Beekeeping...

[brewer12345]

Installed 3 new packages of Italian bees this morning. They got progressively more irascible as I installed each package in a hive and by the third time one finally exploited a chink in my armor and stung me on the nape of the neck. They are calming down, but still pretty bitchy. All should be well by later today or tomorrow. I have room for a fourth hive at the house and I am going to see if I can catch a swarm this spring to fill that spot.

 

[check123]

Very fascinating hobby, and one I wouldn't mind getting in to someday, if I had the time and space (although getting stung kind of scares me).

For the people that have/had more than one hive...does each hive have its own queen? Do the hives have to be a certain distance away so the bees from one hive don't try to "attack" a neighboring hive?

Yes, each hive has its own queen. The hives are often put close together or in clusters spread out over an orchard. I only have a few hives and prefer to spread them out to lessen competition. The advantage of putting them together is so they can better defend themselves from predetors such as skunks.

 

[check123]

Oregon high desert bee keeper

I've been working at it several years with a little success and lots of failure (it's called experience, isn't it?) Hopefully, I'll do better now that I'm retired.

 

[Redbugdave]

Just an update...I now have 15 hives at the house and Eddie has around 5 hives at the farm. I have caught some swarms and bought some package bees to expand to where I am now. I have enough resources to be fairly independent and not have to buy any more bees. I can make my own from splits and queen cells. Bees are Wonderful! Here's a few pics...

 

[brewer12345]

DW and I responded to a swarm call this evening, as we were on a list of people to call by location if a homeowner here in the burbs called the local bee supply place with a report of a nearby swarm. We collected 80 to 90% of a football sized swarm that was hanging out at waist height and transferred them to a spare hive in the backyard. From what the homeowner told us this was probably not the first swarm from the donor hive, so if we got the queen she is probably a virgin and will need to take a nuptial flight before she can get down to the business of laying eggs.

 

[Gumby]

Sadly, the hive in our backyard died over the winter. The beekeeper who owns the hive started a new queen this spring, and so far, so good. He put a super on over the weekend. This year, he is trying an Italian queen. The last one was Russian.

 

[Rick_Head]

... The last one was Russian.

Anastasia?

 

[Khan]

We bought a hive; bees are to be delivered tomorrow.

 

[splitwdw]

Redbugdave, why the different height hives?

 

[brewer12345]

We bought a hive; bees are to be delivered tomorrow.

Fantastic. Which variety of bees?

 

[Redbugdave]

Redbugdave, why the different height hives?

I live on a hill and I step laddered the 4x4 stand supports to down the hill. Otherwise, the different hives are in different stages of development. A hive with a small amount of bees needs a smaller area inside. As the hive grows, you add more room as needed. The bees need to control the temperature inside and less room allows then to do that.

 

[Redbugdave]

That's great Khan. Show us a pic or two when you get them. Also...two hives are better than one, since you have another to compare to and you can draw resources from a strong hive to the weaker hive to make them both thrive.

 

[Sunset]

DW and I responded to a swarm call this evening, as we were on a list of people to call by location if a homeowner here in the burbs called the local bee supply place with a report of a nearby swarm. We collected 80 to 90% of a football sized swarm that was hanging out at waist height and transferred them to a spare hive in the backyard. From what the homeowner told us this was probably not the first swarm from the donor hive, so if we got the queen she is probably a virgin and will need to take a nuptial flight before she can get down to the business of laying eggs.

Generally I avoid bee's and try to respect their space because of all the good they do. (I will spray wasp nests around my home, as they have stung me in the past). I currently have a very large bee living under my walkway, he goes in and out via a hole, which I thought was a mouse hole at first.

I am curious however, how do you catch a swarm of bees as you described ?

 

[brewer12345]

I am curious however, how do you catch a swarm of bees as you described ?

Ideally, you find them on a tree branch clustered up in a mass within easy reach. You carefully cut the branch off and either put the whole thing in your collection box or shake them off the branch into the box. Then you take them to your hive location, dump them in, close it up, and hope they stick around. That was what we did except that most of the bees were on the trunk of a small aspen tree next to the branch some of them were on. We cut the branch or two and put it in our box and then when the rest of the bees started to move I did not want to lose them so I used my bee brush (looks like a dustpan sweeper) to dump the whole mass into the box.

We caught the swarm on Tuesday and they have been very active in the hive we put them in (going in and out). We are trying to leave them alone for at least a week before taking a peek, but I am having a hard time waiting.

 

[Khan]

Fantastic. Which variety of bees?

No idea what variety.
They are small and gentle and are busy surveying the area. Have put out a sand/water dish.

 

[Khan]

That's great Khan. Show us a pic or two when you get them. Also...two hives are better than one, since you have another to compare to and you can draw resources from a strong hive to the weaker hive to make them both thrive.

I'll try.

 

[brewer12345]

No idea what variety.
They are small and gentle and are busy surveying the area. Have put out a sand/water dish.

Possibly Italians, which is what I keep in the backyard.

If you can, put a feeder on the hive to help them get established.

Fun to watch, aren't they?

 

[Khan]

Possibly Italians, which is what I keep in the backyard.

If you can, put a feeder on the hive to help them get established.

Fun to watch, aren't they?

Probably will put out feeder.

 

[Lakewood90712]

? How do the workers decide when to make queen cells ? Can they somehow detect the queen is not producing well? or do they just make some from time to time anyway ?

 

[brewer12345]

If the queen is dead or flagging, the workers figure it out and create one or new queens. If they feel crowded and need to swarm, they create new queens.

 

[splitwdw]

I currently have a very large bee living under my walkway, he goes in and out via a hole, which I thought was a mouse hole at first.

Sunset, Sounds like a cicada wasp. Usually not aggressive but they are big and scary looking. Females can sting and males can't. They kill cicadas and stuff them in their nests to feed the next generation.

 

[freebird5825]

This may be an interesting read for you bee keeping folks...National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators, just released today.
No political statement intended, just information.

The story....

White House will unveil strategy to protect honeybee habitat - The Washington Post

The actual document...

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documen...l-strategy-to-promote-the-health-of-honey.pdf

 

[Khan]

Bees are returning with pollen as of this morning.

 

[Redbugdave]

Bees are returning with pollen as of this morning.

Pollen is a very good sign. That means that the queen is laying and the worker bees are collecting pollen to get ready to feed the larvae and brood. Pollen is the protein the brood needs to develop. I always look to see bees with pollen when checking hives.

 

[Khan]

Pollen is a very good sign. That means that the queen is laying and the worker bees are collecting pollen to get ready to feed the larvae and brood. Pollen is the protein the brood needs to develop. I always look to see bees with pollen when checking hives.

Black mangrove is starting to blossom.