Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on October 24, 2021, 08:58:21 AM
Post by: NigelP on October 24, 2021, 08:58:21 AM
I'm always intrigued and fascinated by what other beekeepers are doing in their apiaries, bee yards.
Today I removed the Apitraz strips from my hives as they had been on for 6 weeks. Then jarred a load of soft set honey ready for a farmers market next weekend.
Just need washing and labelling and they are good to go.
(https://i.ibb.co/nntS0G0/softsetsmall.jpg"%20alt="softsetsmall)
Today I removed the Apitraz strips from my hives as they had been on for 6 weeks. Then jarred a load of soft set honey ready for a farmers market next weekend.
Just need washing and labelling and they are good to go.
(https://i.ibb.co/nntS0G0/softsetsmall.jpg"%20alt="softsetsmall)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 24, 2021, 02:22:54 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 24, 2021, 02:22:54 PM
NigelP I confess I only walked through yesterday. Today will be a repeat./No physical hands on. I want to say I like your soft set honey jars! What size by weight are they rated?
Thanks,
Phillip
Thanks,
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on October 24, 2021, 02:29:55 PM
Post by: NigelP on October 24, 2021, 02:29:55 PM
12oz or 340gs. I like using hexagonal jars as they stack better (and more of them) in the crate.
Sell them at of 8$ each. Once customers get hold of real smooth soft set honey they are hooked and back for more....which is good for me.
Sell them at of 8$ each. Once customers get hold of real smooth soft set honey they are hooked and back for more....which is good for me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 24, 2021, 02:34:02 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 24, 2021, 02:34:02 PM
Quote from: NigelP on October 24, 2021, 02:29:55 PM
12oz or 340gs. I like using hexagonal jars as they stack better (and more of them) in the crate.
Sell them at of 8$ each. Once customers get hold of real smooth soft set honey they are hooked and back for more....which is good for me.
Thank you; Yes I see the advantages, adding these jars promote an extra attractiveness.
I am also curious as what our members are doing in the bee yard. We have members from so many countries and climates.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: CoolBees on October 24, 2021, 03:09:26 PM
Post by: CoolBees on October 24, 2021, 03:09:26 PM
Pls pardon my ignorance - what is Soft Set honey?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on October 24, 2021, 05:02:30 PM
Post by: NigelP on October 24, 2021, 05:02:30 PM
I'll try and help if I can.
Basically most honeys will eventually set. Problem is they usually set hard and with coarse crystals. To cut a long story short if you seed liquid honey with a very fine set small grained honey the crystals will act as a seed and crystals will form in the liquid honey at that size and make a soft set honey. To make a small grained honey you take a set one and grind it down with a pestle and mortar to produce your "seed". It's not the end of the story as crystals will aggregate during the process and although the final product is a soft set it will have some large crystals that are a bit like sandpaper on your tongue. To make it smoother you need to grind the crystals against each other. I have a machine, bit like a butter churn, that does the mixing and grinding so the crystals break down to their smallest form. Result is a soft set hidey that is like a paste that always remains soft and spreadable but is has an incredibly smooth texture. Original process (Dyce) was invented in USA for clover honey, but that involved pasteurisation which is not part of the current soft set process.
Hope that helps.
Basically most honeys will eventually set. Problem is they usually set hard and with coarse crystals. To cut a long story short if you seed liquid honey with a very fine set small grained honey the crystals will act as a seed and crystals will form in the liquid honey at that size and make a soft set honey. To make a small grained honey you take a set one and grind it down with a pestle and mortar to produce your "seed". It's not the end of the story as crystals will aggregate during the process and although the final product is a soft set it will have some large crystals that are a bit like sandpaper on your tongue. To make it smoother you need to grind the crystals against each other. I have a machine, bit like a butter churn, that does the mixing and grinding so the crystals break down to their smallest form. Result is a soft set hidey that is like a paste that always remains soft and spreadable but is has an incredibly smooth texture. Original process (Dyce) was invented in USA for clover honey, but that involved pasteurisation which is not part of the current soft set process.
Hope that helps.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 24, 2021, 05:33:48 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 24, 2021, 05:33:48 PM
Quote from: CoolBees on October 24, 2021, 03:09:26 PMAlan, we call it creamed honey in the US. :happy:
Pls pardon my ignorance - what is Soft Set honey?
Nigel, I can't believe how white that honey is! I've never seen honey that color before, even creamed/soft set. What variety is it?
I'll be in the bee yard tomorrow, so I'll let you know how my day goes. This is a fun idea for a thread, I'm surprised no one has started one like this before.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on October 25, 2021, 04:46:06 AM
Post by: NigelP on October 25, 2021, 04:46:06 AM
Thanks to the European Union we were not allowed to call it creamed honey as it had no cream in it!!!
The secret to getting it as white as it is hard work. As the crystals form from the "seed" honey, they tend to aggregate a bit and these need to be broken down. I used to use a long handled potato masher which did the job but was hard work as I was working the honey every few hours for a 2 or 3 days.
Now I have a machine, like a giant butter churn that works the honey for 15 minutes then rests it for an hour before repeating.
You get the same result with any type of honey, but the real secret is I can only get it this white during our winter months as it needs to be cold. And even when it's cold like 2-3C in my bee shed the friction of the crystals rubbing together generates heat so the mixture ends up around 21C, which is about the max you want.
If I try to make it in our summer months it just won't work as well and you bet a darker (read larger crystal) product.
The secret to getting it as white as it is hard work. As the crystals form from the "seed" honey, they tend to aggregate a bit and these need to be broken down. I used to use a long handled potato masher which did the job but was hard work as I was working the honey every few hours for a 2 or 3 days.
Now I have a machine, like a giant butter churn that works the honey for 15 minutes then rests it for an hour before repeating.
You get the same result with any type of honey, but the real secret is I can only get it this white during our winter months as it needs to be cold. And even when it's cold like 2-3C in my bee shed the friction of the crystals rubbing together generates heat so the mixture ends up around 21C, which is about the max you want.
If I try to make it in our summer months it just won't work as well and you bet a darker (read larger crystal) product.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: CoolBees on October 25, 2021, 02:59:24 PM
Post by: CoolBees on October 25, 2021, 02:59:24 PM
Thank you Nigel. That was a very detailed explanation. I had heard of this, but never understood it. Now I do. I'm impressed at how much work it is. :grin: Very nice!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: LawyerRick on October 25, 2021, 04:17:10 PM
Post by: LawyerRick on October 25, 2021, 04:17:10 PM
Mountain camped nearly all my hives, put bee cozy on the wooden hives, stuffed 2 inch thick XPS into telescoping cover & closed up the hives. I don't use upper entrances or moisture boxes etc. during winter since they are unneccessary, especially in my poly hives. It's raining alot right now so I can't finish putting the girls back to bed quite yet, will finish when the sun finally decides to come out.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 25, 2021, 07:07:51 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 25, 2021, 07:07:51 PM
I also had intermittent rain which eventually became too heavy to work in today. I opened up three colonies of my five. In the one I inspected and did a sugar roll; in the other I found the queen quickly enough that I didn't do a full inspection, just a sugar roll; and in the third I didn't pull any frames, just sugar dusted them, as they are in the middle of a treatment regimen.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Beeboy01 on October 25, 2021, 11:49:01 PM
Post by: Beeboy01 on October 25, 2021, 11:49:01 PM
Spent a few hours cleaning up and putting away my decapping sink, extractor and filter screens after my last extraction for the year. Stacked the cleaned out honey supers, did a quick equipment inventory and packed everything away in my shop till spring. Also finished bottling around eight cases of pint jars with the Brazilian Pepper that I pulled last week.
Already have a table reserved at the local flea market for Halloween and expecting it to be a busy weekend for sales.
Already have a table reserved at the local flea market for Halloween and expecting it to be a busy weekend for sales.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on November 12, 2021, 11:38:38 AM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on November 12, 2021, 11:38:38 AM
10 below and blowing snow. Decided to put winter wraps on the backyarders. While getting the rest of them put indoors for the long dark sleep.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on November 20, 2021, 12:04:00 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on November 20, 2021, 12:04:00 PM
47deg F here in Wisconsin today, doing a round of OAV
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: LawyerRick on November 20, 2021, 05:47:56 PM
Post by: LawyerRick on November 20, 2021, 05:47:56 PM
Drove into a muddy field, got my inverter going & OAV'd all of the colonies at that location. Used 4 grams of OA in each colony, got to kill mites!!! It was around 40F when I vaped the 4 hives & windy but my Covdid mask kept me from inhaling OAV. Cloudy, kinda rainy/snowy...normal Michigan weather in November.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on November 20, 2021, 07:24:27 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on November 20, 2021, 07:24:27 PM
Rick,
Bee careful depending on regular masks for OAV. If the wind shifts, you could bee in serious trouble.
Jim Altmiller
Bee careful depending on regular masks for OAV. If the wind shifts, you could bee in serious trouble.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on November 20, 2021, 07:47:47 PM
Post by: rast on November 20, 2021, 07:47:47 PM
Did my 4th round of OAV this morning also, windy here too but in the low 70's. Pollen still coming in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on November 24, 2021, 07:17:29 AM
Post by: NigelP on November 24, 2021, 07:17:29 AM
Spend time hefting hives to see which are gobbling up their winter stores. One was very light so added an eke and slab of fondant. Check again in early January.
Bee work finished here (apart from messing in workshop).
Bee work finished here (apart from messing in workshop).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on November 26, 2021, 05:18:32 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on November 26, 2021, 05:18:32 AM
We have had a terrible swarm season, so we are at present fixing double swarm hives. Main swarm, then when the maiden goes for a mating fly the bees go too.
So we are left with a hive with no eggs to form a cell.
we had 4/28 hives in a group queenless, Just as well we have heaps of nucs.
So we are left with a hive with no eggs to form a cell.
we had 4/28 hives in a group queenless, Just as well we have heaps of nucs.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on January 03, 2022, 12:37:27 PM
Post by: NigelP on January 03, 2022, 12:37:27 PM
Just past our winter solstice and first work of the new season was to vape all the hives and check for store usage. All was fine although one or two insert boards had higher varroa levels than I would like to see....but should now have got the little blighters.. Now I just need to figure a way id adding back stored frozen frames of pollen without disturbing the bees.....they won't quite lie flat ion top of the frames already in place.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on January 03, 2022, 01:29:13 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on January 03, 2022, 01:29:13 PM
Walked out to couple of monitored hives. Scooped snow away from the entrance. Took broodminder(TM) readings. -39 degrees Celsius outside , +29 to +31 degrees Celsius inside the hive.
https://map.beecounted.org/hive/summary/VZ9l
https://map.beecounted.org/hive/summary/z58o
https://broodminder.com/pages/about
https://map.beecounted.org/hive/summary/VZ9l
https://map.beecounted.org/hive/summary/z58o
https://broodminder.com/pages/about
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on January 03, 2022, 03:10:20 PM
Post by: NigelP on January 03, 2022, 03:10:20 PM
Interesting device. Boy is Canada cold..... :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Jim134 on January 03, 2022, 08:31:22 PM
Post by: Jim134 on January 03, 2022, 08:31:22 PM
Where I live it's in the rainy season.. Right now. Best timer of the year for nectar flow.. The rainy season will stop 1st week in February... The local beekeepers tell me... This will happen sometime around the 5th of February... +/-3 days.. The local beekeepers have been right for the past 4 years...LOL
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 03, 2022, 09:33:40 PM
Post by: Lesgold on January 03, 2022, 09:33:40 PM
I wish it was a little cooler where I am. Just trying to rehydrate after raiding the bees and extracting all morning. 30 degree days working in the sun sure gets a thirst up.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on January 05, 2022, 04:44:51 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on January 05, 2022, 04:44:51 AM
Hi Ben
I would not worry about adding pollen frames until early Spring in the first honey flow.
Bees that just hibernate over winter do not need pollen. Alot of our hive are sometimes broodless over winter. Queens abdomen shrinks and she is hard to find.
Our best wintered hives are packed down in April and hardly touched till mid July when we do a pre almond audit to make sure they are strong enough.
If you go back to the post" pollen collection" you will see that we don't, and the bees take what ever pollen they have into winter.
If we do have bees in Autumn on poor pollen or no pollen honey flows we will open feed pollen substitute.
I would not worry about adding pollen frames until early Spring in the first honey flow.
Bees that just hibernate over winter do not need pollen. Alot of our hive are sometimes broodless over winter. Queens abdomen shrinks and she is hard to find.
Our best wintered hives are packed down in April and hardly touched till mid July when we do a pre almond audit to make sure they are strong enough.
If you go back to the post" pollen collection" you will see that we don't, and the bees take what ever pollen they have into winter.
If we do have bees in Autumn on poor pollen or no pollen honey flows we will open feed pollen substitute.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: csull72 on January 05, 2022, 04:58:13 PM
Post by: csull72 on January 05, 2022, 04:58:13 PM
Days are getting longer and the eucalyptus is in bloom, my hives are already ramping up at an insane pace, probably going to have to split hives in early February.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 06, 2022, 01:26:38 AM
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 06, 2022, 01:26:38 AM
Hi All.
My first post. I am a newbee.
I installed my first two nucs into my new custom horizontal langstroth hives.
Regards
Pete.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/6ce9c88580ff377077b0c4330b2f4afa.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/53e1593dd8d98168cc749089810df567.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/0281a9f79031c84611dd61f50ca3bdf7.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/b87c793571f39157ef694fca86d2f846.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/2c03b73a09fdf23b7e771a3d3653a417.jpg)
My first post. I am a newbee.
I installed my first two nucs into my new custom horizontal langstroth hives.
Regards
Pete.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/6ce9c88580ff377077b0c4330b2f4afa.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/53e1593dd8d98168cc749089810df567.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/0281a9f79031c84611dd61f50ca3bdf7.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/b87c793571f39157ef694fca86d2f846.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/2c03b73a09fdf23b7e771a3d3653a417.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 06, 2022, 02:00:00 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 06, 2022, 02:00:00 AM
Hello Pete! Welcome to Beemaster! Those are some good looking and well make hives! Very impressive . Thanks for joining and for the good post!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on January 06, 2022, 04:40:19 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on January 06, 2022, 04:40:19 AM
Hi Pete
Do you build houses, ours isn't as fancy as your hives.
I hope the bees appreciate them.
Do you build houses, ours isn't as fancy as your hives.
I hope the bees appreciate them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bee North on January 06, 2022, 05:26:25 AM
Post by: Bee North on January 06, 2022, 05:26:25 AM
Wow Pete....beautiful!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 06, 2022, 06:53:37 AM
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 06, 2022, 06:53:37 AM
Thanks everyone.
I am a joiner so that means I am cheating a bit.
It was a project that I did when we were in a Covid Lockdown.
No point wasting time.
Thanks again.
Pete.
I am a joiner so that means I am cheating a bit.
It was a project that I did when we were in a Covid Lockdown.
No point wasting time.
Thanks again.
Pete.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on January 06, 2022, 08:27:42 AM
Post by: NigelP on January 06, 2022, 08:27:42 AM
Really nice piece of work that Pete...and so sensible using a standard frame size inside a "top bar" hive.
Our UK top bar aficionados insist on using a "v" shaped hive with just a grooved top bar for the bees to work their comb from.
Our UK top bar aficionados insist on using a "v" shaped hive with just a grooved top bar for the bees to work their comb from.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on January 06, 2022, 02:08:02 PM
Post by: cao on January 06, 2022, 02:08:02 PM
welcome :happy:. The hives look great.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on January 06, 2022, 02:47:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on January 06, 2022, 02:47:01 PM
Welcome to Beemaster, Pete! :happy: That is the most gorgeous long hive I've ever seen!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 06, 2022, 05:04:51 PM
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 06, 2022, 05:04:51 PM
Thanks.
Here are a couple (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/2147ed944854f36ecd7233b8b5b169cb.jpg)
of close up pics.
Enjoy
Pete.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/b069c78ec26a93312e63c1628a04aeb5.jpg)
Here are a couple (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/2147ed944854f36ecd7233b8b5b169cb.jpg)
of close up pics.
Enjoy
Pete.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220106/b069c78ec26a93312e63c1628a04aeb5.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 10, 2022, 02:24:58 AM
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 10, 2022, 02:24:58 AM
This afternoon my bees were bringing in red pollen. I was told that that is Camellia pollen.
Pete.
Pete.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on January 10, 2022, 04:53:34 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on January 10, 2022, 04:53:34 AM
Pete,
Welcome to Beemaster.
Great looking hives.
Jim Altmiller
Welcome to Beemaster.
Great looking hives.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 10, 2022, 05:14:12 AM
Post by: Lesgold on January 10, 2022, 05:14:12 AM
Just finished extracting a few boxes of honey. Pretty warm in a bee suit and extracting in the shed. The humidity was the killer. 3 changes of clothes and plenty of water helps.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 11, 2022, 05:54:01 AM
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 11, 2022, 05:54:01 AM
We?ll today I had my very first sneak peek into my new horizontal hives. Just a peak, didn?t remove any frames.
Got stung under my armpit for my trouble. First sting too. Was only a little one so no swelling.
I will leave them for a week as it?s raining a lot. Will wait for better weather before doing my first proper hive inspection.
I?ll be wearing a bee suit next time.
Regards and have fun.
Pete.
Got stung under my armpit for my trouble. First sting too. Was only a little one so no swelling.
I will leave them for a week as it?s raining a lot. Will wait for better weather before doing my first proper hive inspection.
I?ll be wearing a bee suit next time.
Regards and have fun.
Pete.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on January 11, 2022, 06:27:27 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on January 11, 2022, 06:27:27 AM
Les
Please explain the need of a bee suit when extracting?
Please explain the need of a bee suit when extracting?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 11, 2022, 12:23:49 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 11, 2022, 12:23:49 PM
Lesgold
Les we have a screened in porch area of our home that has three sides surrounded in screen which makes the room almost bee proof. This screened in room has proved to be a great asset for not only relaxation and entertainment, but honey extraction as well. This is where I do my extracting. However some bees do get in, mostly from inside the boxes of honey which are carried into this room. A few from the opening of doors as I come and go during extraction time. This can sometimes total into several dozen bees flying freely.
In my experience I have learned they will not sting during extraction (unless mashed) and that doesn't happen because all they seem to want, 'is out', so they are usually bumping the screens attempting to get out. While at the same time, outside 'free bees' are trying to get in those same screens. I also incorporate a couple fans in this set up for comfort which makes a great difference in comfortable extraction work. I really do not like to see the bees just buzzing around, trying to find their way out, as this will eventually lead to a certain death for them 'in time'. Even with the doors open, and a 'your free to go' after extraction, they concentrate their attention of the outside world an bump the screens, most never find the open doors. So; in that case, I use my bee vac to gather them and take them out for release. This is sick, easy, and effective.
With this method I have found no need for the bee suit during extraction. I hope this small bit of information helps you.
Phillip
QuoteJust finished extracting a few boxes of honey. Pretty warm in a bee suit and extracting in the shed. The humidity was the killer. 3 changes of clothes and plenty of water helps.
Les we have a screened in porch area of our home that has three sides surrounded in screen which makes the room almost bee proof. This screened in room has proved to be a great asset for not only relaxation and entertainment, but honey extraction as well. This is where I do my extracting. However some bees do get in, mostly from inside the boxes of honey which are carried into this room. A few from the opening of doors as I come and go during extraction time. This can sometimes total into several dozen bees flying freely.
In my experience I have learned they will not sting during extraction (unless mashed) and that doesn't happen because all they seem to want, 'is out', so they are usually bumping the screens attempting to get out. While at the same time, outside 'free bees' are trying to get in those same screens. I also incorporate a couple fans in this set up for comfort which makes a great difference in comfortable extraction work. I really do not like to see the bees just buzzing around, trying to find their way out, as this will eventually lead to a certain death for them 'in time'. Even with the doors open, and a 'your free to go' after extraction, they concentrate their attention of the outside world an bump the screens, most never find the open doors. So; in that case, I use my bee vac to gather them and take them out for release. This is sick, easy, and effective.
With this method I have found no need for the bee suit during extraction. I hope this small bit of information helps you.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 11, 2022, 12:34:19 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 11, 2022, 12:34:19 PM
Pete, welcome to the world of beekeeping! Yes we will take those stings for sure. At least you did not have an allergic reaction. Thumbs up! Keep us updated!
Thanks,
Phillip
Thanks,
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 11, 2022, 03:31:06 PM
Post by: Lesgold on January 11, 2022, 03:31:06 PM
Poorly written Oldbeavo is my answer. Sometimes my brain thinks it knows what it wants to say but when it is actually typed on a screen, it doesn?t make any sense. It was still hot in the shed extracting in shorts and a tee shirt. The worst part was working the bees in the suit. These days I only pull 4 boxes of honey off at a time. Run 36 frames through the extractor (12 frame radial) and the job is basically done. Press the cappings, soak the strainers and I?m ready to go down to a cafe for a coffee. Repeat this every day until I?m finished. This retirement thing is a hard life. :grin: :grin: :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 11, 2022, 09:55:26 PM
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 11, 2022, 09:55:26 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on January 11, 2022, 12:34:19 PMHa, the update is that I woke up this morning and had two stings in my armpit and it was swollen.
Pete, welcome to the world of beekeeping! Yes we will take those stings for sure. At least you did not have an allergic reaction. Thumbs up! Keep us updated!
Thanks,
Phillip
Glad I got my first bee stings out of the way.
Next time I?ll do it right.
Pete.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on January 12, 2022, 05:25:55 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on January 12, 2022, 05:25:55 AM
Pete,
It is a good thing that you did swell up a little on your first stings. I was going to warn you that if you did not reach to the stings, the next time you could have a severe reaction.
By the way, bee stings actually help you. When I don?t get stung for a long time, I start having joint problems.
Jim Altmiller
It is a good thing that you did swell up a little on your first stings. I was going to warn you that if you did not reach to the stings, the next time you could have a severe reaction.
By the way, bee stings actually help you. When I don?t get stung for a long time, I start having joint problems.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 12, 2022, 06:16:24 AM
Post by: Pittwater Pete on January 12, 2022, 06:16:24 AM
I hope the stings help my hip pain a bit. Then I?ll want to get stung every week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on January 12, 2022, 08:38:27 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on January 12, 2022, 08:38:27 AM
One of the reasons that I started beekeeping was shoulder pain in my left arm. I had had problems with it for years. Within 6 months it was gone. My second year I was very good at inspecting my two hives without getting stung. By winter, my right shoulder was hurting. The following year I had twelve hives and didn?t have any problems for many years. Now I usually start having problems, usually by late winter, when I don?t get stung for about 4 months.
Stings really do help. I know of two women that get stung every other day to stay functional. One is bed ridden, severe fiber myalgia, after not being stung for a week. She has been using bees for over 30 years. The other woman had stage four cancer and was allergic to bees and started beekeeping as a suicide attempt and they he saved her life. That was about fifteen years ago. She now teaches apitherapy.
Jim Altmiller
Stings really do help. I know of two women that get stung every other day to stay functional. One is bed ridden, severe fiber myalgia, after not being stung for a week. She has been using bees for over 30 years. The other woman had stage four cancer and was allergic to bees and started beekeeping as a suicide attempt and they he saved her life. That was about fifteen years ago. She now teaches apitherapy.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on January 12, 2022, 01:24:56 PM
Post by: NigelP on January 12, 2022, 01:24:56 PM
Being stung by bees over many years has not prevented me from developing osteoarthritis in a few finger joints.
Science suggests bee stings may help prevent it developing further.
They are not a miracle cure.
Science suggests bee stings may help prevent it developing further.
They are not a miracle cure.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on January 12, 2022, 07:58:07 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on January 12, 2022, 07:58:07 PM
Popped the lids on some colonies and put on some emergency feed 'Mountain Camp sugar".
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on January 12, 2022, 08:09:47 PM
Post by: The15thMember on January 12, 2022, 08:09:47 PM
I looked at everyone's bottom board inserts and peeked in to see which hives had eaten the emergency sugar balls I gave them. All the hives had eaten one ball and had one left. Well actually, I think the one hive wasn't eating it, just dumping the sugar out front. We could get accumulating snow this weekend, so I wanted to make sure everyone looked okay before they were snowed under.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 12, 2022, 08:21:55 PM
Post by: Lesgold on January 12, 2022, 08:21:55 PM
Pulled honey off the last of my hives an hour ago. Will extract after lunch and then the messy cleanup begins. Another 4 weeks or so and ground hog day comes around again.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on January 17, 2022, 01:54:05 AM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on January 17, 2022, 01:54:05 AM
Doing in my beeyards today? A weather system swing came through over past 3-5 days. These winter swings in this area are caused by - chinook winds.
Temperature has been in -35 deg Celsius range since november. After a 24-30 hour swing it was a warm +5 deg Celsius.
The bees have been confined by the bitter cold temperatures since early November. Today I walked about and observed scattered plastering of bee poop in snow across the yards. As they were able to get out to vent and get some basic housecleaning done. This gave me a sense of how they have been coping with the cold winter .. thus far. Only 4 more months to go.
+2 degC today and falling. Chinook is done, temperature is dropping and the forecast trending to -26 degC by tomorrow night.
Fun times.
Temperature has been in -35 deg Celsius range since november. After a 24-30 hour swing it was a warm +5 deg Celsius.
The bees have been confined by the bitter cold temperatures since early November. Today I walked about and observed scattered plastering of bee poop in snow across the yards. As they were able to get out to vent and get some basic housecleaning done. This gave me a sense of how they have been coping with the cold winter .. thus far. Only 4 more months to go.
+2 degC today and falling. Chinook is done, temperature is dropping and the forecast trending to -26 degC by tomorrow night.
Fun times.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 17, 2022, 10:07:01 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 17, 2022, 10:07:01 AM
Goodness that?s cold. Mr HoneyPump, their has been a good bit of talk lately about hive bodies built from insulated materials. You, living and keeping bees in an extreme winter climate, will be the man to ask. Do you see a need for these new type insulated hives? Have you tried them? If so, have you noticed a substantial advantage in using them, (in relation to your weather)?
Thanks,
Phillip
Thanks,
Phillip
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on January 17, 2022, 11:01:13 AM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on January 17, 2022, 11:01:13 AM
I do have a few Lyson 6F boxes. They are OK. There are some local hobbyists who have 10F poly hives and they like them. The bees definitely have an easier time maintaining their climate inside, year-round, and do well in them.
For me, there is no substitute for the strength and durability of wood. Which is important when handling, moving, stacking with machinery (trucks, fork truck, and lifts). , and bears. Drop a poly box of bees and honey it chatters, blows apart, not salvageable, complete loss. Drop a wood box and can just pickup, restack, add a nail or screw and carry on. Bears rip into and destroy the poly effortlessly. Wood, they have to really work at it and usually resort to tipping the hive and rolling the boxes around until the frames fall out. Wood boxes survive bears and people. Poly do not.
For me, there is no substitute for the strength and durability of wood. Which is important when handling, moving, stacking with machinery (trucks, fork truck, and lifts). , and bears. Drop a poly box of bees and honey it chatters, blows apart, not salvageable, complete loss. Drop a wood box and can just pickup, restack, add a nail or screw and carry on. Bears rip into and destroy the poly effortlessly. Wood, they have to really work at it and usually resort to tipping the hive and rolling the boxes around until the frames fall out. Wood boxes survive bears and people. Poly do not.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on January 17, 2022, 05:33:17 PM
Post by: Oldbeavo on January 17, 2022, 05:33:17 PM
There is a Chinese company making an insulated plastic hive, basically a plastic outside with insulation in the cavity
They have an outlet/ factory in Australia.
We are at present trialing a smart base that sends hive weight to your phone. Also has motion detector that send an alarm if the hive is moved.
https://claytonplastics.com.au/product-category/bee-hives/
They are pretty reasonably priced.
They have an outlet/ factory in Australia.
We are at present trialing a smart base that sends hive weight to your phone. Also has motion detector that send an alarm if the hive is moved.
https://claytonplastics.com.au/product-category/bee-hives/
They are pretty reasonably priced.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 17, 2022, 09:59:12 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 17, 2022, 09:59:12 PM
Thanks Mr HonePump. From a far Northern location and your first hand experiance, it is good to know the hardy wood box is still a good way to go.
Phillip
Thanks for your input as well Oldbeavo.
Phillip
Thanks for your input as well Oldbeavo.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 17, 2022, 10:25:44 PM
Post by: Lesgold on January 17, 2022, 10:25:44 PM
HoneyPump you do get some cold weather up there. I can?t even comprehend those sorts of temperatures. I?m amazed that you can even keep bees in that sort of climate. Your season must be short and very productive. I?d be interested in hearing about it. How long is your season and what?s the average return (in weight) from a hive in your location? I reckon the girls must go really hard when the opportunity arises. In fact it could be an interesting discussion thread. We have beekeepers from all over the world with each area having its own specific seasons, nectar bearing plants etc. It would be really interesting to hear how others run their operations (from the hobby beekeeper with one hive right through to the big boys with thousands of hives).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on January 18, 2022, 11:57:24 AM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on January 18, 2022, 11:57:24 AM
I will let Ben / Jim contemplate how to best structure such a thread. I could address questions and info then. Summary here would be, short very intense growing season, 200-340 lbs (90-250 Kg) of honey per hive.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 18, 2022, 03:23:32 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 18, 2022, 03:23:32 PM
Thanks Lesgold and TheHoneyPump. Checkout the new topic
Beekeeping in Your Area Per your request.
Phillip
Beekeeping in Your Area Per your request.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 12, 2022, 05:17:29 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 12, 2022, 05:17:29 PM
Back into the bees again. Frames are full of capped honey and ready to be taken off. I?ll be extracting in a couple of hours.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 12, 2022, 06:49:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 12, 2022, 06:49:50 PM
I went up to the bees today to check on everyone and to prep for my first OAV treatment, which I have planned for Monday. I found one hive being robbed out and opened them up to find all the residents dead on the bottom board and a good bit of dysentery on the frames. My upcoming week is swamped, but I may try and take a look at for nosema with the microscope.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 12, 2022, 07:29:54 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 12, 2022, 07:29:54 PM
Sorry to hear that Member. It?s always a sad event to lose a hive to robbing. Hopefully spring will bring a good flowering season for you and alleviate this type of problem. I just pulled four boxes of honey ready for extracting. It still amazes me that a hive can have no honey ready for robbing and it?s next door neighbour is absolutely full of capped honey. Checked 5 hives and two of them did not have any capped honey. The other three gave me 36 frames.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 12, 2022, 10:36:27 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 12, 2022, 10:36:27 PM
Yesterday, I added empty frames on each side of the broodnests in my long hives.
I moved the untouched honey frames to the entrances, removing the honey barriers to the queens expanding their nests.
Lastly I repaired one of my swarm boxes and cleaned it out for putting up next week.
I moved the untouched honey frames to the entrances, removing the honey barriers to the queens expanding their nests.
Lastly I repaired one of my swarm boxes and cleaned it out for putting up next week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 14, 2022, 03:38:22 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 14, 2022, 03:38:22 PM
Back into the bees again today. Will grab another 4 boxes of honey and then extract them. It?s a bit like ground hog day every day at the moment.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on February 14, 2022, 09:08:50 PM
Post by: rast on February 14, 2022, 09:08:50 PM
4th OAV treatment today, rebated my russian scion in my bee yard. Hung two swarm traps Saturday.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 21, 2022, 04:37:42 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 21, 2022, 04:37:42 PM
Just about to begin the most exciting aspect of beekeeping. Cleaning the extractor, uncapping tank, mopping the floor etc. Can?t wait to get started. Really pumped to get this process underway. Lol
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FloridaGardener on February 22, 2022, 05:44:41 PM
Post by: FloridaGardener on February 22, 2022, 05:44:41 PM
Caroline Laurel flow has just started. Not full-on yet. Saw one beautiful new bar of ice-white wax with 30% drone comb... no pollen tracks at all. Queenie didn't get to it yet.
Added some empty frames to expand nests, added old brood comb with capped honey for a couple hives that were short on stores from full-speed-ahead brood production. Some capped drones in all hives.
One colony has small brood nest (size of orange). She's getting old. A little techy. I added a frame of open brood. In a couple of days I will pull the queen and add more eggs, hopefully get a couple of Q cells. Should be enough local drones then to get a new queen mated. I'll follow advice from here, to keep her separated above a Snelgrove board (double screen) for the time being. She's good looking but I don't think she's got much oomph left to bail them out later.
Going to set swarm traps & bait hives this week.
Added some empty frames to expand nests, added old brood comb with capped honey for a couple hives that were short on stores from full-speed-ahead brood production. Some capped drones in all hives.
One colony has small brood nest (size of orange). She's getting old. A little techy. I added a frame of open brood. In a couple of days I will pull the queen and add more eggs, hopefully get a couple of Q cells. Should be enough local drones then to get a new queen mated. I'll follow advice from here, to keep her separated above a Snelgrove board (double screen) for the time being. She's good looking but I don't think she's got much oomph left to bail them out later.
Going to set swarm traps & bait hives this week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on February 22, 2022, 06:36:59 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on February 22, 2022, 06:36:59 PM
First off,Member sorry to hear about your loss.
The last week. Made appox. 50 splits, All on double bottom boards. Yesterday Made up 12 NUCS, to be re-queened by the said splits. Today cleaned the dead outs I starved due to all my trucks being out of service. Ill take my wifes info to heart next time. "Just go rent you a truck" Shes way smarter than me. Also this last 2 weeks I sold all my fall nucs from last year that I wanted to part with.
The last week. Made appox. 50 splits, All on double bottom boards. Yesterday Made up 12 NUCS, to be re-queened by the said splits. Today cleaned the dead outs I starved due to all my trucks being out of service. Ill take my wifes info to heart next time. "Just go rent you a truck" Shes way smarter than me. Also this last 2 weeks I sold all my fall nucs from last year that I wanted to part with.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: saltybluegrass on February 23, 2022, 02:49:43 PM
Post by: saltybluegrass on February 23, 2022, 02:49:43 PM
I lost a hive that produced 1.5 gallons of honey last year. I see no dead bodies so I think they swarmed without me seeing.
Anyway I had a super that I took off last year full of bees and laid them on the ground. They have been living in an open 10 frame box for 5 months.
I relocated them to the dead hive
Let me tell you I was attacked. They came at me in the hundreds
Lol
Hopefully they?re mean enough to last
Anyway I had a super that I took off last year full of bees and laid them on the ground. They have been living in an open 10 frame box for 5 months.
I relocated them to the dead hive
Let me tell you I was attacked. They came at me in the hundreds
Lol
Hopefully they?re mean enough to last
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: LawyerRick on February 23, 2022, 05:28:01 PM
Post by: LawyerRick on February 23, 2022, 05:28:01 PM
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on January 17, 2022, 11:01:13 AMHave you tried Technosetbee, Anel or Apimaye supers? They are much stronger than wooden ware & minimize temperature swings in the hive. I've been using these hard-shelled poly supers for 4 years & they stand up to transport etc. very well & the bees do much better in poly than wood, especially in the winter.
I do have a few Lyson 6F boxes. They are OK. There are some local hobbyists who have 10F poly hives and they like them. The bees definitely have an easier time maintaining their climate inside, year-round, and do well in them.
For me, there is no substitute for the strength and durability of wood. Which is important when handling, moving, stacking with machinery (trucks, fork truck, and lifts). , and bears. Drop a poly box of bees and honey it chatters, blows apart, not salvageable, complete loss. Drop a wood box and can just pickup, restack, add a nail or screw and carry on. Bears rip into and destroy the poly effortlessly. Wood, they have to really work at it and usually resort to tipping the hive and rolling the boxes around until the frames fall out. Wood boxes survive bears and people. Poly do not.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 23, 2022, 10:25:34 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 23, 2022, 10:25:34 PM
Just finished melting down the last of the cappings wax. Should have a bit of time off now until the next flow. It?s been quite a big year so far. Not sure what I?ll end up doing with the honey collected this season.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on February 24, 2022, 04:23:45 AM
Post by: NigelP on February 24, 2022, 04:23:45 AM
Disastrous morning!
I was lifting a bucket of freshly melted heather honey out of my honey Melter when the handle on the bucket broke. When jarred that would have fetched around $500 now all laid out over my garage floor. Thank goodness for power washers and concrete garage floors.
Never happened in 10+ years of lifting buckets of honey around, will probably never happen again!
Just as well I have another 7 buckets of heather honey to jar.
I was lifting a bucket of freshly melted heather honey out of my honey Melter when the handle on the bucket broke. When jarred that would have fetched around $500 now all laid out over my garage floor. Thank goodness for power washers and concrete garage floors.
Never happened in 10+ years of lifting buckets of honey around, will probably never happen again!
Just as well I have another 7 buckets of heather honey to jar.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 24, 2022, 11:09:36 AM
Post by: The15thMember on February 24, 2022, 11:09:36 AM
Quote from: NigelP on February 24, 2022, 04:23:45 AMOh no! That is so horrible! :sad:
Disastrous morning!
I was lifting a bucket of freshly melted heather honey out of my honey Melter when the handle on the bucket broke. When jarred that would have fetched around $500 now all laid out over my garage floor. Thank goodness for power washers and concrete garage floors.
Never happened in 10+ years of lifting buckets of honey around, will probably never happen again!
Just as well I have another 7 buckets of heather honey to jar.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: JurassicApiary on February 24, 2022, 03:36:30 PM
Post by: JurassicApiary on February 24, 2022, 03:36:30 PM
Quote from: NigelP on February 24, 2022, 04:23:45 AM
Disastrous morning!
I was lifting a bucket of freshly melted heather honey out of my honey Melter when the handle on the bucket broke. When jarred that would have fetched around $500 now all laid out over my garage floor. Thank goodness for power washers and concrete garage floors.
Never happened in 10+ years of lifting buckets of honey around, will probably never happen again!
Just as well I have another 7 buckets of heather honey to jar.
Indeed, very frustrating, Nigel; Sorry to hear. I too benefit from concrete floors in my honey house, but am thankful that I have not had this issue as of yet. I use 3-gallon buckets for most of my storage needs for ease of moving them around and less strain on my back, so the reduced wight load hopefully on the handle will prevent this from happening, but if the design/strength of the handle/bucket is manufactured in proportion to the bucket size, then the difference is moot. :tongue:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on February 24, 2022, 03:58:36 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on February 24, 2022, 03:58:36 PM
I do not know if this was a plastic bucket. Plastic buckets, with time and age can become brittle without visible notice, allowing stress points to break without warning, quicker than can be recovered.. Sorry this happened to you Nigel.. Your shared experience just might be instrumental in saving some reader, (including myself), the same grief in the future. Thanks for reporting...
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 24, 2022, 04:21:53 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 24, 2022, 04:21:53 PM
You are right Phillip. Two buckets that I was using in the last extraction cracked near where the handle attaches to the bucket. I had honey in them and was just pushing them away from the extractor so that the strainers would drain. Was lucky that the cracking did not impact the bucket itself. It was only on the moulding section near the handles. Both buckets were emptied and will end up in the recycling bin.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 24, 2022, 08:08:53 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 24, 2022, 08:08:53 PM
Just finished cleaning up the wax from last weeks extracting.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
It?s clean enough to now make some foundation over the cooler months.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
It?s clean enough to now make some foundation over the cooler months.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on February 24, 2022, 10:52:04 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on February 24, 2022, 10:52:04 PM
Good looking wax Les. That should make several sheets. You might have already said, but let me ask. Do you embed wire into your embossed wax foundation? (You have covered a lot of good ground since you have been here in the past couple of months).👍🏻🙂
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 24, 2022, 11:22:24 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 24, 2022, 11:22:24 PM
My frames are wired and I embed the foundation into them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on February 25, 2022, 11:51:21 PM
Post by: .30WCF on February 25, 2022, 11:51:21 PM
Quote from: NigelP on February 24, 2022, 04:23:45 AM5 second rule apply here?
Disastrous morning!
I was lifting a bucket of freshly melted heather honey out of my honey Melter when the handle on the bucket broke. When jarred that would have fetched around $500 now all laid out over my garage floor. Thank goodness for power washers and concrete garage floors.
Never happened in 10+ years of lifting buckets of honey around, will probably never happen again!
Just as well I have another 7 buckets of heather honey to jar.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: JurassicApiary on February 26, 2022, 06:35:21 PM
Post by: JurassicApiary on February 26, 2022, 06:35:21 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on February 25, 2022, 11:51:21 PM(https://media1.giphy.com/media/10Jpr9KSaXLchW/giphy.gif)
5 second rule apply here?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on February 26, 2022, 08:15:46 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on February 26, 2022, 08:15:46 PM
I collected Appox. 26 queen cells from my splits over double bottom boards in one yard 10 days ago. and split the ones that wernt ready to split then. they sure were today.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Also Marley practiced marking queens (using drones and next years color) she was pretty proud of herself. So was grandpa.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Also Marley practiced marking queens (using drones and next years color) she was pretty proud of herself. So was grandpa.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on February 27, 2022, 05:25:01 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on February 27, 2022, 05:25:01 PM
made up 22 mating Nucs, we will see if this works out as well as grafting. I think I like this better already because its not all going at one time and can just keep moving forward by manipulating some just hatched eggs with some nurse bees upward and rotating the dsbb. If I decide I have enough Qcs I just let splits hatch out then box them if they mate. not making starters or finishers.IDK well see what the queens lay like when they emerge. My first 2 cells from from a supercedure colony made up 27 Jan are both laying well. I was worried about a lack of drones but figured if they were making the cells there must be enough drones.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on February 28, 2022, 06:53:47 AM
Post by: jtcmedic on February 28, 2022, 06:53:47 AM
Did 12 splits yesterday and feed every one today. They were grumpy with a front moving in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on March 01, 2022, 04:04:21 AM
Post by: NigelP on March 01, 2022, 04:04:21 AM
Got a call out to feral colony in a tree that had come down in the storms. They were logging it and cut clean through the nest. As it was raining heavily and frost forecast for the night I went and recovered as many soggy cold shivering bees as I could, Ddin't spot the queen but wasn't looking too hard, more get them inside somewhere warm and give them a chance to survive.
A night in front of the fire seems to have done the trick.....
(https://i.ibb.co/64DXkG6/treesmall.jpg)
A night in front of the fire seems to have done the trick.....
(https://i.ibb.co/64DXkG6/treesmall.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 01, 2022, 11:01:11 AM
Post by: The15thMember on March 01, 2022, 11:01:11 AM
Quote from: NigelP on March 01, 2022, 04:04:21 AMAwww, poor things. I see pictures on my sister's goat forum all the time of people bringing cold and wet baby animals in to warm up in front of the fire, but this is the first time I've ever seen it done with bees! :happy:
Got a call out to feral colony in a tree that had come down in the storms. They were logging it and cut clean through the nest. As it was raining heavily and frost forecast for the night I went and recovered as many soggy cold shivering bees as I could, Ddin't spot the queen but wasn't looking too hard, more get them inside somewhere warm and give them a chance to survive.
A night in front of the fire seems to have done the trick.....
(https://i.ibb.co/64DXkG6/treesmall.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on March 01, 2022, 01:19:32 PM
Post by: NigelP on March 01, 2022, 01:19:32 PM
After a cold night days was nice and warm,. Placed them in their new position and let them do their new orientation flights.
We shall see.
We shall see.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 01, 2022, 02:09:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 01, 2022, 02:09:50 PM
Today I switched out the mouse guards on my hives for normal wooden reducers, because my dumb bees decided that squeezing through the nail/tack hole in the reducer is just as easy as going in the full-sized holes, and they are knocking off their pollen pants on the way in as a result! It's not time for pollen trapping yet, ladies! :cheesy:
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on March 01, 2022, 06:15:20 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on March 01, 2022, 06:15:20 PM
Added more emergency feed to the colonies today. AS the weather is warming up a bit I also started to add pollen supplements to help with build-up. I inspected a colony a few weeks back and I decided that it was dead. I went into that colony today to recover and clean out the frames, well the bees came back to life. :happy: The old saying is true " bees aren't dead till they are warm and dead".
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on March 01, 2022, 06:17:49 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on March 01, 2022, 06:17:49 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on March 01, 2022, 11:01:11 AMGreat job well done, hope the do well for you.Quote from: NigelP on March 01, 2022, 04:04:21 AMAwww, poor things. I see pictures on my sister's goat forum all the time of people bringing cold and wet baby animals in to warm up in front of the fire, but this is the first time I've ever seen it done with bees! :happy:
Got a call out to feral colony in a tree that had come down in the storms. They were logging it and cut clean through the nest. As it was raining heavily and frost forecast for the night I went and recovered as many soggy cold shivering bees as I could, Ddin't spot the queen but wasn't looking too hard, more get them inside somewhere warm and give them a chance to survive.
A night in front of the fire seems to have done the trick.....
(https://i.ibb.co/64DXkG6/treesmall.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 04, 2022, 09:25:01 AM
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 04, 2022, 09:25:01 AM
I helped a friend inspect yesterday. And found queen cells in his hives.
I came straight home to mine. Drones were walking on the combs, and pollen and some nectar is coming in too, but no QCs yet. However, I went ahead and pulled some nucs from each of my hives to sell. We still have a month until our honey flow begins, but the bees are busting.
I came straight home to mine. Drones were walking on the combs, and pollen and some nectar is coming in too, but no QCs yet. However, I went ahead and pulled some nucs from each of my hives to sell. We still have a month until our honey flow begins, but the bees are busting.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 04, 2022, 04:22:17 PM
Post by: .30WCF on March 04, 2022, 04:22:17 PM
Cleaned up a little. Got all the wood put up and moved some HVAC mini splits I had sitting around I been needing to take to the office. Now I can get to my extra boxes easier and it makes for better pictures. Also, the wood was piled on my garden area, so that is accessible too now.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220304/774bbad6d8243b3f3cc0aecf0cdf6785.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220304/c83690bb49d12e8401a531c54dad504c.jpg)
The bees are hitting something like chickweed that sprouts out in the same areas that my clover does, maples, Bradford Pear, and my poor little peach tree that will probably get frostbitten is trying to blossom. Thankfully my pear and apple trees aren?t trying to be overachievers this year.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220304/069a18d9dfd91762e3244c4e8083d483.jpg)
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220304/774bbad6d8243b3f3cc0aecf0cdf6785.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220304/c83690bb49d12e8401a531c54dad504c.jpg)
The bees are hitting something like chickweed that sprouts out in the same areas that my clover does, maples, Bradford Pear, and my poor little peach tree that will probably get frostbitten is trying to blossom. Thankfully my pear and apple trees aren?t trying to be overachievers this year.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220304/069a18d9dfd91762e3244c4e8083d483.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 04, 2022, 07:52:40 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 04, 2022, 07:52:40 PM
I did my first inspections today. All 3 hives look good. I took off everyone's winter equipment and reversed the boxes. I was curious to see what the usurpers that took over one of my hives a few months ago were like, and they were the calmest of the bunch and had the best brood pattern, although I did see 2 bees with K wings, so I'll have to keep a mind on that. I didn't see their queen, Queen Ravenna, or Queen Persephone. I did find Queen Malore, which is not surprising as she's always easy to spot, so I did a sugar roll in her hive, and their mites were at 1.7%, so not bad. I did have to give her hive a frame of food.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 04, 2022, 08:23:52 PM
Post by: .30WCF on March 04, 2022, 08:23:52 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on March 04, 2022, 07:52:40 PMIt was kinda late when you did the OA, so it might not be a good comparison, but in years past, what would the 1.7% have been.
I did my first inspections today. All 3 hives look good. I took off everyone's winter equipment and reversed the boxes. I was curious to see what the usurpers that took over one of my hives a few months ago were like, and they were the calmest of the bunch and had the best brood pattern, although I did see 2 bees with K wings, so I'll have to keep a mind on that. I didn't see their queen, Queen Ravenna, or Queen Persephone. I did find Queen Malore, which is not surprising as she's always easy to spot, so I did a sugar roll in her hive, and their mites were at 1.7%, so not bad. I did have to give her hive a frame of food.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 04, 2022, 09:04:42 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 04, 2022, 09:04:42 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on March 04, 2022, 08:23:52 PMI know, I just really wanted to give it a try as a trial run with all the equipment. I'm planning on hitting them again when I split, possibly in conjunction with a trapping treatment, because they'll be broodless then. I had 5 hives entering last spring, and my numbers were these:
It was kinda late when you did the OA, so it might not be a good comparison, but in years past, what would the 1.7% have been.
Sugar Rolls
Nitocris: 2.8%
Berenice: 0%
Hera: 4.3%
Guinevere: 2.2%
Martha: 0%
Which averages out to 1.76%, so make of that what you will. I'll try to get rolls on the other hives next week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: loisl58 on March 08, 2022, 07:28:34 AM
Post by: loisl58 on March 08, 2022, 07:28:34 AM
Quote from: Lesgold on February 24, 2022, 08:08:53 PMWow Amazing amount of wax. I only have 2 x 31 frame long langstroth. 1 just into 3rd year & am getting a bit off them although 18 frames nectar/ honey mix. If they get capped before end pf Autumn I will have heaps.
Just finished cleaning up the wax from last weeks extracting.
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It?s clean enough to now make some foundation over the cooler months.
Other hive was a swarm Dec 10th 2021. Only on 15 frames. Funny how clean these frames are compared to older hive.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: loisl58 on March 08, 2022, 07:36:50 AM
Post by: loisl58 on March 08, 2022, 07:36:50 AM
Quote from: Bill Murray on February 26, 2022, 08:15:46 PMGreat stuff. I often wish I had someone to teach me hands on and help me straighten out mistakes. I have trouble finding my unmarked queens. And searching then handling drones onto a Queen marker is too much when doing an inspection.
I collected Appox. 26 queen cells from my splits over double bottom boards in one yard 10 days ago. and split the ones that wernt ready to split then. they sure were today.
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Also Marley practiced marking queens (using drones and next years color) she was pretty proud of herself. So was grandpa.
Any useful tips would be gratefully received.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 09, 2022, 05:05:55 PM
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 09, 2022, 05:05:55 PM
To mark our queens we use a Posca pen, lasts OK,
Find the queen and as i am right handed get her walking from left to right and rather than try to catch her i just gently pin her to the wax with my thumb and index finger and dob her on the thorax. Gentle, gentle very little pressure required. Practice on drones. Then you will be amazed where your marked drones will end up.
Pre prime the pen so the end has the ink/paint wet on the end
Find the queen and as i am right handed get her walking from left to right and rather than try to catch her i just gently pin her to the wax with my thumb and index finger and dob her on the thorax. Gentle, gentle very little pressure required. Practice on drones. Then you will be amazed where your marked drones will end up.
Pre prime the pen so the end has the ink/paint wet on the end
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 09, 2022, 09:13:16 PM
Post by: .30WCF on March 09, 2022, 09:13:16 PM
I just hit mine while they are walking around. I kinda hover with my strong hand pinky on the frame edge (think support hand shooting pool) until she stops and give her a little dab. With a primed up pen and most of the excess blotted off on something it works good. Hit and run. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220310/c0703131d69301380c65d985dfe39416.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: loisl58 on March 10, 2022, 04:41:54 AM
Post by: loisl58 on March 10, 2022, 04:41:54 AM
Quote from: .30WCF on March 09, 2022, 09:13:16 PM
I just hit mine while they are walking around. I kinda hover with my strong hand pinky on the frame edge (think support hand shooting pool) until she stops and give her a little dab. With a primed up pen and most of the excess blotted off on something it works good. Hit and run. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220310/c0703131d69301380c65d985dfe39416.jpg)
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Quote from: Oldbeavo on March 09, 2022, 05:05:55 PMThanks. Will try both. I haven't seen either of my queens, maybe both run & keep moving. Been through both hives 4 times not seeing her. 1 hive high population, other swarm caught Dec 2021 only 15 frames.
To mark our queens we use a Posca pen, lasts OK,
Find the queen and as i am right handed get her walking from left to right and rather than try to catch her i just gently pin her to the wax with my thumb and index finger and dob her on the thorax. Gentle, gentle very little pressure required. Practice on drones. Then you will be amazed where your marked drones will end up.
Pre prime the pen so the end has the ink/paint wet on the end
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 10, 2022, 08:54:07 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 10, 2022, 08:54:07 PM
Our high on Saturday is supposed to be 34F with a low of 15F! Today was almost 70F, so I figured I'd better check on the girls before it gets cold, and give them a little extra food. I found Queens Ravenna and Persephone today, and both their sugar rolls came up clean, although I didn't have quite enough sugar in Persephone's roll, so I'll probably double check them. I gave both of those hives another box, as their amount of brood basically doubled since last week. Queen Ravenna the Usurper is my new favorite! Her bees are so gentle and quiet to work, I probably wouldn't even need a smoker, and she laid 4 eggs on the frame as I was holding it! I've never seen a queen do that before, just move from one cell to the next without even acting like I was there; it was so amazing to witness!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 10, 2022, 11:00:45 PM
Post by: .30WCF on March 10, 2022, 11:00:45 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on March 10, 2022, 08:54:07 PMSounds like one of my queens that seemed on me. I?m gonna need her back.
Our high on Saturday is supposed to be 34F with a low of 15F! Today was almost 70F, so I figured I'd better check on the girls before it gets cold, and give them a little extra food. I found Queens Ravenna and Persephone today, and both their sugar rolls came up clean, although I didn't have quite enough sugar in Persephone's roll, so I'll probably double check them. I gave both of those hives another box, as their amount of brood basically doubled since last week. Queen Ravenna the Usurper is my new favorite! Her bees are so gentle and quiet to work, I probably wouldn't even need a smoker, and she laid 4 eggs on the frame as I was holding it! I've never seen a queen do that before, just move from one cell to the next without even acting like I was there; it was so amazing to witness!
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Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 11, 2022, 04:00:27 PM
Post by: .30WCF on March 11, 2022, 04:00:27 PM
Moved some stuff around, checkerboarded some boxes, put the deeps back on the bottom since they were mostly cleared out, and took a deep and split it into two nucs to raise their own queens, and left the queen in the two white mediums. Found a little virgin queen running around in the red single medium from a split a couple weeks ago. It?s gonna be cold and rainy the next couple days, but if she can make it through next week it will be in the 70s again.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220311/49324c320693bfb641a17573b55ba6d2.jpg)
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220311/49324c320693bfb641a17573b55ba6d2.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 13, 2022, 09:51:54 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 13, 2022, 09:51:54 PM
Yesterday, I finished assembling what frames I had left. Selling nucs is seriously depleting my store. Now I will have to buy more.
Meanwhile we are past our untimely late freeze, and back to the upper 60Fs. I anticipate some feral swarms after this freeze and rainy last week.
Meanwhile we are past our untimely late freeze, and back to the upper 60Fs. I anticipate some feral swarms after this freeze and rainy last week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 16, 2022, 07:29:50 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 16, 2022, 07:29:50 AM
Bob
We never sell our hardware, if you buy a nuc from us the buyer brings his box to us and we load in the 4 or 5 frames of bees.
We do this about an hour from sunset, leave the buyers hive where the nuc was to collect the field bees. Then they take it home.
We never sell our hardware, if you buy a nuc from us the buyer brings his box to us and we load in the 4 or 5 frames of bees.
We do this about an hour from sunset, leave the buyers hive where the nuc was to collect the field bees. Then they take it home.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on March 16, 2022, 10:18:37 AM
Post by: rast on March 16, 2022, 10:18:37 AM
Oldbeavo, not the norm here anymore, used to be a lot more "frame exchange" here. Way too many new beeks with no resources buying bees nowadays.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 16, 2022, 07:21:59 PM
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 16, 2022, 07:21:59 PM
Rast
We don't do a frame exchange, the price of frames is in the price. So many newby BK's frames are poorly assembled that they are liabilities when put in the hives. Top and bottom bars coming off is the main problem.
We just keep our wooden nuc box. If people want to pick up a nuc of bees we put them into a corflute nuc and charge them extra for it.
Our nucs last season were $170 in your box or $190 in a corflute nuc.
We don't do a frame exchange, the price of frames is in the price. So many newby BK's frames are poorly assembled that they are liabilities when put in the hives. Top and bottom bars coming off is the main problem.
We just keep our wooden nuc box. If people want to pick up a nuc of bees we put them into a corflute nuc and charge them extra for it.
Our nucs last season were $170 in your box or $190 in a corflute nuc.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on March 17, 2022, 11:08:50 PM
Post by: cao on March 17, 2022, 11:08:50 PM
I finally got to go through my hives today. My home yard had 22 of 29 make it through the winter. Although one is still iffy as it is very small. My out yard had 9 of 13 survive. After last summer's carnage from the SHB's, I will take those survival percentages. I saw the start of drone brood between some of the boxes. Still a couple weeks away from making any splits. There are several of the hives that I added boxes to today. Unfortunately, I saw more SHB's than I would like. Spent extra time using the hive tool on them when I had the chance. :wink:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on March 18, 2022, 01:01:44 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on March 18, 2022, 01:01:44 PM
Had a few days in the 50 to 60 range, decided to add pollen patties and feed some dry pollen sub. Poped the lids for a quick look and evaluate colonies.
No more dead outs only 4 so far.
No more dead outs only 4 so far.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 19, 2022, 06:25:13 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 19, 2022, 06:25:13 PM
It was about as nice a day as you could ask for to beekeep, 70F, sunny, and a light breeze. I redid Queen Persephone's hive's sugar roll that I didn't trust from last week, and it still came back 0%, so that's great! Ravenna's girls have 1 empty queen cup and I saw 1 walking drone, so I'll be keeping an eye out for queen cells from here on out. I also cut out their first section of capped drones, since I heard on a podcast recently that culling the first batch of drones can help with mites in the spring, so I'm giving that a try this year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FloridaGardener on March 19, 2022, 09:46:58 PM
Post by: FloridaGardener on March 19, 2022, 09:46:58 PM
Quote from: Oldbeavo on March 16, 2022, 07:21:59 PM
Rast
We don't do a frame exchange, the price of frames is in the price. So many newby BK's frames are poorly assembled that they are liabilities when put in the hives. Top and bottom bars coming off is the main problem.
We just keep our wooden nuc box. If people want to pick up a nuc of bees we put them into a corflute nuc and charge them extra for it.
Our nucs last season were $170 in your box or $190 in a corflute nuc.
So I talked to someone on the phone responding to my ad for nucs. I love that more people are interested in BK. But it's really hard to help them, when they resist reading. 75% of people I sell nucs to don't read and learn the hive parts before buying, even tho I email them what they need to bring, to pic up a nuc. They end up having to borrow some of my equipment just to get their hive home. Once I had a girl show up with a knockoff flow hive assembled wrong, no brood frames, no entrance reducer/ratchet strap....wearing a swim top and skirt, and no veil.... but wanting a lesson on how to inspect? :shocked: I had to give extra frames to fill the box, and explain, no, you can't just turn the tap and honey comes out...you have to give the brood a place to live, to have a BK license, they must live on frames...
Some people gripe about buying a wood nuc/carry box for $25, and a strong colony or overwintered nuc for $150. Before coming out, they are emailed free online beekeeping lesson, handouts on equipment, feeding, inspecting, and hurricane proofing...but they don't want to read, they want to have it explained to them. I wish I could be as firm as you are Old Beavo, because for me, selling a nuc is many, many hours of time invested in each person.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 20, 2022, 12:36:03 AM
Post by: .30WCF on March 20, 2022, 12:36:03 AM
Quote from: FloridaGardener on March 19, 2022, 09:46:58 PM
...wearing a swim top and skirt, and no veil...
Quote from: FloridaGardener on March 19, 2022, 09:46:58 PM
selling a nuc is many, many hours of time invested
Doesn?t sound that bad to me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 20, 2022, 08:55:28 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 20, 2022, 08:55:28 AM
Don't worry FG, I quite often come in after a nuc pick up and say to my partner, there goes another nuc on a suicide mission.
Yes i did do the multi hour bees course, for no money, and no girls in swim suit tops, but now the best i do is have some foam rubber strips to block the entrance to the flow hive and some duct tape to keep the whole thing together.
Does the pet shop do puppy training, no, sells you the pup, a bag of dog food, a collar and a lead. Thankyou and whose next to buy a gold fish.
Yes i did do the multi hour bees course, for no money, and no girls in swim suit tops, but now the best i do is have some foam rubber strips to block the entrance to the flow hive and some duct tape to keep the whole thing together.
Does the pet shop do puppy training, no, sells you the pup, a bag of dog food, a collar and a lead. Thankyou and whose next to buy a gold fish.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FloridaGardener on March 20, 2022, 11:31:11 AM
Post by: FloridaGardener on March 20, 2022, 11:31:11 AM
Ha! @.30WCF - her "Fabio" boyfriend was there.
I prefer to think the bees would swarm out of the flowhive broodbox and propigate in the wild. I like to think so anyway. I've been breeding from the best feral strains from extractions & "black swamp-bee" swarms. I've rescued and/or propigated over 100 small colonies. I've never treated for mites, beyond dusting with powdered sugar one spring. So I hope they'll survive...just perhaps not with the nuc buyer.
I do have to give hats off to the 25% who actually have taken a real online or in person beekeeping class, who knows WHY I can assure them there is a laying queen, and shows a true interest in the amazing science of bees.
And to keep up with the original thread --- what I just did in the beeyard -- a friend who does extractions just pulled a colony out of a soffit with 7 queens, 6 virgins. He couldn't use them all so he gave me two and I made up more 3-frame nucs. The temps are 50 at night and 75 daytime, I sealed up the screened bottoms and they should be warm enough to make it if the queens don't get disoriented/lost. It's swarm season here.
I prefer to think the bees would swarm out of the flowhive broodbox and propigate in the wild. I like to think so anyway. I've been breeding from the best feral strains from extractions & "black swamp-bee" swarms. I've rescued and/or propigated over 100 small colonies. I've never treated for mites, beyond dusting with powdered sugar one spring. So I hope they'll survive...just perhaps not with the nuc buyer.
I do have to give hats off to the 25% who actually have taken a real online or in person beekeeping class, who knows WHY I can assure them there is a laying queen, and shows a true interest in the amazing science of bees.
And to keep up with the original thread --- what I just did in the beeyard -- a friend who does extractions just pulled a colony out of a soffit with 7 queens, 6 virgins. He couldn't use them all so he gave me two and I made up more 3-frame nucs. The temps are 50 at night and 75 daytime, I sealed up the screened bottoms and they should be warm enough to make it if the queens don't get disoriented/lost. It's swarm season here.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 21, 2022, 07:11:57 PM
Post by: .30WCF on March 21, 2022, 07:11:57 PM
Moved some bees around
Worked on painting and rotating out some of the boxes that need paint
Added two more supers on a couple hives
Went to the store and got a yellow paint pen, some OA and 50 frames and plastic foundation.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220321/2860e923cb4d35c5266b120bd3e89c2a.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220321/2af7ab6a48d0c90ffed71e75e7b47418.jpg)
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Worked on painting and rotating out some of the boxes that need paint
Added two more supers on a couple hives
Went to the store and got a yellow paint pen, some OA and 50 frames and plastic foundation.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220321/2860e923cb4d35c5266b120bd3e89c2a.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220321/2af7ab6a48d0c90ffed71e75e7b47418.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 24, 2022, 07:07:48 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 24, 2022, 07:07:48 PM
I cut out some more drones today, because I noticed that the bees redrew the drone comb I cut out previously as worker comb. It's leading me to wonder if the queens are only laying as many drones as they are because the some of the comb is drone-sized cells that had been filled with their winter stores of honey. We'll see how they redraw these sections.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 24, 2022, 10:02:44 PM
Post by: .30WCF on March 24, 2022, 10:02:44 PM
Built frames today. No fancy jig, but 10 frames with foundation in under 10 minutes isn?t a bad pace for the amount of hives I have.
https://youtu.be/NR7wKAxvNVk
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https://youtu.be/NR7wKAxvNVk
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 24, 2022, 11:26:40 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 24, 2022, 11:26:40 PM
I hived a swarm today. Dumb bees.
Smaller than a volleyball ball, bigger than a soft ball.
I baited a box and put it against them. Do they go in? No.
I shook them in the next day. Do they stay? No.
The day afterwards, they leave.
They perch on the oak tree limb for another two days, through wind, and cold, and rain. They scoff at my box.
I brushed them in the box again today, 5 days after they first swarmed, and added some syrup. Will they stay? Who knows? The bees will do what the bees want to do.
Smaller than a volleyball ball, bigger than a soft ball.
I baited a box and put it against them. Do they go in? No.
I shook them in the next day. Do they stay? No.
The day afterwards, they leave.
They perch on the oak tree limb for another two days, through wind, and cold, and rain. They scoff at my box.
I brushed them in the box again today, 5 days after they first swarmed, and added some syrup. Will they stay? Who knows? The bees will do what the bees want to do.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on March 24, 2022, 11:32:40 PM
Post by: .30WCF on March 24, 2022, 11:32:40 PM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on March 24, 2022, 11:26:40 PMDid you give them a frame of larvae?
I hived a swarm today. Dumb bees.
Smaller than a volleyball ball, bigger than a soft ball.
I baited a box and put it against them. Do they go in? No.
I shook them in the next day. Do they stay? No.
The day afterwards, they leave.
They perch on the oak tree limb for another two days, through wind, and cold, and rain. They scoff at my box.
I brushed them in the box again today, 5 days after they first swarmed, and added some syrup. Will they stay? Who knows? The bees will do what the bees want to do.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 24, 2022, 11:59:15 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 24, 2022, 11:59:15 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on March 24, 2022, 11:32:40 PMAnimated 30 is right, that will make them stay. They can't resist those cute hungry babies. :grin:
Did you give them a frame of larvae?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on March 25, 2022, 05:51:59 AM
Post by: NigelP on March 25, 2022, 05:51:59 AM
First decent spring weather in the UK. It got above 10C!
Carried out first inspections of the year and so far all is looking good. All hives examined have laying queens and lots of pollen and stores. Gave them all a nice clean floor, although most had cleared away their winter dead bees. The only one nuc that didn't make it was the bees I had rescued from a fallen tree, they were queenless. So threw out and they have now amalgamated with the hive next door.
Carried out first inspections of the year and so far all is looking good. All hives examined have laying queens and lots of pollen and stores. Gave them all a nice clean floor, although most had cleared away their winter dead bees. The only one nuc that didn't make it was the bees I had rescued from a fallen tree, they were queenless. So threw out and they have now amalgamated with the hive next door.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 25, 2022, 08:39:49 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on March 25, 2022, 08:39:49 AM
Bob
A frame of open brood will stick them for sure but if i don't have access to one then as long as they have some honey in a frame in the box you put them in, then i will just leave them locked in for a few days. Most of the time they get the idea.
If they are a big swarm that i don't want to lock up then as soon as i open the hive i turn the garden sprinkler on them till dark. They won't leave if they think its raining outside. Usually by the next day they are OK.
A frame of open brood will stick them for sure but if i don't have access to one then as long as they have some honey in a frame in the box you put them in, then i will just leave them locked in for a few days. Most of the time they get the idea.
If they are a big swarm that i don't want to lock up then as soon as i open the hive i turn the garden sprinkler on them till dark. They won't leave if they think its raining outside. Usually by the next day they are OK.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 26, 2022, 10:08:38 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 26, 2022, 10:08:38 PM
Thanks for the brood reminder for keeping the swarm hived. I will do that next time.
Regardless, they took to the box the second time I shook them in.
Regardless, they took to the box the second time I shook them in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 02, 2022, 10:24:21 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 02, 2022, 10:24:21 PM
Had a couple hives with capped queen cells today. Found the queen in one and she was completely shrunken down. I tore down all but two cells and tried to pick up the queen. She flew off and hovered around me for a good 30 seconds checking me out. She finally landed on the hive stand, then she got the flat side of the hive tool. Not sure how that will work out, but they can?t swarm if they don?t have a queen. Fingers crossed.
Did it again to the second hive that was ready to swarm.
Pushed the queens down in three of the bigger hives and added queen excluders to clear the brood in preparation for the honey flow.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220403/ce1f8c112ee376196d17b88a67ad10d4.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220403/08cd98e5851fefdabb28ea41f6b2c590.jpg)
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Did it again to the second hive that was ready to swarm.
Pushed the queens down in three of the bigger hives and added queen excluders to clear the brood in preparation for the honey flow.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220403/ce1f8c112ee376196d17b88a67ad10d4.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220403/08cd98e5851fefdabb28ea41f6b2c590.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 03, 2022, 05:48:57 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 03, 2022, 05:48:57 AM
30,
Did you leave a queen cell in that hive or are you try to make it queen less for the honey flow?
It sounds like that was a virgin queen. If the queen cells were capped, it probably was.
Jim Altmiller
Did you leave a queen cell in that hive or are you try to make it queen less for the honey flow?
It sounds like that was a virgin queen. If the queen cells were capped, it probably was.
Jim Altmiller
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 03, 2022, 10:42:59 AM
Post by: .30WCF on April 03, 2022, 10:42:59 AM
The one that flew around me and was so small was a very recognizable, dark colored queen with white paint on her back. She was from a late summer split last year. Both queens I smashed were marked.
I knocked down about 15 capped cells. I left 2 in the first hive, and one in the second hive.
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I knocked down about 15 capped cells. I left 2 in the first hive, and one in the second hive.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 03, 2022, 05:58:04 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 03, 2022, 05:58:04 PM
My smallest hive, Queen Malore's, finally got their 3rd medium yesterday. They were low on stores, and their babies looked a little hungry even, so I gave them some drawn frames with honey left over from last year. Queen Persephone's hive has a queen cup built and so does Ravenna's, and both of them have a lot of drones on the way, so I'll be really checking for queen cells next week. Also, Queen Ravenna's sugar roll came back 0 again, and that was out of 900 bees! (The bees were very pourable yesterday.)
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on April 03, 2022, 06:30:53 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on April 03, 2022, 06:30:53 PM
Early drone factory.
Single deep box with drone laying queen and her colony placed with an upper entrance above a queen excluder on top of a big double deep queenrite colony.
Why? The drone layer has genetics I want to continue propagating, I need drones for upcoming queen rearing operation, and it is practically impossible to get a normal hive to make drones when still have below zero temperatures and a snowy landscape.
The colony below will push up nurse bees and resources to the drone brood above. The drones will be able to get out of the upper entrance when they mature.
Eventually the queen-rite hive should kill the drone layer queen above. (Or I will). In the meantime she may get 3 to 7 frames of drones made, before the hive cuts them back. This could be a welcomed head start on mataung some queens in May.
Not my goto method, though it does work well when presented the condition and it is recognized as a potential opportunity rather than a loss.
Single deep box with drone laying queen and her colony placed with an upper entrance above a queen excluder on top of a big double deep queenrite colony.
Why? The drone layer has genetics I want to continue propagating, I need drones for upcoming queen rearing operation, and it is practically impossible to get a normal hive to make drones when still have below zero temperatures and a snowy landscape.
The colony below will push up nurse bees and resources to the drone brood above. The drones will be able to get out of the upper entrance when they mature.
Eventually the queen-rite hive should kill the drone layer queen above. (Or I will). In the meantime she may get 3 to 7 frames of drones made, before the hive cuts them back. This could be a welcomed head start on mataung some queens in May.
Not my goto method, though it does work well when presented the condition and it is recognized as a potential opportunity rather than a loss.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 03, 2022, 06:58:59 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 03, 2022, 06:58:59 PM
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on April 03, 2022, 06:30:53 PMWow! That's genius! Amazing the sorts of creative approaches the beekeeper needs to take in a harsh climate like yours.
Early drone factory.
Single deep box with drone laying queen and her colony placed with an upper entrance above a queen excluder on top of a big double deep queenrite colony.
Why? The drone layer has genetics I want to continue propagating, I need drones for upcoming queen rearing operation, and it is practically impossible to get a normal hive to make drones when still have below zero temperatures and a snowy landscape.
The colony below will push up nurse bees and resources to the drone brood above. The drones will be able to get out of the upper entrance when they mature.
Eventually the queen-rite hive should kill the drone layer queen above. (Or I will). In the meantime she may get 3 to 7 frames of drones made, before the hive cuts them back. This could be a welcomed head start on mataung some queens in May.
Not my goto method, though it does work well when presented the condition and it is recognized as a potential opportunity rather than a loss.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 03, 2022, 09:31:50 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 03, 2022, 09:31:50 PM
1. I checked all the nucs I made up in March. Every one has produced a queen from the QCs, they have all mated, and are laying well.
2. I thought I was seeing that beautiful, busy, airial dance of bees around the hives yesterday, finally indicating the beginning of our nectar flow, but they slowed down again today. There is still no new comb being built when I checked them this week (today).
2. I thought I was seeing that beautiful, busy, airial dance of bees around the hives yesterday, finally indicating the beginning of our nectar flow, but they slowed down again today. There is still no new comb being built when I checked them this week (today).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on April 04, 2022, 01:52:02 AM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on April 04, 2022, 01:52:02 AM
added 2 gals syrup to all colonies today.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 04, 2022, 11:05:49 AM
Post by: The15thMember on April 04, 2022, 11:05:49 AM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on April 03, 2022, 09:31:50 PMOur nectar flow has been slow to come in too, probably due to a late cold snap we just had that killed all the blossoms on the flowering trees. I only have very slow comb building right now.
2. I thought I was seeing that beautiful, busy, airial dance of bees around the hives yesterday, finally indicating the beginning of our nectar flow, but they slowed down again today. There is still no new comb being built when I checked them this week (today).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on April 07, 2022, 06:03:27 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on April 07, 2022, 06:03:27 AM
On the other side of the world and down the bottom we are preparing for winter. Today we put bee escapes/clearer boards under the supers.
The hive will be left as a full depth brood box, QX and an Ideal of honey to support them over winter. We normally winter with a full depth super with 5 frames of honey.
So we are trying the ideals to pack them down into a smaller space.
The hive will be left as a full depth brood box, QX and an Ideal of honey to support them over winter. We normally winter with a full depth super with 5 frames of honey.
So we are trying the ideals to pack them down into a smaller space.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2022, 02:20:32 AM
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2022, 02:20:32 AM
Caught a swarm in my swarm tree.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/bec824a71d392be694da902487543392.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/d37c6b0702eba8d4c77723fd28a5caa7.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/6793196aeb3d9e80a8f0e9b19344b833.jpg)
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/bec824a71d392be694da902487543392.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/d37c6b0702eba8d4c77723fd28a5caa7.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/6793196aeb3d9e80a8f0e9b19344b833.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 11, 2022, 06:41:47 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 11, 2022, 06:41:47 AM
Quote from: Oldbeavo on April 07, 2022, 06:03:27 AMWhy are you putting a qx under the super? If the bees have to move up into the super, they will have to leave the queen behind to freeze and die. We never leave a qx on during the winter.
On the other side of the world and down the bottom we are preparing for winter. Today we put bee escapes/clearer boards under the supers.
The hive will be left as a full depth brood box, QX and an Ideal of honey to support them over winter. We normally winter with a full depth super with 5 frames of honey.
So we are trying the ideals to pack them down into a smaller space.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on April 11, 2022, 07:43:29 AM
Post by: NigelP on April 11, 2022, 07:43:29 AM
Spring has finally arrived in the North of England, Blossom everywhere and bees working the willow pollen hard. No nectar at the moment as been far too cold. Hopefully warming up a bit now.
(https://i.ibb.co/59v4kww/beeonwillowpollen3.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/59v4kww/beeonwillowpollen3.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2022, 06:31:50 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2022, 06:31:50 PM
Not what did I do today, but what am I fixin to do.
Bee tree strikes again with a decent size swarm.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/472080a4e6705408ebb8aaf256e0569f.jpg)
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Bee tree strikes again with a decent size swarm.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/472080a4e6705408ebb8aaf256e0569f.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 11, 2022, 08:00:37 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 11, 2022, 08:00:37 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on April 11, 2022, 06:31:50 PMI've got to do some maintenance on my swarm tree. A vine has taken over a section of it and it was a pain to deal with last year. I kept saying over the winter I should clean up around it, and now here it is April and I still haven't done it.
Not what did I do today, but what am I fixin to do.
Bee tree strikes again with a decent size swarm.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/472080a4e6705408ebb8aaf256e0569f.jpg)
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Queen Ravenna the Usurper's hive is starting to really think about swarming. No active queen cells yet, but 8 cups built and they are starting to backfill the brood nest. I'll split them the next time I inspect them. All my hives are low on stores for this time of year. We keep having cold snaps that set the flowers back. If the weather wasn't going to be nice for the foreseeable future, I'd have to give them all some food.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2022, 08:51:44 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2022, 08:51:44 PM
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220412/2b1d04501a350fabc8155992f9521821.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/0b0d03fa1d6ec104fe434f9ff00e1b8d.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/5bc5bf923a8be983dcff499a2e0e6da0.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/0637f6fe6a5f3079995b3879382c6874.jpg)
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/0b0d03fa1d6ec104fe434f9ff00e1b8d.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/5bc5bf923a8be983dcff499a2e0e6da0.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220411/0637f6fe6a5f3079995b3879382c6874.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on April 12, 2022, 01:52:09 AM
Post by: Lesgold on April 12, 2022, 01:52:09 AM
Looks like my winter beekeeping is just about to start.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
The bees are bringing in a lot of pollen which means the queens are getting excited. Time to make an inspection before this flow starts.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
The bees are bringing in a lot of pollen which means the queens are getting excited. Time to make an inspection before this flow starts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on April 12, 2022, 05:49:11 PM
Post by: Oldbeavo on April 12, 2022, 05:49:11 PM
Lesgold
Where are you in Australia? and what is the tree in the picture that is starting to flower?
Where are you in Australia? and what is the tree in the picture that is starting to flower?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on April 12, 2022, 06:21:14 PM
Post by: Lesgold on April 12, 2022, 06:21:14 PM
Hi Oldbeavo
I?m one the south coast of NSW. It?s a spotted gum. They flower about every 4 years. They produce an outstanding quality pollen and a beautiful honey. The trees will start releasing nectar when the nights get cold. The flow should last through until spring. I?ve actually enjoyed having a bit of a rest from the bees but unfortunately it will start ramping up in about a month. Looks like it will end up being one of those seasons where honey production is going to be quite good.
I?m one the south coast of NSW. It?s a spotted gum. They flower about every 4 years. They produce an outstanding quality pollen and a beautiful honey. The trees will start releasing nectar when the nights get cold. The flow should last through until spring. I?ve actually enjoyed having a bit of a rest from the bees but unfortunately it will start ramping up in about a month. Looks like it will end up being one of those seasons where honey production is going to be quite good.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 13, 2022, 04:16:38 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 13, 2022, 04:16:38 PM
Can?t get them in the box, cant shake em out.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220413/9c5abb66cd1f22b6f9a4562d59efdcbe.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220413/49f211d6558e80fca47d68e6a267812f.jpg)
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220413/9c5abb66cd1f22b6f9a4562d59efdcbe.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220413/49f211d6558e80fca47d68e6a267812f.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220413/b048514b78e71b054d410baa1f05a410.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on April 13, 2022, 10:06:14 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on April 13, 2022, 10:06:14 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on April 13, 2022, 04:16:38 PM
Can?t get them in the box, cant shake em out.
Put a piece of brood comb in a bucket or a frame of brood comb next to the swarm, the queen and workers will walk onto it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 13, 2022, 10:07:30 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 13, 2022, 10:07:30 PM
30 I?ll give you an A+ for effort! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 13, 2022, 10:12:53 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 13, 2022, 10:12:53 PM
They flew off while I was raising up the brood frame. Gone.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 13, 2022, 10:19:00 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 13, 2022, 10:19:00 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on April 13, 2022, 10:12:53 PMOh! So close! And of course they couldn't have just gone for the box on the low stand!
They flew off while I was raising up the brood frame. Gone.
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Quote from: Ben Framed on April 13, 2022, 10:07:30 PMI agree, I couldn't even have attempted to do anything with a swarm that high. I would have been calling our tree guy who is also a beekeeper for help with that one.
30 I?ll give you an A+ for effort! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on April 16, 2022, 02:15:16 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on April 16, 2022, 02:15:16 PM
Checked all colonies after storms and wind to make sure lids and feed buckets were still on.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 17, 2022, 06:51:14 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 17, 2022, 06:51:14 PM
We had a late freeze at the end of March which killed all the tulip poplar flowers. Yesterday I found the bees still testy, making working them unpleasant. Last year by this time I was barehanding the frames. I wonder if it is the season, or the fact that they are full of bees with little new comb, or picking up some defensive genetics from somewhere near, or just me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on April 17, 2022, 09:18:56 PM
Post by: Lesgold on April 17, 2022, 09:18:56 PM
Made a quick check on the honey situation in 5 of my hives. A little bit of nectar is starting to come in. Heaps of pollen entering the hives and the queens have started laying well. Hive bee numbers are increasing again in preparation for the flow. Good to see at this time of year. Still heaps of drones present with drone cells in reasonable numbers. Looks like another extraction coming in about a month. With winter coming soon, overnight temps have dropped to about 53 degrees with daytimes rising to around 73. Just enough time for a bit of a holiday before the action starts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 18, 2022, 12:44:22 AM
Post by: .30WCF on April 18, 2022, 12:44:22 AM
New queens are starting to lay. Frames are filling with nectar and some beginning to be capped.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Rise and Shine on April 18, 2022, 07:32:36 PM
Post by: Rise and Shine on April 18, 2022, 07:32:36 PM
Responding for Sunday (yesterday). I had installed my bee package last Wednesday afternoon. The past week we have had cooler temperatures in the Puget Sound area, so I waited until it was sunny in the afternoon on Sunday and checked to make sure the queen was released from the cage and that the sugar syrup and pollen patties were okay. The queen had been released and I was very careful with moving the frames back in place as I noticed festooning and didn?t want to disturb their work. I sat and observed them for about two hours. Lots of activity. Some orientation flights and many bees coming back to the hive with pollen :). I?m very relieved as I ?think? this indicates they are building out the frames and preparing to feed? Today is cold, wet and breezy so I just see a random bee occasionally return to the hive. I will wait for warmer weather later this week to go back in and see if the Queen has started to lay eggs.
Questions:
Is it okay to break a festoon to look at the frames more closely?
I noticed them cleaning out some dead bees and a few partially dead bees (still moving a bit on the ground after being discarded). Is it a problem seeing them kick out ?sickly? bees?
Thank you!
Questions:
Is it okay to break a festoon to look at the frames more closely?
I noticed them cleaning out some dead bees and a few partially dead bees (still moving a bit on the ground after being discarded). Is it a problem seeing them kick out ?sickly? bees?
Thank you!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 18, 2022, 08:17:00 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 18, 2022, 08:17:00 PM
Quote from: Rise and Shine on April 18, 2022, 07:32:36 PMYes, they will get right back to work when you put the frame back. I usually try to not jostle them too much, just so the bees don't fall off the frame, but that's only from common courtesy. :smile:
Questions:
Is it okay to break a festoon to look at the frames more closely?
Quote from: Rise and Shine on April 18, 2022, 07:32:36 PMCleaning out the dead or dying bees is a normal and important part of hive life, as it helps prevent the spread of diseases in the hive. It's something you'll see frequently, even more so in the summer months when the bees' lives are shortest. You may also eventually see them carry out aborted pupae, which is also normal as long as it's only a few.
I noticed them cleaning out some dead bees and a few partially dead bees (still moving a bit on the ground after being discarded). Is it a problem seeing them kick out ?sickly? bees?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 19, 2022, 04:00:06 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 19, 2022, 04:00:06 PM
More like "What did I NOT do in my bee yard today?" I was planning on splitting today, but it turned out to be only in the mid-50's F and extremely windy. I guess I'll have to wait until Thursday. Hopefully they don't swarm on me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 21, 2022, 07:46:51 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 21, 2022, 07:46:51 PM
I was able to split Queen Ravenna's hive today. My hives have like no nectar coming in still. We've got trees blooming, but they mustn't be producing much nectar. Normally we get a decent flow off of the cherries, but not this year I guess. I fed the split the last of my leftover honey frames from last year. If the other hives need food, I'll have to make syrup, which I have never had to do this late in the year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 22, 2022, 07:26:32 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 22, 2022, 07:26:32 PM
I split Queen Persephone's hive today, after finding a charged queen cell amongst their many queen cups. I was thinking about doing it today anyway, so this just confirmed it. I'll be feeding both halves of the split and Queen Malore's hive 1:1 syrup, because they have eaten almost all the honey I gave them, and there is none to speak of coming in. Is anyone else having their spring flow fall through?
I also beat my previous record for "weirdest place to get stung". As I was cleaning up in the bee yard, I had a bee get tangled in my hair and sting me on the ear lobe. :shocked:
I also beat my previous record for "weirdest place to get stung". As I was cleaning up in the bee yard, I had a bee get tangled in my hair and sting me on the ear lobe. :shocked:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Rise and Shine on April 23, 2022, 01:05:46 AM
Post by: Rise and Shine on April 23, 2022, 01:05:46 AM
Quote from: The15thMember on April 21, 2022, 07:46:51 PM
I was able to split Queen Ravenna's hive today. My hives have like no nectar coming in still. We've got trees blooming, but they mustn't be producing much nectar. Normally we get a decent flow off of the cherries, but not this year I guess. I fed the split the last of my leftover honey frames from last year. If the other hives need food, I'll have to make syrup, which I have never had to do this late in the year.
How can you tell whether or not they are bringing in nectar? I can see the pollen :)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Rise and Shine on April 23, 2022, 01:17:35 AM
Post by: Rise and Shine on April 23, 2022, 01:17:35 AM
I did my first hive inspection today. Bees were installed Wednesday of last week and I verified the Queen was released Sunday. The first few frames didn?t have much and not many bees. The third frame had some wax built out with lots of bees. The fourth frame was nicely built out with some eggs and larvae. I saw one of the worker bees feeding a cell. I also saw the Queen! She was calming laying eggs. I carefully replaced the frame and didn?t look any further. I moved the other frames back in place. I refilled the feeder, left in the pollen Pattie?s and closed the hive. This took about 10 minutes and I used minimal smoke as they were pretty calm. Watched the ladies for the next hour coming and going. The pollen started coming in late in the afternoon. I realized that I didn?t notice any drones.
I?m so relieved to see the eggs and larvae as I know my bees are aging every day.
Is this good progress? Or, should there be more frames built out by now?
I?m so relieved to see the eggs and larvae as I know my bees are aging every day.
Is this good progress? Or, should there be more frames built out by now?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 23, 2022, 11:26:07 AM
Post by: The15thMember on April 23, 2022, 11:26:07 AM
Quote from: Rise and Shine on April 23, 2022, 01:05:46 AMWell I can tell because I'm opening them up and their honey frames are empty still. I had several of these hives start out with a few frames of honey leftover from winter and now they are empty and aren't being refilled yet, which is highly unusual for my location. Even the honey frames I gave them a week ago are now empty or filled with brood.
How can you tell whether or not they are bringing in nectar? I can see the pollen :)
Just from observing the entrance you can sometimes notice bees returning with filled crops because their landing sequence will be a little off because they are carrying a heavy load, and they'll kind of crash or land heavily on the landing board. Someone described it to me once as "a B-52 slamming onto a runway."
Quote from: Rise and Shine on April 23, 2022, 01:17:35 AMI think that all sounds great! Packages are often slow to start up, as they have absolutely nothing to start out with and have to build the whole entire hive from scratch. It wouldn't surprise me if you don't see drones for a while, as only strong hives have the resources to "waste" on them. Good job seeing what you needed to see and then closing them back up again. As a beginner (or as an intermediate beekeeper :embarassed:) it can be hard not to just sit there with the hive open and watch them work.
I did my first hive inspection today. Bees were installed Wednesday of last week and I verified the Queen was released Sunday. The first few frames didn?t have much and not many bees. The third frame had some wax built out with lots of bees. The fourth frame was nicely built out with some eggs and larvae. I saw one of the worker bees feeding a cell. I also saw the Queen! She was calming laying eggs. I carefully replaced the frame and didn?t look any further. I moved the other frames back in place. I refilled the feeder, left in the pollen Pattie?s and closed the hive. This took about 10 minutes and I used minimal smoke as they were pretty calm. Watched the ladies for the next hour coming and going. The pollen started coming in late in the afternoon. I realized that I didn?t notice any drones.
I?m so relieved to see the eggs and larvae as I know my bees are aging every day.
Is this good progress? Or, should there be more frames built out by now?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Beeboy01 on April 23, 2022, 07:52:40 PM
Post by: Beeboy01 on April 23, 2022, 07:52:40 PM
Spent the afternoon cleaning up my little yard after the big die off. Lost five out of six hives so far and expect to loose the last one in a week or so. Broke down the dead hives, moved the boxes over next to the shop and started sorting and hosing off the frames hoping to at least save some equipment for the rebuild. Everything is getting sprayed with a 1% bleach solution then hosed off to remove any pollen and debris. After a good shaking I'm letting the frames air dry before putting them back in the boxes with some paramoth crystal. Not a fun day in any way but as a bee keeper I've learned to take the good with the bad and this was a bad day. Still not sure if I'm going to start the yard back up, a loss like this is disheartening after all the effort I put into it last year. Don't mean to be a wet blanket but I haven't posted for about two weeks and though everybody would like to hear how I made out. Hope everybody's bees are doing fine.
Ed
Ed
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 23, 2022, 07:56:54 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 23, 2022, 07:56:54 PM
Quote from: Beeboy01 on April 23, 2022, 07:52:40 PMSorry to hear that, Beeboy. :sad: Hopefully at least the equipment will be salvageable. Thanks for keeping us updated. I'm sure it's hard, but at least by sharing your experiences we can all learn from them.
Spent the afternoon cleaning up my little yard after the big die off. Lost five out of six hives so far and expect to loose the last one in a week or so. Broke down the dead hives, moved the boxes over next to the shop and started sorting and hosing off the frames hoping to at least save some equipment for the rebuild. Everything is getting sprayed with a 1% bleach solution then hosed off to remove any pollen and debris. After a good shaking I'm letting the frames air dry before putting them back in the boxes with some paramoth crystal. Not a fun day in any way but as a bee keeper I've learned to take the good with the bad and this was a bad day. Still not sure if I'm going to start the yard back up, a loss like this is disheartening after all the effort I put into it last year. Don't mean to be a wet blanket but I haven't posted for about two weeks and though everybody would like to hear how I made out. Hope everybody's bees are doing fine.
Ed
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 23, 2022, 08:13:37 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 23, 2022, 08:13:37 PM
Lost another swarm today. Raised a brood frame up this time, no interest. They flew off after a while. Added a few supers. The one on the left is already three full boxes of honey, half capped. I added a box of drawn comb and a box of foundation to it.
