Too many bees in the hive.(photo)

[keith pierce]

i have been taking my supers of over the last few days and starting to treat with apigard.Several of my hives are very strong and dont have enought room in the hive, that they are bulging at the enterance. Is is alright to give them an empty super and treat over it. they are situated on a small 20 acrea bog(moor) so their is a chance that they could put honey in the super, though this bog very seldom yields ony honey.



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[drstitson]

they should fit in the apiguard eke!

 

[Poly Hive]

Some strains of bee like to "hang oot" of an evening. Looks pretty mild to some I have seen, like covering the whole frontage of the hive.

Last night was pretty cool here and I suspect mine that do it were tucked up inside.

PH

 

[Winker]

i have been taking my supers of over the last few days and starting to treat with apigard.Several of my hives are very strong and dont have enought room in the hive, that they are bulging at the enterance. Is is alright to give them an empty super and treat over it. they are situated on a small 20 acrea bog(moor) so their is a chance that they could put honey in the super, though this bog very seldom yields ony honey.

I had the same problem, i had to put the supers back on to stop them from swarming. I had to hold off the apiguard treatment too. I hope in the next few weeks the queen has slowed down enough for me to take the supers off and start the apiguard treatment

 

[kazmcc]

They could be bunching out because you are treating. Mine did last year for a few days due to the pong.

 

[MrB]

They could be bunching out because you are treating. Mine did last year for a few days due to the pong.

Yep, so did mine

 

[drstitson]

agree with the above -

a. bearding well recognised when thymol treating
b. that's not much of a beard - think large swarm on way in or a 1970's playboy shoot to gauge degree of hirsutenss that is still normal.

 

[huntsman666]

You'll probably have greater than 10,000 fewer bees in that hive by the end of August.

Perhaps just letting nature take its course will sort the crowding out?

 

[Davidrf]

Could someone explain to an absolute novice why the need to remove supers in the Autumn? If there is food in there and no intention to take any honey, surely the combs will provide food during the season's end (if needed). Why intentionally take it away? Maybe a daft question to you expereinced guys! I put the wet combs back in the super when I moved my colonies in about two weeks ago and they are filling up again nicely - I don't intend to pinch any of it, but now I am wondering if I am making a fundemental error!

 

[huntsman666]

If you have the correct hive for your type of bee, there should be enough room in the brood box for them to put sufficient winter stores.

You can always give fondant in February if required.

 

[Steve Dyer]

Could someone explain to an absolute novice why the need to remove supers in the Autumn? !

The trick is to make sure the space available in the brood area is chock full of honey, if so there is no harm in having more above in another super, but bear in mind that they have to keep the hive warm, and there is no point in allowing them to have and heat larger spaces/stores than they need.

Also if you have a super of honey above the brood nest remember to REMOVE the queen excluder, otherwise they may migrate through it to the stores above leaving HM stuck frozen below on her own.

Needless to say I have never made such an elementary mistake

Steve

 

[Davidrf]

Thanks both - I wondered whether it was to do with space to heat etc. I will obviously need to take a look at the space they are occupying in the brood box and decide when to remove the super. At present it is jam packed (no pun intended) with bees, but I suppose they will thin down in numbers as the days go on. I am not sufficiently expereinced to know when the BB is "chock full of honey" so I may have to ask someone else to take a look at it for me. I was just working on what I have read in these pages and decided "why feed sugar if you have frames avaialable with honey in them?". I'm not ready to undertake harvesting it this year!

 

[huntsman666]

<I am not sufficiently expereinced to know when the BB is "chock full of honey">

A national with sufficient stores at the start of winter cluster should weigh about 50 lbs.

'Hefting' is the simple technique of slightly lifting the hive to judge the weight. Find something you know weighs about 55 lbs - 25 kg (probably a large bag of spuds in a supermarket?) so that you how heavy it should feel.

<I'm not ready to undertake harvesting it this year!>

Why not? If you don't have an extractor, try the 'crush and strain' technique.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbm_XoboyaM[/ame]

 

[Stiffy]

Majority of mine tend to 'hang around the front at night when it is warm. I have put some in new poly hives and they have stopped doing it .....reason cooler or something else but bxxxgered if I really know?
S

 

[madasafish]

If you think of a house in the summer day, it absorbs heat. And then slowly releases - to the outside and the inhabitants. Well insulated houses are cooler and more comfortable as they absorb less heat.

Beehives are the same in theory.

 

[Swarm]

Could someone explain to an absolute novice why the need to remove supers in the Autumn? If there is food in there and no intention to take any honey, surely the combs will provide food during the season's end (if needed). Why intentionally take it away? Maybe a daft question to you expereinced guys! I put the wet combs back in the super when I moved my colonies in about two weeks ago and they are filling up again nicely - I don't intend to pinch any of it, but now I am wondering if I am making a fundemental error!

The first thing to consider is the fact you will treat your bees against varroa with thymol and oxalic. The bees will not necessarily use all their stores (even with our past two winters) and you will have to take measures to prevent tainted honey ending up in your jars.
If you want to leave them a super, stick it under the BB, which allows them to move it up.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

All the hives that I have treated with Apiguard so far look like yours - with bees outside. The only one that didn't was one that didn't have a varroa floor in. Once I slid it in, the bees came out.

 

[kazmcc]

All the hives that I have treated with Apiguard so far look like yours - with bees outside. The only one that didn't was one that didn't have a varroa floor in. Once I slid it in, the bees came out.

Can't blame them though can you, the stuff stinks lol. It's probably a good thing that our bees are so far away. I would worry myself daft about them, just doing normal bee things lol

 

[Baggyone]

Thats a tiny beard, some of mine do that on most warm nights anyway. At the moment they are hanging underneath the OMF's. About the size of my head clusters. Not got the treatment on yet.

BUT, the strain did exactly the same last year too so am not worried at all. In a months time the bees will all be in the hive no probs.