Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Mairzy_doats on May 01, 2009, 06:55:27 pm
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I'm wondering how y'all get anything else done once you have bees. I installed my nucs-in not the best weather-and they were pretty gentle, didn't use a smoker or anything. Now I know I'm not supposed to peek, but I find myself walking out there and just staring. I've read posts on here where some talk about sitting in a lawn chair just watching their bees and I thought, Crazy. Well, here I am just watching them. :-D
When I walked out there this morning to get the nuc boxes I noticed they were really quiet, eerily so. I panicked and opened them, just the cover and peeked thru the screen to make sure they were still there. They were and doing there thing, I guess. By opening them did I do a bad,bad thing? ;)
Another thing. I didn't know that nuc boxes packaged the queen in a little candy box. When I was pulling out frames, a tiny box that was stuck on one of them fell to the ground. I paid no attention to it till I was all done with that hive and then when I picked it up I noticed that it had the queen in it. I wasn't prepared for that so I pushed the cork in (since I couldn't get it out) and set it on top of the frames. When I looked today, she was out of it. But on the second hive I sort of slid it in between the frames the best way I could. Is that ok?
Well, I'm off now. I haven't got my fix yet in a few hours but this time I'm taking a chair. 8-) :-D
~mary
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I step out and take a look at mine two or three times most every day.
You need to peel in about 3 to 5 days after installing to make sure the queen is released.
You don't have to open very often to enjoy watching them do there thing out side the hive.
On cool mornings, they will most likely not be out so early. After it warms up and temps don't fall below 50 degrees at night they will be out earlier.
Have fun. doak :)
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OOPS! 2nd line. You need to "peek" in.
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I wasn't aware that a nuc had a boxed queen either. but i'm new also. but have never heard of it. I thought that a nuc had a queen already bred and working, such was the advantage of a nuc over a package.
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Hah! :) That brings back memories. When I first started beekeeping, I also had a new puppy that someone had abandoned on our place, and while I was doing her basic puppy training, the beeyard was conveniently in our training path that we would walk 2-3 times daily. ;)
The addiction subsides with time and becomes a healthy habit. ;)
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The first thing I would do would be to make a note not to buy from that breeder. A nuc should have a queen released in the box and laying a good pattern.
Did you do a bad, bad thing???? Yes, that was worse than peeking at your presents before Christmas. Now you destroyed all the wonder and anticipation.
:-* :-D
Did you bother the bees in any way, NO!
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But on the second hive I sort of slid it in between the frames the best way I could. Is that ok?
it's fine as long as the bees have access to the queen through the screen. if the foundation is push up against it, just slide the frame over a bit.
enjoy your bees. they are fascinating. the more you watch, the more you learn. i call them my outdoor aquarium. :-D
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They are fascinating little creatures aren't they... could watch them for hours 8-)
Oh and yes I would expect that a nuc came with a released and laying queen after all a nuc is not a package.. it has brood and sustenance for the hive.
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I love to watch them coming and going as well. I call it Bee TV and I put a couple of big rocks out in front of my hives to sit on and watch the girls flying in and out with all the different colored pollen.
My 6 year old son loves it too, he asks me all the time to come out and watch the bees with him.
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I LOVE watching mine! Right now I can't sit out there in a lawn chair unless I am covered in DEET, so I watch them from my back door with a pair of binoculars until they get the mosquitoes under control. We've had 18" of rain in the past 3 weeks.
Tomorrow is supposed to be nice weather so I am going to suit up and peek at my girls. Well, I will be doing more than peeking - probably tick them off real bad, but I need to make sure my yellow hive has a laying queen and put the SBB back with the oil tray. The plastic tray was stuck so bad I had to set my hive on a solid bottom board and take it to the garage and pry it out.
As for my new hive - just a quick peek to make sure the queen is laying.
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It is like a new baby. You cant get enough of it. This is my third year and I am way more relaxed than my first year. First year I would sit for hours and watch, watch watch. Every little thing they did or did not do would send me into a tizzie. You can ask anyone on this forum if I was nervous my first year. Very nervous and extreme anxiety if anything seemed out of place.
