50% losses winter 2012/2013

[user 6228]

I know that cupfull of bees are not able to build up. Furthermore, if bees are cupfull, reason is mostly nosema, and it promises no good to colony.

I have wintered 2 frames colonies with 3 W electrict heating but those hives are not able to make brood in spring. half of bees die during winter. So you have one frame left.

3 frames covered with bees is minimum where bees can make brood.
If you want honey, practical minimum after winter is 5 frames bees.


Guys dream often about small colony, which eate little in winter, and build up faster. That is pure "once upon a time".


Eate little. Sugar cost is nothing.

.Today I have 2 box hives. They started from 3 frames. Then I have 6 box hives which started with normal colony after winter. Those normal hives have over 50 kg honey allready now. Small colonies uses all to feed larvae.

Started with 2 frame colonies June last year. They came out of winter brood and half used only 2 kg sugar

 

[Finman]

Started with 2 frame colonies June last year. They came out of winter brood and half used only 2 kg sugar

That is not a question. "Started 2-frame hive in June."
That hive has no more value than a queen. It brings nothing.

I start every summer 20 one frame hives as mating nucs.

You problem in UK is widely that you have so small colonies which swarm before they are filled one box.

It makes no sense to try as small as possible.

My hives spend 20 kg in winter. I put nucs together to get a good wintering hive.

My goal is to get a good honey yield, and not to sugar save.

-

 

[Finman]

.

2 frame in June and winter brood and half and 2 kg sugar.

You do not tell how much there was honey.

But after all, that above does not make any sense as beekeeping.

I know very well that 2 frame nuc does not need 2 boxes for winter.

When I have 6 langstroth boxes in summer, that hive needs brood and half for winter.

To give 2 kg sugar makes either any sense. Hives must be feed full, that they cap the winter food. To save sugar as winter food, is stupid.


I do not believe your story not a bit. If you have 3 kg wintering colony, and it consumes only 200 g in a month, it is bull cake.

.

 

[user 6228]

Finman it is clear you don't want to learn anything from anyone, especially anyone who is trying anything different, that challenges your existing fixed ways. You have a severe case of NIH syndrome. I suggest you seek help.

 

[user 6228]

.

2 frame in June and winter brood and half and 2 kg sugar.

You do not tell how much there was honey.

But after all, that above does not make any sense as beekeeping.

I know very well that 2 frame nuc does not need 2 boxes for winter.

When I have 6 langstroth boxes in summer, that hive needs brood and half for winter.

To give 2 kg sugar makes either any sense. Hives must be feed full, that they cap the winter food. To save sugar as winter food, is stupid.


I do not believe your story not a bit. If you have 3 kg wintering colony, and it consumes only 200 g in a month, it is bull cake.

.

you have misread the story, but as you have already judged everything that does not come from fin man, I won't correct you.

5 x 2 frame colonies June all in back garden.
Worst summer
One colony given away
Any honey removed between heather and ivy.
worst winter since 1962
Fondant applied thru to end of April early may.
2kg/colony consumed before winter ends and spring starts in mid may.
2nd colony given away
End of may colonies brood and half.(national)
Forage in area is in small varied quantities but pollen is available all year.
Nearest arable land osr 2km away the surrounding area is mixed conifer deciduous woodland ,Heath and suburbia.
3 colonies split/swarm beginning of June
Have had 20 frames of honey from the 3 now 10 colonies.

 

[Finman]

5 x 2 frame colonies June all in back garden.
Worst summer
One colony given away
Any honey removed between heather and ivy.
worst winter since 1962
Fondant applied thru to end of April early may.
2kg consumed before winter ends and spring starts in mid may.
2nd colony given away
End of may colonies brood and half.(national)
Forage in area is in small varied quantities but pollen is available all year.
Nearest arable land osr 2km away the surrounding area is mixed conifer deciduous woodland ,Heath and suburbia.
3 colonies split/swarm beginning of June
Have had 20 frames of honey from the 3 now 10 colonies.

With that context, the job is well done.

.

 

[user 6228]

you have misread the story, but as you have already judged everything that does not come from fin man, I won't correct you.

5 x 2 frame colonies June all in back garden.
Worst summer
One colony given away
Any honey removed between heather and ivy.
worst winter since 1962
Fondant applied thru to end of April early may.
2kg/colony consumed before winter ends and spring starts in mid may.
2nd colony given away
End of may colonies brood and half.(national)
Forage in area is in small varied quantities but pollen is available all year.
Nearest arable land osr 2km away the surrounding area is mixed conifer deciduous woodland ,Heath and suburbia.
3 colonies split/swarm beginning of June
Have had 20 frames of honey from the 3 now 10 colonies.

Add :

health
no treatment for varoa in autumn or winter.
dDWV present in one colony, which caused a reduction in spring colony growth.
Colony has since recovered and DWV no longer evident.
Episode of higher mortality in small young bees with no visible cause in same colony. Episode ended. Suspect partial chilling of brood during split which is known to cause premature death in the adult bee.

 

[Finman]

I think what Derek meant was the example of overwintering a poly mating nuc. We have done it with Apideas - definitely not what they were designed/intended for, but it is possible with very close attention, and they can be built into full colonies the next season. IMHO it's an academic exercise rather than a viable queen banking / insurance nuc approach.

I have done it during last 10 years and I have used 3 W electrict heathing. What I learned?
I started to over winter one box colonies. It is easier to make them during summer than get 3 frame colony to build up next spring.

Our winter is a little bit worse than yours. I have wintered 2 frames colonies during 10 years but they are not able to make brood after winter.

"and they can be built into full colonies the next season". That is not true.

Just colonies or productive colonies?

You may buy a queen outboards and make a split in spring, but it is not wise.

This spring I had several colonies where nosema dwindled away workers before they got new worker bees.

I took queen away and give new bees from healty hives.
When bigger hives got enough brood, I give frames of emerging brood.

But if I take from one hive 3 frames of brood off, its build up stops for long time.

Now, after one moth build up those hives have 2 boxes. They are not able to make honey this summer, unless at the beginning of July I join them to make productive colonies.

Dekemn says that he makes something new? Beeks have made the same for decades. There is nothing new in those experimenst and nothing academic.

As I said, you have in UK too small colonies without making them.

.

 

[user 6228]

Dekemn says that he makes something new? Beeks have made the same for decades. There is nothing new in those experimenst and nothing academic.

As I said, you have in UK too small colonies without making them.

.

Here we go another Finman logical fallacy. Assigning a a clearly false assertion or conclusion to your opponent argument, that the opponent didnt make.

I made a statement of what we have seen in our apiary. It only asserts the evident facts in the timeline, that you can bring through the smallest of colonies in bad conditions in insulated nests and these colonies then developed quickly

I did not assert it was a formal experiment. I did not claim this non existant formal experiment to be of academic quality , not only because it isnt an experiment, the sample size is too small and there are no controls.

I dont claim this is new, as you can read this in the academic paper by villumstad written in the 1970s , as i have often reported on here , and you always ignore.

I confine my formal experiments to those that dont need large sample sizes or controls.