Sunday, May 27, 2018
Entrance Reducers, Brood Boxes, Hive Checks, Swarm Prevention, & Water Source
Entrance reducers can be removed completely now.
I am now exchanging brood boxes to get the queen to start laying in the 2nd box that was added sometime in the past three weeks. So, I am taking the top brood box off, setting it aside and then removing the bottom brood box and setting it aside also. Then, I am putting the box that was on the top of the bottom board and setting the box that was on the bottom on top.
None of my hives have feeders in them except for the top bar hive.
Regular hive checks every ten days keeps honeybees from swarming. I am looking for eggs, larva, pupa, and an increasing population of adults every hive check.
June is the month with the most potential for swarming. Once I determine I have a laying queen, I remove all queen cells and queen cups to prevent swarming.
Excess comb that is built outside of the wooden frames is removed and saved for making cosmetics or candles during the winter months.
I am now exchanging brood boxes to get the queen to start laying in the 2nd box that was added sometime in the past three weeks. So, I am taking the top brood box off, setting it aside and then removing the bottom brood box and setting it aside also. Then, I am putting the box that was on the top of the bottom board and setting the box that was on the bottom on top.
None of my hives have feeders in them except for the top bar hive.
Regular hive checks every ten days keeps honeybees from swarming. I am looking for eggs, larva, pupa, and an increasing population of adults every hive check.
June is the month with the most potential for swarming. Once I determine I have a laying queen, I remove all queen cells and queen cups to prevent swarming.
Excess comb that is built outside of the wooden frames is removed and saved for making cosmetics or candles during the winter months.
Now that most snow has melted, make sure a water source is available nearby. A shallow drinking space is preferred to keep the bees from drowning.
Friday, May 18, 2018
Insulation, Entrance Reducers, Inner Feeders, Health Brood Pattern, and Regular Hive Checks
Hello Folks,
The beekeeping season is well underway with queens laying up to thousands of eggs every day.
Insulation:
Outer insulation has been removed and inner insulation is still in place for about another week or so.
Entrance Reducers:
Right now I'm removing entrance reducers in the morning (40* or warmer) and replacing them on the smallest setting at night (Less than *40).
Inner Feeders:
For hives with drawn-out comb, all feeders will be removed this week and the bees will consume any sugarwater stores in the cells, giving the queen more space to lay eggs.
Healthy Brood Pattern:
All colonies should have eggs and larva and most should have pupa. Here is a photo of a healthy
brood frame:
Regular Hive Checks:
Every ten days I am performing complete hive checks.
1) Ensure the queen is laying and her pattern is healthy
2) Remove all queen cups and cells
3) Check for any abnormalities or disease
4) Remove any burr comb or comb built outside the boundaries of the frame
5)Check to make sure queens have enough space to increase the population
The beekeeping season is well underway with queens laying up to thousands of eggs every day.
Insulation:
Outer insulation has been removed and inner insulation is still in place for about another week or so.
Entrance Reducers:
Right now I'm removing entrance reducers in the morning (40* or warmer) and replacing them on the smallest setting at night (Less than *40).
Inner Feeders:
For hives with drawn-out comb, all feeders will be removed this week and the bees will consume any sugarwater stores in the cells, giving the queen more space to lay eggs.
Healthy Brood Pattern:
All colonies should have eggs and larva and most should have pupa. Here is a photo of a healthy
brood frame:
Regular Hive Checks:
Every ten days I am performing complete hive checks.
1) Ensure the queen is laying and her pattern is healthy
2) Remove all queen cups and cells
3) Check for any abnormalities or disease
4) Remove any burr comb or comb built outside the boundaries of the frame
5)Check to make sure queens have enough space to increase the population
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Bee Space & Chalkbrood
During this week's hive checks, I noticed most of the honeycomb cells were full of brood, pollen, or sugarwater stores. This indicates my colonies need more "bee space".
Bee space can be added in two ways:
1) Add another box to the bottom of the hive, keeping the original brood box on the top of the hive to prevent chalkbrood. Chalkbrood can be resolved when cold and/or wet conditions change back to a proper balance, however, it slows down healthy population growth and colony efficiency.
2)Turning frames with bare foundation towards the brood nest, making sure you don't divide frames with brood on them (brood frames are those with honeycomb cells containing eggs, larva, or pupa).
Read up about chalkbrood here:
http://www.cornwallhoney.co.uk/beepedia/chalkbrood.htm
Bee space can be added in two ways:
1) Add another box to the bottom of the hive, keeping the original brood box on the top of the hive to prevent chalkbrood. Chalkbrood can be resolved when cold and/or wet conditions change back to a proper balance, however, it slows down healthy population growth and colony efficiency.
2)Turning frames with bare foundation towards the brood nest, making sure you don't divide frames with brood on them (brood frames are those with honeycomb cells containing eggs, larva, or pupa).
Read up about chalkbrood here:
http://www.cornwallhoney.co.uk/beepedia/chalkbrood.htm
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Removing queen cups and cells, & undesirable queen patterns
As soon as Jack Frost finally leaves town, I will do a complete hive check on all hives. I am looking for three things:
1) Queen evidence: (eggs, larva and pupa). The brood pattern should be full:
Full pattern brood frame
Spotty pattern brood frame
2) If I see the queen and/or evidence she is laying well, I remove any queen cups and cells:
Queen Cups:
Queen Cell
3) Bee Space:
When there is only one or two frames without stored resources and/or brood, it is time to add a second brood box. I do not add the second box until the weather is above freezing at night. The second box must be added beneath the original brood box to ensure the babies are warm because, as we all know, heat rises!
If you find multiple eggs in honeycomb cells, kill all your bees because one of the workers is laying unfertilized eggs and you will never figure out which worker is laying.
Comb with several eggs per cell is very undesirable.
1) Queen evidence: (eggs, larva and pupa). The brood pattern should be full:
Full pattern brood frame
Spotty pattern brood frame
2) If I see the queen and/or evidence she is laying well, I remove any queen cups and cells:
Queen Cups:
Queen Cell3) Bee Space:
When there is only one or two frames without stored resources and/or brood, it is time to add a second brood box. I do not add the second box until the weather is above freezing at night. The second box must be added beneath the original brood box to ensure the babies are warm because, as we all know, heat rises!
If you find multiple eggs in honeycomb cells, kill all your bees because one of the workers is laying unfertilized eggs and you will never figure out which worker is laying.
Comb with several eggs per cell is very undesirable.
Wholesale Honey Buyer
A retired doctor is looking to purchase raw, local honey for $100/gallon.
Bob Roth bobrothak@hotmail.com
Bob Roth bobrothak@hotmail.com
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