Worldwide Beekeeping

Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: rrog13 on February 09, 2014, 07:44:38 pm

Title: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rrog13 on February 09, 2014, 07:44:38 pm
 I was able to do some hive diving today.  I’ve got one hive that was a bit on the aggressive side.  I may have to pinch that queen if it gets any worse.  Every time I’d pull another frame, quite a few bees would go airborne and begin pounding against my veil and jacket. I was very surprised at how pissy they were.  :-\ A couple times I had to walk away for a few minutes but, of course a good many would follow.  They got me a few times....geez, they'd have tore me a new one if I hadn't had some protection on.  Other than that, it sure was nice to get in there, check things out and cleanup the frames a little.  They had everything glued down tight.  With the crazy weather we’re having, my bees seem to be in full build up mode.  Lots of brood in all stages including drone brood.  They still have a good amount of stores left and are bringing in pollen like crazy from somewhere.  It reached about 65 degrees today but ….the National Weather Service put out a winter storm warning earlier today.  I guess the temperatures are expected to plummet by mid-week.  Anyway…hope everyone else’s bee are doing well.  I can’t wait till the warm weather is here to stay.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 09, 2014, 08:22:37 pm
Hey rrog, nice to hear from you. We haven't had a 65 day yet to lift frames, but I have had some warmer day opportunity to lift the lid and see what I can see.

Our 7 day warm streak, 50 degrees, got the bees very busy and bringing in pollen. I started hefting the hive every couple of days and found that I needed to start winter patties, they're low on stores which surprised me. Presently, they are going through one winter pattie in two weeks.

Mine are assertive as well. I had on my usual jeans, white long sleeve shirt, and my veil. Within a minute there were 30 bees on my shirt. Only got nailed once.

Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Finally Home on February 09, 2014, 09:08:49 pm
Won't know till all this snow goes away  8)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rrog13 on February 09, 2014, 09:30:58 pm
Won't know till all this snow goes away  8)

I saw the pictures you posted in "Cleaning Snow from the Entrances".  Looks like it might be a little while before that snow disappears for ya.  ???
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: caesarsfish on February 09, 2014, 09:43:12 pm
65 out today and I checked 9 hives.  Six were strong, two weak and one dead.  I added patties to all.  The bees were very aggressive.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 09, 2014, 11:50:22 pm
Caesar- what kind of patties are you using?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: keeperofthebees on February 10, 2014, 01:22:25 am
I was able to do some hive diving today.  I’ve got one hive that was a bit on the aggressive side.  I may have to pinch that queen if it gets any worse.  Every time I’d pull another frame, quite a few bees would go airborne and begin pounding against my veil and jacket. I was very surprised at how pissy they were.  :-\ A couple times I had to walk away for a few minutes but, of course a good many would follow.  They got me a few times....geez, they'd have tore me a new one if I hadn't had some protection on.  Other than that, it sure was nice to get in there, check things out and cleanup the frames a little.  They had everything glued down tight.  With the crazy weather we’re having, my bees seem to be in full build up mode.  Lots of brood in all stages including drone brood.  They still have a good amount of stores left and are bringing in pollen like crazy from somewhere.  It reached about 65 degrees today but ….the National Weather Service put out a winter storm warning earlier today.  I guess the temperatures are expected to plummet by mid-week.  Anyway…hope everyone else’s bee are doing well.  I can’t wait till the warm weather is here to stay.

If you're in no rush, throw an extra box on there for insurance...and wait until the cold weather clears.  I know someone that would send you a small cardboard screen box(postage paid) with a jar of apple honey for a mean queen and a handfull of bees ;D

The weather is just not fit in wisconsin for anything!  I've been trying to find some feisty queens that will take care of themselves/requeen on their own.  The stuff I've been getting hasn't been lasting into fall and I don't believe in using weird chemicals on the hives.  Our general rule in wi. is 7-8 months for a queen, 1-1/2 yrs if you're really lucky...Those are the guys that treat all the time. 

-Food for Thought
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 10, 2014, 02:01:52 am
""Our general rule in wi. is 7-8 months for a queen, 1-1/2 yrs if you're really lucky...Those are the guys that treat all the time.""

Really?!? That's rediculous!   
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: keeperofthebees on February 10, 2014, 02:28:39 am
""Our general rule in wi. is 7-8 months for a queen, 1-1/2 yrs if you're really lucky...Those are the guys that treat all the time.""

Really?!? That's rediculous!


The guys in the warmer weather(florida, georgia, california, texas, etc) can get away with it, because the bees requeen themselves better.  With early spring & fall up here in wi, they don't fly & mate if they need to do their thing.  It's like what they're doing with german shepherds in the U.S. breeding them with sloped backs, then their hips go out early.  It's really sad & frustrating to deal with it. 

The guys out in the swamps, hills, mountains,  etc with isolated stock/strains are better off.  People are just starting to get queen burnouts in the isolated areas.  Ask any old guy out there about the queen bees that used to last 4-5 yrs.  That was back in the days of DDT, and who knows what else for pesticides.  Everything including bees get pushed out the door to meet the demand, lowering the quality.

I love working with feral colonies!  They're kind of peculiar in the blossoms that they work on, but they sure do bring some awesome different honey's in 8)

Are yours bringing in pollen and nectar?...  Did you stick a spoon in the hive to grab a bite of some fresh stuff?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: kebee on February 10, 2014, 05:06:35 am
I checked mine Saturday and they were not happy at all with it, I had bees chasteing me an hour after I got through with them. I would say no flow and they had nothing better to do, they are bring in a lot of pollen though from some where. They still had some honey left but I have been feeding them syrup though.

Ken

Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: lazy shooter on February 10, 2014, 07:40:54 am
""Our general rule in wi. is 7-8 months for a queen, 1-1/2 yrs if you're really lucky...Those are the guys that treat all the time.""

Really?!? That's rediculous!


[/quote

Don't pull any punches, tell the fellow what you think.  :):)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: caesarsfish on February 10, 2014, 09:18:04 am
jen,   I said patties but they are really sugar cakes, I use sugar, a couple drops of lemon grass and water making them and the bees really love them.  Another cold front coming in tomorrow, this has been a bad winter here in the south.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: blueblood on February 10, 2014, 09:23:06 am
Still under frigid here with several inches of snow on the ground.  Looking at a low of -15 tomorrow.  Highs in the single digits make folks smile around here, ha! I don't suspect I will be able to pop any lids till mid March or so.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Finally Home on February 10, 2014, 09:33:01 am
Still under frigid here with several inches of snow on the ground.  Looking at a low of -15 tomorrow.  Highs in the single digits make folks smile around here, ha! I don't suspect I will be able to pop any lids till mid March or so.

Same here in N.W. Ind.  -6 now with wind chills at -19
Going to be a while yet.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: iddee on February 10, 2014, 09:48:08 am
Keeper, order a Wayne's queen from

Larry Tate
2241 Union Cross Rd.
Winston-Salem, NC
Call 336-788-4554 or 336-972-3583
TatesApiaries@yahoo.com

If she dies this summer, I will personally refund your money.


Wayne Rich, of Sophia, NC began beekeeping sometime in the 1960's as a hobby to have honey for his family and pollinate the family farm. He only knew what the older local beeks taught him and what he learned from experience. He never medicated a hive in any way. He had the normal die off and the normal swarm catches that were common in those days. By 1987, he had approx. twenty five hives. When the mites showed up he lost all but one hive. That hive survived and begin casting swarms. Some lived, some died. In 2001, Wayne had 5 strong hives. He gave me a swarm from one of them that year. I placed that colony in a yard by itself and began to catch swarms, make splits, use swarm cells to start nucs, and use eggs and larva from that hive to bait trap outs. Of all the colonies I have started from that hive, and it has been many, none have ever been reported to have died from mites. None, as far as I know, have ever been treated. When I let someone have one, I asked to have them marked and traced, not treated, and report back if any ever died from mites. In 12 years, only one has ever reported back to me that they died from mites.

