Being overwhelmed by my bees / feeling despondent - advice please

[ksjs]

OK, just done! First of, had best inspection so far this year. I used a bit of smoke, had freshly washed smock and gloves on, was super careful when handling frames. Bees were inquisitive but nothing more, much more like how they'd been before. They'd even started drawing super but I stuck with my plan and super has now become a BB below original BB.

I have to say doing that felt like a total lottery: loads of bees on floor due to having just examined frames / shook bees, super onto floor while plenty of bees crawled on the tops of the floor walls, original BB then on top of super with plenty of bees exiting bottom of BB and therefore on bottom of walls. Virtually impossible to limit bee kill, who knows if queen is OK, really not sure if that was the right move...

One question: let's say they've done nothing with the super (now BB) on next inspection - should this be replaced back on top? Remember here I'm only going on a hunch that they don't have enough room, maybe they do? Currently 8 of 11 frames are brood and I'm certain a 9th will be added to brood as and when they finish drawing it.

So many options, unknowns & questions!

 

[nelletap]

Do you get to do external observation of your bees in between inspections? It might be fanciful but it seems to me that this gives me quite a good picture of the general health and state of the hive. A small group of us were talking the other day that we seem to remember each full inspection knocks a hive back about 36 hours. is that correct? I know full inspections are needed and risk of swarming increases if the gap is too long - and that the first inspection of the season is always a struggle against propolis!
Tricia

 

[ksjs]

Do you get to do external observation of your bees in between inspections? Tricia

Yeah! I can see the hive from the kitchen and walk past it every day. I'd really rather not do inspections, I reckon they're much happier left to their own devices but I guess swarm control and ensuring enough stores mean inspections are unavoidable.

Probably much debated / recounted but what happens if you just leave a hive and do nothing except take a harvest ensuring 1 full super is left on and varroa control in autumn and winter?

 

[tonybloke]

download a copy of 'at the hive entrance' by Storch. ( free on the web )
you'll learn loads from just watching the comings and goings of the bees.

 

[Cazza]

Probably much debated / recounted but what happens if you just leave a hive and do nothing except take a harvest ensuring 1 full super is left on and varroa control in autumn and winter?

This is close to how my old beekeeping pal managed his hives all his life (pre varroa obviously no control needed.)

Hives would swarm naturally and often be recaptured. They tended to die out after 4 years if left alone but would be replaced by incoming swarms. (I think they starved over winter as they had BB only and his idea of feeding was about 5lbs in Autumn.)

It's a method which would generally be frowned on today.
Cazza

 

[ColinS]

download a copy of 'at the hive entrance' by Storch. ( free on the web )
you'll learn loads from just watching the comings and goings of the bees.

Found an online copy here www dot scribd.com/doc/54926139 slash At-the-Hive-Entrance-H-Storch can't post links yet

None of the torrents seem to work - if anybody does have a pdf, as it is not on Guttenberg either, just checked.

 

[ksjs]

It's a method which would generally be frowned on today.
Cazza

OK, but what if you did do varroa control and left enough stores on? It'd be interesting to see, globally, what the honey crop was like. I'm guessing, if you're a 'low-key' beek, then probably OK but I have no real idea. Only real issue might be swarms and where they might / who they might hassle.

 

[Cazza]

OK, but what if you did do varroa control and left enough stores on? It'd be interesting to see, globally, what the honey crop was like. I'm guessing, if you're a 'low-key' beek, then probably OK but I have no real idea. Only real issue might be swarms and where they might / who they might hassle.

Honey crop was no better/worse than my crops of today.

I'm sure there are beeks who keep like this today but not many prepared to stick their heads above the parapet on this forum?
The main issue would be brood diseases and spotting these later because you are not looking into the brood regularly.
C

 

[ksjs]

Found an online copy here www dot scribd.com/doc/54926139 slash At-the-Hive-Entrance-H-Storch can't post links yet

None of the torrents seem to work - if anybody does have a pdf, as it is not on Guttenberg either, just checked.

Here, with others:

http://www.totnesonline.com/beekeeping_library/?dir=beekeeping_books

Manley is brilliant by the way, really of a time and really interesting too.

 

[ksjs]

Honey crop was no better/worse than my crops of today.

I'm sure there are beeks who keep like this today but not many prepared to stick their heads above the parapet on this forum?
The main issue would be brood diseases and spotting these later because you are not looking into the brood regularly.
C

Interesting - I guess, with regard to disease, that to a certain extent less manipulation etc means less chance of transmitting disease? A more hands-off approach might be possible for people with a few hives but probably unthinkable for commercial keepers.

 

[johnmcc]

Swarming is the problem if you're an amateur like me who isn't really selling much honey, and not so much because you lose bees but because it can inconvenience the neighbours. I had an unexpected swarm go into a neighbour's chimney last summer, and apart from the distress at having to smoke them out (and probably kiling a lot in the process) it feels bad to have to apologise for your hobby inconveniencing them. In my 4th year of beeking I'm trying to balance minimal interference with swarm prevention. So far this is not going too well!

The first full year I had them, the bees had little attention from me, produced about 20lbs of honey from one hive, had one swarm - which I lost - and a couple of casts which I didn't. This year is not at all like that because of the weather, I imagine, and because I'm more aware of the annoyance which could be caused.

My Uncle had a hive in his garden on the Norfolk coast for many years after WW2; they received minimal attention and produced enough honey for family and friends - but that was in the days when a bee sting was just one of those things - in a small rural community.

 

[Cazza]

Interesting - I guess, with regard to disease, that to a certain extent less manipulation etc means less chance of transmitting disease? A more hands-off approach might be possible for people with a few hives but probably unthinkable for commercial keepers.

Yes but you would likely be regarded as a disease hazard, a kind of Typhoid Mary by your "modern" beekeeping neighbours.
Cazza