Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Kathyp on November 30, 2013, 01:03:19 am
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confession time. i got busy with some family stuff that took me away from home for almost a month. i had been trapping yellowjackets right and left before i was away. i knew they were really bad this year. i had already lost on small hive to them.
so....just checked the last hive today and it's empty of all but a little honey and yellowjackets. they should be gone by now. we have had multiple freezing nights. they are still out there......
then i checked the package prices for next year. 91 dollars!! that's nuts.
fair warning to all in my area. i'll be hard after the swarms next year!! :'(
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Thats terrible, you really lost the lot!! I would give you a couple no problem but there is a distance thing.
Good luck with the swarms
Cheers
Steve
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Kathy,
Major bummer... :(
So sorry to hear that news! I like your plan and enthusiasm for rebounding via next years swarming season...happy hunting, we'll be rooting for you! :)
Hopefully all went well with your family issues...
Did you have as much time as expected to catch up on reading / movie / TV series watching?
If so, how about an update and your opinion on whatever you ended up filling the time with...
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Kathy, Sorry to hear about that. There must be a micro environment around there somewhere to keep them that active. Wish I had some extra bees to share but still setting at one hive.
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Ouch! I'm sorry to hear this.
I lost both of the hives I had a couple of years ago under similar circumstances. I paid more than I wanted to getting started again, but I'm glad I did.
Get back up, brush yourself off and start again!
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Moots, i didn't get much reading or movie watching done. spent a lot of time preventing escape and disaster. :-) did get a chance to blow through a couple of games. i find it therapeutic to slaughter things in video game :evil:
as for the rest of it, my other mistake this year was that i didn't do any swarm chasing so i didn't have the excess i usually have. things just got away from me.
next year will be better.
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Death to all wasps & hornets X:X! Major bummer Kathy, leave the last box where it sets, then on a nice cold nite go out & if there's some of the vermin left trying to overwinter in the box, give em the brush off in the snowbank. That'll put a major dent in the crop for next year :-D.
I try to get my traps out early, if I can get a couple queens, that's a few less colonies in the summer.
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i did have traps out early and did catch a bunch of queens. i knew we were in for it early on. two mild winters were no help. lots of land. lot's of places for them to nest. some years it's a losing battle.
i am surprised that after a few nights in the 20's they are still out there. the next cold snap should do it.
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Death to all wasps & hornets X:X! Major bummer Kathy, leave the last box where it sets, then on a nice cold nite go out & if there's some of the vermin left trying to overwinter in the box, give em the brush off in the snowbank. That'll put a major dent in the crop for next year :-D.
I try to get my traps out early, if I can get a couple queens, that's a few less colonies in the summer.
Living in central Michigan and using the clapping hand emotion icon could get you accused of being someone you might not be.
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Kathy as you know if you can figure the transport the gang will put you back in business, I garon t it
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bud, i know they would. i think the logistics would be an issue.
there are plenty of swarms around here. i just got busy and because i had some good hives going, i didn't worry about it. next year is another year and i'll get to start fresh will some cleaned up and organized hives! ;)
maybe i'll get motivated at your place next year?
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Kathy as you know if you can figure the transport the gang will put you back in business, I garon t it
Bud,
No doubt....I had thought of offering but pretty much figured there was no safe/economical way of transporting a hive a couple thousand miles. :(
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Ohhhhh, Kathy, I am so sorry. What a bummer.
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RIP social bees :(
Wishing KathyP some good Karma for 2104 X:X
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Sorry for your lost Kathy. Wish there was a way to help. Hope to see you at Buds. May you catch lots of swarms this spring.
Joe
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There are 6840 members of this forum. If we each sent her a small jar of honey, it should be enough to last her until she gets another harvest. :-*
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thanks Iddee. as it turns out, i got some early honey from those hives and have supplied my mother and granddaughter. as long as those two are happy, i'm good. i did keep a little for me :-D
now next year....that could be a problem!!
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How many did you loose Kathy?
