super under the flow and they will come down?
Thanks Jim and Al.
Any answer if I can take a split yet?
Also the SHB I?m using swifters but should I use the oil traps - I think the hives are healthy but see SHB randomly
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 07, 2019, 04:50:33 PM
Thanks Jim and Al.
Any answer if I can take a split yet?
Also the SHB I?m using swifters but should I use the oil traps - I think the hives are healthy but see SHB randomly
imho. No. It is probably best to just let the bees bee bees for the season. Let them teach you. Observe the bees and the full cycle dynamics of the honey bee colony through the seasons. Study, ask many many questions, gain experience. Wait on getting into splits, nucs, etc until a time when you are more comfortable with hive management and can quickly assess what is going on in any hive you open.
Quote from: Acebird on June 05, 2019, 11:05:52 AM
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 05, 2019, 12:23:16 AM
My second to last dumb question-
How does one know a flow is on ?
When a flow is on hive gains weight which means honey is being stored instead of being consumed.
Hey Ri-Vera beach as most of the locals call it - can I come down this weekend and see your hives? Or you come up here and I?ll grill some chicken and Yuengling for us?
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on June 07, 2019, 04:59:18 PM
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 07, 2019, 04:50:33 PM
Thanks Jim and Al.
Any answer if I can take a split yet?
Also the SHB I?m using swifters but should I use the oil traps - I think the hives are healthy but see SHB randomly
imho. No. It is probably best to just let the bees bee bees for the season. Let them teach you. Observe the bees and the full cycle dynamics of the honey bee colony through the seasons. Study, ask many many questions, gain experience. Wait on getting into splits, nucs, etc until a time when you are more comfortable with hive management and can quickly assess what is going on in any hive you open.
It doesn?t matter if you?re male or female but I love you.
I have been so honest with you all that good information naturally comes my way .
I took a pop a lock style company into a full blown commercial locksmith store - I?m always out-thinking myself.
Thanks for knowing me honey pump.
Last questiom- Without any high priced machines, how can I get the most honey off my frames? I have a rake style de-capper and strainers. I?m a broke poor boy
Quote from: sawdstmakr on June 04, 2019, 08:03:26 AM
Salty,
Being in south Florida, especially if you are in a heavy residential area, I would expect your flow to just keep on going especially if you are getting weekly rains. Sounds like your flow is still on because you still have nectar.
Go ahead and pull 2 capped frames and enjoy. I suspect you have a lot more honey coming in this year.
Commercial beeks up here only winter in one deep box. They do have to feed sometimes.
Jim Altmiller
Jim if I?m in such a honey hole with warm temps besides late Jan - early Feb , how do I notice if I need 2 brood boxes vs adding honey supers?
Borrow a hand crank extractor from someone at your bee club or buy one on the net for $125 or so.
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 07, 2019, 04:50:33 PM
Thanks Jim and Al.
Any answer if I can take a split yet?
Also the SHB I?m using swifters but should I use the oil traps - I think the hives are healthy but see SHB randomly
Last spring I got my first hives, the hard way, from cut outs. I was very pleased to have my first hives. I would randomly see a SHB and being these were my first hives, I was constantly checking on them. I would go into the hives once a week. Which later, I was told was a mistake in SHB country. When the tops are opened , the ?jailed SHB would make a run for it. ? so only seeing a ransom SHB, I wasn?t to concerned about them until on another inspection. I had maggots running everywhere! In one week this hive went from being a random SHB to taken over. Jim, Pause, and others directed me to screen bottom boards and oil pan traps. Best SHB advice I have received, along with CD case traps or political sign traps. I was thinking the bees would ?handle the problem? nope.
Phillip
Ben,
I strongly recommend that beeks do not use the beetle traps with poison in them. They would bee great if the beetles only went in them and died. Problem is they go in and come out and spread the poison in your hive and your honey.
