Spring nucing in east Texas

[jim lyon]

Tis the season.....

http://s470.photobucket.com/user/jim...tml?sort=6&o=0

[Rader Sidetrack]

One of the photos is labeled as "Portable incubator", and there is a small white plastic box in the hive. Assuming that is the "incubator", is it really just a cage that protects the cells from being damaged, or is there actually some form of artificial heat applied by (or to) the plastic box?

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[sjvbee]

Nice pictures jim thanks for sharing

[Michael Palmer]

Ha! You call big ones "Hooters"?

[DRUR]

Where abouts in East Texas Jim?

[irwin harlton]

Nice pictures,nice "hooters", THANKS FOR SHARING

[squarepeg]

cool pix, thanks jim.

[jim lyon]

One of the photos is labeled as "Portable incubator", and there is a small white plastic box in the hive. Assuming that is the "incubator", is it really just a cage that protects the cells from being damaged, or is there actually some form of artificial heat applied by (or to) the plastic box?

.

We took a regular hive body and lined it with 1/4" foam insulation and fastened it onto a drip pan with the "guts" of an incubator mounted in it. It's powered by one of those cheap power inverters that you plug into the 12 volt automotive plug in. A real budget setup that does a real nice job and capable of hauling up to 700 cells if needed. It does double duty to warm glass Pyrex containers that we use inside of a small foam cooler to carry from hive to hive if the temps are cool. The "plastic box" you see is just a thermometer.

[jim lyon]

Where abouts in East Texas Jim?

Marion County near Jefferson.
...and ya Mike can you think of a better description than hooters?

[wildbranch2007]

are you having any problems with emerging bees dying with there tongue sticking up. seems that many hives coming out of almonds are showing the problem this year? nice pictures.

[jim lyon]

are you having any problems with emerging bees dying with there tongue sticking up. seems that many hives coming out of almonds are showing the problem this year? nice pictures.

Yeah we are seeing some of that. We typically see a wide variation in the "almond bees" and this year is no different. As a whole they came back averaging almost exactly the same weight as they went out there, with honey/feed weight being replaced by bee weight. A hive of similar size left in Texas always does much better than the one shipped out to the almonds. Nothing new there. In my mind there is some exposure out there that seems to set some hives back more than others. On the plus side, though, we always have plenty of brood and bees for us to work with and the bees recover very quickly here in east Texas.

[BMAC]

Hey Jim I used to run about 2 hours south slightly west of you when I lived in KC. Friends of mine I would work with still go there. Nice part of the country this time of year.

[Keith Jarrett]

A hive of similar size left in Texas always does much better than the one shipped out to the almonds. On the plus side, though, we always have plenty of brood and bees for us to work with and the bees recover very quickly here in east Texas.

The only other small plus that I can think of is 165 x 768. But that's just extra bingo change.

[jean-marc]

The man does need to finance his other gambling addiction.

Jean-Marc

[benstung]

yeah kieth more like 80 when its all said and done

[BMAC]

80 is better than nothing, well less you spent 120 to get them there.

[jim lyon]

The only other small plus that I can think of is 165 x 768. But that's just extra bingo change.

Oh ya. I knew I was forgetting something in my analysis. At the risk of starting a whole new debate I would put the costs that are easily calculated at something like $40 per hive for trucking and handling fees. Feed and supplement costs are a tricky number. For us, as odd as it might sound to some, we didn't put any sub on last year (sorry Keith) and our feed costs would have been the same whether they were sitting in Texas or in California. I think pollen sub programs pay back big time but the fall window when it is most effective just dosent fit in with our honey production and the broodless treatment time that our management requires. If I were set up in California and pollination was the biggest part of our income my numbers would be considerably different for sure. For us, we hope to have 2/3rds of the bees that we start in the spring that are big enough to make a pollinating unit the following February. For some beekeepers with a serious "sub program" that number is probably over 100%

[Keith Jarrett]

ate I would put the costs that are easily calculated at something like $40 per hive for trucking and handling fees.

That sounds about right Jim, $20 for shipping & $20 for handling, Benstung must be adding in his bar tab to come up with his figure.

[benstung]

dry county here keith
http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/cb...tml?sort=3&o=0

[Rob Renneker]

Nice pictures, Jim!