Where's the honey, Honey?

[Erichalfbee]

Nucs don't swarm either

If you run 14x12 or Langstroth then there is enough room in the brood box without worrying about leaving supers on ....under or over!
I feed my bees if they need it.
Balsam and Ivy provide most years but not always.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Nucs don't swarm either



If you run 14x12 or Langstroth then there is enough room in the brood box without worrying about leaving supers on ....under or over!

I feed my bees if they need it.

Balsam and Ivy provide most years but not always.

Nucs don't swarm: v good!

BUT. Ivy is not 100pct?! Say it aint so!!

 

[drex]

And do you remove the queen excluder for the winter so as to let them 'live' on the honey? Or are they ok fetching it from upstairs?

Always remove QX before winter. Do not want to trap the queen downstairs, when the cluster works its way up as winter progresses.

 

[B+.]

That is what I was lead to believe in my first year. Very poor advice, I wasn't expecting to have to put supers on and only did so when it was too late. At least I learnt how to perform an artificial swarm in my first year!!!

These were nucs at the end of last July. The photo is about a month old. The mediums on the top each yielded over 20kg of honey from the OSR. Productive colonies can produce a lot in their first year

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And do you remove the queen excluder for the winter so as to let them 'live' on the honey? Or are they ok fetching it from upstairs?

Never leave a QX on over winter - two things may happen - the bees may move up to the honey (they won't just pop out of the cluster for a quick snack and return - the whole cluster will gradually move around the hive to be on the available stores) and leave the queen to chill and die, or most likely the cluster will remain with the queen to protect her and the colony will starve within inches of a plentiful food supply - isolation starvation.
You'll probably get some clown burst on here now stating he never takes the QX off and has never lost a colony (and also leaves gaping holes in the crown board and doesn't treat for varroa - just to win all the trumps!!) but are you willing to take the risk?

 

[B+.]

a lot will say you run the risk of transferring disease

If you live in an area which has foulbrood, I'd be one of them.

 

[Finman]

is it just me, does it mean I'm "OLD SKOOL" but I never expect to get a honey harvest in the first year

It happens often so to the beginner, that he has not experience when to enlarge hive. Then hive has a good flow, and bees store odd liquid to the brood and queen has no place to lay. Colony swarms and good start is gone.

 

[Fatbee]

BUT. Ivy is not 100pct?! Say it aint so!!

My bees love ivy honey.....they don't have much choice round my neck of the woods! None of that pesky Balsam to go on. Although sometimes I treat them to some OSR if it sets in frames.....I know how to treat them well! (And before the doubters start not yet had bees unable to use it)

 

[Thymallus]

even with superbees you would be lucky to get a small crop from this season's nuc - more so if they have to draw all new comb.

I beg to differ. A nuc of mine last season provided me with over 90lbs of honey by the end of the season, including 40lbs of heather honey. All on comb freshly drawn by themselves.
No Rape honey though.

 

[Fatbee]

Last year was exceptional though, I'm not judging against it (despite ironically managing my bees much better this)

 

[Thymallus]

Same hive gave me over a 120lbs of Rape honey this spring and it's been a crap spring....I shudder to think what I would have harvested if the weather had been good?
Like many farmers, I buy good stock, it pays dividends.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Never leave a QX on over winter - two things may happen - the bees may move up to the honey (they won't just pop out of the cluster for a quick snack and return - the whole cluster will gradually move around the hive to be on the available stores) and leave the queen to chill and die, or most likely the cluster will remain with the queen to protect her and the colony will starve within inches of a plentiful food supply - isolation starvation.

You'll probably get some clown burst on here now stating he never takes the QX off and has never lost a colony (and also leaves gaping holes in the crown board and doesn't treat for varroa - just to win all the trumps!!) but are you willing to take the risk?

I'll be that clown! Almost!

I leave queen excluders on over winter - on top of a top bee space jumbo langstroth brood box with nothing above other than a shallow feeding eke which gives space for fondant, then the crown board (a solid sheet of polycarbonate), and a slab of insulation beneath the outer metal roof. I have not lost any colonies due to isolation starvation.

Nobody should leave a queen excluder in between a brood box and a super full of stores during winter.

 

[Cussword]

Never leave a QX on over winter - two things may happen - the bees may move up to the honey (they won't just pop out of the cluster for a quick snack and return - the whole cluster will gradually move around the hive to be on the available stores) and leave the queen to chill and die, or most likely the cluster will remain with the queen to protect her and the colony will starve within inches of a plentiful food supply - isolation starvation.

Would the queen not lay in the super next year. I mean if you want to use just a single brood, how do you get them back down?
Sorry if it seems a stupid question but this is my first year with my own bees and what I pick up from this forum I'm likely to use this winter.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Would the queen not lay in the super next year. I mean if you want to use just a single brood, how do you get them back down?
Sorry if it seems a stupid question but this is my first year with my own bees and what I pick up from this forum I'm likely to use this winter.

yes, if it happens nadir the shallow and the queen will move back up into the brood box eventually, once the brood has emerged you can super it again and replace QX., either that or find the queen and put her back down in the brood box and replace the QX - once the brood has emerged they will start storing honey in it again.
Some will just nadir the shallow in the autumn and leave the beed rearrange everything to suit themselves.

 

[Cussword]

Thanks for that.

 

[LimeStone]

....Also, if brood in the super bothers you, have a quick look in the super frames for eggs/larvae which might have been laid in the last week. If you find them, then remove the frames and stick them in the freezer overnight before returning to the hive. The bees will clean things up after.

JohnyP et All, are we saying it's ok to freeze honey overnight, then presumably let it thaw next day and return it to the super?

 

[Obee1]

is it just me, does it mean I'm "OLD SKOOL" but I never expect to get a honey harvest in the first year

I expect to harvest honey from my overwintered nuc bought off Pete on 19 May this year.it is now a double brood box jam packed with bias and five supers - 2 of which are rose size. Also I hadno drawn comb to give them so it's been done with foundation.

 

[For want of a better word]

I expect to harvest honey from my overwintered nuc bought off Pete on 19 May this year.it is now a double brood box jam packed with bias and five supers - 2 of which are rose size. Also I hadno drawn comb to give them so it's been done with foundation.

I am not stacking the emptied supers ready for acetic acid just yet!

Have the HB and Rosebaywillow herb to come yet... bees working autumn raspberry and there is still blackberry bramble in flower
Need a few sunny days in August to get the producers topping the 100kg mark!
All without a bought in bee in sight!

Yeghes da

 

[Tremyfro]

I expect to harvest honey from my overwintered nuc bought off Pete on 19 May this year.it is now a double brood box jam packed with bias and five supers - 2 of which are rose size. Also I hadno drawn comb to give them so it's been done with foundation.

I hope some of that is lime honey! Also hoping a taste will come my way! I want to show my bees what to look for next season!
I stood and watched the girls last Friday but none of them were wearing wedding gear so Hb not discovered by them...if it is out.

 

[Obee1]

I am not stacking the emptied supers ready for acetic acid just yet!

Yeghes da

Haha! Bit of the green eyed monster methinks! (I will concede it's a bought in colony though)