Wayne passed away Dec. 26th, 2008. Since that time, I have promoted these bees as "Wayne's bees". In 2010, Larry Tate, of Tate's Apiaries accepted a colony of Wayne's bees and began to graft from them. He is also going treatment free with them. So far, he is happy with their production, temperament, and longevity. He has not had any die from mites.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Ziffa on February 10, 2014, 10:18:23 am
As of this weekend, all 4 hives are going strong.  They are bringing in pollen and I've been open feeding a little, but something else is  blooming because they aren't mobbing the feed.  If they make it through this next cold snap, I will breathe a sigh of relief.  I'm so excited for spring!  I hope to split the 2 big hives, and i have high hopes for the little yellow one.

Iddee - i ordered 2 Queens from Larry Tate and hope to make some splits with them.  Very excited to have the new genetics.  So far for me 3 years no treatment and the bees seem to be doing really good.  I did lose 2 hives at the end of last summer, but I think that was re-queening issues rather than mites.  I hope they make a lot of drones this year, because i think that the queens they made may never have gotten mated. 

I have a messy yard (bee and literal), but they seem to be doing ok!  And really friendly!  We raked vigorously all around them this weekend working in the garden, and only got a couple of fly bys from the guards.  The dog had it a little worse, but I told him not to snap at them!

love,
ziffa
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: brooksbeefarm on February 10, 2014, 10:48:09 am
rrog13, If you trade Keeperofthebees a mean queen for a jar of his honey? hold out for his Black locust/Basswood honey, it's better than the Apple honey i think. :D His apple honey coming from Milwaukee,Wi. i thought had kind of a beer and cheese taste to it. :laugh: Jack
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: keeperofthebees on February 10, 2014, 02:45:52 pm
rrog13, If you trade Keeperofthebees a mean queen for a jar of his honey? hold out for his Black locust/Basswood honey, it's better than the Apple honey i think. :D His apple honey coming from Milwaukee,Wi. i thought had kind of a beer and cheese taste to it. :laugh: Jack

Hey Buddy!!!  Watch it...Cow pastures in southwest wi are the name of the game!!! 
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 10, 2014, 03:25:45 pm
This is how my bees are doing today! When I was a girl we would normally have 3 foot of snow on the ground this time of  year.


(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs1.postimg.cc%2Fya8z72023%2FDSCF8666.jpg&hash=1c7c716a67b3592b525a5d17236336aa9ee7dee8) (http://postimg.cc/image/ya8z72023/)

Update today! two hours later. Went out to sit with my bees for a bit, observe. I counted 8 out of 10 bees bringing in fat legs of pollen.

I'm Feelin' Like The Octomom!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Waverlybees on February 10, 2014, 06:43:50 pm
Our hives are double deeps. So, yesterday while it was sunny and 68, we swapped the deeps and put the full one on the bottom. Bees were quite gentle. They didn't seem to mind the intrusion. Pollen was being brought in by the truck load.

Dan
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 10, 2014, 06:55:55 pm
Update: Two hours later today. I went out to sit with my very busy bees, observe. I counted 8 out of 10 bees coming in with fat legs of pollen.

I Feel Like The Octomom!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: tecumseh on February 12, 2014, 05:39:31 am
mine seem to be doing the fine the last time I looked.  the real down side here is that the weather has been both wet and cold for about the last month so nothing has really gotten fed and I suspect when the weather does clear that some of the weaker stuff will have perished.

on the up side I now have 30 new nucs in the barn and another 20 queens in a queen bank and the weather folks tell me that the next few day we should be on a warming trend < at which time I will set the 30 out on their new stands and then will make up nucs for the 20 in the queen bank and then hopefully still have time to get another around of feed out.

ps.... at about this time of year I do begin checking for drones so that I can begin to consider when would be a good time to begin queen rearing.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rodmaker on February 12, 2014, 03:28:18 pm
  opened a hive today bees are gone. I opened this hive in the first week of january all was fine while walking past today no activity so i opened the hive about fifty dead bees the rest are gone they just absconded don't know why . Any ideas?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: LazyBkpr on February 12, 2014, 03:39:20 pm
A that sucks Rodmaker..
   without seeing or knowing the details its hard to tell..  Mite buildup, disease, pesticide build up in the wax, lack of reserves, even some or all of those things combined.
   A sexy drone lured the queen, who was feeling lonely and unappreciated by her subjects away and the rest followed to try to find her and bring her home..  The conspiracy theorists and UFO aficionados think it was aliens that beamed them to their spaceship.. WITH the approval of our government...
 sorry, not intending to make fun of your loss.    Dont know the climate there, is it warm enough they could have absconded and survived?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 12, 2014, 04:27:20 pm
sexy drones? conspiracy theorists? aliens? government?  WUT? ........ :laugh:
lazy i swear your in deep brain freeze with iowa cabin fever.... :D

rodmaker, like lazy said, well sort of, LOL, could be anything.  describe your hive in detail when you checked on them in january, like cluster size, how many frames of honey did they have, your set up, did you treat for mites or not, did you have fondant on, etc.....know you have been in a terrible dearth there. what were the 50 bees doing, and was there any honey stores left?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: GLOCK on February 12, 2014, 04:56:02 pm
As of yesterday I still have  23 humming  .I have only lost 2 hives this year  one DBL. deep and one  nuc 5+5+5.
Both where freeze  outs   with strong clusters and queens  and honey or sugar  just inches away it was to cold to long.
I had one I thought  was dead a week ago and yesterday it was alive and humming go figure .
Been a long cold winter   soon spring will be here and I'm going to have bees every where.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi952.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae9%2FGLOCK3%2FBEEKEEPING%25202014%2FP2110127_zps45db4884.jpg&hash=81eba9e6e7aeb7fcf2931fa6b38faf755c06bd22) (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/GLOCK3/media/BEEKEEPING%202014/P2110127_zps45db4884.jpg.html)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi952.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae9%2FGLOCK3%2FBEEKEEPING%25202014%2FP2110114_zps32e13452.jpg&hash=0080f3ddb3e871b9adbf3556281e382232ee9304) (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/GLOCK3/media/BEEKEEPING%202014/P2110114_zps32e13452.jpg.html)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi952.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae9%2FGLOCK3%2FBEEKEEPING%25202014%2FP2110131_zps7d67b22e.jpg&hash=26b7bfdaa19da96d1f29b20827acd3bd7745fef5) (http://s952.photobucket.com/user/GLOCK3/media/BEEKEEPING%202014/P2110131_zps7d67b22e.jpg.html)
-16 this morning so cool :o
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rodmaker on February 12, 2014, 05:06:41 pm
     Riverbee    I saw only a couple of mites all of the bees were laying on the bottom board there was about eighty pounds of honey left. I have not treated for mites only used tea tree oil as mite control the most mites i have seen was a count of twelve on that hive in the past . Cluster size was four frames of bees last i checked. My other six hives are very strong checked slide out under screened bottom boards only minor mites <less than ten under remaining  hives. Looking back this was my weakest hive but don't know why they would just leave maybe CCD?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: tecumseh on February 12, 2014, 07:28:08 pm
if you have not disassembled the hive yet???? when you do decide to take the hive apart take along one of those hand held magnifying glass and closely examine any litter on the bottom board (or sticky board insert if you use a screen bottom board).  look closely at any cells in the central brood area for any debris still existing in the cells.  tell us what you see.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rodmaker on February 13, 2014, 10:31:38 am
   Okay went out and got three frames from the brood area of the hive and brought them in the house. I found bees of all stages from eggs all the way to bees hatching. In one area i found  eight mites in the cells on one frame did not see mites on the other two frames . I was surprised by the amount of eggs and one day old larva i don't think it was a mite problem that caused the queen to leave. I am at a loss to explain this but i have only been working with bees for three years so any advise would be greatly appreciated . Thinking about treating one of my other hives with OA to see if the mite load is worse than i think. I have never used OA before and after hearing about it here i purchased the material just in case will watch a video and treat one this afternoon and see what happens.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 13, 2014, 11:26:04 am
rodmaker, i think you had more of mite problem than you think, do what tecumseh is asking; to look for the debris in cells.
apis posted a great video on this in pests and diseases, go to post #1:

Mite and Bee Life Cycles (http://www.worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/index.php/topic,432.0.html)

nice pix glock!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Yankee11 on February 13, 2014, 01:15:11 pm
Just checked all hives here at the house and they are all alive. WooHoo :D

Its been a long cold month and I just figured I lost a least a couple of the weakest. But the're good and all hives are still heavy.

