Itchy feet?

[RoseCottage]

Does anyone else have itchy feet?
I drove down the country today with temperatures of 12-15 degrees. I thought about the girls and how little I have done with them.

Things I don't know:

1. Do I have queens?
2. Are they laying?
3. Is she laying in just BB or is she also laying in the super the BB is sitting on?
4. Are they getting light on food?
5. Can I remove the mouseguard yet?
6. Is there sufficient forage for raising new brood?
7. Can I remove the bottom wind-break/winter-food super and set the girls up for the spring?

and so on and so on...

What I do know...

It is going to around 15 degress mid afternoon tomorrow...

should I, should I ....

Sam

 

[richardbees]

....and you can do all of the above with your feet?

Yes, certainly inspect them at 13C+ ... hopefully I'll also be doing the same tomorrow in S London

 

[minature_hero]

Opened up today, sunny 15+ degrees and bees are in a sheltered location so no breeze. Bees collecting pollen like crazy. Queenright in all and decent patches of brood developing in all stages. Some hives have done better with their winter stores than others but all have some available still. Cleaned off the mesh floors.

Good to see those bees again! I thought the spring would never come! )

 

[oliver90owner]

minature_hero,

Were you one of the many who deemed it so important to feed fondant over the winter?

Seems like you didn't from your post?

I fed no fondant on any of mine and they have oodles left at this present time (well at least the five in the garden). All 5, except maybe a six-frame nuc, will have enough food hopefully until the OSR is in bloom or other small flows start. The nuc will have to be put in a big box this next week.

Regards, RAB

 

[nonstandard]

It was 7 deg C here today so way too cold to look, hopefully I will be able to have a quick look by the end of the month.

Re fondant, I have put 1KG on each of my two hives in early February as insurance, one hive has taken a couple of hundred grammes and the other remains untouched.

 

[itchyhives]

.......try athlete's foot powder!

 

[RoseCottage]

Lol



Sounds like the voice of experience...

 

[Skyhook]

As no-one else has really answered the questions, I thought I'd give it a go.

Things I don't know:

1. Do I have queens? I dont know, it may be just the way you walk.
2. Are they laying? Only one way to find out
3. Is she laying in just BB or is she also laying in the super the BB is sitting on? See above. I assume from this you're not planning on brood and a half. Hopefully the fact you have the super under not over should mean she hasn't YET.
4. Are they getting light on food? This is the biggy. If you're not sure definitely worth checking if you have the opportunity- this is crunch time. Gardens are starting to produce a bit, but the countryside is barely waking up. If in doubt and unable to check, get some feed on NOW
5. Can I remove the mouseguard yet?If they look strong and busy then yes, and it will save them losing pollen on the way in. If small and quiet and unable to defend themselves, maybe give it a bit longer
6. Is there sufficient forage for raising new brood? See answer 4
7. Can I remove the bottom wind-break/winter-food super and set the girls up for the spring? I would have thought so, depending on the details. Should be no need for it for stores now- if the plan worked they should have eaten those ages ago, being at the bottom. If you are on solid floors no problem, if you are on OMF, you can either put the board half in to reduce draught, or put an empty super under the floor. Whether you need to depends on how windy your site is.

In other words- if it's warm enough get in there!

 

[RoseCottage]

Skyhook,
thanks for the reply...actually thanks to all of you.
Sadly it struggled to get to 12 today and there was a sharp breeze so we folded on the visit.

Maybe tomorrow...from then on it is wet apparently.

If you were to see me...you'd think I was doing a sand dance.

Sam

 

[Ely]

brood box on top of a super? Jeeze there is a lot for me to learn

 

[RoseCottage]

Ely,
I have 14*12 BB's and OMF's and so when I prepped the girls for winter I fed them lots. It was suggested that if I placed the super under the BB then it would be a point for stores and perhaps reduce drafts to the cluster.

Seemed sensible last year and worked well.

All the best,

Sam

 

[oliver90owner]

I only ever (well almost) over-winter on a brood box. Didn't need that much even this last winter (from looking at the 5 colonies in my garden).

I would park the OMF on top of the completely empty super if I were going to do that. I find it good enough to partly close off the OMF if required to reduce the wind under the hive (mine are on ~300mm stands).

Last year though, the empty supers were in short supply as for several hives, one was left on each crownboard, containing a hefty chunk of expanded polystyrene as top insulation (with a cut-out for a feeding 'take-away' container) and most of the rest had drawn combs stored in them or were being a 'stand in' for a 14 x 12 brood box.

Dartingtons have runners so an underboard can be inserted to close off all the area under the cluster while leaving ventilation at the end.

Regards, RAB

 

[RoseCottage]

So I spent time with my girls yesterday. hurrah, but a mixed bag...8-(


1. Do I have queens?
Yes I have queens but no sign of eggs at the moment.

2. Are they laying?
The only laying is a mass of dead bees covering the OMF.

3. Is she laying in just BB or is she also laying in the super the BB is sitting on?
Sadly neither...

4. Are they getting light on food?
One deep BB is heavy still and one is lighter. One has stores on most of the outer frames and some middle, the other less so. Both had eaten through the bottom super stores.