Jim Altmiller
Quote from: sawdstmakr on June 08, 2019, 09:58:08 AM
Ben,
I strongly recommend that beeks do not use the beetle traps with poison in them. They would bee great if the beetles only went in them and died. Problem is they go in and come out and spread the poison in your hive and your honey.
Jim Altmiller
Yes you and paus recommended the oils traps. The other type traps were from other avenues. I should have clarified that . The oil traps alone are excellent making the use of the CD cases mute.
Phillip
Crush-and-strain works for honey harvest. Cheap too. I think Mr. Bush said he did [only] that for many years.
If you want a really easy way to get some honey, see if you can follow this
Get a 50 litre clear plastic storage container
Get some cake cooler racks
Take out you frames and with a bread knife warmed in hot water uncap your frames.
Put the cake cooler frames in the bottom of the container
Put the container in a warm spot, sun or inside,
Stand your uncapped frames upside down, vertical in the container. on their top bars.
Now just leave and the honey will just drain out into the container. Can leave for a few days or what ever it takes.
The honey drains because the cells now are slightly pointing down.
You may not get all the honey out but the rest can go back to the bees and they don't have to rebuild the wax and you have some honey.
Pour out of container, through strainer into your jars.
Quote from: Oldbeavo on June 10, 2019, 07:09:12 AM
If you want a really easy way to get some honey, see if you can follow this
Get a 50 litre clear plastic storage container
Get some cake cooler racks
Take out you frames and with a bread knife warmed in hot water uncap your frames.
Put the cake cooler frames in the bottom of the container
Put the container in a warm spot, sun or inside,
Stand your uncapped frames upside down, vertical in the container. on their top bars.
Now just leave and the honey will just drain out into the container. Can leave for a few days or what ever it takes.
The honey drains because the cells now are slightly pointing down.
You may not get all the honey out but the rest can go back to the bees and they don't have to rebuild the wax and you have some honey.
Pour out of container, through strainer into your jars.
I want to thank you for this post Oldbeavo, good information using good common sense.
Phillip
Quote from: Ben Framed on June 10, 2019, 08:00:27 AM
I want to thank you for this post Oldbeavo, good information using good common sense.
Phillip
+1. Good, solid, simple approach. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Beavo
I took the flow frames off and WHAT A MESS!! Honey all over the bottoms of those frames but nothing in the frames.
I scraped the honey off the bottoms of flow frames and off the top of the brood frames. cut short my inspection due to so many bees outsid the hive
https://youtu.be/sH_eVrnCqAQ
Video is worthless after 26 sec by the way. Sorry
And installed standard deep.
https://youtu.be/4idgRo5MEpk
There?s a huge number outside the hive hanging on the fron and back - I popped the top open and left a space for them to enter there as well.
I was going to replace the bottom board but like I said , they were all coming out and I didn?t want to disrupt much further.
Praying they go back inside
They will go back inside. Just look at my picture to the left that was taken my first year of Beekeeping. They all went back in.
I could not tell but it sounded like you were puffing your smoker like crazy. I hope you were not putting that much smoke into the hive. If you were just trying to move them off the top edge without putting smoke in the hive, that is fine.
Jim Altmiller
As per Jim, they find their way back.
Just a little beekeeping hint, when you put a super on try and put it in place in one step.
In your video you put it on at 90 degrees and then slid it in place, if you have bees underneath or on top of frames you squish a lot of bees.
Not a criticism, just try to help.
My smoker wasn?t very Smokey so I was double puffing it!!
Beavo - the bees were so thick around the edge I placed the tops edges were they weren?t then kinda scooched it into place - I saw this somewhere as it slides the bees off instead of smashing -but duly noted
And as of this evening they have gone in -
Do you think the bees were out front of that cedar hive in my previous video 1st page- because they weren?t working the flow frames?
The brood box was booming even though. I didn?t pull the frames- looking down in was full of bees
1-10 frames
If you use a bee glove, try gently herding them. Lightly as you would pet the nose of a cat.
Patty-cake them from the edge into the brood box, then patty-cake them down into the frames. They will scurry, and you will have a no-bee moment to put the next layer on.
