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Author Topic: Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies  (Read 3006 times)

Offline Cindi

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Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies
« on: August 21, 2007, 11:22:39 am »
Finally, our weather channel has told us we might have some sunshine, yeah!  The weather has been so dreary for so long, I haven't had a chance to get into the hives and examine what is going on.

Two of my package colonies have still chalkbrood issues, this I can see from the outside, don't know what is going on inside, maybe they are OK now, but maybe not.

Should I like KathyP say, "off with her head", kill the queen, wait a day, then unite with another colony that could use some help (if there are any poor little wayward colonies, that I don't know either), or can the unition be done the same time?

I await some wonderful opinions from my dear forum friends.  Have a wonderful day, beautiful life.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline pdmattox

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Re: Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2007, 06:00:38 pm »
Great subject title cindi.  I would not put off the requeening, In my limited experience things don't get better from here untill you requeen. I would first combine them and then when things have settled I would requeen. You don't want to loose any precious time.

Offline TwT

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Re: Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies
« Reply #2 on: August 21, 2007, 09:18:59 pm »
Great subject title cindi.  I would not put off the requeening, In my limited experience things don't get better from here untill you requeen.

sounds like a old pro!!!!!!

I would first combine them and then when things have settled I would requeen. You don't want to loose any precious time.


 not me unless I couldn't get some queens sent, they are queens out there now getting ready for late splits and all, should be able to find some...

see!!!!!!!
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?topic=10521.0

get the new queens and then poor the feed to them in your area, want be long we will be watching the 2nd vesion of 'ICE ROAD TRUCKERS" , I like that show!!!!!
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

Never be afraid to try something new.
Amateurs built the ark,
Professionals built the Titanic

Online Kathyp

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Re: Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2007, 09:27:03 pm »
mine did not requeen.  i gave them more brood.  there are queen cells.  if they do not do it this time, i will combine for winter.  in the mean time, i am feeding them and have reduced the hive to one deep.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Cindi

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Re: Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2007, 12:17:02 pm »
Holy cawcadoodle!!!!  What a day with the bees, I was out with them a total of 6 hours (but that included a break in the shade with my husband and bee pal, Steve, enjoying a cold brew). 

Back to the chalkbrood colony.  I took that ball in my hands and did what I thought would be best.  I went into the chalkbrood colony, found the poor ol' queen and "off with her head".  I closed up the colony and proceeded to inspect.  I found another colony that could have used a little more help with extra bees and took this chalkbrood colony and put it in top, with the newspaper in between.  I had ensured the chalkbrood colony was amalgamated into one box.  There was quite a bit of emerging brood and many nurse and adults.  The colony that I united it with was right beside it, so the forager bees would not have too much trouble finding their way home into the new home.  Bearing pollen, water, nectar, they would be readily accepted.  I also smoke these two colonies heavily to help to disguise the hive scent too, hoping that this will keep them all rather calm.  I imagine by tomorrow they will be through the newspaper and having a great old time meeting new pals  :lol:

I can't imagine having any more than 10 colonies ever to look after.  That was a gruelling day, enjoyable yes, but very time consuming.  I checked each colony indepth and it takes time in the hot, hot sun.  I take my hats off to you all that work with your bees, even a bigger hat taker off to those that keep more than 10, and you are many, yeah!!!  Good for you guys.

This is amazing!!!  The original overwintered colony that I babied through with a terrarium heater is just a gang buster.  This is the colony that I had made a cut down split with, moved the queen into the nuc and allowed the original overwintered colony to make its own queen.  It is overflowing with bees, again.  The nuc that I made from it has gone nuts too!!!  Yeah, gonna have some pretty strong colonies going into winter.

So I took 3 frames of emerging brood and a shake of bees from that hive and gave it to another hive that needed some additional bees.  Even after the frames and bees were taken out, the hive is still booming.  The hive that I gave the bees and frames too, will be about the same size as the other colonies.  No weak colonies out in my yard now, yeah!  Yeah!!!!!

The still strong, overpopulated, overwintered colony, in the next few days, I am going to make a 5 frame nuc from for the wintertime.  My Asian mentor has a couple of queens available and I think that I might as well utilize the extra bees.  When the bees get ready for that winter clustering, I have concern that extra younger bees would not be allowed to overwinter in the hive and would lose their life needlessly.  This is the understanding that I got, the winter cluster is only "allowed" by the bees to be a certain size?  Correct?  Comments?

Honey?  I don't think this is the year of honey, maybe still to come, the flow is still strong, but I am not counting on it.  This is my year for build-up for mountains of honey next year (maybe just like Dane's flow!!!!!). :)

Have a wonderful day, beautiful life and best of healthy wishes.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Online Kathyp

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Re: Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2007, 01:08:08 pm »
you are doing great.  bad honey year  :-(

i will save your post because i think i'm going to have to do about the same.  if the fall is mild, this hive might yet requeen, but they failed with the last batch of brood.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline TwT

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Re: Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2007, 06:27:48 pm »
When the bees get ready for that winter clustering, I have concern that extra younger bees would not be allowed to overwinter in the hive and would lose their life needlessly.  This is the understanding that I got, the winter cluster is only "allowed" by the bees to be a certain size?  Correct?  Comments?


you want young bee's going into a winter, those are the bee's that will keep the hive going, the queen might even raise some bee's during winter, the old bee's will die and young bee's will go through winter!!! Pollinators want huge hives going into winter so they will take off when the spring hits thats why the feed heavy pollen patties and syrup diring late fall......
« Last Edit: August 22, 2007, 09:41:55 pm by TwT »
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

Never be afraid to try something new.
Amateurs built the ark,
Professionals built the Titanic

Offline Cindi

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Re: Off with Her Head!!! uniting colonies
« Reply #7 on: August 23, 2007, 01:25:32 pm »
Ted, that is good.  Bees always throw a loop into what I am thinking.  Think I have something right down pat and then another thought process suddenly disrupts what I think.  Don't know if what I said makes sense or not.

Explanation.  Feeding copious amounts of pollen and syrup in the fall for huge build up ready for pollination.  That sounds logical.  But....wonder why to feed the pollen patties in fall.  I pretty much understood that the bees gather enough pollen during the summer to last the winter.  So, what is the purpose of the excess pollen in this winter state.  The bees may not need it, I guess it is there, just in case they don't have sufficient pollen to rear brood in great numbers.  Oh well.  In the southern parts of U.S. I can see the need for the extreme feeding because there may not be a winter shut down with brood rearing?

Have a wonderful day, beautiful life, love our life we live.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service