Author Topic: 1st Inspection ~ Mother Hive Feb 16 (Read 14275 times)

Jen · « **Reply #20 on:** February 17, 2015, 02:10:18 pm »

My question now is: I would estimate maybe a third or less of the stores are left. I didn't see any fresh nectar but plenty of pollen. I don't see that they are going to have enough food until the first flow. I do have 1 full frame of honey in the freezer, and I have 6 more frames that are not completely full of honey, maybe 70-80% full in the shed. How many frames of honey should I give this hive now?

I didn't get to learn this part last year before swarmania hit.. Thanks!

apisbees · « **Reply #21 on:** February 17, 2015, 04:37:04 pm »

The hive looks good lots of healthy bees. Did you look and see any varroa on the drone brood?
You said it is a single brood box with a Dadant honey super on it, I would add a second brood box over the first and feed syrup to get the bees to draw out the comb and give the queen more space to lay. remember that you can move some of the frames of brood to boost the weaker hives, just make sure you don't move the queen.

Jen · « **Reply #22 on:** February 17, 2015, 05:35:15 pm »

Hi Apis! How the heck are ya these days..

The hive is one deep on the bottom, filling up quickly with capped brood. Then there is a medium super on that has maybe a 1/3 stores left, and the queen is up there already laying. So I put one more medium on with pulled frames.

So Apis, it's still mid Feb... even tho the weather is in the 60's this week, I'm sure we'll have some more cold snaps, is syrup the right choice?

No Mites In The Larvae... Man! How did I get so lucky

tbonekel · « **Reply #23 on:** February 17, 2015, 06:40:32 pm »

So are you wanting to stay with medium brood boxes? Yes, add one big time! Those bees look great!

barry42001 · « **Reply #24 on:** February 17, 2015, 06:46:57 pm »

Hey Jen, isn't that a few varroa on that drone pupae, slightly above center and left in this pic?

Jen · « **Reply #25 on:** February 17, 2015, 09:01:52 pm »

Thanks Tbone

I'm stoked! Yes, I went with one deep and the rest mediums last summer, and it worked out well. I can lift the meds without too much strain on my back.

Barry, Nope! is not varroa, it's more like... mmm... larvae pooh or something of that nature. Frankly, I'm surprised that there is no mites in these drone larvae.

riverbee · « **Reply #26 on:** February 17, 2015, 11:23:01 pm »

"My question now is: I would estimate maybe a third or less of the stores are left. I didn't see any fresh nectar but plenty of pollen. I don't see that they are going to have enough food until the first flow. I do have 1 full frame of honey in the freezer, and I have 6 more frames that are not completely full of honey, maybe 70-80% full in the shed. How many frames of honey should I give this hive now?"
"The hive is one deep on the bottom, filling up quickly with capped brood. Then there is a medium super on that has maybe a 1/3 stores left, and the queen is up there already laying. So I put one more medium on with pulled frames."

okay jen, some questions, when is your first flow? also, you said the medium super has maybe 1/3 stores left, and the queen is already laying up in the deep and in the empty medium you just placed on top. how many frames of honey are the 1/3rd? and where are they located? how many frames is the queen laying in? just make sure the queen has space to lay up in the center of the box. also, you can place your frames of honey on the outside of the medium box that you just placed on.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 17, 2015, 11:30:49 pm »

If your not extracting from those supers you have on I would feed syrup at 60 degrees. 1 to 1.

I pulled feeder jars from my hives this past Sunday and the bees were on the jars at 37 degrees. At 60 degrees my jars get emptied.

Jen · « **Reply #28 on:** February 17, 2015, 11:50:20 pm »

Riv- I really haven't any idea when the first flow will be, I didn't pay attention to that last year

and we are so early this year it's just hard to say.

"how many frames of honey are the 1/3rd? and where are they located?

Hmmm, I just made a grand total estimate, didn't calculate what frames had what. I'll make a note of that on my next inspections.

"just make sure the queen has space to lay up in the center of the box. also, you can place your frames of honey on the outside of the medium box that you just placed on.e

That sounds reasonable. On my next inspection tomorrow, I'll try and make a more precise calculation.