Middle to upper 50's rest of week. Weekend and start of next week middle to upper 60's. Maybe 70 on Monday. Now that's more like it.
I put out some syrup and pollen sub today. They have already found it.

I hope everybodys hives come through OK.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rodmaker on February 13, 2014, 02:46:27 pm
  Okay i watched video and it was probably mites this was a cut out hive that i got last year and the old comb was covered in white specks but the new comb was clean there was three frames of cut out comb and two of new and the new was pretty clean but one frame about fifty percent had the white specks that the video said was mite waste . Thank you riverbee for the help i am in the process of treating my remaining hives with OA just to be on the safe side. I have another cut out hive that i will start removing the old comb and replace as needed. Thank you riverbee and Tecumseh would not have learned without your advise.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rrog13 on February 13, 2014, 09:16:18 pm
It's hard to believe it was 65 degrees last Sunday. This is what the bee yard looked like earlier today.  What a crazy winter we're having.....burrrrr!

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F716%2Fxarp.jpg&hash=4f262781307bd0239294e0ddceba163f0ca8998a)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: lazy shooter on February 13, 2014, 09:51:22 pm
It was in the low 70's F here today, and my bees were flying in droves.  In a normal winter, we should have our worst weather behind us, but this has been an unusually cold winter, so there may be a bit more. 
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 14, 2014, 03:17:33 pm
Hey Rod! Love the pic of the lovely meadow, wish I had such a lovely place for my bees.

Regarding mites, if you still have the chance, check your dead bees for deformed wings. Last fall I was alerted to the possility of a mite over load in my hive. I also started looking for the deformed wings, and low and behold some of my bees had it. I went into panic overdrive and used Formic Acid Quick Strips and it worked very well. But now I use Oxalic Acid. Love It!

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs11.postimg.cc%2Fe7mzm53lr%2Fdeformed_wing_disease_from_mites.jpg&hash=ce75ec59d91e36e23ffe808c2ee9e782abd87f12) (http://postimg.cc/image/e7mzm53lr/)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 14, 2014, 04:03:04 pm
UH OH! I just checked my sticky board and it's full of mold. EW! This has only happened within the last week.

Now, see the pic where I have a towel stuffed into the under side of the bottom board? that is because I have a screened bottom board, and this help keep the wind out. Could this terry rag be absorbing moisture and tainting this inside of the hive with mold?

I have since removed the towel and not blocked the bottom at all to get some air circulation, and I lifted the front edge of the lid for the day to let ventilation out thru the inner cover opening....

Is there anything else I should do?

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs13.postimg.cc%2Fdtyc2km0j%2FDSCF8669.jpg&hash=37525e8cbe1eb18122a69365256f00e0264770ab) (http://postimg.cc/image/dtyc2km0j/)

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs13.postimg.cc%2F62hm40hv7%2FDSCF8671.jpg&hash=4387abe72deebca3e519c7163d3e914d94472b79) (http://postimg.cc/image/62hm40hv7/)

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs8.postimg.cc%2Fwrilh6zap%2FDSCF8422.jpg&hash=45e38c7915ca17277a43e048c964e18c994bb121) (http://postimg.cc/image/wrilh6zap/)

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs30.postimg.cc%2Fs47xk5ue5%2FDSCF8672.jpg&hash=27d42b10794ead84a6831eb9bec8d0d1c53398d7) (http://postimg.cc/image/s47xk5ue5/)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 14, 2014, 04:15:07 pm
jen, mold is caused by too much moisture in the hive, and not enough ventilation, so probably having the towel stuffed under the screen bottom board didn't help.

oops i hit post instead of preview......removing the towel will help. know lots of beeks in colder climates than yours that use sbb's year round with no ill effects to the bees.

nice picture rrog!
and you are welcome rodmaker!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 14, 2014, 04:43:48 pm
Thanks Riv  :)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 14, 2014, 10:56:58 pm
I have gotten in tirely away from screened bottom boards, down here in Florida for every bug in the world lives, screen bottom boards are nothing more than an open invitation for invasion. we have a wide variety of ants that are more than willing and a colony of honeybees if they can get away with it. only a really strong colony prevents that, couple by restricting the number of access ways they had into the hive. your issue was ventilation cold will never kill bees wet will. that you had mold on the  I PM board is a clear indication how can I become probably a condensation and wicking moisture from the outside with the towel. insulation for a colony of honeybees is not really required a windblock in front of them helps. proper ventilation can be achieved even with the reduced entrance.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 15, 2014, 12:53:05 am
Hey Barry  :)  I haven't ever had trouble with my sbb. We are sooo dry here. It's only been the last week of rain that I caught the mold. I check it most every week or two. I was on this forum and read how wind can hurt the bees and blocking the entrance of the sbb is a good idea. Now not so sure. Or we may get some foam or a block of wood instead of the cloth. Or not.  8)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 15, 2014, 01:47:46 am
living down in Florida you would think that a screened bottom board would be the only way to go but with a wide open entrance and you invert the inner cover deep side down and cut a notch about 3 to 4 inches wide and the rim of the inner cover this creates an upper entrance. I try to practice building very very strong hives I use two brood chambers ( deep ). if it really gets hot I will put a quarter inch Dow rod under two corners of one of the supers, not on creating another major entrance, entirely by passing the brood chambers,  avoiding brood chamber congestion, a significant cause of swarming, and providing ventilation.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Beeracuda on February 15, 2014, 12:24:07 pm
All of our hives seem to be doing well.  Yesterday, I saw a few bees bringing in pollen.  We are going to have a week of temps in the 70's, so I will probably see more of that. 
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 15, 2014, 01:46:51 pm
Hey Beeracuda! Nice to hear from you and a good report on your bees. Wishing you well with the oncoming spring.

My bees have been packing in the pollen for over two weeks. I've been feeding winter patties that I'm making myself now. It's easy and fun.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: lazy shooter on February 15, 2014, 03:05:41 pm
All of our hives seem to be doing well.  Yesterday, I saw a few bees bringing in pollen.  We are going to have a week of temps in the 70's, so I will probably see more of that.

OK Beeracuda, you had a health problem that I can't remember.  How is your physical being? 
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: 40 Acre Bees on February 15, 2014, 05:07:16 pm
Well we started last spring with 2 hives and as of today  Feb 15 we still have two.  Did some emergency feeding today, as they felt really light, but it really has been a long wild winter and we wanted a bit of a safety net...........  What a relief when you hearing their buzzing through the stethoscope.  We were so happy. :D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 15, 2014, 05:32:51 pm
40- Yaaaay, I'm happy for ya too. So far I'm reading some pretty good outcomes with hive survival after this very cold winter. It's going to a very fun time on this forum this spring  :) 8)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Crofter on February 15, 2014, 05:51:11 pm
I listened close today to some hives that seemed to have little activity but they are buzzing. They may be down lower so hard (for me) to hear from the top entrances. Several of the back row of hives have a large number of bees flying out and not making it back. Still about 7 degrees below freezing but the warmest we have had for a solid month. The way the hives are wrapped and covered I can not get in to peek without really tearing things apart and cant heft the hives either. Just have to wait another month before we get warm enough weather.

So far 8 out of 8 still alive.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 15, 2014, 05:56:41 pm
Cool! My one out of one hive is still hangin' tight
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Beeracuda on February 15, 2014, 09:48:29 pm
All of our hives seem to be doing well.  Yesterday, I saw a few bees bringing in pollen.  We are going to have a week of temps in the 70's, so I will probably see more of that.

OK Beeracuda, you had a health problem that I can't remember.  How is your physical being?

Thank you for asking.  I am doing well.  My leukemia is in remission after the first round of chemo!  I had a bladder tumor removed yesterday that was discovered when they were trying to diagnose me originally.  I will start my second round of chemo as soon as I am fully healed from yesterday's surgery.  The second round will be outpatient, so that will be much, much better, but it is going to take 6 months to complete.  I will get through it and I now have help lined up to take care of the girls when I can't.  :)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 15, 2014, 09:56:08 pm
Congrats. Beeracuda keep the faith and get your strength & stamina back. 40 please feed up the light colony, as they will start serious brood rearing, and now is when they can starve out after getting through the worst of the winter. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: tbonekel on February 15, 2014, 11:06:21 pm
Really active now and bringing in lots of pollen. I also saw quite a few at the watering hole today. I'm going to get some feed on them, because it's supposed to be around 70 for the next several days and I bet they go into overdrive!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 15, 2014, 11:38:32 pm
and now is the time of year when you have to be the most cautious, with the ramping up a brood rearing, there will be an enormous consumption of stores. seldom is there enough nectar coming in to make up for that at this particular time of year.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 15, 2014, 11:44:24 pm
 Tbone ""I'm going to get some feed on them, because it's supposed to be around 70 for the next several days and I bet they go into overdrive!""