I am still very happy to visit them and when things look good, I am still so very happy.
Enjoy them and learn lots
Annette
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Beekeeping is not a hobby....
Its an addiction .
Now were do I join beekeepers Anonymous ?????
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I need "Beeforum Anonymous"
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I think I'm addicted and I don't even have any bees yet!! Now thats bad!
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I think I'm addicted and I don't even have any bees yet!! Now thats bad!
Hey, it has to start somewhere! Yeah, I am addicted too!
Brenda
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Buzzen, and any other New Be's Go ahead and get all the reading done you can.
I was back and forth to the Library for three years before I got my first. doak :)
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Am I addicted ?
1. Joined local club and became board member after just two months
2. Became club newsletter editor
3. Became club webmaster
4. Started with 5 hives not the two planned
5. Upto 6 hives right now.
6. Spent a day hiving packages for a local beek, it never gets old
7. Got a table saw so I could make my own equipment
8. Put in a vegtable garden next to the bee yard as an excuse to be outside all the time.
9. Spend more time in front of the hives than I do in front of the TV
Yep :-D :-D :-D :-D
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It's like an aquarium for me, watching them coming and going, doing their thing. I find it very relaxing.
Even though they are being fed sugar water and slurping it up quite well many are still out gathering nectar which I assume are the ones coming back without pollen sacs and as said previously seeing the different color pollen sacs on the legs are quite interesting too.
All this is just from the outside, the inside of the hives is a whole other world to behold.
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I must admit i can't resist on a warm day to go out with my folding stool and plop my rear right down beside the hives. I can spend hours watching those girls work thier magic. You'll even find yourself actually picking up bees that get caught in a puddle of water and can't get out (we can't have our girls drowning now can we?) The best part is opening one up for the first time and finding queen cells and freaking out like i did. Made a frantic call to my buddy for help he came said they were going through supercedure and all was well. Shew that was a close one. Also i think i'm gonna invest in one of those laid back foldable lawn chairs for added hours of plesure out in the beeyard. Dang they really do need to make a Lay Z Boy recliner to go outdoors for us beekeepers. :-D
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While opening them up does set them back a little, for a new beek, the value of learning far outweighs lost production.
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The first year we had the girls, I watched from afar - this was my husband's hobby, not mine. That didn't last long, but the end of the summer I was out there all the time! Last year in a beekeeping class I saw a top bar hive, and just HAD to have one for my own first hive. And it HAD to have an observation window. Now if only there was a tiny little light that would go on when I peeked in to be nosy!
It does get addicting - this is our 4th year - we're up to 6 hives in the yard, another hive up at a local school. But you meet the nicest people (ok, some of our beek friends are weird) and we're learning more and more each year.
Welcome and enjoy!
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We love to watch our bees. At first DW worried it might be an unhealthy addiction but then we realized the kids were no longer interested in cable TV and spent hours outside watching the bees and playing in the garden instead. We cancelled the cable TV and the kids have not missed it at all. We've ended up spending close to an extra $150 for protective gear for the kids but even with that our bees are actually saving us money!
Cost to set up our bees? Approx. $600 inc. suites and veils for the kids.
Monthly savings from cancelled cable? > $100
Family time? Priceless
SH
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But you meet the nicest people (ok, some of our beek friends are weird) and we're learning more and more each year.
Welcome and enjoy!
<Chuckle, grin> Most of my friends and family tell me that anyone who would keep 'zillions' of stinging insects as 'pets' are more than weird! They say that we all have to be CRAZY! Hey, I guess it keeps out of the riff raff!
Brenda
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Hello my name is Irwin and I'm a Beeoholic :-D
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LOL that's the same thing I am doing just pacing back and forth the wait is killing me :evil:
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I found an unexpected bonus to us getting bees.
I have a friend whose child is beyond out of control, trashes everything he can get his hands on when he is at my house, chases my dogs relentlessly, won't listen to anyone etc.
I just found out he is also allergic to bee stings and can't come over here anymore.... :evil:
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Hey Natalie, that's cool :lol:
Mick
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Hello my name is Irwin and I'm a Beeoholic :-D
Time to start the steps