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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
Here is what 3000 lbs of corn syrup looks like. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/144881/syrup-256839.JPG Here is the start of the new nuc yard. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/144881/new-yard-256840.JPG It is about 50' wide and goes all the way back to the trees. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/144881/new-yard1-256841.JPG View Quote |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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New page..
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Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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Bearding vs. Swarming
The reason I post this here is that HobbitWife saw that they were bearding pretty heavily this evening, around 7:00 PM. (And it's that time of year, when bearding will occur.) She was concerned, and called me at work. After you’ve corrected any problems with ventilation, don’t worry about the bees. Just like humans they like to while away a hot summer afternoon sitting on the front porch complaining about the heat. View Quote |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
i got lit up last night weeding my gardens. found a bee hive in the middle of my oregano plant i was thinning out. how do i get rid it with out burning my gardens down or getting stung?
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Duct tape is silver, silence is golden
Teener crew call sign-brother fucker |
Originally Posted By endofdays:
i got lit up last night weeding my gardens. found a bee hive in the middle of my oregano plant i was thinning out. how do i get rid it with out burning my gardens down or getting stung? View Quote |
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http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1601943_.html
"We choose to go to the can. We choose to go to the can in this week and not do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard" |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By endofdays:
i got lit up last night weeding my gardens. found a bee hive in the middle of my oregano plant i was thinning out. how do i get rid it with out burning my gardens down or getting stung? View Quote You have some other kind of bees. Maybe yellow jackets have built a nest in the ground under your plant. Or some other kind of ground-dwelling bee. But they are not honeybees. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Honeybees are not living in an oregano plant. You have some other kind of bees. Maybe yellow jackets have built a nest in the ground under your plant. Or some other kind of ground-dwelling bee. But they are not honeybees. View Quote |
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Duct tape is silver, silence is golden
Teener crew call sign-brother fucker |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By endofdays:
either way how do i get rid of them with out getting stung, poisoning or burning my gardens down? View Quote This thread is not about bees in general or extermination of same. It's about beekeeping. That means HONEYBEES. If you want to identify what you have, maybe somebody here can help with how to kill them. You might also ask in the main Homestead/garden forum rather than in the BeeKEEPING thread specifically, but you need to know what kind of bees you have. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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I checked my hives yesterday. In my older hive I found one frame that was pure honey: no nectar or bee bread, no larva. There was lots of larva (capped and uncapped) and honey elsewhere so I harvested it. Got almost a pound of wonderful honey from it! It's a somewhat darker color than the honey I harvested earlier this year from some burr comb I cut off. HobbitWife rendered this over a double boiler; she says there's lots less wax in it than earlier. We got the same amount of honey from the first harvest.
Every frame has some comb on it in various sizes, from filling the whole frame to a small leaf-shaped comb smaller than my hand. Two of the earliest frames that I got from the beekeeper who got me started have very dark wax on them, which doesn't have normal honey comb "cups" on it. I'm planning to cut this out and discard it. My newer hive is going strong. Lots of brood, lots of uncapped brood, but relatively little honey. I think the honey is being made into wax, because they are building comb like gangbusters! (CW says that it takes seven pounds of honey to make one pound of wax.) Since it's a new hive (started in May) I won't harvest from it at all this year. I found one empty queen cup; it was at the bottom of a bit of burr comb. I'm going to keep it under observation. So how did your day go? BTW we are having a terrific monsoon this year! Last night we got hit fairly hard, lots of rain. And every evening there's rain in the desert within flying distance from my hive, so I think we'll get more desert plants blooming through September. |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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Endofdays, here is an article I found about ground-dwelling bees.
