http://www.beesource.com/forums/ Warre hive beekeeping. en Sat, 25 May 2013 14:06:20 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.beesource.com/forums/images/misc/rss.png http://www.beesource.com/forums/ http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283247-first-peek&goto=newpost Tue, 21 May 2013 08:55:11 GMT Well today is day 9, and the weather finally warmed back up since I first hived the gals. Hive one decided to cross comb everything at a 45. ... Well today is day 9, and the weather finally warmed back up since I first hived the gals.

Hive one decided to cross comb everything at a 45. The queen was still stuck in her cage, they combed her in. She had hardly any candy holding her in, just enough from keeping her from getting out I guess before they built comb all around her cage. I picked it clean and stuck her back in in my queen ring for release. So much for guide strips and partial bars on the ends. Actually what I think happened, they followed the angle of the queen cage. I made a 'queen ring' to slide the cage in betweend the upper two boxes. Its a good idea, but our temps dropped and ended up in the teens the last couple of days. I'm glad I checked (before the temps dropped too much) as they completely left the queens high and dry minus a couple of attendants. I hung both cages (the plastic types), with some fishing line off the tab. They were both hung in the middle of the cluster. The 2nd hives cage was running parralell with the bars....I dont know of it was a koinky dink, but I thought I'd mention it.

Hive 2 had the queen released and they decided to follow the comb guides. They're filling things out nicely so far.

Should I mess with the cross comb or just let it go? I do have bars with about half a frame down each side and a shortguide strip. I know the decision is mine, but having 0 experience with langs/warre's I'd like to hear the skinny. I may steal a straight bar later on from the better hive before the crooked hive moves down a box so they have something straight as a reference. I think next go I'll use some wax starter strips made from stir sticks off my guide strips to help them build straight. with my top bars fixing cross comb wasnt hard at all. I'd assume it would be the same on the warres and I should get too it before it gets ugly? I'd have to remove the hole upper box to fix it so I'm thinking it would be best to let them be? ]]> Warre Hive Forum AkDan http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283247-first-peek http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283215-Any-Illinois-warre-beeks&goto=newpost Mon, 20 May 2013 23:11:31 GMT Looking to network with other northern Illinois warre enthusiasts. Looking to network with other northern Illinois warre enthusiasts. ]]> Warre Hive Forum Rookhawk http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283215-Any-Illinois-warre-beeks http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283029-When-to-Add-3rd-Box&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 22:36:14 GMT New Warre keeper here....I installed 1-1/2 packages in each of my two-box hives this past Saturday (May 11th) and did my first inspections... New Warre keeper here....I installed 1-1/2 packages in each of my two-box hives this past Saturday (May 11th) and did my first inspections yesterday...I was very surprised to see that at 5 days, both hives had drained the hive-top feeders (WarreStore) which had 3 qts in each at install...they were bone dry !...such gluttons...Anyway, they have already drawn down about 60% comb in the top boxes and approx. 25% in the bottom boxes.. I have been a little concerned from reading other posts that bottom boxes often are difficult to get the bees to move down to. So I guess I should feel a lucky so far. My question is when should I think about placing a third box on each hive and should it be nadired ? I have a beekeeper mentor (albeit with Langstoth hives) that suggested when the top box gets 60% capped, then go ahead and add the 3rd box. Any ideas or suggestions ?

Thanks ]]> Warre Hive Forum BYOBee http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283029-When-to-Add-3rd-Box http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283013-Using-a-Rapid-Feeder-and-the-Quilt-Box-confused&goto=newpost Fri, 17 May 2013 18:54:00 GMT Our first ever package of bees will be arriving in 1-3 days and I'm scrambling to complete our Warre hive. We have everything finished except for the quilt box cloth and the feeder set-up because I'm not quite clear on how to arrange everything. We purchased a Rapid Feeder from BeeWorks (http://www.beeworks.com/catalog/inde...products_id=14) but I'm not sure how to set it up with the quilt box. I have seen photos with a hole cut in the cloth but it wasn't clear if it was the top cloth that lays over the bars or the quilt cloth that is attached to the quilt box. If it is the top cloth do I just set another empty hive box on it and then cover that box with the quilt box? And at what point do I remove this box and feeder if that is the case? Thanks for any help! We're down to the wire! ]]> Warre Hive Forum b_thistle http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?283013-Using-a-Rapid-Feeder-and-the-Quilt-Box-confused http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282932-Warre-hive-mystery-where-d-that-new-queen-come-from&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 18:00:08 GMT Newbeek here, totally baffled by what's happening in our modified Warre from Sweet Valley Hives: We installed on April 20 in Philadelphia, and have had very cold weather. Queen was released with some help from us on Day 5. After a couple more weeks of chilly weather, we opened the hive last night as we had no visual confirmation of capped brood. The population had definitely been dwindling which of course makes sense. Yesterday was day 26 in the hive. A few days before, we had seen three small wax cell caps on the screened bottom board: honey colored and concave on one side, lighter, convex and bumpy on the other.

