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Posted: 2/2/2017 10:54:44 PM EDT
[#1]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge:
Finally got all of the details worked out and I have multiple Queens coming from Michael Palmer in Vermont as well as Buckfast Queens coming from Canada. Importing Queens from Canada is pretty expensive. I hope they are worth the extra expense. I bought a Buckfast queen this year to try out. $50 ouch... |
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Posted: 2/3/2017 7:03:05 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Hanz]
[#2]
Bump for new post to show? Thread was up in my subscriptions but I didn't see a new post.
Now I see DUX's post 
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Posted: 2/3/2017 9:31:47 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
I bought a Buckfast queen this year to try out. $50 ouch... Ouch, no kidding. |
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Posted: 2/3/2017 10:35:38 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
I bought a Buckfast queen this year to try out. $50 ouch... Yeah, $40.00 each and I have to pay $95.00 for a mandatory health certificate/ border fee.. How did you utilize this queen? How did she perform? What was the temperament like? |
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Posted: 2/6/2017 9:34:42 PM EDT
[#5]
Well, I can't really answer. I would have to say she saved the hive but...
My apiary inspector made an order and I took one due to the price. While trying to figure out where I was going to put her I found a struggling hive. It was queenless for a short while but the population had declined drastically. I placed her in the hive and checked back in a few days. I found brood but failed to reduce the size of the hive bodies to the appropriate size of the population. Next check showed the hive about lost. Wax moths had started in the supers, Hive beetles in the brood box and down to 2 frames of bees. I put them into a nuc and moved them into my back yard. There I nursed them back to health. She was a good layer and even under great stress I could work the weakened hive with no veil or smoke. Currently the nuc was prospering before going into the over-winter setup. I put a strong nuc into the hive bodies that I removed the queen from and it failed. My mentor told me they are great but by the 3rd generation they take on the traits of SATAN. |
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Posted: 2/6/2017 10:26:13 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
Well, I can't really answer. I would have to say she saved the hive but... My apiary inspector made an order and I took one due to the price. While trying to figure out where I was going to put her I found a struggling hive. It was queenless for a short while but the population had declined drastically. I placed her in the hive and checked back in a few days. I found brood but failed to reduce the size of the hive bodies to the appropriate size of the population. Next check showed the hive about lost. Wax moths had started in the supers, Hive beetles in the brood box and down to 2 frames of bees. I put them into a nuc and moved them into my back yard. There I nursed them back to health. She was a good layer and even under great stress I could work the weakened hive with no veil or smoke. Currently the nuc was prospering before going into the over-winter setup. I put a strong nuc into the hive bodies that I removed the queen from and it failed. My mentor told me they are great but by the 3rd generation they take on the traits of SATAN. |
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Posted: 2/6/2017 10:38:09 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge:
Very Interesting! I have heard some complaints about grandaughters becoming "Hot" as well. I asked my friend/ queen breeder his thoughts on Buckfast queens. He said that he at one time had hundreds incorporated into his operation when he was a commercial Beekeper. His where directly from Buckfast Abbey back before all of the restrictions involved with importing bees. He said that in his operation, they had to seperate different races of bees to keep the Buckfasts from breeding with drones from hot hives when they where setting up mating Nucs. He did say that they were very gentle and good producers of honey. He is going to take one from me and graft from her in 2018 if she meets certain criteria. He thinks that he can keep them from going hot and make some good breeder queens from her. He is a strong believer that the Temperament of daughters and granddaughter queens are a direct result of the Breeder Queens as well as the Drones. If you have a great queen and graft from her and the daughter mates with drones from a hot hive, you will most likely get a hot queen. Nice girls have always gone for bad boys. It's a damn shame. 
