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  • From: "Starks, Walter" <Walter.Starks AT facilities.unc.edu>
  • To: James Latimer <jameslatimer333 AT hotmail.com>
  • Cc: "ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>, George Morris <juncus215 AT gmail.com>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Seeking Help again
  • Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2014 15:55:03 +0000

Hi James
Since I'm only a novice I'll just tell you what I would do. You can use it or not. 

If your hives aren't showing any signs of swarming and you don't plan on harvesting any of the honey this year you can wait till next spring to make changes to your hives and avoid disrupting your queen. If you want to harvest honey this year you should probably add a second deep on top of the first one. The bees will need the extra space for winter stores.

As far as the queen excluders go I'm sure if you ask 10 beekeepers you'll get 20 different answers.:) I personally only use them if I see a problem with brood/eggs in my honey supers or if I think there might not be an adequate honey barrier at the top of the top brood box. Others like to use them as a regular part of there hive management or not at all. You'll need to decide that for yourself probably. I can tell you that it's likely if you do use them you will probably find some dead bees trapped in the excluder. Some beekeepers also think that excluders discourage some bees from passing through.

Remember, these are just my thoughts on your questions. Please remember I am not as experienced as many of the others here. 

______

Walter




Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 7, 2014, at 10:59 AM, "James Latimer" <jameslatimer333 AT hotmail.com> wrote:

Hello Walter and George,

I think I have a similar situation happening.  I started 2 hives from nucs at the end of May.  They started getting very full and all the comb was drawn out in the brood chamber for both hives.  I then added the 1st honey super on June 24th.  The hive seemed happier and started placing just honey in the honey super.  As of this weekend the honey super on both hives seem to be well drawn out so I added a 2nd honey super on each hive July 4th.  I have been checking for signs of the queen in each hive; I have seen her in one hive, and have seen signs of larva and laying each time I inspect. 

>From reading about how to expand a hive, I think I should have added an additional brood chamber prior to the honey supers?

Should I still add an additional brood chamber? Should I checkerboard with the frames of the upper and lower brood boxes?  Add a queen excluder? 

When I added the honey super I chose not to add a queen excluder and the queen has not started laying in the honey supers.  Seems like a good thing.  Now adding an additional brood box, do I do the checkerboard with the frames to encourage the queen to lay in the upper broad chamber as well?

Thanks,
Jamie



> From: Walter.Starks AT facilities.unc.edu
> To: juncus215 AT gmail.com
> Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2014 15:36:59 +0000
> CC: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: Re: [ocba] Seeking Help again
>
> George
> A single deep seems a little small for your brood area. 2 deeps or 3 mediums are very common. I use 2 deeps and that sometimes seems a little crowded. You might think about adding a second deep to stop the swarm before it happens if the bees haven't started making swarm cells yet.
>
> If they have started building swarm cells you can split the hive to simulate a swarm. Easier than trying to catch a real one.
>
> I'm sure Don or Will can offer great advice regarding this when they come out.
>
> ______
>
> Walter
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jul 6, 2014, at 11:00 AM, "George Morris" <juncus215 AT gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hey all,
> > I wrote yesterday about my 2 hives we installed this spring and was looking for sone help and guidance. I went into the hives again this morning and gave a thorough inspection.
> >
> > On the first hive I think that they are honey bound and that inevitably they will swarm, but hopefully I'll be able to catch the swarm.
> >
> > On the second, though, I'm even more alarmed than I was yesterday. I am concerned that they may have Foulbrood and there is little hope for them. I would like someone to go with me into the hive to confirm this.
> >
> > Please giver me a call if someone can accompany me into the hives for an inspection in the near future.
> >
> > George
> > 919-818-3984
> > _________________________________________
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