How are your bees doing?

[histopicker]

Mine have been able to fly almost daily for the last week. You should see those idiots bringing in bird seed. Guess I will hit them with some feed. Things will start blooming here in the next couple of weeks.

[farmertrappe]

Mine have enjoyed the mild winter so far, this week will be the first test for them.

[Brad H.]

Been bitter cold last week in WI. Tomorrow is supposed to be near 30 so I plan on peeking in on how they survived it. Hope to have some pics of live bees to share.

[bk]

Checked the hives today after our latest polar vortex.  Bees doing ok.  All hives still alive and my nuc is still buzzing.  Added sugar cakes and will see how they look in a couple weeks.





Using quiltboxes for the first time, and they seem to be doing their job.  Wicking the moisture out - frost on walls as I expected.  No frost or moisture in the hive itself.

[bk]

Jan 22, 2016 19:31:49 GMT -5 farmertrappe said:

Mine have enjoyed the mild winter so far, this week will be the first test for them.

Sounds like you will be digging them out of some rather un-Maryland like snow.  Stay well, safe, and warm.  In the upper Midwest we expect that sort of weather - not so much in Maryland.  Worst driving I ever did was taking sister in law shopping in 1/2" of snow in DC.  I'd rather drive in a foot in northern Wisconsin.

[bk]

Jan 22, 2016 19:20:13 GMT -5 histopicker said:

Mine have been able to fly almost daily for the last week. You should see those idiots bringing in bird seed. Guess I will hit them with some feed. Things will start blooming here in the next couple of weeks.

Is that seed from feeders, histopicker?  Mine were doing cleansing flights today and some on mortuary duty.

[topper]

bk, what are these quiltboxes?

[bk]

Jan 23, 2016 20:44:14 GMT -5 topper said:

bk, what are these quiltboxes?

A quilt box is basically a honey super with no frames filled with shavings, leaves, or hay.  Bottom of the box has a piece of material stapled to it - I used pieces of new, heavy painters drop cloth.  Drilled three 1 inch holes front and back at an upward angle when looking into the box from the outside (some folks drill them on all four sides).  Holes are covered with screen on inside to keep critters out and still allow air to move.  The angle on the holes keeps rain, sleet, and snow out.  Box is filled with shavings to just below the drilled holes.  The purpose is to vent the hives moisture away so it does not condense and drip on the bees.  Shavings absorb it and air movement through the holes evaporates it.

www.honeybeesuite.com/how-to-make-a-moisture-quilt-for-a-langstroth-hive/  has a process for making one.  The ones shown there are very shallow - only 2" tall.  I used pine 1x6 to make mine, and I wouldn't make them any shallower.

In my setup in northern WI, I have my brood boxes on a hive stand with a screened bottom board plugged with a sheet of foam for the winter, then a shim, followed by an inner cover, the quilt box, 2" of foam insulation, my telescoping cover and a cement block on top.  Block keeps everything in place, important as the foam is sort of slippery.  The shim gives the ladies an upper entrance when the hive has snow around the base and room for the beek to place sugar cakes if needed.

Hope that helps explain the quilt box, topper.  My second pic in this thread is of the inside of the quilt box with the frost on the walls, thicker near the holes.  Thanks for asking.

[topper]

bk, thanks for the description & info, much appreciated.

By way of a little explanation & background, had bees for many years in the States.

Moved to Alaska, set up two hives, knowing that you don't overwinter them. You instead get new packages each spring...
Found that to be a very disagreeable way of doing things -- I'm a bee-keeper, not a bee-user!

Over the years since, there have been "advances" such as experiments with Russian bees, that supposedly can take colder
temps. However, most testing is around Anchorage -- a much warmer climate than here.

So, in short, I'm always looking for methods, such as this quiltbox, to improve the chances of successfully overwintering bees here... and get back into beekeeping.

[bk]

Think we have a lot in common here, topper.  

Bee genetics and our world has changed a great deal in the past decade or so. Growing up in northern WI with lots of snow and sub-zero weather for weeks on end, the neighbor NEVER bought new packages.  Just did splits as needed.  Great numbers, strong winter hardy bees, plenty of honey from her six hives.  Docile bees she always worked without veil, gloves or smoke (I got the veil and gloves when I helped her).

Now bees seem to be like annuals in most situations.  That sort of thinking was presented as today's reality when I went to bee school at a local research university. we learned to overwinter, split and the original hive was finished at the end of the second season.  Just seems wrong to me.

We have a very challenging time overwintering.  Just pisses me off to order new packages of bees and queens that seem to just survive a single season.  


