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Author Topic: first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property  (Read 5164 times)

Offline royboy

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« on: September 07, 2004, 01:30:38 pm »
bought a new hive from established keeper -- its doing fine -- i guess i have no equipment -- no super just a small new hive -- no protective suit or smoker -- so no way to check inside ---
 but i also have found (noticed ) 2 wild hives on property -one large in a stucko property wall -and the other (small)under a toolshed-- never noticed them before -- amazing -- any way the keeper i got the hive from suggested a cone and new queen in a hive to transfer to -- there is a beewax shop which carries beekeeping supplies -- 45 min away -- should i mail order or get from the beeswax shop ??

Offline royboy

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2004, 03:33:45 pm »
is it to late in the season to try to transfer this wild hive

Offline Robo

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2004, 04:38:00 pm »
It is not too late if you don't mind possibly having to feed them.  I had a swarm late in the season last year that I decided to leave until Spring.  Unfortunately a mouse got in and needless to say they where dead when I went back in the Spring.

I would say get them while you can.  

As far as mail order vs. driving there, it is a financial decision, you do the calculation.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Anonymous

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2004, 09:38:58 pm »
I hived a swarm on Aug. 9 of this year. I started feeding them the day after I got them and so far they have completely filled one hive body and are working on drawing out the foundation in the top hive body. I intend to continue feeding them until they have the top hive body full and then determine if I will need to feed them anymore so that they have enough stores to make it through the winter.

I don't think it's too late to take another swarm if you plan on feeding them until they're strong enough to make it on their own or until winter sets in.

roy

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« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2004, 01:41:46 am »
thanks for the confidence and info . -- I keep telling myself this is southern calif .-- "what winter? :arrow: " --we basicly have 2 seasons here  -a) really warm -to hot 8)  &2) NOT  so warm- but ohh you mean flowering season  :idea: I maybe a  little optomistic--but I have alot of red apple ice plant -it does flower year around (i  think)maybe not as much in the  winter--Maybe i don't have enought experiance but it certainly seems the there is enough food around here & with the right equipment feeding does not look so hard  -I live on the city county line -yes its residencal but it was all orange groves and cattle grazing -now there are avacado groves and horses behind where i live --its still very open -I guess i am working myself up to mail order some queens and to start with the small ground hive first --Mail order maytake a few weeks but i still keep telling myself this is southern calif "what winter " 8)

Anonymous

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« Reply #5 on: September 08, 2004, 07:55:10 pm »
Roy,

Be careful about yoour assumptions. Just because there are flowers around most of the year doesn't necessarily mean that they are producers of nectar that the bees can take advantage of. Here in Pennsylvania we have a lot of red clover during the summer, but the flower's nectar is too far down in the flower for the bee's tongue to get to. Sometimes under extreme circumstances the bees will attempt to work it but they have to be very desperate at that point.

I would think that you need to verify that the flowers that you are counting on to feed your bees are flowers that they can actually use. You can determine this either from personal observation or from reading from books or the internet.

Offline royboy

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2004, 06:43:42 am »
opened the top for first time today--yes i am really new to this & found  comb suspended between every frame -but filling only 2 framess-- i guess i did not realize comb would not be entirely on a single frame- but suspended between two frames --amazing ---frames were nailed down so i did not try to remove--to inspect--so the wax is strong enough to support on one frame if i detach comb from one side of the 2 frames its anchored to???
how accurate is the bee count if i count landing in a minute  * 1000--- or is it takeoffs & landings ??
new hive has around 1500-- large wild hive in stucko wall has over 4,000 by this method ----

Anonymous

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2004, 10:13:06 am »
I'm amazed at how many bee keepers assume honey bees find it hard to get at the necter in Crimson Clover plants. I will freely admit that if a better, easier source is there for the bees to work the mass majorty will be working it, even then some will be working the clover.
Honey bees work the Crimson Clove in this area a lot. There is also a article in Bee Culture I beleve or the American Bee Journal about them working it. I have watched them chew a small hole at the base of the (for lack of a better word) petel and suck out the necter. They also do the same with the Lobelia plants we have in our gardens.







Since I rarely see my or any honey bees on the Golden Rod am I to assume they don't care for it? I can smell it 15 feet from the hives but still don't see the bees working it so how does it get there?

 :D Al

Anonymous

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2004, 11:27:30 pm »
I guess that I have to assume that there is a better, easier nectar source in my area than crimson clover because in the last couple of years I have seen only one honey bee working the crimson clover in my fields versus literally hundreds of bees working the white clover and alsike clover and even the fall goldenrod.

The retail buyers in my area definitely prefer the darker, more robust fall honey over the light spring honey that I sell to them.

roy

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first hive ---also found 2 wild hives on property
« Reply #9 on: September 12, 2004, 04:01:21 pm »
so i am a little confused -- to lure the wild hive worker bees into a hive box -- I need a queen -- but does does the queen have to be established in a nuc -- or can i just order some queens and release them into the new box hive --  :roll: