Author Topic: Climate, weather, flow, bee activity in South Germany (Read 32959 times)

blackforest beekeeper · « **Reply #20 on:** January 10, 2019, 03:04:05 am »

well, about a foot where I got stuck. 20 cms at our place. higher up its more of course.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #21 on:** January 10, 2019, 03:49:13 am »

What kind of car do you have? I drive a Suzuki Jimny, very good offroad car and good job pulling our trailer. But little.

blackforest beekeeper · « **Reply #22 on:** January 10, 2019, 04:32:51 am »

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rover_Series

Series III, 88 inches

the bottom was scratching in the snow already and it doesn`t do curves very well, thats where I got stuck.

I will pull your Jimny away while you are trying to go the other way....

SiWolKe · « **Reply #23 on:** January 10, 2019, 04:43:07 am »

Landrover, pretty cool!

I got stuck once with my SJ, it was 60cm of snow and ice underneath, I drifted into a fence.
Put the foot mat under the tire and got away. The SJ is not so heavy which makes him good offroad.

blackforest beekeeper · « **Reply #24 on:** January 10, 2019, 05:07:18 am »

You said Jimny. An SJ is a different gadget, right`? Had one - without a license.

I guess my landy is - heavy - and when making a turn it wants to go straigth. no electronics and a pretty rough forward-machinery. otherwise its a dinosaur. still offering the bet: I`ll just pull you away, no matter what you try.

Once had a Lada Niva, went really good.

At one time I drove uphill on a gravel-forest-road to my yard. Stopped on the slope. Later got in, drove on. And while switching to scnd gear I thought: Acts kind of lame today, this car. When I was on top I noticed that I had the hand-break closed on the trailer. I had dragged it along with blocked wheels all the way....

SiWolKe · « **Reply #25 on:** January 10, 2019, 06:18:24 am »

I will call you up when I?m stuck in the black forest.

SJ is just short for Suzuki Jimny.My jimny uses 6l gas when 4wheel drive is on.

For the bee material transports we mostly use the VW Caddy longbed.It has no 4wheel drive though.

Perhaps you can visit us when we harvest trees, we don?t need a tractor then for pulling the trees out of our forest.

blackforest beekeeper · « **Reply #26 on:** January 10, 2019, 10:01:48 am »

One drawback on the Landy: It doesn`t drive well nor fast on roads....

SiWolKe · « **Reply #27 on:** January 15, 2019, 02:50:23 am »

Ok,
an update on our group`s treatment free project:

All formerly treated colonies in our project ( treated last time winter 2017/18) are dead ( about mine I do not know yet, I have 4 colonies treated as packages in early summer 2018 with oxalic).

Those colonies were local mutts ,with no exception, set on small cell comb or empty frames and kept the same way like the others.

Of those treated by sugar shakes 50% are dead.

About the more resistant queens ( elgons) and their descendants I will update. So far 2 out of 12 told by my most experienced co-worker who keeps them for 6 years tf.

Mine I don?t know yet. The woodpecker had some success on 5 hives and might have killed them. Check follows, but I have some problems listening to the hives which are isolated.

I thought I could hear them but I?m not sure if it was my own blood circulation I listened to.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #28 on:** January 25, 2019, 06:30:58 am »

After two weeks with clean floor boards I see some wax debris with 7 of my 10 elgon colonies.

It?s too cold for waxmoths or robbers ( - 6?C) so there must be some life in those boxes.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #29 on:** January 26, 2019, 11:18:48 am »

I like to try to improve my hive configuration so to have more healthy bees.

Her is a new hive I will try:

Laterally, I have mounted the insulation boards that I no longer need because I use the ventilation lid.
Into the frame construction, made of QE comes the dead wood for microbiom and scorpion.

With follower boards I can adapt the room to the colony's strength, I will restrict in winter if necessary.

I sawed off the frames below, so that the bees can extend the natural structure down into the lower medium. I stabilized with a wooden sticks.
There are still 11 frames to fit in, but I'll use maybe only 10 and leave behind the follower board a little air, then it is easier to work.

The honey room is removed in the summer after main flow, so that the bees create a large honey dome.
I can feed with half-frames behind the follower boards if I want. 2 connected half frames fit in there, or I can feed in the honey room and cover the rest of the space.

blackforest beekeeper · « **Reply #30 on:** January 27, 2019, 04:29:40 am »

Quote from: SiWolKe on January 26, 2019, 11:18:48 am

I like to try to improve my hive configuration so to have more healthy bees.

