My bee project

[Gyp]

I thought I would start a thread with pictures of my progress. As I mentioned on my introduction page I have adopted two hives that haven't been touched for at least 3 years (we think closer to 5 years)!

I went up to the hives today and there is activity in one hive but the other one has nothing. Yeogi75 has kindly offered to mentor me and he is comming to have look tomorrow so we might open the still one??

I have uploaded a video that I took, you can see the small amount of activity but you can also see the hive damage, it looks to me as if the badgers have found the hive.

Sorry I can't post the video yet as I haven't got 10 posts.

 

[Gyp]

[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qkpxnZxK5hY[/ame]

 

[itma]

Do the hives have mesh or solid floors?

If mesh, get inspection boards in asap.
The first question is whether you have a varroa problem or a serious varroa problem.

I'd suggest that the next question is whether you have too little or (it is possible) too much stores in there (restricting brood space, increasing the likelihood of swarming).
But on your way to discovering that, you may find that the frames are braced solid and/or a bit rotten. So best to have a couple of assembled frames without foundation (and some string/wire/rubberbands to support broken comb), and maybe one or two with foundation.
All the comb in there will be due for changing, so you are going to need some frames and foundation anyway ...

If one is dead, it has the benefit of allowing you to 'refurb' (and sanitise) the hive so you can then move the live colony into somewhere decent (and then you can refurb and sanitise their old home!)

 

[madasafish]

I suspect "opening the hives" is going to mean "destroying the hive"..

Look like held together with propolis and brace comb.

I advise caution: leave it till you have a spare hive ready for a hasty transfer in good weather..

 

[VEG]

Wait till you have good enough weather and all the kit ready to transfer into a new hive.

 

[itma]

Do the hives have mesh or solid floors?
...

OK, I've updated my Flash install, and just seen the hive.

I'd suggest buying a Pains poly, and then proceeding as though doing a cut out.
Yes, things will likely fall to pieces at an awkward moment - you need to have something else on standby should that happen ... a Plan B!
Even if that hive doesn't completely fall apart, you aren't going to keep the bees inside that colander while transporting them ...

And yes, I still expect that you have a varroa problem, but you've got some more basic work to do first.

 

[waverider]

Why a Pa*nes poly hive?

 

[Russel]

I had this problem last year, 1996 was the last inspection?
Put a broad box & clean foundation on top and hopefully the queen and entourage will move up. This will allow you to inspect without destroying the "nest" and possibly killing the queen. Once she's laying upstairs get a QE in to keep her there, allow some time to make sure she's still upstairs and for any broad downstairs to hatch, then if all's well remove old BB and take apart to check for any nasties?

Learnt a vital lesson with WelshPaul last year when we collected a colony that had taken over a very large bird box, took two of us to carry it. Anyways WP wanted to hive it, so we "cut it out" and somewhere along the way managed to kill his queen and consequently the colony.

Russell.

 

[fiftyjon]

Wait till you have good enough weather and all the kit ready to transfer into a new hive.

And not necessarily a Pains poly there are other options available to you.

 

[itma]

Why a Pa*nes poly hive?

Cheap, instantly ready and light - which could be important if trying to stick it on top for a Bailey-type comb change transfer onto sound frames.

/ Other options are indeed available ...

 

[WelshPaul]

Yes I agree with Russell, that one was a nightmare. The hive you have treat also as a sold box, if you can move it, put it on top of a crown board covering a new brood box, then the bees hopefully will move down through the crown board holes. Make sure old hive has no means of escape for the girls, and the only exit is through the crown board holes. Eventually all bees and queen should end up in lower brood box with anything they want out of the old hive.

 

[itma]

Yes I agree with Russell, that one was a nightmare. The hive you have treat also as a sold box, if you can move it, put it on top of a crown board covering a new brood box, then the bees hopefully will move down through the crown board holes. ...

Now there I was thinking that bees would rather move upwards ...
When doing a Bailey comb change, where does the new box go? Under or Over?

It is possible to make things (even) harder than they need be!

 

[John M]

I only use poly nucs but would probably go for poly if I wanted that to support it! Please let us know how you get on.

 

[TOBY-3652]

my first colonie came from a hive worse than that. i got well suited up, roof off, all the frames were into 1 so i got all brood old comb and everything that had bees on and placed it in a new hive ...put the new hive where the old one was and a week later took it home then placed a new box above old one.. when they had drawn comb out and the queen was found in top box, i changed boxes over, queen excluder on top. month later took old box away

 

[Russel]

my first colonie came from a hive worse than that. i got well suited up, roof off, all the frames were into 1 so i got all brood old comb and everything that had bees on and placed it in a new hive ...put the new hive where the old one was and a week later took it home then placed a new box above old one.. when they had drawn comb out and the queen was found in top box, i changed boxes over, queen excluder on top. month later took old box away

A couple of beeks agreeing on something

 

[WelshPaul]

Lol 10 beeks 10 answers, my old mentor taught that bees would treat anything above a crown board as outside a hive lol.

 

[Russel]

Lol 10 beeks 10 answers, my old mentor taught that bees would treat anything above a crown board as outside a hive lol.

Hi Paul,

Normally that would be correct if we were talking about clearing supers or wet frames but possibly not so in this case:

1. Possibly sacrifice any broad that's in the old boxes if they did go down.
2. As there is likely to be broad they may not go down and just treat the lower
box as any other cavity leading to their nest.

Russell

 

[pargyle]

It just goes to show ... bees will survive just about anywhere ! Incredible state - and we worry about ventilation, condensation and damp ???

 

[m100]

It just goes to show ... bees will survive just about anywhere ! Incredible state - and we worry about ventilation, condensation and damp ???

and this one appears to have survived without the use of any matchsticks...

 

[richardbees]

ditto earlier posts

Looks like serious signs of rot and imo the hive is likely to disintegrate as soon as you take the roof off so wait for a warm day and suit up well, especially at the wrists.

Take along a nuc or bb with floor attached, half a dozen empty frames and some string as I suspect you'll have to do a 'cut out' and transfer the contents in chunks
as I think it unlikely you will find comb neatly hanging on frames with space in between.

good luck and It'll be interesting to see what you find!

richard