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

[IN-farmgirl]

That's great! They will be eating A LOT of sugar syrup, so try to keep plenty available. My new hive has grown and I got stung the last time I changed the sugar water. They are getting a bit more defensive as the hive gets bigger. I wear my hood now when I change the syrup!

 

[ChksontheRun]

So glad all is well. I am fascinated by the top bar hive. I will be very interested to hear how it goes for you. There is no one in my area using them--I wonder how you harvest honey?, or do you? My DH never uses a veil or even long sleeves to work the hives. I get larger reactions to stings so I am sure to wear all of my equipment every time.

We checked the hives this weekend. 3 of the 4 are doing great, and I think we will be able to get a little honey next week. One is not doing very well at all and we have started to feed hoping to keep it going. It is a new nuc and had some trouble getting started. We had so much rain that we had a little trouble with chaulk brood for a few days and now not sure if the queen is still around as we could find no new eggs in the comb. They are building out comb and storing honey in it but not as much as I think they should be at this stage of the game. I guess we will see next week when we check again.

 

[JP33]

Quote:
You can take honey from TBHs, but unless you build one that has removable frames like a langstroth and apparently there are people who make them, you will need to do crush and strain or cut comb. What you could do is cut a portion of a honey frame and leave a section they can draw from. Just make sure your cut is clean to minimize honey drippage.

You really need to thoroughly check the weak hive for a queen, larvae and eggs. If its not looking like they have one but numbers are still relatively good, give them a brood frame from one of your other hives that has eggs/very young larvae so they can make a queen. If you do not have one to spare, you'll need to combine them with one of your other hives.


...JP

 

[heritagebirds]

My girls were all over the outside of the hive yesterday...it was stinkin' hot. I've got the telescoping lid propped up a bit so that they get better ventilation. They went back in after it cooled off.

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
This is why we added slatted racks to our hives (you can get them from all of the major suppliers, Betterbee just came up first in Google). It helps immensely with cooling in the summer, and in the winter, it keeps the bottom of the frames that much higher than the entrance - so it helps them there, too. They don't beard near as bad, if at all, now.

 

[YakLady]

Dh and I checked the hive again this weekend. All but one side of two frames had been drawn out, so we added the second deep. When the time comes for us to add the first super, do we use the queen excluder? I've been reading from so many different sources, and now I'm confused about something. Am I correct in assuming that the two deeps and one super are for honey storage for the colony? And then if I add another super or two, those would be for us to harvest in the Fall?

 

[ChksontheRun]

I don't use queen excluders (aka honey excluders), but this may bring up a whole line of discussion. In our hives, the two deeps on the bottom are for brood and honey storage for the winter, the med. super above is to harvest if they fill it. For the winter in VA, they need 40-60 lbs of honey which they will make and store in the 2 deeps without difficulty. We have found however that they stop building comb by the beginning of July so if you don't have drawn comb already, you may not have a med super drawn and filled to harvest in the fall. Remember, they must have that 40-60 lb minimum to make it through the winter. Around here most people don't harvest honey in the first year unless they have exceptional polen and nectar sources, or an unusual hive.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i've got HONEY !!!!!!

 

[noahsgeese]

Congratulations!!!!!!! I remember how excited I was to have my first batch of honey!!! Congratulations!

 

[YakLady]

Quote:
Ok, thank you. That makes sense, as the hive came with two deeps and a med super. I was wondering if I was supposed to order another super, or what. I am not expecting to harvest any honey this year, but want to be prepared with the knowledge just in case. I ordered Russians, and I was told to budget about 40-60 lbs for them here in Michigan. That helps to know that 40-60 lbs can be stored in their two brood deeps.

Congrats, Biblio!!! I loved your pics-too cool!