Added one box on the far right.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220423/7b1dc024b78b5e2468383860acd03b88.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220423/94c9ee41b33739f6cabcf3b5df23365a.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220423/6aa1e2e6efd4baf69097e0c1ff493d1b.jpg)
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Added one box on the far right.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220423/7b1dc024b78b5e2468383860acd03b88.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220423/94c9ee41b33739f6cabcf3b5df23365a.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220423/6aa1e2e6efd4baf69097e0c1ff493d1b.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 23, 2022, 08:18:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 23, 2022, 08:18:01 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on April 23, 2022, 08:13:37 PMUgh, I'm so jealous. Stupid false spring. :angry:
The one on the left is already three full boxes of honey, half capped. I added a box of drawn comb and a box of foundation to it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 23, 2022, 08:23:45 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 23, 2022, 08:23:45 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on April 23, 2022, 08:18:01 PMWell, I reversed my left and rights, but I bet you can figure out which one is making honey.Quote from: .30WCF on April 23, 2022, 08:13:37 PMUgh, I'm so jealous. Stupid false spring. :angry:
The one on the left is already three full boxes of honey, half capped. I added a box of drawn comb and a box of foundation to it.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bobbee on April 24, 2022, 12:11:13 AM
Post by: Bobbee on April 24, 2022, 12:11:13 AM
I was out taking pictures in someone else's. :embarassed:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bobbee on April 24, 2022, 12:16:51 AM
Post by: Bobbee on April 24, 2022, 12:16:51 AM
:embarassed:[attachment=0][/attachment]
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 24, 2022, 06:50:56 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 24, 2022, 06:50:56 PM
Checked on the one hive that is queenless yet. I put a frame of mixed eggs and larvae of young stages in there yesterday. I expected to see some development of queen cups today since they had no other brood. Nope. Just eggs and larvae. I guess she?s about somewhere or out mating. It?s a small hive with a small population. It?s hard for me to think I missed her two days in a row, but if they aren?t trying to build a new queen, they know something I don?t.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on April 25, 2022, 05:11:30 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on April 25, 2022, 05:11:30 AM
.30, are they polishing anywhere, middle to high on a brood frame.
They won't be polishing unless they are expecting a queen to start laying.
Did you bring the nurse bees over with the open brood frame?
They won't be polishing unless they are expecting a queen to start laying.
Did you bring the nurse bees over with the open brood frame?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 25, 2022, 08:07:32 AM
Post by: .30WCF on April 25, 2022, 08:07:32 AM
I didn?t really look for that, but I can pop back in that one today and check. It?s only a double medium, so it only takes a minute to look.
I did leave the nurses on the frame, but there weren?t that many on there at the time.
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I did leave the nurses on the frame, but there weren?t that many on there at the time.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: lastfling on April 25, 2022, 12:56:08 PM
Post by: lastfling on April 25, 2022, 12:56:08 PM
Added additional supers on three of my hives. The supers I put on 3/17 are nearly full - just need capping.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 25, 2022, 04:45:10 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 25, 2022, 04:45:10 PM
Found her. She looks mated, but I don?t see any new eggs yet. I?ll check back end of the week or something. That hive has been a little cranky since last year. Maybe she will straighten them out.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on April 26, 2022, 08:29:38 AM
Post by: rast on April 26, 2022, 08:29:38 AM
So far, got a full swarm trap out of a tree, came back and fixed another cup of coffee. 2 full traps to go another morning.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Beeboy01 on April 26, 2022, 04:15:53 PM
Post by: Beeboy01 on April 26, 2022, 04:15:53 PM
The saga continues. I pulled #6 apart and found small patches of fresh brood on two frames so I'm not out of the race yet. Looks like the queen cell I grafted took. I also picked up a queen today before the inspection so had to change my plans of re-queening over to a quick split. I moved the hive body with the brood over to a new spot in the yard and shook out the other two boxes into it. I then set up the two shook out boxes in the original location to catch the field bees and any that drift back and will introduce the new queen in that hive tomorrow. The girls were not happy even had one get in my veil.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 27, 2022, 12:08:23 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 27, 2022, 12:08:23 AM
Keep hanging in there BeeBoy01!! 😊
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on April 27, 2022, 01:47:08 PM
Post by: rast on April 27, 2022, 01:47:08 PM
Added a second mostly drawn comb supers to eight of my hives, second brood box to two of last months splits, reboxed to 8 frames two of my swarm catches. One was a mess with built honey comb on the lid.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 27, 2022, 02:31:56 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 27, 2022, 02:31:56 PM
Just split a nuc that was packed out with brood and eggs. Only the outside half of the outside frames had nectar. The rest was eggs and brood, two boxes deep. They were harassing the queen pretty hard. Chasing her around and riding her back kind of acting like they were stinging her, but not. Pretty sure they were trying to slim her down or chase her out. She was still plump, and this years queen. Only a few weeks old. Not an open cell though.
I shook most of the bees into the queenless half and left it in the original spot.
Looked around in a different hive and found a halfway emerged frame that needed to be cleaned and polished and swapped it out for the youngest looking eggs I could find in the queen right split. I gave the queen and reduced hive the emerging frame to work on and a box of foundation and moved them over 6-8 spots on the stand.
The queenless hive will get the foragers and raise a new queen I hope and the queen right hive should be knocked down in population, have a frame to work with, and the rest of the frames were all capped and should be vacated soon. Between that and the new foundation, maybe she sticks around.
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I shook most of the bees into the queenless half and left it in the original spot.
Looked around in a different hive and found a halfway emerged frame that needed to be cleaned and polished and swapped it out for the youngest looking eggs I could find in the queen right split. I gave the queen and reduced hive the emerging frame to work on and a box of foundation and moved them over 6-8 spots on the stand.
The queenless hive will get the foragers and raise a new queen I hope and the queen right hive should be knocked down in population, have a frame to work with, and the rest of the frames were all capped and should be vacated soon. Between that and the new foundation, maybe she sticks around.
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Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on April 28, 2022, 10:35:04 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on April 28, 2022, 10:35:04 PM
Today? Did a round of checking feed pail levels. No truck access due to ground conditions so was walking through 6 to 8 inches of sopping snow, slush, and jumping over puddles. My boots and socks are so damp can feel the moss growing between the toes, and ankles so chilled every flex squeaks and creaks.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220429/5c44b42806035cc3a164a39754db49c4.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220429/5c44b42806035cc3a164a39754db49c4.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on April 28, 2022, 11:12:27 PM
Post by: Lesgold on April 28, 2022, 11:12:27 PM
Thought I?d better make another inspection of a few hives to see if there is nectar coming in. The parrots are feeding in the trees of a daytime and the flying foxes (bats) are in the trees during the night which is generally a good indicator that there is some nectar being released. The hives are quite busy, which is also a good sign.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Bees are producing some new wax which is also encouraging considering it is mid autumn in my neck of the woods.
[attachment=1][/attachment]
Looks like I?ll be extracting again in a couple of weeks. I?m really getting sick of the sight of honey. It?s been a cracker of a season.
[attachment=2][/attachment]
It would be nice to get away for a holiday but the bees are keeping me at home. (The sacrifices we have to make for these little critters lol.)
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Bees are producing some new wax which is also encouraging considering it is mid autumn in my neck of the woods.
[attachment=1][/attachment]
Looks like I?ll be extracting again in a couple of weeks. I?m really getting sick of the sight of honey. It?s been a cracker of a season.
[attachment=2][/attachment]
It would be nice to get away for a holiday but the bees are keeping me at home. (The sacrifices we have to make for these little critters lol.)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 28, 2022, 11:15:05 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 28, 2022, 11:15:05 PM
Looks like you have some work to do Les.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Beeboy01 on April 28, 2022, 11:59:46 PM
Post by: Beeboy01 on April 28, 2022, 11:59:46 PM
brand new fresh white comb is a sign that there is a flow going on. Looking good.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 29, 2022, 12:17:38 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 29, 2022, 12:17:38 AM
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on April 28, 2022, 10:35:04 PM
Today? Did a round of checking feed pail levels. No truck access due to ground conditions so was walking through 6 to 8 inches of sopping snow, slush, and jumping over puddles. My boots and socks are so damp can feel the moss growing between the toes, and ankles so chilled every flex squeaks and creaks.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220429/5c44b42806035cc3a164a39754db49c4.jpg)
I am still amazed at the amount of honey and wax you and your bees produce in such a sort season as compared to we who live in warmer climates.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 05, 2022, 02:57:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 05, 2022, 02:57:01 PM
I checked on the queenright halves of my splits today and finished one of their German mite trapping treatments. Now that they are broodless I'll hit them with OAV tomorrow morning, as long as it doesn't rain.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on May 05, 2022, 09:29:57 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on May 05, 2022, 09:29:57 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on April 29, 2022, 12:17:38 AMIt has been a terrible Spring. A desolate frozen landscape that lingered until just a couple days ago. Finally the temperatures have swung into the low teens degC, it was sure nice to finally be able to go poke down into a few of them to see what is happening in there. Quite pleased with the stage they are at despite what mother nature has been throwing at them.Quote from: TheHoneyPump on April 28, 2022, 10:35:04 PM
Today? Did a round of checking feed pail levels. No truck access due to ground conditions so was walking through 6 to 8 inches of sopping snow, slush, and jumping over puddles. My boots and socks are so damp can feel the moss growing between the toes, and ankles so chilled every flex squeaks and creaks.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220429/5c44b42806035cc3a164a39754db49c4.jpg)
I am still amazed at the amount of honey and wax you and your bees produce in such a sort season as compared to we who live in warmer climates.
By my notebook the last date that I had opened the lid on this particular hive was September 18 2021. Today. May 5 2022. I would say she has done a fine job of surviving the winter without my prodding.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220506/cd8180d25c4d5c93b30afd7b7714bc89.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220506/b67cfaf4af7e3ceb83256532438b9181.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on May 05, 2022, 10:35:20 PM
Post by: .30WCF on May 05, 2022, 10:35:20 PM
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on May 05, 2022, 09:29:57 PMThat?s not so bad for an 8 month leave of absence.Quote from: Ben Framed on April 29, 2022, 12:17:38 AMIt has been a terrible Spring. A desolate frozen landscape that lingered until just a couple days ago. Finally the temperatures have swung into the low teens degC, it was sure nice to finally be able to go poke down into a few of them to see what is happening in there. Quite pleased with the stage they are at despite what mother nature has been throwing at them.Quote from: TheHoneyPump on April 28, 2022, 10:35:04 PM
Today? Did a round of checking feed pail levels. No truck access due to ground conditions so was walking through 6 to 8 inches of sopping snow, slush, and jumping over puddles. My boots and socks are so damp can feel the moss growing between the toes, and ankles so chilled every flex squeaks and creaks.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220429/5c44b42806035cc3a164a39754db49c4.jpg)
I am still amazed at the amount of honey and wax you and your bees produce in such a sort season as compared to we who live in warmer climates.
By my notebook the last date that I had opened the lid on this particular hive was September 18 2021. Today. May 5 2022. I would say she has done a fine job of surviving the winter without my prodding.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220506/cd8180d25c4d5c93b30afd7b7714bc89.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220506/b67cfaf4af7e3ceb83256532438b9181.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FloridaGardener on May 13, 2022, 09:38:06 PM
Post by: FloridaGardener on May 13, 2022, 09:38:06 PM
Whoa ...
I note only from the deposits on the hive bodies that the girls stick close to the hive when out for a bathroom break.
Because it's freezin' out there man. They're not flying far to do their business...
I note only from the deposits on the hive bodies that the girls stick close to the hive when out for a bathroom break.
Because it's freezin' out there man. They're not flying far to do their business...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on May 14, 2022, 01:32:54 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on May 14, 2022, 01:32:54 PM
LoL! yeah, not many outhouse opportunities when it is a white desolate landscape for months on end. When it is warm enough for flight, it rains poop all across in the bee yard area, literally. Everything, and I mean everything, gets splattered. No square inch is spared. It rains down, it rains sideways, it rains thisaway and it rains thataway. Often wondering - how did she possibly manage to paint that there at that angle?! Those are the days to stay out of the yard and go do other things. Only folks in the north or those who winter colonies indoors will truly understand that. No, the bees are not sick. Yes, it is a normal event - which as weird as it sounds, we really look forward to!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on May 16, 2022, 11:57:05 PM
Post by: Lesgold on May 16, 2022, 11:57:05 PM
Had a bit of a chuckle to myself HoneyPump. You are chasing warm weather for your bees to produce and I am after cold weather for the honey flow to start. Plenty of trees flowering in my area but nectar will not be released in any quantity until the overnight temperatures drop away. There are just so many variables and twists in this adventure that we are on.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on May 17, 2022, 12:13:30 AM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on May 17, 2022, 12:13:30 AM
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220517/84a3692a100186f7affd8663b131b349.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 17, 2022, 12:42:00 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 17, 2022, 12:42:00 AM
:cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on May 17, 2022, 04:28:18 AM
Post by: NigelP on May 17, 2022, 04:28:18 AM
Quote from: Lesgold on May 16, 2022, 11:57:05 PM
Had a bit of a chuckle to myself HoneyPump. You are chasing warm weather for your bees to produce and I am after cold weather for the honey flow to start. Plenty of trees flowering in my area but nectar will not be released in any quantity until the overnight temperatures drop away. There are just so many variables and twists in this adventure that we are on.
Whereas in most of the UK it's flow on. despite it being a fairly cool spring. Just waiting for the oil seed rape flowers to go over before starting first serious extractions of the season. Our Hawthorne is now in full bloom, gives a lovely flavoured dark honey when the bees get on it (too rarely for my liking!).
As UK electricity prices have gone bananas I'm pondering if I can find an efficient uncapping system that doesn't involve my 3KW stream generator and Lyson steam heated uncapping knife. Will try the backwards uncapper and see how I get on with it. Otherwise will just keep putting pound coins in the meter...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 19, 2022, 12:34:58 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 19, 2022, 12:34:58 AM
Nigel I have the the backwards uncappers plural. One regular size and one wide. I do like them; However, if you run across a frame which previously had brood in it, it is, in all honesty still a pain. Does it work? Yes... As hoped? Not as much so in this situation. Otherwise on pure honey comb in my experience, they are excellent!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on May 19, 2022, 06:34:35 AM
Post by: NigelP on May 19, 2022, 06:34:35 AM
Thanks, will be finding out shortly....otherwise pay a ransom for electricity
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on May 20, 2022, 02:09:42 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on May 20, 2022, 02:09:42 PM
moved some collonies to 2 new yards . Lots of black locust trees at the new locations.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 20, 2022, 07:08:59 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 20, 2022, 07:08:59 PM
I checked on all my splits today. I did queen cell reduction in one, found a new queen in another, and found eggs but didn't actually see the queen in the third. I also couldn't believe how much honey the hives have put on since the blackberry flow started! We're making progress now! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on May 20, 2022, 08:59:13 PM
Post by: .30WCF on May 20, 2022, 08:59:13 PM
Nothing today, but they were all hanging out on the porch.
The shadows masked the bees so I had to play with the lighting to get the bees to show.
I?ll probably take a look tomorrow.
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The shadows masked the bees so I had to play with the lighting to get the bees to show.
I?ll probably take a look tomorrow.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on May 21, 2022, 08:58:15 AM
Post by: rast on May 21, 2022, 08:58:15 AM
A walk around and lamented that they are not flying fast and furious now as the flow is winding down for me. Another round of OAV treatment for the three recent swarm captures.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on June 05, 2022, 05:45:03 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on June 05, 2022, 05:45:03 PM
In the rain, moved boxes of queenless bees around to consolidate them, and grafting.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on June 06, 2022, 02:59:34 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on June 06, 2022, 02:59:34 PM
Adding undraw foundation to be draw out a total of 500 frames.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 06, 2022, 05:30:12 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 06, 2022, 05:30:12 PM
Today I cleaned the equipment from my shakeout, as well as some from a deadout early in the year. I've got a moldy bottom board I still have to bleach, but other than that, all the equipment is cleaned and ready to go again.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on June 06, 2022, 06:04:53 PM
Post by: .30WCF on June 06, 2022, 06:04:53 PM
Lots of bearding lately.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 06, 2022, 07:59:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 06, 2022, 07:59:26 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on June 06, 2022, 06:04:53 PMIs it politically incorrect for me to ask why there are teepees in your yard? :grin:
Lots of bearding lately.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on June 06, 2022, 08:35:40 PM
Post by: .30WCF on June 06, 2022, 08:35:40 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on June 06, 2022, 07:59:26 PMSorting out, testing out, repairing and refining my pack list for elk season. It never stops.Quote from: .30WCF on June 06, 2022, 06:04:53 PMIs it politically incorrect for me to ask why there are teepees in your yard? :grin:
Lots of bearding lately.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 08, 2022, 10:18:32 AM
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 08, 2022, 10:18:32 AM
I dismantled a hive beetle slimed hive. All the packed nectar ruined. The bee colony defunct. All because I allowed it to weaken too much earlier in spring, pulling nucs. I have reaped what I sowed.
The only comfort is that this particular long hive body was my frustrating, warped box. So now I can cut it up for other uses.
The only comfort is that this particular long hive body was my frustrating, warped box. So now I can cut it up for other uses.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 02:13:55 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 02:13:55 PM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on June 08, 2022, 10:18:32 AM
I dismantled a hive beetle slimed hive. All the packed nectar ruined. The bee colony defunct. All because I allowed it to weaken too much earlier in spring, pulling nucs. I have reaped what I sowed.
The only comfort is that this particular long hive body was my frustrating, warped box. So now I can cut it up for other uses.
Bob you are right about having a strong hive in the Spring. You and I are both in the South and SHB are an ever threat. Does it seem they are stronger this year than last in your area? I have had some trouble as well. It may be one of those years to bring out the ole Jim and Pans oil pan remedy? I don't know how you would go about it with a long hive. ??
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 08, 2022, 04:47:31 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 08, 2022, 04:47:31 PM
Ben,
A few years ago, Bobsims added oil trays to his top bar hives. I believe it did make a difference. I don?t hear him complaining about SHBs any more.
Jim Altmiller
A few years ago, Bobsims added oil trays to his top bar hives. I believe it did make a difference. I don?t hear him complaining about SHBs any more.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 06:28:12 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 06:28:12 PM
Thank you for your reply Jim. Its good that the oil trays were successful in the hives of Bob Sims! I figured it could be done, I am just wondering 'how' it was done. Do you know what Bob Sims had to do to fit those oil pans into his long hives? I Wonder if Bob Sims has come pictures that he could post, or perhaps pictures he could get to you so could post in his stead? (It might already be posted here but if so I can't find the information). Not for my benefit, I have no long hives, but for the benefit of our members which do have long hives, such as Bob Wilson here.
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 06:49:21 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 06:49:21 PM
The followings is all I could find concerned with long hives and oil pans. If the conversation shows enough interest and goes further from here, with 3 or more post, if might be fitting that we start a new topic. I am not attempting to side track the title of this particular topic. What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
TOPIC: Oil trap screened hive bottom?
If you don't have these under each hive, do you find beetles from other hives are drawn to these trap hives by smell perhaps? In other words if you have these spaced out among your hives, do you find the beetles in the unprotected hives to be in small numbers now? I am asking because, if I remember correctly, Sawdstmakr said he did not have these under every hive after a period of time if I remember correctly. Again, good job!!
As far as the hole size, I milled out two rectangular holes in the plywood bottom board. The pan is what they call 1/8 size baking pan. It is about 6" x 9" so the hole size that I cut out was as big as I could get. The aluminum pans were less than $3 a piece. Couldn't make anything else for that price.
I think certain hives are better and more vigilant to the beetles. I see some hives almost ignore them while other hives seem to continually harass them.
By the way the beetles in the pan in my previous post was just after a week after installing the modified bottom board.
I bet you feel confident knowing that your beetle problems are all but over! That was quite a catch for a week.. Thanks for your answers and input....
TOPIC: Oil trap screened hive bottom?
Quote from: cao on May 09, 2021, 11:55:51 AMAfter my battles with the little buggers, I have found that you don't need a full tray under a full screened bottom. A small pan slid under a small hole cut in a solid bottom board that is screened over can work just as well. This mean less oil less mess and less cost to convert a solid bottom.[attachment=0][/attachment][attachment=1][/attachment]
Quote from: Ben Framed on May 09, 2021, 12:15:44 PMThat's awesome cao. I know from your writings that you have many hives. Do you have this pan system under every hive or do you have a special strategy?
If you don't have these under each hive, do you find beetles from other hives are drawn to these trap hives by smell perhaps? In other words if you have these spaced out among your hives, do you find the beetles in the unprotected hives to be in small numbers now? I am asking because, if I remember correctly, Sawdstmakr said he did not have these under every hive after a period of time if I remember correctly. Again, good job!!
Quote from: cao on May 09, 2021, 11:23:45 PMI haven't got pans on my long hives yet and there are 4 or 5 others that don't have pans. But the rest of them do. I will eventually have every hive have a pan with oil whether they need them or not. If one hive has beetles then they all get oil in their pans. I am not willing to chance it anymore. I already lost a hive this year.
As far as the hole size, I milled out two rectangular holes in the plywood bottom board. The pan is what they call 1/8 size baking pan. It is about 6" x 9" so the hole size that I cut out was as big as I could get. The aluminum pans were less than $3 a piece. Couldn't make anything else for that price.
I think certain hives are better and more vigilant to the beetles. I see some hives almost ignore them while other hives seem to continually harass them.
By the way the beetles in the pan in my previous post was just after a week after installing the modified bottom board.
I bet you feel confident knowing that your beetle problems are all but over! That was quite a catch for a week.. Thanks for your answers and input....
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 08, 2022, 07:08:18 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 08, 2022, 07:08:18 PM
Ben,
Bob made two one by one by the length of the hive boards and cut out a 1/4? by 1/4? from one corner and attached them to the bottom of the hive and made a gray that slid into the slots.
Jim Altmiller
Bob made two one by one by the length of the hive boards and cut out a 1/4? by 1/4? from one corner and attached them to the bottom of the hive and made a gray that slid into the slots.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 07:13:52 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 07:13:52 PM
Thanks Jim ✔️
What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Not a thing, It has rained all day, off and on! :grin:
What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Not a thing, It has rained all day, off and on! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on June 08, 2022, 11:45:22 PM
Post by: cao on June 08, 2022, 11:45:22 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on June 08, 2022, 06:49:21 PM
I bet you feel confident knowing that your beetle problems are all but over! That was quite a catch for a week.. Thanks for your answers and input....
I won't be confident until I don't see any more beetles. I am still fighting them every time I check hives. Going to invest in some nematodes shortly to put in the soil to kill the larva.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 09, 2022, 07:55:51 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 09, 2022, 07:55:51 AM
CAO,
Nematodes can stop the SHBs from pupating from the larvae coming out of your hives. Problem is that SHBs can smell your hives from miles away, some claim as far as five miles. All it takes is for a hive within a few miles to fail and the beetles will lay thousands and thousands of eggs, probably in excess of 10 thousand. I have had to use a full size trash can filled with a strong chlorine mix to handle a hive taken over and it takes hours to kill them.
They will also breed in rotting fruit if a hive is not available.
This is why I have had to use oil trays when I lived in Jacksonville. I had on average 12 hives or more and I had to clean them out at least once a month and I they all would bee solid black with dead beetles until we, a neighbor a mile away did the same, decimated the local SHB population. The following year we both stopped putting oil in the trays because there were too few in them to worry about. It stayed that way until I moved.
Jim Altmiller
Nematodes can stop the SHBs from pupating from the larvae coming out of your hives. Problem is that SHBs can smell your hives from miles away, some claim as far as five miles. All it takes is for a hive within a few miles to fail and the beetles will lay thousands and thousands of eggs, probably in excess of 10 thousand. I have had to use a full size trash can filled with a strong chlorine mix to handle a hive taken over and it takes hours to kill them.
They will also breed in rotting fruit if a hive is not available.
This is why I have had to use oil trays when I lived in Jacksonville. I had on average 12 hives or more and I had to clean them out at least once a month and I they all would bee solid black with dead beetles until we, a neighbor a mile away did the same, decimated the local SHB population. The following year we both stopped putting oil in the trays because there were too few in them to worry about. It stayed that way until I moved.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on June 09, 2022, 08:58:23 AM
Post by: rast on June 09, 2022, 08:58:23 AM
My first time actually seeing one try to fly into a hive the other evening. I happened to be watching the landing board as foragers flew back with a beetle flying with them. I gave it the finger.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 09, 2022, 04:32:39 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 09, 2022, 04:32:39 PM
If you want to see how many SHBs are attacking your hive, put a screen top board on your hive and remove the top at sundown. I did this the day I built my first screen top board and we could not believe how many SHBs we killed for the next 1/2 hour. It was over a hundred.
In Jacksonville I would go out to the apiary every night and remove the tops and kill all of the SHBs that were on top of every screen.
It gave me great pleasure killing every one of them.
Jim Altmiller
In Jacksonville I would go out to the apiary every night and remove the tops and kill all of the SHBs that were on top of every screen.
It gave me great pleasure killing every one of them.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 09, 2022, 05:22:30 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 09, 2022, 05:22:30 PM
I have a hole cut in each of the four corners of my long hives, hardware cloth over the holes, and a wide mouth Mason jar with 1 inch oil, screwed into the hole from exterior, underneath the hive.
I change the oil a few times a year.
However, a strong hive is the MUCH better remedy to SHB in my opinion. I kick myself for losing sight of that this spring.
I was lured by the siren call of devil mammon, and sold too many nucs, thus weakening my hives.
I change the oil a few times a year.
However, a strong hive is the MUCH better remedy to SHB in my opinion. I kick myself for losing sight of that this spring.
I was lured by the siren call of devil mammon, and sold too many nucs, thus weakening my hives.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 11, 2022, 05:17:02 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 11, 2022, 05:17:02 PM
I made two little splits from my favorite queen, Ravenna, today. I didn't find any open brood until I got to the 3rd box, so I was worried something had happened to her. I finally found her in box 4, on a frame that was barely drawn, hanging onto the bottom bar. :shocked: I'm wondering if she's on her way down, as she didn't seem to have much of an entourage around her, I found several queen cups, and there were only 3 frames of eggs and young larvae. I left the mother hive one, and put each of the other two in another hive with some capped brood and stores and a divider board in the center to make two little "nucs". The LW hive I just shook out was a failed split from this queen, so hopefully this time I can get some daughter queens from her.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 11, 2022, 07:02:42 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 11, 2022, 07:02:42 PM
Question, do you have plenty of nectar coming in? (Is your flow still strong)? I have noticed when the nectar flow eases up, the brood slows down accordingly. Another question; Have you extracted your surplus honey? If your nectar flow is on the down hill slide one option would be to go ahead and extract the honey if you haven?t already, leaving the empty combs out for cleanup by your bees, (far enough away from your hives as not to start robbing.
Once the empty combs have been cleaned by the bees, place a super of on top of your donor hive with one, ONLY ONE of the freshly cleaned, empty frames of comb in the middle and foundation frames on either side, filling the box. Feed feed and feed. The bees will kick back-in, drawing new comb and filing the replaced empty as well as stimulating the queen to lay. I do not make these splits in June because the flow in my area is still producing. I ideally like to make these splits in August in my area, but if your flow has fizzled out, Oh well. This should stimulate laying in the brood area.
If the queen is playing out they will supersede her.
Be especially aware of the DANGERS of SHB this time of year. They WILL take advantage of a weak hive as well as a starter hive! Their are two reasons I suggested placing only one drawn empty frame on top with the added frames of foundation. SHB is one and the added bonus of producing new frames of comb stimulating wax for the comb is the other.
Phillip
Once the empty combs have been cleaned by the bees, place a super of on top of your donor hive with one, ONLY ONE of the freshly cleaned, empty frames of comb in the middle and foundation frames on either side, filling the box. Feed feed and feed. The bees will kick back-in, drawing new comb and filing the replaced empty as well as stimulating the queen to lay. I do not make these splits in June because the flow in my area is still producing. I ideally like to make these splits in August in my area, but if your flow has fizzled out, Oh well. This should stimulate laying in the brood area.
If the queen is playing out they will supersede her.
Be especially aware of the DANGERS of SHB this time of year. They WILL take advantage of a weak hive as well as a starter hive! Their are two reasons I suggested placing only one drawn empty frame on top with the added frames of foundation. SHB is one and the added bonus of producing new frames of comb stimulating wax for the comb is the other.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 11, 2022, 08:35:38 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 11, 2022, 08:35:38 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on June 11, 2022, 07:02:42 PMThis is a REALLY good point. I still have some flow, but it's not a strong as it has been now that blackberries are over. This hive also evicted all their drones earlier in the year when we had little flow, so perhaps they are just more reactive to the change in conditions than my other hives. I did take some blackberry honey off of them, but I'd rather just let them have the rest of their honey for now than have to feed. I don't really feel the need to artificially stimulate them. I'll just let them do what they think is best. I'm just a minimalist manager that way. :smile: Thanks for the tips though.
Question, do you have plenty of nectar coming in? (Is your flow still strong)? I have noticed when the nectar flow eases up, the brood slows down accordingly. Another question; Have you extracted your surplus honey? If your nectar flow is on the down hill slide one option would be to go ahead and extract the honey if you haven?t already, leaving the empty combs out for cleanup by your bees, (far enough away from your hives as not to start robbing.
Once the empty combs have been cleaned by the bees, place a super of on top of your donor hive with one, ONLY ONE of the freshly cleaned, empty frames of comb in the middle and foundation frames on either side, filling the box. Feed feed and feed. The bees will kick back-in, drawing new comb and filing the replaced empty as well as stimulating the queen to lay. I do not make these splits in June because the flow in my area is still producing. I ideally like to make these splits in August in my area, but if your flow has fizzled out, Oh well. This should stimulate laying in the brood area.
If the queen is playing out they will supersede her.
Be especially aware of the DANGERS of SHB this time of year. They WILL take advantage of a weak hive as well as a starter hive! Their are two reasons I suggested placing only one drawn empty frame on top with the added frames of foundation. SHB is one and the added bonus of producing new frames of comb stimulating wax for the comb is the other.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on June 12, 2022, 04:46:35 PM
Post by: .30WCF on June 12, 2022, 04:46:35 PM
Solid 20qts settling.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on June 12, 2022, 05:25:28 PM
Post by: .30WCF on June 12, 2022, 05:25:28 PM
I pulled some boxes last week and decided I didn?t have time and put them back on. This week there looked like there was less capped honey. I suspect that they are getting into the honey, so I equalized the uncapped boxes and distributed them among the hives. I?ll probably just leave them for the summer unless they get capped, but all I see now is a little clover. I?d rather not feed all summer.
I?m betting if I tested the honey, it?s all dry and they are uncapping it and using it.
Mid June may as well be July, August, and September.
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I?m betting if I tested the honey, it?s all dry and they are uncapping it and using it.
Mid June may as well be July, August, and September.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 12, 2022, 06:15:34 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 12, 2022, 06:15:34 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on June 12, 2022, 04:46:35 PMI LOVE this picture!!
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220612/14b684ba7447a2ed96c830f95366aa43.jpg)
Quote from: .30WCF on June 12, 2022, 05:25:28 PMYeah, we're starting to slide toward our summer dearth here too. The sourwoods are LOADED with buds though, so hopefully we'll be good to go by mid-July.
I pulled some boxes last week and decided I didn?t have time and put them back on. This week there looked like there was less capped honey. I suspect that they are getting into the honey, so I equalized the uncapped boxes and distributed them among the hives. I?ll probably just leave them for the summer unless they get capped, but all I see now is a little clover. I?d rather not feed all summer.
I?m betting if I tested the honey, it?s all dry and they are uncapping it and using it.
Mid June may as well be July, August, and September.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: tycrnp on June 12, 2022, 09:04:07 PM
Post by: tycrnp on June 12, 2022, 09:04:07 PM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on June 08, 2022, 10:18:32 AM
I dismantled a hive beetle slimed hive. All the packed nectar ruined. The bee colony defunct. All because I allowed it to weaken too much earlier in spring, pulling nucs. I have reaped what I sowed.
The only comfort is that this particular long hive body was my frustrating, warped box. So now I can cut it up for other uses.
A slimed hive is so disgusting!!! And sad. I am taking a multifaceted approach this year. I have beetle traps with oil in the top supers, peppermint candies (1 in each of the 4 corners of the top supers), and beneath the hives I have a borax/ketchup mix between 2 CDs. I started using the CDs to get rid of ants, but I noticed there were NO SHBs in the bee yard where I have the CDs!
But what did I do today, nothing, it rained.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 12, 2022, 09:39:32 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 12, 2022, 09:39:32 PM
Quote from: tycrnp on June 12, 2022, 09:04:07 PMI've never heard of anything like this for SHB control. What's the reasoning behind this?
I have beetle traps with oil in the top supers, peppermint candies (1 in each of the 4 corners of the top supers), and beneath the hives I have a borax/ketchup mix between 2 CDs.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on June 13, 2022, 08:55:08 AM
Post by: rast on June 13, 2022, 08:55:08 AM
15th, "Hillbilly Beekeeping" on YouTube.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 13, 2022, 10:58:04 AM
Post by: The15thMember on June 13, 2022, 10:58:04 AM
Quote from: rast on June 13, 2022, 08:55:08 AMThanks rast, I'll take a look.
15th, "Hillbilly Beekeeping" on YouTube.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: paus on June 13, 2022, 11:40:09 AM
Post by: paus on June 13, 2022, 11:40:09 AM
MY daughter wanted a Top Bar hive, then SHB moved in. There were no hives with DSBB with oil near this hive. She wanted the hive near her kitchen window so she could watch the activity of the hive. I made a 2X4 frame the dimensions the same size as bottom of the top bar and screened the bottom of the frame. The top bar hive already had a screen bottom. I bent casserole pans to fit in the space between the screens, put 3/4 inch of oil in the pans. I cut 2x4 that I could slip in each end of the frame to make it bee proof, no more SHB. We decided that a top bar was more trouble than it was worth. But it was educatio0nal and lots of fun. I have considered making 2 or 3 nucs from this used hive but decided I would make a Long Lang out of the materials from the top bar and make 3 or 4 nucs in the long hive. I believe this is worthwhile if I ever get a "round tuit"
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on June 14, 2022, 10:56:35 AM
Post by: .30WCF on June 14, 2022, 10:56:35 AM
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220614/d9a10afa2530a755cb56c7db90321960.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 14, 2022, 11:14:32 AM
Post by: The15thMember on June 14, 2022, 11:14:32 AM
Quote from: .30WCF on June 14, 2022, 10:56:35 AMThose look AMAZING, 30!
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220614/d9a10afa2530a755cb56c7db90321960.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 18, 2022, 05:50:43 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 18, 2022, 05:50:43 PM
I checked my nucs today, and they have both made queen cells. My other new queens are laying fast and furious now, one of them has 5 boxes on her hive already! I'll be taking some honey off of them probably in 2 weeks or so. The sourwoods are all budded up, and they are LOADED!! I'm hoping for a good year, as last year we hardly got any sourwood.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 25, 2022, 06:45:49 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 25, 2022, 06:45:49 PM
My bees are bringing in so much pollen right now. I had almost a cup of pollen in my trap today! It's mostly brown, but there is also this crazy neon orange color. I'll have to look at a color chart and see if I can figure out what it's from.
My favorite queen Ravenna seems about to be superseded, as I found a pretty advanced but still uncapped queen cell in her hive today. There was more brood in there today than two weeks ago, but still not really enough for this time of year, so I'm going to let the bees do what they think best. Here's a picture I took of her today.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
My favorite queen Ravenna seems about to be superseded, as I found a pretty advanced but still uncapped queen cell in her hive today. There was more brood in there today than two weeks ago, but still not really enough for this time of year, so I'm going to let the bees do what they think best. Here's a picture I took of her today.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 27, 2022, 08:38:15 AM
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 27, 2022, 08:38:15 AM
There is a lake across the street, but some few bees like my bird bath water instead. Apparently my cat wants to contest ownership, staring down the little golden intruders.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 27, 2022, 11:13:56 AM
Post by: The15thMember on June 27, 2022, 11:13:56 AM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on June 27, 2022, 08:38:15 AMAw, you have such a pretty kitty, Bob! :happy:
There is a lake across the street, but some few bees like my bird bath water instead. Apparently my cat wants to contest ownership, staring down the little golden intruders.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 27, 2022, 07:59:54 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 27, 2022, 07:59:54 PM
Pulled honey supers from 5 hives this morning. Judy has been decapping and spinning frames all day.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Jim Altmiller
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 27, 2022, 11:43:23 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 27, 2022, 11:43:23 PM
Beemaster. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something seems different about your dining area from last time I saw it. Did you redecorate?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 29, 2022, 07:25:23 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 29, 2022, 07:25:23 AM
Bob,
Everything is the same. The only thing that we change is during the winter we have the couch reversed so that it faces the he first e place. I?m now t sure which way it was during BeeFest.
Jim Altmiller
Everything is the same. The only thing that we change is during the winter we have the couch reversed so that it faces the he first e place. I?m now t sure which way it was during BeeFest.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on June 29, 2022, 11:05:28 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on June 29, 2022, 11:05:28 AM
Maybe it's the extractor in the middle of the room...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 29, 2022, 07:07:31 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 29, 2022, 07:07:31 PM
It?s a real conversation piece. 😊
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 30, 2022, 08:54:48 AM
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 30, 2022, 08:54:48 AM
Room decor by La' Apiary.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: yes2matt on June 30, 2022, 09:33:35 AM
Post by: yes2matt on June 30, 2022, 09:33:35 AM
I'm building frames in the evenings. Because why build them during the winter when it's not an emergency? That would make too much sense. Much better to wait until you have splits mated to buy boxes and build frames, wouldn't you say?
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 02, 2022, 01:39:40 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 02, 2022, 01:39:40 PM
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 02, 2022, 07:35:59 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 02, 2022, 07:35:59 PM
I had a full day in the apiary. I checked my nucs and one had a new queen laying! I inspected two of my full sized hives and added a super to each for the sourwood flow. I also put 4 fat frames of honey above my triangle escape board in my biggest hive and replaced those frames with blanks for them to draw and fill with sourwood honey. We had storms in the area all day, although thankfully it didn't rain enough here to be noticeable under the trees, but the bees were testy as a result of the weather in the area. I'm surprised I didn't get stung. It was one of those days where everything has to be S L O W and deliberate in order to not get attacked.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 05, 2022, 06:46:12 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 05, 2022, 06:46:12 AM
Mating nucs, queen cells, grafting, shaking a lot of bees for all of that. And getting stung of course...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 13, 2022, 08:47:02 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 13, 2022, 08:47:02 PM
Almost succumbed to the heat.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 18, 2022, 10:40:07 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 18, 2022, 10:40:07 AM
>Almost succumbed to the heat.
Easy to do in the beeyard...
Easy to do in the beeyard...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2022, 04:29:59 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2022, 04:29:59 PM
The sourwood flow is basically over, so I put my first round of sourwood frames above my triangle escape board today. Some of these frames are drawn SO dumb. Anyone else have bees who decide to make that crazy super fat honeycomb during a strong flow? :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 22, 2022, 05:25:08 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 22, 2022, 05:25:08 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on July 22, 2022, 04:29:59 PM
The sourwood flow is basically over, so I put my first round of sourwood frames above my triangle escape board today. Some of these frames are drawn SO dumb. Anyone else have bees who decide to make that crazy super fat honeycomb during a strong flow? :grin:
I haven't tried it but I recall "eltalia" (Bill) from Australia saying he loved fat honey combs. He said he liked to use 9 frames spaced out in unisons in a ten frame box.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2022, 06:01:52 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2022, 06:01:52 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on July 22, 2022, 05:25:08 PMI do that sometimes, use 7 frames in my 8 frame boxes, when it's apparent the bees are in that kind of mood. The trouble is that if they aren't, then the spacing is often off, and they cross-connect them for that reason instead. Sometimes you just can't win with bees. :grin:
I haven't tried it but I recall "eltalia" (Bill) from Australia saying he loved fat honey combs. He said he liked to use 9 frames spaced out in unisons in a ten frame box.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FloridaGardener on July 22, 2022, 11:14:07 PM
Post by: FloridaGardener on July 22, 2022, 11:14:07 PM
Yep I've got an entire super in my garage (went into freezer first) full of crazy comb. They did so well with the first (foundationless) box I didn't checkerboard the frames. :oops: Now it looks like a Spirograph in there. I'm afraid I can't cut the virgin comb in squares. It will have to be chunks. No way am I going to crush and strain all that. :cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 23, 2022, 08:31:17 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 23, 2022, 08:31:17 AM
I love them also, first year I run them in 10 frames to get them drawn out correctly. Once drawn or (second year) they go into a 10 frame box with 8 frame spacers.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 23, 2022, 11:18:55 AM
Post by: The15thMember on July 23, 2022, 11:18:55 AM
Quote from: FloridaGardener on July 22, 2022, 11:14:07 PMHaha! I checkerboarded mine, but it didn't make a difference to them. :cheesy:
Yep I've got an entire super in my garage (went into freezer first) full of crazy comb. They did so well with the first (foundationless) box I didn't checkerboard the frames. :oops: Now it looks like a Spirograph in there. I'm afraid I can't cut the virgin comb in squares. It will have to be chunks. No way am I going to crush and strain all that. :cheesy:
Quote from: Bill Murray on July 23, 2022, 08:31:17 AMSo you reduce your boxes by two frames instead of one, interesting. I bet those combs get nice and fat! If I could just get my bees to make the WHOLE frame fat it wouldn't be so much of a problem, but they just decide to make a particular section of the comb fat, which leads to wavy drawing of the frame next door.
I love them also, first year I run them in 10 frames to get them drawn out correctly. Once drawn or (second year) they go into a 10 frame box with 8 frame spacers.
It's not a huge deal for me, as I do all crush and strain, so as long as I can somehow removed the frames that are connected together without busting the comb wide open, I can make it work. The problem comes when I'd like to leave the bees the honey, or donate the frames to a struggling colony, because it's impossible to inspect with cross comb.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on July 24, 2022, 05:52:05 AM
Post by: NigelP on July 24, 2022, 05:52:05 AM
Moved about a dozen hives onto the moors for heather honey. It's the last main crop in the UK. All is looking good.
It's a strange honey though , it's thixotropic, meaning it' is a gel when stood, but goes to liquid when stirred.
Can't be easily centrifuged out, needs to be pressed out. Lose most of the comb, but well worth it as it's a premium honey.
(https://www.whitby-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Heather-In-Bloom-2015-1-of-1-16.jpg)
It's a strange honey though , it's thixotropic, meaning it' is a gel when stood, but goes to liquid when stirred.
Can't be easily centrifuged out, needs to be pressed out. Lose most of the comb, but well worth it as it's a premium honey.
(https://www.whitby-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Heather-In-Bloom-2015-1-of-1-16.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 24, 2022, 05:02:12 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 24, 2022, 05:02:12 PM
Quote from: NigelP on July 24, 2022, 05:52:05 AMWhat a beautiful picture! And that's extremely interesting about the heather honey! When I was shopping for flowers earlier in the year with my mom, we found some heather for sale at a local greenhouse, and I remembered you and other UK beekeepers talking about how much the bees like it, so we planted a little patch of it in one of her tomato beds. It's not a whole moor (yet!) but the little sweat bees sure do love it. I just thought it was funny that you have all that, and we've got this. :cheesy:
Moved about a dozen hives onto the moors for heather honey. It's the last main crop in the UK. All is looking good.
It's a strange honey though , it's thixotropic, meaning it' is a gel when stood, but goes to liquid when stirred.
Can't be easily centrifuged out, needs to be pressed out. Lose most of the comb, but well worth it as it's a premium honey.
(https://www.whitby-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Heather-In-Bloom-2015-1-of-1-16.jpg)
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: yes2matt on July 24, 2022, 10:03:49 PM
Post by: yes2matt on July 24, 2022, 10:03:49 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on July 23, 2022, 11:18:55 AMThis is easier to do with a helper. But sometimes I stand the super up tall-ways, frames on end, so I can see what I've got for a mess. Then two or three at a time (or more with a helper) I can push out the frames from the bottom as a stack/block. Then once they're out of the box I can usually figure a way to get them apart without making a bigger mess than necessary. It is maybe easiest to do indoors.
So you reduce your boxes by two frames instead of one, interesting. I bet those combs get nice and fat! If I could just get my bees to make the WHOLE frame fat it wouldn't be so much of a problem, but they just decide to make a particular section of the comb fat, which leads to wavy drawing of the frame next door.
It's not a huge deal for me, as I do all crush and strain, so as long as I can somehow removed the frames that are connected together without busting the comb wide open, I can make it work. The problem comes when I'd like to leave the bees the honey, or donate the frames to a struggling colony, because it's impossible to inspect with cross comb.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: yes2matt on July 24, 2022, 10:07:27 PM
Post by: yes2matt on July 24, 2022, 10:07:27 PM
Dropped a box of glass jars I was about to swap empty feeders for full. They banged on the hive and angry them off so that I couldn't even get down there to salvage the mess. It's hard dearth at the home yard here so now I've got the neighbor's bees trained to come rob mine.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 25, 2022, 09:40:52 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 25, 2022, 09:40:52 AM
QuoteI tried it without predrawn comb 1st year and it was a disaster. But my theory on this is I actually get more honey out of each super, (I should weigh each and verify that) but with same amount of space taken up and 2 less frames? Also less for the bees to cap. Makes uncapping way easier, and you are handling 2 frames less per box, to me the last 2 reasons made it a no brainer.QuoteIf I could just get my bees to make the WHOLE frame fat it wouldn't be so much of a problem, but they just decide to make a particular section of the comb fat, which leads to wavy drawing of the frame next door.
The drawback was less cappings, hence less wax.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on July 25, 2022, 02:11:48 PM
Post by: AustinB on July 25, 2022, 02:11:48 PM
Started pulling summer honey supers (although it was yesterday not today). Darn hot out there, even in a vented jacket and shorts I was soaked through.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on July 28, 2022, 03:09:10 AM
Post by: Lesgold on July 28, 2022, 03:09:10 AM
Wish I had your problem AustinB. I have started pulling honey but the weather is cool. (About 17 C. ) 4 boxes per day. Extracted asap before they lose to much heat.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Two boxes in the bucket and two on the carryall at the back. Slow work at this time of the year with the honey being quite thick and slow to drain. I could heat the room I suppose but I just take my time and enjoy the experience. Won?t have any more winter honey for another four years.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Two boxes in the bucket and two on the carryall at the back. Slow work at this time of the year with the honey being quite thick and slow to drain. I could heat the room I suppose but I just take my time and enjoy the experience. Won?t have any more winter honey for another four years.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on July 28, 2022, 11:56:16 AM
Post by: AustinB on July 28, 2022, 11:56:16 AM
Quote from: Lesgold on July 28, 2022, 03:09:10 AM
Wish I had your problem AustinB. I have started pulling honey but the weather is cool. (About 17 C. ) 4 boxes per day. Extracted asap before they lose to much heat.
I don't know which problem I would rather have, thick honey or high heat haha! I love that you run deeps for your honey supers.
QuoteWon?t have any more winter honey for another four years.Can you explain? I'm interested
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on July 28, 2022, 06:36:11 PM
Post by: Lesgold on July 28, 2022, 06:36:11 PM
Hi AustinB
Yes I do run deeps for supers. The advantages are obvious. The BIG disadvantage is also obvious. Those supers are quite heavy when full. The honey that I?m harvesting comes from the spotted gum. It only flowers once every four years. It?s the only winter flowering tree in my area that produces a flow. The majority of honey produced in my region comes from flowering eucalypts. Each species has a different flowering cycle. Some flower every year, others every two, three or four years. As I don?t move bees to follow a flow, my seasons vary considerably according to what is going to flower that year. Some years are quite poor. I may only extract about 20kg of honey per hive for those seasons.
Yes I do run deeps for supers. The advantages are obvious. The BIG disadvantage is also obvious. Those supers are quite heavy when full. The honey that I?m harvesting comes from the spotted gum. It only flowers once every four years. It?s the only winter flowering tree in my area that produces a flow. The majority of honey produced in my region comes from flowering eucalypts. Each species has a different flowering cycle. Some flower every year, others every two, three or four years. As I don?t move bees to follow a flow, my seasons vary considerably according to what is going to flower that year. Some years are quite poor. I may only extract about 20kg of honey per hive for those seasons.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on July 28, 2022, 11:31:08 PM
Post by: AustinB on July 28, 2022, 11:31:08 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on July 28, 2022, 06:36:11 PMThats very interesting, I didn't know that so I'm glad I asked. I'm fortunate to be in an area that has a (generally speaking) pretty heavy flow from early spring all the way through summer, and some years a good fall flow as well.
The honey that I?m harvesting comes from the spotted gum. It only flowers once every four years. It?s the only winter flowering tree in my area that produces a flow. The majority of honey produced in my region comes from flowering eucalypts. Each species has a different flowering cycle. Some flower every year, others every two, three or four years. As I don?t move bees to follow a flow, my seasons vary considerably according to what is going to flower that year. Some years are quite poor. I may only extract about 20kg of honey per hive for those seasons.
edit: BTW I mowed the bee yard today :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 29, 2022, 08:14:24 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 29, 2022, 08:14:24 AM
I run all eight frame mediums. I don't see any disadvantages.
https://bushfarms.com/beeseightframemedium.htm
https://bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#uniformframesize
https://bushfarms.com/beeseightframemedium.htm
https://bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#uniformframesize
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 29, 2022, 07:23:20 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 29, 2022, 07:23:20 PM
went through 3 yards today. Had a couple hives that I thought queenless when removing supers, verified and merged them with other hives, boosted some dinks, balanced out quite a few hives getting ready for fall splits. Still lacking drones. out of all hives could count all drones on two hands. Quite a few in pupae and capping stage though.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 30, 2022, 04:13:00 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 30, 2022, 04:13:00 PM
I only got one hive inspected before it was supposed to rain, so I decided to just bail on the other two hives since the bees were cranky, but then it never rained! :sad: Oh well, I'll just try again on Monday. This hive had an absolute TON of honey, so I put a bunch of frames above my escape board. I had some robbers come sniffing around as I was sorting through the supers, so I'm not sure exactly how many frames I ended up pulling since I was rushing, but it was a lot.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 30, 2022, 08:05:02 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 30, 2022, 08:05:02 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on July 28, 2022, 06:36:11 PMHey Les, I've got a question about this. If you only have this flow once every four years, and it's the only tree to bloom in winter, do your bees build up brood at this time every four years, and then is there a difference in how they winter? I seem to remember you saying your climate is pretty warm year round, so I imagine your bees don't go overly dormant in the winter anyway, but do you notice a difference in the colonies' brood cycles or populations in these spotted gum years?
Hi AustinB
Yes I do run deeps for supers. The advantages are obvious. The BIG disadvantage is also obvious. Those supers are quite heavy when full. The honey that I?m harvesting comes from the spotted gum. It only flowers once every four years. It?s the only winter flowering tree in my area that produces a flow. The majority of honey produced in my region comes from flowering eucalypts. Each species has a different flowering cycle. Some flower every year, others every two, three or four years. As I don?t move bees to follow a flow, my seasons vary considerably according to what is going to flower that year. Some years are quite poor. I may only extract about 20kg of honey per hive for those seasons.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 30, 2022, 08:09:13 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 30, 2022, 08:09:13 PM
Finished rendering all my wax 1st time, finished packing away supers.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on July 31, 2022, 09:53:30 AM
Post by: Lesgold on July 31, 2022, 09:53:30 AM
Hi Reagan
The hives are reasonably strong at the moment (not as strong as in the spring) and I did notice that there is a reasonable amount of drone brood on the corners of some of the frames. Crazy stuff for the middle of winter. I will be expecting a big swarming season early in the spring this year. The early spring build up will start soon. There is plenty of pollen coming in and the spotted gum is still flowering. I am currently pulling off queen excluders as I rob the hives.This will give the queens chance to move up to the top box of the hives. All hives are 3 deep boxes.
The hives are reasonably strong at the moment (not as strong as in the spring) and I did notice that there is a reasonable amount of drone brood on the corners of some of the frames. Crazy stuff for the middle of winter. I will be expecting a big swarming season early in the spring this year. The early spring build up will start soon. There is plenty of pollen coming in and the spotted gum is still flowering. I am currently pulling off queen excluders as I rob the hives.This will give the queens chance to move up to the top box of the hives. All hives are 3 deep boxes.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 31, 2022, 12:53:37 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 31, 2022, 12:53:37 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on July 31, 2022, 09:53:30 AMThat's really interesting. Just another example of how you can't keep bees by the calendar! :grin:
Hi Reagan
The hives are reasonably strong at the moment (not as strong as in the spring) and I did notice that there is a reasonable amount of drone brood on the corners of some of the frames. Crazy stuff for the middle of winter. I will be expecting a big swarming season early in the spring this year. The early spring build up will start soon. There is plenty of pollen coming in and the spotted gum is still flowering. I am currently pulling off queen excluders as I rob the hives.This will give the queens chance to move up to the top box of the hives. All hives are 3 deep boxes.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on July 31, 2022, 06:24:49 PM
Post by: Lesgold on July 31, 2022, 06:24:49 PM
I agree. I sometimes wish that was the case. Every year is different in my location. The only consistent flow that I have occurs during the spring build up. I have a tree that flowers every year just at the start of spring. It produces good pollen and a nice honey. Apart from that, every season is different. This last season is a great example of what can happen. I had a variety of gum tree in bloom late last winter and into early spring. This led to a big swarming year as the hives built up quickly and swarming was difficult to control due to a lot of wet weather. That tree will not flower for another three years. This season has produced a lot of honey. About 80kg per hive (plus a lot of comb honey) has resulted in a shed full of the stuff. The coming season will be a small season compared to that. Apart from a small flow in the spring, there will be only one other flow that will occur in the summer months. Most of my planning is done via walks in the bush with a pair of binoculars. Flower buds on the trees in my area form anywhere from 6 months to 18 months prior to flowering. Each species is different but is quite predictable.
Cheers
Les
Cheers
Les
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 31, 2022, 07:53:21 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 31, 2022, 07:53:21 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on July 31, 2022, 06:24:49 PMThat's wild! I'm super curious about this. Why do your trees stay in bud so long? Are they waiting for the right conditions to flower? Or does their life cycle just take really long? Does it have something to do with your climate being mild year round? I don't think we have any trees that do that. Our trees bud, flower, and fruit over a period of several weeks.
I agree. I sometimes wish that was the case. Every year is different in my location. The only consistent flow that I have occurs during the spring build up. I have a tree that flowers every year just at the start of spring. It produces good pollen and a nice honey. Apart from that, every season is different. This last season is a great example of what can happen. I had a variety of gum tree in bloom late last winter and into early spring. This led to a big swarming year as the hives built up quickly and swarming was difficult to control due to a lot of wet weather. That tree will not flower for another three years. This season has produced a lot of honey. About 80kg per hive (plus a lot of comb honey) has resulted in a shed full of the stuff. The coming season will be a small season compared to that. Apart from a small flow in the spring, there will be only one other flow that will occur in the summer months. Most of my planning is done via walks in the bush with a pair of binoculars. Flower buds on the trees in my area form anywhere from 6 months to 18 months prior to flowering. Each species is different but is quite predictable.
Cheers
Les
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on August 01, 2022, 01:36:39 AM
Post by: Lesgold on August 01, 2022, 01:36:39 AM
Hi Reagan,
The trees I?m talking about are eucalypts. Each variety acts slightly differently. Once you get to know their cycles, you can plan ahead. I noticed the first stringy bark out in flower this morning. It started a couple of weeks earlier than expected. That?s OK as it will provide pollen and nectar for the bees. As the weather has been reasonably mild over night, the bees will start building new comb soon. A couple of wattle variety have also started flowering. Spring is on the way.
The trees I?m talking about are eucalypts. Each variety acts slightly differently. Once you get to know their cycles, you can plan ahead. I noticed the first stringy bark out in flower this morning. It started a couple of weeks earlier than expected. That?s OK as it will provide pollen and nectar for the bees. As the weather has been reasonably mild over night, the bees will start building new comb soon. A couple of wattle variety have also started flowering. Spring is on the way.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 01, 2022, 02:43:35 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 01, 2022, 02:43:35 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on August 01, 2022, 01:36:39 AMThat's so interesting! It's always so cool to hear how different (and how similar) beekeeping is in other areas. :happy:
Hi Reagan,
The trees I?m talking about are eucalypts. Each variety acts slightly differently. Once you get to know their cycles, you can plan ahead. I noticed the first stringy bark out in flower this morning. It started a couple of weeks earlier than expected. That?s OK as it will provide pollen and nectar for the bees. As the weather has been reasonably mild over night, the bees will start building new comb soon. A couple of wattle variety have also started flowering. Spring is on the way.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on August 03, 2022, 08:07:43 AM
Post by: AustinB on August 03, 2022, 08:07:43 AM
Put down new 4x4 posts on CMU blocks to get 9 colonies higher off the ground, have a skunk that has been paying me a visit. Did some weed whacking and got things cleaned up.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 03, 2022, 12:38:10 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 03, 2022, 12:38:10 PM
Quote from: AustinB on August 03, 2022, 08:07:43 AMHow do you know it's a skunk, Austin?
Put down new 4x4 posts on CMU blocks to get 9 colonies higher off the ground, have a skunk that has been paying me a visit. Did some weed whacking and got things cleaned up.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on August 03, 2022, 02:14:23 PM
Post by: Michael Bush on August 03, 2022, 02:14:23 PM
An acquaintance has a colony that was from a tree that blew down and had bees in it for decades. It survived the winter in the tree trunk that was cut off and set back upright and then a cutout in the spring. It was good a week ago and I went out to graft from them. It was half slimed. We had to take half the combs out and compress them down to one box and gave them three frames of capped brood with bees. Hopefully they will recover... Disappointing. The bees have not been very interested in raising queens this year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on August 03, 2022, 11:20:56 PM
Post by: AustinB on August 03, 2022, 11:20:56 PM
Quote
How do you know it's a skunk, Austin?
I have a trail camera set up. There are lots of skunks in our area unfortunately.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on August 03, 2022, 11:27:53 PM
Post by: AustinB on August 03, 2022, 11:27:53 PM
Went out to mow the backside of the bee yard today and found a swarm about 12? up in a walnut tree. Gently scooping bees into a box with old brood comb revealed one queen who ran down between frames before I could grab her. A moment later I spotted another on the limb, picked her up and caged her. I believe it?s a swarm from a colony up in my neighbors big sycamore. Perfect I?ll make a split with the second queen.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 04, 2022, 02:55:59 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 04, 2022, 02:55:59 PM
Austin it's rewarding finding multiple queens in a swarm Congratulations on your find!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on August 06, 2022, 09:07:26 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on August 06, 2022, 09:07:26 AM
well, this was yesterday. Drank beer and worked on new boxes.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 06, 2022, 04:54:42 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 06, 2022, 04:54:42 PM
I was able to inspect two hives before it started to rain. The one was a late split, and it doesn't have anywhere near enough food for the winter, so I started feeding them syrup today, since we are in a dearth and our fall flow is not usually very strong. I also took some drawn blanks from the other hive I inspected to give to them, so they won't have to draw as much comb. Both hives also had very low mite counts in their sugar rolls, which was reassuring for this time of year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on August 07, 2022, 05:15:37 AM
Post by: Lesgold on August 07, 2022, 05:15:37 AM
Extracted the last of the honey. Can finally say that the season has finished. A month off now until the new season starts. Looking forward to a break from beekeeping for a few weeks.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on August 07, 2022, 01:22:54 PM
Post by: NigelP on August 07, 2022, 01:22:54 PM
Installed a couple of very expensive Buckfast queens into 2 nucs a few days ago in my garden apiary. Both accepted, but came home tonight to find both nucs being badly robbed. Closed up and moved to an isolated area with no other hives around.
This is my future queen raising stock...so all fingers etc crossed we get them through.
This is my future queen raising stock...so all fingers etc crossed we get them through.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FloridaGardener on August 07, 2022, 02:29:14 PM
Post by: FloridaGardener on August 07, 2022, 02:29:14 PM
Argh, sorry about your troubles Nigel. I also have troubles with nucs being robbed in summer dearth. I found the only way to stop them from being devastated as "forage" by larger hives, is to:
Keep them as large as possible by putting swapping a weak frame from the nuc with a frame of capped brood and/or nurse bees from a larger hive. Pack the box. Or build it up to 7 frames with 3 unbuilt/empties (not drawn comb to guard).
Set the entrance one bee wide and use a robbing screen. Keep a congested entrance. It's not like the bees in that nuc are going anywhere in a hurry during the dearth. Most should be tending brood if you are feeding.
Feed inside an upper rim but do not spill - and no additives in 1:1 except zinc/vitamin C / wisp of salt which helps them brood up.
https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/een.12375
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eea.12342
Smoke up REALLY well before checking them. Mask their alarm pheremone. I've been checking nucs early evening, because there's less time before nosy neighbors should be in their own hives. If a hubub starts when I inspect, I close up keep a hose handy to spray down the crowd.
Keep them as large as possible by putting swapping a weak frame from the nuc with a frame of capped brood and/or nurse bees from a larger hive. Pack the box. Or build it up to 7 frames with 3 unbuilt/empties (not drawn comb to guard).
Set the entrance one bee wide and use a robbing screen. Keep a congested entrance. It's not like the bees in that nuc are going anywhere in a hurry during the dearth. Most should be tending brood if you are feeding.
Feed inside an upper rim but do not spill - and no additives in 1:1 except zinc/vitamin C / wisp of salt which helps them brood up.
https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/een.12375
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eea.12342
Smoke up REALLY well before checking them. Mask their alarm pheremone. I've been checking nucs early evening, because there's less time before nosy neighbors should be in their own hives. If a hubub starts when I inspect, I close up keep a hose handy to spray down the crowd.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on August 08, 2022, 07:27:15 AM
Post by: AustinB on August 08, 2022, 07:27:15 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on August 04, 2022, 02:55:59 PM
Austin it's rewarding finding multiple queens in a swarm Congratulations on your find!
Phillip, thanks! It's always fun to find more than one.
Pulled all the summer honey supers yesterday and started spinning them out. Going to pull a few splits off my big colonies this week. Will be time to feed soon.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on August 08, 2022, 01:19:01 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on August 08, 2022, 01:19:01 PM
Pulling suppers and doing mite treatments
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on August 08, 2022, 02:33:19 PM
Post by: NigelP on August 08, 2022, 02:33:19 PM
Quote from: FloridaGardener on August 07, 2022, 02:29:14 PMThanks for the sympathy..these are $250 queens bred for their genetics in isolated mating sations....so can't afford to loose them.
Argh, sorry about your troubles Nigel. I also have troubles with nucs being robbed in summer dearth. I found the only way to stop them from being devastated as "forage" by larger hives, is to:
Solution was obvious.....moved all hives from my back yard onto the heather moors (pictures to follow in few days, the moors are looking spectacular).
Brought nucs back to yard, then moved hives....the nucs have now picked up all the hives flying bees and are well sorted.
I'm happy to pay that money for decent bees in the UK as our local mongrel bees are close to useless. Their average yield is around 25lbs per annum. These super bees bring me in around 120lbs plus per hive....which creates its own problems....
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on August 08, 2022, 10:35:00 PM
Post by: .30WCF on August 08, 2022, 10:35:00 PM
?Mongrel bees? I like it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on August 12, 2022, 12:03:10 PM
Post by: AustinB on August 12, 2022, 12:03:10 PM
Marking queens and transferring jam packed nucs into 10 frame boxes today
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 12, 2022, 06:57:19 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 12, 2022, 06:57:19 PM
I inspected 4 hives today, which is more than I usually do, but we are going to be busy tomorrow, and the weather was finally nice today. The one hive was extremely challenging to work, and I accidentally dragged some angry workers with me down into the driveway when I left the apiary for a lunch break, and they terrorized some of my sisters. :oops: That same hive also had a frame of drones going, which is really weird for this time of year. I put my last frames of honey above my escape board to pull tomorrow morning. I'm on pace to have a similar harvest to last year. I also found an interesting mushroom in the apiary today, which looked like a tall reddish finger and was attracting flies to it. I looked it up and learned it is called the elegant stinkhorn. :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on August 12, 2022, 09:29:08 PM
Post by: .30WCF on August 12, 2022, 09:29:08 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on August 12, 2022, 06:57:19 PMIt has been nice here in NC the last couple days.
I inspected 4 hives today, which is more than I usually do, but we are going to be busy tomorrow, and the weather was finally nice today. The one hive was extremely challenging to work, and I accidentally dragged some angry workers with me down into the driveway when I left the apiary for a lunch break, and they terrorized some of my sisters. :oops: That same hive also had a frame of drones going, which is really weird for this time of year. I put my last frames of honey above my escape board to pull tomorrow morning. I'm on pace to have a similar harvest to last year. I also found an interesting mushroom in the apiary today, which looked like a tall reddish finger and was attracting flies to it. I looked it up and learned it is called the elegant stinkhorn. :grin:
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220813/bbc483036e710084adeb847b0f0311ac.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 16, 2022, 05:07:29 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 16, 2022, 05:07:29 AM
Helped a new beekeeper hive 2 swarms, from her hive, into hive boxes. The first one was small, about one frame of bees worth. Showed her that she had a virgin queen. The second one, we cut the tree and bent it down to get the swarm. Found the queen twice and both times she flew from my hand before I could close my it. Finally got her in the box and they all moved in. Took her over to the original hive and had her listen to the queens piping. She and her son and daughter in law will take that hive apart tomorrow and collect the queens and put one back in to stop the swarming.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on August 21, 2022, 02:36:56 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on August 21, 2022, 02:36:56 PM
What did I do? Nothin'.
And my bees didn't do much either.
And my bees didn't do much either.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on August 22, 2022, 06:09:02 AM
Post by: Oldbeavo on August 22, 2022, 06:09:02 AM
We took all our hive mats off our bees today. They winter and go to almond with a hive mat on top of the QX as a single brood box and super
Our first bees will be out of almonds in 8-10 days time and with the hive mats they would smother transporting.
Bees are in good condition and will need to be split in early September for swarm control.
Our first bees will be out of almonds in 8-10 days time and with the hive mats they would smother transporting.
Bees are in good condition and will need to be split in early September for swarm control.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on August 22, 2022, 09:48:57 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on August 22, 2022, 09:48:57 PM
Well I got some queens hatched for fall NUCS, Now to see if any can get mated. I had 2 out of 3 mate up here at the house. Maybe the 3rd. waiting on Marley to check it this weekend.
I was gone last week with a family issue, witch meant I didnt get all the cells separated out. So I did another round today.
I was gone last week with a family issue, witch meant I didnt get all the cells separated out. So I did another round today.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 27, 2022, 04:41:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 27, 2022, 04:41:50 PM
Did my last pre-treatment sugar roll today. This queen has been evading me for weeks, and I finally saw her. I'll probably try to treat with OAV next week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on August 30, 2022, 10:32:32 AM
Post by: AustinB on August 30, 2022, 10:32:32 AM
Marked another couple queens yesterday. Had a 4 frame nuc from earlier in the year that was overflowing with bees. A week ago I moved them to another location and pulled a split off one of my really big colonies and put it back in their place. They are booming and have some nice looking QCs. Been feeding some younger nucs but they are hardly touching it. There is a lot of fresh nectar coming in here and still lots of drones.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 09, 2022, 07:06:32 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 09, 2022, 07:06:32 PM
I didn't have much time this afternoon, but since it's going to rain tomorrow, I figured I better knock out a couple inspections while the sun is shining. I found one colony that needed to be condensed down from 3 boxes to 2 and may need a little feeding. I also found I had accidentally left my triangle escape board on this colony from the last honey harvest. Thankfully it was just under the lid and the bees aren't drawing now, so no harm no foul. :grin: I also saw a European hornet roaming around near the compost pile.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on September 11, 2022, 04:42:27 PM
Post by: Brian MCquilkin on September 11, 2022, 04:42:27 PM
mite treatments OAV
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 17, 2022, 06:21:46 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 17, 2022, 06:21:46 PM
I was chased out of the apiary by an angry hive for the first time today, and I also hurt my back lifting a box, two things that were probably inevitable at some point, and both on the same day. I have a hive that has been getting testier and testier as the fall is coming on. They were due for an inspection today, so I opened them up. It was hairy right from the get-go, lots of flying bees, and they were not very responsive to my smoking. Then I tried to lift a box that I thought I had cracked well enough, but I hadn't. The box wasn't very heavy, but I just wasn't prepared for it to resist me as much as it did, and something popped in my back. It hurt in this dull, internal way, and I felt like I couldn't move.
I tend to get light-headed, and I felt a wave come over me, so I took my water bottle and went and sat down away from the hives for a minute until I didn't feel like I was going to pass out anymore. I had left the hive open of course, and by the time I got back up to the apiary there were a LOT of bees in the air. I managed to get one box inspected, but I was having to move so gingerly because of my back that I couldn't do anything efficiently, and there were hundreds of bees in the air, pinging off my veil and biting and stinging the wrists of my suit, and I realized this was not going to work.
I was worried about lifting the boxes to get the hive back together, and I thought about getting my sister, who was up in the woods cutting branches for her goats, to help me, but I realized this situation would only worsen in the time it would take her to get suited up, and no one but me was going to be able to do this without getting stung like crazy. So, being careful of my back, but not of killing bees, I got the hive back together, and then walked through the underbrush to try and get the bees off my suit enough to get my stuff out of the apiary. Then I walked around in front of the garage until the all the bees got off my suit and I could safely undress. I somehow didn't take any stings to my actual body, but my suit probably took 30. I went and told my sister to stay away from the apiary, then went inside and took a hot shower, which made my back feel a little better.
I left the frames in the one box all separated, and I need to get this hive inspected and down to three boxes for beetle control, so early next week my sister and I will try and tackle them again. She can lift the boxes for me, since she is stronger than I am and not injured, and she can also take my notes for me while I work so I can be in and out of the hive as quickly as possible. I'll wash my suit tomorrow to get all the venom and stings out of it.
So there you have it: my first ever total mess of a beekeeping day. I'm surprised it took me 5 years to have a disaster. I knew I'd have to have one at some point, and today just happened to be the day.
I tend to get light-headed, and I felt a wave come over me, so I took my water bottle and went and sat down away from the hives for a minute until I didn't feel like I was going to pass out anymore. I had left the hive open of course, and by the time I got back up to the apiary there were a LOT of bees in the air. I managed to get one box inspected, but I was having to move so gingerly because of my back that I couldn't do anything efficiently, and there were hundreds of bees in the air, pinging off my veil and biting and stinging the wrists of my suit, and I realized this was not going to work.
I was worried about lifting the boxes to get the hive back together, and I thought about getting my sister, who was up in the woods cutting branches for her goats, to help me, but I realized this situation would only worsen in the time it would take her to get suited up, and no one but me was going to be able to do this without getting stung like crazy. So, being careful of my back, but not of killing bees, I got the hive back together, and then walked through the underbrush to try and get the bees off my suit enough to get my stuff out of the apiary. Then I walked around in front of the garage until the all the bees got off my suit and I could safely undress. I somehow didn't take any stings to my actual body, but my suit probably took 30. I went and told my sister to stay away from the apiary, then went inside and took a hot shower, which made my back feel a little better.
I left the frames in the one box all separated, and I need to get this hive inspected and down to three boxes for beetle control, so early next week my sister and I will try and tackle them again. She can lift the boxes for me, since she is stronger than I am and not injured, and she can also take my notes for me while I work so I can be in and out of the hive as quickly as possible. I'll wash my suit tomorrow to get all the venom and stings out of it.
So there you have it: my first ever total mess of a beekeeping day. I'm surprised it took me 5 years to have a disaster. I knew I'd have to have one at some point, and today just happened to be the day.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on September 18, 2022, 02:05:23 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on September 18, 2022, 02:05:23 AM
Goodness Reagan, you had a tough bee day for sure. I have experienced both scenarios you are describing. For the back, I laid on a hard surface, drew my knees to my chest with the aid of my hands grasp to my knees and pulled inward while rolling on (or rocking on) my spine 'if you will'. Worked for me.
The grouchy behavior of your bees may be because of a death in your area? Do you have plenty of nectar coming in, or are you feeding your bees at the present time? If not that may be a part of your answer. 🤷🏼♂️
Phillip
The grouchy behavior of your bees may be because of a death in your area? Do you have plenty of nectar coming in, or are you feeding your bees at the present time? If not that may be a part of your answer. 🤷🏼♂️
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 18, 2022, 12:58:21 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 18, 2022, 12:58:21 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on September 18, 2022, 02:05:23 AMThanks, Phillip. We don't have much nectar coming in, only pollen. I just finished my OAV treatments and this hive was very irritated every time I treated, so it could be that that has made them a little more sensitive, and they'll settle down once I leave them alone for a few weeks.
Goodness Reagan, you had a tough bee day for sure. I have experienced both scenarios you are describing. For the back, I laid on a hard surface, drew my knees to my chest with the aid of my hands grasp to my knees and pulled inward while rolling on (or rocking on) my spine 'if you will'. Worked for me.
The grouchy behavior of your bees may be because of a death in your area? Do you have plenty of nectar coming in, or are you feeding your bees at the present time? If not that may be a part of your answer. 🤷🏼♂️
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 19, 2022, 08:20:53 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on September 19, 2022, 08:20:53 AM
If you need to walk away fairly quickly it's still best to throw a cover on the open hive and another on any boxes you have stacked off of the hive.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2022, 02:08:35 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2022, 02:08:35 PM
Quote from: Michael Bush on September 19, 2022, 08:20:53 AMI will definitely do that in the future when something like this happens. That surely contributed to how upset they were when I returned.
If you need to walk away fairly quickly it's still best to throw a cover on the open hive and another on any boxes you have stacked off of the hive.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2022, 07:04:05 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2022, 07:04:05 PM
Well, we got it done, although it was hairy again! My sister came with me today, as I mentioned, to try and inspect this hive, and when I lifted the lid off we had a bunch of bees rush out at us. My sister got stung on the arm almost right away. She was a wearing pair of coveralls, and they were just too thin to protect her enough from angry bees, so I had her go down to the garage and put on a long-sleeved shirt I had in there and my leather gloves so she'd be better protected. Once she was re-suited up, I had her remove the boxes while keeping them covered with my robbing cloths to try to minimize the flying bees, and I had her stack the boxes squarely so there wouldn't be gaps for the bees to get out of the boxes I wasn't working. I quick centered the frames in the bottom box, and then rapidly inspected the second one, stopping halfway to smoke myself and let the bees calm down a little bit. There were SO MANY bees in the air, and I did get a sting on my side and a second glancing one on the neck which I only found later. My sister sat a little ways away, and I called out the contents of the frames for her to note down as I went, and then called her over whenever I needed a box replaced on the hive. I didn't bother inspecting the fully capped super, and I put the top box over the triangle escape board. I'll have to suit up tomorrow to remove it, which is a pain; I usually just throw on a veil for that job, but not with these girls! Then I'll give them a good three weeks without bothering them, and hopefully they'll be more manageable by then.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on September 19, 2022, 11:35:56 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on September 19, 2022, 11:35:56 PM
No fun when they are in a mood. Did you try the 'Jim Altmiller method' of smoking the bees?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 20, 2022, 12:10:37 AM
Post by: The15thMember on September 20, 2022, 12:10:37 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on September 19, 2022, 11:35:56 PMI actually always use the Altmiller method. My timing could have been a little off today though. My watch died recently, and I haven?t gotten around to trying to fix it yet, and I forgot about needing a watch today until it was too late. Next time I check in on them, hopefully I?ll have it fixed and if not, I?ll borrow one from someone.
No fun when they are in a mood. Did you try the 'Jim Altmiller method' of smoking the bees?
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on September 20, 2022, 01:11:44 AM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on September 20, 2022, 01:11:44 AM
Picked up hives eaten by bear.
Went back later and confronted bear in person.
Went back later and confronted bear in person.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 03, 2022, 06:49:59 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 03, 2022, 06:49:59 PM
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on September 20, 2022, 01:11:44 AMWhat!! :shocked: How did I miss this post?! What happened then??!!
Picked up hives eaten by bear.
Went back later and confronted bear in person.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 03, 2022, 11:14:46 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 03, 2022, 11:14:46 PM
Same question. I also missed this post.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on October 04, 2022, 09:28:49 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on October 04, 2022, 09:28:49 PM
Made up fall nucs off of 3 frame double screened bottom board (I dont call them splits, I call them cut outs, because thats what I do cut out 3 frames and let them raise a Queen), started feeding hives that were not in areas where goldenrod was flowering.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: G3farms on October 04, 2022, 09:45:55 PM
Post by: G3farms on October 04, 2022, 09:45:55 PM
Did the second round of apiguard. I like to do 25 mg two times a week apart and then do 50 mg for two weeks. Seems like the SHB do not like the apiguard. Not sure where they went to, but sure don't see as many as last week.
Did the first round last week and was surprised to find two shallow supers with capped comb honey, Just about sold it all out already.
Did the first round last week and was surprised to find two shallow supers with capped comb honey, Just about sold it all out already.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on October 05, 2022, 05:16:14 PM
Post by: Lesgold on October 05, 2022, 05:16:14 PM
We?ve had a week of wet and windy weather and four more days of rain to follow. Haven?t had any of the hives swarm on me this spring but there are times when the beekeeper can?t do much to prevent it. I reckon the first sunny day will have bees abandoning their old homes and I won?t be able to anything to stop it. I will slosh through the mud a bit later and get down to the shed and make up a few swarm boxes.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on October 06, 2022, 12:08:15 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on October 06, 2022, 12:08:15 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on October 03, 2022, 06:49:59 PMWe came to an agreement that the bear would never ever return.Quote from: TheHoneyPump on September 20, 2022, 01:11:44 AMWhat!! :shocked: How did I miss this post?! What happened then??!!
Picked up hives eaten by bear.
Went back later and confronted bear in person.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 06, 2022, 01:35:17 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 06, 2022, 01:35:17 PM
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on October 06, 2022, 12:08:15 PM🤣🤣🤣Quote from: The15thMember on October 03, 2022, 06:49:59 PMWe came to an agreement that the bear would never ever return.Quote from: TheHoneyPump on September 20, 2022, 01:11:44 AMWhat!! :shocked: How did I miss this post?! What happened then??!!
Picked up hives eaten by bear.
Went back later and confronted bear in person.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on October 06, 2022, 01:39:09 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on October 06, 2022, 01:39:09 PM
HoneyPump... i would have paid money to see that conversation between you and the bear.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on October 06, 2022, 01:43:56 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on October 06, 2022, 01:43:56 PM
It seems one of the hives put off a small September swarm yesterday. I caught the tail end of it, but couldn't find where they went. I wonder if they came out and went back in again, however, just in case, I baited a few nucs and added empty comb into them. I would be willing to experiment to see if I could nurse the one year old queen's swarm through the winter. We shall see.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 06, 2022, 05:08:20 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 06, 2022, 05:08:20 PM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on October 06, 2022, 01:39:09 PM
HoneyPump... i would have paid money to see that conversation between you and the bear.
So would I !
However, I would bet Mr HoneyPump did not spend much time in 'debate' with Mr Bear :shocked: :cheesy: lol...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: G3farms on October 08, 2022, 08:55:31 PM
Post by: G3farms on October 08, 2022, 08:55:31 PM
Cleaned out a deadout. This was a very late season cut out that just did not make it. Lots of cut out wax for the solar wax melter and three good brood frames for the freezer.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 08, 2022, 09:13:08 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 08, 2022, 09:13:08 PM
I spent all afternoon listening to podcasts while cleaning frames and organizing my winter stacks of equipment.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on October 11, 2022, 09:24:27 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on October 11, 2022, 09:24:27 AM
Well actually this was yesterday. Cleaned out my chest freezer of frames, scraped the ones un-salvageable and rendered the junk. Got a nice 5 lb chunk for rewaxing frames.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on October 11, 2022, 01:39:31 PM
Post by: cao on October 11, 2022, 01:39:31 PM
Finished dipping the last of my empty frames in hot water to clean old wax off them. I have done about 100 boxes full of frames this summer. They will be scraped and redone this winter to get ready for next spring. After my continuing issue with SHBs and going from near 100 hives down to 48 at present, I have alot of extra equipment that will get a face lift this winter. My wax supply has filled over 4 5-gallon buckets of blocks plus at least another bucket's worth already made into candles.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: paus on October 11, 2022, 04:00:27 PM
Post by: paus on October 11, 2022, 04:00:27 PM
Looked at two cutouts to do later and retrieved a swarm trap that has been in the original location since April, full 10 frame deep HEAVY I hated to move them but they were in a Ladies back yard and she is planning a party next week end. I have done this 4 years in a row.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 11, 2022, 11:49:19 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 11, 2022, 11:49:19 PM
Paus it looks like you have found a swarm trap 'honey' hole! Thumbs Up!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on October 31, 2022, 04:51:17 AM
Post by: Lesgold on October 31, 2022, 04:51:17 AM
Had to go away for about 9 days which is not a good thing in mid spring. While we were away, it rained for about 5 days and then we got some sunny, calm days. Arrived home to find 3 swarms hanging in bushes close to the hives. The biggest one settled on a bush in the neighbours yard. It was over3 feet in length and was touching the ground.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
It was too large for a single box so I nestled a double up against the swarm and cut away the branches they were swinging on. Didn?t worry about a bait frame as a cold front with rain was just about to hit. The bees started marching into the hive very quickly. In about 5 minutes, over half of the bees had marched in.
[attachment=1][/attachment]
I will pick them up and move them early tomorrow before they start flying.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
It was too large for a single box so I nestled a double up against the swarm and cut away the branches they were swinging on. Didn?t worry about a bait frame as a cold front with rain was just about to hit. The bees started marching into the hive very quickly. In about 5 minutes, over half of the bees had marched in.
[attachment=1][/attachment]
I will pick them up and move them early tomorrow before they start flying.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 31, 2022, 06:17:06 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 31, 2022, 06:17:06 AM
Wow that swarm was huge! I love swarms. Looks like you got home just at the right time!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on October 31, 2022, 09:45:23 AM
Post by: NigelP on October 31, 2022, 09:45:23 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on October 31, 2022, 06:17:06 AM
Looks like you got home just at the right time!
Phillip
Or too late if you are into swarm prevention :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 31, 2022, 10:59:49 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 31, 2022, 10:59:49 AM
QuoteOr too late if you are into swarm prevention :grin:
True! :cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on October 31, 2022, 04:54:59 PM
Post by: Lesgold on October 31, 2022, 04:54:59 PM
You are right Nigel. The hive that the swarm came from was building well. Wish I was at home to try and prevent them from leaving. At least I end up with a new queen and another hive. This is not the desired outcome as I was planning to down size and sell most of my hives.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 05, 2022, 01:43:04 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 05, 2022, 01:43:04 PM
I started my last round of inspections yesterday. Normally my inspecting would be over by now, but we have had some unseasonably warm weather this fall. I gave a couple of hives a few extra frames of honey since I had them. One of my colonies, which was looking quite nice last inspection, now has very low population. I was thinking about combining them with my other weak colony, but their mite count was VERY high. I'll probably just treat them and hope they make it through the winter on their own. Even with the mites taken care of, I'd be worried about them spreading viruses to the other bees if I combine them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 08, 2022, 06:51:47 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 08, 2022, 06:51:47 PM
I did my last inspection of the year today. I put mouse guards on all the hives and made sure everyone was set up for winter. I won't be doing anything now until I treat with OAV once it gets cold and the last bit of brood is gone.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on November 09, 2022, 03:42:45 AM
Post by: Lesgold on November 09, 2022, 03:42:45 AM
I inspected the swarm that I put into two boxes 9 days ago. All frames are fully drawn, brood is present and they are storing nectar like crazy. Should turn into a good hive.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 03, 2022, 07:06:11 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 03, 2022, 07:06:11 PM
It was in the upper 50's F yesterday, so I checked on the hives' moisture quilts and hefted to check their stores. Everyone looked good. Today I spent all afternoon playing with beeswax. I made candles, lotion, and utensil conditioner for some new wooden spoons and spatulas my mom just got.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on December 08, 2022, 01:17:22 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on December 08, 2022, 01:17:22 PM
I gave a bee presentation at the local county extension agency for a home school association.
What beek doesn't talking about bees?
What beek doesn't talking about bees?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 08, 2022, 02:15:20 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 08, 2022, 02:15:20 PM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on December 08, 2022, 01:17:22 PMSounds fun, Bob. What ages of kids were there?
I gave a bee presentation at the local county extension agency for a home school association.
What beek doesn't talking about bees?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 09, 2022, 03:31:42 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 09, 2022, 03:31:42 PM
I finished making all my Christmas candles yesterday. I made 15 tealights, 4 tapers, 3 votives, and 3 gnomes. :happy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 09, 2022, 03:36:44 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 09, 2022, 03:36:44 PM
Good for you Member. Have pictures?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 09, 2022, 04:12:34 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 09, 2022, 04:12:34 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on December 09, 2022, 03:36:44 PMSure do.
Good for you Member. Have pictures?
Phillip
[attachment=0][/attachment]
[attachment=1][/attachment]
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 09, 2022, 04:38:51 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 09, 2022, 04:38:51 PM
Reagan hats off to you! Those are nice!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 09, 2022, 04:56:42 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 09, 2022, 04:56:42 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on December 09, 2022, 04:38:51 PM:embarassed: Thanks, I had a lot of fun making them!
Reagan hats off to you! Those are nice!
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on December 12, 2022, 11:03:59 PM
Post by: Lesgold on December 12, 2022, 11:03:59 PM
Extracted about 90kg of honey this morning. Mostly spring wildflowers and stringy bark. Needed to make some room as the blackbutt is just coming out in flower. It won?t be a big flow but there is some nectar coming in. Manipulated some of my mini frames as the bees start to draw them out.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Oldbeavo on December 16, 2022, 05:02:17 PM
Post by: Oldbeavo on December 16, 2022, 05:02:17 PM
15th
Is your small hive small enough to pack into a 5 frame nuc.
We winter nucs very successfully overwinter
Or packout their hive with blocks/sheets of polystyrene to reduce their volume. they stay in all winter and in spring when you find them throwing bits out you know they need more room. Our blocks are 65mm thick and replace 2 frames in the hive,
Is your small hive small enough to pack into a 5 frame nuc.
We winter nucs very successfully overwinter
Or packout their hive with blocks/sheets of polystyrene to reduce their volume. they stay in all winter and in spring when you find them throwing bits out you know they need more room. Our blocks are 65mm thick and replace 2 frames in the hive,
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on December 16, 2022, 05:44:59 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on December 16, 2022, 05:44:59 PM
What did I do today? .... went for a walk through the snow to download some monitoring data.
https://beecounted.org/hive/summary/z58o
https://beecounted.org/hive/summary/z58o
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 16, 2022, 06:34:08 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 16, 2022, 06:34:08 PM
Quote from: Oldbeavo on December 16, 2022, 05:02:17 PMMaybe, although it's kind of too late now. I don't actually have any nuc boxes, I usually use a foam divider board to make the space in a big hive body smaller when I need fewer frames. I thought about doing that, but I only realized their population was so low on my last inspection of the year, after they had already sealed up their cracks good with propolis, so I figured that too much room well-sealed was better than the right amount of room but drafty.
15th
Is your small hive small enough to pack into a 5 frame nuc.
We winter nucs very successfully overwinter
Or packout their hive with blocks/sheets of polystyrene to reduce their volume. they stay in all winter and in spring when you find them throwing bits out you know they need more room. Our blocks are 65mm thick and replace 2 frames in the hive,
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 17, 2022, 07:32:35 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 17, 2022, 07:32:35 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on December 16, 2022, 06:34:08 PMWell, it's 100% too late now. I found them dead today. Not really surprising. I unfortunately treated them with OAV before I realized they were dead, so I did waste 2 grams of OA. On the plus side, when I took the hive apart, I was able to see that my OAV spread isn't coating the whole interior of the hive, which isn't ideal. I'm not sure if it's my wand or if I just need to use a little more OA. I also found a burn mark on the slatted rack from my wand, so I'll be more mindful about that in the future. I had one more hive to treat when my battery, like my hive, died. I wasn't aware it was so low, so I'll have to charge it before I can treat that last colony.Quote from: Oldbeavo on December 16, 2022, 05:02:17 PMMaybe, although it's kind of too late now. I don't actually have any nuc boxes, I usually use a foam divider board to make the space in a big hive body smaller when I need fewer frames. I thought about doing that, but I only realized their population was so low on my last inspection of the year, after they had already sealed up their cracks good with propolis, so I figured that too much room well-sealed was better than the right amount of room but drafty.
15th
Is your small hive small enough to pack into a 5 frame nuc.
We winter nucs very successfully overwinter
Or packout their hive with blocks/sheets of polystyrene to reduce their volume. they stay in all winter and in spring when you find them throwing bits out you know they need more room. Our blocks are 65mm thick and replace 2 frames in the hive,
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on December 19, 2022, 03:45:18 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on December 19, 2022, 03:45:18 PM
30 below and blowing snow. Nothing that can be done in the beeyard. Soooooo ..
https://youtu.be/fLexgOxsZu0
https://youtu.be/fLexgOxsZu0
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 19, 2022, 07:01:09 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 19, 2022, 07:01:09 PM
https://youtu.be/hOOHeOgavYE
.
.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 19, 2022, 08:06:37 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 19, 2022, 08:06:37 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on December 19, 2022, 07:01:09 PMI LOVE Johnny Horton!
https://youtu.be/hOOHeOgavYE
.
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on December 19, 2022, 03:45:18 PMBruno Mars I can take or leave. :grin:
30 below and blowing snow. Nothing that can be done in the beeyard. Soooooo ..
https://youtu.be/fLexgOxsZu0
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on December 19, 2022, 08:11:06 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on December 19, 2022, 08:11:06 PM
Am not much of a Mars fan myself. But that specific tune does capture the ambition level and couch surfing that was going on here today ;)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 19, 2022, 08:17:39 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 19, 2022, 08:17:39 PM
Hang in there HoneyPump... :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 19, 2022, 08:23:15 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 19, 2022, 08:23:15 PM
Quote from: TheHoneyPump on December 19, 2022, 08:11:06 PMSounds like a good day of vegging!
