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Author Topic: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?  (Read 8500 times)

Offline tillie

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #20 on: June 04, 2007, 11:38:44 pm »
That sounds workable and even though I've owned it, I've never used my queen excluder. 

This would mean if she is only a single queen in the upper box, she'll still be working away at the brood and if there are two of them, they are separated by the excluder (thus the name, duh!) and the lower queen can be working away as well.  If that works, then I can split them into two hives.

I don't want the bottom box to be in a state of continual swarm which it will be if there's a queen in there who's honey bound by the filled super above.

Question:  If there are two queens, is it possible that all bees would still use the main entrance - the ones from above as well as the ones from below?

Linda T in Atlanta

Offline Understudy

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #21 on: June 05, 2007, 01:02:48 am »
Hi Tillie,

Do you have any normal hives? ;)

This is one of those times I would recommend an excluder. Place it between. If you have only one entrance the bees will still come in.

If you do have a two queen hive. The excluder will answer that after one week. Because you will have no new brood or eggs. 

Sincerley,
Brendhan

Currently in Atlanta, GA
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Offline MrILoveTheAnts

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #22 on: June 05, 2007, 01:09:21 am »
Are two queened hives really such a bad thing?

It seems to me a similar thing happens in Carpenter Ants. It's called Oligogyny and is the workers tolerance of one queen but in the presence of multiple queens they become aggressive. Carpenter Ants normally create sub colonies from the main nest but don't ever disconnect form the parent one and this allows new queens to stumble into these areas and be accepted by the workers. It's situations like this that really boost the number of workers though it is a flook nature. Not that they last long at all though, eventually the queens meet and someone loses an arm or later dies.

I suppose multiple queens in a bee hive would run the risk over winter of the queens killing each other and the bees not being able to requeen.

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #23 on: June 05, 2007, 07:34:00 am »
>Are two queened hives really such a bad thing?

Many people run them on purpose.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beestwoqueenhive.htm
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Offline tillie

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #24 on: June 05, 2007, 08:24:09 am »
Michael,

I read on your website about keeping 2 queen hives horizontally - which would make adding a super to hive one work fairly easily, but without the horizontal configuration, adding supers to the bottom hive box in a vertical configuration seems daunting.

Linda T in Atlanta


Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #25 on: June 05, 2007, 10:01:55 pm »
A vertical configuration on a 2 queen hive can be a lot of work.  You literally have to tear the entire hive apart to inspect the 2nd queen (actually the 1st queen).  Then there's always the risk that in tearing the hive apart the queens get placed so that they are in the same brood compartment.
I've done 2nd queen hives but have always found it to be much more trouble than it was worth.  I would follow my earlier suggest and make it easy on myself.
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Offline tillie

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #26 on: June 05, 2007, 10:59:25 pm »
I'm going for it, Brian - I just wanted to understand more about Michael's concept of the 2-queen hive.  I have some time on Thursday and since we NEVER have rain in Atlanta, I'll do it then.  I'm excited about the adventure and the possibility that I end up with a free hive!

Linda T in Atlanta

Offline tillie

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #27 on: June 06, 2007, 04:14:33 pm »
OK, so I had a break in the middle of the day today and did the deed. 

I took what may be Queen A's hive off of the top - consisted of the box (Box 3)  in which I saw her laying and a box (Box 4) above that.  I then removed the honey filled super (Box 2) - to be sure I checked each frame - all honey - no brood.  I did not look in the deep (Box 1) for brood or a queen.

 I did take the 6 center frames of the capped honey out of Box 2 and added 5 frames of SC starter strips and one full frame of SC foundation.  I then put the renovated super (Box 2) back on top of the deep - with two full frames of honey on each side and starter strip frames in the center.  If there is a queen in Box 1 (Queen Bee), she now has room to grow her brood.

I put a queen excluder between Box 2 and Box 3, the one in which I saw the young Queen A laying on Monday.  I put Box 3 back above the queen excluder and put the already started Box 4 on top of that (has about four frames of honey in the center that they had made from last year's comb remnants)...

So if the Queen is a lone queen in the hive, no matter which box she is in today, she has room to lay brood.  If there are two queens, A and Bee, they each have space to expand.  If there is evidence of eggs and young brood in both Queen boxes next week, I'll split the hive.  Otherwise I'll remove the queen excluder and conclude that this is indeed a strange hive.

Linda T having Bee adventures in Atlanta

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #28 on: June 06, 2007, 07:25:29 pm »
Sounds like a game plan.
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Offline doak

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #29 on: June 06, 2007, 07:31:29 pm »
tillie, I think you did right. Sometime we get caught between a rock and a hard spot.
Thats when we have to cover "both" ends.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
doak

Offline tillie

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Re: Strange hive configuration - should I do something?
« Reply #30 on: June 07, 2007, 12:54:34 am »
I just read Robo's post in another thread (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=9876.0) in which he commented that if you put a queen excluder in the middle of the hive, all the drones will die without an upper entrance. 

I don't have an official upper entrance on the hive in which I have just inserted a queen excluder, but there is a top entrance created by propping the top above the inner cover.  Will this do it or have I trapped the drones in Box 3 and Box 4 by using the queen excluder?


Linda T confused in Atlanta

Duh, obviously when I got up this morning, I realized that of course, a top entrance is a top entrance and whether it's a stick propping up the top or the big front door at the bottom "offical entrance."   The drones will be fine.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2007, 08:27:55 am by tillie »

 

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