I like to use a bee brush for a situation like that, where there are bees on the edges or outside of a box and it?s hard to get the next box on.
Quote from: FloridaGardener on June 10, 2019, 07:13:39 PM
If you use a bee glove, try gently herding them. Lightly as you would pet the nose of a cat.
Patty-cake them from the edge into the brood box, then patty-cake them down into the frames. They will scurry, and you will have a no-bee moment to put the next layer on.
This totally works. I have done this if my bee brush wasn?t handy or there was a little cluster of bees. If you just lightly tap them they?ll move right away.
Yet another good tip- thanks Fla Gardener
Non toxic way to clean my pots and bowls after melting wax comb for candle making? I don?t wanna hurt my drains either
Boiling hot water or leave them as permanent wax melting pots and bowls so you don't have to clean them.
Quote from: Oldbeavo on June 11, 2019, 06:38:54 PM
leave them as permanent wax melting pots and bowls so you don't have to clean them.
Absolutely, dedicated utensils for wax.
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 11, 2019, 11:40:32 AM
Non toxic way to clean my pots and bowls after melting wax comb for candle making? I don?t wanna hurt my drains either
Fill the pots with water to the rim - bring water almost to boil. Turn off heat, and let cool. Wax is on top. Pot(s) is clean below.
Definitely do not pour wax down the drain - I'm not sure you'll ever get it out.
I was raised in a house built by the Amish. The house was the 1st one listed in the county records when they started keeping records - 210 yrs before I was born - so the house was standing already then. The basement was full height, hand dug, and stone walled with no mortar (and still straight). Clearly, the basement was made before the house was erected. There was a large black "stone" built into the basement wall - it was flat, jet black, about 3' long, 6" thick, and the depth of the wall. One winter, we went on vacation for a week, and loaned our house to some friends. They didn't know how to properly use out Central Wood Furnace (located in said basement). They got the furnace so hot, it melted the telephone wires running along the basement ceiling - melted them clear through, copper and all. That large black "Stone" also started melting - turns out, it wasn't Stone, but rather a massive slab on bees wax - built into the wall. I've often wondered - did the Amish know it was wax? ... or did the "Stone" pre-date them? ... hmmm ...
Not sure why I just thought of that ... just goes to show how long beeswax lasts - "forever" maybe. Don't put it down the drain. :grin:
Nice story thanks for sharing.
Amazing story, Alan! It must have been cool to live in a house that old.
I also agree about having utensils that are only used for beeswax.
Momma went to the dollar store for me - I got some dedicated pots and utensils
Alan, my great aunt (who also raised bees) had a 1880 log house on civil war property - the bedrooms had heavy iron latches like thumb latches with a flat piece of iron that fit in the slot.
Some nights We could hear those latches rattling.
Now the most ironic part was she moved to Florida upon retirement and her neighbor came over and asked if she was from Ky. She said yes and the neighbor said my son and daughter in law just bought a house in your state .
It was the log house.
Great memories on her farm there as well she took me to a bee warehouse where they processed honey and wax. I?ll never forget how sweet it smelled in there.
Thanks
Good stuff Salty, good stuff! ... it's amazing how childhood exposures, (smells and memories), change/make a person later in life.
Quote from: saltybluegrass on June 13, 2019, 01:54:57 AM
Momma went to the dollar store for me - I got some dedicated pots and utensils
Alan, my great aunt (who also raised bees) had a 1880 log house on civil war property - the bedrooms had heavy iron latches like thumb latches with a flat piece of iron that fit in the slot.
Some nights We could hear those latches rattling.
Now the most ironic part was she moved to Florida upon retirement and her neighbor came over and asked if she was from Ky. She said yes and the neighbor said my son and daughter in law just bought a house in your state .
It was the log house.
Great memories on her farm there as well she took me to a bee warehouse where they processed honey and wax. I?ll never forget how sweet it smelled in there.
Thanks
Amazing! What are the odds!