The Honey Factory

[MarkJr]

I swapped position with an OK hive with my strongest hive mid day today. Doing it mid day, it’ll give my weaker hive an influx of forager help. Should do much better for my last few weeks of flow

 

[karenerwin]

Okay, you guys jinxed(or blessed) us here in Missouri with your bear talk! I'm sure most of you have heard of the saga of Bruno the bear of FB. He started in Wisconsin but he has traveled through Illinois( and briefly Iowa) and just recently(last weekend) entered Missouri. He was (tranquilized)"immobilized when he was near the intersection of Interstate 70 and Interstate 40. They ( the Missouri Department of Conservation) then transported him to as nearby area of suitable bear habitat outside this urban corridor". He may have been let go near me!! Today about 20 to 30 minutes away from me several people posted pictures of a black bear sighted walking down a road that I travel on frequently!!

 

[duluthralphie]

We will come and get the bear, as soon as you take all your possums back!

 

[karenerwin]

We will come and get the bear, as soon as you take all your possums back!

You’re going to have a LONG wait for that!!

 

[karenerwin]

 

[karenerwin]

You can’t tellfrom this picture but there are lots of bees working on my cucumber patch.

 

[duluthralphie]

You’re going to have a LONG wait for that!!

I think you should consider coming for them sooner. The poor possums want to return home.

They are Southie critters, check out the range map.

They simply don’t belong here.

Where as Black Bears belong in Mo. Check the range map.
Also check the map of states that welcome bear and don’t shoot them. Again Mo is one. Whereas up here we shoot their furry arses.

Therefore, I withdraw my offer to take your bear and demand you come and get your possums...

 

[Kusanar]

I think you should consider coming for them sooner. The poor possums want to return home.

They are Southie critters, check out the range map.
View attachment 2234980
They simply don’t belong here.

Where as Black Bears belong in Mo. Check the range map.
Also check the map of states that welcome bear and don’t shoot them. Again Mo is one. Whereas up here we shoot their furry arses.

Therefore, I withdraw my offer to take your bear and demand you come and get your possums...View attachment 2234996

I'm pretty sure we have a black bear hunting season in VA... I know a bunch of people that hunt bear...

 

[karenerwin]

Missouri is talking about opening a black bear hunting season. They just haven’t yet.
No give backs on the opossums!!

 

[duluthralphie]

I know I said I wouldn’t open my hives for a month...

but I did.

My old mentor told me I needed to add another super on the hives, especially the strong one.

So I did, I opened it and pulled one frame and saw it had very little honey, but added another super anyways.

I did not remove the queen excluder or anything. I was in it for maybe two minutes. I did take the wedges out from under the cover. We don’t have any 90+ days forecast now.

He told me we were just starting our heavy honey production time. So I did as I was told.....


In that hive. I opened the weaker hive and saw they had more honey in the super than the strong hive. I removed the super, lifted the excluder, just to see whether that queen was still doing good. I did not see her, but I saw her results. Lots of brood capped and uncapped. I wanted to see an egg. I used my fancy magnifying glass and saw nothing. Just larvae and capped cells.

I bring weak of will, pulled every frame in the top box. No queen. No eggs. I did see a bee capping a cell, she didn’t seem to notice me watching her.

And better yet! I saw a new bee chewing its way out of the cell. That was so cool. It’s a whole bee trapped in the cell! I only had a little hole to look through, but she was twisting and turning in there. Unless it was an adult bee that locked herself into the cell, like painting one’s self into a corner.

The weak hive has a couple of deep supers in the top unit filled with honey 2 sides are almost completely capped. It looks like they are starting to use more of the top frames for honey and less for brood. The inside 4 frames are 80% brood but the corners are being filled with honey. The outside frames have little or no brood in them.

Now I won’t open the hive for a month. I hope.