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Temps about 50 day and around freezing nights for the next 10 days. After, not sure. It's tough to predict this time of year.
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Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
You can hold them for a few days and feed in the packages (I mean hold them in a temperature controlled environment like an insulated building or garage) but of course that means losses. What is your long-range forecast looking like? View Quote |
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
BTW, That's a cute Pup in your avatar. I have one of those too. She was bred in NH. Mirabelle Labs. View Quote Here's the new LGD. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By Blue_Monkey:
Now I need to start painting. http://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/21136/IMG-0698-178345.jpg ETA: Beer brewing equipment in the background View Quote |
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms:
The hive seems to be active and industrious, though. This afternoon I saw that they were dragging dead bees outside; also, there was another wax moth larvae outside the door. It was a little less than one inch long: http://bugguide.net/images/raw/KH5/RQH/KH5RQH6RFZ6RRH4RSHXR0HIZNLJLWL3L9LMROZLZPLFLFZ2RKH6R3ZYL3ZKR6LYL1LGRHHQZOL6RKH.jpg I'm not concerned (yet) even though there was one last year. I wonder if the moths winter inside the hive? Also, would being queenless affect the other behaviour of the hive (cleaning stuff up, gathering pollen, etc)? View Quote |
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Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Y'all don't have wax moth? http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/fainting-smiley.gif View Quote |
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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 |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Nope. Nope. I'm good. I'll keep my bugs and you can keep your weather. View Quote |
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In all seriousness, getting bees through our winters is no easy task. Having to deal with wax moths and small hive beetles would set me over the edge.
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
In all seriousness, getting bees through our winters is no easy task. Having to deal with wax moths and small hive beetles would set me over the edge. View Quote In the transition zone we have the bugs, and we have the occasional winter ruled by Snow Mizer. Every summer it hits 100 degrees and stays there for a few days, at least twice. Every winter it hits below zero and stays there--hopefully only for a couple of days, but sometimes for a week or more. Sometimes a week or three. The bees get a great honey flow (usually, unless we have drought) but they have to be able to take heat and cold A 100 degree Fahrenheit difference, plus some, per year....That's a lot to expect out of a bug, I think. Nevertheless, I would still take that and a locust year not to deal with feet of snow in a normal season. Brrrrr. ETA: I'm not sure what to make of the recent generation that goes apeshit when there is a bit of weather. "OMg it's the snowpocalypse!!!" This comes when there is a "normal" snowfall that should happen twice a year or so in our area. They are young and haven't seen it, because we've been in a warm cycle. Now we're moving back to a colder cycle. I really don't know how civilization has survived to this point, or how it will survive from this point forward. But that's anothr thread. Bottom line...I think if we left them alone, teh bees would be fine with it. We start messing with them and...they struggle. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
We have both, in a way, down here. In the transition zone we have the bugs, and we have the occasional winter ruled by Snow Mizer. Every summer it hits 100 degrees and stays there for a few days, at least twice. Every winter it hits below zero and stays there--hopefully only for a couple of days, but sometimes for a week or more. Sometimes a week or three. The bees get a great honey flow (usually, unless we have drought) but they have to be able to take heat and cold A 100 degree Fahrenheit difference, plus some, per year....That's a lot to expect out of a bug, I think. Nevertheless, I would still take that and a locust year not to deal with feet of snow in a normal season. Brrrrr. ETA: I'm not sure what to make of the recent generation that goes apeshit when there is a bit of weather. "OMg it's the snowpocalypse!!!" This comes when there is a "normal" snowfall that should happen twice a year or so in our area. They are young and haven't seen it, because we've been in a warm cycle. Now we're moving back to a colder cycle. I really don't know how civilization has survived to this point, or how it will survive from this point forward. But that's anothr thread. Bottom line...I think if we left them alone, teh bees would be fine with it. We start messing with them and...they struggle. View Quote |
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Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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The Queen is dead! Long live the Queen!
