requeening in winter

[Hayesbo]

Has anyone requeened in winter? Assuming that one could get a queen in winter. If not, What is the earliest anyone has requeened?

I know this is a geographically limited question, given that our Florida friends are still doing cutouts while our bees are in cluster.

Here in GA we get warm wave then cold. I was thinking of requeening as soon as I could on a warm day when it wouldn't harm the hive to open it.

Basically, I am going nuts not messing with my bees and I am looking for any excuse to get started.

Thanks,  Steve

[Scadsobees]

Hi
I'm up here in the subartic north.  I can't requeen in the winter :roll: she might fall in the snow and freeze.  I wouldn't consider it before mid-march here.

I would think that you can re-queen anytime that it is warm enough to do a detailed hive check, that is, taking out and inspecting all of the frames, which would be roughly > 65F, sunny, and not too windy.  This is because you will need to find the old queen, and you will find her on the last frame you check, and most of the time that is frame # 20.

And then be able to check them again in a week or two to make sure that the new queen is laying, and she should be at those temps.

Rick

[Kirk-o]

It is hard to advise someone who is lost or has no location
kirko

[Scadsobees]

Here in GA we get warm wave then cold. I was thinking of requeening as soon as I could on a warm day when it wouldn't harm the hive to open it.

Thanks,  Steve

I suppose georgia is a pretty big state, but that narrows it down quite a bit.  It would be nice if you updated your profile with perhaps a city as well, for the future, though.

[Hayesbo]

DOH!!! :shock: :shock:

I edited out theportion of the post that described the area.  I guess I should be working instead of bee internet surfing.


HA. Not likely!

I will update my profile

Steve

[Michael Bush]

>Has anyone requeened in winter? Assuming that one could get a queen in winter. If not, What is the earliest anyone has requeened?

As mentioned it has everything to do with your climate.  In mine?  No.  I have not requeened in winter.  No one will ship me queens in the winter as they would arrive dead.  April would be about the earliest here.

[Hayesbo]

Anyone ever raise bees in a green house? If I could find someone with a nursery nearby then maybe I can get my winter bee fix.  It would be awesome to be able to play year round.

Steve

[Scadsobees]

No, just sit tight through the winter, that way when spring comes it is that much sweeter!!

And you have reletively short winters!!

[Cindi]

Steve, bide your time.  Don't do any queen stuff until the weather is really conducive, like what was said.  Be patient (yes, I know it is hard, but just hold tight!!!).

About raising bees in a greenhouse, that greenhouse would have to be pretty big I would think and full of nectar and pollen sources for bees.  I would imagine it could be done quite easily though.  But there would be bee poop everywhere, just think of that, yummy.  Hee, hee, flowers and vegies and so on all covered in the mustard yellow splotches, eeks!!!  Nope.  I wouldn't go there  :lol: :)  Have a greatest of day.  Cindi

[Hayesbo]

Good points Cindi about the Green house issues. I utterly reject your suggestions of patience. I want to be patient, I just CAN'T!!!!

ARRRGGGHHHH
I NEED to get into my hives. {laying on floor kicking and screaming}

Maybe I can move them into my house. My son, Walker, won't mind, but the wife would throw me and the hives out.

Thanks again everyone for the good advice,
Steve

[Michael Bush]

>Anyone ever raise bees in a green house?

Honey Bees tend to just bang against the side of the greenhouse until they die.

[JP]

Steve, why don't you set up an observation hive. That way you can have your cake and eat it too.

Sincerely, JP

[Cindi]

JP, before I forget, you have a great site at Picasso with all your pics.  I liked the one of the bees drinking at the bird bath too, lovely.  Beautiful day, great life.  Cindi

[JP]

Cindi, ahhhh the bird bath pictures are indeed some of my favorite I have taken. I took those with my Nikon 3.2 megapixel camera that I have been having for a while now. Sad thing is that I dropped this camera and the battery compartment holder thingy broke. I have it duct taped shut and its a pain changing out the batteries and someone said it would be cheaper to buy a new camera than to fix this one so I bought a casio, nice and compact but doesn't take the extreme close ups the nikon does. I think I may have to fix the Nikon, is what I've been thinkin'. Thanks for the kind comments. I really need to update that site and add more pictures, I have a ton of them.

We are expecting very high winds tomorrow, and I am very concerned because I did a cut out today in New Orleans and the hive is at the guy's house with no brick on the cover. I e-mailed him asking if he could put something heavy on the top cover so I hope he's up and can do this, or I'll be over there tomorrow first thing.

Take care of the ducks, JP

[Cindi]

JP, good, get some more pictures in that site when you have the time.  I know, everything does take so  much time, but they are worth the look.  The insight I have had into what bees actually look like outside of the houses that people put them into blows my mind.  The comb that I have seen looks surely like something from outer space and shocked me, I am not kidding.  Beautiful though, unimaginable how long some of the combs are, it appeared some of the might be light four feet long or something like that, incredible.  I hope that the guy listens and puts the weight on the top.  Best of this great day, Cindi

[JP]

JP, good, get some more pictures in that site when you have the time.  I know, everything does take so  much time, but they are worth the look.  The insight I have had into what bees actually look like outside of the houses that people put them into blows my mind.  The comb that I have seen looks surely like something from outer space and shocked me, I am not kidding.  Beautiful though, unimaginable how long some of the combs are, it appeared some of the might be light four feet long or something like that, incredible.  I hope that the guy listens and puts the weight on the top.  Best of this great day, Cindi

Cindi, since we have drifted off topic here, I have started a new thread about cutouts in Honeybee Removal. It should be interesting.

Sincerely, JP

[Joseph Clemens]

Hello Hayesbo,
So far, this season, we've had about ten nights where the temperature dropped to about 30F. A couple of days ago it was over 80F in my back yard. The bees are flying every day that it isn't raining (we've had about 7 rainy days all Winter). When they fly they always seem to bring in, at least a little pollen. Recently they have been bringing in enough pollen that they are starting to fill combs with it. I understand that Florida is much like Southern Arizona in honeybee activity and it isn't very far from Georgia.

Just a few weeks ago I combined a hive that had lost their queen with a queenright colony -- that has worked well and the combined hive is growing fast. Two out of five nucs lost their queens recently -- one has already raised a replacement and she is an amazing laying machine. The second queenless nuc has three ripe queen cells which should hatch very soon. I plan to start raising queens right after I verify that the first nuc-raised queen has mated successfully.