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I'm moving a beehive tomorrow night, but I'm a bit worried that it might not take because it's only being moved a little less than two miles from its previous location. I've heard about piling twigs, leaves, and other debris around the hives entrance in order to trick bees into acclimating to their new environment, but is there anything else I can do?
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Apr 27, 2019 02:19
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Thank you, I'll definitely give that a try, and report back!
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Apr 28, 2019 02:13
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I was able to move the beehive tonight! It took two tries because the first time we tried all we managed todo was upset the bees and got stung a bunch. This time, it went a whole lot smoother until we set it down and the base shifted. Since we couldn't keep the hive sealed, I just piled the lawn debris at the entrance and called it a night.
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Apr 30, 2019 04:52
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I think I might of missed a swarm. I was at work when it might have happened. My roommate called me, so I rushed home to check on them. By the time I arrived, it had "calmed down." We went to check them, and everything seemed fine. I added a second brood chamber the week before and they almost already filled a frame with nectar. I couldn't tell you if there were less bees. After I finished checking for swarm cells, (and finding none.) I decided to rearrange the hive so the emptier box would be at the bottom, closer to the entrance. I hope I didn't miss a chance to split the colony, and release a hoard of bees on my neighbor. E: also, I'll definitely try that clove oil trick, It sounds awesome. Johnny-on-the-Spot fucked around with this message at 11:42 on May 17, 2019 |
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May 17, 2019 11:40
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Yesterday I planted a bed of buck wheat and a bed of sunflowers on either side of my hive, and today I did an inspection and found my queen. The hive itself has a lot of capped honey, but I'm worried there might not be enough capped brood. I'm hoping I'll see more brood next week. The second brood box is still a work in progress, but it looks well more developed than it did last week. Does anyone here use frames that are filled with plastic starter? I have a few plastc deep frames in my brood box that they started covering with wax, but it seems they way perfer the wax.
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May 27, 2019 00:09
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So at around 5:30 routinely my bees get very active. I have no idea what they're up to but I got a video today. The inspection yesterday revealed no queen cells or swarm cells, so I don't think they're swarming but I don't know. It's pretty cool looking but they got me worrying. http://imgur.com/a/7zvFm70
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May 27, 2019 23:55
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rdb posted:Were there any eggs? Was there a queen? Bees do that if there is a queen on a mating flight. I'm positive I saw the queen yesterday during inspection. I'll be extra vigilant in looking for eggs now. I imagine she's a new queen because all the queen cells I saw in the past have mysteriously disappeared a week ago. I'm glad to know my queen is just trying to get laid. How long is she gonna keep up her daily prowl? tuo posted:BTW: I hope everyone has seen this movie already, it's pretty drat good (and IIRC the first time the mating of a queen was filmed....one the DVD in the making of they show how they achieved that shot...very cool!) E: Also I watched "More then Honey" and I enjoyed it very much. A lot of great cinematography, and A lot of interesting information. Plus, you didn't mention John Hurt doing narration! Johnny-on-the-Spot fucked around with this message at 04:06 on May 28, 2019 |
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May 28, 2019 00:49
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My bees drink from the koi pond in my backyard. E: This was a pretty lame post, honestly I need a better bee friendly water source. Thank you Tuo, this something wasn't I considering. Johnny-on-the-Spot fucked around with this message at 11:02 on Jun 29, 2019 |
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Jun 28, 2019 20:35
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I added a honey super three weeks ago to my hive, and got around to inspecting it for activity today. I was disappointed to find no new comb drawn onto it. There were plenty of bees hanging out in the super, so I'm worried they just don't like the plastic starter on the frames. Am I just being too impatient, or should I switch out the frames?
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Sep 1, 2019 21:40
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Hasselblad posted:My hives stopped comb production about a month ago. Maybe just that time of the season? Oh bother, I'll keep that in mind next year. I got started late this year, and have been a bit behind schedule.
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Sep 2, 2019 03:18
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Melicious posted:Brushing fresh melted wax on the foundation before putting it in the hive will get your bees to draw it out a ton faster. Thank you for the suggestion, I got spare bee's wax so I'll definately give it a try!