Am not much of a Mars fan myself. But that specific tune does capture the ambition level and couch surfing that was going on here today ;)
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 21, 2022, 04:26:29 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 21, 2022, 04:26:29 PM
I added some more chips to my moisture quilts today, in preparation for the extreme cold weather we are expecting over Christmas. I also looked at my mite drops on my bottom boards post my OAV treatment again, and most hives were showing SIGNIFICANT drops, including, very oddly, the hive I didn't successfully treat. As I mentioned a few posts ago, when I went to treat my final hive, my battery ran out of juice and the OA never vaporized, it just smoldered. After a few tries I gave up, but in spite of that, the hive dropped a TON of mites. Anyone else find that strange? I mean, some of the OA must have reached the colony obviously, but either this hive is LOADED with mites, or that small amount seemed to work just as well as a full dose, based on the similarity between the bottom boards.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on December 23, 2022, 07:54:29 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on December 23, 2022, 07:54:29 AM
I think about the bees when the weather is like this. -13 F and blowing 45 mph winds...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 23, 2022, 08:00:04 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 23, 2022, 08:00:04 AM
2 degrees F here at my location, here in the Sunny South as we speak. Wind chill is -15F i.e. ll. (ll little laughter) :cheesy: :grin:
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 23, 2022, 12:02:40 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 23, 2022, 12:02:40 PM
It's 13F here right now, and not going to get warmer. Our wind chill is in the single digits. It was extremely windy overnight, but it seems to have died down now.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 23, 2022, 02:06:06 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 23, 2022, 02:06:06 PM
It is 48 degrees F here now, was 67 when we got up this morning. Winds are 7 to 16 mph. Temperature is constantly dropping and will bee in the low 20s tonight we won?t see 40 until next Wednesday. I have been draining hoses and blowing out water pipes all morning and covering up well heads.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on December 26, 2022, 03:37:35 AM
Post by: Lesgold on December 26, 2022, 03:37:35 AM
Was working on making a jig for safely cutting timber for bee frames. Unfortunately I had a bit of a mishap and had an argument with the bench saw. Won?t be able to count to ten anymore but I should be good with fractions. 9.25 will be my best count. I should be under the knife tomorrow morning.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
36 years years of teaching woodwork without a single incident and then one mistake ended up costing me my middle finger. We are never too old to stop learning.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
36 years years of teaching woodwork without a single incident and then one mistake ended up costing me my middle finger. We are never too old to stop learning.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 26, 2022, 04:19:09 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 26, 2022, 04:19:09 AM
Sorry Les. Even with experience it can happen to anyone. brucesbees, a nice guy from Alabama which makes some interesting videos, met with a similar fate.
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 26, 2022, 04:50:48 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on December 26, 2022, 04:50:48 AM
Wow, sorry to hear that Les. Is it your index finger that you lost?
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on December 26, 2022, 04:53:29 AM
Post by: Lesgold on December 26, 2022, 04:53:29 AM
Middle finger Jim. At least it will have minimal impact on what I?ll be able to do. The worst part will be the down time waiting for the finger stump to heal.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on December 26, 2022, 05:05:49 AM
Post by: NigelP on December 26, 2022, 05:05:49 AM
Sorry to hear of your loss Les..... :sad:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 26, 2022, 01:09:05 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 26, 2022, 01:09:05 PM
Oh no, Les! That's terrible!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: saltybluegrass on December 26, 2022, 06:41:53 PM
Post by: saltybluegrass on December 26, 2022, 06:41:53 PM
Great news! The temps touched 50 today and the girls were busy!
Nothing but warmer temps here on out
Nothing but warmer temps here on out
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 26, 2022, 07:09:23 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 26, 2022, 07:09:23 PM
Salty did the cold have and effect on the blooms in your part of South Florida?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on December 27, 2022, 08:24:49 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on December 27, 2022, 08:24:49 AM
I'm sorry about your finger. I worked with an old carpenter who had been using power saws for 50 years before he ever got cut. Ran a table saw through his thumb. Not too deep, but it never quite worked right after that. It only takes a split second. Things can go sideways really fast. Like lightning fast.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: saltybluegrass on December 27, 2022, 03:15:13 PM
Post by: saltybluegrass on December 27, 2022, 03:15:13 PM
My hibiscus is blooming like crazy so I think the 30 degrees didn?t hurt the flowers too bad.
After three days of no activity, they are making up for it today. Tons of activity to be seen
After three days of no activity, they are making up for it today. Tons of activity to be seen
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Pittwater Pete on December 28, 2022, 01:40:25 AM
Post by: Pittwater Pete on December 28, 2022, 01:40:25 AM
So sorry to hear about your mishap Les. I can only count to 9.5 ; router accident, took 3 finger tips off . You hang in there mate, it is a difficult road to recovery but it will be OK.
Best regards and good healing.
Pete.
Best regards and good healing.
Pete.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: saltybluegrass on December 28, 2022, 03:21:23 PM
Post by: saltybluegrass on December 28, 2022, 03:21:23 PM
https://youtube.com/shorts/lwSnszkHul0?feature=share
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 28, 2022, 07:33:08 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 28, 2022, 07:33:08 PM
Salty its nice seeing the green florae of your area. Its brown here form the frost and freeze, has been for a while..
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 28, 2022, 07:35:31 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 28, 2022, 07:35:31 PM
Quote from: saltybluegrass on December 28, 2022, 03:21:23 PMJust be careful putting open food out like that, Salty. If you are in a dearth, it'll draw in robbers. Even with a nectar flow, it's a good idea to feed a good ways away from the hives. If you feed right at your hives, the bees that aren't yours will tell their sisters about it, and when you remove the food, they'll try to rob your hives since they are zeroed in on that spot.
https://youtube.com/shorts/lwSnszkHul0?feature=share
We also finally had some warmer weather today; it got all the way to 50F and sunny. All my hives were flying except one, and I checked and they are alive too, so no one succumbed to the cold. I hefted and checked moistures quilts while I was out there.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: saltybluegrass on December 29, 2022, 11:17:01 AM
Post by: saltybluegrass on December 29, 2022, 11:17:01 AM
Yeah I figured it wasn?t the smartest move but I was just trying to treat them back as a way to say ty
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on January 18, 2023, 07:33:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on January 18, 2023, 07:33:01 PM
I checked on my hives today and found two low on stores, so I gave them some sugar balls.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on January 18, 2023, 10:18:05 PM
Post by: .30WCF on January 18, 2023, 10:18:05 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on December 26, 2022, 03:37:35 AMHow?s that healing up?
Was working on making a jig for safely cutting timber for bee frames. Unfortunately I had a bit of a mishap and had an argument with the bench saw. Won?t be able to count to ten anymore but I should be good with fractions. 9.25 will be my best count. I should be under the knife tomorrow morning.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
36 years years of teaching woodwork without a single incident and then one mistake ended up costing me my middle finger. We are never too old to stop learning.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 18, 2023, 10:43:57 PM
Post by: Lesgold on January 18, 2023, 10:43:57 PM
Going well. The minor cuts on a finger and thumb are healing well. The doctor who sewed up the stump of my finger did a great job. I invited her to wrap next years Christmas presents with those skills. About 2 1/2 weeks before I can get back into doing any work. The experts want my finger to heal over so there is no chance of infection. Sitting around is a pain but I?ve been playing with ideas for wax candles, lip balms etc so there is plenty of activity on the go at the moment. Just need to be careful in the use of the left hand.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on January 26, 2023, 10:34:50 PM
Post by: AustinB on January 26, 2023, 10:34:50 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on January 18, 2023, 10:43:57 PM
Going well. The minor cuts on a finger and thumb are healing well. The doctor who sewed up the stump of my finger did a great job. I invited her to wrap next years Christmas presents with those skills. About 2 1/2 weeks before I can get back into doing any work. The experts want my finger to heal over so there is no chance of infection. Sitting around is a pain but I?ve been playing with ideas for wax candles, lip balms etc so there is plenty of activity on the go at the moment. Just need to be careful in the use of the left hand.
Sorry about your finger Les, I am glad it's healing and that it wasn't worse.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on January 27, 2023, 10:08:39 AM
Post by: NigelP on January 27, 2023, 10:08:39 AM
Had fun with my new toy....A smart weighing and filling system. There are more sophisticated and more expensive systems but this one seems ideal for me. It's now past it's ultimate test by bottling 100+ jars of soft set honey. Life will never be the same :)
#
(https://i.ibb.co/FqKZt22/bottlersmall.jpg)
#
(https://i.ibb.co/FqKZt22/bottlersmall.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 27, 2023, 10:35:46 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 27, 2023, 10:35:46 AM
That a nice piece of equipment!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on January 27, 2023, 11:42:39 AM
Post by: Bob Wilson on January 27, 2023, 11:42:39 AM
Nice, Nigel. The wonders of modern technology.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on January 27, 2023, 01:17:39 PM
Post by: The15thMember on January 27, 2023, 01:17:39 PM
Awesome, Nigel! Also, I love your wallpaper. It makes a nice background. :happy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 27, 2023, 06:00:45 PM
Post by: Lesgold on January 27, 2023, 06:00:45 PM
That?s a flash bit of kit Nigel. I always love the colour of your soft set. Wish I could produce it to your standards. That device is going to save you a lot of time. I also use an automated machine but she complains often when she is asked to perform that task.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 27, 2023, 08:28:21 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 27, 2023, 08:28:21 PM
Lesgold
"I always love the colour of your soft set."
Les, I agreed! Nigel you do a great job on the soft-set as seen. I have not dealt with soft-set, therefore I did not realize it could be bottled in the neat way that you have demonstrated as in your picture. I was thinking it might be to thick. No doubt you are putting out a 'top quality' soft-set product! If you were in my area I would buy some if you had enough available! I bet it is sooo good!
Phillip
"I always love the colour of your soft set."
Les, I agreed! Nigel you do a great job on the soft-set as seen. I have not dealt with soft-set, therefore I did not realize it could be bottled in the neat way that you have demonstrated as in your picture. I was thinking it might be to thick. No doubt you are putting out a 'top quality' soft-set product! If you were in my area I would buy some if you had enough available! I bet it is sooo good!
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on January 28, 2023, 05:07:21 AM
Post by: NigelP on January 28, 2023, 05:07:21 AM
Thanks for the compliments. Making good soft set is relatively easy with my creaming machine. But, and that is the big but, you need the weather to be cold, so I make all my soft set during the winter. I'm not sure of the science but the churning of the machine breaking down the crystals into smaller and smaller ones. creates friction which generates heat. Whilst me garage might be 3- 4C the mixture (when it's ready) will be 21-22C.
If I try making soft set in our summer the temp is 25-26C and the soft set is much darker and not quite as smooth.
(https://i.ibb.co/QJT4rrw/cream2.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/mJVtzwS/cream1.jpg)
If I try making soft set in our summer the temp is 25-26C and the soft set is much darker and not quite as smooth.
(https://i.ibb.co/QJT4rrw/cream2.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/mJVtzwS/cream1.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 29, 2023, 05:25:23 PM
Post by: Lesgold on January 29, 2023, 05:25:23 PM
That may also be part of the reason that my soft set is much darker than yours. I?m using a small fridge set to 10C to make mine. It works quite well but I can only make small batches at a time. Two days ago the temperature only dropped to 22C overnight. It was one of those horrible, hot, sticky nights where sleeping was difficult. I kept the soft set in the fridge that night during that warm period.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on January 31, 2023, 12:59:42 PM
Post by: NigelP on January 31, 2023, 12:59:42 PM
Another "toy" to play with today. Although this is far from new....it's a Polish Potato boiler ideal for cleaning queen excluders and removing the wax left behind in the frames used for heather honey.
(https://i.ibb.co/b3D8gBN/boilersmall1.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZG6n3dX/boilersmall2.jpg)
Holds about 100 liters of water and boy does it clean up queen excluders and frames.
Below is before and after dipping half of a queen excluder, literally took seconds to melt the wax off. Managed to finish off cleaning all my heather frames, that was 30 supers in total and around 25 queen excluders...all before lunch!
(https://i.ibb.co/Jy1ssjy/boilersmall3.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/QXJtBZh/boilersmall4.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/b3D8gBN/boilersmall1.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZG6n3dX/boilersmall2.jpg)
Holds about 100 liters of water and boy does it clean up queen excluders and frames.
Below is before and after dipping half of a queen excluder, literally took seconds to melt the wax off. Managed to finish off cleaning all my heather frames, that was 30 supers in total and around 25 queen excluders...all before lunch!
(https://i.ibb.co/Jy1ssjy/boilersmall3.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/QXJtBZh/boilersmall4.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on January 31, 2023, 03:49:37 PM
Post by: Lesgold on January 31, 2023, 03:49:37 PM
Love your high tech gear Nigel. I use the same method. It really is quick to clean the excluders this way.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 31, 2023, 11:20:46 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 31, 2023, 11:20:46 PM
Nigel in my location propolis is produced in abundance.. I assume 'both' propolis and wax will come clean from the excluders by your method? If so can the two melted products be separated when recovered? I am assuming propels will float? New ground for me concerning the questions.
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on February 01, 2023, 04:16:19 AM
Post by: NigelP on February 01, 2023, 04:16:19 AM
Not sure ....but when it's all cooled down the floating wax is very dark....possibly because it also contains propolis....but don't quote me on that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on February 01, 2023, 05:13:25 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on February 01, 2023, 05:13:25 AM
Ben,
When you melt wax and propolis in water the wax is on top and then right below it is the propolis. If you remember from the old skep videos, the senior beekeeper would sit down with the blocks of wax and shave the dark layer of propolis from the bottom of the wax.
If you had enough of it to you might bee able to remelt it and spoon off the wax until you had only propolis.
One way to clean propolis is to melt it in alcohol. Filter it with fine cloth and then dry it out, leaving behind only pure propolis. I have done this, it took a long time to dry out.
Jim Altmiller
When you melt wax and propolis in water the wax is on top and then right below it is the propolis. If you remember from the old skep videos, the senior beekeeper would sit down with the blocks of wax and shave the dark layer of propolis from the bottom of the wax.
If you had enough of it to you might bee able to remelt it and spoon off the wax until you had only propolis.
One way to clean propolis is to melt it in alcohol. Filter it with fine cloth and then dry it out, leaving behind only pure propolis. I have done this, it took a long time to dry out.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 01, 2023, 02:43:13 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 01, 2023, 02:43:13 PM
As Jim said, the propolis will settle to the bottom of the wax. When the excluder is hot, there may be some propolis that remains on some of the flat surfaces of the excluder. A quick scrape with a paint scraper or hive tool while everything is hot and the soft propolis falls off. The dirty wax that comes off the excluders is just mixed with other wax from from old frames etc and processed as normal. The propolis is easily removed at that stage.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on February 04, 2023, 09:24:24 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on February 04, 2023, 09:24:24 AM
Its -30F/-34C here (without wind-chill). Ill skip doing anything in the bee yard today.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on February 04, 2023, 10:25:55 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on February 04, 2023, 10:25:55 AM
Man that cold!!! I don't blame you, I would not either!! :wink:
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: paus on February 04, 2023, 10:54:29 AM
Post by: paus on February 04, 2023, 10:54:29 AM
We have had almost a week of winter weather, and the bees also stayed home so I used a tractor front end fork to move a heavy double deep hive that was sitting on a very rotten "treated " hive stand.. I moved them about 60 feet. I have never done this as all the hives I ever moved went on a truck or trailer. Just a tip for those that need to move a topbar hive, I have been successful by standing the TB on its end and then push it over, upside down, into a PU or trailer. The temp is supposed to get to almost 60 degrees today so I plan on checking them out this PM. Time to start putting out traps in NE Texas.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: paus on February 04, 2023, 07:06:10 PM
Post by: paus on February 04, 2023, 07:06:10 PM
24 hours later, the move was successful, they are working and no bees at the old location.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on February 06, 2023, 08:11:16 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on February 06, 2023, 08:11:16 AM
Bees were flying yesterday. It was 54 F.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 06, 2023, 09:09:12 AM
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 06, 2023, 09:09:12 AM
68 degrees and sunny today. First inspection of the year this afternoon.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: JurassicApiary on February 06, 2023, 12:54:05 PM
Post by: JurassicApiary on February 06, 2023, 12:54:05 PM
Supposed to reach 78 here today. :tongue:
Wishing you all (especially beesnweeds in frozen NY) warm weather and happy bees!
Matthew
Wishing you all (especially beesnweeds in frozen NY) warm weather and happy bees!
Matthew
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 06, 2023, 05:27:00 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 06, 2023, 05:27:00 PM
I started cleaning up the apiary today in preparation for the new season. I removed some fallen branches and some thorny weeds that grow everywhere around here; I think they are really called greenbriar, but we call them Mick Jaggers. :cheesy: Our dogs also tend to use the apiary as their own personal restroom all winter, so there was that job to do. :oops: When I was up there, I noticed one of the hives had a ton of bees out front, and the entrance was very congested. It's still too cold to inspect, but I'm worried about them thinking about swarming, so I slapped a box of drawn comb with a little honey and pollen on top of them, and tomorrow morning when it's still cold out, I'll open a few more holes on their mouse guard. My bee suits are in the washer right now, since every year I seem to only get them washed just in time to get them dirty again. :grin: I also put my mason bee straws, which I had in the garage for safe-keeping over the winter, back outside in their can, and I helped my sister tattoo one of her goat kids.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on February 09, 2023, 02:29:39 PM
Post by: NigelP on February 09, 2023, 02:29:39 PM
I think bees get bored during the winter and need to do something......
I checked a couple of hives where I'd added about a kg of fondant 7 days ago that they really didn't need (insurance as expensive queens).
All gobbled down.
So added more.
I checked a couple of hives where I'd added about a kg of fondant 7 days ago that they really didn't need (insurance as expensive queens).
All gobbled down.
So added more.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: G3farms on February 09, 2023, 08:55:20 PM
Post by: G3farms on February 09, 2023, 08:55:20 PM
big winds all day long, sooooo......you guessed it put outer covers back on a couple of hives.
I did do the third round of winter patties the other day and a chunk of pollen patty for all.
So far got 31 hives coming out of winter, fingers crossed to keep them all till blooms pop.
A pretty mild winter here so far, with the exception of about 3 or 4 days that never got above 20*F (no need for you northerners to laugh), was about 67*F today. I look for a bunch of swarms this spring followed by a bunch of cut outs LOL.
I did do the third round of winter patties the other day and a chunk of pollen patty for all.
So far got 31 hives coming out of winter, fingers crossed to keep them all till blooms pop.
A pretty mild winter here so far, with the exception of about 3 or 4 days that never got above 20*F (no need for you northerners to laugh), was about 67*F today. I look for a bunch of swarms this spring followed by a bunch of cut outs LOL.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: salvo on February 10, 2023, 05:03:32 PM
Post by: salvo on February 10, 2023, 05:03:32 PM
Hi Folks,
South-east Massachusetts here.
Last Saturday, Feb 4, 2023: Low of -10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Today: 64 degrees Fahrenheit from 10 AM til about 3 PM.
Bees out, looking for something to do. Rolling and picking through my compost, paying close attention to the wood ashes and coffee grounds, harassing the birds at the feeder, and checking out whatever in the garage (door was open for me all day).
I pulled mouse guards and cleaned the BBs. I put some olde comb chunks with honey out to keep them occupied and away from the garage. They end up in the windows.
It has been overly warm here this winter, and forecast is pretty much the same.
OA vap later this month. Today could have been a good day though, but it was supposed to rain. I wasn't prepared.
Sal
South-east Massachusetts here.
Last Saturday, Feb 4, 2023: Low of -10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Today: 64 degrees Fahrenheit from 10 AM til about 3 PM.
Bees out, looking for something to do. Rolling and picking through my compost, paying close attention to the wood ashes and coffee grounds, harassing the birds at the feeder, and checking out whatever in the garage (door was open for me all day).
I pulled mouse guards and cleaned the BBs. I put some olde comb chunks with honey out to keep them occupied and away from the garage. They end up in the windows.
It has been overly warm here this winter, and forecast is pretty much the same.
OA vap later this month. Today could have been a good day though, but it was supposed to rain. I wasn't prepared.
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on February 14, 2023, 04:58:33 PM
Post by: AustinB on February 14, 2023, 04:58:33 PM
Just under 60 F here today. Just took a walk through the apiary and everyone is active, lots of pollen coming in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 16, 2023, 05:18:57 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 16, 2023, 05:18:57 PM
67F today. We went to Great Smoky Mountains National Park this morning for a walk in the woods and saw a river otter hunting and eating crayfish and mollusks in the river. First time we've seen one in the Park. When we got home I checked on the hives. A few needed some insurance sugar and their moisture quilts changed, and I opened up the mouse guards a little bit on some of the hives that were looking congested at the entrance. Only a week or two until first inspection, if the weather cooperates!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 16, 2023, 06:22:04 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 16, 2023, 06:22:04 PM
Gee Reagan, I would love to see some cooler temperatures. Should hit 90 today and about 100 tomorrow. Just finished inspections, alcohol washes and final extraction of honey at the home site. Only 6 more to do tomorrow and I?ll be finished for the season except for one more round of inspections. Bring on the cool weather.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 18, 2023, 01:41:13 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 18, 2023, 01:41:13 PM
My bees are really out and about this morning. I keep having different members of my family ask me if they are swarming or something because it's so loud in the garden. I think they are just looking for water, since it rained two nights ago and a lot of them are in the mud and lined up around their water bowl. It's sunny, but not even 50F out, and our low last night was 22F, so I'm a little surprised they are so active.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: G3farms on February 18, 2023, 06:37:26 PM
Post by: G3farms on February 18, 2023, 06:37:26 PM
Mine are just as active as well, all looking for water.
Big frost this morning and has finally make it to 50* F.
Had to put feed on several of them along with a little pollen.
Got 31 hives still, will see what happens in the next month or two.
Big frost this morning and has finally make it to 50* F.
Had to put feed on several of them along with a little pollen.
Got 31 hives still, will see what happens in the next month or two.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 20, 2023, 08:50:31 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 20, 2023, 08:50:31 PM
I took my mouse guards off today and replaced them with normal entrance reducers, since I can't stand how much pollen the bees drop when they stupidly squeeze through the tiny little nail hole instead of using the actual doorways! :angry: I spent the afternoon building frames and listening to the Dale Jr. Download.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on February 21, 2023, 06:23:16 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on February 21, 2023, 06:23:16 AM
Another reason I love only upper entrances. When I did use lower (and therefore mouse guards) I had the same problem. They tend to lose pollen and in the fall I hate to put them on too soon, but if I wait too long the mouse might already have moved in. Then in the spring it's the opposite problem. Not quite as bad because if I do remove them too soon, the mice won't have as long to wreck havoc. With only upper entrances I never put on mouse guards and never need them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 22, 2023, 05:40:49 PM
Post by: Lesgold on February 22, 2023, 05:40:49 PM
Hi Folks,
Just working through the process of streaming a few frames from a couple of dead out hives. The hives swarmed earlier in the season and the new queens obviously didn?t make it back from mating flights. It has been a job that I?ve meant to get around to but it?s been too hot to get a fire started. Wax moth and beetles had a play with these hives so they were a bit of a mess. Steamed 20 frames yesterday afternoon which resulted in a bit of wax recovered. Will finish the job later today. The frames are now clean and the wax will need to be melted and strained. I will expect to get just over 2kg of clean wax from the 20 frames. Steaming gives a good wax recovery from old frames.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Just working through the process of streaming a few frames from a couple of dead out hives. The hives swarmed earlier in the season and the new queens obviously didn?t make it back from mating flights. It has been a job that I?ve meant to get around to but it?s been too hot to get a fire started. Wax moth and beetles had a play with these hives so they were a bit of a mess. Steamed 20 frames yesterday afternoon which resulted in a bit of wax recovered. Will finish the job later today. The frames are now clean and the wax will need to be melted and strained. I will expect to get just over 2kg of clean wax from the 20 frames. Steaming gives a good wax recovery from old frames.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on February 24, 2023, 11:58:51 AM
Post by: AustinB on February 24, 2023, 11:58:51 AM
Spent yesterday working about 70% of my colonies, reversing brood boxes and inspecting brood frames. Laying patterns look great, lots of fresh pollen at the energy interface and most colonies have a surprising amount of fresh nectar. Spring is here early, although we are still in for some late spring VA freezes before we are out of the woods. No winter losses this year either.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 25, 2023, 03:47:52 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 25, 2023, 03:47:52 PM
It's been damp and rainy here for a few days, so I changed all my moisture quilts yesterday. I found several of my covers have mold growing underneath them. I would just remove quilts, but we're supposed to have more cold nights coming up, so I just sprayed the covers with some vinegar in the hopes that will arrest the mold at least somewhat. Also found some ants setting up shop under one of my lids. Perhaps the vinegar convince them not to return as well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 25, 2023, 09:03:36 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 25, 2023, 09:03:36 PM
I need to set my swarm traps out, but they are leaking some. So, I am making some aluminum caps for them from sheet aluminum from Home Depot
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 25, 2023, 10:24:14 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 25, 2023, 10:24:14 PM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on February 25, 2023, 09:03:36 PMI really need to do that to my wooden migratory covers before they get so rotten that it's not worth it anymore. :grin:
I need to set my swarm traps out, but they are leaking some. So, I am making some aluminum caps for them from sheet aluminum from Home Depot
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 25, 2023, 10:47:49 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 25, 2023, 10:47:49 PM
That's what is happening with me. I hope this will elongate the trap's life, but especially keep the dampness out of the box, and make it more appealing.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on February 26, 2023, 12:11:08 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on February 26, 2023, 12:11:08 AM
If you'll don't mind telling me, what did y'all make the failing migratory tops out of? (what material)
Thanks,
Phillip
Thanks,
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 26, 2023, 05:01:19 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 26, 2023, 05:01:19 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on February 26, 2023, 12:11:08 AMI purchased most of mine, so I'm assuming they are just pine. I do have one that my sister made for me out of plywood when I was having an equipment emergency, but it's quite warped, so I don't use it unless I have to. Although one of my store-bought ones is getting pretty warped too. My telescoping tops have held up much better, which I credit mostly to them being metal topped.
If you'll don't mind telling me, what did y'all make the failing migratory tops out of? (what material)
Thanks,
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: yes2matt on February 26, 2023, 06:46:32 PM
Post by: yes2matt on February 26, 2023, 06:46:32 PM
I made 4x splits using the "double screen board" method we learned last year at BeeFest. I made one regular split.
for the small, queenright, "upstairs" colony I wanted frame feeders but they're like $25 a piece (WHaT?) so I got a squeeze squirt bottle and used it to fill drawn comb with 2:1 syrup for a "frame feeder" a deep comb holds almost a quart. I figure it's just in case, the bees will clean it out and the queen will lay it up and I'll use the extra brood for my cut comb producers.
I'm not sure what to think of the mean bees. I get in there and about 15 minutes later it's time to go. And they chase. But there's thirty pounds of new capped honey on that hive and it's not March yet. It's worth it? I debate.
for the small, queenright, "upstairs" colony I wanted frame feeders but they're like $25 a piece (WHaT?) so I got a squeeze squirt bottle and used it to fill drawn comb with 2:1 syrup for a "frame feeder" a deep comb holds almost a quart. I figure it's just in case, the bees will clean it out and the queen will lay it up and I'll use the extra brood for my cut comb producers.
I'm not sure what to think of the mean bees. I get in there and about 15 minutes later it's time to go. And they chase. But there's thirty pounds of new capped honey on that hive and it's not March yet. It's worth it? I debate.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 26, 2023, 10:53:24 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on February 26, 2023, 10:53:24 PM
Ben Framed.
I believe I made my swarm boxes from 23/32 bcx plywood (made with water resistant adhesive), NOT ccx pressure treated plywood, which is poisonous.
They are 5 years old and not made very well. The degradation at the top is partly my fault.
I believe I made my swarm boxes from 23/32 bcx plywood (made with water resistant adhesive), NOT ccx pressure treated plywood, which is poisonous.
They are 5 years old and not made very well. The degradation at the top is partly my fault.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on February 26, 2023, 11:24:10 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on February 26, 2023, 11:24:10 PM
Thanks Bob and Reagan for your answers.
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on February 27, 2023, 06:10:57 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on February 27, 2023, 06:10:57 AM
It just made it above freezing and now it's raining. I have done nothing in the beeyard all winter except look for flying bees when it was warm enough.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on February 27, 2023, 11:26:55 AM
Post by: cao on February 27, 2023, 11:26:55 AM
Yesterday was warm and the bees were flying. Did a walk through my bee yard at my house and all but two had bees bringing in pollen. The two had bees flying in and out but it looked like robbing a dead hive to me. Will open these hives later to comfirm. The winter isn't over but two dead out of 35 isn't bad considering about 10 of them were very light going into winter. Still need to check my other yard.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on February 27, 2023, 08:24:16 PM
Post by: Occam on February 27, 2023, 08:24:16 PM
All I did was enjoy watching the bees flying about when I got home from work. Both of my hives busy, especially my Lang hive. Bunched up around the top entrance. 73 today, lows around 50, repeat tomorrow.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: saltybluegrass on March 01, 2023, 06:08:35 PM
Post by: saltybluegrass on March 01, 2023, 06:08:35 PM
Quote from: Occam on February 27, 2023, 08:24:16 PMWhy won?t my phones pictures fit in these posts?
All I did was enjoy watching the bees flying about when I got home from work. Both of my hives busy, especially my Lang hive. Bunched up around the top entrance. 73 today, lows around 50, repeat tomorrow.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
How did you get the pic in here.?
That?s why I post videos because the dang pictures don?t work.
Anyway my girls are enjoying some of the heaviest pollen of the season but the neighbors favorite approach to the first blooms of dandelion is call the poison sprayers to kill them
So I?m watching for any poison problems
But honestly the few lizards and birds eating the small amount of entrance bees isn?t bad at all
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 01, 2023, 06:31:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 01, 2023, 06:31:50 PM
Quote from: saltybluegrass on March 01, 2023, 06:08:35 PMYou just need to resize them. Check out this thread. https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=51631.msg499186#msg499186
Why won?t my phones pictures fit in these posts?
How did you get the pic in here.?
That?s why I post videos because the dang pictures don?t work.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 02, 2023, 08:02:50 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 02, 2023, 08:02:50 AM
Bees flying yesterday. Still freezing at night.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jimineycricket on March 02, 2023, 10:05:07 AM
Post by: jimineycricket on March 02, 2023, 10:05:07 AM
Did not do much in the apiary today.
Had three inches of new snow this morning.
Had three inches of new snow this morning.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 04, 2023, 07:03:24 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 04, 2023, 07:03:24 PM
I was able to sneak in my first inspections today. The high was supposed to be 61F, but by 11:00 it was already 56 and sunny and the bees were flying, so I went for it. I took off my moisture quilts and gave almost all my hives a checkerboarded box. Some also got a frame or two of honey just to be safe. The wild fruit trees are starting to bloom, but we are supposed to have cold temps next week, which could kill all the flowers. :sad: Two of the hives have walking drones and queen cups already, but I don't want to split until the cold weather is past.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 06, 2023, 09:34:28 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 06, 2023, 09:34:28 PM
Got my first sting of the season today. One of the bees from my mean hive nailed me in the arm when I went over there to look at them. I put my propolis salve on it as an experiment, and it's really helping with the swelling and redness, although it's still very tender.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: TheHoneyPump on March 06, 2023, 11:00:26 PM
Post by: TheHoneyPump on March 06, 2023, 11:00:26 PM
No bees flying here .. Yet
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230307/403d059918bdd042a97bd060b83323fa.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230307/9956ae1125bbdc0acca76f6f621337ae.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230307/403d059918bdd042a97bd060b83323fa.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230307/9956ae1125bbdc0acca76f6f621337ae.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on March 06, 2023, 11:24:54 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on March 06, 2023, 11:24:54 PM
dang.That pic makes me glad im in fl. Itll be an interesting day tomorrow Im about 3 weeks behind. Just got done loading the truck up with empty nucs and the trailer with boxes/waxed foundation.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: saltybluegrass on March 08, 2023, 11:21:02 AM
Post by: saltybluegrass on March 08, 2023, 11:21:02 AM
Quote from: The15thMember on March 06, 2023, 09:34:28 PMDon?t laugh but I?ve been so bored lately, I?m welcoming a sting just to feel alive again!!!
Got my first sting of the season today. One of the bees from my mean hive nailed me in the arm when I went over there to look at them. I put my propolis salve on it as an experiment, and it's really helping with the swelling and redness, although it's still very tender.
I wander over by the boxes and put my finger down on the landing board but no avail. They must like me
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 08, 2023, 11:24:37 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 08, 2023, 11:24:37 AM
>I put my propolis salve on it as an experiment, and it's really helping with the swelling and redness, although it's still very tender.
Plantain is the cure.
Plantain is the cure.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 08, 2023, 12:10:08 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 08, 2023, 12:10:08 PM
Plantain might be of some help with Reagan; 😊 I gather that Salty is not looking for a stings cure, but the excitement of the experience of the sting itself! lol
"saltybluegrass"
"Don't laugh but I've been so bored lately, I'm welcoming a sting just to feel alive again!!!
I wander over by the boxes and put my finger down on the landing board but no avail. They must like me."
That was funny Salty! Thanks for the smile! Hang in there friend, those girls may show some temper yet... 😊
Phillip
"saltybluegrass"
"Don't laugh but I've been so bored lately, I'm welcoming a sting just to feel alive again!!!
I wander over by the boxes and put my finger down on the landing board but no avail. They must like me."
That was funny Salty! Thanks for the smile! Hang in there friend, those girls may show some temper yet... 😊
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 08, 2023, 12:44:14 PM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 08, 2023, 12:44:14 PM
I know what he means. My last sting was last fall. I do miss getting stung.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 08, 2023, 12:54:49 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 08, 2023, 12:54:49 PM
I don't ever seem to have plantain growing in my apiary. My sister has it in one of her pastures, but it's inconveniently far if I get stung. I really need to get some growing closer at hand. I discovered a new sting remedy yesterday, by the way. My arm swelled up like crazy (as usual), and I really didn't want to take any Benadryl yesterday because we had some people coming over to look at my sister's goat kids, and the Benadryl makes me so drowsy and unfocused. I did some googling and I found that quercetin, a compound in black tea, is a natural antihistamine, so I made some really strong black tea, soaked a gauze sponge in it, and adhered it to my arm with some vet-wrap, and it worked really well! The swelling went down, it didn't itch as badly, and no side effects! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 08, 2023, 01:33:28 PM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 08, 2023, 01:33:28 PM
Generally Plantain grows anywhere the soil is packed and that is almost always on the path to, if not in, the apiary...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 08, 2023, 02:23:16 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 08, 2023, 02:23:16 PM
Quote from: Michael Bush on March 08, 2023, 01:33:28 PMMy apiary is on the edge of a forested hill, so the soil is not really packed, since the ground is very leaf-covered, even on the path. We do have plantain grow in our driveway, but I'm a little trepidatious (is that a word?), I have trepidations about putting something in my mouth or on a break in the skin that the car has been running over and/or the dogs may have peed on. :oops:
Generally Plantain grows anywhere the soil is packed and that is almost always on the path to, if not in, the apiary...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on March 10, 2023, 07:27:11 PM
Post by: Lesgold on March 10, 2023, 07:27:11 PM
Just finished stamping some frames in the workshop. The brass stamp is heated by a propane torch. I spent a lot of time designing the heating configuration to hold the torch and engraver. LOL. The funny thing is, it does a good job.
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Frames are held in a jig so that the engraver burns the pattern in the correct location.
[attachment=1][/attachment]
It?s nothing special but it works.
Cheers
Les
[attachment=0][/attachment]
Frames are held in a jig so that the engraver burns the pattern in the correct location.
[attachment=1][/attachment]
It?s nothing special but it works.
Cheers
Les
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 11, 2023, 07:00:12 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 11, 2023, 07:00:12 PM
I built frames today until I ran out of nails. Then I drilled some holes into some strangely-shaped pieces of wood for native bee nesting blocks.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on March 12, 2023, 12:03:22 AM
Post by: Lesgold on March 12, 2023, 12:03:22 AM
10 days ago I decided to move a hive about 20m so that it could be combined with a queenless hive. The hive was moved onto a stand next to the recipient hive and that hive was then double checked for brood and eggs just in case. I did find some freshly laid eggs and brood in a good pattern so I had obviously missed the signs of supercedure on my last inspection. Decided to leave the donor hive where it was as it was in the middle of the yard and needed moving anyway. A small, 2 frame nuc hive was then moved to the original hive location to pick up returning adult bees. This hive needed a boost in numbers as it had very little nectar stored. The queen was laying but the field force was quite small. Within an hour, the nuc was full of bees. Two days later the bees were placed into a 5 frame nuc with an extra frame of capped brood and 2 empty frames added. Just checked the nuc 5 minutes ago. Looks like the queen may have been balled as she was nowhere to be seen. A couple of capped queen cells were located on the centre frame. There is still quite a few drones flying and the nights are warm so there is a good chance that she may be mated before the weather cools. I want to get this nuc moved to a stand before the queen hatches.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on March 12, 2023, 01:24:11 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on March 12, 2023, 01:24:11 PM
Yesterday was an interesting day. Marley and I marked new queens, moved virgins into mating nucs, pulled our bees out of trees, and pulled mated queens out of hives and nuked them to keep those hives from swarming. Im going to say shes good for me. A virgin queen flys off she says I guess we don?t have to worry about putting her in a nuc do we, We watch the bees fly up into a tree, she says I guess we should have looked at them last weekend instead of doing what we did. We get in a queenless hive and I get stung to pieces, she says you know, probably should have put your gloves on . And at the end of a 10 hr day without lunch she says with a big old smile on her face, grandpa we had a really good day today, I had a lot of fun. . I cant even get aggravated with a trooper like that around me. Waxing plastic foundations and dipping old painted boxes today, should be out working bees but ran out of ready wooden-ware.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 12, 2023, 05:01:03 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 12, 2023, 05:01:03 PM
Quote from: Bill Murray on March 12, 2023, 01:24:11 PMThat's so cool, Bill. It sounds like beekeeping is a real passion for her.
Yesterday was an interesting day. Marley and I marked new queens, moved virgins into mating nucs, pulled our bees out of trees, and pulled mated queens out of hives and nuked them to keep those hives from swarming. Im going to say shes good for me. A virgin queen flys off she says I guess we don?t have to worry about putting her in a nuc do we, We watch the bees fly up into a tree, she says I guess we should have looked at them last weekend instead of doing what we did. We get in a queenless hive and I get stung to pieces, she says you know, probably should have put your gloves on . And at the end of a 10 hr day without lunch she says with a big old smile on her face, grandpa we had a really good day today, I had a lot of fun. . I cant even get aggravated with a trooper like that around me. Waxing plastic foundations and dipping old painted boxes today, should be out working bees but ran out of ready wooden-ware.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on March 12, 2023, 06:19:36 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on March 12, 2023, 06:19:36 PM
You know its a lot of stings, sweat and tears. And she just keeps plugging along trying to learn more. Just wish I could get her back out of gloves.
Gonna try a pic.
Well didnt work keeps coming out sideways. Thought I had this must have forgot.
Gonna try a pic.
Well didnt work keeps coming out sideways. Thought I had this must have forgot.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 23, 2023, 10:09:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 23, 2023, 10:09:50 PM
I inspected all my nice hives today. One hive was packed with bees, so I split them. Tomorrow I have to deal with the mean hive and the mean hive's neighbor, which has also become pretty mean lately, but I think it may just be because they have bad neighbors.
I plan to assassinate the mean hive's queen, then systematically eliminate her offspring. Eventually support for her government will die out, and I will then install a young puppet ruler of my choosing, who will be accepted by the remaining populace without resistance in their desperation for a stable society. Hopefully the new queen will govern the colony more to my liking. :cool:
I plan to assassinate the mean hive's queen, then systematically eliminate her offspring. Eventually support for her government will die out, and I will then install a young puppet ruler of my choosing, who will be accepted by the remaining populace without resistance in their desperation for a stable society. Hopefully the new queen will govern the colony more to my liking. :cool:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on March 23, 2023, 11:04:50 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on March 23, 2023, 11:04:50 PM
I plan to assassinate the mean hive's queen, then systematically eliminate her offspring. Eventually support for her government will die out, and I will then install a young puppet ruler of my choosing, who will be accepted by the remaining populace without resistance in their desperation for a stable society. Hopefully the new queen will govern the colony more to my liking
Haha I like that.
Haha I like that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 24, 2023, 07:20:21 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 24, 2023, 07:20:21 PM
The revolution has begun! :cheesy: They actually weren't as bad to work today as they were last fall. Still bumping my head and occasionally chewing at my wrist, but not the cloud of angry bees following my hands around like before. The hive wasn't overly full, so I easily found the queen and sent her to her early grave. I'll remove their queen cells next week, and give them a frame of eggs from my nicest hive.
Also everyone's sugar rolls came back either 0 or 1 mite, so my winter OAV treatments clearly worked.
Also everyone's sugar rolls came back either 0 or 1 mite, so my winter OAV treatments clearly worked.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on March 24, 2023, 11:40:53 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on March 24, 2023, 11:40:53 PM
Not to change the subject but why am I seeing double locations??
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 25, 2023, 01:39:06 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 25, 2023, 01:39:06 AM
Good question. I will check it out.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 27, 2023, 07:37:05 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 27, 2023, 07:37:05 PM
It was a nice, breezy, low-humidity day here today, so I painted all my new polystyrene equipment, along with the pallet I'm going to use as a stand. I've never used pallet stands before, only cinder blocks, but the manufacturer recommended having the bottom board supported on all sides, and we had our freezer dryer come on this 1/2 size pallet, so it seemed like the perfect thing to use. I may put the pallet on cinder blocks if I find the hive is too low to work comfortably. I've never used any 10 frame equipment before either, so it's all new with this thing! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 27, 2023, 07:49:09 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 27, 2023, 07:49:09 PM
Bill,
Not to change the subject but why am I seeing double locations??
Robo corrected it. It was just an error in the code.
Jim Altmiller
Not to change the subject but why am I seeing double locations??
Robo corrected it. It was just an error in the code.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: G3farms on March 27, 2023, 09:44:28 PM
Post by: G3farms on March 27, 2023, 09:44:28 PM
finished pulling the feeder shims on hives and added queen excluders and honey super to the hives that are boiling over.
Some hives were just starting to build comb in the feeder shims, so a little bonus was some tasty honey, some was just starting to be capped, it is time.
note..........dogwoods are blooming, first ones I saw were saturday........hint hint
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on March 27, 2023, 10:21:03 PM
Post by: cao on March 27, 2023, 10:21:03 PM
Yesterday was warm and the bees were flying. Cleaned up 2 more dead hives. Saw lots of drones flying for the first time, so i guess I need to go through my hives for the first time and plan on pulling a few queens to simulate a swarm for making splits. Today I prepositioned a bunch of 5 frame boxes for the splits to come later.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 28, 2023, 03:45:28 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 28, 2023, 03:45:28 AM
I made up 8 boxes of 11 for Ames fitting in a 10 frame box. We have the talked about this at BeeFest for the last two years and finally got around to it. Used an old small table saw. Cut one side first on 88 frames and then adjusted the setting and cut the other her side.
I also cleaned up another 6 boxes of frames and removed all wax and plastic foundation.
Jim Altmiller
I also cleaned up another 6 boxes of frames and removed all wax and plastic foundation.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on March 28, 2023, 10:39:15 PM
Post by: Occam on March 28, 2023, 10:39:15 PM
Couple days late but unfortunately cleaned out the log hive, dead out. I think I'm going to convert it into a swarm trap on my property and just move any bees that move in to a Lang hive. I had a lot of fun building it but unfortunately it was rather difficult to manage given that not one thing on it is standard size. So I'm going to put in a couple cross bars and set some Lang frames in for them to start on if they move in. Seems like a better use for it and it's a pretty ideal volume for a swarm trap, basically 1.5 deeps equivalent volume.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 28, 2023, 10:59:52 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 28, 2023, 10:59:52 PM
Quote from: Occam on March 28, 2023, 10:39:15 PMWell, it was an interesting experiment anyway. I bet it'll make a great swarm trap.
Couple days late but unfortunately cleaned out the log hive, dead out. I think I'm going to convert it into a swarm trap on my property and just move any bees that move in to a Lang hive. I had a lot of fun building it but unfortunately it was rather difficult to manage given that not one thing on it is standard size. So I'm going to put in a couple cross bars and set some Lang frames in for them to start on if they move in. Seems like a better use for it and it's a pretty ideal volume for a swarm trap, basically 1.5 deeps equivalent volume.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on March 28, 2023, 11:24:09 PM
Post by: Occam on March 28, 2023, 11:24:09 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on March 28, 2023, 10:59:52 PMQuote from: Occam on March 28, 2023, 10:39:15 PMWell, it was an interesting experiment anyway. I bet it'll make a great swarm trap.
Couple days late but unfortunately cleaned out the log hive, dead out. I think I'm going to convert it into a swarm trap on my property and just move any bees that move in to a Lang hive. I had a lot of fun building it but unfortunately it was rather difficult to manage given that not one thing on it is standard size. So I'm going to put in a couple cross bars and set some Lang frames in for them to start on if they move in. Seems like a better use for it and it's a pretty ideal volume for a swarm trap, basically 1.5 deeps equivalent volume.
Right. Live and learn. It's a part of nature, at once both beautiful and brutal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 29, 2023, 06:53:59 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 29, 2023, 06:53:59 AM
Occam,
Bee sure to put it next to a tree trunk. I find that bees goto swarm traps that are strapped to a tree much more often than the ones out in the sun.
Jim Altmiller
Bee sure to put it next to a tree trunk. I find that bees goto swarm traps that are strapped to a tree much more often than the ones out in the sun.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 29, 2023, 09:45:13 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 29, 2023, 09:45:13 AM
"much more often than the ones out in the sun."
I'll second that. I even once had a swarm enter a stored empty hive, inside a closed 'dark' garage.
Phillip
I'll second that. I even once had a swarm enter a stored empty hive, inside a closed 'dark' garage.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on March 29, 2023, 10:50:27 PM
Post by: Occam on March 29, 2023, 10:50:27 PM
Good call, thanks for the advice!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 31, 2023, 07:40:15 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 31, 2023, 07:40:15 AM
Nice yesterday and I got into a few hives after work, mostly looking for the dead ones. 63 F this morning. They say it will be 34 F this time tomorrow... If you don't like the weather, just wait few minutes.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 31, 2023, 11:26:18 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on March 31, 2023, 11:26:18 PM
Today...
1. Paper combined a swarm into the Layen's hive, which was queenless.
2. Started pulling capped brood frames from nucs into production hives.
3. Three days ago I marked a queen, and for the first time she flew away instead of heading back inside the colony. But checking today, I found she returned, with the pretty red dot on her back. I started marking queens whenever I run across them. Most of them are marked, some this year, some yellow from last year.
1. Paper combined a swarm into the Layen's hive, which was queenless.
2. Started pulling capped brood frames from nucs into production hives.
3. Three days ago I marked a queen, and for the first time she flew away instead of heading back inside the colony. But checking today, I found she returned, with the pretty red dot on her back. I started marking queens whenever I run across them. Most of them are marked, some this year, some yellow from last year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on April 01, 2023, 09:40:25 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on April 01, 2023, 09:40:25 PM
Bob, thats funny Thursday I had a laying queen, I caught her, marked her, and when I set her back in she took off. Today marley and I went back out there, and there she was,back in the box. 2 Hives later we had a huge queen already marked. She just took off, and hit the ground about 3 ft away. I picked her up and put her back in, she took off again, almost crashed and then the second stage afterburners kicked in to who knows where. Marley said how did that happen? She was mated, I replied no one will ever believe you if you tell them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on April 02, 2023, 12:06:31 AM
Post by: Occam on April 02, 2023, 12:06:31 AM
Beautiful warm day here, reached a nice 68. Didn't do anything but observe the bees flying, noticed 2 drones wandering around the entrance.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 02, 2023, 12:44:08 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 02, 2023, 12:44:08 PM
It was one of the windiest days I've ever seen around here yesterday. It was forecast to be worse in the afternoon, so in the morning I did queen cell reduction in my splits and gave the mean hive their frame of eggs. Hopefully I got all their queen cells. As I was finishing up, I was thinking I'd better get out from under the trees before a branch clonks me on the head. I gathered up my stuff and went down to the garage, thinking about my bees, and I pressed the garage door button 4 times and was like "Why isn't this garage door working?!", and then I realized the lights weren't working either. Apparently the power had gone out while I was in the apiary, and it wasn't restored until after 11 PM last night.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 02, 2023, 09:08:31 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 02, 2023, 09:08:31 PM
I finished merging a swarm with a large queenless hive. They tore down the paper after two days. They are building comb quickly.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on April 02, 2023, 09:52:04 PM
Post by: cao on April 02, 2023, 09:52:04 PM
The start of the first inspections of my hives. Got about 1/3 of them done today. Made up five nucs, reduced two hives down to 1 box and pulled two boxes of honey.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 03, 2023, 06:30:08 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on April 03, 2023, 06:30:08 AM
I've had queens fly off. The closer they are to when they mated, the flightier they are. Pay attention and you'll see they get runny usually just before they decide to fly. Here's what I would do:
https://bushfarms.com/beesqueenflying.htm
https://bushfarms.com/beesqueenflying.htm
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on April 03, 2023, 08:29:10 PM
Post by: Occam on April 03, 2023, 08:29:10 PM
Unusual warm weather today and tomorrow, 88 today in Tulsa, OK area. Bees bearding like crazy on the hive
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 03, 2023, 09:27:01 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 03, 2023, 09:27:01 PM
Occam,
If bees are bearding, add some insulation under the roof. Makes a big difference.
Jim Altmiller
If bees are bearding, add some insulation under the roof. Makes a big difference.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on April 03, 2023, 10:57:43 PM
Post by: Occam on April 03, 2023, 10:57:43 PM
Thanks! Was considering moving them into the horizontal hives I have pretty much ready which have 2x walls and insulated tops. They just need to be painted, not a good idea to paint when the box is occupied, right?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 04, 2023, 06:52:13 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 04, 2023, 06:52:13 AM
I?m sure you could do it but the paint fumes would bee pretty bad and you would have 🐝 stuck to the wet paint so I wouldn?t do it. Just paint it first then after it dries, move them in.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 15, 2023, 07:05:07 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 15, 2023, 07:05:07 PM
Another eventful day of beekeeping. I was planning on cleaning up my poison-out equipment this morning, but when I went outside, one of my hives, Queen Freya's, looked VERY active, so I figured I'd better get my new poly hive set up and leveled in case they decided to swarm. Sure enough, at around noon they took off and landed on my oh so convenient 4 ft. tall swarm tree that never fails me. :grin: They even decided to hang out on a vine dangling from one of the branches, so they were out over the ground and not all clustered on the trunk. It was a BIG swarm; it took me 3 shakes to get them all, even with their ideal position. I'm excited to see how they do in the poly hive, which is also my first 10 frame hive. After lunch I did 3 inspections, including a check on my poisoned hive, which is still alive and seems to be on the road to recovery.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 15, 2023, 11:15:09 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 15, 2023, 11:15:09 PM
It was a good bee day for sure for you Reagan. Thumbs up. :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 21, 2023, 07:03:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 21, 2023, 07:03:26 PM
I checked 2 hives for new queens today, and I saw a new queen in one and eggs in both, so they are good to go. I named the new queens Artemis and Aurora. I also checked a swarm I caught on 4/11 and found BIAS, which means the swarm must have come from outside my yard, because I'm not missing any mated queens, and this queen must have started laying the day I hived her, so she wasn't a virgin from a queen cell I missed. I named her Mystery after SpongeBob's seahorse who appears in a single episode, and not at all because I couldn't figure out where the swarm came from. :wink: :grin:
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 22, 2023, 12:26:18 AM
Post by: .30WCF on April 22, 2023, 12:26:18 AM
Formic pro day for spring.
This is the top box of five mediums. Actually kind of hoping it kills the queens so I don?t have to deal with swarms for a bit. Just joking, or am I? It?s good temps for formic, so I should be good. I actually added it last Friday, and it?s been below 80.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230422/6a28c360948258b6c00d862e4704ce31.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This is the top box of five mediums. Actually kind of hoping it kills the queens so I don?t have to deal with swarms for a bit. Just joking, or am I? It?s good temps for formic, so I should be good. I actually added it last Friday, and it?s been below 80.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230422/6a28c360948258b6c00d862e4704ce31.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 22, 2023, 01:34:56 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 22, 2023, 01:34:56 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on April 22, 2023, 12:26:18 AMHoly cow! I've got a couple colonies in 4 8-frame mediums, but 5 already, and that full of bees!
Formic pro day for spring.
This is the top box of five mediums. Actually kind of hoping it kills the queens so I don?t have to deal with swarms for a bit. Just joking, or am I? It?s good temps for formic, so I should be good. I actually added it last Friday, and it?s been below 80.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230422/6a28c360948258b6c00d862e4704ce31.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 23, 2023, 06:11:20 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 23, 2023, 06:11:20 PM
Not exactly in my apiary, completed the design of this beehive stamp. I copied it from the one Michael had made and has on his hives.
This is the first step. I?m 3d printing it right now. Once complete, Bill Murray will use these stamps to make molds and then we will do the final casting in brass.
Jim Altmiller
This is the first step. I?m 3d printing it right now. Once complete, Bill Murray will use these stamps to make molds and then we will do the final casting in brass.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on April 24, 2023, 12:29:20 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on April 24, 2023, 12:29:20 AM
Well Im almost caught up. But the interesting thing today for me was the Jar gadget that my daughter got for me X-mass I think 2 yrs ago finally has bees drawing comb in the jars.
Last year I had them in a double deep. they swarmed multiple times and never touched the jars. This year I made them queenless, in a single 8 frame deep and viola. Drawing like crazy in the jars.
Last year I had them in a double deep. they swarmed multiple times and never touched the jars. This year I made them queenless, in a single 8 frame deep and viola. Drawing like crazy in the jars.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 24, 2023, 01:10:34 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 24, 2023, 01:10:34 AM
What a difference a day makes. On Saturday they weren?t building anything. They must have made the decision to build on Saturday.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 25, 2023, 09:32:09 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 25, 2023, 09:32:09 AM
Here is a picture ot two of them that I printed yesterday. It took over 10 hours for each one.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 27, 2023, 03:44:25 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 27, 2023, 03:44:25 PM
Very interesting Jim. Let us know how this works out.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 27, 2023, 06:58:25 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 27, 2023, 06:58:25 PM
I will bee giving them to Bill tonight at our meeting. He will make the molds and pour the brass in the molds.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on April 27, 2023, 08:50:48 PM
Post by: Occam on April 27, 2023, 08:50:48 PM
Those are cool Jim, I've never gotten into 3d printing
I got off work a little early and found I had a little spare time when I got home so I stained one of my horizontal hives with deck stain finally. Happened upon a gallon of Cabot stain that was mistinted at Lowes for 10 bucks, figured it was good enough.
Unfortunately I've been extremely busy with other aspects of life and missed my chance to split my lang hive and they swarmed on me. Hopefully I had someone call me about an established hive about an hour and a half from me that's in the wall of a house they're getting ready to tear down and they'd like me to come do a cut out. Hopefully I'll be able to get them in a few weeks, I'm tied up the next couple weekends
I got off work a little early and found I had a little spare time when I got home so I stained one of my horizontal hives with deck stain finally. Happened upon a gallon of Cabot stain that was mistinted at Lowes for 10 bucks, figured it was good enough.
Unfortunately I've been extremely busy with other aspects of life and missed my chance to split my lang hive and they swarmed on me. Hopefully I had someone call me about an established hive about an hour and a half from me that's in the wall of a house they're getting ready to tear down and they'd like me to come do a cut out. Hopefully I'll be able to get them in a few weeks, I'm tied up the next couple weekends
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2023, 06:19:14 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2023, 06:19:14 PM
I did a couple inspections today. The first hive I opened, I heard a queen piping immediately upon removing the inner cover. Then I saw her sitting right on the top bars of the top box! She starting buzzing her wings, and I quickly, but carefully, put the lid back on. I'll check again next week to see if she has mated. I removed all the queen cells from my poisoned hive in preparation for combining them with the swarm I caught yesterday. I also inspected my 10-frame poly hive for the first time. The frame spacing is different in this hive, there is much less room than in my 8-frame woodenware. Is all 10-frame equipment like that, or is it just this brand?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2023, 08:09:27 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2023, 08:09:27 PM
Reagan,
That hive that you heard the queen piping, I would check it tomorrow. Put your ear on the box and listen and see how many different queens that you can hear. They each have different sounds. If you hear more than one, do a full inspection for queen cells. Have a dozen queen cages ready. Smoke lightly so that you don?t disturb the bees keeping the queens in their cells. Remove one frame at a time for the same reason.
Let us know what you find.
Jim Altmiller
That hive that you heard the queen piping, I would check it tomorrow. Put your ear on the box and listen and see how many different queens that you can hear. They each have different sounds. If you hear more than one, do a full inspection for queen cells. Have a dozen queen cages ready. Smoke lightly so that you don?t disturb the bees keeping the queens in their cells. Remove one frame at a time for the same reason.
Let us know what you find.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2023, 08:32:29 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2023, 08:32:29 PM
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2023, 08:09:27 PMI reduced the queen cells in this hive after they swarmed and left them with two. They then swarmed again this week with one of those virgins, so presuming I didn't miss any QCs, there aren't any other queens in there. Virgins still pipe even if they have no challengers, right?
Reagan,
That hive that you heard the queen piping, I would check it tomorrow. Put your ear on the box and listen and see how many different queens that you can hear. They each have different sounds. If you hear more than one, do a full inspection for queen cells. Have a dozen queen cages ready. Smoke lightly so that you don?t disturb the bees keeping the queens in their cells. Remove one frame at a time for the same reason.
Let us know what you find.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 30, 2023, 09:58:19 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 30, 2023, 09:58:19 AM
My experience has been, if I hear queens piping, there is more than one queen in the hive. And I reduce them down to one.
See if you can hear two different queens.
Jim Altmiller
See if you can hear two different queens.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 30, 2023, 02:26:06 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 30, 2023, 02:26:06 PM
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on April 30, 2023, 09:58:19 AMI went out and listened to the hive, and I don't hear anything today. Perhaps they fought it out yesterday evening.
My experience has been, if I hear queens piping, there is more than one queen in the hive. And I reduce them down to one.
See if you can hear two different queens.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on May 01, 2023, 07:11:29 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on May 01, 2023, 07:11:29 AM
Frost still on Saturday. Apples are blooming. Plums have been blooming since the 15th.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on May 01, 2023, 07:48:28 AM
Post by: Bob Wilson on May 01, 2023, 07:48:28 AM
There is that great Andy Williams song, "Music to watch girls". The lyrics go...
The boys watch the girls while the girls watch the boys who watch the girls go by...
This morning I am watching the bird eat the bees while the cat watches the bird watching the bees go by.
The boys watch the girls while the girls watch the boys who watch the girls go by...
This morning I am watching the bird eat the bees while the cat watches the bird watching the bees go by.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 02, 2023, 11:52:29 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 02, 2023, 11:52:29 AM
Quote
This morning I am watching the bird eat the bees while the cat watches the bird watching the bees go by.
:grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on May 07, 2023, 05:36:00 PM
Post by: Occam on May 07, 2023, 05:36:00 PM
So last year starting out beeking I read a couple articles about nadiring instead of supering and did that. When I inspected today I found no significant buildup of comb in the bottom box. Basically one frame of ten had been built on. So during the inspection I moved the frame with my new queen into the bottom box with two frames of newer comb with brood and one old frame (from the nuc last year) which was heavy with brood then threw on the queen excluder. I'm wanting to eliminate frames from the nuc as they're old and wearing out, figured since this was the broodnest I needed to separate her from it. I'll check in a couple weeks and see how things are progressing
This begs a question in retrospect however...I use a top entrance on my hive, not bottom. With her trapped on the bottom can you forsee any problems? She couldn't swarm now, not that I think they will. Can a virgin queen pass through an excluder?
This begs a question in retrospect however...I use a top entrance on my hive, not bottom. With her trapped on the bottom can you forsee any problems? She couldn't swarm now, not that I think they will. Can a virgin queen pass through an excluder?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 07, 2023, 05:59:33 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 07, 2023, 05:59:33 PM
Is this the hive that swarmed a few weeks ago?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on May 07, 2023, 06:14:37 PM
Post by: Occam on May 07, 2023, 06:14:37 PM
Yes, they swarmed a few weeks ago
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 07, 2023, 06:21:08 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 07, 2023, 06:21:08 PM
Quote from: Occam on May 07, 2023, 06:14:37 PM
Yes, they swarmed a few weeks ago
I have noticed when I have had swarms it takes a bit for them to rebound from the loss of the bees. The strength of the hive, along with the local flow dictates wax build up etc.
While inspecting your hive did you notice how many frames had eggs, larvae, pollen and honey etc? As well as nurse bees to cover? I am thinking it may be the loss of the workforce due to the swarm which may be what has retarded production in this hive?
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on May 07, 2023, 07:16:15 PM
Post by: Occam on May 07, 2023, 07:16:15 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on May 07, 2023, 06:21:08 PMQuote from: Occam on May 07, 2023, 06:14:37 PM
Yes, they swarmed a few weeks ago
I have noticed when I have had swarms it takes a bit for them to rebound from the loss of the bees. The strength of the hive, along with the local flow dictates wax build up etc.
While inspecting your hive did you notice how many frames had eggs, larvae, pollen and honey etc? As well as nurse bees to cover? I am thinking it may be the loss of the workforce due to the swarm which may be what has retarded production in this hive?
It could be but those frames were there all last year. They built out the top box last year just fine, but barely went into the lower box. They had the small amount started when I looked today, i only ever peeked into it from above last year and could see they hadnt builtnit out. We had a poor flow last year, sobi chaljed it up to that.
I'm actually starting to question whether they swarmed. I never saw the swarm, but the activity changed significantly, they had been bearding when it was low 80s then stopped suddenly when the Temps were the same. My queen wasn't marked when I bought the nuc and I never marked her.
As for brood/eggs, the frames were looking really good actually, there were 3 frames of mostly capped brood, 4 of mixed eggs, larva, and capped, and a couple of resources. No fault in her laying, which is what's making me question the swarming. With the different stages the hive would have had to have swarmed earlier than I was thinking I'm pretty sure
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 07, 2023, 08:22:23 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 07, 2023, 08:22:23 PM
Since it has been about three weeks since the suspected swarm, you have found resources which should be about on target for a healthy hive. As long as a good flow will continue, things should start picking up.
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 08, 2023, 12:55:54 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 08, 2023, 12:55:54 AM
Occam,
You say :
As for brood/eggs, the frames were looking really good actually, there were 3 frames of mostly capped brood, 4 of mixed eggs, larva, and capped, and a couple of resources. No fault in her laying, which is what's making me question the swarming. With the different stages the hive would have had to have swarmed earlier than I was thinking I'm pretty sure
If this was right after you thought they swarmed, then they didn?t swarm. Usually the bees put the queen on a diet to drop her to flying weight and she slows down her laying. Once she leaves, in three days, there won?t bee any eggs at all.
How many days after they slowed down did you inspect this hive?
Jim Altmiller
You say :
As for brood/eggs, the frames were looking really good actually, there were 3 frames of mostly capped brood, 4 of mixed eggs, larva, and capped, and a couple of resources. No fault in her laying, which is what's making me question the swarming. With the different stages the hive would have had to have swarmed earlier than I was thinking I'm pretty sure
If this was right after you thought they swarmed, then they didn?t swarm. Usually the bees put the queen on a diet to drop her to flying weight and she slows down her laying. Once she leaves, in three days, there won?t bee any eggs at all.
How many days after they slowed down did you inspect this hive?
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on May 08, 2023, 09:01:15 AM
Post by: Occam on May 08, 2023, 09:01:15 AM
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on May 08, 2023, 12:55:54 AM
Occam,
You say :
As for brood/eggs, the frames were looking really good actually, there were 3 frames of mostly capped brood, 4 of mixed eggs, larva, and capped, and a couple of resources. No fault in her laying, which is what's making me question the swarming. With the different stages the hive would have had to have swarmed earlier than I was thinking I'm pretty sure
If this was right after you thought they swarmed, then they didn?t swarm. Usually the bees put the queen on a diet to drop her to flying weight and she slows down her laying. Once she leaves, in three days, there won?t bee any eggs at all.
How many days after they slowed down did you inspect this hive?
Jim Altmiller
Yeah that's why I'm thinking they didn't swarm, or they swarmed much earlier than I thought. I started suspecting they swarmed 2 maybe 3 weeks ago looking at the calendar. The strength of the current population plus the egg/brood status makes me think I was wrong.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 10, 2023, 02:09:30 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 10, 2023, 02:09:30 AM
Its a learning experience for sure, my problem is I have took in so much information that sometimes I can't seem to retain it all, or recollect it all when I would like or need tool lol :wink:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 11, 2023, 02:20:07 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 11, 2023, 02:20:07 PM
I got a bunch of hives inspected yesterday. I saved the mean ones for last. When I was working their neighbors, they weren't bumping me, so I had hope that things had started to settle down in there now that they have a new queen laying. Nope. Stung twice and had to run for my life to get in the house without a smoker to disguise me. They are still chasing my family around the yard this morning. I really hope they settle down soon. :sad:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on May 11, 2023, 07:28:30 PM
Post by: Occam on May 11, 2023, 07:28:30 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on May 11, 2023, 02:20:07 PM
I got a bunch of hives inspected yesterday. I saved the mean ones for last. When I was working their neighbors, they weren't bumping me, so I had hope that things had started to settle down in there now that they have a new queen laying. Nope. Stung twice and had to run for my life to get in the house without a smoker to disguise me. They are still chasing my family around the yard this morning. I really hope they settle down soon. :sad:
That doesn't sound like a good time at all
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 13, 2023, 04:02:43 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 13, 2023, 04:02:43 PM
Today I quickly checked on the most recent swarm I hived. I was out of enough drawn comb to checkerboard them properly, so I just wanted to be sure they were drawing straight. But everything looked perfect in there, and I even happened to see eggs and the queen! :happy: Also, just to show how swarms are primed to draw comb, they had drawn almost 5 frames in 6 days.
Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on May 16, 2023, 11:29:22 PM
Post by: .30WCF on May 16, 2023, 11:29:22 PM
Pulled my back Sunday. I think it will be ok tomorrow, but dang it?s been tight. Like the kind of tight that locks your breath up.
I?ve got hives five boxes deep loaded with honey and when I ran out of mediums, I topped a couple with deeps.
Sunday I checked them. Nose high, fully capped, 80+ lb deeps. Needless to say I didn?t put them back in order. I need to pull honey this weekend.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I?ve got hives five boxes deep loaded with honey and when I ran out of mediums, I topped a couple with deeps.
Sunday I checked them. Nose high, fully capped, 80+ lb deeps. Needless to say I didn?t put them back in order. I need to pull honey this weekend.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 19, 2023, 07:36:07 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 19, 2023, 07:36:07 PM
I had my Dad with me in the apiary for the first time ever today. I had planned to inspect just one hive with him, but he enjoyed it so much, he stayed for another! :happy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 19, 2023, 07:38:44 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 19, 2023, 07:38:44 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on May 19, 2023, 07:36:07 PM
I had my Dad with me in the apiary for the first time ever today. I had planned to inspect just one hive with him, but he enjoyed it so much, he stayed for another! :happy:
That is awesome! Welcome to Beekeeping Reagans' Dad!
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: rast on May 19, 2023, 09:14:11 PM
Post by: rast on May 19, 2023, 09:14:11 PM
Started pulling supers, I wore out quick.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 20, 2023, 02:36:57 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 20, 2023, 02:36:57 AM
Are you having a good productive honey year Rick?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 01, 2023, 04:50:39 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 01, 2023, 04:50:39 PM
Managed to get all my inspecting done before lunch today, which was good since it is very humid and hot here. The sourwoods have just opened! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: animal on July 01, 2023, 06:07:47 PM
Post by: animal on July 01, 2023, 06:07:47 PM
finally got around to getting them swapped over to the hive built weeks ago. couldn't find queen, but brood looks good and growing.
the nuc had been sitting on a bench I built 20 years ago out of spare decking boards. The seat lifts up and is compartment for junk. They had started going into there through gaps in the wood to build comb.... subtle hint they wanted more space, and I was too slow, I guess :cheesy:
the nuc had been sitting on a bench I built 20 years ago out of spare decking boards. The seat lifts up and is compartment for junk. They had started going into there through gaps in the wood to build comb.... subtle hint they wanted more space, and I was too slow, I guess :cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 03, 2023, 06:42:52 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 03, 2023, 06:42:52 AM
I added a bunch of supers yesterday.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 03, 2023, 01:49:47 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 03, 2023, 01:49:47 PM
Awesome! What is the main flow this time of year in your area Mr Bush? My flow has fizzled down in my part of the South..
I still haven't tried them, but I am told that soybeans as well as cotton provides a good source for bees to gather. I might need to move a few hives to such places 'just to see' what is what for myself.. (which would provide me an additional flow that I have not taken advantage of here.)
Phillip
I still haven't tried them, but I am told that soybeans as well as cotton provides a good source for bees to gather. I might need to move a few hives to such places 'just to see' what is what for myself.. (which would provide me an additional flow that I have not taken advantage of here.)
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 03, 2023, 02:53:35 PM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 03, 2023, 02:53:35 PM
>What is the main flow this time of year in your area Mr Bush?
Don't know. The main flow seems to start about when the yellow sweet clover blooms, but there doesn't seem to be enough sweet clover to account for the flow. Soy beans are probably blooming soon. I need to go out and look. Right now a lot of different things are blooming. The milkweed, some wild mustard still (it started months ago), dandelions (it just rained), white dutch clover, chicory, cone flowers of various sorts, elderberry (has been blooming a while and is just starting to peter out), my American Chestnuts, a lot of other wild flowers, many of which I don't know the names, but there are a lot of any given one. They've been gaining weight since about the middle of May.
Don't know. The main flow seems to start about when the yellow sweet clover blooms, but there doesn't seem to be enough sweet clover to account for the flow. Soy beans are probably blooming soon. I need to go out and look. Right now a lot of different things are blooming. The milkweed, some wild mustard still (it started months ago), dandelions (it just rained), white dutch clover, chicory, cone flowers of various sorts, elderberry (has been blooming a while and is just starting to peter out), my American Chestnuts, a lot of other wild flowers, many of which I don't know the names, but there are a lot of any given one. They've been gaining weight since about the middle of May.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on July 03, 2023, 11:12:28 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on July 03, 2023, 11:12:28 PM
Summer dearth is here, and in spite of that I found a small baseball sized swarm.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on July 04, 2023, 10:23:09 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on July 04, 2023, 10:23:09 AM
In southern states baseball sized swarms can be caused by Africanized genetics or stress. Up here in the north its a sign of stress from disease and/or mites.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on July 06, 2023, 10:47:44 AM
Post by: AustinB on July 06, 2023, 10:47:44 AM
The boys and I put together our new out yard last weekend. Its down on the river at the base of the mountain. Acres of poplar and basswood along with lots of good weed forage like milkweed, vipers bugloss, thistle, golden rod etc. Basswoods just started popping last weekend and the bees are drawings wax and packing it away. I think this one will be a strong producer.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 07, 2023, 05:43:31 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 07, 2023, 05:43:31 PM
I put on several supers today and tasted my first sourwood of the year! :cool:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 07, 2023, 05:45:39 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 07, 2023, 05:45:39 PM
Yum!!!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on July 09, 2023, 07:40:26 PM
Post by: Occam on July 09, 2023, 07:40:26 PM
Made my first inspection since moving the bees in from a swarm trap Teo weeks ago. They're doing well, building comb out on the foubdationless frames. Depending how the weather continues I may need to add more frames for them in a couple weeks.
Other hive was full so I put on a super with foundationless. Again depending on weather depends on whether they'll need to build comb on them or not. We've had unseasonably cool weather (mostly 80s and low 90s) and rain every other day so I'm hoping the flow has another lease on life for a couple weeks more if this continues. We'll see I suppose.
Other hive was full so I put on a super with foundationless. Again depending on weather depends on whether they'll need to build comb on them or not. We've had unseasonably cool weather (mostly 80s and low 90s) and rain every other day so I'm hoping the flow has another lease on life for a couple weeks more if this continues. We'll see I suppose.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on July 10, 2023, 09:00:07 AM
Post by: NigelP on July 10, 2023, 09:00:07 AM
Inspections today showed both my "bad girl" colonies have new F1 queens from Island mated Buckfast stock. But the change to all bleep cats is slow as they still contain some really vicious bees from their past queens.
Several newly mated queens in Nucs, which makes up for the incredibly poor mating success we had in June heatwave we had in the UK Interestingly it would appear that if temps inside a hive get to 42C then the drones ejaculated themselevs to death, which is a possible reason for the June non matings in the heatwave we had over here in the UK.
https://www.beeculture.com/42c-drone-honey-bees-ejaculate-themselves-to-death/
Several newly mated queens in Nucs, which makes up for the incredibly poor mating success we had in June heatwave we had in the UK Interestingly it would appear that if temps inside a hive get to 42C then the drones ejaculated themselevs to death, which is a possible reason for the June non matings in the heatwave we had over here in the UK.
https://www.beeculture.com/42c-drone-honey-bees-ejaculate-themselves-to-death/
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 12, 2023, 12:27:24 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 12, 2023, 12:27:24 AM
Pulled supers and spinning honey.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on July 23, 2023, 10:29:41 AM
Post by: cao on July 23, 2023, 10:29:41 AM
After 3 days of working bees and a couple days extracting, I have 30 gallons of honey in buckets, over 30 cut combs in containers and still have 7 more supers with frames in them. It has been a good year so far. :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 28, 2023, 07:34:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 28, 2023, 07:34:26 PM
I put my first round of sourwood above my triangle escape board today. I also found two hives with REALLY high mite counts and some bees with deformed wings. I'm going to get FormicPro on them as soon as I can get my hands on some.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 12:55:34 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 12:55:34 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on July 28, 2023, 07:34:26 PM
I put my first round of sourwood above my triangle escape board today. I also found two hives with REALLY high mite counts and some bees with deformed wings. I'm going to get FormicPro on them as soon as I can get my hands on some.
I hope you have a good crop of Sourwood Reagan. I don't have to tell 'you' be careful with the temperatures and timing of you treatment. As "Van from Arkansas" (Mr Van) use to say; those "ding dang mites!"
Wishing you success of both the sourwood crop, and mite kill..
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 30, 2023, 01:06:15 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 30, 2023, 01:06:15 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 12:55:34 PMWe do have some cooler temps coming up this week, thankfully. It is extremely hot here this weekend, and very humid. Ideally, it would be a little cooler, but as bad as these colonies' counts were and with the possibility of DWV, I kind of have to take the risk.
I hope you have a good crop of Sourwood Reagan. I don't have to tell 'you' be careful with the temperatures and timing of you treatment. As "Van from Arkansas" (Mr Van) use to say; those "ding dang mites!"
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 01:50:43 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 01:50:43 PM
Let us know the details of the circumstances when you do treat please. Temperature and amount of time the treatment is allowed to stay in place the resulting queen situation etc. I am still learning.. lol
Thanks,
Phillip
Thanks,
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 30, 2023, 05:34:36 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 30, 2023, 05:34:36 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 01:50:43 PMSure thing, I'll keep you posted.
Let us know the details of the circumstances when you do treat please. Temperature and amount of time the treatment is allowed to stay in place the resulting queen situation etc. I am still learning.. lol
Thanks,
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 11:40:06 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 30, 2023, 11:40:06 PM
Thumbs Up!! And thanks Member..
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 05, 2023, 07:26:13 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 05, 2023, 07:26:13 PM
It was a tiring day in the bee yard today. It was very hot and robbing season is apparently in full swing. It was a lot of work getting my heavy supers above my escape board and trying to keep the robbing to a minimum. Plus I had to relight my smoker 2 times today, which hasn't happened to me in years. I reduced hive entrances and put on some robbing screens.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 05, 2023, 11:31:13 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 05, 2023, 11:31:13 PM
Instead of an escape board, have you tried the 'blower method' of removing bees from the supers?
I posted the following video on another topic recently Titled: "Comb Honey (How Tum Durham Does It)" I am placing the method that Tim used below for the convenience of those who might be interested. Notice he did not have the blower vamped up to maximum capacity. I rather doubt that bees were injured at the rate of capacity he used...
https://youtu.be/idG9_DFnz_k
I posted the following video on another topic recently Titled: "Comb Honey (How Tum Durham Does It)" I am placing the method that Tim used below for the convenience of those who might be interested. Notice he did not have the blower vamped up to maximum capacity. I rather doubt that bees were injured at the rate of capacity he used...
https://youtu.be/idG9_DFnz_k
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 06, 2023, 01:09:48 AM
Post by: The15thMember on August 06, 2023, 01:09:48 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on August 05, 2023, 11:31:13 PMI've never tried it, but I have seen people do it before. I really don't mind the wait of the escape board, it's just that today it was a lot of lifting, since the one hive was 7 boxes tall, my tallest hive ever. They should be down to 4 boxes by tomorrow. :happy: This is the hive with the really cross-combed super, so it might not have been a good application for the blower anyway.
Instead of an escape board, have you tried the 'blower method' of removing bees from the supers?
I posted the following video on another topic recently Titled: "Comb Honey (How Tum Durham Does It)" I am placing the method that Tim used below for the convenience of those who might be interested. Notice he did not have the blower up vamped up to maximum capacity. I rather doubt that bees were injured at the rate of capacity he used...
https://youtu.be/idG9_DFnz_k
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 06, 2023, 01:07:57 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 06, 2023, 01:07:57 PM
Reagan,
I use BeeQuick. It is very effective, smells nice and doesn?t bother the bees when used properly. Most of the time most of the bees move down in five to seven minutes. I usually have two fume boards on hives at a time to speed super removal up. If there are bees remaining I use a blower to remove the them.
When the bees do not move out of a super it usually means there is brood on some of the frames.
This method is much faster than using escape boards and safer. I cannot use them because of SHBs.
Jim Altmiller
I use BeeQuick. It is very effective, smells nice and doesn?t bother the bees when used properly. Most of the time most of the bees move down in five to seven minutes. I usually have two fume boards on hives at a time to speed super removal up. If there are bees remaining I use a blower to remove the them.
When the bees do not move out of a super it usually means there is brood on some of the frames.
This method is much faster than using escape boards and safer. I cannot use them because of SHBs.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on August 07, 2023, 12:16:06 AM
Post by: cao on August 07, 2023, 12:16:06 AM
I do things a little different. I don't lift a full super. I start out with a fume board and set an empty box on it. Then I harvest the honey by the frame. Pulling the honey frame shaking most of the bees off and the setting it in the empty box above the fume board. Then cover with a spare inner cover. As I add frames to the box above the fume board, the bees that were on the previous frames are ready to leave that box. Once the box is full I put another on top and continue adding honey frames. When harvesting from the hives I have at my house, I stack the boxes on a cart that I can pull around the hives and eventually pull it to my back door.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 09, 2023, 05:01:32 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 09, 2023, 05:01:32 PM
Cao,
I have tried pulling frames one at a time. My wife likes to do it that way to make sure we don?t take brood into the house. The problem is if there are any commercial hives within a few miles, the robbing gets really bad. I try to wait until they all leave. This year there is one commercial beekeeper about a mile from here that still hasn?t moved his hives. They are dying off one after another. Last I looked I think he only has three hives left alive. He did the same thing last year.
Jim Altmiller
I have tried pulling frames one at a time. My wife likes to do it that way to make sure we don?t take brood into the house. The problem is if there are any commercial hives within a few miles, the robbing gets really bad. I try to wait until they all leave. This year there is one commercial beekeeper about a mile from here that still hasn?t moved his hives. They are dying off one after another. Last I looked I think he only has three hives left alive. He did the same thing last year.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on August 19, 2023, 05:48:24 PM
Post by: Lesgold on August 19, 2023, 05:48:24 PM
Yesterday I made a visual inspection of my hives to see what was happening. Before leaving for my holiday in may, I noticed that a few of the hives were low in stores and expected quite would struggle to make it through winter. 24 of the 25 hives in my home yard were active with bees bringing in pollen. One hive was not active so I opened it up for a quick check. It had only half a frame of bees and heaps of beetles. Spotted the queen and market her. She only had a few cells filled with brood. My options are to either squeeze her and start a new hive or to add a couple of frames of brood from stronger hives, give them a feed and put a few traps in to reduce beetle numbers. What would you guys do?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 20, 2023, 02:47:17 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 20, 2023, 02:47:17 AM
QuoteWhat would you guys do?
Depends; What is the season there? Is it warm enough for beetles to lay and reproduce? If so most likely your hive is totally infested with SHB eggs since you are seeing heaps of beetles and few bees. If this is the case, when the beetle eggs begin hatching, there will most likely be more beetle larva than you will be able to count.
Under these circumstances, I would bank the queen, freeze all frames in this colony, (in order to kill any beetle larvae and eggs, including any beetles which are on these frames or hiding in the cells ); Regroup when your Spring arrives by borrowing a few resource frames from your other hives to create a new hive, giving the banked queen a new lease on 'colonization-hive' life lol; That is if the queen is of prime age for such.
If she is old, I would simply extinguish her.. I would still freeze the frames for future resources and reuse when and where needed..
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on August 20, 2023, 11:04:07 AM
Post by: cao on August 20, 2023, 11:04:07 AM
With only a half frame of bees, I would reduce to a 5 frame nuc and add a frame of brood and bees from another hive. That is if you want to save it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on August 20, 2023, 06:53:54 PM
Post by: Lesgold on August 20, 2023, 06:53:54 PM
Good point Phillip. I thought about it overnight and tried to figure out what the problem is. I reckon there is a good chance that the hive has failed due to a lack of stores. There is no honey stored and even the beetles are struggling to find a feed. The bees are a little slow as there is no hive temperature. I think I?ll follow Coa?s suggestion and pop them into a nuc with a few frames of brood and see what happens. I?ve really go nothing to lose. I marked the queen yesterday just for reference.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on August 20, 2023, 11:43:19 PM
Post by: Lesgold on August 20, 2023, 11:43:19 PM
Just finished inspecting the hives at the home yard. One weak hive and one dead out. All hives had eggs and brood. No sign of drone brood at this stage. Performed alcohol wash test on all hives for zero Verona (which is to be expected at this stage) The small hive will be moved into a nuc when all testing is complete and reported.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 26, 2023, 07:07:54 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 26, 2023, 07:07:54 PM
Combined two small colonies a few days ago, and today I fed another that is low in stores and a little low on bees. I'm hoping the feeding will stimulate their queen to keep laying at a good pace, as many of the queens are slowing down already. The combine freed up a bottom board and top, so I moved the poly hive colony into wooden equipment. I'm very happy to have it out of my hair.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 30, 2023, 06:23:28 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 30, 2023, 06:23:28 PM
I can't believe it's going to be October tomorrow! I am in the process of getting all the colonies down to their wintering size and making sure everyone is packed full of food.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on October 07, 2023, 02:17:58 AM
Post by: Lesgold on October 07, 2023, 02:17:58 AM
I grabbed some frames today to prepare them for a hive. They were recycled frames that were steamed last season to remove old comb. Unfortunately they were not stored well and wax moth got into them. I know that they could be frozen for a day or two or run through the steamer again but I really wanted a simpler way to destroy eggs etc. The frames were given a brush to remove webs and obvious debris before being hit with the hot air gun. Slots and holes were given a quick blast and anything in the area of the hot air was basically cooked. I don?t know why I hadn?t thought of this before. It worked very well and took a few minutes to clean 10 frames.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 28, 2023, 02:34:36 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 28, 2023, 02:34:36 PM
I got my whole apiary winterized yesterday, because we are expecting our first cold temperatures this week. I feel pretty good about everyone's stores and colony size, although I do have my newly-retrofitted hive top feeder on one colony still. I also have a colony with a treatment on, so I wasn't able to winterize them. Hopefully they'll be able to fend for themselves until the end of next week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 03, 2023, 06:03:49 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 03, 2023, 06:03:49 PM
I checked on the hives today following our cold weather, and one of the hives was empty. The colony must have absconded before the cold weather hit, because the beetles had really done a number on the comb in there, and the cold killed them all. I'm not entirely surprised I have to say; this colony had kind of a high mite count and I got a treatment on them late because of a mixup with the farm store ordering some for me, and they had had some beetle trouble too earlier in the fall, and I think the stress just got to them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: salvo on November 03, 2023, 06:29:51 PM
Post by: salvo on November 03, 2023, 06:29:51 PM
Hi Folks,
Off with the robbing screens.
Scrape out the dead. Not much. We had mid/low 30's the past two nights. About 47 today. Hive in the woods, in the sun, out flying.
On with the mouse guards
Sal
Off with the robbing screens.
Scrape out the dead. Not much. We had mid/low 30's the past two nights. About 47 today. Hive in the woods, in the sun, out flying.
On with the mouse guards
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 21, 2023, 03:59:22 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 21, 2023, 03:59:22 PM
I made up some sugar balls for my bees this morning. It's been so warm here that several of my colonies are starting to feel light already.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 03, 2023, 03:44:14 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 03, 2023, 03:44:14 PM
Found another dead colony today. First time I've lost two colonies in one winter, but I do have double the hives I used to, so I guess it's really a constant percentage. When I checked on this hive last time, I thought they were dead, but when cracked the lid there was a little cluster still in there. But then we had some very cold weather, and I just think there wasn't enough population to keep warm. I was surprised they looked so small because they went into winter really strong. I think beetles were a contributing factor, which is a first for me. There was a TON of dead beetles on the bottom board and crammed in the cells under the dead cluster of bees.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on December 04, 2023, 01:42:18 PM
Post by: cao on December 04, 2023, 01:42:18 PM
I've seen that scenario with the dead beetles more often than i would like to. I think they target the weaker hives in the fall. I also think that when they take over the brood nest area in the late fall, they prevent the bees from raising enough winter bees causing a rapid decline in population of bees in the winter. The one bright note of the death of the hive is that there are hundreds if not thousands of shb's that you don't have to worry about come spring.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 04, 2023, 03:13:14 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 04, 2023, 03:13:14 PM
I think you are right cao, because like I said, they looked really good when I put them away for the winter. The population declined very steeply.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on December 04, 2023, 09:26:04 PM
Post by: Lesgold on December 04, 2023, 09:26:04 PM
Just finished alcohol wash tests on all hives. No evidence of varroa at this stage. Next testing period will be in 16 weeks. Hives at the home yard are very small due to a lack of nectar coming in. Looks as though they will head into winter with minimal honey stores. This type of nectar drought occurs every now and then due to the multi year cyclical nature of the flowering trees in my area.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on December 05, 2023, 10:35:39 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on December 05, 2023, 10:35:39 PM
Les I'm just curious; How many miles is it between you and the closest reported Varroa Destructor?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on December 06, 2023, 12:56:12 AM
Post by: Lesgold on December 06, 2023, 12:56:12 AM
Hi Phillip,
The latest map shows the varroa about 160 miles away (in a straight line or as we say, as the crow flies) Max is about 280 miles away from his nearest cluster of varroa. It won?t take long before it hits us. If left to move naturally, it could take a year or two. Human error could put it in our hives within weeks.
On another point, I was out testing out a metal detector to make sure that it was working before selling it. While I was out in the bush, I found a patch of leptospermum in flower (what you guys know as Manuka) Wish it was a bit closer to my bees as they are struggling a bit at the moment.
The latest map shows the varroa about 160 miles away (in a straight line or as we say, as the crow flies) Max is about 280 miles away from his nearest cluster of varroa. It won?t take long before it hits us. If left to move naturally, it could take a year or two. Human error could put it in our hives within weeks.
On another point, I was out testing out a metal detector to make sure that it was working before selling it. While I was out in the bush, I found a patch of leptospermum in flower (what you guys know as Manuka) Wish it was a bit closer to my bees as they are struggling a bit at the moment.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 09, 2023, 06:20:39 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 09, 2023, 06:20:39 PM
My neighbor's uncle came over today to give the girls an oxalic acid treatment. He has (had) two hives left out of five. The first hive looks like it's on the way out. It had very few bees in it and a bottom board with a lot of dead on it. The top super was still on and full of honey and they pulled it off. They gave the hive a dose of acid and a kiss goodbye and put it to bed with one super on it for food, expecting the worst. The second hive was flourishing with a lot of bees in it and they gave it a dose of acid and added the super from the other hive to carry it through the winter. They say they'll check back in a month or so and see how it's going. He just spritzed the stuff in measured amounts between the frames. I don't know if he did it right or not, I just observed and helped what I could.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on January 08, 2024, 02:06:30 PM
Post by: The15thMember on January 08, 2024, 02:06:30 PM
I hefted my hives and checked their moisture quilts and tie-down straps since we are forecasted to have some serious wind tonight. The hives that needed feed early on are eating much less now that it's cold out. One cluster was camped on their sugar ball though, so I'll have to keep a close eye on them. I didn't want to break their propolis seal today because of the wind.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on January 09, 2024, 09:45:58 AM
Post by: AustinB on January 09, 2024, 09:45:58 AM
Been doing rounds of OAV few days back
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on January 09, 2024, 10:18:26 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on January 09, 2024, 10:18:26 AM
Hi Austin, I?ve missed you input lately. It?s good seeing more of your good posts this morning!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on January 09, 2024, 02:35:56 PM
Post by: AustinB on January 09, 2024, 02:35:56 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on January 09, 2024, 10:18:26 AM
Hi Austin, I?ve missed you input lately. It?s good seeing more of your good posts this morning!
Phillip
Thank you! Work and life have been a bit hectic lately. I've been missing the good discussions
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 03, 2024, 05:23:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 03, 2024, 05:23:50 PM
We're having a pretty warm weekend, so I checked all the hives today. Only one needed their quilt changed, and they also needed a little more sugar. I tried a new wintering setup on some of my hives this year, where I put an inner cover under the moisture quilt for some added insulation, and not a single one of those hives has needed feed, whereas only one of the hives without the inner cover hasn't needed feed yet.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on February 03, 2024, 07:49:00 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on February 03, 2024, 07:49:00 PM
I like that member, running some hives one way and some the other way to find that sweet spot of what works in a area. Took me to long to realize that, experimentation on management practices were an important part of keeping bees.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on February 05, 2024, 02:28:50 AM
Post by: cao on February 05, 2024, 02:28:50 AM
Warm weather here also. Technically not in my apiary but it is bee related. I picked up a truckload of bee equipment from a retired commercial beekeeper. I got 3-400 pcs(maybe more, haven't counted yet) of gently used deep plastic foundation, a pile of deep wood frames with many years of life left, 11 medium boxes w/frames and foundation, and a dry bee-pro pollen feeder. https://www.mannlakeltd.com/feeding-medications/dry-bee-pro-feeder/ All for $160.
