Cutout side products?

Grandma_DOG · May 10, 2009, 02:58:46 PM

I did a cutout yesterday. An outside cutout from a junk camper shell. High wind, day after a storm, with another storm brewing. No choice, I was out of town and I volunteered. Boy, were they testy. I've got video I'll put on YouTube in a day. Bear in mind, I'm a amateur at cutouts.

Anyway. There was no capped honey, lots of uncured honey and nectar. I chose to save it with the intent to let my other hives clean it out and salvage it. I'm not worried about the AFB threat. What do you guys do with stuff like that?

Second, I found a comb of just pollen. I set it aside. I could dig all the pollen out (ugg) or could I just freeze it and simply give it to my bees next spring as they build up. What do you guys do with pollen combs?

Kathyp · May 10, 2009, 03:27:25 PM

i usually put the scrap stuff out and let the hives clean it up. then i melt the wax. if i get a nice piece with pollen, and if i have room, i put that in the hive. i also feed the cutouts for a bit because they don't have any stores when i am done.

JP · May 10, 2009, 04:15:08 PM

You can feed the uncapped honey back to the bees or if you had access to a refractometer and it tested under 18% moisture harvest it.

I would freeze some of the pollen combs for swarm trap lure and ditch the rest.

...JP

Grandma_DOG · May 10, 2009, 11:16:27 PM

My cutout is now up on YouTube under 'OutOfaBlueSky' and if I can post links its at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpbs0go2KAs

Quote from: Grandma_DOG on May 10, 2009, 02:58:46 PM
I did a cutout yesterday. An outside cutout from a junk camper shell. High wind, day after a storm, with another storm brewing. No choice, I was out of town and I volunteered. Boy, were they testy. I've got video I'll put on YouTube in a day. Bear in mind, I'm a amateur at cutouts.

Anyway. There was no capped honey, lots of uncured honey and nectar. I chose to save it with the intent to let my other hives clean it out and salvage it. I'm not worried about the AFB threat. What do you guys do with stuff like that?

Second, I found a comb of just pollen. I set it aside. I could dig all the pollen out (ugg) or could I just freeze it and simply give it to my bees next spring as they build up. What do you guys do with pollen combs?

JP · May 11, 2009, 05:57:02 AM

So did you transfer comb sections to a hive body along with the bees? Did you get the queen?

What I saw has you exposing the colony and then the video ends. Is there more footage?

An inverter hooked to the car battery would have come in real handy to operate say a rotozip to access the hive.

Looks like the bees weren't very happy.

...JP

fermentedhiker · May 11, 2009, 08:35:43 AM

Quote from: JP on May 11, 2009, 05:57:02 AM
So did you transfer comb sections to a hive body along with the bees? Did you get the queen?

What I saw has you exposing the colony and then the video ends. Is there more footage?

An inverter hooked to the car battery would have come in real handy to operate say a rotozip to access the hive.

Looks like the bees weren't very happy.

...JP

rotozip, what a great idea...............now i have to save up for another tool :-D

Grandma_DOG · May 11, 2009, 12:45:33 PM

Yea, I finally generated a 3 part video for about 27 minutes. The cuttout is the first 2 vids, my reflections and wax rendering is the 3rd.

2nd video is at :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3kd8flqqeU

3rd is at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ80CEba1UE

I'll post a new thread with all the links again, I think.
And I'll try to put up a quick pic of the hive.

I transferred 14 pieces of comb. All brood, no drone, no honey. Getting the size right was hard for my KTBH, so I think I sub-optimally cut them a bit small. To complicate matters, the bees were, as you saw, highly testy and several got in my suit. I couldn't get away and couldn't get them out. So conditions were...complicated. I was expecting to transfer less comb. But I'd cut the main piece and think, "Hey, I really should save this smaller cut piece..." So maybe 9 main pieces and 5 scraps. I show you the inside of the KTBH in vid 2 and you'll see what I mean.

I *think* I got the queen. They were balling inside the hive, so that's what I figure. Also, at dusk bees were balling underneath the inside ball below the screened bottom, so I'm thinking I got her.

No idea what a rotozip is.

Bees not happy at all. 1-Day after a storm. 2-High winds. 3-Another storm coming. 4-I shook the hive in the cutout. It was ugly.

The meltdown yesterday rendered out 215g of wax (8.5oz) from the junker comb.

Quote from: JP on May 11, 2009, 05:57:02 AM
So did you transfer comb sections to a hive body along with the bees? Did you get the queen?

What I saw has you exposing the colony and then the video ends. Is there more footage?

An inverter hooked to the car battery would have come in real handy to operate say a rotozip to access the hive.

Looks like the bees weren't very happy.

...JP