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Author Topic: Hygienic bees.  (Read 2115 times)

Offline don2

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Hygienic bees.
« on: May 25, 2013, 01:45:49 am »
Meaning doing things to benefit their health and resistance to ???
I have noticed in the past and the present as well, we hear about a brood pattern, as in, if you  have a spotty pattern it is time to replace the queen. Then we are told to do this or that to see how many brood the worker bees remove for the test we are doing.
The spotty pattern may not be a failing queen. How much stuff is out there that bees cannot be bread resistant to?
As for as Genetic background, we cannot tell  what kind of bees the queen will produce. Unless she was artificially
bread. We do know that most colonies will remove larvae that is not going to develop into a good bee drone or worker. If enough of these occur  in a hive and the workers remove them then we know they have that trait. The spotty brood resulting. where is the trade off. Of cource if that is the case it is the queen. But she is not failing, she was bred to the wrong drone. or more.
Did the queen cause this or is it from a drone she mated with. What was in his gene line. Am I rambling?
I have a colony that came as a swarm out of the wild. I have not been in them but once in those two years. They are HOT!HOT!HOT.
I went and got myself a nuc of carnies and plan on increasing as many as I can from this nuc. I also plan on splitting the HOT hive up 4 or 5 ways in June as soon as I get some boxes and cells built. I am going to raise one queen from the hot hive to see if the off spring from it is still hot. I have no idea how long my carnies will stay gentle, the woods here is full of wild bees. My Farther-in law kept bees, he had swarms he did not recover. I have lost quiet a few my self. I have also had quiet a few come in out of the woods. I had a hot hive that swarmed a few years ago, could be they just came back home. lol. Yes I'm rambling.

But really, I do need to get into the hot colony to see what the Varroa , SHB,etc status is. maybe I can get a Varroa  resistant strand started. They have not swarmed and all I have done to them was add another super. It stacks up like this, 2 mediums 2 deeps one medium. When they came they took the 2 deeps, Then I guess they cleaned the bottom mediums out and went down. They did not start using the bottom front entrance till about 3 month ago. Had a couple knot holes in the back and one side of the deep. That is where the swarm entered. This is a short bit of my 14 year be "story" and I'm sticking to it. ;) :) d2


Offline 10framer

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Re: Hygienic bees.
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2013, 08:27:21 am »
how hot is hot? 

Offline Finski

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Re: Hygienic bees.
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2013, 10:57:36 am »
how hot is hot?  

20 stings per inpection is angry but 70 stings per inspection is hot to me.
If hot hive attacks onto  passbyer, he may be in life danger.

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Offline don2

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Re: Hygienic bees.
« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2013, 11:19:34 am »
I can work with in 4 or 5 ft. from them and it doesn't bother them. The last time I was in them when I left 3 or 4 followed me about 100 ft. Not like they swarm on you, just upset's them for you to mess with their dwelling. :roll: :) d2

Offline 10framer

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Re: Hygienic bees.
« Reply #4 on: May 25, 2013, 12:13:34 pm »
how hot is hot?  

20 stings per inpection is angry but 70 stings per inspection is hot to me.
If hot hive attacks onto  passbyer, he may be in life danger.

70 stings per inspection would definitely earn them a new queen if they were mine.  20 during the honey flow is probably more than i would be willing to put up with unless they were big producers. 

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Offline bailey

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Re: Hygienic bees.
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2013, 12:19:41 pm »
If I can't pop the top and look without a veil and gloveless
I requeen

That isn't pulling frames.  Just full top off for a look.
If I can work them that way I breed from them. 
Bailey
most often i find my greatest source of stress to be OPS  ( other peoples stupidity )

It is better to keep ones mouth shut and be thought of as a fool than to open ones mouth and in so doing remove all doubt.

Offline don2

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Re: Hygienic bees.
« Reply #6 on: May 25, 2013, 12:44:40 pm »
 Thanks bailey,That is where I am trying to go. :) d2

Offline 10framer

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Re: Hygienic bees.
« Reply #7 on: May 25, 2013, 12:56:02 pm »
If I can't pop the top and look without a veil and gloveless
I requeen

That isn't pulling frames.  Just full top off for a look.
If I can work them that way I breed from them. 
Bailey

right now i can do that with all of my bees but i do have one hive that i expect to take some stings from when i go through them.  usually less than 5. 
i never wear gloves and i don't use much smoke by most people's standards.  maybe a puff into the entrance before i go in or one across the top of the frames after i pop the top.  most of the stings i get are from mashing bees this time of year if you don't count my problem child.  that queen is a laying machine and the bees chase beetles a lot more than the rest of my hives so they have a place in the mix. 

Offline don2

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Re: Hygienic bees.
« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2013, 02:39:26 pm »
Just got through looking into both my hives. The new nuc first. Believe it or not, I got stung from it. Picked a frame up with a bee under my finger. No biggie. the hot hive no stings, but I was fully suited. I took the super that I added about two weeks ago. they were not doing anything with it. Foundation may not be right or they may have enough to do in the bottom two mediums. It is full of drones and every color and size bee in the book is in that hive. Talking diversity :roll: hope it swarms then I won't have as many bees to contend with. :shock: :? ;) :) d2

 

anything