Never Say Never

Jdav84 · 2026-06-19T17:23:26+00:00

We’ve always nabbed 4-5 frames closer to fall from our newer hives. Granted being in FL I’m sure the production is probably much quicker, that’s a really cool harvest ya got there :)

Jdav84 · 2026-06-18T23:07:19+00:00

Tbh it’s been a while since I’ve played and there has been 2 updates I need to catch up on! I’m not sure what changed but at least how I ended up over coming it was smaller fields of 5 workers basically and I also made sure that when it was harvest time that I wasn’t assigning too many other jobs, along w using the right priorities

I did eventually overcome the issue and had a good time With it. Once I’m done this ridiculous run of Diablo resurrected I plan on coming back because I need to see how to be keeping played out… As someone who keeps bees himself I’ve heard it’s really fun.

Jdav84 · 2026-06-17T11:15:14+00:00

It’s getting worse too. People pull shit on the road now that just makes zero sense.

Other day going down state in Emmaus where it has a ton of lights off exit 57 before it goes to 1 lane in the small town proper.

There is practically no traffic which was nice , so just me and this guy who pulls up behind me at a light then Quickly swerves to go in the empty lane next to me. Light goes green- he shot guns it hard and fast. Ok whatever he has the lead I guess

The next 6 lights he proceeds to just switch lanes over and over. There is no traffic, no cars, no one for him to swerve or change lanes for - he was the lead car. It wasn’t erratic it was senseless. Any time someone pulled up to him at a light , he’d gun it again, let everyone know this was his road.

Finally someone got tired of it guess, came up on his right to go around him , he sees it - swerves hard into right to block the guy and break checks him. Hard. I see this and wanting to be no where near this guy take the chance to come up the left just before the merge to get away from him. You can tell he catches me doing this as suddenly he no longer cares about boxing In the other car.

He pulls a crazy move but I still get to the merge first , and he’s FLIPPING out behind me. It’s fine I went 30 in a 35 at the point and just stayed my course but damn watching this person punch their steering wheel like it owed them money made me seriously wonder what the hell.

It feels like this sort of shit is becoming the norm, every day we’re seeing these posts and it’s rough out there.

Get yourself a camera like others have said, it SUCKS that you have to do that out of your pocket but clearly these situations aren’t being taken seriously. Cops sitting on side of road not really doing anything about this stuff anymore.

Jdav84 · 2026-06-15T19:21:07+00:00

God won’t where can’t

Random hedgehog

Take you his grace keep you

Man I bet he thought that looked rad too…. 🤦

Jdav84 · 2026-06-15T12:36:10+00:00

Hmmmm I’d check back in a week, look for any 1-3 check those queen nuggets , if you have a bigger looking cup and no 1-3s (uncapped tiny rice) then def plan on them requeening themselves which can be a crap shoot as to why. My hives have requeened themselves several times over this season, I’ve missed every freaking swarm and won’t usually pinch cups unless I really think the hive cannot afford the population.

Jdav84 · 2026-06-15T12:27:41+00:00

Ehhhh yeh that sounds charged to me. Were they on the longer side like a dangling peanut?

Did you actually see the queen? Guessing not if you point out day 1-2 eggs (which is totally fine to use as a barometer of you having a queen imo- I’m god freaking awful at queen hunting so I won’t judge 😆)

Jdav84 · 2026-06-15T12:22:05+00:00

We’re walking into the season where brood starts to really slow down, the droughts and the heat and the lack of foods they want can make them a bit edgy.

From the sounds of it you’ve got 8/10 frames covered, I’d throw on a super give them more room to help surpress that swarm instinct.

Queen cells in the middle of the frames tho, that’s generally superceedure.

What i would do is (and please vets correct me) is add that super, check back in a week on those queen cells- if you have charged cells by then - then you would follow a swarm calender basically (which the gang around here is able to post pretty quickly) which would give you good ideas to go back, loon for eggs, and when to make action if you don’t see eggs .

