Post by: Donovan J on September 21, 2022, 01:32:42 pm
Post by: TheHoneyPump on September 21, 2022, 05:17:51 pm
The only thing I would change is about when to go check them. Give them 7 to 10 days before you go dig in. But not more than 12. Reason to wait a bit longer is at the 7-10 day point they will have cleaned themselves up, repaired the critical areas of damage, and .. it will be easy and very clear to know if they are queenrite. Queen = nice new patches of eggs and young juicy larvae. No queen = only capped brood and nice patches of emergency queen cells capped everywhere. If you go in sooner, you will have to look around lot more and work harder to find what you are trying to figure out (queen or no). More that 12 days you risk missing the window to -manage- the recovery by havoc of multiple emerged virgins running around causing chaos .
Other than that, manage the hive the same as and no different than any other hive in your apiary. If they need feed, the. feed now. No need to wait for after the inspection.
Hope that helps!
Post by: The15thMember on September 21, 2022, 07:23:02 pm
Post by: BeeMaster2 on September 21, 2022, 10:47:26 pm
You will definitely need a strong, minimum 5 mile electric fence to stop that bear. When you set it up, make sure you use an eight foot ground rod and hang a piece of lunch meat or 2 on the Elecrtic wire. My bear never returned after finding it. When they bite it, they not only get a shock, it will also light up their brain which gives them a bright white flash on light in their eyes like you would not believe as well as a bad shock to the heart. As a retired electronics technician, I know how bad it can bee.
Jim Altmiller
Post by: Michael Bush on September 22, 2022, 06:54:07 am
Post by: Donovan J on September 22, 2022, 01:36:17 pm
Sorry to hear about the bear attack. I?ve been in your shoes. You were lucky. Bears usually go for the brood first for the protein.Yeah I'll be sure to put one up before moving them back. I'll probably overwinter them at their current location because it's well inside city limits so very very low chance of another bear attack. I have the 2:1 syrup on them to give them a boost and to start replenishing stores for the upcoming winter
You will definitely need a strong, minimum 5 mile electric fence to stop that bear. When you set it up, make sure you use an eight foot ground rod and hang a piece of lunch meat or 2 on the Elecrtic wire. My bear never returned after finding it. When they bite it, they not only get a shock, it will also light up their brain which gives them a bright white flash on light in their eyes like you would not believe as well as a bad shock to the heart. As a retired electronics technician, I know how bad it can bee.
Jim Altmiller
Post by: Donovan J on October 05, 2022, 01:37:12 pm
Post by: The15thMember on October 05, 2022, 02:07:02 pm
Update: Checked the hive yesterday and there were queen cells. Put apivar straps in and closed them up. Sadly the queen died in the attack but they're taking action on the saved brood. My next question is, is it too late for her to mate? I live in Northern California and we're still getting temps up to 90? so I would assume there's still time for her to get mated. And if she can't will they be able to make it through the winter with a virgin queen?The question is less about the temperature and more about if you have drones around. Are you seeing any?
Post by: Donovan J on October 05, 2022, 02:11:34 pm
During the inspection I saw drones and there's plenty of hives in the area so they're still flying aroundUpdate: Checked the hive yesterday and there were queen cells. Put apivar straps in and closed them up. Sadly the queen died in the attack but they're taking action on the saved brood. My next question is, is it too late for her to mate? I live in Northern California and we're still getting temps up to 90? so I would assume there's still time for her to get mated. And if she can't will they be able to make it through the winter with a virgin queen?The question is less about the temperature and more about if you have drones around. Are you seeing any?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 05, 2022, 03:21:39 pm
Post by: Kathyp on October 05, 2022, 04:06:06 pm
Sorry that happened to you, but as you bear proof remember the other critters in the neighborhood that can be equally destructive. Maybe you can proof against all of them at the same time.
Fortunately you probably have some good weather still ahead so if you can get queen right and they have enough food hopefully you'll salvage them.
Post by: iddee on October 05, 2022, 05:18:06 pm
Post by: Michael Bush on October 06, 2022, 06:45:11 am
Post by: TheHoneyPump on October 06, 2022, 12:24:48 pm
Update: Checked the hive yesterday and there were queen cells. Put apivar straps in and closed them up. Sadly the queen died in the attack but they're taking action on the saved brood. My next question is, is it too late for her to mate? I live in Northern California and we're still getting temps up to 90? so I would assume there's still time for her to get mated. And if she can't will they be able to make it through the winter with a virgin queen?
It depends ... ;) Yes, if the bee population age is young enough they will make it through winter just fine. She would emerge in the spring as a drone layer or a laying worker hive. Now ... looking at your location of California, you do not really get any winter to speak of (by my standard); the hive dynamics will be different in your conditions.
