Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => HONEYBEE REMOVAL => Topic started by: Grandma_DOG on May 12, 2009, 04:17:13 pm
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The first 2 hives I cut out last year, died within weeks.
When should I check on a new cutout hive? And what should I be looking for? Just queen/eggs? Or other things?
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With a cut out, hard to tell how old that queen could be so you want to keep an eye on her performance. Bees get stressed during a cut out, I like to look in on them a few times the first week to ensure vital signs are good and numbers are up.
If they become weak, those dang shb and wax moth may win the battle.
If they're pushing out rubber bands, that's a good sign.
I like to get an idea as to hygenic behavior also. Some are fighters and great cleaners, good to draw from for splits and such. Some don't mind intrusion from outsiders, that isn't good.
If you see them stuck in a rut, they may need requeening.
I feed mine and baby sit them until I know they are good to go, then I take the feeders off.
Other than that I try to guage aggressiveness and act appropriately if need be.
BTW, I enjoyed your video, but sure wanted to lend you some tools to rip that trailer wall apart faster. ;)
...JP
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Checked in on the cutout hive today, brought a hive stand too. WInds were quite high, so I didn't even pull the top bars out of the hive, just did a slide examine.
Activity was good, bee density good, new honey flowing into the hive as honeyflow began this week. So no feeding needed. Could see if it was queen right, I'll check next week in lower winds.
The guard bees are a bit testy and follow me en masse for over 200 feet. I have to wonder about AHB with these guys.
-mt
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Are you using your smoker before going in? I don't recall you using it in your cut out video.
...JP
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Are you using your smoker before going in? I don't recall you using it in your cut out video.
...JP
I always use a smoker. You didn't see it because I cut the borring stuff out. Plus it was almost a joke with the high winds. I buff and it streams 10 feet in 1/2 a second. BUt I did it anyway hoping a little smoke got the hive in fire mode.
Anyway, I did notice that there was NO propolis at all on my top bars. Clearly they had to prioritize on other things. THe front bars were under heavy repair and they had attached some of it to the bar in 3 days. THe rear bars where unrepaired. I do remember dumping more bees in there than I saw, but the field force may be out. What % of a hive do you think are the foragers?
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I would be making a guess, but based on my experience with cut outs, I would say 3.5-4% are the returners, but if in a really super flow many more will be out gathering.
...JP