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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers
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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"> |
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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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