Thanks for the advice. Im using top bar hives, but I can adapt your suggestions. Is the screened bottom board for ventilation? I can put #8 hardware cloth over the entrance for ventilation, but keep the bees in. I can feed in a ziplock bag in the back of the hive, and the screened entrance will prevent robbing.[/QUOTE
ID start by getting rid of the top bar and get some lan. hives. I hate top bar. I just got in to bees this year and ive got 15 or so cutout hive. I put brood larvae and hiney comb in hive with rubber bans then feed them for coupole weeks. never lost one yt knock on wood. oh I also use a bee vac to pull the bees and I leave entrance wide open
Absonding cutouts are not unusual. My best results for cutouts have been with good afternoon shade, solid bottom boards (to keep out light and let the bees control the ventilation and evaporative cooling), and one or more frames of healthy, open brood. If the colony has a bred queen, queen excluder over the entrance for 4 days (not longer) has helped me.I have had 4 cutouts abscond on me this spring. How common are absconding cutouts?
That is a good rate of success. Can you give us more details about your process, equipment and hives? Cheers.I just got in to bees this year and ive got 15 or so cutout hive. I put brood larvae and hiney comb in hive with rubber bans then feed them for coupole weeks. never lost one yt knock on wood. oh I also use a bee vac to pull the bees and I leave entrance wide open
I use a 25 gallon shop vac with the suction cut way way back with a micron dust filter bag to add cushion. I take my time don't worry about finding queen. first suck up as many bees usually takes a couple hours to do this. Then I go to cutting. I put as much brood as I can in hive maybe a little honey in frames with rubber bands. after this I clean up a little and head home. I keep bees in cool spot till dark if it ant all ready dark pour them in hive wait a couple hours for them to work their way in put a lid on and I leave my entrances open.That is a good rate of success. Can you give us more details about your process, equipment and hives? Cheers.
that's about it oh I feed for couple week if needed 2/1 sugar/water
I use 10 frame lans. with foundation if im not rubber banding comb in
a lot of my cut outs are big ones this year and took up two to three brood boxes. biggest one so far was 21lbs of bees from Huntsville( I like to weight my bounty) and an angry one stung 30 times during 2 day cut out. . filled three boxes and had a bunch of left over black comb I didn't use.
one last thing If I find a queen may keep it but I usually re queen with Russian or buckfast from local guy here. just to make sure its a good fresh queen
that's what I find around here is tiny looking black bees with tiny yellow band. mutt bees from what ive been toldI had a cut out from a duck box earlier this spring. I put them in a dead out from last winter. I also put their own drawn comb and brood in the deep. Thought it would be the perfect home. They absconded after about two weeks. They were small cell very black feral bees. I was very disappointed as I wanted to graft from the queen.
Early last week I walked by an abandonded top bar hive and saw some bee activity. To my surprise the absconded black bees had taken up residence in the old top bar hive. Sure am glad I left the top bar door open.