- Joined
- Oct 16, 2012
- Messages
- 18,380
- Reaction score
- 9,787
- Location
- Fareham, Hampshire UK
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 6
Well I watch my bees very closely and I know that the more I needlessly interfere with the brood nest the less productive they become and it would appear that you were in a minority of one in here (well two now that CGF has thrown his hat into the ring). You and he may consider yourselves to be proper beekeepers but I just hope that your ideas if proper beekeeping are not influencing any more people to follow your lead.. one gullible person should be enough.How why? In my opinion that's not true. Your not taking anything from them by opening a hive. My bees get on with it regardless. How can opening a hive set it back days? Not being funny but they don't stop gathering nectar or pollen and the heat is back to normal within minutes. I don't see the logic at all. I hear it all the time but no logical explanation at all. Surly it's not as invasive as the old skep beekeeping? Some hives don't need it some do. And it's not continues its a matter of properly assessing and managing hives based on your findings. Some of my hives I don't inspect for up to two weeks. The thing people are misunderstanding is that beekeeping isn't on a schedule. Bees don't keep to any schedule and bees build and cap cells in days. My bees continously slip a queen cell past me I knock down. Keeping a schedule in beekeeping isnt productive for me at the moment. Every swarm I lose is a hive I don't have. When I get to the number of hives I want ill consider a schedule but until then every swarm I lose is a failure for not being dedicated and being lazy. Also for me splitting a hive too early because I've failed at keeping it producing is a failure. I like my queens to have at least two broods minimum to lay in. I currently have hives with two broods full of capped emerging at the start of the heather flow. Those hives can bring in a full brood of honey in a few days in good weather. My queens haven't even started to reduce laying. Your probably keeping totally different strains of bees to me. I'll send you a queen if you like you won't have it long. When I say two broods that's capped brood. I'm keeping the queen restricted to the two broods. Try to inspect my queen's at the rate you do and you won't have an apiary