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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2016 1:34:36 GMT
I can almost, just about smell it. Spring.  It has been hovering around 50 for day time highs the last week or so. The bees are buzzing around looking for the maples and elms that are just starting to,give a little pollen. We are about six weeks from swarm season taking off here in central Missouri, so this weekend I am getting all my swarm traps ready to be set out, calling or messaging everyone who has committed to allowing me to set up traps and making appointments to get them in place. I love spring. How is everyone else looking? Did your hives overwinter well? Do they still have plenty of stores? Many hives starve out in March before nectar flows start in earnest. How can I help you be a better bee keeper this spring? |
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Post by aoconnor on Feb 27, 2016 1:56:55 GMT
I can't keep bees because I am deathly allergic to them even just landing on my skin, much less actually stinging me. So I read and learn and admire those of you who do keep bees.
What does it mean when they start swarming, what is it exactly? And why do you set traps? I've heard this before but haven't understood what a swarm means and why they swarm....
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Post by hobbitlady on Feb 27, 2016 4:05:25 GMT
aoconnor, "swarming" is how bees reproduce whole colonies(not babies).Separating as a group (they split the one colony according to what the queen wants) is their instinctive survival technique. The queen gets half or more of her "fliers" and goes to find a new home with them. The young bees called nurses(don't fly yet)are left with Some fliers in the hive,and usually plenty of eggs,larvae and food.The nurse bees "make" a new queen from a female egg by giving that one special care.She'll be the new "home colony" queen for all the rest of the eggs that were left to hatch in the original hive. #2- The swarm has a queen so beekeepers can start a complete new hive,for free instead of over $100. buying bees),if they "trap" or "catch" a swarm and give them an empty hive they accept.The queen in the swarm is ready to keep on laying eggs asap and the fliers ready to make more honey. @charmd2,Greetings. Wow it's almost that time again isn't it. As for my hives the new long hive is doing Fine and I'm doing walks where I'm seeing them out every time it's warm enough(but that's only been 4 or 5 times). I haven't opened them yet but probably the next sunny spell I'll give in to the urge and change the divider so they have more frames. I know they have enough food but since it was my first time for added sugar I'm getting curious.  My top bar hives were both alive a month ago but twice I've Forgotten to get over into Their area when I saw the long hive bees out(that hive is on the other side of the property). They aren't on my walking route and I couldn't believe this last time I Forgot(until it was too cool Later that day). drat.Then our rains came back. I'll be in a bit of trouble if I need 3 splits instead of the one I knew I'd do. yikes. My TBs have always overwintered but I've been risking not treating them and letting them swarm for "mite control" because in This region some people Have been able to do that. Can't help but worry though. Yeah it's time to get the suit on for them and find out if the small Carnie clusters are hidden(it's happened before) or if I lost them.gulp. I'm So glad it's not another drought year! No flowers yet but the plum leaves&buds are peeking out the tips a little bit now.Not a long wait at all. The one TB that failed last Fall(well,a New queen took all my bees away and left no brood and only poor nurses to die!)(I tried to introduce them to the other hives though and some may have been accepted), has been inside my work room getting a fix.It was a kit that had a mite tray under a screen but no Real bottom. ugh!drafts and extra moisture leaked in!(the makers are out of business too-ha) I was in such a hurry and also a new beek when I threw it together and didn't know the design would cause failures and absconding. One and only one package did good in it for the first season,over wintered, then it was nothing but problems.No new queens got made when a swarm left and the ones I bought laid scattered or left.No more screen at all now! So a nice new cedar bottom board and standard front entrance instead of holes in the side got made.I might just reinforce the sides too and have another TB version of Bunker.Now my room has smelled like fresh cedar for another 2 weeks.  So,I'm wondering if this year will give me extra bee work making splits, but I don't care. I just love 'em and I Know that Bunker the long hive will give me splits or a bigger colony and more honey any way.This season will be a "see how it works out" instead of a "planned" season for me. First time I haven't ordered what bees I thought I'd need....
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Post by nyhunter on Feb 27, 2016 17:59:51 GMT
Is anyone familiar with top bar bee hives? I'd like to get started with 3 pounds of bees but dont know much about it and topbars seem easier and cheaper to start with. Any tips on the basic essentials needed to keep bees and how to start a hive??
