Author Topic: I?ve been offered a hive! (Read 4615 times)

LizzieBee · « **on:** January 29, 2019, 08:47:52 pm »

I just got offered a hive! It?s apparently four boxes tall (I don?t know the demensions and I haven?t seen any pictures yet). The beekeeper has had it for five years, and he?s just tired of it. He said they?re Africanized, and very calm. But my gardener said he looked at the hive and the bees appeared to be very dark colored... so I guess he?s wrong on them being Africanized (I?ve seen they are more golden colored) they must be something else or maybe the original queen five years ago was Africanized. He also said they swarm each year.

What questions should I ask before getting the hive? It sounds like a strong, healthy hive, so for right now I?m thinking yes, I will get it.

My questions to him so far are about the demensions of the boxes, what company he bought them from, and if he treated for mites.

Any other ideas?

I?m so excited!

Lizzie

iddee · « **Reply #1 on:** January 29, 2019, 09:16:00 pm »

My only question would be, ""When can I open them up and look at them". Then make arrangements to move them. If you can open them and go through a few brood frames under the honey without being eaten alive, take them home.

PS. Please be more specific on your location. If you are in San Diego, my advice will be different than if you are in Redding. Change your profile to give us an idea of your climate.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 29, 2019, 09:39:00 pm »

I would ask him what he has been treating them with. I would also ask him why he says they are Africanized Honey Bees. If he is getting out of the bees business, I would ask him if he has any bee equipment that he wants to get rid of.
Jim

CoolBees · « **Reply #3 on:** January 29, 2019, 11:01:24 pm »

Hello Lizzie. I thought I read somewhere here that you said you were in the Sacramento area. I'm in the Bay area. If you decide not to take them, pls let me know. I could give them a home.

Also - I was under the impression that, because it does freeze here, that the AHB's couldn't survive. I'm not entirely sure thats true though. Maybe others know more.

Alan

CoolBees · « **Reply #4 on:** January 29, 2019, 11:10:59 pm »

Here is a link to a map from 2011 - part way down the page. Fwiw.

https://cisr.ucr.edu/africanized_honey_bee.html

LizzieBee · « **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2019, 02:21:42 am »

Iddee,
I am communicating to the beekeeper through my mom, who passed my questions along to her gardener, who passed them along to his friend, the beekeeper. So it?s very indirect. But I?ve asked if they were aggressive during a hive check, and I?m waiting for a response. He?s going to send pictures of it, and I would imagine if it?s four boxes tall that it must be healthy.

Sawdstmakr,
That?s a good idea. I will ask.

CoolBees,
Yes I?m just outside of northwest Sacramento. I also have people in mind that I would offer the hive to if I decided not to keep it. But thanks for the offer!

I haven?t heard about AHB being unable to survive freezing temperatures. I?ll look into it.

Thanks everyone!
-Lizzie

Acebird · « **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2019, 10:08:45 am »

Quote from: CoolBees on January 29, 2019, 11:01:24 pm

Also - I was under the impression that, because it does freeze here, that the AHB's couldn't survive.

The genetics do because they breed with the local population. Do to packages and nucs suppliers in the south, Upstate NY has had african genetics show up. Because of the difficulty of re queening such a hive they burn it.

iddee · « **Reply #7 on:** January 30, 2019, 10:18:07 am »

I think you will find they only show up for the season, then die in the winter. They started in Brazil and moved north and south. They stopped at a point going south. Transferring that climate to the north, it is said they will stop somewhere in Georgia on the east coast. Then they will be north of that only for the season that they travel.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 30, 2019, 10:58:38 am »

Lizzie,
Unless your friend is an experienced beekeeper, I would take his Africanized bee statement with a grain of salt. I can make the calmest hive and make it aggressive. I can make the meanest hive calm. It is all about you handle them and how you smoke them.
I teach the 10 minute and 30 second smoking procedure. Get your smoker puffing thick smoke. Puff 3-4 puffs into the bottom of the hive. Wait full 10 minutes, puff 3-4 puffs into the bottom of the hive and wait 30 seconds. While waiting, slowly slide your hive tool between boxes to break the propolis. Do not bang on the hive tool to do this.
One thing you do not want to do is bang anything against your hives.
Move slowly and gently slide frames in and out of the hive. Remove the outer frame first and then leave it out when inspecting the frames to allow you to separate the frames before pulling them.
Do not open the hive during a dearth, they will bee very defensive.
By following the above, you will bee surprised how calm a mean hive becomes.

