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Author Topic: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees  (Read 16373 times)

Offline Lone

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Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« on: July 12, 2012, 06:26:08 am »
Jose swapped me a beehive for a van a few years ago then yearned to keep bees again.  So I split off a nuc for him.  12 months passed and he never touched it except to face an empty double deep to the entrance of the nuc.  I do not have another 5 frame nuc box, so to regain the use of my nuc box I then had to sort out the mess that was Jose's Hive.

The set up:



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First I had to clean the honeycomb and bees from the lid and the top of the frames:



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I did not know what to expect or what I'd find in the empty supers - lovely capped honeycomb with a little pollen.  A few beetles on the pollen but not a problem:



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They were lovely quiet bees.  But were they everywhere! 



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I didn't try to look for the queen and risk losing her.  There was mainly capped brood and very few eggs.  I slipped the 5 frames into the new box quickly, but she could have been anywhere.  But last week when I checked, there were signs of a queen and a thriving hive.



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The moral of this story is , if you give Jose bees, you will end up with pictures that show you how not to keep bees.

Lone


Offline buzzbee

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2012, 07:52:25 am »
I'm surprised they chose to store honey in the detached hive bodies.Quite an interesting setup,to say the least. :)

Offline AllenF

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2012, 06:49:34 pm »
I find that amazing also.  I would never have thought it.   But I guess it worked.

Offline bud1

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2012, 06:59:06 pm »
that jose kinda like me, dont sweat it if it works
to bee or not to bee

Offline Nico

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2012, 09:58:57 pm »
Lone if Jose's hive was on the roof in that setup during cyclone Yasi it is unbelieveable.
Nico   

Offline Lone

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #5 on: July 14, 2012, 05:27:45 am »
Buzzbee and Allen, you'd better move quick before Jose patents his set up.

Bud, you are quite right.  With my brand on the nuc box though, I didn't want to take the blame for all the swarms he's likely to throw to his neighbours.

Nico, we split it after the cyclone.  I guess when the next cyclone comes Jose will put a flower pot on or something to stop the lid blowing off.

Say nice things about Jose folks.  I'll send him the link so he can admire his beautiful bees.

Lone


Offline Lone

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #6 on: October 15, 2012, 08:42:50 am »
I think I killed Jose's hive.   :'(

I am a bee murderer.  I had told Jose that I would supply the frames and foundation, and stick it on his hive so they wouldn't be so cramped, and then leave him to it.  But the day I went he was late getting back, and his wife had to get to work.  So when I found he had put an empty super on top, with 4 wired foundationless frames, I was not amused.  There was comb at all angles, and difficult to remove because of the wires. I made a real big booboo.  I tried to quickly cut it out while the super was still on top of the brood super.  It was a stinking hot day on top of an iron roof and honey went everywhere.  Bees were drowning in masses.  And I can't bear to think of all the honey that slipped into the brood.  It will be a miracle if the queen survived.  A couple of days later there were still bees dying, and some had swirled around, maybe absconded?

I have made many mistakes with bees, but that will be about the worst. You have never seen such a mess.  Those poor bees didn't deserve to die like that.  They were a real quiet and strong hive, too.  I don't hold out much hope for it, but I will check it when I have a chance. I took a photo before the mass destruction which I can post if I work out how to load it.  I know I should have removed the honey super before trying to cut the comb away, and probably left it till the bees deserted it at nightfall, but are there any other suggestions?  I certainly have learnt 'how not to keep bees'...and also that you can't teach old Joses new tricks.   :roll:

Lone

Offline D Semple

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #7 on: October 15, 2012, 09:59:26 am »
I want to see a picture of the van you were will to swap for a beehive.  :-D

Offline Lone

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2012, 03:48:55 am »


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This is the van after the school hijacked it for the street parade.  It is not normally a hippie van.
Some mechanic said he could fix it for 2 grand and without warning charged me over 5 grand for a new engine when I went to collect it, and it still didn't work.  First time I drove it there was no water in the radiator, and second time there was water in the transmission oil.  Then they charged me $150 for oil to flush the system out.  It stopped running on gas (LPG) and was running rough on petrol.  Someone said they would sell it for me so I made a sign and went to drive it to town when it broke down again.  That's when I bumped into Jose and got the beehive.  It cost him another 2 grand to get it going and that's only because he's a man and knows what to ask without getting duped.  I have been swindled by nearly every mechanic in town and have similar stories about most of them.  I wrote this up for a friend who was going to take this mechanic to a TV show about swindlers, but before that happened he tried a stunt on his own wife, and I guess her fury was enough punishment for all the people he's ripped off.

Well I might have the most expensive beehive in history, but I tell you, it was worth every cent.   :-D

Epilogue.  I now have a kia rio I got in good condition through the public trustee.  Above mechanic said if he was asked to look at a kia he'd say "I can see it from here", but I tell you, it's never broken down.

Lone

Offline Jim134

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2012, 06:41:17 am »
that jose kinda like me, dont sweat it if it works

Hay Bud.......  

Jose's looks like another bee haveor to me!!

 :lau: :lau: :lau:


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Offline Lone

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Re: Jose's Hive: How Not To Keep Bees
« Reply #10 on: January 13, 2013, 10:15:05 am »
Update.  
The queen was lost that hot day along with most of the bees.  Jose wasn't worried that there wasn't a queen or eggs.  He wanted to wait and see how they went.  I introduced a frame of eggs which did no good.  Probably all the bees that were left by this time were my introduced ones.  I spoke to my mentor who said to tell him "It's my way or the highway".  I told him he'd be off down the Flinders Highway unless he left it to me and didn't try and do anything. (anything being some really unusual and odd things).  So I took it home and introduced two more frames of eggs and brood.  I saw the queen a couple of weeks ago and there are plenty of bees around the entrance now.  But he's not getting it back - yet.

Lone