View Full Version : Looking for the queen - Australia
I showed my friends the inside of a hive and we came across some brood in the honey super. Obviously the queen slipped through somehow. We found the queen pretty quickly and placed her where she belongs - in the broodbox.
The video showes a simple proceedure we have to do from time to time. Listen to the sound of the bees as they get a little upset.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0loWahEE7U&feature=BFa&list=PL3D06C385260B1EA1
Charlie B
01-11-2012, 11:10 AM
I don't know about Australia but here we have two deeps for brood and then honey supers on top. You might be crowding the brood nest triggering a swarm.
Hi Charlie,
very few people would be working two deeps for the brood. What I do is to shift some brood up ( careful not to move the queen) and give the queen regularly newly drawn foundation from the honey supper. I generally don't carry old foundation. Most seasons it workd pretty well. Unlike photos I see from the US we don't stack honey supers but keep taking honey off pretty well all the time - the rule here is to take 1/3, leave 1/3 of honey and 1/3 of the frames for brood and pollen. This means that we don't have to ever feed and there is plenty for all of us - the bees and the keeper. I keep an eye on the longrange weather and the flowering expectations. I don't shift my bees and after more then 35 years in this area got to know the flowering cycles pretty well.
Charlie B
01-12-2012, 01:00 AM
That's interesting. So you keep your brood nest open by periodically moving a brood frame above the excluder and replacing it with an empty. Then after the brood clears out, they back fill with nectar and you start the process over again? How often do you extract? I like the 1/3 philosophy.
That's interesting. So you keep your brood nest open by periodically moving a brood frame above the excluder and replacing it with an empty. Then after the brood clears out, they back fill with nectar and you start the process over again? How often do you extract? I like the 1/3 philosophy.
Correct - I find it an easy way to keep the brood area new. I may replace up to 3 brood frames at a time.
We extract maybe 8 to 10 times in a reasonable year. Last December was exceptional and I harvested honey 4 times from some hives. I'm teaching long hours at the moment but should be extracting now. Work at times interferes with my hobby!
Adrian Quiney WI
01-13-2012, 10:03 AM
Max 2, do you have a dearth in your area or is there always something blooming?
There is always something flowering - the issue is more a matter of the weather. A year ago we had extreme rain and flooding keeping the bees in. We have to make sure we always keep enough stores to make certain that the bees will not starve when they can't fly. This wet season has been very dry so far and excellent for the bees. The rain will come!
I live on the slopes of a valley. We have Eucalypt and rainforest in front and behind us and pasture ( with loads of clover in spring) below us. There are some excellent bee trees along the river. All quite good for stationary hives.