So what to do...  I don't know but I'm trying to do a few things.  This year I have built a 6' wind break fence on three sides of hives.  Has been breaking the wind and with the south open, allows as much sunlight in as I can get.  Wrapped the hives with black roofing felt to help seal up hives and give them the thermo help to over winter.  On a sunny day the outside of the hive is noticeably warmer than the exposed top where my quilt box sits un-wrapped.  Made sure I had a full deep of honey for them going into winter.  Treated for verroa to keep the mite load down.  Make use of the quilt box and add foam insulation on top (like the hat on my head in the winter).

Will this be enough... I don't know.  I do know they are still alive.  But I do know they devoured the first set of sugar cakes I put in their hives after New Years.  I don't consider that a good sign - maybe they have burned through their stores, and maybe not.  Time will tell, but I'm giving them sugar cakes as needed.

Step son has lost most of his hives already this winter, but the splits with the queens we grafted last summer from one over wintered hive are hanging in there, so we have hope for these little nuts.

Very interested in your thoughts...

[topper]

bk, The world is indeed changing. Even into the 1980's we didn't have anywhere near the problems that, I'm reading about & hearing about, that are now  common in the States. Back then, mainly the outfits that moved their bees -- pollinating, had diseases. I don't want to go all tinfoil hat, but we didn't have cell phones, GMO's, digital broadcast television, (??chem-trails?? ) et all, even a few years ago...

Our biggest problem was the State spraying for Gypsy Moths, & that they didn't always notify us when they were spraying & I lost a few hives to that.

I'm going to have to mull this over some & think about it more before I can give you a better response...

Before I go though. We had both a Root & a Dadant dealers in our area. The one dealer was an old-timer -- old school in all the best of ways.
He lent me the various parts of a hive so I could make copies of them in my workshop. Rather than wanting to make a much money as possible by selling me everything.
He had a couple of bee gums in his yard. Something like 4 foot sections of hollow trees filled with bees -- that he was smoking with a smudge fire under them...
These old timers are passing away & maybe not enough new timers interested in what they have to teach...??

Histo, what do you think?

[histopicker]

I think I took a non traditional approach to bee keeping. First and foremost, I do not use foundation. I believe in letting the bees dictate what cell size they want to build. I started out with topbar hives and because of this I feel I have learned keeping in a different manner. I am moving over to some Langstroth equipment but will remain basically foundation less. I build all my own hives and frames.
I have friends who are in it on the commercial end. To me it is about more than the dollar, it is about healthy livestock being kept in the most natural way possible.
I believe in sharing what little I know and discussing new ideas with other beeks.
I might bee like those old timers more than I think.
The county bee inspector asked me to help him teach a beginning bee keeping class next month. He is charging $75.00 each to the students for the two day hands on class, I will get paid in experience and satisfaction. Can't buy many groceries with those.
He want's me there because I am successful at keeping hives with no treatment. I will go.
So many folks want to become beekeepers and they end up being bee havers as soon as they discover that stings hurt. To me that is sad. They have great intentions and want to do something for the planet but find themselves over their heads in short order. They look for help but everybody want's paid for the helping. That sucks.
I am rambling but I think the old ways are done and gone for the most part.

[bk]

Jan 24, 2016 18:16:04 GMT -5 histopicker said:

I think I took a non traditional approach to bee keeping. First and foremost, I do not use foundation. I believe in letting the bees dictate what cell size they want to build. I started out with topbar hives and because of this I feel I have learned keeping in a different manner. I am moving over to some Langstroth equipment but will remain basically foundation less. I build all my own hives and frames.
I have friends who are in it on the commercial end. To me it is about more than the dollar, it is about healthy livestock being kept in the most natural way possible.
I believe in sharing what little I know and discussing new ideas with other beeks.
I might bee like those old timers more than I think.
The county bee inspector asked me to help him teach a beginning bee keeping class next month. He is charging $75.00 each to the students for the two day hands on class, I will get paid in experience and satisfaction. Can't buy many groceries with those.
He want's me there because I am successful at keeping hives with no treatment. I will go.
So many folks want to become beekeepers and they end up being bee havers as soon as they discover that stings hurt. To me that is sad. They have great intentions and want to do something for the planet but find themselves over their heads in short order. They look for help but everybody want's paid for the helping. That sucks.
I am rambling but I think the old ways are done and gone for the most part.

Thanks for the insights, histopicker.  If that was rambling, I'm in major trouble.  Maybe it is our ages, but I don't think we are viewing the current state of bee keeping all that different. (I'd likely try top bars if I had winters like you do!)

Good to hear you are helping in training sessions.  Important for new beeks for sure.  Around here a one day course is between 100 and 150 bucks depending on where it is being held.  Your wages are a bit on the low side for sure.

In my experience a lot of new bee keepers hunger for information, and really need a mentor.  As they discover that bees sting (really liked that comment, spoken as a beek who always has bad reaction to bee stings), many find they don't really want a mentor, they want someone to do their bee keeping.  

