Bees refusing syrup

[Finman]

But were they doing any harm to the bees?

Yes they do. Bees are irritated all the time when ants walk inside the hive. Common situation in my forest hives.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes they do. Bees are irritated all the time when ants walk inside the hive. Common situation in my forest hives.

but they weren't in the hives, they were on the crown board. I have a few hive top incubation nests and they have no effect on the bees whatsoever.
Soldier ants in Africa, well that's a different kettle of fish

 

[Finman]

but they weren't in the hives, they were on the crown board. I have a few hive top incubation nests and they have no effect on the bees whatsoever.
Soldier ants in Africa, well that's a different kettle of fish

They are inside the hive . It is not difficult to see. Quite easy to get ridd of them.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

They are inside the hive . It is not difficult to see. Quite easy to get ridd of them.

especially when none are inside my hives, just on the crownboard. Try reading what I said rather than just sounding off as usual.

 

[Finman]

especially when none are inside my hives, just on the crownboard. Try reading what I said rather than just sounding off as usual.

Yes, but I have in my hives. I spray pyrethrin onto them.

I take care of my hives and you take care of your hives.

But if you think, that I cannot read, it is only your problem, as usual.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It's the least of yours

 

[Finman]

It's the least of yours

I can read that you are international beekeeping mystery. Three stars. Three is a magic number

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Three is a magic number

So's two

 

[Curly green finger's]

I can read that you are international beekeeping mystery. Three stars. Three is a magic number

If you ask Finman you could have your stars

 

[Finman]

If you ask Finman you could have your stars

Of course..

3 is magic, because 2 is too few and 4 is too much.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

As the actress said to the bishop

 

[Delgirl]

Anyone else just use fondant instead and skip syrup?

Yep. Poly Swienty hives. Put slabs with plastic cuts in on top of a QX and use an Abelo poly eke and then poly roof on top. I know some don’t but leave a super of honey on too and fondant on top acts as brace and braces over our cold Lancashire winters. works well for me and no winter losses last year. I have one hive that is a bit lighter than it should be as I think they have scoffed their honey early. All over the fondant at the moment and being poly I have found they seem to only loosely cluster over winter and take what they need.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yep. Poly Swienty hives. Put slabs with plastic cuts in on top of a QX and use an Abelo poly eke and then poly roof on top. I know some don’t but leave a super of honey on too and fondant on top acts as brace and braces over our cold Lancashire winters. works well for me and no winter losses last year. I have one hive that is a bit lighter than it should be as I think they have scoffed their honey early. All over the fondant at the moment and being poly I have found they seem to only loosely cluster over winter and take what they need.

That’s interesting
How much fondant do they get and are there stores left in the spring?

 

[Delgirl]

That’s interesting
How much fondant do they get and are there stores left in the spring?

I am probably going to get shouted at but I just make sure there is fondant available all the time once winter kicks in (end of November usually) but my lighter hive has got it early this year. I just keep replacing it if it goes but usually two 1kg slabs plus full (MD Langstroth) super lasts the winter. Not a lot of stores left in super come spring and I just chuck any left over fondant once they start foraging. Not in it for the honey money so happy to let them eat some of what they make which I appreciate is different to some of the beeks on here who take it all off in Autumn.

 

[understanding_bees]

But were they doing any harm to the bees?

I believe that we, as beekeepers, should take reasonable steps and measures to enable our bees to thrive.
There are, regrettably, many different maladies and pests which afflict bees, and I as a caring beekeeper wish to take reasonable steps to enable my bees to prosper. This attitude of care should be in the mind of anyone who keeps livestock of any kind.

It appears that the majority of members of this forum are in various parts of the UK. I fully believe that many people who ask questions in this forum are hoping to receive good and helpful information. But not everyone who visits this forum, or who asks questions here, is from the UK. It is apparent that other people who visit this forum live in a number of different countries – France, Finland, Croatia, USA, South Africa, Australia, and probably elsewhere as well. The climates in all of these countries vary widely, and the ways in which bees respond to these different climatic conditions will vary as well. If people from any of these countries have a question, or share a helpful experience, there should be equal opportunity for all forum members to be involved in the forum discussions.

JBM suggests that earwigs do not harm bees. He may be completely correct in this assessment. He has commented that “earwigs only seem to be an issue from midsummer on”, but I have commented that here where I live they have had an active presence during our winter period. Despite the fact that earwigs are not dangerous pests, and they include decaying vegetable matter in their diet, they can do significant damage to food crops such as strawberries. Bees, on the other hand, are significantly beneficial to strawberry crops through their pollination activities. I do not want earwigs in my garden, and I am not willing to let earwigs thrive in the penthouse of a beehive.