So what you should do is give her 24-28 days from now to see a laying queen. If you do not see nice egg pattern by then, buy a mated queen to get the hive restarted or combine it with another hive at that time. The recovery window by then will be small because the bees will be old, so either buy the queen now or have your source picked and ready for if needed. ..
Looking at where we are at on the bee calendar and the fact that queens will be low and slow laying for the next couple months, even a new queen. ... Really, you should just call it a loss now and combine them with another hive. You can split them out in the Spring when they are ramping up, to get your hive numbers back then.
Hope that helps!
Post by: NigelP on October 06, 2022, 02:42:16 pm
Post by: Donovan J on October 06, 2022, 03:06:15 pm
I don't have any other hives to combine with so this is it. We've got about a month before cooler temps arrive starting the very short winter so I'm thinking if I can feed as much as possible and get them a mated queen they'll be set for winterUpdate: Checked the hive yesterday and there were queen cells. Put apivar straps in and closed them up. Sadly the queen died in the attack but they're taking action on the saved brood. My next question is, is it too late for her to mate? I live in Northern California and we're still getting temps up to 90? so I would assume there's still time for her to get mated. And if she can't will they be able to make it through the winter with a virgin queen?
It depends ... ;) Yes, if the bee population age is young enough they will make it through winter just fine. She would emerge in the spring as a drone layer or a laying worker hive. Now ... looking at your location of California, you do not really get any winter to speak of (by my standard); the hive dynamics will be different in your conditions.
So what you should do is give her 24-28 days from now to see a laying queen. If you do not see nice egg pattern by then, buy a mated queen to get the hive restarted or combine it with another hive at that time. The recovery window by then will be small because the bees will be old, so either buy the queen now or have your source picked and ready for if needed. ..
Looking at where we are at on the bee calendar and the fact that queens will be low and slow laying for the next couple months, even a new queen. ... Really, you should just call it a loss now and combine them with another hive. You can split them out in the Spring when they are ramping up, to get your hive numbers back then.
Hope that helps!
Post by: Ben Framed on October 06, 2022, 04:59:20 pm
Have a hive with a new queen, she should have been mated several weeks ago, still no brood although they are still leaving her room and polished cells. I know she is/was there as saw her a few weeks ago, so reluctant to combine to another hive with a known queen present. Tried, but cannot currently spot her.....so I'm calling it a loss. Here in UK we are at last calls before our damp mild winters, little flying activity.
Nigel, I have a question. IF you decide to combine after 'calling it a loss' and there 'is' an unseen queen in the hive, will the bees from the hive to be combined with kill her. And just as importantly will the queen in the hive to be combined with be killed by this hive when combined? In other words, is there a chance you could wind up in a situation with 'both' hives queenless in that type of scenario? Can you purchase a proven laying queen in your area?
Phillip
Post by: NigelP on October 07, 2022, 04:30:38 am
Not a major worry as I have 20+ hives to overwinter so potential loss of one is no big deal.
Plus as there are no winter bees in this hive it's simply not worth taking too much effort over them, will let them take their due course.
Post by: Jim134 on October 07, 2022, 05:31:56 am
BEE HAPPY Jim134 😊
Post by: Michael Bush on October 07, 2022, 06:46:07 am
Post by: TheHoneyPump on October 07, 2022, 11:26:51 am
x2If cannot find her, you could combine with a queen excluder and give the bees time to sort it out. They will keep which of the two queens they like and dispatch the other (if there is another). It would take a week or so for that to happen. Then you could go back and remove the excluder.
However, the better decision may be as you say -take the loss- Let them run the course. You will either end up with a weak queenrite hive or old laying worker hive to shake out later.
All three scenarios are equally probable outcomes ..
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 07, 2022, 12:30:35 pm
Jim Altmiller
Post by: NigelP on October 07, 2022, 02:04:56 pm
If cannot find her, you could combine with a queen excluder and give the bees time to sort it out. T
All good advice, appreciated. But to my mind simply not worth the effort to save some bees that only have weeks to live anyway. It will only increase mouths to feed in another hive for no positive gain for the colony. Harsh on my part, but practical and IF she does start laying......well we shall see.
To keep in line with original thread, had a squirrel gnawing my hives. We came to the same agreement as your bear, albeit with an air rifle. :)
Post by: Ben Framed on October 07, 2022, 09:43:33 pm
Phillip
Post by: Jim134 on October 08, 2022, 03:55:44 am
BEE HAPPY Jim134 😊
Post by: Donovan J on October 18, 2022, 06:54:12 pm
Post by: TheHoneyPump on October 19, 2022, 05:39:59 pm
CONGRATS !
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 19, 2022, 07:59:37 pm
Glad it worked out.
Jim Altmiller
Post by: Ben Framed on October 20, 2022, 12:44:09 pm
Phillip