Her is a new hive I will try:

Laterally, I have mounted the insulation boards that I no longer need because I use the ventilation lid.
Into the frame construction, made of QE comes the dead wood for microbiom and scorpion.

With follower boards I can adapt the room to the colony's strength, I will restrict in winter if necessary.

I sawed off the frames below, so that the bees can extend the natural structure down into the lower medium. I stabilized with a wooden sticks.
There are still 11 frames to fit in, but I'll use maybe only 10 and leave behind the follower board a little air, then it is easier to work.

The honey room is removed in the summer after main flow, so that the bees create a large honey dome.
I can feed with half-frames behind the follower boards if I want. 2 connected half frames fit in there, or I can feed in the honey room and cover the rest of the space.

I have used wooden sticks in my first trys. was so-so.... sometimes the combs take another turn at that point.... bette rlook after what they are doing once in a while...
If I was U, I?d make longer frames myself and keep the bottombar. what you are doing mgiht cause all kinds of problems with really weird combs.
other I think these square combs would be great. I was about to do something like that but then .... everything got too big and I had to resort to frames I could buy in a pinch.

Why not the Mellifera? Would suit your way of handling bees better, I would think.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #31 on:** January 27, 2019, 04:54:33 am »

You have to put in one frame at a time then it works fine.
I once provided a swarm with a whole box of empty farmes.
All frames were built straight and beautifully except two which were fixed to one another.
But I want to risk this.
I thought about putting a medium under with medium frames but I don?t want the gap. My modified frames have those thick bars which are blocking the cluster too much.
This works fine if you don?t want to use a QE, because the bees stay in the broodbox, but it is hard for the winter cluster to move up.

I have purchased so much stuff in 2015, when I had some money, I rather use it and change it to my liking.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #32 on:** January 27, 2019, 04:56:30 am »

It?s not a setting for a beekeepers who migrates.

This hives will weigh tons....when filled.

blackforest beekeeper · « **Reply #33 on:** January 27, 2019, 11:43:51 am »

the combs will break easier, too.
I wanted to suggest only adding one frame at a time, but thought you might not want it.
great idea for the bees! If I was steady (not migrating), I would probably do this, too. Maybe not 10 frames, but... depends on location.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #34 on:** January 27, 2019, 12:28:51 pm »

As you can see in the picts, I plan not to interfere much in the big brood box in future, about swarm season I do not know yet, perhaps I go on making splits before they want to swarm, perhaps I try to catch the swarms or lure them into a bait box.

First try will be with a shooked swarm and old queen, because of the new frame setting.

blackforest beekeeper · « **Reply #35 on:** January 31, 2019, 03:49:38 pm »

Winter came to sit on us.
For a few weeks we have snow piling up. One day it felt like 50 cm during the day. Snow-blower broke down....

It?s somewhat cold to my feels - around 0 C during the day, -5 or -7 during the nights. Pretty steadily for some weeks now. It may still get colder, - 15 C at nights can happen. Rarely colder.
I WISHED for a warm spell so they could go for a cleansing flight. The pine honey is hard on their bladder. Colonies may die if they can?t get relieve.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #36 on:** February 09, 2019, 04:08:24 am »

Warm foen weather yesterday.
I visited the buckfast package bees ( lastly treated with oxalic by the seller, in june).
They live and fly for water or make cleansing flights. They pulled out the dead.
No flow yet to speak and a cold spell coming. Propolis can be collected.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #37 on:** February 10, 2019, 08:39:48 am »

Checked the floor boards. Too cold and windy to open up.
7 of my 10 elgon hives seem to be still alive.

A cold spell coming.

blackforest beekeeper · « **Reply #38 on:** February 10, 2019, 09:59:07 am »

wasn`t enough for a cleansing flight this time. so I stayed home and left the bees alone.

SiWolKe · « **Reply #39 on:** February 10, 2019, 11:15:12 am »

Quote from: blackforest beekeeper on February 10, 2019, 09:59:07 am

wasn`t enough for a cleansing flight this time. so I stayed home and left the bees alone.

The last cleansing flight was friday. The boxes and the lids are very spotty with poop.. Hope this will not be a problem to them.