What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

[BeeMaster2]

Reagan,
That hive that you heard the queen piping, I would check it tomorrow. Put your ear on the box and listen and see how many different queens that you can hear. They each have different sounds. If you hear more than one, do a full inspection for queen cells. Have a dozen queen cages ready. Smoke lightly so that you don?t disturb the bees keeping the queens in their cells. Remove one frame at a time for the same reason.
Let us know what you find.
Jim Altmiller

[The15thMember]

Reagan,
That hive that you heard the queen piping, I would check it tomorrow. Put your ear on the box and listen and see how many different queens that you can hear. They each have different sounds. If you hear more than one, do a full inspection for queen cells. Have a dozen queen cages ready. Smoke lightly so that you don?t disturb the bees keeping the queens in their cells. Remove one frame at a time for the same reason.
Let us know what you find.
Jim Altmiller

I reduced the queen cells in this hive after they swarmed and left them with two.  They then swarmed again this week with one of those virgins, so presuming I didn't miss any QCs, there aren't any other queens in there.  Virgins still pipe even if they have no challengers, right?   

[BeeMaster2]

My experience has been, if I hear queens piping, there is more than one queen in the hive. And I reduce them down to one.
See if you can hear two different queens.
Jim Altmiller

[The15thMember]

My experience has been, if I hear queens piping, there is more than one queen in the hive. And I reduce them down to one.
See if you can hear two different queens.
Jim Altmiller

I went out and listened to the hive, and I don't hear anything today.  Perhaps they fought it out yesterday evening.   

[Michael Bush]

Frost still on Saturday.  Apples are blooming.  Plums have been blooming since the 15th.

[Bob Wilson]

There is that great Andy Williams song, "Music to watch girls". The lyrics go...
The boys watch the girls while the girls watch the boys who watch the girls go by...
This morning I am watching the bird eat the bees while the cat watches the bird watching the bees go by.

[Ben Framed]

This morning I am watching the bird eat the bees while the cat watches the bird watching the bees go by.

 

[Occam]

So last year starting out beeking I read a couple articles about nadiring instead of supering and did that. When I inspected today I found no significant buildup of comb in the bottom box. Basically one frame of ten had been built on. So during the inspection I moved the frame with my new queen into the bottom box with two frames of newer comb with brood and one old frame (from the nuc last year) which was heavy with brood then threw on the queen excluder. I'm wanting to eliminate frames from the nuc as they're old and wearing out, figured since this was the broodnest I needed to separate her from it. I'll check in a couple weeks and see how things are progressing

This begs a question in retrospect however...I use a top entrance on my hive, not bottom. With her trapped on the bottom can you forsee any problems? She couldn't swarm now, not that I think they will. Can a virgin queen pass through an excluder?

[Ben Framed]

Is this the hive that swarmed a few weeks ago?

Phillip

[Occam]

Yes, they swarmed a few weeks ago

[Ben Framed]

Yes, they swarmed a few weeks ago

I have noticed when I have had swarms it takes a bit for them to rebound from the loss of the bees. The strength of the hive, along with the local flow dictates wax build up etc.
While inspecting your hive did you notice how many frames had eggs, larvae, pollen and honey etc? As well as nurse bees to cover? I am thinking it may be the loss of the workforce due to the swarm which may be what has retarded production in this hive?

Phillip

[Occam]

Yes, they swarmed a few weeks ago

I have noticed when I have had swarms it takes a bit for them to rebound from the loss of the bees. The strength of the hive, along with the local flow dictates wax build up etc.
While inspecting your hive did you notice how many frames had eggs, larvae, pollen and honey etc? As well as nurse bees to cover? I am thinking it may be the loss of the workforce due to the swarm which may be what has retarded production in this hive?

It could be but those frames were there all last year. They built out the top box last year just fine, but barely went into the lower box. They had the small amount started when I looked today, i only ever peeked into it from above last year and could see they hadnt builtnit out. We had a poor flow last year, sobi chaljed it up to that.