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Posted: 2/6/2017 10:58:53 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Nice girls have always gone for bad boys. It's a damn shame. That's an interesting perspective for beekeeping 
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Posted: 2/9/2017 9:56:54 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge:
That's an interesting perspective for beekeeping I couldn't resist, since you said the gentle queen went out of her way to mate with drones from hot hives. i think, actually, that the drones from the more aggressive hives are also naturally more aggressive, so they end up making more successful matings. And if a higher percentage of those drones gets to the queen on her mating flight, with successive generations, it's going to suppress her naturally gentle genetics and multiply into an aggressive hive very quickly. |
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Posted: 2/10/2017 10:29:42 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
I couldn't resist, since you said the gentle queen went out of her way to mate with drones from hot hives. i think, actually, that the drones from the more aggressive hives are also naturally more aggressive, so they end up making more successful matings. And if a higher percentage of those drones gets to the queen on her mating flight, with successive generations, it's going to suppress her naturally gentle genetics and multiply into an aggressive hive very quickly. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
That's an interesting perspective for beekeeping I couldn't resist, since you said the gentle queen went out of her way to mate with drones from hot hives. i think, actually, that the drones from the more aggressive hives are also naturally more aggressive, so they end up making more successful matings. And if a higher percentage of those drones gets to the queen on her mating flight, with successive generations, it's going to suppress her naturally gentle genetics and multiply into an aggressive hive very quickly. That would be a great question for me to ask my mentor! Many people that are into beekeeping are of the belief that the colony takes on the traits of the queen. Although that is somewhat true, virgin queens also get their temperament from drones. A genetic explanation of this is that the daughter queen or grafted queen gets two sets of chromosomes (Diploid) from her mother and one set (Haploid) from the drones that she mates with. There are also many other factors that are not genetic that can change a colonies temperament! |
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Posted: 2/11/2017 9:27:20 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Kitties-with-Sigs]
[#11]
Yes. Their genetics are complex, and I understand it only at a low level. However I remember sitting in a lot of classes with the university bee guys and they had proven that the drones from hot hives are more aggressive at mating (as the hive is more aggressive at pretty much everything, including honey production, usually). Unless that's been debunked, I think it would be very hard to have gentle queens remain gentle for long.
That said, it does NOT explain how some hives just die out. If the theory is consistent, then it should necessarily end with most hives becoming more aggressive over time, and I'm not certain that's the case. ETA: It seems like a good place to put this...it's an observation I've made over the years. Just as the experimentor is now known to affect the experiment with his/her expectation (Quantum Physics), it has been my observation that not everything works for every beekeeper. You take ten beekeepers all doing exactly the same thing, and even documenting their methods, and they will have significantly varying results. Now a lot plays into this. Location, etc. However I also think the beekeeper (as experimentor) may actually affect the outcome of any method used on a colony (the experiment) based on his/her expectations, attitude, or even state of mind when he/she works the bees. Now, this is going to seem farfetched to a lot of folks who think in terms of Newtonian Physics. But I can't help but wonder.... |
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Posted: 2/12/2017 4:02:57 PM EDT
[Last Edit: FrankSymptoms]
[#12]
The temps here got into the mid-60s today, so Three Horses (HobbitWife's alter ego, you know... nag, nag, nag) suggested that I take a look at the hive.
They have about 3 out of 8 full combs of honey left, so I'm gonna put a candy tray in with them to winter them over. The bees themselves looked good, lively, buzzing around and doing bee things.. but I didn't find the queen, nor did I see ANY sign of brood. None, not drone, not worker. Should I be worried? Buy a new queen, maybe? If they go into distress, they'll start making drone cells (or so they say), so I'm not too concerned just now. But y'all can tell me if I should be worried. ETA The 8th frame, which had had a hand-sized piece of comb on it, is now almost full of empty comb! |
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KY, USA
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Posted: 2/12/2017 7:22:44 PM EDT
[#13]
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KY, USA
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Posted: 2/12/2017 7:23:29 PM EDT
[#14]
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Posted: 2/12/2017 8:01:42 PM EDT
[#15]
So I hope everybody had a better year then me.
