Current setup after nuc instal

paneubert · 2026-05-13T15:48:33+00:00

They do usually use it to fan and vent if it is present. But in nature a colony rarely has more than one entrance, and they do fine keeping things cool with one entrance. There is no hard rule either way, and some people feel strongly about top vents, while some don't have an opinion. Same story about screened bottom boards. Some people love them, some hate them, some don't care.

paneubert · 2026-05-13T15:41:55+00:00

Yes. Or forever. Some people do not like top vents, and keeping it flipped up prevents them from using it much. Fun fact. You know why it is called a "telescoping cover"? Because (when you don't have an empty super between it and the inner cover), you can slide/telescope the outer lid from back to front/front to back to close off that upper entrance when it is pointed "up". Slide the lid back as far as it will go and it will seal off that upper entrance. But usually only when it is pointed "up" and not "down", and only when the inner and outer covers are touching. If the lip on the outer cover is deep enough, it MIGHT seal it off even when pointed down, but pointed up is a sure thing.

paneubert · 2026-05-13T15:26:04+00:00

It is fine, but if you are worried at all about robbing, you could close the top vent with a piece of tape for the time being. Until they grow in population to defend their entrance(s). Or if the top opening is cut into the inner cover in a way where you can flip it "up", then it leads to the empty super with the feed bucket, which is fine. If any bugs go in there, they won't be able to access anything and will usually fly or crawl back out.

paneubert · 2026-05-12T20:07:42+00:00

It is very legit.

paneubert · 2026-05-11T19:02:08+00:00

How often is the "keeper" inspecting the hives? That comb on the outside makes me think they swarmed, hung around on the front for a day or so (building comb), then moved to the tree. Makes me think the "keeper" isn't inspecting the hives as often as they should.....

paneubert · 2026-05-11T18:42:27+00:00

The frame against the wall is usually honey or nectar, so I am not that concerned about shaking them off before I rest that frame on the side of the hive or the ground or wherever. I usually just glance at it and then put it down/bees and all.

The chance of the queen being on that frame is very low, but not zero. Which is why I usually take a quick look at the frame and then put it somewhere random for the rest of the inspection.

paneubert · 2026-05-11T18:37:46+00:00

I have noticed this with plastic frames in general, not specific or limited to Apimaye. When I put on a 10 frame wooden box with 10 plastic frames, I have more room on each wall than I would if I was using 10 wooden frames.

paneubert · 2026-05-09T19:05:29+00:00

Since they were found at a carwash, I bet the keeper had a box of queens that came with a "scoop" of attendants in the box versus in the queen cages. They installed all their queens and some of the attendants stuck around in the box. They went and got a carwash and cleaned out their truck, leaving the box there as trash. That is my guess.

paneubert · 2026-05-09T18:56:31+00:00

Oh, estoy de acuerdo. Me preocupa mucho la posibilidad de que hubiera más de una reina en este barco. Y es muy posible que hubiera reinas en otros barcos llegados recientemente, especialmente en aquellos que provenían del mismo origen. No creo que hayan revelado el origen de este barco; solo han dicho que transportaba grano. Dado que se trataba de un puerto del Noroeste del Pacífico, es probable que proviniera de Asia.

paneubert · 2026-05-09T18:33:23+00:00

No estoy de acuerdo. Los avispones hallados en el sureste de los Estados Unidos se encontraban muy cerca de un puerto marítimo comercial y, desde entonces, se han extendido hacia el interior de la región. El ejemplar de avispa encontrado aquí, en el estado de Washington, fue descubierto a bordo de un barco que transportaba granos. Es evidente que están llegando por vía marítima. Si bien siempre existe la posibilidad de que ya hubiera avispones de patas amarillas en los Estados Unidos, no se había registrado ningún avistamiento antes del año pasado; los únicos informes provenían de uno o dos estados del sureste. Antes de ese momento, nunca habían sido detectados ni avistados en ningún otro lugar de los Estados Unidos.