This has been my second trip there. And planning on going again to fill my truck with more deep frames. There is two skids full that have my name on them.
This guy at one time was running around 1000 hives. There is a lot of equipment just sitting in the field. I really don't need any of it, but I hate to see the stuff just sitting there rotting away.
This has been my second trip there. And planning on going again to fill my truck with more deep frames. There is two skids full that have my name on them.
This guy at one time was running around 1000 hives. There is a lot of equipment just sitting in the field. I really don't need any of it, but I hate to see the stuff just sitting there rotting away.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on February 05, 2024, 12:59:06 PM
Post by: Occam on February 05, 2024, 12:59:06 PM
Quote from: cao on February 05, 2024, 02:28:50 AM
This guy at one time was running around 1000 hives. There is a lot of equipment just sitting in the field. I really don't need any of it, but I hate to see the stuff just sitting there rotting away.
Be a fun project using what wood is still salvageable to clean up and build some bookcases or other furniture from
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 07, 2024, 05:35:18 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 07, 2024, 05:35:18 PM
I SAW THE FIRST POLLEN PANTS OF THE YEAR!! Well, I'm assuming it's real pollen, but it could also be that it's just warm enough that they were out and about and found some chicken feed dust. :embarassed:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 08, 2024, 05:04:24 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 08, 2024, 05:04:24 PM
Not exactly in the bee yard, but I started getting everything ready for the beekeeping season today. I did my equipment inventory, which I was quite happy with, I really just need one or two extra bottom boards and tops. And I did the chore of washing all my veils and my most-frequently used suit.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on February 09, 2024, 12:36:11 AM
Post by: cao on February 09, 2024, 12:36:11 AM
I spent the last couple days scraping propolis off frames getting ready for waxing starter strips and plastic foundation. About 20 boxes full. Also assembled and painted another 6 nuc boxes. These are 4 frame mediums. Never too early to have equipment ready.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on February 16, 2024, 02:57:49 AM
Post by: Lesgold on February 16, 2024, 02:57:49 AM
I went to move a bucket of honey from the warming unit and the handle broke at the housing. A shed floor covered in honey was the result. Scraped most of it up and put it outside on large tub lids for the bees to clean up. Mopped the floor and closed the shed door as the bees were becoming interested in my sweet offerings. Threw the shovel outside and the bees cleaned it up in about 20 minutes. As I had to clean up the mess in bare feet, I also got stung in between my toes when walking back to the house after completing the job. Knew I should have stayed in bed today.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on February 16, 2024, 06:21:35 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on February 16, 2024, 06:21:35 AM
I know what that's like. A few weeks ago my son tripped and fell onto a bucket of honey. It had a spout and was quite old and brittle, it turns out, because it shattered when he fell on it and five gallons ran onto the floor. Unbelievable mess.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on February 16, 2024, 10:12:18 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on February 16, 2024, 10:12:18 AM
Ouch! That hurts all the way over here.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on February 16, 2024, 10:21:20 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on February 16, 2024, 10:21:20 AM
We had 25 gallons of honey in the settling/bottling tank on a little table by the door. One day the dog came flying in the door and bumped the bottling lever, wide open. Big mess and a loss of a lot of honey.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on February 16, 2024, 10:28:36 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on February 16, 2024, 10:28:36 AM
I find it amazing at how far a little bit of liquid can go, I can't imagine...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on February 16, 2024, 12:03:32 PM
Post by: Michael Bush on February 16, 2024, 12:03:32 PM
>I find it amazing at how far a little bit of liquid can go, I can't imagine...
Exactly. It pretty much covered the entire floor...
Exactly. It pretty much covered the entire floor...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Salvo on February 16, 2024, 12:34:01 PM
Post by: Salvo on February 16, 2024, 12:34:01 PM
Terri,
A *little bit of liquid*.
Great Molasses Flood, disaster in Boston that occurred after a storage tank collapsed on January 15, 1919, sending more than two million gallons (eight million litres) of molasses flowing through the city?s North End. The deluge caused extensive damage and killed 21 people.
Sal
A *little bit of liquid*.
Great Molasses Flood, disaster in Boston that occurred after a storage tank collapsed on January 15, 1919, sending more than two million gallons (eight million litres) of molasses flowing through the city?s North End. The deluge caused extensive damage and killed 21 people.
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on February 16, 2024, 05:40:52 PM
Post by: max2 on February 16, 2024, 05:40:52 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on February 16, 2024, 02:57:49 AMWhat a mes, so sorry to hear.
I went to move a bucket of honey from the warming unit and the handle broke at the housing. A shed floor covered in honey was the result. Scraped most of it up and put it outside on large tub lids for the bees to clean up. Mopped the floor and closed the shed door as the bees were becoming interested in my sweet offerings. Threw the shovel outside and the bees cleaned it up in about 20 minutes. As I had to clean up the mess in bare feet, I also got stung in between my toes when walking back to the house after completing the job. Knew I should have stayed in bed today.
We all had it happen at some time.
Some months ago we had our stall just about set up - but the pins not in place to keep the marquee steady - when a strong gust blew the marquee over....hitting the table with all the jars of honey...these falling on the ground.
Cleaning up the broken glass mixed with honey at a market was an experince i will not forget.
It just about made us change to plastic jars.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 21, 2024, 05:39:55 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 21, 2024, 05:39:55 PM
I noticed some dysentery and a lot of dead bees in front of one of my hives today, so I did a quick nosema test on them. I don't think I saw any spores under the microscope and I certainly didn't see many. It's not quite warm enough to inspect yet, so I'll just keep an eye on them for now. I had another hive so low on food that I put another box on them with some partial honey frames I had stored from last year. Based on the amount of debris on the bottom boards, I'd say we're really brood rearing now.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on February 21, 2024, 08:51:01 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on February 21, 2024, 08:51:01 PM
Member, are you feeding them?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on February 21, 2024, 11:30:19 PM
Post by: The15thMember on February 21, 2024, 11:30:19 PM
Quote from: Bill Murray on February 21, 2024, 08:51:01 PMThe hive with the dysentery? Yes, they have been eating sugar balls since December.
Member, are you feeding them?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on February 23, 2024, 03:33:47 PM
Post by: NigelP on February 23, 2024, 03:33:47 PM
Nice cold day here in the UK. Ideal to clean the wax off my heather super frames. For those that don't extract heather honey you need to cut the super out of the frame to press the honey out, leaving empty frames covered in wax etc, so to reuse you need to remove all this residual wax.
Bought a wonderful bit of kit a couple of years ago, an old Polish Potato Boiler. Takes a couple of hours to get to a boil (large volume of water). But cleaned 26 supers worth of frames of all residual wax in around 2 hours. My old method of scrape and scrape took around 10 days at 2 hours per day. Also cleans queen excluders in seconds....
(https://i.ibb.co/b3D8gBN/boilersmall1.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZG6n3dX/boilersmall2.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/QXJtBZh/boilersmall4.jpg)
Bought a wonderful bit of kit a couple of years ago, an old Polish Potato Boiler. Takes a couple of hours to get to a boil (large volume of water). But cleaned 26 supers worth of frames of all residual wax in around 2 hours. My old method of scrape and scrape took around 10 days at 2 hours per day. Also cleans queen excluders in seconds....
(https://i.ibb.co/b3D8gBN/boilersmall1.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/ZG6n3dX/boilersmall2.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/QXJtBZh/boilersmall4.jpg)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 02, 2024, 06:00:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 02, 2024, 06:00:50 PM
I did my first inspections of the year today! It was 67F, sunny, with a light breeze, perfect beekeeping weather. I checked 4 hives out of my 7. One looked so good, it's like they never had winter! Wall to wall brood on 8 frames and still 4.5 frames of honey. I obviously gave them another box, and I donated one of their frames with eggs to a hive whose queen came up a drone layer. I have walking drones in all hives. I saw a few beetles in each colony too, which isn't typical for me at this point in the season, so I'm probably going to put some traps in some of the hives.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: little john on March 04, 2024, 05:38:46 AM
Post by: little john on March 04, 2024, 05:38:46 AM
Quote from: NigelP on February 23, 2024, 03:33:47 PM
Nice cold day here in the UK. Ideal to clean the wax off my heather super frames. For those that don't extract heather honey you need to cut the super out of the frame to press the honey out [...]
No heather in this locale (which is a great pity), but whatever the bees bring in often produces a thick honey which then sets solid on standing:
(https://images2.imgbox.com/81/e2/5jDso4oX_o.jpg)
If left over 12 months it can set brick-hard. No taste of OSR, which is the obvious candidate.
For our State-side friends - conditions in the UK have fluctuated wildly thus far this Winter from shirt-sleeve weather to some rather nasty frosts and a few days of snow - the only constant being RAIN - and plenty of that ! (UK farmers are around 4 weeks behind because of flooding)
Yesterday saw me checking on the small jars of fondant I place over the Crown Board holes as 'fuel gauge' indicators of remaining stores, which experience has shown they only wolf-down when stores are low - they just pick at it otherwise.
3 were empty, all the others were ok. On good days there's pollen coming in, so the season's set to start anytime soon ...
LJ
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on March 04, 2024, 07:50:39 AM
Post by: NigelP on March 04, 2024, 07:50:39 AM
I don't think you have OSR honey there as OSR sets white and looks a like a bucket full of lard. Also when remelted you get a froth on top of the honey which needs to be cleared with cling film.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 04, 2024, 08:30:00 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 04, 2024, 08:30:00 AM
Pardon my not knowing, what is OSR?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 04, 2024, 08:57:43 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 04, 2024, 08:57:43 AM
Oil Seed Rape. aka Canola.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 04, 2024, 09:24:37 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 04, 2024, 09:24:37 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on March 04, 2024, 08:30:00 AM
Pardon my not knowing, what is OSR?
Phillip
Quote from: Michael Bush on March 04, 2024, 08:57:43 AM
Oil Seed Rape. aka Canola.
Thanks
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on March 04, 2024, 09:46:30 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on March 04, 2024, 09:46:30 AM
Being as In sitting here waiting for some wax to render and the bees to start flying. I am knee deep in swarm control mode. Ive gotten most of my bait supers on, about 1/2 of my 8 frame supers aired out, have every DSBB I own on. All in all its started out as a good year so far.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: little john on March 04, 2024, 09:54:39 AM
Post by: little john on March 04, 2024, 09:54:39 AM
Quote from: NigelP on March 04, 2024, 07:50:39 AM
I don't think you have OSR honey there as OSR sets white and looks a like a bucket full of lard.
For sure. It's taste reminds me of Plasticine (for the younger generation - that was a kind of Blue-Tack modelling clay - came in several colours, which always became a dull grey with continued use). I thought that honey possibly might contain a fair percentage of OSR, as there are precious few other crops in this area which produce useful amounts of nectar - it's very much 'Cabbage and Potato' country.
LJ
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on March 11, 2024, 11:35:12 AM
Post by: Occam on March 11, 2024, 11:35:12 AM
So haven't had any time in the apiary really due to other things in the schedule such as work (primarily 😂), events with family, getting garden ready, etc. However in downtime at work I've tried to make use of my time building a few swarm traps and a hive tool out of some scrap metal from the garage. Went over to my parents with my family for an early St Patrick's dinner and hung a swarm trap on a column in their back yard.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on March 11, 2024, 10:26:04 PM
Post by: Lesgold on March 11, 2024, 10:26:04 PM
Just finishing off the cleanup after extracting from a few hives. Just over 80kg of honey from a mixed floral source. Cappings were allowed to drain and then placed into the wax melter. The heated, dark honey was drained from below the molten wax and allowed to cool for a few hours. A wax cap was lifted off the honey and added to the melter with some water. It still amazes me how much honey is left in the cappings. This dark honey will sell well at the markets for a premium even though it has been heated. There are quite a few people who buy it for cooking or adding to coffee or tea due to its rich flavour.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 12, 2024, 06:49:33 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 12, 2024, 06:49:33 PM
I finally got around to giving my last 3 colonies their first inspections today, and I also checked for queen cells in that colony whose queen was a drone layer. They didn't make any off the frame I gave them unfortunately, although I did notice some small queen cells with royal jelly but no larvae on the next frame, along with some drone brood, so not sure exactly what went on there. I gave them another frame of eggs, so we'll see if they do something with them this time.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 12, 2024, 07:09:36 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 12, 2024, 07:09:36 PM
I think I've learned that the royal jelly turns a regular larva into a queen but where does it come from and which comes first, the jelly or the egg?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 12, 2024, 07:51:27 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 12, 2024, 07:51:27 PM
Terri,
Royal Jelly does not turn bees into queens. Giving 3 day old larvae pollen bread turns the larvae into a worker. Any larvae that has not been fed pollen bread can bee made into a queen. If the bees make emergency queens from a worker cell, they will float the larvae to the edge of the cell with Royal Jelly and build the cell vertically. Swarm cells are normally built on the button surface and are built vertically.
All bees are fed Royal Jelly for the first three days AFTER it hatches. Eggs hatch 3 days after being laid.
That means the bees have 5/6 days after loosing a queen to make new ones.
Jim Altmiller
Royal Jelly does not turn bees into queens. Giving 3 day old larvae pollen bread turns the larvae into a worker. Any larvae that has not been fed pollen bread can bee made into a queen. If the bees make emergency queens from a worker cell, they will float the larvae to the edge of the cell with Royal Jelly and build the cell vertically. Swarm cells are normally built on the button surface and are built vertically.
All bees are fed Royal Jelly for the first three days AFTER it hatches. Eggs hatch 3 days after being laid.
That means the bees have 5/6 days after loosing a queen to make new ones.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 12, 2024, 09:00:57 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 12, 2024, 09:00:57 PM
Aaa, so I was misled on that royal jelly. How is a queen made then? And where does the royal jelly come from?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 12, 2024, 09:56:21 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 12, 2024, 09:56:21 PM
Royal Jelly comes from the young worker bees mandible glands. It is the equivalent of mother?s milk.
As long as the female larvae is fed a constant diet of Royal Jelly it turns into a queen.
Jim Altmiller
As long as the female larvae is fed a constant diet of Royal Jelly it turns into a queen.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 13, 2024, 05:27:31 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 13, 2024, 05:27:31 AM
Royal jelly is made in the hypopharyngeal gland which is in the head. It comes out of he mouth of the nurse bee. As Jim pointed out, it's the pollen and honey that suppress the larva into being a worker rather than a queen.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 13, 2024, 08:50:18 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 13, 2024, 08:50:18 AM
OK, now I'm getting it. Thanks! Do people ever reach in there and move stuff around to create queens?
It's going to bee in the 70s here today and I'll bee looking for my neighbor's bees to see if they're coming this far yet.
It's going to bee in the 70s here today and I'll bee looking for my neighbor's bees to see if they're coming this far yet.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 13, 2024, 09:08:54 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 13, 2024, 09:08:54 AM
>OK, now I'm getting it. Thanks! Do people ever reach in there and move stuff around to create queens?
I'm not sure what you're envisioning, but yes. Queen rearers trick the bees into making a lot of queens. Huber did a lot of experiments with royal jelly and larva. Some scientists have fed royal jelly to diploid drones to get them to maturity, since the bees will just remove them.
I'm not sure what you're envisioning, but yes. Queen rearers trick the bees into making a lot of queens. Huber did a lot of experiments with royal jelly and larva. Some scientists have fed royal jelly to diploid drones to get them to maturity, since the bees will just remove them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesonhay465 on March 13, 2024, 02:48:12 PM
Post by: beesonhay465 on March 13, 2024, 02:48:12 PM
havent been on the forum recently . had 3 hives all sold.however feeling better now . spent the last week or so building a layans hive and placed in the backyard. no more heavy boxes to lift.frames are 15 by 19 deep. i will use a swarm attractant and try to get a swarm. there is a half mile of tree line or more beside the house . swarms seem to like my neighbors apple tree.if i cant get a swarm into the hive maybe i can get one off the tree. whatever i do about 2 hours is all , then im done. :smile
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: MJHellmann on March 14, 2024, 05:06:28 PM
Post by: MJHellmann on March 14, 2024, 05:06:28 PM
I set up and leveled my hives! Soon to be first time beekeeper here. Just learned that I need to elevate my hives more, so back at it soon. I'm sure I'll make plenty more mistakes, but I'm super excited!!!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 14, 2024, 05:19:41 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 14, 2024, 05:19:41 PM
Welcome to Beemaster, MJHellmann! :happy: Your hives are beautiful! Yeah, you will probably want them a little bit higher than that, just for your own sake. Then you won't have to bend over so far. I have my hives on cinder blocks, and even that is a little low for comfort when my hives are small.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 14, 2024, 06:24:14 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 14, 2024, 06:24:14 PM
Quote from: MJHellmann on March 14, 2024, 05:06:28 PMNice graphics on the boxes. Good luck.
I set up and leveled my hives! Soon to be first time beekeeper here. Just learned that I need to elevate my hives more, so back at it soon. I'm sure I'll make plenty more mistakes, but I'm super excited!!!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 14, 2024, 10:24:25 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on March 14, 2024, 10:24:25 PM
MJ,
Welcome to Beemaster.
Being in Ohio, you probably have skunks in your area. You want the hives high enough that the skunks have to raise their bellies off the ground. This allows the bees to sting them in the belly and run them off.
Jim Altmiller
Welcome to Beemaster.
Being in Ohio, you probably have skunks in your area. You want the hives high enough that the skunks have to raise their bellies off the ground. This allows the bees to sting them in the belly and run them off.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 15, 2024, 03:02:55 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 15, 2024, 03:02:55 PM
I will admit this publicly as I did it to myself and the joke is on me. lol! :grin:
It was a beautiful day a couple days ago and I decided to do some inspections. I was parked, had everything laid out at the back of my truck with my focus on what was coming up. About that time a unexpected vehicle pulled in the front wising to pass by. It was on a small narrow private lane seldomly used. Naturally I did not wish to block the way and all my attention was now on moving out of the way. Obligingly I hopped into the truck and put her in reverses, I felt a crunch and immediately thought of my smoker!
Yep! Its amazing what a 350 dully can do to a little stainless steel smoker! :shocked: :shocked: :shocked: :cheesy:
Phillip
PS my new one is due to arrive today!
It was a beautiful day a couple days ago and I decided to do some inspections. I was parked, had everything laid out at the back of my truck with my focus on what was coming up. About that time a unexpected vehicle pulled in the front wising to pass by. It was on a small narrow private lane seldomly used. Naturally I did not wish to block the way and all my attention was now on moving out of the way. Obligingly I hopped into the truck and put her in reverses, I felt a crunch and immediately thought of my smoker!
Yep! Its amazing what a 350 dully can do to a little stainless steel smoker! :shocked: :shocked: :shocked: :cheesy:
Phillip
PS my new one is due to arrive today!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on March 15, 2024, 10:20:13 PM
Post by: Lesgold on March 15, 2024, 10:20:13 PM
Bad luck Phillip. Hope you bought an Aussie smoker that is truck proof😝😝😝😝😝😝
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 15, 2024, 11:02:38 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 15, 2024, 11:02:38 PM
All of those smokers look exactly the same to me, do they all come out of the same factory?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 16, 2024, 02:07:32 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 16, 2024, 02:07:32 AM
Quote from: Lesgold on March 15, 2024, 10:20:13 PM
Bad luck Phillip. Hope you bought an Aussie smoker that is truck proof😝😝😝😝😝😝
Dog-gone Les! I wish I had know! An indestructible Aussie smoker is just what I need! However my new Amazon smoker came in today. It looks almost like my Man Lake smoker (which was no match for the truck) lol..... Ill just have to be more careful! lol :cheesy: :wink:
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 16, 2024, 02:08:52 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 16, 2024, 02:08:52 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on March 15, 2024, 11:02:38 PM
All of those smokers look exactly the same to me, do they all come out of the same factory?
I don't know Terri. I bet you can guess where this one was made! :shocked: :grin:
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 16, 2024, 09:54:05 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 16, 2024, 09:54:05 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on March 16, 2024, 02:08:52 AMI already know it's not made down under. :cool:
I don't know Terri. I bet you can guess where this one was made! :shocked: :grin:
Phillip
My neighbor texted me and reports that his uncle/mentor is coming over today to peek inside the hives so I'll go down there and take a lesson. We had a couple of days around 70 but we're into a cooling trend and today we're looking at about 55 or so. I've been watching for bees in the air but haven't seen any up this far yet. I'm seeing pictures on Reddit and fakebook of folks who are catching swarms in the south and I'm getting kind of antsy. For the next week, they're predicting highs in the 40s but after that, we should get a steady warming trend. Next class is Tuesday and the itinerary is lifecycles and duties of the bees, I'm looking forward to it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 16, 2024, 10:27:19 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 16, 2024, 10:27:19 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on March 16, 2024, 09:54:05 AMQuote from: Ben Framed on March 16, 2024, 02:08:52 AMI already know it's not made down under. :cool:
I don't know Terri. I bet you can guess where this one was made! :shocked: :grin:
Phillip
My neighbor texted me and reports that his uncle/mentor is coming over today to peek inside the hives so I'll go down there and take a lesson. We had a couple of days around 70 but we're into a cooling trend and today we're looking at about 55 or so. I've been watching for bees in the air but haven't seen any up this far yet. I'm seeing pictures on Reddit and fakebook of folks who are catching swarms in the south and I'm getting kind of antsy. For the next week, they're predicting highs in the 40s but after that, we should get a steady warming trend. Next class is Tuesday and the itinerary is lifecycles and duties of the bees, I'm looking forward to it.
So far so good. :wink: You have eliminated one of 195 recognized countries where it could have been made. lol :cheesy: Of course China is the answer... I found on a sticker.
I enjoy hearing of folks bee adventures, especially new beekeepers as well as soon to be beekeepers as yourself. Keep the reports of your adventures coming!
Thumbs up!
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on March 16, 2024, 01:26:50 PM
Post by: cao on March 16, 2024, 01:26:50 PM
I checked my hives a few days ago for the first time this year. About 50 made it through the winter (lost 13). Found a few drones walking around in a couple hives and lots of drone brood in all stages. Saw queen cups in several hives. No white wax yet. Added boxes to about half my hives. Going to start splitting hives in a couple weeks. Looks like swarm season is coming a couple weeks early this year. Got 40 or 50 boxes with frames cleaned and ready to go on hives. Will need to get some more ready. Those will go fast once the splitting starts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 16, 2024, 05:38:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 16, 2024, 05:38:26 PM
One of my hives was acting very congested this afternoon, with a bunch of bees just bearding out under the landing board, so I opened up their entrance reducer and gave them another box. Not sure if it's swarming prep or not, but they responded by going in almost immediately.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 16, 2024, 10:12:37 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 16, 2024, 10:12:37 PM
Was at the opening at my neighbor's hive today. He's down to one hive right now but it is alive and well. It must be about six boxes tall with three honey supers on top, then one deep and two mediums below that. The three supers up top were heavy with honey and the deep looked like a lot of empty comb to me. The bottom two mediums were full of life and there were even some larvae in the comb on top of their frames. I didn't see any drone brood but saw a good bit of worker brood. But I did get distracted for a while talking to the other people who were there. We did not see the queen but we did see eggs in comb so she's around somewhere. I got stung on the second knuckle on one of my fingers but the stinger did not get left behind. It hurt a bit but didn't swell up at all. So far, so good.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 17, 2024, 12:02:54 AM
Post by: The15thMember on March 17, 2024, 12:02:54 AM
Sounds like it was a great time, Terri! :happy: So is your neighbor going to harvest some of that honey? I'm just curious as to why he'd have so much honey on at this time of year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 17, 2024, 09:57:23 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 17, 2024, 09:57:23 AM
IIRC, they combined hives at the end of the season last year after one of them absconded and they didn't feel like extracting it. Well...they didn't feel like cleaning the extractor after extracting it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 18, 2024, 09:03:59 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 18, 2024, 09:03:59 AM
Now, a day and a half later, my knuckle is itchy and swollen.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 18, 2024, 10:55:55 AM
Post by: The15thMember on March 18, 2024, 10:55:55 AM
That will happen sometimes. For me, I get immediate crazy swelling, which then goes down, and then it will get red and itchy. But sometimes, if it's not a bad sting, which yours probably wasn't, since she didn't leave the stinger, I'll get just minor swelling or none at all, and then the red and itchy will follow. I've had times where I didn't even know I was stung until a few days later I had a red itchy welt. Every sting is a little bit different.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on March 18, 2024, 11:03:46 AM
Post by: Occam on March 18, 2024, 11:03:46 AM
Got my first inspection in yesterday afternoon. Was around 60ish, light 10-15 mph breeze out of the north. Was in and out pretty quickly. My 12 y/old wants to learn beekeeping so she stuck by my side the whole time. We'll put more frames together this week one evening.
One hive had 3 frames of resources, 4 brood, and a few mixed. Overall looking pretty good. Lots of drone comb but no walking drones yet. Second box on that hive had a little resources left in it and several partially formed frames of comb they were building last year. No white comb yet this year although I imagine it will start soon, I did see festooning on a foundationless frame. No swarm cells yet but not much room in the heavy box so I moved a couple frames around opening the brood nest with some foundationless. Queen (yellow dot) has a very solid pattern, saw all stages of eggs and larvae
Second hive is small, but they started winter small with only 5 frames. They're in a long langstroth hive, so I had the follower board against them all winter. A piece of starter strip had fallen out of a frame and the comb was attached at the bottom to another frame. Somehow I missed gluing that strip I guess and the comb they built was too heavy. I pulled that failed piece out and put in some sugar as they're a little light on resources and nectar is barely present right now. Queen (no dot, she's from a late swarm last year and I never marked her) has a good pattern as well. A little drone comb but no walking drones
One hive had 3 frames of resources, 4 brood, and a few mixed. Overall looking pretty good. Lots of drone comb but no walking drones yet. Second box on that hive had a little resources left in it and several partially formed frames of comb they were building last year. No white comb yet this year although I imagine it will start soon, I did see festooning on a foundationless frame. No swarm cells yet but not much room in the heavy box so I moved a couple frames around opening the brood nest with some foundationless. Queen (yellow dot) has a very solid pattern, saw all stages of eggs and larvae
Second hive is small, but they started winter small with only 5 frames. They're in a long langstroth hive, so I had the follower board against them all winter. A piece of starter strip had fallen out of a frame and the comb was attached at the bottom to another frame. Somehow I missed gluing that strip I guess and the comb they built was too heavy. I pulled that failed piece out and put in some sugar as they're a little light on resources and nectar is barely present right now. Queen (no dot, she's from a late swarm last year and I never marked her) has a good pattern as well. A little drone comb but no walking drones
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 18, 2024, 11:53:34 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 18, 2024, 11:53:34 AM
I thinks it great that you and your daughter are in unisons, working together with your bees! 🐝.
I have made the same mistake of missing glue on a strip with the same results !
Phillip
I have made the same mistake of missing glue on a strip with the same results !
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 18, 2024, 12:09:43 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on March 18, 2024, 12:09:43 PM
How many drones is normal? Are there times when they are greater in number than others? If so, what is the significance of that? Since they don't do much and do eat the resources, I would expect their numbers to be minimal.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 18, 2024, 12:40:45 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 18, 2024, 12:40:45 PM
Drones generally constitute around 20% of the brood nest during a flow in a strong colony (provided the bees aren't on foundation). They are kicked out of the hive before winter, and many colonies will also kick them out and cease rearing drone brood during a dearth. Flying drones aren't loyal to a colony, and are generally allowed to enter and exit any hive to eat and rest provided the colony feels they can support them. I will often see an abundance of drones hanging around colonies with queen cells, because they are attracted to the virgins' pheromones.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 18, 2024, 01:09:33 PM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 18, 2024, 01:09:33 PM
"The 15th Member's" answer is precisely correct on all counts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 18, 2024, 01:28:17 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 18, 2024, 01:28:17 PM
Quote from: Michael Bush on March 18, 2024, 01:09:33 PMWow! Thanks, Michael. :embarassed:
"The 15th Member's" answer is precisely correct on all counts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on March 21, 2024, 12:57:41 AM
Post by: cao on March 21, 2024, 12:57:41 AM
Just a little addition to 15th's answer. I have seen drones being kicked out of one hive while being welcomed into the hive next to it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 21, 2024, 06:00:22 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 21, 2024, 06:00:22 AM
>>I have seen drones being kicked out of one hive while being welcomed into the hive next to it.
Which she covered somewhat with:
>I will often see an abundance of drones hanging around colonies with queen cells, because they are attracted to the virgins' pheromones.
I will add that queenless hives even without cells will attract drones and they will not be kicked out. And, also I agree, there may not even be a reason, it may just be genetic variability that causes one colony to kick them out when another is welcoming them still.
Which she covered somewhat with:
>I will often see an abundance of drones hanging around colonies with queen cells, because they are attracted to the virgins' pheromones.
I will add that queenless hives even without cells will attract drones and they will not be kicked out. And, also I agree, there may not even be a reason, it may just be genetic variability that causes one colony to kick them out when another is welcoming them still.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 21, 2024, 08:49:13 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 21, 2024, 08:49:13 AM
I have seen drones in abundance in late Fall, (one season in particular). OldBeavo, a migratory beekeeper from Australia, had some interesting things to say about that in return.
Laying Worker hives, 'queenless hives', produce drones. I am supposing it would be natural that they would accept them as well?
Laying Worker hives, 'queenless hives', produce drones. I am supposing it would be natural that they would accept them as well?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on March 21, 2024, 10:43:06 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on March 21, 2024, 10:43:06 AM
>I am supposing it would be natural that they would accept them as well?
Yes.
Yes.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on March 25, 2024, 11:46:12 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on March 25, 2024, 11:46:12 PM
Quote from: Michael Bush on March 21, 2024, 10:43:06 AM
>I am supposing it would be natural that they would accept them as well?
Yes.
👍🏻
Thanks Mr Bush....
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on March 27, 2024, 07:59:30 PM
Post by: The15thMember on March 27, 2024, 07:59:30 PM
Finally my schedule and the weather cooperated today, so I opened up every single one of my colonies. Several needed additional boxes, and in the colonies on screened bottom boards, I had left my inserts in too long, and they were all moldy. :oops: The colony whose queen went drone layer over the winter finally made some queen cells from a donor frame. My favorite colony looked like they were about to swarm, so I split them, but we'll see if they swarm anyway, because they seemed pretty far along in their preparations.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 01, 2024, 11:26:01 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 01, 2024, 11:26:01 PM
Went in mine today for the first time. Split one that was full of queen cells and busting at the seams, the double mustard hive. I took some of the bees and queen cells and put them in a dead out (teal nuc).
I didn?t really go deep into the double red hive. I opened it and know enough to know that they are full to the top from fall still, and if I get time, I should split them. I?m sure they are well on their way to swarming. A couple cracks and peeks, and that hive is overflowing.
The tripple white medium had a queen x left on it from last year. There was some bees in the top three boxes tending the comb, but fairly light. The bottom two boxes were busting and like all the other hives, full of brood. I moved the excluder up one box there to give them a little room to expand.
Over all, I need to probably go back and split the three hives.
I didn?t actually split the first one. I just stole from it. It could afford it, and I didn?t look for the queen. I just took bees and QCs and put them in the nuc. The hive will still swarm if I don?t go find the queen and give her the boot or split it again.
I was in a rush cause I had some phone interviews to conduct. I opened the third hive with 10 minutes to spare until my first phone call.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/3464e1f35823dcb73b08c118ddfa53d4.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I didn?t really go deep into the double red hive. I opened it and know enough to know that they are full to the top from fall still, and if I get time, I should split them. I?m sure they are well on their way to swarming. A couple cracks and peeks, and that hive is overflowing.
The tripple white medium had a queen x left on it from last year. There was some bees in the top three boxes tending the comb, but fairly light. The bottom two boxes were busting and like all the other hives, full of brood. I moved the excluder up one box there to give them a little room to expand.
Over all, I need to probably go back and split the three hives.
I didn?t actually split the first one. I just stole from it. It could afford it, and I didn?t look for the queen. I just took bees and QCs and put them in the nuc. The hive will still swarm if I don?t go find the queen and give her the boot or split it again.
I was in a rush cause I had some phone interviews to conduct. I opened the third hive with 10 minutes to spare until my first phone call.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/3464e1f35823dcb73b08c118ddfa53d4.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 02, 2024, 12:15:34 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 02, 2024, 12:15:34 AM
Thumbs up!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 02, 2024, 09:02:55 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 02, 2024, 09:02:55 PM
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/6ec751567b43f58361bd51a40f4f1b3a.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/d0207ecee4c718a3cf2cc1a9071e76fc.jpg)
Before
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/86ae00f43526ca42e18a20f845f83152.jpg)
After
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/36693110190dc77c12e1a8b6a7484db9.jpg)
So, I mixed them up again today. I took five more frames of bees and brood out of the blue/white/blue hive and dropped them on top of the teal nuc I made yesterday from the bearded hive. Yesterday there was two reds and one yellow on that hive. That hive got a blue box of open air stored comb from last year.
I took the two red boxes and one yellow of bees and brood from what is now blue/white/blue, and put them on the yellow bottom board that held two empty blue/yellow boxes directly over the right side cinder blocks. That hive is now full of bees and brood and 2 QCs. I topped it off with a second yellow box of drawn comb.
The other half of the bees, brood and QCs that went to the orange box on the teal hive started another nuc on the far right in a yellow medium that?s stacked on time empt nuc boxes.
I stored all my drawn comb from last year?s extractions in the tall stack of boxes on the right side of the stand. It?s a couple boxes of comb, then a gap from a screen bottom board, then more boxes with drawn comb. I never put a lid on that. It probably sat like that since Sept/Oct last year. A bit of mold on some of it, but the bees needed some distractions anyways.
And I was going to cut back this year. Ha.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/d0207ecee4c718a3cf2cc1a9071e76fc.jpg)
Before
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/86ae00f43526ca42e18a20f845f83152.jpg)
After
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240402/36693110190dc77c12e1a8b6a7484db9.jpg)
So, I mixed them up again today. I took five more frames of bees and brood out of the blue/white/blue hive and dropped them on top of the teal nuc I made yesterday from the bearded hive. Yesterday there was two reds and one yellow on that hive. That hive got a blue box of open air stored comb from last year.
I took the two red boxes and one yellow of bees and brood from what is now blue/white/blue, and put them on the yellow bottom board that held two empty blue/yellow boxes directly over the right side cinder blocks. That hive is now full of bees and brood and 2 QCs. I topped it off with a second yellow box of drawn comb.
The other half of the bees, brood and QCs that went to the orange box on the teal hive started another nuc on the far right in a yellow medium that?s stacked on time empt nuc boxes.
I stored all my drawn comb from last year?s extractions in the tall stack of boxes on the right side of the stand. It?s a couple boxes of comb, then a gap from a screen bottom board, then more boxes with drawn comb. I never put a lid on that. It probably sat like that since Sept/Oct last year. A bit of mold on some of it, but the bees needed some distractions anyways.
And I was going to cut back this year. Ha.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 04, 2024, 07:03:28 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 04, 2024, 07:03:28 PM
Built a hive stand. Took a hive out of storage and moved hive and stand to the farm.
Trimmed branches through the woods and shrubs to make more room for the truck.
This was after moving the hive in my backyard out to the farm on Tuesday because it was getting too aggressive.
Trimmed branches through the woods and shrubs to make more room for the truck.
This was after moving the hive in my backyard out to the farm on Tuesday because it was getting too aggressive.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 04, 2024, 08:51:36 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 04, 2024, 08:51:36 PM
It sure is good seeing you posting! Ive missed you! I hope it yields loads of honey! When does your mesquite bloom start?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 04, 2024, 10:00:25 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 04, 2024, 10:00:25 PM
Welcome back Father. It has been a long time since you have posted. Glad you are back.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 05, 2024, 02:38:58 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 05, 2024, 02:38:58 PM
Thanks, Phillip and Jim.
It'll be a while before the Mesquite bloom. But Horehound is starting.
It'll be a while before the Mesquite bloom. But Horehound is starting.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 05, 2024, 07:00:15 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 05, 2024, 07:00:15 PM
Put a new chain and lock on the gate to my borrowed 5 acre bee yard.
The one hive there now is aggressive. The property is posted but I needed to make the gate more secure so no-one gets hurt trying to go down to the creek to fish or drink!
The one hive there now is aggressive. The property is posted but I needed to make the gate more secure so no-one gets hurt trying to go down to the creek to fish or drink!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 05, 2024, 10:04:41 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 05, 2024, 10:04:41 PM
Quote from: FatherMichael on April 05, 2024, 07:00:15 PMStomp the queen. In a few weeks you?ll be glad you did. I?ve done that a few times.
Put a new chain and lock on the gate to my borrowed 5 acre bee yard.
The one hive there now is aggressive. The property is posted but I needed to make the gate more secure so no-one gets hurt trying to go down to the creek to fish or drink!
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 05, 2024, 10:13:34 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 05, 2024, 10:13:34 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on April 05, 2024, 10:04:41 PMQuote from: FatherMichael on April 05, 2024, 07:00:15 PMStomp the queen. In a few weeks you?ll be glad you did. I?ve done that a few times.
Put a new chain and lock on the gate to my borrowed 5 acre bee yard.
The one hive there now is aggressive. The property is posted but I needed to make the gate more secure so no-one gets hurt trying to go down to the creek to fish or drink!
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Keep in mind that Father Michael lives in Snyder, Texas, a place where a large percentage of wild bee populations are partially Africanized.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 05, 2024, 11:15:47 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 05, 2024, 11:15:47 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on April 05, 2024, 10:13:34 PMAhh, then a store bought queen. I?ll put one of mine in the mail.Quote from: .30WCF on April 05, 2024, 10:04:41 PMQuote from: FatherMichael on April 05, 2024, 07:00:15 PMStomp the queen. In a few weeks you?ll be glad you did. I?ve done that a few times.
Put a new chain and lock on the gate to my borrowed 5 acre bee yard.
The one hive there now is aggressive. The property is posted but I needed to make the gate more secure so no-one gets hurt trying to go down to the creek to fish or drink!
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Keep in mind that Father Michael lives in Snyder, Texas, a place where a large percentage of wild bee populations are partially Africanized.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 06, 2024, 09:11:18 AM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 06, 2024, 09:11:18 AM
Yes, we have a problem with Africanized bees. A friend of mine quit altogether because it was so unpleasant to work them.
Yes, I need to re-queen.
Yes, I need to re-queen.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 06, 2024, 09:22:27 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 06, 2024, 09:22:27 AM
I watched a documentary several years ago that featured a fellow from Arizona, Bixbe, Arizona, I am thinking. This guy was a professional bee remover, and from what he portrayed in the documentary, most of those hives were Africanized and vicious bees. He wore a complete ventilated protection suit. The suit including the attached hood which seemed to get the job done and safety. It?s been a while since I watched the documentary, but if I remember correctly, the only stings he took was on his nose when the veil touched his nose,
What I?m getting to is if I lived in such an area, I would wear the complete suit, and not worry about the viciousness, if I wanted to keep bees .
In the meantime; Maybe 30WFC is serious and will send you one of his queens. . Being from North Carolina, perhaps she will be gentle in nature.
Phillip
What I?m getting to is if I lived in such an area, I would wear the complete suit, and not worry about the viciousness, if I wanted to keep bees .
In the meantime; Maybe 30WFC is serious and will send you one of his queens. . Being from North Carolina, perhaps she will be gentle in nature.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 06, 2024, 10:53:06 AM
Post by: .30WCF on April 06, 2024, 10:53:06 AM
I would. I seem to have the problem of always being over run with more bees than I want. Brood breaks and requeening gives me a break.
Shoot me a PM and I can grab one in a few days when it warms back up.
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Shoot me a PM and I can grab one in a few days when it warms back up.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 06, 2024, 11:50:32 AM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 06, 2024, 11:50:32 AM
Quote from: .30WCF on April 06, 2024, 10:53:06 AM
I would. I seem to have the problem of always being over run with more bees than I want. Brood breaks and requeening gives me a break.
Shoot me a PM and I can grab one in a few days when it warms back up.
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Wow! Thanks, .30!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 06, 2024, 06:32:14 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 06, 2024, 06:32:14 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on April 06, 2024, 09:22:27 AM
What I?m getting to is if I lived in such an area, I would wear the complete suit, and not worry about the viciousness, if I wanted to keep bees .
Phillip
Ayup, that is what I'll have to do in the immediate next stages of caring for this hive.
Had five hives going into 2023. Four at the farm died. Only this one at the house that I moved to the farm this week survived.
I had never lost even one hive before. Losing four was a gut check.
Will have two be a better manager.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 06, 2024, 09:06:07 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 06, 2024, 09:06:07 PM
Quote from: FatherMichael on April 06, 2024, 11:50:32 AMNo problem. Glad to see if it helps. Just let me know.Quote from: .30WCF on April 06, 2024, 10:53:06 AM
I would. I seem to have the problem of always being over run with more bees than I want. Brood breaks and requeening gives me a break.
Shoot me a PM and I can grab one in a few days when it warms back up.
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Wow! Thanks, .30!
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 07, 2024, 05:16:25 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 07, 2024, 05:16:25 PM
I prepped the hive I'm going to put my nuc into and will probably pic it up this week. I have a ratchet strap wrapped around it and figure I'll just take that hive to the apiary and put the nuc straight into it. I cut a bottom board with no entrance and made it a tight fit so I had to wedge it in there. I figure that should hold them 'til I get them back. I also put a tilt to it to keep rain from sneaking in. I rooted around and the best I could come up with without cutting something is a 3.3 degree tilt. I'm not sure if that's good but it seems to be within the parameters I found on the internet. Should I cut a notch in the top inner cover to let a little air through?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 08, 2024, 02:22:12 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 08, 2024, 02:22:12 AM
Without pictures I?m not sure I fully understand your description. I was taught, by placing bees in a container, box, nuc, or full frame without ventilation, such a swarm or cutout, the bees may be dead before you can get home. 🤷🏻♂️
What I do when I move a Nuc, just for precaution, is this, I?ll use either door screen or number eight hardware cloth on the full bottom entry, (for ventilation ), cut a piece out to fit, then I will place this screen in position and staple it in place with T-50 staples. Then add the ratchet strap, or I will staple the top and bottom to the box. This has always worked for me.
I will add; Before I transfer a nuc into a full 10 frame box, I will first release the nuc in its new location for a day or two, usually 2 , giving them plenty of time to orient and get use to their new location and surroundings, letting them settle in, then transfer. This works well for me.
Phillip
What I do when I move a Nuc, just for precaution, is this, I?ll use either door screen or number eight hardware cloth on the full bottom entry, (for ventilation ), cut a piece out to fit, then I will place this screen in position and staple it in place with T-50 staples. Then add the ratchet strap, or I will staple the top and bottom to the box. This has always worked for me.
I will add; Before I transfer a nuc into a full 10 frame box, I will first release the nuc in its new location for a day or two, usually 2 , giving them plenty of time to orient and get use to their new location and surroundings, letting them settle in, then transfer. This works well for me.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 08, 2024, 07:02:15 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 08, 2024, 07:02:15 AM
I didn't word that very well...I cut a full entrance block, not a bottom board. It will take me about 1/2 hr to get home from where I'm picking them up. My local TSC has screened bottom boards and since I need a bottom board, should I grab one and use it to provide ventilation? On leaving them the nuc for a day or two, I'm hoping that by moving them into their new home from the get-go, I won't have to move them here by myself.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on April 08, 2024, 08:53:20 PM
Post by: Caashenb on April 08, 2024, 08:53:20 PM
I have been lurking here quite awhile. This weekend I moved to swarm traps to the yard and checked on a nuc I split from a crowded colony last weekend. Check my traps that are still out and have three more to relocate next weekend.(//)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 08, 2024, 08:54:59 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 08, 2024, 08:54:59 PM
Laid out a community feeding station.
Subgrade foundation of Quickcrete with 8x8x16 blocks and top level of 4" cap.
Subgrade foundation of Quickcrete with 8x8x16 blocks and top level of 4" cap.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 09, 2024, 12:20:13 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 09, 2024, 12:20:13 AM
Quote from: Caashenb on April 08, 2024, 08:53:20 PM
I have been lurking here quite awhile. This weekend I moved to swarm traps to the yard and checked on a nuc I split from a crowded colony last weekend. Check my traps that are still out and have three more to relocate next weekend.(//)
Thanks for coming out from your lurking , lol, by posting your thoughts. How is that split coming along?
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on April 09, 2024, 07:18:25 AM
Post by: Caashenb on April 09, 2024, 07:18:25 AM
Thanks Phillip, it is looking good so far, this is my first split attempt and I had moved three frames of brood and stores with a capped queen cell. When I checked the queen cell was uncapped but I was unable to find queen but that is not unusual for me. I will keep watching with my fingers crossed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 09, 2024, 07:36:06 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 09, 2024, 07:36:06 AM
The QC is open, that?s good. Give her a few days before you go back in. Give her enough time to mate and begin laying. Once mated and laying she will have that plump look and will be easier to spot.
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 05:19:45 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 05:19:45 PM
That?s a pretty good swarm right there. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/2d43f6bbf5fb482a14050d38c598c5cd.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 09, 2024, 06:01:34 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 09, 2024, 06:01:34 PM
Where in the picture is it?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 06:04:33 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 06:04:33 PM
It?s like an Easter Egg hunt.
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Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 06:11:00 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 06:11:00 PM
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/07a1c82d31c1ef4e18a138570c0d30ed.jpg)
30 feet above the burn pile. They like that limb for some reason.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/dbe49ef7fffd0f4e952b7a335396b18c.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/da9fdda98e5035cf3cf521cd1abc2164.jpg)
Staged up a nuc to dump the bucket into. Then slide them into place.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/ef74ef95ff71afb7c5f25e0ad681e0c6.jpg)
Got em.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/92127251a33d917698e773b3c7cf63f2.jpg)
Used more of the comb that?s just been stored outside in stacks of empty supers with no bottom board or lids.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/f5c6e1d19f20ee99e5b47d1869bbbef6.jpg)
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30 feet above the burn pile. They like that limb for some reason.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/dbe49ef7fffd0f4e952b7a335396b18c.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/da9fdda98e5035cf3cf521cd1abc2164.jpg)
Staged up a nuc to dump the bucket into. Then slide them into place.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/ef74ef95ff71afb7c5f25e0ad681e0c6.jpg)
Got em.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/92127251a33d917698e773b3c7cf63f2.jpg)
Used more of the comb that?s just been stored outside in stacks of empty supers with no bottom board or lids.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240409/f5c6e1d19f20ee99e5b47d1869bbbef6.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on April 09, 2024, 07:17:12 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on April 09, 2024, 07:17:12 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 06:04:33 PM
It?s like an Easter Egg hunt.
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Instead of hoping you can find and catch your swarms you can toss a rope over the branch and pull up a Russian scion or an old brood frame with a roof on it. That way you can just lower them into a box.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 09:05:37 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 09:05:37 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on April 09, 2024, 07:17:12 PMYep. They flew back up. I parked the nuc box up in the tree touching the swarm for the nite. Maybe they will go in. If not, I?ll see about grabbing some brood frames tomorrow.Quote from: .30WCF on April 09, 2024, 06:04:33 PM
It?s like an Easter Egg hunt.
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Instead of hoping you can find and catch your swarms you can toss a rope over the branch and pull up a Russian scion or an old brood frame with a roof on it. That way you can just lower them into a box.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2024, 02:16:13 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2024, 02:16:13 PM
After a day and a half, they finally went in. A day and a half of a nuc box touching them with a brood frame with nurse bees inside. They were still outside this morning, and I looked a few minutes ago and the swarm was gone, but bees were flying about the entrance.
Full swarm sat on the lid for two and a half days. The last day and a half had a brood frame added.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/ad670562269e95068af89c77e915e609.jpg)
Small bundle of bees still on the branch, probably have a virgin Q in there.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/45b6c411e753c2e293007a9a1ac718bc.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/906bf9fc88c362725becae3eeaee6227.jpg)
Added a second deep nuc with two frames of drawn comb and three foundation frames, changed lids to a single feeder lid and topped them with a mason jar of 2:1.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/40b1e5ba3844b4e49b1aadfb03ac0ba1.jpg)
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Full swarm sat on the lid for two and a half days. The last day and a half had a brood frame added.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/ad670562269e95068af89c77e915e609.jpg)
Small bundle of bees still on the branch, probably have a virgin Q in there.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/45b6c411e753c2e293007a9a1ac718bc.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/906bf9fc88c362725becae3eeaee6227.jpg)
Added a second deep nuc with two frames of drawn comb and three foundation frames, changed lids to a single feeder lid and topped them with a mason jar of 2:1.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/40b1e5ba3844b4e49b1aadfb03ac0ba1.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 11, 2024, 04:32:45 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 11, 2024, 04:32:45 PM
Won't mayhem and murder ensue with those nurse bees in there?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2024, 04:33:21 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2024, 04:33:21 PM
Well, between the time I put that swarm in a box and ate lunch, I got a nice little after swarm or a different hive swarmed.
The one I been trying to get the last couple days is still in the double nuc on the end. Lots of activity around all hives and they are still just circling and landing on that new branch about 10-12? away from where the other swarm landed.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/007c825172d47e30095a4224cdc75aa5.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/a20072cdf28aa4adac73c389f047ad33.jpg)
You can see the new swarm over the burn pile, and the rope is still up from this morning just to the right. These ones are a little lower.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/601127cc317e6e3a6eb4eb420ea60f2e.jpg)
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The one I been trying to get the last couple days is still in the double nuc on the end. Lots of activity around all hives and they are still just circling and landing on that new branch about 10-12? away from where the other swarm landed.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/007c825172d47e30095a4224cdc75aa5.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/a20072cdf28aa4adac73c389f047ad33.jpg)
You can see the new swarm over the burn pile, and the rope is still up from this morning just to the right. These ones are a little lower.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/601127cc317e6e3a6eb4eb420ea60f2e.jpg)
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Title: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2024, 04:39:19 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2024, 04:39:19 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 11, 2024, 04:32:45 PMThey came from a queenless hive I split last week and were raising a couple queen cells. I took a frame that didn?t have any QCs on it. They should be fine.
Won't mayhem and murder ensue with those nurse bees in there?
I also have swapped queens from hive to hive a few times just to give a weak hive a better laying queen. (As in catch both queens and drop them right into the other queen?s hive right in the top bars. They just walk in like they own the place.) They just want a laying queen. Virgins and banked queens are a different game.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 11, 2024, 04:45:33 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 11, 2024, 04:45:33 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 11, 2024, 04:32:45 PMNurse bees are more loyal to babies than they are to queens. So usually, especially during a flow when everyone isn't in maximum protection mode, nurse bees can be moved between hives with minimal fighting.
Won't mayhem and murder ensue with those nurse bees in there?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2024, 05:33:06 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 11, 2024, 05:33:06 PM
Start the timer. Maybe this swarm
Is smarter than the last one.
Had to dig deep in drawn comb bank to get some nice mediums for this nuc.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/85e097e50f7c11b9d62ff7c3f4e08a57.jpg)
Strapped it to some concrete float handles and wedged it in the fork of the branches. Odds are I didn?t smash the queen.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/90a8e56d745fc4b1c80a8ba9aa0e3715.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/862902d9798a763a0d466726cd60b5eb.jpg)
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Is smarter than the last one.
Had to dig deep in drawn comb bank to get some nice mediums for this nuc.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/85e097e50f7c11b9d62ff7c3f4e08a57.jpg)
Strapped it to some concrete float handles and wedged it in the fork of the branches. Odds are I didn?t smash the queen.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/90a8e56d745fc4b1c80a8ba9aa0e3715.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240411/862902d9798a763a0d466726cd60b5eb.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 11, 2024, 07:36:30 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 11, 2024, 07:36:30 PM
Awesome, .30.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 13, 2024, 12:32:33 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 13, 2024, 12:32:33 PM
This morning they were still all sitting on the box. It did have a brood frame. They just were not having any of it.
I pulled the nuc down and only a few bees were in the box on the brood frame.
This morning it took about 5-6 times of rattling the pole bucket on the bottom of the branch and dumping them in, then they started marching in. I set them up under the tree for now until they all go in, and then I?ll move them sometime. It looks promising right now. Only a handful are clinging onto the tree branch now.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240413/6721ffe2f84c5db613316d050295f132.jpg)
[MEDIA=youtube]mVWbHR9va1I[/MEDIA]
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I pulled the nuc down and only a few bees were in the box on the brood frame.
This morning it took about 5-6 times of rattling the pole bucket on the bottom of the branch and dumping them in, then they started marching in. I set them up under the tree for now until they all go in, and then I?ll move them sometime. It looks promising right now. Only a handful are clinging onto the tree branch now.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240413/6721ffe2f84c5db613316d050295f132.jpg)
[MEDIA=youtube]mVWbHR9va1I[/MEDIA]
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 13, 2024, 02:39:53 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 13, 2024, 02:39:53 PM
That sounds like fun. Hope you get them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 13, 2024, 11:45:04 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 13, 2024, 11:45:04 PM
I went through all of my hives today. Two of them were queen less for some reason, one of them had 3 capped queen cells. I was going to cut one of them out but a large hive next to them had a queen cell and lots of day old eggs so I moved that frame with the QC to the other queen less hive.
I added frames to 3 hives that were swarms and starting to grow. Originally they only had enough drawn frames that they could cover. The rest were empty frames.
I took the swarm trap hive that was in the barn apart. I had put a twenty old black wax frames in it to see how it would work out. They only used the best of the frames and left most of them un touched or only used a part of the frame. They did build new comb under the bottom frames and Judy rubber banded them in empty frames. I replaced most of the frames wit good drawn wax. This should enable them to start growing much faster with all of the brood together instead of spread all over the hive with comb they wouldn?t use between the small bits of brood.
I won?t use more that one old frame in swarm traps any more. If I think a swarm is ready to move in I won?t hesitate to use a box full of good drawn wax.
Jim Altmiller
I added frames to 3 hives that were swarms and starting to grow. Originally they only had enough drawn frames that they could cover. The rest were empty frames.
I took the swarm trap hive that was in the barn apart. I had put a twenty old black wax frames in it to see how it would work out. They only used the best of the frames and left most of them un touched or only used a part of the frame. They did build new comb under the bottom frames and Judy rubber banded them in empty frames. I replaced most of the frames wit good drawn wax. This should enable them to start growing much faster with all of the brood together instead of spread all over the hive with comb they wouldn?t use between the small bits of brood.
I won?t use more that one old frame in swarm traps any more. If I think a swarm is ready to move in I won?t hesitate to use a box full of good drawn wax.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 14, 2024, 07:17:00 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 14, 2024, 07:17:00 AM
QuoteIf I think a swarm is ready to move in I won?t hesitate to use a box full of good drawn wax.
Jim Altmiller
I am responding with my opinion for the sake of newer beekeepers who wish to try trapping for swarms, of course this is just my opinion and works well for me..
Same here Jim, the more drawn comb in the catch box the better in my opinion during swarming 'season'.. And if not 'all drawn out comb' (which I prefer), at least some drawn out comb with added frames 'with' foundation.
Never wide open spaces such as foundation less frames (just my personal opinion and many may disagree). By using a full box of drawn comb, we will eliminate the chance of cross combing or wonky comb, which can happen when we leave wide open spaces in a catch box with the use of foundation-less frames, as many prefer ..
This older brood comb not only helps in attracting bees to our traps, but also gives us more time to deal with them once they arrive. They come loaded with honey, and the queen will soon begin laying, usually within 3 days when we provide brood comb in our traps. as bees will make short order of setting up housekeeping when they reach their new home and immediately become 'busy as bees'.
Some say that the bees will be less likely to choose a place packed with drawn comb, as they calculate less space 'themselves'. Bees know their business and requirements, and in my experience adding framed comb is beneficial. Some use 5 frame nucs for catch boxes, Personally I prefer a 10 frame box deep for a catch box such as Ed in Louisiana uses, and he is a swarm catching machine :shocked: :cheesy:lol. A few seconds of this video may be an eyeopener for some..
https://youtu.be/OZUiHstirFs?t=230
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 08:56:54 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 08:56:54 AM
Thanks for that information. I enjoyed it.
After about three moderately decent days last week, we had relentless winds and heavy rains for three or four days so there has been no activity around my trap. And I was supposed to get my nuc yesterday but that was delayed to today because of the winds. We have a full week of good swarm weather on deck so hopefully, I'll get lucky.
After about three moderately decent days last week, we had relentless winds and heavy rains for three or four days so there has been no activity around my trap. And I was supposed to get my nuc yesterday but that was delayed to today because of the winds. We have a full week of good swarm weather on deck so hopefully, I'll get lucky.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 14, 2024, 09:13:04 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 14, 2024, 09:13:04 AM
If I?m setting a swarm trap without swarming going on I will put one old frame on one side and the rest are empty frames with a wood stick in the top slot. I wax the stick with freshly melted wax.
In my experience a good swarm will build nice straight comb in this set up. Most of my drawn foundation less frames are from swarms. If I?m looking for a large swarm, I use at least two medium boxes or more.
Jim Altmiller
In my experience a good swarm will build nice straight comb in this set up. Most of my drawn foundation less frames are from swarms. If I?m looking for a large swarm, I use at least two medium boxes or more.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 14, 2024, 12:07:14 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 14, 2024, 12:07:14 PM
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on April 14, 2024, 09:13:04 AM
If I?m setting a swarm trap without swarming going on I will put one old frame on one side and the rest are empty frames with a wood stick in the top slot. I wax the stick with freshly melted wax.
In my experience a good swarm will build nice straight comb in this set up. Most of my drawn foundation less frames are from swarms. If I?m looking for a large swarm, I use at least two medium boxes or more.
Jim Altmiller
In your case I agree with you Jim especially if the traps are on our own property, with no immediate moving of the trap required, or at least not far, thus no worries of collapsed comb. Your method works just fine when a trap is in our own location.... Plus you have the advantage of new comb in that hive for a new beginning for the bees.. Thought it can and does occasionally happen, most of the time cross comb will not be a problem.
Different circumstances may sometimes require different methods for best results. For example during a hard swarming season some may have catch boxes miles away from their apiary, at locations where known cutouts have been done in the past, (swarming bees seem to love old cut out locations), in such a case, new white foundationless soft comb, without that provided foundation for support in the frames, may be a problem during transport because of the weight of the fresh nectar the bees might have loaded into this new comb. (and in peak swarm season during a heavy flow, it don't take long for that brand new come to become heavy).
I made this mistake, (once) of transporting a nuc with new foundationless soft white comb from one location to another. When I got home after driving down some rough Mississippi roads, some of the new fresh white comb had collapsed, and what a mess... lol..
Now had that box been on the property that I had intended to be their home, that foundation-less frame set up would have been just fine. I am not trying to change minds and habits, just hopefully showing different circumstances sometimes fare better with different methods... .
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on April 14, 2024, 06:51:25 PM
Post by: Caashenb on April 14, 2024, 06:51:25 PM
Took down three swarm traps and moved bees to bee yard, have one more to do in the morning. Put on some supers and checked on others.
Just my thoughts on the previous posts I have started using all frames with foundation in my swarm traps. My first two years I used open frames but with temps in the 90's on these fine Louisiana back roads I had to much of it collapse on me. Since I have started use frames with foundation I have not seen any difference in outcome, using four traps I usually catch 10 to 15 each year.
Just my thoughts on the previous posts I have started using all frames with foundation in my swarm traps. My first two years I used open frames but with temps in the 90's on these fine Louisiana back roads I had to much of it collapse on me. Since I have started use frames with foundation I have not seen any difference in outcome, using four traps I usually catch 10 to 15 each year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 09:22:50 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 09:22:50 PM
I picked up my nuc and had them in place and opened up at about 1500. They slowly peeked out then started their orientation flights. Those continued until they called it a day at around 1945. Given how many bees there were vs how many were out getting oriented, I'm guessing that they take turns getting their bearings straight. The queen was in the process of laying eggs when we transferred her over and it seems like she was undeterred by the disturbance. I did not give them any syrup yet, as I wanted them to settle in before I bothered them any more. I got a couple of pollen patties off of the couple that I got the nuc from but I didn't add any of that yet either. So...should I feed them pollen and/or syrup? Should I do so now or wait until they settle in a little more? And I went outside about 2000 and smelt a polecat out there. Is it going to bother my hive?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 14, 2024, 09:39:22 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 14, 2024, 09:39:22 PM
I have not experienced polecats or skunks because there are no skunks in my area. I have heard different ones here at beemaster say they can cause problems with bees.
Being the flow is ready to start I doubt you will need to feed if there was plenty of stores your nuc. Also in my area I have to be extra careful with feeding pollen patties because of Small Hive Beetles. In your part of the country they may not be such a problem? Here, back when I use to feed pollen substitute, I open fed.
Congratulations on the bees Terri!
Being the flow is ready to start I doubt you will need to feed if there was plenty of stores your nuc. Also in my area I have to be extra careful with feeding pollen patties because of Small Hive Beetles. In your part of the country they may not be such a problem? Here, back when I use to feed pollen substitute, I open fed.
Congratulations on the bees Terri!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 10:28:08 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 10:28:08 PM
SHBs are an issue here and a few weeks ago when I was at my mentor's going through the hives, we saw one and he jabbed at it with his hive tool. I don't know if he got it or not and he didn't seem too obsessed about it. What, are their eggs in the pollen and hatch after they warm up? Is there no way to put them out of commission? What I have been told is that the skunks rap on the hive to disturb the bees and they come out and get eaten. Putting the hive up makes the skunk stand up, revealing his hairless belly, which is vulnerable to stings. My hive sits high enough to accomplish that. A couple of months ago, he cropdusted us for a week or more straight. I don't have much against skunks but that one alone is reason enough to move him out of here.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on April 14, 2024, 10:36:06 PM
Post by: Lesgold on April 14, 2024, 10:36:06 PM
Beetles are generally only an issue if their numbers are large and the hive is a bit weak. Seeing one beetle in a hive would be a great result. Seeing 100 could get you a little concerned. If you have a hive and live in a SHB area, you will have beetles flying into the hive within hours of setting it up.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 14, 2024, 11:45:35 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 14, 2024, 11:45:35 PM
1. Created two more nucs.
2. Built another 15 frames from scrap lumber.
3. Jammed a pine needle underneath my finger nail while lighting the smoker.
2. Built another 15 frames from scrap lumber.
3. Jammed a pine needle underneath my finger nail while lighting the smoker.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 14, 2024, 11:48:19 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 14, 2024, 11:48:19 PM
Added some supers and did some box reversal when I found an empty brood box.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 15, 2024, 12:36:05 AM
Post by: The15thMember on April 15, 2024, 12:36:05 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 09:22:50 PMAs Phillip said, it depends on your flows. If you have nectar and pollen coming in right now, then no need to feed.
So...should I feed them pollen and/or syrup?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 09:22:50 PM
And I went outside about 2000 and smelt a polecat out there. Is it going to bother my hive?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 14, 2024, 10:28:08 PMWe have skunks and I've never had trouble with them, but I know people sometimes do. The height sounds like a good deterrent though.
What I have been told is that the skunks rap on the hive to disturb the bees and they come out and get eaten. Putting the hive up makes the skunk stand up, revealing his hairless belly, which is vulnerable to stings. My hive sits high enough to accomplish that. A couple of months ago, he cropdusted us for a week or more straight. I don't have much against skunks but that one alone is reason enough to move him out of here.
I inspected several colonies yesterday, including one where I was looking for a new laying queen, who I found, and she is the darkest queen I've ever seen! She's so pretty and so black that she's barely even striped! I'll have to get a picture of her. I named her Tiana after the main character in Princess and the Frog.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 15, 2024, 08:27:20 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 15, 2024, 08:27:20 AM
QuoteWhat I have been told is that the skunks rap on the hive to disturb the bees and they come out and get eaten. Putting the hive up makes the skunk stand up, revealing his hairless belly, which is vulnerable to stings.
Yes, I have heard that too. I?m not so sure about that. lol I have a border collie who is many times larger than a skunk yet black-and-white in color. He never bothers the bees. If he happens to tagalong while I am opening a box, they will get him and he has hair everywhere lol. They don?t seem to be particular about where they sting him. They light and start working their way down to the skin and then zap :-) I would suspect they would do the same to skunk? hair on the belly or not? 🤷🏻♂️😊
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 15, 2024, 09:19:07 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on April 15, 2024, 09:19:07 AM
>What I have been told is that the skunks rap on the hive to disturb the bees and they come out and get eaten. Putting the hive up makes the skunk stand up, revealing his hairless belly, which is vulnerable to stings.
Close. They scratch on the front of the hive (as evidenced by the scratches), then they catch the guard bee that flies out between their paws, then they roll it in the grass and get it to sting the grass, then they pop it in their mouth and suck the juice out of it and after they have a mouthful, they spit them out. If the entrance is high enough to expose their throat they won't do this. If the ground had things that make the rolling part difficult (some staked out chicken wire or paver blocks etc.) it will stop them.
Close. They scratch on the front of the hive (as evidenced by the scratches), then they catch the guard bee that flies out between their paws, then they roll it in the grass and get it to sting the grass, then they pop it in their mouth and suck the juice out of it and after they have a mouthful, they spit them out. If the entrance is high enough to expose their throat they won't do this. If the ground had things that make the rolling part difficult (some staked out chicken wire or paver blocks etc.) it will stop them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 15, 2024, 09:39:19 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 15, 2024, 09:39:19 AM
My nuc has survived its first night in their new home. We got more heavy rain last night so I hope they like it. They were up by 0630, which surprised me, I thought they'd wait until it got lighter or warmer before they got up. How long should I wait before I inspect them in there? And how long will the orientation flights go on? It looks like they're still at it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 15, 2024, 11:06:07 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 15, 2024, 11:06:07 AM
QuoteThe queen was in the process of laying eggs when we transferred her over and it seems like she was undeterred by the disturbance.
Congratulations Terri on your first hive. I hope it fairs well!! Personally I would wait a week before going back in. Did you transfer them over to your 10 frame set up?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 15, 2024, 12:35:37 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 15, 2024, 12:35:37 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on April 15, 2024, 11:06:07 AMThanks. They were in a medium nuc so I took a ten frame medium with me and put them straight into that there. I figured that they'd prefer that over two moves in a short period of time, plus I didn't have to shell out for their nuc box. I had two ratchet straps to keep things battened down and they worked fine, along with my driving skills.
Congratulations Terri on your first hive. I hope it fairs well!! Personally I would wait a week before going back in. Did you transfer them over to your 10 frame set up?
Orientation is over and they are taking care of business bringing in pollen. It looks like a brown to burnt orange and I don't know where they're getting it from. I gave them a little less than a pint of 1:1 syrup and I'll see if they take it. I don't know if it's true but I heard it's helpful when they're building out comb and I have five empty frames for them to work on. If I don't see it going down, I'll pull it out. The seller reported that they were a healthy and productive hive but I don't know them well enough to rely on their word. Indications are good though. These hives have doors on the sides that come off for viewing but all you can see is the end frame on one side. At least I can open the top up and check the syrup without removing their top.
Oh, and my poor neighbor's been getting nothing but bad breaks lately. His last surviving out of seven hives seems to have gone queenless. Just a couple of weeks ago they inspected it and it had everything going for it. Lots of brood, lots of stored honey. He's going to try and get a queen ASAP to try and rescue them. If I had a full and healthy hive, I could cut him some eggs but I don't so I can't.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on April 16, 2024, 04:07:35 AM
Post by: NigelP on April 16, 2024, 04:07:35 AM
You could possibly cut out a small section of comb with eggs for him, which won't have a major impact on your new hive. I do this quite frequently when requeening and it seems to work well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 08:38:49 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 08:38:49 AM
Quote from: NigelP on April 16, 2024, 04:07:35 AMI was wondering about something like that. Thanks, I'll look into that. Could a few eggs possible be picked out with a dental pic and placed into his comb?
You could possibly cut out a small section of comb with eggs for him, which won't have a major impact on your new hive. I do this quite frequently when requeening and it seems to work well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 16, 2024, 10:01:12 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 16, 2024, 10:01:12 AM
Good idea Nigel. How do you place this small piece into your hive in need??
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 16, 2024, 10:24:46 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on April 16, 2024, 10:24:46 AM
I don't know of any way to glue an egg to the bottom of a cell. Picking out eggs and putting them in cells will just result in the bees removing those loose eggs.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 16, 2024, 10:42:04 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 16, 2024, 10:42:04 AM
A few years ago van from Arkansas asked a question, can worker bees move eggs. I can?t find the topic, but the answer seemed pretty well agreed upon, no. So if the bees cant do it. . .
If only a few eggs are intended to be moved, then I would think Nigel?s way would be the answer.
If only a few eggs are intended to be moved, then I would think Nigel?s way would be the answer.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 16, 2024, 11:18:58 AM
Post by: .30WCF on April 16, 2024, 11:18:58 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 08:38:49 AMNo harm in trying if you have the time and patience. Thats how we learn things.Quote from: NigelP on April 16, 2024, 04:07:35 AMI was wondering about something like that. Thanks, I'll look into that. Could a few eggs possible be picked out with a dental pic and placed into his comb?
You could possibly cut out a small section of comb with eggs for him, which won't have a major impact on your new hive. I do this quite frequently when requeening and it seems to work well.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on April 16, 2024, 11:41:11 AM
Post by: NigelP on April 16, 2024, 11:41:11 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on April 16, 2024, 10:01:12 AMI make plastic triangular template (margarine tub or similar) and use it to cut out a piece with eggs in from donor hive. Take a frame from recipient hive, take same template and cut identical piece out of frame and replace with your cut out bit with eggs. If its too loose half a cocktail stick will keep it in place. Major problem is wires in frame but I simply cut these.....could also use a cookie cutter at a pinch
Good idea Nigel. How do you place this small piece into your hive in need??
Phillip
This way it is easy to see that any queen cells here have been drawn from eggs, not 4 day larva, as can be the case.
It also means you can donate eggs to three or four hives/nucs from one frame of your "good" queens and not really weaken the hive.
For requeening bad girl hives you simply destroy any queen cells that are not on you implanted triangle of eggs.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 02:24:08 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 02:24:08 PM
It all sounds interesting to me and if I get enough resources, I'd play with it. My neighbor reports that his uncle has two queens on tap for Saturday and that beats the time it would take to make a queen. I just hope his idea bo make two hives isn't too big a bite for the remaining workers. I feel like he's on borrowed time right now.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 03:54:37 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 03:54:37 PM
And my nuc appears to be doing well. I found what I suspect is a SHB on top of the hive this morning and I whacked it but it doesn't make me feel good about them. Where there's one, there's more. They're drinking syrup like drunken sailors and have been bringing in pollen all day long. I see some stragglers coming in early, before others are going out. I expect that those are foragers who didn't make it in before curfew last night. I don't know if they're a gentle crew or if it's normal but I can sit on the wall right next to the hive and supervise them without getting harassed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 16, 2024, 04:32:15 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 16, 2024, 04:32:15 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 03:54:37 PMIt's very normal, especially for a hive this small. As long as you stay out of the flight zone, most hives will just go about their work and ignore you.
I don't know if they're a gentle crew or if it's normal but I can sit on the wall right next to the hive and supervise them without getting harassed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 17, 2024, 07:27:02 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on April 17, 2024, 07:27:02 AM
>No harm in trying if you have the time and patience. Thats how we learn things.
No. No harm. But I don't see any way it can succeed.
No. No harm. But I don't see any way it can succeed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 17, 2024, 07:49:12 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 17, 2024, 07:49:12 AM
Quote from: Michael Bush on April 17, 2024, 07:27:02 AMWhat do you see as the failure point(s)? If I ever decide to give it a go, I'd keep them in mind. BTW, I'm known to do things umm...errr....eeeehhh...differently than other people. :cool: I hear, "That's not exactly how I would do that", a lot.
>No harm in trying if you have the time and patience. Thats how we learn things.
No. No harm. But I don't see any way it can succeed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 17, 2024, 08:08:37 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 17, 2024, 08:08:37 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 16, 2024, 08:38:49 AMQuote from: NigelP on April 16, 2024, 04:07:35 AMI was wondering about something like that. Thanks, I'll look into that. Could a few eggs possible be picked out with a dental pic and placed into his comb?
You could possibly cut out a small section of comb with eggs for him, which won't have a major impact on your new hive. I do this quite frequently when requeening and it seems to work well.
Not quite like NigelP method; I learned this from a Fellow in another country a few years ago.
Here is the original post.
A unique way to develop queens.
<<on: April 24, 2020, 02:06:10 pm >>
With the recent talk of queen rearing and grafting, I have decided to share the following. I am learning form a fellow in the middle east, (Turkey), that raises queens differently from anyone that I have studied anywhere in the world. Translation of languages on google sure helps! What he does is place the queen in a queen excluder cage that holds an empty brood frame. placing this right back in the hive. When the larva is the right age, and all will be the same age in each area, he removes this frame, cuts a long strip of this comb with the contained larva, shaves off a small portion of the comb face, leaving the larva automatically in a shallower cup than was original. Then, cuts these into one pieces cups separating them , placing them in a Nicot holding holder, (The pale yellow cell cup block), (the one that you would normally place the little hard pale brown cell cups in), securing these on the bar lined up as a normal nicot go round. Then he places a drop of wet wax to make sure the cups are bonded in place, then adding this set up to his cell builder, and the results are astonishing! The larva are never disturbed.
Phillip
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=53547.msg483414#msg483414
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 17, 2024, 08:21:50 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on April 17, 2024, 08:21:50 AM
Loose debris in a cell, including loose eggs, get removed (possibly consumed). When the queen lays an egg it's glued to the bottom standing upright. I don't know how to glue it in such a way as to not damage it. Even one that is still glued to the bottom (i.e. in queen cells or in cells turned sideways as in the Hopkins method) just get removed if they are not needed for queens and not already larvae. With a Jenter system I have "grafted" (removed the plug in the bottom and put it into a plastic cell cup) larvae and they remove them. With the Hopkins method you turn a comb flatways. Again, when attempting to use eggs, they just remove them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 17, 2024, 09:29:26 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 17, 2024, 09:29:26 AM
Aaaah, ok, thanks for that explanation.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Salvo on April 17, 2024, 12:07:33 PM
Post by: Salvo on April 17, 2024, 12:07:33 PM
Hi Folks,
I bought two 25 pound bags of sugar today, for the house, the bees and the hummingbirds.
Walmart. $19.97 each bag.
Last time I remember getting it I was looking for forty-seven cents a pound. My, how time flys.
Well, everyone in the chain got a raise.
Sal
I bought two 25 pound bags of sugar today, for the house, the bees and the hummingbirds.
Walmart. $19.97 each bag.
Last time I remember getting it I was looking for forty-seven cents a pound. My, how time flys.
Well, everyone in the chain got a raise.
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 18, 2024, 02:45:45 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 18, 2024, 02:45:45 PM
I just deleted the last couple of posts. Please keep political talk out of the bee sections. Feel free to discuss further in the Coffee House.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 18, 2024, 04:57:41 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 18, 2024, 04:57:41 PM
I added a second jar of syrup and put more holes of a smaller size in the lid and so far, all is working out. I placed some 1/2" slats in there to set the jars on and put the jars off each end of the hole in the inner cover. I can see hordes of bees crawling around through the hole in the inner cover. My hive boxes all have a port on the side that I can take off and look inside and the brood box is not seeing any activity on the outside of the outer frame. I won't go into the hive for another week but is there a time frame when I should expect to see some activity on that outer frame? It was cooler today and the foragers didn't go out until after noon. I'm also seeing a few ants crawling around. Not a lot, just a few, is this a sign of an pending invasion?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 18, 2024, 05:55:21 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 18, 2024, 05:55:21 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on April 18, 2024, 02:45:45 PM
I just deleted the last couple of posts. Please keep political talk out of the bee sections. Feel free to discuss further in the Coffee House.
I apologize.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 18, 2024, 06:27:59 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 18, 2024, 06:27:59 PM
Me too
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Salvo on April 18, 2024, 06:29:50 PM
Post by: Salvo on April 18, 2024, 06:29:50 PM
Father Michael, Mr. Yaki
Mea maxima Culpa.
For each of you, your penance; Please say three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys .
Go forth and sin no more. Per omnia secula seculorum.
Salvatore
Mea maxima Culpa.
For each of you, your penance; Please say three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys .
Go forth and sin no more. Per omnia secula seculorum.
Salvatore
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Salvo on April 19, 2024, 02:54:49 AM
Post by: Salvo on April 19, 2024, 02:54:49 AM
Hi Folks,
Sitting back, sitting here waiting on a call from the Wilbanks Apiary trailer.
My club has around 900 packages getting dropped off within the hour.
This is more fun than waiting til the last minute to file your taxes.
Funny, the average age of the members who show up for the unloading is around 67 yo. Canes, walkers knee braces,..... I'm getting too short to work inside the trailer! The feeble and the feeble minded.
Sitting back, sitting here waiting on a call.
Sal
Sitting back, sitting here waiting on a call from the Wilbanks Apiary trailer.
My club has around 900 packages getting dropped off within the hour.
This is more fun than waiting til the last minute to file your taxes.
Funny, the average age of the members who show up for the unloading is around 67 yo. Canes, walkers knee braces,..... I'm getting too short to work inside the trailer! The feeble and the feeble minded.
Sitting back, sitting here waiting on a call.
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 19, 2024, 06:56:06 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 19, 2024, 06:56:06 AM
That is a lot of packages Sal! You must be a member of a well organized, well established bee club. I would be interested in hearing more about your bee club.
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 19, 2024, 07:34:39 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 19, 2024, 07:34:39 AM
Quote from: Caashenb on April 14, 2024, 06:51:25 PM
Took down three swarm traps and moved bees to bee yard, have one more to do in the morning. Put on some supers and checked on others.
Just my thoughts on the previous posts I have started using all frames with foundation in my swarm traps. My first two years I used open frames but with temps in the 90's on these fine Louisiana back roads I had to much of it collapse on me. Since I have started use frames with foundation I have not seen any difference in outcome, using four traps I usually catch 10 to 15 each year.
Thanks for the information Caashenb. .
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 19, 2024, 10:30:10 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 19, 2024, 10:30:10 AM
Quote from: Salvo on April 19, 2024, 02:54:49 AMAt 0154? God bless you.
Hi Folks,
Sitting back, sitting here waiting on a call from the Wilbanks Apiary trailer.
My club has around 900 packages getting dropped off within the hour.
This is more fun than waiting til the last minute to file your taxes.
Funny, the average age of the members who show up for the unloading is around 67 yo. Canes, walkers knee braces,..... I'm getting too short to work inside the trailer! The feeble and the feeble minded.
Sitting back, sitting here waiting on a call.
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Salvo on April 19, 2024, 11:01:59 AM
Post by: Salvo on April 19, 2024, 11:01:59 AM
Hi Folks,
Trailer rolled in at 0256.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/428594386540310/?s=group_other&__cft__[0]=AZXJklC8dbV-cTP0TVou9z4Wav-d9zD3AxI7NGbmBTDkXZHxpIhrNipblXipXYbIXBxg-HBJpMTc7nU-LnwDQHR8cEa2P0mahIwKX8Lz68xQcJJlGz4ygGciZsOKYLVwZLcR9fFOOcQlSLbfVoEM8KzGWleHQSXM3TNq19K8HjrnYpcYqnaMDqrkgs5myNyl60B3yH2trbGbtfo8Qk0dP-pyNzfaM2VRJxjeoXJZHSTPXQ&__tn__=H-R
Usually, it takes about 45 minutes for us to unload and broom clean the trailer. Today about 35 minutes. I think the trailer holds a few less than 1,000 packages, all strapped in, amazingly. Nothing moves, all boxes connected to each other. HVAC. Lotta heat generated by these bees. We'll keep them cool and ventilated for pick-up Saturday (tomorrow) from 8 AM to maybe 1 PM.
We have a lot of members, 700+. And about 80 new Bee School people. They have first crack at packages.
https://www.facebook.com/100094078868185/videos/1225153115530503/
https://www.facebook.com/100094078868185/videos/1093425265076427/
Sal
Trailer rolled in at 0256.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/428594386540310/?s=group_other&__cft__[0]=AZXJklC8dbV-cTP0TVou9z4Wav-d9zD3AxI7NGbmBTDkXZHxpIhrNipblXipXYbIXBxg-HBJpMTc7nU-LnwDQHR8cEa2P0mahIwKX8Lz68xQcJJlGz4ygGciZsOKYLVwZLcR9fFOOcQlSLbfVoEM8KzGWleHQSXM3TNq19K8HjrnYpcYqnaMDqrkgs5myNyl60B3yH2trbGbtfo8Qk0dP-pyNzfaM2VRJxjeoXJZHSTPXQ&__tn__=H-R
Usually, it takes about 45 minutes for us to unload and broom clean the trailer. Today about 35 minutes. I think the trailer holds a few less than 1,000 packages, all strapped in, amazingly. Nothing moves, all boxes connected to each other. HVAC. Lotta heat generated by these bees. We'll keep them cool and ventilated for pick-up Saturday (tomorrow) from 8 AM to maybe 1 PM.
We have a lot of members, 700+. And about 80 new Bee School people. They have first crack at packages.
https://www.facebook.com/100094078868185/videos/1225153115530503/
https://www.facebook.com/100094078868185/videos/1093425265076427/
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 19, 2024, 07:43:54 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 19, 2024, 07:43:54 PM
Quote from: Salvo on April 19, 2024, 02:54:49 AM
Hi Folks,
Sitting back, sitting here waiting on a call from the Wilbanks Apiary trailer.
My club has around 900 packages getting dropped off within the hour.
This is more fun than waiting til the last minute to file your taxes.
Funny, the average age of the members who show up for the unloading is around 67 yo. Canes, walkers knee braces,..... I'm getting too short to work inside the trailer! The feeble and the feeble minded.
Sitting back, sitting here waiting on a call.
Sal
Fantastic!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on April 20, 2024, 01:36:33 AM
Post by: cao on April 20, 2024, 01:36:33 AM
Well yesterday I caught a swarm that I put in two 8 frame medium boxes because I thought one box wasn't big enough. Then today I started inspecting the hives in that yard. The first several hives I made some splits with eggs to let them make their own queen. Then I ran into a hive that had open Queen cells. Of course, they got spilt. A couple hives later, I ran into a string of 4 hives that had capped queen cells. I think one of them was the hive that through the swarm yesterday. The other three were still packed wall to wall with bees. So, a lot of splitting was done. In the last hive I thought I heard some piping and when I got close to the bottom box, I found a queen cell that hatched. It still had the lid attached, so there was a virgin running around there somewhere. I had to stop early because I ran out of nuc boxes. After all was done, I think I made 3 full box splits and a dozen or so nucs. I need to get some more boxes ready in the morning so I can finish going through those hives in that yard. I'm starting to run out of room to put all the splits. A little over a week ago, I made over 30 splits in my home yard. The bees started early this year and haven't slowed down yet.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 20, 2024, 08:20:10 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 20, 2024, 08:20:10 AM
That sounds like you got a lot of work done there, congratulations. How many hives do you have?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on April 20, 2024, 12:12:12 PM
Post by: cao on April 20, 2024, 12:12:12 PM
I came out of winter with about 45. Lost about 10-12 over winter which is about normal for me. I always seem to go into winter with several that I know won't make it. If all the splits make it, I will be somewhere close to 100. And it is still early. I don't really want that many but when you have the chance and have capped queen cells on frames, it is hard not to split them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 20, 2024, 08:18:12 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 20, 2024, 08:18:12 PM
I checked the swarm that I managed to recover from my "Swarm Out of Reach" saga. There was only about 3 frames of bees in there, so I compressed them down to 1 box. I didn't see a queen, but the bees were acting so normal that I'm wondering if I just missed a virgin. Or the babies made them stick, in spite of not having a queen. I gave them a frame of BIAS from another hive to give them a population boost and allow them to make a queen if they need to. As far as established hives, I split one, removed the queen from another, and added my pollen trap to a third. There are a lot of queen cups being made, but I didn't see any actual queen cells. I undersupered 2 of the hives to give some more room in the brood nest. Still no significant drawing, and I can see from my notes that at this point last year drawing had absolutely commenced.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 20, 2024, 10:21:19 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 20, 2024, 10:21:19 PM
Quoteand allow them to make a queen if they need to.
You should know very soon if they have a queen. I am interested, let us know if they proceed in making queen cells.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:58:27 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:58:27 AM
Neighbor's apiary yesterday...about three weeks ago I was there and they had a good, strong colony going but last weekend when they looked, they were queenless so Matt's uncle got a queen cell from our club to install and I went down to help with the process and learn some more. That hive was where they placed the honey supers from the hives that died last fall so there were a lot of honey frames to be handled and we removed them, they're currently in a freezer at my house. We found a lot of bees yet and apparently, a laying worker. They don't use queen excluders but I can tell you that I will. Not that they would help with a laying worker situation. There is one sealed queen cell on the bottom for some reason that we all wonder what it's about. He installed the purchased queen and we noted where she was placed so we can go right to it next week. I suspect that something happened to the queen during that hive inspection three weeks ago. With as much time has passed since the last brood was seen and the life span of the worker bee, it will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Matt is prepared for it to be too late to save it. We shall see.
My nuc has been here for it's first full week today and I'm keeping a close eye on them. I have two jars of syrup on them and they seem to be taking about 1 pt/day. I don't know if that's good or bad but it seems to be consistent. Inside the hole in the inner cover is just teeming with bees and I look forward to seeing what the rest of the hive looks like on Wednesday when I open it. I placed a small piece of pollen patty in there but they aren't bothering with it so I guess I'll pull it out and chuck it. There is some correlation between pollen patties and SHBs, what is it?
My nuc has been here for it's first full week today and I'm keeping a close eye on them. I have two jars of syrup on them and they seem to be taking about 1 pt/day. I don't know if that's good or bad but it seems to be consistent. Inside the hole in the inner cover is just teeming with bees and I look forward to seeing what the rest of the hive looks like on Wednesday when I open it. I placed a small piece of pollen patty in there but they aren't bothering with it so I guess I'll pull it out and chuck it. There is some correlation between pollen patties and SHBs, what is it?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on April 21, 2024, 09:39:41 AM
Post by: cao on April 21, 2024, 09:39:41 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:58:27 AM
There is some correlation between pollen patties and SHBs, what is it?
They will lay eggs in it and the larva will feed upon it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 09:51:58 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 09:51:58 AM
Aaaah, OK, thanks. I thought maybe it came with the eggs in it. So should is it safe to leave in unless and until I see larvae action?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 21, 2024, 03:42:10 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 21, 2024, 03:42:10 PM
Unless you have it somewhere that you can check on it on a daily basis, I would not recommend leaving it in there. You normally want to give them just enough for them to finish in a day or so. It only takes three days for the SHB eggs to hatch and infest the hive. If the bees aren?t strong enough to carry them out of the hive as they hatch they can take it over. A better idea is to feed the bees the pollen patties somewhere close to the hive where, if they need it, they can use it. Unless there are no flowers available, during the winter, they won?t use it.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 04:29:47 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 04:29:47 PM
Thanks! My hives have doors in the side that come off and I can look inside. Since there's only syrup and that little piece of pollen patty in the top box, I can see both pretty good. They taking syrup pretty good but that piece of pollen patty is untouched so I may as well just toss it. The beek that I got them from said that they weren't big users of pollen.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 21, 2024, 06:45:04 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 21, 2024, 06:45:04 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:58:27 AMI would just like to point out that it is rarely a single laying worker. Laying workers are kind of like ants, you don't have just one.
We found a lot of bees yet and apparently, a laying worker.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:58:27 AMI'm not understanding what's to wonder about here. They went queenless, so they made a new one. Unless the thing that is odd is that they had a QC and laying workers.
There is one sealed queen cell on the bottom for some reason that we all wonder what it's about.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:58:27 AMIf there were laying workers, did he do a shakeout or anything? Because I'd be worried they won't accept a new queen.
He installed the purchased queen and we noted where she was placed so we can go right to it next week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:09:13 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:09:13 PM
I may be off but I'm thinking that with the amount of time that seems to have passed, a queen made from the last eggs should have hatched by now, there is no other brood other than drone brood. If I'm wrong, then there is a queen but if I'm right, what is there?
And I don't know what you mean by a shakeout and we are worried about the success with this new queen cell as well.
And I don't know what you mean by a shakeout and we are worried about the success with this new queen cell as well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 21, 2024, 08:10:51 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 21, 2024, 08:10:51 PM
It is possible for a laying worker to produce a viable queen cell/larvae. It doesn?t happen very often. More than likely it was in there from a larvae before it got too old.
You will probably not notice the larvae in the pollen patty until it is too late. When they hatch they are very small and would be hard to see from outside of the hive.
Jim Altmiller
You will probably not notice the larvae in the pollen patty until it is too late. When they hatch they are very small and would be hard to see from outside of the hive.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 21, 2024, 08:36:05 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 21, 2024, 08:36:05 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:09:13 PMOh okay, I understand now.
I may be off but I'm thinking that with the amount of time that seems to have passed, a queen made from the last eggs should have hatched by now, there is no other brood other than drone brood. If I'm wrong, then there is a queen but if I'm right, what is there?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:09:13 PMA shakeout is when you remove the hive from the stand and shake out the bees. Then the bees will be forced to to beg into the other hives, who would only let in normal workers, not laying ones. But honestly, it was a dumb assumption on my part, since you were saying how this is his only hive.
And I don't know what you mean by a shakeout and we are worried about the success with this new queen cell as well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on April 21, 2024, 09:57:44 PM
Post by: .30WCF on April 21, 2024, 09:57:44 PM
I?ve had a queen from a split or something. I forget the details, but she was a drone layer. Could have been too early and cold, too much rain, late summer/fall.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on April 21, 2024, 11:03:47 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on April 21, 2024, 11:03:47 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 21, 2024, 08:58:27 AMIf the colony has gone laying worker the cell will be torn down quickly unfortunately. Some of the laying worker drone brood can take on an odd appearance and be mistaken for a queen cell. If there's multiple eggs in the cells (and on the cell walls) just remove the best brood comb before they do more damage to it with drone brood. Personally, I would shake the bees out into a bucket of soapy water. They're not worth saving.
