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  • From: Just Bee <marty AT justbeenc.com>
  • To: Wilson <infomet AT embarqmail.com>
  • Cc: ocba <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Seeking queen
  • Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 12:50:56 -0400

Wilson

I think you are spot on !!!

Just watch a you tube video of how those bees get into those boxes. That is an eye opener.

Second are poor queens. The breeders are pushing everyone to requeen every year...WHY? Queens live 3-5 years. Maybe it's the poor queens jacked up on fake pollen and HFCS they are raising that's leading to the need to do a costly and disruptive requeening! 

Swarms, reliable nucs and bee friends are the only way to have a good shot at success. 
Marty

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 28, 2014, at 10:09 PM, "Wilson" <infomet AT embarqmail.com> wrote:

Admittedly not a well informed opinion, but I’m on a rant against shipped in bees.
I think we are paying a lot for inferior stock, or at least unproven stock.  Prices have doubled in my short involvement and that can’t be good for the quality of the stock.
Can one really expect a lot of success when bees are uprooted from their home and shipped, often under climatic duress, over the road, in a rough riding truck, for hours.
The more I think about it, the sillier it seems.  Then, of course, they are expected to work together and support a new queen who’s been cooped up in a tiny cage for days and days!
Of course it works sometime.  Maybe it even works often, but in ten years of trying, I had only one or two decent hives.  Most of the packages I bought never really did well.
I had sellers admit their bees had been overheated and/or rained on, but they never offered a refund or reduction!
I’m trying again this year, but only because I went to where a nuc was set up and saw a busy queen with many eggs and larvae in evidence.
The queen was bought in, but from a nearby source, with no mailing involved.
My bottom line is to pay the modest difference in cost for a nuc and make sure it is functioning before you pay!
Mine is obviously thriving and I have added two medium supers.
I haven’t opened it in several weeks, but the bees are busy, flying out and back, and generally looking good.
There seem to be orientation flights every afternoon.
OK, rant over.
 
I have always wanted more ventilation and now it seems to be getting more popular to use a screened inner cover, along with a screened bottom board.
Now I can take off my outer cover and see the bees working in the top super.  It’s not built out yet, but it’s mobbed with bees!
I have built a stand and put the legs in oil, to keep out crawling things, but have not treated, or even assessed the mite load yet...should be doing it soon.
I have also put an old white bottom board on top of my hive, to help reduce the temperature a bit, since it’s in full sun.
 
Good luck,
Wilson
 
From: Randy Dodd
Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2014 7:43 PM
Subject: [ocba] Seeking queen
 
We're newbies who purchased two hives this spring.  With one of them, the new queen never really got going, so we combined the two which worked well and then we did a split.  The queen went to the new hive which has been thriving, and we saw supercedure cells in the old one 3 weeks ago which were empty two weeks ago but we checked again today and still no sign of queen activity. The old hive also swarmed two weeks ago, which I don't understand since there was lots of room and no swarm cells or signs of a queen, only the possibility of an emerging one.  We caught the swarm and put it in a new hive but they didn't stick around. There is no brood left and we're thinking it's a good idea to get a new queen.  Who should we contact to get a new one? Any other advice?
 
Randy
 
 


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