I’m on my way!

[pargyle]

It’s a good point as many DCAs are very old but how do the drones find them if all the previous years drones aren’t around to tell them?

Perhaps they have the ability to follow lines of energy in the earth's crust - I've never dowsed under a DCA but given the opportunity I'd be happy to try - not that some people would believe that I was not influencing the rods !!

 

[pargyle]

If homeopathic remedies get "stronger" with dilution, and considering that water has been exposed to pretty much every substance on earth then well mixed over millennia, surely all water would be incredibly potent for all our ills!
Pretty much all water is also recycled dinosaur piss too!

Well ..... whether there are any homeopathic benefits from drinking water I have no idea ... we would not live long without water though !

 

[JamezF]

But we do know that bees have the ability for magnetic sensing within their abdomen ... it's not such a leap of faith to suggest that they have developed the ability to sense energy lines in the earth's crust is it ?
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep23657

I'm intrigued by what happens to all these alleged energy lines in the Earth's crust when there's an earthquake, personally (in the UK there's probably one every couple of days).

And what happens when the crust undergoes subduction into the mantle and new crust is created at a ridge?

James

 

[JamezF]

not that some people would believe that I was not influencing the rods !!

Prove that you aren't, subconsiously or otherwise

James

 

[JamezF]

This time next year....

He just needs to start selling them to scout bees. Huge numbers of sales!

James

 

[pargyle]

He just needs to start selling them to scout bees. Huge numbers of sales!

James

They have their own in-built ones i assume ?

 

[pargyle]

And what happens when the crust undergoes subduction into the mantle and new crust is created at a ridge?

James

Presumably they move ? But as the earths mantle only subducts into the mantle at the rate of about 2 to 8cms per annum I don't think I've enough years left to accurately measure it .... Or perhaps they stay static when the crust moves ? I don't know - but there again - I do not have the desperate need to have to know. If it works - don't fix it - live with it !

 

[FidoDido]

If homeopathic remedies get "stronger" with dilution, and considering that water has been exposed to pretty much every substance on earth then well mixed over millennia, surely all water would be incredibly potent for all our ills!
Pretty much all water is also recycled dinosaur piss too!

Prove that you aren't, subconsiously or otherwise

James

The ideomotor effect is definitely real.

 

[alancooper]

Seems like a lot of cabin fever going around. Relax - it’s almost Spring.

 

[philipm]

Been catching swarms for years when I first started I used lemon Grass oil and swarm attractors,didnt get one swarm.Now I just leave a brood box with an old frame and get swarms .Its not a guarantee they seem to have their favourite spots mine is on the shed roof. I,ve had a pile of roofs and empty boxes attract a swarm,people on this forum have had them in compost bins ,roofs,chimneys ect the bees dont seem to be fussy.One problem with a swarm is thereis no knowing how good the bees will turn out.

 

[user 819]

It has been many a year since I have housed a bad swarm .
Most of my current bees have been from a gene pool from some very yellow bees collected four years ago with to me, that which I suspect may have been a ligustica Qu who was very yellow. Quiet calm and no suit needed to handle them as well as proving very productive.
Four years later and they are hybrid bees (likely with buckfast influence) though with a mix of yellow or dark queens , they still are pretty good temper wise and very productive. Encouraging drone brood is a must and one aim I try for , so foundationless combs help with that.

One swarm last year arrived and usurped the fading DLQ colony in my long hive and are gentle.
The late swarm I collected in Sept are thus far showing some promise , inspected them for the first time on Tuesday and they were nice and calm.
Two traits I don't like are bees that boil over when lifting the CB and following, chalk brood and swarminess one can deal with via selection and rearing nucs/queens to replace any suspect traits.

None have completely romped thru winter stores which is another trait I look for , provisioned with 35/40lbs of stores most have approx. 10lbs still takes some of the guessing out of whether they starve or not.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Seems like a lot of cabin fever going around. Relax - it’s almost Spring.

We talk like this even when we have bees to play with. Ley lines in particular are a great source of entertainment

 

[Do224]

Encouraging drone brood is a must and one aim I try for , so foundationless combs help with that.

why? To spread the good genetics?

