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  • From: Janet Weinberg <janetweinberg AT yahoo.com>
  • To: Orange County Beekeepers Association <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Hmmmm
  • Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2015 15:22:25 +0000 (UTC)



   Subject: Re: [ocba] Hmmmm

I would certainly like reading a discussion on this.  I have read the pro's and con's from a few sources but they seem to cancel each other out so I bought 2 packages with queens in early May and was instructed to feed.  I did and wondered why they weren't out and about for 3 days but they were drawing comb very fast-I don't use foundation.  Couldn't tell if they laid eggs because of the white comb.  I removed the food and out they came and continue to forage today.  A week later I checked 2 frames in each hive and found large larva and lots of honey and pollen  being stored and lots of capped cells. Comb drawn out 3/4th of most frames looking from bottom of box so I added a medium to each hive.  They are still out and about every day.  Could it be we should be more selective as to when to feed?  And going in only if we think something is amiss?

Different subject.  Question.   On one frame they have filled in drawn comb 3/4's across and down and worked like the above. But that empty space has about 30 bees strung together loosely about 3" wide and 4" down into a V.  When I pulled the frame out they just hung there, swinging in the wind.    I could not see anything but their legs holding them together.  ???

Janet Weinberg
 



From: "friedjf AT verizon.net" <friedjf AT verizon.net>
To: beecd AT icloud.com; ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2015 10:38 AM
Subject: [ocba] Hmmmm

 As an OCBA newbie but a long-term biologist, I'd like to propose a discussion.
 
I notice that some beekeepers seem beekeeper-centric, and I wonder if that is to the detriment of bees.
 
By this, I mean some beekeepers defend the position that any manipulation of bees/hives is okay if the beekeeper finds it warranted or suspects that it would help. Move hives hundreds of miles, open hives just to see what's happening, feed them sucrose, transfer frames from strong to weak hives, etc. None of these practices mimic nature, and they surely stress the bees/hive. I hear beekeepers on all sides of hive treatments and management issues so, I conclude that we often don't know what's best for the bees, and we're rolling the dice with our choices.
 
 
At a time when beehives are highly vulnerable to collapse and many other problems, shouldn't beekeepers minimize the variables that affect their hives to minimize stress? Would it be easier to detect the source of a problem if we were less intrusive? Are we being bee-centric enough?
John Friedrick 






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  • [ocba] Hmmmm, friedjf, 06/09/2015
    • Re: [ocba] Hmmmm, Randall Austin, 06/09/2015
    • Message not available
      • Re: [ocba] Hmmmm, Janet Weinberg, 06/09/2015

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