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Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
My comb honey production is in full swing. We decided to try comb honey this year because last year so many people asked for it. If it goes well, I may switch over entirely to comb honey production. We are using shallow supers with no foundation other than a small strip to serve as a guide for the bees. I had originally had a queen excluder between the shallow and deeps just to make sure the queen didn't expand her brood nest, but the bees didn't seem interested in the shallow super (I guess the old adage is true: queen excluders = honey excluders) so I removed the queen excluders. Took a few attempts configuring the frames before the bees did what I wanted:
1st try - Frames with 1" of thin wax foundation attached to the top of the frames. Bees built comb all over the place. I removed it before they got too far along. 2nd try - Frames with 1" of thin wax foundation on the bottom of the frames. The heat caused the foundation to slump over. The bees began to chew their way through the wax and construct comb irregularly along the bottom of the frames again. Took it out once more and cleaned things up. 3rd try - Frames with 1/4" of thin wax foundation placed in the slot on the bottom of the frames. This did the trick. The bees built their comb up quickly from there filling the entire frame perfectly. This was also easier (no need to attach the foundation with melted wax), and uses far less thin foundation. It took about 10 days from the first to the third try. Once there though, the bees had the frames drawn with comb and filled with honey in about 10 days. I added more shallows to my other hives with equal success and have added additional ones to the hives that have filled their first shallow super. I have a couple of supers that are nearly all capped so I will be pulling them in the next week or two. I purchased clam shell boxes for the comb and we have our own labels that my kids designed (this is one of their money making projects). Each super will produce 40 4.5" squares of cut comb. After that, the combs go into the freezer for a couple days to kill any potential wax moth eggs. My kids will start selling the comb honey next month if all goes well. Fun project so far, I will post pics once we start harvesting. |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By 1811guy:
My comb honey production is in full swing. We decided to try comb honey this year because last year so many people asked for it. If it goes well, I may switch over entirely to comb honey production. We are using shallow supers with no foundation other than a small strip to serve as a guide for the bees. I had originally had a queen excluder between the shallow and deeps just to make sure the queen didn't expand her brood nest, but the bees didn't seem interested in the shallow super (I guess the old adage is true: queen excluders = honey excluders) so I removed the queen excluders. Took a few attempts configuring the frames before the bees did what I wanted: 1st try - Frames with 1" of thin wax foundation attached to the top of the frames. Bees built comb all over the place. I removed it before they got too far along. 2nd try - Frames with 1" of thin wax foundation on the bottom of the frames. The heat caused the foundation to slump over. The bees began to chew their way through the wax and construct comb irregularly along the bottom of the frames again. Took it out once more and cleaned things up. 3rd try - Frames with 1/4" of thin wax foundation placed in the slot on the bottom of the frames. This did the trick. The bees built their comb up quickly from there filling the entire frame perfectly. This was also easier (no need to attach the foundation with melted wax), and uses far less thin foundation. It took about 10 days from the first to the third try. Once there though, the bees had the frames drawn with comb and filled with honey in about 10 days. I added more shallows to my other hives with equal success and have added additional ones to the hives that have filled their first shallow super. I have a couple of supers that are nearly all capped so I will be pulling them in the next week or two. I purchased clam shell boxes for the comb and we have our own labels that my kids designed (this is one of their money making projects). Each super will produce 40 4.5" squares of cut comb. After that, the combs go into the freezer for a couple days to kill any potential wax moth eggs. My kids will start selling the comb honey next month if all goes well. Fun project so far, I will post pics once we start harvesting. View Quote 1-Okay so are you saying that the quarter inch strip of wax worked well across weather conditions where you are, to get the bees to draw straight comb, and that this worked WAY better than the 1" strip? (sounds like that's what happened for you.) 2-So are you pulling the drawn comb and freezing it, then putting it back in for the bees to fill to make the comb honey? That's what I got, but I'm not sure I have that right. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
A couple of questions: 1-Okay so are you saying that the quarter inch strip of wax worked well across weather conditions where you are, to get the bees to draw straight comb, and that this worked WAY better than the 1" strip? (sounds like that's what happened for you.) 2-So are you pulling the drawn comb and freezing it, then putting it back in for the bees to fill to make the comb honey? That's what I got, but I'm not sure I have that right. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Originally Posted By 1811guy:
