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Author Topic: Need help, bees are swarming... NEW PICTURES INCLUDED  (Read 20083 times)

Offline buckmaster

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« Reply #40 on: June 01, 2005, 10:50:10 am »
Beth....
I hope the brown smears aren't  nosema, I have them on my hive too.  I had thought they were just excrement.  I was under the impression that excess excrement on the inside of the hive in the spring was a symptom of nosema.  I'd be very interested to find out if any knows for sure....

Kris

Offline Miss Chick-a-BEE

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Need help, bees are swarming... NEW PICTURES INCLUDED
« Reply #41 on: June 01, 2005, 04:10:22 pm »
Buckmaster-
I'm not sure either, but it seems someone on here made a comment about it once on someone's hive and said it was that. Ask about it in the illness section, or write directly to Michael, Robo, or Finsky. I know one of them would know for sure.

But if you write the question on the forum, then lots of people could learn about it.

Beth

Offline Michael Bush

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Need help, bees are swarming... NEW PICTURES INCLUDED
« Reply #42 on: June 01, 2005, 07:01:26 pm »
Brown streaks are a sign of dysentary.  Dysentary is also a symptom of nosema.  Just becuase they have dysentary doesn't mean they do or don't have nosema.  You have to "field strip" a bee to look at the intestines, and preferably look at them under a microscope to make sure.

http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/pest&disease/slide36.htm
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Anonymous

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Swarming or leaving
« Reply #43 on: June 01, 2005, 10:16:09 pm »
Ocean, I think you have a hive that is overheating.  The sun on the West wall heats the brick on your home and this is radiated back onto the hive all afternoon.  I suggest moving them into dappled shade and see if this helps.  I don't think you bees are swarming, I think they are abandoning the hive.  I lost my first hive last year for this reason.  I was out of town for a couple of weeks in late June or July and the bees just left.  My wife told me that they were acting strange but I told her that it was just bearding in the heat.  Heat they can stand.  Superheated between the brick wall and the afternoon sun, my girls just couldn't keep the hive cool enough to maintain a reasonable temperature.  I've collected a couple of hives since then and placed them where there is afternoon shade and they are doing well.  Good luck and keep us posted.

Offline Ocean

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Need help, bees are swarming... NEW PICTURES INCLUDED
« Reply #44 on: June 01, 2005, 11:00:47 pm »
Thanx alot duck hunter for the advice, i will be thinking of where to move them tomorrow, i will definately keep you guys posted :), but so far since last time i've inspected the hive, everythign seems ok, they are working, using the water source i provided and doing well i guess....


o ye another question

when do i collect honey? when do u guys usually start to take away the honey from your bees? around what time? what month?

Offline SherryL

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Need help, bees are swarming... NEW PICTURES INCLUDED
« Reply #45 on: June 01, 2005, 11:59:45 pm »
Ocean, did you decide to split the hive?  

Either way, split or not, I don't think you can expect to take any honey off this year.  You started with undrawn foundation - right?  It will take them a little while yet to draw out 2 deeps worth of foundation, and fill at the very least the top deep with honey.  If you were able to super on top of that and get anything for yourself you'd be doing very well.  You're talking very late summer or fall for that.

I would assume no honey, and focus on getting their stores built up for the winter.  Next year will be different - they'll have an earlier start on drawn foundation - they'll be storing honey with the very first flow.

Offline SherryL

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Need help, bees are swarming... NEW PICTURES INCLUDED
« Reply #46 on: June 02, 2005, 12:01:38 am »
Oh, btw, I tend to agree with duck hunter - that was the reason for the questioning about location S, SW, ect.  I think you've got them in a good spot for winter, but they're going to bake there this summer.  Just my humble newbie 2 cents.

Offline Finsky

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Need help, bees are swarming... NEW PICTURES INCLUDED
« Reply #47 on: June 02, 2005, 02:59:19 am »
Quote from: Ocean
Finsky thanx alot for your help, here is what i decided to do.

Today i went in again and checked on them to see what is going on, i've seen about 6 queen cells, that i broke away because i don't want another swarm. I'am going to go with your suggestion and divide them. ..



The meaning of splitting is to stop swarming fever. Do not leave hive splitted.

To broke queen cells was not good work  :cry: . You should leave at least one queen cell that bees feel their life normal and they get a queen. When you have got a new queen, then you can kill the cells.

But never mind. When you get a new queen soon and you will have capped queen cells in the hive, bees take a new queen will pleasure. ...[/quote]

...
Quote

i will need everyone's help on how to do that. ...


It will be a mesh :shock:

...
Quote

Can you guys tell me how would i manage to divide my bees step by step procedure?...


You just lift an old hive to new place and let bees fly to new hive. They fly which fly. Part of bees stay in hive. They keep brood warm. Brood will emerge soon and old hive gets more bees.

You must put queen and one brood frame into new hive and other are foundations. When bees build foundations, their swarming fever will be gone.

But after that hives are not able to collect honey. When bees have drawn upp foundations, kill the old queen and put parts together.

New queen will not swarm, if you keep free space in the hive.  Your hive is totally too small to split.

After joining hives you have

- 2 brood chambers
- You can put the lowest brood champer extra, because children of 2 queen's will soon emerge.  
-  I guess that after 30 days you will have  3 brood champers and 4 supers. It is  a good honey unit.  That way it goes.

But do not feed them syrup. Let them gather honey.

Offline Miss Chick-a-BEE

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Need help, bees are swarming... NEW PICTURES INCLUDED
« Reply #48 on: June 02, 2005, 10:13:01 am »
I tend to collect honey as it gets capped. But if I were to wait, I guess I'd mostly do it in August or September. I don't know when the "correct" time is. :) But I do know that they're mostly done by then, for my area anyway. There are some fall sources for nectar for them, but I just let them keep that.

I'm still building up my hives too. I started with one.....end of June 2003. All new foundation, so they had to establish a couple brood boxes that summer. Then in March of 2004 I split the hive..... so more new foundation to work on. They were doing pretty good, till it rained all the time and they ate the big early spring harvest. They managed to get 2 brood boxes each, and some honey supers done during the rest of that year. I got a very low harvest over all though. Now this spring.... more splits, more new foundation, but over all things are looking up. The weather is great, and I hope for a great harvest. (fingers crossed) :)

Beth

 

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