Some of you will remember me telling about catching the big swarm last Easter week.
Took all of 3 deep and 2 medium supers to house them.
I harvested 3 medium supers full from them and wanted to/ needed to get 2 more.
Hot weather intervened. I ended up leaving 4 medium supers as honey storage and brood.
Well it threw a large swarm last week that would have taken 3 deeps.
I was not fortunate enough to catch it.
So 2 days later I goes in and splits the colony. Each having two sealed unopened Queen cells and plenty stores and capped and uncapped brood.
Now, these 2 colonies didn't have anymore room for anything, so today I goes and puts a deep on each of these.
The M of my story is If you can't take the honey off don't worry about it if it is a strong colony.
They will have it in the spring to build up.
One reason we as Beekers shouldn't be greedy.
I have another one that is going to swarm if I don't doooo something.
Funny thing, all the colonies that I have that has survived the last 2 years have been stock from untreated swarms out of the woods, or where ever, except one.
The only treatment I am using at present is an oil pan on the bottum
Should catch some Varroa Mites as well as Hive beetles.
That is all I am going to use this year and rear me some Queens with out treatment and see if I can get
some Immune systems built up.
Didn't mean to do a book. :) ;)doak
Topic: Story time (Read 1418 times)