I don't get to check on them as often as I would like. After a slow start, they seemed to do OK. Then one week all but 4 frames are in use. Not full, but they are using them. I also found Queen cells. I was afraid they were out growing the hive so I brought up another hive and stacked on top. They used both hives but never flourished through the summer. In the end in found these crawling out of the hive, and knew they were gone.  Attached File Attached FileHow do I clean out my frame so they can be reused this year? |
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Posted: 2/12/2017 9:49:51 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms:
The temps here got into the mid-60s today, so Three Horses (HobbitWife's alter ego, you know... nag, nag, nag) suggested that I take a look at the hive. They have about 3 out of 8 full combs of honey left, so I'm gonna put a candy tray in with them to winter them over. The bees themselves looked good, lively, buzzing around and doing bee things.. but I didn't find the queen, nor did I see ANY sign of brood. None, not drone, not worker. Should I be worried? Buy a new queen, maybe? If they go into distress, they'll start making drone cells (or so they say), so I'm not too concerned just now. But y'all can tell me if I should be worried. ETA The 8th frame, which had had a hand-sized piece of comb on it, is now almost full of empty comb! I would wait a couple of more weeks before you go after a new queen. Right about now most colonies in MY area are starting to think about raising some brood. There might be eggs in some cells and you don't know it. Did you pull the frames out and check for eggs? Even if not, I would still give it just a little bit more time before I gave up on the queen. |
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Posted: 2/13/2017 6:51:28 AM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryI'm gonna make sure HobbitWife sees these. She gets a big kick out of how gentle my bees are. She'll rescue them if they fall into the water trough, and pet them when they are drying off. |
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Posted: 2/13/2017 6:55:08 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
I would wait a couple of more weeks before you go after a new queen. Right about now most colonies in MY area are starting to think about raising some brood. There might be eggs in some cells and you don't know it. Did you pull the frames out and check for eggs? Even if not, I would still give it just a little bit more time before I gave up on the queen. I pulled every frame and checked mostly for capped larva. The bees covered the lower part of every comb and given the time of year, I didn't want to disturb them too much. It's now snowing in Central Nuevo Mehico, so winter will last a little longer. It's actually a good thing as we've had a VERY warm and dry winter so far. |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 2/18/2017 10:30:16 PM EDT
[#19]
Hey Guys
I started my first hive last year. They made it through the winter starting with one full super and half of another. I saw them buzzing around the entrance today so I thought I would take a peek. In the top super I found them working on a few frames and quite a bit of capped honey. I could also see larva. 
I expected to see a full bottom super but instead all I found was this. 
The whole bottom super was void of any bees and just a little bit of capped honey. More of this. 
Should I ditch the whole bottom super? Is there a way to clean those frames? What do you recommend? |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 10:58:02 PM EDT
[#20]
I have bad news. Been 50+ degrees for the last couple of days. No activity around the hive. There are a bunch of dead, sticky bees at the entrance on the bottom board. Guess I'll order another package and give it another go.
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Posted: 2/18/2017 11:00:14 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Kitties-with-Sigs]
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By MurphysInLaw:
Hey Guys I started my first hive last year. They made it through the winter starting with one full super and half of another. I saw them buzzing around the entrance today so I thought I would take a peek. In the top super I found them working on a few frames and quite a bit of capped honey. I could also see larva. http://i.imgur.com/Ew7foPw.jpg I expected to see a full bottom super but instead all I found was this. http://i.imgur.com/LqgBOuU.jpg The whole bottom super was void of any bees and just a little bit of capped honey. More of this. http://i.imgur.com/r3StUoD.jpg http://i.imgur.com/d9Xr5Jt.jpg Should I ditch the whole bottom super? Is there a way to clean those frames? What do you recommend? @murphysinlaw 1-How many bees do you estimate are in your hive? (By that I mean, if the frames were covered in bees in a solid, one-bee-thick sheet, how many frames of bees do you think you would have?) 2-That looks like web on that comb. Is it? |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 11:02:08 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By medicmandan:
I have bad news. Been 50+ degrees for the last couple of days. No activity around the hive. There are a bunch of dead, sticky bees at the entrance on the bottom board. Guess I'll order another package and give it another go.
