Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Many bee problems - don't know what to do?????  (Read 1858 times)

Offline tillie

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1740
  • Gender: Female
  • Bee in N Georgia on a Blackberry flower
    • Linda T's Bees
Many bee problems - don't know what to do?????
« on: August 25, 2008, 09:59:41 pm »
When I inspected my hives this past weekend I found three of them appeared queenless.  All three had the brood box full of frames of completely empty comb - no eggs, no capped brood, no brood of any kind.  I didn't see a queen in any of the boxes, although I am not the best queen-spotter.  Here are the three stories:
1. Hive 1 Swarm hive combo of two swarm hives - combo made 2 weeks ago.  They never chewed through the newspaper and there were battles outside the hive.  Probably were two queens and both were killed

Now for the past three nights in the pouring rain from Fay (so this isn't a beard - it isn't hot and it's pouring) the hive looks like this:



What are they doing and what should I do? 

2.  Hive 2 Started from 2008 nuc hive: two solid boxes of honey, tons of bees in all boxes - absolutely no brood of any shape or form and no queen - hot hive

I've ordered a queen from Rossman who should arrive tomorrow or Wednesday - figured I'd try to help them make it since there are so many bees.

3. Hive 3 Another started from 2008 nuc hive - 1 1/2 boxes of honey, bottom box all cleaned out cells, no brood of any kind, no eggs, etc.  diminished number of bees.

I combined with newspaper the brood box from hive 3 with another good hive on my deck.  Used newspaper.  Didn't do a good combination because I left a box of mostly honey - some brood - between the two boxes.  The bees still appear quite separate four days later but there is no battle going on.

I intended to do something with the two boxes with frames of honey in them but it has poured for several days from Fay and couldn't get back to the bees during nonworking hours.  Many bees still surround these two honey boxes.  This is how they looked tonight:

  What do I do with these bees who don't really have a place to live.  I removed the bottom box which was a 10 frame to make the combination so the 8 frame honey boxes are sitting cattywumpus on the bottom board.

Help! Help! Help!  I am drowning in bee problems.

Linda T desperate in Atlanta


Offline rdy-b

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 2286
Re: Many bee problems - don't know what to do?????
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2008, 10:06:39 pm »
  Poke trough that glob of bees on the outside of hive #1 I am pretty sure there is a queen in that mass of bees -that will get you started -and with a queen-RDY-B

Offline Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Many bee problems - don't know what to do?????
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2008, 10:18:43 pm »
>When I inspected my hives this past weekend I found three of them appeared queenless.  All three had the brood box full of frames of completely empty comb - no eggs, no capped brood, no brood of any kind.  I didn't see a queen in any of the boxes, although I am not the best queen-spotter.  Here are the three stories:

Did they swarm?  This can result in a period looking like queenlessness and it could follow with queenlessness if the virgin doesn't make it back from mating.

>1. Hive 1 Swarm hive combo of two swarm hives - combo made 2 weeks ago.  They never chewed through the newspaper and there were battles outside the hive.  Probably were two queens and both were killed

Strange.  Usually they will chew through the newspaper regardless, but I usually cut a small slit somewhere.

>Now for the past three nights in the pouring rain from Fay (so this isn't a beard - it isn't hot and it's pouring) the hive looks like this:

>What are they doing and what should I do?

It is quite possible that a queen is being balled.  Hard to say the best course of action, but a queenless hive should be pretty accepting of her.

>2.  Hive 2 Started from 2008 nuc hive: two solid boxes of honey, tons of bees in all boxes - absolutely no brood of any shape or form and no queen - hot hive

Sounds most likely queenless.

>I've ordered a queen from Rossman who should arrive tomorrow or Wednesday - figured I'd try to help them make it since there are so many bees.

>3. Hive 3 Another started from 2008 nuc hive - 1 1/2 boxes of honey, bottom box all cleaned out cells, no brood of any kind, no eggs, etc.  diminished number of bees.

>I combined with newspaper the brood box from hive 3 with another good hive on my deck.  Used newspaper.  Didn't do a good combination because I left a box of mostly honey - some brood - between the two boxes.  The bees still appear quite separate four days later but there is no battle going on.

Cut slits in the newspaper.   If you have more than one sheet, reduce to one sheet.

>Help! Help! Help!  I am drowning in bee problems.

And Fay...

My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline tillie

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1740
  • Gender: Female
  • Bee in N Georgia on a Blackberry flower
    • Linda T's Bees
Re: Many bee problems - don't know what to do?????
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2008, 10:39:27 pm »
Thanks, Michael.  With both hive combos I've cut slits in one layer of newspaper - and that's all that's between the two boxes. 

I'm going to hope for the best with that combination, but I'm still worried about what to do with the rest of the bees who stayed (or returned to) the two 8 frame honey boxes sitting on the 10 frame bottom board. 

I suppose I could on a sunny day spray them with sugar syrup and add them to the hive I combined their bottom box with.

Oh, the challenges of keeping bees.

Linda T challenged mightily in Atlanta with bees and rain

Offline annette

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 5353
  • Gender: Female
Re: Many bee problems - don't know what to do?????
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2008, 10:49:07 pm »
Oh my gosh Tillie. I am so sorry about all of this. It is all so unpredictable with the bees.  Sounds like just to much happening at once and your confidence is starting to go down. Totally understandable.

I think you are getting the best advice right now and things will start to unfold and you will understand better what to do. I am totally perplexed also by all this. Keep asking the questions.

Sincerely
Annette

 

anything