5. Can I remove the mouseguard yet?
I have removed the nails and allowed a small 1.5 inch gap in the middle to help them not lose pollen should they bring some in.

6. Is there sufficient forage for raising new brood?
At the moment I saw a small number with yellow pollen...a very small number. No bees were flying but it was around ..3.30 to 4 pm.


7. Can I remove the bottom wind-break/winter-food super and set the girls up for the spring?
I have tidied up both hives, cleaning the OMF (adding the Varroa catch board back) and removing the super from below and putting it on top. This super now holds a half set of frames and an open bag of fondant.


So the girls were low in numbers...nothing like the numbers reported by others. I am concerned but there's not a lot I can do I feel but check their food next week or when I can and see how they both go. On the plus side both colonies appeared very calm. Also there were polished cells in the middle of both broods so if the queen starts to lay there is some space.
Also I found some dead moths in each of the hives but no sign of damage from them.

Any observations or advice?

Sam

 

[oliver90owner]

Alarm bells are ringing here.

You would not want to heed the advice coming next, but remember I do not know the exact situation.

Unite them.

If not and even if you do, feed 1:1. Remove super and keep them warm. Provide laying space in the form of drawn comb. Reduce the width of the hive if necesary to conserve heat.

Sorry, but that is my remote take.

I expect you will not unite as you prefer to try to keep 2 colonies going. They may well be very slow building up - that is if they do not simply dwindle away - and one strong colony could yield a split later and produce some crop.

You should have enough honey in store for the next year for personal use (I always have done that), so the need, as a hobbyist, to produce a crop is not so urgent.

Sorry, but that is my take on the situation - albeit from a long way off.

A call to a local experienced beekeeper would not go amiss, for a second opinion at the earliest possible opportunity.

Regards, RAB

 

[taff..]

RAB, I dont think you need to apologise for that advice, it seems to be sound to me, uniting will allow one large colony to expand much quicker than two small ones allowing a split to be made later in the season.

 

[oliver90owner]

taff..

Yes Taff, but not many like a too direct, honest answer in these circumstances!

I did recommend a second opinion (over the net is not exactly foolproof) before doing it........

But I have several colonies and that course of action is an easy option for me and would be fairly automatic - unless both queens were desirable. And anyway, I would have other alternatives like shifting bees/brood to get over that sort of problem. Ooh, the joys of more than a half dozen colonies - things get so much easier, even if more work is involved.

Regards, RAB

 

[Vergilius]

Definitely listen to RAB's advice; one colony with a good chance of survival is a lot better than two with little chance, eh! It seems that neither of the queens are good layers so, after uniting, introducing a new queen is probably the best way forward.

Hope all the best for your colonies.

Ben P

 

[victor meldrew]

Ely,
I have 14*12 BB's and OMF's and so when I prepped the girls for winter I fed them lots. It was suggested that if I placed the super under the BB then it would be a point for stores and perhaps reduce drafts to the cluster.

Seemed sensible last year and worked well.

All the best,

Sam

Did that ,had a late Spring ( no obvious activity) , First inspaction revealed the little Bu**ers had drawn comb right down to the omf .
Be on your guard .
Winter 2010/11 I omited the super ,once bitten and all that

John Wilkinson

 

[oliver90owner]

neither of the queens are good layers

That is not necessarily so, Ben. If the colonies are very small, they may not be able to sustain the temperature required for brooding and would await warmer weather. There is a critical mass for a colony to get on with things, given their local conditions. They would not waste resources if conditions are not satisfactory. Survival, for them, is the name of the game.

Regards, RAB

 

[RoseCottage]

Thanks for all your comments and advice, especially Rab. I have taken it onboard and have contacted my local BKA secretary and asked him if he has a little time to give me an opinion.

He suggested that he would have expected 2-3 frames of brood at this stage of the year and that I should also insulate the roof space again (as I had removed this a little while ago). He also suggested that I should monitor the varroa tray for signs of brood debris. He has explained what I am looking for to me and also that the distribution will give me an indication of brood spread. This will avoid me having to go in to the hive unnecessarily in the next few weeks.

He is initially not sure that I need to unite the hives at the moment (like you Rab he is remote), he has also suggested, like you, that I could feed them and in April swap out a couple of the deep frames of stores with drawn frames to provide space for brood laying.

He saw the polished cells as a positive sign and suggests that the workers will make more space as needed once she has started laying. He believes like some of his own my girls may be slow starters (and that this may be dependent on a number of factors including the environment where they are).

I will be visiting the girls tomorrow to ensure they are insulated and also to feed them.

As for whether they are good layers - last year they both seemed pretty prolific. Both queens were 2010 babies and when they got going they did well.

All the best and thanks,
Sam