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Beekeeping
- Thread starter xtry51
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I inspected my hives and added a suppliment to the feeder. I found one queen right away before i even saw where she was marked.
I cant beleive how quickly they are doing their thing...they have amazing logistics.
Its unbelievable how little time it took from them being dumped from a box into an empty hive to have organized themself as they have..
Everyone should do this once.
Very shortly im going to add another brood box
I cant beleive how quickly they are doing their thing...they have amazing logistics.
Its unbelievable how little time it took from them being dumped from a box into an empty hive to have organized themself as they have..
Everyone should do this once.
Very shortly im going to add another brood box
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So one hive has built out 3 deep doxes with wax the entire top box has honey in it, but not capped.The second hive built out 2.5 deep boxes and only has a few frames of honey.
There is a queen excluder between the top box and the bottem two boxes...
I strongly suspect the is some robbing going on between the hives.
They got a month late start that i wish they had been able to utilize. Im going to give them more time then steel one frame of honey for myself and move two to the smaller hive... when i do this ill remove the queen excluders and feed dry sugar and fondant.
Nothing wrong with giving them (weaker colony) a protein patty and starting to feed them 2:1 NOW.
I wouldn't rob the strong colony to feed the weak.
How big is the weak colony? You might consider overwintering it atop the strong colony using a double-screen (or Snellgrove) board.
How big is the 'strong' colony?
I wouldn't rob the strong colony to feed the weak.
How big is the weak colony? You might consider overwintering it atop the strong colony using a double-screen (or Snellgrove) board.
How big is the 'strong' colony?
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I’m not sure how to rate the size of a hive,other than to say the strong hive is 3 deep boxes so packed with bees I wonder how the ones out an about would even fit in it..they have been “bearding?” On the front and sides.
The weaker hive probably has 65-70% the bees of the stronger.it has always been alittle behind the other one.
I just didn’t want to feed syrup if I planned to take any honey which never was my original intention or concern..if I decide to not take any ill probably just feed and treat for mites.
If they make it through winter I look forward to watching them work when they already have comb built.
The weaker hive probably has 65-70% the bees of the stronger.it has always been alittle behind the other one.
I just didn’t want to feed syrup if I planned to take any honey which never was my original intention or concern..if I decide to not take any ill probably just feed and treat for mites.
If they make it through winter I look forward to watching them work when they already have comb built.
I've found Michael Jordan of A Bee Friendly Company to be invaluable. Check him out.
A Bee Friendly Company
A Bee Friendly Company
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I ended up just removing queen excluders and feeding.. it appears to me brood production has stopped but i didnt get into the lowest brood box.i also treated for mites which i didnt want to do if i wasnt sure it was necessary, but i did anyway.
I had my first mishap by dropping the inner lid and spilling some bees... wasnt the end of the world.. just felt dumb.
I had my first mishap by dropping the inner lid and spilling some bees... wasnt the end of the world.. just felt dumb.
a FYI for anyone with 50 or more hives; there is Crop Insurance for bees hives subsidized by the USDA.
I am one of 5 Crop Insurance agents in MA (I also write in CT, RI, NY and ME).
The bee policy protects against losses due to drought; if it is dry there are less flowers , the bees produce less honey.
You have less honey to sell and may need to feed your bees. The policy was introduced for crop year 2018.
THE USDA is all about shared risk now; the Beekeeper pays 45% of the cost (works out to about $7/hive) of the insurance and the USDA pays the rest.
The policy uses National Weather Service data to calculate rainfall, so no record keeping. The policy would have paid about $35/hive in 2016, $20/hive last year (dry august/September) and $0 this year (please stop the rain).
If you need addition information on this bee policy or coverage for hay, grass silage, corn, apples, peaches, potatoes or Dairy Revenue Protection, PM me.
I am one of 5 Crop Insurance agents in MA (I also write in CT, RI, NY and ME).
The bee policy protects against losses due to drought; if it is dry there are less flowers , the bees produce less honey.
You have less honey to sell and may need to feed your bees. The policy was introduced for crop year 2018.
THE USDA is all about shared risk now; the Beekeeper pays 45% of the cost (works out to about $7/hive) of the insurance and the USDA pays the rest.
The policy uses National Weather Service data to calculate rainfall, so no record keeping. The policy would have paid about $35/hive in 2016, $20/hive last year (dry august/September) and $0 this year (please stop the rain).
If you need addition information on this bee policy or coverage for hay, grass silage, corn, apples, peaches, potatoes or Dairy Revenue Protection, PM me.
one-eyed Jack
Manufacturer
When I was young my dad and I did that for many years. I addition to the big hives we had an "observation" hive. A single comb with glass sides that you could open to watch the activity. Neat. Jack.
