PNW stores?

Kathyp · May 18, 2008, 03:01:32 PM

just checked my hives. all are doing well in building up, but i find no stores except some pollen. i know that our strongest flow is the berries and they are behind, but the fruit trees are just finishing and there are other blooming things around. should i be worried? are they just using stuff as fast as they bring it in? i hate to feed at this time of the year and the bees don't seem to be in any distress. they are certainly working hard as something, but it's not at storing stuff.

anyone else in the PNW seeing the same?

doak · May 18, 2008, 07:34:41 PM

If they do not have any stores I would offer some feed.
Some time, and I think often, when the build up is going on and is strong, their demand will be greater than their bring in. JMO, I guess.
doak

Kathyp · May 18, 2008, 08:15:27 PM

i am considering it. just looked at the raspberries and they are starting to bloom. the only reason i'm not super worried is that the swarm that had no brood, had nectar stored. i know they are finding stuff. i will keep a close eye and if the berries don't boom in the next couple of days, i'll maybe offer open feeding away from the hives and see what happens.

Dane Bramage · May 18, 2008, 11:47:54 PM

Hi Kathy :)

I'm not sure you want me to answer. :-X

Ok - I don't think my situation here could be that unique... Are there a lot of orchard trees in forage range there? I think mine are bringing in loads, first it was the maples, then cherries, pears, apples - & there are a lot of apple trees around here. My pollen right now is 50/50 pale yellow/black (still trying to figure out what the black pollen is this time of year). There are all kinds of other trees and bushes blooming right now... its crazy, I don't know what they all are. Anyways, I'm on 2nd supers on the strong hives and working to prevent nectar-lock. I'm going to be happy that this heat-wave is over!

Brian D. Bray · May 19, 2008, 12:47:26 AM

In my area black pollen means tulips, but then the Skagit Valley is home of the Tulip Festival. BTW the tulips were a month late this year and are just wrapping up.

Kathyp · May 19, 2008, 01:09:06 AM

dane, you must have a really good spot! my fruit trees are about done, but the berries should start in the next couple of days. it's not that they are not brining in plenty, but there is very little stored. on the + side, they are building up quickly. i think they are using it as fast as they bring it in. i know things can be a little skimpy up here until the berries bloom and we are behind this year. last year the raspberries bloomed in april. this year, they are just starting.

i'll just keep a watch. i think there should be enough to keep them going. the question is, will there be any left over for me? :-)

Dane Bramage · May 19, 2008, 01:33:32 AM

Quote from: Brian D. Bray on May 19, 2008, 12:47:26 AM
In my area black pollen means tulips, but then the Skagit Valley is home of the Tulip Festival. BTW the tulips were a month late this year and are just wrapping up.

Tulips are what I suspected early last year... my tulips all finished last week, but could be there are more around here. Pollen was 90% black today... not that much collected though (still getting them used to the traps). Is there anything else that may be the source of this black pollen? It's sweet tasting, if that helps differentiate anything.

Quote from: kathyp on May 19, 2008, 01:09:06 AM
dane, you must have a really good spot! my fruit trees are about done, but the berries should start in the next couple of days. it's not that they are not brining in plenty, but there is very little stored. on the + side, they are building up quickly. i think they are using it as fast as they bring it in. i know things can be a little skimpy up here until the berries bloom and we are behind this year. last year the raspberries bloomed in april. this year, they are just starting.

i'll just keep a watch. i think there should be enough to keep them going. the question is, will there be any left over for me? :-)

I think I do have a good spot because it is sort of "triangulated" between wetlands, farms/orchards & suburbia = there's always something going on. 8-) I snapped a few pics this eve:

Perhaps you're right about the slight delay.. dramatic (& odd!) weather so far this season eh? Hopefully yours are timing their build so that they hit their peak going into that berry flow - give you some serious surplus this year! I guess feeding can never hurt (right?)... just in case.

