Many supers ?

[Into the lions den]

She says she is a Master Beekeeper on her blog front page.

lol.........that sort of thing makes me suspicious right from the start.......................anyone trumpetting that they are a Bee master, or bee expert, as one UK person had in their signature file, is just putting themselves up for ridicule. I do not think anyone calling themselves a bee expert quite has the full picture................lol.........there are some who know more than others, but no-one is a proper expert.

 

[Finman]

lol.........that sort of thing makes me suspicious right from the start.......................anyone trumpetting that they are a Bee master, ert.

In Finnish beekeeping forum everyone who has 10 posts, tittle is "Over Marshal of Air Forces".


(like we had in Helsinki city buss company a tittle: "over driving master")

 

[itma]

hehe. I don't like my pains poly 14x12. I don't know whether to stick to my wood commercials which are great or try a sw ienty. ...

Its ugly and needs a better roof, a proper clear cover board with beespace, and a customised mouse guard. .
But my bees do seem to be loving it ...

 

[beeno]

Thank you dpearce4,

I see a lot of people store empty supers that way in the winter. Seems like a good idea. I have mine all cluttering up my shed.

Thanks everybody for a more positive approach this morning. Everybody has their own methods and I believe we can examine them and find out which works for us individually and find out if we are making a mistake.

Some of us New Bees with only a few years of experience rely on Old bees to learn. I see that over 250 people have read this in less than 24 hours. I am confident a large proportion wanted to know the answer.

Thank you Beeks for an answer to this small question

Hi MMJ100,
IMHO and as a fellow newbie I would stick with your original statement "I have been taught and read that in winter one cuts down the space the bees need to heat etc as the colony becomes smaller." Beekeeping is not what works for the beekeeper, but what works for the bees otherwise you loose them. If you don't go by the book most newbies pay the price and let's face it it's an expensive hobby for most of us. It is easy to be swayed by other peoples' apparent success on the internet, but you can always rely on this forum to put you right. Wishing you a good 2013 season.

 

[MMJ100]

Thank you Beano,
You are right to observe that I was only curious and that I did not follow the multi super idea. Except to note that some store empty supers on top of a crown board with no access for the bees.
I love keeping my bees and learning from some great and venerable beeks. The forum is fantastic (most of the time) and it is a great place to learn or get answers.
Thank you for your good wishes. Yesterday all 7 hives were bringing in pollen ( Heaven knows from where !!) and all look strong.
Thanks to you and the forum for making my and I am sure others bee keeping a pleasure,
Michael

 

[jp19sqn]

What a terrific post MMJ100

JP

 

[Finman]

Thank Except to note that some store empty supers on top of a crown board with no access for the bees.
I love keeping my bees and learning from some

That is very strange. Supers are needed quite short time during the year and in right time.

Hives are nursed the whole year around and the you take off and pile again all supers. That makes any sense. The summary is that hives are out of necessary nursing.

I have kept half a year my supers outside in rain. They has wax moth ruined combs.

Outer walls are colored with green algae and black mould.
Bees find all the time holes to make robbing. Bees find every moth larva hole where to go in.

 

[dpearce4]

The issue with storing the empty supers ontop of your hive in winter are that in high winds they make a bigger wind block and may blow over more easily and 2 if you do need to go into the bees for what ever reason, feeding, OA, hefting for weight you will have to remove all the supers each time, this is ok if you have 1 or 2 hives but if you have more it can greatly increase the time spent working. Plus you wont be able to treat them for wax moth.

If you would want them out of the shed for the winter one thing you could do is have a Pallet near your hives and place a flat board such as a peice of ply on that then place 2 supers a piece of card with acetic acid on, then 2 supers another piece of card with acetic acid, then 2 more with 1 more piece of card with the acitic acid on then crownboard and roof. if its a windy area then you can use a strap or some sort of block to protect them from blowing over.

I am lucky that i have a 10ft flint wall at the back of my site and i have stacked mine in 5 stacks of 6 along this wall so they are available at any time but out of my way on a day to day basis.

the good thing with this is the acetic acid will kill off any wax moth in them and stop the wax getting eaten.

 

[MMJ100]

Thank you jp19sqn You are so kind.
I think dpearse4 has a point too.

BTW to avoid any doubt I have all my supers back at home treated and protected and undercover.

 

[flemage]

In Finnish beekeeping forum everyone who has 10 posts, tittle is "Over Marshal of Air Forces".


(like we had in Helsinki city buss company a tittle: "over driving master")

ohhhh i want to join the finnish forum 'Over Marshal of Air Forces' sound great!

do they do sow on badges?