Two weeks ago my it warmed up to 60 here, so I put on a winter patty and it was gone in two weeks. Put on another one, and it was gone in one week. So yeah, keep a close eye on them.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: tbonekel on February 16, 2014, 05:08:19 pm
Ok, first of all, nobody comment on my redneck reducer. Be nice!  :)

Now, this is more for encouragement to you northern beeks to keep the faith and get ready for some action. I wish I new where they were getting the pollen. Man they are getting after it!

www.youtube.com/embed/l6N5vZF6t9E?rel=0
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 16, 2014, 05:15:29 pm
Wooooo!  ;D  Looks like 7/8 bees out of 10 are packing in the pollen. Cool! That's what my hive is doing. And like I said, my bees are going thru a winter pattie a week.

Nice vid too, gives those who are still buried in snow some hope  :) 8)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Perry on February 16, 2014, 05:17:12 pm
Thanks for the "fix". I'm probably good for a couple days now.  ;D
Had to fire up the snow blower twice today!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: LazyBkpr on February 16, 2014, 05:38:50 pm
Thanks for the "fix". I'm probably good for a couple days now.  ;D
Had to fire up the snow blower twice today!

  Yep, just got back from plowing myself..   Great to see activity again, sure beats staring at entrances covered with snow for 20 minutes each afternoon!

   By the way Tbone..  AWESOME reducer!!  Got to love the ingenuity!!   
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 16, 2014, 07:40:58 pm
Mine were flying today for sure and looking at everything.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Lburou on February 16, 2014, 08:30:36 pm
Lots of activity today, with deep orange and tan pollen coming in all eight hives!  75 degrees F today and wind 5-15mph.  Some orientation flights.   A good start for the Spring I think.  :)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: litefoot on February 16, 2014, 11:27:15 pm
Couple of days in the 50's allowed me to open up my 4 colonies and take a look. All are alive and the numbers look good. One hive had a lot of flyers while all of them were performing mortician services. I helped a bit with a thin skewer that a raked across each bottom board which resulted in a considerable pile of bees. These warm spells are a double-edged sword though. Active bees are hungry bees, so I tried my hand at fondant cakes which I added to two boxes.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 16, 2014, 11:29:13 pm
Good to hear litefoot  :)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 17, 2014, 12:24:00 pm
"Ok, first of all, nobody comment on my redneck reducer. Be nice!  :)"

nice video and very classy reducer there tbone!..... :D
ps if they are getting jammed up at the door, you can give them a little more redneck space..... :D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 17, 2014, 12:27:55 pm
Funny Riv  :)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: kebee on February 17, 2014, 03:34:57 pm
Had to make some syrup for the ladies and since it was 68 degrees I said I will see how they are doing, lite my smoker up and went in, still had honey left in the frames I would say half left, and they were a lot gentler than the last time I went in. At the first hive I had a bee buzzing around my head and I was smoking it to get move and could not why? It was inside, I got away from the hive and took the suit off to get it out. They are out ever where looking for nectar so it must have got in when I was putting the suit on. I will say I have some good bees to have made it through the cold weather we had and one is real strong, 2 full brood boxes and a super of bees, may split this hive come April, I am please with them, now come flowers bloom for the bees, and I do see a few coming up.

Ken
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Noronajo on February 18, 2014, 07:44:14 am
Popped the cover on a single deep hive last week, decided I better check the doubles when the temps hit upper 60's. I 5 hives in one location , 2 singles and 3 doubles. Tulip hive had 5-6 frames of stores , Daffodil pretty much all 10 frames in top deep were still full of honey. Queens in both had a small brood frame going and the ladies sounded happy. Then I opened Iris- bees were all in the top as expected but those on the outer frames were dying- not a drop of honey to be seen any where. These hives were all well prepared for winter, I thought, but Oklahoma weather being what it is- early freeze then a long warm spell, cold, hot , cold, then freeze your a$$ off cold- well, I hightailed it home to make more fondant. This is the first year I've made fondant but I know if Iris is empty at least one other hive at my other location is too. I've always joked about not encouraging welfare bees by feeding but I bought 2 packages in 2011 and by splitting have had as many as 12 hives . If feeding protects my investment, so be it. Besides, they are so very QUIET when they're starving!
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs30.postimg.cc%2Fow3ogttgd%2Fimage.jpg&hash=f8fc044954c428ecc651af5ff16ad5a599f9089c) (http://postimg.cc/image/ow3ogttgd/)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Bakersdozen on February 18, 2014, 07:55:18 am
We had sunshine and winds yesterday with temps near 60 for the first time in a long time.   Behind my windbreak that I built, for the hives in the back yard, I was able to check on emergency food stores.  Good thing too.  One hive was out and the other almost out.  Now I need to get another beautiful day to check the others.
Saw the most interesting burr comb.  The hive without emergency food had incorporated the bits of newspaper leftover into the burr comb.  Does any one have any ideas on where they got the wax to make the burr comb? 
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 18, 2014, 12:29:14 pm
Noranajo ""I've always joked about not encouraging welfare bees by feeding but I bought 2 packages in 2011 and by splitting have had as many as 12 hives . If feeding protects my investment, so be it. Besides, they are so very QUIET when they're starving!""

Nor- Good story, I have also adapted to feeding... kicking and screaming all the way. But this forum has taught me so much on how to help your bees survive. For me, it's taken 3 years to get my hive up and running healthy. Sure want to keep them that way ~
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 18, 2014, 01:48:18 pm
I've only had temps to lift the lid and slip in winter patties. Looks good at this point
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Noronajo on February 18, 2014, 02:55:51 pm
I was wrong about the 3 hives at my second location being as close to starvation as the Iris hive- 2 were still heavy enough I could hardly budge them. Barely a mile down the same dead end road but totally different- 'course one of the early dead outs was at this yard and perhaps a rob out by these 2 unusually hefty hives. It's hard to tell if you're not there every day. Anyway, all 8 are fed and hopefully set for a week or so.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 18, 2014, 04:25:50 pm
Finally-  Oooooh I love seeing that! So Cool!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: LazyBkpr on February 18, 2014, 04:48:28 pm
Oh yeah, Got some pics of yellow snow too!

   Good news and bad news..  Hit 50 here today!!!   Bees are flying..  I was so happy i sort of leaked a little!!  Knew I should have wee'd before I went out there!
    I knew I lost the last of my texas Itallians, but had high hopes for the rest..   ALL still alive is the good news, but ALL more than half way through the five pounds of sugar I put on them last november. This is NOT a good sign with a possible month of HARD winter left..  Added more sugar to every hive..  Don't like letting them run that long on Sugar alone..   Might have to try some syrup in baggies if they burn through the rest of the sugar.

   Yellow snow.. when it looks like this you KNOW they have been cooped up too long!
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs13.postimg.cc%2Fbp40c4qib%2FDSCF0159.jpg&hash=4d39cdf39a2df0d7125a78af6c1ae4ff0a2c14b2) (http://postimg.cc/image/bp40c4qib/)

  All hives are in the top, IN the sugar and using the top entrances.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.postimg.cc%2Fuagfrr4n9%2FDSCF0158.jpg&hash=2f3604a7d381bccc12b7edc305df2df165bd4587) (http://postimg.cc/image/uagfrr4n9/)

   The last of my southern bees..  they were partly in the bottom deep and partly in the top deep.. like they STARTED to move up, and then it got too cold...