Matt's uncle got a queen cell from our club to install
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 21, 2024, 11:14:05 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on April 21, 2024, 11:14:05 PM
This afternoon, i built more Layens frames. Build, build, build.
Yesterday, a fellow beek had a nice sized, wild swarm move into a spare nuc box behind his shed. I quickly dumped them into a Layens swarm trap with a bit of old comb on one frame and moved it the 4 miles to my house. It looks like they are staying in the box. Whoo-hoo! Free bees!
Yesterday, a fellow beek had a nice sized, wild swarm move into a spare nuc box behind his shed. I quickly dumped them into a Layens swarm trap with a bit of old comb on one frame and moved it the 4 miles to my house. It looks like they are staying in the box. Whoo-hoo! Free bees!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 22, 2024, 05:00:14 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 22, 2024, 05:00:14 PM
Quote from: Bob Wilson on April 21, 2024, 11:14:05 PM
This afternoon, i built more Layens frames. Build, build, build.
Yesterday, a fellow beek had a nice sized, wild swarm move into a spare nuc box behind his shed. I quickly dumped them into a Layens swarm trap with a bit of old comb on one frame and moved it the 4 miles to my house. It looks like they are staying in the box. Whoo-hoo! Free bees!
Awesome!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 22, 2024, 08:21:14 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 22, 2024, 08:21:14 PM
Installed a nuc this morning from The Bee Place near San Antonio.
The proprietor there, Gary Rankin, told me that he was up to 1000 Italian queen imports to "cool down" the Africanized bee invasion that has been so hard on Texas beekeepers.
His business has exploded because Texas allows agricultural exemptions for keeping bees on personal property. The Hill Country and South Texas are retirement destinations. Localities make up for no income tax with property taxes, which are high on the "ranches" that lucrative people buy there. You'd have to see the growth of Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston to understand. I am in constant awe as I travel to these places.
Gary had a couple dozen in his Beekeeping 101 class for new customers, and was selling dozens of nucs and complete set ups on this his first weekend.
The potential for honey production in this country is phenomenal. Even here in West Texas there is an untold wealth of sticky sweetness.
The proprietor there, Gary Rankin, told me that he was up to 1000 Italian queen imports to "cool down" the Africanized bee invasion that has been so hard on Texas beekeepers.
His business has exploded because Texas allows agricultural exemptions for keeping bees on personal property. The Hill Country and South Texas are retirement destinations. Localities make up for no income tax with property taxes, which are high on the "ranches" that lucrative people buy there. You'd have to see the growth of Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston to understand. I am in constant awe as I travel to these places.
Gary had a couple dozen in his Beekeeping 101 class for new customers, and was selling dozens of nucs and complete set ups on this his first weekend.
The potential for honey production in this country is phenomenal. Even here in West Texas there is an untold wealth of sticky sweetness.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 24, 2024, 06:25:15 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 24, 2024, 06:25:15 PM
My first hive inspection is complete and all looks good to me except that I expected to see more pollen in there. It's not like they're not bringing it in. Since I'm technically challenged and my GoPro clips videos at about 17 minutes, I have to present it in two parts. If any one wants to take the time to watch and give me advice on what I might have done wrong, I'd welcome the opportunity to improve my ways. :cheesy: I found what may well be a queen cell and I showed it the best I could at 13:40 in Part I. It does have larva in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA_E8_nkTTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibhxZbuQTsg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA_E8_nkTTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibhxZbuQTsg
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 24, 2024, 07:39:28 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 24, 2024, 07:39:28 PM
I'm trying to make some wise crack about how a 17 minute video is too long and I can't watch it at 1.5x speed, but nothing clever is coming to me. :wink: :cheesy:
I think your inspection technique looks really great for a beginner. You are methodical, careful, keeping a mind on the bees as individuals, and all your movements are slow and deliberate. You kept all your frames in the same orientation after removing them, and you smoked them at the right time and in the right amount. And the bees responded by being calm and accommodating. Good job! I think you look like a natural. :happy:
It's hard to see on the camera, but I don't think that's a queen cell, it just looked like a drone cell in worker comb to me. Was the opening to the cell in question on the bottom of the cell? As in, was the cell vertically oriented instead of horizontally oriented? That is the distinction. There are some great pictures of queen cups in this article which may help confirm or deny your suspicions. https://blog.foxhoundbeecompany.com/what-is-a-queen-cup/
Just want to mention, although you probably know this, to keep a close mind on how fast they are drawing because you don't want them to expand up into that empty box with the syrup and start drawing comb in there. When I feed syrup, I just put the jar right onto the hole in the inner cover (and sometimes tape over the excess if the hole is large), which keeps the bees from accessing that empty box. I think the way you have it is fine, but be sure they have enough space or you could have a mess on your hands.
A little bit of a tip for the bees who were on the lid: if you give the top of the lid a stiff whack with your hand (making sure you don't smack any bees first, of course!), that can help to dislodge them. Generally a stiff shake is the way to get bees to release their grip on anything. Also, be careful turning frames all the way sideways or upsidedown in hot weather. Nothing here was a problem, but when it's warm and wax is soft and loaded with honey, it can be. Just something to keep in mind.
Lastly, just a tiny little point of correction, if you'll indulge me. There is no such word as "larvaes". Larvae is plural, larva is singular. :rolleyes:
I think your inspection technique looks really great for a beginner. You are methodical, careful, keeping a mind on the bees as individuals, and all your movements are slow and deliberate. You kept all your frames in the same orientation after removing them, and you smoked them at the right time and in the right amount. And the bees responded by being calm and accommodating. Good job! I think you look like a natural. :happy:
It's hard to see on the camera, but I don't think that's a queen cell, it just looked like a drone cell in worker comb to me. Was the opening to the cell in question on the bottom of the cell? As in, was the cell vertically oriented instead of horizontally oriented? That is the distinction. There are some great pictures of queen cups in this article which may help confirm or deny your suspicions. https://blog.foxhoundbeecompany.com/what-is-a-queen-cup/
Just want to mention, although you probably know this, to keep a close mind on how fast they are drawing because you don't want them to expand up into that empty box with the syrup and start drawing comb in there. When I feed syrup, I just put the jar right onto the hole in the inner cover (and sometimes tape over the excess if the hole is large), which keeps the bees from accessing that empty box. I think the way you have it is fine, but be sure they have enough space or you could have a mess on your hands.
A little bit of a tip for the bees who were on the lid: if you give the top of the lid a stiff whack with your hand (making sure you don't smack any bees first, of course!), that can help to dislodge them. Generally a stiff shake is the way to get bees to release their grip on anything. Also, be careful turning frames all the way sideways or upsidedown in hot weather. Nothing here was a problem, but when it's warm and wax is soft and loaded with honey, it can be. Just something to keep in mind.
Lastly, just a tiny little point of correction, if you'll indulge me. There is no such word as "larvaes". Larvae is plural, larva is singular. :rolleyes:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 24, 2024, 08:06:15 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 24, 2024, 08:06:15 PM
What, no larvaes? :cheesy: That cup faces upwards but there sure looks like a larva in there to me. It looks like about three cups all in one spot, which is not what I recall seeing queen cells looking like. But they are bigger than drone brood. And that page does help me see what they should and shouldn't look like, thanks. As long as they're as methodical as I am and work their frames before trying to move into the penthouse I'll be in good shape because they're not building comb too quickly and there's still three or four frames for them to build on. I have those portholes in the side and I peek in there every day to see what they're up to. Not too many go up there except to get at the syrup and to let me know I'm too early if it's still cold out. They do cluster in that hole pretty heavily though, for some reason. And I was afraid I'd jerk them into a defensive mode if I gave that cover too much of a whack. How do you like my hive tool? I kind of like the size of it and I don't have to put it down while I'm working. That means I don't have to look around to see where I left it. :cool:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 24, 2024, 08:41:31 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 24, 2024, 08:41:31 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 24, 2024, 08:06:15 PMPerhaps the next time you go in you could get a picture of it, but it doesn't sound like a queen cell to me.
What, no larvaes? :cheesy: That cup faces upwards but there sure looks like a larva in there to me. It looks like about three cups all in one spot, which is not what I recall seeing queen cells looking like. But they are bigger than drone brood. And that page does help me see what they should and shouldn't look like, thanks.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 24, 2024, 08:06:15 PMOh, I forgot you have those windows, that's got to be handy. They may be clustering in the hole to help with temperature control.
As long as they're as methodical as I am and work their frames before trying to move into the penthouse I'll be in good shape because they're not building comb too quickly and there's still three or four frames for them to build on. I have those portholes in the side and I peek in there every day to see what they're up to. Not too many go up there except to get at the syrup and to let me know I'm too early if it's still cold out. They do cluster in that hole pretty heavily though, for some reason.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 24, 2024, 08:06:15 PMMy bees at least hate the brush more. A single whack or shake and they are just kind of disoriented, whereas my bees will sometimes try and attack the brush, especially if they are a little riled already and especially if they get tangled in it. Bees hate being stuck in hair.
And I was afraid I'd jerk them into a defensive mode if I gave that cover too much of a whack.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 24, 2024, 08:06:15 PMI noticed you using it! Isn't it awesome?! Now you understand why I couldn't live without it. :grin:
How do you like my hive tool? I kind of like the size of it and I don't have to put it down while I'm working. That means I don't have to look around to see where I left it. :cool:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 24, 2024, 10:38:14 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 24, 2024, 10:38:14 PM
QuoteI'm trying to make some wise crack about how a 17 minute video is too long and I can't watch it at 1.5x speed, but nothing clever is coming to me. :wink: :cheesy:
Hum, :wink: now where have we heard that before? :cheesy: :wink:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on April 24, 2024, 11:05:22 PM
Post by: cao on April 24, 2024, 11:05:22 PM
How many bees fit into a five gallon bucket? Or more to the point a bucket half full of bees. Cause that is how big the swarm was that I caught the evening. That was the third one caught today. First one was at a neighbors house. Was the size of a volleyball. Second one was about twice the size of the first. Then came the big one in the picture. :shocked:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on April 24, 2024, 11:14:04 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on April 24, 2024, 11:14:04 PM
Quote from: cao on April 24, 2024, 11:05:22 PM
That was the third one caught today.
From your hives in the background?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on April 25, 2024, 04:16:54 AM
Post by: Lesgold on April 25, 2024, 04:16:54 AM
From varroa testing, there are about 300 bees per 1/2 cup. Therefore with some simple sums, that?s about 2400 bees per litre. Or about 22800 bees for your half bucket. Not a bad little swarm. That should make a nice hive. That should produce a surplus for you this season.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 25, 2024, 06:33:57 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on April 25, 2024, 06:33:57 AM
Whenever removing bees from combs you need to be decisive. Violent even. Brush with hard flicks. Never try to gently brush bees. They just hold on tighter and get angry.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 25, 2024, 08:13:45 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 25, 2024, 08:13:45 AM
Quote from: Michael Bush on April 25, 2024, 06:33:57 AMSounds like good advice. I do have a pressure regulator on my air hose, do you think that would work if I got it adjusted properly?
Whenever removing bees from combs you need to be decisive. Violent even. Brush with hard flicks. Never try to gently brush bees. They just hold on tighter and get angry.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 25, 2024, 09:51:29 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on April 25, 2024, 09:51:29 AM
You might get a leaf blower to work. A air compressor is too powerful.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on April 25, 2024, 09:56:36 AM
Post by: cao on April 25, 2024, 09:56:36 AM
Quote from: beesnweeds on April 24, 2024, 11:14:04 PM
From your hives in the background?
Actually, the hive it probably came from was to the right of the picture. The ones in the background are the splits I made a few weeks ago. Just a side note, I need shorter trees. The swarms that I caught 10 years ago were not nearly as hard to reach. My fruit trees are getting too tall. That should be something to consider when starting an apiary. Have short trees or bushes for swarms to land on.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 25, 2024, 10:18:35 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 25, 2024, 10:18:35 AM
Quote from: Michael Bush on April 25, 2024, 09:51:29 AMWith a pressure regulator, I can reduce to flow to anything down to almost nothing. You'll probably get a report on its success in the future. :cool:
You might get a leaf blower to work. A air compressor is too powerful.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on April 25, 2024, 09:16:31 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on April 25, 2024, 09:16:31 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 25, 2024, 10:18:35 AM
With a pressure regulator, I can reduce to flow to anything down to almost nothing. You'll probably get a report on its success in the future.
For winter dead outs 8 to 10 psi is good for blowing dead bees out of cells without damaging comb. For removing bees from supers, leaf blowers work great. Compressors just dont have the volume to remove a large number of bees quick.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on April 27, 2024, 11:53:58 AM
Post by: Caashenb on April 27, 2024, 11:53:58 AM
Today I moved three more swarms to their new home in my yard, fed the rest of this years swarm catches and put second deep honey super on four colonies.
I can see now that I am going to need to re-queen at some point all my bees are feral caught and while good producers they are mean as snot. As I accumulate more colonies the time I spent in the bee yard is starting to stretch out there and I think I might appreciate a calmer bee.
And while I am at it I think I would love to find a refrigerated beekeeping jacket and veil, yeah the older I get the more I like my comfort.
I can see now that I am going to need to re-queen at some point all my bees are feral caught and while good producers they are mean as snot. As I accumulate more colonies the time I spent in the bee yard is starting to stretch out there and I think I might appreciate a calmer bee.
And while I am at it I think I would love to find a refrigerated beekeeping jacket and veil, yeah the older I get the more I like my comfort.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 27, 2024, 12:01:18 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 27, 2024, 12:01:18 PM
"And while I am at it I think I would love to find a refrigerated beekeeping jacket and veil, yeah the older I get the more I like my comfort."
On the hot days the venerated Jacket is nice to have, especially if there is a breeze blowing. When its really hot I will bring a fan along on my inspections...
On the hot days the venerated Jacket is nice to have, especially if there is a breeze blowing. When its really hot I will bring a fan along on my inspections...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on April 27, 2024, 06:12:33 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on April 27, 2024, 06:12:33 PM
Drove through the yard to see how the two hives are doing and check on the swarm trap. All's well.
Mesquite and American Basketflower in bloom.
We stopped to watch a tom Turkey court a hen. He was puffed up with bright red wattle and tail all spread out.
A Blue Heron flew over.
Saw a deer earlier this week and a beautiful red fox.
Mesquite and American Basketflower in bloom.
We stopped to watch a tom Turkey court a hen. He was puffed up with bright red wattle and tail all spread out.
A Blue Heron flew over.
Saw a deer earlier this week and a beautiful red fox.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 27, 2024, 07:20:18 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 27, 2024, 07:20:18 PM
I inspected 4 colonies today, two of which are very small and struggling. The one is coming off a supersedure and was starving, so I gave them some honey frames and reduced them down to a single box. The other is this swarm that didn't have a laying queen. I didn't see any queen cells in there last inspection, but today I found 2 being torn down on the original donor frame, so maybe I just missed them before. They still had some open brood so I decided to wait another week and see if they are just waiting for a queen to be mated. My favorite queen Snow White got an additional box. For some reason, the brood pattern in her bottom box wasn't very good, but in the second box it was stellar. I did a sugar roll and their mite counts were low, so it's not that. They were a little low on honey as well, so maybe that was the culprit. I put two honey frames in their new box. I also found eggs and very young larvae in the colony I split her from, so I named that new queen Cinderella. Unlike everyone else, they have a full honey super. This colony has always been better at foraging for whatever reason.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: animal on April 27, 2024, 11:11:10 PM
Post by: animal on April 27, 2024, 11:11:10 PM
made a general check on things today and all looked fine. They're not building comb as fast as I expected them to but they are making progress.
Changed out the oil pan because it had just gotten too nasty looking to tolerate. Found out that I need to change something about it as the wood tray underneath the aluminum insert was full of water... no damage or discoloration though. Lots of dead hive beetles in the garbage now ... fresh oil and new pan for more to die in.
A good hour later, I was on the couch and noticed the cat was staring at me, moving it's head around and acting weirded out. After awhile, felt a little tickle on my shoulder .. a very small worker bee. It walked right onto my hand, so it got delivered back to the hive. They seem to do this kind of thing a lot, hitchhike into the house. Cat doesn't like it. Wife doesn't like it. Might have to get a bee suit after all, to make it easier to shed them.
Changed out the oil pan because it had just gotten too nasty looking to tolerate. Found out that I need to change something about it as the wood tray underneath the aluminum insert was full of water... no damage or discoloration though. Lots of dead hive beetles in the garbage now ... fresh oil and new pan for more to die in.
A good hour later, I was on the couch and noticed the cat was staring at me, moving it's head around and acting weirded out. After awhile, felt a little tickle on my shoulder .. a very small worker bee. It walked right onto my hand, so it got delivered back to the hive. They seem to do this kind of thing a lot, hitchhike into the house. Cat doesn't like it. Wife doesn't like it. Might have to get a bee suit after all, to make it easier to shed them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: animal on April 28, 2024, 11:07:16 PM
Post by: animal on April 28, 2024, 11:07:16 PM
checked the pan ... counted 37 in the oil .. over 24 hours.
Cinderella, snow white ... too cute
Cinderella, snow white ... too cute
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Kathyp on April 28, 2024, 11:24:53 PM
Post by: Kathyp on April 28, 2024, 11:24:53 PM
QuoteCat doesn't like it. Wife doesn't like it. Might have to get a bee suit after all, to make it easier to shed them.
Have you tried processing your honey in the kitchen with the windows open? Check your screen first!! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 28, 2024, 11:35:19 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 28, 2024, 11:35:19 PM
Quote from: animal on April 28, 2024, 11:07:16 PM
checked the pan ... counted 37 in the oil .. over 24 hours.
Cinderella, snow white ... too cute
Good thing you have your oil pan in place! Sounds like the SHB are Zeroed in and are in hot pursuit of your hive!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2024, 12:53:30 AM
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2024, 12:53:30 AM
Quote from: animal on April 28, 2024, 11:07:16 PMYeah, I never planned to have a queenline with names of Disney princesses, but here I am. :grin: I've got 3 right now, which may soon be 4, depending on whether my queenless swarm's Snow White daughter gets successfully mated or not. I had a queen who I named Ravenna (after the evil queen from Snow White and the Huntsman) whose colony usurped one of mine a few years ago, and she turned out to be the best queen I ever had, so when she was superseded I named her daughter Snow White, and she is now the best queen in the apiary, so that's how I got into this situation. :grin: I also have a queenline with names of Norse goddesses descended from Ravenna (because her sister in the sequel is named Freya. And neither of these movies are good by the way, in case you are wondering :cheesy: ). Then I have an unrelated strain descended from one of my first packages with the names of Greek goddesses. I remember names better than numbers, and I like to keep the names related so I remember who's who for breeding purposes. :cool:
Cinderella, snow white ... too cute
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 07:55:07 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 07:55:07 AM
My morning check revealed some wax debris on the front porch. What does this mean?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2024, 08:43:58 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2024, 08:43:58 AM
Yellow wax probably means they are cleaning up used comb. White wax means they are building wax comb.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 09:08:33 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 09:08:33 AM
Thanks, this beeing a first for me, I was worried. If activity looks normal, I?ll just wait until Wednesday to inspect.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2024, 10:52:12 AM
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2024, 10:52:12 AM
A normal functioning hive will generate a significant amount of debris and trash. The bees do their best to remove the big stuff, but there will still be a lot of wax bits, bee parts, dropped pollen grains, etc. on the bottom board. It's extra noticeable when you have all new equipment.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 01:31:14 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 01:31:14 PM
Thanks to all who responded, it does make me feel better. It wasn't a huge amount of debris so I didn't think it was extremely urgent and it happened at night so I didn't think it was robbing by bees. I do have a few ants nosing around and I was worried that they pulled a night shift on me but I'm starting to think not. The hive is working as normal and I'll see what it's like in there on Wednesday when I perform an inspection. They have swept the porch off already.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2024, 01:54:37 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2024, 01:54:37 PM
Terri,
If you think you have ants, Carpenter or Bull Ants, go out after dark with a flashlight they will be all over your hive.
If they are there get Terra Ant bate. The one that sits flat to the ground with 4 small stakes in the corners is the best because the bees cannot get to the bate. It is just sugar water and borax.
Which ever one you choose make sure your bees cannot get into it.
Jim Altmiller
If you think you have ants, Carpenter or Bull Ants, go out after dark with a flashlight they will be all over your hive.
If they are there get Terra Ant bate. The one that sits flat to the ground with 4 small stakes in the corners is the best because the bees cannot get to the bate. It is just sugar water and borax.
Which ever one you choose make sure your bees cannot get into it.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2024, 01:57:59 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2024, 01:57:59 PM
This is the one I like:
https://a.co/d/i06hQ0p
Put it on the ground near the back of the hive preferably on one of the ant trails.
Jim Altmiller
https://a.co/d/i06hQ0p
Put it on the ground near the back of the hive preferably on one of the ant trails.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2024, 02:27:07 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 29, 2024, 02:27:07 PM
As long as they are not carpenter ants, ants shouldn't be any serious trouble. I do get little black ant nests between my covers sometimes, and I will see trails of tiny sugar ants coming to steal honey in the fall. A ring of ash from the wood stove is usually enough to deter them. Mostly ants are just coming to pick through the trash the bees throw off the landing board. Carpenter ants can be trouble however, so I'd follow Jim's advice in that case.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on April 29, 2024, 02:37:27 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on April 29, 2024, 02:37:27 PM
Thought have not had it happen, I have been told carpenter ants can overrun a weak nuc or hive and the bees will abscond.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 02:43:39 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 02:43:39 PM
Fortunately, carpenter ants are not a problem here and these are tiny ants. We were pretty near inundated with them during the real wet spring. I have placed a trap out a la, Michael Bush's post on it from a while ago that I found. Borax, jelly and water in a container with 1/8" holes drilled into it. So far, there's a few ants in there. I'll check it out after dark and see what gives.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2024, 07:48:21 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on April 29, 2024, 07:48:21 PM
Bull Ants are worse than Carpenter ants but most people cannot tell the difference between them.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 10:26:38 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 10:26:38 PM
I went out for a peek and didn't see any ants but the front door is blocked with bees.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: animal on April 29, 2024, 10:56:32 PM
Post by: animal on April 29, 2024, 10:56:32 PM
borax or boric acid ... mixed with sugar water or jelly ... will kill far more ants than you'll ever see. It kills slowly and they take it back to the nest.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 30, 2024, 12:10:30 AM
Post by: The15thMember on April 30, 2024, 12:10:30 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 10:26:38 PMInteresting. What are your temps like? I am just wondering if they are hot or cold. Or maybe they are blocking an intruder.
I went out for a peek and didn't see any ants but the front door is blocked with bees.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 30, 2024, 07:15:18 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 30, 2024, 07:15:18 AM
Quote from: The15thMember on April 30, 2024, 12:10:30 AMIt looks like it was about 86 yesterday, about 75 when I took that picture and down to about 62 last night. That group was mostly gone with a few stragglers still out by 0500 when I got up this morningQuote from: Terri Yaki on April 29, 2024, 10:26:38 PMInteresting. What are your temps like? I am just wondering if they are hot or cold. Or maybe they are blocking an intruder.
I went out for a peek and didn't see any ants but the front door is blocked with bees.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 30, 2024, 07:22:48 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on April 30, 2024, 07:22:48 PM
My hives have that side door that I can open and look in at the outer frame. My nuc was five frames in the middle with three empty frames to one side and two empty frames on the other side. The side with two empty frames is the side that the port is on. I have looked in there every couple of days and there was nothing going on but today it was pretty full of workers. I didn't have my bee jacket on so I didn't spend much time looking in there. That being their first day in there, there wasn't anything to see anyway.
Then around 1630, the hive got real quiet out front for some reason and it seemed odd to me. I opened the port on the top box where they syrup is being served and everything looked normal in there. Then...suddenly...an orientation class beegan and bees came pouring out the entrance like water over Niagara Falls. I saw a couple of them on the grass trying their best to get back in the air but based on what I saw, it's not happening. I looked at their wings and they did not look deformed. Given the number of students in the class, I figure two or three that can't fly is probably not excessive.
I caught what I suspect was an SHB crawling on the outside of the hive. It was a flat black beetle about 1/8", maybe 3/16" in diameter. My ant trap isn't catching a lot of ants but it got a few. I moved it to another spot that was seeing more activity so I'll see what tomorrow brings. And tomorrow, I make my second inspection. I'm going to try to look hard for mites and beetles this time around.
Then around 1630, the hive got real quiet out front for some reason and it seemed odd to me. I opened the port on the top box where they syrup is being served and everything looked normal in there. Then...suddenly...an orientation class beegan and bees came pouring out the entrance like water over Niagara Falls. I saw a couple of them on the grass trying their best to get back in the air but based on what I saw, it's not happening. I looked at their wings and they did not look deformed. Given the number of students in the class, I figure two or three that can't fly is probably not excessive.
I caught what I suspect was an SHB crawling on the outside of the hive. It was a flat black beetle about 1/8", maybe 3/16" in diameter. My ant trap isn't catching a lot of ants but it got a few. I moved it to another spot that was seeing more activity so I'll see what tomorrow brings. And tomorrow, I make my second inspection. I'm going to try to look hard for mites and beetles this time around.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on April 30, 2024, 08:02:34 PM
Post by: The15thMember on April 30, 2024, 08:02:34 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on April 30, 2024, 07:22:48 PMAt your stage of the game, I wouldn't expect to see any mites, if you are just going to be looking with your naked eye at bees' backs. Seeing mites riding on bees is usually a sign of an advanced infestation. You may have a few mites in there, but as they can also hide on the underside of bees, and during much of their life cycle they are in the capped brood, you shouldn't see any, just based on the probabilities. A sugar roll or alcohol wash could turn up one or two, but I would be concerned if I saw more than 1 mite if I was you.
I'm going to try to look hard for mites and beetles this time around.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 10:06:51 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 10:06:51 PM
My second hive inspection 2 1/2 weeks after obtaining my nuc. I thought I would see more comb built out but they are alive, healthy and growing.
Part I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r0ZqszslfY
And Part II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M2pt4IpQsk
Part I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r0ZqszslfY
And Part II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M2pt4IpQsk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 01, 2024, 11:09:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 01, 2024, 11:09:26 PM
I don't know, I probably would have given them the second box. The fact that the brood frames were very full and they were building burr comb indicates to me they want to expand the brood nest. Bees are sometimes slow to build on the outer frames, especially if they don't want to put brood there, and if the flow isn't really cranking yet, they just may not be inclined to build out more honey frames, but they might like some more room for babies.
If your flow has started, it's perfectly fine to remove their food, but be sure they keep drawing. A nuc is behind and really needs to build up, and if the flow isn't strong enough to make them draw, you may want to put the feed on them again, at least until they have maybe 2 boxes drawn (or the flow really turns on). That's what I would do anyway.
I wouldn't worry too much about seeing eggs if I saw the queen. It's nice to see both, but one or the other is fine in my book. Also, it can be a good proactive measure to smoke again when you kill a couple of bees. That will keep their alarm pheromone from being smelled by the rest of the colony. I will usually just smoke their bodies to hide the evidence. :wink: :cool:
Oh man, that first taste of your own honey!! It's never as good as when you are eating it off the hive tool. :tongue:
If your flow has started, it's perfectly fine to remove their food, but be sure they keep drawing. A nuc is behind and really needs to build up, and if the flow isn't strong enough to make them draw, you may want to put the feed on them again, at least until they have maybe 2 boxes drawn (or the flow really turns on). That's what I would do anyway.
I wouldn't worry too much about seeing eggs if I saw the queen. It's nice to see both, but one or the other is fine in my book. Also, it can be a good proactive measure to smoke again when you kill a couple of bees. That will keep their alarm pheromone from being smelled by the rest of the colony. I will usually just smoke their bodies to hide the evidence. :wink: :cool:
Oh man, that first taste of your own honey!! It's never as good as when you are eating it off the hive tool. :tongue:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 11:17:13 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 11:17:13 PM
OK, thanks for the review. I can add that box easily enough. They have quit taking the syrup for a few days now and I figured that meant it was time to take it off. I'll check with my locals and see what, if anything is flowing. I do have a big tulip poplar in my front yard and I heard that they are good for the bees and it looks like it is starting to flower. One other thing I forgot to ask about...one of the syrup jars had some black mold in it. Not much, but there was some just the same. How big of an issue is that for them?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 02, 2024, 12:18:08 AM
Post by: The15thMember on May 02, 2024, 12:18:08 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 11:17:13 PMI wouldn't be too worried about it personally. I might change out the syrup, just so it doesn't get out of hand, but mold is really not that big of a deal for bees. They can even clean it up without any trouble, since their respiratory systems are so different from ours. I will store 1:1 syrup in the fridge to help it to last longer. 2:1 will be fine at room temp.
One other thing I forgot to ask about...one of the syrup jars had some black mold in it. Not much, but there was some just the same. How big of an issue is that for them?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on May 02, 2024, 09:50:56 PM
Post by: .30WCF on May 02, 2024, 09:50:56 PM
[mention]Terri Yaki [/mention]It wont hurt to wash those jars out. I don?t like mold, I think the bees quit taking it as fast when it starts to mold.
I also find that if they arnt building out the outside frames, I can take the first frame you pulled out (frame 2) and flip it and put it to the wall so the drawn side is against the wall, and insert frame 1 in between 2 and 3. That hive is young yet, but in a week or two I might move some frames around. Also, if you add a new box in a week or two, they will move up and draw that out. You can move the new comb into the center of the brood below, pushing the frames out and move the edge frames to the top box.
That hive tool looks like a lot of work the way you?re tugging on frames. I like the larger j hook tools. They have a heel that you can pry the frames up with. And when spreading frames I insert the bit between the frames and twist. It also has a long enough handle to give the leverage needed to go between the end frame and hive body and move all ten frames at once from side to side to compress them against the opposing wall, the. Pry between the other wall to center the stack.
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I also find that if they arnt building out the outside frames, I can take the first frame you pulled out (frame 2) and flip it and put it to the wall so the drawn side is against the wall, and insert frame 1 in between 2 and 3. That hive is young yet, but in a week or two I might move some frames around. Also, if you add a new box in a week or two, they will move up and draw that out. You can move the new comb into the center of the brood below, pushing the frames out and move the edge frames to the top box.
That hive tool looks like a lot of work the way you?re tugging on frames. I like the larger j hook tools. They have a heel that you can pry the frames up with. And when spreading frames I insert the bit between the frames and twist. It also has a long enough handle to give the leverage needed to go between the end frame and hive body and move all ten frames at once from side to side to compress them against the opposing wall, the. Pry between the other wall to center the stack.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 03, 2024, 07:55:01 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 03, 2024, 07:55:01 AM
My mentor had a chance to review my video last night and he has reiterated most everything that yous have told me. We have a rainy weekend coming in with one beautiful day today so I'm going back in and switch frames around, add another box and put the syrup back in. I have an extra set of jars and replace the old with fresh and wash them to prevent growth of molds but apparently, something didn't work right this time. Is there any detriment to using dish soap to clean them? Will any residue be harmful to the bees? I need to figure out how to get my hands in there to get a good cleaning action.
The hive tool is homemade from a picture that 15thmember had posted and I'm giving it a try. My mentor has the larger tool as you described and I see one advantage for the smaller one so far. I can keep it in my hand the whole time and not have to put it down, then have to figure out where I left it. I wasn't really struggling with it too bad just yet but they haven't really applied the glue yet either. But then, I haven't finessed the using of the tool yet and my handling of it will improve. I do, however, like that step on the back to use as leverage and will probably make one on this tool.
Thanks for the review and input. I do appreciate it. And when my mentor's thoughts match yours, I feel good about the direction.
The hive tool is homemade from a picture that 15thmember had posted and I'm giving it a try. My mentor has the larger tool as you described and I see one advantage for the smaller one so far. I can keep it in my hand the whole time and not have to put it down, then have to figure out where I left it. I wasn't really struggling with it too bad just yet but they haven't really applied the glue yet either. But then, I haven't finessed the using of the tool yet and my handling of it will improve. I do, however, like that step on the back to use as leverage and will probably make one on this tool.
Thanks for the review and input. I do appreciate it. And when my mentor's thoughts match yours, I feel good about the direction.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on May 03, 2024, 08:39:13 AM
Post by: .30WCF on May 03, 2024, 08:39:13 AM
You might get some frowney faces for switching frames around, but be reasonable about it. I do it all the time. Moving foundation to make comb is fine. Putting a pollen or honey frame in the middle of the brood box wouldn?t serve any purpose.
You?ll get proficient at whatever tool you get used to.
Some mild soap like Dawn should be fine. Try dropping a sponge in the jar and using a handle from the ladle or spatula to scrub it around the bottom and sides. My hands don?t fit in a wide mouth jar either.
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You?ll get proficient at whatever tool you get used to.
Some mild soap like Dawn should be fine. Try dropping a sponge in the jar and using a handle from the ladle or spatula to scrub it around the bottom and sides. My hands don?t fit in a wide mouth jar either.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 03, 2024, 12:03:24 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 03, 2024, 12:03:24 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 03, 2024, 07:55:01 AMI usually just run jars through the dishwasher, but there is no problem using soap. Just rinse them good.
Is there any detriment to using dish soap to clean them? Will any residue be harmful to the bees? I need to figure out how to get my hands in there to get a good cleaning action.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 03, 2024, 07:55:01 AMI do also have a standard 8 in. tool (without a J hook), and I use that for cracking boxes, moving all the frames back and forth as a single unit, and for cleaning boxes. I use the small tool for all individual frame manipulations.
The hive tool is homemade from a picture that 15thmember had posted and I'm giving it a try. My mentor has the larger tool as you described and I see one advantage for the smaller one so far. I can keep it in my hand the whole time and not have to put it down, then have to figure out where I left it. I wasn't really struggling with it too bad just yet but they haven't really applied the glue yet either. But then, I haven't finessed the using of the tool yet and my handling of it will improve. I do, however, like that step on the back to use as leverage and will probably make one on this tool.
Quote from: .30WCF on May 03, 2024, 08:39:13 AMMoving frames around is completely allowed, it's one of the benefits to the moveable frame hive. Just always be sure you know why you are moving a frame, and that you are doing it at a time when the bees are strong enough to adjust to the change. Moving things around in the brood nest is far more stressful on them than just moving frames of stores around though, since the care of the babies is more critical and time-sensitive than the care of the honey or pollen. If someone took the food out of your pantry and put it somewhere else in your house, it would be annoying, but you'd manage alright. If someone put your baby somewhere else without telling you, you'd be a lot more stressed out. :wink:
You might get some frowney faces for switching frames around, but be reasonable about it. I do it all the time. Moving foundation to make comb is fine. Putting a pollen or honey frame in the middle of the brood box wouldn?t serve any purpose.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 03, 2024, 05:39:11 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 03, 2024, 05:39:11 PM
And the changes were made as advised. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to say it but third time in the hive and no stings yet.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 03, 2024, 06:49:10 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 03, 2024, 06:49:10 PM
It took me a while to get stung while inspecting too. Little hives are always nice and friendly, since they don't have the beepower to have lots of people standing around on guard duty. Plus everyone is happy when there is food coming in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 03, 2024, 07:14:15 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 03, 2024, 07:14:15 PM
I had a hive acting very overheated yesterday, bearding and fanning heavily, so I quick slapped a box of partially drawn blanks on them to give them some breathing room. I got stung on the wrist for my trouble.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on May 04, 2024, 08:08:29 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on May 04, 2024, 08:08:29 PM
So this isnt really bee yard, but we did an event this weekend and had 2 new items. Honey sticks and pre-purchased honey candies. They were both a hit. It thoroughly amazed me the draw. I actually started giving the candies out to all the kids passing by. That got the kids interested in the observation hive, then the parents, then they tasted the honey, purchase complete. I dont know just found the whole thing a little strange. Never noticed how many people just walk right by without ever looking. Food for thought.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on May 05, 2024, 08:53:53 AM
Post by: Caashenb on May 05, 2024, 08:53:53 AM
I needed to be in the yard today but unfortunately it has been way to wet.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 05, 2024, 08:57:51 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 05, 2024, 08:57:51 AM
Cold rain here today and so far, all is quiet in the apiary. My neighbor was over yesterday and he went through is swarm pictures. They're all from late May and early June so we're expecting that to be when they come around again. Sadly, his hive is dying a slow death. He was considering just putting everything away until next year but it looks like I've talked him out of that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on May 05, 2024, 11:18:08 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on May 05, 2024, 11:18:08 AM
Quote from: Bill Murray on May 04, 2024, 08:08:29 PMThats great!! I volunteer to work our bee club's booth during the fair. Honey candy, honey, comb, and an observation hive really draw people in. We always sell out of members honey by the last day of the fair. It's a lot of fun to talk to the public and answer questions. Some people are truly scared of insects and dont know the difference between a fly, a yellow jacket, and a honeybee and dont want to know. I respect that. They walk by and have zero interest. The thing about fairs is people will go with friends, family, coworkers, etc. so you get to see the different reactions. A few protective parents really dont want their kids near the table out of fear of allergies/bees or having to purchase something, they spent enough money already on the kids!
So this isnt really bee yard, but we did an event this weekend and had 2 new items. Honey sticks and pre-purchased honey candies. They were both a hit. It thoroughly amazed me the draw. I actually started giving the candies out to all the kids passing by. That got the kids interested in the observation hive, then the parents, then they tasted the honey, purchase complete. I dont know just found the whole thing a little strange. Never noticed how many people just walk right by without ever looking. Food for thought.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on May 05, 2024, 11:25:54 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on May 05, 2024, 11:25:54 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 05, 2024, 08:57:51 AMThe problem with that is laying workers can do a lot of irreversible damage to nicely drawn brood comb.
Sadly, his hive is dying a slow death. He was considering just putting everything away until next year but it looks like I've talked him out of that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 05, 2024, 12:47:27 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 05, 2024, 12:47:27 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on May 05, 2024, 11:25:54 AMHow? Just by laying drones in it?
The problem with that is laying workers can do a lot of irreversible damage to nicely drawn brood comb.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on May 05, 2024, 02:40:37 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on May 05, 2024, 02:40:37 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on May 05, 2024, 12:47:27 PMYes, if you let a laying worker hive linger, they will continue to raise drones. Bees very rarely rebuild brood comb once it's reshaped for drones.
How? Just by laying drones in it?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on May 06, 2024, 07:59:17 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on May 06, 2024, 07:59:17 PM
Scoped out a place to put a solar cellular camera. I've wanted to see what chews on my hives and now have an extra incentive of watching a bait hive and Russian scion, though swarm season is probably over, since I saw our first pod of Kites.
Found a great place in the sun but it will need a post. Trees have a tendency to shade out the sun. ;-)
My hives are spread apart in the yard, so may need multiple cameras or multiple places to hang a camera depending on the season.
What about a movable tripod that can be task specific? Hmmm.
Found a great place in the sun but it will need a post. Trees have a tendency to shade out the sun. ;-)
My hives are spread apart in the yard, so may need multiple cameras or multiple places to hang a camera depending on the season.
What about a movable tripod that can be task specific? Hmmm.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on May 07, 2024, 09:44:30 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on May 07, 2024, 09:44:30 AM
So one of Marleys hive went queenless and Drone layer this year, after 5 weeks of installing Eggs/BAS, and queen cells they finally decided they were ready to accept a queen,good thing for them because she was ready to dump them and start over. This was her takeaway on the whole situation. If I would have dumped them day 1 and made up a new hive I would be further ahead with a lot less time. Out of the mouth of babes.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 07, 2024, 10:12:27 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 07, 2024, 10:12:27 AM
😊
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on May 07, 2024, 10:30:47 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on May 07, 2024, 10:30:47 AM
I tried to tell her, but sometimes you have to work through it to understand.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on May 07, 2024, 01:03:49 PM
Post by: .30WCF on May 07, 2024, 01:03:49 PM
Quote from: FatherMichael on May 06, 2024, 07:59:17 PMA hand full of t-posts. Most antique/junk shops will have old tripods, but you could probably get them plenty cheap on Amazon and never leave the house too.
Scoped out a place to put a solar cellular camera. I've wanted to see what chews on my hives and now have an extra incentive of watching a bait hive and Russian scion, though swarm season is probably over, since I saw our first pod of Kites.
Found a great place in the sun but it will need a post. Trees have a tendency to shade out the sun. ;-)
My hives are spread apart in the yard, so may need multiple cameras or multiple places to hang a camera depending on the season.
What about a movable tripod that can be task specific? Hmmm.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on May 07, 2024, 06:41:14 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on May 07, 2024, 06:41:14 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on May 07, 2024, 01:03:49 PM
A hand full of t-posts. Most antique/junk shops will have old tripods, but you could probably get them plenty cheap on Amazon and never leave the house too.
Thanks, .30.
I went with the Moultrie Edge Pro and a lithium battery instead of solar panel.
The t-posts are a great idea.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on May 07, 2024, 08:10:11 PM
Post by: .30WCF on May 07, 2024, 08:10:11 PM
I added a box to the tall hive and one to each of the two outside nucs. I?d add more to the other three 10 frame hives, but I?m out of frames.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240507/63c8c7db5278f5d5b71de139ae7c8a99.jpg)
The neighbor lost all their bees last winter, so I set the double medium nuc from the swarm catch on top of the neighbors box of deep foundation and will give them a few days to see if they draw some comb so they stand a better chance of sticking around.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240507/866d8bd7c2c61b8ed6cc0f6be3c86602.jpg)
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240507/63c8c7db5278f5d5b71de139ae7c8a99.jpg)
The neighbor lost all their bees last winter, so I set the double medium nuc from the swarm catch on top of the neighbors box of deep foundation and will give them a few days to see if they draw some comb so they stand a better chance of sticking around.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240507/866d8bd7c2c61b8ed6cc0f6be3c86602.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 08, 2024, 12:00:15 AM
Post by: The15thMember on May 08, 2024, 12:00:15 AM
The swarm finally had BIAS and a mated queen today! Another Snow White daughter, christened Queen Ariel. The flow has hit, and I can't believe how tall some of my hives are already. I gave three hives two new boxes at once today, something I rarely do. Having drawn comb laying around has made all the difference this spring, even with the early flow not coming in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 08, 2024, 02:01:12 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 08, 2024, 02:01:12 AM
Good job Reagan!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 08, 2024, 08:58:15 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 08, 2024, 08:58:15 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on May 08, 2024, 12:00:15 AMThat does sound great, congratulations.
The swarm finally had BIAS and a mated queen today! Another Snow White daughter, christened Queen Ariel. The flow has hit, and I can't believe how tall some of my hives are already. I gave three hives two new boxes at once today, something I rarely do. Having drawn comb laying around has made all the difference this spring, even with the early flow not coming in.
I have a question...tomorrow, or Monday? Last Wednesday, I checked my hive and shared my video. Consensus was to go back, rearrange frames and add a brood box, which I did on Friday. Weather here will be suitable for hive inspection tomorrow (Thursday) or next Monday. I'm leaning towards a tomorrow inspection but don't know for sure. What do yous recommend? Yeah, I'm asking several beeks for opinions. :cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on May 09, 2024, 04:05:45 AM
Post by: max2 on May 09, 2024, 04:05:45 AM
I have been cleaning up old boxes, cut some FD back to 1/2's and have plenty of frames ready for nuc's come Spring.
We are at the other end of the season here!
I got some painting in between showers.
More to do
We are at the other end of the season here!
I got some painting in between showers.
More to do
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 09, 2024, 02:40:23 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 09, 2024, 02:40:23 PM
Like a kid at Christmas time, I had to take a peek. Here's hive inspection #3. I only switched one frame around but if yous think I should have done more, let me know. It looks to me like they are doing well here...but what do I know? :cheesy:
I still don't know how to combine them into one.
Part I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaT6KY3ooxc
Part II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOLxYJW4q4w
I still don't know how to combine them into one.
Part I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaT6KY3ooxc
Part II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOLxYJW4q4w
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 09, 2024, 04:12:49 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 09, 2024, 04:12:49 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 09, 2024, 02:40:23 PMNo, I think what you did made sense given how much they had drawn. I'm a little surprised by all that burr comb. Does anyone who uses foundation know if that is normal? I'm foundationless and I don't have trouble with them doing that unless they are in need of more space. I'm just wondering if they are a little bit resistant to the foundation, or perhaps they are drawing drone comb down there because the foundation is stamped for worker comb. If they just keep redrawing that, you can leave it if you want. In my experience, it's unlikely they will stick it to the floor or anything like that. (I use shallow frames in medium boxes regularly, so they often draw out the underside of the bottom bar on those frames.)
I only switched one frame around but if yous think I should have done more, let me know. It looks to me like they are doing well here...but what do I know? :cheesy:
This isn't something everyone does, but it's my personal preference to inspect a multi-box hive in reverse order, starting with the bottom box. When you work top down, you end up smoking all the bees down into the bottom box, which is then very full and difficult to work. Also the bees are calmest at the beginning of the inspection, so that is when I want to be deep in the brood nest and have the hive most disassembled, as opposed to at the end of the inspection when everyone is starting to get irritated that that hive is still open. Just an option to consider.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 09, 2024, 04:48:54 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 09, 2024, 04:48:54 PM
That all sounds good and some of that burr comb on the lower frames was there last week and I didn't remove it. They didn't leave me any with honey this round. :( When I was done, they were hanging out on the porch like they were bearding, probably because they were crowded into that lower box. With they way they're growing, I expect I'll need to add another brood box next week.
Thanks for reviewing it.
Thanks for reviewing it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on May 10, 2024, 10:40:10 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on May 10, 2024, 10:40:10 AM
Didnt watch the whole vid. It is for Drones. The plastic foundation is not stamped for larger Done cells unless you use the green frames. If you keep on top of it and keep scraping they will eventually build it on the plastic. If not they will keep drawing it between the frames, because they want that amount of drone comb. Approx 20%
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 11:17:22 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 11:17:22 AM
There was a good bit of drone brood on a couple of frames but thanks for the insight. Next time I'll pay more attention to how much drone brood there is and where it's located. The drone cells looked larger to me than my neighbor's did. My neighbor also suggested that I get the frames up closer to the camera so they can be seen by viewers.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 10, 2024, 11:21:48 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 10, 2024, 11:21:48 AM
Bill I watched a video of one of the Commercial Beekeepers, (I can't remember if it was Bob Binnnie, Ian Steppler, or someone else), where he and his team used at least 'a' drone comb in each colony. I do not remember hearing him say whether or not this was removed at a later time. Nor do I remember
during the 'time' of the making of the video if there was one used in 'each' Brood box.
during the 'time' of the making of the video if there was one used in 'each' Brood box.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 10, 2024, 11:25:37 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 10, 2024, 11:25:37 AM
Terri I do not remember if you have mentioned queen cells, (since you are new and taking in a lot of information), I will ask, have you mentioned seeing queen cells in your mentors hive?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 11:37:28 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 11:37:28 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on May 10, 2024, 11:25:37 AMNot yet but I haven't been there since I got my hive mid April. He said he did lose a swarm so I expect that he does have them. I think it's next Saturday he's supposed to do some manipulations and I've been invited to attend so I'll be on the lookout for them then. I was looking for them in my hive inspections and didn't see anything that looked suspicious. I'm pretty happy with how fast my colony is growing but for all I know, it might be slow by comparison.
Terri I do not remember if you have mentioned queen cells, (since you are new and taking in a lot of information), I will ask, have you mentioned seeing queen cells in your mentors hive?
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 10, 2024, 06:59:49 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 10, 2024, 06:59:49 PM
I inspected most of my small colonies today. Most needed another box, and I did a sugar roll in the largest colony and only 1/300 so that's good. I was worried because the bees in there are kind of over-groomed looking, but I think it's just that they are old because this hive is coming off a brood break. I also got some pictures of Queen Tiana. I've never had a queen this dark. I have several tiger-striped queens, but she is all black. (Sorry the picture quality isn't better, I had my phone in a plastic baggie to protect it from propolis.)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 08:15:35 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 08:15:35 PM
Obviously, you have confidence in the sugar roll method but I have heard others express differing positions on it. I'd like to know more about the pros and cons on it. Or the whys and why nots, however you want to put it. What causes a brood break and how long do they last? And lastly, we are still having spring here so our weather is above and below bee flying weather. What do they all do in there when they have no-fly days?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 10, 2024, 08:42:56 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 10, 2024, 08:42:56 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 08:15:35 PMA sugar roll is not as accurate as an alcohol wash, so I multiply my results by 1.3 to make up for that difference in accuracy. I find the sugar roll easier and it doesn't require me to kill bees, so I prefer it. I like to do sugar rolls regularly because I'm someone who likes data, but I'm honestly moving away from treating based on sugar roll numbers alone. I'd rather treat colonies with high mite loads who also are showing signs of stress, because I'm trying to breed for not only resistant bees but resilient bees. That's my take on it anyway.
Obviously, you have confidence in the sugar roll method but I have heard others express differing positions on it. I'd like to know more about the pros and cons on it. Or the whys and why nots, however you want to put it.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 08:15:35 PMAnything that causes the colony to be queenless, and therefore broodless, for long enough that all the capped brood has emerged causes a brood break. In this case, the queen in this colony had become a drone layer over the winter, so I pulled her in my first inspection of the year, but for some reason it took several weeks of me adding donor frames of eggs before they made a new queen, and therefore their population got very low. I debated combining them with someone else, but it's early enough in the season that I decided to just let them go.
What causes a brood break and how long do they last?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 08:15:35 PMWell the bees who are of inside work age just do their inside work like always. I'm not sure about foragers, but I'd guess they will sometimes just rest or maybe help with guard duty. I opened a hive once on a rainy day, I can't remember why, and there was a cluster of bees just hanging on the underside of the lid, who I think were foragers just hanging out there because they couldn't go outside.
And lastly, we are still having spring here so our weather is above and below bee flying weather. What do they all do in there when they have no-fly days?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on May 11, 2024, 12:24:16 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on May 11, 2024, 12:24:16 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 08:15:35 PMI use Dawn dish detergent for a mite wash. 2 tbls. per gallon of water. Sugar rolls are not accurate. Just swirl the bees, dont shake or it gets too soapy. Sampling 300 bees for 6 months is only 1800 bees per colony, thats nothing. More bees die daily from attrition and the sampling saves hundreds of thousands of bees or more in my apiary.
Obviously, you have confidence in the sugar roll method but I have heard others express differing positions on it. I'd like to know more about the pros and cons on it.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 08:15:35 PMSplits, swarms, or forced brood breaks by caging the queen 14 days. They last as long as there is no capped brood for mites to hide in for an OA treatment.
What causes a brood break and how long do they last?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 10, 2024, 08:15:35 PMI use slatted racks, so on no fly days, or overnight, foragers will typically cluster under the rack unless its hot out, then they will cluster on the outside of the hive even in the rain.
And lastly, we are still having spring here so our weather is above and below bee flying weather. What do they all do in there when they have no-fly days?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on May 11, 2024, 05:23:56 AM
Post by: Lesgold on May 11, 2024, 05:23:56 AM
An interesting comment about sugar roll tests. We were told at a recent varroa course that sugar roll tests were fatal to bees but their death is slow and is not obvious. From memory they said that the bees spiracles were blocked by the powdered sugar and it took a few days for the bees to slowly die from suffocation. I have never heard of this before but have no reason to doubt what they are saying as they are experts in this field. I?m wondering if anyone has any information in relation to this area. Most of you on this forum deal with the pest on a daily and would be well informed on such things. I only perform alcohol wash tests as it is quicker and gives more accurate results which is important in the early stages of varroa spread.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 11, 2024, 06:25:06 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 11, 2024, 06:25:06 AM
I have heard a similar report Les concerning sugar rolls, but I do not have that report handy. Nor do I know if that report is accurate. Your opinion of the alcohol wash is an opinion I share as well.
quoting you: I only perform alcohol wash tests as it is quicker and gives more accurate results which is important in the early stages of varroa spread.
TheHoneyPump also VERY knowledgeable about varroa preferred the Alcohol wash for obvious reasons. He was from a 7th generation bee keeping family whose family business depends upon up to date knowledge in all aspects of bee health. A family which produces not only an astronomical amount of honey each year, but thousands of pounds of wax in his Country, Canada!
For the sake of those who do not like the idea of killing their bees, he humored us with patience and kindness, giving us a formula for the sugar roll. I do not know if he was aware of the implications that sugar rolls also kill bees?
I highly recommend the following, written by him, to all my Australian Beekeeping Friends concerning Varro Destructor.
Phillip
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=54623.msg497375#msg497375
quoting you: I only perform alcohol wash tests as it is quicker and gives more accurate results which is important in the early stages of varroa spread.
TheHoneyPump also VERY knowledgeable about varroa preferred the Alcohol wash for obvious reasons. He was from a 7th generation bee keeping family whose family business depends upon up to date knowledge in all aspects of bee health. A family which produces not only an astronomical amount of honey each year, but thousands of pounds of wax in his Country, Canada!
For the sake of those who do not like the idea of killing their bees, he humored us with patience and kindness, giving us a formula for the sugar roll. I do not know if he was aware of the implications that sugar rolls also kill bees?
I highly recommend the following, written by him, to all my Australian Beekeeping Friends concerning Varro Destructor.
Phillip
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=54623.msg497375#msg497375
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on May 11, 2024, 11:22:48 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on May 11, 2024, 11:22:48 AM
Quote from: Lesgold on May 11, 2024, 05:23:56 AMFrom personal experience bees shaken/rolled in a jar of powdered sugar is a slow death. Detergent is quick, effective, cheap, and a bit messy when Im sampling a lot of hives. I just keep a small bucket a water to rinse off. Alcohol works great too. Its just a matter of preference.
An interesting comment about sugar roll tests. We were told at a recent varroa course that sugar roll tests were fatal to bees but their death is slow and is not obvious. From memory they said that the bees spiracles were blocked by the powdered sugar and it took a few days for the bees to slowly die from suffocation. I have never heard of this before but have no reason to doubt what they are saying as they are experts in this field. I?m wondering if anyone has any information in relation to this area. Most of you on this forum deal with the pest on a daily and would be well informed on such things. I only perform alcohol wash tests as it is quicker and gives more accurate results which is important in the early stages of varroa spread.
https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?s=refining+mite+wash
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 11, 2024, 12:08:28 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 11, 2024, 12:08:28 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on May 11, 2024, 11:22:48 AMI'm confused, in Randy Oliver's experiment he says the bees survived the sugar roll when he returned them to the hive. Also, my bees don't look anywhere near that beat up coming out of the jar. Most of them just fan a bit, and their sisters come and clean them off.
From personal experience bees shaken/rolled in a jar of powdered sugar is a slow death. Detergent is quick, effective, cheap, and a bit messy when Im sampling a lot of hives. I just keep a small bucket a water to rinse off. Alcohol works great too. Its just a matter of preference.
https://scientificbeekeeping.com/?s=refining+mite+wash
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on May 11, 2024, 12:42:24 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on May 11, 2024, 12:42:24 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on May 11, 2024, 12:08:28 PMDon't be, like I said its personal experience. Ive done a lot of sugar rolls with mixed results and observed that some bees do die after the test. Most people just dont hang around their hives for hours to see workers dragging out the dead bees. I know it's considered non lethal which is good to get beekeepers to test. I used alcohol/soap on the same bees after a sugar test and the mite counts doubled a few times. Not good. Sampling 300 bees to save all the rest over the winter is well worth it. Like Mr. Spock said, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." May your bees live long and prosper.
I'm confused,
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 11, 2024, 01:31:51 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 11, 2024, 01:31:51 PM
I peeked inside the portals on my hives and saw condensation in the top two boxes, I didn't open the lower box because there were some ant cruising around and they have the bottom one sealed up. Anyhow, is that condensation a problem? I was cool last night and warmed up quicky this morning. I have not checked back to see if it's still there but I will.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 11, 2024, 02:21:38 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 11, 2024, 02:21:38 PM
It can be a problem, but a little condensation is probably normal. I mean, most hives don't have portals like yours, and the wood is a bit more absorbent, so I wouldn't be too concerned if it's just forming on the windows. What you don't want is water dripping down on the bees from the lid, but I don't think even that is a huge deal provided the bees aren't clustered because of the cold. As I've mentioned, my climate is very humid, and I don't have any trouble with condensation causing problems (except for mold) in the summer. If I see condensation I think is excessive, then I just open the entrance more or otherwise give the bees a little more ventilation.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on May 11, 2024, 10:05:06 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on May 11, 2024, 10:05:06 PM
So if the bees are alive when returned to the hive, what does that really mean, unless you marked them, tagged them and actually knew how old they were before being returned?
Come on guys/gals think about it.
Come on guys/gals think about it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 12, 2024, 12:28:44 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 12, 2024, 12:28:44 AM
> So if the bees are alive when returned to the hive, what does that really mean, unless you marked them, tagged them and actually knew how old they were before being .
Good question which makes a good point Bill. I would think the only way to verify the accuracy of this type test and resulting situation is to mark each bee as you stated. Any-thing less would be pure speculation in my opinion. I am not a bee researcher but if I was, I would think this approach would be the number one objective in receiving an >accurate< answer.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on May 12, 2024, 02:01:31 AM
Post by: Lesgold on May 12, 2024, 02:01:31 AM
Have a look at some research done by Dr. Kamran Fakhimzadeh of the Florida University. He actually looked at this and you should be able to find some answers from what showed up in his experiments.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 12, 2024, 08:11:09 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 12, 2024, 08:11:09 AM
Terri,
Bees use that condensation as a water source during cond weather to dilute the honey. It is not a bad thing.
Jim Altmiller
Bees use that condensation as a water source during cond weather to dilute the honey. It is not a bad thing.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on May 12, 2024, 02:53:47 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on May 12, 2024, 02:53:47 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 11, 2024, 01:31:51 PMThats normal when you're feeding 1:1 sugar syrup. It's a problem in the fall, thats why 2:1 is recommended for fall feeding. As the stores dry out it creates condensation. When your colony builds up to the configuration you want to overwinter in, 2 deeps or 3 mediums in your area, you can stop feeding and add a honey super. Right now, when you inspect you are seeing stored sugar syrup, not nectar or honey.
I peeked inside the portals on my hives and saw condensation in the top two boxes, I didn't open the lower box because there were some ant cruising around and they have the bottom one sealed up. Anyhow, is that condensation a problem? I was cool last night and warmed up quicky this morning. I have not checked back to see if it's still there but I will.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on May 13, 2024, 01:04:48 AM
Post by: Lesgold on May 13, 2024, 01:04:48 AM
It's the first dry day for over a week so it was the perfect opportunity to recycle some frames from a couple of dead outs that have been sitting around getting infested with wax moth. Got the fire cranked up with some pallet off cuts and loaded the first box of frames into the steamer. Some of the frames were heavily infested so a nice little cook with some steam will help to solve the problem. I?ll leave them in the steamer for about half an hour or so which will then make the frames easy to scrape clean. The residue will be fed into the worm farms where it will be broken down into compost.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on May 13, 2024, 05:16:52 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on May 13, 2024, 05:16:52 AM
All these people talking about murdering bees... I'm triggered.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on May 13, 2024, 08:14:16 PM
Post by: Lesgold on May 13, 2024, 08:14:16 PM
Ran out of time late yesterday afternoon and only had the chance to recycle 12 frames. Will continue to steam frames this morning and scrape them to remove any slum gum or propolis that is left behind. I was actually a bit slack and left these dead out boxes outside for quite a while and the wax moth really did a good job on them. It is surprising how much wax the larvae actually consume. I did remelt the wax that was recovered from the frames. Got exactly 1000g from the 12 frames. A little less than what I usually get but it?s all profit. Steaming does give a nice clean wax and recoveries quite a bit that is locked up in the black comb.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on May 13, 2024, 09:31:05 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on May 13, 2024, 09:31:05 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on May 13, 2024, 08:14:16 PM
Ran out of time late yesterday afternoon and only had the chance to recycle 12 frames. Will continue to steam frames this morning and scrape them to remove any slum gum or propolis that is left behind. I was actually a bit slack and left these dead out boxes outside for quite a while and the wax moth really did a good job on them. It is surprising how much wax the larvae actually consume. I did remelt the wax that was recovered from the frames. Got exactly 1000g from the 12 frames. A little less than what I usually get but it?s all profit. Steaming does give a nice clean wax and recoveries quite a bit that is locked up in the black comb.
Steaming!
What a great idea!
I've got a lot of frames from dead outs to recondition. This is just the solution.
Thank you!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on May 13, 2024, 11:37:21 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on May 13, 2024, 11:37:21 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on May 13, 2024, 08:14:16 PMI was actually a bit slack and left these dead out boxes outside for quite a while and the wax moth really did a good job on them. It is surprising how much wax the larvae actually consume.Do you use plastic frames and boxes? Wax moths here do quite a number on woodenware. They chew up the frames and boxes and leave a ton of canoe shape holes in them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on May 14, 2024, 12:06:35 AM
Post by: Lesgold on May 14, 2024, 12:06:35 AM
The wax moth are very artistic carvers of wood. Wooden frames and boxes are what I use. I do use some plastic foundation but not plastic frames.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 02:43:46 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 02:43:46 PM
And another hive inspection is in the books. I have a couple of questions regarding this inspection. In the deep box, is that building of comb normal? They're not filling out the frames too well. And should a new colony like this be building practice queen cells? Was I wrong to just leave them there? And on a frame or two, for some reason I was unable to determine if it was honey or brood. That would be to the outside in the medium box. I ask about it in the video. It should be easy for me to determine but I wasn't able to.
Yesterday, I cut a new entrance blocker and gave them a second door on the other end of the porch and I installed it this morning at sunrise. Both openings are smaller than the large one was but combined, they have more room. They are slowly using the other door more as the day goes on.
Thanks
https://rumble.com/v4vldic-may-16-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
https://rumble.com/v4vllxw-may-16-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Yesterday, I cut a new entrance blocker and gave them a second door on the other end of the porch and I installed it this morning at sunrise. Both openings are smaller than the large one was but combined, they have more room. They are slowly using the other door more as the day goes on.
Thanks
https://rumble.com/v4vldic-may-16-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
https://rumble.com/v4vllxw-may-16-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on May 16, 2024, 03:27:54 PM
Post by: NigelP on May 16, 2024, 03:27:54 PM
My opinion for what its worth and only having only seen first few minutes of video, is you are using too much smoke, those are very calm bees, you don't really need to smoke them so heavily. Also too much space for the number of bees you have. They aren't covering all the frames you have in there.. I'd reduce to single brood box and stop feeding. Give them a bit more time to get on with they want to do.
A good indication of bees filling space and wanting more is when they start drawing comb on the bottom of the frames then it's time to add a second brood box.
A good indication of bees filling space and wanting more is when they start drawing comb on the bottom of the frames then it's time to add a second brood box.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 04:03:21 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 04:03:21 PM
I don't know, myself. My nuc came in medium frames so that's why it's a medium on the bottom. I had quite a consensus that it was time to add the upper box and to keep feeding. The queen has been in the upper box for two weeks now and I'm thinking that when it's time to clean out the medium box, I'll put it on top, above a queen excluder. I'm all ears for input and willing to learn though. Thanks for the input, I like hearing the thoughts on it. Oh, and they were building comb on the bottoms of the frames when it was just the medium box.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on May 16, 2024, 04:48:57 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on May 16, 2024, 04:48:57 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 04:03:21 PM
I don't know, myself. My nuc came in medium frames so that's why it's a medium on the bottom. I had quite a consensus that it was time to add the upper box and to keep feeding. The queen has been in the upper box for two weeks now and I'm thinking that when it's time to clean out the medium box, I'll put it on top, above a queen excluder. I'm all ears for input and willing to learn though. Thanks for the input, I like hearing the thoughts on it. Oh, and they were building comb on the bottoms of the frames when it was just the medium box.
You might want to put the medium box on top. They will build themselves down into the deep.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 05:05:39 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 05:05:39 PM
Quote from: FatherMichael on May 16, 2024, 04:48:57 PMI wonder about that. I worked with my mentor in early spring when he was going through his hives and his all built up. So much so that he moved the almost empty bottom boxes to the top. And when I put the deep up top, the queen moved up into it. If I had three or four hives, I could conduct all kinds of experiments.Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 04:03:21 PM
I don't know, myself. My nuc came in medium frames so that's why it's a medium on the bottom. I had quite a consensus that it was time to add the upper box and to keep feeding. The queen has been in the upper box for two weeks now and I'm thinking that when it's time to clean out the medium box, I'll put it on top, above a queen excluder. I'm all ears for input and willing to learn though. Thanks for the input, I like hearing the thoughts on it. Oh, and they were building comb on the bottoms of the frames when it was just the medium box.
You might want to put the medium box on top. They will build themselves down into the deep.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 16, 2024, 06:23:09 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 16, 2024, 06:23:09 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 02:43:46 PMI don't use foundation, but it looked normal to me. Comb building is a lot of work, it may take them some time if your flow isn't strong. You mentioned at the end that you saw bees hanging onto each other. That could be bees festooning, where they make kind of a scaffolding with their bodies as they build comb. I'm assuming bees on foundation still do this behavior.
And another hive inspection is in the books. I have a couple of questions regarding this inspection. In the deep box, is that building of comb normal? They're not filling out the frames too well.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 02:43:46 PMSome colonies build a lot of queen cups seemingly just to have them in case they need them. I have several colonies that keep cups built for most of the summer, but they are never charged (they don't have an egg or larva in them). I was a little surprised that they had made so many, but until one has an egg or larva in it or is drawn out into a full queen cell, I wouldn't be too concerned about it.
And should a new colony like this be building practice queen cells? Was I wrong to just leave them there?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 16, 2024, 02:43:46 PMIt can be a bit tough if the wax is very light, but to me it looked like that frame had brood in the middle.
And on a frame or two, for some reason I was unable to determine if it was honey or brood. That would be to the outside in the medium box. I ask about it in the video. It should be easy for me to determine but I wasn't able to.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on May 17, 2024, 04:54:19 AM
Post by: max2 on May 17, 2024, 04:54:19 AM
I'm 2/3th through my Autumn check...but the rain is hanging araund...again.
I made about 300 tealights. A great rainy day job.
I make 9 hr tealights.
They sell quite well at the markets.
I strated to melt down this years cappings.
The first batch was absolutely perfect - very clean wax.
The second batch looked dirty - I will leave it in the wax melter to cool down. The dirt will settle.
I'm looking for Beehive ( skep) candle moulds ( molds?) like Les makes. They are so lovely.
I also used a mould which makes 6 candle sticks in one go.
A bit tricky to keep the wick in the center but I did manage eventually.
getting the wick though the mould was not as smooth as I had hoped.
Market in the morning - the car is packed. Hoping for nice weather.
I made about 300 tealights. A great rainy day job.
I make 9 hr tealights.
They sell quite well at the markets.
I strated to melt down this years cappings.
The first batch was absolutely perfect - very clean wax.
The second batch looked dirty - I will leave it in the wax melter to cool down. The dirt will settle.
I'm looking for Beehive ( skep) candle moulds ( molds?) like Les makes. They are so lovely.
I also used a mould which makes 6 candle sticks in one go.
A bit tricky to keep the wick in the center but I did manage eventually.
getting the wick though the mould was not as smooth as I had hoped.
Market in the morning - the car is packed. Hoping for nice weather.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 17, 2024, 06:27:06 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 17, 2024, 06:27:06 AM
Max,
Check Mann Lake?s catalog. Pretty sure they have a skep mold. That is where I bought mine from. Pretty sure I have seen our down under members talking about ordering from them.
Jim Altmiller
https://www.mannlakeltd.com/education-crafts-gifts/candles/bee-hive-skep-candle-mold/?sku=PM275&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_azT4w1y5GYmzA0k2WnxsX2r1fV&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLPx3E2-XOLFDk9nmLJBeVZXtArt9HHoRMzPzj4gdtlqWPSfptli8BMaAlg3EALw_wcB
Check Mann Lake?s catalog. Pretty sure they have a skep mold. That is where I bought mine from. Pretty sure I have seen our down under members talking about ordering from them.
Jim Altmiller
https://www.mannlakeltd.com/education-crafts-gifts/candles/bee-hive-skep-candle-mold/?sku=PM275&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_azT4w1y5GYmzA0k2WnxsX2r1fV&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLPx3E2-XOLFDk9nmLJBeVZXtArt9HHoRMzPzj4gdtlqWPSfptli8BMaAlg3EALw_wcB
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 17, 2024, 07:39:17 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 17, 2024, 07:39:17 AM
QuoteMarket in the morning - the car is packed. Hoping for nice weather.
Good selling at the market!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on May 17, 2024, 07:45:06 AM
Post by: max2 on May 17, 2024, 07:45:06 AM
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on May 17, 2024, 06:27:06 AM
Max,
Check Mann Lake?s catalog. Pretty sure they have a skep mold. That is where I bought mine from. Pretty sure I have seen our down under members talking about ordering from them.
Jim Altmiller
https://www.mannlakeltd.com/education-crafts-gifts/candles/bee-hive-skep-candle-mold/?sku=PM275&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_azT4w1y5GYmzA0k2WnxsX2r1fV&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLPx3E2-XOLFDk9nmLJBeVZXtArt9HHoRMzPzj4gdtlqWPSfptli8BMaAlg3EALw_wcB
Thanks - Les found me a local one. Postage is a real killer these days
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 18, 2024, 04:28:36 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 18, 2024, 04:28:36 PM
It was supposed to rain today, but when I checked the weather this morning, it had changed and now isn't supposed to rain until this evening, so I inspected 2 hives before lunch. Good thing I did too, my favorite hive was CRAMMED full and very much in need of more space. I gave them two new boxes and also did a sugar roll since I saw my favorite queen Snow White in there. I also checked a hive that swarmed recently to see if they had a new queen. No brood and didn't see a queen, but I'm going to give them one more week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on May 18, 2024, 04:45:05 PM
Post by: Caashenb on May 18, 2024, 04:45:05 PM
Built 10 more deeps and frames and 20 more mediums and frames so I will have enough woodenware when I go into the yard Monday.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on May 18, 2024, 09:11:01 PM
Post by: .30WCF on May 18, 2024, 09:11:01 PM
That swarm nuc I?m using to draw some foundation for my neighbor is doing ok. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240519/873a728ee9a57b1cdeeed3a92b8a908a.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on May 19, 2024, 04:51:29 AM
Post by: max2 on May 19, 2024, 04:51:29 AM
We had a very good market on Saturday - lots of honey was sold and we sold all of the Pecan Nuts we had with us.We also sold a few Strawberry Plants in pots.Today I went to one of my yards to do my Autumn's check.Less honey here, fewer SHB, No varroa.. Most hives are powering on with lots of brood.Sadly i had a dead out. More to clean up.
I also washed and sterilized the jars we had returned. We took back about 50 of them and it takes some time as the labels need to be soaked to come off.
I had enough time to take a walk in the bush to look for buds on trees.
Also, a quick check on the cattle - perfect Autumn day.
I also washed and sterilized the jars we had returned. We took back about 50 of them and it takes some time as the labels need to be soaked to come off.
I had enough time to take a walk in the bush to look for buds on trees.
Also, a quick check on the cattle - perfect Autumn day.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: AustinB on May 20, 2024, 02:47:24 PM
Post by: AustinB on May 20, 2024, 02:47:24 PM
Took a picture of a beautiful fuzzy queen who made a safe return after her mating flight, enophallus attached and all. Too bad posting pictures is such a pain here, otherwise I'd post the picture :smile:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 20, 2024, 03:07:28 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 20, 2024, 03:07:28 PM
I haven?t had any problems posting pictures on my laptop but never tried it on my phone.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 20, 2024, 09:37:51 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 20, 2024, 09:37:51 PM
Try use this to post pictures on an iPhone.
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=51631.0
Jim Altmiller
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=51631.0
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 20, 2024, 09:40:15 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on May 20, 2024, 09:40:15 PM
The main information is on post 1. It has changed a little. Now you just select the photo you want. Pick up to 4 photos and then hit save.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on May 21, 2024, 04:56:42 AM
Post by: max2 on May 21, 2024, 04:56:42 AM
I have finished cleaning all my cappings from last season.
It does take time but Les and I believe that clean beeswax will sell at a premium when we have to treat for varroa multiple times a year .
I slashed around the hives in all my yards - looking nice and I may need to mow one more time before September. Winter is not far off and growth slows.
I think I got most of the gear ready I want to enter in the local Agricultural Show.
It is quite competitive here with a lot of beekeepers around.
Having a First Prize certificate next to the honey does increase sales.
The local show is poorly organised and it does take time to enter.
I would like to enter a couple of capped frames but the weather has not been ideal to produce nice combs.
There was enough daylight to check on the cattle and do some weeding in the garden.
Work never ends on a farm.
I will try to add a photo - first time!
It does take time but Les and I believe that clean beeswax will sell at a premium when we have to treat for varroa multiple times a year .
I slashed around the hives in all my yards - looking nice and I may need to mow one more time before September. Winter is not far off and growth slows.
I think I got most of the gear ready I want to enter in the local Agricultural Show.
It is quite competitive here with a lot of beekeepers around.
Having a First Prize certificate next to the honey does increase sales.
The local show is poorly organised and it does take time to enter.
I would like to enter a couple of capped frames but the weather has not been ideal to produce nice combs.
There was enough daylight to check on the cattle and do some weeding in the garden.
Work never ends on a farm.
I will try to add a photo - first time!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on May 21, 2024, 04:57:40 AM
Post by: max2 on May 21, 2024, 04:57:40 AM
Photo did not work...? :cry:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on May 21, 2024, 05:00:59 AM
Post by: max2 on May 21, 2024, 05:00:59 AM
I wil try to add a photo - first time!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on May 21, 2024, 08:32:32 AM
Post by: NigelP on May 21, 2024, 08:32:32 AM
2nd Honey extraction of the season today and my darn extractor stops working. Electric motor won't turn the cage. Rang the place I bought it from "can I bring in for repair", basically told no, we are far too busy with the likes of you who spent a grand on a big extractor.....customer service nil.....
Fortunately I know one of the guys who works there so rang him direct and he was able to diagnose what the problem probably was, the top bearing. To get at it spent entire morning stripping everything apart to just to get to bearing, and yup it was seized. It was a right ???? to get off.
Thank goodness for Amazon prime a pair of bearings ordered to arrive tomorrow, ?7.....
A new extractor would now set me back 1400 quid.
Fortunately I know one of the guys who works there so rang him direct and he was able to diagnose what the problem probably was, the top bearing. To get at it spent entire morning stripping everything apart to just to get to bearing, and yup it was seized. It was a right ???? to get off.
Thank goodness for Amazon prime a pair of bearings ordered to arrive tomorrow, ?7.....
A new extractor would now set me back 1400 quid.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 21, 2024, 09:12:18 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 21, 2024, 09:12:18 AM
That?s tough Nigel, it?s good you found the problem!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 22, 2024, 06:35:26 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 22, 2024, 06:35:26 PM
It was inadvertent and incidental but the bees quickly found the wheelbarrow full of algae that I skimmed off of my swimming pool as I prep it for the summer season. That stuff has to be like the MD 20/20 of drinking water.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 22, 2024, 07:32:29 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 22, 2024, 07:32:29 PM
Looking to tomorrow's chores. I'm going to inspect my nuc and see if I can arrange things properly. Last week, I made a new entrance reducer and gave them two doors to use. Pictures attached. The one on the left in the straight on picture is the top one on the side shot. The one on the left/top is used as an exit only and has some bees fanning there. The one on the right/bottom is used as a primary for the entrance with some exiting there and some fanning going on there. What's the consensus on just removing that board? BTW, temps are up into the 80s for now.
I'll be prepared to add another deep brood box if they look like they're ready. Should I pyramid it? They seem to be doing well enough, I can't even open the side port to look in any more because it's loaded with bees in there and they come out the hole when I open it up, making it hard to put back in without killing some.
I'm going to move the swarm hive tonight and leave it there and deal with whatever they do. They did perform orientation flights all day on Monday and I wish I'd have just left them in their new home in the first place. I was able to get a good look in the bottom box on that hive and I did not see a lot of activity down there nor did I see any comb being added to the frames. They are using the top entrance for the most part. That box is medium and I do want a deep there. Thoughts on what to do with that? And when should I inspect it?
I'll be prepared to add another deep brood box if they look like they're ready. Should I pyramid it? They seem to be doing well enough, I can't even open the side port to look in any more because it's loaded with bees in there and they come out the hole when I open it up, making it hard to put back in without killing some.
I'm going to move the swarm hive tonight and leave it there and deal with whatever they do. They did perform orientation flights all day on Monday and I wish I'd have just left them in their new home in the first place. I was able to get a good look in the bottom box on that hive and I did not see a lot of activity down there nor did I see any comb being added to the frames. They are using the top entrance for the most part. That box is medium and I do want a deep there. Thoughts on what to do with that? And when should I inspect it?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 22, 2024, 08:34:29 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 22, 2024, 08:34:29 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 22, 2024, 07:32:29 PMIt depends on how much they are fanning and how congested the entrance seems. Some fanning is not an indication of anything wrong, just bees working the A/C or removing moist air from curing honey/syrup. If the entrance seems congested to the point that the fanners keep getting jostled from their positions, there are a lot of fanners (like, say, more than 5), or there is a crowd of bees waiting to enter, then I'd remove it. If you do, absolutely remove the feed (which honestly, you are probably safe to do at this point anyway). We are grazing the 80s now and I pulled the reducer from my largest colony this week.
What's the consensus on just removing that board? BTW, temps are up into the 80s for now.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 22, 2024, 07:32:29 PMI have never done the "pyramid scheme" :cheesy: (sorry, couldn't resist), so I can't speak to that. It depends on how full of bees the hive seems. Just based on how they looked last time and the growth curve they are likely on, I'm not even sure they are going to need another box, but you won't know how they really look in there until you open them up.
I'll be prepared to add another deep brood box if they look like they're ready. Should I pyramid it? They seem to be doing well enough, I can't even open the side port to look in any more because it's loaded with bees in there and they come out the hole when I open it up, making it hard to put back in without killing some.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 22, 2024, 07:32:29 PMI also don't have experience with swarm traps, but I might be inclined to give them about a week without an inspection, just to allow them to get settled, but if all is well they should have brood in 4-5 days and by that time they won't abscond on you, so that would probably be a good minimum window. But that's just what I'd do having never actually done it before. :embarassed: As far as switching out the box, you could either just trade it out if they aren't really in the medium, or if they are, you could add a deep underneath it when they need more room. By that time, I'd assume your season would be far enough advanced that if that breaks up the brood nest, it would be okay.
That box is medium and I do want a deep there. Thoughts on what to do with that? And when should I inspect it?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on May 23, 2024, 02:59:06 AM
Post by: Lesgold on May 23, 2024, 02:59:06 AM
Just finished alcohol wash tests for varroa. It still hasn?t arrived but it could arrive anytime. I won?t have to test now until spring. A few hives are struggling with little to no stores. I may move these hives to a location that will provide pollen and nectar stores during the winter period.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 23, 2024, 06:41:43 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 23, 2024, 06:41:43 PM
Hive inspection today and I added another brood box. Let me know if you think it's premature and should be pulled off. The top box was coming along pretty good. I'm still clueless so if you see anything that needs addressing, let me know. There is a part III this round but there's nothing valuable in it. I'll put it up later. I did forget to do the bottom box first, I'm forgetful that way.
https://rumble.com/v4x0gz6-may-23-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
https://rumble.com/v4x0xli-may-23-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
https://rumble.com/v4x0gz6-may-23-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
https://rumble.com/v4x0xli-may-23-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 24, 2024, 01:56:43 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 24, 2024, 01:56:43 PM
Sorry it took me a while to watch your inspection, Ter. I was away for most of yesterday, and I just was too tired to do anything last evening after I got home. I was totally enjoying the classic rock! I sang along to "Janie's Got a Gun" as I was watching, that's one of my favorite Aerosmith songs. :cool:
That frame you held up to the camera where you were questioning if it was brood or capped honey had brood in the middle and honey in a triangle on the outside edge. In very light wax like that, the key is the opacity of the capping. Honey cappings will be translucent, whereas the brood capping is opaque. This is because the brood cappings have little pores in them so the larvae don't suffocate under the wax. Also just remember that almost all of your nectar/honey is really just syrup, it's not real honey.
Just for my 2 cents on the smoking, I think how much smoke you use is sort of like how much protection you put on, just smoke as much as you need to feel comfortable and to not kill bees. The only critical comment I'd have is to just give them a moment to react to the smoke. If you give them a couple of puffs, and then give them a couple of seconds to calmly walk down between the frames, they won't panic and take to the air to avoid the smoke.
I think adding another box was fine based on how they looked. What did you decide to do about their syrup? Did you remove it or leave it on?
That frame you held up to the camera where you were questioning if it was brood or capped honey had brood in the middle and honey in a triangle on the outside edge. In very light wax like that, the key is the opacity of the capping. Honey cappings will be translucent, whereas the brood capping is opaque. This is because the brood cappings have little pores in them so the larvae don't suffocate under the wax. Also just remember that almost all of your nectar/honey is really just syrup, it's not real honey.
Just for my 2 cents on the smoking, I think how much smoke you use is sort of like how much protection you put on, just smoke as much as you need to feel comfortable and to not kill bees. The only critical comment I'd have is to just give them a moment to react to the smoke. If you give them a couple of puffs, and then give them a couple of seconds to calmly walk down between the frames, they won't panic and take to the air to avoid the smoke.
I think adding another box was fine based on how they looked. What did you decide to do about their syrup? Did you remove it or leave it on?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 24, 2024, 02:26:56 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 24, 2024, 02:26:56 PM
Thanks for taking the time to review it. I left the syrup on but figure it will be their last feeding unless I'm advised that they'll use it to build comb in the next box. I was surprised that they filled that deep as well as they did, I think it was only on for two weeks.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 26, 2024, 09:08:36 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 26, 2024, 09:08:36 AM
Terri I watched your vid. I have a question, why are you continuing to feed? They seem to be well established and your flow is on?
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 26, 2024, 09:20:54 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 26, 2024, 09:20:54 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on May 26, 2024, 09:08:36 AMBecause I don't know any better. Also, I heard from several different people to feed as long as they keep taking it, as they prefer natural over sugar water and will stop taking it when there is enough of a natural flow. Somehow I got in my mind that they used it to build comb but I can't pinpoint where I got that Idea. Those jars are about empty and will be empty today and will not get refilled.
Terri I watched your vid. I have a question, why are you continuing to feed? They seem to be well established and your flow is on?
Phillip
Thanks for reviewing my video, I appreciate the input.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 26, 2024, 10:14:29 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 26, 2024, 10:14:29 AM
lol I didn?t meant the question in a way that you do not know better. :grin: You are learning and learning fast for which I commend you!
I have also been told the bees will use it to make comb. I am asking for the consideration of honey itself in case you are planning on pulling honey this year. From what I?ve been told the bees will use excess sugar water to make adulterated honey, (which is not honey at all) according to the discussions which were going on here when I first started.
Several members were really adamant about the difference and frowned on sugar water honey verses natural nectar honey which is understandable. .
Phillip
I have also been told the bees will use it to make comb. I am asking for the consideration of honey itself in case you are planning on pulling honey this year. From what I?ve been told the bees will use excess sugar water to make adulterated honey, (which is not honey at all) according to the discussions which were going on here when I first started.
Several members were really adamant about the difference and frowned on sugar water honey verses natural nectar honey which is understandable. .
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 26, 2024, 11:00:35 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 26, 2024, 11:00:35 AM
I was just giving the upfront and honest answer. :grin: I don't anticipate honey this year so if I get any to steal, I'll feel lucky. If I do, I won't be selling any and I made sugar water as a kid so I'd probably like sugar honey just the same. Is there much of a difference in taste between sugar honey and nectar honey?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 26, 2024, 12:58:33 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 26, 2024, 12:58:33 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 26, 2024, 09:20:54 AMI think that's a wise choice at this point. Bees will only draw comb when there is a flow on, so by feeding them when they arrived, you mimicked a flow to get them going. But now that they have 2 boxes basically drawn, they have enough comb to do what they need to do with the naturally cycle of your flows. So they will now draw when there is a flow, but not draw when there is a dearth. Does that make sense?
Somehow I got in my mind that they used it to build comb but I can't pinpoint where I got that Idea. Those jars are about empty and will be empty today and will not get refilled.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on May 26, 2024, 11:00:35 AMI haven't eating any significant quantity of stored syrup (for obvious reasons), but I'd imagine it would have hardly any flavor. It's the nectar that determines the flavor of the honey. Stored syrup is not honey, either factually or legally. Adulterated honey, honey with some syrup mixed in, is also not legally honey, but it probably wouldn't be noticeably different from pure honey (which is why it ends up on grocery store shelves far too often).
I was just giving the upfront and honest answer. :grin: I don't anticipate honey this year so if I get any to steal, I'll feel lucky. If I do, I won't be selling any and I made sugar water as a kid so I'd probably like sugar honey just the same. Is there much of a difference in taste between sugar honey and nectar honey?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 26, 2024, 01:19:14 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 26, 2024, 01:19:14 PM
My question asking Terri about a flow in his area was asked with comb building in mind as well as any other reasons he might have for feeding (at this time). It seems reasonable to assume Terri does have a flow going at this time of year? Many beekeepers do. But just in case he may not have a flow in his area, and if he is in a dearth, then sure, help then. If he is in a flow it is not necessary. But if it makes him feel better then go for it especially since he does not plan to seek honey. I do think since he is new to beekeeping and serious about learning as he is, the heads up about adulterated honey might be of interest to him.
And perhaps not of interest to him alone, the information might be interesting to other newer members as well as some of our thousands of guest.
And perhaps not of interest to him alone, the information might be interesting to other newer members as well as some of our thousands of guest.
Quotequote;
Terri I watched your vid. I have a question, why are you continuing to feed? They seem to be well established and your flow is on?
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 28, 2024, 07:10:28 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 28, 2024, 07:10:28 PM
I inspected a split today looking for a mated queen, which I found. I also inspected two of my mammoth colonies, adding a 7th box to one. Thankfully, it seems the bramble honey is curing pretty quickly, so I was able to pull one super and replace it with a fresh one in the other colony, so they are still at 6, which I can manage on my own. I'll have to get my dad to help me with the 7-box hive, next time I need to go in there. Got my first taste of honey straight from the hive this year, and I'll be harvesting my first 11 frames tomorrow, after the supers have cleared.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on May 29, 2024, 04:06:51 PM
Post by: Caashenb on May 29, 2024, 04:06:51 PM
Today I checked on colony status and to my surprise I had to put a third deep super on six colonies.
This is only my fourth year of keeping bees but this is the first year I have seen a flow like we have now. This has been a great spring with plenty of rain and moderate temps.
This is only my fourth year of keeping bees but this is the first year I have seen a flow like we have now. This has been a great spring with plenty of rain and moderate temps.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on May 29, 2024, 09:39:30 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on May 29, 2024, 09:39:30 PM
I bought the nicest boxes for the littlest amount ever, they had dovetails cut in them. Ill never go back again.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 29, 2024, 10:23:39 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 29, 2024, 10:23:39 PM
I've learned the hard way that at least finger joints are a must in my climate. I bought some boxes a few years ago that don't have them and they are SO warped already.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 30, 2024, 02:30:57 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 30, 2024, 02:30:57 PM
All I did today was observe and what I saw was my nuc hive coming and going but not bringing in any pollen. They don't look like they've coming in heavy either. What could they be up to? My swarm hive is bringing in yellow pollen but I don't know what it's from. I kind of looks like fuchsia on the pollen chart but I don't know if we have any of that around here. It could also be jewelweed, I've seen stuff that looks kind of like it around but now I have to look closer.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 30, 2024, 03:07:55 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 30, 2024, 03:07:55 PM
Our jewelweed isn't even close to blooming, so I doubt yours is. The question is if your flow is really strong right now or not. The speed at which the colonies are drawing comb, now that you have stopped feeding, will be a good indicator of that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 30, 2024, 03:16:16 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 30, 2024, 03:16:16 PM
How frequently should I be inspecting right now? It's been a week since I checked the hive. I was planning on a ten day inspection this time around.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 30, 2024, 03:31:54 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 30, 2024, 03:31:54 PM
10 days is totally fine. Even longer would be. For a newbee, I'd probably recommended roughly every 2 weeks. Just to give you a gauge, I inspect any given colony about once every three weeks, and that's not always a full inspection. Since it's your first season, you don't want to let them go too long because you don't have a lot of information in your playbook yet, but by the same token, weekly inspections are probably more work for them than the information is worth to you. Just my 2 cents.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on May 30, 2024, 11:05:13 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on May 30, 2024, 11:05:13 PM
So if your feeding 1:1 and getting comb drawn every 7-10 days, if your flow is on and not feeding/not doing anything for swarm control ,every 7 days. If your flow is on and doing swarm control--based on your swarm control method.
I know this might sound crazy but after march 1st all I look for is if they need super space and imirie shims till July.
This year was a little crazy they wanted to back-fill and go into swarm mode, so being flexible is always important. Sometimes those insects just dont do what you want/need/or expect them to do
I know this might sound crazy but after march 1st all I look for is if they need super space and imirie shims till July.
