This wasn't there in October

[JohnRoss]

I just took a look under the lid at the weekend on my hives and noticed that they are all still jam packed with stores. I got a surprise looking under one of the lids of a double brood hive, seems thay have been busy since October.

 

[pargyle]

I just took a look under the lid at the weekend on my hives and noticed that they are all still jam packed with stores. I got a surprise looking under one of the lids of a double brood hive, seems thay have been busy since October.

That will teach you to leave an uncovered hole in the Crown board ... Put a Tile or a piece of plywood over the hole when you are not feeding them.

 

[JohnRoss]

Yea, I will probably switch out the crown boards in the spring and then put that one back on above an empty super and let them bring it back down. What surprised me was that they they managed that in the last week in november and through December. There was space in the second brood box which they have also packed. Shows how mild the winter must have been. Doesn't smell like ivy either,

 

[pargyle]

Yea, I will probably switch out the crown boards in the spring and then put that one back on above an empty super and let them bring it back down. What surprised me was that they they managed that in the last week in november and through December. There was space in the second brood box which they have also packed. Shows how mild the winter must have been. Doesn't smell like ivy either,

Robbing out another hive ? Double brood is a strong colony and could easily rob out a colony that's much weaker in a couple of days and they would have to put it somewhere - or were you feeding a weaker colony and they found it ?

There's not a lot about at that time of the year except Ivy and by then the best of it is usually over ... it looks as though they have found something with enough calories to warrant a comb building spree which at that time of the year would be very late for them to be considering comb building ...

Unless, of course, they did it sooner than the end of November ... check when you stopped inspecting them ... and I'd check your other hives for weight because you may have lost a colony ... nothing that you can do now if you have but it would need closing up until spring.

 

[JohnRoss]

I would say that you are on the money with the robbing. It has to be that. I haven't fed any of my hives this year and All colonies are present and correct in my apiary so it hasn't come from there. They were last inspected on the 23rd of October. There are one or two other apiaries in the area so maybe it has come from a weak colony there. That said, all colonies are packed with stores at the moment. a big contrast from last year when there were a few on the verge of starvation at this stage.

 

[pargyle]

I would say that you are on the money with the robbing. It has to be that. I haven't fed any of my hives this year and All colonies are present and correct in my apiary so it hasn't come from there. They were last inspected on the 23rd of October. There are one or two other apiaries in the area so maybe it has come from a weak colony there. That said, all colonies are packed with stores at the moment. a big contrast from last year when there were a few on the verge of starvation at this stage.

Well ... as long as they have stores and appear fit and healthy then there's not a lot to worry about at this time of the year ... still a way to go before Spring dawns so not out of the woods yet but a lot to be pleased about there by the sounds of it.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just check the varroa load as soon as you are able to do it. Bees robbing weak colonies often bring back varroa which might be a problem if you have already treated them.

 

[REDWOOD]

In October mine were still foraging and hives putting on weight. Bees just doing what comes naturally, making comb and storing honey above the brood. They often do that in empty fondant containers if they don't have anywhere else to put it.




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[enrico]

I agree, not necessarily robbing, just good foragers
E

 

[pargyle]

I agree, not necessarily robbing, just good foragers
E

See Post #3

"What surprised me was that they managed that in the last week in november and through December."

 

[DanBee]

That will teach you to leave an uncovered hole in the Crown board ... Put a Tile or a piece of plywood over the hole when you are not feeding them.

Actually, that cavity between crownboard and roof is a useful buffer for the colony that does get congested at any time of the year. Think of it as a pressure relief valve, and you might be less inclined to block it off

 

[enrico]

See Post #3

"What surprised me was that they managed that in the last week in november and through December."

So.........mine are out today. They are bringing in pollen and presumably nectar...

 

[REDWOOD]

Actually, that cavity between crownboard and roof is a useful buffer for the colony that does get congested at any time of the year. Think of it as a pressure relief valve, and you might be less inclined to block it off

Err I would not advise this, seen too many roofs fixed to the crown board with wax. No need of top ventilation in the winter and if your bees are running out of space in the summer add another box.


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[pargyle]

Actually, that cavity between crownboard and roof is a useful buffer for the colony that does get congested at any time of the year. Think of it as a pressure relief valve, and you might be less inclined to block it off

Pretty old fashioned thinking if you listen to most of the people on here - I respect the experience you have but mesh floors and a hole in the crownboard with no insulation above the crownboard is hardly helping the bees maintain the environment they want. As for space - if they need space - they need space not loft space on top of a crownboard. Sorry Dan ... must be hard to keep on top of the space requirements when you have 140 hives - it's a lot easier with 7 to inspect.

 

[pargyle]

So.........mine are out today. They are bringing in pollen and presumably nectar...

There's a few winter shrubs that will provide some pollen and nectar - Mahonia and Winter flowering honeysuckle come to mind but there's a huge Mahonia in a neighbours garden and I reckon it's hard work for them at this time of the year - some pollen coming in but not sure that it's much of a nectar source as I don't see too many heavy landings.

 

[Hivemaker.]

So.........mine are out today. They are bringing in pollen and presumably nectar...

Same here, lots of gorse in flower (which gives good quality pollen) plus a lot of hazel about as well.

 

[mbc]

Pretty old fashioned thinking if you listen to most of the people on here - I respect the experience you have but mesh floors and a hole in the crownboard with no insulation above the crownboard is hardly helping the bees maintain the environment they want. As for space - if they need space - they need space not loft space on top of a crownboard. Sorry Dan ... must be hard to keep on top of the space requirements when you have 140 hives - it's a lot easier with 7 to inspect.

Flows in the UK often follow the pattern of wait, wait some more, wait a bit again, ah it's started, oh hurry up, oh **** that's my last supers on. It's been a few years but I bet there's more than just Dan and myself here who've harvested good honey from under roofs, ekes used as emergency supers, empty supers put aside waiting for repair pressed back into service with no frames, whatever.
A strong flow is something to behold and hundreds of hives all packing it in at the same time take a lot of keeping on top of, and providing any sort of space is better than hte hives getting plugged out and loosing momentum when the flow we've been waiting for is finally here. Theres only so much extracting to empty supers one can do of an evening.
My crystal ball tells me 2017 might have something in the bag for us so my winter work involves making up many new supers.

 

[Erichalfbee]

My crystal ball tells me 2017 might have something in the bag for us so my winter work involves making up many new supers.

Oh I hope so..........

 

[pargyle]

Flows in the UK often follow the pattern of wait, wait some more, wait a bit again, ah it's started, oh hurry up, oh **** that's my last supers on. It's been a few years but I bet there's more than just Dan and myself here who've harvested good honey from under roofs, ekes used as emergency supers, empty supers put aside waiting for repair pressed back into service with no frames, whatever.
A strong flow is something to behold and hundreds of hives all packing it in at the same time take a lot of keeping on top of, and providing any sort of space is better than hte hives getting plugged out and loosing momentum when the flow we've been waiting for is finally here. Theres only so much extracting to empty supers one can do of an evening.
My crystal ball tells me 2017 might have something in the bag for us so my winter work involves making up many new supers.

Can't disagree with any of that but the OP was about stores above the crownboard which if the initial post was to be believed happened in the last week of November and the first weeks of December. Anyone with a hole in the crown board at that stage unless they are feeding fondant needs to think about what they are doing with their bees.

I'm not convinced that the burr comb and stored honey came as a result of a natural flow at that time of the year. If as we subsequently discovered it may have happened in the autumn then for a hobby beekeeper it should have been obvious that they were still collecting a surplus and a super would have produced a few frames of usable honey.

Beekeeping is all about thinking what you are doing and trying to keep ahead of the little buggers - yes, **** happens, but comb under the crown board in excessive amounts is a nuisance and can be avoided.