I'm actually starting to question whether they swarmed. I never saw the swarm, but the activity changed significantly, they had been bearding when it was low 80s then stopped suddenly when the Temps were the same. My queen wasn't marked when I bought the nuc and I never marked her.

As for brood/eggs, the frames were looking really good actually, there were 3 frames of mostly capped brood, 4 of mixed eggs, larva, and capped, and a couple of resources. No fault in her laying, which is what's making me question the swarming. With the different stages the hive would have had to have swarmed earlier than I was thinking I'm pretty sure

[Ben Framed]

Since it has been about three weeks since the suspected swarm, you have found resources which should be about on target for a healthy hive. As long as a good flow will continue, things should start picking up.

Phillip

[BeeMaster2]

Occam,
You say :

As for brood/eggs, the frames were looking really good actually, there were 3 frames of mostly capped brood, 4 of mixed eggs, larva, and capped, and a couple of resources. No fault in her laying, which is what's making me question the swarming. With the different stages the hive would have had to have swarmed earlier than I was thinking I'm pretty sure

If this was right after you thought they swarmed, then they didn?t swarm. Usually the bees put the queen on a diet to drop her to flying weight and she slows down her laying. Once she leaves, in three days, there won?t bee any eggs at all.
How many days after they slowed down did you inspect this hive?
Jim Altmiller

[Occam]

Occam,
You say :

As for brood/eggs, the frames were looking really good actually, there were 3 frames of mostly capped brood, 4 of mixed eggs, larva, and capped, and a couple of resources. No fault in her laying, which is what's making me question the swarming. With the different stages the hive would have had to have swarmed earlier than I was thinking I'm pretty sure

If this was right after you thought they swarmed, then they didn?t swarm. Usually the bees put the queen on a diet to drop her to flying weight and she slows down her laying. Once she leaves, in three days, there won?t bee any eggs at all.
How many days after they slowed down did you inspect this hive?
Jim Altmiller

Yeah that's why I'm thinking they didn't swarm, or they swarmed much earlier than I thought. I started suspecting they swarmed 2 maybe 3 weeks ago looking at the calendar. The strength of the current population plus the egg/brood status makes me think I was wrong.

[Ben Framed]

Its a learning experience for sure, my problem is I have took in so much information that sometimes I can't seem to retain it all, or recollect it all when I would like or need tool lol 

[The15thMember]

I got a bunch of hives inspected yesterday.  I saved the mean ones for last.  When I was working their neighbors, they weren't bumping me, so I had hope that things had started to settle down in there now that they have a new queen laying.  Nope.  Stung twice and had to run for my life to get in the house without a smoker to disguise me.  They are still chasing my family around the yard this morning.  I really hope they settle down soon.   

[Occam]

I got a bunch of hives inspected yesterday.  I saved the mean ones for last.  When I was working their neighbors, they weren't bumping me, so I had hope that things had started to settle down in there now that they have a new queen laying.  Nope.  Stung twice and had to run for my life to get in the house without a smoker to disguise me.  They are still chasing my family around the yard this morning.  I really hope they settle down soon.   

That doesn't sound like a good time at all

[The15thMember]

Today I quickly checked on the most recent swarm I hived.  I was out of enough drawn comb to checkerboard them properly, so I just wanted to be sure they were drawing straight.  But everything looked perfect in there, and I even happened to see eggs and the queen!    Also, just to show how swarms are primed to draw comb, they had drawn almost 5 frames in 6 days. 

[.30WCF]

Pulled my back Sunday. I think it will be ok tomorrow, but dang it?s been tight. Like the kind of tight that locks your breath up.
I?ve got hives five boxes deep loaded with honey and when I ran out of mediums, I topped a couple with deeps.
Sunday I checked them. Nose high, fully capped, 80+ lb deeps. Needless to say I didn?t put them back in order. I need to pull honey this weekend.


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