I just got back in from inspecting my hive. There's an AWFUL lot of drone brood there! There were a few sort of spotty places with drone brood, then the last 2 frames were almost overwhelmed with it! I didn't see the queen, with so many bees to contend with it was hard to do so. I was mainly trying to photograph the frames so I could search for her when I came inside. I have about 9 frames now with at least some comb on them. And there are tons of worker bees there! In fact there were a bunch of bees on the sides and bottom of the hive, all of them alive and kicking. I am already slated to pick up a box of bees at the local beekeeper's seminar on May 13th for my 2nd hive but I'm thinking that that is too long to wait. I just put in a call to the bee supplier for a new queen. Is there any chance that the queen is still alive but not producing worker larva? If so, I'm guessing that introducing a new queen is chancy, the old queen will kill her. |
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:
The Queen is dead! Long live the Queen! I just got back in from inspecting my hive. There's an AWFUL lot of drone brood there! There were a few sort of spotty places with drone brood, then the last 2 frames were almost overwhelmed with it! I didn't see the queen, with so many bees to contend with it was hard to do so. I was mainly trying to photograph the frames so I could search for her when I came inside. I have about 9 frames now with at least some comb on them. And there are tons of worker bees there! In fact there were a bunch of bees on the sides and bottom of the hive, all of them alive and kicking. I am already slated to pick up a box of bees at the local beekeeper's seminar on May 13th for my 2nd hive but I'm thinking that that is too long to wait. I just put in a call to the bee supplier for a new queen. Is there any chance that the queen is still alive but not producing worker larva? If so, I'm guessing that introducing a new queen is chancy, the old queen will kill her. View Quote |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
Did you see eggs? That would indicate that a queen was there. If you see fresh eggs, the queen was laying three days ago. From what you are describing I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that you have a laying worker hive. View Quote But if she's gone, they ought to at least have made an attempt. Frank Symptoms, If you find eggs and they are misplaced...like up on the sides of the cell, or not in the center, etc, that's another sign of a laying worker hive. A good queen generally places the egg pretty much smack in the middle of the bottom of the cell. Laying workers often do not. ETA Also, sometimes you have to pull the frame out, and tilt it so the sun shines down into the bottoms of the cells. You'll be able to see eggs if they are there. Wear your reading glasses if you use them. Learning to see eggs is one of the skills you need as a beekeeper, and it's not the easiest thing to do. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
But they should have built some queen cells at some point, before that got started. maybe they tried and failed. Or she died in middle of winter when there was no brood to use for a new queen. But if she's gone, they ought to at least have made an attempt. Frank Symptoms, If you find eggs and they are misplaced...like up on the sides of the cell, or not in the center, etc, that's another sign of a laying worker hive. A good queen generally places the egg pretty much smack in the middle of the bottom of the cell. Laying workers often do not. ETA Also, sometimes you have to pull the frame out, and tilt it so the sun shines down into the bottoms of the cells. You'll be able to see eggs if they are there. Wear your reading glasses if you use them. Learning to see eggs is one of the skills you need as a beekeeper, and it's not the easiest thing to do. View Quote |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
If the queen died or left the hive due to sickness or injury during the winter she would not have left them with a lot of eggs to make a new queen. Especially if she was not a good queen to begin with. View Quote I've heard a number of remedies, including shaking off the house bees in a pile far away from the hive, or shaking the house bees into a strong, queen-right hive. Dunno if any of them will work or not. The one hive I had with laying workers, I eventually lost. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
have you ever successfully dealt with a laying worker hive? I've heard a number of remedies, including shaking off the house bees in a pile far away from the hive, or shaking the house bees into a strong, queen-right hive. Dunno if any of them will work or not. The one hive I had with laying workers, I eventually lost. View Quote Two years ago, I had one and was told to not bother re-queening as they would most likely reject the new queen. I waited and waited to see if they would develop a new queen but even after adding frames of eggs, they did not. I was told that this may happen as they think that they are queen right. They usually have more than one laying worker so it is impossible to identify the culprit. I eventually got tired of them (almost all drones) and shook them out a couple of hundred yards away from my apiary. I know that some have success with them but for me it got to the point where it just was not worth saving them. I have heard of a technique where you add a frame of eggs and check to see if they are making cells out of it. If they are, you can re-queen. Have you heard of anything similar? |
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I have 2 hives starting strong this spring and yesterday a huge swarm filled this empty skyscraper nuc box with bees.
