Pleased with myself.....should I be ?

[Pete D]

Just finished putting my labels on my first ever harvest, 62 x 1lb jars of lovely clear honey.
Feel quite pleased as I only took this up on March 6th this year when I attended my first beginners session.
Went from 2 colonies up to 6 at the height of my season due to swarms and splits and now back to 4 after a couple of unites.
Harvested from 3 hives as one is still quite small and may well be united in the next week or so.
Managed without being stung by my bees for 5 months but they have had me a few times in the last month, one occasion got about 6 and didnt feel to good for half an hour, but had a couple since and ok. This is all just one hive with what I believe is a poorly mated queen so she might go shortly as I may unite with my small colony.
Had some highs and lows over the last 6 months and now looking forward to getting my bees through the winter.
I am planning to move to 14x12 next season on at least 2 colonies and am looking forward to swarm control after a mixed year this year when control is not a word I would of used
This forum has been a great source of information, learnings and opinions and along with my local association has helped me get this far, so thanks for that
and all the best.
If i sell it at £25 a jar I could break even.

Pete

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Well done Pete - sounds like a very good first year handled well

 

[drstitson]

i might have known mons ab would be along at the mention of £25 a jar honey!!!!!

 

[huntsman666]

Of course you should be well pleased with your success. That's a great first year.

You're obviously doing everything right and I'm sure you are preparing them correctly for the winter.

Congratulations!

 

[Pete D]

Phew you boys are quick !

Winter preparations well under way, supers back on for clean up and now stored away, varroa treatment started last weekend and feeders added with lovely cheap sugar from Tesco after following the advice on a thread a couple of weeks ago whereby I had my first delivery. 41 x 2kg bags for just over 30 quid.
£3.50 is what I can get for my honey, happy with that. If I sold all my bees and equipment I would be in profit but that wont be happening any time soon.

regards

Pete

 

[drstitson]

"You're obviously doing everything right and I'm sure you are preparing them correctly for the winter."

unless that 62lb represented all their stores!!!!!

 

[MandF]

Is it normal/recommended to split hives (as a method of swarm control) and run double the hives during the summer for the honey harvest, and then unite at the end of summer to overwinter on 2?

I was considering doing this for 1 hive next year, so I go through summer on 3.

 

[Pete D]

Stores wise it would be fair to say that on avarage across the 4 hives the 11 frames in the brood box are about 50 / 50 brood in all stages and stores, syrup going in and they are still bringing pollen in. Will carefully monitor this as I am planning to use just the brood boxes to over winter them........

The 62lb represented 3 supers, will have a touch more yet from my cappings.

 

[drstitson]

MandF - are you talking just splitting by A/S then reuniting for winter OR proper 2 queen system whereby you get a double sized colony at time of flow? (having removed old queens). details below.

 

[MandF]

MandF - are you talking just splitting by A/S then reuniting for winter OR proper 2 queen system whereby you get a double sized colony at time of flow? (having removed old queens). details below.

The former, but thanks for the docs, shall read them and see if the other system sounds inviting

 

[huntsman666]

"You're obviously doing everything right and I'm sure you are preparing them correctly for the winter."

unless that 62lb represented all their stores!!!!!

Dosen't matter once he feeds adequately and we still have the ivy to come in. Plenty of time for them to put these into winter stores IMO.

I better say IMO because there are snakes in the long grass.

 

[WaxManSmokerBoy]

There serpently is . . . congrats on a good first year.

 

[oliver90owner]

MandF,

run double the hives during the summer

Doesn't always work like that.

By all means split for swarm control if necessary, but remember there will be some loss of crop - two very small colonies are not as efficient at storing a surplus as one very large colony, all other things being equal. There is another advantage, of course - varro destruction in the two halves, while each is brood-free. That should improve the crop indirectly.

A/Sing prevents crop losses over losing a swarm and minimises crop losses - the extra wax that needs to be secreted and drawn, per eg. But these days that is largely offset because we change the brood wax far more often, than perhaps pre-varroa days.
It is down to typically every two/three years from three/four in the last decade, I would say.

The standard procedure for maximising the crop is A/S followed by re-uniting when the new queen is proven, retaining the young queen, unless found wanting. The colony is then unlikely to swarm again in the current season with a young queen, is a very large nectar collecting machine and should store a good crop of honey.

It all rather depends on the available flows, timings etc and these need to be taken into account, particularly if reliant on specific flows. You Londoners might be less tied to specific flows than some rural areas.

Also the best laid plans and all that... temperament of the new queen can be iffy if a second generation cross, strain might be one that will swarm with a young queen more than once in the year, further supercedure is possible if mating was not as good as it could have been, etc etc.

Certainly my colony count usually goes up in the summer, but that is more of a hedge against possible winter losses, not as a method of getting more honey. Your experience will tell you your optimum route through the year, with regards colony numbers.

Regards, RAB

 

[Pete D]

My increase in colonies was more to do with me collecting swarms ( not all mine ) and only 1 x AS. My colony count went something like 2 , 3 , 4 , 3, 4, 5 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 5 ,4 and may soon be 3. I am thinking that next year I dont really want to be chasing swarms for my own use, I would rather control mine and do AS and re-combine as per RAB's excellent explanation.
I will collect swarms if asked but will look to move them on straight away or hive them for a few weeks and then move them on.
Pete

 

[MandF]

The standard procedure for maximising the crop is A/S followed by re-uniting when the new queen is proven, retaining the young queen, unless found wanting. The colony is then unlikely to swarm again in the current season with a young queen, is a very large nectar collecting machine and should store a good crop of honey.

This was my initial plan for both hives next season.. to buy 2 x poly-nucs and use those to house the AS until such time as the new queen was established/proven - then re-unite and possibly/hopefully selling the old queens.

I am too inexperienced to know whether 1 hive and its split is more or less productive than just the original hive would have been. What I do know from this season is the split hive was more productive than the original.

As 2 x poly-nucs is significantly cheaper (and easier to store) than another 2 hives I think I will revert back to that plan.

With regards to the timings, I will let the girls decide that with their queen cells - so most likely April if this year was anything to go by.