is anyone else working with their bees in this weather? i just went on a rampage and switched the hive bodies (bottom to top position, top to bottom position) and now am wondering if have commited stupid mistake doing it in this cool weather... the bees were foraging if that makes any difference.
I don't swap hive bodies. Some people do it religiously and repeatedly. It does prevent swarming but it does it by disrupting the brood nest. In cold weather that's even more disruptive. If they are really strong they will recover fairly quickly. If they are a bit weak and split between two brood boxes and you split the brood nest up, then it will be more difficult. They will probably survive anyway.
I am south of you a bit about 18 mile into Ohio.
I put in 5 packages wensday.If you worked the bees today it was a bit cool but not to bad 58 here.I switched my hive bodys a few weeks ago when we had the heat wave.But you bees should be ok.Hope it warms up next week.They were just getting a good start befor the cold snap.I saw your other post are the bee dropping on the inside of the hive?
As far as how cold I work them, if they aren't flying, I don't work them at all. If it's chilly but they're flying I try not to disturb the brood too much.
I'm down here in Hillsdale and I've been working my bees since late February. The bees were doing well in the cooler weather today. Several strong colonies were bringing in dandelion pollen in great quantities.
I've been rearing my own queens for the past five years and I watch the ones that work during the cooler / damp weather and try to breed from them. It's not always a guarantee, but the stock seems to be hardy.
I've been having good success overwintering bees nucs made from a single deep divided in half. They are my queen mating nucs that I let build up after queen rearing is done in the fall.
Surprisingly, they pack them out with honey and still have some left over in the spring. The bees appear to be an Italian / Carni cross...too light to be a pure Carni, yet very dark for an Italian.
Some people are so bold to call them "mutts", but aren't we all...to some degree?
My bees can usually be worked without smoke or gloves. Not always...but more times than not.
thanks all. mitch, i didnt notice any bee droppings inside the hive. i'll keep an eye on them. i gave them syrup, so, that post you linked my other message to mentioned that.
i'm glad to hear others do some messing around in suboptimal weather. james, where's hillsdale? i was surprised by the amount of honey and pollen my strong colonies had stored!
I finished installing four packages last evening at about 9:00. Temperatures were dropping into the low 40's, but they were the easiest packages I've ever installed. It's been rather cool this past week in the Upper Peninsula.
Earlier in the day, I picked up 25 packages, for members of our local bee association, from a bee supplier in southern Michigan and then made a 5 1/2 hour bee-line for the U.P. A number of hitchhiking bees on the outside of the packages began to fly around the inside of my Jeep as the trip progressed. The bees seemed to really start buzzing when crossing the Mackinac Bridge.
I'm in Michigan and have rotated hive bodies once without breaking up the brood nest and yesterday I added suppers to 9 bhives S. of Lansing Michigan of which 2 were new packages started 1 month ago on 4.9 foundation. Almost everything is blooming here except the apples which should pop this comming week. In one day the suppers were 1/4 full but the bees moved up the honey in the brood boxes to the suppers. The weather here has been in the 40's at night and in the low 60's during the afternoon. The bees are also bring in much pollen.
Clint
Sarah,
Hillsdale is southeast of Coldwater about twenty five miles.
Clinton,
Things down here are starting to pick up as well. Apples are only a week away, and the dandelions are in full swing. Once done at the orchard, I'm headed for a nice grove of black locust in Northern Indiana.
Have you been using Housel positioning? If I remember correctly, you're running med. free, correct?
yeah i'm in mason michigan as well i am just getting started its a little late so i will be buying my bee's for next year so i know i am ready unless someone wants to work a deal out then i will get it this year i am also looking for people that would allow me to come out and observe how they work with the hive's and all that good stuff feel free to email me at onebigchaos@aol.com
Today I just pulled 6 mediums that were capped and ready for extracting. Will extract Saturday. Yes james I have not used meds for 5 years. Just FGMO/Thymol weekly. This winter I received an offer in California that I could not turn down. An Almond grower paid cash for 500 hives and all my equipment so I am starting over here in Michigan.
Clint
alright thanks for the reply my name is josh and also i will call do you mind if i come on out sometime to see how to work with the bee's ? email me once you get this thank you
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