Beeboy01 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 30, 2019, 11:13:01 am »

If you get a chance to inspect the hive try to break it down from 4 boxes into a smaller hive. There is a good chance at least one box will be empty with just comb in it and removing that box will make it easier to move the entire hive, don't forget to support the hive with strips of wood screwed into it's sides.
Even if the hive has some AHB genes in it you can always re-queen and if the hive is that big you should be able to split it and get two hives going with no real problems once queens are available in your area. Splitting a hot hive is one of the recommended ways to calm and control a hot hive so it's a pretty much win/win situation for you.
Luck with it.

Ben Framed · « **Reply #10 on:** January 30, 2019, 01:22:52 pm »

Jim, per your reply Reply #8 on: Today at 10:58:38 am

I have heard you describe this method several times when a person with a hot hives seeks good advise. , I haven't had to use this, yet, but sure is good to know. Let me ask you as I know that you also do cutouts. Do you use this ten minute method when doing cut outs ?
Phillip

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 30, 2019, 08:09:59 pm »

Quote from: Ben Framed on January 30, 2019, 01:22:52 pm

Jim, per your reply Reply #8 on: Today at 10:58:38 am

I have heard you describe this method several times when a person with a hot hives seeks good advise. , I haven't had to use this, yet, but sure is good to know. Let me ask you as I know that you also do cutouts. Do you use this ten minute method when doing cut outs ?
Phillip

Yes definitely. The only problem is when I remove really large hives or hard to get hives. After about an hour or so, if there are still a large amount of bees, they start to get grumpy again. This happened on that 12 foot tall hive in the strip mall tower.
Jim
Jim

Ben Framed · « **Reply #12 on:** January 30, 2019, 09:15:15 pm »

Quote from: sawdstmakr on January 30, 2019, 08:09:59 pm

Quote from: Ben Framed on January 30, 2019, 01:22:52 pm
Jim, per your reply Reply #8 on: Today at 10:58:38 am

I have heard you describe this method several times when a person with a hot hives seeks good advise. , I haven't had to use this, yet, but sure is good to know. Let me ask you as I know that you also do cutouts. Do you use this ten minute method when doing cut outs ?
Phillip

Yes definitely. The only problem is when I remove really large hives or hard to get hives. After about an hour or so, if there are still a large amount of bees, they start to get grumpy again. This happened on that 12 foot tall hive in the strip mall tower.
Jim
Jim

Thanks Jim, Y'all did a good job on that project.. I enjoyed the explanations along with the good pictures.

Phillip

LizzieBee · « **Reply #13 on:** January 31, 2019, 12:24:53 am »

Sawdstmakr,

I cannot get my smoker to get thick puffs of smoke. In the kit I bought it came with a pound of cotton which burned really nicely but I ran out of that and now I'm using wood pellets which don't really burn much at all. I can get a little bit of smoke and it works just fine because my current hive is super calm but if this new hive is more aggressive, I want to know how to get the smoker to produce thick puffs of smoke. What type of fuel do you use?

Beeboy01,
Good idea. The hive is being delivered by my gardener and then I take it from there.

Thanks for the advice!

Lizzie

SiWolKe · « **Reply #14 on:** January 31, 2019, 03:42:39 am »

I use wood shavings in my smoker now.
The bedding shavings one uses for small animals work fine.

