are yours out playing??

[thedeaddiplomat]

Our ladies are out in earnest this morning, enjoying the sunny weather (though I hope they had a good breakfast - barely 9 degrees at present!). Seems to have been lots of housekeeping going on, with rather more drone bodies than I would have expected to see this late in the year.

 

[Repwoc]

Lots of bees out enjoying the sunshine from all three hives. Can't see any pollen going in. Many seem to be just sunbathing on the hives.

 

[VEG]

Mine are all out as well collecting dark orange pollen as well. I am going to check all hives tomorrow and give some fondant if needed.

 

[steve1958]

Excellant weather here in the south today.
Lots of Bees out and several bringing back white coloured pollen.

 

[Stiffy]

Popped out at lunchtime to enjoy the weather, my ladies had been out to the pollen supermarket by the looks of things! One hive has double brood box this is a combined hive one had a laying queen , the other was queenless but full of honey. I plan to split early next year, looking at the number of bees I am keeping a very close eye on them!!
Cheers

PS Picture was taken on my phone so quality is not that good

 

[MJBee]

Hi Stiffy,
Do you run your hives "warm way" all year or just for the winter? Mike

 

[Poly Hive]

-1C here and freezing fog.

They better NOT be out....LOL

PH

 

[Stiffy]

Hi Stiffy,
Do you run your hives "warm way" all year or just for the winter? :cheers: Mike

Hi Mike
I have five hives occupied at present and as this is my first year I wanted to experiment with the hives to see which suited them best. I also spoke to a few beeks but as usual , if you ask six beeks a question you get seven different answers.
From my observations the hives that are set up 'warm way' fill the frames fully and seem to be more active during the winter. They also use more winter stores and I have had to keep fondant feeding, not sure if this is a good or bad thing?
The hives set up 'cold way' seem to take longer to get going in the morning and do not seem to fill the frames as fully before moving on. They have also not used as much of their winter stores but may ultimately be stronger for this in the spring?

As an ecologist I understand that my 'trial' cannot be extrapolated to other apiaries as there are too many variables to be taken into account but will hopefully stand me in good stead for years to come.

Sorry to ramble on but to answer your initial question, I run 3 hives the 'warm way' and 2 the 'cold way all year round.........at present
Cheers
Stiffy

 

[MJBee]

Thanks for that. I have always run mine cold way all year, February is the only really cold month and the summers can be very hot. An interesting trial.
Mike

 

[Poly Hive]

With the advent of OMF there is no difference really between "cold" and "warm" and the fights in the past over it.... LOL Utter nonsense.

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

With the advent of OMF there is no difference really between "cold" and "warm"

Not at all. Still better for wasp protection if 'warm way' (IMO). Pollen storage is prolly quite different. So still room for some discussion. Also some might close up the OMF at some point.....for a while (I do as necessary).

Still plenty not changed over to OMF.

I would also say there is a difference in comb-drawing between the two ways.

Regards, RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

Believe what you want to there were trials and trials done pre OMF and it made no odds.

Long been a contentious issue but as far as I know it always utterly academic, and remains so and OMF has pretty much made it a redundant issue.

Argue on....... LOL

Guys who run thousands of colonies says it makes no odds, and in my far more limited experience it made no odds. *shrug*

PH

 

[Stiffy]

With the advent of OMF there is no difference really between "cold" and "warm" and the fights in the past over it.... LOL Utter nonsense.

PH

If there is research on this I would be gratefully if someone would point me in the direction of the paper?
Without scientific and peer reviewed studies it would be unwise to say a view is "nonsense" and shows a lack of openness to ideas, good bad or indifferent. With all the variables I would believe a 1000 hives is still a small sample size. location, bee hive component, bee strains used availability of pollen are but a few of the strings that would have to inputted to try and find a constant.

I have OMF on all my hives as when I started bee keeping I was advised that this was what I needed. However I bought some hives from a carpenter who is also a commercial BEEK and he said that this was a new fad and would disappear when the next 'brilliant' idea is put out. As I previuosly said and have quickly found to be true, ask six BEEKS a question and get seven answers.
As a new BEEK I will try different ideas and see what suits me but hopefully will never be blinkered to ideas and suggestions, however ridiculous they sound........

Hope everyone has a brilliant Christmas and a super filled New Year

Cheers

 

[Black Comb]

Hmm ... PH has many years of experience and was trained to a high standard. I for one would not want to question his firm beliefs.

I think you can take this science thing too far sometimes. Beekeeping is a craft as well.

On this subject, can you just change the way the frames are aligned at the beginning of the season or do you have to wait for a hive move or some other event or process?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Peter
you just lift the brood body of the floor,and turn,and put back down on the floor,you can change it as often as you wish, at any time,takes about one second.

 

[Stiffy]

Hmm ... PH has many years of experience and was trained to a high standard. I for one would not want to question his firm beliefs.

I think you can take this science thing too far sometimes. Beekeeping is a craft as well.

On this subject, can you just change the way the frames are aligned at the beginning of the season or do you have to wait for a hive move or some other event or process?

I dont doubt for a minute that PH was trained to a high degree and that bee keeping is a craft and he/she is very well practised but to dismiss other peoples thoughts without a sound basis does not further anyones knowledge. I would suggest that PH and many other bee keepers have found a way that suits them but it may not be the right way for everyone. I was taught by a very well respected bee keeper, he told me never to use beet sugar, fact fiction or just the way he has always done it ????

“One's first step in wisdom is to question everything - and one's last is to come to terms with everything.” - Georg Lichtenberg

Cheers

 

[the naked beekeeper]

hi all
just been outside to check on the hive after last nites monsoon,and found my girls out playing

pollen was going in and they seemed to behaving fun


ps before anyone mentions it took mouseguard off for the girls to get out easier

How is the polystyrene attached to hives, I can't see?

 

[peteinwilts]

Peter
you just lift the brood body of the floor,and turn,and put back down on the floor,you can change it as often as you wish, at any time,takes about one second.

I am a tallish chap, not incredibly strong but not overly weak.. I am one of only two people able to lift a fully populated 5U server at work and run them up or down the stairs..

...I can barely lift a brood box of 14x12's due to so much stores, never mind lift and rotate it, even if I had the inclination of doing so! ... heath and safety Mr Hivemaker!!

 

[Hivemaker.]

Yes i agree may be a very complicated thing to do for some,and far too heavy for most,perhaps i,m just used to always moving hives,lifting ect.
No need to run up and down stairs with them first though,just lift and rotate.
Take note of health and safety,and don't get involved in beekeeping,very dangerous buisness.Lifted/ hefted lots of hives yesterday,including floor and crown board,i think you would find this more or less impossible.Perhaps in a few years i may not be able to,but at the present moment i find no problem at all in lifting full brood box's,and carrying them,i use them as supers as well.
If you are a senior citizen,or a lady,or disabled,or younger but just a wimp,then you should change over each individual comb into another brood box, which you will of course have sat on the floor,same procedure when you put on clean floors in spring,if you do,and you are unable to lift the brood box. Or you could get some help with the lifting perhaps.

 

[victor meldrew]

I am the wrong side of 70 years, down wind of a heart attack, have a hiatus hernia plus Barretts oesophagus , I run 14x12s and can easily lift/turn a full hive ( I am no Geoff Capes believe me)but then again I wasn't a desk jockey during my working career .
My old Ukrainian friend used to say "shallow super were for women and wimps".

John Wilkinson