BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > NATURAL & ORGANIC BEEKEEPING METHODS
Planning for year two
The15thMember:
--- Quote from: Bobbee on November 03, 2020, 04:13:51 pm ---This conversation is a great help. In going into detail like this and explaining my ideas to more experienced beekeepers I hope to learn enough to do better next year The problem being a new beekeeper is most of what I know is still book learning. The only practical experience I have had is this past year and that did not end so well.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, it can be a steep learning curve with bees. There are just so many different bees, climates, and styles of beekeeping, and in the end the only people who can really tell you what to do or not do are you and your bees. Once you get over the hump of knowing enough about how to keep the bees alive, and how to make more if you want/need them, it becomes easier I've found. There is always more to learn with bees, which is one of my favorite things about them. :smile:
--- Quote from: Bobbee on November 03, 2020, 04:13:51 pm --- The 60 days is approximately the time between when I can get the package of bees near the end of March and when I can get the queen.
This year >http://saskatraz.com/< started selling production queens in early June.If however I end up with a good queen in the package then after 60 days when the new queen arrives I might be able to have two small nucs going from one package.If there are enough bees and brood.
--- End quote ---
I see, that makes sense. At this point, I'm going to have to say, "I'm not sure". I'm not experienced enough myself to give advice on whether 60 days is too soon to split, and I'm willing to bet that, as with most beekeeping questions, the answer is going to be, "It depends".
cao:
--- Quote from: Bobbee on November 03, 2020, 04:13:51 pm ---This conversation is a great help. In going into detail like this and explaining my ideas to more experienced beekeepers I hope to learn enough to do better next year The problem being a new beekeeper is most of what I know is still book learning. The only practical experience I have had is this past year and that did not end so well.
The 60 days is approximately the time between when I can get the package of bees near the end of March and when I can get the queen.
This year >http://saskatraz.com/< started selling production queens in early June.If however I end up with a good queen in the package then after 60 days when the new queen arrives I might be able to have two small nucs going from one package.If there are enough bees and brood.
--- End quote ---
I would say that would be pushing it on splitting the package. Remember that at best your package is losing bees the first 3 weeks until the first brood hatches. And I would say that it would take another 3 weeks to get back to the original numbers. At the 60 day mark, you might have enough brood to make a small nuc provided that there was not a setback with the package replacing the original queen. Like I said not impossible but everything need to go your way. If you are going this route and can afford it, I would get 2 packages and take some from both to make your nuc for the new queen.
Acebird:
--- Quote from: Bobbee on November 03, 2020, 12:37:18 pm ---I don't have the experience or knowledge to know if this is a good idea.
--- End quote ---
My thoughts:
There are many things a beekeeper can do and have success but the first step is to have success. I see in posts many newbies struggle because they read something in a book or on line and fail to make it happen. It is not because what they read is wrong it is more because they try things without having the experience to know if they are doing it right or they did something else at the same time and that changed the result.
My philosophy:
Bees don't need humans, they really don't. Experimentation is best done when you have multiple hives that you can afford to lose. Much of the learning about bees is watching and observing not doing.
Good luck.
Bob Wilson:
--- Quote from: The15thMember on November 03, 2020, 05:02:24 pm ---... and in the end the only people who can really tell you what to do or not do are you and your bees.
--- End quote ---
15Member. Great point. After all is said and done, it is the bees who become our teachers.
Bobbee. Do not forget about swarm boxes. I have found it very easy and very rewarding to catch swarms. These are smaller bees, have never had varroa treatment and so are completely organic. They have proven their capability of thriving in your location without mite treatment. All it costs is a couple of cheap made boxes (or spare deeps) with a plywood top, a few empty frames, and some lemon grass oil. If you put them up in February and they catch nothing that year... then what did you lose? Nothing. Take them down in September and put them back up again the next spring.
BUT... if you DO catch a swarm... then you have the equivalent of a very strong nuc of bees, with a strong queen ready to lay eggs, which came through the last winter thriving without any treaments, and these "packages" of bees arrive free in your swarm boxes, year after year.
The15thMember:
--- Quote from: Bob Wilson on November 06, 2020, 11:31:43 am ---BUT... if you DO catch a swarm... then you have the equivalent of a very strong nuc of bees, with a strong queen ready to lay eggs, which came through the last winter thriving without any treaments, and these "packages" of bees arrive free in your swarm boxes, year after year.
--- End quote ---
This is true provided that the swarm did in fact come from a feral colony. If you catch a swarm from another beekeeper, or worse an abscond from another beekeeper, the results will of course vary. I caught a swarm last spring that literally just sat in the box. The queen barely laid, the bees didn't draw, and they were extremely lethargic. I ended up euthanizing them. Swarms are great, don't get me wrong; free bees are always good, but depending on your location the quality of swarms will vary greatly, and I look at them as a roll of the dice. Some will be great, some won't.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version