Attached File |
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"You must be the change you want to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" -Edmund Burke |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
Kitties, I have not successfully dealt with a laying worker hive. Two years ago, I had one and was told to not bother re-queening as they would most likely reject the new queen. I waited and waited to see if they would develop a new queen but even after adding frames of eggs, they did not. I was told that this may happen as they think that they are queen right. They usually have more than one laying worker so it is impossible to identify the culprit. I eventually got tired of them (almost all drones) and shook them out a couple of hundred yards away from my apiary. I know that some have success with them but for me it got to the point where it just was not worth saving them. I have heard of a technique where you add a frame of eggs and check to see if they are making cells out of it. If they are, you can re-queen. Have you heard of anything similar? View Quote I have only heard of methods that remove the workers from the hive. It is always the house bees who are the layers, from what I understand. So if you shake the house bees out a ways from the hive (they are young bees who are not normally OUT of the hive, so this will disorient them) then introduce the queen in a cage, this gives the hive a chance to accept her. (ETA: I think you may have to close up the hive for this to work, so those house bees don't get right back in. I may be remembering wrong though. Been a while.) Or if you shake the house bees into an existing, strong hive (this is the one I think should work best, just based on logic) those bees will become part of the new hive and the existing house bees will slap some sense into them, or they won't survive. Cruel I guess, but I don't know any other methods to save those bees. They are doomed if some method like that does not work. Allowing them to doom the entire hive is unacceptable though. ONE OTHER method I heard of was to combine them with a really strong hive. The strong hive will deal with the workers causing the problem. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Originally Posted By mcooper:
I have 2 hives starting strong this spring and yesterday a huge swarm filled this empty skyscraper nuc box with bees. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/83291/IMG-0769-179762.JPG View Quote |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By mcooper:
I have 2 hives starting strong this spring and yesterday a huge swarm filled this empty skyscraper nuc box with bees. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/83291/IMG-0769-179762.JPG View Quote I've got a question about your hive color. I'm guessing it's much ligter gray than it looks in the photo? I was wondering about your heat with a dark gray hive. But I'm thinking it's actually light gray. Is that right? Or is it actually white???? |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
NM, USA
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Okay, I spoke to an experienced beekeeper. This guy brings in hundreds of packages & queens from California and sells them here.
