Splits

Ben Framed · February 25, 2019, 08:35:58 PM

Quote from: jtcmedic on February 25, 2019, 08:12:00 PM
Well checked on some of my checkerbording hives and they were building well. This frame was new on Saturday also my veil had a hole I think it was from my new hive tools being razor sharp bumped my veil, got lucky just a face full of bees no stings [attachment=0][/attachment]

Looking good! Did you use foundation? If so what type? I am looking forward to my bees drawing new comb, so far the weather is not right for it here. I have not found any evidence of the bees being ready to draw new comb. I am thinking not yet quite warm enough here for it, but being this is my first bee spring, I could be wrong.

van from Arkansas · February 25, 2019, 09:07:07 PM

[[[The bottom box has the queen, it is the only one that can abscond. That has been my biggest problem this time of the year when the maple flow stops. Right now they are bringing in lots of honey. And they are growing fast.
Jim]]]

Jim, your thoughts on absconding??? I had a hive abscond, August 2017. The hive had dwarf wing virus and I had not treated for varroa. It was a preplanned abscond as there was no brood. Since use of OAV I have not had an abscond. I am very interested in this little understood absconding issue.

Jim, I would most certainly appreciate your thoughts as well as other beeks thoughts on abscond of honeybees and any link to Varroa mites that might be concluded. Thank you for your time.

jtcmedic · February 25, 2019, 09:46:28 PM

Quote from: Ben Framed on February 25, 2019, 08:35:58 PM
Quote from: jtcmedic on February 25, 2019, 08:12:00 PM
Well checked on some of my checkerbording hives and they were building well. This frame was new on Saturday also my veil had a hole I think it was from my new hive tools being razor sharp bumped my veil, got lucky just a face full of bees no stings [attachment=0][/attachment]

Looking good! Did you use foundation? If so what type? I am looking forward to my bees drawing new comb, so far the weather is not right for it here. I have not found any evidence of the bees being ready to draw new comb. I am thinking not yet quite warm enough here for it, but being this is my first bee spring, I could be wrong.

Well this was on plastic foundation. And have been feeding 1:1 had read if you add a pinch of salt to the 1:1 it increases wax but can?t find it any were else.

BeeMaster2 · February 25, 2019, 11:54:02 PM

Stinger,
I used to think the absconding was caused by Africanized genetics but since I started using oxy it seems to have stopped.
Jim

Ben Framed · February 26, 2019, 05:25:16 AM

Quote from: jtcmedic on February 25, 2019, 09:46:28 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on February 25, 2019, 08:35:58 PM
Quote from: jtcmedic on February 25, 2019, 08:12:00 PM
Well checked on some of my checkerbording hives and they were building well. This frame was new on Saturday also my veil had a hole I think it was from my new hive tools being razor sharp bumped my veil, got lucky just a face full of bees no stings [attachment=0][/attachment]

Looking good! Did you use foundation? If so what type? I am looking forward to my bees drawing new comb, so far the weather is not right for it here. I have not found any evidence of the bees being ready to draw new comb. I am thinking not yet quite warm enough here for it, but being this is my first bee spring, I could be wrong.
Well this was on plastic foundation. And have been feeding 1:1 had read if you add a pinch of salt to the 1:1 it increases wax but can?t find it any were else.

Well there may be something to that! Would you mind telling me more? When you say you add a pinch is salt, a pinch to how much? Maybe a quart, of other? Thanks. I will follow your lead!
Again Thanks, Phillip

jtcmedic · February 26, 2019, 08:11:16 AM

I am gonna try today on one hive this experiment. Putting quarts on so one will get a pinch one will not and will see how it goes both are equal size

Ben Framed · February 26, 2019, 09:52:28 AM

Quote from: jtcmedic on February 26, 2019, 08:11:16 AM
I am gonna try today on one hive this experiment. Putting quarts on so one will get a pinch one will not and will see how it goes both are equal size

That's a good idea. Let us know how that works out. Very good idea!!

BeeMaster2 · March 02, 2019, 08:32:29 AM

Quote from: MikeyN.C. on February 23, 2019, 02:15:16 PM
Thanks Jim for all the info.
So you don't worry that newly mated Q will enter the wrong box ?
Could you show some pics. of your screens? I was going to try and make Q's this year. To increase a feral hive i have and haven't decided what method. Thanks again.

Her are the pictures. The first one is the double screen. It goes above the 2 bottom boxes. The second one is a single screen. It goes above the middle box. It provides an entrance to for the middle box. There is also another one like it on the top box.

[attachment=0][/attachment]

[attachment=1][/attachment]

Jim

MikeyN.C. · March 02, 2019, 11:03:54 AM

Thanks for pics. I thinking of trying this in spring. I'm going to move up just 1 box just like you did instead of 2 boxes. What I'm thinking is move 2 frames of fresh brood & eegs, 2 frames of pollen & nectar but put a Q- excluder between Q-rite and split box for 24 hrs. to let lots of nurse bees move up to brood frames and then replace Q-excluder with double screen. Do you think that will work? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

MikeyN.C. · March 02, 2019, 11:32:09 AM

Oh, forgot to ask do nurse bees in split need water?