JBM asks whether the ants are harming the bees. Perhaps the ants which live in his locality are benign. There are many species of ants, and many of them are not beneficial to bees at all. If (and when) bees are bothered by ants, then any efforts which the bees resort to, in an effort to evict the ants, means that those bees are not able to work as effectively for the care of brood, or collection of nectar and pollen, or whatever their task may be for the survival of the hive. If JBM wants to have an attitude of “live-and-let-live” towards ants, or earwigs, or some other “creepy-crawly”, then I am not in a position to make him change his mind. He is able to make his own choice.

There are many people who need to take steps to protect their bees, from the impact that ants have on them. There are many people who need to take particular care to keep ants away from their “honey-houses”. If JBM and his bees are unaffected by the ants where he is located, then he is fortunate. Unfortunately there are parts of the world where ants are a problem.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I am probably going to get shouted at but I just make sure there is fondant available all the time once winter kicks in (end of November usually) but my lighter hive has got it early this year. I just keep replacing it if it goes but usually two 1kg slabs plus full (MD Langstroth) super lasts the winter. Not a lot of stores left in super come spring and I just chuck any left over fondant once they start foraging. Not in it for the honey money so happy to let them eat some of what they make which I appreciate is different to some of the beeks on here who take it all off in Autumn.

Nobody is going to shout at you. If it works for you and the bees keep doing it. Just be aware that if you have winter stores in the brood when supers go on they are likely to end up there as the brood nest expands.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, but I have in my hives. I spray pyrethrin onto them.

Pyrethrin? Inside the hive?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I can read that you are international beekeeping mystery. Three stars.

Ah you’ve spotted the three stars.

 

[Boston Bees]

I believe that we, as beekeepers, should take reasonable steps and measures to enable our bees to thrive.
There are, regrettably, many different maladies and pests which afflict bees, and I as a caring beekeeper wish to take reasonable steps to enable my bees to prosper. This attitude of care should be in the mind of anyone who keeps livestock of any kind.

It appears that the majority of members of this forum are in various parts of the UK. I fully believe that many people who ask questions in this forum are hoping to receive good and helpful information. But not everyone who visits this forum, or who asks questions here, is from the UK. It is apparent that other people who visit this forum live in a number of different countries – France, Finland, Croatia, USA, South Africa, Australia, and probably elsewhere as well. The climates in all of these countries vary widely, and the ways in which bees respond to these different climatic conditions will vary as well. If people from any of these countries have a question, or share a helpful experience, there should be equal opportunity for all forum members to be involved in the forum discussions.

JBM suggests that earwigs do not harm bees. He may be completely correct in this assessment. He has commented that “earwigs only seem to be an issue from midsummer on”, but I have commented that here where I live they have had an active presence during our winter period. Despite the fact that earwigs are not dangerous pests, and they include decaying vegetable matter in their diet, they can do significant damage to food crops such as strawberries. Bees, on the other hand, are significantly beneficial to strawberry crops through their pollination activities. I do not want earwigs in my garden, and I am not willing to let earwigs thrive in the penthouse of a beehive.

JBM asks whether the ants are harming the bees. Perhaps the ants which live in his locality are benign. There are many species of ants, and many of them are not beneficial to bees at all. If (and when) bees are bothered by ants, then any efforts which the bees resort to, in an effort to evict the ants, means that those bees are not able to work as effectively for the care of brood, or collection of nectar and pollen, or whatever their task may be for the survival of the hive. If JBM wants to have an attitude of “live-and-let-live” towards ants, or earwigs, or some other “creepy-crawly”, then I am not in a position to make him change his mind. He is able to make his own choice.

There are many people who need to take steps to protect their bees, from the impact that ants have on them. There are many people who need to take particular care to keep ants away from their “honey-houses”. If JBM and his bees are unaffected by the ants where he is located, then he is fortunate. Unfortunately there are parts of the world where ants are a problem.

Why do you always write like you are giving a speech in a school debating society?

 

[Wilco]

@understanding_bees
This is beekeepingforum.co.uk. I personally am very glad to have international members on here as it makes the community richer but I think it's fair that the information mostly caters for UK keepers in the same way I would expect a .us, .au or .fi site to mostly cater to those from the country code of the website. I also think most people visiting the site can recognise when information given may be country specific.

If you read through the forum, JBM has nothing against killing things which are actually pests/parasites of his bees and does look after his bees. He has shared his underfloor entrance design which helps many people protect their bees here against wasps (also reducing the need to kill off wasp nests when wasps are a very important part of UK food webs). However, he is keen not to kill things unnecessarily just because he doesn't like the thing and I laud this sentiment. Biodiversity, especially here in the UK, is declining and insects are a key part of diets for organisms further up the food webs.

Are there any alternative methods you can use to grow your strawberries which might be less attractive to the earwigs? If on a small scale could some sort of vertically layered hydroponic system using repurposed drain pipes work?