Do you think they were robbed? Did they abscond and then raiders took the honey? Any idea what happened? |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 11:06:31 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Do you think they were robbed? Did they abscond and then raiders took the honey? Any idea what happened? No idea. I'll pop the lid off in a couple of weeks and see what it looks like. I was hopeful. They went into winter with two full deeps of honey and a really low mite count. They sucked down 100lbs of sugar in the last month (we had a warm start to winter). |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 11:12:01 PM EDT
[#24]
MurphysInLaw...
Let me just say this because I have a full day tomorrow and need to get offline tonight. I think that's wax moth infestation in your bottom super. That means your bees are not strong enough to fight them and keep them out of the whole space. I would pull that bottom super and DO IT IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200. Wax moths move fast, and they will devastate a weak hive. You need to do the following: a-get the existing moths out of there--this means remove that super and any frames with web like that on them from the upper bodies. b-Reduce the size of your colony so they can clean out/defend the space they have with the numbers of bees they have. Right now I think they are outpaced by the pests. Robbers will follow. c-Reduce the hive entrance a little d-Move the brood and existing bees to the BOTTOM of the hive--basically bees move up in a Langstroth hive. This is the time of year that traditional beekeepers flip their boxes to put the bees on the bottom so they can start working "up" again. e-feed your bees so they don't have to work so hard right now. f-inspect every frame you leave in your hive. Know what's there. g-Look again SOON after you make these changes. Look once a week at least until you know the bees have overcome the threat. The fact that you have brood is excellent. But the fact that you have what I believe are potentially devastating pests in your hive is BAD. If I'm wrong and that's not wax moth, that's great. But I'm telling you what I would do if it is. If I had that comb, I would build a small fire in the yard, stand way back, and toss those frames on one at a time and let them burn. CAUTION: Wax burns FAST AND HOT. It will errupt in flame like you would not believe. Don't stand over it while you put the frames on the fire. |
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Posted: 2/18/2017 11:12:44 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Kitties-with-Sigs]
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By medicmandan:
No idea. I'll pop the lid off in a couple of weeks and see what it looks like. I was hopeful. They went into winter with two full deeps of honey and a really low mite count. They sucked down 100lbs of sugar in the last month (we had a warm start to winter). Ah, damn. If it's warm, do your inspection as soon as possible. That way you can save your old comb and re-use it. That old comb, if it's free of pests, is worth gold. |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 2/19/2017 12:15:09 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
MurphysInLaw... Let me just say this because I have a full day tomorrow and need to get offline tonight. I think that's wax moth infestation in your bottom super. That means your bees are not strong enough to fight them and keep them out of the whole space. I would pull that bottom super and DO IT IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200. Wax moths move fast, and they will devastate a weak hive. You need to do the following: a-get the existing moths out of there--this means remove that super and any frames with web like that on them from the upper bodies. b-Reduce the size of your colony so they can clean out/defend the space they have with the numbers of bees they have. Right now I think they are outpaced by the pests. Robbers will follow. c-Reduce the hive entrance a little d-Move the brood and existing bees to the BOTTOM of the hive--basically bees move up in a Langstroth hive. This is the time of year that traditional beekeepers flip their boxes to put the bees on the bottom so they can start working "up" again. e-feed your bees so they don't have to work so hard right now. f-inspect every frame you leave in your hive. Know what's there. g-Look again SOON after you make these changes. Look once a week at least until you know the bees have overcome the threat. The fact that you have brood is excellent. But the fact that you have what I believe are potentially devastating pests in your hive is BAD. If I'm wrong and that's not wax moth, that's great. But I'm telling you what I would do if it is. If I had that comb, I would build a small fire in the yard, stand way back, and toss those frames on one at a time and let them burn. CAUTION: Wax burns FAST AND HOT. It will errupt in flame like you would not believe. Don't stand over it while you put the frames on the fire. I would say there's only 3 or 4 frames of bees in the top. To me it looks like mold but I'm a noob. I will try to get some better pictures but for now I'll lose the bottom super and go over everything again. |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 12:16:09 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Ah, damn. If it's warm, do your inspection as soon as possible. That way you can save your old comb and re-use it. That old comb, if it's free of pests, is worth gold. Should I stick them in the freezer for a week? |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 1:39:18 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By medicmandan:
Should I stick them in the freezer for a week? Yes. |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 1:41:16 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By MurphysInLaw:
I would say there's only 3 or 4 frames of bees in the top. To me it looks like mold but I'm a noob. I will try to get some better pictures but for now I'll lose the bottom super and go over everything again. It might be mold. I kind of doubt it though. If you have only three or four frames of bees in your hive, something has happened. So do all you can to help them. Reduce the entrance for sure, clean it out, make it smaller, and make sure they have plenty of food they can get to. When you rearrange the hive, don't split the brood. Keep it together so they can hopefully cover it with the ball on cold nights. |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 12:50:57 PM EDT
[Last Edit: cuttingedge]
[#30]
Today is warm so it was a good day to check on the hives real quick and add candy. So far we lost two out of eleven of the production hives. All of my overwintered Nucs are VERY strong. If all goes well, I will be overwintering a ton of Nucs next winter.
