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Author Topic: Bee's winter is coming to Finland  (Read 8541 times)

Offline Finman

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« on: August 19, 2004, 03:15:39 pm »
Autums is very close. Almost all our flowers are gone.

Now I am taking honey away from hives. Hives have now too much bees. I must wait to the end of August that part of bees die and they fit to one or two supers. Then I give sugar for winter food.

After 30  days bees do not fly any more. They visit a couple of times outdoor at the end of September.

I got good yield. Many Finnish beekeepers get very poor yield because we had a lot of rain.

Our bees swarmed really much. I do not know exactly why?

Offline latebee

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re: bees winter
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2004, 11:11:46 pm »
Hello Finman,
             Although I am a novice"bee nurser" I rely on seasoned veterans online and in my area for support. Even though the weather has been VERY cool here in western N.Y. state, I have had calls on 5 swarms in the past week(only able to catch 2) and the local retired beemen in my area think this is odd also. Could it be the bees trying to supercede,but swarming instead? We are also experiencing way above normal precipitation.Still learning and having a ball-----------------
                                                                latebee
The person who walks in another's tracks leaves NO footprints.

Offline golfpsycho

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2004, 11:38:20 pm »
I'm not so sure if the mites and chemicals being used to combat them don't have something to do with it.  I think even the bees are confused.  You could very well be right about supercedure cells causing swarms.  Queen cups have always been present in the hives.  But I really don't remember this much queen replacement going on in the "OLDEN DAYS"  It didn't seem that uncommon to have your marked queen in the hive for 2 years.  Now it seems, your lucky to get through a season with the same lady.  I don't know if its the pressure we're putting on them, the mites in the colony, the more frequent intrusions in the hive, I really don't know.

Offline Finman

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Re: re: bees winter
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2004, 01:59:55 am »
Quote from: latebee
I have had calls on 5 swarms in the past week(only able to catch 2)                                                                 latebee


This Summer was very rainy and mostly cool in Finland. Bees swarmed so much that i have met such a thing all my 42 years.

One reason was that weather was moist and bees did not capped honey. So new honey stucked the free space to lay eggs and in inspired swarming. Also the vague wether inspired swarming even if they got a lot of honey from turnip ripe.

I took 5 kg swarm from chimney 1.8. and that date is late summer in Finland and bees do not swarm at that time.  - But I think who had loosed that searm. His hive was full of honey and too few boxes. Swarm had flied 7 km.

It rained one week and chimney swarm did not build any combs into the chimney. It was quite simple to get them off from the dept of 3 metres.

Offline Saucy

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2004, 03:12:40 pm »
Hi Finman

We are not too far apart weatherwise in the UK. It has been terribly wet here too. I am hoping for maybe a good week of sun before I take off what little honey there is and feed them for winter.

I also heard today of someone catching a swarm in the last few days - strange!!

Offline Sting

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Late Season
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2004, 06:13:28 pm »
Quote
This Summer was very rainy and mostly cool in Finland.


Hi Finman & Saucy:  The weather here in east-central Canada has been very similar to yours and to that described by other beekeepers on this forum.  However, we are now in the midst of a good wildflower flow which I hope will last for a little while.  The temperature today is unusually warm at 29 C. (84 F.) and is predicted to remain so for several days.  I normally leave honey supers on until about the third week of September.  We have not experienced unusual swarming activity in this area.  All the best.
"Where the bee sucks, there suck I." William Shakespeare: The Tempest.

My apiary is about 17 kms. (10 miles) NW (back & left) of this web-cam view:  'See any of my girls?
http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/text/hillcam_e.html

Offline Finman

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Re: Late Season
« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2004, 03:54:21 am »
Yep! I take two weeks vacation from work next week and i put my hives ready for winter. Most of honey is not exracted. That is big job and i do not like it.

From traffic camera you can see what is going here:nothing!

In the place of Santa Claus there is temperature 7C.
Rovaniemi http://www.arcticphoto.co.uk/search/thumbs/fin0016-06s.jpg

Offline Fisherman

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2004, 09:30:06 am »
The weather in the Timmins area has been cool and wet this summer for the most part. My bees are about 2 hours south of here and the weather is pretty much the same there.

We have captured 2 swarms this August, the second one this past Sunday. It was a small swarm and had actually taken up residence in the same barn as the first swarm we captured.