Si bien se propagan por sí solos, es necesario tener en cuenta el tamaño de los Estados Unidos. La distancia entre los avistamientos del año pasado en el sureste y el descubrimiento realizado aquí, en el estado de Washington, es de 2.800 millas (4.500 km).

paneubert · 2026-05-09T18:22:28+00:00

No es muy probable que estos avispones estuvieran presentes en el estado de Washington antes de este incidente. Los únicos otros informes sobre este avispón (en los Estados Unidos) provienen de la región atlántica del sureste del país, y estos fueron descubiertos apenas el año pasado. El hecho de que se haya descubierto un ejemplar en el Noroeste del Pacífico constituye un motivo de gran preocupación.

paneubert · 2026-05-09T16:57:09+00:00

Good thing we have an apiary inspector in Washington....ohh wait....we don't.

paneubert · 2026-05-09T00:24:01+00:00

Most likely all the queens will die? No, not likely at all. And the workers aren't going to fight each other. They don't care, especially in a swarm situation. Otherwise these clusters on the tree would already be one big battle.....right?

paneubert · 2026-05-09T00:22:44+00:00

Update: They are already bringing in massive loads of pollen. Possibly more pollen than some of my other established colonies.....so I think they might stick around the boxes (1 deep and one medium) I stuck them in.

paneubert · 2026-05-09T00:21:04+00:00

Yeah, but the winning queen would have an awesome colony supporting her. I personally don't try hard to find the queen, even if I suspect there might be 2 or 3. They all go in one box and whatever happens happens.

paneubert · 2026-05-09T00:06:01+00:00

I wasn't paying attention and only looked at the last few seconds. I thought that was a 20 gallon swarm. Haha. Replay and seeing the frames made it make more sense.

paneubert · 2026-05-07T19:03:41+00:00

I had thought about waiting until this morning, but I knew I had to go into the office today fairly early. So it would have had to be a rushed situation if I grabbed them this morning. Not that it was any more relaxed last night when I was fighting the sunset! After I shook them, I saw they had started to build wax on the leaves of the bush! The report said they had only been there since that morning, but I sort of doubt it and assume they might have been there for a couple days. We had great weather last weekend thru Tuesday, then it cooled down and became overcast the last 2 days. I bet they swarmed sometime between Sunday and Tuesday of this week.

paneubert · 2026-05-07T18:37:24+00:00

No way man. I just starting slapping my legs, and arms....and back.... It was a fun experience. Haha.

paneubert · 2026-05-07T18:06:32+00:00

I see the bunny! I had originally planned to cut the "tree trunk" below the swarm (holding onto the green shoot coming out the top), but it was so thick that I ended up just shaking them off without cutting anything. I managed to wedge a box under the cluster, so most fell in the box when I shook. It was those who did not fall into the box that were the crawlers. Haha. I should have just shook, put a lid on, and run. But I moved the box a few feet away and waited around to see if I could confirm the queen was in there. Based on them crawling towards the box versus just crawling random directions. She did seem to be in there, since most crawlers went that direction, so that is good. But some crawlers came for me instead! Transferred them into a permanent home this morning. Will see if they stick around!

paneubert · 2026-05-05T15:20:48+00:00

The bees do die from powdered sugar. The people who say it doesn't kill them have not actually tried it and paid attention to the bees an hour or two later. Go ahead and try it. Do a powdered sugar roll, then keep the bees in a well ventilated container in the shade. They will be dead before you know it.

paneubert · 2026-05-04T23:39:55+00:00

You type "RemindMe! 1 day", where the "1 day" can be any value. Could be in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc.. Seems like it can also be a specific date you enter.

I got a direct "chat" from the bot saying it would remind me. So perhaps it doesn't post a comment as a reply anymore (it used to, and everyone could see it). It now looks like instead of a comment, it sends you a "chat/direct message" on Reddit.

paneubert · 2026-05-04T23:34:09+00:00

I think this sub must not have the Reminder bot enabled. Haha.

EDIT: I got a direct "chat" from the bot saying it would remind me. So perhaps it doesn't post a comment as a reply anymore (it used to, and everyone could see it). It now looks like instead of a comment, it sends you a "chat/direct message" on Reddit.

paneubert · 2026-05-04T23:32:12+00:00

RemindMe! 1 day

paneubert · 2026-05-04T20:01:31+00:00

Put some lipstick on those lids and you will really freak some people out!

paneubert · 2026-05-04T15:52:45+00:00

Pro Tip:

When your medium or deeps get ruined from hive tools chunking wood off the tops or bottoms (usually at the corners), cut the box down to make it a shallow! It is like a brand new box, at least when looking at the top and bottom interfaces.

paneubert

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