bees winter

[RogueDrone]

How many seams of beesgoing into winter for a good start next spring ?
Std and 14*12" please.

Rogue

 

[Poly Hive]

As many as possible.

How many have you got?

PH

 

[RogueDrone]

As many as possible.

How many have you got?

PH

worst case is 14*12 with 2seams bees ond very litttle brood say 0,25 0f one side frame.

others vary up to almost full std BB 7 frame brood.

going to unite smaller colonies but would like tgt to do it most efficient us of bees (odd Q culled or passed on )

 

[Poly Hive]

Unite your weak ones to the strong ones not to another weak one.

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

With a dozen colonies you should know that it is the bees surviving in spring which will give them a good start, or otherwise.

As PH, as many as possible, unless they are suicidal Italians which keep brooding too late into the winter - they don't really take any more bees through but certainly use up too much winter stores..

 

[Erichalfbee]

As many as possible.



PH

My previously "huge" colony has a six inch diameter area of brood in the middle and the rest of the frames are stores.A week of Apilife to go yet. They haven't been fed.
I took a frame out and put my one and only spare drawn brood frame in but they filled it with more stores.
I wonder whether it's too late in the season to put in a frame of foundation?
I'm tempted to abandon that last week of thymol and trust to Oxalic in the winter but then it might be mild for a while yet and then there's the ivy to come yet.

 

[richardbees]

Erica, you're OK as long as the hive has a full complement of bees.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks, richardbees.
We have a week of rain forecast. That should slow them down.
What I really need is a frost to kill off the balsam ..............aaaaarrrgh never thought I'd see myself writing that down.....always been left to the balsam bashers where I used to live.

 

[oliver90owner]

I would be removing a frame of stores now and replacing with an empty frame. It could always be changed back if the weather stays poor - and if it is good they may well draw and fill it.

Your winter bees should be there if the colony is still large as the younger bees (and those not yet emerged will not have been feeding brood. If they brood further, those bees will be winter bees, etc etc.

There is still time to fill a super if the weather were to come good, but somehow I doubt that on this year's record, thus far.

RAB

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks RAB.
I was thinking of putting that empty frame in the middle.
There must be lots of bees with little to do in that box.
The weather might sort it though.
What do think about curtailing the thymol Tx ?
This hive has dropped a hundred mites a day though that seems to have slowed markedly in the last two days.

 

[oliver90owner]

If it were 100% effective, thymol treatment would only be required for one pupation cycle, so two weeks should see most of the mites killed. The rest should be for mopping up the ones that got away. Clearly not as effective as that and it's not for me to say to anyone to stop early. Your choice. A few mites does not bother me, but if the weather were to come good for another month they would be multiplying again...

Oxalic in the winter would get them, but as you are aware, I don't use oxalic unless really deemed necessary.

Regards, RAB

 

[fincaazul]

surely thymol treatment should be on a six week regime, so that it catches mites from two full brood cycles which should significantly reduce population of mites prior to winter. timing of treatment should be by season, not calender. I have not done apivar yet as bees needed a super to stop them building comb between crownboard and roof and filling with nectar. Double brood with Queen in third season never any sign of swarming always given them plenty of room in advance. Very fortunate in my location, within a short distance have canal cutting, railway cutting, huge cemetary, millenium green, four allotment sites, lime trees in all the streets. Garden hive last year 138lbs. This year 90lbs so far, two supers yet to extract. I am tired of it.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks,RAB
There's no brood to speak of so I'll leave the the third week as the last so the queen can get going on the winter bees.
Interestingly the three colonies with lots of brood have chucked out the apilife wafers. The one with little seems to leave them alone.
I will try Hivemaker's version next year.
I was given some Thymovar which seemingly can't be demolished and can be left in situ but it has a higher operational temperature at 20˚....not used it though

 

[Erichalfbee]

surely thymol treatment should be on a six week regime, so that it catches mites from two full brood cycles

Is that really necessary?
Have you done the six weeks and monitored drop to the end of the treatment?

 

[oliver90owner]

so that it catches mites from two full brood cycles

Not a relevant argument. That is why I said 'pupation cycle'. Mites don't occupy cells until the larvae are about to pupate so there is a week out of the brood cycle which you are erroneously including. The six week cycle is because the treatment is not so very effective at killing all the mites in the one go, not because it is two brood cycles. Clearly there are many out there that do not think about it very deeply, are easily misled by others or the dreaded hyped-up advertising.

 

[RogueDrone]

With a dozen colonies you should know that it is the bees surviving in spring which will give them a good start, or otherwise.

As PH, as many as possible, unless they are suicidal Italians which keep brooding too late into the winter - they don't really take any more bees through but certainly use up too much winter stores..

oliver,
I am aware that its the bees that make it give the good start in the Spring and normally I would not be asking, but after the season I have had this year am a little paranoid, it is also the first for 14*12. It just looks like there is a lot of space for the bees to keep warm, so will be putting insulation in.

Just after thoughts and reassurance.