Finman
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 27,887
- Reaction score
- 2,024
- Location
- Finland, Helsinki
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
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I use 3 brood boxes in midd summer and no excluder - why...
This is year around system to get maximun measure foragers and then I move them to good pastures. I put nowadays 2-4 hives in one site and over 1 km between sites.
I need a good strain of bees and every year I change 100% queens.
Hives are slow to nurse compared to smaller hives and excluder.
I like that. Some like big cars and some like small one.
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Nursing
I try to overwinter hives in 2 stores. But it depends on late summer weathers, what happens. About half of my bees over winter in 2 box. In good years 2/3.
Big hives start splended in the spring. They are able to forage early yield.
Just now we have a huge raspberry flow and only big hives are able to get surplus. Small hives grow and consume its yield. Their brood and foragers are not in balance. They get balance in July for main yield.
Big hives swarm first. So tend to do best hives. But I do not check all brood frames. If I see queen cells it is bettr to do false swarm at once. The starin is better to be nonswarming.
I like to lift heavy supers. That is why I nurse bees ... for honey.
Light boxes - no honey.
In July my bees does not swarm. I have huge towers to catch rape and fireweed honey. The yield season is shorts, about 3 weeks.
I am ready to catch 100 kg / hive yield. Weathers command what then happens, but my hives and pastures are ready. I live in capital city 100 miles away and the hive will be filled in short time even in week. One week filling means 60 kg honey. Then I must extract.
Small hives are not able to forage and handle big yields. Honey is slower to rippen and capped. I can harvest begtter big hives and give new empty combs.
In middle summer I open the lower entrance in July. Because box is colder, queen tend to rise up to lay 2 and 3 rd bobes. Bees filll the lowest box with polle. It is necessary when they raise winterbees. in August. The lowest box acts as buffer store for nectar when flow is huge.
In August I pick honey combs from brood area an put them to emerge in upper boxes. I reduce the enrance. The queen start to lay in lowest box and they move honey upp.
In the beginning of Semptember most of brood have emerged and I am able to extract the rest honey from brood boxes. Mostly it is 15 kg per hive and its mine.
For winter I valuate do the hives goes into one or two winter box. I put pollen and the rest brood in them and feed with sugar on average 20 kg/hive.
They have perhaps 5 kg honey for winter.
Big hives are easy to overwinter. They are totally less harmfull than small hives.
Small hive to me is 4 langstroth boxes.
All hives are not as good. There is allways variation in the yeard.
For main yield I put small hives together to get 5-6 box hives.
If I kill the queen for main yield, bees have no larvae to take care and add the number of foragers. But I have noticed that queen kiling makes other troubles.
I use 3 brood boxes in midd summer and no excluder - why...
This is year around system to get maximun measure foragers and then I move them to good pastures. I put nowadays 2-4 hives in one site and over 1 km between sites.
I need a good strain of bees and every year I change 100% queens.
Hives are slow to nurse compared to smaller hives and excluder.
I like that. Some like big cars and some like small one.
*************************
Nursing
I try to overwinter hives in 2 stores. But it depends on late summer weathers, what happens. About half of my bees over winter in 2 box. In good years 2/3.
Big hives start splended in the spring. They are able to forage early yield.
Just now we have a huge raspberry flow and only big hives are able to get surplus. Small hives grow and consume its yield. Their brood and foragers are not in balance. They get balance in July for main yield.
Big hives swarm first. So tend to do best hives. But I do not check all brood frames. If I see queen cells it is bettr to do false swarm at once. The starin is better to be nonswarming.
I like to lift heavy supers. That is why I nurse bees ... for honey.
Light boxes - no honey.
In July my bees does not swarm. I have huge towers to catch rape and fireweed honey. The yield season is shorts, about 3 weeks.
I am ready to catch 100 kg / hive yield. Weathers command what then happens, but my hives and pastures are ready. I live in capital city 100 miles away and the hive will be filled in short time even in week. One week filling means 60 kg honey. Then I must extract.
Small hives are not able to forage and handle big yields. Honey is slower to rippen and capped. I can harvest begtter big hives and give new empty combs.
In middle summer I open the lower entrance in July. Because box is colder, queen tend to rise up to lay 2 and 3 rd bobes. Bees filll the lowest box with polle. It is necessary when they raise winterbees. in August. The lowest box acts as buffer store for nectar when flow is huge.
In August I pick honey combs from brood area an put them to emerge in upper boxes. I reduce the enrance. The queen start to lay in lowest box and they move honey upp.
In the beginning of Semptember most of brood have emerged and I am able to extract the rest honey from brood boxes. Mostly it is 15 kg per hive and its mine.
For winter I valuate do the hives goes into one or two winter box. I put pollen and the rest brood in them and feed with sugar on average 20 kg/hive.
They have perhaps 5 kg honey for winter.
Big hives are easy to overwinter. They are totally less harmfull than small hives.
Small hive to me is 4 langstroth boxes.
All hives are not as good. There is allways variation in the yeard.
For main yield I put small hives together to get 5-6 box hives.
If I kill the queen for main yield, bees have no larvae to take care and add the number of foragers. But I have noticed that queen kiling makes other troubles.