So, back to last night's opening: once we got the roof, quilt, and screen off, we pulled out one frame at a time, starting further away from the colony. One bar was completely empty, the next had a little comb, a few bees, and nectar, then things got more dense. As far as we could tell, though, there was no capped brood anywhere. Lots of nectar and some capped honey along the top. Maybe a couple of drone cells? Also, yikes, some queen cups on the comb face and a few along the bottom edge of one comb.

We found the queen on the fourth comb, and here's the weird thing: she was not the queen that came with our package! This one had no red dot and her abdomen was pale gold and not striped. But definitely a queen. Also, one of the queen cups had an apparently lifeless bee emerging from the opening. Since we had found the queen I decided not to pull the last bars but now I regret not checking for capped brood.

So… What do you all think happened? We have three ideas:

1. The package queen was deemed unfit early on, and the bees superseded her early. The queen we saw was the victorious new queen, possibly still virgin? (She was pretty skinny) Doesn't bode well for the colony growing.

2. There was a second non-caged queen in the package we got? That might explain the reluctance of the colony to get the package queen out of her cage. But then there should be brood by now?

3. I wonder if the bees put a lot of effort into comb building early on, but then had to focus on foraging, and filled the existing comb with nectar leaving little room for laying. Might they then feel like they were too crowded with no room for brood, and swarm? Were the cells we saw swarm cells and not supersedure cells? The colony looks small enough to me at this point that a small swarm in the past few days does not seem impossible.

Any comments?? ]]> Warre Hive Forum AspenAlley http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282932-Warre-hive-mystery-where-d-that-new-queen-come-from http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282783-pronunciation&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 12:17:03 GMT Okay so I am American and I say "Ware" hive. I have been told that it is French and it is pronounced "Warae" with a long "A" at the end. My response to that is that Paris is French and pronounced Paree with a long E at the end, but we say Paris.

Versailles is pronounced "Versi", but we say "Versails".

So who here says "Ware" and who said "Warae"? ]]> Warre Hive Forum keeper http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282783-pronunciation http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282499-Simplified-Inch-Dimensions-amp-Using-As-Bait-Hive&goto=newpost Thu, 09 May 2013 15:10:44 GMT Hello, I am a somewhat new beekeeper (yet to have my first successful over winter) using standard Langstroth hives. I am interested in trying a... Hello,

I am a somewhat new beekeeper (yet to have my first successful over winter) using standard Langstroth hives. I am interested in trying a Warre hive but have to believe there is a simpler set of dimensions. If it is supposed to be the peoples hive that is easy to build, then measurements in 32th of an inch seems excessive. I suspect that is connected to a direct conversion from metric. Has anyone worked out a set of plans that use standard US measurements and lumber?

Also I would likely need to populate a Warre hive I build from a swarm, has anyone tried using a single Warre box as a bait hive up in a tree and then when a swarm moved in move it to a hive stack on the ground?

Thanks,
Jerry ]]> Warre Hive Forum jtcweb http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?282499-Simplified-Inch-Dimensions-amp-Using-As-Bait-Hive http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281996-one-week-in-not-using-top-box&goto=newpost Thu, 02 May 2013 02:29:04 GMT Hi all! I'm very new with bees, and learning all I can! I installed my bees from a 3# package a week ago into my Warre (2 boxes), and they are busy busy! They have built out half of the bottom box, straight beautiful comb, but haven't started anything at all in the top box. My understand was they would start in the top, and build down down down... do I need to do anything? Or leave it and see what happens? Do I have backwards bees? :)I did a line of beeswax on each top bar in both boxes, and I do have a jar feeder in the upper box as it was pretty chilly over the weekend, and they drank all but about 3T of the quart so I gave them more today... does having the jar at one side of the top box prevent them from building comb up there? A guy in my bee club who used to have Warre's told me to feed this way, but thought I’d ask here as well! I'm doing everything I can to leave them alone and let them be...I just want to make sure we get started strong! :) Thanks for any wisdom you can share!

~Concerned new bee mom :) ]]> Warre Hive Forum beemartin http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281996-one-week-in-not-using-top-box http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281820-strong-opinions-Beethinking-vs-the-Warre-Store&goto=newpost Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:28:53 GMT for buying a cedar Warre hive? for buying a cedar Warre hive? ]]> Warre Hive Forum mahobee http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?281820-strong-opinions-Beethinking-vs-the-Warre-Store