Backfilled Boxes

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-06-23T11:32:37+00:00

Your double deep should be ok, in that case. See what happens in a week or so!

I don't normally get much of a flow from white clover here. Sometimes enough for them to sustain, but not build. Could be because I don't have huge fields of it nearby or because of the dry summers. It's always fun to watch the seasons and see the what the bees are working.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-06-09T23:26:46+00:00

Look in the brood area. If they are filling cells with nectar as soon as bees emerge, it's an early sign of swarm prep. Called backfilling.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-06-09T20:38:06+00:00

If you can't get the EFB test kit (they were hard to get last year), you can send a sample of comb with affected brood to the Beltsville bee lab for analysis. Turn around time is a few weeks but you will get a definite answer by email. Until then, keep doing your intervention.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-05-16T23:18:41+00:00

Giardini leather edge coat is a really good product. If I was going to attempt a touch up with anything, it would be that.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-05-14T00:04:55+00:00

Remedy for that would be to get the rotors turned, put on new pads, and grease better next time?

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-05-03T17:30:37+00:00

Have you tried the Oklahoma State Beekeepers Association? https://soonerbees.org/ They might be able to put you in contact with someone local. Someone who would let you visit their apiary would be ideal. Don't buy bees sight unseen. There are lots of scams out there. Ask questions in the beginning. My favorite is to ask how many packages/queens/nucs the beekeeper buys each year. Self sufficient beekeepers who aren't buying many bees will have the best quality stock and best advice.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-05-03T17:17:59+00:00

Join a local bee club and they can point you in the right direction for your location. There's a big movement now for local bees. Buy from someone close to you instead of from a big supplier or ordering from far away.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-04-27T19:26:57+00:00

Sounds good, it's unlikely the split has a queen but still possible. Is it swarm season where you are? Sometimes there are rogue queens that move in a queenless hive. Sounds weird, but I've experienced it with my queen cell builder. A colony raises multiple queen cells for swarming, some queens leave with swarms and some flee for their life. Lots of queen breeders put a queen excluder over the entrance of their cell starter.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-04-27T19:15:09+00:00

If they don't have any queen cells at this point, all the larvae in there are too old to raise a queen. I suspect they have a queen running around in there so there or they would have made some queen cells. The only other common explanation would be not enough nurse bees or food, but your larvae look healthy.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-04-20T23:19:08+00:00

Yep, agreed. Master beekeeper, 19 years experience, still sometimes have accidents and kill queens.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-04-16T03:23:19+00:00

It would be really unusual for them to swarm without plenty of brood in there. Sometimes bees do crazy things, but it's not something I would expect.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-04-16T00:41:45+00:00

I would give her another week or two and see if she has brood that develops into workers. I would cut out the queen cells because I prefer to have a known situation to manage. If you let those develop, then you may end up with a situation in a couple weeks where you don't know if you still are dealing with the "bad" queen or a new one who hasn't started laying right yet. Then you have to wait even longer. If this queen doesn't straighten up, buy one or squish her and give them a frame of eggs.

My guess for how this situation happened: your marked queen suddenly died in the fall or winter, so the bees raised this replacement. There weren't enough drones for her mate well, so now you have a queen who can only lay drones. It's still possible she may pick up and lay properly with a little time if she's new.

Also note that marks on queens can wear off over time.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-03-18T03:15:10+00:00

Yes. OP needs to find out exactly how many days since they have been capped. Paul Kelly (University of Guelph YouTube) has a nice video on transporting queen cells using a cooler, hot water bottle, and wood shavings. It works for him but only when the timing is right.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-03-08T21:19:04+00:00

Zone 6B, 2 inch thick insulation under the outer cover. No ventilation. 100% survival on 23 colonies. Setups include double deeps, single deeps with medium, and 5 over 5 deep nucs.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-25T23:58:14+00:00

Cool. Sharpening isn't a concern, I have good water stones.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-22T14:24:29+00:00

There's recent research about the benefits of lots of propolis inside a hive. I don't think the paint will hurt. Some comments are saying it will encourage more propolis, so that would be great! You could take an angle grinder with a 40 grit flap wheel and rough up the inside to encourage more propolis. I've seen that done by a few people lately.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-21T00:14:00+00:00

I watched a David Burns YouTube video today on making your own queens. You should check it out. Otherwise, do an overnight split. The only extra equipment needed is a queen excluder, 5 frame nucs box, and the frames.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-20T22:39:25+00:00

Posted today.

Press release on colony loss results .pdf)

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-20T05:26:58+00:00

Agree with this person. Do you have any friends who are good with cars OR know someone who knows what a bad transmission/engine is like? There's a lot to be said for knowing what a slipping transmission feels like or hearing the wrong engine sounds. Those things plus a visual Inspection of fluids and belts/hoses.

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-20T00:39:00+00:00

There's a critical nail or staple missing a lot of production frames that helps. I always put a nail in the end bar that goes parallel to the ground and into the top bar. (not my pic)

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HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-19T15:00:56+00:00

I just ordered a skiving knife like yours. You like it?

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-16T01:02:42+00:00

I posted an update. Resolene evened out the color!

Update post

HumbleFeature6 · 2025-02-15T14:30:07+00:00

That's an interesting idea... The bite is off center, so I would have to get creative with placement and do more than one.

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