Making a living

[Vance G]

My bees are now on a dandelion flow and I guess it is now spring!  All the fruit and caragana are about to kick off too.  Frames are now suddenly stuffed with pollen and lots of nectar.  No sign of cells yet but it looks like I need to line up supers and actually throw them on about half my colonies.  Either that or walk aways splits.  The rain has been more than adequate and we are finally getting days reliably in the sixties and threatening seventies and low winds.  It is spring and good to be alive.

[GSF]

It's about time! Man, I feel sorry for you northern beeks. It's been pretty pleasant around here. Mid day the ac is cut on. Early am the window fan goes in. That'll change next week.

[Better.to.Bee.than.not]

haha...ya...we have it rough.... ;)

[philbee]

Dandelions are just starting here.  Hives are strong and many will swarm in blueberries unless they are split.  I just ran out of the Kona queens I ordered in February and received in the last two shipments to our provincial association, so I made a few walk away splits today.   Hope they have time to produce a queen before I have to move them out for pollination ... I read it's not good to jar queen cells and they'd certainly get jarred bouncing around in the back of my truck on the way to the blueberry fields.

[Better.to.Bee.than.not]

ya, early blueberries are blooming here.

[Vance G]

It has now been over 240 days since we have seen 80 degrees here!  Thursday and Friday it is supposed to make it but the night lows are still in the forties and we can still get a frost.  I need to start considering unwrapping my strong hives.  Everything is starting to bloom here in town at 3600 feet but just dandelions higher for now. 

[Better.to.Bee.than.not]

Wha? you people over there do not unwrap your hives until it is warmer than the 40's, and close to a 80 high? really? Guess if it works for you, then it works for you though....just seems weird to me, so forgive the astonishment.

[BlueBee]

LOL.  I must really seem weird to you then since my hives are effectively wrapped with foam insulation 365 days a year.  Bees love it.

[sc-bee]

It's about time! Man, I feel sorry for you northern beeks. It's been pretty pleasant around here. Mid day the ac is cut on. Early am the window fan goes in. That'll change next week.

Sorry for them..... no way. They can have the snow, but on the flip side, they are just getting started, I am basically done and through :-\ We get no fall flow at all. At least I never have :(

[Better.to.Bee.than.not]

LOL.  I must really seem weird to you then since my hives are effectively wrapped with foam insulation 365 days a year.  Bees love it.

I have no need to remark on how you seem to me, but in this particular instance, it is two completely different things. of course bees love insulation, it can keep a hive cool in the summer and warm in the winter. wrapping a hive may insulate it, but insulating your hive is not necessarily wrapping it. I doubt you wrap your hives and keep them wrapped 365 days/year. plus he already mentioned really the intent to 'unwrap' with the criteria of 'above' 40. my only guess is they must have wilder temp swings until later maybe.

and we all insulate our hives. using foam wrapping 365 must make it awfully difficult to do inspections, swap things out, and harvest though, if you have any decent sized operation. Cannot see myself unwrapping even 50 hives every time I need to do something with them, then wrapping them back up/etc....and it is clearly so obviously unnecessary.

[BlueBee]

Sounds like semantics are getting in the way again.  :idunno:

OK, I never actually wrap my hives like most beeks since mine are made of foam to begin with.  Foam is a good insulator whereas 3/4" thick wood is not.  I was trying to point out that it isn’t weird to provide insulation (be it foam, wrapping, or a cavity in a tree) 365 days a year.

Now back to looking for those meteors Swamp was talking about……