Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: .30WCF on February 25, 2022, 05:02:42 pm
-
02.25.2022
66*F
I put five hives to winter. Three were 10 frame boxes and two were nucs. I tipped them up from time to time over the winter, and they would be a little lighter each time. By December I was fully expecting the nuc on the end to be a dead hive come spring, and a little curious what the outcome of the middle 10 frame would be. I never supplemented them, just monitored them occasionally. I would always see bees on warm days even in the last nuc that truly felt like it was just an empty box.
Today it was 66*F so I thought I?d go see just how dead the bees were and add a frame or two of bees to the nuc if another hive could afford to spare them.
I opened the little nuc up and found a few frames of bees in both the top and bottom box, the queen and brood. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/7658c8c6c016eb212344a174747b274e.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/e9e991b80fca7467be17c15e5096dec4.jpg)
I closed them up.
Then I got interested to see what was in the biggest hive that was a deep and two medium boxes going into winter.
There was sooooooo much brood, some honey on the sides, drones and empty swarm cups. Knee jerk reaction was to put TWO boxes on top of partially drawn foundation.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/d93b69e59e7a74eea5b5a9157708ea5f.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/030467e5109fc9572112cf4692599314.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/ef474a1b67e78cd123b0c2589b945f82.jpg)
At now 5 boxes high I put the lid back on.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
I continued down the line. Things got more sporty the further I went. The next hive got one medium of plastic foundation. Drones and swarm cups and brood everywhere. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/3544b1d21d8653b4adfd598f92979fd4.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/3544b1d21d8653b4adfd598f92979fd4.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/38f3464217a4a33d78a630b066a4c288.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/52c5242b246a7e2a04d657bff80d2328.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/50ce64b9997e30735f1e89c9a11b00f1.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Same with the next box. I added a medium of plastic.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/ac8573a15a66659498bf952a89116581.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/f5af21b421821920a490f94bd8152a5c.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Then I got to the tripple nuc. It was so full. QC, drone brood. I did a walk away split in February on that one just for fun. I took the two mediums and put them on a bottom board, gave them another medium of drawn comb from the freezer. And added a deep of drawn from the freezer onto the deep nuc. I set the frozen combs out to warm for a few before putting them in the hives.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/f81b96c23b9b16eb7e2dd021f0916173.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/c9ff3bfcb24f08ddbf39db552a8cf3d6.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/ad22155816968d9b5c1e6e08d174f7fe.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/0a1d82d4dee0f6a06bee166a0679912f.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/d3790721e4f3a0b41181c5249d6c4786.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/5801cf7e1f1dedc9ca7a62ab3eea752e.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/02fe2032ddf11351df295230fc510edf.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/5f4e7a87be5e3c992937737960a8dc85.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220225/0334eee43c07cb26509c354544b80412.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
All in all, I added six boxes today to five hives, did a split (should have done more splits if there were more drones around) and gave a gallon of thin syrup to the first nuc I expected to have died out over the winter.
We will see what happens. Something will happen, we just have to wait and see what.
I?d say I wasn?t ready for that, but surprisingly I still have a couple frames of drawn comb in the freezer. But I sure wasn?t expecting it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Wow! Well that confirms my thoughts of opening up my girls for their first inspection next weekend.
-
I bet you were surprised being in your area. Isn't that growing zone 7b?
30 did you find any capped Queen Cells or QCs' that had hatched/(emerged)?
PS I see you went ahead and got a wood splitter :-) :Thumbs up:
-
I bet you were surprised being in your area. Isn't that growing zone 7b?
30 did you find any capped Queen Cells or QCs' that had hatched/(emerged)?
PS I see you went ahead and got a wood splitter :-) :Thumbs up:
I am in 7b. I kind of wasn?t planning on needing to get in them until the middle of next month. Glad I did. Maybe I didn?t make the right moves, but I was kind of blindsided and had the frames, foundation and drawn comb on hand.
I did bite the bullet on a splitter. I haven?t used it much yet. Seems nice.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
I found a bunch of empty cups. I didn?t dig through everything. Just a quick peek.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
30, I noticed in at least one of those Queen Cups, in one of those pictures, looked like it contained larva. That and other pictures conceived the question. I am 'on the border line' of being in zone 7b and 8b. I am officially in 7b. Your post have caught my attention. Thanks.
Thing Is it was only 34 high today and 30 tonight. (I think the zone makers made a mistake) (It seems I am always in a colder frame where I live, than that of zone 7b.
lol :cheesy: :wink:
Phillip
-
I was waiting for a warm day to paint boxes I got some more muted colors to tone them down a touch. I
Just never had time on a nice enough day over the winter to paint them. I may have to do the paint and swap till I get through them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Several of these queens were pretty late splits. One is a weird little black queen. The workers are bigger than she is. She is just slightly longer, but more narrow than a worker. If I remember, I think they were September queens. Maybe late August.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220226/8cc464cadb087b9399738054e9c8ec69.png)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220226/fd87e497145bdd003be8d12f9170f109.png)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220226/e7032435a0f91a49eee0d2e4dfa55544.png)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Wow! Well that confirms my thoughts of opening up my girls for their first inspection next weekend.
