Bees

[thoseguys26]

My lastest question is: I've had the new frames on the hive for about a week and I still have the used, harvested frames in a sealed bin to hopefully replace the new frames i just put on. I just haven't had time to put them on yet.. Should I not bother with the used frames or is it still ok to replace them for the new ones? They've been sealed inside so nothing should have been able to get to them.

Thoughts?

 

[smker]

I usually work mine without just a hat yesterday wasn't great for that when a friend who was wearing a jacket, gloves and veil walked in front of the hives which resulted in about 10 stings to me and 3 or 4 through the suit and gloves to him

the only bee keeping i do is keeping those bee's away from me as far as passable,  last time i got stung was on the for arm and it swelled up to the point i thought it would split open. how did he get stung through a suit,  was it something that was a really thin materiel and wasn't meant for sting protection?

 

[thoseguys26]

Hive moving question - We're about to move and I have one hive super that will eventually move with us but for now my plan was to tape the entrence, move them about 6 ft over the fence to my neighbors yard and then come back and get them in a week or so.

I've read that if you move the hive more then 2-3 ft that you need to keep them inside for 72 hrs so they can recalibrate their compasses.

I've also read that they can overheat and die if it's hot outside and you have the entrance blocked..

Do you experts have any advice for me on this?

 

[thoseguys26]

Any thoughts expert bee keepers? I'm moving in 8 days!! :)

I did a bunch of research but nothing beats this thread of experts.

After research I was thinking of moving them about 20 minutes away. Enclose them at night when they're all inside and release them in the morning and put the sugar water jar setup in the entrance to slow them down a bit..  Sound good?

 

[biscuithead]

my nightmares in technicolor!

 

[pineywoods]

I would move them the 20 minutes away before I would move them 100' away they seem to re-orient better. If you close them up and move them the 20 minutes away you can either open them back up when you get there or do it in the morning. We usually close them up just after dark, move them then open them back up. Use the vehicle headlights or where a bee suit if your holding a flashlight. Sometimes we don't even close up the hives we just smoke them good before loading and again before unloading but that does usually result in a few stings but when moving a bunch of hives is easier

 

[thoseguys26]

Thanks Piney, sounds good. Do you recommend putting a twig or sugar water in the entrance to slow them down to help them re-orient?

 

[thoseguys26]

Any issues with using a dolly to move them?

 

[pineywoods]

Once we move them over a couple miles we don't do anything except make sure the opening is clear and allow them to get out and re-orient themselves. A dolly is fine as long as you don't dump them off of it

 

[richjt92]

This thread brings back memories.

My first job as an 8-9 year old was caring for the three hives we placed in the vacant lot next door to our house. I still remember the old days of deciding if we wanted Midnight's or Italian Bees and the postman who was nervous when he delivered our first box of bees we bought from Sears and were delivered via US Mail.

Of course we originally had nervous neighbors who were scared about the hives being in the lot next door until they saw their fruit trees and flower gardens go crazy due to the cross pollenization.

I also remember a new neighbor calling the Cops when one of the hives swarmed and chose a branch in their yard to hang out on...and I remember my Beekeeping mentor and I dropping the bees in a cardboard box and dumping them into a new brood box...

I was a Boy Scout (made it to Eagle) and was one of the few people we actuall earned the Beekeeping Merit badge (which they discontinued...sigh).

I would LOVE to get a hive going by my house in Newport News, but the HOAs for the neighborhood do not allow it.

Thanks for this thread, allowing me to go down memory lane....

 

[smker]

i was wondering why i hadent seen guy for some weeks now, he retired from this place and im new new to this place,  but they still have there "BEE" meetings.

last week they had a meeting that went outdoors to a small cargo truck, panel van what ever you want to call it,  it looked like they were extracting the honey and passing out a honey like drink,  honey/lemanade somrthing like that,  next day the BEE's were all over this area.

i didnt want to crash his party so ill wait till i see him again,  i did have there website addy at one time but i cant find it now.

CH