steve_e
House Bee
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2010
- Messages
- 251
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- East Sussex
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 3
I've been a bit chaotic this summer (my first full season) due to various family commitments, and so I'm only just getting round to taking honey off over the next couple of days and rather panicking about the order I should do things in. Also I was intending to leave a super with a few frames on each of my four hives for the bees to consume over winter (although I've read here recently that this is a controversial thing to do and all their winter feed should really come from sugar syrup).
So I have a couple of questions I'd love to get answers to:
1 I'm treating them with Api-life when I take the honey off. Should I take off the honey I'm intending to leave them with in the second super while I do this and then replace it after treating, or leave it on since I'm not intending it for human consumption. And if I leave it on will the varroa treatment taint the frames and comb if I use them in the future for human consumption honey.
2 If I should take all supers off and leave them with a single national brood chamber, does that leave them with enough stores in the brood chamber (along with what's left from forage over the next few weeks)? Or should I feed them directly over the brood chamber while the treatment is happening?
I know I'm a bit late with it - I've already apologised to the bees for this. Not a very organised beekeeper I'm afraid...
So I have a couple of questions I'd love to get answers to:
1 I'm treating them with Api-life when I take the honey off. Should I take off the honey I'm intending to leave them with in the second super while I do this and then replace it after treating, or leave it on since I'm not intending it for human consumption. And if I leave it on will the varroa treatment taint the frames and comb if I use them in the future for human consumption honey.
2 If I should take all supers off and leave them with a single national brood chamber, does that leave them with enough stores in the brood chamber (along with what's left from forage over the next few weeks)? Or should I feed them directly over the brood chamber while the treatment is happening?
I know I'm a bit late with it - I've already apologised to the bees for this. Not a very organised beekeeper I'm afraid...