Author Topic: Not smoking (Read 4703 times)

csalt · « **on:** March 15, 2010, 10:21:30 pm »

Can you open a small hive without stressing the bees much by not using smoke?

doak · « **Reply #1 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:23:19 pm »

A "little" smoke wouldn't hurt. :)doak

csalt · « **Reply #2 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:31:07 pm »

I have a small swarm and not shure if i got the queen, i've been popping the top to peek inside to see if i can find her or some fresh eggs. I know your not suppose to open it to much but i,m worried i don't have a queen. I've had the bees for 5 days now.

JP · « **Reply #3 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:42:11 pm »

Quote from: csalt on March 15, 2010, 10:31:07 pm

I have a small swarm and not shure if i got the queen, i've been popping the top to peek inside to see if i can find her or some fresh eggs. I know your not suppose to open it to much but i,m worried i don't have a queen. I've had the bees for 5 days now.

Just go in and look for her & look for eggs.

...JP

Bee Happy · « **Reply #4 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:44:48 pm »

I've seen video of people misting with sugar water (I think they scent mask with a little bit of vanilla, but you might want to let a more seasoned beek verify that for you). I did the sugar water thing this weekend getting honey from one hive and brood from another to make a nuc.

(Edited for words I left out somehow)

csalt · « **Reply #5 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:44:54 pm »

There's well under a thousand bees if there's no queen would it be worth ordering one. This is a feral colony.

csalt · « **Reply #6 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:47:19 pm »

They act like i'm not there when i open it up, thats why i'm not worried about using smoke.

JP · « **Reply #7 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:51:14 pm »

If you don't want to smoke them at all, wear at least a veil, just in case a few wants to sting you in the face.

I would definitely look for a queen in something that small. If none I would combine them with another hive.

...JP

Bee Happy · « **Reply #8 on:** March 15, 2010, 10:53:50 pm »

I suspect you have the queen, give 'em a little time to see. (I'm figuring they'd take off altogether if she wasn't with them) Maybe give them some syrup (if you choose to feed syrup) I'll need help from some more experienced people to tell you when to check back for sure.
(JP knows his bees)

iddee · « **Reply #9 on:** March 15, 2010, 11:19:29 pm »

Like JP says, get in there and look at every bee until you find the queen. If she's not there, combine them with another hive. If it was a swarm, and not a removal, my guess is she is there.

csalt · « **Reply #10 on:** March 15, 2010, 11:23:06 pm »

Thanks for the replies. I do have a feeder on the hive. I'll will wait a couple more days and open it up to look for the queen.

iddee · « **Reply #11 on:** March 15, 2010, 11:31:56 pm »

If you had any drawn comb at all when you hived them, you should have eggs by the 7th day.

doak · « **Reply #12 on:** March 15, 2010, 11:33:40 pm »

Normally when you hive a swarm if the queen doesn't go in they will not stay.
I use the sugar water spray only when I am working with them as a swarm. If you have more than one colony spraying could cause some robbing. After they are hived I smokem. If they are that gentle and not that many the queen should be easy to find.
Don't be going into the hive every day. Give them 4 or 5 more days and puff a little smoke. She should be laying by now, seeing a few eggs and/or some young brood is all you need.

For later.
When taking a swarm I try leave the box where the swarm takes it till after sundown. By then most all the field bees and/or scouts will have came back to the swarm location, close the hive and take to permanent location. :)doak

riverrat · « **Reply #13 on:** March 15, 2010, 11:35:53 pm »

if this was a swarm and only has about a thousand bees I would venture to guess it may be a secondary swarm and may have a virgin queen. It is not unusual for a queenless hive to have the bees stay and dwindle to nothing or end up with a laying worker. but to answer your question usually the smaller the hive the less defensive they are but it only takes one bee to sting you in the right place and you will wish you hadn't done it that way. With a hive that small I would suggest a little smoke on them would be the least of there problems IMHO

Kathyp · « **Reply #14 on:** March 15, 2010, 11:50:45 pm »

if you are going to go through the whole thing frame by frame, it might be worth it to use smoke. i don't a lot of times, but i tend to lazy beekeeping. i also find it easier to spot the queen when the hive has not been smoked.

don't worry about it being small. if you got the queen they have time to build up and do well. got one last year that was a bit bigger than a softball and it turned out to be a great hive.

i'm with JP. i give a swarm about a week and then i make sure i have a queen. by the end of a week, she should be laying. sooner if you put her on drawn comb. if you wait more than a week and you don't have a queen, the bees will either have drifted off or you'll have other problems.

csalt · « **Reply #15 on:** March 16, 2010, 12:10:59 am »

OK I feel better about the hive's size now. I'll check it wednesday that will be 7 days. This is my first hive and it's hard for me not to bug them all the time.

Highlandsfreedom · « **Reply #16 on:** March 16, 2010, 12:26:36 am »

It will be alright worst case scenario is you got the experience of capturing a swarm. There will be more swarms out there and now you know what to do! :-D But im rooting for the girls they will make it because you are tapped into the greatest knowledge pool in the world with BEEMASTER.COM its where all your questions are answered!! 8-)

Two Bees · « **Reply #17 on:** March 16, 2010, 03:27:24 pm »

Csalt, make sure you give us an update relative to what you find on Wednesday. Curious minds want to learn from your experience! :-D

csalt · « **Reply #18 on:** March 17, 2010, 02:12:10 pm »

Well i opened the hive today. I still didn't find the queen but i found a few eggs in some of the small amount of conb they built. They also started to build what looks to be queen cells about two of them. There eating the sugar syrup pretty fast. Not to much comb being built but there isn't to many bees. It looks like some brood and possibly some drone cells but this is coming from a first timer.

iddee · « **Reply #19 on:** March 17, 2010, 03:28:05 pm »

It sounds like the very thing you wanted to see. Now wait 7 more days and open it again. Don't disturb them before that. So far, it looks perfect. Report back in a week. Keep the sugar water on them. Don't let them run out.