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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 11:17:13 pm »

OK, thanks for the review. I can add that box easily enough. They have quit taking the syrup for a few days now and I figured that meant it was time to take it off. I'll check with my locals and see what, if anything is flowing. I  do have a big tulip poplar in my front yard and I heard that they are good for the bees and it looks like it is starting to flower. One other thing I forgot to ask about...one of the syrup jars had some black mold in it. Not much, but there was some just the same. How big of an issue is that for them?

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by The15thMember on May 01, 2024, 11:09:26 pm »

I don't know, I probably would have given them the second box.  The fact that the brood frames were very full and they were building burr comb indicates to me they want to expand the brood nest.  Bees are sometimes slow to build on the outer frames, especially if they don't want to put brood there, and if the flow isn't really cranking yet, they just may not be inclined to build out more honey frames, but they might like some more room for babies.

If your flow has started, it's perfectly fine to remove their food, but be sure they keep drawing.  A nuc is behind and really needs to build up, and if the flow isn't strong enough to make them draw, you may want to put the feed on them again, at least until they have maybe 2 boxes drawn (or the flow really turns on).  That's what I would do anyway.   

I wouldn't worry too much about seeing eggs if I saw the queen.  It's nice to see both, but one or the other is fine in my book.  Also, it can be a good proactive measure to smoke again when you kill a couple of bees.  That will keep their alarm pheromone from being smelled by the rest of the colony.  I will usually just smoke their bodies to hide the evidence.    

Oh man, that first taste of your own honey!!  It's never as good as when you are eating it off the hive tool.     

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Best swarm prevention

« Last post by Bob Wilson on May 01, 2024, 10:53:37 pm »

They are wild stock, originally caught in swarm traps. Small, little bees.
One hive was split by pulling a nuc out of it and leaving the queen with a knocked back population. The other was a pulled nuc, taking the queen also, but two weeks later the queen less hive swarmed. Perhaps virgin swarming.
Just how much empty space do you add at the beginning of the nectar flow?

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Best swarm prevention

« Last post by JurassicApiary on May 01, 2024, 10:38:47 pm »

Agreed, more info is needed.  As to arrangement, checker boarding works well for making the bees feel less pressured instantly.  That said, some genetic lines are simply highly apt to swarming, regardless of the beekeeper's efforts.  If you've got a hive here or there in residential areas that are hot swarmers, consider relocating them to larger properties so any swarms cast pose less risk to neighbors--they're gonna do their thing whether you like it or not sometimes.

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HONEYBEE REMOVAL / Re: Expensive Issue

« Last post by JurassicApiary on May 01, 2024, 10:30:52 pm »

But $20,000.00 worth of damages?

I read the article earlier and my wife laughed as she heard me call out "bull...."...she's hyping it up.

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HONEYBEE REMOVAL / Re: Expensive Issue

« Last post by Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 10:08:12 pm »

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 10:06:51 pm »

My second hive inspection 2 1/2 weeks after obtaining my nuc. I thought I would see more comb built out but they are alive, healthy and growing.

Part I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r0ZqszslfY

And Part II

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M2pt4IpQsk

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HONEYBEE REMOVAL / Re: Swarm Delays MLB Game, Beekeeper to the Rescue!

« Last post by Ben Framed on May 01, 2024, 09:41:36 pm »

Good post!

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HONEYBEE REMOVAL / Re: Expensive Issue

« Last post by Ben Framed on May 01, 2024, 09:30:36 pm »

But $20,000.00 worth of damages?

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Best swarm prevention

« Last post by Ben Framed on May 01, 2024, 07:49:43 pm »

Bob what is his splitting method or technique of splitting?