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Author Topic: operation golden bee  (Read 6243 times)

Offline crispy

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #20 on: October 01, 2020, 02:55:52 am »
Well that didnt work out very well did it !

Offline crispy

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #21 on: October 01, 2020, 03:00:29 am »
Hmmmm thats frustrating

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #22 on: October 05, 2020, 05:57:39 pm »
I believe there would be high value for you to go back to your thread called   -transfer done-   and review my response/comments #9 about the disruptions of nuc transfers and apply those learnings. For the first month of a nuc or package, you have to be inspecting once a week 8 days or less between visits, and be destroying those queen cups and queen cells when you see them. Else you will have a new virgin queen soon emerge which will kill the laying queen that is in there. Nucs are much quicker to get stable and established than a package.  However, they are not hands off.  The beekeeper still has to beekeep, taking action.

This new thread here sounds to me like you are headed down the same path as the first nuc, without having corrected the method or expectations.  So we can potentially expect the same end result, queen gone / no queen.


« Last Edit: October 06, 2020, 11:53:10 am by TheHoneyPump »
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline crispy

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #23 on: October 07, 2020, 02:25:54 am »
Hi thehoneypump if you look at the series of photos i have placed in the first one you can actually see the cell i am talking about 2/3 of the way down the frame , i have been inspecting the frames about every 4 days when i change the sugar syrup and to that effect i believe i found what looked like 3 more partially built queen cells as i didnt have my amera with me at the time i was unable to get any photos to show what i had found to more experienced keepers such as yourself to get some advice hwever i will be changing the syrup again on friday as specified by the breeder so i shall endevoure to take some snaps of what i find when i do the inspection . .   

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #24 on: October 07, 2020, 10:21:26 am »
Chrispy,
Inspecting a hive every 4 days is not good. The bees will blame the queen, especially a new one, on the disruption of the hive. When you have a new queen you need to give her at least 3 weeks to prove she is a good queen by establishing a good brood pattern.
I recommend that from then on inspect every other week. Have a plan and when you reach that goal get out.
Jim Altmiller
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 TheHoneyPump

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operation golden bee
« Reply #25 on: October 07, 2020, 11:31:40 am »
I agree with Jim.  4 days is a bit short.  But if the beekeeper is not doing anything disruptive and not spending alot of time with the hive open (quick checks) it is fine no harm is done.  On the other end, anything over 10 days is too long as the bees can easily develop a queen cell and cap it by day 10 since the last visit. If the beekeeper waits much beyond 10 days he/she may return to find the queen gone and a virgin emerging or running around in there.  That is the situation I am hoping to help you avoid by my comments. Destroy the cells when you see them. Do not leave them.
It is ideal to catch and destroy cells when they are lengthened and are easy to identify but before they are capped. Because once capped the bees mode changes. Hence I advise the once a week inspection (7 to 8 days) schedule for 6 weeks on new builds. Later on an established hive, I may not inspect for over a month for most of the year.  During buildup swarm season or any new build I advise to look in there every week.
So, Destroy the queen cells when you see them. Do not leave them.  Later on when the hive is well established, beyond 8 weeks out the dynamics will be different and the advice about the cells may change. For now, in the early stages help that queen build stability in her nest without risk of rogue rivalries by eliminating all queen cells when you see them.

Hope that helps!
« Last Edit: October 07, 2020, 11:43:44 am by TheHoneyPump »
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline crispy

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #26 on: October 08, 2020, 01:01:25 am »
Hi guys hows this for a plan ,i will change the syrup on saturday morning and not enter the hive other than that wont check anything just leave it alone , i will change the syrup again the following wednesday approx 4 days between changes so that will be around 8 days .On the wednesday i will check the frames and change the syrup again the breeder told me to feed them for about 4 weeks and i have some pollen patties coming today as they devowered two in a week or thereabouts .The queen is apperently a late season one from last year as with fires ect queens are in short supply at the moment from good breeders and i think a lot of the pros have bought most of the stocks possibility of more around january 2021 .
I was reading a bit about the sucesion of a queen how the bees will succeed a queen if she is not a good layer or if she is old so i am wondering if this may be why they have made these cells i know a queen is supposed to last up to 5 years from what i have read but to be honest i do not know how old this queen really is after seeing the laying pattern compared to others i have seen she is a bit lazy i think and maybe the bees have said shape up or your out i dont know but i am hesitant to cut out new queen cells rather let the bees do there thing and sort it out what are your opinions ?

