When to unite - inept beginner!

drstitson · Aug 8, 2011

"Italian bees apis melifica lingusta have a reputation for turning income into brood!"

re AML - certainly one rarely sees more than one super (2 max) on italian dadants. although one should consider the propensity for monofloral harvests.

however, EU subsidies probably ease things!!!!

victor meldrew · Aug 8, 2011

Ah! terminology. Small doesn't necessarily equate with Weak!
Large doesn't necessarily equate with Strong !
Hence Rabs take on things (I hope he find find any offence in that )

A small strong hive can store lots of surplus honey whereas a large hive of prolific bees which turn most of it's income into brood can store much less.

I go for the middle of the road colonies , I run with 14x12s and mongrel bees .
My bees tend to be more prolific than a bs would contain and I have to make sure I have 4 supers to hand for each colony ! not always used ,but I have been caught out in the past

VM

oliver90owner · Aug 8, 2011

when the colony size is above 25,000 bees.

An unfortunate omission for all the new beeks on the forum. They could now be thinking something considerably different to the latest quote.

A better statement might be: 'Larger colonies collect disproportionately more honey than weaker colonies'.

Even then, a weak colony is not really a surplus collector. A 'smaller' colony (but 'not weak') should be the comparison.

I know, I know, I' being picky about the words - but authors should be getting it correct before putting it out, supposedly as gospel.

victor meldrew · Aug 8, 2011

I don't really think anyone knows enough of the dynamics of the various strains, sub-strains , crosses etc. to state absolutes (gospels)
As we do know , honeybees have been around for millions of years and their differences in dynamics will have helped overcome the enormous and often rapid changes in the environment they have had to survive through ?
We can argue the academics of it all but at the end of the day, it's our buzzy little friends that hold the answers

VM

Poly Hive · Aug 8, 2011

One of the many "errors" this forum has thrown up over the short (relatively) time of it's existence is that a lot of the old knowledge was and is down right wrong.

A lot is however utterly right. But not all...

One of the very desirable of the native/near native black bees was and is honey production from a single national brood box. My biggest crop, some 320 lbs came from just that. A single national brood box.

I knew a gent, forgotten his name now who supplied fortnums with heather honey from (I kid you not) 100 Glen hives in his admittedly extensive back garden...aka paddock. 15 frame brood boxes.

PH