Honey rather than sugar

[jenkinsbrynmair]

How very mature of you Chris
There could be a few spanners in the works though ;
-queen excluders
-frame spacing
-brood in supers rendering them forever more susceptible to wax moths
-granulated stores in the supers making them less useful for the coming season
-supers are often made of softwood, not really designed for exposure to winter weather
-unnecessarily large hive volume possibly compromising overwintering chances
-less weather proof (roofs are often designed to overlap the hive where the cluster winters)
-wasting good honey- or good comb if its later decided to melt the crystalised honey out
-taller hives are less stable in high winds
-taller hives are more noticeable to passers by
-more work to sort it all out in the spring
-less opportunity and choice for varroa treatment
-less opportunity for super maintenance

all quickly off the top of my head, I'm sure there could be loads of other reasons why it might be best to get them off before winter.
You're welcome

But more time to be on here typing loads of tosh and drivel - maybe a change of apiary tactic for next year

 

[user 6228]

I recall a conversation with ITLd where he said it had been found that sugar having less residues meant the bees need to defecate less and so better survival was found.
If the bees are in cold hives it must make cleansing flights more difficult to achieve, thus it might be that in the colder artificial circumstances we place bees in we need to feed them artifiicial stuff.

 

[Dishmop]

If the bees are in cold hives it must make cleansing flights more difficult to achieve,

If the hives are cold then it will be even colder outside, and therefore they probably wouldnt be going out anyway.

 

[Finman]

.
By the way, I have watched on sky. The whole day thousands of geese have went over my house. They come from Russian tundra and go towards Holland and perhaps to England. Weathers turned cold there and they started.

Last autumn they were here on fields hundreds of thousands. Today they had a strong tail wind, and they raced the aircrafts to south west.

Last year was special, but now only first herds have went over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NltVVu4OVt0

 

[Chris Luck]

The Cranes are moving as well, soon they will be in the fields near me.

http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/grues/point_sur_la_migration.htm

Chris

 

[Finman]

The Cranes are moving as well, soon they will be in the fields near me.


Chris

Yes. Some heards of cranes went over me too. Heards made circles over me. It seemed that they took hight with the help of strong wind.

They drifted with tail wind and then turned suddenly to upwind (jumped up). So they made several circles and then they made the plow and started to go directly south west.

Here cranes make nest very near farm houses and some come to feed on home yard lawns. 20 years ago things were not that way.

.

 

[Finman]

.
Migrations of cranes

 

[Chris Luck]

This shows where many thousands / hundreds of thousands spend the winter in France.

I "work" for the LPO along with other structures.

Chris

 

[Finman]

.
Do you feed cranes there?

-

 

[Chris Luck]

.
Do you feed cranes there?

-

Well, yes and no.

This is a snippet from an article I wrote.

""By the end of August the first few Cranes will have started to arrive in France from their breeding grounds that are situated principally in Russia, Finland, Sweden; Norway and the Baltic countries where each successful couple will have raised one or sometimes two chicks. These will stay with their parents for the winter and return with them to the breeding grounds the following spring when they separate from their parents, however it will be two or three years before they reach sexual maturity and can seek out a partner. What needs to be understood is that the “migration” is both gradual and partial, spread out over several months with them wintering at various locations stretching from north-eastern France (Lorraine and especially Champagne) to Morocco with various locations in between. But the majority will end up in Spain with most of them in the large wintering areas of Extremadura. Weather conditions will determine the timing of these movements which can last until December; the only issue is accessibility to food on the ground which is principally the residues in maize fields that have been left untouched following harvest. Roosting takes place on the ground and is normally on marshy islands or marshy shallows on large lakes where the same site is used year on year. Some such as Lac du Der and Lac de la Forêt d'Orient in Champagne are huge at around 5000 hectares, others such as La Mer Rouge at La Brenne, (Indre) are only about 150 hectares but safety for roosting and a good local food source are the only criteria. Although the main migration path is to the east of the region it’s still possible to see the odd few in the west of Deux sevres and Charente Maritime but the best chances of seeing good numbers flying are in the Vienne and Charente. Sadly we have no actual over wintering lakes for Cranes in the region but there is as mentioned La Mer Rouge at La Brenne, (Indre) near Le Blanc where some 3000 usually stay, and there are some lakes just south of Bordeaux; (l'étang de Cousseau being the nearest), where overall about 28,000 cranes overwinter. One other site to the north of La Rochelle, at the Baie de l'Aiguillon (Vendée) hosts a small number of about 75 in recent years. I would highly recommend taking the opportunity to see these birds in the winter in their feeding zones when on the ground; it really is quite spectacular with continuous comings and goings accompanied by that characteristic calling.""

So the important bit is cooperation with the farmers to get them to leave the maize fields in these areas untouched until spring rather than turning them over in the autumn, so yes in that sense.

Chris

 

[Finman]

,
Do you know about satellite cranes?

http://www.satelliittikurjet.fi/engl_index.html

One route map
http://www.satelliittikurjet.fi/mansikka/mansikka_2012_gmap.html

.

 

[Chris Luck]

One of the great benefits of technology for use with a number of species.

Chris

 

[pargyle]

,
Do you know about satellite cranes?

http://www.satelliittikurjet.fi/engl_index.html

One route map
http://www.satelliittikurjet.fi/mansikka/mansikka_2012_gmap.html

.

Fascinating ... incredible journey.

 

[mbc]

Have you ever considered the possibility that, when a thought like that pops into your head, you leave it there and don't share it with the rest of us?

Thanks

CVB

Any chance you could avoid quoting this 2@ as I dont see his objectionable posts otherwise.

 

[pargyle]

Have you ever considered the possibility that, when a thought like that pops into your head, you leave it there and don't share it with the rest of us?

Thanks

CVB

I don't think he is capable of holding on to anything ... he may be in desperate need of help and this is just a cry for it ...

Offer sympathy ...

 

[Itchy]

Bitching

FFS, are there any adults here? Just seems this forum, like others is full of bickering. Us newbies have to wade through your garbage mud slinging just to get a few nuggets of information.

 

[REDWOOD]

Don't forget the people with experience

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Any chance you could avoid quoting this 2@ as I dont see his objectionable posts otherwise.

I see your point. Sorry. I don't see his posts now either.

CVB

 

[BKF Admin]

FFS, are there any adults here? Just seems this forum, like others is full of bickering. Us newbies have to wade through your garbage mud slinging just to get a few nuggets of information.

It is sad when a few members can spoil the whole feel of the forum by making a few silly posts.

Tighter moderation will ensue if some members cannot self moderate.

 

[REDWOOD]

Well done admin for nipping it in the bud