20kg of stores for winter

[Chris Luck]

Well, whatever, it's as cheap as chips here with no sign of any shortages and France is in the EU.

Of course if you look at this link you will see the futures price declining over the coming years, perhaps it's worth taking a position if you really think it's going to be in short supply.

http://www.julianprice.com/

Chris

 

[Steve_gts]

(not hard together, put them interspaced with brood combs ) give a feed, and see what happens.

Hi, very much the noob here, so just wanted to be absolutely clear on this before doing it, as everything I've read to date says never completely split the brood.

Do you mean, put a frame of brood, then insert a frame with new foundation, then brood, then foundation then brood?

Apologies for laboring the point, but I want to be sure I'm not causing myself more problems than benefits by getting it wrong, before I do anything.

Thanks
Steve

 

[tonybloke]

Hi, very much the noob here, so just wanted to be absolutely clear on this before doing it, as everything I've read to date says never completely split the brood.

Do you mean, put a frame of brood, then insert a frame with new foundation, then brood, then foundation then brood?

Apologies for laboring the point, but I want to be sure I'm not causing myself more problems than benefits by getting it wrong, before I do anything.

Thanks
Steve

just the one frame of foundation in middle of brood area is what is being advocated.

 

[dpearce4]

Hi, very much the noob here, so just wanted to be absolutely clear on this before doing it, as everything I've read to date says never completely split the brood.

Do you mean, put a frame of brood, then insert a frame with new foundation, then brood, then foundation then brood?

Apologies for laboring the point, but I want to be sure I'm not causing myself more problems than benefits by getting it wrong, before I do anything.

Thanks
Steve

hi steve

that is the way to do it but be careful u dont split the brood up to much. i did 2frames brood, 1 foundation, 2frames brood, 1 foundation 2 brood,1 foundation 2 brood.

it worked well for me as was a little concerned with nite time temps, if i had done it early sept i would have done 1b,1f etc. less chance of cold nite temps. would only do 4 frames of new foundation max to.

im sure Murrey will make sure you do it right tho if i have suggested it wrong.

 

[Steve_gts]

Thanks, good point about the night temps though, think I'll just do it with one frame for now and do it a bit earlier and with more frames next year.

 

[Beeline]

If running your hive on brood and half, when is it best to move the super to the underside of the brood box for winter preparation - sooner rather than later? Thks

BL

 

[Chris Luck]

Interesting Beeline, the few I run like that I leave with the super on top which works fine.

What's the logic to putting the super under and do you have it on top in summer?

Apart from anything else I can hardly lift my brood boxes on my own at this time of year.

Chris

 

[Beeline]

Chris,
The main driver behind hive (1) is that I want to move them onto double brood in the new year and hive (2) onto 14 x 12. I'm keen to trial the pros and cons of both.

So I want her laying in the brood chamber to allow me to remove the super on hive (1) and to commence the transition from standard deep to 14 x 12 on hive (2), without the faff of her having started laying in the super.

I'm told she hangs out with the gals in the warmest part of the hive in winter and therefore starts to lay in the upper/ warmer extremities.

If I wasn't changing the hive format, you're right, I can't see the benefit as they will have freedom of movement through the volume of brood and half regardless of whether it is above or below. IMO.

BL

 

[For want of a better word]

A super full with stores placed under the BB will see them through the winter and the cluster will move to the top of the BB when it gets cold.
I place a carpet tile on top of the crown board aka quilt to help retain heat
If it is very cold the bees will not consume much in the way of stores... it is when we get the warm February days and they get active and there is NO forage the problems of starvation occur... if the super of stores is below the BB they will have to pass it on the way out and presumably use it!
Common sense says you do need to heft / weigh the hive to keep an eye on things!!
1:1 syrup will get things going in the spring............

IMO of course!

 

[Black Comb]

If running your hive on brood and half, when is it best to move the super to the underside of the brood box for winter preparation - sooner rather than later? Thks

BL

Before the end of October

 

[For want of a better word]

super = 1/2 brood box?

 

[drstitson]

super = 2/3 brood box (unless you use dadants!!!!)

 

[Chris Luck]

So for my Dadants a super is half a brood box - boom boom, nice and simple and makes a rather large hive.

Chris

 

[Into the lions den]

just the one frame of foundation in middle of brood area is what is being advocated.

All depends.

We are still doing UP TO 7..yes 7..........in a single box right now. Checked some this morning before the rain came on.......and apart from a couple of outwer ones adjacent to the walls ALL are drawn...and eggs in the central area ones. Some are a wee bit skinny in the upper corners where they have drawn the stores on the pre existing brood frames a bit fatter, but not important.

More commonly it would be three or four, and they are interspersed among the broodnest......1b 1f 1b 1f 1b 1f 1b.........and so on........in the case of seven its two F s at each side wall,,,,,,,,so FFBFBFBFBFF.........this in an 11 frame nest in a Smith........local dark bees mainly, and ALL the ones netween the old combs are fully drawn, and as stated back early in the thread......NO drone comb drawn on them.

As an aside, the NZ/German/Austrian/Co-op/Devil Spawn (take your choice) carnica are drawing foundation for fun right now in poly. Most.....post heather stripping.....are very strong, despite not having a lot of brood left (they do shut down quickly at season end) so a FEW were given a full box of new foundation above the nest instead (just an experiment), and then given a partial feed as by the end of the week they will be on ivy. Those given that full box have emptied their feeders and drawn the WHOLE box of foundation, wall to wall. Same level of perfection, and hauling in the balsam pollen. When were they fed? Wednesday. This is Sunday. Some going. Not checked for eggs although the format and activity suggests they will be there, was just delighted to see full frames getting drawn and only hauled out a couple of outside ones.

 

[Into the lions den]

Well, whatever, it's as cheap as chips here with no sign of any shortages and France is in the EU.

Of course if you look at this link you will see the futures price declining over the coming years, perhaps it's worth taking a position if you really think it's going to be in short supply.

http://www.julianprice.com/

Chris

On the same page there is a link to an article referring to EU sugar situation being 'critical'. Yes I see the long term futures prices show declining trend. Probably factoring increased plantings that will take place to respond to the shortages. however, a declining futures price will not feed any of our bees right now.

If I had a few million lying about spare I might indeed 'take a position' (sadly a good rumage under the bed only found a few abandoned socks and a wonderful and plentiful asset in the event fluff ever becomes valuable).......but I am best to stick to what I know............and will take a position in more hive parts and foundation instead.

 

[Chris Luck]

As I said "it's as cheap as chips here with no sign of any shortages" perhaps no one has told the French who are not known for selling cheap. Less than €0.70 a kilo in all the supermarkets - that equates to about 0.61p a kilo or better.

Chris