Jen · « **Reply #29 on:** February 17, 2015, 11:51:58 pm »

Yankee- "If your not extracting from those supers you have on I would feed syrup at 60 degrees. 1 to 1.

But why would I use syrup then I have frames of honey that I put away last Fall for feeding in the spring?

jb63 · « **Reply #30 on:** February 17, 2015, 11:58:33 pm »

Hi Jen, your bees look good.About your first flow, when do the maple trees start to blossom?We have tons of hazel nut pollen but maple flow isn't for another three weeks.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #31 on:** February 18, 2015, 12:26:56 am »

I was just answering your question if you can feed syrup at 60 degrees.

Looking at those pictures looks like you just need some room pretty quick.

Jen · « **Reply #32 on:** February 18, 2015, 12:41:52 am »

Hu... scratching head... I don't remember asking that question... lol

Was wanting to know about using my frames of capped honey, and how long one frame of capped honey would last now that the queen is laying and the hive is busy.

Anyway, yah, I put on another medium yesterday. I knew it was getting close, my bees have been very busy for 3 weeks or more.

apisbees · « **Reply #33 on:** February 18, 2015, 02:46:50 am »

The bees will us a frame of honey fo every frame of brood they raise. So if no nector is coming in they can run out of stors fast or if the weather turns cold and wet and they cant forage. Feed the frames as they were filled with humming bird water and syrup if i remember corectly.Just dont add to many filled frames thatyou limit the queens laying. As i said earlyer you can use the extra brood that is being produced to strenthen some of the weaker hives. You dont want to be removing brood to soon that you slow down the development of the strong hive.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #34 on:** February 18, 2015, 08:45:43 am »

Maybe I read this wrong. No matter, sounds like yo got a plan.

"So Apis, it's still mid Feb... even tho the weather is in the 60's this week, I'm sure we'll have some more cold snaps, is syrup the right choice?"

The thing I would do though, is I would go with a second deep for brood. Either have 2 deeps (brood), or all mediums. That way you can move brood frames around between brood boxes boxes. Seems like you might get in a bind at times if you need to move brood around if you have deep and medium brood boxes mixed.

Slowmodem · « **Reply #35 on:** February 18, 2015, 01:01:15 pm »

Here's a mite I saw in my hive a couple of years ago:

Jen · « **Reply #36 on:** February 18, 2015, 01:46:40 pm »

Yankee- It actually has posed a problem with starting with a deep and then all mediums there after. As it stands now, I can only trade frames with the deeps on the other two hives. Hubby and I go back and forth with this. The only problem with two deeps together is that I don't want to attemp to lift that second deep.

I believe I need to go all mediums period beings I'm the one who does all the inspections and lifting. I have the other two hives to inspect this week, I'll see if there is a way I can start to convert to mediums on those.

Thanks for your input Yankee

Yankee11 · « **Reply #37 on:** February 18, 2015, 03:04:42 pm »

I think if you have 3 mediums as brood chambers you actually have a little more room for queen than if you have 2 deeps. I've had your problem with the deeps and mediums.

I guess at some point you will have to put the deep above a queen excluder with the queen below in mediums and wait until all the brood hatched out of deep them remove it.

Myself, I'm gonna try some 3 deeps this year.

Brood factory baby. Already have 2

Slowmodem · « **Reply #38 on:** February 18, 2015, 03:08:10 pm »

Quote from: Jen on February 18, 2015, 01:46:40 pm

I believe I need to go all mediums period beings I'm the one who does all the inspections and lifting. I have the other two hives to inspect this week, I'll see if there is a way I can start to convert to mediums on those.

You could go to all shallows. I've been considering shallows for the supers. But you could use them exclusively (but that's a lot of frames).

Jen · « **Reply #39 on:** February 18, 2015, 03:34:10 pm »

Yes Slow! That Is A Lot Of Frames!

What I do with mediums is I have an empty medium on the work table next to me. As I lift and examine each med frame from the hive, I move it over to the empty medium on the table, keeping the frames in the same pattern as I took them out of the hive. This makes the lifting almost nill. However, when I have to replace the honey super, that's heavy and awkward to get back up on the hive. So, this year beings our season has started so soon, I'm going to have to be on my game to get supers emptied and replaced. No stacking up the supers.