He says it IS possible for a fertile queen to be laying drones. The reason is that she encounters cells that were built by the workers for honey; these are oversized cells. She then senses that she should lay a drone egg in that cell! I've never heard of this before... has anyone else? Also, a queen may take some time off from laying workers, for a number of reasons. The fact that I did see some brood cells says that she's been there sometime in the last week or so. The hive would not go crazy so quickly. So there's a ray of hope. The other beekeeper will have some queens in a few weeks, in mid-May. |
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 Kitties-with-Sigs:
That is amazing! Great news! I've got a question about your hive color. I'm guessing it's much ligter gray than it looks in the photo? I was wondering about your heat with a dark gray hive. I But I'm thinking it's actually light gray. Is that right? Or is it actually white???? View Quote |
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"You must be the change you want to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" -Edmund Burke |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms:
Okay, I spoke to an experienced beekeeper. This guy brings in hundreds of packages & queens from California and sells them here. He says it IS possible for a fertile queen to be laying drones. The reason is that she encounters cells that were built by the workers for honey; these are oversized cells. She then senses that she should lay a drone egg in that cell! I've never heard of this before... has anyone else? Also, a queen may take some time off from laying workers, for a number of reasons. The fact that I did see some brood cells says that she's been there sometime in the last week or so. The hive would not go crazy so quickly. So there's a ray of hope. The other beekeeper will have some queens in a few weeks, in mid-May. View Quote The queen lays where the workers tell her to lay. If the cell is a large one, she will lay a drone. This is the basis for the "small cell foundation" movement which many, many beekeepers (I am one) embraced over the last twenty years. The size of the cell affects many things. One of them is varroa. The Varroa mite is drawn to the bigger bees. Many beekeepers put a sheet of "drone foundation" (this is wax imprinted with larger cells) just for this reason. The bees draw out larger cells, which means it will all be drone brood, which will attract the varroa mites to lay in that larger brood. The beekeeper later removes this frame of drone brood and destroys it, thus destroying a significantly larger percentage of mites from the hive. NOW...I am not saying this is a solid practice. I'm just saying it's done, and there is some science behind it. There is a LOT to learn with regard to the size of cells. I am a proponent of small-cell foundation. This produces smaller bees, which are, theoretically, less susceptible to varroa infestation. This might be why I had low populations of varroa in my hives. But it did not keep me from losing my hives. So one factor is almost never the answer to things. You should spend some time in classes, and some time reading about teh sizes of cells on foundation. It is a good bit of reading. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
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 |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
No. I have only heard of methods that remove the workers from the hive. It is always the house bees who are the layers, from what I understand. So if you shake the house bees out a ways from the hive (they are young bees who are not normally OUT of the hive, so this will disorient them) then introduce the queen in a cage, this gives the hive a chance to accept her. (ETA: I think you may have to close up the hive for this to work, so those house bees don't get right back in. I may be remembering wrong though. Been a while.) Or if you shake the house bees into an existing, strong hive (this is the one I think should work best, just based on logic) those bees will become part of the new hive and the existing house bees will slap some sense into them, or they won't survive. Cruel I guess, but I don't know any other methods to save those bees. They are doomed if some method like that does not work. Allowing them to doom the entire hive is unacceptable though. ONE OTHER method I heard of was to combine them with a really strong hive. The strong hive will deal with the workers causing the problem. View Quote |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
The method that I am describing is supposedly used if the queen did not leave a lot of resources behind. Some suggest adding a frame of mostly eggs once a week and checking to see if they start any cells. I they start raising cells from the eggs that you have provided, they know that they are queenless and will more likely accept a new queen. If they do not start cells from frames of eggs, they will most likely reject a new queen as they don't think that they are Queenless. Either way, I would personally delay introduction and try and keep her in the cage for at least three days in the hive. I think that they would be more likely to accept her. I have heard of the method that you are describing with shaking them out away from the apiary and the nurse bees won't find the original hive location because they have not been outside of the hive. View Quote First try adding eggs, to see if they will make a queen. Second, remove house bees and introduce new queen slowly. That would make sense...to try the least damaging thing first. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
What are the two wooden things leaned up against the hive? Are they wintering inner covers? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
Originally Posted By Blue_Monkey:
Now I need to start painting. http://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/21136/IMG-0698-178345.jpg ETA: Beer brewing equipment in the background |
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You are a total nutcase, completely deranged, delusional, paranoid. Your thought process is all fucked up. Your information train is jammed, man!