Interesting development - this guy plans to market a 3D-printable feeder that delivers mushroom extract to wild bees next year.
The mushroom dream of a 'long-haired hippie' could help save the world's bees
The mushroom dream of a 'long-haired hippie' could help save the world's bees
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If i wasn't illegal id take a total minimalist approch and use the oldest technology.. straw hives that i smoke the bees out of every year and combined into modern hives and and crush the disposable hives for honey and melt the wax out..
While it doesnt let you observe the hive you cpuld have alot more hives for pennies.... and it was only a comon practice since the begining of time......im sure government regulations will save the bees because they are soooo successful at everything the do.
While it doesnt let you observe the hive you cpuld have alot more hives for pennies.... and it was only a comon practice since the begining of time......im sure government regulations will save the bees because they are soooo successful at everything the do.
richc
NES Member
I'd like to insure 100 hives, please. I don't really have any hives but with the payouts in 2015 and 2016 I see this as a great investment strategy! Invest $7 and get $35 in 2016 due to dry weather.
I'm in.
I'm in.
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I fed patties awhile ago, didn't harvest any honey and may feed surgar or candy.. i always feel like I'm interfering too much.... they seem to be doing ok.. ive just had so many failures this year....and if the hives get destroyed because i didnt get my hot wire running after so much effort.. ill be pissed at myself.
Aslong as i fill my deer tags this year(or get a bear) i can get over the bees if they fail....if i fail at hunting and the bees... i dont think ill attempt again before my house is built and i can give it the attention it deserves.
I may be worrying too much.. i did the best i could.
Ill try to update with photos shortly and follow up in the spring.
Aslong as i fill my deer tags this year(or get a bear) i can get over the bees if they fail....if i fail at hunting and the bees... i dont think ill attempt again before my house is built and i can give it the attention it deserves.
I may be worrying too much.. i did the best i could.
Ill try to update with photos shortly and follow up in the spring.
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So my bees didn’t survive the winter, I re installed two packages after spitting the remaining 100lbs of honey between the hives... I was worried I lost a queen on one hive... What I have noticed is that these new packages are super aggressive. But with all that honey and drawn comb they are far more advanced than the previous year and they don’t seem to eat any sugar syrup.One of my hives I suspect it was vandalized, the same one I thought was missing a queen. When I picked it all up and reassemble it she was in there. I had a feeling she was because I thought I had seen brood 2 weeks prior.But didn’t want to inspect further for fear of killing her. I’m gonna set up a third hive and split these two into it. Still I plan on insulating the hives in the winter...There were a lot of bees before it got cold. But it went back-and-forth between hot and cold A lot of times fall and winter 2018...
I’m hoping this year with more bees in a more developed hive I’ll harvest most of the honey and just sugar feed. This is only my second year. Still have a lot to learn, I’ll be happy Splitting into a third hive and raising a clean even if they don’t make it. I was a little surprised they didn’t make it, with all the honey I left in there seems like they start it never moved up to the honey.
I’m hoping this year with more bees in a more developed hive I’ll harvest most of the honey and just sugar feed. This is only my second year. Still have a lot to learn, I’ll be happy Splitting into a third hive and raising a clean even if they don’t make it. I was a little surprised they didn’t make it, with all the honey I left in there seems like they start it never moved up to the honey.
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I used too do it with my dad also. He always had a half dozen or so. Seems the hives had a high survival rate back then the biggest problem we had is when they would swarm. He's 94 and he gave his hives to a friend 5 or 6 years ago who has not has much success. I still have my dads observation hive. Yes it is way cool....
Duxprep
NES Member
This - I lost my hives every year as I refused to treat for mites and couldn't coordinate pulling off the honey supers, treating and getting them to finish partial frames. I also didn't want to raise treatment resistant mites. I just choked it up to my being stubborn and accepted the losses. You HAVE TO treat for mites. With Oxalic acid though it takes 15 minutes rather than many weeks to treat. I started treating last year and all my hives overwintered successfully. To be successful, pull your supers off at the end of August regardless of whether they capped all frames, Start treating for mites and feeding if necessary into the fall. (with syrup feeding in the fall there will be lots of robbing going on so make sure you have robbing screens. As your queens slow down and she starts to raise winters bees the summer bees will backfill and finish the honey for you. Once done with your treatments, you can open feed the partials or you can feed them back to them by placing them in a super above the inner cover. Insulate your hives. It's critical to make sure you have ventilation and access via an upper entrance. Most important is to make sure to insulate the top of your hive to prevent condensation from forming on the inner cover and dropping on the bees. Check on them during warm days in winter to make sure they have stores and if necessary feed them with winter patties or fondant. That's my formula for success. Talk to 10 beeks and you'll get 10 answers as to how to do something
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As much as I didn’t want to. I did treat for mites.... I think insulation would have been more worth while.... while I wanna blame the weather I can’t believe neither hive survived
My new packages were doing great even though I was worried I lost a queen... they exploded in hives with drawn comb and a ton of honey... they wouldn’t even touch the sugar syrup but loved the pollen patties...
