Finman
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 27,887
- Reaction score
- 2,024
- Location
- Finland, Helsinki
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
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I have read now tens or hundreds of answers, that colony grows and friends tell to split the hive to pieces. Why? That will spoil build up for moths.
Another example: one box (strong!) colony swarms and splits itself to invalid state. Again it takes 2 months that hive is capable to do something.
In this forum is a huge panic to invalidisize hive build up. That is not beekeeping. It is panicing.
First the goal is to get a box full of bees.
After that hive is capable to make 8/10 frames of brood. 2 frames are food what every hive needs.
If hive makes 10/10 frames brood, it really needs another brood box. It it does not get it, it swarms.
It is good to test, what kind of queen you have. Let it lay freely and queen tells itself what it does.
No hurry to put excluder because growing colony consumes all food.
Give second brood box under brood that colony can maintain heat in brood area.
When boath brood boxes are full of bees, add a super over brood and swap brood boxes.
When 2 boxes are near full of bees, add super. It should take 4-5 weeks. Then brood are so much
that you ought to add super every week.
If a queen is good, it lays about 15 langstroth frames. The rest is pollen and honey
10 frames is something, but a little bit tired queen.
in Britain you really need space for pollen stores that colony has food over rainy days. Bees use to store pollen nex to brood. If they do not get polle and protein every day, they eate part of larvae.
You say that you have allways pollen in nature. But but, bees do not forage in rain or in under 15C temps. If you do not believe, that your problem, not mine. I have learned those lessons..
Excluder
you need not hurry with excluder. You may put it then when honey really start to come in.
My hives have usually 4 boxes that honey coming in is serious. Hive may get 10 k honey, but if it is rainy next week, they eate almost all that honey.
If colony must draw foundations at very beginning of expansion, it should not swarm. It must be something wrongit hive dies it. Either it is mad to swarm or queen's laying space is finnish.
For example rape nectar flo may stuck the hive in couple of day.
In my environment biggest reason to swarming are rainy cold weathers when bees have nothing to do.
Same result comes if we have 2-3 weeks blooming cap and fully grown hives have not job to do.
Rainy days added to blooming gap is the worst situation. And then you must check hives between rains.
What I try to say: learn to rise up the colony and do not split it in that process. If you need nucs, it is easy to make from fully grown hives.
If you need new hives, don't use excluder. Let the colony produce so much brood s it can.
There is no idea to limit brooding and then split the colony.
If you have super good colony, you may aid smaller colonies with broof frames and gettheir bild up faster.
.
I have read now tens or hundreds of answers, that colony grows and friends tell to split the hive to pieces. Why? That will spoil build up for moths.
Another example: one box (strong!) colony swarms and splits itself to invalid state. Again it takes 2 months that hive is capable to do something.
In this forum is a huge panic to invalidisize hive build up. That is not beekeeping. It is panicing.
First the goal is to get a box full of bees.
After that hive is capable to make 8/10 frames of brood. 2 frames are food what every hive needs.
If hive makes 10/10 frames brood, it really needs another brood box. It it does not get it, it swarms.
It is good to test, what kind of queen you have. Let it lay freely and queen tells itself what it does.
No hurry to put excluder because growing colony consumes all food.
Give second brood box under brood that colony can maintain heat in brood area.
When boath brood boxes are full of bees, add a super over brood and swap brood boxes.
When 2 boxes are near full of bees, add super. It should take 4-5 weeks. Then brood are so much
that you ought to add super every week.
If a queen is good, it lays about 15 langstroth frames. The rest is pollen and honey
10 frames is something, but a little bit tired queen.
in Britain you really need space for pollen stores that colony has food over rainy days. Bees use to store pollen nex to brood. If they do not get polle and protein every day, they eate part of larvae.
You say that you have allways pollen in nature. But but, bees do not forage in rain or in under 15C temps. If you do not believe, that your problem, not mine. I have learned those lessons..
Excluder
you need not hurry with excluder. You may put it then when honey really start to come in.
My hives have usually 4 boxes that honey coming in is serious. Hive may get 10 k honey, but if it is rainy next week, they eate almost all that honey.
If colony must draw foundations at very beginning of expansion, it should not swarm. It must be something wrongit hive dies it. Either it is mad to swarm or queen's laying space is finnish.
For example rape nectar flo may stuck the hive in couple of day.
In my environment biggest reason to swarming are rainy cold weathers when bees have nothing to do.
Same result comes if we have 2-3 weeks blooming cap and fully grown hives have not job to do.
Rainy days added to blooming gap is the worst situation. And then you must check hives between rains.
What I try to say: learn to rise up the colony and do not split it in that process. If you need nucs, it is easy to make from fully grown hives.
If you need new hives, don't use excluder. Let the colony produce so much brood s it can.
There is no idea to limit brooding and then split the colony.
If you have super good colony, you may aid smaller colonies with broof frames and gettheir bild up faster.
.
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