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Posted: 2/19/2017 5:03:14 PM EDT
[Last Edit: FrankSymptoms]
[#31]
N/M
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Posted: 2/19/2017 9:37:29 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge:
Today is warm so it was a good day to check on the hives real quick and add candy. So far we lost two out of eleven of the production hives. All of my overwintered Nucs are VERY strong. If all goes well, I will be overwintering a ton of Nucs next winter. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/294057/image-149738.jpg That is GREAT news! Glad the nucs overwintered well. That's been considered a "difficult to do" thing for a long time down here. 
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Posted: 2/19/2017 9:44:43 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
That is GREAT news! Glad the nucs overwintered well. That's been considered a "difficult to do" thing for a long time down here. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
Today is warm so it was a good day to check on the hives real quick and add candy. So far we lost two out of eleven of the production hives. All of my overwintered Nucs are VERY strong. If all goes well, I will be overwintering a ton of Nucs next winter. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/294057/image-149738.jpg That is GREAT news! Glad the nucs overwintered well. That's been considered a "difficult to do" thing for a long time down here. Thanks, I am hopeful that with what I have planned for this upcoming season that I will be able to go into next winter with about 25-30 Nucs. I will only have about 10 production hives this year as I am concentrating on Bees and not Honey. I don't know if you read a few pages back but we were discussing Northern vs Southern queens. I mentioned that I would be willing to ship a queen or two to someone down south to "evaluate" the performance of Northern queens in your environment. Please let me know if this is something that interests you. I will be happy to give you the queens. |
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Posted: 2/19/2017 11:36:05 PM EDT
[Last Edit: HELOBRAVO]
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge:
Today is warm so it was a good day to check on the hives real quick and add candy. So far we lost two out of eleven of the production hives. All of my overwintered Nucs are VERY strong. If all goes well, I will be overwintering a ton of Nucs next winter. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/294057/image-149738.jpg Looks cold .
I lost 6 hives over the "winter". I split 4 today and will split a few more in a week or two. Got a little honey also 
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Posted: 2/19/2017 11:58:10 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HELOBRAVO:
Looks cold .
I lost 6 hives over the "winter". I split 4 today and will split a few more in a week or two. Got a little honey also
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag376/badassfl/IMG_0879_zpssmhjor6o.jpg [url]http://s1373.photobucket.com/user/badassfl/media/IMG_0879_zpssmhjor6o.jpg.html?filters[user]=140617514&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0[/url] http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag376/badassfl/IMG_0882_zpscoly50e1.jpg http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag376/badassfl/IMG_0884_zpsnpwo8t0m.jpg Very nice set-up. Winter here looks a little more like winter if you know what I mean
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Posted: 2/20/2017 12:16:51 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge:
Thanks, I am hopeful that with what I have planned for this upcoming season that I will be able to go into next winter with about 25-30 Nucs. I will only have about 10 production hives this year as I am concentrating on Bees and not Honey. I don't know if you read a few pages back but we were discussing Northern vs Southern queens. I mentioned that I would be willing to ship a queen or two to someone down south to "evaluate" the performance of Northern queens in your environment. Please let me know if this is something that interests you. I will be happy to give you the queens. Thank you! If you are still looking next season, I may take you up on that. Because I'm rehabbing two houses and trying to build a storage unit plus guest house in my back yard all at the same time..oh and...you know...work....I will not try this summer. It's too much and I would fail. If I'm going to try one of your nice queens, I will want to be able to tend the bees as I should. |
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Posted: 2/20/2017 12:18:37 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HELOBRAVO:
Looks cold .
