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Does keeping bees on big-ish urban balconies work? Can you use that balcony for other stuff like brewing/grilling/chilling or will they get mad?
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Sep 14, 2020 20:39
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As long as you're not in their path for entering/exiting, you should be fine.
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Sep 14, 2020 20:44
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Seeing as I don't have a car it seems like the only way I could do beekeeping, more specifically harvesting.
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Sep 14, 2020 20:56
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Pro tip: connect the hive tool with a leash or something to you/the balcony. You can thank me later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slSb72vwaBc e: I have my splits on the balcony for the first couple weeks before I move them back to the original location tuo fucked around with this message at 07:05 on Sep 15, 2020 |
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Sep 15, 2020 07:02
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Hello beekeepers! DIY Secret Santa registration is now open! Be sure to check with your santees about allergies before sending them a hive of angry bees please. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3941260
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Sep 22, 2020 19:39
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Hello DIYers! We have a new forum/mod feedback thread and would love to hear your thoughts! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3944213 Get ready to read this message 15 more times in every thread you read! Kaiser Schnitzel fucked around with this message at 14:08 on Oct 16, 2020 |
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Oct 16, 2020 01:36
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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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Johnny-on-the-Spot posted: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? I'd remove the queen excluder, especially if it's made of metal (transfers coldness, plus the winter cluster won't be able to go upwards as the queen won't be able to follow) Nearly all of my hives have a super on filled with food during the winter. In spring, just place it under the brood box to let it run out of any brood they might have put in there in the meantime, then simply remove it. Works for me every since I switched to a single brood box.
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Oct 19, 2020 07:06
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thank you sir!
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Oct 19, 2020 20:12
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Yeah, I leave a super on mine, too, though I’ve got double deeps. Our winters are long here, and they can eat a lot- my bees don’t seem to have trouble managing the space.
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Oct 20, 2020 00:24
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Really glad I chose to do spring harvest rather than fall. The area has been arid as heck, with MAYBE 3 periods of rain since spring, and they are down to figuratively collecting dust now. Despite signs of robbing attempts, both hives look healthy enough, fighting off would be thieves at the single small entrances. Indian summer takes a nosedive on saturday, going from highs in the 70s, to highs in the 30s and a quick shot of a couple inches of snow. Cedar blankets above frames, so they should be nice and dry/snug.
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Nov 4, 2020 16:53
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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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Since the temperatures allowed it, I now went full Brother Adam in regard to setup (and also more and more in regard to breeding) My initial setup:  this is so hard to work with. Especially during spring and summer. It's not even the heavy supers, it's drawing frames from the brood nest for inspection (which I also reduced a lot this year, and moved to checking what happens at the entrace way more before inspecting the hives...and I only had a single swarm this year.).    I tested it with the splits this year (only did four because Corona and not knowing what would happen in the following months, business-wise). And oh my god is it so much easier to work in this setup.  So I now restructured all the hives into the typical 2x2 Brother Adam setup, with each entrance facing a different direction. Makes it way easier to work on them, helps heat management in winter and summer, and hopefully it works out. Allthough I fed at least 25kgs (mostly more) to all of my hives, the super warm octobre and early november though made my hives pretty light...three of them to the point that I am troubled. Gonna do the winter varroa treatment in three weeks from now, hope I don't open too many empty boxes (only one last year, but I have a kinda bad feeling about this year...)
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Dec 1, 2020 12:49
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Ultimate management: (note: this is just a demo hive. Haven't drilled the entrance out because if I end up selling it I'll be leaving the location of the holes up to the customer.) Lifting boxes is for squares. Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Dec 2, 2020 |
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Dec 2, 2020 22:54
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It's not about lifting boxes, though? You'd have the very same problem with drawing frames with your setup that you have with putting the hives next to each other. That is IF you draw frames from time to time.
tuo fucked around with this message at 10:12 on Dec 3, 2020 |
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Dec 3, 2020 10:09
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Top bar defender has logged on ....