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms:
I think I found her! I opened the hive again and shot some pics of the frames. Here's a frame showing (I think) the queen: http://i68.tinypic.com/29ojv3r.jpg Maybe/maybe not, but she seems to be larger, darker and in the right position to be laying eggs. There seems to be normal brood in the hive, as well: http://i63.tinypic.com/2laydlw.jpg But I did see several drones around, mixing with the girls. http://i67.tinypic.com/2rzz2hi.jpg What says the hive? Is this the queen or am I wishing too hard? View Quote |
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OK, Bee peeps, I need some advice, and I didn't even get started yet
My package is coming in the morning of Friday 4/14, and there is no alternative pickup time for me anywhere nearby. Problem is, that I have to work the rest of the day, and go out of town that night straight from work, and I cannot possibly get back to the hive before Tuesday morning. So, I think I have only two choices: Install the package Friday morning, leaving it in the hive until Tuesday morning unattended. or Leave the package as is, uninstalled, and take care of business first thing Tuesday. Which is better for the bees? Thanks everyone |
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A chance to cut is a chance to cure
Life Member: AR15.com, NRA, NYSRPA, SAF Team Ranstad Callsign: Sawbones |
Originally Posted By fish223:
OK, Bee peeps, I need some advice, and I didn't even get started yet My package is coming in the morning of Friday 4/14, and there is no alternative pickup time for me anywhere nearby. Problem is, that I have to work the rest of the day, and go out of town that night straight from work, and I cannot possibly get back to the hive before Tuesday morning. So, I think I have only two choices: Install the package Friday morning, leaving it in the hive until Tuesday morning unattended. or Leave the package as is, uninstalled, and take care of business first thing Tuesday. Which is better for the bees? Thanks everyone View Quote |
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A chance to cut is a chance to cure
Life Member: AR15.com, NRA, NYSRPA, SAF Team Ranstad Callsign: Sawbones |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
Hard to tell by the pictures but I suspect that what you are seeing is a drone. View Quote But if you see normal brood developing, and if you see capped brood that is not drone brood, you can consider that a sign that you have an active queen. Or at least you had one a few days ago. Was the hive mean? |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
|
Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
I would install them and leave them with enough 1:1 sugar syrup to last while you are gone. What type of feeder do you have? View Quote you need to reduce your entrance down VERY small. As small as possible. One bee size small. Put the entrance on the opposite side of the hive from that feeder. (do you understand this? If the feeder is on the right, leave the entrance hole on the left. make sure that feeder is snugged up nice and tight to the hive. I use a little wedge of wood to go under mine to support them and keep them really tight. I would rather install them and give them all the help I could than leave them in the package that long. The only reason I would do that is if it was simply too cold to install. the question is...release the queen? Or not? My choice would probably be to leave the queen caged with the cork out of the candy end so they can release her themselves. Do you know how to do that? |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Yes. I would do exactly this. you need to reduce your entrance down VERY small. As small as possible. One bee size small. Put the entrance on the opposite side of the hive from that feeder. (do you understand this? If the feeder is on the right, leave the entrance hole on the left. make sure that feeder is snugged up nice and tight to the hive. I use a little wedge of wood to go under mine to support them and keep them really tight. I would rather install them and give them all the help I could than leave them in the package that long. The only reason I would do that is if it was simply too cold to install. the question is...release the queen? Or not? My choice would probably be to leave the queen caged with the cork out of the candy end so they can release her themselves. Do you know how to do that? View Quote 1. It is probably not warm enough for the bees to take syrup sitting outside of the hive. 2. I don't think that is going to hold enough syrup for the duration of time that you will be gone. I would look into a pail feeder or paint cans and set them up inside of an empty hive body on top. You could also use a spacer and use Baggie feeders. As far as the queen goes, I would pull the cork and let them slowly release her. As Kitties suggested, reduce the entrance all the way down to the smallest size. |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