Hope you get good weather. We are turning cold again this week for a few days then getting close to 70 next weekend. You may be a little cooler up in the hills.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Hope you get good weather. We are turning cold again this week for a few days then getting close to 70 next weekend. You may be a little cooler up in the hills.
Yeah, we seem to be about 5 degrees cooler than you. We've got cold temps over the weekend, especially Sunday, so an inspection tomorrow is a no-go. The long range forecast for next weekend says about 65 with lows in the upper 40s, but that could easily change as the week goes on.
-
back down in the 20s and 30s at nite.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220226/eadb55bb5d745cc3a44c75fe0a17ac50.png)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Last year when I inspected some of my hives and found queen cups like you, I added boxes for space but it only delayed things about two weeks before those cups had larva in them. Keep an eye on them.
-
Wow lots of work. What a way to go into next season.
Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
-
I may try to go in on Thursday. It?s supposed to be sunny and 70*F. If I need to do some splits I?ll have some time to do that.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
I may try to go in on Thursday. It?s supposed to be sunny and 70*F. If I need to do some splits I?ll have some time to do that.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Temperature is not the trigger for bees, sunlight is. Just like vegetation, what ever grows in your area is accustom to temperature swings. Timing is controlled by the number of daylight hours.
-
I may try to go in on Thursday. It?s supposed to be sunny and 70*F. If I need to do some splits I?ll have some time to do that.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Temperature is not the trigger for bees, sunlight is. Just like vegetation, what ever grows in your area is accustom to temperature swings. Timing is controlled by the number of daylight hours.
Yes. Next year I need to look a couple weeks earlier. It seems they got the jump on me.
I just meant that if it?s 70* Thursday, it will be a good day to go in the hives. Today it?s raining and 41*.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
I started with 2 Italian Nucs three years ago. The end of that first year those 2 nucs turned into two double deep 10s and a double nuc.
The three wintered over just fine. Those three turned into (6) 10 frame hives 4 boxes high and a handful of nucs the second year. I gave 2 double 10 frame hives to my brother in Philly, did some splits to try to keep them from swarming, then crushed some queens and combined them in the late fall. That got me back down to 3 hives and 2 nucs for last winter. So far it looks like all five have made it and I already split one nuc. I should have some Queen Cells in the works, and can probably do some more splitting later this week and add a QC to the other half of the split hives if it looks like the extra room I gave them came too late.
It?s a little early for splits I imagine, but I can recombine them, or keep them going with a frame here and there from the other hives if the queens come back unmated, and they need to try again. If the first attempt fails, the second round of queens should be prime time for mating. In late March or April.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Today it?s raining and 41*.
It is not the 41 degrees. It is the rain that will kill them. At 41 you are just going to have guard bees in the air. If you hold a box of honey back you can supplement hives that are light in Feb and March. You also can redistribute frames if the cluster chimneyed by the honey.
-
Things looked ok today. Two or three Queen Cells in the one half of the walk away split.
Painted a few boxes.
Moved a couple nucs into 10 frame boxes and did some brood reversal.
The new color is the red, mustardy/yellow, and I did some in blue like the bottom boards on the left. I?ll work my way through the rest. Next inspection I?ll swap a few boxes, paint and swap them out the next time.
So far it looks like we are going 5 for 5 this year for overwintering. I did move a little honey over to the queenless half of the nuc split( which is now in the single red medium box ).
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220303/a4d5db8a2265da9b9f33524443e90381.png)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220303/419d78581b06e654180ddb6f46e4af15.png)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
Things looked ok today. Two or three Queen Cells in the one half of the walk away split.
Painted a few boxes.
Moved a couple nucs into 10 frame boxes and did some brood reversal.
The new color is the red, mustardy/yellow, and I did some in blue like the bottom boards on the left. I?ll work my way through the rest. Next inspection I?ll swap a few boxes, paint and swap them out the next time.
So far it looks like we are going 5 for 5 this year for overwintering. I did move a little honey over to the queenless half of the nuc split( which is now in the single red medium box ).
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220303/a4d5db8a2265da9b9f33524443e90381.png)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220303/419d78581b06e654180ddb6f46e4af15.png)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ooh, I like those new colors. They have kind of a southwestern vibe about them.
-
Things looked ok today. Two or three Queen Cells in the one half of the walk away split.
Painted a few boxes.
Moved a couple nucs into 10 frame boxes and did some brood reversal.
The new color is the red, mustardy/yellow, and I did some in blue like the bottom boards on the left. I?ll work my way through the rest. Next inspection I?ll swap a few boxes, paint and swap them out the next time.
So far it looks like we are going 5 for 5 this year for overwintering. I did move a little honey over to the queenless half of the nuc split( which is now in the single red medium box ).
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220303/a4d5db8a2265da9b9f33524443e90381.png)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220303/419d78581b06e654180ddb6f46e4af15.png)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ooh, I like those new colors. They have kind of a southwestern vibe about them.
Thanks. The white ones are probably good for a year. They were painted last year. I do like the stained ones, but they are drying and checking. I?m not gonna wax them, so they need a coat of paint. The rest need a top coat since their paint is three years old. I?m trying to tone them down and might move them towards the wood line next winter.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk