Getting the bees to move stores

[Geoff]

I bought a national nucleus of bees (Cause that is all you can get) but I want to get the bees into a commercial box.
I rigged up a contraption to get the national frames to fit into a commercial brood box. Once the colony were settled and the queen was laying I decided to transfer them onto commercial frames. I got another brood box, partly filled it with commercial foundation, caught the queen, put her in the top box with an excluder underneath. I checked her the other day and she is laying like she wants to repopulate the planet - loads of uncapped brood and there were lots of capped brood under the excluder waiting to emerge.
My plan is that when the brood has emerged I can take away the lower box. But will the bees move the stored honey and pollen or do I just have to sacrifice that?

 

[BKF Admin]

Just treat it like you would a super of spun frames,if its below the brood box they will move it up top.

 

[Poly Hive]

If it is below they will move it up IF YOU BRUISE THE CAPPINGS.

Other wise they will pretty much ignore it.

Ths is why a hive tool has a flat end, not only to pry boxes apart but also to bruise cappings.

I have done this for many years in spring mainly to work the brood box but current dogma says it is a BAD THING. Which is why I mention it.

PH

 

[OXFORDBEE]

PolyHive..

Why does current dogma say it's a BAD THING?

 

[Poly Hive]

Ask the dogmatists who say so, also say moving brood in the nest is a bad thing and as for adding foundation in.... dear me....

All of which work perfectly if exercised judiciously.


PH

 

[OXFORDBEE]

I quite agree with working the brood box.

Making sure the broodbox is ticking over nicely is essential for good spring growth and taking advantage of that ever-earlier flowering rape crop.

 

[Poly Hive]

Just as a by the by one can get foundation drawn out nicely during autumn feeding as well.

PH

 

[Polyanwood]

I like this tip.

 

[Geoff]

Checked the hive yesterday. They have emptied the lower box of all stores. All that is left is some capped brood. The bees are going mad. When it is warm they are making a terrific racket at the front and the air is just filled with returning and departing bees. I have never seen such a rapid increase of a brood chamber before and they are really drawing out the brand new foundation. Just like a text book nice and flat. Not like some of my other bees that are into free form building when it comes to foundation.
And they are nice gentle bees. I can stand leaning on the hive watching them without having to cover up. When I checked them, they flew up when i brushed bees out of the way but no jumping on me or trying to sting

 

[ribblesbees]

I can stand leaning on the hive watching them without having to cover up. When I checked them, they flew up when i brushed bees out of the way but no jumping on me or trying to sting

We often watch our bees uncovered (as it were) although not actually leaning on the hives but being close to them. The only thing we make sure of is that we are not too close to the hive in their direct flight path. Also I try and make sure I don't move too quickly when near the hive So far neither of us have been stung yet watching them this way. (And yes I know there is still time for it to happen)

 

[Geoff]

Well these are a mixture of pure Carniolans but with mainly yellow bees from an Australian queen - the carniolans will eventually take over cause that is the queen. They were obtained from Easybee and Mike has been using some Australian queens to produce nurse bees.
One day they had changed their flight path without me knowing until i got banged in the back of the head by returning bees. However they are not phased even by that, they just carry on with no aggression.
It is really great to see the intense activity at the front and being so close you can see the different pollens loads coming in. There is a lot of pale yellow and some bright yellow pollen with the occasional orange. Now a slatey grey pollen seems to be popular. Is that willowherb? If so they are foraging on the railway embankments.