Anonymous

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2004, 09:51:54 am »
Our weather here in this area of Michigan has been wet, wet, and wetter. Record rain fall for the months of May June and July, August will most likely avrage out as above normal also as in the early part we got a lot of rain and then finally dried out near the middle of the month. Also a colder than normal summer.
Yes we are still experinceing swarming here, My friend caught one Sunday.
I am wondering if the bees may be comfused by the weird weather. We have plants doing strag stuff. Snow ball bushes in bloom, Normally in May. Black Eyed Susans in Bloom normally in the middle of September, Asters also blooming now, I also think the Golden Rod is ahead of normal in this area.
Yesterday in our woods I seen black berry bushes blooming again and I also have Maples changing colors.

 :D Al

Offline Sting

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Early Season: Bears
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2004, 10:56:47 am »
Quote from: trail twister
I also have Maples changing colors.


Fisherman and Trail Twister are both within about 500 miles (800 kms.) of where I am and therefore in almost the same weather conditions.  Despite today being unusually hot and humid, some of our sugar maple trees have already turned red; about three weeks early.  The good news is that the summer rains have delivered a good crop of wild raspberries, grapes and blueberries.  This may help keep the darned bears in the bush where they belong.  In the past, dry conditions have led the bears, who are  seeking high-carbohydrate food in late summer, to destroy our bee yards.  Easy recent winters and decreased hunting pressure has resulted in a high bear population in this area.
"Where the bee sucks, there suck I." William Shakespeare: The Tempest.

My apiary is about 17 kms. (10 miles) NW (back & left) of this web-cam view:  'See any of my girls?
http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/text/hillcam_e.html

Offline golfpsycho

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #10 on: September 21, 2004, 02:28:07 pm »
Finman.  When you give the sugar, how do you do it?  Add some water and make a sorta cake?  put in something over the frames?  or just pour it in??

Offline Finman

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #11 on: September 21, 2004, 04:40:43 pm »
Quote from: golfpsycho
Finman.  When you give the sugar, how do you do it?  Add some water and make a sorta cake?  put in something over the frames?  or just pour it in??


I have jus now get ready my winter feeding. I started about 5.9.

Sugar liquid I give to feeding box is 60-66%. If it is stronger, bees have difficulties to suck it.

Here is feeding box 8 litres used in Finland and another 16 litres. http://www.hunajayhtyma.fi/tuotetieto/syottolaatikot.htm.

Feeding box is situated directly above frames, or as i do, I put plate first with 3 holes , and then the box.

I have used these model 20 years. It is plastic. Before that I did all kind of my own, but these are good.

If I have one box hive, I give 2 full feeding box sugarliquid, and to 2 box hive I give 3-4 feeding box.

It depends how much I left honey inside.

At the end I weighed hives with personnal weighing machine (or what it is) and I found serious differencies in weight. The most weighed 27 kg and a couple only 15 kg. I weighed hives from one sive, and another side rested in it's base.

15 kg means that I must give for it 2 feeding box more liquid. Every colony is not eager to take sugar. They have started they winter hibernating.

One box hives I do not weigh. I give them so much sugar liquid as they take in. They take it in during one week. If they have much brood, sugar feeding goes not during one week. But I can try it with hand, is it heavy or not.

Offline golfpsycho

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #12 on: September 21, 2004, 10:09:44 pm »
Okay, so your feeding 2:1 syrup like many of us over here.  The link to your feeder isn't working, so I was unable to see the type of feeder your using.  I'm guessing it is some type of miller feeder.  

I'm thinking of trying your terrarium heater idea.  Since I only have a few hives to fool with, it might be worth it to me.  Reducing winter stores consumed by 30% or more sounds pretty good.  There were a few bees flying today, but at the rate we're going, it's about over unless we get some Indian Summer.  Snow is forcast around 5200 feet again tomorrow night.  My bees are at about 4800.

Offline Finman

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #13 on: September 22, 2004, 02:28:36 am »
Quote from: golfpsycho
The link to your feeder isn't working,.


NEW EFFORT http://www.hunajayhtyma.fi/tuotetieto/syottolaatikot.htm

Offline Finman

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #14 on: September 22, 2004, 02:37:11 am »
Quote from: golfpsycho
Reducing winter stores consumed by 30% or more sounds pretty good.  


Your bees live quite high level.

30%, yes, it is big thing during 10 or 20 years.  And when I start to use insulated boxes, none colonies died any more lack of  food.

Polystyrene boxes for brood are light and spring development is very good. Now with terrarium heater I can rise up what ever colony.

Big change.

Of course there are queens which have got some illnes during winter,  and they are not able to lay eggs preply any more.

Offline Finman

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Bee's winter is coming to Finland
« Reply #15 on: September 29, 2004, 01:36:11 pm »
Now tree leaves  are falling down  (see traffic camera). After one week we have no leaves at my cottage palce. In Helsinki leaves fall down  about 15.10- 25.10.

We have a lot of rain.

 

anything