I lost 6 hives over the "winter". I split 4 today and will split a few more in a week or two. Got a little honey also
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag376/badassfl/IMG_0879_zpssmhjor6o.jpg [url]http://s1373.photobucket.com/user/badassfl/media/IMG_0879_zpssmhjor6o.jpg.html?filters[user]=140617514&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0[/url] http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag376/badassfl/IMG_0882_zpscoly50e1.jpg http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag376/badassfl/IMG_0884_zpsnpwo8t0m.jpg Aww...sorry for the loss of the six, but it sounds as though you came out okay so far as compared to the number of hives you have. |
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Posted: 2/20/2017 11:27:58 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By MurphysInLaw:
Hey Guys I started my first hive last year. They made it through the winter starting with one full super and half of another. I saw them buzzing around the entrance today so I thought I would take a peek. In the top super I found them working on a few frames and quite a bit of capped honey. I could also see larva. http://i.imgur.com/Ew7foPw.jpg I expected to see a full bottom super but instead all I found was this. http://i.imgur.com/LqgBOuU.jpg The whole bottom super was void of any bees and just a little bit of capped honey. More of this. http://i.imgur.com/r3StUoD.jpg http://i.imgur.com/d9Xr5Jt.jpg Should I ditch the whole bottom super? Is there a way to clean those frames? What do you recommend? I would say mold also. Look at the different colors. The pollen has absorbed some moisture and started to spoil. I see this periodically and don't worry about patches of it. I toss the frame if it is covered. |
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Posted: 2/20/2017 11:38:54 PM EDT
[Last Edit: DUX4LIFE]
[#39]
Been throwing pollen patties on this week. Man the girls are PISSED. I am down about 11 hives out of 53. Nucs look fine from the outside but don't know how many of the 12 are still alive as they have bees flying from all of the openings.
The hives that made it this far look awesome. I am up to 40 Nucs sold this year and am cutting it out except for my package deal. Looks to be a good spring. CUTTING EDGE, Was that photo recent? Snow.... really. I hate summer and I am tire of winter so I don't have may options. Bees are looking real good this spring. Lots of bees, Angry Bees at that...  Attached File |
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Posted: 2/20/2017 11:48:20 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
Been throwing pollen patties on this week. Man the girls are PISSED. I am down about 11 hives out of 53. Nucs look fine from the outside but don't know how many of the 12 are still alive as they have bees flying from all of the openings. The hives that made it this far look awesome. I am up to 40 Nucs sold this year and am cutting it out except for my package deal. Looks to be a good spring. CUTTING EDGE, Was that photo recent? Snow.... really. I hate summer and I am tire of winter so I don't have may options. Bees are looking real good this spring. Lots of bees, Angry Bees at that...https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/144881/bees-150914.JPG Lots of bees--even angry bees--is good. Is eleven hives a reasonable loss for you? |
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Posted: 2/20/2017 11:50:24 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
I would say mold also. Look at the different colors. The pollen has absorbed some moisture and started to spoil. I see this periodically and don't worry about patches of it. I toss the frame if it is covered. I hope it is mold. That would be awesome and so much better than a weak hive with wax moths. . Still...three or four frames of bees is not many bees. 
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Posted: 2/20/2017 11:57:56 PM EDT
[Last Edit: DUX4LIFE]
[#42]
Yes, considering I lost over 20 last year out of 63ish.