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs10.postimg.cc%2Fcr3khnx51%2FDSCF0160.jpg&hash=f70159548f174da53348b69e3064e4081b617734) (http://postimg.cc/image/cr3khnx51/)

   the hives out back and at Dads place are in the same predicament.. this is going to be touch and go. I am praying that temps are not as drastic till spring arrives in full force..
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 18, 2014, 04:53:14 pm
Yaaaaay Lazy! So glad you got to see your bees. Maybe that will hold ya for awhile  :) 8)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 18, 2014, 04:56:55 pm
wow, some great pix!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: LazyBkpr on February 18, 2014, 06:53:57 pm
Yep, it held me for about 5 minutes!!   Wife came home I had the post hole digger out trying to drill into the frozen ground for new stands...  No luck  >:(
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: JUDELT on February 18, 2014, 07:26:07 pm
sorry to hear about all the cold everywhere. We sure had more than normal the last 3 weeks! we are having above normal for the next 4 days, then some cool comes back by the weekend. the bees were out bringing in Maple and winter honeysuckle today like it was springtime! Love seeing them and hearing them! Hurry up SPRING!!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Bakersdozen on February 19, 2014, 05:40:26 pm
Oh yeah, Got some pics of yellow snow too!
 
Hey! Frank Zappa forgot to include honey bees when he said, "Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow."
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Bamabww on February 19, 2014, 06:01:54 pm
Checked all 5 of my hives yesterday and all were alive and well. Bees unusually aggressive at first but calmed down as the inspection went on. I had one hive I had been worried about making it through without some supplemental feeding but as I indicated in another thread, they were doing well and had barely eat any of the 3 lb. sugar brick I placed in the hive 3 months ago.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rodmaker on February 22, 2014, 06:12:26 pm
Checked four hives yesterday and three today all have a minimum of twelve frame of brood all stages. The queens seem to be laying in both upper and lower brood chambers equally . Not to bad i started winter with thirteen queen right hives now have seven real strong and two with no queen.I was able to give both of the weak hives a frame of brood to eggs to see what happens if they will raise a queen or i might have to follow up with another frame next week. Am i wasting my time and bees or should i keep trying to save them.? any opinions out there?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Perry on February 22, 2014, 07:21:21 pm
Do you have any drones flying or soon to be? Those frames of eggs will help, but if there are no drones flying for a new queen to mate........
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rodmaker on February 22, 2014, 08:13:55 pm
Perry- I have drone brood capped in six hives and I'm thinking it will probably take a couple of more frames to get them going. Have Queens ordered but don't want them to get to weak before i can requeen.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: brooksbeefarm on February 23, 2014, 12:15:09 pm
Well i checked 42 hives yesterday and found 8 deadouts :o ,haven't went through them yet it was late when i got home. I seen two of them with bee poop all over the front of there hives so i'm pretty sure what happened to them.Jack
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Woody Roberts on February 23, 2014, 01:18:47 pm
Rod maker
Our seasons are obviously different but what I do is just what you did. If they don't build queen cells in a couple days I combine them with another hive and start a nuc in their spot.
When bees reach a certain age they get reluctant to raise a queen. 4 or 5 suitable frames of young bees will not have any qualms.

If its too early for raising queens then I'd combine now and start the nuc when it's time.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 23, 2014, 01:38:01 pm
Perry- ""Do you have any drones flying or soon to be?""

How would I know if I have drones flying or soon to be? would that be equivelant to drones hanging out on the porch?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 23, 2014, 01:40:51 pm
Jen, weather permitting of course, you can look for drone brood cells.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Ray on February 23, 2014, 02:07:31 pm
Lost one! Looks like they got stranded away from their stores. Plenty of honey just not where the bees were :-(
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs23.postimg.cc%2Fv9y22o153%2Fapiary_002.jpg&hash=60a97e4bf02fb321f27d867e43a89e7bc0fb9722) (http://postimg.cc/image/v9y22o153/)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Bakersdozen on February 23, 2014, 02:27:16 pm
Lost one! Looks like they got stranded away from their stores. Plenty of honey just not where the bees were :-(
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs23.postimg.cc%2Fv9y22o153%2Fapiary_002.jpg&hash=60a97e4bf02fb321f27d867e43a89e7bc0fb9722) (http://postimg.cc/image/v9y22o153/)
So sad.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 23, 2014, 02:34:09 pm
Dang! That's a lot of dead bees  :sad:
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 23, 2014, 03:37:29 pm
Dang that sure is a sad sight!

How much honey did they have left?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Slowmodem on February 23, 2014, 05:08:20 pm
Looked in the hives today.  Two that I started from nucs are strong and roaring.  I didn't take the inner covers off.  They came out to greet me when I took the telescoping cover off.

The third one is dead.  It was from a package I started last spring.  Here's what I found.

On all my hives, I was determined to give them the (what I thought) was the best chance of survival:  Two deeps and a medium and feed them until they couldn't take any more.  All hives last fall were too heavy to lift.

The dead hive today had a medium super full of honey/syrup that weighed 50 or so pounds.  There were a few dead bees on the frames, but they didn't have their head stuck down into the comb like they were starving.

The top deep weighed around 30-40 pounds.  It had some honey/syrup and some empty comb.  Both those boxes are now in the freezer.

The bottom deep was full of comb with some pollen and liquid (syrup or honey) (pictures below).  The comb looks great to me, just empty.  There were some bees on the bottom screen.  I had used the screened bottom with beetle trap tray on all the hives.  Dead beetles in the tray, but not much evidence of beetles in any of the comb.

I'm scratching my head on this one.  Maybe the queen died?  Maybe it was just a weak hive as far as numbers go?  Too much honey for starvation, IMO.  I had even put some sugar on top of newspaper a couple of weeks ago because I thought they might be weak (although there seemed to be lots of bees flying in and out at that time).

Or is it just one of those things?

Here's the pictures:

Bees on the bottom screen:

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi585.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fss298%2FSlowmodem_photo%2FBees%2F022314%2520Kelley%2520Package%2520Deadout%2Fphotobucket-13404-1393190675212.jpg&hash=7e91fb1b81f83593924cd4c24347ce08e24dc02a)

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi585.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fss298%2FSlowmodem_photo%2FBees%2F022314%2520Kelley%2520Package%2520Deadout%2Fphotobucket-11118-1393190728079.jpg&hash=7f94ea002bad1adffa94aa1b717d696a33d4820e)

Some of the frames from the bottom deep:

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi585.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fss298%2FSlowmodem_photo%2FBees%2F022314%2520Kelley%2520Package%2520Deadout%2Fphotobucket-6468-1393190623831.jpg&hash=f38f3b715ec1fd1e40e2bdd11484166dcf0cbf32)

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi585.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fss298%2FSlowmodem_photo%2FBees%2F022314%2520Kelley%2520Package%2520Deadout%2Fphotobucket-11536-1393190479453.jpg&hash=7f3896e917d04ff32113074976eadb35c7f84770)

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi585.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fss298%2FSlowmodem_photo%2FBees%2F022314%2520Kelley%2520Package%2520Deadout%2Fphotobucket-10361-1393190554408.jpg&hash=0f1a0767e7320aa59949eec7b9744939ce23243a)

I apologize for the quality.  All I have is a phone camera.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 23, 2014, 05:20:26 pm
I always dig through the dead bees to try and locate the queen.

Sounds like they broke cluster on a warm day and the cold snap got them before they could recluster

Or

It was too cold for too long and the could not move as a cluster to the honey.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: ablanton on February 23, 2014, 06:05:50 pm
Well, I got a chance to go through 6 of 10 hives today.  Started cooling off before I could get in the other four.  Some were stronger than others, but all had laying queens and I was happy with what I found.

Oh!  Got my first sting of the year, too!  Got popped in the left wrist, which has been aching for about a month.  Curious to see if the aching goes away now.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Slowmodem on February 23, 2014, 06:25:12 pm
I always dig through the dead bees to try and locate the queen.

Sounds like they broke cluster on a warm day and the cold snap got them before they could recluster

Or

It was too cold for too long and the could not move as a cluster to the honey.

Thanks for those thoughts.  I looked and did not see a queen.  Maybe that's what was wrong.  I thought they were ok last fall.

Well, I have comb and boxes for splits or a couple of nucs.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 23, 2014, 08:45:58 pm
slow, that's all the bees you found dead in that hive?  how many dead bees were in that hive?  a large cluster, or just what you found or are showing in the pictures?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Slowmodem on February 23, 2014, 09:32:16 pm
slow, that's all the bees you found dead in that hive?  how many dead bees were in that hive?  a large cluster, or just what you found or are showing in the pictures?