Smoke them and wait for one or two minutes until the bees fill themselves with honey. This needs a little time. Don?t overdo the smoking or the bees are stressed.
Put in one or two puffs and again one, then wait.
Then open. I learned this from Michael Bush and it works fine whenever one of my hives is hot which happens often with my spicy hybrids or when thunderstorms are nearing.

While working one hive I smoke the next one in advance.

While having a hive open I put a cloth on top of the side frames while pulling the broodframes.
The honey frames at the sides in my hives are very well watched, so I try to cover them while working. The broodframe bees are staying on the comb.
I?m not tossing the bees anymore. Too much stress for the bees, too much danger the queen is lost in the grass. I use my finger to chase them away to look at the brood cells or use a feather to brush them off.

When my colonies are biggest I place a second box near standing on the lid. I move the outer frames to this box and cover the box except to a small entrance hole left open. When the hive is separated by that the bees are not concentrated on me anymore. Same I do when I want to split. I have some time then to look for the queen and I?m able to separate her quickly on her comb without having to catch her.

Acebird · « **Reply #15 on:** January 31, 2019, 09:16:08 am »

Quote from: LizzieBee on January 31, 2019, 12:24:53 am

Sawdstmakr,

I cannot get my smoker to get thick puffs of smoke. In the kit I bought it came with a pound of cotton which burned really nicely but I ran out of that and now I'm using wood pellets which don't really burn much at all.

It is kind of a balancing act. If you think of a camp fire where one will produce nothing but smoke that you can't get away from and another will burn clean and hot. For the most part the difference is moisture. Dry pellets are going to burn clean. If they are damp they will smolder. The trick is to get the smoke without the fire going out. Pine needles smoke without going out for instance. Some beekeepers get a hot fire going and then put in green grass. I use cardboard and sawdust. The cardboard will burn fast until you add the sawdust. Everyone likes their own fuel that they have chosen because they have learned what the balancing act is to keep it going without burning clean. If you like the pellets then experiment with other fuel sources to add that will create the smoke (or some mixture). Most clothing doesn't work so well because it has a fire retardant added unless it is old and washed many times. The old timers stick to what is available around them, things like leaves, grass, and pine needles. They also have the most experience with the balancing act so the smoker is second nature.

Beeboy01 · « **Reply #16 on:** January 31, 2019, 07:58:55 pm »

I just fill my smoker about half way with pine needles and hit the fuel with a propane torch. Once it gets really going I stuff some more pine needles on top of the lit fuel and work the bellows to make sure it is staying lit. Then close the top and gently work the bellows till the smoke looks good and white. It's important to use loose dry fuel which is where most problems occur. Wood pellets are a little too dense to start with but you should be able to add them in the fire box once your smoker gets properly lit. Let your inner pyromaniac take charge and you will be fine. ;)

LizzieBee · « **Reply #17 on:** February 10, 2019, 12:51:29 am »

Oh I should try a propane torch.

Is there any special way I should ?introduce? the new hive to my current one? I still haven?t gotten the new one. Should I just put the new hive next to the old one or will that negatively affect them?

Lizzie

Ben Framed · « **Reply #18 on:** February 10, 2019, 01:02:16 am »

Quote from: LizzieBee on February 10, 2019, 12:51:29 am

Oh I should try a propane torch.

Is there any special way I should ?introduce? the new hive to my current one? I still haven?t gotten the new one. Should I just put the new hive next to the old one or will that negatively affect them?

Lizzie

Liz I also use a propane tourch. But, I don't reccomend it to someone who is not familiar with the use of it. After all, it is like holding a lit bomb in you hand, so the speak. I would rather reccomend you looking up the video from Don the Fat Beeman and his instructions on how to light a smoker. Very safe, efficient, and effective.
Phillip

LizzieBee · « **Reply #19 on:** February 10, 2019, 01:12:08 am »

My dad would be lighting it for me. I don?t think he trusts me to use it... it?s quite dangerous if it isn?t used properly.

Lizzie