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Kathy,
I'm so sorry to hear this. Sorry for you, and scared for me!! We too have a yellow jacket problem. Lost one hive that was struggling, and now they are hunting the other hives. I've got traps out, and mikel wants to spray, but i'm wondering how do you spray and not get the bees! We've had a couple of freezing nights, which I also thought would get them, but they are still here. I reaally hate yellow jackets!!!!!
Any suggestions to help save the remaining hives? I've reduced all entrances. I have screened bottom boards, do you think I should close them up with mite boards? I'm worried about my two baby hives. They went in to winter pretty strong, but are still both on the small side.
ugh, it's going to be a long worrisome winter. :(. I know you will come back all right, but if there is anything I can do to help, lemme know! I can send honey as iddee recommends.
Wishing you luck in the spring! I know you will bounce back with no problem.
much love,
ziffa/liz
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Kathy,
Sorry for your loss. I don't know what I would do if I lost ALL my hives at once. At least you don't have to spend any time the rest of the winter fretting if your girls will make it or not.
When you lose a hive in early winter like this, do you break it down immediately and store everything, or just close up the entrance and let it sit until spring?
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Kathy, on your behalf I killed around 8 or 10 yellow jackets at my hive. It was around 62 today so I gave the girls a quart of acidulated :-D sugar water. During the process I spilt some and that brought in the ants and yellow jackets.
I've found yj nest by waiting for the sun to be at an angle. Then just start looking around for them flying by. Ninety nine percent of the time they are in the ground. If they wiped out your bee hives then it's got to be a big well populated nest, therefore maybe easy to find. Another way is to walk a few feet and stomp a couple of times real hard. Then repeat. Warning; if you don't find them, they'll find you.
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Sorry to hear of your lose.
The yellow jackets are bad here also, I've got out yellow jacket traps and they're still bad.
If there is anyway I can help, let me know.
I can let go of a Nuc or two in the spring.
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Kathy sorry to hear about your hives if you run out of honey we will ship you some. Just let us know. Sorry can't help with the bees.
Have y'all tried using raw hamburger laced with aspertane that artificial sweetner. A commercial Beek around here says it will take care of the yellow jackets. I haven't used it because they didn't get bad here this year and I didn't learn about it soon enough year before when they were bad.
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Kathy, terribly sorry about your loss. Hope swarmpatrol.com will help out nicely for the swarm season next year..
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thank you all for your offers. guess i was just feeling guilty because the loss is my fault. i'll make it right in the spring hopefully. until then, i'll clean up my hives and have them ready.
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Well, that solves a problem I have, too many hives. And, I am close enough you can come over and get a couple. Trade out woodware. If ya still have my phone num gimmie a call, if not PM me or Email for it. We will work out something to help us both.
Yes, the Yellowjackets were terrible this year, but not at my hives. I spend a lot of time at the Port, and folks have been getting attacked by the YJ and yes even with the freezing they are still around and grouchy as hell.
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thanks Jack. see how you come through winter and if you still have some to unload in spring, i might take you up on that. i expect a pretty cold winter so....
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Ok, because I really don't want more than 2 and I have a golf course that throws swarms that I get called for, so I 'spect I will get calls in the swarm season. But that plan works for me. Beats buying or selling them.
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Sorry for your lost Kathy. I usually don't have a problem with YJ"s here but I did find one in a hive (and killed it) on turkey day right after a cold snap. I was really surprised to see it. I was just opening the top to see what the bees were doing in the supers.
I have a few left on because the last time I tried to pull them, the bees started to try to rob everything and I just closed them up and left the rest.
Jim
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I got at least one being robbed out. I need to go and prop the lids open to get the tops ventilated. I have lost 3 nucs when I went to Wisconsin to see my sick mom and the weather turned wet and cold early in the year. I have 4 nucs left, 1 promised to a guy at work and just figure on making up my losses. I think it is going to be a rough winter for us here.
What do you do for an extractor? Your are just down the road from me, I have bees and no extractor. I have been running down to Canby to borrow on and this year I am going into winter with over a dozen hives.
I am about to give up on chasing swarms but trapping worked so well for me that I had to pull them down.
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minz, i'll send you a PM about the extractor. i think it's going to be a rough one also. just blanketed all the horses and i never do that! :-D
i had traps out all over the place last year and the year before. got nothing except for the one that moved into my observation hive. glad you are having luck with it.