Just what was in the picture.  I don't know if they absconded, swarmed, died, or what.  There was a lot of activity week before last in that hive.  And it's been cold for the most part here.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: crazy8days on February 23, 2014, 09:55:23 pm
I was able to pop the lids last week and feed fondant if needed.  All hives look good but one.  Bees were all dead and were around the inner cover opening and bottom entrance.  Kinda odd.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 23, 2014, 10:01:31 pm
"Just what was in the picture.  I don't know if they absconded, swarmed, died, or what.  There was a lot of activity week before last in that hive.  And it's been cold for the most part here."

slow, if that's all the bees you found dead in that hive, the activity week before last was 'robber' bees.  so that hive perished a very long time ago. hard to say what happened without a 'history' of them since you started them from last spring, could be anything, slow.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 01:19:04 am
Bummer Slow...  I haven't had to deal with beetles yet, just mites. Are there mites on the bottom board?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: tecumseh on February 24, 2014, 06:42:24 am
I am now onto a massive spring time splitting effort.  At this time I am half way thru my second batch of 50 queens from Hawaii.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Perry on February 24, 2014, 06:47:06 am
I'm inclined to agree with riverbee. What you saw were robbers, especially if that's all the bees there were. In one picture it looks like there was a bit of brood that died as it was hatching out. Open those capped cells and see what's inside.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Slowmodem on February 24, 2014, 07:46:17 am
"Just what was in the picture.  I don't know if they absconded, swarmed, died, or what.  There was a lot of activity week before last in that hive.  And it's been cold for the most part here."

slow, if that's all the bees you found dead in that hive, the activity week before last was 'robber' bees.  so that hive perished a very long time ago. hard to say what happened without a 'history' of them since you started them from last spring, could be anything, slow.

I wondered about that too.  But if it was robbers, they were dumb robbers.  There's 100 lbs of capped honey in the top two boxes.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Bakersdozen on February 24, 2014, 09:00:11 am
Slowmodem-I had a similar situation last winter.  In that case it was a hive I had bought from a woman that had a bad bee sting reaction.  We moved the hive in October and I didn't have a chance to do an inspection.  On Thanksgiving Day, my niece called to say the hive was trying to swarm.  I thought it impossible.  On a pleasant day in January I opened the lid to find them all dead, what was left of them.  The dead mites on the screened bottom board pretty much told me what happened.  They were overwhelmed with mites and on that balmy Thanksgiving Day tried to abscond.  What was left couldn't form a big enough cluster to beat the cold.
Live and learn.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Slowmodem on February 24, 2014, 09:07:08 am
Well at least I have 16 frames of honey/syrup to feed with if needed.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: rodmaker on February 24, 2014, 11:22:51 am
The hive i just had abscond looked exactly the same. Noticed very few mites but there was signs of mite fecal mater in one area of the brood chamber.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Ray on February 24, 2014, 11:49:10 am
Dang that sure is a sad sight!

How much honey did they have left?

About 3 full frames in the top box, all on the west side. The center deep had a good heft to it. It was a swarm I hived this summer, sorta thought I would split it this spring :'(. Too darn cold, Too darn long!
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 12:37:45 pm
My hive is a double deep. I got into the top super yesterday and want to get into my brood box today. Can I just lift the top super off without removing frames and set it down on some newpaper or something? Then do my brood box inspection, then set the top super back on when I'm done? don't want to mush the queen.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: iddee on February 24, 2014, 12:54:29 pm
I set the top box on the lid that I laid on the ground or hive stand, crossways.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 02:51:36 pm
Thanks Iddee  ;)  pht! why didn't I think of that

Got into my top super yesterday. I'm preparing for a split, or a swarm which ever comes first. I was told to look and see if there is any bee space left in between the frames. I don't think they are over crowded but starting to get pretty full.

What do you think?


(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs21.postimg.cc%2Fi8ahjmrkz%2Fis_there_enough_bee_room_1.jpg&hash=874946eb2945137773190bf37e66dfe4df863819) (http://postimg.cc/image/i8ahjmrkz/)

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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 03:14:50 pm
A nine frame box?

You already have drone brood in there.

At some point I would clean up all of that burr comb so the frames can be pushed tightly together, this will eliminate much of the frustration when pulling the frames out. Good way to roll a queen also.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 03:27:49 pm
Now, these are four frames that came out of the upper super. I found some honey in all nine frames. Plenty of capped brood. Drone cells. Nectar. Pollen. Larvae of all stages, but no eggs that I could detect, they are propably there tho, or in the brood box below.

Also, regarding screen bottom boards and the bees not building comb all the way to the bottom of the frame. Not in this hive's case, all comb is all the way to the bottom.

You can see the beautiful capped brood, and a couple of frames of weird wax formations. Is this burr comb?


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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 03:32:01 pm
G3- ""At some point I would clean up all of that burr comb so the frames can be pushed tightly together, this will eliminate much of the frustration when pulling the frames out. Good way to roll a queen also.""

Good Day G! I haven't ever trimmed up frames during spring thru fall. So would I do this after the drones have hatched?

And will the queen lay drones in these cells agian.

What time of year would I trim up these cells when queen is building this years colony?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 04:02:38 pm
All of that "weird looking wax" is known as burr of brace comb. A littlte smoke to move the bees off of it and cut or scrap off.  Yes you will kill some of the babies but all will be fine. I would have worked on them while they were out.

I see there are drones already hatched out.

Queen is laying a very nice tight pattern.

I still get a chuckle out of the fix on the wood frame inside of the plastic frame. Not in a mean way and not to discourage you either, looks like they are booming.

Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 04:15:12 pm
I'm smiling cause I know when people see my frame implants that they are either chuckling or scratching their head.

I'm in the process now of switching out the implants to wood/wax frames. Hubby got the frames assembled and wax inserted yesterday. Should be back into the hive tomorrow.

I love my queen  ;D

Thanks for your input
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: iddee on February 24, 2014, 04:19:13 pm
It is time, if not past time, to either split, add a box, or remove and replace some of the 2 piece frames. They need space.
I would do as G3 says, but after the split if you are going to split. It needs to be done, but you need all the drones you can get when you split.

You posted while I was writing, so I'm not starting over. Pretend it is before your last post.  ;D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Perry on February 24, 2014, 04:43:19 pm
Aside from the funky comb cause of the spacing,  :yes:
The queen is doing a nice job with a nice solid pattern. Just what the Dr. ordered,  a nice picture of a brood frame. It's been soooo long since I saw (or will see) one I almost hope I remember what they look like. Keep the pictures coming, they're greatly appreciated.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 05:17:46 pm
Jen whatever you do, don't throw those implant frames away! Twenty years from now you will look at those and get a good chuckle also. I still find things of years past that make me giggle at myself, not just bee stuff either.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 24, 2014, 05:18:26 pm
jen, as the guys said the burr and brace comb was caused by the uneven spacing you had going on between the frames. 

g3~
"A nine frame box?......At some point I would clean up all of that burr comb so the frames can be pushed tightly together"

jen~
"I found some honey in all nine frames."

just a comment jen, if you are using 9 frames you don't want to push the frames tightly together as we would with 10 frames, or you will really have a mess on the outside frames.  with 9 frames you want to space them evenly across. 

Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 05:36:57 pm
RB not to rehash the frame numbers again, but if you look at the box itself, it will only hold nine frames. She does not have a ten frame box with nine frames in it (or so it looks to me).

Jen, this is where you have to step up and make a choice in how you keep YOUR bees.

Me....push frames up tight together.
RB.....space them out.
Jen......??????

What works for some will not work for others, your milage may vary.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 24, 2014, 06:12:56 pm
okay oops g3, i assumed, and it appeared to me jen's hive was a 10 frame deep langstroth with 9 frames in it.  jen? 

don't disagree about what we keep our bees in, 10 frame lang with 10 frames or a 10 frame lang with 9 frames, but if one uses 9 frames in a 10 frame lang, you don't want to shove these tight together, you will have a gob of space between the hive body on the outside frames that the bees busy themselves with building burr and brace comb similiar to frames not being pushed closed together or spaced evenly.... :D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: iddee on February 24, 2014, 06:16:52 pm
And Iddee's way. Push a FULL box of frames of foundation tightly together. Space frames of comb evenly across the box.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 06:24:37 pm
And Iddee's way. Push a FULL box of frames of foundation tightly together. Space frames of comb evenly across the box.