I would not use the boardman feeder right now for two reasons: 1. It is probably not warm enough for the bees to take syrup sitting outside of the hive. 2. I don't think that is going to hold enough syrup for the duration of time that you will be gone. I would look into a pail feeder or paint cans and set them up inside of an empty hive body on top. You could also use a spacer and use Baggie feeders. As far as the queen goes, I would pull the cork and let them slowly release her. As Kitties suggested, reduce the entrance all the way down to the smallest size. View Quote CE is right. You're probably still too cold. Where I am, the Boardman would be fine at this point. We might get a frost, but it's warm during the day. I bet that's not so where you are, though I don't know your day/night temps, and CE is probably much more in touch with that. RE: #2--I would say that feeding a little is better than not feeding at all, and not sure you are able to set up for any other scenario than the boardman because maybe you don't have any extra equipment. BUT...that's not accounting for how cold it's going to be where you are. CE, do you feel like they won't break the ball to feed from the Boardman? Or do you think the jar will be too cold for it to flow? Or what? Fish, if you have so much as an extra shallow (the thing you might have gotten as a honey super) or the extra deep, (if you bought a two-deep hive) you could feed inside with baggies. I should say (ETA) that the deep will create a lot of space at the top of the hive. CE or guys from the north, is that too much space, taking up too much heat from the small ball the package can make? Anyway...baggie feeding.... That takes a little finesse. Ask if you don't know how or understand. It's a matter of putting the super on the hive with no frames in the super box, getting a gallon baggie and filling it with syrup, and cutting (very small) slits in the top of the baggie, and setting the baggie (lying flat, with the slits up toward the hive top) on top of the bars of your main hive box. ETA: I found this video. Pay attention only to how this guy is placing the baggie.Baggie feeding I cut my slits in the bag MUCH smaller. Like half an inch to 3/4, because I've found that I drown bees with bigger slits, but some of the other folks may have something to add about this. Baggie feeding is not my favorite way. I do it only in emergencies, so I have limited experience with it. I consider your situation a semi-emergency, so you know, because you need to help your bees through this transition and make sure they are okay while you're gone, and it sounds like you may not have a lot of stuff blooming for them to start working and bringing in food. Ask anything you need to know. You can make up syrup quickly, and it will be warmer inside that box than outside, if that's the issue where you are. |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs:
Fish, I didn't pay attention that you were in New York. CE is right. You're probably still too cold. Where I am, the Boardman would be fine at this point. We might get a frost, but it's warm during the day. I bet that's not so where you are, though I don't know your day/night temps, and CE is probably much more in touch with that. RE: #2--I would say that feeding a little is better than not feeding at all, and not sure you are able to set up for any other scenario than the boardman because maybe you don't have any extra equipment. BUT...that's not accounting for how cold it's going to be where you are. CE, do you feel like they won't break the ball to feed from the Boardman? Or do you think the jar will be too cold for it to flow? Or what? Fish, if you have so much as an extra shallow (the thing you might have gotten as a honey super) or the extra deep, (if you bought a two-deep hive) you could feed inside with baggies. That takes a little finesse though. Ask if you don't know how. It's a matter of putting the super on the hive with no frames in the super box, getting a gallon baggie and filling it with syrup, and cutting (very small) slits in the top of the baggie, and setting the baggie (lying flat, with the slits up toward the hive top) on top of the bars of your main hive box. Ask anything you need to know. You can make up syrup quickly, and it will be warmer inside that box than outside, if that's the issue where you are. View Quote Fish, if I were in your position, I would go to Lowes or Home Depot and get (2) one gallon coated paint cans. They are only a few dollars each. Punch 5 or 6 tiny holes in each lid with the head of a very small nail and fill them up with 1:1 sugar syrup. Invert them directly over the frames and vacuum pressure will prevent them from leaking. Surround this with an empty hive body/ inner cover/ outer cover. This will give them enough syrup while you are gone. Edit: put the holes in the center of the lid in a circle. |
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Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
Kitties, Bees will not take syrup unless the syrup is around 50 degrees. With night time temps still being cold in NY, it would take a while for that syrup to heat up enough for the bees to take it. It would stay warmer inside of an empty hive body. Fish, if I were in your position, I would go to Lowes or Home Depot and get (2) one gallon coated paint cans. They are only a few dollars each. Punch 5 or 6 tiny holes in each lid with the head of a very small nail and fill them up with 1:1 sugar syrup. Invert them directly over the frames and vacuum pressure will prevent them from leaking. Surround this with an empty hive body/ inner cover/ outer cover. This will give them enough syrup while you are gone. View Quote |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Wow, you guys are awesome, and yet another example of why I love arf so much.
