From: "deelusbybeekeeper" <deelusbybeekeeper@excelonline.com>
Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2001 08:49:41 -0700
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: Clingfilm on Pressplates

Hi to all on Biological Beekeeping

Jon Sewell wrote:

Now Dee, if you can show harvests approaching old (5.4?) levels and an
insignificant level of AHB then there should bee a few people saying they
always 'knew there was something to that small cell stuff'... ;-)

Reply:

John, do we get to factor in the 600 super now put on for drawing out new
foundation and another 300 to go? Wax costs honey to drawout into
foundation? What do you think we will lose in production of honey drawing
the wax out? Maybe 8 pounds of honey to 1 pound of wax?

Also, We do not strip our hives of honey when extracting and then feed back
sugar. We let the bees keep everyhing put in from the third deep down, in
the three outside frames on each side of the brood supers, for their own cut
for working so hard. We only take honey from the 4th & 5th deep super and
the 4 center frames from the third super to keep the queen opened up and
laying throughout the active year. A beekeeper who whoud strip the honey
down into the second super and then feed back carryover stores in offseason, could say he actually made a lot more honey then he actually did. What beekeeper subtracts out from the honey total the amount of feed fed back to get accurate figures?

Anyway Jon, shall be intereting to see where we end up this fall. I've got
to process the last of our wax into foundation for the main flow (still four
weeks away from hiting) and then we still have to wire another 300 supers.
We're about out. Will be balancing and boxjamming this month in April from
strong hives to duces to fast bring them up into productioni if we can
aiming for the first week of May. Should be interesting!

You say an insignificant level of AHB? Don't you mean EFB or AFB? So far we
looked at over 500 colonies this month and culled out 5 frames of secondary
disease (all sources combined in culling total). Don't consider secondary
diseases a problem anymore, so I guess we have now hit harmony with sizing for our bees. As for AHB? Come on over Jon, I bet our bees are gentler than yours :>) you'll have to see first hand!

Best regards,

Dee