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Post by hobbitlady on Feb 27, 2016 19:10:40 GMT
Is anyone familiar with top bar bee hives? I'd like to get started with 3 pounds of bees but dont know much about it and topbars seem easier and cheaper to start with. Any tips on the basic essentials needed to keep bees and how to start a hive?? ,I sent you a "book" of a PM. Sorry I get sooooo carried away. Just trying to help though. *blush* |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2016 0:17:05 GMT
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Post by hobbitlady on Feb 28, 2016 0:58:43 GMT
Hey beekeeper friend You Know darn well that Four years isn't any sort of "expert" for Any kind of beekeeping !!!!......... har har  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2016 3:19:01 GMT
Much more of a topbar expert than I am. I can tell you a million things about langstroths, but I am way weak on top bar hives. |
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Post by nyhunter on Feb 29, 2016 19:41:06 GMT
hobbitlady, Thanks For the PM. I appreciate all the info. I just found out my BIL can get me a cpl abandoned beehives. They havent been used in 5 yrs so im not sure what kinda shape thier in. I still plan to biuld a top bar to start with and like the idea of having an observation window.
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Post by hobbitlady on Mar 4, 2016 21:57:40 GMT
 From my other post- "My top bar hives were both alive a month ago but twice I've Forgotten to get over into Their area when I saw the long hive bees out(that hive is on the other side of the property). They aren't on my walking route and I couldn't believe this last time I Forgot(until it was too cool Later that day). drat.Then our rains came back. I'll be in a bit of trouble if I need 3 splits instead of the one I knew I'd do. yikes. My TBs have always overwintered but I've been risking not treating them and letting them swarm for "mite control" because in This region some people Have been able to do that. Can't help but worry though. Yeah it's time to get the suit on for them and find out if the small Carnie clusters are hidden(it's happened before) or if I lost them.gulp. I'm So glad it's not another drought year! No flowers yet but the plum leaves&buds are peeking out the tips a little bit now.Not a long wait at all." Well, "gulp" indeed. I'm eating crow on loving the wet winter. Moisture killed off both my top bar hives. Tore them apart yesterday and salvaged 3/4 gallon of good honey.Poor bees left me a nice gift. snif. Not only did they die but my first try at fondant Contributed;I'm pretty darn Sure from what I saw. Moisture sucking sugar dripping too much for the bees to clean out.Sugar water on the floors inside the hives,full of dead bees, and mold starting.Drat! Blast me and all my experiments....why oh why did I put fondant in Both TBs.I should have left one of them with their short drought stores Just to see if they'd make it. dumbdumbdumb....Arghhhh.And I thought I was Helping them.Sheesh.If I Ever do extra feeding it'll be dry sugar with a stack of newspaper on top to suck out the blasted water. Well I hadn't lost a TB to winter since I started so the odds were way against me.I'm not heartbroken but it Ticks me off my "beekeeping" might have contributed or even Caused their deaths.Right now I think I was my worst enemy,not mites or small stores...oh and the 2 months of rain after January that hardly let up. Heaving a sigh. Bunker Hive lived up to it's name and although they aren't building up yet,they'd started storing their wet sugar(they turned it into syrup) in their empty back combs(they made last Fall) and are bringing in pollen from somewhere! So I left them only a little sugar and gave them more space. My first fruit trees,the plums,will open blossoms soon and they have a warmer mircro climate with blossoms to fly to. They were mad enough at my meddling that they seem to have a queen and are are happily surviving,although still a small lot. It was nice and dry in there although the newspaper over the sugar was soaked and the the cover boards over the paper were moldy...I took out the "back"(unused part of large long hive) insulation,opened more "above the chamber" venting and rotated the cover boards to dry out so the brood and comb has good clean ones above it again. Still livin and learnin and making Awful mistakes but grateful I had a new big hive that I hope I can split.The one thing I've done right is to have a new hive every year from splits. I'm now trying to figure if I want to buy one package for new genetics in my TBs,or if I'll just split off Bunker when I can....
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From my other post-