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kathyp, sorry for you loss. How many packages are you planning on getting? Are you going to try to get them early enough for a honey crop? You have drawn comb for them, so it's a major plus.
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merince, i don't think i'll get packages. i'll try to get at the swarms early and maybe make a few local deals if i can. i can't remember the last time i bought a package ;)
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Checking hives today and putting a shim under them to allow them to ventilate and found my pair of hives up in Corbett dead. All the others I checked seemed to be OK. I want to see if any lab would tell me if they have AFB or EFB or if the gear is OK. Since it is December I have time for the analysis to be complete, anybody know where I can send them? I will start a new thread as well.
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i'd guess it was not disease. we had an odd year. should have been a great honey year, but was not for most people. should have been huge build up, but many didn't get it. don't know. things were just off.
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Beltsville, Md. and Baton Rouge, La.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-45-33-00 (http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-45-33-00)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=64-13-30-00 (http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=64-13-30-00)
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Checking hives today and putting a shim under them to allow them to ventilate and found my pair of hives up in Corbett dead. All the others I checked seemed to be OK. I want to see if any lab would tell me if they have AFB or EFB or if the gear is OK. Since it is December I have time for the analysis to be complete, anybody know where I can send them? I will start a new thread as well.
Minz,
I recommend you call your state bee inspector. They should be able to tell you if it is any of the diseases that you mention, for free.
Was the hive full of dead bees? Was there lots of brood cells left in the hive? Was there no honey in the hives and no sign of the cappings being ripped out (the bees just ran out of food and left) or was it full of capped honey?
If you can post a couple of pictures we might be able to help out.
Jim
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Minz; Have you examined the capping's or done the rope test?
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one thing i wouldn't be doing is ventilating. we have been dry and we have been cold. they don't need ventilation, they need heat. the more you ventilate, the more they have to work at making and keeping that heat.
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I have never heard of a hive being robbed and killed by yj's! Learn something every day. So I will keep my eyes open for the little yellow things.
Thanks,
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glen, most of the time the bees will take care of them if they don't have big entrance or holes to defend. this year, they were so relentless that the took down even my strongest hive....and, as i said, it was partly my fault for not being able to stay on top of the traps and stuff...although, bad as they were, it might not have mattered....
you know how it is when you walk through clover and there are bees all over the place? that's how thick the yj's were. they were everywhere.
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Kathy
Sorry I am late in posting this, but I am very sorry you lost your bees. This was a very tough year for me as well. I lost 3 out of 4 hives this year.
But I am not ready to give up. Will keep on trying to keep them alive.
Good luck next season. I am sure things will get better.
Annette
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Weather is changing so I ventilated them. I did not have any indication of moisture on any of the hives. I had no brood, lots of heads stuck into cells, no honey around the bees. I did send a sample off to Beltsville and it has been received as of yesterday. The bees I sent in were the ones dead on the frames in the brood area. I have the hives in the back of the truck, the bees can get into the canopy but not out of if it is bad. I thought the rope test was only for dead brood? I have no brood that I can find. I did find white, almost pellet like things in some cells that I have not seen before. Any ideas as to what that may be?
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left you a note on your other thread. be careful with the ventilation. IMO it is highly over-rated.
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Weather is changing so I ventilated them. I did not have any indication of moisture on any of the hives. I had no brood, lots of heads stuck into cells, no honey around the bees. I did send a sample off to Beltsville and it has been received as of yesterday. The bees I sent in were the ones dead on the frames in the brood area. I have the hives in the back of the truck, the bees can get into the canopy but not out of if it is bad. I thought the rope test was only for dead brood? I have no brood that I can find. I did find white, almost pellet like things in some cells that I have not seen before. Any ideas as to what that may be?
White pellet things might bee Chalk brood. Did you find a lot of them or just a few?
Jim
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Sorry to hear about your loss
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Kathy sorry for your lost. Last year I had a lot of equipment out that was empty every yard pick up at lease one swarm. One yard started out with nothing but empty boxes and end up with 3 hives in it. Maybe park a set of boxes at a lot of friends places.
David