71 replies to this topic

[ConcordAntman]

Thanks for asking! For my first attempt at beekeeping, Mother Nature sure was tough on me. If losing my hive wasn’t enough, our first real winter storm blew a tree down on it! My hive took a glancing blow from one of the main branches of the felled tree. It only dented the tin of the outer cover but it crushed my hive stand. 

 

I recovered the hive and have a new stand. I have a new beeswax coated top feeder with the appropriately sized shroud. My Nuc is on order for late April delivery and I can’t wait to start. There’s a healthy beekeeping community around that has been supportive so while I’ve made some noob errors, I hope to manage better come spring. 

[Artisan_Ants]

Good luck!

[Ernteameise]

I hope you have better luck this year!

I keep my fingers crossed!

[ConcordAntman]

It’s been a trying offseason. I was a bit late getting my ant colonies out of hibernation but that’s fodder for another forum. My 6-frame Nuc with a Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH) queen is scheduled for an April 27th pickup. VSH queens are bred from single drone insemination and selected for Suppressed Mite Reproduction (SMR) trait. Drones and queens carrying this trait produce workers with the ability to detect and eliminate pupae with elevated Varroa mite load thereby decreasing the frequency of treatment necessary for the hive.

 

Thusfar, I’ve assembled my new hive stand.

 

Positioned it.

 

And, placed my hive. 

 

 

I’ve assembled my new top feeder and placed a thick bead of food-grade silicone sealant around the wire mesh screen to prevent escaping bees from drowning in the nectar. I’m waiting for that to cure before placing it on the hive. I think I’m read and look forward to starting. 

[Ernteameise]

I am really excited to see how this goes!

And thank you for explaining about the varroa sensitive queen- only read about varroa yesterday and wondered what is was.

[ConcordAntman]

Ernteameise,

I have a publication on bee pathogens written more for amateur or small scale commercial beekeepers than veterinary clinicians. If you’re interested, I be glad to send it along. 

Edited by ConcordAntman, April 26 2024 - 6:57 PM.

[Ernteameise]

Ernteameise,

I have a publication on bee pathogens written more for amateur or small scale commercial beekeepers than veterinary clinicians. If you’re interested, I be glad to send it along. 

Oh wow, this is cool.

Yes, I would like to check it out!

I have a colleague who is a bee-keeper and they sell their honey locally (this is where I get my honey from) and I might share it with her, too.

[Retroman]

Why not give the new colony a full frame of capped honey? This would eliminate the need for mixing ingredients, potential underfeeding and prevent bees from drowning in the feeding chamber. My guess is 10,000 bees should be able to protect a frame of capped honey. I use to keep a few hives in the late 80s and this would be my inclination, but I'm no expert and not familiar with modern beekeeping methods.

[ConcordAntman]

Thanks Retroman! I’m still a noob at this. Our climate isn’t known for early robust springs. My beekeeping instructor from last year recommends feeding. Since I have no access to spare frames of honey, I use the top feeder. I can load it with a gallon or two at a time, and it’s good for up to a week. I caulked the seams between the wire mesh and the troughs of the feeder with food grade silicone and haven’t had a drowned bee yet! 

[ConcordAntman]

Three weeks and 4 days ago, I installed my nuc. A nuc (nuclear hive) is a 5 or 6 frame mini-hive. It can contain 12,000-15,000 bees with their queen, workers, brood, honey, and pollen. In contrast, a package of bees is 10,000-12,000 bees paired with a separately packaged, random queen, no brood, honey, or pollen. Starting from a package, literally has your bees starting from scratch.

 

First off, I made a gallon of 1:1 nectar by dissolving 10 2/3 cups of sugar in 10 2/3 cups of water. There was nectar for my top feeder and some for my atomizer. 

 

The nuc had been in position next to and in the same orientation as the recipient hive with its entrance unplugged for a few hours, in order to assist the new residents’ orientation to the new hive. 

I’d previously prepped the recipient hive by removing the necessary number of frames (6).

 

 

 

Then I sprayed the interior and remaining frames with nectar. 

 

I smoked the nuc to calm the bees but I tried to minimize its use. 

 

 

 

Then used my hive tool to free up the frames

 

Maintaining their orientation, I inspected each frame for its contents and to locate the queen,

 

Then, maintaining their order, I transferred each frame into the hive.

 

The queen was on the 5th of 6 frames

 

With the frames in place, I placed the inner cover. Then placed and filled the top feeder.

 

I placed the outer cover and called it a day. 

 

The workers hanging out in the empty nuc, found their way into the hive over the ensuing 24 hours.

 

[Ernteameise]

Very interesting! Thank you for sharing!

[100lols]

We’re back!!! Can’t wait to see how well you do this season. Just from reading your posts I can tell that you’re even more prepared for this attempt. Won’t be able to call yourself a noob too much longer!