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Dec 3, 2020 11:41
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The local top-bar-hive user is one of my best customers, though. Comes back every year, in need of a new hive. Always tells me a new story why there was absolutely no need to treat against varroa, and the hive surely died of something else. They always get hives from me fresh after the yearly check for diseases comes back from the laboratory, and I always urge them to do another inspection after summer, but naaah, hives are fine. They didn't come back this year after I asked them last year if they think they are doing beekeeping right. It's not about the top-bar-hive, it's actually a pretty good way of keeping bees, but takes a lot of experience. But so often I meet people who start with that who also completely refuse to treat against mites, insist that swarm management is cruel to the bees, and never care about disease inspection and stuff. While I wouldn't call the venn diagram on that a circle, it's pretty drat close over here... tuo fucked around with this message at 11:53 on Dec 3, 2020 |
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Dec 3, 2020 11:50
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Aramoro posted:Top bar defender has logged on .... The long lang uses standard deep frames, can have a screened bottom board, as well as entrances accommodating varroa treatment.  It is merely a horizontal langstroth. (I am converting my Warre frames to the long langs) 
Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 00:18 on Dec 4, 2020 |
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Dec 4, 2020 00:12
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tuo posted:refuse to treat against mites, insist that swarm management is cruel to the bees, and never care about disease inspection and stuff. They didn't come back because it's 2020 and their mindset got them killed by covid.
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Dec 5, 2020 00:05
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Hello Hobbyists and Crafters of all sorts! Our friends from Creative Convention are visiting with their Travelling Showcase of Wonders and they want to see all the cool and fantastic things you've been working on! Go show them off and admire the handiwork of other talented goons! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3946255
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Dec 14, 2020 02:55
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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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 I had a similar experience with one hive while doing the winter-varroa-treatment. No smoker, just light protection, and when I opened up that thing kinda overflow with bees, which in turn all tried to murder me.This winter is intense here...as always, I left each hive at least half a super of their own honey, and fed like 25 to 30kg of food (usually way too much). But the super warm october and november meant they turned most of that into brood, and now hives start to get really, really light. Gonna add some emergency food now.
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Jan 8, 2021 18:11
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How doomed is my little hive? I caught them as a small swarm off the ground around September last year, and the queen looked pretty old (torn wings, and a strangely short abdomen). They've managed to draw out foundation covering about two thirds of the faces of three FD frames. The queen managed to lay four small brood patches on three frames, each about 10cm in diameter. Over the last few weeks I've noticed that comb production had stopped and the size of the brood patches weren't increasing at all. I visited the hive over the weekend to find the queen missing in action, and the workers tending to two queen cups. I'm guessing that the workers booted the queen out for not being a tremendously good layer? Is there anything I can do to help them, or should I just wait it out and see how their new queens go? My big worry is that there are no drones in the hive, so during her mating flight the new queen would somehow need to catch the attention of drones in other hives in the area. How realistic is that? The local hives are very strong and likely to contain drones, but I don't know how the new queen is supposed to coordinate her mating flight with no drones of her own... Would be greatful to hear of any thoughts on how to help these little stingy bastards.
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Jan 11, 2021 07:38
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After a month solid of sub-freezing temperatures and multiple blizzards, today it was FINALLY above freezing and I waded out in the snow to check on the girls. Tons of activity from my two stronger hives, and very little from my weak one. Pretty shocked to see anything at all going on at the weak hive, I almost wonder if it's just drifters from the other hives looking to steal honey. Regardless, so lovely to see life there after such brutal weather. They've barely touched the sugar cakes I gave them in December, so it looks like they should be good on food for a while, too. Let's go, spring!
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Feb 24, 2021 00:20
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Got 19 of 20 through the winter...feels drat good. All of them looking good, even the swarm I would have sworn won't make it is pretty strong. The one that didn't make it seems to have succumbed to Varroa. They had problems for years, beeing one of the hives with high rates of Varroa. Still surprised, as last year's climate during the acid treatment was basically as perfect as it can be, and the varroa count that fell wasn't as high as the years before. But they already were dead when I did the december treatment. Now finally had a chance to look them through, it looks like a typical Varroa victim...brood that just "stopped", with gaps between the brood, bees trying to hatch and dying during the process as I assume no one was home anymore to help them. Nearly no dead bees on the floor. Plenty of food. Sucks, but could have been way worse. I'm pretty thrilled to go into the next season with my bees!