My comb honey production is in full swing. We decided to try comb honey this year because last year so many people asked for it. If it goes well, I may switch over entirely to comb honey production. We are using shallow supers with no foundation other than a small strip to serve as a guide for the bees. I had originally had a queen excluder between the shallow and deeps just to make sure the queen didn't expand her brood nest, but the bees didn't seem interested in the shallow super (I guess the old adage is true: queen excluders = honey excluders) so I removed the queen excluders. Took a few attempts configuring the frames before the bees did what I wanted: 1st try - Frames with 1" of thin wax foundation attached to the top of the frames. Bees built comb all over the place. I removed it before they got too far along. 2nd try - Frames with 1" of thin wax foundation on the bottom of the frames. The heat caused the foundation to slump over. The bees began to chew their way through the wax and construct comb irregularly along the bottom of the frames again. Took it out once more and cleaned things up. 3rd try - Frames with 1/4" of thin wax foundation placed in the slot on the bottom of the frames. This did the trick. The bees built their comb up quickly from there filling the entire frame perfectly. This was also easier (no need to attach the foundation with melted wax), and uses far less thin foundation. It took about 10 days from the first to the third try. Once there though, the bees had the frames drawn with comb and filled with honey in about 10 days. I added more shallows to my other hives with equal success and have added additional ones to the hives that have filled their first shallow super. I have a couple of supers that are nearly all capped so I will be pulling them in the next week or two. I purchased clam shell boxes for the comb and we have our own labels that my kids designed (this is one of their money making projects). Each super will produce 40 4.5" squares of cut comb. After that, the combs go into the freezer for a couple days to kill any potential wax moth eggs. My kids will start selling the comb honey next month if all goes well. Fun project so far, I will post pics once we start harvesting. 1-Okay so are you saying that the quarter inch strip of wax worked well across weather conditions where you are, to get the bees to draw straight comb, and that this worked WAY better than the 1" strip? (sounds like that's what happened for you.) 2-So are you pulling the drawn comb and freezing it, then putting it back in for the bees to fill to make the comb honey? That's what I got, but I'm not sure I have that right. 2 - Once the comb is drawn, filled and capped, I will freeze the frames, thaw them, then cut and package the comb. |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms:
Uh-oh. http://i67.tinypic.com/23tr045.jpg A single, empty queen cell. This is at the bottom of a burr comb, not in the center of the frame. This is from my newer hive, with a brand-new queen. She's still hard at work; I found lots of brood, both new and capped. Some of you have said that they'll make one "just in case." This is the only one I have seen in this hive. View Quote It's not unusual for them to have some queen cups, because if they have sudden need to make a new queen, they're ready. It's when they start building them out that you have an issue. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Here in central PA, the clover flow is just about over, but wildflowers (lots of thistles) are still providing nectar. Seemingly not enough to coax the bees to draw out foundation, but enough to fill already drawn comb.
I have 4 double deep 8-frame hives. One was overwintered from last season, one is a spring split of said hive, and the other two were captured swarms from early and late May. The overwintered hive has given me 5 medium frames of light capped clover honey so far, with another 3 still ripening, and a few more frames beginning to be filled. The split hive is just beginning to work their medium super of drawn foundation. The other 2 hives are almost ready to be supered, but I don't think they'll draw foundation in August, and I don't have any spare drawn foundation. We have a reliable goldenrod bloom here. I'm thinking about extracting a few capped deep frames from the hives which haven't been supered yet. The extracted frames could be refilled during the goldenrod bloom. Is this okay to do as long as I leave the majority of the capped stores alone? I figure this would let me harvest a bit more clover honey while leaving the goldenrod honey for the bees, and it would help keep the brood nests of the unsupered hives open in case I can't get them to draw foundation this time of year. |
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Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
That looks more like a queen cup, to me, than a full cell. just watch it. If they start building it out, then you need to be concerned. It's not unusual for them to have some queen cups, because if they have sudden need to make a new queen, they're ready. It's when they start building them out that you have an issue. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms:
Uh-oh. http://i67.tinypic.com/23tr045.jpg A single, empty queen cell. This is at the bottom of a burr comb, not in the center of the frame. This is from my newer hive, with a brand-new queen. She's still hard at work; I found lots of brood, both new and capped. Some of you have said that they'll make one "just in case." This is the only one I have seen in this hive. It's not unusual for them to have some queen cups, because if they have sudden need to make a new queen, they're ready. It's when they start building them out that you have an issue. |
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Originally Posted By DDoleiden:
Here in central PA, the clover flow is just about over, but wildflowers (lots of thistles) are still providing nectar. Seemingly not enough to coax the bees to draw out foundation, but enough to fill already drawn comb. I have 4 double deep 8-frame hives. One was overwintered from last season, one is a spring split of said hive, and the other two were captured swarms from early and late May. The overwintered hive has given me 5 medium frames of light capped clover honey so far, with another 3 still ripening, and a few more frames beginning to be filled. The split hive is just beginning to work their medium super of drawn foundation. The other 2 hives are almost ready to be supered, but I don't think they'll draw foundation in August, and I don't have any spare drawn foundation. We have a reliable goldenrod bloom here. I'm thinking about extracting a few capped deep frames from the hives which haven't been supered yet. The extracted frames could be refilled during the goldenrod bloom. Is this okay to do as long as I leave the majority of the capped stores alone? I figure this would let me harvest a bit more clover honey while leaving the goldenrod honey for the bees, and it would help keep the brood nests of the unsupered hives open in case I can't get them to draw foundation this time of year. View Quote |
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Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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I'm thinking about a strange way of harvesting from my top bar hives. Typically, bees create a layer of honey above a layer of of brood. To harvest the honey here would involve cutting the brood layer below the honey, and losing the brood.
