2014 Plan of Action for a RI Keep

[Papakeith]

This Winter has been brutal for us keeps in New England.  Extended cold snaps have really tested my colonies.

Soon, I hope to see some better temps and signs of life from the few remaining hives.  Then, I learn what I can, rebuild and try to grow again.

Here are the stats,
I entered winter with 9 double deep langstroth hives and one survivor Bee Tree.
During a January thaw I found that I had lost two of the hives.  too cold for too long
February was worse  lost another three. Same reason  too cold for too long.
Here we are in March with brood being laid and once again we are in an extended deep freeze.
Temps are supposed to be in the mid 40s this weekend.  I'm hoping to see  my three remaining hives out and about on cleaning flights.

I'll post more later, but my goal is to set a course of action for the coming bee season. One that will give me a solid course for rebuiding what I can.  I'd like to enter next winter at at least the same level as I did this past year.

[Riverrat]

Been a rough winter everywhere. The news said this was the coldest winter in 40 years.  Sounds like you got some splitting to do to get your numbers back up.

[Papakeith]

If my survivor colony in the tree made it through another winter it will have proved it's genetics.  I will probably start rebuilding by removing that colony from the tree and splitting it up into nucs.  Of course another option would be to capture whatever swarms it might throw.  I'm still on the fence about that.

[robo]

If my survivor colony in the tree made it through another winter it will have proved it's genetics.  I will probably start rebuilding by removing that colony from the tree and splitting it up into nucs.  Of course another option would be to capture whatever swarms it might throw.  I'm still on the fence about that.

I would think long and hard about removing it from the tree.   You assume it is all genetics, I would argue otherwise.   
- How much ventilation does that bee tree have compared to your Langstroths?
- How are the combs oriented in the tree compared to your Langstroths?
- How many times is the internals of the bee tree exposed to light compared to your Langstroths?
- How often is the heat/scent in the tree completely diluted by opening it up compared to your Langstroth?

I don't know if any of these things play a part in the survival of the feral colony,  but I think you get my point. I have seen many instances where strong feral colonies do not do as well once moved to Langstroth's.

It would be far more wiser to let nature be and capture swarms for years to come.

[barry42001]

what's not really ever been stated about feral colonies versus domesticated these, actual hygiene of a feral colony versus managed. we keep our colonies nice and tidy, making sure the bottom board stays all clean and pretty. Feral bees do not have that luxury. hive debris drop down in the bottom of the hollow space, rots and ferments in place. and while I certainly wouldn't want my bees exposed to all that, perhaps to feral bees immunological systems because of being exposed to all that, are a bit stronger than managed hives.

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[tefer2]

have you seen activity from the bee tree bees?
The ones I have been watching are dead as door nails here.

[LazyBkpr]

I'm going to go with Robo on this..    the bee trees I know of I leave alone. Set up swarm boxes near them..   Unless this is a chunk of tree someone cut and you retrieved?
   I have often found, EVEN when a colony in a tree, old house etc dies during the winter, the cavity is VERY often repopulated that very spring. Its like finding a pot of gold under a rainbow when I locate a new feral colony.

   As of this moment, I had only lost one hive when I checked in Feb.  But I am very certain, the sub zero temps since then have taken their toll.  It is supposed to hit 60 degrees here Monday, for the first time in 5 months, so I can see exactly what I have left.
   I expect that I will be splitting my best colony into several nuc's when the queens I have ordered arrive.  I had intended to pull light splits from the production colonies as they started to boom.. that may not be an option now. We have to do the best we can with what we have left.
 

[robo]

Excellent point Barry.....


Here are some pictures of a feral hive I removed from a house that was going to be restored.   I got contacted by a NYC lawyer who wanted to restore his abandoned childhood home, but the contractors would not start until the bees where removed.   He said he remembered the bees always being there when he was a kid.   Whether the colony was active through the whole 30 year period or not I can not say,   but the whole side of the house had evidence of comb remains and the progression on the colony movement was evident.   BTW,  I removed the colony in the early spring and they had a pretty good mite infestation at the time.

[Perry]

This was a cut-out done 2 years ago. Bees in the space on the left had been sprayed and killed. Another colony moved in, using the same entrance, but decided to move further down and set up a new shop there. Because of the distance involved dragging out debris, they simply created a nice tidy dumpsite.

[Papakeith]

have you seen activity from the bee tree bees?
The ones I have been watching are dead as door nails here.

the "tree"  is an 8 ft tall stump, the remnants of a tree that was cut down by my nephew in march of 2013.  I cut off the remaining part of the tree where the trunk was solid and moved the hive and stump to my property.  It was active all summer, and I saw activity in mid January on our last mild break in weather.  I'm hoping to see them active again this weekend if it gets warm enough.

[apisbees]

Also the feral colony is self treating against the build up of mite populations by causing brood brakes in the feral colony and in the swarm.
The feral colony is not being robbed of it's honey and keeps what it has stored for wintering. The bees in a tree cavity also is setup so the bees do not have to move laterally to get to their stores but only move up as they consume their honey.
In nature bees swarm multiple times per year, cause the bee species require this increase to cover the natural loss that occurs in nature.

[robo]

Apis,

Yes these too can be contributing factors,  but it seems a lot of these would also apply to abandoned Langstroth hives, which in my experience don't fair as well as feral colonies that pick their own location,  comb orientation, etc.

How is that for a run on sentence

[Papakeith]

Well whaddya know?!

The three remaining colonies were all out and about yesterday as temps made it past 50F.  I popped the top cover on them and checked for sugar and pollen patties.  All three were on the feed.  One was not centered under the remaining sugar so I shifted the sugar to be over the cluster. 

 The Tree was showing activity too! 

Some good news out of a rough winter.

[tecumseh]

a Robo snip...
I would think long and hard about removing it from the tree.   You assume it is all genetics, I would argue otherwise.

tecumseh...
thanks for adding your thoughts here.  I often times get skewered on bee forums as being negative.... which I guess is invariable the picture you paint when you see the complexity in any given situation.  To my simple mind the honey bee can be extremely simple and extremely complex organism and often time at exactly the same time.

[tefer2]

Any kind of live bees is good this spring!

[Perry]

Any kind of live bees is good this spring!

 

[LazyBkpr]

tecumseh...
  I often times get skewered on bee forums as being negative.... which I guess is invariable the picture you paint when you see the complexity in any given situation.

   I hope the skewering stays on the other forums so we can have constructive arguments here..   I like to learn the error of my ways without trying to look up IP's to find where someone lives.
   Scott

[apisbees]

Apis,

Yes these too can be contributing factors,  but it seems a lot of these would also apply to abandoned Langstroth hives, which in my experience don't fair as well as feral colonies that pick their own location,  comb orientation, etc.

How is that for a run on sentence

I agree but most abandoned lang's are in at least 2 deep supers and even more in stakes of 3 or more. the space is large enough that the colony will only swarm once during the year not 2 or more times for bees in a more confined feral place. Also a lot of times when breaking down an abandoned Lang, a queen excluder was used and is still in the hive causing queenlessness by not allowing the queen to stay with the cluster. Another factor is lang's are set on or close to the ground so mice and other animals are more detrimental to the bees survival. Feral colonies because of the bees natural tendency to have their nest further off the ground  will allow for better air drainage and the heaver moisture laden air that forms at ground level will have less effect on the bees.