« previous next »
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4   Go Down

Author Topic: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)  (Read 20644 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline LazyBkpr

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 6842
  • Thanked: 205 times
  • Gender: Male
  • www.outyard.net
    • The Outyard
  • Location: Richland Iowa
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #20 on: May 30, 2014, 09:09:08 am »
hrm...   If I give the wife the camera...maybe that will keep her from thinking about harming us.....    Having friends and company flee in terror when my wife shows up is never fun.    O:-)
Logged
Drinking RUM before noon makes you a PIRATE not an alcoholic!

*Sponsor*

Offline tedh

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1349
  • Thanked: 66 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Henry County, Iowa
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #21 on: June 07, 2014, 09:01:06 am »
Hi Everybody,

We checked the hives last evening and I have a couple more questions that probably don't deserve they're own topic soooo...
   FIRST:  I have my hive on a large round cement pad where a grain bin used to be.  The hive is up on 3 cement blocks.  Should the holes on the blocks be up?  That's the way they are.  My thinking was the holes on the blocks would create an air pocket that may help with insulation.  Should the holes be horizontal to allow for air flow and keeping moisture down?  Does it even matter?
   SECOND:  Josh's hive is definitely the stronger of the two.  He has more bees, more drawn out frames, more capped brood, larva, etc.  We are talking about taking one frame (with capped brood, larva, (and eggs?)) bees and all and installing in my weaker hive.  Josh is concerned that we may inadvertently take his queen.   I think we could avoid this but...  Josh has also mentioned concern about the bees being older (from  packages) and possible hostilities between bees from two colonies being combined.  After talking with Scott last week I don't think this will happen but...  If we do add one frame from Josh's hive to mine should we do that today or wait until next week when we are scheduled to open the hives again?  I don't see this as an emergency.  As background info, I do have 3 full frames of capped brood, larva, etc. and a couple more frames partially filled.  We expect bees to emerge sometime this week as the queens were released 3 weeks ago this Sunday.  The bees were installed on undrawn plasticell foundation.  Hmmm,  I think that's all I got.  Any thoughts?  Ted
Logged
Share that which you have an abundance of.  In doing so both the giver and receiver are enriched.

Offline Perry

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 7382
  • Thanked: 390 times
  • Gender: Male
    • Brandt's Bees
  • Location: Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #22 on: June 07, 2014, 09:26:10 am »
#1 - Doesn't really matter, six of one and a half dozen of the other so to speak.

#1 - I'm not up to date on the thread so forgive me if I've missed something. If the two hives are located close to one another, you could simply switch their positions during the height of the day, thereby giving the weaker hive an instant boost in population.
You could also just move one frame of well capped brood, minus the bees. Nurse bees (ones usually located on open brood frames) have no particulat allegiance to a colony and are readily accepted into most other hives without issue.
Logged
"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."      
Forum Supporter

Offline Woody Roberts

  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 387
  • Thanked: 2 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Ash Grove MO.
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #23 on: June 07, 2014, 09:50:19 am »
It is exciting when you see your first eggs. But when you raise your first queen and see her brood, boy howdy!
Logged

Offline tedh

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1349
  • Thanked: 66 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Henry County, Iowa
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #24 on: June 07, 2014, 09:58:51 am »
Thanks Perry!  The hives are 8 to 10 miles apart.  How would I go about removing bees from the frame of well capped brood?  Also, if memory serves, the frames all had brood in different stages of development.  I don't recall any frames with only capped brood.  I wonder if we should just wait and see what happens in this next week.  I fully expect Josh's hive to EXPLODE while mine should show at least an increase in bee numbers. 

I haven't actually SEEN eggs yet.  What with my eyesight, the veil, and not much experience.  But, I keep on looking!  Who knows, maybe someday I'll raise a queen!  Right now that seems like a loooooong way down the road! Ted
Logged
Share that which you have an abundance of.  In doing so both the giver and receiver are enriched.

