Checkerboarding

[Boston Bees]

Is there a book by Walt Wright on his checkerboarding? I know he asked Larry Connor from WicWas Press to publish the manuscript. Larry said he’d have to read it before making a decision. Walt wouldn’t give it to Larry until he agreed to publish it. Rather odd demand

No, the (British) team that did these videos have published a book on their method, which is based on Walt's method.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Think the mesh is to stop bees that have adequate ot through the porter bee / warm air escape tbh.

well why not just close the bloody hole to stop the warm air escaping then?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Is there a book by Walt Wright on his checkerboarding

Seen one by Walt Disney

 

[Black Mountain Honey]

I believe someone on here has and is going to try it. Ho hum...

BTW thre was a concrete hive at Craibstone, round the back of the workshop gathering moss as it was "invented" in the 1950s and not a colony survived it. I was told they died from nosema and accarine. I can well believe the nosema due to the stress but when I mentioned this to a person who has just bought one, I was poo pooed....LOL There's aye a one as they say in Aberdeenshire in the Doric.

PH

What is so beautifully ironic about your closed mindedness is that people would have been as negative about poly hives 50 years ago.

Do I think checkerboarding is the silver bullet to swarm management? Do I think everyone is going to shift over to concrete hives? Quite clearly not.

Are they a bit of fun on a YouTube channel that you take way too seriously without actually watching the videos. Er.... YUP.

 

[pargyle]

Are they a bit of fun on a YouTube channel that you take way too seriously without actually watching the videos. Er.... YUP.

I think think the risk is that, because it's on YouTube, there are people who DO take it seriously and think that it is gospel ....There are still people sticking matchsticks under crown boards because they took that idea seriously.

So .. maybe a bit of fun for people who have some idea about what they are doing but it's a pitfall for others to fall into and things like this need to come with a warning. Something like 'This is my own stupid idea and I don't recommend you follow in my footsteps' or 'This is a bit of fun for you but your bees won't thank you for it'

 

[Black Mountain Honey]

I think think the risk is that, because it's on YouTube, there are people who DO take it seriously and think that it is gospel ....There are still people sticking matchsticks under crown boards because they took that idea seriously.

So .. maybe a bit of fun for people who have some idea about what they are doing but it's a pitfall for others to fall into and things like this need to come with a warning. Something like 'This is my own stupid idea and I don't recommend you follow in my footsteps' or 'This is a bit of fun for you but your bees won't thank you for it'

If you watch my videos I add both of those caveats in. Saying that its fully untested and I am sceptical of the results.

If it fails, which it probably will, then I'll show the failures. If they swarm, I'll show the colony that swarms and analyse the aftermath.

Just because I have filmed a video on a topic, doesn't mean I support or vouch for it. Pete doesn't watch the videos. He looks at the thumbnail and forms his own opinion.

 

[Black Mountain Honey]

For those that can bear it, watch the first 90 seconds and give me your honest opinion.

Does it seem like a method that I am vouching for or something that's quite clearly an experiment and a bit of fun

 

[Boston Bees]

For those that can bear it, watch the first 90 seconds and give me your honest opinion.

Does it seem like a method that I am vouching for or something that's quite clearly an experiment and a bit of fun

I watched this video when it came out and don't worry, your scepticism is clear!

 

[Black Mountain Honey]

I watched this video when it came out and don't worry, your scepticism is clear!

Thanks. Even for my own sanity!

 

[Moobee]

No need for all that. There was a chap here that claimed the same by putting 4 supers on every colony in early March and not looking in till the top one was full of bees. Never lost a swarm.

Never lost one or never actually noticed that he’d lost one….

 

[Moobee]

No, the (British) team that did these videos have published a book on their method, which is based on Walt's method.

I know. It’s in my pile of ‘useless things I have purchased for beekeeping when I was too new to know any better’

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

No need for all that. There was a chap here that claimed the same by putting 4 supers on every colony in early March and not looking in till the top one was full of bees. Never lost a swarm.

I think the same loonatic also recommended checkerboarding.
It's not that he never lost a swarm - his bees just kept dying

 

[Newbeeneil]

I think the same loonatic also recommended checkerboarding.
It's not that he never lost a swarm - his bees just kept dying

Dead bees don't swarm!....... another swarm prevention method?

 

[Poly Hive]

I merely stated that concrete, that is actual concrete as in the dense stuff, was tried and failed many years ago.

PH

 

[F.F.Stung]

I believe someone on here has and is going to try it. Ho hum...

BTW thre was a concrete hive at Craibstone, round the back of the workshop gathering moss as it was "invented" in the 1950s and not a colony survived it. I was told they died from nosema and accarine. I can well believe the nosema due to the stress but when I mentioned this to a person who has just bought one, I was poo pooed....LOL There's aye a one as they say in Aberdeenshire in the Doric.

PH

Concrete supers? Concrete queen excluder? Concrete storm-safe roof? I like it.

 

[JamezF]

Concrete queen excluder?

Now that's just a silly idea. Obviously the QX would be made out of rebar as well.

James

 

[Boston Bees]

They have done an update on the checkerboarding, in case anyone is interested. I am a bit sceptical that what they claim are supersedure cells are not, in fact, swarm cells, but there we go .....


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[Boston Bees]

OK, another video is out and I think I may have discovered the secret of this checkerboarding business. In order to avoid swarming, what you do is - don't look at all the queen cells in the hive. Then you won't know about the swarms. Simples.

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5m30s - nope - nothing to see here



7m30s - not even a glance at these

 

[Michael Palmer]

It's sort of like what I tell my help during swarm season. When you go into the apiary, don't look up.