What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

[Terri Yaki]

I'm doing the best I can with what I have but I don't have the drawn comb to put there. I guess I'll just have to ride it out until I do.

[Bill Murray]

I am assuming the comb that is wide is in the brood box/boxes. I normally move those to the outsides and push them tight up against the box, no matter what is in it. the bees will cut it back down by the next inspection.

[iddee]

Do what Bill said, except just leave 1/16 inch or so away from the side of the box so you don't spill any honey.

[Bill Murray]

Terri, here is another tip put your frames you want drawn out next to brood frames not food frames.  The bees will only draw brood frames so far. anything they are storing nectar in they will draw out to the max without starting starting the frame next to it.

[Michael Bush]

>I normally move those to the outsides and push them tight up against the box, no matter what is in it. the bees will cut it back down by the next inspection.

That doesn't work for me.  It will be full of small hive beetle larvae when I come back.

[Bill Murray]

I find that interesting Michael, especially since the SHB problem is definitely an issue here , I cant recall ever having that happen or I probably wouldnt still be doing it. So Ive been sitting here thinking on this and cant find an answer. Gives me something to dwell on today.

[BeeMaster2]

I put a frame of honey up against the glass in my observation hive one time. I didn?t notice it until it was back in the house. Over the next 2 days the bees cut all of the comb back to bee space. What was amazing was that they cut it perfectly flat, it looked like it was cut by a laser beam.
Jim Altmiller

[Terri Yaki]

I put a frame of honey up against the glass in my observation hive one time. I didn?t notice it until it was back in the house. Over the next 2 days the bees cut all of the comb back to bee space. What was amazing was that they cut it perfectly flat, it looked like it was cut by a laser beam.
Jim Altmiller

That answers one question I had. Thanks.

[Terri Yaki]

My mentor came over today to help me find the queen in my nuc and wouldn't you know it, I spotted her quickly and we got her marked. I guess green is the color of 2024. So, as of now, things are going great. Doesn't that mean that something bad it about to happen?

[Ben Framed]

I put a frame of honey up against the glass in my observation hive one time. I didn?t notice it until it was back in the house. Over the next 2 days the bees cut all of the comb back to bee space. What was amazing was that they cut it perfectly flat, it looked like it was cut by a laser beam.
Jim Altmiller

That answers one question I had. Thanks.

Good stuff for sure. Jim as I recall you have answered other questions concerning bees which you have learned from first hand experience through your observation hive. Thanks for posting this good stuff.

Phillip

[The15thMember]

So, as of now, things are going great. Doesn't that mean that something bad it about to happen?

Come on man, that's no way to live!

It was really hot here today, high around 85F (30C), but we're expecting rain over the weekend, and I really needed to check the supers in my biggest hives to be sure they had enough room for sourwood.  It was a good thing I did, because the one colony was crammed full, so I gave them box #7.  The other big colony irritatingly had brood in one of their supers.  I haven't been down deep in their brood nest for a while, but if they seriously have 5 boxes of brood plus 1 super for themselves and I only get 1 super of their honey, I'm going to be seriously disappointed in them.  I also checked on that new queen who had drones in her worker brood.  Everything seems straightened out in there, so I guess it was just rookie mistakes, although it was like 4 frames of rookie mistakes, so I'll be keeping a close eye on her for the rest of the season. 

I tried to get an early start this morning because of the temps, but we aren't really morning people, and it was around 2:30 PM by the time I was finished.  I think I was in the early stages of heat exhaustion by the time I came in because my heart rate seemed really high and I had stopped sweating.  I hydrated really well and soaked in a warm (not hot) tub for a bit and that seemed to cure me.   

[Ben Framed]

Hot 85F?  Sounds like a cool wave to me lol!  Close to 100 here (96).

[iddee]

15, I think you have a 2 queen hive there. A split may be in order.

[The15thMember]

Hot 85F?  Sounds like a cool wave to me lol!  Close to 100 here (96).

  It's not unusual for us to get one or two days deep into the 80s in the summer, but it's been like this all week.  90F is very rare for us.

15, I think you have a 2 queen hive there. A split may be in order.

Are you talking about the hive that had the drones in the worker brood?  What makes you think there are two queens?   

[iddee]

Brood in the fifth box and brood in the bottom box. Honey in between separating the queens.

[The15thMember]

Oh, I see.  Well, I switched the boxes around so the brood nest is now contiguous, so I guess if there were two, there probably won't be for long. 

[jtcmedic]

Went thru 48 hives this morning  before the sun is unbearable, brooding nice , about 2 weeks from sumac in my area mot bloom,It looks like so the late summer fall flow will start around then( hope it?s good). Couple hives marked to split next week for my last grafting for the year.

[Terri Yaki]

My neighbor extracted about 30 frames yesterday so I went over to watch, learn, and help. They had a mickey mouse setup with a genuine antique three frame centrifuge, poised precariously on two stools, draining into a five gallon bucket, which was precariously poised on top of a shoebox. PSA: Shoebox will not support 5 gallons of honey. Fortunately, that was caught before it was a disaster. I guess you could say that we performed an experiment (not really a 'we' thing, except that I was there). Out of 10 deep and 20 mediums, we got a little over 5 gallons out of it. For jars, it was whatever was saved by all three of us over the last year or so. My contribution was Lighthouse Blue Cheese salad dressing jars, about 15 oz, more or less. I brought the frames home and placed them on top of my hives for cleanout. Morning peek reveals that they are working them hot and heavy, boxes are above inner covers and I look forward to seeing what they did with it when they're done.

My lesson?: Imma have a motorized radial centrifuge, bolted down if necessary. Otherwise, that's too labor intensive for me, I'm a lazy kind of guy.

[jimineycricket]

Sometimes it is good to see what not to do.  My thinking is (you) they should have gotten around 8 gals. from that many frames. Your bees might put on a bit of extra honey very quickly.

[Terri Yaki]

They had a couple of things going against them 1) Only a couple of the frames were filled to capacity and 2) They use mostly wax foundation and it looked like a bit of honey got left behind because they didn't want to blow the frames out. My bees should appreciate the gifts that they received.