Instead I propose to cookie-cutter a round piece of comb out of the comb and letting the bees repair it. Think this would work, or should I leave well enough alone? |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms:
I'm thinking about a strange way of harvesting from my top bar hives. Typically, bees create a layer of honey above a layer of of brood. To harvest the honey here would involve cutting the brood layer below the honey, and losing the brood. Instead I propose to cookie-cutter a round piece of comb out of the comb and letting the bees repair it. Think this would work, or should I leave well enough alone? View Quote |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
The bees would repair it, but I wouldn't do it, were it my hive (unless I were in a survival situation). I would find a way to exclude the queen from certain frames and make those my honey frames. I'd harvest some of those, and leave the brood nest alone. View Quote |
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Comb honey was a complete success. I pulled two supers full of capped foundationless comb. The comb is pretty fragile, but that just makes it better for eating. I am looking forward to concentrating on comb honey production next year.
ETA - I can't get the images to post. I will try again later. |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By 1811guy:
Comb honey was a complete success. I pulled two supers full of capped foundationless comb. The comb is pretty fragile, but that just makes it better for eating. I am looking forward to concentrating on comb honey production next year. ETA - I can't get the images to post. I will try again later. View Quote |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
|
Originally Posted By 1811guy:
Comb honey was a complete success. I pulled two supers full of capped foundationless comb. The comb is pretty fragile, but that just makes it better for eating. I am looking forward to concentrating on comb honey production next year. ETA - I can't get the images to post. I will try again later. View Quote |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
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What is everyone using for Varroa Mite treatments this year? I will be using OA as I had very good success with it. Our state Apiarist has told a few of us that Varroa is starting to show some resistance to some commercially available treatments. Has anyone heard the same?
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Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
What is everyone using for Varroa Mite treatments this year? I will be using OA as I had very good success with it. Our state Apiarist has told a few of us that Varroa is starting to show some resistance to some commercially available treatments. Has anyone heard the same? View Quote I had 8 or so mites when I inspected my hive a few weeks ago, sprinkled 'em with PS; the new hive only had 1 or 2 so I didn't treat there. One of my bee mentors suggests putting some yellow or orange poster board, smeared with Crisco, in the bottom of the hive. The red mites stick to the poster board and are easy to see. |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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I spoke to one of the vet tech instructors at the junior college a few days ago. She told me a few interesting things:
1. The Feds have recently gotten into the business of controlling the method of mite control. She said it was mostly of concern to commercial beeks. 2. She said that as far as animal regulation is concerned... bees are herd animals!!Anyone else heard of this? |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
The Feds are regulating the antibiotics used in beekeeping. We learned the vet does not have to be a beekeeper to prescribe them but the hive has to be seen by the vet before the scrip can be written. In other words you can't tell them what you have or the symptoms, the vet must physically see the hive(not the inside of the hive). In other words you pull up with your sick hive in the bed of the truck all closed up and the vet can look through the window and give their blessing. Amazing isn't it???
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A Nation of Sheep Breeds a Government of Wolves!!!
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Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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Well, this is a PITA.
We had a warm winter and now the cockroaches are invading the home. Is there a way to kill them that won't endanger my bees? |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
Originally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
The Feds are regulating the antibiotics used in beekeeping. We learned the vet does not have to be a beekeeper to prescribe them but the hive has to be seen by the vet before the scrip can be written. In other words you can't tell them what you have or the symptoms, the vet must physically see the hive(not the inside of the hive). In other words you pull up with your sick hive in the bed of the truck all closed up and the vet can look through the window and give their blessing. Amazing isn't it??? View Quote The Veterinarian that we use for our dogs is very cool and lives only a few miles from me. I am going to touch base with him and have him come over and do some inspections with me. I did a cut-out at his neighbors house last year and he pulled up to BS with me. He seemed very interested in keeping bees so maybe I can sell him a hive or two. |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By scorpionmain:
https://scontent-dft4-3.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20431299_10213847864420143_4739884245144468947_n.jpg?oh=db1f47e4b1e53c766fa4903f92fa0de4&oe=59FA927B View Quote |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
Seems that we are entering a dearth so I started feeding. Yesterday they took down 6 gallons of 1:1 syrup. Today they took down 8 gallons. I have pre-made another 8 gallons for tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be purchasing another 100 lbs to get me through the next few weeks. I have abandoned the frame feeders and set-up an open feeding station. These seem to be working well. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/294057/image-268176.jpg View Quote (I'm asking so you'll talk about this for everybody. --including me. ) |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
|