Offline Garigal

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #27 on: October 08, 2020, 02:47:02 am »
I think you need to just leave them alone and let them get on with it to be honest.

Can you see bees foraging because I wouldn?t be feeding them if they are, especially pollen patties as they are a magnet for small hive beetle.

If they are in a corflute nuc give them some shade it?s going to be warm in Adelaide looking at the weather forecast.

Offline crispy

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #28 on: October 08, 2020, 03:06:03 am »
Hi carigal they are in a proper hive super now transfered them the day after i got them home ,they have plenty of access to water via a bird bath and also there own private watering station that i made up saterday . With the feeding i can only go by what the breeder told me to do sugar syrup changed every 3/4 days and pollen patties for the first 4 weeks ,they are foraging ,in fact there is a traffic jam at the entrance to get in and out got bullets flying everywhere but this could be because we have had crap weather the last 2 days rain and more rain ,sun shine now and they are going bunta , i am going to stick with what i said in my last post 8 days before i touch the brood again i cant think like a bee and its there hive so ill leave them to it, it will go one way or the other after next week only one more week to worry about sugar syrup changing    

Offline TheHoneyPump

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operation golden bee
« Reply #29 on: October 09, 2020, 12:30:10 pm »
I like your plan crispy.  However, please do go in and check for and destroy all evidence of queen cells on saturday.  Switch to an 8 day inspection schedule after saturday.  Else, you risk being caught off guard by a rogue Q later by neglecting a look in on saturday.
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline crispy

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #30 on: October 09, 2020, 09:23:29 pm »
Hi all well went in this morning with the intention f not disturbing the nest but my curiosity got the better of me ,changed the sugar syrup over and one thing i did find was dead bees in the tubes not many but a few wether they had just lost there footing and fallen in i dont know and as y luck would have it i forgot my bloody camera again .
Anyway upon checking the frames the queen has started to lay well lots of larvae and god capped brood now the queen cells i thought i saw i could only find 2 one uncapped with nothing in it and the other to be truthfull looking at it it doesnt look big enough to be a queen cell it isnt a drone cell but what i am thinking is perhaps there has been a defect in the drawn comb and they have combined 2/3 worker cells ,the reason i say this as from photos and seeing other queen breeders the cell would need to be larger an more scaley looking this one just looks like an oversized worker cell bigger than a drone cell but smaller than a queen .
Anyway after this inspection i am happy with what i saw i may leave it more than 4 weeks before adding another super as although the hive has a fair amount of bees i don't think they would be strong enough to start filling a second super yet ,the weather is looking good for the next week and a friend who owns a shop has got bottle brush in flower and they were going nuts yesterday on them my bees were also going crazy with traffic jams at the entrance to the hive time will tell if i have done the right thing ,   

Offline Bee North

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #31 on: October 10, 2020, 02:40:35 am »
Good news Crispy!
Have you seen her majesty yet?
Also...keep in mind queen cells are not always obvious.

Offline crispy

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #32 on: October 10, 2020, 03:30:34 am »
Hi bee north no havent seen her yet but to be honest im not really looking for her but i do wish she was marked would make it so much easier ,did do a video today of the bees activity but dont think i would be able to post it not that technically minded , a rethink of my water feeder is due as i plucked 4 bees out of the water today all survived after drying off put some corks in as well ,im thinking i willget some of the pebbles and fill up the pot base and then raise the water level to just below them that way the bees can walk down the rocks and drink without falling in and drowning ,when ive done it ill post a photo .

Offline Garigal

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #33 on: October 10, 2020, 07:42:34 am »
A tray of damp sand will allow them to collect water without drowning.

Offline crispy

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Re: operation golden bee
« Reply #34 on: October 11, 2020, 03:07:18 am »
Thanks carigal they like the bird bath they balance on the edge and drink away none have fallen in yet so thats a bonus  ,they do hang around for a while after they have finished drinking i think they are phsycing themselves up to fly back with a gut full of water .

 

anything