A BEE thread....for those interested in beekeeping.

[Stacykins]

I just took two and a half gallons of honey off my only hive, with plenty of frames left over for them. Last year I took nothing, but they're strong and the flowers have been blooming nonstop. And they haven't gotten any sugar from me since their initial spring buildup, so I know it is wildflower honey only, it tastes amazing!

 

[NevadaRon]

I just took two and a half gallons of honey off my only hive, with plenty of frames left over for them. Last year I took nothing, but they're strong and the flowers have been blooming nonstop. And they haven't gotten any sugar from me since their initial spring buildup, so I know it is wildflower honey only, it tastes amazing!

Awesome! I'm getting ready to harvest mine soon. I did the same as you - left it alone last year but this year I can't wait! Are you using a Lang? How do you get the bees out of the honey super(s)? I've seen these fume pads but I don't really like that idea.

 

[Deb B]

Awesome! I'm getting ready to harvest mine soon. I did the same as you - left it alone last year but this year I can't wait! Are you using a Lang? How do you get the bees out of the honey super(s)? I've seen these fume pads but I don't really like that idea.

I have found that once the honey is capped there are not many bees on the frame. I don't have many hives so I skip the fume board (I'm chemical free in my hives) and opt instead to remove the bees manually. What I do is remove a frame of capped honey and then give it a good hard shake in front of the hive. Any bees that are left on it (usually it's only 2 or 3) I blow off the frame. Then I put it in a Rubber Made container with a lid so the bees can't get back on it while I go get the next frame. OK, this is probably more work than a fume board, but it doesn't take that long if all you have to harvest are a couple of supers worth of honey.

 

[Stacykins]

I physically removed the bees. No fumes!

Yep, my hive is a lang. I put a package in my new top bar hive this spring, but a very sudden (and short) cold snap did them in...

 

[NevadaRon]

Thanks Deb and Stacy! I'm trying to go chemical free, too.

 

[LONDON HENS]

ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE
We have 2 hives.
One is stronger than the other. The weaker one has lost its queen.
In the strong hive we have a queen and a capped queen cell.
Whats peoples opinions about moving the frame with the queen cell into the hive with no queen?
Would it work?
Has anyone done it before?
Any advice/help much appreciated!

 

[sgtmom52]

ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE
We have 2 hives.
One is stronger than the other. The weaker one has lost its queen.
In the strong hive we have a queen and a capped queen cell.
Whats peoples opinions about moving the frame with the queen cell into the hive with no queen?
Would it work?
Has anyone done it before?
Any advice/help much appreciated!

It might work ~ it depends whether you still have drones at this time of the year in your area. If there are no drones the new queen will not be able to mate.

Are you positive that the queen is gone? At this time of year in my area, queens often stop laying for a while when there is a dearth in the nectar flow and start laying again when the fall nectar plants bloom.

I move frames with queen cells and eggs to other hives, but usually in the spring or summer due to the lack of drones to fertilize virgin queens in the fall.

You could also consider combining the weak hive with the stronger hive for the winter, then splitting it back off in the spring. I do this with weak hives in the fall ~ it gives them a better chance of making it through the winter. I use the "newspaper" method to combine hives.

 

[LONDON HENS]

Thanks Julie. We are going to have a look in the hives today. But its a good point about the Drones. I dont remember seeing many last week, its that time of year when they kick them out!
I think me might try it and see what happens.
With regards to buying a new queen online what time of year is it best to do it?

 

[sgtmom52]

Many people requeen with mated queens in the late summer to have a good queen to lay winter brood so you should be ok buying a new queen as long is she is already mated. I would not buy a virgin queen.

Good Luck!

 

[LONDON HENS]

Thanks for the advice! We did a routine check of the broad frames and we spotted an unmarked queen in the weak colony. We knew a queen cell had hatched 4 weeks ago but since then we havnt seen anything of it until today. So we left that queen to it. We just have to hope she is mated or will mate before the end of the summer. Is there a photo comparison between a mated queen and a virgin queen on here??