Cheers,
Dane

Brian D. Bray · May 19, 2008, 09:51:44 PM

I went into mine this weekend with my daughter. I had to super because of wall to wall brood with little stores. That tells me that the build up is just about right for Respberries (in 10-14 days), Strawberries (just starting), and Blackberries (in about a month). I supered to make room for the brood that will be hatching out this week. Noticed the normal amount of queen cups but no cells. Pulled the outside brood frames up into the center of the super and replaced them with empty frames--got to keep the brood chamber open you know. 2 hives wintered as 2 mediums and 2 as double nucs. So 1 hive is now on it's third medium and the rest, including my daughters package, are on their second medium. I had to reduce to Italians down to a single medium earlier because the late snows and freezes just gave them a double whammy--I was afraid I might lose it for a while.

Kathyp · May 19, 2008, 10:40:58 PM

thanks brian. that makes me feel better. our raspberries are just starting and the blueberries are going strong. i don't think it's going to be as good a berry year as last, but you never know.

Sean Kelly · May 20, 2008, 09:40:52 AM

I caught this post late. lol

Up here, east of Tacoma, we're having no trouble with nectar. One hive already has two medium supers loaded with honey, another has two shallows, and both my new package installs have drawn out two deeps each. The package installs were only fed syrup for 2 weeks before they quit taking it! Even my terribly neglected and poorly done split is doing incredible! The bees already made a new queen, she mated, and is laying already.
We're having a magical year with the wild cherry trees. The bees are going nuts on them. Thank God for our Economic Stimilus Package, I just bought 10 more shallow supers and my first Ross Round kit from Western Bee.
Really can't wait for the blackberries!!!

Sean Kelly

Kathyp · May 20, 2008, 11:12:41 AM

my fruit tress are about done, but the cherries were wonderful this year. best year in a long time. the bees really built up on the early stuff. i have high hopes for the berries also, but they don't look quite as good this year. this is an "on" year for fruit. maybe it's an off year for berries?

last year was so disappointing. i'd hate to have to justify (to myself) another year of expense with no return! :-)

poka-bee · May 20, 2008, 02:24:08 PM

Sean, next time your order from WBee, let me know. We can split shipping?? I am going to need more boxes & frames. I'll let you know when I order too, every penny counts! I want to make an order before they put that outa state sales tax deal into effect. I hate paying the gvnr. :-x I have 2 places to add hives, my old boyfriend who lives off 212th behind the pabst horse farm & Jen @ the CSA. MORE BEEESSSS! Jody the Bee Mogul....BWAHAAAHAAAHAAA...has a nice ring dontcha think?? Darby Farms Home Grown Honey! Jody

Sean Kelly · May 20, 2008, 10:21:19 PM

That's a great idea Jody. Those shipping charges are insane. This last order was too big though. Any larger it would have to come on the back of a Conway Express semi instead of UPS and that would have been even more expensive due to a residentual delivery. I know exactly where the Pabst Blue Ribbon Farm is!!! I worked there all through high school as Rick Pabst's right hand man, mowing fields, walking fences, fixing that, killing verments, fencing a new field. The best high job any kid could have asked for. I've actually thought about stopping by the Pabst's place now that I'm back up here and sayin high and seein if they'll let me put a few hives somewhere on his property.
Out of state sales tax! HA! Who came up with that one, Christine Gregoire? Man, she's totally lost it! She's screwed up so much since she's been in office, there's no way she'll be re-elected

I probably wont be doing any orders through western bee for a while, probably not until I order some more honey containers. I will be making an order through Mannlake and Brushy Mountain probably by next month for a stand for my extractor and the bottling bucket/filters kit.

Sean Kelly

Dane Bramage · May 21, 2008, 01:37:18 AM

Jody & Sean ~> I'm heading down to Shastina Millwork this Friday to pick up a couple pallets (72 deeps, 120 meds) of woodenware. I'm not sure what you're after but I could potentially pick up some gear for you and get it back up to Portland. It's a 5.5hr drive (one-way) to their HQ from here. Send me an IM.