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Feb 25, 2021 14:03
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Don't remember if I've posted in this thread before, but we've got one hive in MN. It was very strong going into winter, but two straight weeks of sub-zero F (sub -20C) weather made me nervous. Very happy to see a lot of activity now that we're back around freezing. Some real gross snow around them from cleansing flights, and they've cleared out a significant amount of their sisters who didn't survive the winter  Despite the losses, it seems likely this is our strongest hive going into a spring in six (?) years of doing this. Maybe this will be the year we successfully split and go through a summer with two hives.
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Feb 25, 2021 18:33
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Took 5 hives into winter, all splits from a single mother hive because of 'reasons'. 4 of them have made it through so far and lost the smallest of the splits after a month of snow. Snowdrops, Crocuses and Willow are all out now so feeling hopeful if they weather stays warm.
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Feb 25, 2021 19:31
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Pretty sure mine are dead, haven't seen any action at all on the warmer days.
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Feb 25, 2021 20:14
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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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Ghostnuke posted:Pretty sure mine are dead, haven't seen any action at all on the warmer days. That sounds bad, sorry! I'd still check if maybe the entry is just clogged with dead bees or stuff. I wrote off my artifical swarm even before the winter (needed a queen, didn't have one, ordered one from my favourite queen breeder....didn't arrive after seven days [corona? no idea], so I added a frame with eggs so they could spawn a new one [worked]. The queen arrived after beeing 12 days in transit/an envelope with holes. So I thought "whatever" and made an artificial swarm from my strongest hive, but still with not that many bees, because I was sure the queen would be hurt after all that stuff. They developed....badly. I dropped food on them like mad, put in thermo-sheets once it got into winter. They sat on like three frames, and I was sure they wouldn't make it. This spring? Box is full, still the same queen, and they are awesome. Absolutely no idea how that one worked out.) Check them if there is a chance, and even if they are dead - which hurts a lot, I know it - maybe check what might have caused that. There is a lot to read out of a dead hive (as I had to learn, the hard way), and it might make things easier in the future to understand why a hive didn't make it. tuo fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Feb 26, 2021 |
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Feb 26, 2021 17:03
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Thanks all, I'll open it up on a warmer day. My hive died the year before too, so I'm 0/2 so far 
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Mar 1, 2021 19:26
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What a strange year so far. We had a terrible, terrible warm october and november....bees actually bred right into december, using a lot of the food I gave them (and I tend to feed too much usually), followed by a pretty cold december and january. February then was too warm, but basically constant rain. But of course they started breeding, collecting pollen if there was a chance. I had to feed all of them in february, as they were nearly empty....even the hives I didn't take any honey from last year, they were also running dry. Then a super warm march, all of em breeding like crazy. And now? Last week cold, currently looking out of the window into a snowstorm. This is going to be a rough year...
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Apr 6, 2021 11:15
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One of mine appears to have lost it's queen prior to going into winter last year, all dead and no honey used. Lots of cross comb led to a honey mess (it is the old Layens, which I plan to clean up and set aside unused for a few years). Neither that hive nor my long langstroth showed any activity this spring on 50+F days, and I suspected they both kicked the bucket, but then bees started appearing at the long lang this past week when we were in the 60s and 70s. I had set out the layens frames on the other side of the property for bees to clean up, after cutting most honey comb off to be crushed/strained. Now I am wondering if the bees clobbering those frames are from the long lang, or are they from other hives in our area. The LL has a TON of bees at the entrance and a lot of frantic activity, but not as frantic as robbing. Many seem to be doing the new bee orientation dance/flights, so I am clueless if it is simply spring colony buildup, mass "robbing" from other colonies, or a mixture. Yesterday we were near 70, today I am watching snow come down and we are not to get out of the 40s. One thing is clear, be they from my hive or otherwise, there are still a TON of bees in our area. I have both a nuc and a 3lb package coming later this month, and a second long lang waiting to be populated.
