How do you define a "weak hive"?

[Country Heart]

I am a new beek running all 8-frame mediums.

What would a "weak hive" look like?  And by comparison, a strong hive?

[Michael Bush]

It depends on the context, but in general I would say it has to do with the density of the bees.  if they can't cover the combs and guard the hive then it's weak.  But you could probably change it to a strong hive by removing what they can't cover.  In the context of defending the hive from wax moths or small hive beetles or other pests, that would be my definition.  In the context of producing a honey crop, they need 100,000 bees or so to make a crop.  That would be a strong hive in the context of production.

[jataylor]

I'm a new bee too and don't mean to question experience, but 100,000 bees seems like a lot to produce a crop.  How much space (hive space) would you need for 100,000 bees? 

[Finski]

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A langstroth box needs 2 kg swarm to b full. Each swarm bee weights 170 mg.
it is about 12 000 bees.
1000 bees is not enough to cover one frame.

weak hive depends to where you compare.

[Michael Bush]

>How much space (hive space) would you need for 100,000 bees? 

Assuming all ten frame deeps, probably about four to six boxes and they would be pretty well full of bees.  Assuming eight frame mediums probably eight to ten boxes (more would probably blow over...)

[JP]

I don't shoot dogs that don't tree & I have a tendency to keep small hives in nucs just for the heck of it.  :-D  Some graduate nicely, some get stuck & eventually get requeened but they are fun little colonies to peek in on now & again. I just graduated one that was a late after swarm last year. They overwintered in a deep nuc. Once the tallow flow kicked in they finally filled out & just recently I transferred them into a deep & medium set up. Down here in the south we can take more honey than more northward. I can pull honey from colonies that have 60,000 bees & they will do just fine where up north they need all they can get to over winter. Location, location...


...JP

[AndrewT]

Me too, JP.  I had a colony that came through the winter with only a handful of bees.  In March, there was only brood on two frames, in an area about three inches around.  I took the frames out of the deep they were in and put them in a nuc right before a cold spell.  They kept hanging in there and I watched to see what they were going to do.  Since then, I've moved them back into a deep and today, I put a medium on top.  I couldn't believe how many frames of capped brood I saw.  The pretty black queen is the one in my pic.

[Finski]

Me too, JP.  I had a colony that came through the winter with only a handful of bees.

those are fishing stories.

Handfull of bees - what it actually means, has only value of queen. Normally a mating nuc.

Just now I have hundreds of hectares dandelions. I have autumn canola 13 hectares.
Wearthers are 20-25C.

My hives have made brood 1,5 months.  I have hives from handfull to 4 boxes.
An average hive has upper box full of bees and lower box has nectar and pollen.

Only those hives, which has 3 boxes bees, are able to gather  surplus.  Others have so few foragers that all food goes to feed expanding larvae.

At east in my climate 5 frame colony after winter build up so slow that it just and just is able to get yield .
Handfull of bees after winter builds up only so that I give 3 frames emerging brood from big hives.

Just now, when queens lay, those bees will forage in the middle of July.
I must have one box full brood now i I want foragers to main yield.

Actually I do not believe on those "handfull bees" stories even if you have 24 summer months in the year. No idea to let the hive grown with its own. Often small hive's queen is sick.

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[AndrewT]

I like to think of my bee yard as a pleasant place where any bee would like to live and where all bees are welcome, not some kind of concentration camp for bees.

[Country Heart]

Thanks for all your thoughts. 

I like the idea of impacting the strength by managing the hive space.  Will have to experiment with that.

and

AndrewT, sounds like your little black queen is a keeper.