Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Acebird on March 19, 2023, 04:08:44 pm
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For Reference
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LJfmmLzycDWjKtP96
Moving the hives to my place went pretty smoothly thanks to my tractor and utility trailer. Getting the bees out of the long box and into my medium Langstroth equipment was not so easy. The hive was a mess, which I expected. First of all the craftsmanship of the box was sub par. Doesn't matter to the bees but it sure makes it hard on the beekeeper. The frames were spaced anywhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch apart and it was packed with bees. The frames were a mixture of capped brood and honey on the same frame and with the poor spacing, honey was way out past the bearers.
I have all medium equipment so that meant I had to make a 3 in shim to accommodate the deep frames. That was easy. The problem was the long box was made 2 in deeper than the frames so I had to shave the comb off the bottom of the frames before I could put them in the Lang hive. I am hoping I can get the bees to go up and abandon the deep frames in the future. I don't know how well that will work in southern FL.
So far I have one hive transferred taking on five stings to the hands. We won't have good weather until Thursday to take on the other hive. Maybe my hands will be back to normal by then. :angry: Wish me luck.
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I suppose you will put an empty medium box with frames under the shimmed deep framed box, then migrate the deep higher up, into honey production as the queen moves the brood nest down into your medium box at the base?
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Nice to see you back in the game, Ace! :grin:
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I suppose you will put an empty medium box with frames under the shimmed deep framed box, then migrate the deep higher up, into honey production as the queen moves the brood nest down into your medium box at the base?
I always did it the opposite way up north. Your way sounds like a PITA lifting a full deep to get the mediums underneath and then not being able to see what is going on in the new box. Is there not a time when the bees migrate the nest up in the south? It was very common in the spring up north.
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Nice to see you back in the game, Ace! :grin:
We will see for how long...
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Update:
The second hive has been transferred over. Waiting for the stragglers to abandon the long box. This hive is a mixture of medium and deep frames that were checkerboarded. Bees are still testy. I hope that calms down.
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So how the hives doing Ace? Glad to see your back with it. keep us posted, im rooting for you.
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https://photos.app.goo.gl/8TSvDMzVdwUmMuFq5
Hi Bill, thanks for the confidence. They are less testy but I still have 100-200 bees spending the night in the corner of the second box that is left open. They don't appear to be building any comb but during the day there is a lot of traffic between this box and the one they were transferred to. If the queen is there seems like they would all go to the box. Two queens? One in the transferred box and one in this one. I looked when the box was near empty and didn't see a queen but maybe there was one. Only other thing I can think of is a queen cell that was shaved off a deep frame the day I transferred. Wouldn't seem like it would survive. IDK
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And I am trying to drive the few remaining bees out of a box and they won't go.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1JMt8br5t4p3P8gW9
Beekeeping was so much easier up north. :sad:
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Use a light spray of bee quick on the wood below them. Or just use your smoker to drive them out.
Jim Altmiller
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@Acebird where are you trying to drive or relocate them to?
Just because you know does not mean they know where you want them to go.
Just scoop them up in your hand and place them where you need them. If a little unsure of using your hand and piece of cardboard or pop bottle with the top cut off will work just fine.
After relocating them be sure to remove the hive box they are in so they will not have anywhere to come back to. If these are nurse bees most have never even took flight before and are unsure of what to do themselves.
edit: could put a frame of comb back into the hive for them to climb onto, and then move the frame to new location.
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Jim's comment in another thread:
Use a light spray of bee quick on the wood below them. Or just use your smoker to drive them out.
I don't like using chemicals and I have found that when bees don't want to move no amount of smoke will make them. They just get angry.
G3Farms comment in another thread:
If these are nurse bees most have never even took flight before and are unsure of what to do themselves.
When the frames were transferred to another box almost all these bees were out. They came back to this box so they had to fly.
My concern is that there is a queen in the clump and I don't want to just shove them in the transferred box if there is. It has been almost a week since they were transferred. This is a new one for me. I have never seen bees stay in an open box for so long with nothing in it.
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Update: I put a medium box with frames and foundation, some drawn comb, above the long box. I saw some pollen brought in so they are feeding something. Maybe laying workers. As an observation hive they are not normal. Haven't looked at the other hives yet. They appear to be happy.
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I still have about 200 bees from the swarm I hived (from the Lyons thread). Started at about 500 dumped them 3 times, and the boxes are gone, what comes back are now just balled up on the edge of the pallet.
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Maybe ...
I thought about moving the long box out but I think I am too late now. Probably should have done it when I transferred the hive but I was concerned that I didn't get the queen moved over.
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Do what G3 says. Fischer's beequick is mostly almond extract, used in the kitchen every day. Yes, you do use chemicals. Water is a chemical. Mainly, remove their original home so they will be more willing to accept a new one. I use a cat litter scoop. NEW ONE, of course. :tongue:
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I think they have gone up in the medium box. I just need a chance to move both boxes and the second hive to the final position alongside the first hive.