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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: Hamsiba Family <hamsibas AT gmail.com>, ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Balancing act
  • Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 11:28:55 -0500

Brad & Dorothy,

From your description, it sounds like if you only had either one of these hives in isolation, you would have reasons to be pleased. It is the comparison of the two that is interesting -- which is one reason that it's good to have at least two hives.

If these were mine, within the next few weeks I would probably take a frame or two of capped brood from Hive #1 and give them to Hive #2. This will somewhat reduce swarming pressure on Hive #1 and give Hive #2 a healthy boost, which may be all that it needs. Move capped brood so that Hive #2 doesn't have to expend effort to raise donated larvae. Be sure, though, not to give Hive #2 more brood than its nurse bees can cover, or else at this time of year you'll get chilled brood (evidenced by dead larvae & pupae at the front entrance). Also make sure you don't accidentally move the queen -- find her first and set aside the frame she is on.

There is plenty of time before the main flow for Hive #1 to recover from a donation of a couple of brood frames.

Stronger hives are always expected to be more defensive than weaker hives, everything else equal. Part of the equation is the techniques employed by the beekeeper. Going to a Field Day where one of the state bee inspectors works hives can be a terrific learning experience in that regard. I always learn a lot every time I see them work.

One easy trick, if the bees are on the same stand or are very close together, is to work the more defensive hive FIRST. Alarm pheromones waft over from one hive to another, so if you work the more defensive hive second, it is already cranked up somewhat from the second-hand pheromones from the weaker hive. A related tip is, when possible, separate your hives by a decent distance, say ten feet or more, rather than having them close together. This keeps the second-hand pheromones from influencing the other hive. I learned this one from working with Africanized bees in Latin America, where separating the hives is critical for maintaining a happy beekeeper.

Randall Austin




On 2/20/2014 7:40 AM, Hamsiba Family wrote:
CA+x3aG6xb33ANRvMu9dw1QURr44KZHVe4xtVF3q1xDX+TE6oqQ AT mail.gmail.com" type="cite">
One more question from a couple of newbees on our first winter ruminations after a spring peek in our first two hives. 

Hive #1 is strong, bees boiling up from both deeps when I open up, plenty of honey and capped brood.  Things are looking busy and crowded.  This queen always laid a somewhat less tight brood pattern, but produced a very robust colony regardless from the late package delivery (the second package delivery on May 11 last year, we fed both colonies all summer and into the fall).  We have the entrance reducer on wider opening for the winter and it is very busy on warm days with legions of bees bringing in the pollen, IPM board is off of the screen  bottom with a little extra ventilation up top to help a moisture problem (per the debate on this list a week ago). These bees have also always been a tad more defensive than #2, smoke repels them but they quickly come back up to see what is going on and let us know we are not appreciated.

Hive #2 is much weaker, plenty of honey and pollen still but only a small amount of capped brood, dozens of bees wandering up on opening.  We have the entrance reducer on the small opening as there are just not as many bees there on warm days bring in the pollen, though still it gets busy, just much less busy than #1 above.  IPM board is now off of this one too and popsicle sticks under the inner cover help with ventilation at the top.  This queen always laid a nice tight brood pattern, just not ever as much brood as the other hive, she has been a less prolific producer of bees since the late package delivery last May.  These bees are usually "less unhappy" to see us, rarely as defensive as #1 above and stay down for longer after a whiff of smoke.

Ok, so this sounds like a question on a beekeeper exam.  What would you do with these two and when, and why would you do it?  I have to believe many of us who started in last year's class are in the same boat with the packages coming so late.  I would be interested to hear from the various experienced beekeepers in the group "what, when & why" as I have learned that there are usually many ways to approach these things. 

Yes, maybe I should have combined them last fall... but I didn't... A few more hives are in the plans when I can do splits.

Thank you all for your input.  This group is always so helpful and patient!  It takes a lot of the "sting" out of being a newbee.

Cheers,

Brad Kosiba & Dorothy Hammett


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  • [ocba] Balancing act, Hamsiba Family, 02/20/2014
    • Re: [ocba] Balancing act, Randall Austin, 02/20/2014

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