What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

[jtcmedic]

Strapped up for the hurricane

[The15thMember]

I put a dose of FormicPro on my mite-high colony.  They were not happy to see me, as some rain had gone through the area earlier, but they were more concerned about the treatment than me once I set the pads down on the top bars.  I wanted to be sure to get their treatment on before we get rain the rest of the week.  Everyone in the path of the hurricane, stay safe!

[Terri Yaki]

Needing to look inside my hives, I went out to see what I could find. It's been rainy and misty here for a few days with a few more in the forecast so I expected an unwelcoming committee. My nuc hive let me look and they are barely touching the syrup I have on them. That was as far as I looked there. When I started removing the cover on the swarm hive, it got real noisy inside so I retreated and will have to wait.

[cao]

nothing.  Just waiting for the remnants of hurricane to disappear.  3-5" of rain so far. 

[Lesgold]

Just checked a hive where the queen was superseded. The cells that were being polished about five days ago now contain young larvae. Looks like the new girl on the block is starting to doo her thing.

[Terri Yaki]

We're still in cold, wet weather here, highs in the 60s today but I popped the lids on my two hives anyway. In the nuc, they were visible through the hole in the inner cover just being quiet but in the swarm hive, they were pretty heavy above the inner cover and started moving when I opened it up. Does bees above the inner cover have any significance here?

[Ben Framed]

Good question. I don?t use inner covers. I wonder what the answer is for those who do.

Phillip

[Terri Yaki]

Good question. I don?t use inner covers. I wonder what the answer is for those who do.

Phillip

What do you do, just 'go naked' under there? Don't they wax the cover to the frames when you omit it?

[beesnweeds]

What do you do, just 'go naked' under there? Don't they wax the cover to the frames when you omit it?

They do and it would be a problem to remove an outer cover.  Commercial beekeepers and some hobbyists use migratory covers so they can pry off the cover with a hive tool.  On my poly hive I just use a grain bag between the outer cover and frames.  As far as bees being between the covers a few is normal.  Sometimes when bees are sick, dying, or just aging out they collect on top for warmth.  Thats why some researchers take bee samples from the top to test for disease.  I put rigid insulation on top of the hive year round, it helps reduce bees collecting on the top.  Unless it's cold out and the colony is clustered you won't see dead bees on the inner cover, bees remove them.

[Lesgold]

With migratory lids it?s easy to see when the bees are doing well. They will fill the lid area with comb and honey when the supers are full. Can be a bit messy if you let them go too far but it also adds a bit of food for the bees during winter. It?s a good sign to add another box on top when this occurs.

[Michael Bush]

What an inner cover is for.  What if you don't use one?
https://bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#innercover

[Terri Yaki]

What an inner cover is for.  What if you don't use one?
https://bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#innercover

And in that article, you reference placing a nuc above a hive to keep warm. Should I give this a try with my nuc, which I don't expect to make it through the winter? I was wondering if this could be an effective venture.

[Michael Bush]

The problem with putting them over an inner cover is moisture.  In my climate the top hive will always die from the moisture.  If you put a solid piece of 1/8" luan plywood it will let heat through but not moisture.  If you need an entrance, add shims or a rim.

https://bushfarms.com/beesnucs.htm#overwinternucs
https://bushfarms.com/beeswinter.htm

[BeeMaster2]

Terri,
Not only is it a good idea for warmth for the Nuc, it also helps to protect the nuc from robbing when it is stressed. The main hives queen right pheromones are what protect it.
We use this technique to make splits. They have a much higher chance of surviving until they have a mated queen.
Jim Altmiller

[Michael Bush]

I do use the double screened inner cover when it's not winter.

[beesnweeds]

In the northeast putting nucs on top of hives has it's issues, that's why Michael Palmer uses the side by side resource hives.  5 over 5 nucs do best on their own.

[Ben Framed]

In the following discussion a simple solid top was used. We discussed tops, insulation, insulation board, ventilation, the effects of cold weather, but most importantly the possible effect of cold verses Varroa Destructor. There were some heavy hitters contributing to the discussion as well as heavy hitters referenced.

https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=55226.msg503978#msg503978

[Terri Yaki]

I went through my small hive today (nuc hive) and it is becoming more apparent that it is not going to make it. So...what to do? I found a small group of larvae but I don't know whether they are beetle or moth larvae. That  frame didn't have much on it for resources so I moved it over to get robbed out. The queen has laid a nice frame of eggs in one frame but that is the only real new life I found. I found no signs of foul brood. So...what to do with this hive? The queen is a first year queen and seems to be doing OK to me, except that her colony never got back up after the dearth. They were not bringing pollen in like my other hive lately. Is that the queen's fault? Should I look to see if anyone needs a queen? I know that one in need would be in trouble this time of year but would giving them mine endanger their hive?

[Terri Yaki]

And I went through my swarm hive today. To me, everything looks pretty good but then, I don't know how it should look this time of year. There was good life in there and to me, it looks like they have enough honey stored to make it through the winter. My question regarding that is, how should the honey stores be organized? Another question I have about my queen(s). The queen that came with this swarm seems to be doing well but I figure that she's last year's queen at best. I do have a new queen in the nuc hive, that's not going to make it through the winter. Should I replace this queen with the nuc queen? Or would I be better off to leave this colony do their thing and replace her when they see it's time to?

Part I

https://rumble.com/v5gxcx0-september-30-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-i.html

Part II

https://rumble.com/v5gxhad-september-30-2024-swarm-hive-inspection-part-ii.html

[Michael Bush]

Yes, a nuc on top of a hive has its issues.  Like the strong hive robbing the weak one... and the condensation issue.