Any experienced bee keeps here?

[Tesorodeoro]

Just started with a fresh swarm…looking to chat a little bit if anyone is into bees and honey.

 

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[metrotec]

even though you got a swarm, make sure the queen is in there. sometimes a swarm can contain 3 queens, or none. feed sugar water for awhile ,until they get established. the proportion is; 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, you need a "board" to sit the perforated lid jar on. heat the mixture, do not boil, 190 deg.cool down.
way to go, I've caught swarms this Spring, my buddy, P'nut, in the Smokies has caught over 61 this Spring, TN Mutt Bees.
Talk to your local Bee Keeper Association for supplies and first hand knowledge.
A new swarm will out work an old established hive, 2 to 1

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Beware of bears. Last year we had a hive on top of a shed which we thought would keep bears away. But the darn bear climbed up the side and destroyed the beehive. The hive had freshly drawn, full depth foundation as there was a good flow of nector coming in.

 

[Tpmetal]

I did it for a year, then a weird spring cold snap killed off most of the hives in my town. I do know that once you piss them off and they become aggressive....they stay aggressive....

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Interesting tips.

So since we had not ever captured a swarm, there was some uncertainty if we had captured the queen.
However, once you get the queen in the box, it is obvious.
We tried three times to get her captured. Once she made it into the box, they instantly swarmed the box.

We initially fed them some sugar water using 2:1 ratio. Today we are refilling the feeder and inserting some pollen as well.

I’m curious though…should I restrict the hive to just the brood box for a month, then add another box?

Currently I have a deep brood box and a super med. harvester on it. There were probably 2 gallons of bees.

 

[Tpmetal]

Interesting tips.

So since we had not ever captured a swarm, there was some uncertainty if we had captured the queen.
However, once you get the queen in the box, it is obvious.
We tried three times to get her captured. Once she made it into the box, they instantly swarmed the box.

We initially fed them some sugar water using 2:1 ratio. Today we are refilling the feeder and inserting some pollen as well.

I’m curious though…should I restrict the hive to just the brood box for a month, then add another box?

Currently I have a deep brood box and a super med. harvester on it. There were probably 2 gallons of bees.

when starting I only allowed half the box to them until they got started. I then removed the partition once they came about 1 rack away, and added the rest of the racks. Not sure if this is proper, but it was what I was advised to do. I also was using a longer style hive vs the square boxes.

 

[vikingpeggy]

Duties including the following:
1. Feeding,and watering.
2. Treating and medicating for mites.
3. Extracting honey form hives.
4. Transporting hives to orchards, for the purpose of pollination.

Management: The owner and manager of said company was wonderful and ended up being a friend and more like an uncle figure, eager to teach his employees new and exciting things and things he was already a custom to.

Hardest part of the job was being stuck in the 100 degree weather in a full on bee suit including heavy duty gloves and boots. Besides the heat this employment was rather enjoyable and even soothing and relaxing, even though one would not assume so. Don't get me wrong I was terrified when I first started working with bees, but after awhile you tune in to the sound waves of the buzzing bees communicating to one another and it becomes almost like a sweet humming harmony.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

I did it for a year, then a weird spring cold snap killed off most of the hives in my town. I do know that once you piss them off and they become aggressive....they stay aggressive....

Cold weather doesn't kill bees. They survive all winter by generating heat to stay warm. The bees in your town must have starved by the cold snap, not being able to fly.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Interesting tips.

So since we had not ever captured a swarm, there was some uncertainty if we had captured the queen.
However, once you get the queen in the box, it is obvious.
We tried three times to get her captured. Once she made it into the box, they instantly swarmed the box.

We initially fed them some sugar water using 2:1 ratio. Today we are refilling the feeder and inserting some pollen as well.

I’m curious though…should I restrict the hive to just the brood box for a month, then add another box?

Currently I have a deep brood box and a super med. harvester on it. There were probably 2 gallons of bees.

You can ask 10 beekeepers and you will get 10 different answers. With a new swarm, you should give the queen more then enough room to lay eggs. One brood hive for a month is not enough, you should have 2 on, preferably drawn comb. If you don't have drawn, put foundation on the top brood hive. This time of year you should put supers on with nector fow from flowers. The main cause of swarming is crowding in the hive. Give the bees planty of room to spread out.

 

[Tpmetal]

Cold weather doesn't kill bees. They survive all winter by generating heat to stay warm. The bees in your town must have starved by the cold snap, not being able to fly.

nope, plenty of honey left in the hive. A warm spell very early caused them to break their balls/hives early, followed by a fast coming, long cold snap. They were never able to ball up and generate enough heat quick enough to survive. I know many bee keepers in the area, and ALL had the exact same issues. 75%hive loss was average in the area that spring for keepers.

 

[Gare]

Maybe a solar powered electric fencer strung around the hive might help you out PA

 

[Tpmetal]

Maybe a solar powered electric fencer strung around the hive might help you out PA

exactly what I used on mine. Bear got tangled up in it once....left it alone the rest of the year haha. We also have cattle fence run up the sides of our bird feeder pole, he tried that one a few times but mostly leaves it alone now. Problem is it got unplugged one time and he tested it and then folded the metal pole over to get the food. Now once in a while he tests it to see if it is still on....

 

[pa plateau hiker]

nope, plenty of honey left in the hive. A warm spell very early caused them to break their balls/hives early, followed by a fast coming, long cold snap. They were never able to ball up and generate enough heat quick enough to survive. I know many bee keepers in the area, and ALL had the exact same issues. 75%hive loss was average in the area that spring for keepers.

That musta hurt. Honeybees aren't cheap to buy. From a 1925 "Gleanings in Bee Culture" a 2 lb. package with queen cost $5.00. Forty eight years later in 1973, when I started keeping bees, the price only went up $10, and I was paying $15 a package. Now 48 years after that, there was a huge price increase. I paid $130 for a package this year.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Well I left the super on, topped off the feeder and gave them some pollen.

I’m ordering another deep box to add to the top of the brood box.
There is a lot of pollen/nectar sources right now and I think they will flourish quickly.
Especially since I’m feeding them.

They were already working upstairs in the super box after only 2 days.

I’m going to put up electric fence tonight to keep critters out.

 

[Tpmetal]

That musta hurt. Honeybees aren't cheap to buy. From a 1925 "Gleanings in Bee Culture" a 2 lb. package with queen cost $5.00. Forty eight years later in 1973, when I started keeping bees, the price only went up $10, and I was paying $15 a package. Now 48 years after that, there was a huge price increase. I paid $130 for a package this year.

yeah for someone like me it hurt a whole lot. but for the guys who have been doing it forever, they capture or split most of their bees, so the investment is a bit less for them. I'm waiting to try again once my daughter goes to college, so I have a bit more time to tend.

 

[Tpmetal]

Well I left the super on, topped off the feeder and gave them some pollen.

I’m ordering another deep box to add to the top of the brood box.
There is a lot of pollen/nectar sources right now and I think they will flourish quickly.
Especially since I’m feeding them.

They were already working upstairs in the super box after only 2 days.

I’m going to put up electric fence tonight to keep critters out.

Nice! be sure to stop feeding once they have a decent start. Apparently over feeding can cause issues from what the old guys were telling me, no idea why though

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Nice! be sure to stop feeding once they have a decent start. Apparently over feeding can cause issues from what the old guys were telling me, no idea why though

I’ll monitor their progress on honey stores and how fast they use up the feed.
When we exposed the brood box last, only a half dozen bees were at the feeder telling me they are happy foraging.

Thanks for the tip.