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Author Topic: Florida beekeeping Questions  (Read 8307 times)

Offline jtcmedic

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #20 on: April 17, 2019, 09:34:31 pm »
Bees doing good in the Ocala area. Sold a bunch of Nucs, bred some queens, got some honey to pull. Not much but some. All hives are queen right (knock on wood). Bought some queens to diversify my line a little bit. We?ll see how it goes.
doing the same at the end of the month from a guy in pasco https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Local-Business/SebBees/about/ so far been qood queens got 4 cells last year, gonna add 5 mated queens this year.

Offline FloridaGardener

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #21 on: April 17, 2019, 10:19:41 pm »
Tycrnp: Hello! I'm an hour NE of you, in Niceville.  My TBH is packed. They are bearding on the landing board tonight, and were washboarding on the front, this afternoon. Happy bees.

I supered the TBH with a medium Lang hive body, using a rim board to seal it up tight.  I left a gap in the top of the super to accustom them to coming in the "top door" and depositing their bounty in the super.  I'll use an escape board when it's full, then give 'em another super.

Japanese Privet has fully bloomed and smells amazing, but there is so much here, there's a dearth for bees, not for forage!  Oaks are putting out catkins. The inflorescences for Palmetto are starting to sprout.  Pittosporum is still blooming. 

Gulf Breeze should have many of these same shrubs and trees.

Offline saltybluegrass

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #22 on: April 17, 2019, 10:44:09 pm »
Tycrnp: Hello! I'm an hour NE of you, in Niceville.  My TBH is packed. They are bearding on the landing board tonight, and were washboarding on the front, this afternoon. Happy bees.

I supered the TBH with a medium Lang hive body, using a rim board to seal it up tight.  I left a gap in the top of the super to accustom them to coming in the "top door" and depositing their bounty in the super.  I'll use an escape board when it's full, then give 'em another super.

Japanese Privet has fully bloomed and smells amazing, but there is so much here, there's a dearth for bees, not for forage!  Oaks are putting out catkins. The inflorescences for Palmetto are starting to sprout.  Pittosporum is still blooming. 

Gulf Breeze should have many of these same shrubs and trees.

Please explain (TBH) I assume Top bar hive ?  I?ve never heard of supering one is why I ask. Thanks if you have a link - I was thinking about making one.
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #23 on: April 18, 2019, 06:08:57 am »
Floridagardener,
I recommend not using an escape board here in Florida. By the time the bees move out, the SHBs have laid their eggs everywhere. If the larvae hatch before you extract the honey, it will Bee slimed. Even if it is just a little bit, it changes the taste and causes it to ferment. Use Beequick. Cover a board with terrycloth spray a light coat and put it on top of the box for 5 minutes. Then pull the box. You may have to shake a few bees out. Bees don?t realize you are taking the honey, they just want out of the super.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline jtcmedic

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #24 on: April 18, 2019, 07:50:16 am »
I am gonna be building a dr Leo top bar/ Langstroth  holds 31 frames. My wife wanted it seams interesting. Here is a pic of a supered tbh

Offline Acebird

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #25 on: April 18, 2019, 08:43:20 am »
Floridagardener,
I recommend not using an escape board here in Florida. By the time the bees move out,
Jim, if the bees do not move out overnight then the board is not a very effective tool.  If they do move out overnight then the eggs laid will not hatch for a couple, three days.  If small hive beetles are a problem in your area then it would be wise to freeze the frames anyway.  Some commercial beekeepers in the north use escape boards because they are guaranteed the bees will cluster overnight which makes the honey boxes totally empty of bees.  Escape boards work best when there warm days and cool nights in the fall.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #26 on: April 18, 2019, 09:19:20 am »
Brian,
I have used them and it took 2 days to work and we still had bees in the supers.
Our main flow ends in June and it is hot all night. Same with the second flow in September.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline jtcmedic

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #27 on: April 18, 2019, 02:13:11 pm »
Brian,
I have used them and it took 2 days to work and we still had bees in the supers.
Our main flow ends in June and it is hot all night. Same with the second flow in September.
Jim Altmiller
It?s florida it?s hot all summer. :cool:

Offline Acebird

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #28 on: April 19, 2019, 08:41:20 am »
Brian,
I have used them and it took 2 days to work and we still had bees in the supers.
Our main flow ends in June and it is hot all night. Same with the second flow in September.
Jim Altmiller
It?s florida it?s hot all summer. :cool:
Don't harvest in the hot summer.  Where Jim lives it is possible to get ice and snow.  There is a cool season.  As Jim said, I would not leave an escape board on for two days because of SHB.  Where I live now it is a problem because it never gets cold.  I am going to have to develop new skills.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline saltybluegrass

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #29 on: April 19, 2019, 10:27:36 am »
I?ll try to make this an easy question from me a new bee
I think we are talking about taking  honey and the process of moving bees out of supers?
If so, what is the way to deal with  shb / eggs/ bees and replacing frames you take out?
Maybe the answer can consider my langstroth instead of the TBH but supers are supers?
I see very large hive beetles here in the treasure coast in my hive

I?m still at the installation stage of my education  :embarassed:
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Then all else falls in line
It?s up to me

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #30 on: April 19, 2019, 04:24:02 pm »
Salty,
Bee quick is the best way, especially here in Florida. It is quick and easy, 5? to 7 minutes per super. Try to do your extractions during a flow.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Acebird

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #31 on: April 20, 2019, 09:12:34 am »
I know commercial beekeepers that do extractions during flows.  They take the capped supers off, add empty supers and lay the full ones on their side.  Leave them a couple of hours and all the foragers go out to the fields and come back to the parent hive voiding the full supers of bees.  Word of caution, do not do this unless there is a flow.
Brian Cardinal
Just do it

Offline Acebird

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #32 on: April 20, 2019, 09:16:27 am »
Salty, another method is blowing the bees out if you do not like putting chemicals in the hive.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline saltybluegrass

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #33 on: April 20, 2019, 10:08:59 am »
Salty, another method is blowing the bees out if you do not like putting chemicals in the hive.

I just visited mr bush?s Website and read the importance of natural methods.
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Then all else falls in line
It?s up to me

Offline FloridaGardener

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #34 on: April 22, 2019, 10:29:01 pm »
SaltyBlue, I have an apiary at home, so I can pull one frame out, and replace with an empty.  They don't seem to notice. 

Recipe for all-natural 5-lb honey draw (foundationless):

1. Hang honey frame in a cardboard amazon box while closing up inspection (recycling the box, lol)
2. Put another piece of cardboard on top of harvest box
3. Shake box on the way to the garage, and lose those last bees
4. Wrap frame in wax paper in the garage
5. Exit garage, head for screened porch. Check for hitchhikers
6. Enter house and get a knife...the wax paper helps conserve all  :)

Good idea to freeze the bar 24 hrs, to sanitize it.

The med. super on 1/3 of the top bar hive is, in part, swarm control.  They'll know they're not honey-bound.  I don't have to check like clockwork.

Offline oliver.karp

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Re: Florida beekeeping Questions
« Reply #35 on: September 18, 2019, 09:39:03 pm »
The Brasil Pepper is starting to bloom heavily here in Tampa, FL. So back to the original post. What are Tampa or nearby FL Beekeepers' experiences with comb building on the pepper flow. Do they generally build comb on foundation or simply backfill the broodnest. What should I be prepared for, stacking supers, watching for a clogged broodnest, or all of the above?

Any or all suggestions for someone new to the pepper flow are welcome.


Thanks

Ollie

 

anything