New beekeeping with AZDuffman

May 27th, 2015 at 6:01:26 AM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: odiousgambit
I've heard of beekeepers unconsciously picking at old stingers on their arms etc. as they have conversation etc - suggesting they just get used to being stung some. Maybe that was the old days? Or do you concur [or expect that later]?


The instructor and "GAs" in the class I tool were all of the "you will get stung, deal with it" school. If you watch enough videos on YouTube you will see some shall we say "hilllbilly looking" guys with no fear, minimal protection. I'm not giving up the veil and usually gloves but neither am I going to tape my pant legs like I thought I would need to.
The President is a fink.
May 29th, 2015 at 2:00:04 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
BEARDING

It is a hot day here, and when the hive gets hot the bees can't just turn on the A/C. They hang outside, just like those of us who grew up pre-1980s were booted from the house on a hot day.





After reading up it seems the thing to do is add the second "deep" and remove the entrance reducer to improve ventilation. I will say they move in and out way, way faster on this hot day. I think it will also be time to put some water close by as well.
The President is a fink.
May 29th, 2015 at 3:06:04 PM permalink
FrGamble
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 67
Posts: 7596
Looks like a healthy hive!
“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures.” (
May 29th, 2015 at 3:52:05 PM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
Don't you got a remote recording temperature gauge and the hive set on an old electronic postage scale so you can weight the honey?
June 4th, 2015 at 2:42:56 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
NONE OF YOUR BEESWAX!

A quick check today, when I really should not have opened the hive at all. Very overcast day, but they were starting to "beard" again. One reason for that is I only had the one deep box. Like an attic, the second will take away some of the heat. Plus I get the thing out of my living room.

To an untrained eye it appears that the size of the colony is increasing. Lots of "capped cells" means they are storing nectar and the queen is laying eggs. Hives should grow geometrically. It takes time to build the comb where the eggs are laid and the food is stored. So once the colony doubles they can reuse the old combs and even more bees to build new ones. It is for this reason I added the new deep early, I know from my PCO days that as summer goes on colonies simply explode with activity. I would rather not have to open this one until July, so expand it early.

One other reason I added was they were building comb in places they should not have. Below is one of those small bits. This is basically 100% wax! I cannot wait until I have pounds of the stuff to process.



EDIT: One more thing, they were really, really upset at me checking on them. A dozen or more stings on my blue jeans. Kids, if yu do this at home, do not be like the hillbillies on YouTube in shorts and a tank top.
The President is a fink.
June 20th, 2015 at 4:20:24 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
I swear it was not my ladies!
The President is a fink.
June 20th, 2015 at 11:47:56 PM permalink
NYSith
Member since: Jun 20, 2015
Threads: 0
Posts: 4
Are the queens stuck in the hives? At some point, some of the eggs she lays will produce more queens. Do they leave and create their own colony somewhere or are you able to separate them and move them into another hutch and grow a separate colony yourself?
June 21st, 2015 at 3:08:55 AM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: NYSith
Are the queens stuck in the hives? At some point, some of the eggs she lays will produce more queens. Do they leave and create their own colony somewhere or are you able to separate them and move them into another hutch and grow a separate colony yourself?


Depends!

The queen, once mated, never leaves the hive. Her sole purpose in life is to lay eggs. She does not determine if the egg will be a worker, drone, or queen, the colony actually does that. Two "kinds" of queens can emerge.

What you are asking above is what is called a "colony split."

In a healthy hive, the colony will "sense" it is big enough to make a split. To make a queen, they feel what is called royal jelly to the larvae. This "makes" a queen. They do it for a few cells in case of a fatality, two is one, one is none, three is key........

When that queen emerges a portion of the colony will leave with her, this is called swarming. They find a suitable new hive, she has a mating flight, and boom, new colony. Of course, even on my micro commercial scale, you do not want this. You want to control things. Hence the "split." What they do is take the frames with the queen cells and make sure the old queen is not there. They take a few frames of bees, put them in a new hive, and hope she returns after her mating flight. Before she does this, the first queen to emerge kills the other queens in their cells. This is where you get the term "Queen Bee Syndrome" for certain women who rise in business or politics then block other women from reaching the same heights.
The President is a fink.
June 22nd, 2015 at 2:39:11 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 154
Posts: 5057
all very interesting.

Quote: AZDuffman
She does not determine if the egg will be a ... drone


the colony no doubt determines what happens to males, perhaps most are just killed? But the colony can't determine the sex.

BTW there is a documentary of sorts going around on TV called "Vanishing of the Bees", have you seen it? I say 'of sorts' as in some ways it is suspect, a lot of advocacy, a lot of 'asking for money', all over the place as far as criticizing modern farming practice, and it's too long too. It seemed to be settling in on the modern 'systemic' insecticide use as the best guess as to cause of Colony Collapse Disorder at the point I quit watching due to its just being too long. However, they don't diss science altogether and, I believe, don't claim to be sure of it since the scientists won't say they know the cause.

http://www.vanishingbees.com/
http://www.vanishingbees.com/synopsis/
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
June 23rd, 2015 at 3:02:11 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
I'm not the only one.

As a note, I do not live within city limits.
The President is a fink.