Bringing Out The Dead

[Erichalfbee]

They have had regular oxalic vapes as and when required, which always seemed to reduce the drop rates which I used to keep an at least weekly eye on as part of assessing the hives (rather than opening up hives all the time).
My remaining hive had two, late Dec/early Jan, despite me not finding much sign of any drop - I put that down to the difficulty of checking with the skirt/funnel in place and nowhere to slide in a board (or vape tool for that matter).

If I ever try a bottomless hive again I will do a bit more prep on how to provide an adjustable bee entrance and a sealable slot for an observation board/vaping. (I had to retrofit the bee entrance when I realised the returning foragers had nowhere to get in!)

Just use an omf floor and take the mesh out

 

[thorn]

The undertakers in my garden hives usually carry the dead and dying about ten yards from the hive and drop them on the patio. A visitor was surprised to see one just miss her cup of tea last summer. They're busiest in the spring, when the winter bees are dying off. The patio can look a mess, but fortunately a pair of magpies discovered the corpses last year, cleaned them up and kept the ground clean throughout the summer. I hope they're still around.

 

[cwinte]

Just use an omf floor and take the mesh out

I think that would be too open to wasps and other pests getting in unless I did a bit of woodwork - in which case I might as well save that floor and make a special eke with small front door options, access for vape and observation board plus a velcro band or other method to attach the funnel/skirt...

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think that would be too open to wasps and other pests getting in unless I did a bit of woodwork - in which case I might as well save that floor and make a special eke with small front door options, access for vape and observation board plus a velcro band or other method to attach the funnel/skirt...

Taking the mesh out is what I did last year. I did, though, add an empty super underneath

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I did, though, add an empty super underneath

SHALLOW!​

 

[Erichalfbee]

SHALLOW!​

A slip of the left index finger

 

[Boston Bees]

SHALLOW!​

No, sorry, I think this is one of those frequent cases where the usage of a word has changed, and the modern usage is now so widespread as to be accepted and just as correct as the more traditional usage. If Thorne and Paynes advertise them as supers, I think we can accept that it's OK to call them supers, wherever they are in a stack. Absolutely everyone knew what Erichalfbee meant.

National Super Empty or Complete with Frames, Assembled (thorne.co.uk)
NATIONAL CEDAR SUPER BOX (paynesbeefarm.co.uk)
National Super Cedar 2nd - ASSEMBLED - Welcome to Abelo's Beekeeping Supplies

 

[Erichalfbee]

That’s true but if I hadn’t been distracted by yet another Irish try I would have typed shallow.

 

[oliver90owner]

No change of use, just the usual unknowing following the unknowing and the unknowing passing it on to more of the same. A shallow box is usually called a super when OVER the brood box as a HONEY BOX. It cannot be termed a super when it is either nadired or used as the (usual) top section of a ‘brood and a half’ set-up.

Even the unknowing would not call a DEEP a ‘brood box’ if it was being used as a SUPER. I have even used 14 x 12 boxes as SUPERS.

National boxes are designated by the frame size - nothing else - unless describing them in the particular use to which they are being put. Use of the proper description will always remove doubt as to how and what each box is being used for. It’s just a shame that some don’t use the correct terminology. I expect a lot of those types think that pupae ‘hatch’, not ‘emerge’. They clearly know nothing about biology and quite possibly don’t realise that the likes of chicks hatch from EGGS.

 

[Boston Bees]

No change of use, just the usual unknowing following the unknowing and the unknowing passing it on to more of the same. A shallow box is usually called a super when OVER the brood box as a HONEY BOX. It cannot be termed a super when it is either nadired or used as the (usual) top section of a ‘brood and a half’ set-up.

This may have been true in the 70s. No longer. Now, the terms shallow box and super box are interchangeable. Thus, a super box can be supered or nadired.

I imagine there were people who fumed at the change of "thy" to "your", "vacuum" to "hoover" etc etc. Such fuming provides them with a hobby of sorts I suppose, but is of little interest to the rest of us.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ok you say Tomarto I say Tomayto
Let’s leave it there

 

[Mabee]

I went to an interesting talk from the linguistics department at the local university a few years ago with eldest daughter who was considering it as a course choice. What I found interesting was their stance that no language is incorrect and is continually evolving. Meaning that language which was once considered incorrect could now be more commonly used than the proper form making it actually more correct to use.