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Apr 6, 2021 14:39
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Hasselblad posted:One of mine appears to have lost it's queen prior to going into winter last year, all dead and no honey used. Lot of dead bees inside the hive?
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Apr 6, 2021 20:14
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Hasselblad posted:One of mine appears to have lost it's queen prior to going into winter last year, all dead and no honey used. Lots of cross comb led to a honey mess (it is the old Layens, which I plan to clean up and set aside unused for a few years). Neither that hive nor my long langstroth showed any activity this spring on 50+F days, and I suspected they both kicked the bucket, but then bees started appearing at the long lang this past week when we were in the 60s and 70s. If they've not used the food it could be isolation starvation if it was very cold.
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Apr 6, 2021 20:45
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tuo posted:Lot of dead bees inside the hive? Yep, but honey stores were intact (no sign or robbing). The brood areas were empty cells (beyond honey and pollen edging) Aramoro posted:If they've not used the food it could be isolation starvation if it was very cold. We had a really mild winter here (compared to the years that we frequently dipped below 0F) Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Apr 7, 2021 |
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Apr 7, 2021 00:36
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I’ve got a hive I absolutely have to split in the next few days. It started as a swarm I was given in a cardboard box and I only had a spare deep/medium at the time. I forgot to install a queen excluder on it and just let it run the season last year with extra mediums. When I checked it this winter it was packed. I added back two mediums, but it’s still overflowing. Last night I added a new deep in the bottom from one of my dead outs. I’m hoping they will clean it up and I’ll be able to check for eggs. How would you split this monster? It’s only April and there’s 5 boxes on.
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Apr 29, 2021 16:09
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the spyder posted:I’ve got a hive I absolutely have to split in the next few days. It started as a swarm I was given in a cardboard box and I only had a spare deep/medium at the time. I forgot to install a queen excluder on it and just let it run the season last year with extra mediums. When I checked it this winter it was packed. I added back two mediums, but it’s still overflowing. Last night I added a new deep in the bottom from one of my dead outs. I’m hoping they will clean it up and I’ll be able to check for eggs. I have two of these at the moment. I am currently putting honey supers on them like crazy, and they use them like crazy. I think I have five on one. I had a similar hive last year. Any chance to spot the queen? In the two I have at the moment, I couldn't spot (allthough it "should" be marked). I'll just divide them in two boxes with each box having all states (eggs, larva etc.) to prevent a swarm. One will have the queen, the other won't , but both will have everything they need to create a new one. Then again, it's an absolutely crazy year here, and I am thinking about throwing away my phone in regard to people calling in because of swarms. I assume I'll have enough work catching my own (if I had 20 more honey supers, I'd have put them on already, but they are currently so hard to come by due to pandemic etc.)
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Apr 29, 2021 17:17
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I had three hives go into this winter and one made it out. It was a harsh and cold winter compared to the previous one. One hive was well established and it did just fine. The other was also strong but got blown over in a bad storm we put them back into the hive but spending a day getting rained on clearly didn’t set them up for success.    The third colony was a first year split and it appears that a pair of forest jumping mice got in and damaged quite a few combs.  The surviving hive had an encounter with a bear that took a few chunks out of the hive but only broke a few empty frames.   
helno fucked around with this message at 23:48 on Apr 29, 2021 |
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Apr 29, 2021 23:43
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10 days ago I went though my 3 hives, removed all the swarm cells, destroyed the queen cups and split the strongest one into my last complete hive assembly. They are on new ground this year with a ton of scrubby stuff mixed with super tall trees. I really didn’t want them to swarm.  Fail. Super swarmy genetics. But they survive without much intervention. Did manage to get the swarm in a nuc. They were still there today. 
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Apr 30, 2021 01:26
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