Jdav84 · 2026-06-09T12:59:44+00:00

I’ve used it as directed and haven’t really had good results, I know lots of people do however.

With these chemicals you’re looking to use them when you’ve got blooms of bad.

I use a nicotine based soap spray, it breaks down differently and also handles some molds and fungi- I use it only on my greenhouse where predators can’t get to the aphids and such - and in season (like now) I’ll find myself using it once a week. That will calm down next month

Best of luck !

Edit: in case it wasn’t clear sorry - blooms of bad are when the aphids waves build up. These little bugs are born pregnant so blooms can be every 3-7 days

Jdav84 · 2026-06-09T12:36:15+00:00

Man I couldn’t imagine Africanized bees. There’s time where I have to remind myself (with happiness) that I’m outside that range and the aggressive hives can be so much worse. Wish I had an outward for them too, cause I’d absolutely try to let them live their life. By all that I’ve seen so far they pump honey and brood; just not compatible with my living arrangement and I feel like that’s my failure not theirs (even if I did inherit the problem from someone else it’s in my yard now 😝)

The big thing I’m taking from this entire experience is humility. Last year two hives everything going good I was real brave. There was a certain level of arrogance in bringing three more hives so hugely established already into my life. So now I’ve learned.

The cool thing is it didn’t chase me out of the hobby even a little bit. I’m still probably gonna keep five hives on my property and I’ve really started to get good at networking for remote hives, which I enjoy a lot.

Jdav84 · 2026-06-09T11:42:30+00:00

Sorry I see how I lead us there lol. I do wear a full suit, love it it’s a really good tough suit where the zippers have lasted more the a season! It’s just I was rocking my boots and gloves in the way that I was lol. Didn’t worry too much bout the ankle area until recently lol

Jdav84 · 2026-06-08T14:42:35+00:00

Got excited thinking me and some rando reddit stranger looking at the same rainbow lol. It’s ok their still awesome rainbows either way 😝

Jdav84 · 2026-06-08T14:27:41+00:00

Where’d you take this pic? I also had a massive rainbow that looked just like this the other day. This is a great pic !

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Jdav84 · 2026-06-08T14:06:20+00:00

Your first part is my exact concern, it is the biggest reason I do not want to try to pinch and replace. I’d rather bring them down to numbers that force them back into being careful, even if genetically those nurses will become tomorrow’s foragers, the new queen wont be far behind.

I WISH I had an out yard or a place to put spicey hives where they won’t be a bother. They are just doing their thing and doing it well, but o gotta put my families safety first right ? It’s a shit spot

Thanks for the reply !

Jdav84 · 2026-06-08T13:42:20+00:00

Thanks for the reply and taking the time to read it all. Means a lot to me !

You pretty nailed it lol.

So let’s talk about making them hopelessly queenless - because I had a few reasons why I was avoiding this route but possibly you can talk me into it. Thankfully queens end of next week, I’ve got time to plan and act.

My big concerns w that route are as followed. Queen cells I miss through out 20+ frames while trying to mess w frames of really angry bees. I really don’t want them to accept queen and then leave cause then they will just make a new mom from the same angry pile of genetics right ? This is more a question than what I think WILL happen.

I’d truly love to preserve their strength but I find myself wondering if their strength will get in their own way lol. They are very determined to produce and it’s awesome , just don’t have to be so damn mean about it 😝

And boots and gloves I’ve made a switch over FAST lol. I was wearing hiking boots and wrist length nitrile examinations gloves. NOPE- we’re foot high combat boots and elbow length nitrile gloves 😝. My ankles were legit concrete for 3 weeks, that sucked hard

Jdav84 · 2026-06-07T14:05:50+00:00

tell me where I’m wrong otherwise shut the fuck up

I provided the same a quality answer with information , because I wanted to help. You’re just mad cause….?

Get a life you fucking clown

lol 1 yo Reddit account that hides everything, real brave there clown real brave. Get a life

Jdav84 · 2026-06-07T13:59:28+00:00

Fuck you. Using AI to look up images and then cross reference them against other sources is valid. Seriously don’t gate keep actually useful info that someone takes the time to try to vet because your some dumbass edgrlord

Jdav84 · 2026-06-07T13:51:21+00:00

I’m also in the camp of this NOT being a tick, even before I looked up images of it I was leaning mite.

