Newbee making first really big screwup.

Started by Rock331, August 02, 2011, 07:45:02 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Print
Go Down Pages1
User actions

Rock331

August 02, 2011, 07:45:02 PM
First I am very new to bee keeping. My friend Jack Jones is helping me get started with the hobby. Now for my first really big mistake. Of course not helping with  starting with a new hive in over 100 degree weather and breaking records in southern Oklahoma. Anyway I checked my hive and one of the older cones from when the hive was placed in a nuc after being captured by Jack was falling apart. I went ahead and took the cone and squeezed the honey out. I though I would place the smashed cone on a plate about twenty feet from the hive and let the girls clean it up and put in the hive. Well big mistake. This morning I had a very big fight on my hand. It looks like the smell attracted another hive also and I guess they were not happy with the plate they decided to rob my hive. There were bees everywhere fighting. Lots of dead bees. I got the wax out of there and closed the entrance down to about one inch. Later the other bees left and I found a large ball on the side of the hive. I opened the top to get them back in. I saw the queen was with them. I got her back. I hope they can bounce back. I am going to give them some quite time and then start back with the sugar water after the other bees leave them along for a few days. What a learning curve. I would have to say the adrenalin rush was cool. I had lots of bees all over my bee suit and bees fighting all around me. I had to walk out in my field for five minutes bushing off bees. they finally got tired of that game and left. 
Randy

mikecva

#1
August 02, 2011, 08:12:32 PM
First, welcome to the forum.  :cheer:

If we did not mistakes, we would never be able to appreciate when we do something right the first time.

The bees are very forgiving. What you saw is honey robbing. If I have a strong hive, I will put the empty super back on the top of the hive (at a 45degree angle) for three days for the bees to clean up after extracting honey. I do not do that anymore with week hives because I caused honey robbing by doing that once with a weak hive. With all of us here, you are going to have to work hard to do a screw up that others of us have not experienced.  :lau: :lau:

Enjoy your new bees and ask all the questions you have.  -Mike
.
Listen to others but make your own decisions. That way you own the results.
.
Please remember to read labels.

Bigtwin

#2
August 02, 2011, 09:28:16 PM
Hey Rock, I feel your pain with the heat...it was 110F today in Marlow,OK at 5:30pm and still 107 at 730Pm...crazy crazy heat.  My interest in bees didn't start until it was too late for this year.  All I can do is start ordering equipment/supplies and get ready for the spring of 2012.  Good luck with the robbing and overwintering.

Rock331

#3
August 02, 2011, 11:36:10 PM
Update. The bees took a break during the heat of the day. Thought I had them beat, well no such luck. They came back after the temp went down.There was not as many this time but they were still fighting. I had reduced the entrance down to about one inch so I am hoping that helped them keep a check on the ones making entry. I noticed the ants are very happy with all the dead ones in front of the hive. If it continues I figure my next option is to completely move the hive to another location for a while. 
Randy

Michael Bush

#4
August 03, 2011, 01:01:31 AM
If you have robbing you need to stop it immediately! Damage progresses quickly and can devastate a hive. Just make sure they are robbing and not orienting first, then if it's robbing, do something drastic. Close off the hive, cover it with wet cloth. Open all the strong hives to make the strong hives stay home and guard their own hives. But do something even if it's as simple as closing off the hive with screen wire completely. Then you can assess what you want to do to let them fly (small entrance, robber screen etc.). Bottom line, you cannot let robbing continue. You need to stop it now.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesrobbing.htm

My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Rock331

#5
August 03, 2011, 08:59:45 AM
New Update. The other bees are at the hive again. I have the entrance reduced to about one inch. I agree with you I need to get something done. I have to go out of town this morning. I am hoping they can weather the storm. I am going to try and move the bees tonight after dark and see what that does. I didn't think about putting screen across the entrance to keep them in today and keeping the others out. I will remember that. I would deal with the other bees at their hive but I dont know where they are coming from.
Randy

Intheswamp

#6
August 03, 2011, 10:01:53 AM
How will the bees handle being closed up all day with the Oklahoma heat?
www.beeweather.com 
American blood spilled to protect the freedom and peace of people all over the world.  320,000 USA casualties in WWI, 1,076,000 USA casualties in WWII, 128,000 USA casualties in the Korean War, 211,000 casualties in the Vietnam "conflict", 57,000 USA casualties in "War on Terror".  Benghazi, Libya, 13 USA casualties. These figures don't include 70,000 MIA.  But, the leaders of one political party of the United States of America continue to make the statement..."What difference does it make?".

