Hello from the furnace of the world

[mtsaz]

I live in arizona- our summer this year was 115-120 from June --its 110 today (Fahrenheit obviously).  110 in almost october-its insane.  I am new- about 6 months- I have a really good mentor- and I have 3 hives- I use apimaye hoping they will help with the heat.  Anyway- there are always challenges- I bought 2 packages- and put them in the 10 frame hive- they quickly filled out the foundation and had eggs everywhere- then the heat came and killed he eggs- and the moths came and ruined everything.  This was in a wood box- I got the apimaye, froze the frames, cleaned them up- but the bees still dont like them. 

I got an africanized hive from a neighbor who collects junk.  It was in an old washing machine.  I accidently killed the queen- it was very tight to reach in and I was getting stung like crazy- so now I have a very aggressive hive with no queen.  My plan is to get rid of the workers and put a couple frames of drones and nurse bees in a nuc box and requeen.  How will I get rid of the workers?  Put the hive in my truck and drive slowly with the lid off out in the desert---they will fly away, the nurse bees, drones, and brood (obviously) will stay.  Then i will put a queen in. 

Anyway- there is so much to learn, but i have learned so much.  I hope to learn more from all of you- and maybe--who knows- i might even know something that will help someone.  Thank you.

[Kathyp]

Welcome.  One of my sons lives not far from Phoenix and he's been talking about the heat this year.

I can't give you any hive advice for your area, so if you have a good mentor or club in your area that's your best bet OR maybe someone from your area is on here and can help you.

Put your plan and questions in the general beekeeping section and more people will see it.

[The15thMember]

Welcome to Beemaster, mtsaz!    Sounds like you've had an eventful first season!   

I live in arizona- our summer this year was 115-120 from June --its 110 today (Fahrenheit obviously).  110 in almost october-its insane.  I am new- about 6 months- I have a really good mentor- and I have 3 hives- I use apimaye hoping they will help with the heat.  Anyway- there are always challenges- I bought 2 packages- and put them in the 10 frame hive- they quickly filled out the foundation and had eggs everywhere- then the heat came and killed he eggs- and the moths came and ruined everything.  This was in a wood box- I got the apimaye, froze the frames, cleaned them up- but the bees still dont like them. 

I've heard of the Apimaye hives but I've never used one myself.  Are the frames for that hive wooden or plastic? 

I got an africanized hive from a neighbor who collects junk.  It was in an old washing machine.  I accidently killed the queen- it was very tight to reach in and I was getting stung like crazy- so now I have a very aggressive hive with no queen.  My plan is to get rid of the workers and put a couple frames of drones and nurse bees in a nuc box and requeen.  How will I get rid of the workers?  Put the hive in my truck and drive slowly with the lid off out in the desert---they will fly away, the nurse bees, drones, and brood (obviously) will stay.  Then i will put a queen in. 

I'm not really understanding this part.  Are you trying to get rid of the workers because they have started laying?  How long has the hive been queenless?  Why do you want there to be drones in the hive?   

[Terri Yaki]

Now this sounds interesting. Welcome to Beemaster and good luck with your hives. That heat sounds unbearable.

[BeeMaster2]

MTS,
Welcome to Beemaster.
If you are trying to get the bees out to start over with the comb they made, I recommend that you, beeing that you have Africanized Bees, I would take the hive out in the desert more than 3 miles from your home and shake them all off the frames and put the empty frames in a box that you can close up between frames.
If you have a freezer with lots of space, you could put individual frames in the freezer with the bees on them and freeze them. Don?t try to freeze a whole box of bees as a very experienced bee inspector tried once. After two days he took them out and put them in the car and drove away. As soon as the cluster warmed up they filled up the car with bees.
Good luck.
Jim Altmiller

[NigelP]

Welcome. The Apiaye hives are expensive insulated hives. You would achieve the same with standard poly hives. Bees are able to keep these cooler easier in hot conditions than wooden hives, due to their superior insulation. I noticed when I ran a mix of poly and wooden hives on the rare UK hot days bees would beard on the wooden hives but not the poly.
Just make sure there is a plentiful water supply nearby for the bees.

[Michael Bush]

I asked someone in Arizona why they don't have basements (everyone here in Nebraska has one).  He said they were afraid when they dug a basement they would fall through to hades.

[Ben Framed]

Welcome mtsaz, if I am understanding you correctly, I agree with Beemaster2s solution. By the way I have heard that most all honeybee hives in Arizona are now africanized. Is this accurate?

Thanks,
Phillip