CoolBees · March 02, 2019, 04:30:32 PM

I like that entrance in the 2nd pic Jim. That's trick. :)

A followup question - your saying that since the bees can smell the queen, but can't get to her, they will raise a new queen(s)? It's that simple? (I've been following this thread closely. I'm new so still learning. I've raised all my queens so far - but in new boxes via splits).

Thanks,
Alan

BeeMaster2 · March 02, 2019, 07:16:55 PM

Quote from: MikeyN.C. on March 02, 2019, 11:03:54 AM
Thanks for pics. I thinking of trying this in spring. I'm going to move up just 1 box just like you did instead of 2 boxes. What I'm thinking is move 2 frames of fresh brood & eegs, 2 frames of pollen & nectar but put a Q- excluder between Q-rite and split box for 24 hrs. to let lots of nurse bees move up to brood frames and then replace Q-excluder with double screen. Do you think that will work? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

Most of the time each box has brood in it. They already have nurse bees on the frames and field bees on the other frames.
Unless you are shaking off the bees before reinstalling them, I would not worry about using a QE. Even if LJ are moving brood frames up from the bottom box, they will still bee covered with nurse bees.
Other than delay the start of the splits, I do not think it would hurt to use the QE for a day.
Jim

BeeMaster2 · March 02, 2019, 07:18:06 PM

Quote from: MikeyN.C. on March 02, 2019, 11:32:09 AM
Oh, forgot to ask do nurse bees in split need water?

No because they are able to go out and get water.
Jim

BeeMaster2 · March 02, 2019, 07:40:08 PM

Allen,

A followup question - your saying that since the bees can smell the queen, but can't get to her, they will raise a new queen(s)?
It isn?t that they cannot get to her, it is that the retenue bees are not able to spread the queen pheromones into the upper boxes.
Jim

MikeyN.C. · March 02, 2019, 08:10:48 PM

Thanks Jim,
This yr. l'll let everyone here know how. My experiments work out.

jtcmedic · March 03, 2019, 01:54:22 PM

Quote from: jtcmedic on February 25, 2019, 09:46:28 PM
Quote from: Ben Framed on February 25, 2019, 08:35:58 PM
Quote from: jtcmedic on February 25, 2019, 08:12:00 PM
Well checked on some of my checkerbording hives and they were building well. This frame was new on Saturday also my veil had a hole I think it was from my new hive tools being razor sharp bumped my veil, got lucky just a face full of bees no stings [attachment=0][/attachment]

Looking good! Did you use foundation? If so what type? I am looking forward to my bees drawing new comb, so far the weather is not right for it here. I have not found any evidence of the bees being ready to draw new comb. I am thinking not yet quite warm enough here for it, but being this is my first bee spring, I could be wrong.
Well this was on plastic foundation. And have been feeding 1:1 had read if you add a pinch of salt to the 1:1 it increases wax but can?t find it any were else.

Well didn?t see any difference with the pinch of salt

jtcmedic · March 03, 2019, 01:58:30 PM

Was in checking my splits and the parent hive we removed the queen couldn?t fine signs of eggs yet but was a couple day early, but found the virgin by her piping was neat. Almost getting ready to put ina queen cell from another.

Ben Framed · March 03, 2019, 04:54:26 PM

Quote from: jtcmedic on March 03, 2019, 01:58:30 PM
Was in checking my splits and the parent hive we removed the queen couldn?t fine signs of eggs yet but was a couple day early, but found the virgin by her piping was neat. Almost getting ready to put ina queen cell from another.

Thanks for sharing your update.

BeeMaster2 · March 03, 2019, 09:33:00 PM

Quote from: jtcmedic on March 03, 2019, 01:58:30 PM
Was in checking my splits and the parent hive we removed the queen couldn?t fine signs of eggs yet but was a couple day early, but found the virgin by her piping was neat. Almost getting ready to put ina queen cell from another.

JT,
From my experience with my observation hive, piping queens usually means that your hive is planning on making multiple swarms. Often to the point that the original hive does not survive. The good news is that you now have a hive full of virgin queens still in their queen cells. I recommend you open up that hive to harvest the queens and stop that hive from swarming to death. Be sure to have lots of queen cages on hand, I had 11 queens in a 8 frame hive. Expect a lot more. Gently remove one frame at a time. Try not to disturb the bees too much. Use only a little bit of smoke. They are constantly keeping the queens sealed in and if disturbed too much, they leave the queens and you will have a bunch of queens released at once trying to kill each other.
Good luck.
Jim

jtcmedic · March 03, 2019, 10:32:41 PM

I had pulled out all the cells except for 2 on this frame. Queen was already moved out (3years old)and I made a split from it and took cells into a failing queen. So there was only 2 in it. I did make a mistake on my dates and thought she be laying but they just hatched so will check again in a week