Interestingly enough, the U of Mn Bee Squad does just that for folks willing to pay for the privilege of having bees without having to do anything with them.

Thanks for the reflections, histopicker.  Keep sharing the thoughts.

[bk]

Jan 24, 2016 14:09:41 GMT -5 topper said:

bk, The world is indeed changing. Even into the 1980's we didn't have anywhere near the problems that, I'm reading about & hearing about, that are now  common in the States. Back then, mainly the outfits that moved their bees -- pollinating, had diseases. I don't want to go all tinfoil hat, but we didn't have cell phones, GMO's, digital broadcast television, (??chem-trails?? ) et all, even a few years ago...

Our biggest problem was the State spraying for Gypsy Moths, & that they didn't always notify us when they were spraying & I lost a few hives to that.

I'm going to have to mull this over some & think about it more before I can give you a better response...

Before I go though. We had both a Root & a Dadant dealers in our area. The one dealer was an old-timer -- old school in all the best of ways.
He lent me the various parts of a hive so I could make copies of them in my workshop. Rather than wanting to make a much money as possible by selling me everything.
He had a couple of bee gums in his yard. Something like 4 foot sections of hollow trees filled with bees -- that he was smoking with a smudge fire under them...
These old timers are passing away & maybe not enough new timers interested in what they have to teach...??

Histo, what do you think?

Thanks for the reflections, topper.  Will look forward to your continued insights.  

I have to agree, we are loosing a great deal of all sorts of knowledge and wisdom from the old timers, be that in the world of beekeeping, trapping, hunting, fishing, and all the other crafts that have brought us to this time and place.  

We live in an instant world.  And I don't always think that is a good thing.  I don't want to make it or learn how to make it because I can always buy it.  I don't want to learn how to do it, I just want to use it NOW.  And I need to get it immediately.  Don't learn and study and spend time with those who have the wisdom of the ages and slowly get your feet wet in a new interest.  No, oh no.  This is 2016.  Take out a loan and get everything you could possibly need immediately and then find out it
isn't really your cup of tea and move on to the next big thing.

I don't have any good explanations for the biological problems in the world of beekeeping, but I have my suspicions.  You listed alot of them, topper, and there is plenty of food for reflection there.  Me thinks a better world through chemistry has screwed up a whole lot of this environment we call earth.  Hope things are a whole lot cleaner in your part of the world.


Now that I've successfully depressed myself, I'll climb off the soap box.  

[topper]

Histo, I've been out of beekeeping for some time, but you jarred a memory or something about cell size. Something about commercial foundation is an unnatural cell size and thus the spacing is off, or something? Could you elaborate?

No too far fetched that something that simple & seemingly so minor as cell size. Could have major effects over time... I remember something about the flickering of florescence lights affecting the human body or something???

BK, As you said, instant gratification has invaded all walks of life -- not wanting to learn or to make something - just want it now. No pride of accomplishment, &c.

I'm going climb on my soap box for a moment to go a little off-topic. Hope you don't mind?
Fur boom. $50 coon. 
Hear guys a work saying "all I have to do is trap two coon a day, that's a hunnert dollars a day -- not bad wages," they would say.
Then they buy some traps, Not a small investment!
They set out these traps, but never having trapped, day after day they find their traps empty.
Maybe they run across someone else's sets -- that have fur in them. Easy to rationalize that game animals are public property, so they help themselves to someone else's fur... no work, no learning the craft, just take the fur -- instant gratification...
I've lost more fur & traps during fur booms than at any other time & I bet a lot of Swampers have as well.

A lot to think about...

[histopicker]

Cell size? We have used imprinted foundation for some time now in the beekeeping world. At some point, someone decided if we force the bees to make larger cells they can store more honey in those cells. What happens is this. In a normal size worker brood cell there is not enough room for the varroa to grow along with the larvae. Now if the queen is forced to lay worker eggs in drone size cells there is tons of room for the varroa to grow also. In a natural comb environment aprox 90% of the varroa present will reproduce in drone cells. That is the reason we sample drone brood for the varroa. They just can't reproduce in tiny worker cells very well.
So what I am suggesting is this, we have enhanced the Varroa problem by using large cell foundation throughout our hives. Another result of the larger cell size is we now have larger bees. If you go foundation less; after several generations of brood you will have smaller bees! Michael Bush talked about this somewhere.
You do have to do more crushing and straining to harvest honey but I have a trick for that also.
Run your harvested comb through a meat grinder and strain through a paint filter.

[topper]

Histo, thanks for the info on cell size. 

[histopicker]

We have orientation flights going on today? You just never know.

[bk]

Checked the ladies this weekend.  Still all alive, and that is good news.  Most were not very willing to poke their heads out, but a few were taking cleansing flights.   Snow is on the way, so it was a good day to check them.