I have two hive bodies, and two supers. Paint cans won't be a problem to obtain. So if I understand correctly, I'm going to put the package into the lower hive body, with 5 frames. Queen in her cage, cork out, positioned in the frames area. Paint cans filled 1:1, holes in the lid, upside down on top of the frames, and another hive body on top, then the inner and outer covers. Entrance closed down to single bee size hole. Fingers crossed, and check on them as soon as I get home, about 96 hours later. Then, remove the empty package, add the leftover frames to the lower hive, refill and replace syrup as needed, and let bees do what bees do. At some point, the upper hive body gets filled with frames, and then I have two supers to add on also. I assume that waits for the weather to be consistently warm enough, as well as the bees taking nectar and pollen out in the wild. I have fresh pollen in the fridge, as well as pollen substitute, any need to make it available now? Thanks again for the help! |
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A chance to cut is a chance to cure
Life Member: AR15.com, NRA, NYSRPA, SAF Team Ranstad Callsign: Sawbones |
Born with a low tolerance for bullshit
KY, USA
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I've inserted my red font into the quote. Realized that with the new format, that might not have been the best idea.
Originally Posted By fish223:
Wow, you guys are awesome, and yet another example of why I love arf so much. I have two hive bodies, and two supers. Paint cans won't be a problem to obtain. So if I understand correctly, I'm going to put the package into the lower hive body, with 5 frames. Is this the new way it's done? I have never done a release this way. I spray my bees lightly with sugar water and shake them into the bottom body. And if you do shake them in, you can add more frames. I would even go as far as 8 because I don't like them building comb in weird ways, which sometimes they will do. Other beekeepers may suggest five frames. I started all my hives out with only one frame missing. The queen cage will have a little piece of metal attached to it, and that can lay across a couple of frames, putting her kind of "vertical" in between the two frames so she's between the combs. Just make sure bees can get to the cage to feed her. IF YOU'RE DOING A DIFFERENT METHOD OF INSTALLATION, IGNORE THIS. Whatever you do, you need to be sure they can get out of that package. You will still probably need to remove the feeder can that came with the package. Queen in her cage, cork out, positioned in the frames area. Yes. Pay close attention to which end you're uncorking. The cage will have two corks. One will have candy, the other will not. You want to uncork the end that HAS candy, or you'll release her immediately. This immediate release is not the goal for you at this time. You want them to get used to her, want her out of there, and to release her themselves. If you come home and she is still not released, you can either release her then, or poke a hole in the candy to help them out a little--make it faster for them. (although, after 96 hours, I would probably just go ahead and release her. Careful when/if you do this. Keep her down near the frames, and aim that end of the cage into the frames as you pull the cork. She'll be out of there pretty quickly, probably, and it sucks to watch a new queen fly away. She is unlikely to sting you, btw. The other bees might, but queens are generally chill. She might even come zipping out of that cage and up onto your hand. You be chill too. Queens move FAST....just try to guide her down onto the frames. Not crushing her or injuring her is your job here. Paint cans filled 1:1, holes in the lid, upside down on top of the frames, and another hive body on top, then the inner and outer covers. Yes, and a big rock on top in case the wind blows. A BIG rock. Also, ask CE what size nail he uses. I have had them be TOO small before, so the bees couldn't really get the syrup. There's an idea size that won't pour out on them, but allows them to use their tongues to feed. I've used plastic paint buckets for this too, but the cans are better. Less flex, less likely to come apart and drown bees, to me. Entrance closed down to single bee size hole. Yes. I would not close it down this tight if I were going to be around to watch them. But since you're not, small is safer. Gives them a chance to hold the entrance against attack. if you do the shake method, there might be some bees still hanging onto the package cage. Just set it leaned up against the hive (get the can of food out, so it won't draw other bees) and they will find their way in. Fingers crossed, and check on them as soon as