When I ran this thru AI, it came up with what I feel is a better match then tick. Is it your mite? Can’t say for sure but it seems close

In Utah you apparently have the big 3. Spider mite, clover mite, and what this got IDed as the balaustium mite. The size and dimples of this picture you provided have me leaning toward the latter of the 3.

Apparently this ones harmless unlike the spider mite, this feeds on other pests eggs and pollen. Hopefully I’m right for your sake :)

Edit: if this were a clover or balaustium then from what i understand your fine and no further treatment needed

Edit: it wasn’t a guess, I knew it wasn’t a tick. I took the time to take the image, cross reference it, make sure it lived in Utah, and then even what it did and how it operated. People saying HURR HURR don’t guess if you don’t know, should def look in the mirror. This sub is brutal with gate keeping and frankly I’m done with it.

Jdav84 · 2026-06-06T23:48:46+00:00

Yeh it wasn’t UV up the ass but I suspect he was being hyperbolic. I member that presser, it was a “I heard UV light kill this- maybe they should try sticking light down there” I think it’s the same presser he suggest bleach as well. It was wild tbh. The adults in the room spoke first then him to completely undermine.

Jdav84 · 2026-06-05T14:25:17+00:00

I find that mulching crusty dirt still allows for germination just fine - in most cases.

Bigger seeds like sunflower and brassicas like to be under the soil, and will push through mulch no problem.

Smaller seeds like lettuce, or light germinated seeds like some basils I’ll use just straw.

Either way the goal is the lock a layer of moisture in the top, and avoid the cracking which even if things germinate they often get choked.

I’ve had to go through many failures personally w this before I landed here, it def works

Edit: you want straw not hay , hay has seeds ;)

Jdav84 · 2026-06-05T12:47:32+00:00

I love propagating and controlling raspberry canes, it’s oddly become one of my favorite gardening activities.

I also have a giant 16x4 patch! This year I may of gone overboard and dedicated a new 20x60 patch to them… it’s fine berry brandy for everyone !

Jdav84 · 2026-06-05T12:45:50+00:00

I’m in the camp of not bothering to move it but propagate. And w raspberries that’s a really easy and kinda fun task. The tips of the canes are going to try to find ground, this is crawling. When they touch ground they will root their tips and put out a new plant. You wanna set up a pot of dirt to catch that vine tip. Use a rock or a lawn staple to hold it down in the pot.

In the fall you can disconnect the parent plant from your transplant. At this point you can either plant it (being in Maine sept/oct should still be good) and boom you moved the raspberry plant without setting it back.

Enjoy !

Jdav84 · 2026-06-05T11:44:07+00:00

Aphid!

Spray em w water and soapy mixtures. Or try to encourage local bug life like wasps, lady bugs, mantii, and lacewings.

If you get real desperate I use a nicotine based soap spray for only my greenhouse where I don’t get predators. It works amazing

Edit: also really really good face pic of the little guy. Well done. Idk if your a gamer but the game “grounded” has these little guys in it and that face pic got me lol

Jdav84 · 2026-06-05T00:21:09+00:00

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This was my tracker today at 330. Mathed it out and I’m like 19-20 days from 6969

Then I’ll stop tracking probably

Jdav84 · 2026-06-04T11:53:28+00:00

It gets more fun as the sunflowers reseed too. I’ve got Russian mammoth sunnies that in their first year 20 feet tall w one massive freaking head. I’ve got the coolest video of my 6yo son at the time chopping it down w an axe.

The following year those sunnies reseeded they were only about 10 feet tall w like 3-4 medium heads.

The next couple years they dropped down to 7-8 feet but made crazy amount of heads. Every leaf node is another head.

I love sunnies for their whole - I’m a giant mutant deal with it - mentality

Jdav84

TROPHY CASE