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Author Topic: Hot Hives  (Read 10414 times)

Offline GSF

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Hot Hives
« on: March 31, 2017, 04:27:54 pm »
It may be just in my yard. Has anyone experienced an uptick in the number of aggressive hives in your apiary? I have moved 5 hives away from eyesight of my home. I need to move about 3 more. These bees will seek you out and sting you. If you get about 30-40 yards from the hives and stand still it won't take long for about 6 or 8 to be flying around your face.
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Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2017, 05:26:38 pm »
It may be just in my yard. Has anyone experienced an uptick in the number of aggressive hives in your apiary? I have moved 5 hives away from eyesight of my home. I need to move about 3 more. These bees will seek you out and sting you. If you get about 30-40 yards from the hives and stand still it won't take long for about 6 or 8 to be flying around your face.

That is not mine. I weed eat in front of mine and walk about 20 yards from it and they never bother me. Sometimes I turn and watch them. I am not even sure one has landed on me the last 10 times I have been in a hive. Now those feral's I want to catch a swarm off of are probably a much different story but they will be at best 200 yards from commonly walked areas.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2017, 05:37:57 pm »
If you get about 30-40 yards from the hives and stand still it won't take long for about 6 or 8 to be flying around your face.

I can't tolerate that.  They would have to go.  Sure don't want their drones near my bees.
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Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2017, 05:38:39 pm »
If you get about 30-40 yards from the hives and stand still it won't take long for about 6 or 8 to be flying around your face.

I can't tolerate that.  They would have to go.  Sure don't want their drones near my bees.

Is it common to get hives that hot?

Offline Dallasbeek

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2017, 06:46:46 pm »
I'd requeen.  Absolutely.  I had a hive that was at least as hot as you describe and shortly after requeening, they settled down.
"Liberty lives in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no laws, no court can save it." - Judge Learned Hand, 1944

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2017, 10:43:22 pm »
Last year 2 of my hives were pretty hot. They boiled out like crazy when I opened them. This year one already has six medium boxes and needs another one now and is as calm as can bee. The other one has 4 boxes and is also calm.
Not sure what the difference is but I am glad they calmed down.
Jim
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Offline Sniper338

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2017, 11:53:29 pm »
Requeen

Offline sc-bee

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2017, 08:43:23 am »
Yes I have... for some reason? I think it because we are still in a dearth. Strange year...
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Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #8 on: April 01, 2017, 09:37:37 am »
Last year 2 of my hives were pretty hot. They boiled out like crazy when I opened them. This year one already has six medium boxes and needs another one now and is as calm as can bee. The other one has 4 boxes and is also calm.
Not sure what the difference is but I am glad they calmed down.
Jim

I thought we were supposed to split before a hive got that big.

Offline sc-bee

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #9 on: April 01, 2017, 05:59:24 pm »


I thought we were supposed to split before a hive got that big.

Six what meidum 8's --- at least three would be brood, right?  Is that not a normal 8 frame configuration? No he didn't say 8 or ten frame. Either way six in not a lot...
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Offline Barhopper

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #10 on: April 01, 2017, 08:10:15 pm »
Last year 2 of my hives were pretty hot. They boiled out like crazy when I opened them. This year one already has six medium boxes and needs another one now and is as calm as can bee. The other one has 4 boxes and is also calm.
Not sure what the difference is but I am glad they calmed down.
Jim

I thought we were supposed to split before a hive got that big.

Do you make honey with weak hives? Mine are a minimum of two broods and two supers.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #11 on: April 01, 2017, 08:37:32 pm »
Splitting is a method of swarm control and varroa suppression.  If your hive swarms or it crashes because of varroa you get no honey.  It is my experience that splitting in the spring does not kill your honey production.  It saves it.
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Offline sc-bee

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #12 on: April 02, 2017, 06:55:42 am »
Splitting is a method of swarm control and varroa suppression.  If your hive swarms or it crashes because of varroa you get no honey.  It is my experience that splitting in the spring does not kill your honey production.  It saves it.

Depends on where you are... beekeeping is about location...I have no idea what bees do in NY and don't plan on finding out  :wink:
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #13 on: April 02, 2017, 08:12:30 am »


I thought we were supposed to split before a hive got that big.

Six what meidum 8's --- at least three would be brood, right?  Is that not a normal 8 frame configuration? No he didn't say 8 or ten frame. Either way six in not a lot...
I have 10 frame medium boxes. Sometimes they get to bee 8 boxes high. I pulled a box of brood off already and made 4 nucs out of it. Tomorrow I will bee adding a drawn super. In 2 weeks I will bee pulling honey, getting ready for moving them to the farm for gallberry.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
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Offline Acebird

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #14 on: April 02, 2017, 09:22:10 am »
Six what meidum 8's --- at least three would be brood, right?  Is that not a normal 8 frame configuration? No he didn't say 8 or ten frame. Either way six in not a lot...

Maybe it is NY... I typically do even walk away splits on a 5 box 8 frame configuration.  Both halves will collect nearly the same amount of honey in the first month even though the queenless side loses its old foragers.  Of course the net for the season is not the same because the queenless side is one month behind the other side when you let it raise its own queen.  If I were to add a mated queen both sides would net honey and I would have too much as I already have too much for my needs already.
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Offline Dallasbeek

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #15 on: April 02, 2017, 01:45:47 pm »
Too much honey???   I didn't know there was such a thing :cool:
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Offline sc-bee

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #16 on: April 02, 2017, 02:59:24 pm »
Maybe it is NY...

Where I am in SC and I think pretty much the rest of the state we get no surplus Fall flow... Nothing... NO THING.... Notta.... Zilch.... Zero  :sad:
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Offline tjc1

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #17 on: April 02, 2017, 04:45:51 pm »
I'm guessing that hives that big are a southern phenomenon - with the longer season the bees just keep building up. Here in New England (granted, I'm only in my 5th year as a beek), I've ever only had two deeps with supers on top for honey. Three mediums never get top to bottom full of brood in the bottom two boxes.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #18 on: April 02, 2017, 07:35:13 pm »
Three mediums never get top to bottom full of brood in the bottom two boxes.

Well, how could that be?  The nest is an oval.  They don't get top to bottom full of brood in two deeps either.
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Offline Acebird

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #19 on: April 02, 2017, 08:09:33 pm »
Too much honey???

If you have no interest in selling honey ... Let me rephrase that, if you have no interest in the work required to sell honey then yes you can get too much with three hives.
Brian Cardinal
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