I get home, about 96 hours later. Yes. They will do fine. Then, remove the empty package, add the leftover frames to the lower hive, refill and replace syrup as needed, and let bees do what bees do. At some point, the upper hive body gets filled with frames, (After they have drawn out the lower body at least 3/4 I'd say.) and then I have two supers to add on also. I assume that waits for the weather to be consistently warm enough, as well as the bees taking nectar and pollen out in the wild. I have fresh pollen in the fridge, as well as pollen substitute, any need to make it available now? Hmm...I can't see that it would hurt to put a little out there. I would almost guarantee there is pollen in the wild where you are. but I don't know if it's warm enough for them to fly. What are the temps going to be like when you install and while you're gone? There is always so much pollen here by the time our packages come, I've never used it in the spring. CE might have advice. Thanks again for the help! View Quote |
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe |
Originally Posted By fish223:
Wow, you guys are awesome, and yet another example of why I love arf so much. I have two hive bodies, and two supers. Paint cans won't be a problem to obtain. So if I understand correctly, I'm going to put the package into the lower hive body, with 5 frames. Queen in her cage, cork out, positioned in the frames area. Paint cans filled 1:1, holes in the lid, upside down on top of the frames, and another hive body on top, then the inner and outer covers. Entrance closed down to single bee size hole. Fingers crossed, and check on them as soon as I get home, about 96 hours later. Then, remove the empty package, add the leftover frames to the lower hive, refill and replace syrup as needed, and let bees do what bees do. At some point, the upper hive body gets filled with frames, and then I have two supers to add on also. I assume that waits for the weather to be consistently warm enough, as well as the bees taking nectar and pollen out in the wild. I have fresh pollen in the fridge, as well as pollen substitute, any need to make it available now? Thanks again for the help! View Quote BTW, the nail holes for feeders can be made with the tip of a 4 penny or 6 penny nail. I use a drill bit but don't know the size off hand. |
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The video that came with the hive and supplies showed the technique that I described. Pop the food can off the package, and put the whole thing into the hive body with enough frames to fill the rest of the space. Queen suspended in her cage. They put the little nail through the candy immediately to make a tiny gap. Then the package came out after a day, and propped near the entrance for any stragglers, and the rest of the frames replaced.
The bee delivery guy sent an email that he was going to do a demonstration at the pickup location, but it seems really straightforward. Weather forecast for the next couple of weeks is daytime temps in the high 50's, low 60's, with overnight temps in the mid 40's. Most of the early spring bulbs are pushing through already, and the daffodils are already flowered. My wife came home yesterday with tons of flats she is going to get into the ground this weekend, so that will probably help a bit. |
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A chance to cut is a chance to cure
Life Member: AR15.com, NRA, NYSRPA, SAF Team Ranstad Callsign: Sawbones |
A chance to cut is a chance to cure
Life Member: AR15.com, NRA, NYSRPA, SAF Team Ranstad Callsign: Sawbones |
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Originally Posted By cuttingedge:
The only thing that I would change is your method of installing the package. I don't like leaving them in the hive as they will build comb inside of it which becomes a mess to deal with. Here is a link on how to install them. Also, if you have a bunch of extra Mason Jars, you could use them instead of paint cans, I have and contuinue to use both. I would feed them until they have drawn out almost all of the frames in both brood boxes. You could also feed them a little to get them started on building comb in the first honey super. This will help them expand quickly and you may even get some honey off of them this year. Be prepared for swarming and to feed again in the fall. BTW, the nail holes for feeders can be made with the tip of a 4 penny or 6 penny nail. I use a drill bit but don't know the size off hand. View Quote |
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A chance to cut is a chance to cure
Life Member: AR15.com, NRA, NYSRPA, SAF Team Ranstad Callsign: Sawbones |
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