Offline iddee

  • Administrator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 6169
  • Thanked: 414 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Sophia, N. C.
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #25 on: June 07, 2014, 10:10:15 am »
PATIENCE.......

Give it 2 more weeks, then decide if it needs help.
Logged
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
― Shel Silverstein

Offline tedh

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1349
  • Thanked: 66 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Henry County, Iowa
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #26 on: June 07, 2014, 10:40:42 am »
iddee:  I actually laughed right out loud when I read that!  Okay man, patience it is.  Thanks, Ted
Logged
Share that which you have an abundance of.  In doing so both the giver and receiver are enriched.

Offline Jen

  • Platinum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10175
  • Thanked: 240 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Upper California
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #27 on: June 07, 2014, 10:52:08 am »
Hi Ted  :)  Iddee has talked to me IN CAPITAL LETTERS as well ~ And one time he ordered me to pack my bags and take a vaca from the bees!  :D
Logged
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline riverbee

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 8924
  • Thanked: 410 times
  • Gender: Female
  • ***Forum Sponsor***
  • Location: El Paso Twp, Wisconsin
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #28 on: June 07, 2014, 12:07:50 pm »
"I haven't actually SEEN eggs yet.  What with my eyesight, the veil, and not much experience."

ted, for some of us this requires cheaters and a magnifying lens........ :D  i think some beeks here use a small flashlight? or get your back to the sun and hold the frame with the sun shining on it.   ;)

ps jen we don't talk in cap letters unless we are trying to get a point across to some of us who are hard heads or are not familiar with patience.......and you definitely needed the vacation...... :D
Logged
i keep wild things in a box..........™
if you obey the rules, you miss all the fun.....katherine hepburn
Forum Sponsor

Offline Jen

  • Platinum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10175
  • Thanked: 240 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Upper California
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #29 on: June 07, 2014, 12:21:50 pm »
Ha! and that is exacty what I did! It was incredible how much I got done around the house when not chasing crazy swarms ~ snark

And now that there's a big flow going on and I'm not feeding everyday, maybe I can pick up where I left off two months ago... Oh Yeah.. painting the hallway  :D
Logged
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline LazyBkpr

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 6842
  • Thanked: 205 times
  • Gender: Male
  • www.outyard.net
    • The Outyard
  • Location: Richland Iowa
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #30 on: June 07, 2014, 02:12:01 pm »

   Once the bees in those capped cells start emerging things will start to come around pretty quick. As long as the queen is laying well your fine. She will only lay as much as her hive can cover/handle. With new bees emerging she will lay more, and there will be new bees ready to make more foundation.

   If you want to move a frame of brood.. shake the bees off, and wrap it with a warm towel so the brood doesnt get chilled on the trip. eggs and larvae are fine. They have a laying queen they wont make queen cells with them any more than they do with the eggs she is currently laying. Mostly capped brood is best because it will be the fastest boost for the hive if you chose to transfer a frame.
    Orientation on the blocks is just a matter of personal choice. I chose sideways so no debris would build up. No ant nests, mouse nests etc in the cavity..  Purely personal preference.
   Nurse bees won't fight. Fighting is for the entrance and for a strange queen.  Sliding a frame of nurse bees and brood in has not caused me any problems.   Nuc's are often frames from two or three hives installed together.
    Get some BeePeepers so you can see the eggs!  Couldn't live without mine!
Logged
Drinking RUM before noon makes you a PIRATE not an alcoholic!

*Sponsor*

Offline tedh

  • Gold Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1349
  • Thanked: 66 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Henry County, Iowa
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #31 on: June 07, 2014, 03:35:16 pm »
Mice.  Hmmm. I did see a mouse scurry across the pad yesterday.  Couldn't tell where from but it looked like the hive.  I wonder if I could flip the blocks without freaking the bees too much?  Good info about the nurse bees and keeping brood warm.

