creating colony's on rape

[peteinwilts]

apologys' to Finman for quoting him on a different thread

Problems may occur what ever. It may fill the hive with rape honey and a swarm escapes. Or the beekeeper fills the hive with syrup and colony has no space to build up.

has anyone tried with success using rape purely for colony production??

What happens if you have a new unmated queen after a split that is not ready to lay, but any free brood space is filled up with honey..

Does she mate and produce a new queen cell before going? Normally she would not go until around the time the new queen emerges... would she leave early?

 

[bee crazy]

i have my bees on rape and have done ever since i started. i find that if the queen is good and the rape is not to earley they build up very fast as soon as they have filled to suppers (only from my experince) the bees get so excited they swarm.

usallay the queens start hatching before the old queen leaves or gets thrown out
but thats not to say if the strain of bees you have are of a swarmy nature shee wont pack her bags and leave before hand.

just my experince which is 4 years

 

[bee crazy]

i have dubbled my hives on rape every ear

 

[Rosti]

This is probably more about strain than forrage. I keep local Yorkshire mongrels. Moved mine to a new site last year (from the garden) with rape all around, followed by beans. Last year there was a good progressive build-up, demaree as switch method to 14x12, also probably acted as swarm control, 2 supers of rape/early honey taken, all by 1st week June.

I knew this colonies queens age and liked her temperament so pinched out QCs from the demaree'd old std BB. No question that I could have reared a new queen or taken a split if I'd wanted to.

 

[Poly Hive]

The aim might be to take off a decent amount of honey, and AFTER the flow finishes and when the bees will respond by going into swarm mode, by making increase at that point.

Works for me... LOL

PH

 

[RoofTops]

My experience is the bees are very swam prone when on OSR, so you have to be ready to deal with it. I once split a hive into 4 nuc as it was on double brood chambers. This suited me at the time as I was trying to make increase. The challenge is how to cope with swarming and get a good honey crop.

 

[Poly Hive]

Innit! (LOL)

PH

 

[Vergilius]

Mine get aggressive when OSR is in flow...

On second thoughts they are always aggressive!!!


Ben P

 

[Poly Hive]

They get a wee bit tinky on the rape aye, but take them to the heather and hmm... they get really tinky..........

Remind me in the morning: sorry involved with Talisker at the moment, to tell you about the hang glider... LOL

PH

 

[Hivemaker.]

sorry involved with Talisker at the moment,

And dreaming of Skye....and the bonny sunset..lol.

 

[Terrysbees]

sorry involved with Talisker at the moment,

And dreaming of Skye....and the bonny sunset..lol.

Just run out look's like I will be heading north before south soon, did the campervan get there.