Clustering under screen

sc-bee · July 21, 2013, 09:59:22 PM

Cell location alone is not a very good indicator to determine weather the cell is sawrm or supercedure. Other factors have to be looked at also: condition of hive, number of cells, are all cells the same age. These are just a couple other indicators. Of course all this is hard to determine after they have emerged not knowing how long it has been since emergence. If supercedure first one out sometimes chews the other cells and kills them and makes them not viable. Of course not in all cases. You said three hatched. Swarm cells-- you will often get a primary swarm followed by after swarms.

No, I would not try to dig underneath (not me I also have physical limitations), yes break them down and look for queen or signs of queen in comb underneath. Put them back on a solid board and let them right themselves. Then later maybe try the screen board again. Screen boards, studies say, can be a good thing in varroa control. Actually I do however have a mix of both.

Palouse · July 22, 2013, 01:53:33 AM

Thanks to everyone who's responded.

I made a solid bottom board this afternoon and removed the screened bottom board. It looks like it'll be easy to mod the boards with a spacer screen.

Lots of comb on the bottom of the screen, and it was all honey/pollen. No brood at all. I still don't have evidence of a queen, but as was said, it could be a virgin queen or a mated queen not yet laying.

I'm thankful to have gotten that done, but it was quite a mess. I'll post photos tomorrow.

sc-bee · July 22, 2013, 03:41:00 AM

:th_thumbsupup: X:X

Hang in There!

Palouse · July 22, 2013, 12:25:34 PM

Photos, as promised. The first photo is of the bees, at least most of them, that were on the comb under the hive. Not all made it back in, and this morning there was a cluster out front on the cinder block. Some were trying to get back under the hive, but without the scent of the hive, my hope is they won't try and build new comb.

As I was setting the sprinkler on my garden this morning, I took a peek under the hive that's doing well, and they, too, are building comb under the screen, but not as much. I'll tackle that Tuesday evening and get the sticky board back in.

I have some western red cedar left over from the windscreen I built that can be seen in the photos. If they're determined to build comb on the bottom of the hives, I may fab a platform from the cedar and lay it on the cinder blocks. If it weren't for the carpenter and sugar ants, I'd put them on the ground directly.

WarPonyFarms · July 22, 2013, 12:49:25 PM

In the hot weather I often have bearding under strong hives with SBB.

They will be there during the day, and as our temperatures drop at night they migrate into the hive.

When I first noticed the bearding I did a few experiments. I now use a slotted boards instead of a solid one. This works fairly well if the bees are trying to regulate the temperature and helps protect them from the winds we get in Eastern Washington but still allows them to pass nectar back and forth across the screen. I leave the slotted boards in year round and add a counting sheet on top of it when I'm doing mite counts.

I've never had them make wax on the bottom of the screen however.

You can switch some frames between your hives to help determine the situation in the possibly queenless hive. Give them young enough brood or eggs to make a new queen and they will if they don't have one. If they have a queen then no harm is done. We still have plenty of mating season left to produce good local queens.

Good luck,

Dale

BeeMaster2 · July 22, 2013, 12:57:20 PM

That looks like a swarm moved under your hive. I would put them in a box and see what they do. Rubber band that comb into a couple of empty frames and they will probably stay in it. If you are uncomfortable picking them up, just put a nuc with the rubber banded frames in front of them and they will probably move right in.
Jim

Palouse · July 22, 2013, 05:40:27 PM

Quote from: WarPonyFarms on July 22, 2013, 12:49:25 PM

You can switch some frames between your hives to help determine the situation in the possibly queenless hive. Give them young enough brood or eggs to make a new queen and they will if they don't have one. If they have a queen then no harm is done. We still have plenty of mating season left to produce good local queens.

I'm half tempted to get a queen from the WSU Entomology Dept., but I'd hate to shell out $50 only to have them nose dive this winter. If there is a queen in there or they can rear a queen from a frame or two of brood from my thriving hive, I'll go that route.

Quote from: sawdstmakr on July 22, 2013, 12:57:20 PM
That looks like a swarm moved under your hive. I would put them in a box and see what they do. Rubber band that comb into a couple of empty frames and they will probably stay in it. If you are uncomfortable picking them up, just put a nuc with the rubber banded frames in front of them and they will probably move right in.
Jim

Hadn't thought about those bees being a swarm. I don't have a nuc, but I might be able to slap one together tonight...I've got some Baltic birch ply needing a project. I had rubber banded frames with me when I went out to deal with this, but since it was all honey and no brood, I didn't think it was necessary.