Spare Bees

[MuswellMetro]

Nothing "Wrong" with them, they are probably the best ones to have if you want to make increase, or sell a few nucs.

i have only had one hive of carnies and found them calm but all they did was produce Bees rather than store Honey

very good at over wintering, small colony, not much food required ,sudden increase for nectar rush..good responce for brood....but with a large number of bees it then becomes swarmy whether or not they have room

i suppose the underlying carnie Bee thinking is make bees and split..and survive, rather than..store honey and survive

 

[oliver90owner]

In nature all colonies eventually die. To perpetuate the species they must reproduce. Simply storing honey and surviving is neither good for the bees or evolution.

With more than one colony you might find the extra bees useful somewhere else.

Regards, RAB

 

[Baggyone]

Thanks Baggyone I see you have 1 colony so do you also nuc for winter?

Its all I could afford last year. Going to 3 this year I hope.

 

[ENZO]

I still think 3 is the minimum number of hives if you want a reasonable crop with the least amount of trouble, my reasoning for this is that if No.1 hive fails I can do a split or brood/eggs from No.2 hive, so I would not get much honey from those two hence No.3 hive. Also with 3 hives, queen rearing becomes easier if you so wish and in a good year 3 hives should give you a decent and manageable crop.

Just my thought, Enzo.