This year was a little crazy they wanted to back-fill and go into swarm mode, so being flexible is always important. Sometimes those insects just dont do what you want/need/or expect them to do
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on May 31, 2024, 04:46:12 AM
Post by: NigelP on May 31, 2024, 04:46:12 AM
I inspect approx every 6 days this time of the year. In the UK it's peak swarming time at the moment and I do not want to loose all my work force. You can loose your current queen and a lot of your bees if you go to 10 day inspections during swarm season. Later in the year I inspect less frequently, but am sometimes caught out by a late colony swarming. But as I now clip my queens wings I only loose the queen and not the workforce (and sometimes I even get the queen back, if the emerging swarm has settled underneath the hive floor).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 31, 2024, 08:44:12 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 31, 2024, 08:44:12 AM
Practical commmon sense Beekeeping! Thanks for posting this!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on May 31, 2024, 08:49:26 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on May 31, 2024, 08:49:26 AM
In my home yard, because of queen rearing, I'm in most hives most days. In the outyards I get into them about once a month. Once I put supers on I only get into them for queen rearing.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 01:23:02 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 01:23:02 PM
I went through my nuc hive this morning. I'm apparently out of memory on my computer so I need to get some stuff off of it before I can add more videos to it. But anyway, here's what I did. I had medium on the bottom with a deep on top of it. Last week (8 days ago) I added a deep to the top of those, with the goal of having them in two deeps plus any supers. I wanted to (and did today) move the medium from the bottom to the top with a queen excluder underneath it. That medium and the first deep are fully utilized but the top deep has not hardly been touched. I can see very light outlines of some comb building. I took four frames with plastic foundation out of my garage and painted them with more wax to see if it helps any and put them in the box in exchange for other empties. So now I have deep on the bottom full of brood, eggs, and stores. A deep on top of that with all empty frames and the medium full of brood, eggs and stores on the top over a queen excluder. I did find the queen and she is now in the bottom box. Was any of this a mistake?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 31, 2024, 02:10:27 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 31, 2024, 02:10:27 PM
None of that raises any red flags for me. So just to clarify, the bees had drawn out and filled that whole deep and medium? That's awesome! That tells me your flow is quite strong. I don't use QXes, so I can't offer any advice on that front.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 02:21:43 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 02:21:43 PM
Thanks. I was more worried about that completely empty deep on the middle being an issue. The queen excluder will prevent any more brood in the medium and I expect and believe it will be converted to a honey super. I guess what concerns me is that once that bottom deep is full of eggs, there is no comb in the upper box for her to lay them in. Will they move stores from the bottom box to the top and make room?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 31, 2024, 02:39:04 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 31, 2024, 02:39:04 PM
I'm not sure how much they will rearrange to accommodate more brood (no QX experience), but I'd imagine they'll just draw out the new deep and she can lay in there.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 02:58:34 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 02:58:34 PM
How quickly can they draw that out?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 31, 2024, 03:26:36 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 31, 2024, 03:26:36 PM
You'd be surprised when the flow is strong. I mean, they drew out the whole medium in 8 days, right? It will only be a day or two until there is more space for her to lay at that rate.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 04:50:00 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 04:50:00 PM
That makes me feel better. I figured a way around my memory shortage and got the videos up. There are three parts to this one for anyone who's interested but I only have one or two questions at this point. In the second video at about the 9:00 mark, there looks to be a charged queen cell. I'd like input on that and I had an entrance reducer in with two entrances about 3" wide on each end of it. On one end, they were using it for fanning and the other end was getting clogged up with traffic pretty bad so I just removed it altogether. If that's a mistake, let me know.
https://rumble.com/v4ypfy6-may-31-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
https://rumble.com/v4ypszk-may-31-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
https://rumble.com/v4yqfhb-may-31-2024-hive-inspection-part-iii.html
https://rumble.com/v4ypfy6-may-31-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
https://rumble.com/v4ypszk-may-31-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
https://rumble.com/v4yqfhb-may-31-2024-hive-inspection-part-iii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on May 31, 2024, 06:37:20 PM
Post by: The15thMember on May 31, 2024, 06:37:20 PM
I watched the first two parts (just ran out of time for the third). I knew all but one song on the radio. :cool: I was confused, I thought this was the swarm you were talking about before. You said nuc, I was just distracted and didn't read your post properly (we had a lot going on around here this morning), so sorry about that. That makes me a little less enthusiastic about the speed at which they are drawing, but I still think that empty deep in the middle is fine. They looked like they needed the additional room, and putting that in the middle should encourage them to work it. I also think removing the entrance reducer is fine at this point. How big was the larva in the queen cell? Or was it just an egg? A single charged cell is risky to remove, as they may just be superseding the queen, not swarming, but on the other hand, they are building a lot of cups and they seem to have plenty of other eggs to choose from at the moment. Since you have the swarm to fall back on if something goes wrong, you could take it down and see if they charge more. It depends on your goals and whether you'd rather risk losing a swarm or risk them going queenless.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 08:19:40 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 08:19:40 PM
The larva looked a little on the larger side but I might be imagining things as there was nothing in there a week ago. My mentor is coming over on Monday to look at things and we'll see what he has to say. Hopefully, he'll say that I'm doing fine. I know that I can't know what they are seeing and thinking but I don't see any indications that the queen is faltering in any way.
Thanks for checking it out for me.
Thanks for checking it out for me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on May 31, 2024, 09:30:04 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on May 31, 2024, 09:30:04 PM
Terri is this the hive you are feeding?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 09:48:29 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on May 31, 2024, 09:48:29 PM
I was, I took the syrup off last Thursday.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 01, 2024, 05:34:55 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 01, 2024, 05:34:55 PM
I checked all my little colonies today. None of them needed more space, which on the one hand was a little discouraging because I figured they'd have grown more by now, but on the other hand was convenient because I'm basically out of equipment. I'm going to be driving down to the Blue Ridge Honey Co. sometime next week to get more boxes. I also had one final colony I was waiting to see a newly mated queen in, and today I saw BIAS, so the entire apiary is now officially queenright. :smile:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 03, 2024, 12:12:47 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 03, 2024, 12:12:47 PM
My mentor came over today and thankfully, I have nothing to be embarrassed about. My swarm hive is doing well with eggs, larvae, brood and stores. Brood patterns are good and they are a docile crew. They could build a little more comb though and Imma give them some syrup and see if it helps. We found the unmarked queen and gave her a green dot. I hope it sticks. The nuc hive is also doing well and they are working hard at building comb in the empty box that I have them on Thursday. While they are making a ton of queen cups, none of them have been charged so apparently, things are going well enough. Mite check yielded one in the swarm and none in my nuc. I didn't notice any SHB but I'm still more about looking at the big picture vs the smaller picture. I need to work on that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 03, 2024, 12:39:49 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 03, 2024, 12:39:49 PM
That all sounds good. If the big hive has made significant progress on the deep, there is probably no need to feed the swarm.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: FatherMichael on June 03, 2024, 07:34:01 PM
Post by: FatherMichael on June 03, 2024, 07:34:01 PM
Set up a trail camera in the bee yard, aiming down the "main drag".
Gave a medium super to the new hive, a nuc that has already filled the deep brood chamber. I've never seen so much Sumac in bloom.
Leveled the mean bees hive. They did not try to kill me!
Gave a medium super to the new hive, a nuc that has already filled the deep brood chamber. I've never seen so much Sumac in bloom.
Leveled the mean bees hive. They did not try to kill me!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 08, 2024, 06:41:41 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 08, 2024, 06:41:41 PM
I inspected 3 hives today, but I didn't go deep into the brood nest in two of them. The summer dearth is here, drawing is slow, and the bees are testy, so the basswoods mustn't be producing a lot of nectar, in spite of all the flowers. I saw a hatched queen cell in the one hive, but didn't notice anything indicating swarming or a brood break, so if there was a supersedure, the transition from one queen to another was very smooth. I did add a box to one hive just because there were so many bees in there. I also put 5 honey frames over my escape board.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 08, 2024, 08:04:09 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 08, 2024, 08:04:09 PM
What is an escape board? I've seen a slowing of activity in my two hives this week. The swarm hive in particular is real slow now. I call them my lazy hive because they get up late and quit early. Neither hive is bringing in pollen so I don't know what they are bringing in. They don't look like they're landing heavy. Anyhow, could they be slowing outdoor activity because they have brood to tend to? I'm just reaching three weeks so I figure that the brood is growing but nothing has hatched out yet. I'll look inside again on Monday, weather permitting.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 08, 2024, 09:47:19 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 08, 2024, 09:47:19 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 08, 2024, 08:04:09 PMA triangle escape board is used to clear a super of bees so you can harvest the honey. The board has a hole in the center and sort of a little maze on the underside that is covered in hardware cloth. This means the bees in the super can easily exit through the hole, but the bees in the box underneath can't easily get back up because they don't understand they have to run the maze to bypass the hardware cloth, through which they can smell the honey; it's kind of like how a robbing screen works, actually. Here's a link to one so you can see what it looks like. https://www.betterbee.com/harvesting-equipment/triangular-escape-board.asp?mkwid=&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&pdv=c&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwgpCzBhBhEiwAOSQWQcNRkQ25Nwvx9AY10481rRY-gltZ3hhCifSNOXxs1Qzk5QTEA-DsAxoCRo0QAvD_BwE
What is an escape board?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 08, 2024, 08:04:09 PMIt is possible that the brood is the foragers' priority right now, in the absence of new young nurse bees.
I've seen a slowing of activity in my two hives this week. The swarm hive in particular is real slow now. I call them my lazy hive because they get up late and quit early. Neither hive is bringing in pollen so I don't know what they are bringing in. They don't look like they're landing heavy. Anyhow, could they be slowing outdoor activity because they have brood to tend to? I'm just reaching three weeks so I figure that the brood is growing but nothing has hatched out yet. I'll look inside again on Monday, weather permitting.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on June 09, 2024, 08:50:36 PM
Post by: Caashenb on June 09, 2024, 08:50:36 PM
Put second brood box on the last two swarms I caught. Waxed 80 cleaned up frames and painted 10 new hive bodies. Tomorrow morning I have to take down and move what I think is my last swarm for the year. And I know I have several colonies at that yard the need additional supers. I still have Dutch clover, Persian clover, mimosa, dandelion, elderberry heavily blooming plus the soybeans are in bloom now. Anticipating another three weeks or so of this fantastic flow this year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 05:20:40 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 05:20:40 AM
Started my fourth batch of queen cells Friday. Put my third batch in the mating nucs. The bees are not very cooperative on rearing queens this year. They are tearing down some of the cells in the finisher and the queens are not returning at a good rate. It seems like a good year for honey. Lots of honey coming in and a flow is usually good for queen rearing...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 11:05:35 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 11:05:35 AM
I went through the top sections of my hive this morning and found a capped queen cell in the medium brood box that I moved to super position above the QE. So far, I only have Part II up because that is where I found that cell. It's right at the beginning of this video and I need to know what to do with it. Turning it upside down was probably not a good idea.
https://rumble.com/v50qngq-june-10-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
https://rumble.com/v50qngq-june-10-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 11:30:58 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 11:30:58 AM
Queen cells are not completely fragile. As long as you are gentle you can turn them upside down. Just don't ever shake them or drop them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 11:33:31 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 11:33:31 AM
Quote from: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 11:30:58 AMOK, thanks. I think this one needs to be removed since the queen is alive and well down below the QE. I suspect that they made that cell thinking that they didn't have a queen any more. Is there any way I can put her to use?
Queen cells are not completely fragile. As long as you are gentle you can turn them upside down. Just don't ever shake them or drop them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 10, 2024, 11:40:50 AM
Post by: The15thMember on June 10, 2024, 11:40:50 AM
There wasn't any eggs or young brood in the super, right? Again, I don't have experience with QEs, but I'd assume it was a response to the bees being separated from the queen and preferring to not go through the excluder, thereby not exposing themselves to enough queen pheromone to realize they are queenright. If I'm correct, then if I were you, I'd just remove it. Once there is no longer brood in the super, it shouldn't be an issue anymore. Are you sure that cell was capped? The camera doesn't get a very good shot of it, but that looked quite small to me.
By the way, bees with their heads down in cells are either feeding babies or adding nectar to a cell.
By the way, bees with their heads down in cells are either feeding babies or adding nectar to a cell.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 12:06:14 PM
Post by: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 12:06:14 PM
A nuc is a way to keep a queen around just in case.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 12:09:29 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 12:09:29 PM
It didn't show in the video as well as I thought it would but yes, it is capped. Those bees were so deep on the comb, I was wondering if they could get back out. :cheesy: And correct, no eggs or young brood so they are going through the process of hatching out and the frames are getting filled with honey. The medium brood box that I put on about 10 days ago looks like it's going well. But then, what do I know? I'm still a rookie. :cool: I didn't go into the bottom box but I am not seeing any pollen in the top two and I don't see them bringing a lot in. Is that something to be concerned about?
And here is Part I where I go through the top brood box. To me, they look healthy and the queen seems to be laying a lot of eggs and in a good pattern.
https://rumble.com/v50qwjc-june-10-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
And here is Part I where I go through the top brood box. To me, they look healthy and the queen seems to be laying a lot of eggs and in a good pattern.
https://rumble.com/v50qwjc-june-10-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 12:10:43 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 12:10:43 PM
Quote from: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 12:06:14 PMI do have a nuc box that I can assemble and this does sound like a good idea. Tell me more, tell me more.
A nuc is a way to keep a queen around just in case.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 10, 2024, 01:21:31 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 10, 2024, 01:21:31 PM
Not as good of a radio day for me, I think I only knew one song. Ah well, you can't win 'em all. :grin:
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 12:09:29 PMWell sometimes they are quite tiny, especially when they are on the comb like that. I've mistaken one or two for drone cells in the past.
It didn't show in the video as well as I thought it would but yes, it is capped.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 12:09:29 PMI agree, I think everything looks like it's running along smoothly in there.
And correct, no eggs or young brood so they are going through the process of hatching out and the frames are getting filled with honey. The medium brood box that I put on about 10 days ago looks like it's going well. But then, what do I know? I'm still a rookie. :cool:
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 12:09:29 PMNo, not really. In my experience, my bees put the overwhelming majority of their pollen in the bottom box if the space is available. I'm pretty sure this is because the pollen foragers put away their own loads, as opposed to foragers carrying nectar, who hand off their cargo to a house bee to store. Since the foragers are trying to get back out to get more supplies as quickly as possible, the pollen foragers will usually put the pollen in the first available cell, meaning pollen ends up concentrated near the door in the bottom brood box. There is rarely, if ever, pollen in supers. If your pollen flow is a little low, the bees will adjust the brood nest accordingly.
I didn't go into the bottom box but I am not seeing any pollen in the top two and I don't see them bringing a lot in. Is that something to be concerned about?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 12:10:43 PMI've never done this before, but basically what you'd do is make a little split off the big hive into the nuc. Assuming it's a 5 frame nuc, my inclination would be to move the frame with the queen cell, a frame of pollen, a frame of honey, and 2 frames of capped brood into the nuc. If you are expecting a dearth soon, maybe I'd go for 2 frames of honey and 1 of capped brood instead. Once the queen is mated and laying, you'll need to keep pulling stores and bees out of the nuc to keep them small, but you can give those extras to your other hives to give them a boost.Quote from: Michael Bush on June 10, 2024, 12:06:14 PMI do have a nuc box that I can assemble and this does sound like a good idea. Tell me more, tell me more.
A nuc is a way to keep a queen around just in case.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 01:32:26 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 01:32:26 PM
Thanks for all the help. I'm going to give this a try. I contacted my mentor and he said pretty much the same. Queen frame plus two more brood and bees plus one each pollen and honey. My queen cell is on a medium frame and my nuc is a deep box. I figure I'll just put her in on that medium frame and let the bees do what they want. My next question is...there is some brood on medium frames that is older and likely to hatch sooner vs later. Should I use any of those or just go for deep frames in the bottom? Anything in the middle box is going to be younger since it's only been on there for about ten days. And I didn't pay attention but it is possible that the medium that the queen cell is on is full of capped brood too. Which would give me the faster hatching stuff I'm thinking would be nice.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 10, 2024, 02:59:16 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 10, 2024, 02:59:16 PM
It's not a huge deal, but faster hatching brood is what you'd like, because all the foragers that get transferred will just return to the parent hive. If you put more than just the medium frame with the QC in there, just be sure you don't have two mediums next to each other, or things could get messy comb-wise.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on June 10, 2024, 03:00:06 PM
Post by: .30WCF on June 10, 2024, 03:00:06 PM
It usually takes several boxes deep with a QX at the bottom before they don?t think there is a queen in there. Just 1-2 supers over a QX generally won?t make the bees think they are queenless. I can?t remember the name of the method right now, but some folks control swarming by pulling 4-5 frames of brood above the QX every week or two.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 03:09:18 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 10, 2024, 03:09:18 PM
Well...I'm done and I forgot to start the camera so I guess if it's a failure, I can just act like it didn't happen. Just one medium frame was used and two deeps full of brood one good honey frame and one not so good pollen frame. All they had was two not so good pollen frames. I don't know what that will do to the program. And I put up an orientation barrier in hopes of keeping as many bees around that hive as possible. Right now, there are no flyers but the entrance is being guarded. I checkerboarded to replacement frames so I hope they like that too. I'm guessing I look in what, three weeks to see how they look?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 10, 2024, 03:37:11 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 10, 2024, 03:37:11 PM
Two weeks would probably be enough, since the QC is already capped, but if you push it to 3 weeks, it probably won't hurt.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 10, 2024, 11:04:54 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on June 10, 2024, 11:04:54 PM
I have two nucs left from the spring, but after preparing them with resources, marking the queens, and closing them up for sale, the buyer ditched me on pick up day with no explanation. It was the second time he no showed.
C'est la vie. I will keep them through to the winter, and they will be bursting at the seams next February.
C'est la vie. I will keep them through to the winter, and they will be bursting at the seams next February.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 10, 2024, 11:38:21 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 10, 2024, 11:38:21 PM
Feed both pollen sub and sucrose after the flow and they will probably be ready to split by mid August? If so you may wind up with 4 nucs going into winter..
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on June 12, 2024, 12:38:57 PM
Post by: Occam on June 12, 2024, 12:38:57 PM
Got home a litte early yesterday and decided to do a quick inspection on my split to make sure there was a queen. Found eggs first, all placed in the bottom and center of the cells which was a good sign. Found the queen on the other side of the same frame. Since it was a spur-of-the-moment moment inspection I forgot to get my marking stuff out there with me so she'll have to be marked later. Not going in there again for a while and they have some frames to build on, probably won't be in there again till July when I harvest a little honey. They were decently heavy on stores since they havent had a laying queen. Checkerboarded in a few frames that needed building between out frames since the flow is still on. Let the other hives alone for now.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 12, 2024, 04:50:15 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 12, 2024, 04:50:15 PM
I didn't do much out there today but I did peek in the top of my newly created nuc. They're in there mulling around so so far, so good. I previously scraped excess propolis off of a box I got from my neighbor for his swarm trap and I left it in a pile on top of an old 55 gallon drum I have out there that I roll around for a table. My bees have found the pile and they were out there filling their pockets with it. And apparently, my bees have found a spot where my swimming pool filter hose leaks a little and they're using it for their watering hole. They seem to have no interest in the chicken waterer that I filled with pool water and put out near the hives.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 12, 2024, 07:08:00 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 12, 2024, 07:08:00 PM
I've found bees to be extraordinarily particular about water. I have a water dish out for them as a backup if it the weather gets dry, but they will choose the most random places to get water, a particular potted plant, a specific spot on the driveway, the roof of the house, and I have no idea why. They know better than me, I guess! :happy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on June 13, 2024, 03:14:54 PM
Post by: .30WCF on June 13, 2024, 03:14:54 PM
Found some new sunscreen at the Dollar General. I work without a veil a lot and I am getting tired of my face and neck getting sunburnt. Going to try it here in a few.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240613/c6cbf3c6bb8fce07a882e883d17fed8e.jpg)
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(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240613/c6cbf3c6bb8fce07a882e883d17fed8e.jpg)
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on June 13, 2024, 03:20:07 PM
Post by: Occam on June 13, 2024, 03:20:07 PM
Let us know if they enjoy the scent
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: animal on June 13, 2024, 03:47:23 PM
Post by: animal on June 13, 2024, 03:47:23 PM
This might explain something that happened to me ...
Occam's comment caused me to Google "banana scent bees" and bam! articles about the scent being like alarm pheromone.
I had been getting bad leg cramps about 2 weeks ago, so had started to eat a banana or two a day, cramps got worse, added a magnesium tablet and bingo! cramps gone.
I noticed the bees have been more irritable in the the last 2 weeks but haven't connected it to bananas until now. The bees are normally really chill and I can usually open the hive and check on things without bothering with smoking, and not get stung(unless I squish one) The last time I went to open it, I pulled the lid and got 5 stings before pulling a frame ... and figured the heck with it if they're being little "b-s" and put the lids back on. Also one popped me a few days ago while weedeating, and that's never happened before.
I'm gonna lay off bananas for a few days before I try to check the hive again, and see what happens. Then eat a couple of bananas and check again the next day for giggles(and maybe stings).
I hope the fake banana scent doesn't trigger them for you (if there's anything to it)
Occam's comment caused me to Google "banana scent bees" and bam! articles about the scent being like alarm pheromone.
I had been getting bad leg cramps about 2 weeks ago, so had started to eat a banana or two a day, cramps got worse, added a magnesium tablet and bingo! cramps gone.
I noticed the bees have been more irritable in the the last 2 weeks but haven't connected it to bananas until now. The bees are normally really chill and I can usually open the hive and check on things without bothering with smoking, and not get stung(unless I squish one) The last time I went to open it, I pulled the lid and got 5 stings before pulling a frame ... and figured the heck with it if they're being little "b-s" and put the lids back on. Also one popped me a few days ago while weedeating, and that's never happened before.
I'm gonna lay off bananas for a few days before I try to check the hive again, and see what happens. Then eat a couple of bananas and check again the next day for giggles(and maybe stings).
I hope the fake banana scent doesn't trigger them for you (if there's anything to it)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 13, 2024, 03:58:56 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 13, 2024, 03:58:56 PM
I have purposely eaten a banana while in a hive just to prove that banana scent doesn?t bother them.
The artificial banana scent may bee closer to their sting pheromones so bee ready to run. Good luck.
Jim Altmiller
The artificial banana scent may bee closer to their sting pheromones so bee ready to run. Good luck.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on June 14, 2024, 05:44:45 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on June 14, 2024, 05:44:45 AM
Alarm pheromone is iso-pentyl acetate. Artificial banana flavor is iso-pentyl acetate. The main part of the smell of an actual banana is iso-pentyl acetate. If most bees went crazy when smelling it, we would be in trouble every time a bee gave off any. Luckily only the F1 crosses of AHB seem to do that lately.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 14, 2024, 06:31:35 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 14, 2024, 06:31:35 PM
It was up to 82F (28C) today for really the first time this summer The humidity was low though, and it was nice and breezy, so I painted some boxes. My mis-tint white paint that I bought a few years ago was all dried up, so I just used some leftover house paint, which is a nice muted warm grey. My youngest sister has gotten into painting recently, we've discovered she is extremely talented, and she's been asking for some hive boxes to paint. I can't wait to see what sort of art they will be turned into!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on June 14, 2024, 08:29:29 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on June 14, 2024, 08:29:29 PM
I made a mess got 30 deeps and 30 mediums ready and hand holds on and pre drilled
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on June 14, 2024, 08:43:18 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on June 14, 2024, 08:43:18 PM
Im glad someone else has a mess. I was feeling like the lone ranger.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 14, 2024, 09:13:08 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 14, 2024, 09:13:08 PM
I made a temporary mess, but I had to clean it up before I went in because the we have a goat who gets freaked out if she has to walk by things that are out of place in the garage to get milked. Something large that is new or has been moved is an unacceptable level of change in her mind. :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on June 14, 2024, 09:18:35 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on June 14, 2024, 09:18:35 PM
Thank you member, feeling better all the time.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on June 14, 2024, 09:48:09 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on June 14, 2024, 09:48:09 PM
Cleanish for now , glue tommorow
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on June 14, 2024, 10:13:30 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on June 14, 2024, 10:13:30 PM
Well here it goes.
1st batch almost dipped
1st batch almost dipped
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on June 14, 2024, 10:15:00 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on June 14, 2024, 10:15:00 PM
Marley working the second batch while 1st is being dipped. It worked, Ha.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 14, 2024, 10:57:14 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 14, 2024, 10:57:14 PM
Thumbs Up Bill! The dip way seems to be catching on among beekeepers. I bet you and Marley make a good team! It's good to see Dad and Daughter spending good quality time together. :grin:
Phillip
Edit:
Sorry Bill, I was thinking Marley was your daughter until Jims post. Either way its good for the fellowship of you both! Thumbs Up! :grin:
Phillip
Edit:
Sorry Bill, I was thinking Marley was your daughter until Jims post. Either way its good for the fellowship of you both! Thumbs Up! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on June 15, 2024, 07:12:12 AM
Post by: jtcmedic on June 15, 2024, 07:12:12 AM
Looks great bill
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 15, 2024, 09:40:22 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 15, 2024, 09:40:22 AM
It?s great to have your granddaughter working with you. 😊
I take it that all of those boxes are engraved with your new Falcon 2. What does it say inside the circle?
Jim Altmiller
I take it that all of those boxes are engraved with your new Falcon 2. What does it say inside the circle?
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on June 15, 2024, 11:38:13 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on June 15, 2024, 11:38:13 AM
Jim that was our original brand I made that never worked well on wood. it was to large and held to much heat, and just looked bad.so after trying it, it was retired to the scrap bin. I shrunk it down to I think 3 inches and I am really happy. As far as Im concerned the laser works great It takes 10-12 min a box but while its etching I can be doing something else. And it looks good.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 15, 2024, 05:54:06 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 15, 2024, 05:54:06 PM
I inspected the supers in my two biggest hives today. In the first colony I had my stack of boxes that I had removed from the hive tip and the top box slid to the ground, dislodging a lot of bees and making the entire colony very irritated with me. I didn't get stung, but they weren't really responding to smoke after that, so I saw what I needed to see and got out of there as quick as possible. I did some rearranging in my other big colony, since they had basically a full honey super dividing the brood nest last time I looked in on them. They had done some of the rearranging on their own it seems, as that box was now half brood and one of the supers that had been half empty was almost full. There is very little nectar coming in right now, so I surmise they must have just moved the honey up higher in the stack. I also checked a medium-sized colony that had a new queen at last inspection because I wanted to analyze her pattern better (she'd had very little brood when I checked the first time). There was plenty of brood today, and her pattern was good in the sense that there were no skipped cells, but the capped worker brood had a lot of drones interspersed in it, which is concerning. I still haven't seen this queen physically yet, so I'll have to keep an eye on that situation and maybe requeen or combine them with one of my small colonies.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on June 15, 2024, 06:20:41 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on June 15, 2024, 06:20:41 PM
My incompetence really shined today I killed 2 queens, Dumped a pallet of medium capped supers that got a brutal robbing frenzy started in not just one but 2 yards. The one where it happened then my home yard when I brought them in. So due to the robbing, I got nothing done at the home yard I wanted to this afternoon. And there just aint no moving the supers till Dark. gonna be a long night.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 15, 2024, 06:29:02 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 15, 2024, 06:29:02 PM
Oh man, sounds rough, Bill! That kind of makes my very slight mishap of today seem like no big deal. :oops:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on June 15, 2024, 06:35:10 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on June 15, 2024, 06:35:10 PM
Well member according to Marley we didnt have a very good day but it could have been worse.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 15, 2024, 07:24:14 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 15, 2024, 07:24:14 PM
It sounds like bad days for two of you. I expect I'll have my chance to compete.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 15, 2024, 07:38:20 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 15, 2024, 07:38:20 PM
Quote from: Bill Murray on June 15, 2024, 06:35:10 PMI think that is a sound assessment. :happy:
Well member according to Marley we didnt have a very good day but it could have been worse.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 16, 2024, 01:18:40 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 16, 2024, 01:18:40 PM
I took the dive a day early to bypass the heat. Things are looking pretty good with a couple of exceptions. Last week I moved a queen cell to a nuc with all the fixin's for a new hive but today, that queen cell has already been opened and I think it's too early for a queen to have hatched. On top of that, my original hive has about five supersedure cells built onto the comb. I did not disturb them. Now I'm wondering what to do and think I have two options. 1) Check hive #1 in a week, after the heat breaks and if there are any charged queen cells, I could move the old queen to the nuc and 2) I could paper merge the nuc into the swarm hive (hive #2) and leave all else alone. That 'old' queen has eggs laid in a lot of frames wherever there is a clean cell to lay in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 16, 2024, 02:25:06 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 16, 2024, 02:25:06 PM
It's only 16 days from egg to adult for queens, and that is an average, so it wouldn't surprise me, based on how small that QC was, if she has hatched already, because it's been at least a week since that cell was capped, if I'm thinking right. So it's kind of a question of which queen you'd prefer to keep. If I were you, I'd trust the bees in the big hive and let them supersede her, because they may know something is wrong with her that you can't see. But if you have more confidence in her than the queen in the nuc, who still has to survive a mating flight by the way, you could always remove that queen and replace her with her mother. You could also put the mother queen in the nuc with the daughter, let them fight, and assume the strong one will survive. You've got 4 (or more) queens and 3 hives, and so you just need to decide which queen you'd like to favor. But do know the bees will likely make the best decision if you let them.
By the way, I'm inclined to think it is a supersedure based on the position of the cells (although that alone isn't enough of an indicator, as swarming bees will also frequently build out queen cells around larvae), the time of year (I'm assuming swarm season is coming to a close in your area, since it is in mine and you are farther north), and the fact that there aren't very many queen cells (swarming hives will often build 20 QCs or more in my experience).
By the way, I'm inclined to think it is a supersedure based on the position of the cells (although that alone isn't enough of an indicator, as swarming bees will also frequently build out queen cells around larvae), the time of year (I'm assuming swarm season is coming to a close in your area, since it is in mine and you are farther north), and the fact that there aren't very many queen cells (swarming hives will often build 20 QCs or more in my experience).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 16, 2024, 03:04:36 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 16, 2024, 03:04:36 PM
So it sounds like I should go out in a week and see if I can find a queen then.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on June 16, 2024, 06:58:27 PM
Post by: Occam on June 16, 2024, 06:58:27 PM
Did a follow up manipulation to try and give my dink hive a boost. Some pollen/stores, capped brood, and a half gallon of 1:2. Swapped frames from one hive to the other so the stronger hive now has two frames that need further building. They have lots of nectar and seem to still be bringing in more though we're close to the end of our flow. I'll check back in a couple weeks
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on June 17, 2024, 05:40:30 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on June 17, 2024, 05:40:30 AM
>My incompetence really shined today...
Some days are like that...
Some days are like that...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 17, 2024, 08:15:18 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 17, 2024, 08:15:18 AM
I call them ?biden moments?, we all have them,just some more than others.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 22, 2024, 05:16:36 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 22, 2024, 05:16:36 PM
Yesterday I stained the rest of my new equipment, and I almost got done building the frames. Once I've got the frames built, I should be good to go with boxes for the next several years. At least, that's what I think, we'll see if the bees agree. :grin:
It was very hot and humid today, but I did go through my 3 little colonies, all of which needed another box, which I was glad to see. My smoker just wouldn't stay lit today, which was kind of infuriating at times, but better today than when I'm going through the brood nest of a big 7-box hive.
It was very hot and humid today, but I did go through my 3 little colonies, all of which needed another box, which I was glad to see. My smoker just wouldn't stay lit today, which was kind of infuriating at times, but better today than when I'm going through the brood nest of a big 7-box hive.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on June 22, 2024, 07:28:28 PM
Post by: .30WCF on June 22, 2024, 07:28:28 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on June 22, 2024, 05:16:36 PMLooks nice. Did you use an oil or just stain for color?
Yesterday I stained the rest of my new equipment, and I almost got done building the frames. Once I've got the frames built, I should be good to go with boxes for the next several years. At least, that's what I think, we'll see if the bees agree. :grin:
It was very hot and humid today, but I did go through my 3 little colonies, all of which needed another box, which I was glad to see. My smoker just wouldn't stay lit today, which was kind of infuriating at times, but better today than when I'm going through the brood nest of a big 7-box hive.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 22, 2024, 09:06:48 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 22, 2024, 09:06:48 PM
Thanks. The lighter color is Australian Timber Oil, leftover from staining our barn, and the darker color is a water-based stain, leftover from our picnic table.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on June 23, 2024, 04:48:53 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on June 23, 2024, 04:48:53 PM
Finished up 30 deeps and supers today, now I got to paint
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 23, 2024, 05:00:16 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 23, 2024, 05:00:16 PM
Now you GET to paint. :wink: That's a tall stack of boxes right there!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on June 23, 2024, 05:15:36 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on June 23, 2024, 05:15:36 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on June 23, 2024, 05:00:16 PMNow I got to get motivated to paint.
Now you GET to paint. :wink: That's a tall stack of boxes right there!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 23, 2024, 09:52:35 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 23, 2024, 09:52:35 PM
Wow it is and there are more in the background. JTC and Bill are taking their beekeeping to a higher level! Keep up the good work guys!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 23, 2024, 10:01:36 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 23, 2024, 10:01:36 PM
I don?t know if you ever painted large number of boxes, when I do it, I stack them, on a plywood board as high as I can reach to paint and paint them all at once. It goes real quick. If you have one of those quart size electric sprayers it goes even faster.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on June 24, 2024, 06:42:07 AM
Post by: jtcmedic on June 24, 2024, 06:42:07 AM
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on June 23, 2024, 10:01:36 PMI?ve used that method in the past , paint sprayer broke, May just get another.
I don?t know if you ever painted large number of boxes, when I do it, I stack them, on a plywood board as high as I can reach to paint and paint them all at once. It goes real quick. If you have one of those quart size electric sprayers it goes even faster.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 24, 2024, 08:47:21 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 24, 2024, 08:47:21 AM
I checked on my swarm hive and my nuc split this morning before it got hot. Almost all of the brood in the nuc has hatched but I am not seeing any signs of a queen. They did remove the queen cell that was opened up last week in its entirety. It's been two weeks since I made the split. The bees were very calm and didn't even need to be smoked. From what you are all telling me, I should give it at least one more week before I do anything. Any further advice?
My swarm hive has an issue or two with frames and comb. for some reason, they're not putting anything into some of the old come that I gave them but it is on the outer edge of the box so that may be why. Another thing they have done is they have built the wax and honey stores out further in one frame because the one next to it is empty and they don't seem to want to build on that frame. They have plenty of empty frames to build out yet so I did not add another box. I have been feeding because they are still building comb, should I continue feeding or stop? They are guzzling it and I am not going to use any of this for honey.
My swarm hive has an issue or two with frames and comb. for some reason, they're not putting anything into some of the old come that I gave them but it is on the outer edge of the box so that may be why. Another thing they have done is they have built the wax and honey stores out further in one frame because the one next to it is empty and they don't seem to want to build on that frame. They have plenty of empty frames to build out yet so I did not add another box. I have been feeding because they are still building comb, should I continue feeding or stop? They are guzzling it and I am not going to use any of this for honey.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 24, 2024, 02:17:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 24, 2024, 02:17:01 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 24, 2024, 08:47:21 AMIf there was no brood at all, I'd give it one more week. If there is still no brood next week, I'd either give them a frame of eggs or recombine them.
I checked on my swarm hive and my nuc split this morning before it got hot. Almost all of the brood in the nuc has hatched but I am not seeing any signs of a queen. They did remove the queen cell that was opened up last week in its entirety. It's been two weeks since I made the split. The bees were very calm and didn't even need to be smoked. From what you are all telling me, I should give it at least one more week before I do anything. Any further advice?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 24, 2024, 08:47:21 AMBees that are being fed will usually build comb, since it simulates a flow. Is your other colony drawing wax? Is nectar coming in? If there is a flow on, there is really no need to feed. The other question is, which I realize as a first-year beekeeper you are ill-equipped to answer, when are you expecting your last flow of the year? We've just crossed the solstice, so the bees will now be looking toward winter and begin to slowly contract the brood nest. If they aren't really big enough yet, you may want to keep feeding them so they continue to grow, or at least so they don't shrink the brood nest so rapidly. Because the colonies are likely at their maximum population size right now.
My swarm hive has an issue or two with frames and comb. for some reason, they're not putting anything into some of the old come that I gave them but it is on the outer edge of the box so that may be why. Another thing they have done is they have built the wax and honey stores out further in one frame because the one next to it is empty and they don't seem to want to build on that frame. They have plenty of empty frames to build out yet so I did not add another box. I have been feeding because they are still building comb, should I continue feeding or stop? They are guzzling it and I am not going to use any of this for honey.
Just as an example, in my climate, I overwinter my colonies in 2 mediums, which ideally are packed full of honey and bees. Right now I have one colony that really struggled in the spring for various reasons, and they only just got their second box this week. That colony is not going to be large enough to winter successfully, since they are basically as big as they are going to get right now, so I'm going to combine them with another colony before winter. I have another colony that just got their 3rd box, so they are right on the line. If I think they look strong enough population-wise, I'll donate them some honey from a big colony and let them winter by themselves. If there aren't enough bees though, I'll either put them above a big colony that can help to warm them, or combine them with another colony.
So the point I'm making, which again is difficult to assess in your first season, is where are they in relation to where they need to be? If they aren't there, go ahead and keep feeding. If they are, then no need to make them draw out of season. Am I making sense?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 24, 2024, 02:51:43 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 24, 2024, 02:51:43 PM
Yes, it makes sense to me but I was looking to hear what more experienced keepers thought. Thanks.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on June 25, 2024, 08:05:56 AM
Post by: Caashenb on June 25, 2024, 08:05:56 AM
I had done some spot checks and decided to start pulling some honey this weekend. Pull five deep supers that were perfect but then started finding to many full but uncapped frames so I stopped and will give them some more time.
There are still a good bit of wild flowers around the bee yard and flowering trees but things are drying up pretty fast now so not much longer.
There are still a good bit of wild flowers around the bee yard and flowering trees but things are drying up pretty fast now so not much longer.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 25, 2024, 09:39:12 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 25, 2024, 09:39:12 AM
This morning I did my swarm hive and my main hive. All looks pretty good but there were a few empty frames that they weren't building up so I swapped them out for some that I waxed up previously. My main hive seems to be filling the bottom brood box with pollen and nectar and the top brood box is doing well with all stages of brood. I did spot the queen and there were two empty supersedure cells. I wasn't sure whether to remove them or not so I left nature alone for this round. The bottom super is filling up and while there are some bees in the top super, not much is happening up there. Both hives looked to have decent pollen supplies.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on June 26, 2024, 07:22:06 AM
Post by: NigelP on June 26, 2024, 07:22:06 AM
Quote from: Caashenb on June 25, 2024, 08:05:56 AMMight be worth investing in a honey refractometer. I often find full uncapped frames that are well within legal water limits. If often happens in the UK when there is a strong flow on and good weather. (rare this year :smile: :smile: ) I think the bees simply have not got, or won't spend the time to cap it over in these conditions.
started finding to many full but uncapped frames so I stopped and will give them some more time.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Caashenb on June 26, 2024, 07:31:45 AM
Post by: Caashenb on June 26, 2024, 07:31:45 AM
yeah I was thinking about getting one this is the first year I have had to question the curring.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 27, 2024, 11:18:39 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 27, 2024, 11:18:39 AM
Just observed a little today. Two of my hives are bringing in pollen but hive #1 is only bringing in a little. I'm guessing that that means it's out there and one hive is not in need as much as the other two.
We had a hot, dry spell for a week or more but last night we got some rain. Not a soaker but a little more than just a passing thunderstorm. How does such a situation affect pollen and nectar?
We had a hot, dry spell for a week or more but last night we got some rain. Not a soaker but a little more than just a passing thunderstorm. How does such a situation affect pollen and nectar?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on June 27, 2024, 07:01:00 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on June 27, 2024, 07:01:00 PM
Quote from: NigelP on June 26, 2024, 07:22:06 AMI agree check with a refractometer and see if it?s ready to pull, my girls stop capping with the flow end, No reason to waste the energy.Quote from: Caashenb on June 25, 2024, 08:05:56 AMMight be worth investing in a honey refractometer. I often find full uncapped frames that are well within legal water limits. If often happens in the UK when there is a strong flow on and good weather. (rare this year :smile: :smile: ) I think the bees simply have not got, or won't spend the time to cap it over in these conditions.
started finding to many full but uncapped frames so I stopped and will give them some more time.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 27, 2024, 07:03:45 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 27, 2024, 07:03:45 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 27, 2024, 11:18:39 AMIt depends on the plant. Rain can help plants produce more nectar since they'll have a surplus of water, but it can also temporarily wash pollen and nectar out of flowers that are very open and upturned. But if it wasn't a deep rain, it may not affect anything that much.
We had a hot, dry spell for a week or more but last night we got some rain. Not a soaker but a little more than just a passing thunderstorm. How does such a situation affect pollen and nectar?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on June 27, 2024, 07:04:23 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on June 27, 2024, 07:04:23 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on June 23, 2024, 05:00:16 PMpainted all the deeps and super with a great exterior paint from Lowe?s on the mark down shelf 5 gallons for 50.00 marked down from 299.09 :shocked:. Covered great 30deeps and 30 supers
Now you GET to paint. :wink: That's a tall stack of boxes right there!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 27, 2024, 07:05:46 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 27, 2024, 07:05:46 PM
NICE! :happy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 12:48:31 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 12:48:31 PM
I'm just observing for now and waiting for the clock to tic the time for my next intrusive look inside the colonies. I'm a little concerned because it looks to me like my primary hive is seeing a lot less activity than it had been and I'm worried that they might have swarmed for some reason.
My next decision is going to depend on what I see in the nuc that I created with a queen cell. Sunday or Monday will be time to cut bait if there is no queen and/or no eggs and I'll need to know ahead of time what I'm going to do with them. Do I put them back where they came from or do I add them to my swarm hive? I'd like to add them to the swarm hive because they could use the boost and they are currently living in a single deep. It would be so easy to lay down some paper and add another deep on top.
My next decision is going to depend on what I see in the nuc that I created with a queen cell. Sunday or Monday will be time to cut bait if there is no queen and/or no eggs and I'll need to know ahead of time what I'm going to do with them. Do I put them back where they came from or do I add them to my swarm hive? I'd like to add them to the swarm hive because they could use the boost and they are currently living in a single deep. It would be so easy to lay down some paper and add another deep on top.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 04:39:21 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 04:39:21 PM
I think you can do whatever you want with the nuc. Combining them with either their parent hive or the swarm should be simple, especially if they have no queen and no brood, what we call "hopelessly queenless". Bees in that situation are very amenable to being combined. Alternatively, you could also give them a frame of eggs and see if they can get a queen mated before winter and overwinter the nuc, but it's getting later and later in the season, and I don't know at what point your drones will be gone.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 05:29:30 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 05:29:30 PM
I could find out on drones. I'll check with my mentor and see what he thinks. I am concerned about having a small nuc like that going into winter.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 05:45:09 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 05:45:09 PM
My club has queen cells available for $10 this weekend, would that be a good idea?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 06:30:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 06:30:26 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 05:45:09 PMFor the nuc? If you want to try to overwinter it, sure. I don't know anything about overwintering nucs, but I know it can be done. Are they local queens? If so, even better.
My club has queen cells available for $10 this weekend, would that be a good idea?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 06:48:41 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 06:48:41 PM
I checked 3 hives' supers today to be sure they had room for sourwood. The one colony looked fine, but had a few beetles running around, so I put a Swiffer square in there. The second colony had 3 full supers, but only 3 frames capped that I wanted to take, so I put those above the escape board and gave them 3 blanks. I thought about giving them another box, but I think I'll just keep an eye on things and rotate frames in and out instead of having a 7th box. The third colony had only one full super, so I checkerboarded and gave them another box.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 06:54:06 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 06:54:06 PM
I've heard of using swifters for SHB, how do they work? I haven't seen any in my hives yet but I believe I caught a couple roaming in the wild. They might be in there and I'm just not seeing them. That happens a lot with me. And the queens are raised by one of our club members. She sent the email out twice so I'd guess that she has more than she can sell. She claims that they're mite resistant and all but I'm not quick to buy into that feature.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 07:44:10 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 07:44:10 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 06:54:06 PMWell if they are mite resistant, $10 is a great deal. That sort of thing is highly variable though from what I've heard. Honestly $10 for a local queen sounds like a great deal to me regardless, although I've never purchased a queen, so I don't really know.
And the queens are raised by one of our club members. She sent the email out twice so I'd guess that she has more than she can sell. She claims that they're mite resistant and all but I'm not quick to buy into that feature.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 06:54:06 PMI've never seen one outside of a hive (except like in stored wax or something like that), so if by "in the wild" you mean like somewhere else in your yard, I'd kind of doubt it. They don't tend to be just hanging around visible in the environment in my experience. For the Swiffers, I buy the cheap generic brand and cut one sheet into 4 squares. Then I'll take one of those squares and place it between 2 boxes with the sheet between the box edges so the bees can't remove it. I just put one in today, but if I'm seeing a lot of beetles sometimes I do 2 or 3 scattered around the hive stack. The bees tend to rough up the fibers as they try to remove them, and the beetles' feet get caught in them. The trouble is the bees sometimes get stuck in them too. As long as I'm catching more beetles than bees though, I think it's worth it.
I've heard of using swifters for SHB, how do they work? I haven't seen any in my hives yet but I believe I caught a couple roaming in the wild. They might be in there and I'm just not seeing them. That happens a lot with me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on June 28, 2024, 07:48:44 PM
Post by: max2 on June 28, 2024, 07:48:44 PM
I have just over 70 x 5frame nuc boxes ready now. All the frames are assembled and ready to have the foundation inserted, just in time.
I still use 22mm Hoop Pine with Weathertex lids and bottoms. They are more expensive to make but will last for many years.
I may fill most of these if the orders keep coming.
With Varroa not far off, I'm not game to make any predictions at this stage .
Looking at the hives from the outside, Spring could be good for us. Never trust the weather too far ahead.
I still use 22mm Hoop Pine with Weathertex lids and bottoms. They are more expensive to make but will last for many years.
I may fill most of these if the orders keep coming.
With Varroa not far off, I'm not game to make any predictions at this stage .
Looking at the hives from the outside, Spring could be good for us. Never trust the weather too far ahead.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 08:43:37 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 08:43:37 PM
I found two in the vicinity of the hives. One was on the outside of it crawling up it and another was on the concrete wall that the hives sit on. I'm not a biologist (though I do know what a woman is :cheesy:) so I can't say that they were SHBs but there were some sort of beetle a little bigger than a pinhead.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 08:52:23 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 08:52:23 PM
I wouldn't be surprised to see one in those situations, but SHBs are much larger than a pinhead. They are more like the size of the eraser on the back of a pencil.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 09:29:13 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 28, 2024, 09:29:13 PM
That sounds more like a medium sized hive beetle. :cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 11:38:08 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 28, 2024, 11:38:08 PM
:cheesy: There are large hive beetles too, they just aren't invasive apparently, because they don't seem to have made it out of Africa like the small hive beetle did. Something about this picture terrifies me. It's like those old 50's movies where a giant insect attacks New York or whatever, it's just the bee hive is New York and the bees are the people. :shocked:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on June 29, 2024, 01:32:53 AM
Post by: Lesgold on June 29, 2024, 01:32:53 AM
Everything is bigger in America 😁😁😁
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 29, 2024, 01:24:08 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 29, 2024, 01:24:08 PM
Look who was in my apiary today!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 29, 2024, 02:04:32 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 29, 2024, 02:04:32 PM
Awww, it's still so small. Any idea how old it is?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 29, 2024, 03:05:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 29, 2024, 03:05:01 PM
Not very old. We heard a baby deer crying sometime last week, and we've been seeing a doe around, so we're wondering if maybe she is only a week old or so. She was small enough to fit through our woven wire perimeter fence.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 29, 2024, 03:52:49 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 29, 2024, 03:52:49 PM
I'm surprised they weren't born earlier but I am not familiar with their gestation period. We must have one in the wooded area here too because mama's been hanging around for a couple of weeks. They don't bear them there, they bear them across the street then move up here when they are able.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 29, 2024, 04:34:46 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 29, 2024, 04:34:46 PM
Had one on our yard a few days ago also Reagan.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 29, 2024, 05:57:20 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 29, 2024, 05:57:20 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 29, 2024, 03:52:49 PMAccording to our state wildlife commission, June fawns are common in my area. Fawning season for our state is late April through June on average, with mountain does being later than the rest of the state typically.
I'm surprised they weren't born earlier but I am not familiar with their gestation period.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 29, 2024, 10:30:45 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 29, 2024, 10:30:45 PM
I finally figured out what that grape-tasting honey is that I get early in June every year! It's elderberry! I pulled a frame of honey on Friday that was labeled 6/10, and when I crushed it up today was that grapey stuff. So I cross-referenced it with Follow the Bloom, and that has got to be it. We had a great elderberry bloom this year, and the stuff crystallizes so it's not from a tree. It wasn't grape I was tasting though, it was berry flavor! I'm so excited because I'm now fairly confident that I have identified all the main types of honey I get every year. :happy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 29, 2024, 10:42:45 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 29, 2024, 10:42:45 PM
I?m impressed!! Good job!!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 30, 2024, 11:34:13 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 30, 2024, 11:34:13 AM
Man it's muggy out there.
First up was my recently made nuc. Observations have been that they are bringing in pollen hot and heavy. Hive is healthy and has eggs, larvae, and capped brood. Eggs are dead center in the cells and the capped brood is all workers, not a single drone cell yet. But they have added drone comb to the bottom of the medium frame that I have in there. I was unable to find the queen but I am confident that she is in there. Next week I'll check to see if all of the larvae are drone but they are laid in worder cells so my understanding is that that is doubtful. And they were very calm with no need to smoke them.
Since the nuc inspection went quickly, I dove into the swarm hive and all is pretty good in there and I got eyes on the queen. Apparently, some of my 'pre-waxed' frames are not the most beloved and they are building comb in the center only. Those only have nectar in them. I'm thinking I should wax up more foundations myself and replace those that are only center-built. I think I picked up that if I stick them in the freezer first, that comb should come right off of the foundation, is that right?
My hive #1 seems to me to be light on activity and I'll look at it tomorrow morning, it's supposed to be cool tonight so I won't sweat to death. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's my imagination and not because they swarmed on me.
And I just noticed that when they dump their pollen baskets, they must turn them inside out or something as I'm seeing the discs in the cells before it gets processed. I still see no signs of SHB or wax moths but I could just be missing them.
First up was my recently made nuc. Observations have been that they are bringing in pollen hot and heavy. Hive is healthy and has eggs, larvae, and capped brood. Eggs are dead center in the cells and the capped brood is all workers, not a single drone cell yet. But they have added drone comb to the bottom of the medium frame that I have in there. I was unable to find the queen but I am confident that she is in there. Next week I'll check to see if all of the larvae are drone but they are laid in worder cells so my understanding is that that is doubtful. And they were very calm with no need to smoke them.
Since the nuc inspection went quickly, I dove into the swarm hive and all is pretty good in there and I got eyes on the queen. Apparently, some of my 'pre-waxed' frames are not the most beloved and they are building comb in the center only. Those only have nectar in them. I'm thinking I should wax up more foundations myself and replace those that are only center-built. I think I picked up that if I stick them in the freezer first, that comb should come right off of the foundation, is that right?
My hive #1 seems to me to be light on activity and I'll look at it tomorrow morning, it's supposed to be cool tonight so I won't sweat to death. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's my imagination and not because they swarmed on me.
And I just noticed that when they dump their pollen baskets, they must turn them inside out or something as I'm seeing the discs in the cells before it gets processed. I still see no signs of SHB or wax moths but I could just be missing them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on June 30, 2024, 12:37:39 PM
Post by: The15thMember on June 30, 2024, 12:37:39 PM
That's awesome that the nuc got their queen mated. Now if something has gone wrong in hive #1, you can just combine the nuc with them and they'll be right back on track. These are the perks of keeping a nuc or two around.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 30, 2024, 11:34:13 AMI'm not sure, since I don't use foundation, but this pattern of building could just be an indicator that the flow isn't strong, and the bees are preferring to just build out of the center of each frame to create access to honey across the width of the hive for their own efficiency, so that any bee can travel up and reach honey and not have to go up and to one side. This would be critical for winter survival, since the bees want to be sure that when the cluster moves up into the super, there is honey everywhere and they don't have to search for it. I've seen them do this on foundationless frames too when there is a weak flow, where the bees will draw little scoops of comb on each frame instead of fully drawing out one or two.
Apparently, some of my 'pre-waxed' frames are not the most beloved and they are building comb in the center only. Those only have nectar in them. I'm thinking I should wax up more foundations myself and replace those that are only center-built. I think I picked up that if I stick them in the freezer first, that comb should come right off of the foundation, is that right?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on June 30, 2024, 11:34:13 AMHoney bees and bumble bees carry their pollen "wet", meaning they moisten it with a little bit of nectar so they can pack it tightly into their baskets and not have any grains fall out. So when the foragers scrape their basket clean to empty it into a cell, the pollen stays in little pellets. The house bees will then come along and tamp the pellets down to tightly pack the cell, and once it's full they will seal the top with a thin layer of honey. This keeps any air out of the pollen which allows it to anaerobically ferment, keeping it preserved. Here's a picture of a jar of pollen from my pollen trap. Pollen traps force the bees through a small opening or screen which knocks one or both pellets off their legs and into the drawer for collection.
And I just noticed that when they dump their pollen baskets, they must turn them inside out or something as I'm seeing the discs in the cells before it gets processed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 30, 2024, 12:59:00 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on June 30, 2024, 12:59:00 PM
That's interesting and I thought pollen traps just knocked the loose stuff off of their hair and bodies on the way in. I wonder what they think when they go to empty them and they're already empty. "Hey man, where did all my pollen go?" In Tommy Chong's voice.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: iddee on June 30, 2024, 02:21:20 PM
Post by: iddee on June 30, 2024, 02:21:20 PM
I have never had brood cells on the bottom of a medium frame in a deep box. It has always been drone cells. I don't use plastic foundation frames, so can't help you there.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 30, 2024, 03:49:13 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on June 30, 2024, 03:49:13 PM
Adding to what Reagan said, the nurse bees use their heads to compress the pollen balls in the cells. They also add some honey to help the fermentation process. Bees cannot properly digest pollen without the fermentation.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on June 30, 2024, 07:44:55 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on June 30, 2024, 07:44:55 PM
Yes true as some newer beekeepers may not know, pollen is a very important and vital asset for the development of the hive. (Unless we feed pollen substitute) of course:
Terri are you still feeding sucrose?
Terri are you still feeding sucrose?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 01, 2024, 05:35:09 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 01, 2024, 05:35:09 AM
>Yes true as some newer beekeepers may not know, pollen is a very important and vital asset for the development of the hive. (Unless we feed pollen substitute)
Actually pollen is very important and vital asset for the development of the hive and pollen substitute is a poor substitute for pollen.
Actually pollen is very important and vital asset for the development of the hive and pollen substitute is a poor substitute for pollen.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 08:34:38 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 08:34:38 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on June 30, 2024, 07:44:55 PMI am still feeding the swarm hive because they are guzzling it. I might need to buy a sugar refinery. And I?m trying to figure out how to feed my little nuc to give them a head start for winter. I don?t have another nuc box but I?m not ready to move them into a ten frame box.
Yes true as some newer beekeepers may not know, pollen is a very important and vital asset for the development of the hive. (Unless we feed pollen substitute) of course:
Terri are you still feeding sucrose?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on July 01, 2024, 11:04:00 AM
Post by: NigelP on July 01, 2024, 11:04:00 AM
Could try a frame feeder, or pour syrup over drawn comb.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/kJUAAOSwAqxmaB8V/s-l1600.webp)
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/kJUAAOSwAqxmaB8V/s-l1600.webp)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 01, 2024, 11:47:15 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 01, 2024, 11:47:15 AM
QuoteI might need to buy a sugar refinery.
lol :grin:
Quote from: NigelP on July 01, 2024, 11:04:00 AM
Could try a frame feeder, or pour syrup over drawn comb.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/kJUAAOSwAqxmaB8V/s-l1600.webp)
Good advise as a frame feeder should reduce the odds of robbing in a time of dearth... Im no so sure about pouring in over frames this time of year? (dearth season).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 12:30:12 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 12:30:12 PM
I just saw a comment on our local club page that our dearth is not here yet. There was thistle and some kind of Japanese plant supposed to be coming in now.
I went through hive #1 on this cool and breezy morning and report being a very happy beek right about now. But let's see how long that lasts. I thought I was seeing less activity and was worried that my queen had taken flight with half of my colony but that has not happened. I found her and evidence that she is still working hard. I did not notice any drone brood but I wasn't really looking for it either. I did find a couple of drones strolling around, one was above the queen excluder. I'm going to guess that they are too big to make it through and he was one that hatched up there and couldn't get out. I also found a couple of workers caught in the excluder and knocked them loose. I have two supers on with the bottom one being almost full and the top one only full on the outside frames, which I placed there from the lower one when I added it. Should I move the empty super down below the full one at any point? It sounds like a logical move to me but I don't really know. I am finding practice swarm cups but I didn't bother to remove them, is that a mistake? I pulled the QE off so I can see first hand if it makes a difference. I don't think it should at this point.
I am in the process of uploading videos of the inspection but there's not much of interest in it, IMO (except the music :cool: ). But I'll post the links to it in the event anyone wants to check on my progress and give me any suggestions.
I went through hive #1 on this cool and breezy morning and report being a very happy beek right about now. But let's see how long that lasts. I thought I was seeing less activity and was worried that my queen had taken flight with half of my colony but that has not happened. I found her and evidence that she is still working hard. I did not notice any drone brood but I wasn't really looking for it either. I did find a couple of drones strolling around, one was above the queen excluder. I'm going to guess that they are too big to make it through and he was one that hatched up there and couldn't get out. I also found a couple of workers caught in the excluder and knocked them loose. I have two supers on with the bottom one being almost full and the top one only full on the outside frames, which I placed there from the lower one when I added it. Should I move the empty super down below the full one at any point? It sounds like a logical move to me but I don't really know. I am finding practice swarm cups but I didn't bother to remove them, is that a mistake? I pulled the QE off so I can see first hand if it makes a difference. I don't think it should at this point.
I am in the process of uploading videos of the inspection but there's not much of interest in it, IMO (except the music :cool: ). But I'll post the links to it in the event anyone wants to check on my progress and give me any suggestions.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 01, 2024, 12:50:29 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 01, 2024, 12:50:29 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 12:30:12 PMMimosa maybe? I'm not sure how much nectar the bees get from that. Ours tend to come in right before the sourwood. Could be the golden raintree too, we had that blooming a few weeks ago.
I just saw a comment on our local club page that our dearth is not here yet. There was thistle and some kind of Japanese plant supposed to be coming in now.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 12:30:12 PMIf you removed the excluder, I would absolutely NOT switch the supers around. You want that full super to act as a barrier to keep the queen out of the honey. Queen cups aren't a big deal in my mind, I usually leave them.
I have two supers on with the bottom one being almost full and the top one only full on the outside frames, which I placed there from the lower one when I added it. Should I move the empty super down below the full one at any point? It sounds like a logical move to me but I don't really know. I am finding practice swarm cups but I didn't bother to remove them, is that a mistake? I pulled the QE off so I can see first hand if it makes a difference. I don't think it should at this point.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Salvo on July 01, 2024, 02:17:13 PM
Post by: Salvo on July 01, 2024, 02:17:13 PM
Hi Folks,
Japanese Knotweed is a good source for nectar in Eastern Massachusetts in September. Perhaps it blossoms earlier farther south.
It's an interesting source for honey around my area. The ripening nectar has a distinct odor. It's fun to talk about this smell to newbees.
Sal
Japanese Knotweed is a good source for nectar in Eastern Massachusetts in September. Perhaps it blossoms earlier farther south.
It's an interesting source for honey around my area. The ripening nectar has a distinct odor. It's fun to talk about this smell to newbees.
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 02:23:24 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 02:23:24 PM
And my videos are up if anyone wants to see how things are going. I only have one question and it's in Part II at about the 3:00 mark. The frames aren't all built out and they're building the honeycomb out farther because there is no opposing comb to hold it it check. What's the remedy for this, if any?
Thanks for the help.
Part I
https://rumble.com/v54w30w-july-1-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
Part II
https://rumble.com/v54wfqt-july-1-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Thanks for the help.
Part I
https://rumble.com/v54w30w-july-1-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
Part II
https://rumble.com/v54wfqt-july-1-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: animal on July 01, 2024, 02:45:10 PM
Post by: animal on July 01, 2024, 02:45:10 PM
I would like to know the answer to that one as well. They don's seem to respond to threats and cursing. I'm trying ... cut it out and sticking a frame with comb next to it to "block"... dunno if it worked yet.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: iddee on July 01, 2024, 02:50:03 PM
Post by: iddee on July 01, 2024, 02:50:03 PM
Place a frame of drawn comb, empty or full, next to it. Leave less than bee space between the combs. They will reduce the wide comb to fit bee space.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 01, 2024, 02:55:07 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 01, 2024, 02:55:07 PM
I agree with iddee, and animal, I'm assuming this is basically what you are doing. Move things around so the comb they want to make too wide is next to the wall or a frame that is fully drawn already. If this isn't possible, then you could also put 9 frames in the super, evenly spaced, and just let them make it all fat.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: animal on July 01, 2024, 02:58:44 PM
Post by: animal on July 01, 2024, 02:58:44 PM
WOW ! you mean I didn't screw up ???
sweet :cool:
sweet :cool:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 03:24:52 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 01, 2024, 03:24:52 PM
I'm doing the best I can with what I have but I don't have the drawn comb to put there. I guess I'll just have to ride it out until I do.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 02, 2024, 09:53:09 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 02, 2024, 09:53:09 AM
I am assuming the comb that is wide is in the brood box/boxes. I normally move those to the outsides and push them tight up against the box, no matter what is in it. the bees will cut it back down by the next inspection.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: iddee on July 02, 2024, 09:55:58 AM
Post by: iddee on July 02, 2024, 09:55:58 AM
Do what Bill said, except just leave 1/16 inch or so away from the side of the box so you don't spill any honey.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 02, 2024, 08:04:46 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 02, 2024, 08:04:46 PM
Terri, here is another tip put your frames you want drawn out next to brood frames not food frames. The bees will only draw brood frames so far. anything they are storing nectar in they will draw out to the max without starting starting the frame next to it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 03, 2024, 05:12:22 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 03, 2024, 05:12:22 AM
>I normally move those to the outsides and push them tight up against the box, no matter what is in it. the bees will cut it back down by the next inspection.
That doesn't work for me. It will be full of small hive beetle larvae when I come back.
That doesn't work for me. It will be full of small hive beetle larvae when I come back.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 03, 2024, 08:17:21 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 03, 2024, 08:17:21 AM
I find that interesting Michael, especially since the SHB problem is definitely an issue here , I cant recall ever having that happen or I probably wouldnt still be doing it. So Ive been sitting here thinking on this and cant find an answer. Gives me something to dwell on today.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 03, 2024, 08:41:48 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 03, 2024, 08:41:48 AM
I put a frame of honey up against the glass in my observation hive one time. I didn?t notice it until it was back in the house. Over the next 2 days the bees cut all of the comb back to bee space. What was amazing was that they cut it perfectly flat, it looked like it was cut by a laser beam.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 03, 2024, 08:58:06 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 03, 2024, 08:58:06 AM
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on July 03, 2024, 08:41:48 AMThat answers one question I had. Thanks.
I put a frame of honey up against the glass in my observation hive one time. I didn?t notice it until it was back in the house. Over the next 2 days the bees cut all of the comb back to bee space. What was amazing was that they cut it perfectly flat, it looked like it was cut by a laser beam.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 04, 2024, 12:16:27 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 04, 2024, 12:16:27 PM
My mentor came over today to help me find the queen in my nuc and wouldn't you know it, I spotted her quickly and we got her marked. I guess green is the color of 2024. So, as of now, things are going great. Doesn't that mean that something bad it about to happen?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 04, 2024, 04:41:54 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 04, 2024, 04:41:54 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 03, 2024, 08:58:06 AMQuote from: BeeMaster2 on July 03, 2024, 08:41:48 AMThat answers one question I had. Thanks.
I put a frame of honey up against the glass in my observation hive one time. I didn?t notice it until it was back in the house. Over the next 2 days the bees cut all of the comb back to bee space. What was amazing was that they cut it perfectly flat, it looked like it was cut by a laser beam.
Jim Altmiller
Good stuff for sure. Jim as I recall you have answered other questions concerning bees which you have learned from first hand experience through your observation hive. Thanks for posting this good stuff.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 04, 2024, 05:36:32 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 04, 2024, 05:36:32 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 04, 2024, 12:16:27 PM:grin: Come on man, that's no way to live!
So, as of now, things are going great. Doesn't that mean that something bad it about to happen?
It was really hot here today, high around 85F (30C), but we're expecting rain over the weekend, and I really needed to check the supers in my biggest hives to be sure they had enough room for sourwood. It was a good thing I did, because the one colony was crammed full, so I gave them box #7. The other big colony irritatingly had brood in one of their supers. I haven't been down deep in their brood nest for a while, but if they seriously have 5 boxes of brood plus 1 super for themselves and I only get 1 super of their honey, I'm going to be seriously disappointed in them. I also checked on that new queen who had drones in her worker brood. Everything seems straightened out in there, so I guess it was just rookie mistakes, although it was like 4 frames of rookie mistakes, so I'll be keeping a close eye on her for the rest of the season.
I tried to get an early start this morning because of the temps, but we aren't really morning people, and it was around 2:30 PM by the time I was finished. I think I was in the early stages of heat exhaustion by the time I came in because my heart rate seemed really high and I had stopped sweating. I hydrated really well and soaked in a warm (not hot) tub for a bit and that seemed to cure me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 04, 2024, 05:49:21 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 04, 2024, 05:49:21 PM
Hot 85F? Sounds like a cool wave to me lol! :cheesy: :grin: Close to 100 here (96).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: iddee on July 04, 2024, 06:07:08 PM
Post by: iddee on July 04, 2024, 06:07:08 PM
15, I think you have a 2 queen hive there. A split may be in order.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 04, 2024, 06:40:40 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 04, 2024, 06:40:40 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on July 04, 2024, 05:49:21 PM:grin: It's not unusual for us to get one or two days deep into the 80s in the summer, but it's been like this all week. 90F is very rare for us.
Hot 85F? Sounds like a cool wave to me lol! :cheesy: :grin: Close to 100 here (96).
Quote from: iddee on July 04, 2024, 06:07:08 PMAre you talking about the hive that had the drones in the worker brood? What makes you think there are two queens?
15, I think you have a 2 queen hive there. A split may be in order.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: iddee on July 04, 2024, 08:14:00 PM
Post by: iddee on July 04, 2024, 08:14:00 PM
Brood in the fifth box and brood in the bottom box. Honey in between separating the queens.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 04, 2024, 08:59:31 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 04, 2024, 08:59:31 PM
Oh, I see. Well, I switched the boxes around so the brood nest is now contiguous, so I guess if there were two, there probably won't be for long. :wink:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on July 06, 2024, 12:23:52 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on July 06, 2024, 12:23:52 PM
Went thru 48 hives this morning before the sun is unbearable, brooding nice , about 2 weeks from sumac in my area mot bloom,It looks like so the late summer fall flow will start around then( hope it?s good). Couple hives marked to split next week for my last grafting for the year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 07, 2024, 08:27:08 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 07, 2024, 08:27:08 AM
My neighbor extracted about 30 frames yesterday so I went over to watch, learn, and help. They had a mickey mouse setup with a genuine antique three frame centrifuge, poised precariously on two stools, draining into a five gallon bucket, which was precariously poised on top of a shoebox. PSA: Shoebox will not support 5 gallons of honey. Fortunately, that was caught before it was a disaster. I guess you could say that we performed an experiment (not really a 'we' thing, except that I was there). Out of 10 deep and 20 mediums, we got a little over 5 gallons out of it. For jars, it was whatever was saved by all three of us over the last year or so. My contribution was Lighthouse Blue Cheese salad dressing jars, about 15 oz, more or less. I brought the frames home and placed them on top of my hives for cleanout. Morning peek reveals that they are working them hot and heavy, boxes are above inner covers and I look forward to seeing what they did with it when they're done.
My lesson?: Imma have a motorized radial centrifuge, bolted down if necessary. Otherwise, that's too labor intensive for me, I'm a lazy kind of guy.
My lesson?: Imma have a motorized radial centrifuge, bolted down if necessary. Otherwise, that's too labor intensive for me, I'm a lazy kind of guy.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jimineycricket on July 07, 2024, 10:00:54 AM
Post by: jimineycricket on July 07, 2024, 10:00:54 AM
Sometimes it is good to see what not to do. My thinking is (you) they should have gotten around 8 gals. from that many frames. Your bees might put on a bit of extra honey very quickly.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 07, 2024, 10:12:47 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 07, 2024, 10:12:47 AM
They had a couple of things going against them 1) Only a couple of the frames were filled to capacity and 2) They use mostly wax foundation and it looked like a bit of honey got left behind because they didn't want to blow the frames out. My bees should appreciate the gifts that they received.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 07, 2024, 10:36:45 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 07, 2024, 10:36:45 AM
30WCF told us about his 2 framed motorized extractor a few years ago so I took his recommendation and ordered one then, except I ordered the 4 framer instead for just a little more money. I?m glad I took his advice. No regrets!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on July 07, 2024, 11:06:26 AM
Post by: .30WCF on July 07, 2024, 11:06:26 AM
I?ve used my el cheapo extractor many times. It works just fine for my small scale operation. I bolt it down to a pallet now so I don?t have to tend it and can be free to be cutting the caps off the next set of frames while it spins out. In this pic, I have a weight under the extractor on the pallet since I was doing more than normal. I got about 15 gallons that day.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240707/1e7a6609211629ac1c51d190a7b12768.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240707/1e7a6609211629ac1c51d190a7b12768.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 09:27:50 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 09:27:50 AM
Quote from: .30WCF on July 07, 2024, 11:06:26 AMThat looks like a tangential? What is the procedure with that? Do you spin some, flip, spin the other side out then flip again to finish the first side?
I?ve used my el cheapo extractor many times. It works just fine for my small scale operation. I bolt it down to a pallet now so I don?t have to tend it and can be free to be cutting the caps off the next set of frames while it spins out. In this pic, I have a weight under the extractor on the pallet since I was doing more than normal. I got about 15 gallons that day.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240707/1e7a6609211629ac1c51d190a7b12768.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on July 08, 2024, 09:34:26 AM
Post by: .30WCF on July 08, 2024, 09:34:26 AM
Yes and no, depending on foundation. With plastic foundation I only flip it once. With wax, I flip twice.
It may not be right for everyone. But for the price and the volume that I process, it suits me fine. For large scale, it just wouldn?t do.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It may not be right for everyone. But for the price and the volume that I process, it suits me fine. For large scale, it just wouldn?t do.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 09:35:35 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 09:35:35 AM
Today, I went through my swarm hive. I had topped them with a deep box full of extracted frames on Saturday night for cleanup. They were still in one deep brood box, with room to spare. They have it built up enough to give another brood box on top so they got one. I saw the queen, no eggs, very few larvae and not much brood and no drone cells. They were filling brood frames with nectar/honey. I'm guessing it's prep time for the dearth. They're well on the way to having those frames cleaned up.
I'm wondering, would I have done better by giving them a QE and a honey super instead of a deep brood box? Would they be better with just one deep and no new box?
I'm wondering, would I have done better by giving them a QE and a honey super instead of a deep brood box? Would they be better with just one deep and no new box?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 08, 2024, 11:45:04 AM
Post by: The15thMember on July 08, 2024, 11:45:04 AM
So they are in one deep, you added a second one, and they have the box to clean? The question is, are they backfilling because the brood nest is empty for some reason or because it's too full and they need more room? There are some strains of bees that will be highly reactive to a dearth and drastically slow or stop brood laying. But it could also be that something is wrong and they just backfilling the empty brood cells due to convenience. How does the population seem? Does the brood they have look healthy? I might be inclined to give them a frame of eggs if they have none and see what they do with them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on July 08, 2024, 11:50:20 AM
Post by: NigelP on July 08, 2024, 11:50:20 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on July 07, 2024, 10:36:45 AMI have a 20 frame radial which is getting too small for my needs. I really need a 30 frame radial but it simply will not fit through the door of my extraction room. Solution will be to buy a second 20 frame radial when I some spare cash. Run one whilst filling the other.
30WCF told us about his 2 framed motorized extractor a few years ago so I took his recommendation and ordered one then, except I ordered the 4 framer instead for just a little more money. I?m glad I took his advice. No regrets!
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 12:03:04 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 12:03:04 PM
They seem healthy and are acting normal and their numbers look good. They're bringing in pollen. They still have more room on the outer frames so they're not too jammed up. Plus there were empty cells in the brood area.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 08, 2024, 12:13:10 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 08, 2024, 12:13:10 PM
Then maybe they are just responding to the dearth. How much space they need will depend on whether you are expecting a fall flow and/or how much syrup they need to store for the winter. Are you still feeding them? Because if so, they shouldn't be responding to the dearth at all, and something else is likely going on.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 12:18:45 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 12:18:45 PM
I was feeding them and they were guzzling 2 quarts in three days but I took that off when I gave them the frames to clean up. I'll check with my mentor and see what would be normal in our area for the time of year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 12:28:11 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 08, 2024, 12:28:11 PM
He got back to me pretty quickly and reports same with some of his hives. Recommends feeding, which I'll do after these frames are picked clean.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 08, 2024, 01:32:32 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 08, 2024, 01:32:32 PM
All right then. I don't really understand it, because even a simulated flow should keep brood rearing up, as long as there is enough pollen coming in. But if it's normal, it's normal.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 10, 2024, 11:40:55 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 10, 2024, 11:40:55 AM
I took a look inside my nuc today and found that they are pretty full in the bottom box but haven't touched the upper box. So, I found the frame with the queen, some eggs and brood and moved it up into the upper box. I hope they like it. I also added a box of extracted frames on top to give them something easy to feed and store off of. Being by myself I couldn't get that box of extracted frames on top fast enough and we had a robbing attempt. Fortunately, their only entrance it pretty small and the rest of the hive is tight so the attempt was thwarted and didn't last very long. I got a first hand experience at witnessing that now and it is kind of scary and disheartening. One bee got killed and left on the porch for a while as a warning to others. But they filled that entrance up with guards pretty quickly and porch skirmishes didn't last long. It was interesting to see foragers still coming in and making it through the gauntlet. In the end, it was an interesting experience and I'm glad it didn't go worse.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 10, 2024, 03:40:34 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 10, 2024, 03:40:34 PM
These are my go to instructions for stopping a robbing spree. It's the kind of thing you almost always should react to, at least by reducing the entrance if it's not already reduced, because it gets increasingly difficult to stop if the robbers have success. Prevention is always better, but this is a pretty good cure.
https://www.honeybeesuite.com/how-to-stop-robbing/
https://www.honeybeesuite.com/how-to-stop-robbing/
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 10, 2024, 05:57:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 10, 2024, 05:57:01 PM
I spent all day building and cleaning frames. I got about a baseball sized amount of wax out of the deal, along with a splinter in my thumb I can't seem to fully extract, and a swollen index finger for some reason. It doesn't hurt, but I can't bend it all the way. I guess I just overworked it. I always play "tennis" with my dad on Wednesday evenings in the summer, so hopefully that won't aggravate it further. I have "tennis" in quotations because the game is actually "keep the ball going back and forth at all costs with no regard to any of the lines on the court or how many times the ball bounces", not tennis, but "tennis" is easier to say. :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 11, 2024, 02:20:54 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 11, 2024, 02:20:54 PM
Has anyone tried either of these two methods??
Some beekeepers spread a commercial product such as Vicks VapoRub at the entrance to the colony. This product contains strong-smelling compounds such as camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol that confuse the robber bees.
Some beekeepers recommend removing the lids from all the hives in the apiary. The theory is that the bees become so busy defending their own hives that they stop robbing other hives. However, if the robber bees are coming from somewhere other than your own apiary, it won?t work. Also, it will do nothing to stop wasps and other predators from entering the hives at will.
Some beekeepers spread a commercial product such as Vicks VapoRub at the entrance to the colony. This product contains strong-smelling compounds such as camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol that confuse the robber bees.
Some beekeepers recommend removing the lids from all the hives in the apiary. The theory is that the bees become so busy defending their own hives that they stop robbing other hives. However, if the robber bees are coming from somewhere other than your own apiary, it won?t work. Also, it will do nothing to stop wasps and other predators from entering the hives at will.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 11, 2024, 02:53:26 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 11, 2024, 02:53:26 PM
That sounds interesting and kind of risky. I was wondering if there have ever been robbing attempts during a hive inspection.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 11, 2024, 06:03:53 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 11, 2024, 06:03:53 PM
Quote from: Bill Murray on July 11, 2024, 02:20:54 PMI have done this, although I can't confirm if it's made a significant difference or not. The wet towel seems to be the cornerstone of the functionality of Rusty's method.
Some beekeepers spread a commercial product such as Vicks VapoRub at the entrance to the colony. This product contains strong-smelling compounds such as camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol that confuse the robber bees.
Quote from: Bill Murray on July 11, 2024, 02:20:54 PMI have not done this. I think it's too risky, personally.
Some beekeepers recommend removing the lids from all the hives in the apiary. The theory is that the bees become so busy defending their own hives that they stop robbing other hives. However, if the robber bees are coming from somewhere other than your own apiary, it won?t work. Also, it will do nothing to stop wasps and other predators from entering the hives at will.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 11, 2024, 02:53:26 PMThe overwhelming majority of the times I've had robbing it has been as a result of a hive inspection. During robbing season, I now always take two old pillowcases along, one to cover the stack of boxes I'm not working, and one to cover the stack of boxes I'm working, and I'm careful to keep everything tightly stacked. That seems to really help keep the smells down and robbers out.
That sounds interesting and kind of risky. I was wondering if there have ever been robbing attempts during a hive inspection.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on July 11, 2024, 06:07:00 PM
Post by: Lesgold on July 11, 2024, 06:07:00 PM
I use Vaporub and robbing screens but it comes down to seeing what is happening before it is too late. Reducing the entrances to hives as a preventative measure is a good move if no nectar is coming in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 11, 2024, 06:28:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 11, 2024, 06:28:26 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on July 11, 2024, 06:07:00 PMThis, in my opinion, is THE key to solving robbing. There is likely a point where if the robbers have overcome the guard bees, that nothing would stop it until the hive was decimated by the robbers. Basically, any time I see robbing, I throw everything and the kitchen sink at it, because getting it to stop quickly is the key, as there is a point of no return that you are trying to make sure the bees don't reach.
it comes down to seeing what is happening before it is too late.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on July 11, 2024, 06:52:49 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on July 11, 2024, 06:52:49 PM
If a hive is so weak that its getting robbed, that hive would never survive winter in my area anyway. I can't remember the last time I had a colony robbed out. The best plan is to make sure all colonies are queen right with low mite counts during the summer. Save the Vicks for a bad cold and keep colonies strong and sized appropriately with routine inspections. If the risk is greater than the reward you won't have robbing.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 12, 2024, 08:55:06 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 12, 2024, 08:55:06 AM
>Some beekeepers spread a commercial product such as Vicks VapoRub at the entrance to the colony. This product contains strong-smelling compounds such as camphor, eucalyptus oil, and menthol that confuse the robber bees.
I have. Nothing is a perfect solution but this works as well as anything else. I first thought it was ridiculous, but then I thought about it and it made sense. I used it on my observation hive a few times mostly because reducing the entrance was difficult and the VapoRub was simpler.
> Some beekeepers recommend removing the lids from all the hives in the apiary. The theory is that the bees become so busy defending their own hives that they stop robbing other hives. However, if the robber bees are coming from somewhere other than your own apiary, it won?t work. Also, it will do nothing to stop wasps and other predators from entering the hives at will.
I have not had the nerve to try this. This is a Jim Fischer concept and it makes some sense, but only if the robbing originates in the beeyard and not from bees from somewhere else.
I have. Nothing is a perfect solution but this works as well as anything else. I first thought it was ridiculous, but then I thought about it and it made sense. I used it on my observation hive a few times mostly because reducing the entrance was difficult and the VapoRub was simpler.
> Some beekeepers recommend removing the lids from all the hives in the apiary. The theory is that the bees become so busy defending their own hives that they stop robbing other hives. However, if the robber bees are coming from somewhere other than your own apiary, it won?t work. Also, it will do nothing to stop wasps and other predators from entering the hives at will.
I have not had the nerve to try this. This is a Jim Fischer concept and it makes some sense, but only if the robbing originates in the beeyard and not from bees from somewhere else.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 12, 2024, 09:27:46 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 12, 2024, 09:27:46 AM
Hive activity is real low now so I guess that the dearth is on. I gather that this is the time to take a mite test as well so I am working on a home made lid for mason jars. I have put syrup back on my swarm hive and will probably add it to my nuc as soon as they are done cleaning up the extracted comb that I have on there now. Is there anything else I should do for them?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 12, 2024, 10:28:52 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 12, 2024, 10:28:52 AM
Thanks guys/gals I have had MAJOR robbing issues in yards at times. I cut down from 44 hives in a yard to 32, because by the time I got to the end sometimes it was murderous during the dearth. Wet towels is not an option, and I normally let them sort it out. But those 2 options are worth a try.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on July 12, 2024, 10:38:25 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on July 12, 2024, 10:38:25 AM
A large wet sheet is useful... a sprinkler, if you have water, is useful.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 12, 2024, 10:51:43 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 12, 2024, 10:51:43 AM
Yea, no access to water except at home. I use the sheet/ towel method there, but the out-yards are a different situation. You should have seen the day I dumped the pallet of supers full of honey, it was on.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 12, 2024, 10:56:28 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 12, 2024, 10:56:28 AM
Quote from: Bill Murray on July 12, 2024, 10:51:43 AMOh boy, that sounds worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock episode.
Yea, no access to water except at home. I use the sheet/ towel method there, but the out-yards are a different situation. You should have seen the day I dumped the pallet of supers full of honey, it was on.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 12, 2024, 12:04:54 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 12, 2024, 12:04:54 PM
I've done the sprinkler thing too. Just stood there with the hose on shower to make them think it's raining.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on July 12, 2024, 01:56:02 PM
Post by: NigelP on July 12, 2024, 01:56:02 PM
You need to try narrow tunnel entrances like this.
https://www.thorne.co.uk/health-feeding/pests-diseases/wasps/hyfegate-formerly-hivegate.html
Bees find it much easier to defend a long tunnel than an entrance
Or you can make your own with a 6inch plank of wood, just thick enough to slide in through the entrance, then cut a 6inch tunnel about 2 bees width wide along the plank.
They work a treat.
https://www.thorne.co.uk/health-feeding/pests-diseases/wasps/hyfegate-formerly-hivegate.html
Bees find it much easier to defend a long tunnel than an entrance
Or you can make your own with a 6inch plank of wood, just thick enough to slide in through the entrance, then cut a 6inch tunnel about 2 bees width wide along the plank.
They work a treat.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 12, 2024, 02:36:38 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 12, 2024, 02:36:38 PM
Interesting, Nigel! I've never seen anything like that before. I don't think bee suppliers in the US sell those.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on July 13, 2024, 02:27:48 AM
Post by: Lesgold on July 13, 2024, 02:27:48 AM
Just made a visual inspection of the hives around the house. All hives active except for two that went into winter struggling. Pleased to see that they are bringing in some pollen and enough nectar to keep them going. About half of the hives went into winter with no stores so I?m pleased that they were able to scrounge a bit of food to keep them alive. Only a few weeks until the first small nectar flow starts. It will give them a good kick along into spring which normally starts about a month earlier than the recognised season.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 13, 2024, 05:37:30 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 13, 2024, 05:37:30 PM
Another hot one here. I got started earlier in the bee yard today. I checked all the little hives, most of which aren't so little anymore. I added the 4th box to one and the 5th box to another. There is SO MUCH SOURWOOD coming in! I had 2 of the colonies cramming wild comb in corners and beneath shallows because they had run out of room. It was a sticky mess to clean up, but it was delicious! :tongue:
One of the hives just hasn't grown at rate comparable to the rest though. They are still only in 2 boxes, and they haven't even drawn out all their frames, despite the really strong flow. I'll have to see how they shape up as the season progresses. I very well may combine them with someone else. The only reason I'm giving them such a long leash is that they started out the season really behind, and it may just all be an extension of that. I can always condense them down to one box and winter them over a big colony if I'd prefer to. I'm also going to have to do something about their migratory cover, because it's so rotted that the entire front of it basically disintegrated when I opened the hive today.
I put what I think is an entire box of capped sourwood above my escape board in the one bigger colony I checked. The comb is quite a bit cross-connected, and I didn't want to break it apart, so I'm just going to take the whole box in the house tomorrow and we'll go from there. If some of the frames aren't ready, maybe I'll donate them to the small colony.
One of the hives just hasn't grown at rate comparable to the rest though. They are still only in 2 boxes, and they haven't even drawn out all their frames, despite the really strong flow. I'll have to see how they shape up as the season progresses. I very well may combine them with someone else. The only reason I'm giving them such a long leash is that they started out the season really behind, and it may just all be an extension of that. I can always condense them down to one box and winter them over a big colony if I'd prefer to. I'm also going to have to do something about their migratory cover, because it's so rotted that the entire front of it basically disintegrated when I opened the hive today.
I put what I think is an entire box of capped sourwood above my escape board in the one bigger colony I checked. The comb is quite a bit cross-connected, and I didn't want to break it apart, so I'm just going to take the whole box in the house tomorrow and we'll go from there. If some of the frames aren't ready, maybe I'll donate them to the small colony.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on July 14, 2024, 03:57:58 AM
Post by: max2 on July 14, 2024, 03:57:58 AM
I spent the cool part of the morning bottling and labelling more honey.
We had quite a good market on Saturday - people buying a lot of honey but no " extras": like candles and tealights.
I also made a large jar of Wildfire Tonic and will promote it in future.
It is quite easy to make and most of the ingredients are local.
Two of my hives " fell" from their stands. No idea how this happened. Elephants?
Anyway I had some help to get them back to where they belong.
The girls were not happy at all.
They had plenty of honey in them - the Blue Gum is flowering.
Lots of SHB - they don't seem to stop anymore. I had hoped that the cooler time of the year would slow them down but no such luck
We had quite a good market on Saturday - people buying a lot of honey but no " extras": like candles and tealights.
I also made a large jar of Wildfire Tonic and will promote it in future.
It is quite easy to make and most of the ingredients are local.
Two of my hives " fell" from their stands. No idea how this happened. Elephants?
Anyway I had some help to get them back to where they belong.
The girls were not happy at all.
They had plenty of honey in them - the Blue Gum is flowering.
Lots of SHB - they don't seem to stop anymore. I had hoped that the cooler time of the year would slow them down but no such luck
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 14, 2024, 08:15:09 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 14, 2024, 08:15:09 AM
>Lots of SHB - they don't seem to stop anymore. I had hoped that the cooler time of the year would slow them down but no such luck
What is your strategy in combating SHB?
What is your strategy in combating SHB?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on July 14, 2024, 06:45:39 PM
Post by: max2 on July 14, 2024, 06:45:39 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on July 14, 2024, 08:15:09 AM! Use two Beetle Buster traps with DE per hive - I also have been selecting queens qith Hygienic behaviour for many years. My bees generally don't give the SHB a chance to rest.
>Lots of SHB - they don't seem to stop anymore. I had hoped that the cooler time of the year would slow them down but no such luck
What is your strategy in combating SHB?
SHB are a big issue in our warm climate and getting warmer.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: iddee on July 14, 2024, 07:30:28 PM
Post by: iddee on July 14, 2024, 07:30:28 PM
Place the hives in full sun.
If feasible, let a group of chooks run loose in the bee yard.
If feasible, let a group of chooks run loose in the bee yard.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 14, 2024, 07:56:12 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 14, 2024, 07:56:12 PM
Quote from: iddee on July 14, 2024, 07:30:28 PM
Place the hives in full sun.
If feasible, let a group of chooks run loose in the bee yard.
Quotechook
noun
A hen; a cooked chicken; a chicken dressed for cooking.
What are they going to do? :cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 14, 2024, 08:41:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 14, 2024, 08:41:26 PM
Hopefully eat the beetles and their larvae when they exit the hive to pupate. I also bet that if the chickens were confined to the area around the hives, by scratching around and fertilizing the area, they could change the soil conditions and prevent the beetles from successfully pupating, or at least make them have to travel farther to find the appropriate conditions.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: animal on July 14, 2024, 09:29:02 PM
Post by: animal on July 14, 2024, 09:29:02 PM
amazing what a cooked chicken can still do, I suppose :cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: max2 on July 14, 2024, 10:53:13 PM
Post by: max2 on July 14, 2024, 10:53:13 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 14, 2024, 07:56:12 PMQuote from: iddee on July 14, 2024, 07:30:28 PM
Place the hives in full sun.
If feasible, let a group of chooks run loose in the bee yard.Quotechook
noun
A hen; a cooked chicken; a chicken dressed for cooking.
"chook" is Australian for "chicken".
Many, many years ago I established a number of hives in my "Chook yard" - with, as mentioned, the hope that the chickens would eat any larvae.
As is also suggested, hives in the sun are less likely to have large populations of SHB.
Problem: chickens don't like to stay in the heat of the sun. ( they are " Dschungel fowl")
What are they going to do? :cheesy:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: iddee on July 15, 2024, 04:50:07 AM
Post by: iddee on July 15, 2024, 04:50:07 AM
They can be provided shade. They can work the hives at dusk.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 15, 2024, 12:03:43 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 15, 2024, 12:03:43 PM
I edited/removed the previous two comments. I understand many of us Americans are feeling particularly politically charged right now, but there is no political talk allowed in the bee sections. Keep it in the Coffee House, please.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: iddee on July 15, 2024, 02:49:53 PM
Post by: iddee on July 15, 2024, 02:49:53 PM
Sorry, but I didn't see any politics in those posts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 15, 2024, 03:06:17 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 15, 2024, 03:06:17 PM
You referenced a post of gww's from the Coffee House, and Terri mentioned democrats and their values directly. Some of our members don't wish to engage in anything political, so this thread just isn't the place for it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 16, 2024, 09:05:31 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 16, 2024, 09:05:31 AM
Went out early for an inspection on hive #1, my big hive, and found no queen and no eggs. There is some uncapped larvae in there though. I found several uncapped supersedure cells and the hive seemed a little cranky. I sent a message to my mentor so we'll have to dig into it but not today, we're headed for 100F this afternoon.
He already got back to me and suggested that it's the dearth.
He already got back to me and suggested that it's the dearth.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 17, 2024, 12:31:34 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 17, 2024, 12:31:34 PM
Last night was honey extracting lessons at beekeeping class. There wasn't much new to me so I pretty much sat back and stayed out of everyone else's way. They had two nearly identical extractors that they said were made in Italy. Both were nine frame, radial extractors but one was motorized and the other hand crank. I'm pretty lazy so I can see one of the motorized ones coming my way before next summer. During the course of the evening, we were discussing miscellaneous beek issues and I related how my main hive has no eggs that I could see. I am not alone so I feel better about that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 17, 2024, 02:34:37 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 17, 2024, 02:34:37 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 17, 2024, 12:31:34 PMI agree, it's good to have some confirmation that it's just dearth related.
