Queenless Trap

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Jason

Trap 25 prior to hiving.

Last week was set to be the beginning of a new experiment.  (see Latest Experiment – Attempting to use NO wire in deep foundation-less frames)  That will need postponing.  It appeared at hiving that Trap25 had no queen in it.

I picked this box up about an hour North of my home.  I caught two nice swarms at the same place last year.  Normally I never move a trap unless I first see pollen entering, but being so far away I didn’t want to make two trips.  I guess that was a bad idea this time. Continue reading →

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1103 is Queenless

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Jason

1103 is on the left. Not sure what happened. Things looked good from outsider observation a month ago….

Had a call from one of the hive sites last week.  They had been observing and noticed that things just weren’t as active as they had been several weeks ago in 1103.  They were afraid that the bees were dead.

I have had reports like this before and had them be false alarms, but I don’t take chances due to the way that wax moths LOVE to wreak havoc on hive equipment.  Sure enough upon arriving on the scene I could tell that there was a definite lack of traffic.  Most of the hives this year are roaring with activity in the afternoons.  The hive next to 1103 (1109) was normal.  Continue reading →

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New Beekeeping Friend

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Jason

More stuff to paint.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to add another name to the list of interesting people I have met since becoming a beekeeper. His name is Gordon and just like most beeks he is ate up with love for bees. He appears to be about 65, but he told me he was 78 and “can’t handle two deep hive bodies full of bees, brood, and honey by himself anymore”.

I met with Gordon for about 5 hours total on two separate occasions. He started beekeeping in 1987 with a hive was housed in a bee gum. A neighbor of his had a tree containing a hive that they had cut down. Gordon brought the section of tree to his place and set it up in his yard. The rest is history. He runs about 40 or so Langstroth hives now. Continue reading →

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Status update on the computer

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Jason

I know I had mentioned a post about top bar hives for this Friday, but it’s only about 60% done. The new hardware for the computer arrived and was installed. Unfortunately something is wrong because it will not boot. Far too much time was spent on it Wednesday and Thursday at the expense of other tasks. Today too much bee work is calling to mess with it very much.

The motherboard manufacturer has been contacted, but it’s not like they are going to send someone to my house to fix it. I’ve had bad installs before but nothing like this. I will keep you posted.

Posted in What's going on.. | 2 Comments

Latest Experiment – Attempting to use NO wire in deep foundation-less frames.

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Jason

The measured frame.

Earlier in the week I had a post on experimentation.  This is the one I will be working on next.

Problem: For two years, I have been stringing hundreds of foundationless frames with wire to give the wax extra support. Why???…. because, people on the internet did it that way. The bees draw things out perfectly, but the queen refuses to place eggs in the cells located where the wire goes across the frame. This causes a line to be skipped in the brood pattern every place there is a wire. Sorry I don’t have pictures at this time.  I think they will eventually use it for honey storage, but I don’t like having cells in there that the queen is unhappy with. I believe the reason this is happening is that the holes drilled in the sides of the frame are not consistently centered. I can see it without measuring, but for the sake of this post I will show the frame with measurements. It is all metric because I felt it would be easier to display. I believe when the queen is inspecting those cells she is aware of the wire in the bottom of the cell and skips it. Continue reading →

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Maybe facebook does have some value

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Jason

A facebook message I don't mind getting

Last weekend was filled by getting some used hive equipment as well as attempting to repair the main computer here at the LetMBee homestead.  Come to find out, I was also catching bees, and didn’t need to leave the house to do it!  On Sunday evening I was on facebook to see if I had any messages.  I’ve been hitting up any and all of my computer-nerd friends for advice associated with the current computing problems.  Low and behold there was a message stating that Trap 25 had been occupied on Saturday 6/9 sometime in the afternoon. Continue reading →

Posted in Feral Bees, Shaken Swarms, Swarm Trapping | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Need for Experimentation

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Jason

The first book I ever read about bees.

Even after growing up on a farm having experience with rabbits, cattle and hogs I was intimidated by the concept of keeping bees. I began by reading a couple of books and ordering some hive equipment. The books were from the 80’s and later.  They all laid out a similar plan for beekeeping which was very rigid.  It was not until I began reading older books (pre 1930) that I felt less apprehensive about beekeeping. Many of the old sources speak of several possible solutions for similar situations. The results of the experimentation of many different beekeepers over hundreds of years. It got me excited about this new endeavor.

Our current lack of experimentation is something that needs to change. For as much as we know about bees we are only scratching the surface. From my reading of bee forums it appears that most people only have a hive or two and therefore are too afraid to experiment for fear of losing their solitary hive.  You cannot let that stop you as long as you are experimenting within reason. Continue reading →

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Hardware on order

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Jason

First occupied Trap for 2012

The hardware is on order for the main computer.  Hope to bee up and running soon.

If you are looking for something interesting check out what Sam is up to over at SamsWildBees.

Posted in What's going on.. | 2 Comments

After work work

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Jason

Trap03 on its hive stand. 6/4/12

Things have slowed somewhat with my traps.  Last night I hived a strangler, Trap03, after I got off work.  It came from a new site.  There had been a hit on it previously this spring.  “On 5/13 – HIT, but the bees left on 5/15“.  They had constructed a large piece of comb on the bottom of the trap, then left.  It was a first for me.  I removed the comb and told the host I wasn’t giving up on the site.

Continue reading →

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Records in beekeeping

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Jason

This “record” will show where I got poison ivy this time!!!!

Since I began beekeeping I have taken records in several different ways.  Initially I used a form downloaded from the internet that was like performing a physical every time I opened the hive.  I gathered a lot of information as numerical values and yes/no check-boxes.  When I went back through to review a lot of that information was not nearly as useful as what I had written in my “Notes” section. Continue reading →

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