Comments on: Bee Talk: Spring-Summer 2009

By: Ronald Keys

Ronald Keys — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:53:08 +0000

Am I the only bloke who has hives superseding in the middle of winter?????????????

By: Ronald Keys

Ronald Keys — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:48:36 +0000

This Question is also to to all our reserch teams around the world……..Is it a coincidence ( or otherwise ) that the feaces of bees sets like cement on my car , (just like Flying Fox feaces sets like cement on my house, ) when Flying Foxes and my bees are both working the same flowers, eg, Spotted-Gum in the middle of winter in Australia, Nosema creanea is endemic in Australia????????????????????????????

By: Ronald Keys

Ronald Keys — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:29:41 +0000

Corection to the above ………..after CERANAE add PARASITES

By: Ronald Keys

Ronald Keys — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:23:57 +0000

This is a question to all our reserch teams around the world……..Has anyone ever had a look at the contents of the stomach of FLYING FOXES ?????????
COULD THEY BE A CARRIER OF NOSEMA, APIS…….. AND……… CERANAE?????????????

By: corey

corey — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:29:02 +0000

I treated my hives last week I found lost of mites. It has snow 6 inches last thurday should I be able to treat them one more time our the once is enought till spring.they are doing good today at + 6 and cloudy.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:31:04 +0000

Thanks Sterling! I was surprised to see so much activity around the hives last weekend when it was sunny. I thought that the frost that we’d been having would have discouraged them for making a foray out at this time of year, but they looked happy and productive!

By: Sterling Clark

Sterling Clark — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:47:34 +0000

I wrap mine around November 15 or just before crappy weather is on the way. Last year I wrapped them one day and it snowed the next day.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:35:38 +0000

And any other tidbits for the new beekeeper going into winter? I missed the last beekeepers meeting because of germs. I kept my kleenex and germs at home but missed all the good info!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:33:30 +0000

In the Fredericton area, when do we wrap up our hives for the winter (or has everyone already done theirs?)

By: Elaine Brown

Elaine Brown — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:22:35 +0000

Recently a large swarm of what I suspect and several others suspect are Honeybees, arrived in my garden. I am worried about their survival for the winter months as the winters here are especially harsh. They are already becoming quite dormant.

By: Reagan Breeze

Reagan Breeze — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:23:37 +0000

This is for Rebbecca’s statement

I used cinnomon to keep ants away before and it worked like a charm. The benifit is you hive area smells really nice. I went to the dollar store and bought a couple of 500ml bottles and sprinkled it around the hive. Hope it works for you.

By: Sterling

Sterling — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:32:20 +0000

Aren’t swarms a beautiful thing. I hived two in the last week which I suspect were honeybound. They are a great way to get foundation drawn into comb. In one week they can build ten frames of comb and store syrup in it. As long as you give the girls one to one sugar syrup they will keep drawing comb for you. Later you can unite the swarm with a weak hive and you have extra drawn comb on hand.

By: Ronald Keys

Ronald Keys — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:04:52 +0000

Question……….Does diatomaceous earth kill veroa mites,……………….I know it certainly does kill small hive beetles????????????????????

By: Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:04:06 +0000

I was interested to see you comment on a swarm leaving and then returning to the hive
it came from.
It reminded me of an occasion several years ago where I was visiting one of my yards late in the day (about 4:00 PM). I arrived just in time to witness the swarm leaving the hive. It circled in the area around the yard for several minutes a couldn’t seem to find a suitable location to settle. To my surprise, as in your case, they finally returned to their hive.
I think it may have been related to the time of day.

By: Sterling

Sterling — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:23:09 +0000

Saw a strange event unfold yesterday. Hanson called me to catch a large swarm. I went home to get my gear and went to get the swarm. When I arrived at the site, the swarm was just leaving the tree they were in after only a half hour. Where did they go – back to the hive they came out of. Been beekeeping since 1999 and this is a first for me. I wish all swarms were that co-operative. Has anyone else seen this happen ?

By: jim

jim — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:21:38 +0000

About what are people charging per hive to put their bees on the blueberries this year?

And, in the case of bees managed as ‘organic,’ does the risk of field spray, disease from other colonys, and bee drift threaten their organic status?