Even in the brood box???

Honey super I agree on, not the brood box though.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: iddee on February 24, 2014, 06:40:06 pm
Wherever, whatever, whenever. I didn't say how many frames of comb in the box. I did say ALL frames of foundation in a box. I use 10 frames in all 10 frame boxes, but others use differently. Supers or brood box, fill totally with foundation frames tightly together and however many frames of comb you want to use, always space them evenly. Some use eight frames in a 10 frame box. Put them tightly together and see what kind of mess you get.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 07:02:38 pm
Well I have always put ten frames in a ten frame brood box pushed tightly together and get no mess.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 07:04:52 pm
Maybe you meant nine frames in a ten frame box pushed tightly together making a mess, yes I agree with that.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: iddee on February 24, 2014, 07:15:27 pm
And maybe you meant 10 frames in a 10 frame box is pushed together tightly when evenly spaced. Yeah, I agree with that.  :D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 07:32:38 pm
I'm sooo Laughing!! I just love all of you guys ~

Riv- I'm so tempted to join the female bee brigade ~ still working it out in my head.

This is good education for me because I'm not educated about the box/frame thing.

G3  ""RB not to rehash the frame numbers again, but if you look at the box itself, it will only hold nine frames. She does not have a ten frame box with nine frames in it (or so it looks to me)""

At the ends of the frames, see where the "t" is? none of them are touching. Are the ends of the "t" supposed to be touching? Because if they are supposed to be touching, I'll bet in the beginning... I would have had enough room to insert a 10th frame.


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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 08:01:11 pm
Not sure I am qualified to answer frame number questions.  ;)

As said before, ask ten beekeepers the same question and get twelve different answers, and they could change depending on the weather and day of week.  :laugh:

Pushed tightly together, yes the "tees" or sides of the end bars are touching with the extra space divided up equally between the outside frames and the side of the box.

Spaced out evenly, no they do not touch.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Garden Hive on February 24, 2014, 08:06:21 pm
It would appear that is the proper spacing....with bare foundation. Always push Bare Foundation tightly together. That way the comb is drawn out evenly. Once it is drawn then you can space out. I would say many space out just the honey supers by removing a frame, for deeper comb holds more honey and sometimes easier to uncap.
Hope this explains a little.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 24, 2014, 08:16:50 pm
even in a 10 frame hive when you push all the frames tightly together in the brood chambers  leaving equal spaces between the number one frame and the sidewall and the number 10 frame and the sidewall. I like that little bit of space created by pushing the frames together it gives you levering room to pry frames apart. in the honey supers I will initially draw 10 frames, and remove one of those frames and space 9 frames to get them to overdraw this cells out past the side rails making for easy uncapping.

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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Marbees on February 24, 2014, 08:58:06 pm
It would appear that is the proper spacing....with bare foundation. Always push Bare Foundation tightly together. That way the comb is drawn out evenly. Once it is drawn then you can space out. I would say many space out just the honey supers by removing a frame, for deeper comb holds more honey and sometimes easier to uncap.
Hope this explains a little.

Right on and BTW welcome to The Club :)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 24, 2014, 09:46:23 pm
okay, i think there might be some confusion here for new beeks and for jen.  most beeks use 10 frames in a 10 frame langstroth.  some, like me, and commercial keeps choose to use 9 frames in a 10 frame langstroth.  the number of frames does not matter, it's what works for you.  having said that, whatever is used, 9 frames or 10 frames i will go back to what iddee said originally:

"And Iddee's way. Push a FULL box of frames of foundation tightly together. Space frames of comb evenly across the box.

jen, what you have is a standard 10 frame langstroth box.  whoever started you out, placed nine drawn frames in there, and yes looking at your photographs, if  you didn't have all the burr and brace comb and the drawing of comb from the uneven spacing you might have been able to get 10 frames in there in the beginning, maybe, but you won't get 10 frames in there now, unless you remove drawn frames and place foundation in.  how do i know this?  because i keep 9 frame brood boxes and know what a 9 frame brood box in a 10 frame deep looks like with the comb drawn out. 

let's say for example i want to run either a 9 frame or 10 frame brood box in a 10 frame lang and all i have is foundation. as iddee said those frames of foundation go in and are tightly pushed together.  as comb is drawn, space them accordingly or with 10 frames tight together.  because i use 9 frames, when 10 frames of foundation are drawn out, i remove one frame and space the 9 frames evenly in the hive body. if these 9 frames are not spaced evenly, one will get what is depicted in your photographs jen with all the burr and brace comb.  this is easily cleaned up, just take a sharp knife and cut the burr/brace comb down even with the wax on the rest of your frame, and then again, space evenly.

let's say i have 9 drawn frames like jen does, and i want to cycle out one or two frames of drawn comb and add foundation. i add one or two frames of foundation and space those frames evenly in the hive, but  i do not place frames of foundation together.  frames of foundation to be drawn will be placed between drawn frames, so that they are drawn out properly. 

hope i made sense to you jen, and anyone else?

and ps. i use 8 drawn frames in a medium honey super. same concept when starting with foundation as iddee said. as garden hive said, deeper comb and much easier to uncap

oh and one more ps, my apologies for the off topic reply, was just trying to clarify an answer to this and jen's photos.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 10:37:57 pm
Marbees ""Right on and BTW welcome to The Club""

What is BTW?
 
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: iddee on February 24, 2014, 10:53:09 pm
BY THE WAY
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 10:55:02 pm
BTW

Because
Ten
Wins

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: brooksbeefarm on February 24, 2014, 11:20:45 pm
Atta boy G3, that'll put the squirt on her toes. :laugh: :laugh: Jack
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 24, 2014, 11:33:18 pm
G3- HA!
Because
Ten
Wins

So G- You use 10 frames in the brood box and 10 frames in the honey supers?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: G3farms on February 24, 2014, 11:56:18 pm
Brood box....ten frames in ten frame box, pushed up tight, with the extra space divided on each side.

Honey supers..... ten and nine frames.

Wax and wood, no milk jug stuff.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 25, 2014, 12:12:07 am
Riv- I'm so tempted to join the female bee brigade ~ still working it out in my head.
might want to now...... just on the bee brigade myself........:D

milk jug stuff or not, it's really all the same, and jack you are really cruisin' for a bruisin', have to start picking on you again, hmmm how are those knees? :D..........oh better yet, still not far from missouri, milk jugs going in your hives, will have to hold perry back too  :D

okay so back to our regularly scheduled program on how are your bees doing...... :D :laugh: :D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 25, 2014, 01:08:08 am
Riv- ""Riv- I'm so tempted to join the female bee brigade ~ still working it out in my head.
might want to now...... just on the bee brigade myself........""

Meaning that I like your theory of running one less frame. So far, ALL the men on this post want to run 10. Maybe they like it...mmm snug.  I could say something inappropriate here....  :-[ ;)

Because I don't know how many other females there are responding on our posts, I'm wondering how do they do their frames? So far, usually, I only see you and I discussing these deeper subjects.

The Female Bee Brigade might think completely different than the men. But how would we know if the other women don't chime in? ya know?

Let's see how much trouble this will stir up... hehehehe
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 25, 2014, 01:33:18 am
G3 ""Wax and wood, no milk jug stuff.""

I'm with ya on this one  ;) 8)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 25, 2014, 01:43:04 am
Riv- ""how do i know this?  because i keep 9 frame brood boxes and know what a 9 frame brood box in a 10 frame deep looks like with the comb drawn out.""

I know we've discussed this before on an early thread and in pm as well. Reiterating

You keep both brood and honey supers 9 frames in a 10 frame lang?

I understand why with the honey supers. Would you be so kind as to explaining why to keep 9 in a brood box? I have two men in my realm that will need to understand this.

