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Author Topic: old frames of honey as bait to move up?  (Read 3278 times)

Offline beefree

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old frames of honey as bait to move up?
« on: August 24, 2004, 10:47:15 pm »
This is my first year doing this...
I found a super full of honey in the barn at the farm where i am taking care of somebody else's hives.  One of those hives is doing great (comb honey with a queen excluder).  Two hives are so-so ..honey for extraction with queen excluders on, but i think i will take them off this weekend if they haven't improved drawing the foundation in the honey supers.  And one hive that is full of lazy bums (definitely yanking their excluder this weekend).  My question is, would it be a good idea to use a couple of frames of the old honey in each of the so-so and lazy hives' honey supers, in order to coax them up?  It looks okay, but smells slightly fermented.  (So I'll have lazy, drunken bees...)
Beefree
Those who are merciful to the cruel become callous to the meek.

Offline latebee

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re: old frames of honey
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2004, 12:48:03 am »
howdy,
        My only concern about using honey of unknown origin would be the possibility of disease transmission, but if you are sure its safe go for it. 8)
The person who walks in another's tracks leaves NO footprints.

Offline Finman

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Re: old frames of honey as bait to move up?
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2004, 01:24:51 am »
Quote from: beefree
My question is, would it be a good idea to use a couple of frames of the old honey in each of the so-so and lazy hives' honey supers, in order to coax them up?


Old honey can be get to circulation, if you uncap comps and put the frame in the middle of larva frames.

If you put old honey to supers, bees will recap the honey.

Lazy bees?  There is some reason for that?  Some hive is eager than another. First thing is change the queen.

Bees can turn lazy if they have not enouhg empty space, or more usual, they are going to swarm.

If you have same size hives, another bring 120 kg honey and another 60 kg.