Originally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
The Feds are regulating the antibiotics used in beekeeping. We learned the vet does not have to be a beekeeper to prescribe them but the hive has to be seen by the vet before the scrip can be written. In other words you can't tell them what you have or the symptoms, the vet must physically see the hive(not the inside of the hive). In other words you pull up with your sick hive in the bed of the truck all closed up and the vet can look through the window and give their blessing. Amazing isn't it??? View Quote SO. STUPID. Okay I'll shut up now. ETA: Since CE took advantage (below ) I'll edit to add. I mean the regulation is stupid. Not Dux or any of the other beekeepers in this thread. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
It is a PITA. Thankfully, our State Apiarist has gone above and beyond to educate Veterinarians about this. She has hosted open hive meetings to get them comfortable with bees as well as identifying common diseases. The Veterinarian that we use for our dogs is very cool and lives only a few miles from me. I am going to touch base with him and have him come over and do some inspections with me. I did a cut-out at his neighbors house last year and he pulled up to BS with me. He seemed very interested in keeping bees so maybe I can sell him a hive or two. View Quote You might take your dogs and cats and/or cattle to some other vet, but this vet is the one you call for hive issues. I dunno if that's the best approach, but expecting every vet to know what the heck is happening with a box full of bugs is just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
How did you determine you were in a dearth? (I'm asking so you'll talk about this for everybody. --including me. ) View Quote 1. We are in a very dry period. Once most of the local flora dries up, it's dearth time. 2. When doing hive inspections, I notice that they are not storing nectar and are actually eating through stores. 3. The bees start acting a little more agressive. They start looking EVERYWHERE for food sources. They come into the garage, are flying around my house, etc... 4. A friend of mine has a very cool contraption to monitor trends in hive weight. He purchased it last season to do work with the Bee Informed Partership (BIP). He sends them data every week. The product can be found Here. I will be purchasing one this fall. He sends me screen shots when things are changing. |
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Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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I just had flash of inspiration.
Earlier this year, and last year when I started my first hive, I saw that when I put syrup out for them in an internal feeder, they went crazy, with a lot of bees flying around the hive. I started worrying that they were being raided! I just figured out that when they get their first shot of syrup, it fools them into thinking that there's nectar out there, so the bees who are ready to start foraging make their first orientation flights! There were a hundred or so bees flying round and round the hive, there was no fighting that I could see. This is typical orientation flying. So that's my contribution to the art for today. I don't remember if anyone else thought of this so I won't take credit (yet). |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
|
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
How did you determine you were in a dearth? (I'm asking so you'll talk about this for everybody. --including me. ) View Quote BTW HobbitWife used "organic sugar*" out for the bees AND her humming birds; they refused to take it! There's too much molasses in it and they won't come to it. *This is the brown-colored organic sugar, not to be confused with brown sugar. It's very large-grained, too, and a little harder to melt for the feeder. We use C&H white sugar, which says it is non-GMO-verified... a little nicer for the bees. |
Dont you know about sergeants?
Well... I'm learning. They dont have mothers. Just ask any trained private. They reproduce by fission... like all bacteria. |
Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms:
I'm going to put some syrup out there, 1:4 or so. If they go for that then there isn't any nectar out there. (They seem to prefer nectar to syrup.) BTW HobbitWife used "organic sugar*" out for the bees AND her humming birds; they refused to take it! There's too much molasses in it and they won't come to it. *This is the brown-colored organic sugar, not to be confused with brown sugar. It's very large-grained, too, and a little harder to melt for the feeder. We use C&H white sugar, which says it is non-GMO-verified... a little nicer for the bees. View Quote 1:1 makes them think that there is a nectar flow on and gets them to draw comb. 2:1 makes them ripen it and store it faster. I would not under any circumstance, I repeat NOT use sugar that has molasses in it. That's asking for trouble IMHO... |
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A Nation of Sheep Breeds a Government of Wolves!!!
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
A Nation of Sheep Breeds a Government of Wolves!!!
|
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
My bees forage mainly on alfalfa that is in bloom. There are hundreds of acres of it around so they usually have some place to get it. As soon as the last cut is made though (around the end of August), it is a guaranteed dearth because of how dry it is. That's when the robbing and paper wasp attacks begin. I will be putting entrance reducers on in a week or two.
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By 1811guy:
My bees forage mainly on alfalfa that is in bloom. There are hundreds of acres of it around so they usually have some place to get it. As soon as the last cut is made though (around the end of August), it is a guaranteed dearth because of how dry it is. That's when the robbing and paper wasp attacks begin. I will be putting entrance reducers on in a week or two. View Quote |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~~Theodor Seuss Geisel |
Started mite treatments today. I love my new Vaporizer. It took less than 1 hour to treat 50 hives. It is a good idea if possible for people to start soon as bees born around this time forward are the bees "winter bees" that will be occupying the hive during the winter months
You want these bees to be healthy and relatively disease free if possible. |
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