Hello from a newbie.

[Waggle Dance]

Hi there,

I've just started beekeeping and I am in the very fortunate position of being taught by my Dad (who learned from his Grandfather). Here is our apiary of 6 hives, and just round the corner we have a rouge WBC that we thought was empty until we discovered has a very fiesty colony inside. I've been making emergency frames all day as the brood extends over 3 boxes and we're in a rush to get some supers on there.

They live in a somwhat boggy area next to a river, so we had to work pretty hard to build them a special raised platform. I hope the appreciate it! I own the 2 hives on the left, my learning curve is to help with all hives, but with mine I do everything and make all the decisions. Scary, but really good fun.

I do have a question and I hope you guys can help me out. I'm using a rapid top feeder inside the roof of the hive. On sunday I put a litre of 1:1 sugar water in there. On Wednesday they had eaten the lot (yay) but there was also a quantity of blackish mould. I understand this isn't a serious problem, however I have read people use vinigar or lemon juice in the feed to combat this. Anybody here have experience doing this? How did it turn out?

Love the forum, I hope I can play an active part in the community as I learn and grow with my new bees.

 

[victor meldrew]

Hi there,

I've just started beekeeping and I am in the very fortunate position of being taught by my Dad (who learned from his Grandfather). Here is our apiary of 6 hives, and just round the corner we have a rouge WBC that we thought was empty until we discovered has a very fiesty colony inside. I've been making emergency frames all day as the brood extends over 3 boxes and we're in a rush to get some supers on there.

They live in a somwhat boggy area next to a river, so we had to work pretty hard to build them a special raised platform. I hope the appreciate it! I own the 2 hives on the left, my learning curve is to help with all hives, but with mine I do everything and make all the decisions. Scary, but really good fun.

I do have a question and I hope you guys can help me out. I'm using a rapid top feeder inside the roof of the hive. On sunday I put a litre of 1:1 sugar water in there. On Wednesday they had eaten the lot (yay) but there was also a quantity of blackish mould. I understand this isn't a serious problem, however I have read people use vinigar or lemon juice in the feed to combat this. Anybody here have experience doing this? How did it turn out?

Love the forum, I hope I can play an active part in the community as I learn and grow with my new bees.

Look up Hive Makers' recipe for thymolated syrup
Use as Autumn feed or perhaps for the drawing out of foundation in a rapidly expanding colony .
Do not over feed as any thymol in honey is a no no

VM

 

[Poly Hive]

Why are you feeding at all?

PH

 

[Waggle Dance]

These are all new hives, we put the nucs in on Sunday. The man we bought the nucs off said they are all very young bees and won't be up for full foraging yet, so we should be feeding them.

We're not going to be feeding the WBC oot back as they seems to be taking care of themselves no problem.

And thanks Victor, I shall check it out

 

[Erichalfbee]

Last year, as a complete beginner, I bought a nuc and was told to feed. They swarmed.

There must surely be a sufficient number of foragers, it's not as if they have frames and frames of young brood to feed just a number commensurate with the size of nuc. AND at this time of year there must be sufficient forage. Enough to supply their needs (and allow the queen to lay) without filling all available space with sugar.

 

[Waggle Dance]

Oher, starting to worry now.

So your guy said to feed and my guy said to feed so I assume the general advice given to newbies buying nucs is to feed. The general feeling here though seems to be don't feed. I'm starting to get the feeling that contradicotry advice is all part of being new, haha.

Thanks for the heads up, I would be really interested to hear what other people have to say on the matter if they don't mind?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Oher, starting to worry now.

I'm starting to get the feeling that contradicotry advice is all part of being new, haha.

NO, what we have to learn is to look at the bees and understand what is going on.
There are nucs and nucs though. A good nuc will be the progeny of the queen and will have bees of all ages in it plus a supply of food.
Have a look to see if they have stores. A frame full or its equivalent spaced through the frames will see them through to the next inspection. Then you can make a decision whether they need feeding.

 

[susbees]

Welcome . The trouble with advising beginners to feed or not to feed is that we all have apiaries with different forage patterns.

Say someone in various wetter/cooler counties had installed a nuc late May and not fed. They could have starved/failed to build up.

Installing somewhere else last week, there is a flow on in much of the country...bramble, clover, lime trees. And there's balsam, bell heather and fireweed flowering too depending on what grows locally.

Watch and work it out. If they are manically rushing in and out they don't need feed.