I went to see if I was missing a queen and if I found it I was going to split the two hives into three.......
Hives were all knocked over...it let me find the suspected missing queen and split the hives...
Two days later I go up and the hives are knocked over again....
I honestly suspect vandalism with a attempt to frame bears... somthing doesn’t seem right ... unless it was cubs and even then I doubt it..
My elective fence doesn’t work.... need a battery
and or a replacement solar charger... solar charger was defective and I never completed the project.
mark2215
NES Member
That sucks. Do you have a game camera you can setup. Thankfully where I am I don't need to worry about bears. It's hard enough keeping the bees alive without dealing with the hives being destroyed.
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After I started an issue with my neighbors. My hives started having a problem. Well I’m aware of new beats in the area. This shit doesn’t add up on top of half my game camera have gone missing. It’s just discouraging. I’d rather it was bears...I’ll be setting up cameras and other stuff, but honestly I don’t have the time or energy to deal with this kind of problem. Maybe I get lucky and my hives will do well. I’ve split them into three and have a new stand for the one I have on the ground.
I just find it interesting that days after I dispute starts the hives are constantly knocked over. As well as theft and vandalism.
Well I’m not an expert I’m not a retard I don’t think bears are stealing my cameras......
It’s just petty shit. Not worth worrying about
I just find it interesting that days after I dispute starts the hives are constantly knocked over. As well as theft and vandalism.
Well I’m not an expert I’m not a retard I don’t think bears are stealing my cameras......
It’s just petty shit. Not worth worrying about
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So I ended up with three hives with three queens...
While it’s probably poor practice... because your supposed to split hives that have made it through winter. The split was successful and educational.
Now if I could just get them to survive through winter...
As it’s stands now I’m doing two things that are probably improper.
I only feed syrup twice.... the bees had no interest in it and preferred the 60lbs of honey I gave each hive. but they have eaten an amazing weight of pollen patties.
And secondly I added the honey supers prematurely and half of the frames in the supers aren’t drawn yet.
I will insulate this year and add entrance reducers.
They bees have calmed quite a bit.... no suit required.... they had a rough start and I’d be ornery if I was them.
While it’s probably poor practice... because your supposed to split hives that have made it through winter. The split was successful and educational.
Now if I could just get them to survive through winter...
As it’s stands now I’m doing two things that are probably improper.
I only feed syrup twice.... the bees had no interest in it and preferred the 60lbs of honey I gave each hive. but they have eaten an amazing weight of pollen patties.
And secondly I added the honey supers prematurely and half of the frames in the supers aren’t drawn yet.
I will insulate this year and add entrance reducers.
They bees have calmed quite a bit.... no suit required.... they had a rough start and I’d be ornery if I was them.
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Your winter method is what I plan for this winter...
Last year I open/inspected the hives probably too much. I don’t think that caused any issues. Mostly I opened them to feed syrup.. these were new hive with no comb..
This year I was really trying to not disturb them as much.....but having them knocked over 3 times sure wasn’t very helpful..
Last year I open/inspected the hives probably too much. I don’t think that caused any issues. Mostly I opened them to feed syrup.. these were new hive with no comb..
This year I was really trying to not disturb them as much.....but having them knocked over 3 times sure wasn’t very helpful..
Just be careful for robbing.....I haven't had to feed my bees in a few years, but I used to do it after the golden rod flow.... they don't draw comb that time of year but at least they can get up to weight. last year I left a full super of honey on each hive, never had to feed in the late winter early spring, Some hives used a lot some didn't
In the late winter when the hives get light and the cluster moves up they can run out of stores and starve to death, some feed fondant or granulated sugar... I left on a super of honey. In February and March when a lot of colonies die from lack of food I had the cluster move up into the super. The time of year there are not enough bees flying around to rob, in my experience
I have had robbing happen when feeding from spillage of the sugar water and weak hives near stronger hives, or any times there is a dearth or lack of local food source.[/QUOTE]