 

[Curly green finger's]

What an absolute tosh of advice you have just given ,telling your new starters to avoid this forum !!!!!.Makes me wonder what type of mentor you are to your new beekeepers, perhaps maybe not wanting them to find new ways and just learn your way .I am a newbie going into my second year and can truly say this forum has been a godsend ,when wanting advice it has been freely given ,maybe different advice from members, but the underlying advice is the same .
Really if you feel this forum and it's Moderator's are bad why do you stay .
John

Blimey! Banging post - and I’ve had my fill of spouts on here with the mods - but even so this forum has set out my beekeeping career from the advice and sometimes harsh but realistic advice, banta, digs whatever you like.

Anyone I meet in the future/mentor, first port of call is this forum

Mark

 

[Murox]

Seems like a lot of cabin fever going around. Relax - it’s almost Spring.

We talk like this even when we have bees to play with. Ley lines in particular are a great source of entertainment

Well I'm still going to play music and talk to my plants, especially the tomatoes and cucumbers.

 

[user 819]

why? To spread the good genetics?

Drones have a few uses .
One is to improve the genetic pool in the area, whether one has drones or not a VQ will still fly off to a mating congregating area.
So it matters not if the colony has 100 or 1000 drones.

Harmony within the colony is another reason.
Having drones or excess drones isn't as some seem to think a precursor to 'oh they are going to swarm' , I have colonies that don't swarm and they have many 100's of drones.

Swarming is often mitigated by by many other factors and not drones.
Selection of raising Q's from less swarming stocks is a starting point to try and improve one's lot, open mating is always a gamble but flooding the local area to try and dilute bad genes may help.

Q age sometimes can play a part but I have a 2021 Q that the colony are happy with, again sometimes can be down to selecting from your less swarmy colonies.

Laying space and stores clogging early on can be one of the main factors for swarming.
Trying to keep bees to a single national with very productive Q's is simply choosing the correct system for them. If they need double brood for space then that is what they need.

Use colonies for selection that superscede.
If a colony produces 10's & 10's of QC's then don't propogate from them.

 

[user 819]

Collecting swarms can be a good way of improving one's gene pool, though when an unknown swarm is collect there is no way of knowing why they have swarmed .
I collected one last Sept but have no idea why they swarmed , could have been a late superscedure upon where they still decide to go or might have been simply an over eager beek over feeding to early. Who knows ?

A swarm arrived early may last year and usurped my DLQ colony remains , the long hive has pelnty of room 24 frames/ combs .
Thus far they are happy because there is plenty of room and laying space, I might find out more about them this year to see how they fair.
Simply removing excess clogging combs of stores may be enough that they will simply carry on and not swarm.

I moved one of my less swarmy productive colonies to my garden a couple of years ago , huge crop last year of 237 lbs and they supersceded in August. I negate swarm issues by clipping my mated queens , in this case both were seen 5 or 6 weeks later still close to each other on the combs.
I have two Q's to clip this spring one at home the new SS Q and the one form the Sept swarm I collected.

 

[user 819]

I think a lot of LBKA thinking and advice and the myth around drones is based on how some keep the given bee strain and the constraints they are kept in and the syaing of 'that is how it is always done' .
Many trying to stick to a single BB and not reading or understanding the bees/colonies needs.
Simply plonking on extra supers to a congested colony doesn't solve swarming issues (it is space/room in the wrong place) , remove the QX and it may do but then one to be careful as to where the Q maybe .
Not every one likes brood in supers as they become more prone to wax moth in storaged, so a double BB set up may be a better way foward then Demareeing a single BB.
However if one finds QC's then a Demeree is out of the window and one has to opt for increase or a vertical split .

I have personally and like others do here have tried going QX less but for me , it wasn't to my liking to managing my colonies. The bees /Q most likely quite liked the idea but I found it made my job harder so one has to balance the time with technique used and whether it works for you.

There is no harm in experimenting with ideas and colony set ups, instead of following th herd or LBKA way of doing things try going your own way and ignore the nay sayers. The decision may work or it may not.

 

[alancooper]

I started to work double brood boxes last year. I had thought about it in previous years but twice the amount of work ant inspection put me off. I have found that it does not involve more work and probably decreases swarming. Much of the time bottom box inspection seems not to be needed, with most of the action going on in the top box. What I enjoy most is the greater management flexibility it gives.
What do you double brood boxers think?

 

[Sutty]

I suspect with double-brood nationals you wouldn't miss many if any swarm preparations if you simply look between the two boxes for queen cells. They always seem to put some there. If you are prepared to take that risk then some inspections could be very quick.