tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post5130702276848509309..comments2024-01-27T02:01:24.039-05:00Comments on Happy Hour at the Top Bar: First Split of the SeasonJulie Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09965401314478095790noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post-51760930415766369742016-04-28T10:16:13.577-04:002016-04-28T10:16:13.577-04:00I just picked up Jay Smith's book. I'm gla...I just picked up Jay Smith's book. I'm glad it's a small book, which makes me look forward to it even more. I like people who cut to the chase.<br /><br />-----<br /><br />Your photo for "Some queen spotting practice" is excellent, by the way. I clicked it to enlarge it and the queen didn't jump out at me during my first scan. Then I found her. It's funny when I finally spot a queen in a photo, my first thought is, "How did I not spot THAT immediately?" Practice, I guess. I didn't spot a queen in any of my hives until my second summer.<br /><br />------<br /><br />In my Langstroth hives, swarm cells are usually on the bottom edge and supersedure cells are usually in the middle. That does seem to hold true in my experience most of the time, though I've seen both cells all over the frames.<br /><br />If I have the time to build a hive and enough bees to fill it, I hope to start up my first TBH this year. I've always wanted to do it.<br /><br />-----<br /><br />I've dealt with my fair share of mean bees that chased after people in my old backyard. Only one colony was always that way no matter what I did and I had to be requeened. But the rest calmed down after a couple of weeks of good weather. I still have some meanish bees in my beeyard and I plan to requeen them. There's nothing worse than not being able to relax around your bees.Philliphttp://mudsongs.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post-66295000168381520872016-04-27T05:17:37.541-04:002016-04-27T05:17:37.541-04:00I hear you about the different sizes of bars. I...I hear you about the different sizes of bars. I've been playing around with bar lengths over the past few years, but I've decided to switch from a 20" bar to 19" because it will fit my hives, but it can also bee inserted into a Lang.<br /><br />Thanks for the encouragement, but when I tally up all the hours I've spent trying to figure out the best approach to the nucs and all the sleep I've lost due to nightmares about swarms that got away, I'm not sure how much ROI I'm actually getting. Ha! Next year, I'm taking a friend's advice to offer just one size -- mine -- and let the buyer sort it out. LOL! Actually, I've also decided to just sell overwintered nucs, too. That way I don't have to fret about springtime weather constantly, too. <br /><br />Fingers crossed for the new queens. I talk tough, but the idea of having to commit a regicide breaks my heart.Julie Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09965401314478095790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post-14772836302295119452016-04-26T14:33:49.441-04:002016-04-26T14:33:49.441-04:00I agree that different sized bars between hives ar...I agree that different sized bars between hives are a pain. This year, I built a nuc hive (that I just put the swarm in) that is a cross between the two styles I use, so hopefully I won't have to do any trimming from bars made here. However, now I realize that if I want to move any bees to my Langstroth hive, I'm totally unprepared because my bars are all 17" or less. If it comes to that, I'll have to rubber band comb into the lang frames.<br /><br />Good for you on making splits for some return on your beekeeping. I hope that the angry hives do better with new queens mated with calmer drones from your area!Donhttp://www.buddhaandthebees.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post-47266166911114898052016-04-25T08:57:43.375-04:002016-04-25T08:57:43.375-04:00Thanks, that makes sense. Tarpy's research, if...Thanks, that makes sense. Tarpy's research, if I recall, found that in an emergence the bees will use 1-4 day old larva for queens. The 3-4 day old larva tends to hatch first, and have poorer characteristics by traditional measures than the 1-2 day larva. As you say, who knows what the bees think.<br /><br />Thanks for the thoughts!Erikhttps://beeswitheeb.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post-6665607442846377452016-04-24T15:32:37.274-04:002016-04-24T15:32:37.274-04:00Most of the queens I've raised come from split...Most of the queens I've raised come from splits I've made from swarm cells, and they've all been excellent, but the few emergency queens I've raised have been just as good (at least from my perspective. Don't know what the bees think.) <br /><br />There's no doubt that swarm queens are the best because they've been raised to be queens from day 1. If you read Better Queens by Jay Smith, he goes into the mathematics of why they're better in terms of how much they get fed. <br /><br />I haven't read up on Tarpy's research yet, so I can't speak to that. However, there are things one can do to get better queens, including:<br /><br />1) Don't make splits until it's swarm season and there are lots of drones available. <br />2) Use comb with new, soft wax and lots of eggs around the edges of the comb where there is more room to reshape the cells. Old brood comb cannot be reshaped easily, so the queens are more stunted.<br /><br />One of the comments that I continually hear is that swarm cells are on the bottoms of the comb and emergency cells are along top edges or on the face of the comb. I've never found that true. In both cases, I've always found my cells all along the edges of the comb, but that makes sense in a TBH where the entire edge is the "bottom" and where there is more room.<br /><br />Also, bees are known to eliminate subpar queens themselves, so they'll pick the best eggs/larvae from whatever available choices they have right from the beginning. <br /><br />Good luck!Julie Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09965401314478095790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post-82692472922796555822016-04-24T08:05:13.273-04:002016-04-24T08:05:13.273-04:00I saw a talk by Dr. David Tarpy on queen quality, ...I saw a talk by Dr. David Tarpy on queen quality, and he said research had found that emergency queens have lower quality (by their measures) than swarm-preparation queens. Do you ever have issues with letting the bees create their own queen in this way? i've been trying to get my hives to "pre-swarm" for just this reason, though it has been a little problematic with the timing. Look forward to following your experiences on this.<br /><br />Interesting that adding brood seemed to encourage a more active hive - I'll have to remember that. I suppose it makes sense as the queen can only lay as many eggs as the hive can support. Glad to see your bees expanding now that spring is finally here to stay.<br /><br />Thanks for the post!Erikhttps://beeswitheeb.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com