little to no production in SE Wisconsin

[tandemrx]

I have 4 hives, now all queen-right (if possibly not very "queen-productive" as 2 previously queenless hives are now just getting some brood going after installing new queens and 2 queen-right hives just don't seem to be busting out in population at all).  All 4 hives have moderate populations (if a bit heavy on drones at present - especially on the 2 hives that had gone queenless).

So in the last 3 weeks they just have not touched supers.  It was no doubt a lousy spring weather-wise, cold and wet, but I was realy hoping this past 3 weeks of decent weather would turn things around.

they don't look unhealthy, no chalkbrood, no bad wings, no apparent foul brood.  We have had mite problems last year, but I won't assess how our treatment rotation has helped things until after the supers come off which I plan for around Labor day.  I did not seem to have bad mites in the spring when I did unofficial mite count on bottom board check sheet.  When I have cleaned off errant wax/brood patches I do not see mites on drone larvae that I am scraping off.

Wondering how other Wisconsin bee keepers are doing or others in the nearby Midwest area.

At Current rate I will be lucky to get a single super's worth of honey frames off each hive.

A disappointing visit to the bees today - especially after I just put together 4 new supers and 40 new crimp-wire super frames over the past couple weeks in hopes of having to install a new one on each hive.  That is turning out to be a waste of time - other than finally getting ahead on woodenware construction.

Local Dadant had mentioned that central and Norther Wisconsin bee keepers were reporting a great super flow around the 4th of July.  Not sure if that was just random reports or optimistic business practices.

Sigh  :'(

[daniel]

 I'm at Lake Geneva and I have lots of honey on good hives. Just not capping it yet. I did have two swarms this year in early June. They have requeened and are now fine. Dan

[tandemrx]

Good to hear Dan,

I have a bee keeping buddy in Lake Geneva (one of my hives is a swarm from his - he had a bundle of swarms this year and didn't have a place to put them all).  His hives are not very strong either in the honey production area, but he has had some queen issues as well.

I am not all that far away in Whitewater.

What time frames have you had good honey flow this year and are you getting any decent flow now?

I had some good honey flow much earlier in the year, but then had a swarm and 2 hives that went queenless, so thing came to a standstill.  Lots of backfilling of nectar, but not much honey production.

Last year I didn't get much at all during August, so I am fearing that most of our flow is done (other than fall goldenrod, but I plan on leaving that for their winter build-up).

This is only my second year, so not sure what the flow dynamics are here in SE WI.

[daniel]

The best honey flow here was late May early June. Around July 4th there was a short but good flow.  If we would get get some "warm" weather we could get a flow yet. I have only been keepimg Bees for five years so I sure don't have many of the answers yet. I just keep watching the bees do the oppisite of what I think and try to learn from it......

[tandemrx]

I just keep watching the bees do the oppisite of what I think and try to learn from it......

Ain't it the truth  :).  I keep saying that I wish the bees would read the bee keeping books so they would know what to do and get it right.  But my wife did bring up that we have carniolans, so they probably could only read a bee book that was written in Serbian, thus the problems we have with them not following the bee keeping for dummies book (or any other books I have left for them to study).

"warm weather" . . .what is that . . . what a bizarre spring/summer we are having huh!?!

[GJP]

I've got two hives in south central wisconsin and have had some decent build up but no big flow.  Both hives now have a second super but if the weather doesn't cooperate soon, I'm not sure if they'll ever cap.