View Full Version : Anyone else pulling honey in this heat wave?
Brian Suchan
07-25-2005, 12:23 PM
Started last weekend & it was in the mid 90's for highs. Sat & sun it was over 100, been doing just 1 yard in the morn cant take it much after the noon hour just too hot.
Michael Bush
07-25-2005, 12:27 PM
It's too hot. smile.gif Saturday was 104 F at my house.
ikeepbees
07-25-2005, 05:45 PM
Same here, Brian. Going out early and knocking off around noon.
Bob Harrison
07-25-2005, 06:29 PM
Brian,
I have been extracting honey (running the uncapper)during the heat wave as my three year employee which ran my uncapper quit for a better job he said. Hard to imagine a better job than commercial beekeeping . right Brian!
The weather is supposed to break tonight! Rain!
Brian I have got some comb honey supers to bring back to you from last year. I have still got some comb honey supers on so not sure how many I will need this year yet.
I will call when I know for sure.
We got a big honey crop but now the clover has burned up and the bees are pulling honey down into the brood nest from the supers.
Mike Vanarsdall has been bringing drums into Sibley and could bring those supers to you if you need the supers. Ed, Joli and Glenn have got supers of yours also I believe.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Busy Bee Acres Apiaries inc.
Odessa, Missouri
Were doing our 2nd harvest which is more than usual. I can only get through 1 yard a day in this heat and humidity. I have this huge 14 yr old son to help me or I might not make that. I don't mind extracting in the heat as everything goes quick when it's 95-100 degrees in the honey house. Clover dried up here too but we got some rain the past several days (like inches of it) and at night. I've never seen the Canada and Sow thistle bloom like this. Quite allot of queen annes lace and white and yellow sweet clover as well as early (really early) golden rod. I hope the heat breaks so the main flow doesn't go poof!
Jim Fischer
07-25-2005, 09:26 PM
The answer to heat is Dawn Patrol!
We do more beekeeping before you eat breakfast
than most folks do all month!
The few, the proud, the sleep-deprived...
Brian Suchan
07-26-2005, 12:03 AM
bob- we should have some cut comb won't know till later though. As far as the supers not in any hurry for them I guess whenever they get brought back will be soon enough still got abunch in the trailer. As far as the employee goes I can understand I would never ever work for a commercial beekeeper. Sure love doing for myself though. I just talked to mike the other day.
tecumseh
07-26-2005, 05:06 AM
it seems like the temperature on the gulf coast of texas is always +100. tecumseh isdown to pulling honey from his last yard , but has been stopped dead in his tracks by a summer cold. my normal schedule is to start at first light and be done with the field work by 10am. so the choices seems to be less sleep or heat exhaustion.
beegee
07-26-2005, 08:00 AM
Supposed to be 100+ here today. It was around 98 yesterday. I pulled honey yesterday and started extracting 18 frames last night in my new motorized extractor. Never got up to full speed. I have to go to town this AM and buy some longer lag screws to secure it to the floor.
I had to take a super of Permacomb to show my unbelieving friends. The bees filled most frames 100% and left a few cells in the corners of a couple of frames. They pulled the wax far enough I can uncap them and will have more honey in each of the 3 Permacomb supers I pulled than in any of the others.
Dan Williamson
07-26-2005, 09:18 AM
>>I have to go to town this AM and buy some longer lag screws to secure it to the floor.
I got rid of the original stand I had my extractor on and built a stand out of lumber. I used some 4x6 for part of it which added alot of weight and nice castor wheels to the bottom of it. The wheels on the bottom seem to stabilize the vibration as it just rocks back and forth on the wheels. It is a 12/21 frame kelley extractor and is easy to move if needed around the honey house.
Pulled honey last Sat. Temp was close to 90. But humid as all get out. Sunday was 100 so I pulled it just in time. Going back in a week or two to pull the rest.
Dan
Dan
I'm envious of you guys with honey. We've had an exceptionally dry spring and early summer. All nectar sources pretty much dried up. Have a few boxes filled but nowhere near normal.Finally have gotten a few good rains in the past week or so. Hoping things turn around a bit.
Barry Digman
07-26-2005, 10:20 AM
I grabbed one frame over the weekend to see how the low humidity theory held up. It was beautiful. Temps have cooled off here nicely so I may get started this week. I was in SW Colorado Sunday and it rained so hard I had to pull off the highway and wait it out. It dropped to around 58F while the rain poured down. Lots and lots of wildflowers in bloom on the mountains above 6,000 ft. Can't imagine what it's like for you folks trying to work in this heat.
Bob Harrison
07-26-2005, 01:15 PM
We had a big crop on but then the hot weather hit and burned up the clover. The last yard I extracted from the bottom supers were mt in the center frame oval.
Crop is getting moved down into brood nest fast. May only end up with a normal crop.
Looks like the rain predicted to break the drought has missed us. Drought continues in our area of Missouri!
We're close to 100 and no rain for weeks. I never thought I'd say this, but thank God we live on the Marsh. The bees are still bringing something in from over there and I'm hoping to resume harvesting when (and if) it cools off this weekend (the weather report says all the way down into the high 80's!). I've gotten about 15 gallons from my 9 hives so far, with 13 mediums waiting to be harvested. My girls sure do look miserable, though--they're hanging almost swarmlike on the outsides of the hives. Do bees ever abscond because of hot weather?
Bob Harrison
07-27-2005, 05:11 AM
Our weather has broken. 57F. outside now! My short break is over. Hpoe your weather breaks today Tia!
Thanks, Bob. I can use all the good wishes I can get. They're saying today's supposed to be the hottest day in NC history! We're supposed to start "cooling" tomorrow with temps in the low 90's, constantly cooling until Saturday when it should be around 88 degrees. I'll have to get my long johns out.
Bob Harrison
07-27-2005, 10:35 AM
I just came in from working outside putting pallets of supers on the cargo container. I was going to pull supers today but not hot enough for the fume boards to work very well. High around 79 F.After over a 100F. two days ago.
What a wondeful break!
Should be headed your way!
From your mouth to God's ear, Bob.