During the course of the evening, we were discussing miscellaneous beek issues and I related how my main hive has no eggs that I could see. I am not alone so I feel better about that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on July 17, 2024, 06:50:40 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on July 17, 2024, 06:50:40 PM
Unless one of my hives swarms or supersedes the queen they always have eggs. Especially from late winter till mid fall. Small patches during the winter. I believe that would be the case in PA as well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on July 18, 2024, 08:52:08 AM
Post by: NigelP on July 18, 2024, 08:52:08 AM
Often get queens taking laying breaks when little forage about, usually late summer here,before they start laying in their winter bees. Uncapped queen cells though means something totally different.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 09:44:45 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 09:44:45 AM
Quote from: NigelP on July 18, 2024, 08:52:08 AMMy hive #1 seem to be preppers, they always have some empty queen cells laying around. I wonder if they're dropping a hint, or what.
Often get queens taking laying breaks when little forage about, usually late summer here,before they start laying in their winter bees. Uncapped queen cells though means something totally different.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 11:08:02 AM
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 11:08:02 AM
Just so we're all clear, does this hive have uncapped queen cells (with an egg or larva in it, but just not capped yet) or just queen cups (the empty beginnings of a queen cell, without an egg or larva)? Queen cups are nothing to worry about. Queen cells indicate the hive is in the process of superseding or swarming.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 11:14:43 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 11:14:43 AM
Just cups, a little bigger than a pea.
We finally got some rain here the last few days. No all day rains but some good soaking thunderstorms came through and cumulatively, they gave us some water. This morning, all three hives are bringing in yellow pollen fairly heavily. Does what they're bringing in say anything about what's going on inside the hive? i e, does heavy pollen traffic indicate food stores for one particular stage in their lives? And is there any way to tell if they're toting water or nectar?
We finally got some rain here the last few days. No all day rains but some good soaking thunderstorms came through and cumulatively, they gave us some water. This morning, all three hives are bringing in yellow pollen fairly heavily. Does what they're bringing in say anything about what's going on inside the hive? i e, does heavy pollen traffic indicate food stores for one particular stage in their lives? And is there any way to tell if they're toting water or nectar?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 11:29:47 AM
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 11:29:47 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 11:14:43 AMOkay, thanks.
Just cups, a little bigger than a pea.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 11:14:43 AMEh, kind of yes and no. So pollen is predominantly used to feed brood, both directly and by nurse bees eating it to stimulate their hypopharyngeal glands to produce royal jelly. A colony harvesting a lot of pollen, therefore, would logically be intent on rearing brood. But bees will also store excess pollen so they will have some accessible to begin brood rearing in early spring before the first pollen flow. So are they gathering pollen because they want to rear brood now? Or because they want to have some for over the winter? Or just because they are bees, and gathering whatever is available while it's available? Probably all of the above. The other factor here is that the amount of pollen and other stores coming in will basically tell the bees if they can afford to rear brood now. That's why your girls aren't rearing brood during the dearth. So the amount of stores coming in from the foragers determines whether brood rearing is feasible, but brood rearing also increases the demand for stores and therefore foraging activity. Does that makes sense?
Does what they're bringing in say anything about what's going on inside the hive? i e, does heavy pollen traffic indicate food stores for one particular stage in their lives?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 11:14:43 AMBees with very heavy crops will sometimes land heavily or even crash land under the extra weight. But there is really no way to tell if that weight is honey or water on a bee by bee basis. If your bees happen to drink at a watering hole on your property, that can be a good indicator of how much water they are bringing in. And of course if the bees are filling honeycombs and especially if they are drawing wax, then you can be sure there is nectar coming in.
And is there any way to tell if they're toting water or nectar?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 11:37:35 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 11:37:35 AM
Yep, that makes sense. They were drinking at a cracked pipe at the pool filter but that crack sealed itself up so they must be getting water elsewhere but I don't know where. I gave them a chicken waterer full of pool water but they didn't touch that.
I placed the honey extracting equipment out back last week and some of them filled up so much that they couldn't get off the ground. I don't know what they finally did but they did take off eventually but I'm not seeing what I would consider crashing on the porch. Though, I might not have the right idea of what constitutes crashing. Some of them do take a while to make their landing.
I placed the honey extracting equipment out back last week and some of them filled up so much that they couldn't get off the ground. I don't know what they finally did but they did take off eventually but I'm not seeing what I would consider crashing on the porch. Though, I might not have the right idea of what constitutes crashing. Some of them do take a while to make their landing.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 12:44:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 12:44:26 PM
By "crash", I'm picturing a plane that has lost its landing gear, but is making a controlled landing, not a plane that has lost an engine and whose pilot has been murdered and is spiraling out of control and on fire. :grin: Bees that aren't overburdened tend to land lightly and walk into the hive in one swift motion, like an experienced parachuter who breaks into a run as he hits the ground. But bees who are really full will land heavily, because their trajectory is off. It's kind of a broad generalization, and not every single bee will crash land when the flow is really on, but you just tend to see more bees having trouble landing gracefully than when the flow is light.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 01:53:31 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 01:53:31 PM
OK, I was picturing more like a forced hard landing where they had to come in fast or drop out of the air. And I have seen the difference between those who gracefully stick the landing right in the entrance vs those how hover around and finally get it on the porch, not so gracefully.
I inspected my swarm hive. Top brood box went well, no smoke, no problems, found the queen, capped brood and some larvae but didn't spy any eggs. I'd say that things looked normal. But when I went to open the bottom box something didn't sit well with them and they went nuts and I baled into the garage, which is fortunately right there. I was thinking I'd have to abort my mission but after a short break, they calmed down for some reason. This is where they must be parking the syrup that they're guzzling right now but they're still not filling the frames out very well but most of them do have nectar in them. Last week I moved the queen up from the bottom box and that is where she seems to have stayed.
I inspected my swarm hive. Top brood box went well, no smoke, no problems, found the queen, capped brood and some larvae but didn't spy any eggs. I'd say that things looked normal. But when I went to open the bottom box something didn't sit well with them and they went nuts and I baled into the garage, which is fortunately right there. I was thinking I'd have to abort my mission but after a short break, they calmed down for some reason. This is where they must be parking the syrup that they're guzzling right now but they're still not filling the frames out very well but most of them do have nectar in them. Last week I moved the queen up from the bottom box and that is where she seems to have stayed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 05:54:58 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 05:54:58 PM
Bees during a dearth will be more testy. There will be more foragers at home on guard duty because not a lot of recruiting is going on, and plus everyone is grumpy when there isn't an abundance of food. Although if they are being fed, I'm kind of surprised they are reacting to the dearth at all. You didn't by any chance bash into the box or smash a bunch of bees or anything like that, did you? Was there any brood in the bottom box or just syrup?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 07:10:01 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 07:10:01 PM
No, I was smooth moving at the time. There was one frame down there with brood in it and most of the other frames have comb built in an oval in the center and most of it is filled, probably with syrup. They took about a quart of syrup in one day. I had refilled it on Wednesday.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 08:39:39 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 18, 2024, 08:39:39 PM
Hm, weird. Not sure what would be upsetting them then. I mean all the usual boxes are checked: they are queenright; they are being fed, so they think there is no dearth; and with most of the brood in the top box, it's not like you were deep in the brood nest or anything. Maybe it was just a freak thing.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 08:59:51 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 08:59:51 PM
Tell me about it! The top box was all cool, calm and collected, no smoking necessary but when I touched that first frame on the bottom box it was a whole 'nother ball of wax, as my history teacher used to say.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 18, 2024, 09:04:47 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 18, 2024, 09:04:47 PM
Smashed a bee.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 10:05:12 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 18, 2024, 10:05:12 PM
That has possibilities.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 19, 2024, 04:22:02 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 19, 2024, 04:22:02 PM
Another thing to consider as far as grumpy bees is weather. Case in point, what happened to me this morning. :embarassed: We are finally getting some rain, and it's expected to rain all weekend and deep into next week. It looked like it wasn't going to start until later, so I figured I'd check the supers of two of my colonies before the rain got here. By the time I was suited up and had my smoker going though, it was starting to spritz and there was thunder in the distance. My hives are under the trees, and it wasn't even noticeably raining in the apiary, so I figured I'd just take a quick peek to see if there was any honey I could pull and make sure the bees didn't need any more space. I removed the lid from the first colony and 5 bees shot out at me instantly, two stung the wrist of my suit, one stung me on the hand, and the other two were desperately trying to find a way into my veil, one with her stinger. I did happen to notice that the colony wasn't drawing anymore, so the sourwood seems to be over, which at least means I don't have to worry about anyone needing any more room at this point. And as a consolation prize for my wasted time, I get to try my new nettle tincture on a sting. Lucky me. :wink:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 12:04:37 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 12:04:37 PM
Holy cow, this nettle tincture I made completely worked! I've been looking for a reliable sting remedy for myself basically since I started beekeeping. Nothing short of 2 Benadryl pills will take my swelling down, which is almost always severe if the sting was a solid one. I have tried everything everyone here has recommended, plantain, cortisone, Benadryl cream, meat tenderizer, etc., and without fail I swell up like a balloon. I had someone on the School of Traditional Skills community chat recommend me nettle tincture, and my mom happened to be growing some stinging nettle this year. I freeze dried some and tinctured it in vodka. I had tried it on a sting last week and it worked too, but that sting was basically just a graze, and it wasn't from an aggressive bee, just one who I crushed, so I wanted to test it on a good solid sting from an angry bee. So yesterday every few hours I applied the tinctures of nettles, plantain, and St. John's wort, and it took the swelling right down, and today all I have is a little bit of tenderness at the site! No swelling, no itching, no redness, nothing! I'm so happy! :happy: If it continues to work this well, maybe I can stop wearing a full suit every time I inspect!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 20, 2024, 12:48:09 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 20, 2024, 12:48:09 PM
That's interesting. I'd like to hear what the process consists of. And why is mom growing stinging nettles?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 03:17:45 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 03:17:45 PM
My sister and I got my mom a collection of medicinal plant seeds for Christmas, and it was in there. Stinging nettle is anti-inflammatory, diuretic, lithotropic (it breaks up kidney stones), and as I discovered, a natural anti-histamine. It's also very nutritious and makes a very nice tea herb. Once it's been freeze dried of course, since when it's alive, it'll do more harm than good with its own stinging! My mom has been stung by it, and she says it's not fun. Fortunately plantain and dock are the antidote, and we have plenty of both.
Tincturing couldn't be easier. All you need is 80-100 proof alcohol and whatever plant you'd like to tincture, although it must be dried first. I freeze dry, since we have a freeze drier, but a dehydrator or even just air drying with a fan works too, and I use vodka because it's the cheapest. Then you just stick your herbs in a mason jar, cover them in vodka, and let it steep for at least two weeks, shaking the jar whenever you think of it, but preferably every couple of days. I do grind my herbs to help it to tincture faster, but you don't have to. After two weeks, or more likely, several months when I finally remember it :wink:, I strain out the herbs and voila! homemade medicine.
You can apply a tincture topically or take it internally. The internal dose for an adult for most tinctures is 1/4-1 tsp. 2-4 times a day, and topically in almost all cases you can apply it as frequently as you need, since most herbs have a wide margin of safety. (Disclaimer: Always check with a healthcare professional if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications, especially before taking a tincture internally.) Tinctures also have an almost indefinite shelf life provided they are kept out of sunlight.
I also tincture propolis, but because that is a resin, I use Everclear as the solvent. I have a thread with instructions for that here. Propolis is anti-microbial, including anti-viral, -bacterial, and -fungal.
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=56180.msg513889#msg513889
Tincturing couldn't be easier. All you need is 80-100 proof alcohol and whatever plant you'd like to tincture, although it must be dried first. I freeze dry, since we have a freeze drier, but a dehydrator or even just air drying with a fan works too, and I use vodka because it's the cheapest. Then you just stick your herbs in a mason jar, cover them in vodka, and let it steep for at least two weeks, shaking the jar whenever you think of it, but preferably every couple of days. I do grind my herbs to help it to tincture faster, but you don't have to. After two weeks, or more likely, several months when I finally remember it :wink:, I strain out the herbs and voila! homemade medicine.
You can apply a tincture topically or take it internally. The internal dose for an adult for most tinctures is 1/4-1 tsp. 2-4 times a day, and topically in almost all cases you can apply it as frequently as you need, since most herbs have a wide margin of safety. (Disclaimer: Always check with a healthcare professional if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications, especially before taking a tincture internally.) Tinctures also have an almost indefinite shelf life provided they are kept out of sunlight.
I also tincture propolis, but because that is a resin, I use Everclear as the solvent. I have a thread with instructions for that here. Propolis is anti-microbial, including anti-viral, -bacterial, and -fungal.
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=56180.msg513889#msg513889
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 20, 2024, 04:22:42 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 20, 2024, 04:22:42 PM
Freeze drying doesn't take anything special as long as you have room in your freezer and aren't in a hurry. Pro tip: If you ever get a book wet and you want to save it, place it into a freezer and let it freeze dry. It might not be perfect but it will be serviceable. Check on it every few weeks and pull some pages apart but it will eventually dry out.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 04:35:27 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 04:35:27 PM
I'm not talking about ambient drying something in a freezer, I'm talking about using a Harvest Right freeze drying machine, which removes the water from frozen food by sublimation, thereby making it shelf stable. Think freeze dried ice cream. It's like dehydrating, but the food comes out way higher quality and lasts much longer. We use it for all kinds of things. Herbs are one of our favorite uses for it because you basically make at home what you get in a bottle from McCormick, just with more flavor and for a fraction of the cost. I should probably mention that medicinal herbs should never be dried above 95F, as the more delicate medicinal compounds will be destroyed above that temperature.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 06:35:58 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 06:35:58 PM
I noticed some bald-faced hornets hanging around the hives today, so I put robbing screens on any of the colonies that have fully opened entrances. I'm working on crushing and straining the sourwood, and I put my hive top feeder on my smallest colony so they can clean up the wax for me. Also, my youngest sister got finished painting landscapes on two of my new boxes, so I clear-coated them to protect them from the weather. I can't believe how good they turned out!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 20, 2024, 06:39:21 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 20, 2024, 06:39:21 PM
That is nice artwork. If I was you, I'd have killed that hornet queen that you found and rescued. :cool:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 06:45:24 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 20, 2024, 06:45:24 PM
Haha! :cheesy: The hornets are no big deal for me, and I don't mind if they snag a bee or two out of the air. I just don't want them to succeed in getting into the hives. I'm not 100% sure they really want to, they may just be hunting the bees, but I did see one attempt a quick dash into an entrance, and we don't need that going on. I needed to get the entrances reduced on the big hives anyway, since the sourwood flow is over and robbing season is starting.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 22, 2024, 12:59:09 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 22, 2024, 12:59:09 PM
Nothing on tap for today but yesterday I went through my nuc hive. Their numbers look low to me but I wouldn't bank on my knowledge. They're in a double deep five frame with a box of cleanout frames on top of that. They have one deep frame packed solid with honey down on the first floor and man that thing is hard to grasp with the fingertips. I saw some larvae, some brood and no eggs but the queen is out and about and she was marching all over that frame full of honey on the outside for some reason. They're still not doing much with the upper brood box so I swapped out empty frame for frame of brood and see if they get the hint. They've pretty much cleaned up the extracted frames and I'll pull those out in another day or two and give them some syrup and see if they want it. There always seems to be enough left on the 'cleaned out' extracted frames to cause a feeding frenzy when I lay them out for final cleanup.
I put two quarts of syrup on my swarm hive yesterday and it's half gone already. It looks like they've stored it all on the bottom floor but they need to get with making more comb down there. Does that sound like a lot of syrup to be used?
And last night we got a storm for the history book. It seems a red storm cell parked itself right on top of us for several hours. My pool indicates that we got 4" or more of rain out of it and while I didn't' hear it, it finished off with some pretty strong winds. Everybody around me got some sort of damage and I got off easy with a lot of branches out of my poplar tree and the loss of one patio umbrella. And today, all three hives have found some yellow pollen and are working it hot and heavy. I don't know how my hives all survived but I think I'm going to put anchor bolts in the wall that they're on and tie them fast. Mother nature cut me a break this time but next time she might not be so inclined to do so.
I put two quarts of syrup on my swarm hive yesterday and it's half gone already. It looks like they've stored it all on the bottom floor but they need to get with making more comb down there. Does that sound like a lot of syrup to be used?
And last night we got a storm for the history book. It seems a red storm cell parked itself right on top of us for several hours. My pool indicates that we got 4" or more of rain out of it and while I didn't' hear it, it finished off with some pretty strong winds. Everybody around me got some sort of damage and I got off easy with a lot of branches out of my poplar tree and the loss of one patio umbrella. And today, all three hives have found some yellow pollen and are working it hot and heavy. I don't know how my hives all survived but I think I'm going to put anchor bolts in the wall that they're on and tie them fast. Mother nature cut me a break this time but next time she might not be so inclined to do so.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2024, 01:34:34 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2024, 01:34:34 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on July 22, 2024, 12:59:09 PMNot necessarily. Now that we are past the solstice, the bees are thinking "winter prep" and are keen to put up as much honey as quickly as possible. I am surprised though that your queens aren't laying even though you are feeding them. Are you feeding 1:1 or 2:1?
I put two quarts of syrup on my swarm hive yesterday and it's half gone already. It looks like they've stored it all on the bottom floor but they need to get with making more comb down there. Does that sound like a lot of syrup to be used?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 22, 2024, 02:00:02 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 22, 2024, 02:00:02 PM
1:1, should I up that?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2024, 02:25:17 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2024, 02:25:17 PM
It depends on your goal. I'd feed 1:1 if I wanted to stimulate the queen to keep laying (although that doesn't seem to be working). I'd feed 2:1 if I just wanted them to pack in the syrup for winter storage. How much pollen was in the hive? I know you said they are brining it in, but did they have any stored?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 22, 2024, 03:24:33 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 22, 2024, 03:24:33 PM
Not much in stores that I noticed in any of the hives.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2024, 03:43:00 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 22, 2024, 03:43:00 PM
Okay, then the limiting factor is likely pollen. The bees simply can't raise much brood without it. I don't know how much of a fall flow you are expecting, but in my area the fall flow is variable. If I were you, I'd probably switch to 2:1 to get them storing syrup quickly, because you've only got probably 3 more months of flying weather.
Because I have pollen coming in all year round, my bees are never starved for it, so I'm not sure if pollen sub of some kind would be warranted here to boost your population of winter bees. Any thoughts on that, anyone else?
Because I have pollen coming in all year round, my bees are never starved for it, so I'm not sure if pollen sub of some kind would be warranted here to boost your population of winter bees. Any thoughts on that, anyone else?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on July 22, 2024, 06:13:10 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on July 22, 2024, 06:13:10 PM
So I personally have never had any luck getting bees to raise brood on pollen sub patties, even though it would disappear. Hence why I trap pollen and make my own, Actually the main reason was something else entirely, but I found they would raise brood on a homemade pollen patty. vs pollen subs.
UNF did a study on this a few years back. https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/entnemdept/2021/07/13/research-update-following-pollen-substitute-patties-in-a-honey-bee-colony/ (https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/entnemdept/2021/07/13/research-update-following-pollen-substitute-patties-in-a-honey-bee-colony/) and kinda re affirmed what I was thinking.
IDK. Some people swear by it, I just never had any luck with substitutes.
UNF did a study on this a few years back. https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/entnemdept/2021/07/13/research-update-following-pollen-substitute-patties-in-a-honey-bee-colony/ (https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/entnemdept/2021/07/13/research-update-following-pollen-substitute-patties-in-a-honey-bee-colony/) and kinda re affirmed what I was thinking.
IDK. Some people swear by it, I just never had any luck with substitutes.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on July 23, 2024, 12:24:28 AM
Post by: Lesgold on July 23, 2024, 12:24:28 AM
That artwork is outstanding Reagan. Congrats to your sister. She has a rare talent. Don?t think the bees will get confused as to what their house looks like.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 23, 2024, 08:15:46 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 23, 2024, 08:15:46 AM
Probably the prettiest bee boxes in North Carolina! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 23, 2024, 08:16:13 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 23, 2024, 08:16:13 AM
Reagan,
Those paintings are fantastic. Is your sister taking art classes or did she?
My daughter is a professional artist. She went to Jacksonville University to be a plastic surgeon and she took an art elective class. When her teachers saw what she could do with no training, they talked her into switching her major over to art. She did and has painted some amazing pictures. She was immediately hired to paint for Firehouse Subs. She still does but last year she finally started painting on her own. JU did teach her a lot about shading for 3d effect and other techniques.
Here is one of her paintings that she did in college. It hangs in our dining room.
It is three pictures combined into one. That is the Panama lake with a picture from her hotel in Panama and some plants added in. While in college, she dated the son of the VP of Panama.
Those paintings are fantastic. Is your sister taking art classes or did she?
My daughter is a professional artist. She went to Jacksonville University to be a plastic surgeon and she took an art elective class. When her teachers saw what she could do with no training, they talked her into switching her major over to art. She did and has painted some amazing pictures. She was immediately hired to paint for Firehouse Subs. She still does but last year she finally started painting on her own. JU did teach her a lot about shading for 3d effect and other techniques.
Here is one of her paintings that she did in college. It hangs in our dining room.
It is three pictures combined into one. That is the Panama lake with a picture from her hotel in Panama and some plants added in. While in college, she dated the son of the VP of Panama.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 23, 2024, 08:18:49 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 23, 2024, 08:18:49 AM
Outstanding!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 23, 2024, 08:36:37 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 23, 2024, 08:36:37 AM
Here is some of her recent work. Everything you see in the first picture is painted including the columns.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 23, 2024, 10:09:31 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 23, 2024, 10:09:31 AM
Jim these look almost like portraits!
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 23, 2024, 11:04:52 AM
Post by: The15thMember on July 23, 2024, 11:04:52 AM
Thanks, everyone! And Jim, your daughter's work is amazing! I was picturing her on her back painting the ceiling like Michelangelo until I saw your second picture. :grin:
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=54500.msg495532#msg495532
Haley has dabbled in many, many forms of art, but she now focuses mainly on drawing, journaling, knitting, crochet, and soapmaking. She's the one who made the blue muffins recently, for those of you involved in that scandal on the What's Cookin' thread. :wink:
Charlotte, who painted these boxes, is my youngest sister, and when she started to show an interest in art, Haley basically taught her everything she knew. Haley doesn't paint much, she prefers to draw, but after watching some painters on YouTube, Charlotte was able to take what she learned from Haley's drawing instruction and apply it to painting. Charlotte also likes to draw or paint just from an image in her head, whereas Haley prefers to use reference materials where possible if she is drawing something corporeal.
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on July 23, 2024, 08:16:13 AMSo I've actually got two artist sisters now and neither of them have any formal training. Haley is the older one, and I've posted some of her work here (You can see more of Jim's daughter's work here too).
Is your sister taking art classes or did she?
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=54500.msg495532#msg495532
Haley has dabbled in many, many forms of art, but she now focuses mainly on drawing, journaling, knitting, crochet, and soapmaking. She's the one who made the blue muffins recently, for those of you involved in that scandal on the What's Cookin' thread. :wink:
Charlotte, who painted these boxes, is my youngest sister, and when she started to show an interest in art, Haley basically taught her everything she knew. Haley doesn't paint much, she prefers to draw, but after watching some painters on YouTube, Charlotte was able to take what she learned from Haley's drawing instruction and apply it to painting. Charlotte also likes to draw or paint just from an image in her head, whereas Haley prefers to use reference materials where possible if she is drawing something corporeal.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 23, 2024, 06:34:30 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on July 23, 2024, 06:34:30 PM
Here is a picture of a painting she did while in college for a play her boyfriend was directing. The painting is 35 feet wide by 25 feet tall. She is standing in front of it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 25, 2024, 01:43:38 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on July 25, 2024, 01:43:38 PM
80s and extremely humid here the last few days and the bees are hardly doing anything...except guzzling syrup. My mentor is considering coming over tomorrow and checking things out, maybe a mite check but if they're not out foraging, is that a good idea?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on July 25, 2024, 06:08:25 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on July 25, 2024, 06:08:25 PM
Now is a great time to do a mite wash, you want a low count before they start raising winter bees. 4 mites or under per 300 bees off an open brood frame is fine anything over that greatly reduces the chance they will survive winter.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 25, 2024, 06:43:11 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 25, 2024, 06:43:11 PM
I agree with beesnweeds. I'm about to do my fall mite checks once I get the rest of my sourwood off (if it ever stops raining, that is!). The amount of foraging doesn't affect mite levels really.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on July 26, 2024, 09:52:39 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on July 26, 2024, 09:52:39 PM
Getting ready for fall flow, sumac is almost ready to pop, checked hives and made my last couple splits . It was hot out there 94 and heat index was 125.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on July 26, 2024, 11:49:20 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on July 26, 2024, 11:49:20 PM
and heat index was 125.
Can?t imagine!
Can?t imagine!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on July 27, 2024, 06:06:32 PM
Post by: The15thMember on July 27, 2024, 06:06:32 PM
I finally was able to get into the apiary today. I put 4 full boxes of honey from 3 colonies above escape boards. I probably could have done some more, but I only have 2 escape boards, and there was some robbing going on, and I didn't want to make it any worse by opening another colony. One of the colonies had some of their open honey fermenting in the comb, which was odd. I didn't see any beetles except one or two caught in the Swiffer, so I don't think they are the culprit.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 12, 2024, 03:24:21 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 12, 2024, 03:24:21 PM
I went through hive #1 this morning after almost two weeks since last inspection and mite count. I would expect it to have been built out more and busier than it was but I am still an apprentice. I could easily remove the top super and force it down into one but I didn't see any evidence of SHB or wax moths. I found larvae and capped brood but if there were any eggs, they escaped my eye. I did find the queen and she's moving around but I did not see her lay any eggs and I kept an eye on her for a little longer than I usually do.
Attached are videos of the inspection, if anyone is interested. I'll check with my mentor and get his input.
Inspection Part I
https://rumble.com/v5aoyky-august-12-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
Inspection Part II
https://rumble.com/v5ap722-august-12-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Attached are videos of the inspection, if anyone is interested. I'll check with my mentor and get his input.
Inspection Part I
https://rumble.com/v5aoyky-august-12-2024-hive-inspection-part-i.html
Inspection Part II
https://rumble.com/v5ap722-august-12-2024-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 13, 2024, 11:21:42 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 13, 2024, 11:21:42 AM
There's too much space and undrawn comb with very little stores. I would remove both supers. Pull ten of the best drawn frames and reduce the colony to 1 deep and put a hive top feeder on now with 2:1 syrup. Fall is right around the corner.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on August 13, 2024, 12:05:38 PM
Post by: NigelP on August 13, 2024, 12:05:38 PM
EFB outbreak near one of my apiary sites. Visit by bee inspector, clean bill of health. Phew, they think the source was less than 2km from me.....now in that great bonfire in the sky.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 13, 2024, 12:08:40 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 13, 2024, 12:08:40 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on August 13, 2024, 11:21:42 AMThanks, that sounds reasonable, even to a newbee like me.
There's too much space and undrawn comb with very little stores. I would remove both supers. Pull ten of the best drawn frames and reduce the colony to 1 deep and put a hive top feeder on now with 2:1 syrup. Fall is right around the corner.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 13, 2024, 12:09:57 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on August 13, 2024, 12:09:57 PM
Nigel,
EFB is treatable. Why are they burning the equipment? We only burn to destroy AFB.
Jim Altmiller
EFB is treatable. Why are they burning the equipment? We only burn to destroy AFB.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on August 13, 2024, 03:44:07 PM
Post by: NigelP on August 13, 2024, 03:44:07 PM
Normally this would have been shook swarm (EFB)...but owner had inherited previous mother s hives....with no frames and no inspections for several years. Total mess. So destroyed as impossible to do anything else.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 09:01:18 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 09:01:18 AM
Yesterday I went through my swarm hive. It's made of two deeps and we rearranged it two weeks ago, putting the nectar/honey up top and all of the activity on the bottom. They are gradually building out comb and filling it, probably with the syrup I've been feeding them. When we looked in there two weeks ago, there weren't enough bees to take a mite count and I was worried out them but they are building numbers now and I could probably have done it yesterday except I didn't have my measuring cup with me so I left them alone. Maybe next week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 04:42:36 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 04:42:36 PM
I dug through hive #1 and rearranged things as suggested. I filled the bottom box with brood and food stores with the food stores going on the outer edges of the box. Queen was sighted and went with. I still have four frames with spotty capped brood and pollen so I put the top box back on with those in the center and six empty frames to the outside for now. I had ten frames of honey in the supers, which I put into one super and put it back on top and put the other, empty super on top of that and put syrup on. It's only 1:1 because that's what I had already mixed. I know that removing boxes was recommended but it just didn't feel right under the circumstances. If they're going to store syrup, they're going to need a place to put it, aren't they? Or should I force them to put it into the top deep?
Any thoughts on what I did and/or should do are welcome.
Any thoughts on what I did and/or should do are welcome.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 14, 2024, 05:55:16 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 14, 2024, 05:55:16 PM
Your bees wont draw anymore frames this year. I would remove the top super and put the super with honey on top of the bottom deep and remove the top deep and overwinter them with 1 deep and 1 super. Too much empty space (frames) makes it hard for them to raise and keep brood warm. When you start packages, swarms, or nucs you have to allow them to build up at least 8 frames before adding more boxes. Too much space slows them down, a lot. Thats just my 2 cents maybe others have different ideas for you.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 06:01:42 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 06:01:42 PM
What would you do with the brood and stores that are on the extra frames? Should I place them on top of everything and would they clean it out? I was hearing that when the bottom box was somewhere about 60% filled, another box should be put in place to avoid swarming.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 14, 2024, 06:11:54 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 14, 2024, 06:11:54 PM
Quote from: BeeMaster2 on July 23, 2024, 06:34:30 PM
Here is a picture of a painting she did while in college for a play her boyfriend was directing. The painting is 35 feet wide by 25 feet tall. She is standing in front of it.
I don?t know how I missed this! She is Blessed with pure talent! What a wonderful work of art!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 14, 2024, 06:32:04 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 14, 2024, 06:32:04 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 06:01:42 PMIt's just 4 frames, freeze and store them for next year. There's always a small risk of them swarming but it's not likely from a package or swarm, unless it's a very strong nuc and already has queen cups when you pick it up. That's why we do inspections. To me 6 frames drawn isn't enough to add another box. When 8 are drawn I take the two outside frames and put them in the middle. As soon as they start drawing those well, I add another hive body.
What would you do with the brood and stores that are on the extra frames? Should I place them on top of everything and would they clean it out? I was hearing that when the bottom box was somewhere about 60% filled, another box should be put in place to avoid swarming.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 14, 2024, 06:40:22 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 14, 2024, 06:40:22 PM
I haven't had an opportunity to watch the inspection video yet, been really busy around here this week, but just based on the conversation, I probably agree with beesnweeds. At this point, the brood nest is going to continue to condense more and more, and what you are looking to do is have them fill those brood frames with stores as they empty them of brood. Not so much that they don't have enough room, but I'm assuming in your area you are looking to have that single deep packed for winter. The fact that you still have some brood is a good sign, but the bees are in compression mode, so you should be too.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 07:27:14 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 07:27:14 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on August 14, 2024, 06:40:22 PMThey definitely are reducing numbers and you make me feel better about that. I was wondering what was going on there. Thanks
I haven't had an opportunity to watch the inspection video yet, been really busy around here this week, but just based on the conversation, I probably agree with beesnweeds. At this point, the brood nest is going to continue to condense more and more, and what you are looking to do is have them fill those brood frames with stores as they empty them of brood. Not so much that they don't have enough room, but I'm assuming in your area you are looking to have that single deep packed for winter. The fact that you still have some brood is a good sign, but the bees are in compression mode, so you should be too.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 08:12:10 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 14, 2024, 08:12:10 PM
And what's this fall flow I've heard about. Where are they going to put that?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 14, 2024, 11:58:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 14, 2024, 11:58:50 PM
Do you have a fall flow? Is it reliable? Is it strong? For me, my fall flow is variable and never overly intense, so what I've kind of learned is to just plan like it isn't there. If it happens, then great, they'll REALLY pack it in. If not, I may have to feed to get the smaller colonies what they need for winter. Some of my colonies will have already quit brood rearing when I winterize the hives around Halloween, and I'd like those colonies to have every single frame full of stores if possible (for me that's 16 medium frames per colony). This means I don't really care if they backfill their brood nest and basically run out of room at the end of flying season, because there is essentially no risk of swarming by then for me. But your flows and timing could and likely will be a bit different than mine. And we're not there yet, most of my colonies are in 3-4 mediums right now, but I'm concentrating on keeping them as condensed as possible so the bees can protect their stores against robbers and pests and so any small amount of honey they are still putting up is tightly packed in so they have full frames going into winter.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 15, 2024, 08:15:33 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 15, 2024, 08:15:33 AM
I don't know if we have a fall flow or not. Thanks for the info.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on August 15, 2024, 09:57:08 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on August 15, 2024, 09:57:08 AM
Our fall flow varies from nothing to bumper crop.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 17, 2024, 06:43:11 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 17, 2024, 06:43:11 PM
With some help in the lifting department from my dad, I finally got the honey supers overtop of escape boards in my giant hives. So I'll be bringing in 5 boxes of honey tomorrow. Dad did get stung on the arm through his shirt. Again, one of the hives had some uncapped honey fermenting in the comb, but no sign of beetles. Not sure why this is happening this year. Was it just uncapped for too long with not enough bees to efficiently dry it? Good year for environmental yeasts?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on August 17, 2024, 09:34:52 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on August 17, 2024, 09:34:52 PM
Yes, Good year for environmental yeasts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 21, 2024, 09:07:28 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 21, 2024, 09:07:28 PM
I went through my nuc hive and my primary hive today. The Nuc just came off of a treatment of formic pro and the queen did survive. The hive is active but I'm thinking that their numbers are low and they have no stores. Here's the video of that.
https://rumble.com/v5bucfp-august-21-2024-nuc-inspection.html
The primary hive looks a little lean but I'm not sure. They do have a medium super pretty full of honey and some scattered around the bottom brood box. I was recommended to remove a deep and a medium and I had intended to do that today but the top brood box has three decent frames of life that I just couldn't bring myself to eliminate. I expect that a hive collapse is forthcoming but I'm not sure how to do it. I will go through my swarm hive tomorrow so I'll have a full overview of my apiary's status.
Should I move those three frames of life over to the nuc? Should I consider splitting the nuc between the primary hive and the swarm hive? I know the latter can't be considered until I inspect the swarm hive and see what's going on in there.
Here are Parts I and II of the main hive inspection. There is a third part but there is nothing of value in it, it's just me cleaing the bees out of the empty super and putting the top back on. Somewhere in there there is some sailor talk when I got stung on my fingertip. If that's a problem, I can remove that link and people can find it on their own accord through my channel if they so desire.
Thanks for any help. And I watch them at 1.5x unless and until I need to see something closer.
Mod Edit: Part 1 has been removed due to language.
https://rumble.com/v5bv44d-august-21-2024-hive-1-inspection-part-ii.html
https://rumble.com/v5bucfp-august-21-2024-nuc-inspection.html
The primary hive looks a little lean but I'm not sure. They do have a medium super pretty full of honey and some scattered around the bottom brood box. I was recommended to remove a deep and a medium and I had intended to do that today but the top brood box has three decent frames of life that I just couldn't bring myself to eliminate. I expect that a hive collapse is forthcoming but I'm not sure how to do it. I will go through my swarm hive tomorrow so I'll have a full overview of my apiary's status.
Should I move those three frames of life over to the nuc? Should I consider splitting the nuc between the primary hive and the swarm hive? I know the latter can't be considered until I inspect the swarm hive and see what's going on in there.
Here are Parts I and II of the main hive inspection. There is a third part but there is nothing of value in it, it's just me cleaing the bees out of the empty super and putting the top back on. Somewhere in there there is some sailor talk when I got stung on my fingertip. If that's a problem, I can remove that link and people can find it on their own accord through my channel if they so desire.
Thanks for any help. And I watch them at 1.5x unless and until I need to see something closer.
Mod Edit: Part 1 has been removed due to language.
https://rumble.com/v5bv44d-august-21-2024-hive-1-inspection-part-ii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 21, 2024, 10:37:20 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 21, 2024, 10:37:20 PM
That primary hive has way too much space for how many bees are in there. I would get them down to one deep plus the full medium. Just remove some of the frames from the bottom box that aren't fully drawn out or are partially empty and put the nice frames from the second deep in their place. Freeze the frames you've removed for 24-48 hours to kill any pests and store them in bins or tightly stacked boxes for the winter.
I'm not sure about the best setup for the nuc, since I have no experience with overwintering nucs, but they will obviously need some sort of food. Glad to see the treatment wasn't too hard on them. Remember to do a follow-up mite check to be sure the treatment was effective.
I'm not sure about the best setup for the nuc, since I have no experience with overwintering nucs, but they will obviously need some sort of food. Glad to see the treatment wasn't too hard on them. Remember to do a follow-up mite check to be sure the treatment was effective.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 21, 2024, 11:17:14 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 21, 2024, 11:17:14 PM
OK, thanks. The videos are great for me to look back on and review, they help me see things that I didn't log into my memory when I was inspecting. It does look like I have three frames that I can pull out of the bottom box. Maybe I can move the removed frames over to where some completely empty frames are in the nuc box. I'll review that one too and see if that looks feasible.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 23, 2024, 03:12:07 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 23, 2024, 03:12:07 PM
Hey Terri, I forgot to mention something. My memory was jogged today when I was working on cleaning up some boxes. Don't be too aggressive about scraping propolis as the weather turns cooler. Propolis is bees' caulk, and this time of year they will start to aggressively propolize boxes in preparation for winter, so don't scrape it all off. They have put it there to help keep themselves warm, along with a host of other benefits. I'm actually at the point where I only scrape boxes for storage, never when a box is in use, because that stuff is good for the girls.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 23, 2024, 05:43:54 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 23, 2024, 05:43:54 PM
Dad took the younger kids on a weekend trip, so it was a great day to get uninterrupted work done. I've got some wax melting in the crock pot, and I spent basically all day cleaning frames and scraping boxes and getting my equipment corner in the garage organized. I spilled maybe a tablespoon of honey, and as a result had about 100 bees sniffing about while I was working. :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 23, 2024, 06:28:39 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 23, 2024, 06:28:39 PM
A little late for the word on the propolis for this event but I'll remember it next time. I hadn't been cleaning it off and things were getting hard to move around.
Anyhow...today it was swarm hive inspection. I was hoping that they would fill two deep boxes with brood but that idea didn't pan out. I have the brood in the bottom box and the top box is getting filled with nectar and honey. At this point, I wish I had a medium up top but it is what it is. I've been feeding them all summer long and it looks to me like they have a good enough supply of stores in the works. Enough that I may even be able to move some over to the nuc box but I'll have to wait a little longer and see. Not stings today, that was nice for a change.
Part I
https://rumble.com/v5c447o-august-23-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
Part II
https://rumble.com/v5c4kgz-august-23-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Anyhow...today it was swarm hive inspection. I was hoping that they would fill two deep boxes with brood but that idea didn't pan out. I have the brood in the bottom box and the top box is getting filled with nectar and honey. At this point, I wish I had a medium up top but it is what it is. I've been feeding them all summer long and it looks to me like they have a good enough supply of stores in the works. Enough that I may even be able to move some over to the nuc box but I'll have to wait a little longer and see. Not stings today, that was nice for a change.
Part I
https://rumble.com/v5c447o-august-23-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
Part II
https://rumble.com/v5c4kgz-august-23-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 23, 2024, 07:55:46 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 23, 2024, 07:55:46 PM
Yeah, I see that about the propolis. :cheesy: Feel free obviously to remove any propolis on the sides of frames or anywhere that it's keeping you from getting a frame in and out without too much hassle. Just don't remove any (more) for kicks. Don't worry though, the bees will likely have replaced all of it by the next inspection. :grin: You just don't want to go on a propolis scraping campaign right before flying weather ends, or they'll be in trouble.
How much honey do you need to overwinter in your area? Is overwintering in one deep an option for you? I think that colony looks like one deep is enough room for them, provided they don't need more honey than that to overwinter successfully. It's unlikely they'll draw more wax this season, and honestly, I don't know that you want them too, since they will burn through their stores making comb. I'd put the fullest best honey frames in the bottom box on the outsides of the brood nest and store any extras to give back to them as the brood nest shrinks if needed.
How much honey do you need to overwinter in your area? Is overwintering in one deep an option for you? I think that colony looks like one deep is enough room for them, provided they don't need more honey than that to overwinter successfully. It's unlikely they'll draw more wax this season, and honestly, I don't know that you want them too, since they will burn through their stores making comb. I'd put the fullest best honey frames in the bottom box on the outsides of the brood nest and store any extras to give back to them as the brood nest shrinks if needed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 23, 2024, 09:00:15 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 23, 2024, 09:00:15 PM
If I heard correctly, we need about 60 lbs of honey for a hive through a winter. I am under the impression that a medium 10 frame box weighs about 60 lbs full and a deep weighs about 90. If I am correct on all of that, both my primary hive and my swarm hive should have enough to overwinter but my nuc hive is far from it. I still have some finished comb in my swarm trap that I think I'll move into my nuc hive and start feeding them all of the 2:1 that they'll take.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 24, 2024, 05:29:19 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 24, 2024, 05:29:19 PM
That sounds right to me. This is the thing about overwintering nucs, if I understand it correctly anyway: you will have to feed them all winter, because there is no way for them to put up the stores they need. I'm also not sure, with their extremely limited space, what is the appropriate timing for encouraging them to backfill the brood nest with syrup. You don't want them to swarm if your winter weather is slow in coming, nor do you want them to have the frames clogged with syrup too early and then have them not raise enough winter bees. But you also want them to be as packed full of food as possible and if they have nothing at all right now and your nectar flow is weak, they could potentially even starve without feed. It seems tenuous to me, but I've never done it. Can someone who has actually overwintered nucs offer some advice here?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 24, 2024, 08:57:38 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 24, 2024, 08:57:38 PM
I sent the video to my mentor and he suggests that I feed the nuc 1:1 and assess the situation mid September.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 24, 2024, 09:09:12 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 24, 2024, 09:09:12 PM
I think that sounds like a good course of action. The 1:1 should keep them brood rearing, and they should store it a little slower than 2:1.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 24, 2024, 09:54:57 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 24, 2024, 09:54:57 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 24, 2024, 08:57:38 PMIt's too late for 1:1. The nuc won't have enough time to dry out the syrup and will create too much moisture in the colony, feed 2:1. I would kill the queen in your primary hive and 24 hours later combine one deep with the swarm hive and the full medium. That queen (brood pattern) looks pretty good in the swarm colony. Make one nice colony to overwinter. Honestly, that nuc probably isn't going to overwinter or at least here it wouldn't. I overwinter in 5 over 5 nucs, no feeding necessary.
I sent the video to my mentor and he suggests that I feed the nuc 1:1 and assess the situation mid September.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 24, 2024, 10:53:49 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 24, 2024, 10:53:49 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on August 24, 2024, 09:54:57 PMTerri, beesnweeds's climate is likely closer to yours than mine, so this is a valid concern. In my area we are looking at another 2-2.5 months of flying weather, but you likely are not, something I wasn't considering.
It's too late for 1:1. The nuc won't have enough time to dry out the syrup and will create too much moisture in the colony, feed 2:1.
Quote from: beesnweeds on August 24, 2024, 09:54:57 PMAnother option would be to recombine the nuc with the primary hive. Beesnweeds, if Terri wanted to, do you think he has enough time left to feed the nuc up to 5 over 5?
I would kill the queen in your primary hive and 24 hours later combine one deep with the swarm hive and the full medium. That queen (brood pattern) looks pretty good in the swarm colony. Make one nice colony to overwinter. Honestly, that nuc probably isn't going to overwinter or at least here it wouldn't. I overwinter in 5 over 5 nucs, no feeding necessary.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 24, 2024, 11:33:02 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 24, 2024, 11:33:02 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on August 24, 2024, 10:53:49 PM
Another option would be to recombine the nuc with the primary hive. Beesnweeds, if Terri wanted to, do you think he has enough time left to feed the nuc up to 5 over 5?
If he had 5 fully drawn out deep frames they could possibly store enough. He may be better off just putting a block of bakers fondant above the inner cover.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on August 25, 2024, 01:08:50 AM
Post by: cao on August 25, 2024, 01:08:50 AM
I always say that I will combine small hives in the fall, but somehow, I never do. I just let nature take its course. I am always surprised when those small hives make it. I haven't fed my bees sugar in at least 3 or 4 years. Last winter it was a 10-frame medium hive that made it. They are usually some of the first hives that need boxes added in the spring.
Around here we have at least 2 months of flying weather so when I used to feed it would usually be the end of september when I really started and then it would be the thickest sugar water I could make.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 24, 2024, 08:57:38 PM
I sent the video to my mentor and he suggests that I feed the nuc 1:1 and assess the situation mid September.
Around here we have at least 2 months of flying weather so when I used to feed it would usually be the end of september when I really started and then it would be the thickest sugar water I could make.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 07:46:19 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 07:46:19 AM
Quote from: beesnweeds on August 24, 2024, 09:54:57 PMThanks for taking the time to review it and your approach sounds solid. I don't know where you are in the Adirondacks but my camp up north is about four weeks ahead of us here with the turn of the seasons. My mentor and class teachers are adamantly still pushing 1:1 but I don't know why, I'm still trying to sort that out. They are rearing brood right now so it is possible that 1:1 would be used for feeding them immediately? My mentor recommends assessing the situation in mid September and combining things then. I guess that in the meantime, I'll stuff them with as much syrup as I can.Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 24, 2024, 08:57:38 PMIt's too late for 1:1. The nuc won't have enough time to dry out the syrup and will create too much moisture in the colony, feed 2:1. I would kill the queen in your primary hive and 24 hours later combine one deep with the swarm hive and the full medium. That queen (brood pattern) looks pretty good in the swarm colony. Make one nice colony to overwinter. Honestly, that nuc probably isn't going to overwinter or at least here it wouldn't. I overwinter in 5 over 5 nucs, no feeding necessary.
I sent the video to my mentor and he suggests that I feed the nuc 1:1 and assess the situation mid September.
Thanks again.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 25, 2024, 03:17:46 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 25, 2024, 03:17:46 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 07:46:19 AMThats sounds right, I just figure the sooner hives are prepared for winter the better off they will be.
I don't know where you are in the Adirondacks but my camp up north is about four weeks ahead of us here with the turn of the seasons.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 07:46:19 AMI'm not sure why either. Flowers don't produce 1:1 nectar in the spring and 2:1 in the fall. Water to sugar content in flowers is all over the place. For whatever reason most beekeepers believe 1:1 produces more brood and 2:1 is stored and maybe that's the case in southern states, I don't know. My bees want the carbs, so they are fine with 2:1 anytime and can collect water if they want. I never saw any difference between hives fed different ratios except for fall when it's harder for them to dry 1:1. Wet nectar or syrup can remain uncapped after the first frost causing moisture issues.
My mentor and class teachers are adamantly still pushing 1:1.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 05:24:22 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 05:24:22 PM
I was wondering if thicker syrup would bother them. Ill see how things look this week and maybe switch some of to 2:1.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 05:50:37 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 05:50:37 PM
If I put one jar of each in the hives, will they pick which one they want?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 25, 2024, 06:20:38 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 25, 2024, 06:20:38 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 05:50:37 PMOnly one way to find out. My hypothesis is they will prefer the 2:1, because they know it will be less work to dry.
If I put one jar of each in the hives, will they pick which one they want?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 07:46:19 AMI agree that this is very strange and not typical. Maybe ask you mentor or someone at your club about it next time you have the opportunity, because I've honestly never heard anyone advocate for thinner syrup in the fall.
My mentor and class teachers are adamantly still pushing 1:1.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 25, 2024, 07:10:30 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 25, 2024, 07:10:30 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 25, 2024, 05:50:37 PMThey don't care, bees are hoarders and will take all the sugar they can get. Thats why we are able to take some honey and leave enough for the winter most years. 2:1 is just easier for them to cap sooner for winter stores. If cold weather kicks in before they have a chance to dry and cap honey or sugar syrup it could ferment so they won't be able to use it.
If I put one jar of each in the hives, will they pick which one they want?
Quote from: The15thMember on August 25, 2024, 06:20:38 PMI've honestly never heard anyone advocate for thinner syrup in the fall.Agree, I've never heard that as well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on August 26, 2024, 04:35:49 AM
Post by: Lesgold on August 26, 2024, 04:35:49 AM
Just finished an early season check on about a dozen hives. All queens are in build up mode and laying with 4 to 6 frames of brood in most hives. A bit of drone brood is showing up with the odd drone walking on combs. Did alcohol wash tests on 10 hives for negative results. Nice to know that there may be a little more time before the work rate increases due to the arrival of the pest. White wax is just starting to show near top bars on some of the frames. Plenty of pollen present with some nectar coming in to support the youngsters as they grow.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on August 27, 2024, 03:53:02 AM
Post by: Lesgold on August 27, 2024, 03:53:02 AM
Just finished checking 6 hives in another location. All varroa free at this stage. Replaced all bottom boards and manipulated frames and boxes as required. This is the hottest pre spring weather I?ve ever experienced. The bees are loving it and all flowering plants are scratching their heads wondering what the heck is going on. A couple of days ago it hit 29C which is crazy for winter. I sure Max will be getting even hotter weather as he is over 1000km north of me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 28, 2024, 10:59:45 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 28, 2024, 10:59:45 AM
Swarm hive guzzled two quarts of 1:1 in less than two days so last night I gave them a quart of 1:1 and one of 2:1 to see what happens. this morning I looked and both jars are almost 1/2 empty already and the 1:1 is just a tad lower than the 2:1. This could be due to size and number of holes in the lid. They seem to like something about that empty box on top with the feeders in it, they're hanging out all over in there.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on August 28, 2024, 12:04:13 PM
Post by: NigelP on August 28, 2024, 12:04:13 PM
Just finished extracting the last of my summer blossom honey today. Phew, that's one job over and done with for this year.
Tomorrow I go and see how the girls have done on the heather. Last I looked they were pouring it in, so expecting good things .
Year end is in sight....bring back heather honey, press out heather honey. Bring back hives to home apiaries.
Treat all hives for varroa and make preparations for winter feeding of thick syrup.
Will have to pop to wholesalers for a couple of hundred kilos of sugar.
Then time for a holiday. Yippee.
Tomorrow I go and see how the girls have done on the heather. Last I looked they were pouring it in, so expecting good things .
Year end is in sight....bring back heather honey, press out heather honey. Bring back hives to home apiaries.
Treat all hives for varroa and make preparations for winter feeding of thick syrup.
Will have to pop to wholesalers for a couple of hundred kilos of sugar.
Then time for a holiday. Yippee.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 28, 2024, 12:59:26 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 28, 2024, 12:59:26 PM
Your busy! Nigel which honey do you use for your softest honey as your featured in the Original Post here on this topic?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on August 28, 2024, 01:39:24 PM
Post by: NigelP on August 28, 2024, 01:39:24 PM
Ben for the soft set honeys I usually use our spring honeys which are usually quite quick to set due to Oil seed rape (Canola), so not good to sell to customers as "runny" honey. But as we have had a crap spring harvest this season it will probably be made with early summer blossom this year. I've found with UK honeys it doesn't really matter what you use, as long as you have a good seed to add to the runny. It makes a good use of honeys that I can't sell as runny.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 02:57:51 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 02:57:51 PM
Inspected my Hive #1 and nuc today and now it is definitely time to merge. I moved stuff around in the main hive and had one frame of life that I put in the upper box, where I will put the nuc colony. My thoughts are to lift that box off, shake all bees off of that frame into the lower box, lay newspaper down and put the five frames of bees from the nuc plus the frame of brood that's there plus four frames of drawn come from my no longer needed swarm trap. That will fill everything up and give them room to store more honey. Mentor says that with paper merge, no waiting after killing queen is necessary. Wax moths have just started to set up camp in the swarm trap so those frames are in the freezer right now. Any corrections or advice are welcome.
In addition to spotty brood in the main hive, I found something that my mentor says looks like European foul brood. In this picture, it's just below and left of center. He makes it sound like it's not a contagious phenomenon but I don't know. What should I do about this? He mentioned maybe calling our state bee inspector and have him come take a look.
In addition to spotty brood in the main hive, I found something that my mentor says looks like European foul brood. In this picture, it's just below and left of center. He makes it sound like it's not a contagious phenomenon but I don't know. What should I do about this? He mentioned maybe calling our state bee inspector and have him come take a look.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 30, 2024, 03:20:27 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 30, 2024, 03:20:27 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 02:57:51 PMAll this sounds fine to me.
Inspected my Hive #1 and nuc today and now it is definitely time to merge. I moved stuff around in the main hive and had one frame of life that I put in the upper box, where I will put the nuc colony. My thoughts are to lift that box off, shake all bees off of that frame into the lower box, lay newspaper down and put the five frames of bees from the nuc plus the frame of brood that's there plus four frames of drawn come from my no longer needed swarm trap. That will fill everything up and give them room to store more honey. Mentor says that with paper merge, no waiting after killing queen is necessary. Wax moths have just started to set up camp in the swarm trap so those frames are in the freezer right now. Any corrections or advice are welcome.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 02:57:51 PMEFB is absolutely contagious, although it is curable, but I wouldn't combine the hives until you are sure they are healthy. I have never dealt with any brood disease so I can't speak to that with any degree of confidence. My first thought was that those babies just look like they are starving to me, but my opinion counts for nothing here. What is the rest of the brood like?
In addition to spotty brood in the main hive, I found something that my mentor says looks like European foul brood. In this picture, it's just below and left of center. He makes it sound like it's not a contagious phenomenon but I don't know. What should I do about this? He mentioned maybe calling our state bee inspector and have him come take a look.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 04:07:23 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 04:07:23 PM
What's the indication that they're starving? To me, they all look the same. What's the cure for the foul brood?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 30, 2024, 06:26:15 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 30, 2024, 06:26:15 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 04:07:23 PMFoulbrood is a bacterial disease. A break in the brood cycle and feeding syrup can help the infection to clear up on its own, as can putting the bees into clean equipment. I know people sometimes treat with the antibiotic oxytetracycline (brand name Terramycin) if an infestation is bad, but good luck getting your hands on antibiotics these days without a vet's prescription.
What's the cure for the foul brood?
The typical symptoms, again according to my book-learning only, are that the larvae die in twisted irregular positions, and lose their pearly white luster, turning cream and getting darker as they dry up. The dead larvae may give the brood nest a bad odor, which most publications describe as "sour". The bees have no trouble removing the dead larvae though, unlike the far worse AFB, where the dead larvae are sort of gummy and can be "roped out" with a toothpick or matchstick, something that won't happen with EFB.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 04:07:23 PMBee larvae, especially the really little babies, should be essentially swimming in food. I have arrows pointing to some of the very young larvae, and their cells are entirely dry. The question is are those larvae dying from a lack of food? Or are they not being fed because they are already dead? I also circled the single larva that seems to be in a strange position and is probably dead, but that larva doesn't look off-color to me. Some of the other older larvae are a little off-white, but it doesn't look too bad to me, and I have seen stressed larvae in starving colonies look a touch peaked before. But again, I've never dealt with a brood disease, at least that I know of, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
What's the indication that they're starving?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 06:46:59 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 30, 2024, 06:46:59 PM
Thanks for looking at this for me. I went out and went through the hive with a different perspective in mind. Sometimes I don't focus on the right things. First off, worker numbers are real low, none of the frames are fully covered in bees. Not all of the larvae look bad, just some and it looks like it's confined to one area. And while there is a super full of honey, there is hardly any pollen stored and they're not hauling it in in the morning and my two other hives are. Should I try feeding them some pollen patty? From what I found, one site suggests adding healthy frames to the colony to give it more strength. Adding the nuc would do that. I did just start feeding them earlier this week but they're not guzzling it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 30, 2024, 09:09:38 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 30, 2024, 09:09:38 PM
Okay, so the input they are lacking to feed the brood is pollen, not honey. The real question is if this is actually EFB (or some other disease) or not. If it's not, just combine the colonies and call it good. To me, it feels like throwing good money after bad to feed them and bolster them with the nuc if this colony is already so depleted. Although, you could combine them with the nuc, and if they do have something contagious, then you aren't exposing your full-sized colony to it. It really boils down to if this colony is safe to combine with another, and I just don't have any experience with something like this. Does anyone else have any opinions on what we're looking at here and what Terri's best course of action would be?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on August 31, 2024, 02:17:35 AM
Post by: Lesgold on August 31, 2024, 02:17:35 AM
Replaced a couple of bottom boards with the new ones that were made about two weeks ago. One hive that I looked into was pretty well full of brood. Time to add another box. I did notice 3 x supersedure queen cells on one frame. Looks like the old girls days are numbered.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 03:48:03 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 03:48:03 AM
> Does anyone else have any opinions on what we're looking at here and what Terri's best course of action would be?
Sounds to me like the colony has possibly swarmed itself to death, leaving a short supply of bees, and a good chance it has since Terri has continued to feed; Even during the flow as I recall? This along with short supply of bees to make enough royal jelly would do it, creating dry brood; Even if you had enough pollen you have to have the bees to make royal jelly . A lack of pollen here as well? If so adds to the story.. Is it possible the pollen stores were used up with so much feed combined with natural resources back when both were abundant and available. Were there a lot of bees back then? Was the colony thriving? If you will recall I suggested feeding pollen substitute as an aid, to go along with the feed and natural resources that were available, and explained why back when Terri revealed his intent to continue feeding the liquid during and 'after' the flow.. As I recall the advise was not heeded?
But it could be other things as well and of course these are only guesses, and I confess I 'gave up keeping up' with the specifics of the progress of Terris' hives 'reported within this topic' "What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?"
I doubt it is AFB or chalkboard looking at the picture as the dead brood is not sealed. Another thing it could be is sacbrood disease.
Calling your States Bee inspector for an inspection and insight may be a good option at this point in this case.....
These are just opinions and food for thought, there may be more to follow by others...
Sounds to me like the colony has possibly swarmed itself to death, leaving a short supply of bees, and a good chance it has since Terri has continued to feed; Even during the flow as I recall? This along with short supply of bees to make enough royal jelly would do it, creating dry brood; Even if you had enough pollen you have to have the bees to make royal jelly . A lack of pollen here as well? If so adds to the story.. Is it possible the pollen stores were used up with so much feed combined with natural resources back when both were abundant and available. Were there a lot of bees back then? Was the colony thriving? If you will recall I suggested feeding pollen substitute as an aid, to go along with the feed and natural resources that were available, and explained why back when Terri revealed his intent to continue feeding the liquid during and 'after' the flow.. As I recall the advise was not heeded?
But it could be other things as well and of course these are only guesses, and I confess I 'gave up keeping up' with the specifics of the progress of Terris' hives 'reported within this topic' "What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?"
I doubt it is AFB or chalkboard looking at the picture as the dead brood is not sealed. Another thing it could be is sacbrood disease.
Calling your States Bee inspector for an inspection and insight may be a good option at this point in this case.....
These are just opinions and food for thought, there may be more to follow by others...
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 05:15:41 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 05:15:41 AM
Quote from: Lesgold on August 31, 2024, 02:17:35 AM
Replaced a couple of bottom boards with the new ones that were made about two weeks ago. One hive that I looked into was pretty well full of brood. Time to add another box. I did notice 3 x supersedure queen cells on one frame. Looks like the old girls days are numbered.
Yep, Sally was a good ole gal! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 07:59:34 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 07:59:34 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 03:48:03 AM
> Does anyone else have any opinions on what we're looking at here and what Terri's best course of action would be?
Sounds to me like the colony has possibly swarmed itself to death, leaving a short supply of bees, and a good chance it has since Terri has continued to feed; Even during the flow as I recall? This along with short supply of bees to make enough royal jelly would do it, creating dry brood; Even if you had enough pollen you have to have the bees to make royal jelly . A lack of pollen here as well? If so adds to the story.. Is it possible the pollen stores were used up with so much feed combined with natural resources back when both were abundant and available. Were there a lot of bees back then? Was the colony thriving? If you will recall I suggested feeding pollen substitute as an aid, to go along with the feed and natural resources that were available, and explained why back when Terri revealed his intent to continue feeding the liquid during and 'after' the flow.. As I recall the advise was not heeded?
But it could be other things as well and of course these are only guesses, and I confess I 'gave up keeping up' with the specifics of the progress of Terris' hives 'reported within this topic' "What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?"
I doubt it is AFB or chalkboard looking at the picture as the dead brood is not sealed. Another thing it could be is sacbrood disease.
Calling your States Bee inspector for an inspection and insight may be a good option at this point in this case.....
These are just opinions and food for thought, there may be more to follow by others...
I had time to think on this and think it through. There are definitely not enough bees to tend to what brood there is. During the heat wave, there was a brood break, which may have contributed to this problem. I never fed this hive anything until just this week. I have noticed that they were not bringing in pollen for a while now and my nuc isn't bringing in all that much either. However, my swarm hive has been hard at work all along and that is the only hive I've been feeding. The queen in the big hive is still there, would they have swarmed without her? I have not found any capped queen cells during any of my inspections, outside of the one that spawned my nuc, and I understand why that one happened.
So, here is where I stand. Big hive is short on workers and pollen. I'm guessing not enough of either to feed the brood. The nuc hive was doing well when I looked at it last week but I did not go into the brood box this week. It does not have any food stores either and I think that merging it with the big hive would be the end of both. The swarm hive seems to be functioning properly, the brood is in one ten frame deep and the upper box is a deep that they are storing nectar in, possibly all syrup nectar. I do have some pollen patties, should I give them some of those? Should I look to merge with the swarm hive rather than the nuc?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 09:33:10 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 09:33:10 AM
> quoting Terri
Should I look to merge with the swarm hive rather than the nuc?
> quoting The15thMember
The real question is if this is actually EFB (or some other disease) or not.
I agree with Member.
As I suggested earlier, I doubt it is AFB or chalkboard looking at the picture as the dead brood is not sealed. Another thing it could be is sacbrood disease.
Adding The dead larva do not seem to have the dark color of EFB in the provided picture. (But that could be because they have not had enlightened time to do so?
So: Calling your States Bee inspector for an inspection and insight may be a good option at this point in this case.....
Should I look to merge with the swarm hive rather than the nuc?
> quoting The15thMember
The real question is if this is actually EFB (or some other disease) or not.
I agree with Member.
As I suggested earlier, I doubt it is AFB or chalkboard looking at the picture as the dead brood is not sealed. Another thing it could be is sacbrood disease.
Adding The dead larva do not seem to have the dark color of EFB in the provided picture. (But that could be because they have not had enlightened time to do so?
So: Calling your States Bee inspector for an inspection and insight may be a good option at this point in this case.....
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 09:42:31 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 09:42:31 AM
One more question, (for now), didnt you get these weak hives from your mentor across the street?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 10:55:35 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 10:55:35 AM
I did put a call in to our local bee inspector yesterday, I probably won't hear from him until at least Tuesday. This hive was a nuc that I bought this spring. Sometime in June, after I manipulated some stuff around, they made a new queen and that's when I split them into a nuc box. About a month ago, my mentor and I tested this hive for mites and all looked good. Only got one mite. I have noticed that they were not bringing pollen in for a while now but I didn't recognize the significance of that. They were never short on space but they weren't filling all the frames with comb either. I crammed them into the deep and just left them with the full super on top. There is room in the brood box to fill with whatever they want. I gave them some 1:1 syrup a few days ago but they were slow to take it. I gave them more plus a cut of pollen patty to see if they have any interest in it and I reduced their entrance to prevent robbing. All summer I didn't find any intruders but this week I found a moth, a yellow jacket and a hive beetle in there. The yellow jacket might have flown in after I opened the hive, I don't know.
I did not get any bees from my neighbor.
I did not get any bees from my neighbor.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on August 31, 2024, 10:57:22 AM
Post by: NigelP on August 31, 2024, 10:57:22 AM
Doesn't really look like sac brood, you get these "slipper" shaped larvae (see centre of picture below). I've had a bout of it this season so have come across quite a few larvae looking like this. The circled larvae in Terri's picture looks melted, as do several of the others, which is very indicative of EFB . Healthy larvae should have nice well defined segments like the two near the right hand bees rear.
Bee inspector should be called for sure IMHO, there is something wrong here.
Also sterilise tools and gloves between individual hives when inspecting.
(https://uk.honeyflow.com/cdn/shop/files/Sacbrood-circ_1600x.jpg?v=1713260551)
Bee inspector should be called for sure IMHO, there is something wrong here.
Also sterilise tools and gloves between individual hives when inspecting.
(https://uk.honeyflow.com/cdn/shop/files/Sacbrood-circ_1600x.jpg?v=1713260551)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 31, 2024, 11:45:42 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 31, 2024, 11:45:42 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 03:48:03 AMSeeing is better. If you watched the mid August video the hive is in 2 deeps, a queen excluder, 2 mediums with very little drawn comb, few bees, a failing queen and supersedure cells. Too much room too fast with a failing queen, on and off again feeding equals high stress. If you research EFB one of the causes is high stress.
Sounds to me like the colony has possibly swarmed itself to death, leaving a short supply of bees, and a good chance it has since Terri has continued to feed;
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 01:14:01 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 01:14:01 PM
I didn't feed/not feed this hive. I hadn't fed them until just this week. And I don't understand. I've been told to add a box when the current one is 60% or more capacity, which is what I did. And this crew has always built 'practice' queen cells for some reason so that didn't get my attention either. Now, this current spotty brood is another story, I don't recall seeing it like this before. If the brood was all tight, the workers would be better able to tend to it. Now, this morning, they are bringing in pollen. Not as much as one other hive but they are bringing it in, which makes me feel a little better. I texted my mentor and asked if he was available as I had questions and he responded that he's away for the weekend. :angry: That's no reason he couldn't cut me five minutes on the phone.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on August 31, 2024, 01:34:59 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on August 31, 2024, 01:34:59 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 01:14:01 PMOkay, I thought you were feeding them when you got them. You need to feed a hive until its 2 fully drawn deeps when you get them. Thats the goal for a first year hive.
I didn't feed/not feed this hive. I hadn't fed them until just this week. And I don't understand. I've been told to add a box when the current one is 60% or more capacity, which is what I did.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 01:46:43 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 01:46:43 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on August 31, 2024, 01:34:59 PMQuote from: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 01:14:01 PMOkay, I thought you were feeding them when you got them. You need to feed a hive until its 2 fully drawn deeps when you get them. Thats the goal for a first year hive.
I didn't feed/not feed this hive. I hadn't fed them until just this week. And I don't understand. I've been told to add a box when the current one is 60% or more capacity, which is what I did.
So did I and ever since.
Quote from: NigelP on August 31, 2024, 10:57:22 AM
Doesn't really look like sac brood, you get these "slipper" shaped larvae (see centre of picture below). I've had a bout of it this season so have come across quite a few larvae looking like this. The circled larvae in Terri's picture looks melted, as do several of the others, which is very indicative of EFB . Healthy larvae should have nice well defined segments like the two near the right hand bees rear.
Bee inspector should be called for sure IMHO, there is something wrong here.
Also sterilise tools and gloves between individual hives when inspecting.
Agreed!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 02:39:13 PM
Post by: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 02:39:13 PM
I zipped through so I might have missed it, but did you see eggs? Unless you knocked the bees off that frame, there are not enough to tend brood.
I don't know what the rest of that hive looks like, but I would 1. verify that you have a queen and 2. since it is Sept, start cramming them down. now is not the time to put other hives at risk by combining or taking resources.
The one thing you could do is shake workers from another hive into that one IF you know you have a queen and if the other hive has plenty of brood to replace a couple of frames you shake off.
In northern climates you should be feeding the thickest syrup they will take if they need to be fed. There's not much time for them to cure it and in a hive without enough bees, not the forces to cure it.
I don't know what the rest of that hive looks like, but I would 1. verify that you have a queen and 2. since it is Sept, start cramming them down. now is not the time to put other hives at risk by combining or taking resources.
The one thing you could do is shake workers from another hive into that one IF you know you have a queen and if the other hive has plenty of brood to replace a couple of frames you shake off.
In northern climates you should be feeding the thickest syrup they will take if they need to be fed. There's not much time for them to cure it and in a hive without enough bees, not the forces to cure it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 02:58:31 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 02:58:31 PM
Kathyp, you bring up a point that I had wondered about...can I shake bees from a different colony into one without them getting killed off? I do have a colony that may be able to afford a frame. I did see the queen and some very small larvae but I did not see any eggs. That does not mean that there aren't any, just that I was unable to see them but I did look. And I did not shake bees and agree, there are not enough to care for the larvae that are there. I don't know if that would be a self correcting problem or not.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 03:09:15 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 03:09:15 PM
And I have more questions on syrup...does it all get put into storage or is some of it used to make bee bread? And what is the connection between 1:1 syrup and making wax?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on August 31, 2024, 03:58:37 PM
Post by: NigelP on August 31, 2024, 03:58:37 PM
The more important question is what is wrong with your colony? I can already see EFB looking larvae in your photo. CALL INSPECTOR get some expert advice rather than from a suspect mentor who advises 1:1 for winter feeding DOH. Don't stick your head in the sand and ignore things. IF you do have EFB your inaction my lead to the spread of disease to a lot of other beekeepers colonies. Do you want that on your head because you were too proud to ask for expert advice?
Eggs and queen mean nothing if your colony is badly infected; as your description and photos indicate.
Eggs and queen mean nothing if your colony is badly infected; as your description and photos indicate.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 04:08:52 PM
Post by: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 04:08:52 PM
QuoteEggs and queen mean nothing if your colony is badly infected; as your description and photos indicate.
While I don't disagree with you that some expert advice would be good, in the meantime, this looks more like lack of care because there are not enough bees to cover the brood.
while he waits for that expert advice, assuming he can get someone out, there are few things he can do.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 04:16:28 PM
Post by: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 04:16:28 PM
QuoteAnd I have more questions on syrup...does it all get put into storage or is some of it used to make bee bread? And what is the connection between 1:1 syrup and making wax?
I am not sure why you are thinking about drawing cells this late in the year. when is your 1st frost? How quickly are your days shortening? You are slightly south of my latitude but not by much. Think fall, not summer in your current care. You want as much brood as you can get and enough stores as you can get in. You don't want them spending energy building more comb even if you could get them to do that right now.
Make sure you have an adequate-sized brood nest that can be covered by workers. Make sure stores are in. Remove everything else. Yes, you can shake in young workers. They don't care much where they are. Just don't shake the queen. OR you can swap that hive location with the location of a strong hive and the workers will enter the weaker hive.
That any of this helps depends on whether or not you have disease in there as NigelP suggests.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on August 31, 2024, 04:17:04 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on August 31, 2024, 04:17:04 PM
Mowed
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 04:24:47 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 04:24:47 PM
Quote from: NigelP on August 31, 2024, 03:58:37 PM
The more important question is what is wrong with your colony? I can already see EFB looking larvae in your photo. CALL INSPECTOR get some expert advice rather than from a suspect mentor who advises 1:1 for winter feeding DOH. Don't stick your head in the sand and ignore things. IF you do have EFB your inaction my lead to the spread of disease to a lot of other beekeepers colonies. Do you want that on your head because you were too proud to ask for expert advice?
Eggs and queen mean nothing if your colony is badly infected; as your description and photos indicate.
Exactly!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 04:29:35 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 04:29:35 PM
Quote from: jtcmedic on August 31, 2024, 04:17:04 PM
Mowed
From what I can see, looks like a good location for your bees jtc.
There is something rewarding when mowing by the bees while wearing protection, almost fun! lol :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 04:48:18 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 04:48:18 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 10:55:35 AMIn case this line was overlooked in the pile. In the meantime, I need to mitigate damages as much as possible. I am but a newbee but from what I am gathering, I suspect that this is from a lack of food for the larvae and not enough workers to cover the brood. My hives are still kind of thin on comb so if I could safely coerce them to build some more, I'd bee happy about that. At this point, after condensing it, there is no more room for new comb in the problem hive but there is plenty of empty comb for brood and stores. They have a medium full of honey and I think that should pretty much get them through the winter. IIRC, 60 lbs is what they should need and by my best guess, a medium full of honey weighs that much. If I'm off on that, I welcome the correction. Oct 17 is our first frost prediction.
I did put a call in to our local bee inspector yesterday, I probably won't hear from him until at least Tuesday.
And...would syrup be fed to the larvae? If so, what concentration would bee best?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 31, 2024, 05:06:29 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 31, 2024, 05:06:29 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 03:09:15 PM
And I have more questions on syrup...does it all get put into storage or is some of it used to make bee bread? And what is the connection between 1:1 syrup and making wax?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 04:48:18 PMSyrup will be fed to larvae, but this hive has plenty of honey, so that's not the issue, the issue is lack of pollen, which the babies also need, and lack of nurse bees to feed them. Bees need to have full stomachs for their wax glands to start producing wax. So a strong flow will typically stimulate bees to draw. I'm under the impression that a very small amount of honey/nectar/syrup is used in the production of bee bread, but really not much. As Kathy said, drawing wax is essentially irrelevant for the time of year. This is because it takes the bees eating 8 pounds of honey to produce 1 pound of wax, and the bees have no wish to eat up all their stores right before winter. Bees right now, in healthy hives at least, are working on condensing the brood nest and guarding their stores and putting up the last little bits of nectar and pollen they can manage to get a hold of out and about, not on expanding the brood nest or drawing wax.
And...would syrup be fed to the larvae? If so, what concentration would bee best?
This colony is at the point where it is essentially failing. Combining them with either your other hive or your nuc will be the best course of action if the bee inspector gives them a clean bill of health. If not, then he should be able to advise you on what the best next step will be for your location and climate. I guess if you wanted to, you could try to bolster them with some donated pollen/pollen patty and/or some workers from another colony, but it may be throwing good money after bad at this point. If it was me, I'd just wait for the bee inspector.
In other news, I started doing my fall brood nest inspections today. Got one colony down from 4 boxes to 3, and was halfway through another colony when it started to thunder and get dark and windy. I knew rain was coming, so I was rushing to get the hive closed up, and I lifted a box that was a little too heavy a little too quickly and injured my back. :sad: Thankfully the rain held off long enough for me to gingerly walk up to the house and get someone to close up the hive for me. And thankfully my sister inspected with me my whole first season of beekeeping and helps me anytime there is a swarm, so she was able to get them closed up with no stings, even though the bees were pretty irritated that the roof was off and it was starting to sprinkle.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 05:17:44 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 05:17:44 PM
Having sprained my back several times at work in the freight industry, I have an idea on how bad it can be and here's hoping yours won't be too bad. You can't over stress the importance of safe lifting and caring for your back. You do not get a re-do on that. I'm not a doctor so I won't advise you on what I would do right now but if you're not crippled up in the morning, you should be in the clear.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 06:05:44 PM
Post by: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 06:05:44 PM
Back thing is a bummer. At least you were doing something not stupid. I tore mine up when I bent over and picked up the container of laundry detergent. Took weeks to heal up and I sure didn't want anyone to know how it happened :cheesy:
Good for you teaching your sister.
Good for you teaching your sister.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on August 31, 2024, 07:00:15 PM
Post by: The15thMember on August 31, 2024, 07:00:15 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 05:17:44 PMYeah, this is the second time I've injured my back lifting boxes, and I'm going to try and make sure it's my last. I'm going to rededicate myself to working out in the mornings, and in the future, I'm just going pull some frames out of a heavy box so I can lift it safely. It seems like a hassle and a waste of time, but it's way better than getting hurt. Thankfully my back doesn't seem too bad. It feels pretty good if I'm standing or sitting, but getting between those positions or bending over is really painful. I'm taking some tinctures and I've got the heating pad on it.
Having sprained my back several times at work in the freight industry, I have an idea on how bad it can be and here's hoping yours won't be too bad. You can't over stress the importance of safe lifting and caring for your back. You do not get a re-do on that. I'm not a doctor so I won't advise you on what I would do right now but if you're not crippled up in the morning, you should be in the clear.
Quote from: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 06:05:44 PMMy mom has a recurring back injury, and she has hurt herself several times doing stuff like that. She hurt her back one time just turning over in bed in a weird position. Back security requires constant vigilance! :grin:
Back thing is a bummer. At least you were doing something not stupid. I tore mine up when I bent over and picked up the container of laundry detergent. Took weeks to heal up and I sure didn't want anyone to know how it happened :cheesy:
Quote from: Kathyp on August 31, 2024, 06:05:44 PMIt wasn't so much teaching as that fact that it was my first year and I didn't have a mentor, so I wanted an extra set of eyes and hands, and she volunteered to help. She could probably do an inspection herself if she had to, but she really doesn't like getting sticky or stung (although her reactions are no where near as bad as mine). We have learned on the homestead that it's important for at least one other person to know how to care for an animal other than the typical caretaker, in case someone is sick or injured or on a trip.
Good for you teaching your sister.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 08:02:08 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on August 31, 2024, 08:02:08 PM
QuoteYeah, this is the second time I've injured my back lifting boxes, and I'm going to try and make sure it's my last.
The following topic may interest you?
Hive Lifts:
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=53409.msg481678#msg481678
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 01, 2024, 02:43:43 AM
Post by: NigelP on September 01, 2024, 02:43:43 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 04:48:18 PMThe number of eggs a queen lays is roughly proportional to number of worker bees in a hive. She doesn't lay more than they can cope with. If your bee numbers are not sufficient for the larvae then something is killing the worker bees or not enough are making it through to emergence.
and not enough workers to cover the brood.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 01, 2024, 08:39:55 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 01, 2024, 08:39:55 AM
Quote from: NigelP on September 01, 2024, 02:43:43 AMIt hasn't been all that long since we came out of a sweltering heat spell when no eggs were being laid. I didn't keep track of it all but that brood break probably helped get me where I am on this.Quote from: Terri Yaki on August 31, 2024, 04:48:18 PMThe number of eggs a queen lays is roughly proportional to number of worker bees in a hive. She doesn't lay more than they can cope with. If your bee numbers are not sufficient for the larvae then something is killing the worker bees or not enough are making it through to emergence.
and not enough workers to cover the brood.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 01, 2024, 10:48:48 AM
Post by: NigelP on September 01, 2024, 10:48:48 AM
If there was a brood break there should be loads of bees to cope with when she started laying again. The question is where did they go, or where did they die?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 01, 2024, 11:31:14 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 01, 2024, 11:31:14 AM
One house bee can cover three brood cells. During BeeFest 2023 and 2024 Michael Bush taught us to shave 1/16 inch off the sides of the frames which enables you to put an extra frame in the brood boxes. This allows one bee to cover 6 cells. This is great for fast build up.
If the bees don?t have food, either nectar or pollen or both, they will remove/eat the eggs and wet larvae.
Jim Altmiller
If the bees don?t have food, either nectar or pollen or both, they will remove/eat the eggs and wet larvae.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 01, 2024, 03:04:35 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 01, 2024, 03:04:35 PM
Thanks, Jim, I suspected that there would be a way for them to solve their problem if it is just low numbers. This morning as I sat out by the hives, which I usually do in the morning to observe them, I saw quite a few bees on the ground in front of the hive in question that looked like they were dying. I have not seen this before and the other two hives did not have this issue. They are flying but not bringing much pollen in. The swarm hive, OTOH, is working up a storm with lots of activity and a good percentage of the foragers bringing pollen in.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on September 01, 2024, 10:04:02 PM
Post by: Bill Murray on September 01, 2024, 10:04:02 PM
Quotethere are not enough to tend brood.
QuoteIf there was a brood break there should be loads of bees to cope with when she started laying again.
Nigel, that is only assuming there were plenty of bees there at the brood-break. Or maybe that was the reason for it.
QuoteThe number of eggs a queen lays is roughly proportional to number of worker bees in a hive. She doesn't lay more than they can cope with.
Also I have them all the time during pollen dearth cannibalize huge amounts of eggs and quit tending brood. Normally though if there are enough bees they usually haul them if they are hygienic enough, to want to.
Terri
Go here it will give you a good estimate of your bees on a frame. http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/beesest.html (http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/beesest.html)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 12:01:38 PM
Post by: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 12:01:38 PM
Was shooting my bow this morning and saw these guys again. They have been pretty persistent latley.
https://youtu.be/045KDq6Ier4?feature=shared
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https://youtu.be/045KDq6Ier4?feature=shared
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 02, 2024, 12:05:56 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 02, 2024, 12:05:56 PM
Yellow jackets?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 12:08:32 PM
Post by: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 12:08:32 PM
We always called them Japanese Hornets growing up. They are about 1.5-1.75? long. Some kind of Asian hornet.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 02, 2024, 12:10:42 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 02, 2024, 12:10:42 PM
Oh, nice, very nice. :angry:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 02, 2024, 12:13:21 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 02, 2024, 12:13:21 PM
Quote from: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 12:08:32 PMThey aren't Asian hornets or Japanese Giant hornets, they are European hornets. They've been in the US since the mid-1800s. They aren't too much trouble. They will just fly up, snag a bee or two and fly off.
We always called them Japanese Hornets growing up. They are about 1.5-1.75? long. Some kind of Asian hornet.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 12:15:55 PM
Post by: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 12:15:55 PM
My bad. I know they?ve been around and arnt the new and improved murder hornets.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 02, 2024, 12:19:12 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 02, 2024, 12:19:12 PM
There was a single report of Asian hornets in like South Carolina last year or something, but the nest was destroyed and nothing has come of it since. The Japanese Giant hornets, aka Murder Hornets, were sighted in Pacific Northwest a few years ago, and I haven't heard much on that since either. The yellow jackets, at least in my area, are really little by this time of year, around the size of my workers or even smaller. I haven't seen any Euro hornets this year, at least yet, although the bald-faced hornets have been around.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 02, 2024, 01:41:47 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 02, 2024, 01:41:47 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on September 02, 2024, 12:19:12 PMYou can scroll down to newsletter #14 to get the latest info.
There was a single report of Asian hornets in like South Carolina last year or something, but the nest was destroyed and nothing has come of it since.
https://agr.georgia.gov/yellow-legged-hornet
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 02:01:23 PM
Post by: .30WCF on September 02, 2024, 02:01:23 PM
It?s odd that now there are Japanese hornets, and I was taught as a kid to call these, Japanese hornets. Even if in error, it?s amusing that even before they were actually here, we were calling them Japanese hornets in my area.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 02, 2024, 05:23:43 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 02, 2024, 05:23:43 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on September 02, 2024, 01:41:47 PMAh, so there have been more sightings, but without a sensational name like "murder hornet", I guess there isn't much media coverage. :wink:
You can scroll down to newsletter #14 to get the latest info.
https://agr.georgia.gov/yellow-legged-hornet
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 02, 2024, 10:09:03 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 02, 2024, 10:09:03 PM
If I saw them buzzing my hives, I would take my Bug a salt out there and eliminate them. The salt tears there wings up and will also put salt in their body which also kills them.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 02, 2024, 10:58:14 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 02, 2024, 10:58:14 PM
I'm thinking the beekeepers in France wish it was that easy
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 03, 2024, 08:20:21 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on September 03, 2024, 08:20:21 AM
I've really been enjoying my A Salt Rifle.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 03, 2024, 08:27:58 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 03, 2024, 08:27:58 AM
Michael,
I'm on my second one. I wore the first one out. The biggest problem that I now have is that I no longer have a "Target Rich Environment". Most of the time I only have a fly or two to shoot. When I first got one there were hundreds of targets. When we first built the carport, there were lots of horse and yellow flies. now it is rare to see one out there.
Jim Altmiller
I'm on my second one. I wore the first one out. The biggest problem that I now have is that I no longer have a "Target Rich Environment". Most of the time I only have a fly or two to shoot. When I first got one there were hundreds of targets. When we first built the carport, there were lots of horse and yellow flies. now it is rare to see one out there.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 03, 2024, 09:13:38 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on September 03, 2024, 09:13:38 AM
My wife just asked me where my assault rifle is. I told her I don't have an assault rifle. She said, sure you do and you need to shoot these flies. OH!!!! A Salt Rifle. The target rich environment doesn't last but it's fun while it lasts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Salvo on September 03, 2024, 02:34:40 PM
Post by: Salvo on September 03, 2024, 02:34:40 PM
Bug A Salt demo:
https://youtu.be/My2n7bgRbAo
Sal
https://youtu.be/My2n7bgRbAo
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 03, 2024, 04:20:53 PM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 03, 2024, 04:20:53 PM
In the video, take note. The night before he and his son shot up about a hundred flies. While shooting the video the next day he only had 2 flies to shoot. A week later he might have a handful. Even around trash cans.
I?m lucky if I can find five flies around the trash can.
While my cows are eating out of the trough I shoot hundreds off of their backs, especially my bull. He totally ignores the shots, where as my cows will temporarily back off after being shot.
Jim Altmiller
I?m lucky if I can find five flies around the trash can.
While my cows are eating out of the trough I shoot hundreds off of their backs, especially my bull. He totally ignores the shots, where as my cows will temporarily back off after being shot.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 05, 2024, 10:26:23 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 05, 2024, 10:26:23 AM
Yesterday, I gave my swarm hive a full inspection, videos below. For some reason the camera shut down early on but there was nothing of value there so I went right to Part II. I performed a mite wash and only got one mite so I'm thrilled about that. This colony looks to me like it's doing well. They are bringing pollen in all day long and everything looks healthy to me except I wish they'd do a better job building their comb. I still have 2:1 syrup on and wonder if I should cease that or not. Let me know. Thanks.
https://rumble.com/v5dqk0t-september-4-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
https://rumble.com/v5dqowl-september-4-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-iii.html
https://rumble.com/v5dqk0t-september-4-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
https://rumble.com/v5dqowl-september-4-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-iii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 05, 2024, 06:08:50 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 05, 2024, 06:08:50 PM
And today, I went through my other two hives. To me, their numbers look low but then I don't really know. Both queens are spreading their brood across all of the frames in what doesn't look like a good pattern to me but they are laying. I didn't see signs of bad looking larvae like I did last week. I couldn't find my red marked queen but I did see the green marked one. That red marked one has a reputation for hiding somehow so it's not a big surprise. My area bee inspector called today and we have an appointment for an inspection next Wednesday. Once I'm inspected, I can even sell bees through next year. Not that I'd be looking to sell any but if I have to combine two, I may be able to give someone a queen who needs one, this late in the year. At this point, my hopes are to save one hive out of these two and my swarm hive looks on track to survive the winter.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 05, 2024, 09:02:50 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 05, 2024, 09:02:50 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 05, 2024, 10:26:23 AMI'd keep it on them, just go ahead and pack them full. Do not expect them to draw at the rate they were in the spring. They will likely only build more comb when what they are currently working on is full. Remember, they are in hoarding mode, not "let's invest in more comb" mode.
They are bringing pollen in all day long and everything looks healthy to me except I wish they'd do a better job building their comb. I still have 2:1 syrup on and wonder if I should cease that or not. Let me know. Thanks.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 06, 2024, 04:01:30 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 06, 2024, 04:01:30 PM
I've been wondering...the inspector is scheduled to come out on Wednesday and look at my hives. From the pictures I sent him, he thinks it looks like it's due to mites. I don't think that there are enough bees in there to steal enough for a mite check. Should I just treat with Formic Pro? If it's mites, the longer they're left unchecked, the worse it will get. When I checked them about a month ago, we only got one mite out of the colony.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 06, 2024, 06:06:46 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 06, 2024, 06:06:46 PM
I wouldn't do anything until he gets here, and certainly not FormicPro, since you are going to want to go through the colony without all that formic vapor to breathe in. If the colony is weak, the FormicPro could also just take them all out, and that kind of seems like a waste to me. If it is mites, a couple of days won't make any difference at this point.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 07, 2024, 07:34:59 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 07, 2024, 07:34:59 PM
I had my dad with me in the apiary today to do all my lifting, so I don't reinjure my back. We checked the supers of the colony that I was in the middle of when I got hurt, along with 2 more. One of them is already down to wintering size, and the other two I reduced by one box by removing partially drawn frames and drawn blanks. One of these colonies was a small spring swarm, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had put up enough honey for themselves, and the brood pattern on this queen was just phenomenal. I saw the queen and did a sugar roll, and they were at 2% infestation. That's not too bad, and they weren't showing any visible signs of PMS, so I'm calling them good to go. The big colonies were quite manageable, but the small colony is still fired up, even though they have the hive top feeder on and we seem to be having a decent fall flow. I'm surprised neither of us got stung; I could barely inspect their second box. Their mite count was very low, which didn't surprise me, since they only made it to 3 boxes season. Unless they calm down and explode in size in the spring, they are getting requeened first thing next year.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: .30WCF on September 11, 2024, 02:17:13 AM
Post by: .30WCF on September 11, 2024, 02:17:13 AM
I need to go in and pull the partially drawn frames too.
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Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 11, 2024, 08:29:28 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 11, 2024, 08:29:28 AM
My local bee inspector comes today, I'm looking forward to seeing what he has to say. Stay tuned.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 11, 2024, 02:13:55 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 11, 2024, 02:13:55 PM
OK, bee inspector has come and gone. Swarm hive is thriving and looking good for winter. The other two hives, not so much. Numbers are really low and there is some European foul brood in each but he recommends trying to combine and save. We killed the older queen and I'm going to paper merge this afternoon. We found one beetle cruising around and could see a mite on the back of one bee. I'm going to give them an oxalic dribble when I merge them and hope for the best. I would have merged them two or three weeks ago if not for concerns over the foul brood that I saw.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 11, 2024, 02:28:35 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 11, 2024, 02:28:35 PM
Sounds good. So I'm assuming his opinion was the that foulbrood was stress-induced, and hopefully combining them will boost both colonies to the point they can fight it off. Did he recommend feeding them? Or do they have enough stores between them for winter?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 11, 2024, 02:56:30 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 11, 2024, 02:56:30 PM
He recommended removing the honey super for now to prevent robbing and then feeding. He also recommended that I work them down into one five frame nuc box for winter. I have mixed up a batch of OA dribble and it's cooling now. Then I'll go out and try merging them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 12, 2024, 06:12:26 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on September 12, 2024, 06:12:26 AM
Feeding leads to robbing... Sometimes it's a necessary evil, but I would avoid it if you can.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 12, 2024, 08:57:41 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 12, 2024, 08:57:41 AM
Quote from: Michael Bush on September 12, 2024, 06:12:26 AMThanks, Michael, that angle hadn't crossed my mind.