 

[Skyhook]

I am a New Bee as you will have seen. I asked what I thought was a genuine question. I and others, with less experience than some of you replying today, might have hoped for a more helpful reply so as to increase our knowledge. That I believe is what this forum is all about and not about making unnecessary and unhelpful comments. Apologies and private messages will all be appreciated and answered.

Michael

I'm sorry, I don't understand your problem. You asked why she does what she does. A couple of us suggested that there was no good reason and it is bad practice. A couple of others suggested it may be a way of storing supers.

How is any of that un-necessary or unhelpful?

 

[rook66]

lol.........that sort of thing makes me suspicious right from the start.......................anyone trumpetting that they are a Bee master, or bee expert, as one UK person had in their signature file, is just putting themselves up for ridicule. I do not think anyone calling themselves a bee expert quite has the full picture................lol.........there are some who know more than others, but no-one is a proper expert.

Very much like Ireland, The "backscratchers society" like to bestow honours on each other, like beekeeper of the year, master beekeeper etc, etc,

 

[itma]

Very much like Ireland, The "backscratchers society" like to bestow honours on each other, like beekeeper of the year, master beekeeper etc, etc,

Although "Master Beekeeper" is a BBKA qualification status, I don't believe it is a legally protected designation.
So anyone could award themselves that title ... especially in the country of Degrees by return of post.

 

[MuswellMetro]

lol.........that sort of thing makes me suspicious right from the start.......................anyone trumpetting that they are a Bee master, or bee expert, as one UK person had in their signature file, is just putting themselves up for ridicule. I do not think anyone calling themselves a bee expert quite has the full picture................lol.........there are some who know more than others, but no-one is a proper expert.

Our Master Beekeeping certificate apears a bit harder

http://www.easternapiculture.org/master-beekeepers/certification/written-exam.html

 

[MMJ100]

Hi everybody !

I love the comment from rook66 "The "backscratchers society"
This seems to sum up something of this thread that I started.

I started it with a simple curious question. I have my answers already and so do the other curious learning beeks reading.

The interests of bees or of people who want to learn, from to massive depth of experience available on this forum, from the extremely experienced people who are prepared to give me and others advice.

I think this thread should end. The question has been answered. and we need to move on to other questions - hopefully with constructive and helpful comments.

Michael

 

[Ely]

People are free to chat as they wish. That sometimes highlights more information to be learned. It can even form a friendly atmosphere and sometimes friendships. Forums are not q and a pages or books. You may have started the thread but it is under the forums control.

Sent from my XT615 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MMJ100]

Flemage,
What a fascinating point you make!

If 10 posts get the title of "Over Marshal of Air Forces"

What would the title of a Finn who made 188 posts be?

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

People are free to chat as they wish. That sometimes highlights more information to be learned. It can even form a friendly atmosphere and sometimes friendships. Forums are not q and a pages or books. You may have started the thread but it is under the forums control.

Sent from my XT615 using Tapatalk 2

Groan......
I understand or think I do, how the topic starter feels.

What is the point of rubbishing the practice of other beekeepers when it is obvious that their unique location and method of practise is not something that is understood. Perhaps if we all spent more time in trying to learn and understand the bees we try to keep we would lose less and gain more.

Rubbishing other people and their qualifications is something that has been used here since the Norman invasion to keep people feeling inferior. It may well be that the person being rubbished on this thread has studied widely and worked hard for their qualification, we simply don't know. Has the person doing the rubbishing lived and kept bees in the USA?

Also the circumstances where they live may be quite different to where we live. we all have to adapt to our own individual circumstances. Sometimes experimentation is what we need to find out what will work, sometimes advice is useful, sometimes we have enough resources to do well in our endeavour, whatever that may be.

Rubbishing others is a nasty trait and a sense of humour is something entirely different. Read Wuthering Heights to see the results of the first. Nastiness breeds nastiness That way lays madness, and that's also why we use the expression vicious circle.
Bee Nice.

 

[Finman]

Rubbishing others is a nasty trait and a sense of humour is something entirely different.
Bee Nice.::

Heh heh. One style is when a beginner suggests something really stupid (as they often do), experienced beeks shout GO GO GO!!!

I have seen this too much.

 

[MMJ100]

Margaret,

Thank you so much. I have been wondering what to say next, if anything. I decided to say nothing.. so you come up with a wonderful comment.

Well done and good luck in your bee keeping, lets all try to be positive and constructive like Margaret,

Michael