I live in a country that has a longer season for honey production compared to northern hemisphere climates where there is a much shorter window for production. So management differs, but my question is--does constant robbing and extraction of their honey demoralise them. For this reason, is it more prudent to keep placing supers on the hives and rob them less often than to be taking their honey constantly?
Does Constant Robbing Demoralize Colonies
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Re: Does Constant Robbing Demoralise Colonies
Doesn't really seem to matter to the bees. They can respond a bit defensively, and moreso, if the flow has slowed, just prior to harvest. But, depending on the bees, they may be defensive anytime they are disturbed. Some like to harvest continuously, throughout the season, after every flow period (they get the unique honey from each major floral source), others only harvest once per season, mixing all the different honey's together.
I would say, it depends on how the flows are in your location and what your goals are - the bees recover from a harvest, very quickly. As quickly as any other inspection, unless there is presently a dearth, and not enough honey is left them, for survival to the next flow.
It is however, prudent to place as many supers on a hive, during a flow, as the bees can occupy, since the more comb space the bees will have to use as they ripen nectar into honey, the more honey they can produce from a flow.
Doesn't really seem to matter to the bees. They can respond a bit defensively, and moreso, if the flow has slowed, just prior to harvest. But, depending on the bees, they may be defensive anytime they are disturbed. Some like to harvest continuously, throughout the season, after every flow period (they get the unique honey from each major floral source), others only harvest once per season, mixing all the different honey's together.
I would say, it depends on how the flows are in your location and what your goals are - the bees recover from a harvest, very quickly. As quickly as any other inspection, unless there is presently a dearth, and not enough honey is left them, for survival to the next flow.
It is however, prudent to place as many supers on a hive, during a flow, as the bees can occupy, since the more comb space the bees will have to use as they ripen nectar into honey, the more honey they can produce from a flow.
Re: Does Constant Robbing Demoralise Colonies
As long as you are leaving them enough in the bottom boxes, they shouldn't care overly much when you take the surplus off. Now if you're robbing them so badly they think they don't have any stores left, that could be stressful. Long as you follow the rule of thumb that anything in the 2 bottom deeps (or it's equivolant) is theirs, and anything in the supers is yours, you should be okay though.
As long as you are leaving them enough in the bottom boxes, they shouldn't care overly much when you take the surplus off. Now if you're robbing them so badly they think they don't have any stores left, that could be stressful. Long as you follow the rule of thumb that anything in the 2 bottom deeps (or it's equivolant) is theirs, and anything in the supers is yours, you should be okay though.
Re: Does Constant Robbing Demoralise Colonies
Here we go again. Anyone remember this post a couple months back?
"Being on the other side of the world and reading the forum about sugar feeding I cannot help but feel a great injustice being done to the bees. So in your greed you strip every bit of honey from them, which is their natural wintering food with its vitamins and minerals and other properties, and replace it with sugar because it is cheaper. Seems as though you are treating your bees as second rate animals and then you wonder why you have all the associated problems such as CCD and whinge about honeybee decline. It all does not add up in my opinion and boils down to poor management and the mighty dollar which overtakes all."
Here we go again. Anyone remember this post a couple months back?
"Being on the other side of the world and reading the forum about sugar feeding I cannot help but feel a great injustice being done to the bees. So in your greed you strip every bit of honey from them, which is their natural wintering food with its vitamins and minerals and other properties, and replace it with sugar because it is cheaper. Seems as though you are treating your bees as second rate animals and then you wonder why you have all the associated problems such as CCD and whinge about honeybee decline. It all does not add up in my opinion and boils down to poor management and the mighty dollar which overtakes all."
Re: Does Constant Robbing Demoralise Colonies
Yeah, but then I remember posts about huffing bee air as a cure-all and setting up vibrational frequencies to apparently rattle your bees into being more productive too.
Plenty of crazies, you can't take everything that gets said on the internet seriously.
Yeah, but then I remember posts about huffing bee air as a cure-all and setting up vibrational frequencies to apparently rattle your bees into being more productive too.
Plenty of crazies, you can't take everything that gets said on the internet seriously.
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