Newbee questions

Mamichi · October 24, 2010, 08:47:57 PM

Hi everyone, I have a couple of questions. We have two "English Garden" hives (hives that use 8-frame medium supers). Both hives have two brood boxes and one honey super. One hive has the honey super filled up (and I know we need to get another honey super on ASAP), and there are always tons of bees resting on the front of the hive. What does that mean? Is that good or bad?

My other question regarding that hive is- what happens if we don't get another honey super on there quickly? It will probably be next weekend before my husband builds another one to put on. Maybe nothing happens, but we're new at this and I'm just curious. They surprised us with having everything filled up!

Thank you,
Margaret

iddee · October 24, 2010, 09:21:57 PM

Hanging on the front is called bearding and is a good thing. Nothing to worry about, but many newbies on here will tell you how to ventilate the hive to reduce bearding. Old timers just sit back and enjoy seeing it.

This time of year they will just sit home and do nothing if they run out of space. In the spring, they will swarm when they have no space left.

AllenF · October 24, 2010, 09:50:12 PM

In central Florida, you are getting honey coming in still. If they are completely full up on honey, you should make some room for them. Either take a little (harvest) out or add a honey super. If the brood boxes are not so full with honey, I would not worry so much.

fish_stix · October 24, 2010, 10:09:08 PM

You probably need another super on the one that's full. The pepper bloom is still going and looks like a couple more weeks. If they start packing out the brood boxes look out for swarms. This is not the frozen North; they can and will swarm any time of year.

hardwood · October 25, 2010, 12:00:29 AM

Fish is right, in some areas of FL the fall flow can be our best flow (especially if you're coastal) so make sure they have room. If you don't have the supers for it just harvest the honey and put the frames back. Check all boxes to make sure there are no swarm cells.

Am I getting you right that you have two 8-frame boxes for brood and then one on top for honey? Is there a queen excluder between the brood and the honey super? If so, two 8-frame deeps is not enough room for brood in FL especially if you have Brazillian pepper flow in the fall or orange blossom in the spring. In this case I would extract the honey and remove the excluder to allow them more brood space.

Look at the brood...are they back filling? Is there still room for the queen to lay?

Scott

Tommyt · October 25, 2010, 08:05:29 AM

Hello
Go on Craig's List the guy sell hives is gene he'll sell you a med with frames and foundation for 20 or 28
I think thats what he asks he's a good guy and real busy in Tampabay Bee club

Good Luck

Tommyt · October 25, 2010, 02:48:28 PM

Here is one of his adds its 40 for this
##########################################

One assembled medium super with ten assembled frames with foundation installed. Box constructed with finger (box) joints and relief handles which will not catch and hold rain (on all four sides). Box is primed white.

I have complete beehives available as well as other beehive parts (boxes, tops etc.) and branding irons. I can make custom size metal pans to fit your bases as well as custom metal tops. I make these right here in Tampa.

Call 727-244-4917 after 5 pm weekdays or anytime on weekends

Mamichi · November 01, 2010, 10:07:42 PM

Quote from: hardwood on October 25, 2010, 12:00:29 AM

Am I getting you right that you have two 8-frame boxes for brood and then one on top for honey? Is there a queen excluder between the brood and the honey super? If so, two 8-frame deeps is not enough room for brood in FL especially if you have Brazillian pepper flow in the fall or orange blossom in the spring. In this case I would extract the honey and remove the excluder to allow them more brood space.

You are correct- two 8-frame boxes for brood and one on top for honey and a queen exlcluder between them. Now we have two on top for honey. Lots of people have told me that the two 8-frame brood boxes should be sufficient. :? We did not have a chance to go in and look for swarm cells.

Quote from: hardwood on October 25, 2010, 12:00:29 AM
Look at the brood...are they back filling? Is there still room for the queen to lay?

What is "back filling"? thanks for your help!

Kathyp · November 01, 2010, 10:18:08 PM

back filling is filling the brood area with honey and pollen. it leaves no room for the queen to lay. in a cold winter area where the queen will shut down/slow down for winter, it's no big deal. for a warm area and with a flow still going on, it is a problem. pull some of the frames that are full of honey out of the brood area and replace them with empty frames. also, if you are not harvesting honey and are leaving it for winter, take off the excluder.

Mamichi · November 01, 2010, 10:36:30 PM

Great info, Thank you! :)

tecumseh · November 02, 2010, 08:14:33 AM

a mamichi snip..
We did not have a chance to go in and look for swarm cells.

tecumseh:
on most occasions you can do a quick and dirty check for queen cells by breaking apart the boxes (you really don't need to remove but simply tip the box) and quickly looking at the the bottom bars of the upper most box with brood. the bottom bars are a very common place for a hive to construct queen cells.

I am assuming you recognize the difference between a started queen cell and a dry queen cell cup.

Tommyt · November 02, 2010, 12:21:31 PM

Quote from: tecumseh on November 02, 2010, 08:14:33 AM
I am assuming you recognize the difference between a started queen cell and a dry queen cell cup.

Please explain

Tommyt

tecumseh · November 03, 2010, 07:38:37 AM

tommyt writes:
Please explain

tecumseh:
often time a new beekeeper will confuse a queen cell cup with a started queen cell. also it is not so unusual for a new beekeeper to confuse a swarm cell with a superscedure cell.

a queen cell cup is dry (has neither egg, nor larvae, nor royal jelly) and a hive may produce large number of these in a given season. these really mean little and nothing should be inferred when you see a dry queen cell cup. a started queen cell cup has an egg and or larvae plus royal jelley in the cup. as the larvae grows the queen cell will begin to take on it's peanut like appearance.

a queen cell cup that has been laid in by the queen typically mean swarming since the queen has knowingly laid in the queen cell cup. a queen cell that begins as a worker cell and is then transformed to produce a queen is more than likely a superscedure cell.

swarm cell are quite commonly produced at the top of the brood nest and along the bottom bars of the food chamber in a story and a half hive. they are easy to see here and really don't require you to disassemble the entire hive to KNOW that a hive is fixing to take to the trees. breaking apart the two boxes, leaning the top box back and looking at the bottom bars produces a lot of information when you have concerns about swarming. during the prime swarming season it is also an enormous time saver and allows for minimum intervention which is another plus since this also also tends to coincide with the peak of the honey season.