Thank you kindly  :) 8) 
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 25, 2014, 02:10:08 am
so I have a question to ask you Jen, why would you want to deprive your queen of one more frame to lay eggs in? chances are excellent she will only use one side of it. but your still talking about what 2000 workers? that extra frame doesn't add much at all the way of weight. it is one of the frames at the bees will use to start storing honey in  fall. I'm just curious what your logic.

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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: LazyBkpr on February 25, 2014, 02:18:10 am
erm..  dangerous ground to walk on here.. fortunately there is SOME distance.. so if I see a car i don't recognize i can HIDE while "they" try to figure out the automatic gate....
  From reading only, I gather that there are about five thousand cells on a medium frame, and around seven thousand on a deep frame. In taking an entire frame out of the brood chamber, the queen has that much less space to lay in, and or, the bees have less storage space in the box. Deeper cells in the brood chamber serve no purpose if they actually build them deeper?? To me it would only seem that a wider gap would be harder to keep warm and would invite brace comb as seen in The lady Jen's picture. I see only loss and trouble. I can understand the 9 frame super with great clarity, so ask respectfully to please clear up my confusion on this?
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 25, 2014, 02:41:41 am
Lazybkr, I have night vision goggles. Should see her coming from quite some distance lol :) I have seen this is the mess bees make in the space between the top of frames and inner cover, even between drawn comb and foundation. And that is with 10 frames. I'm just trying to understand the logic...


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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Bakersdozen on February 25, 2014, 07:36:45 am

Because I don't know how many other females there are responding on our posts, I'm wondering how do they do their frames? So far, usually, I only see you and I discussing these deeper subjects.

The Female Bee Brigade might think completely different than the men. But how would we know if the other women don't chime in? ya know?

Let's see how much trouble this will stir up... hehehehe


I think this thread has been hijacked! :hijack:
That being said, and being part of the Female Bee Brigade, here is my 2 cents worth.  In my 10 frame langstroth hives I use 10 frames in the brood boxes.  And yes, I use two brood boxes.  In my honey supers I use 10 frames when I have frames that don't have drawn comb.  If I have drawn comb in my supers, I use only 9.  With 9 frames in a super, the bees will fill the individual frames fuller.  I push them together with any space on the outside walls.  This is a common practice around here.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I am 4 for 4.  All 4 hives doing well.  I recently put additional emergency feed on because around here, now is when we tend to lose them.  The queen starts laying, and they run out of stores before anything starts blooming.  I haven't been able to pull any frames yet.  I am just satisfied that they are alive.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Ziffa on February 25, 2014, 09:09:36 am
Wow, Jen - those bees look great! Puts my puny baby hives in perspective! I guess i do have a long ways to wait.

I always hate to scrape comb as well, feel so bad for the larva :(.  But it is also a good check for mites inside your brood comb.  They really stand out on the white larva. 

I'm a 10 frame female.  I like 10 frames of natural comb in the brood box when I can get it.  But have to use foundation some to keep them straight.  I may try 9 frames in a honey super this summer, but my bees seem 'artistic' and wonky comb makes me a little crazy, so we will see.

I'm four for four too, so far!  so excited and worried at the same time for the next month.  Hope they all make it through and start building soon!

love,
ziffa
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Garden Hive on February 25, 2014, 11:02:31 am
Thanks for the welcome. Came over after I saw y'all here.
My bees have not faired very well. Lost 3 of 5 at the house here. Lost the ones with the most stored honey and the oldest hives. Feel like just small clusters didn't make the cold winds.
But the surviving hive are great. Had to open up the ER to allow for the heavy traffic. Got this nice pic with the phone. Photo doesn't represent the volume of yellow pollen coming in.

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs1.postimg.cc%2Fpr1zse9bv%2FIMG_20140224_150315894.jpg&hash=96f7ef22cdc9e523c162289d2a6b15d51e87f2e1) (http://postimg.cc/image/pr1zse9bv/)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: riverbee on February 25, 2014, 11:07:30 am
thank you bakersdozen for getting this thread back on track. if we want to discuss the merits of frames there is another thread here with some discussion on it, otherwise, let's start a new thread so as not to take away from this one.

nice photo garden hive!  really love the e/r you have there...... :D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Garden Hive on February 25, 2014, 11:32:28 am
Thank R/B....
I like those scrap pieces of 1/4 rd trim that are left laying around.
Temps here have been good for an early jump start. Going to have a few nights in the 20's this week but then hoping for it to be over!
From the dead outs, I have plenty of nicely honey trimmed brood frames to give some packages a great start. That is IF I find some. Supplier said I'm on a list....his order is full.
Wish me luck.
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 25, 2014, 12:01:06 pm
Garden Hive,
while no one likes losing hives,, those that survived seem to be doing well, the only thing I would suggest is to make sure that they have honey close to the cluster  other than that they should make it through the rest of this winter

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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 25, 2014, 01:28:54 pm
Lazy ""erm..  dangerous ground to walk on here.. fortunately there is SOME distance.. so if I see a car i don't recognize i can HIDE while "they" try to figure out the automatic gate....""

HA! I KNEW IT! While this thread was continuing to inspire and confuse... I had visions of LazyBkpr in the quiet night leaning back in his chair, boots up on old worn desk, rum in hand, exquisitly rolled cuban cigar thin smoke threading up staining the ceiling, reading away... plotting what he will add... when everyone else has retired...

A sleuth this one
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: LazyBkpr on February 25, 2014, 04:52:45 pm
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sherv.net%2Fcm%2Femoticons%2Fsmile%2Fevil-look-smiley-emoticon.jpg&hash=168f02d3770426776c86c6d89eea82a75cd158e9) (http://www.sherv.net/)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Marbees on February 25, 2014, 05:28:29 pm
Jen, cuban cigars are illegal in US  :D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 25, 2014, 05:31:46 pm
Details

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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 25, 2014, 06:41:11 pm
This bee girl will never tell her secrets ~  ;) 8)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: barry42001 on February 25, 2014, 07:38:16 pm
LOL

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Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: LazyBkpr on February 25, 2014, 10:21:42 pm
hehe, only if you get caught importing them!   C:-)
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Marbees on February 25, 2014, 11:19:37 pm
hehe, only if you get caught importing them!   C:-)
:D :D
Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: Jen on February 25, 2014, 11:35:10 pm
Temps got up to 70 today, a record for our area in late Feb. We got into our bottom brood box, and was surprised to see about half the activity as the upper box which was full and bustling. Half the bees, half or less of capped brood, half the pollen. A handful of  honey, larvae, nectar, drone cells, didn't see eggs. Didn't see the queen.

The last picture is where we got a chance to swap out from plastic to wood/wax. Was able to eliminate two of my surgical implants.

I do see now that I could have checker boarded the new wood/wired wax, but the bees were getting cranky and I took 6 stings, so we buttoned it up. I can rearrange that in a couple of weeks or so.

Makes me think that I don't need to split.. just yet anyway. What do ya think?

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2F46eewmwu7%2FDSCF8750.jpg&hash=ca3225a2801acb124f214fc37810ebaf31c26bb2) (http://postimg.cc/image/46eewmwu7/)
a orange size ball of drone brood, removed it.

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Fmd5whunjz%2FDSCF8751.jpg&hash=f4f803b275249758408bc7f9305af44f9197562e) (http://postimg.cc/image/md5whunjz/)
Not much going on here

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2Fctw7oe01r%2FDSCF8760.jpg&hash=a279b906e223949d8863842f29b940c1d97e5314) (http://postimg.cc/image/ctw7oe01r/)
Not mites on drone brood! Oxalic Acid Rocks!

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs27.postimg.cc%2F4e6n6vx6n%2FDSCF8761.jpg&hash=e529c8a2428d2c0984213497cb1ce8d794965fa3) (http://postimg.cc/image/4e6n6vx6n/)
The four frames that were removed

(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs28.postimg.cc%2Fcj33ughc9%2FDSCF8752.jpg&hash=0f928cb89302b4d588fe52c154aa82ba24a550d0) (http://postimg.cc/image/cj33ughc9/)
Could have checker boarded here

Title: Re: How are your bees doing?
Post by: caesarsfish on February 27, 2014, 10:01:00 am
Jen, cuban cigars are illegal in US  :D
  We have a place in Pedasi, Los Santos, Panama and I usually buy a couple of boxes of Cuban cigars at the airport on the way back and have never been checked coming back into the US.