Cheers,
Dane

Sean Kelly · May 21, 2008, 09:54:37 AM

Dane,

I had no idea these guys existed! Went ahead and bookmarked them in my favorites!!!

I think I have all I need for this year. I will definately keep this in mind for next though. I've pretty much reached my limit for number of colonies here at home (neighbors get nervous everytime the UPS guy pulls in my driveway) but would like to start putting hives at some of the local farms in my area next year. Let me know in advance next year if you're gunna head back down to get an order and I'll help with gas money if you pick up my order. My wife and I are down in Portland at least once a month, so picking up my stuff from you wouldn't be an issue. Do these guys just do the bodies or do they make frames too? Have you been getting your frames mail order or do you know a place near by?

Sean Kelly

Kathyp · May 21, 2008, 10:16:17 AM

sean, did you ever get stuff from ruhl bee? wondered if you had tried them out.

poka-bee · May 21, 2008, 11:47:58 AM

Thank you for the offer Dane! I didn't know about this supplier. I always like to use family owned businesses if possible. I'll keep these guys in mind when I order. Will depend on shipping as it is so far to get to portland (bout 2/3 tank of gas @ $75 a fill up :-x ) & I don't know if Sean would have room in his van for mine. They are now in my favorites too! Have a safe & enjoyable trip today! Jody

Dane Bramage · May 21, 2008, 05:40:11 PM

Hi Sean - you're welcome. I've just picked up my frames locally (Ruhl Bee Supply, same as Kathy mentioned) thus far but Shastina is going to start distribution of frames/foundations from Mann Lake. I'm going to be doing small cell (wired wax) foundation in the deeps (from BetterBee).

YW Jody - they've great prices on hive bodies. They assemble them as well for $1.25per... I was going to do it myself but I can't really beat that price enough to make it worth it (even galvanized nails/staples are getting expensive). I hear ya on fuel costs. Shipping is expensive too. I run a 1-ton dually on vegetable oil so it's not so bad for me. Shipping assembled hives would be especially expensive.. 4'x4' pallets 85" high.

I'll have loads of used equipment available later this season as I swap it out for the new gear. I'm setting up a hot wax/rosin dipping tank as well which I could also do to the used stuff, probably extend it's life. Else I may just strip and re-paint. I want to have a 100% paint-free wooden-ware apiary.

Back to OT ~> cooler (cold!) weather is back... at least for a few days, seems things have slowed right back down (at least with pollen collections). I'm going to pop open some supers later today to check for capped honey. I was scraping the bottom of my extractor last night to get out the last quart. :-P

Sean Kelly · May 21, 2008, 07:32:14 PM

Quote from: kathyp on May 21, 2008, 10:16:17 AM
sean, did you ever get stuff from ruhl bee? wondered if you had tried them out.

No, I keep forgetting about Ruhl Bee. I need to stop by the next time I'm down there and check em out.

Quote from: poka-bee on May 21, 2008, 11:47:58 AM
I don't know if Sean would have room in his van for mine.

I got tons of room in my van. The back seat pulls out and there's as much room as a mid-sized pickup truck. Plus it'll all be disassembled, flat, and stacked. You can fit a ton of hivebodies and supers in my van like that. The biggest problem with making a large order most places is the weight, not the size.

Quote from: Dane Bramage on May 21, 2008, 05:40:11 PM
... Shastina is going to start distribution of frames/foundations from Mann Lake.

That's great news! Definitely let me know if you're gunna head down there next season. Plus it'll be really cool to meet you and see your huge apiary! I'm also really curious about your veggie oil pickup truck! I've wanted to convert a truck and always wanted to see one in action. BTW, you goin to Brian Bray's shindig up in Anacortes?

Sean Kelly