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Sep 3, 2019 02:19
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I woke up nice and early to inspect the hive, hoping the bees might be morning people, and the progress of the super, and got some bad news. I discovered beetles, and these ones don't even wear boots and play music.  And as if that wasn't bad enough, there's a hole on the backside of the hive.  Now the beetles are no problem, I just have to ramp up my traps, but that hole is more than a little disconcerting. Is there a patch job I can do, or should I just buy a new box?
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Sep 11, 2019 15:03
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I'm still bee keeping, I just don't have much to contribute to the thread. Its starting to warm up where I am so I'm starting to see more activity around my hive, so I'm happy to see they made it through most of the winter. Theres still gonna be a few cold snaps but soon my citrus trees will start blossoming and the bees can get to work.
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Feb 1, 2020 21:24
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I checked on my bees today since it was good weather. I had been especially worried since I wasn't seeing much activity at the entrance. On my way to the hive I ran into alot of the bees making themselves busy collecting pollen from all the blooming flowers in the garden, but still no activity at the entrance. I had a hunch and checked the back of the hive where I had sealed up a hole before winter, and sure enough, there they were. Unfortunately there's gonna be another cold snap tomorrow but I'm glad my bees are making the most out of the good weather today.
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Feb 25, 2020 20:55
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Ghostnuke posted:My hive didn't survive after all. Looks like they ran out of food and the queen took everyone and left. Same, except I think wax moths forced them out.
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Apr 3, 2020 23:51
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The hive wasn't in great condition when I sealed it. They were still working on the second deep, and my city had just sprayed pesticide right after despite us being in the no spray zone. Like an inexperienced asshat, I was too worried to actually crack open the hive during winter to do proper inspections, and only watched the entrance. Activity outside looked fine, so I wasn't worried. When I finally did open it up for the spring inspection, all the combs had been completely emptied, and maybe fifty bees still milling around. Some of the frames had a silky build up on them, and looked as if some incect had burrowed its way through a couple, hence my wax moth theory. The bottom of the hive was completely filthy with some sort of dust, but not too many dead bees. I probably should have taken pictures, but I was pretty much devestated, and disappointed with myself. Johnny-on-the-Spot fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Apr 4, 2020 |
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Apr 4, 2020 19:44
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I got my nuc of Italians today! I went ahead and installed them, and oh boy, I can't believe how much calmer and less aggressive they were than my last hive of africanized bees. Absolutely no angry buzzing in my face. They are gonna be a joy to check up on.
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Apr 19, 2020 21:46
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I got to collect my honey for the first time since I started two years ago! I'm so happy!
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Aug 30, 2020 21:10
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I've been giving my bees alot of space after I stole their honey, and I finally got around to checking on them. They've practically refilled the super! I was hoping to find it completely empty as I only left 3 side sides because the honey wasn't capped, and I read that they would take the honey back into the main box as it got colder. I'm happy to have more honey, but I'm not sure what to do. The actual hive is pretty much all brood and no honey stores. Can I leave a super with queen excluder on during winter?
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Oct 18, 2020 22:48
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thank you sir!
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Oct 19, 2020 20:12
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My roommate was casting blood meal fertilizer in a bed near the beehive can said the bee's swarmed her. She only got stung once, but it got me curious. From what I looked up, some bee food is mixed with blood meal, but does anyone know why they were so attracted to it?
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Nov 4, 2020 22:26
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Went to check on the hive today, figured I could get away without wearing long sleeves or bringing out the smoker. Nope! I got stung to poo poo! Still gave the ungrateful bastards some water and extra honey cause I love them.
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Dec 29, 2020 21:16
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Ghostnuke posted:Pretty sure mine are dead, haven't seen any action at all on the warmer days. Sorry about that, I lost my hive last winter and nearly gave up on beekeeping as a hobby but I'm glad my friends and family encouraged me to keep at it! Hopefully when you inspect it next time there will be a nice surprise, but you can always try again.
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Feb 25, 2021 20:58
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| # ¿ May 16, 2024 02:28 |
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I did an inspection, and my bees completely filled up the top box with honey. A full sized brood box with honey! So I'm getting ready to harvest. On another note I was cutting away some cross comb and had a bowl of wax and honey left in the back yard. I forgot about it until peak hours and found it surrounded. I took some video and saw some bees stuck in the honey and got a bit bummed. I came back later and the bowl was empty except for the wax. I was not expecting the bees to be able to reclaim all their honey back and I'm hoping they also saved their bee buddies. I was really impressed!
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Jun 22, 2021 02:10
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