Feeding Bees though the winter.

[richardbees]

You make a very persuasive case RAB but how is it possible Ted Hooper could be wrong?

Does not the sun still rise in the East?

Richard

 

[Dishmop]

Does not the sun still rise in the East?

It can rise in the south..

 

[oliver90owner]

Does not the sun still rise in the East?

There you go. WRONG AGAIN!

I think you may find my argument water tight.

Hooper was wrong.

Regards, RAB

 

[richardbees]

I'll bear it in mind, RAB as I'm of a mind to do a classic 'artificial swarm' next year in plenty of space.

Dishmop, I'm ex RAF Bomber Command from the Sixties, we used to fly around with a bomb load of "canned sunshine" so you're right, any compass point was available for Sunrise!!

Richard

 

[oliver90owner]

Very sorry to both of you but the Sun does not rise and set at all.

Only before Galileo did everybody think everything revolved around the Earth. Yes, the Earth was believed to be the centre of the Universe up to then and everyone had to believe it because that was what they were told.

Galileo was eventually put under house arrest so he could not spread his 'evil propaganda'. Yet, a few hundred years later, some people still think the Sun rises and sets. It most certainly does not. It is the rotation of the Earth, on it's axis, which makes the Sun appear to rise and set, when actually it has not moved with respect to our little planet one jot.

End of science lesson.

Richard, that would be Vulcans with the 'can of sunshine'? Or something a little smaller?

Regards, RAB

 

[richardbees]

RAB, yes, you guessed it.... something smaller beginning with the letter C.

.....but that was yesterday before Varroa!

regards, Richard

 

[Hombre]

That would be the one with the offset canopy and that seemed to last forever. Are there any still in service in the world today? `Not with the canned sunshine of course.

I was on your doorstep RAB 65 to 66. I flew a keyboard and a Morse key for my sins.

 

[oliver90owner]

Wittering?, Cottesmore?

Regards, RAB

 

[Hombre]

Embry Road, Wittering. parents are in the church yard.

 

[oliver90owner]

On post# 80, I said: Hooper is wrong..

Is there nobody out there with an opinion either way?

What do you think of that example? Was Hooper right or wrong? Is it possible that Ted Hooper could be wrong?

I don't mind if you disagree with me, as long as you offer a valid argument.

Regards, RAB

 

[mbc]

RAB - a response:
Your quite right about Hooper quoting the wrong motivation for moving the 'queen cell hatching hive' to the other side of the original site but i think your thoughts on foragers collecting similar quantities of nectar whether queenless or not are incorrect.


"A queenless hive will collect just as much nectarper forager as the colony next door."

"No matter where they are, 'x' number of foragers will collect the same amount of nectar. "

In my experience, queenless colonies dont collect a surplus. I dont like to anthropomorphize too much but it seems to me that colonies that have gone queenless tend to lose vigour almost immediately and foragers from such hives are listless and will only collect enough nectar to maintain the colony and never really put any surplus away

 

[oliver90owner]

But these colonies are not 'queenless' in that sense. They have a queen in the making. That queen will be emerging only a day or so after moving the hive to lose the flying bees.

Hopelessly queenless may be another matter, but we are talking here about swarming.

Regards, RABAB

 

[mbc]

RABAB,
suck it and see - colonies surge forward in terms of collecting both pollen and nectar as soon as a virgin mates.
Remember this chat next year and stick a colony with ' a queen in the making ' on some scales and you'll see that I'm right

 

[oliver90owner]

Yep, and normally that will be when the colony has only capped brood? No more larvae to feed, more and more flying bees (progeny of the previous queen). Not really surprising, then?

RAB

 

[mbc]

try two evenly weighed packages on scales - one with a queen and one without

 

[Black Comb]

Well Rab, you are looking for an argument so must be feeling better.

Hooper does say do this but also says that (re. the parent colony) " the drastic reduction in population will cause the bees to give up any idea of swarming"
so he does allude to your argument, albeit mixed amongst other reasons.

Were you skim reading his book?

Another question. Where do you out the supers - back on the A/S or on the moved parent colony? (and why) I've been told each option by 2 very experienced beeks.

 

[mbc]

Another question. Where do you out the supers - back on the A/S or on the moved parent colony? (and why) I've been told each option by 2 very experienced beeks.

On the original site with the old queen because this is where the foragers will return and if there's a strong flow they can easily pack out the new brood frames and the supers very quickly as they'll have very little brood to care for initially and can concentrate on packing in the surplus . Also the other box will need to be moved again - easier to do without any supers on plus the colony with a laying queen will be more inclined to work than the one with cells /virgin and of course the original site will have a further addition of foragers to accommodate when the other box is moved to the other side of it

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

When I did an AS earlier on in the year I ommitted the last step of moving the q- colony across as there was no room (hives enclosed in quite a tight wooden coral to protect from sheep) and I'd decided that as I wanted to leave the colony split I didn't want to weaken the lesser hive any further.

It all worked out well in the end, but if it had of been possible to move the colony to the other side, was my theory a mistake?

 

[Black Comb]

Mons A I did the same and mine swarmed. At the time I blamed the "leave 2 queen cells and they will sort it out theory" because as soon as the first queen emerged off they went. In future I intend to remove one of the 2 cells 2 days before emergence. Like you because of space I could only go one way.
So at least this thread has taught me something as I will move a 2nd time in future.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

So I guess I inadvertantly may have saved mine by deciding at the time to just leave one cell. More by luck than judgement it has to be said.