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Author Topic: Hot Hives  (Read 10418 times)

Offline Barhopper

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #20 on: April 02, 2017, 09:49:29 pm »
I'm guessing that hives that big are a southern phenomenon - with the longer season the bees just keep building up. Here in New England (granted, I'm only in my 5th year as a beek), I've ever only had two deeps with supers on top for honey. Three mediums never get top to bottom full of brood in the bottom two boxes.
I would have to agree on the southern thing. I split two hives last week for the second time. This winter was nonexistent and the bees just burped once for less than a month the started rolling again hard in January. I getting tired of splitting. Never thought those words would come out of my mouth.

Offline tjc1

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #21 on: April 02, 2017, 09:56:31 pm »
Three mediums never get top to bottom full of brood in the bottom two boxes.

Well, how could that be?  The nest is an oval.  They don't get top to bottom full of brood in two deeps either.

Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I meant that the bottom-most box has often had some empty frames in mid summer. I should have said 'fully used'.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #22 on: April 03, 2017, 01:06:58 pm »
I'm guessing that hives that big are a southern phenomenon - with the longer season the bees just keep building up. Here in New England (granted, I'm only in my 5th year as a beek), I've ever only had two deeps with supers on top for honey. Three mediums never get top to bottom full of brood in the bottom two boxes.
There is a guy in the Tampa area that has pulled 400 pounds of honey per year from each of his 4 hives and sells it for $10 a pound. If I could do that I would have 50 hives and quit my day job. That 's
$200,000 a year in sales.
Jim
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Offline GSF

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #23 on: April 03, 2017, 02:39:46 pm »
Dang Jim, that's impressive. It's also a lot of work :wink: I have heard before that if a hive gets big they get mean. Of course I have plenty of hives that just got started that don't even have a full medium and they are plenty mean. My meanest hive is also my biggest most populated hive. It's 3 8f deeps that I "think" is brood, with one medium on top.
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #24 on: April 03, 2017, 07:36:55 pm »
That info came from our bee inspector right after they set the dollar limit on how much you can make as a hobbyist. He had full documentation on how much he collected and sold.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
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Offline 10framer

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #25 on: April 03, 2017, 09:19:27 pm »
Too much honey???

If you have no interest in selling honey ... Let me rephrase that, if you have no interest in the work required to sell honey then yes you can get too much with three hives.

i went through a double deep yesterday that was top to bottom full of brood except for the very outside frames.  i pulled 5 frames of brood and made a ten frame split and added a medium as well as 5 deep frames of foundation back to the original hive.  i bought the queens for that yard spring before last and i'm beating my head agains a wall trying to remember who i got them from.  they were all heavy layers. 

Offline sc-bee

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #26 on: April 04, 2017, 08:32:37 am »
i bought the queens for that yard spring before last and i'm beating my head agains a wall trying to remember who i got them from.  they were all heavy layers.

and I am waiting to hear  :wink:
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Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #27 on: April 04, 2017, 09:20:29 am »
I'm guessing that hives that big are a southern phenomenon - with the longer season the bees just keep building up. Here in New England (granted, I'm only in my 5th year as a beek), I've ever only had two deeps with supers on top for honey. Three mediums never get top to bottom full of brood in the bottom two boxes.
There is a guy in the Tampa area that has pulled 400 pounds of honey per year from each of his 4 hives and sells it for $10 a pound. If I could do that I would have 50 hives and quit my day job. That 's
$200,000 a year in sales.
Jim

What do they feed on? I am just hoping to get 30 pounds of honey this year

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #28 on: April 04, 2017, 01:04:17 pm »
I'm guessing that hives that big are a southern phenomenon - with the longer season the bees just keep building up. Here in New England (granted, I'm only in my 5th year as a beek), I've ever only had two deeps with supers on top for honey. Three mediums never get top to bottom full of brood in the bottom two boxes.
There is a guy in the Tampa area that has pulled 400 pounds of honey per year from each of his 4 hives and sells it for $10 a pound. If I could do that I would have 50 hives and quit my day job. That 's
$200,000 a year in sales.
Jim

What do they feed on? I am just hoping to get 30 pounds of honey this year
A lot of different things. He removed honey 5 times in one year. Time to move to Tampa.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline 10framer

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #29 on: April 04, 2017, 03:27:17 pm »
i expect in the tampa area you have about 9 months of some kind of flow, don't you?  a few hives in a subdivision would probably do well between ornamentals and everything else available.

Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #30 on: April 04, 2017, 03:40:31 pm »
I'm guessing that hives that big are a southern phenomenon - with the longer season the bees just keep building up. Here in New England (granted, I'm only in my 5th year as a beek), I've ever only had two deeps with supers on top for honey. Three mediums never get top to bottom full of brood in the bottom two boxes.
There is a guy in the Tampa area that has pulled 400 pounds of honey per year from each of his 4 hives and sells it for $10 a pound. If I could do that I would have 50 hives and quit my day job. That 's
$200,000 a year in sales.
Jim

What do they feed on? I am just hoping to get 30 pounds of honey this year
A lot of different things. He removed honey 5 times in one year. Time to move to Tampa.
Jim

That is wild. Around here talking to old time beeks we get a fall and a spring flow and that is the only time you can get honey unless you move your hives around.

Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #31 on: April 04, 2017, 06:08:34 pm »
Funny that I have been commenting on this thread. Just walked out to my bee hive while on the phone talking to my mom and said what hit my hat. Took the hat off and a bee popped me in my forearm kinda of. I don't remember getting stung but there is a mark. Fun times.

Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #32 on: April 04, 2017, 06:37:57 pm »
I was probably 40 yards away and it hit me in the head first. It was odd because normally my bees never bother me. Do you think the bees are turning hot or was it just an odd coincidence? If they are getting hot I have to move them further away as they are near a person's house, my garden, and my place of employment. I can't have random people getting stung.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #33 on: April 04, 2017, 10:47:20 pm »
BW,
A few years ago I had a hive that once a week a bee would come out and sting me right between the eyes. This went on for about a month or more. Then I moved them to my farm and shortly after that they swarmed. I used the bucket bump trick and was covered in bees. Not abnormal but this swarm tore me up. Stung me un countable times in the head. I have dropped a lot of swarms all over me, with no protection, without being stung.
If they are near your neighbors, I would move them
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #34 on: April 05, 2017, 03:26:16 pm »
They are not super near the neighbors or work but about 60 yards away. I am going to see their reaction a few more times as I go out there, not today though because of the weather, and then see if this was not a one off event or if I did not startle one by stepping on it or something.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #35 on: April 05, 2017, 04:30:49 pm »
What I would like to know is if you are away from the hives and get tagged by a bee how do you know which hive it came from?  I had that problem two years ago.  Never did figure out which hive it was or even if it was mine.
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Offline bwallace23350

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #36 on: April 05, 2017, 04:58:16 pm »
I just have one hive where I am at. I know which one it came from.

Offline minz

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #37 on: April 05, 2017, 05:11:50 pm »
I got a hot one!  I stole all of their brood for queen castles last summer and this spring I took their honey for some of the weaker ones. The hive is still twice as strong as the next-they fly in the rain. Just ugly to work. Last year they were stinging the road workers. They get too strong the chase me back into the house. I know which one it is because my pants and gloves are covered with stingers when I work it.
My plan is to use if for a cell builder or to move it to an out yard
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Offline jalentour

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #38 on: April 05, 2017, 07:49:45 pm »
They may be hot because they are over crowded. 

Offline GSF

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Re: Hot Hives
« Reply #39 on: April 06, 2017, 08:37:54 am »
how do you know which hive it came from? I do one of two things, wearing a suit I'll blow on the entrance. If they bolt out in numbers and land on your veil then that's probably it. The other thing is just open the inner cover, they'll let you know :)
When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you - then you know your nation is doomed.