new to bee keeping?'s

texjim · January 06, 2012, 11:01:13 AM

I live in N.E. Pa. and i am having problems with getting my bees to produce honey and some of the hives die and never make it to the middle of the summer and the ones that do make it do not make it through the winter. I am going on my third year of bee keeping. I am learning from a guy that has been doing this since the early 80's and he is haven the same problem as i am. In fact just about everyone in our area is having the same problem. We have been using the Italian bees. For Christmas my wife bought me a Beekeeper handbook and this is when i have learned of the different races of bees and now wondering if i should go with the Carniolan bees for my area? But i can not seem to find a beekeeper in my state or a state close by that carries the Carniolan bees. I have called CA. and the shipping cost more than the bees and with the luck that i am having i don't want to just waste the money..Thanks

BjornBee · January 06, 2012, 11:12:52 AM

texjim,

Here is my site which has some helpful advice and material.
www.bjornapiaries.com

You might also want to read the information, including the seasonal advice from PennApic and the Pa. Backyard Beekeepers Association website page here: www.pennapic.org

If you Facebook, we also have a Facebook page for localized advice and chatter between mostly Pa. beekeepers, which could be very useful. It can be found on the PennApic front page

I would highly suggest other breeds here in the north. I love the carni lines. I think the Italians do not break brood which is a disadvantage in mite control, they get stuck on brood through early parts of winter increasing starvation and losses, especially for smaller clusters, and overall are less hygienic.

Beekeeping today is about knowledge, being connected, and staying up on what is happening on a local basis. So check out PennApic. And I certainly can help with some queens this summer.

Let me know if you have any questions. You can PM or call anytime.

And welcome to the forum.

Finski · January 06, 2012, 12:14:39 PM

.
Find somewhere a guy who keeps the hives alive.
Tracheal mite arranges mysterious deaths. Some races are tolerant to that.

There is some bee inspector on that area too who knows what is going on.

AllenF · January 06, 2012, 12:40:02 PM

I would blame the mites. What are you doing about them.

texjim · January 06, 2012, 01:50:38 PM

treat two times a year.. spring and fall

Rich V · January 06, 2012, 02:08:34 PM

BjornBee has some good info. I would also suggest, if your a member of a club, seek out someone who is not having this problem, and pick their brain.

BjornBee · January 06, 2012, 02:28:25 PM

Quote from: texjim on January 06, 2012, 01:50:38 PM
treat two times a year.. spring and fall

As to fall treatments, are you treating prior to the fall brood cycle? Which means prior to August 15th. You need to knock down mites prior to the fall brood period so new fall bees are less affected by the impacts of mites. Treating in October will no doubt kill mites. But the mites had already done their damage, by shortening the bees lifespan, affecting body fat mass, and other impacting items.

I also would question what type treatments are you using? Some are better than others as well I believe are just harmful to bees.

Did you have adequate fall brood? Many parts of Pennsylvania have far less of a fall flow than in many years past. So fall brood cycles are drastically shortened as bees get a late start brooding, then are cut short by cold snaps in October. And we had a huge snowstorm in October that cut short brood. We really need about a 60 day window of brood. From August 15th till October 15th. Anything less and you run the risk of too few bees going into winter.

Around here, we stimulate early brood rearing by using open feeding to simulate a flow.

So you need to ask yourself....

Did I treat too late?
Did the bees raise enough young bees?

Each of those questions, if you understand the reasoning, can help you moving forward.

backyard warrior · January 06, 2012, 04:15:40 PM

Its great to have knowledge of this forum to ask questions to seasoned beeks about issues you never knew existed thank god for the forums. Take all the advice you can from bjorn he has his cards in the right order as far as im concerened and their is others but he hasnt steard me in the wrong direction Chris

texjim · January 06, 2012, 06:27:48 PM

my only hive that survived the summer which i didn't not get any honey from was strong and full of honey but they never caped it. the supers were full just was never caped. it had a lot of brood when we treated them in early oct.

my buddy who is 90 that is teaching me has said this is the worst he has ever seen it. thanks for all the info everyone. bjournbee i sent you an email earlier