Feeding leads to robbing... Sometimes it's a necessary evil, but I would avoid it if you can.
OK, the changes have been made. By now, my numbers are so low between those two hives that I am not optimistic that they will survive. On one hand I'm angry that my mentor, who is part of my beekeeping class program, didn't have five minutes to discuss the foul brood situation because he was 'away for the weekend already'. That ten days could have been critical. But OTOH, I don't usually blame others for my failures and ultimately, I am responsible for being where I am with this. Even though I'm a new beek, I feel the pain. I suspect that mites are the culprit but I didn't feel like I had enough bees in there to take a test ever since the lull in laying during the dearth. Again, a mentor could have helped me with that too.
I pulled the medium super and put it in the freezer for now. There is a bit of uncapped honey (nectar) in there and I need to know what to do with it. I get the feeling that it will ferment if I just leave it. Should I feed it back to them a little at a time?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on September 12, 2024, 10:57:30 AM
Post by: jtcmedic on September 12, 2024, 10:57:30 AM
Did my last batch of queens, got 15 nucs made up and gonna put them in to see how it goes, will over winter them( in Florida not much winter ) on double screens till January start of queen rearing
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on September 12, 2024, 11:44:11 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on September 12, 2024, 11:44:11 AM
Good accomplishment JTC. Are you planning on keeping the Nucs for your own apiary or sell next Spring?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 12, 2024, 12:02:58 PM
Post by: NigelP on September 12, 2024, 12:02:58 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 11, 2024, 02:56:30 PMI thought it looked like EFB from your earlier photos, so well done for calling inspector. Although his "treatment" seems a little strange to me. In the UK we shook swarm to get rid of all the infected larvae and bacteria, but might be a little late where you are.
He recommended removing the honey super for now to prevent robbing and then feeding. He also recommended that I work them down into one five frame nuc box for winter. I have mixed up a batch of OA dribble and it's cooling now. Then I'll go out and try merging them.
I know one thing I'd do (but it depends if you have another apiary site available to you) I'd separate your infected hive from your good one, EFB can easily be spread by drifting of bees. Not something we can do in the UK thought , if a site is infected with EFB the inspector puts on a stand still order on that site with no movement of hives in or out allowed.
Questions I'd be asking is where did it come from? If these bees came from your mentor I'd be asking him to check his bees very carefully. If not then it's possible there is an EFB infected dead out nearby that your bees were robbing. This was what was happening in the EFB outbreak we had near one of my apiary sites this year. There was an unlooked after hive that gave off infected swarms that settled but died. They then got robbed by nearby bees that became infected and so spread the disease. I was fortunate as all my hives were designated as uninfected despite being less than 2 miles from the source. Needless to say untended hive has now been destroyed so hopefully end of outbreak around me.
There are ways of taking mite samples that don't involve killing bees. Not as accurate perhaps, but ball park figures, I have open mesh floors on all my hives and can slide a tray underneath the mesh, leave for a few days and count the number of mites that have dropped through the mesh.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on September 12, 2024, 03:52:44 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on September 12, 2024, 03:52:44 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on September 12, 2024, 11:44:11 AMThey will be kept and replace any dead?s and or split in spring
Good accomplishment JTC. Are you planning on keeping the Nucs for your own apiary or sell next Spring?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 12, 2024, 08:21:37 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 12, 2024, 08:21:37 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 12, 2024, 08:57:41 AMIf the super is full, take the mostly empty deep off the swarm hive and put it on top for the winter.
Should I feed it back to them a little at a time?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 13, 2024, 12:10:18 AM
Post by: The15thMember on September 13, 2024, 12:10:18 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 12, 2024, 08:57:41 AMIt will be fine in the freezer. If you can't keep in in there, you could try to get it capped somehow, either by giving it back to them piecemeal or putting it on your strong hive. Just be sure the bees can protect it either way. I store frames with any stores in the them, including uncapped honey sometimes, in bins in my unheated garage over the winter. Sometimes they ferment, but as long as I disperse them amongst all my colonies in the spring and don't just give one colony a whole super of the open stuff, it doesn't seem to cause a problem. But you may only have one colony coming off winter, so . . . .
I pulled the medium super and put it in the freezer for now. There is a bit of uncapped honey (nectar) in there and I need to know what to do with it. I get the feeling that it will ferment if I just leave it. Should I feed it back to them a little at a time?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 08:44:58 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 08:44:58 AM
Thanks to both of you. I had considered using some for feed for the swarm hive if they need it. They do have a decent supply built up but giving them a frame or two and seeing what they do with it sounds like a good plan. And I fully expect to only have one hive left here before long and am keeping my fingers crossed to even have it after winter is over.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 13, 2024, 01:32:55 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 13, 2024, 01:32:55 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 08:44:58 AMI. I had considered using some for feed for the swarm hive if they need it.Did the inspector tell you they had enough stores for the winter?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 01:59:46 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 01:59:46 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on September 13, 2024, 01:32:55 PMHe said they looked good so not exactly that but that's how I took it.Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 08:44:58 AMI. I had considered using some for feed for the swarm hive if they need it.Did the inspector tell you they had enough stores for the winter?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 07:55:38 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 07:55:38 PM
So...I went out to complete the merge and they hadn't torn through the paper at all. I couldn't see the benefits of compressing them into one ten frame deep so I put them into the nuc hive. Five frames of life in the bottom, some pollen and nectar next box up and frames that need cleaning up above the inner cover. All of the comb has been cleaned up and ready for re-use, there was a small cluster of good looking, larger larvae. There was some spotty capped brood but I don't know if it's still live or not. I'm thinking that if it was dead, they would have cleaned them out too. The hive has settled down for now and there are enough bees clustered at the entrance to defend it for now.
The bottom board of the 10 frame hive looks to be littered with dead mites. It also had about six wax moth larvae crawling around, that have been dealt with.
I dosed them with an OA dribble yesterday, should I dose them again? And if so, when?
The bottom board of the 10 frame hive looks to be littered with dead mites. It also had about six wax moth larvae crawling around, that have been dealt with.
I dosed them with an OA dribble yesterday, should I dose them again? And if so, when?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 13, 2024, 08:35:28 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 13, 2024, 08:35:28 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 07:55:38 PMSo how many frames do they have access too at the moment? And how many frames are the bees covering?
So...I went out to complete the merge and they hadn't torn through the paper at all. I couldn't see the benefits of compressing them into one ten frame deep so I put them into the nuc hive. Five frames of life in the bottom, some pollen and nectar next box up and frames that need cleaning up above the inner cover. All of the comb has been cleaned up and ready for re-use, there was a small cluster of good looking, larger larvae.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 07:55:38 PMThe mites are dropping as a result of the treatment, so that is good. What was the colony's mite count originally?
The bottom board of the 10 frame hive looks to be littered with dead mites. It also had about six wax moth larvae crawling around, that have been dealt with.
I dosed them with an OA dribble yesterday, should I dose them again? And if so, when?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 09:11:58 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 09:11:58 PM
I put them in across five frames but coverage per frame was not the best. I don't really have an answer to that. Every frame in the bottom has some bees on it. They have access to ten frames in the nuc, the five with brood and the five with pollen and nectar. Then on top, above the inner cover, are five frames with nectar and some pollen that they can clean out.
And I got 4 mites in the nuc at last test about six weeks ago and 1 in the larger hive at the same time.
And I got 4 mites in the nuc at last test about six weeks ago and 1 in the larger hive at the same time.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 14, 2024, 12:15:37 AM
Post by: The15thMember on September 14, 2024, 12:15:37 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 09:11:58 PMIf they are barely covering 5 frames, then they likely should only have 5 frames. I mean, I understand that they need stores, so maybe I could justify them having 10 frames, but those ones above the inner cover are probably going to get invaded by wax moths and beetles. I doubt the bees will move the pollen around. They may move the nectar down, but if they don't in a couple of days, I'd absolutely remove that top box. That's just way too much space for the bees to protect.
I put them in across five frames but coverage per frame was not the best. I don't really have an answer to that. Every frame in the bottom has some bees on it. They have access to ten frames in the nuc, the five with brood and the five with pollen and nectar. Then on top, above the inner cover, are five frames with nectar and some pollen that they can clean out.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 13, 2024, 09:11:58 PMI personally wouldn't treat again with those numbers unless the mite drop you are seeing is huge (like 100+ mites). I personally wouldn't have treated a hive at all with numbers that low, but that is just me.
And I got 4 mites in the nuc at last test about six weeks ago and 1 in the larger hive at the same time.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 08:58:29 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 08:58:29 AM
OK, thanks. And another question...What would I look for in the swarm hive as a threshold to move a frame of brood over and if that's doable, should I move it covered with bees?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 14, 2024, 12:26:34 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 14, 2024, 12:26:34 PM
So, when you say the nuc has 5 frames of brood, how much brood is on each frame? Like, what's the rough percentage of cells containing babies on each frame? And same question for the swarm hive, do they have frames with wall-to-wall brood or are their brood frames looking a little sparse? Basically what I'm trying to understand is how starved is the nuc for brood and bees, and how much surplus does the swarm hive have. I wouldn't want you compromise the swarm hive for the nuc, which is potentially a losing battle at this point.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 14, 2024, 12:43:09 PM
Post by: NigelP on September 14, 2024, 12:43:09 PM
Personally I wouldn't add anything to an EFB infected hive. It either dies or survives. You are wasting unborn bees from a hive that might need them to get through the winter. Your queen will now be laying winter bees that are physiologically different from your short lived summer bees and you do not want to be giving them to another hive. And I certainly would not add a frame covered in bees as many of those bees will return to their original hive. A great way to possibly infect your swarm hive.
I'd simply reduce the number of frames to as few as possible in the nuc. Not sure if we use the same definition of Boxes/NUC, But in UK nuc boxes only hold 5 or 6 frames whereas our hives hold 11 or 12. in total. From your descriptions you want to get what remaining bees you have into a nuc to give you max density of bees. Burn any frames you don't use as these will be infected with EFB bacteria.
I'd simply reduce the number of frames to as few as possible in the nuc. Not sure if we use the same definition of Boxes/NUC, But in UK nuc boxes only hold 5 or 6 frames whereas our hives hold 11 or 12. in total. From your descriptions you want to get what remaining bees you have into a nuc to give you max density of bees. Burn any frames you don't use as these will be infected with EFB bacteria.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 12:45:31 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 12:45:31 PM
The nuc has very little capped brood and a small cluster of larvae. Not enough capped to even talk about. I guess what I'm wondering is if there's enough time left this season for them to hatch enough to make it through the winter if I gave them some brood out of the swarm hive. The swarm hive has well filled frames but we didn't go all the way through it so I don't know how many.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 12:48:35 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 12:48:35 PM
Quote from: NigelP on September 14, 2024, 12:43:09 PMThe inspector didn't indicate that EFB was a death sentence to anything and he also wasn't sure that it was EFB or just starvation and mites. He definitely said that burning the hardware was not needed on this.
Personally I wouldn't add anything to an EFB infected hive. It either dies or survives. You are wasting unborn bees from a hive that might need them to get through the winter. Your queen will now be laying winter bees that are physiologically different from your short lived summer bees and you do not want to be giving them to another hive. And I certainly would not add a frame covered in bees as many of those bees will return to their original hive. A great way to possibly infect your swarm hive.
I'd simply reduce the number of frames to as few as possible in the nuc. Not sure if we use the same definition of Boxes/NUC, But in UK nuc boxes only hold 5 or 6 frames whereas our hives hold 11 or 12. in total. From your descriptions you want to get what remaining bees you have into a nuc to give you max density of bees. Burn any frames you don't use as these will be infected with EFB bacteria.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 14, 2024, 01:40:24 PM
Post by: NigelP on September 14, 2024, 01:40:24 PM
Your bees Terri, do as you like with them.
There are lateral flow tests available to confirm the presence of EFB (or AFB). They are very similar to those covid lateral flow devices. Surprised your inspectors don't carry or use them. Very amateurish IMHO.
Now ask yourself how can it be starvation, given the copious quantities of feed you say you have been giving them?
I've also explained how you can get a rough assessment of mite levels without killing bees. I'll give you a second method that again doesn't involve killing bees, look for deformed wings on your adult bees. If you see several then your mite levels are probably high, if non then it's not mites. Your inspector should/would have noticed this if it was obvious.
Me thinks this hive is doomed, best to bite bullet and start again next spring, don't risk taking resources from your good surviving hive. But they are your bees not mine.
Now ask yourself another question, if you reuse the frames next season and get the same problem with a new hive then you personally will be responsible for killing a lot of bees; instead of taking a common sense approach and binning a few potentially contaminated frames that cost a few pounds (sorry dollars). With bees it's always better safe than sorry.
There are lateral flow tests available to confirm the presence of EFB (or AFB). They are very similar to those covid lateral flow devices. Surprised your inspectors don't carry or use them. Very amateurish IMHO.
Now ask yourself how can it be starvation, given the copious quantities of feed you say you have been giving them?
I've also explained how you can get a rough assessment of mite levels without killing bees. I'll give you a second method that again doesn't involve killing bees, look for deformed wings on your adult bees. If you see several then your mite levels are probably high, if non then it's not mites. Your inspector should/would have noticed this if it was obvious.
Me thinks this hive is doomed, best to bite bullet and start again next spring, don't risk taking resources from your good surviving hive. But they are your bees not mine.
Now ask yourself another question, if you reuse the frames next season and get the same problem with a new hive then you personally will be responsible for killing a lot of bees; instead of taking a common sense approach and binning a few potentially contaminated frames that cost a few pounds (sorry dollars). With bees it's always better safe than sorry.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 01:47:47 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 01:47:47 PM
Different hive that was guzzling syrup all season. Starvation or cold out from not enough bees in attendance to cover the numbers of larvae. Bee numbers were down and brood was spotty and spread out. One mite was visible on the back of one bee, inspector saw that and indicated that one in sight there indicated infestation. Number of mites on bottom board after treatment would support that but why didn't we find them when we checked? Did too much time pass since last testing? I think it was about six weeks since last test, might have been more. Did we not shake the jar of bees enough to knock mites loose, giving a bad test result? If there is a way to test for EFB, I'd be open to obtaining it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 14, 2024, 02:08:06 PM
Post by: NigelP on September 14, 2024, 02:08:06 PM
Google EFB testing kit. I have several coming up on ebay UK and several retailers. If, for some reason, not available in the states let me know.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 02:22:34 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 02:22:34 PM
OK, they are available from bee supply shops. I'll get one and have it on hand. It looks like several different afflictions can cause the same symptoms as EFB so I'm not going to get too antsy just yet. I'm thinking that I failed one way or another on mite control and will be more attentive on it. I don't know how it escaped us though, as I thought I had tested enough. From what I am reading though, I am surprised that the inspector wasn't more on top of it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 14, 2024, 08:38:33 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 14, 2024, 08:38:33 PM
I personally feel like in this instance, since the colony is so clearly stressed from lack of food and lack of normal brood nest operations, the EFB is likely a symptom of that situation, even if it is EFB. From what I have heard and read, EFB is a bacteria that is often found in the hive environment under normal circumstances, but can manifest with symptoms when the colony is under stress, since the bees' immune response is unable to fight it off. I agree with Nigel that moving adult bees into this colony is a bad idea since they will return home, and adding brood is likely a waste, since the colony will struggle to care for a sudden flush of babies. If their brood nest is that small, you need to get them all the way down to the single nuc box, Terri. They need to be compressed so they can attend to their hive tasks with efficiency or they have no chance. Going forward, if you want to be safe, I would recommend not reusing any brood comb from the infected colonies, and I probably wouldn't feed your other colony their honey either. If they don't make it, just give the woodenware a good soaking with vinegar and then sit it out in the sun. Personally, I'd feel comfortable reusing it at the point.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 01:47:47 PMSix weeks is plenty of time for a mite infestation to develop, especially in a stressed colony. Also keep in mind that if the colony went essentially broodless first, all those mites will have nowhere to go but onto bees. Broodless colonies will always have much higher mite counts, simply because none of the mites are hiding in the capped brood. We do generally say that if you are seeing mites on bees, that is in indicator of an advanced infestation, but in a colony with a very small population, you could conceivable just happen to see just one. Roughly how many mites did you see drop from the treatment?
One mite was visible on the back of one bee, inspector saw that and indicated that one in sight there indicated infestation. Number of mites on bottom board after treatment would support that but why didn't we find them when we checked? Did too much time pass since last testing? I think it was about six weeks since last test, might have been more. Did we not shake the jar of bees enough to knock mites loose, giving a bad test result?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 14, 2024, 09:52:34 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 14, 2024, 09:52:34 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 14, 2024, 02:22:34 PMYou're not going to find an EFB test kit, so don't worry about it. You would have to send a sample off to Beltsville for testing. Forget about the nuc and primary hive they aren't going to overwinter. It's a learning experience, I lost plenty of hives when I was a beginner. Focus on the swarm hive, based on your video it doesn't have nearly enough stores to survive. But it could survive if you take off the top deep and put on the full medium. Feed it 2:1 until it gets too cold, probably around mid October. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas give it an OA dribble and chances are pretty good you will have a nice colony in the spring.
OK, they are available from bee supply shops. I'll get one and have it on hand. It looks like several different afflictions can cause the same symptoms as EFB so I'm not going to get too antsy just yet. I'm thinking that I failed one way or another on mite control and will be more attentive on it. I don't know how it escaped us though, as I thought I had tested enough. From what I am reading though, I am surprised that the inspector wasn't more on top of it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 15, 2024, 02:03:03 AM
Post by: NigelP on September 15, 2024, 02:03:03 AM
Quote from: beesnweeds on September 14, 2024, 09:52:34 PMWhy wouldn't he find an EFB kit? Plenty available.
You're not going to find an EFB test kit, so don't worry about it. You would have to send a sample off to Beltsville for testing.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/OygAAOSwxkxiTwKe/s-l1600.webp)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 08:08:16 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 08:08:16 AM
Quote from: The15thMember on September 14, 2024, 08:38:33 PMThis all sounds reasonable to me and I'll compress them today. Are you saying that vinegar should kill any EFB?
I personally feel like in this instance, since the colony is so clearly stressed from lack of food and lack of normal brood nest operations, the EFB is likely a symptom of that situation, even if it is EFB. From what I have heard and read, EFB is a bacteria that is often found in the hive environment under normal circumstances, but can manifest with symptoms when the colony is under stress, since the bees' immune response is unable to fight it off. I agree with Nigel that moving adult bees into this colony is a bad idea since they will return home, and adding brood is likely a waste, since the colony will struggle to care for a sudden flush of babies. If their brood nest is that small, you need to get them all the way down to the single nuc box, Terri. They need to be compressed so they can attend to their hive tasks with efficiency or they have no chance. Going forward, if you want to be safe, I would recommend not reusing any brood comb from the infected colonies, and I probably wouldn't feed your other colony their honey either. If they don't make it, just give the woodenware a good soaking with vinegar and then sit it out in the sun. Personally, I'd feel comfortable reusing it at the point.
QuoteSix weeks is plenty of time for a mite infestation to develop, especially in a stressed colony. Also keep in mind that if the colony went essentially broodless first, all those mites will have nowhere to go but onto bees. Broodless colonies will always have much higher mite counts, simply because none of the mites are hiding in the capped brood. We do generally say that if you are seeing mites on bees, that is in indicator of an advanced infestation, but in a colony with a very small population, you could conceivable just happen to see just one. Roughly how many mites did you see drop from the treatment?I don't know how many I saw and I'm not good at guestimating numbers but I'd say they were a couple of inches or so apart on the board. If what I saw was mites, which I do think they were. I'll check that board closer today and see if I can make an estimate on numbers or density on the board.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 08:10:56 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 08:10:56 AM
Quote from: beesnweeds on September 14, 2024, 09:52:34 PMI did find EFB test kits for about $15 but that all sounds plausible to me. Thanks
You're not going to find an EFB test kit, so don't worry about it. You would have to send a sample off to Beltsville for testing. Forget about the nuc and primary hive they aren't going to overwinter. It's a learning experience, I lost plenty of hives when I was a beginner. Focus on the swarm hive, based on your video it doesn't have nearly enough stores to survive. But it could survive if you take off the top deep and put on the full medium. Feed it 2:1 until it gets too cold, probably around mid October. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas give it an OA dribble and chances are pretty good you will have a nice colony in the spring.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 10:12:10 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 10:12:10 AM
Quote from: NigelP on September 15, 2024, 02:03:03 AMYes, in the UK not the US. Currently Vita isn't selling EFB test kits in the US due to regulations and registration costs.
Why wouldn't he find an EFB kit? Plenty available.
Also, Vita recommends that UK beekeepers send samples to the National Bee Unit.
https://www.vita-europe.com/beehealth/blog/vita-foulbrood-diagnostic-kits-shortage/
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 10:13:32 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 10:13:32 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 08:10:56 AMWho's the supplier?
I did find EFB test kits for about $15
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 12:20:24 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 12:20:24 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 08:08:16 AMI don't honestly know if it does or doesn't kill EFB specifically, but vinegar is a general disinfectant, as is the UV radiation of sunlight. Anytime I have a deadout and I'm suspicious disease played a roll, that is what I do, and I have yet to have a colony reinfected by anything. Just luck? Could be, but like I said, that is what I would do and I would feel comfortable after that, especially if I didn't reuse the equipment immediately.
Are you saying that vinegar should kill any EFB?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 01:17:13 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 01:17:13 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 10:13:32 AMBetterbee but as I look closer, it's 'temporarily' out of stock.Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 08:10:56 AMWho's the supplier?
I did find EFB test kits for about $15
https://www.betterbee.com/pest-management-and-medications/efbtest.asp
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 15, 2024, 01:27:57 PM
Post by: NigelP on September 15, 2024, 01:27:57 PM
Just order one from abroad or I'll happily buy some and send them to you ....at cost.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 01:32:03 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 01:32:03 PM
I went through both hives this morning. The swarm hive is thriving like it's springtime. The top box is 75% or so full and mostly capped and there are three or four frames of capped brood and larvae. Worker bee counts look good to me. These are both deeps and I wonder if that's not enough honey to get them through the winter already.
The small hive in the nuc has been reduced to one box. The queen is laying and there are larvae in there as well. The hive looks clean otherwise but I'll see what it looks like next week. It's still thin on bees and I'm not expecting them to make it.
I really need to video the inspections because I can't remember the details an hour after I'm done.
The small hive in the nuc has been reduced to one box. The queen is laying and there are larvae in there as well. The hive looks clean otherwise but I'll see what it looks like next week. It's still thin on bees and I'm not expecting them to make it.
I really need to video the inspections because I can't remember the details an hour after I'm done.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 01:33:55 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 01:33:55 PM
Quote from: NigelP on September 15, 2024, 01:27:57 PMI tried to order one out of Canada but they won't ship here. There might be a problem shipping chemicals here.
Just order one from abroad or I'll happily buy some and send them to you ....at cost.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on September 15, 2024, 01:36:23 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on September 15, 2024, 01:36:23 PM
QuoteI can't remember the details an hour after I'm done.
Make notes as you inspect. A convenient way to do it is by using a paint pen and make your notes, along with the date on top of the cover.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 05:00:18 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 05:00:18 PM
I second that about the notes. You can't expect yourself to just be able to remember everything. I use these inspection sheets so I have everything at a glance, which helps to jog my memory for my more detailed notes I write when I get in from the apiary.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 05:07:03 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 05:07:03 PM
That looks nice and orderly
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 05:11:49 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 05:11:49 PM
Quote from: NigelP on September 15, 2024, 01:27:57 PMUnfortunately, even if we could get EFB test kits here it doesn't help much. We can't get antibiotics here without a vet prescription and trying to find a vet willing to give a script for bees can be hard to find in most locations. I don't even see one registered with the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium in Pennsylvania.
Just order one from abroad or I'll happily buy some and send them to you ....at cost.
https://hbvc.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=213546&module_id=462728
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 05:15:49 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 05:15:49 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 05:11:49 PMDo you know what they anti-biotics are in case we were able to find a vet to prescribe them? And are they approved for use?
Unfortunately, even if we could get EFB test kits here it doesn't help much. We can't get antibiotics here without a vet prescription and trying to find a vet willing to give a script for bees can be hard to find in most locations. I don't even see one registered with the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium in Pennsylvania.
https://hbvc.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=213546&module_id=462728
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 05:16:49 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 05:16:49 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 05:00:18 PMNice, those one of the best inspection sheets I've seen. Some are too much information and others not enough.
I use these inspection sheets.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 05:17:58 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 05:17:58 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 05:15:49 PMOxytetracycline
Do you know what they anti-biotics are in case we were able to find a vet to prescribe them? And are they approved for use?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 05:26:28 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 05:26:28 PM
Quote from: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 05:16:49 PMI know, I love them! They are made by Little Giant. I found them at my local farm store. I just bought one booklet and saved a blank sheet to copy so I never have to buy them again.
Nice, those one of the best inspection sheets I've seen. Some are too much information and others not enough.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on September 15, 2024, 06:21:08 PM
Post by: Lesgold on September 15, 2024, 06:21:08 PM
Couldn?t agree more. Some of the booklets that I?ve seen have copious quantities of information and boxes that need to be filled in and much of it is located in various places throughout the hive booklet. What you have there is basically all you need if you are running a few hives and want to keep a track of the hives condition. Thanks for showing us Reagan.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 07:16:21 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 07:16:21 PM
I made a trial robbing prevention device and placed it on the porch. It's cut from a vinyl fence that I replaced around my pool. The piece is pretty much square and both ends are open. The bees seemed confused when I first put it out and had the whole entrance under cover so I slid it over to the middle of their entrance to help them out and it did. I'm slowly moving it over so they can adjust to the changes. If it works, I'll glue it in place with some chewing gum or something but for right now it's just sitting there. Who knows, maybe they'll glue it in place for me. Do yous think it'll work?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Salvo on September 15, 2024, 08:25:04 PM
Post by: Salvo on September 15, 2024, 08:25:04 PM
Hi Folks,
Oxytet here:
https://entirelypetspharmacy.com/oxytet-oxytetracycline-hcl-1772gm.html?msclkid=cc776965c78118cb4b9f0f82acdd293b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Smart%20Shopping%20All%20Prods&utm_term=2330483615015744&utm_content=Rx%20Products%20only
Sal
Oxytet here:
https://entirelypetspharmacy.com/oxytet-oxytetracycline-hcl-1772gm.html?msclkid=cc776965c78118cb4b9f0f82acdd293b&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Smart%20Shopping%20All%20Prods&utm_term=2330483615015744&utm_content=Rx%20Products%20only
Sal
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 08:34:04 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 15, 2024, 08:34:04 PM
I think that looks pretty good, Terri. My only question would be if there are enough holes in it to redirect the robbers attention away from the real entrance. Don't worry about the bees' confusion, they will figure it out in a few hours. And yes, they will absolutely stick it down for you in a couple of days. :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 09:12:00 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 09:12:00 PM
Beats me but I can always drill more holes in it or make one longer if necessary. I didn't wait a couple of hours, I saw them having trouble getting in and acted on it right away.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 09:16:23 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 09:16:23 PM
Quote from: Salvo on September 15, 2024, 08:25:04 PM
Hi Folks,
Oxytet here:
Yes, you can order it online, but you still need to input your vet's prescription/information. They won't send you the oxy without it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 09:40:20 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 09:40:20 PM
I know that anti-biotics can be bought at fish stores without 'scripts and preppers know it. When I had fish, I used get Tetracycline for them when they got infected but it looks like that's been discontinued since then. How are anti-biotics applied to bees?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 10:58:05 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 15, 2024, 10:58:05 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 09:40:20 PMWhen you could get it in any farm store it was powdered antibiotics that you mix with powdered sugar (Terramycin, Terra Pro) and you would put it on the top bars of the frames. There's probably a way to grind up fish pills and do the math, but it's hardly worth it. You could probably get it from a foreign vet supply at a hefty price and questionable quality. The problems started when it was overused and stopped working. The best thing you can do is not buy bees, especially nucs. Keep your colonies strong, overwinter your own nucs, and raise queens.
How are anti-biotics applied to bees?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 16, 2024, 12:09:36 AM
Post by: The15thMember on September 16, 2024, 12:09:36 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 09:40:20 PMNot anymore. With the new regulations, all antibiotics require prescription, even veterinary ones. None are available over the counter anymore, even at pet stores and farm stores.
I know that anti-biotics can be bought at fish stores without 'scripts and preppers know it. When I had fish, I used get Tetracycline for them when they got infected but it looks like that's been discontinued since then. How are anti-biotics applied to bees?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 16, 2024, 09:32:34 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 16, 2024, 09:32:34 AM
Quote from: The15thMember on September 16, 2024, 12:09:36 AMThey just have to ruin everything.
Not anymore. With the new regulations, all antibiotics require prescription, even veterinary ones. None are available over the counter anymore, even at pet stores and farm stores.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 16, 2024, 08:54:40 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 16, 2024, 08:54:40 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on September 16, 2024, 12:09:36 AMAre you sure about that? This looks like they're good to go unless I'm missing something. I added it to a cart and it looks like I could order stuff.Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 15, 2024, 09:40:20 PMNot anymore. With the new regulations, all antibiotics require prescription, even veterinary ones. None are available over the counter anymore, even at pet stores and farm stores.
I know that anti-biotics can be bought at fish stores without 'scripts and preppers know it. When I had fish, I used get Tetracycline for them when they got infected but it looks like that's been discontinued since then. How are anti-biotics applied to bees?
https://thefishantibiotics.com/collections/fish-antibiotics
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 16, 2024, 08:59:36 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 16, 2024, 08:59:36 PM
I haven't been able to order any antibiotics from my usual veterinary channels since the new regs., but I've never seen that website before. If it works, let me know.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on September 17, 2024, 04:36:50 AM
Post by: Lesgold on September 17, 2024, 04:36:50 AM
Made a couple of splits today using a Snelgrove board. A few hives were also inspected with new screened bottom boards put in place. Spring buildup has been slow due to dry weather. Plenty of pollen coming in and just a touch of nectar. In a couple of hives, queens were being superseded. Inspected hives generally had between 6 and 10 frames of brood.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on September 18, 2024, 08:01:43 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on September 18, 2024, 08:01:43 AM
Just get a VFD from the vet and take it to the feed store. Also they make a EFB test kit if your not sure what your looking at I think about 16.00 USD. Here is vitas info on them.
https://www.vita-europe.com/beehealth/products/efb-diagnostic-test-kit/ (https://www.vita-europe.com/beehealth/products/efb-diagnostic-test-kit/)
https://www.vita-europe.com/beehealth/products/efb-diagnostic-test-kit/ (https://www.vita-europe.com/beehealth/products/efb-diagnostic-test-kit/)
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 18, 2024, 08:47:42 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 18, 2024, 08:47:42 AM
About a week ago Judy saw a swarm take off from our observation hive. Not a good thing this time of year. 2 days later she found the queen laying egg. Surprise, surprise. Then she saw mites on bees in the observation hive and showed them to me. I have never seen mites on bees in the observation hive before this. I checked the drawers at the bottom of the hive and there were a lot of mites. I cracked the hive ones and slid a sheet of Apivar in the hive. Yesterday I pulled the drawers out and the pictures below show the results. Every one of those dots are a mites. We are hoping they can recover/ increase their numbers before winter.
We closed in the patio where the observation hive is so we don?t have to worry about them freezing this anymore. We can also feed them all winter.
We closed in the patio where the observation hive is so we don?t have to worry about them freezing this anymore. We can also feed them all winter.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 18, 2024, 08:49:53 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 18, 2024, 08:49:53 AM
Now that's what I'd call 'an infestation'. Hope you got it licked.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 18, 2024, 08:52:15 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 18, 2024, 08:52:15 AM
It will take three weeks to get all of the mites that are in the brood cells. When they are capped they are protected from the apivar.
Jim Altmiller
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on September 18, 2024, 12:04:08 PM
Post by: jtcmedic on September 18, 2024, 12:04:08 PM
Did some splits, will put queen cells in tomorrow
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 19, 2024, 12:59:36 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 19, 2024, 12:59:36 PM
I went through my hives today and have the videos up. The nuc has so few bees in it that I don't see how they can make it through the winter. I expected to see more in the swarm hive too but I don't know what to expect. I'll take any help I can get on what to do with them. For some reason, my camera shut down on me while I was filming Part I so that's what happened there.
Thanks
Nuc HIve
https://rumble.com/v5fk31p-september-19-2024-nuc-hive-inspection.html
Swarm Hive Part I
https://rumble.com/v5fjtsl-september-19-2020-swarm-hive-inspection-part-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
Part II
https://rumble.com/v5fjydf-september-19-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
Thanks
Nuc HIve
https://rumble.com/v5fk31p-september-19-2024-nuc-hive-inspection.html
Swarm Hive Part I
https://rumble.com/v5fjtsl-september-19-2020-swarm-hive-inspection-part-i.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
Part II
https://rumble.com/v5fjydf-september-19-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2024, 05:20:23 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2024, 05:20:23 PM
I think that swarm hive is looking pretty good. It's not abnormal to see nectar in the bottom box as the brood nest condenses. If you are wanting to get them to fill that second box, then I'd keep feeding them. I agree the nuc is looking pretty small. If they hadn't had that bout of EFB, I'd just combine them with the big hive. How did their little bit of brood look? Did it seem healthy?
I couldn't really see on the video, but does your nuc inner cover have a notch in it? Do you have that closed? Because that top entrance right there at your feed is a recipe for robbing if that notch is open. Same thing on the big hive, be sure your telescoping top is pulled back so that notch isn't open, because you have those stickies up there.
I couldn't really see on the video, but does your nuc inner cover have a notch in it? Do you have that closed? Because that top entrance right there at your feed is a recipe for robbing if that notch is open. Same thing on the big hive, be sure your telescoping top is pulled back so that notch isn't open, because you have those stickies up there.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 19, 2024, 05:28:22 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 19, 2024, 05:28:22 PM
Thanks, I was scared that my swarm hive was short on numbers. Swarm hive has top and bottom entrance and they seem to like it. Yellow jackets haven't come near the top one, only eye up the bottom one...for now. Up until now, I was feeding above the inner cover so closing that upper entrance with the lid wasn't possible but I've pulled that box off and can do it now. The nuc only has the bottom entrance with my robbing tunnel on the front of it. I forgot about it until I was done filming but I put the medium super on top of the swarm hive for them to finish capping. Things are getting capped pretty well right now.
Oh, and all of the brood and larvae looked good.
Oh, and all of the brood and larvae looked good.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2024, 05:38:59 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2024, 05:38:59 PM
Okay, sounds good. Since you have got that medium too, then what I might be inclined to do is give them the fullest best frames from between the two supers; just pick whichever ones are most drawn/most filled and put them in the deep. Or, if you'd prefer, you could just see what they get capped and then leave them with the pick of the lot when you condense them down for winter. How are you planning to overwinter them, 1 deep, 2 deeps, or 1 deep/1 medium? That will dictate somewhat what frames you leave them, since the deep frames won't fit in the medium box.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 19, 2024, 06:28:36 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 19, 2024, 06:28:36 PM
I'm still figuring out how they'll be configured. Is there any downside to leaving all of the honey on them? Other than the small hive dying and losing any honey that's on them. My nuc boxes are deeps so I can pull the five best frames of the deep super for them and put empty frames in in their place. And I do have a box of fondant on the way through my club as well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2024, 08:23:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 19, 2024, 08:23:01 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 19, 2024, 06:28:36 PMThe downside is that they will have trouble keeping a larger space warm. The typical advice is to get the bees into the smallest configuration possible that still fits the population and the stores they'll need to overwinter successfully. I typically overwinter in 2 mediums in my climate, but you'll need a little bit more honey than me, so you may be better off in a deep/medium or even 2 deeps depending on how things shape up with your frames.
Is there any downside to leaving all of the honey on them?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 19, 2024, 06:28:36 PMGood, the nuc may need that fondant (if it survives long enough). I wouldn't replace any frames you pull from the swarm hive for the nuc with fully blank foundation. The bees will never get that drawn at this time of year. Drawn blanks would be fine though.
My nuc boxes are deeps so I can pull the five best frames of the deep super for them and put empty frames in in their place. And I do have a box of fondant on the way through my club as well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bill Murray on September 20, 2024, 08:17:14 AM
Post by: Bill Murray on September 20, 2024, 08:17:14 AM
QuoteDid some splits, will put queen cells in tomorrow.Lucky you. I am just getting Drones back in the hives. I tried last month for queens to no avail. Plenty of queens not much mating.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 20, 2024, 07:00:31 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 20, 2024, 07:00:31 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on September 19, 2024, 08:23:01 PMIn the northeast as long as the supers are full you can leave several with no problems. I left 3 in the past. The problem is extracting the honey in the spring if its crystalized.
The downside is that they will have trouble keeping a larger space warm.
https://www.honeybeesuite.com/physics-for-beekeepers-temperature-in-the-hive/
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 21, 2024, 07:34:29 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 21, 2024, 07:34:29 PM
I did fall brood nest inspections on another two colonies today. It was pretty hot out, and I was dodging robbers the whole time. The one colony had a super high mite count, 18.5%! :shocked: Let's see, where did I put that FormicPro. . . .
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on September 22, 2024, 01:37:17 AM
Post by: Lesgold on September 22, 2024, 01:37:17 AM
Checked a hive that had queen cells just over three weeks ago. The hive wasn?t crying and cells in the brood box were polished. Looks like there may be a young queen nearly ready to lay. Didn?t want to stay in there long. Hopefully she will be up and racing in a few days. Inspected a couple of hives that were split with the Snelgrove board. They both had capped queen cells that should hatch in about a week.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on September 23, 2024, 08:17:38 AM
Post by: NigelP on September 23, 2024, 08:17:38 AM
Removed the 5 gallon feeders off my hives, some literally could not cram any more stores in. All nice and heavy. A couple of nucs are low in numbers, but nothing I can do about that. They will have to take their chances over winter.
Also paid all my site owners their rent.
Season almost over.
Also paid all my site owners their rent.
Season almost over.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Bob Wilson on September 23, 2024, 09:59:05 PM
Post by: Bob Wilson on September 23, 2024, 09:59:05 PM
I bought a few last pieces of wood to finish making a plywood countertop table in the workshop, mostly for honey harvesting.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jtcmedic on September 24, 2024, 10:21:09 AM
Post by: jtcmedic on September 24, 2024, 10:21:09 AM
Strapped up for the hurricane
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on September 24, 2024, 05:38:48 PM
Post by: The15thMember on September 24, 2024, 05:38:48 PM
I put a dose of FormicPro on my mite-high colony. They were not happy to see me, as some rain had gone through the area earlier, but they were more concerned about the treatment than me once I set the pads down on the top bars. I wanted to be sure to get their treatment on before we get rain the rest of the week. Everyone in the path of the hurricane, stay safe!
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 28, 2024, 03:15:32 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 28, 2024, 03:15:32 PM
Needing to look inside my hives, I went out to see what I could find. It's been rainy and misty here for a few days with a few more in the forecast so I expected an unwelcoming committee. My nuc hive let me look and they are barely touching the syrup I have on them. That was as far as I looked there. When I started removing the cover on the swarm hive, it got real noisy inside so I retreated and will have to wait.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: cao on September 28, 2024, 11:14:41 PM
Post by: cao on September 28, 2024, 11:14:41 PM
nothing. Just waiting for the remnants of hurricane to disappear. 3-5" of rain so far.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on September 29, 2024, 03:44:05 AM
Post by: Lesgold on September 29, 2024, 03:44:05 AM
Just checked a hive where the queen was superseded. The cells that were being polished about five days ago now contain young larvae. Looks like the new girl on the block is starting to doo her thing.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 29, 2024, 09:15:41 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 29, 2024, 09:15:41 PM
We're still in cold, wet weather here, highs in the 60s today but I popped the lids on my two hives anyway. In the nuc, they were visible through the hole in the inner cover just being quiet but in the swarm hive, they were pretty heavy above the inner cover and started moving when I opened it up. Does bees above the inner cover have any significance here?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on September 29, 2024, 09:56:32 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on September 29, 2024, 09:56:32 PM
Good question. I don?t use inner covers. I wonder what the answer is for those who do.
Phillip
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 29, 2024, 10:18:41 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 29, 2024, 10:18:41 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on September 29, 2024, 09:56:32 PMWhat do you do, just 'go naked' under there? Don't they wax the cover to the frames when you omit it?
Good question. I don?t use inner covers. I wonder what the answer is for those who do.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 30, 2024, 12:50:53 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 30, 2024, 12:50:53 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on September 29, 2024, 10:18:41 PMThey do and it would be a problem to remove an outer cover. Commercial beekeepers and some hobbyists use migratory covers so they can pry off the cover with a hive tool. On my poly hive I just use a grain bag between the outer cover and frames. As far as bees being between the covers a few is normal. Sometimes when bees are sick, dying, or just aging out they collect on top for warmth. Thats why some researchers take bee samples from the top to test for disease. I put rigid insulation on top of the hive year round, it helps reduce bees collecting on the top. Unless it's cold out and the colony is clustered you won't see dead bees on the inner cover, bees remove them.
What do you do, just 'go naked' under there? Don't they wax the cover to the frames when you omit it?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on September 30, 2024, 01:17:11 AM
Post by: Lesgold on September 30, 2024, 01:17:11 AM
With migratory lids it?s easy to see when the bees are doing well. They will fill the lid area with comb and honey when the supers are full. Can be a bit messy if you let them go too far but it also adds a bit of food for the bees during winter. It?s a good sign to add another box on top when this occurs.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 30, 2024, 06:15:19 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on September 30, 2024, 06:15:19 AM
What an inner cover is for. What if you don't use one?
https://bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#innercover
https://bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#innercover
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 30, 2024, 06:18:54 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 30, 2024, 06:18:54 AM
Quote from: Michael Bush on September 30, 2024, 06:15:19 AM
What an inner cover is for. What if you don't use one?
https://bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#innercover
And in that article, you reference placing a nuc above a hive to keep warm. Should I give this a try with my nuc, which I don't expect to make it through the winter? I was wondering if this could be an effective venture.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 30, 2024, 06:39:29 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on September 30, 2024, 06:39:29 AM
The problem with putting them over an inner cover is moisture. In my climate the top hive will always die from the moisture. If you put a solid piece of 1/8" luan plywood it will let heat through but not moisture. If you need an entrance, add shims or a rim.
https://bushfarms.com/beesnucs.htm#overwinternucs
https://bushfarms.com/beeswinter.htm
https://bushfarms.com/beesnucs.htm#overwinternucs
https://bushfarms.com/beeswinter.htm
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 30, 2024, 06:40:22 AM
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 30, 2024, 06:40:22 AM
Terri,
Not only is it a good idea for warmth for the Nuc, it also helps to protect the nuc from robbing when it is stressed. The main hives queen right pheromones are what protect it.
We use this technique to make splits. They have a much higher chance of surviving until they have a mated queen.
Jim Altmiller
Not only is it a good idea for warmth for the Nuc, it also helps to protect the nuc from robbing when it is stressed. The main hives queen right pheromones are what protect it.
We use this technique to make splits. They have a much higher chance of surviving until they have a mated queen.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 30, 2024, 06:43:59 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on September 30, 2024, 06:43:59 AM
I do use the double screened inner cover when it's not winter.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on September 30, 2024, 07:35:44 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on September 30, 2024, 07:35:44 AM
In the northeast putting nucs on top of hives has it's issues, that's why Michael Palmer uses the side by side resource hives. 5 over 5 nucs do best on their own.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on September 30, 2024, 08:26:22 AM
Post by: Ben Framed on September 30, 2024, 08:26:22 AM
In the following discussion a simple solid top was used. We discussed tops, insulation, insulation board, ventilation, the effects of cold weather, but most importantly the possible effect of cold verses Varroa Destructor. There were some heavy hitters contributing to the discussion as well as heavy hitters referenced.
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=55226.msg503978#msg503978
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=55226.msg503978#msg503978
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 30, 2024, 02:01:45 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 30, 2024, 02:01:45 PM
I went through my small hive today (nuc hive) and it is becoming more apparent that it is not going to make it. So...what to do? I found a small group of larvae but I don't know whether they are beetle or moth larvae. That frame didn't have much on it for resources so I moved it over to get robbed out. The queen has laid a nice frame of eggs in one frame but that is the only real new life I found. I found no signs of foul brood. So...what to do with this hive? The queen is a first year queen and seems to be doing OK to me, except that her colony never got back up after the dearth. They were not bringing pollen in like my other hive lately. Is that the queen's fault? Should I look to see if anyone needs a queen? I know that one in need would be in trouble this time of year but would giving them mine endanger their hive?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 30, 2024, 04:03:31 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on September 30, 2024, 04:03:31 PM
And I went through my swarm hive today. To me, everything looks pretty good but then, I don't know how it should look this time of year. There was good life in there and to me, it looks like they have enough honey stored to make it through the winter. My question regarding that is, how should the honey stores be organized? Another question I have about my queen(s). The queen that came with this swarm seems to be doing well but I figure that she's last year's queen at best. I do have a new queen in the nuc hive, that's not going to make it through the winter. Should I replace this queen with the nuc queen? Or would I be better off to leave this colony do their thing and replace her when they see it's time to?
Part I
https://rumble.com/v5gxcx0-september-30-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-i.html
Part II
https://rumble.com/v5gxhad-september-30-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Part I
https://rumble.com/v5gxcx0-september-30-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-i.html
Part II
https://rumble.com/v5gxhad-september-30-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on October 01, 2024, 06:29:15 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on October 01, 2024, 06:29:15 AM
Yes, a nuc on top of a hive has its issues. Like the strong hive robbing the weak one... and the condensation issue.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 02, 2024, 01:40:41 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 02, 2024, 01:40:41 PM
Having found beetle or moth larvae in my nuc hive, I have come to grips with the fact that it is doomed. I posted on our local fakebook group page that I had a queen that I was willing to part with if it was safe and legal. I have an individual who has responded. Obviously, I do not know if this queen can save his hive but she sill not survive here.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 02, 2024, 02:55:43 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 02, 2024, 02:55:43 PM
I haven't looked at your videos yet, but it sounds like it's time to bail. No big deal, it's just part of the game. I had my biggest hive crash in the past week. I was dealing with a lot of robbing trying to get them down from 5 boxes to 2, so I didn't have the opportunity to do a mite count or confirm if they are queenright. I'll check on them again this weekend, but they are likely getting combined with my smallest colony.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 04, 2024, 09:55:17 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 04, 2024, 09:55:17 AM
I looked through my poor, dwindling nuc yesterday and all that is left is a queen and about 100 workers. I didn't find any pest larvae so I must have gotten all of them last week. They're still guarding the front door but that won't last much longer and it's time to close it up before pests move in. My taker for the queen has determined that it's too late for that and he's going to combine. So...what do I do with this queen? As much as I hate the idea, I'm thinking that dropping her into alcohol is the answer, shake the remainder of the bees out in front of the swarm hive and freeze the frames to sanitize them.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 04, 2024, 11:36:57 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 04, 2024, 11:36:57 AM
I have another thought and question that I'll toss out there...The swarm hive is doing well but I expect that their queen is on her second year now and nearing the end of her life. The nuc hive is a first year queen. Should I replace the second year queen with the first year queen? I'm thinking, "no", because 1) I'm not sure that she's not the reason that they are in the predicament that they are in and 2) passing on genetics of a successful queen seems like a good thing to do.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on October 04, 2024, 01:13:46 PM
Post by: NigelP on October 04, 2024, 01:13:46 PM
No, if they don't accept her you have no hives......and how do you know that your dying hive isn't partly down to a duff queen?
Stop over complicating thngs. You have one good hive going into winter and you want to fiddle about with it.....
Basically I'd throw the doomed nuc out about 3 miles down the road and get on with life.
Stop over complicating thngs. You have one good hive going into winter and you want to fiddle about with it.....
Basically I'd throw the doomed nuc out about 3 miles down the road and get on with life.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 04, 2024, 04:19:18 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 04, 2024, 04:19:18 PM
Quote from: NigelP on October 04, 2024, 01:13:46 PMOh, that sounds cruel but I understand.
No, if they don't accept her you have no hives......and how do you know that your dying hive isn't partly down to a duff queen?
Stop over complicating thngs. You have one good hive going into winter and you want to fiddle about with it.....
Basically I'd throw the doomed nuc out about 3 miles down the road and get on with life.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 04, 2024, 08:16:44 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 04, 2024, 08:16:44 PM
If it was me, I'd probably just shake the bees out in the apiary and if the other hive lets them in, then great, and if not, then that's fine too. If for some reason you don't want the bees in the other colony, like if you are concerned about disease still, then I'd just put the frames with the bees in the freezer. That seems more humane to me.
Just personally, I don't requeen based on the queen's age alone. I understand why sideliners and commercial guys do that, but as a hobbyist, I don't think it's a big issue. I let the bees or the circumstances dictate queen replacement. If the bees decide to supersede her, I let them, and if she starts having some sort of obvious problem like drone laying or something, then I'll remove her, give them some eggs, and let them do the rest.
Just personally, I don't requeen based on the queen's age alone. I understand why sideliners and commercial guys do that, but as a hobbyist, I don't think it's a big issue. I let the bees or the circumstances dictate queen replacement. If the bees decide to supersede her, I let them, and if she starts having some sort of obvious problem like drone laying or something, then I'll remove her, give them some eggs, and let them do the rest.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 05, 2024, 05:55:08 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 05, 2024, 05:55:08 PM
Well Terri, we're in the same boat. I checked on my crashed colony again today, and they were queenless and had only about 300 bees in there. I shook the bees off the frames and put them in a jar, and put them and all the frames in the freezer. I decided it wasn't worth it to combine them. There were so few bees, I saw several mites on bees, and the brood that was in there wasn't looking very good either. I'm wondering if this colony's collapse basically set off a mite bomb, because the other colony I inspected today had a 33% sugar roll :shocked: which is highly irregular, as this colony typically handles mites pretty well and the worst roll I saw last month was 5%. Their brood pattern was not pretty, they had a lot of pupae open, and I saw so. many. mites on bees. We'll see if FormicPro can save them, and I hope the rest of the colonies don't look like that. :sad:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 06, 2024, 08:21:02 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 06, 2024, 08:21:02 PM
That's sad but it sounds like it's par for the course. I went through my swarm hive today and it looks like they're saving up for a big winter. I have two deeps with a medium super on top. The super is a donor from the other hive and it's not one that they stocked up. Anyhow, the brood box is like 1/2 full of honey and has one frame with about 60% capped brood on each side. There is some larvae and I wasn't able to see any eggs, though I did see the queen. There are some empty frames of comb. The upper deep is ehhhh 55% full of honey and nectar. It has some empty comb and a few blank frames. The super up top is full and mostly capped. Since they still have some uncapped, I'm thinking that there is no need to feed them but I am open to suggestions. It's not much different than last week's inspection, as shown in the videos above.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 06, 2024, 11:48:30 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 06, 2024, 11:48:30 PM
I mean, it kind of depends what your goal is. If you are planning on leaving both the deep and the medium on top of them, I see no reason not to pack them full. I just went back and watched the video, and did you or anyone else notice the white butterfly that landed on you at 3:58 in the first video? :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 07, 2024, 08:48:11 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 07, 2024, 08:48:11 AM
I didn't notice the butterfly but I have tunnel vision and only see what I'm concentrating on. How long does it take them to dry and cap it? My concern is that I don't want to leave them with uncapped, spoiled nectar.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 07, 2024, 11:35:22 AM
Post by: The15thMember on October 07, 2024, 11:35:22 AM
As usual, that answer is "it depends". In my climate, I'd feel comfortable feeding until the end of this month, maybe a little bit longer if it's a warm October. 2:1 doesn't take long for them to cap, but how long is "not long"? I can't really say, since it depends on your temperatures, your humidity, and your bees.
The thing about your hive that is a little concerning to me is that in most of the honey area none of the frames are totally full, basically all the frames are partially filled. That means the colony is going to have a move around a lot to reach more stores, and I'm wondering if they could end up in a position where they get trapped without food within easy reach. I'm not sure if this is really a problem or not though. Does anyone else think that is a concern?
The thing about your hive that is a little concerning to me is that in most of the honey area none of the frames are totally full, basically all the frames are partially filled. That means the colony is going to have a move around a lot to reach more stores, and I'm wondering if they could end up in a position where they get trapped without food within easy reach. I'm not sure if this is really a problem or not though. Does anyone else think that is a concern?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on October 07, 2024, 12:05:10 PM
Post by: NigelP on October 07, 2024, 12:05:10 PM
Terri, before bees can use stores they need to uncap them.....over worrying me thinks.
Let them get on with it.
Let them get on with it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 12, 2024, 01:22:28 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 12, 2024, 01:22:28 PM
Went through my last and only hive this morning and my queen took flight. I got lucky and found her on the concrete and got her back. That was a pretty scary event. All looks good in there to me. They have a deep and a medium pretty full of honey and nectar so I'd say that they're pretty much ready for winter. I had heard somewhere that I should give them an oxalic acid dribble at the end of October. What are the thoughts on that? Time and temp wise. Will there be a full brood break? If so, should I wait until there is no capped brood?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 12, 2024, 01:51:43 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 12, 2024, 01:51:43 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 12, 2024, 01:22:28 PM
Went through my last and only hive this morning and my queen took flight. I got lucky and found her on the concrete and got her back. That was a pretty scary event. All looks good in there to me. They have a deep and a medium pretty full of honey and nectar so I'd say that they're pretty much ready for winter. I had heard somewhere that I should give them an oxalic acid dribble at the end of October. What are the thoughts on that? Time and temp wise. Will there be a full brood break? If so, should I wait until there is no capped brood?
Personally I use the vaporization method with Oxalic.
Phillip
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 12, 2024, 07:20:18 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 12, 2024, 07:20:18 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on October 12, 2024, 01:51:43 PMSame here. I typically treat with OAV around Thanksgiving, when I'm fairly certain my colonies are broodless. I would very much assume in your climate you have a winter brood break, Terri. Any treatment is most effective without brood, but dribble is probably not the best method during winter, so if you are wanting to use that method, it might be best to do it now. What was your most recent mite count on them?Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 12, 2024, 01:22:28 PM
I had heard somewhere that I should give them an oxalic acid dribble at the end of October. What are the thoughts on that? Time and temp wise. Will there be a full brood break? If so, should I wait until there is no capped brood?
Personally I use the vaporization method with Oxalic.
Phillip
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 12, 2024, 01:22:28 PM:shocked: Oh gosh, how nerve-wracking! I picked up a queen with my bare (gloved) hands today for the first time. :cool: My favorite queen, Snow White, was on an almost entirely empty frame that I wanted to remove from her hive. I didn't have my queen catcher with me, and she is really tame, so I just pinched her thorax and lifted her up and gently dropped her down into the hive.
Went through my last and only hive this morning and my queen took flight. I got lucky and found her on the concrete and got her back. That was a pretty scary event.
I did my final inspections of the season in 4 of my colonies. The rain has given us a late boost of fall nectar it seems, because all the colonies had a few frames of open nectar, although I guess they could just be robbing somewhere. The robbing was not as bad today though when I was working the bees, although I was extra careful to keep everything covered with pillow cases while I was working. I decided to overwinter the larger colonies in 3 mediums this year. I seem to always have a couple of colonies that need feeding, and I'm tired of it, so hopefully 2 supers instead of 1 will keep that from happening, and I'm not having the beetle trouble I was having last year, so I'm willing to risk the colonies having the extra space. Brood rearing is really slowing down. All the colonies had almost no eggs/young larvae and some had only capped brood. We're expecting close-to-freezing lows for a few nights early next week, so I closed off all the screened bottom boards, and I'll probably get everyone's moisture quilts set up on Monday.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 12, 2024, 09:17:32 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 12, 2024, 09:17:32 PM
I haven?t tested for mites for a while now but the last count was 1. I have been looking for deformed wings and haven?t seen any. I did see some uncapped larvae today but didn?t see any eggs. I don?t have vaping equipment and I?m skittish on sacrificing the bees for a test. While there are a good number of bees, I don?t feel as though their numbers are overwhelming. I forget who but someone recommended a dribble late in October and that was what I was thinking.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 12, 2024, 09:38:54 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 12, 2024, 09:38:54 PM
I mean, if it was me, I wouldn't treat a hive at all that only had one mite in a roll. But depending on when you tested last, that number has likely grown, just based on the time of year. As usual, it just kind of depends on what you'd like to do.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 12, 2024, 10:19:11 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 12, 2024, 10:19:11 PM
QuoteI wouldn't treat a hive at all that only had one mite in a roll.
I agree.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on October 13, 2024, 09:49:48 AM
Post by: beesnweeds on October 13, 2024, 09:49:48 AM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 12, 2024, 01:22:28 PMBoth OAV and OAD work very well to kill mites. You can use either one, with one hive I would use OAD. Thanksgiving is a good time to treat. You won't know if they are completely brood less, it's just a guess. It's not worth opening them up to check in colder temps. You can do a practice run by taking a spare box and frames then dribble 5ml of water between each frame. It doesn't have to be perfect, a few ml off is fine. Just concentrate more over the cluster. The treatment should take less than a minute or two. The temperature should be above freezing, upper 30s low 40s is fine. Low mite count or not in early fall, definitely do the November treatment.
What are the thoughts on that? Time and temp wise. Will there be a full brood break? If so, should I wait until there is no capped brood?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 13, 2024, 10:47:12 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 13, 2024, 10:47:12 AM
I did find dead mites on the bottom board after I used the drip the last time. And I'm guessing that I pull the honey boxes off and dribble right onto the bees?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jimineycricket on October 13, 2024, 11:08:39 AM
Post by: jimineycricket on October 13, 2024, 11:08:39 AM
I agree with beesnweeds.
Any solution that is not on your bees is wasted. Check out: https://scientificbeekeeping.com/
Any solution that is not on your bees is wasted. Check out: https://scientificbeekeeping.com/
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 13, 2024, 06:52:17 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 13, 2024, 06:52:17 PM
Quote from: jimineycricket on October 13, 2024, 11:08:39 AMI am under the impression that an oxalic dribble will have no negative affect on the bees. Accordingly, I agree with you. Now, if I am wrong and it does harm the bees somehow, that could be a different story.
I agree with beesnweeds.
Any solution that is not on your bees is wasted. Check out: https://scientificbeekeeping.com/
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on October 14, 2024, 08:42:14 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on October 14, 2024, 08:42:14 AM
Oxalic acid dribble damages the malpighian tubules (essentially the kidneys) of the bees. Doing it shortens the lives of the bees.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 14, 2024, 09:35:02 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 14, 2024, 09:35:02 PM
That's good to know, MB, thanks. And what about oxalic vape?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 14, 2024, 10:11:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 14, 2024, 10:11:26 PM
I got all my colonies winterized today. I do have a few more last minute inspections to do, but it's going to be pretty cold for the next few days, before warming up again over the weekend.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: jimineycricket on October 15, 2024, 10:10:11 AM
Post by: jimineycricket on October 15, 2024, 10:10:11 AM
QuoteI am under the impression that an oxalic dribble will have no negative affect on the bees. Accordingly, I agree with you. Now, if I am wrong and it does harm the bees somehow, that could be a different story.It is recommended that you only dribble once a year. Because it does do some damage to the bees. But, the bees being short-lived don't matter, but your queen is another story.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 16, 2024, 07:54:31 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 16, 2024, 07:54:31 AM
Quote from: jimineycricket on October 15, 2024, 10:10:11 AMThanks for pointing that out, as I hadn't thought about the life of the queen for some reason (I had a biden moment). I'll have to snoop the web and see what I can learn about this. The dribble affects them but a vape does not? Could I quarantine the queen in a cage away from the masses and dribble them? What other steps can I take to address the mites? Again, I do not feel like right now would be a good time to sacrifice them for a check but if I'm wrong, feel free to wise me up.QuoteI am under the impression that an oxalic dribble will have no negative affect on the bees. Accordingly, I agree with you. Now, if I am wrong and it does harm the bees somehow, that could be a different story.It is recommended that you only dribble once a year. Because it does do some damage to the bees. But, the bees being short-lived don't matter, but your queen is another story.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on October 17, 2024, 06:31:17 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on October 17, 2024, 06:31:17 AM
>That's good to know, MB, thanks. And what about oxalic vape?
As far as I can find it does not shorten their lives any significant amount. It does disrupt the ecology of the hive by killing off most bacteria and yeasts that are necessary for a healthy colony, but so does the dribble. The only advantage I see to the dribble is no risk of inhaling the fumes.
>Because it does do some damage to the bees. But, the bees being short-lived don't matter, but your queen is another story.
But I need them to be long lived to make it to spring. It matters a lot when you have a long winter.
As far as I can find it does not shorten their lives any significant amount. It does disrupt the ecology of the hive by killing off most bacteria and yeasts that are necessary for a healthy colony, but so does the dribble. The only advantage I see to the dribble is no risk of inhaling the fumes.
>Because it does do some damage to the bees. But, the bees being short-lived don't matter, but your queen is another story.
But I need them to be long lived to make it to spring. It matters a lot when you have a long winter.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 17, 2024, 10:29:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 17, 2024, 10:29:26 PM
I stopped into Blue Ridge Honey Company for some inner covers today. We were down in Georgia visiting Tallulah Gorge, so it was a good opportunity to pop in there.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 18, 2024, 05:23:42 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 18, 2024, 05:23:42 PM
I might have another colony down. I just went up to the apiary and all the hives have a lot of orienting traffic, and this colony, nothing. :sad: I blocked the entrance to prevent any robbing, but the sugar ants have a 2 line highway going through a crack, which is probably confirmation of my suspicions. I don't have time to deal with it right now, but I'll break the hive down tomorrow and see what I find, if anything, inside.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 18, 2024, 05:55:42 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 18, 2024, 05:55:42 PM
Yep, it?s probably a goner. At least you have more to sustain.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 18, 2024, 06:26:13 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 18, 2024, 06:26:13 PM
Sorry to hear that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 19, 2024, 07:12:37 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 19, 2024, 07:12:37 PM
Yep, they were goners alright. Only a few handfuls of bees left in the colony, all dead. I initially thought they might have absconded it was so empty, but the queen was there and most of the dead bees were on the bottom board. I'm guessing their population was dropping rapidly due to mites, and then our freezing lows early this week did them in. I buried the bees in the compost pile and put all the comb in the freezer.
I removed the FormicPro from the first colony I treated, and things are looking much better in there. I didn't see the queen, but they surprisingly had a lot of brood and the pattern looked great, and all the bees in there are looking fluffy, happy, and healthy. I inspected them and another colony and traded out some drawn blanks for honey frames in both colonies. I didn't do a sugar roll in the colony coming off the treatment because I had some robbing starting, but the other colony came up with 14%. What I'm thinking about doing is hitting everyone who wasn't treated with FormicPro with OAV next week after I finalize my inspections, and then hitting them again at my usual Thanksgiving time. It just seems like everyone's counts have skyrocketed, and I'm worried some colonies won't make it until late November without knocking some of the mites down.
I removed the FormicPro from the first colony I treated, and things are looking much better in there. I didn't see the queen, but they surprisingly had a lot of brood and the pattern looked great, and all the bees in there are looking fluffy, happy, and healthy. I inspected them and another colony and traded out some drawn blanks for honey frames in both colonies. I didn't do a sugar roll in the colony coming off the treatment because I had some robbing starting, but the other colony came up with 14%. What I'm thinking about doing is hitting everyone who wasn't treated with FormicPro with OAV next week after I finalize my inspections, and then hitting them again at my usual Thanksgiving time. It just seems like everyone's counts have skyrocketed, and I'm worried some colonies won't make it until late November without knocking some of the mites down.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 20, 2024, 12:53:56 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 20, 2024, 12:53:56 PM
Full inspection of my hive today and to me, it all looks very good. Brood box has one frame with capped brood and some larvae on it. A frame or two of empty comb and all the rest are full of honey. And that is a deep box. Next box up is deep also and has inconsistent comb and honey in it. I moved the honey stores to the center of the box and empties to the outside. I'm thinking that the cluster will be in the center of the box. Top is a medium super and it has about 8 frames full and two not. I moved those empties to the outside as well. Inner cover is has an entrance too and it is turned up for ventilation. I had syrup on but they are not taking it and it was leaking so I pulled it. I'm thinking that as it warms during the day and pressure builds inside the jar, they leak if the bees aren't pulling it. I did see some suspicious looking bees when I started so I remained vigilant and covered up and moved as quickly as I could. There are robbers out there now but the hive is tight and the guards are hot and heavy out on the porch. Robbers are trying to get in the crevices but that's not going to happen.
If any of that sounds wrong, let me know. And thanks for the help.
I don't know why but my camera battery was dead so I couldn't film it.
If any of that sounds wrong, let me know. And thanks for the help.
I don't know why but my camera battery was dead so I couldn't film it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 20, 2024, 05:06:22 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 20, 2024, 05:06:22 PM
That all sounds good to me. Your theory about the leaking syrup is likely correct, and if they aren't taking it, then no point to have it in there. It sounds like they are probably as ready at they are going to be. Just remember to keep your lid pushed forward so that ventilation hole is open. Moisture is a killer in the winter. Are you planning on inspecting them again or is this it for the season?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 20, 2024, 05:43:51 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 20, 2024, 05:43:51 PM
I don?t know if I should inspect them again or not. I have some styrofoam insulation that I plan on putting on top. With the attempted robbing, I pushed the cover back but I will change that. Does it ever leave them vulnerable to robbing?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 20, 2024, 06:04:09 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 20, 2024, 06:04:09 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 20, 2024, 05:43:51 PMYou probably want to keep that top entrance shut for now, since you are seeing robbers around, but don't forget to open it when it gets cold. In my area at least, that little gap could literally be the difference between life and death for a colony.
With the attempted robbing, I pushed the cover back but I will change that. Does it ever leave them vulnerable to robbing?
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 20, 2024, 05:43:51 PMAt this point in the season especially, don't just inspect them for no reason, or just to check and see how they are doing. If you think they are set for winter, leave them closed up. Nothing is going to be much different from here on out, and you are just destroying their propolis seals and exposing them to robbers and temperature too cold for the brood. You especially don't want to break all their propolis seals and then immediately have it get cold, as they won't be able to repair them, and the hive will be drafty. If you feel there is something else you need to check, then fine, but at this point, I don't personally see a reason to break the whole hive down frame by frame again.
I don?t know if I should inspect them again or not.
Something that would probably be a good idea for you to do at this point, is gently lift the back end of the hive, like with one hand, and make a mental note about how heavy it feels. This will be your reference point for hefting the hive throughout the winter, and will help you to judge if the colony feels light on stores later. Your colony may be too heavy to really lift, since you have almost a full deep and medium on, but "too heavy to lift" is also a baseline. Just empty comb, woodenware, and bees is lighter than you'd think, and with a little practice, you'll be able to identify a light hive relatively easily.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on October 22, 2024, 04:24:42 PM
Post by: Lesgold on October 22, 2024, 04:24:42 PM
Split a nuc off a strong hive six days ago. I put four foundationless frames into the double brood box. When the hive was inspected yesterday, all frames were nearly fully drawn but as drone comb. As it was a double brood box, the queen must have been spending some time in the bottom box. It was interesting to see that she had moved up and was starting to lay into the new comb. The new combs were moved above a queen excluder into the super and some stickies were inserted in their place. I wish I had a bunch of hives in this location as the flow is starting to ramp up. My main yard is just slowly chugging along. It will be a few weeks before things ramp up.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 26, 2024, 05:55:02 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 26, 2024, 05:55:02 PM
Did my last inspections of the season today. The other colony that had a super high mite count must have absconded, because their hive was completely empty today. I've been mistaking robbers for normal traffic for probably a day or two, given the amount of beetle damage on the comb. So I'm down to 7 colonies. This isn't exactly what people mean by "take your losses in the fall", but oh well. This also means I've got another super or two to crush and strain, since I've already distributed the extra honey from the other two deadouts to the rest of the colonies, so everyone is jam packed already.
So the final actual inspection was my tiny mean colony, which was meaner than ever today, probably due to partially the robbing pressure they have surely been experiencing since they were next to the empty colony. They are already broodless for the winter, but their population actually looked really good. Man, they were difficult to work though; bees flying everywhere, my suit probably took 20 stings, and I went back to the apiary suitless to get something I left up there and took a sting to the knee for my trouble. They are definitely being requeened first thing next spring.
So, that's the end of inspection season for me. I'm probably going to hit everyone with OAV here in the next week due to all these collapsing colonies, and of course I've got plenty of equipment to clean and store, so not quite done with the bee work yet, but I hopefully won't see the inside of a hive now until March or April.
So the final actual inspection was my tiny mean colony, which was meaner than ever today, probably due to partially the robbing pressure they have surely been experiencing since they were next to the empty colony. They are already broodless for the winter, but their population actually looked really good. Man, they were difficult to work though; bees flying everywhere, my suit probably took 20 stings, and I went back to the apiary suitless to get something I left up there and took a sting to the knee for my trouble. They are definitely being requeened first thing next spring.
So, that's the end of inspection season for me. I'm probably going to hit everyone with OAV here in the next week due to all these collapsing colonies, and of course I've got plenty of equipment to clean and store, so not quite done with the bee work yet, but I hopefully won't see the inside of a hive now until March or April.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 01:09:58 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 01:09:58 PM
I treated 3 of my colonies with OAV yesterday morning. I was planning on doing them all, well except the small mean colony, but I ran out of time because it warmed up too quickly, and the traffic and irritated guard bees were making things difficult. We're having highs around 70F and lows around 60F right now, so the bees are still flying, and I'd prefer to do OAV when they aren't, since then all the bees are at home to get treated. Only one colony had any significant drop, and even that wasn't bad, so I think I may just wait to treat the rest until Thanksgiving like I normally do.
I used 2g of OA instead of 1g this year, since I have an extra box of honey on, and in two of my colonies I had what looked like a grey melted lump, of what I'm assuming is OA, on the bottom board insert. I've never had that happen before. Is that normal when using a higher dose?
I used 2g of OA instead of 1g this year, since I have an extra box of honey on, and in two of my colonies I had what looked like a grey melted lump, of what I'm assuming is OA, on the bottom board insert. I've never had that happen before. Is that normal when using a higher dose?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 02:46:35 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 02:46:35 PM
Weather is in the upper 70s today and tomorrow and I was curious so I peeked inside my hive. All is still good in there. The queen is cruising around but slower than usual, there is some capped brood left, no eggs or larvae, still a bit of uncapped nectar and the bees look healthy and to me, in good numbers. I didn't see any mites on their backs and no signs of DWV or any pests. I am considering ordering the tools to give them an OAV treatment but I'm on the fence about that. I gave them some fondant yesterday and they were working on that. I put it on top of the inner cover but am wondering if I should put it under it. They were very calm and no smoking or stinging was involved.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 03:18:43 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 03:18:43 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 02:46:35 PMI've heard people doing fondant both ways. Once the bees are clustered, food right on the frames is generally easier for them to access, but before they are clustered, it doesn't really matter. I'm curious why you are feeding them fondant already, since they seemed to have plenty of honey. They can't store fondant (I don't think), so they are either eating it instead of honey, which I personally wouldn't want, or they are just wasting it by throwing it out the front door because they don't like the mess in the attic.
I gave them some fondant yesterday and they were working on that. I put it on top of the inner cover but am wondering if I should put it under it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 03:23:25 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 03:23:25 PM
I don't know what they're doing with it but I'll see if I can find evidence of it on the porch. I'm giving it to them now to try to stay ahead of the curve. If they save the honey for later, I won't have to open their hive and feed them when it's cold. So far, the honey in the medium super is unadulterated and if I can keep it that way and still have it in the spring. I can harvest it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 05:59:20 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 05:59:20 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 03:23:25 PMI'm suspicious because, in my experience at least, bees prefer honey to sugar. My colonies won't touch emergency feed unless they are very light on honey, and if they do, they usually are just removing it, not eating it. But I'm feeding sugar, not fondant, so maybe they like fondant better.
I don't know what they're doing with it but I'll see if I can find evidence of it on the porch.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 03:23:25 PMIf that is your plan, I don't know why you don't just harvest it now and feed them fondant. I mean, you are feeding them anyway. The only reason to leave the honey is so you don't have to feed them (and it's better for them nutrition-wise).
So far, the honey in the medium super is unadulterated and if I can keep it that way and still have it in the spring. I can harvest it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 06:51:11 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 06:51:11 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 05:59:20 PMThis is something to think about. Additionally, they have a pretty good stash in the brood box and the deep super on top of that. That would even give me a chance to take my shiny new extractor for a ride. It hurts to look at a shiny new toy and not be able to use it.
If that is your plan, I don't know why you don't just harvest it now and feed them fondant. I mean, you are feeding them anyway. The only reason to leave the honey is so you don't have to feed them (and it's better for them nutrition-wise).
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 07:18:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 07:18:01 PM
I mean, my philosophy on feeding is basically that I'm trying to avoid it. I see it as something only on the table for bees who will otherwise starve, because it's an added expense for something of low quality. Bees know how to feed themselves, so why would I take their food from them, just to pay money to feed them worse food? That doesn't make sense to me. So if I were you, I'd leave them all the honey and not feed them unless they ate it all and needed more. This is unlikely to happen, but since this is your first winter, you don't know exactly how much to leave them, so I would air on the side of way too much. But, I'm not you, and you are not me, so if you want to feed them "preventatively" all winter, I don't know why you wouldn't just take the honey you want now. That's how I see it anyway.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 07:29:14 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 07:29:14 PM
From what I've gathered, sugar costs less than honey is worth so it's a fair trade. OTOH, if I leave them the honey, they should have more than enough and I can rob them in the spring, it's not like it'll go bad.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 30, 2024, 07:32:33 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 30, 2024, 07:32:33 PM
QuoteI can rob them in the spring
As long as it does not crystallize. I don?t know how to harvest crystallized honey in the comb. Does anyone else here?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 08:10:25 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 08:10:25 PM
What are the chances of it crystalizing?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 30, 2024, 08:24:55 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on October 30, 2024, 08:24:55 PM
I don?t know, but I?ve heard of others being warned about it.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 08:28:29 PM
Post by: The15thMember on October 30, 2024, 08:28:29 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 07:29:14 PMFor you, yes, but not for the bees. You are taking their perfectly well-rounded pantry and leaving them tofu to eat all winter. Will they survive? Yes. But will they have the best nutrition to ward off pests, diseases, and stressors to which they are constantly exposed? No. To me, personally, that's neither a smart nor fair trade. But plenty of people do it anyway.
From what I've gathered, sugar costs less than honey is worth so it's a fair trade.
Quote from: Terri Yaki on October 30, 2024, 08:10:25 PMThat depends on the variety of honey. Some varieties will crystallize without fail, some will never crystallize. As a general rule of thumb, honey from trees is high in fructose and rarely crystallizes, honey from bushes and shrubs is high in glucose and will crystallize rapidly, and forbes are variable. For example, my sourwood is crystal clear even after years on the shelf, whereas my blackberry honey will be crystallized within a few months.
What are the chances of it crystalizing?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Michael Bush on October 31, 2024, 05:47:30 AM
Post by: Michael Bush on October 31, 2024, 05:47:30 AM
>I don?t know how to harvest crystallized honey in the comb.
There are levels of crystallization. Sometimes between a hot knife melting it some and the extractor cranked up a bit you can get most of it out. But there is always more residual if it's crystallized. You could also do crush and strain Of course if you warm the room up to 90 F or so for a day it will help.
There are levels of crystallization. Sometimes between a hot knife melting it some and the extractor cranked up a bit you can get most of it out. But there is always more residual if it's crystallized. You could also do crush and strain Of course if you warm the room up to 90 F or so for a day it will help.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 04, 2024, 12:46:02 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 04, 2024, 12:46:02 PM
I did my baseline hefting a few days ago, and I also checked moisture quilts because it's been actually pretty warm here in the past week, and I sometimes have trouble with mold in the quilts when it's not cold out. Only one colony was even liftable, so I'm feeling good about that, and all the quilts were dry, except for this one colony that always seems to be wetter than the others. I'm not sure if it's the location of this hive or the genetics of the bees, but they always need their quilt changed more frequently for some reason.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 04, 2024, 05:27:57 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 04, 2024, 05:27:57 PM
As suggested by folks in my area, I cut a piece of Styrofoam insulation to size and coated the bottom side of it with foil tape and put it on top of the inner cover on my hive. Doing this raised my outer cover up above the vent notch, as shown below. The notch is about 1 1/2" long and is turned up. Is this too much of a vent for the winter? I can reduce it if it's too big.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 04, 2024, 05:37:32 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 04, 2024, 05:37:32 PM
It's probably fine, just be sure that no robbers can sneak in if your temps aren't very cold yet.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 04, 2024, 05:39:39 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 04, 2024, 05:39:39 PM
I'm thinking I'm OK, it went below freezing last night and there isn't anything flying around out there.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 08, 2024, 04:40:32 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 08, 2024, 04:40:32 PM
It's been unseasonably warm here this week, so I took this opportunity to wash all my veils and my ventilated suit. I'm always surprised at how white my suit comes out after a good scrubbing and a run through the washer. I'm also doing my (hopefully) last round of crushing and straining today, finishing up the frames from the deadouts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 10, 2024, 01:41:57 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 10, 2024, 01:41:57 PM
I gassed 'em. Two 4 gram doses, back to back. This was easy once you get past the cost of the tool. Apparently, there's enough of a gap at the end of my mouse excluder that they can squeeze through if they really want to and a few of them snuck out through it afterwards. After ten minutes I opened it up and a few more came out and they all had a white dusting on them so I'd say it was a success. I was easily able to stay out of the way of the vapors and didn't spill any of the OA. I did wear my gas mask though, like they instruct.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 10, 2024, 04:00:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 10, 2024, 04:00:26 PM
Lookin' good! :cool:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Ben Framed on November 10, 2024, 06:22:40 PM
Post by: Ben Framed on November 10, 2024, 06:22:40 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on November 10, 2024, 04:00:26 PM
Lookin' good! :cool:
:rolleyes:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: NigelP on November 12, 2024, 04:05:58 AM
Post by: NigelP on November 12, 2024, 04:05:58 AM
This post wow moved to :
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=57744.0
https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=57744.0
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 17, 2024, 12:20:57 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 17, 2024, 12:20:57 PM
I finished scraping all my boxes and frames yesterday and got my boxes all stacked up to the ceiling. Hopefully this will give us a little extra room to maneuver in the garage, especially when the truck is in. Of course I'll have to take some of the stacks back down to get the Christmas decorations in couple of weeks, but such is life. :smile:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 17, 2024, 04:08:47 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 17, 2024, 04:08:47 PM
I just checked on them. There's a little bit of activity going on but not much.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 22, 2024, 04:27:07 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 22, 2024, 04:27:07 PM
I did my OAV today. Everything very well, except for the 10 or so bees from the mean hive who decided to attack the wand and got their bodies burned to a crisp. :oops: The weather was perfect, sunny, breezy, and a high of around 50F. We had a light dusting of snow overnight, but it was melted by about 9:00 AM.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 22, 2024, 06:13:13 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 22, 2024, 06:13:13 PM
Mine are all tucked in, snug as a bug in a rug. I can hear some buzzing with my ear up close, no stethoscope required. I'm thinking about getting an IR camera that works with my iPhone but right now, my piggybank is empty.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 23, 2024, 07:32:35 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 23, 2024, 07:32:35 PM
All the colonies had around 20 mites on their bottom board inserts, except the small mean hive that had only 1 or 2. So I feel good about that, now it's just hefting and checking moisture quilts until spring. I did notice that one of the colonies is already up pretty high in their stack, which I'm kind of surprised about. They didn't feel too light, but I'll be keeping a close eye on them. I spent the rest of the afternoon painting some equipment for next year and listening to podcasts.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 23, 2024, 08:12:41 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 23, 2024, 08:12:41 PM
How did you determine how high up they were?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on November 23, 2024, 08:56:56 PM
Post by: The15thMember on November 23, 2024, 08:56:56 PM
When I went to tape up the hole in their inner cover for the treatment, I could see them clustered below it. Most colonies had no bees in the top box that I could see.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 25, 2024, 11:47:06 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on November 25, 2024, 11:47:06 AM
We're in the high 40s, sunny, and calm so I went out to the hive. They're doing a little bit of flying so I popped the lid to see what I could see and for the first time, there were no bees up top. I'll have to take my stethoscope out and see if I can figure out where they are.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 04, 2024, 06:08:00 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 04, 2024, 06:08:00 PM
It was somewhat warmer today, with the high grazing 50F, so I decided to heft and check moisture quilts, since for the rest of this week it's going to be cold or rainy. I have two colonies feeling lighter, but not so light that I felt the need to crack their seals and feed them, but they likely will need feed before spring at this rate. I was dismayed to find that Cinderella's inner cover hole was taped shut, since I must have forgotten to remove it after their OAV treatment! This meant they had no ventilation except their ~1 in. entrance, so hopefully that didn't cause a problem. :sad:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on December 04, 2024, 10:10:09 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on December 04, 2024, 10:10:09 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on December 04, 2024, 06:08:00 PMso hopefully that didn't cause a problem.Not at all, you made a condensing hive. With a slight pitch forward bees do really well.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 04, 2024, 10:24:17 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 04, 2024, 10:24:17 PM
It can be very humid here, so ventilation is important for me, but it has been pretty dry this week. My stands do have a slight pitch forward, so that makes me feel better. My one hive actually is leaning a little too far forward, due to the cinder blocks shifting over time, and I was disturbed today to see that the top box was staggered forward about 1 cm compared to the box underneath it, which is not how I left it during my final inspections. It's far too cold to crack boxes right now, but when/if we get some warmer temps, I'm going to have to remedy that.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 05, 2024, 12:50:16 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 05, 2024, 12:50:16 PM
i just checked to see if the hive had blown away and it's still there and intact.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 05, 2024, 04:00:58 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 05, 2024, 04:00:58 PM
I have all my colonies strapped down expressly so I never have to wonder that myself. I don't want to be lying in bed on a windy, stormy night and thinking "Gosh, I wonder if any of my hives blew over".
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 08, 2024, 01:48:04 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 08, 2024, 01:48:04 PM
I gassed 'em. Those who were out didn't think much of being locked out but by the time I opened the door back up, they were gone. I don't know if they squeaked in on the end where there is a big enough gap if they try hard enough or if they went somewhere else for a while. 50F isn't enough to kill them if they're out in it for a while, is it?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 08, 2024, 03:21:33 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 08, 2024, 03:21:33 PM
No, they'll be fine, especially if it's sunny. I'm inclined to think they probably sneaked in; I have bees sneak around my OAV wand all the time.
It's getting up to 62F here today, which feels like spring after almost a solid week and a half of highs in the 40s. All my bees are out stretching their wings and going to the bathroom while the getting's good! :grin:
It's getting up to 62F here today, which feels like spring after almost a solid week and a half of highs in the 40s. All my bees are out stretching their wings and going to the bathroom while the getting's good! :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: bwallace23350 on December 09, 2024, 04:22:50 PM
Post by: bwallace23350 on December 09, 2024, 04:22:50 PM
I did my last check for the winter. I noted that one hive will probably need to be fed over the winter while the other is fine. I will probably top feed.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 14, 2024, 04:50:36 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 14, 2024, 04:50:36 PM
Another round of hefting and quilt checking today. I decided to give two colonies some emergency feed. They are probably fine, but the hives were light enough that it's making me nervous and in the one colony the cluster was all the way up in the top of the stack, so better safe than sorry. I still haven't lost a colony purely to starvation, and I don't intend to start now. I also put a ring of wood ash around each stand to try and keep the sugar ants at bay. I can't understand how those little tiny ants can even be out in cold temperatures.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Lesgold on December 16, 2024, 12:40:39 AM
Post by: Lesgold on December 16, 2024, 12:40:39 AM
Tested 16 hives for varroa over the past couple of days. Was surprised that the little critters are not here yet. They are getting very close according to the online heat map.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 17, 2024, 02:10:17 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 17, 2024, 02:10:17 PM
We're in the upper 50s here this afternoon and my hive is active. It looks to me like they're flying orientation flights. I gassed them about two weeks ago and am wondering if I should give them another gassing. I could go out right after dark and block 'em in and let 'em have it. Would this be needed at this point?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 17, 2024, 03:21:00 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 17, 2024, 03:21:00 PM
Sorry, I'm chronically incapable of remembering if you have screened bottom boards or not. :oops: If you do, are you seeing any passive mite drop? What was the drop like last time you did OAV?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 17, 2024, 03:43:58 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 17, 2024, 03:43:58 PM
Nope, not screened and I forgot to shove some cardboard in there when I gassed them last time.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 17, 2024, 03:48:04 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 17, 2024, 03:48:04 PM
Well, in the absence of data, it's kind of up to you. Will you be able to sleep better having treated again or not? :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 17, 2024, 03:50:48 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 17, 2024, 03:50:48 PM
Quote from: The15thMember on December 17, 2024, 03:48:04 PMThat depends on whether or not I find all my bees dead one day.
Well, in the absence of data, it's kind of up to you. Will you be able to sleep better having treated again or not? :grin:
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 17, 2024, 05:23:36 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 17, 2024, 05:23:36 PM
Ah, the million dollar question. :grin: I'm not a fan of over-treating, at all, but I will say this: this is your only colony at the moment, so there is probably more risk to you losing them from varroa than from the OAV. Just try and get some data this time, and then you'll know for the future.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: beesnweeds on December 17, 2024, 07:16:31 PM
Post by: beesnweeds on December 17, 2024, 07:16:31 PM
Quote from: Terri Yaki on December 17, 2024, 02:10:17 PMMost beekeepers in the north will treat once between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If your mite count was low in September, you should be good. I just treated mine because single digit temps are on the way. I won't need to look at my hives again until March.
Would this be needed at this point?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 29, 2024, 12:12:15 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 29, 2024, 12:12:15 PM
I was/am hoping to gas them today but they're out hot and heavy right now. It's mid 50s out there. I found a couple filling up. It's been raining so they don't have to go far to get a drink.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 29, 2024, 05:21:33 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 29, 2024, 05:21:33 PM
And I gassed 'em. Two shots for two minutes each, which cooked off all of the OA. Afterwards, there were a few deaths noticed. Two straggled out and fell off the porch and one was pulled out by two others. Is this normal or is this an indication of an OD?
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 29, 2024, 06:10:37 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 29, 2024, 06:10:37 PM
I often have a bee or two burned to death from the wand. I'd imagine the same could occur if a bee was too close to the hot gases as they sublimated. Unless you are seeing significant numbers of dead bees, I wouldn't worry.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Occam on December 30, 2024, 02:15:19 AM
Post by: Occam on December 30, 2024, 02:15:19 AM
Finally got around to feeding the bees, set up some mountain camp style feeding since they were light this fall. I'll check back in a month if the weather stays warm, we haven't had any cold weather yet here, just a few frosts. Was a poor year for nectar, each hive had only a few frames of capped honey when I went to harvest, they never built up well. I pretty much left them everything. At any rate feeding went smoothly and easily, they were busy and enjoying the sun after a week of rain and clouds.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: bwallace23350 on December 30, 2024, 02:50:49 PM
Post by: bwallace23350 on December 30, 2024, 02:50:49 PM
I fed the bees hive alive the other day. Had trouble with my smoker and it was overcast so they got a little testy on me.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 30, 2024, 03:27:01 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 30, 2024, 03:27:01 PM
We have a long stretch of very cold weather being forecast, so I hefted and checked moisture quilts today, while it's still high 50s F and sunny. I have two colonies that I have sugar balls on, and both appear to be eating them, although one colony had a good bit of sugar dropped on their bottom board. One colony needed a quilt changed, which I had been anticipating, since this hive always seems to run wetter than the others for some reason.
The colony on the leaning stand looks worse today, the top box has almost slid far enough forward for me to see inside. I'm not sure if I should straighten it out or not. I mean, I obviously would rather the box be properly squared, but I'm worried if I crack the propolis seal when it's chilly like this that the box will be even more unstable because the propolis won't be holding it together anymore. On the other hand, I'd rather try and straighten it out when it's 50F than when it's 30F. Everyone else is either not home or really busy today, but maybe I should get someone to help me move the hive to another stand tomorrow.
The colony on the leaning stand looks worse today, the top box has almost slid far enough forward for me to see inside. I'm not sure if I should straighten it out or not. I mean, I obviously would rather the box be properly squared, but I'm worried if I crack the propolis seal when it's chilly like this that the box will be even more unstable because the propolis won't be holding it together anymore. On the other hand, I'd rather try and straighten it out when it's 50F than when it's 30F. Everyone else is either not home or really busy today, but maybe I should get someone to help me move the hive to another stand tomorrow.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 30, 2024, 04:19:42 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on December 30, 2024, 04:19:42 PM
Since it's warm again today, I lifted to top off of mine and looked in. I have a sheet of insulation under the outer cover and that's it. I saw no signs of moister in there. If it's going to sweat, should I have noticed it there? There don't seem to be any bees in the top box.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: The15thMember on December 31, 2024, 01:40:26 PM
Post by: The15thMember on December 31, 2024, 01:40:26 PM
My sister helped me put a piece of wood under the front end of the bottom board to re-level the leaning hive. I decided not to crack and re-center the box, since I don't want to have the propolis seal destroyed with this cold weather coming. I just took a piece of duct tape and sealed up the little gap that had developed at the back of the hive. They should be able to make it to spring this way, when I can move them to another stand and requeen them at the same time, hopefully.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on January 12, 2025, 08:37:52 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on January 12, 2025, 08:37:52 PM
Last night I checked them with the IR camera and the cluster is still in the same place it was the last time I checked. There were a couple of dead bodies on the porch but it warmed up to a little over 40 today and some of them were flying and the dead were removed. I guess all is good for now.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on January 17, 2025, 09:28:15 AM
Post by: Terri Yaki on January 17, 2025, 09:28:15 AM
Cold weather is here with more coming so I went out last night and took more IR pictures of my hive. This IR camera is neat.
Title: Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
Post by: Terri Yaki on January 23, 2025, 05:01:01 PM
Post by: Terri Yaki on January 23, 2025, 05:01:01 PM
I went out early this morning to verify life and it is still there. Not showing as much contrast as the pictures above in the cluster but the top is still showing well.