"We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism."..."The press is our chief ideological weapon." - Nikita Khrushchev

"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they wont come to yours." - Yogi Berra

mikecva

#7
August 03, 2011, 11:08:20 AM
As Michael Bush was saying, if you have another hive - open the top so those bees will return to protect their own honey.

I have had to close off my hive for two days but I soaked a few old towels to put over the hive to keep it cool from the sun. A friend of mine put a sprinkler on to act like rain - he said the robbing stopped (I have not tried that as my hives are a distance from a powered water supply.)  -Mike
.
Listen to others but make your own decisions. That way you own the results.
.
Please remember to read labels.

John Pfaff

#8
August 03, 2011, 11:18:46 AM
I piled cyprus (pine tree like) branches half way up my hives with greatly reduced entrances when they were robbed earlier this year and it seemed to help. The robbers were thrown off but the rightful occupants were able to negotiate the entrance and exit. I wonder if the odor helped confuse robbing bees. Robber screens finally went on (still on but open). Problem solved.

L Daxon

#9
August 03, 2011, 01:32:32 PM
Rock331,

You have come to the perfect place to help you navigate your adventures in beekeeping.  I was on here last year asking for help with a robbing situation.

I did the wet sheet method.  Soaked a white sheet in water and threw it over the hive with a little place for my bees to get out at the side--they will find it.  Robbert don't take the time to find the way in. (that is the same theory with robber screens).

And you will have to be careful in the Oklahoma heat.  The girls need some ventilation, and water, water, water.
I don't think you necessarily need to move the hive.  Just get the robbing stopped.  If you move the hive, you have to do it at night, then put some grass or sticks in front of the entrance so the foragers reorient themselves to the new location when they leave for the first time in the morning.  If you move the hive during the day when the foragers are out, they will be lost.

Your initial mistake was probably not setting the wet comb far enough away from your hive.  It is OK to set wet comb out to be cleaned up, but it needs to be 50 ft or more away from your hive. The further away the better.

Glad to get another Okie on the site.  Hope to meet you at the state meeting in the fall.  Well worth attending.

Linda Daxon
Oklahoma City
linda d

Rock331

#10
August 03, 2011, 02:55:32 PM
Linda when is the state meeting. I will try and make it. I will need to know soon so I can ask for the time off. I am a police officer and the the heat is not only effecting bugs and animals, seams to bring out the worst in people too. 

Thanks to everyone that is giving me advise. I will remember them for the next time.

Update on the hive. I lost the hive. I went ahead and screened off the front for ventilation and to keep bees in and out of the hive. I was going to place a feeder inside to sustain the bees until they could build back up. Well opened the hive and it was already stripped. The cones above the brood with the honey was completely missing.  The other honey cones were also missing. The brood that was capped over was good but all the larva and eggs were gone. I will post pictures this evening . I going to wait until it gets cooler to go back out. Not to worry I will be at it again this spring time. I am going to spend my time getting my supplies built up and jump in with both feet again. No pun intended but I got the bug. I am thinking about freezing what is left and trying to use it again in the spring. All they will have to do is clean and repair the damage. Should be less work for them. Is this a good idea or just just put it in a wax bucket and melt it.
Randy

SurprisingWoman

#12
August 04, 2011, 02:39:17 AM
So sorry for your loss.  I lost my first hive by my own actions too.  It was certainly a learning lesson.

It would be wonderful for you to save all of your frames and comb by freezing for a couple of days.  You can then take it out, put it in a plastic bag, seal it and leave it in the house until next spring.  It will help the bees to have some prebuilt comb and they do better in boxes that smell like bees and honey.

Print
Go Up Pages1
User actions