3-4 frames are not a lot but they may be fine depending if they can stay warm enough. Also found one hive with a crapload of Small Hive Beetles. This year I am feeding the pollen patties early. I am giving them 1/2 pound at a time so the beetles don't start laying in them. |
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KY, USA
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Posted: 2/21/2017 5:35:52 AM EDT
[Last Edit: scorpionmain]
[#43]
Spring has sprung in S.E. KY:
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KY, USA
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Posted: 2/21/2017 5:40:53 AM EDT
[#44]
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Posted: 2/21/2017 9:12:04 AM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By scorpionmain:
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16864459_10212233291376826_2558692191274443864_n.jpg?oh=020938e79f63096145f6f1236e92a2bf&oe=592BD554 https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16864803_10212233295896939_7804015121282315547_n.jpg?oh=c56d96d040b55df391cc149621e07b94&oe=593BC7F0 Awesome!!! |
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Posted: 2/21/2017 9:40:40 AM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
Been throwing pollen patties on this week. Man the girls are PISSED. I am down about 11 hives out of 53. Nucs look fine from the outside but don't know how many of the 12 are still alive as they have bees flying from all of the openings. The hives that made it this far look awesome. I am up to 40 Nucs sold this year and am cutting it out except for my package deal. Looks to be a good spring. CUTTING EDGE, Was that photo recent? Snow.... really. I hate summer and I am tire of winter so I don't have may options. Bees are looking real good this spring. Lots of bees, Angry Bees at that...https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/144881/bees-150914.JPG Dux, yes that photo was taken last Sunday. We really did not have a lot of snow up until about two weeks ago. We got over 3' in a week and a half 
Bees seem to be doing well and a lot of them still had plenty of stores and supplemental food. I know that the weather can be weird this time of year so I added a big candy block to each hive. If they start rearing brood during these warm spells, they will blow through food pretty quickly. My fear is that they will start laying and we will get a cold spell or two and they will not be able to cover the brood. Hopefully I don't lose anymore. Did you autopsy the dead hives to figure out why they died? |
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Posted: 2/21/2017 9:41:35 AM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
I hope it is mold. That would be awesome and so much better than a weak hive with wax moths. . Still...three or four frames of bees is not many bees. |
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Posted: 2/21/2017 9:57:55 AM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By scorpionmain:
Spring has sprung in S.E. KY: https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16649425_10212236419735033_7018818187845680405_n.jpg?oh=539dc6bc7953104d1733649779f58673&oe=593A1E17 https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16681860_10212233292256848_6184535837747989486_n.jpg?oh=1eeb1e4e26857e75739168ca6db2c70a&oe=593957E9 https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16807664_10212233291856838_4338704612761160473_n.jpg?oh=a23629660410503bcd13d748ba1fef81&oe=592AC663] Looking good! Nice looking Queen too
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Posted: 2/21/2017 10:30:46 AM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE:
Been throwing pollen patties on this week. Man the girls are PISSED. I am down about 11 hives out of 53. Nucs look fine from the outside but don't know how many of the 12 are still alive as they have bees flying from all of the openings. The hives that made it this far look awesome. I am up to 40 Nucs sold this year and am cutting it out except for my package deal. Looks to be a good spring. CUTTING EDGE, Was that photo recent? Snow.... really. I hate summer and I am tire of winter so I don't have may options. Bees are looking real good this spring. Lots of bees, Angry Bees at that...https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/144881/bees-150914.JPG Quick question, is this considered early for you to place pollen patties on the hives? I am thinking of mid March for pollen patties to help them build up. We already have a little natural pollen from Maples. I think that this year with the weather the way that it is, early swarming may become an issue for many. I will have my swarm traps out early this year. |
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Posted: 2/21/2017 5:16:06 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By scorpionmain:
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16864459_10212233291376826_2558692191274443864_n.jpg?oh=020938e79f63096145f6f1236e92a2bf&oe=592BD554 https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16864803_10212233295896939_7804015121282315547_n.jpg?oh=c56d96d040b55df391cc149621e07b94&oe=593BC7F0 That's awesome!
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