Jeepers creepers Scott, where DID you get those Peepers?   Everybody, sliiiiiiiiiiide to the right!  And sliiiiiiide to the left! :D :D

Ted
Logged
Share that which you have an abundance of.  In doing so both the giver and receiver are enriched.

Offline apisbees

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 3723
  • Thanked: 331 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Vernon B.C.
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #32 on: June 08, 2014, 04:13:11 pm »
Listen to Iddee. If you move a frame of brood and you don't have the population in the hive to cover and keep it warm the brood can be chilled and die. There is a balance between bee population and  the amount of brood area that can be supported. If there was sufficient population to cover that extra frame of brood the bees would have drawn and the queen would have laid it with eggs. You will get a massive hatch out over the next weeks and the population will explode and the queen will increase her laying to near full capacity.
being a little weaker is not always a bad thing in a months time Josh could be chasing swarms and yours peaking with the proper timing of the honey flow. In beekeeping one never knows.
Logged
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

Offline Jen

  • Platinum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10175
  • Thanked: 240 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Upper California
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #33 on: June 08, 2014, 04:43:08 pm »
Apis- "If you move a frame of brood and you don't have the population in the hive to cover and keep it warm the brood can be chilled and die.
 
     Okay so, if our nights are in the mid 60's and the highs in the daytime is around 85... would the brood get chilled if there wasn't enough bees to cover them?

     I'm asking because I have one hive that is just dawling along, not really, surviving but not thriving.

    Maybe I should post this question as a seperate thread?
Logged
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline apisbees

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 3723
  • Thanked: 331 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Vernon B.C.
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #34 on: June 08, 2014, 04:56:41 pm »
The brood nest is kept at 95 deg to incubate the  brood it may not kill but it could effect the development of the brood. Which could effect the health and life of the bees. In all the cases I have seen if the bees cannot cover the brood and it is left exposed the brood dies.
Logged
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

Offline Jen

  • Platinum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10175
  • Thanked: 240 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Upper California
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #35 on: June 08, 2014, 05:03:28 pm »
Okay ~

If I'm looking into my hive, how can I tell if there is enough bees to cover an added frame of brood?

Or.... let's see... I would add the frame of brood along with the bees that are on that frame?
Logged
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline apisbees

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 3723
  • Thanked: 331 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Vernon B.C.
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #36 on: June 08, 2014, 05:04:16 pm »
Jen move a frame of capped brood over into the hive with out the bees and then shake the bees off of 2 frames of young open larva that the nurse bees are feeding. This is equivalent to adding 3 to 4 frames of bees to a colony. Adding young bees so will be excepted and will not go after the queen
Logged
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

Offline apisbees

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 3723
  • Thanked: 331 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Vernon B.C.
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #37 on: June 08, 2014, 05:12:40 pm »
There will be bees to cover an extra 2 to 3 frames. A hive 10 frames of bees will have 7 frames with brood in them 6 frames of bees 3 1/2 to 4. check and count any of your hives when you lift the cover how many frames does the cluster cover? Then haw many frames have brood? This holds true until you reach the egg laying capacity of the queen.
Logged
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.

Offline Jen

  • Platinum Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10175
  • Thanked: 240 times
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: Upper California
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #38 on: June 08, 2014, 06:48:50 pm »
Can I brush them into the hive, I'm just not very good at that snap thing  :-\
Logged
There Is Peace In The Queendom

Offline apisbees

  • Global Moderator
  • Gold Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 3723
  • Thanked: 331 times
  • Gender: Male
  • Location: Vernon B.C.
Re: Bonehead with bees (no offense tbone)
« Reply #39 on: June 09, 2014, 08:32:22 pm »
Yes brush or smoke or hold the frame by one end and hit.thr end bar pown on the edge of the super edge gravity will do most of the work.



Sent from my LG-P500h using Tapatalk 2

Logged
Honey Judge, Beekeeping Display Coordinator, Armstrong Fair and Rodeo.
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4   Go Up
« previous next »