By: Andrew Reid

Andrew Reid — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:00:37 +0000

I have to sell my seven hives (three from last year and four made up in May) because of health reasons. They are all double deeps. Is anyone interested? Please contact me at 433-1737 or e-mail at reidas@nb.sympatico.ca

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:28:09 +0000

So, it looks as if I have a million bees in one hive and absolutely not a speck of brood. At this stage in the summer, would it be better to try and requeen, or to combine the hive with a less well-populated hive? The sun comes out, and bam! there are discoveries left, right and centre!

By: DP Phillips

DP Phillips — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:01:59 +0000

About moving a hive to a new location:

I’d like to move a hive from one location to another (a more sunny location) where I have my other hive. The distance is about 1/4 to 1/2 mile; is that going to be confusing to the bees, or should I go ahead and give them a better view?

That’s a short distance for a move, and the bees will want to go back to their original hive location. Better to move a hive either a couple miles away, or just a foot or so at a time. That way the bees don’t get dis-oriented. To move 1/4 to 1/2 mile, close up the hive and move at night. Close up with screen over the entrances the same way as for taking to pollination to let air in. Leave screen in place (closed) for a couple days.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:55:57 +0000

Yes, you can use the boxes that are intended for honey supers for brood supers if you want – Fletcher does this, in fact. And if it works on a commercial scale, you know it’s possible for the smaller beekeeper… Benefits: they’re lighter to lift, which is good for us women beekeepers, plus you can swop around supers as needed and not worry so much about keeping the brood out of the honey supers for when it comes time to harvest and extract. Also, I think in early spring it may be good for the bees to have less space to try to keep warm, but that’s just my theory. If I didn’t have such a pile of deep supers, I would probably switch over to all medium-shallows for those reasons.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:52:59 +0000

Oh, and one other question: the honey supers are definitely lighter for lifting–does anyone use them as brood supers, and skip the deep supers altogether? Thanks for all the tips, everyone! I benefit from all the questions I see answered here!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:51:19 +0000

Thanks for the information about the bees and the miserable wet weather we’ve been having–the last two days of sunshine are great, but I could do with a bit less humidity.

I’d like to move a hive from one location to another (a more sunny location) where I have my other hive. The distance is about 1/4 to 1/2 mile; is that going to be confusing to the bees, or should I go ahead and give them a better view?

By: sterling

sterling — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:30:10 +0000

Bethany yes please call me at work 339 7019 or after 5 pm at home 339 6786

By: Bethany

Bethany — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:40:06 +0000

Hi!

Just wondering if there would be anyone interested in queen cells.
We may have some extras that would be available late next week.

By: LINDA

LINDA — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:26:28 +0000

i am a new beekeeper i already love them. i have to hives
i worry about them
found some dead bees outside the hive to night???
is that normal. i already added the honey supers ( still learning all the terms)
linda

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:31:34 +0000

I am coming back to bees after a 25 year absence. Is it too late to start a new colony in the Hillsborough area and expect it to survive the winter?

jim

By: workerbeej

workerbeej — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:47:27 +0000

Bob Seaman (http://www.rjhoneybeefarm.ca) is looking for a beekeeper who is making beewax candles. Phone 506-756-2796 to get in touch with him.

By: workerbeej

workerbeej — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:46:37 +0000

A reader named Thomas is looking for someone in the Fredericton area to supply 10 pounds of unprocessed honey. He didn’t leave a last name or contact number – but if you’ve got honey for sale in the Fredericton area, feel free to leave a comment here with your info and maybe he’ll get in touch.

By: sterling

sterling — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:29:47 +0000

I help the bees with drone frame cleanup by extracting the brood out after freezing with a shop vac with a small nozzle attachment. All they have to do is polish the cells for the next batch of eggs.

By: workerbeej

workerbeej — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:33:26 +0000

Sterling, great tip on the drone comb trapping of varroa mites – we’ve done a bit of that and it does seem to be very effective.
For anyone interested, you can buy drone-sized foundation-frames for the purpose, or let the bees build their own for example by giving them cut-down foundation like Sterling is using or by putting a shallow frame into a full-depth super. I haven’t used the special drone foundation myself but I like the idea. When there isn’t a lot of worker brood mixed in, you can pull the drone frame and put it in the freezer for a while to kill the varroa and brood, then give it back to the bees. Less work for them in building comb… or at least that’s the theory! Has anyone tried it?