Are you ready for the Odfrank overwintering challenge?

[BayHighlandBees]

I didn't get them from olly, but I'm sure his drones like to hang out with my girls. I'll have to teach them to stay away from the seedy drones that live up on the hill!

[BayHighlandBees]

Murph,
how long did it take for your hive to succumb to the Yellow Jackets?

-Andrew

[seyc]

I need to look inside my hives to see what I have. As of last week, I had three hives, two single deep and single medium, and one, one deep and two mediums. Then, there is the other one. It has a virgin queen (hatched out a week before) with a deep and a medium, then a queen excluder and a single medium with a virgin queen (hatched a week before). So, if I see brood (or not), I will back date it to whatever the status was yesterday. (The queens hatched out Wednesday or Thursday, two weeks ago.)

[RayMarler]

So, the challenge is to lose a higher percentage than Olly right? ...

I've got 13 nucs, no treatments. 2 queens from spring and 11 from after mid july. Only 1 or 2 looking impressive at all.

[BayHighlandBees]

all of mine are reduced to single deeps at this point

[Charlie B]

So, the challenge is to lose a higher percentage than Olly right? ...

I'm not sure anyone can do that!

[Charlie B]

I didn't get them from olly, but I'm sure his drones like to hang out with my girls. I'll have to teach them to stay away from the seedy drones that live up on the hill!

That's definitely the "low rent" district judging by his boxes.

[odfrank]

all of mine are reduced to single deeps at this point

I would leave an empty super of drawn combs on very strong hives, if all those eucalyptus trees around CSM start blooming you might make a winter crop.

[BayHighlandBees]

when do those Eucalyptus come into play, November?

[odfrank]

when do those Eucalyptus come into play, November?

Yes, watch the trees first for silver buds and then white blossoms. Watch the streets underneath for the silver flower caps. The has been a white flowering smaller euc in bloom for a month down highway 92 at El Camino and the red ficifolias have been blooming also along side 92 next to the golf course. Your bees can reach those.

[odfrank]

If I post my numbers now it will be harder to lie in Spring.

[bevy's honeybees]

17 hives, no treatment.
Southwest Florida. Location helps, sure, but every season my hives make it through is great. We have year round problems like shb, mites, bull ants. Balances out, yes?

So, odfrank, you in?

[odfrank]

So, odfrank, you in?

I have for years shown off and bragged about my beekeeping expertise on BeeSource, all along admitting my failures with small cell and winter losses. This thread is just Charlie's way of putting me down and embarrassing me. I hate to give him the pleasure of seeing me go down. And now he is even harassing me privately to take him and his wife out for dinner. HAH!

[Charlie B]

This thread is just Charlie's way of putting me down and embarrassing me. I hate to give him the pleasure of seeing me go down. And now he is even harassing me privately to take him and his wife out for dinner. HAH!

You know I love you man!

[seyc]

Okay, mark me down as having four hives.

[Charlie B]

If I post my numbers now it will be harder to lie in Spring.

Looks like BHB and I are going to have to conduct a covert operation to count Olly's hives. Anyone else want to come?

[BeeGhost]

Although I still have 8 hives, I put one of the single deeps into a 10 frame double decker nuc for the winter. Other than that, things looked great when I got to check them Yesterday!! Tons of pollen coming in and they are storing away the nectar. They should have enough stores to make it to eucalyptus bloom around January and there are TONS of those trees in the area.

So again, final count is still 8 hives..............7 double deeps and 1 double deep nuc!! Im not even going to treat them with powdered sugar, just going to let them fight or fail with the mites, which I dont think is huge problem as the country hives had a really good broodbreak over the summer with a bad dearth, but came on strong with some feeding.

My only fear is the creek coming up really high, if that happens I'll be hauling hives to higher ground!! But it will take a very exceptionally wet year to do that!!

[Charlie B]

Yes, watch the trees first for silver buds and then white blossoms. Watch the streets underneath for the silver flower caps. The has been a white flowering smaller euc in bloom for a month down highway 92 at El Camino and the red ficifolias have been blooming also along side 92 next to the golf course. Your bees can reach those.

Olly's right, last fall the Euc started to flow and I wound up taking off 300 pounds from 4 hives that was collected from November to February. Very sweet tasting honey but it crystallizes fast.

[Daniel Y]

I have 4 hives, 2 are 5 frame nucs but I have every intention of keeping them through the winter as the others. I am in the treatment category.

[Charlie B]

The has been a white flowering smaller euc in bloom for a month down highway 92 at El Camino and the red ficifolias have been blooming also along side 92 next to the golf course. Your bees can reach those.

That's really close to my new San Mateo bee-yard. Your bees can obviously reach my yard because I caught one of your swarms last week.