Comments for NJBA

Comment on Destroy Cardboard Nuc With EFB by cathy bogucki

cathy bogucki — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:09:38 +0000

I have also have EFB from the same batch of nucs. I got mine 4/21/11 sj branch.
Thank you for the info. First thing I will do is throw away the cardboard box. Start treatment tomorrow. I also don’t have a queen, just a laying worker, so replacing the queen is next. Great start, it’s an education on beekeeping. Thanks for the support. Without my fellow beekeepers I’d be lost.

Comment on Destroy Cardboard Nuc With EFB by Barbara G.

Barbara G. — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:57:42 +0000

Tim, as you know, I also got 2 nucs this spring from our JCBA group and both have EFB, which I am currently treating for. I was unaware that I should destroy the nuc boxes and used one for a swarm with two nicely combed out frames for temptation. Should I also now destroy those few frames and foundation? Thanks, all!

Comment on Running Nine Frames Down From Ten by Kevin Inglin

Kevin Inglin — Thu, 26 May 2011 17:24:37 +0000

9 vs. 10, there’s an age old debate that exists about this.

The reason one would want to do this is important for new beekeepers. Some will say that the inspection process, and specifically the problem of ‘rolling’ the bees is a reason to take out one frame of a brood chamber. With nine there is more room to separate the frames during inspection and less chance of aggravating or damaging bees. It should be noted though that with a nine frame configuration that the bees will maintain bee space and most likely will build bridge comb in the extra space because a frame is missing.

On another note, often beekeepers employ 9 frames instead of 10 in a honey super for a different reason. For a honey super, 9 frames with space encourage the bees to build deeper comb. The benefit of this becomes apparent when you go to uncap the frame; it sticks out a little further and is easier to get at.

BTW, if you only use 9 frames, after 10 hive boxes you’ll get a full deeps worth of frames at 10%off…

Comment on Strong Hive With Swarm Cells…What To Do? by Landi Simone

Landi Simone — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:07:26 +0000

Susan, there are a couple of other possibilities. One is that you damaged the queen cells when you examined the colony to determine that your bees were in swarm mode. At a certain stage of development shortly before emerging, the queens’ wing buds are very vulnerable to damage. Tilting the cells by as little as 15º can damage the developing wings and result in virgin queens that will never fly to mate. If this happened, the bees would start the whole process over and you would have gained a couple of weeks. Also, if you are working with Russian bees, they keep active queen cells going almost all the time, even when they’re not swarming!

Comment on Strong Hive With Swarm Cells…What To Do? by njbeekee

njbeekee — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:28:21 +0000

If the swarm queen cells were capped when you noticed them, then they were about 8 or more days into the cycle of creating a queen and about a week or less from emerging. (If the cells were open, it was less than 8 days since the eggs were laid.) Once the new queen emerges, she will go on mating flights during the period where she is anywhere from three to 13 days old, but takes place primarily on the seventh and eighth day of a queen’s life. The queen will start laying eggs two to three days after her mating. Typically, swarming will take place after the queen swarm cells are capped and before the new queens start emerging. So, if three weeks have elapsed, the hive should have swarmed and a new queen mated and laying. During the time that there is no laying queen in a hive, and there is a nectar flow on, the workers will fill what should be the brood area with nectar, possibly creating a honey-bound hive. The most important step to take right now is to determine whether or not you have a laying queen in the hive by looking for eggs or newly hatched larvae.

Comment on Strong Hive With Swarm Cells…What To Do? by Susan Brandauer

Susan Brandauer — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:38:15 +0000

From the time no eggs and swarm cells are noticed, how long before they swarm. It’s been three weeks and the girls just keep making honey. I re-queened the one hive yesterday (she’s still in the cage, I’m sure) and have another queen on the way for next Friday. Did I totally mess up?

Comment on Submit Questions by Chris Hibbs

Chris Hibbs — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Hi: We know it’s time to put on honey supers within 1 to 2 weeks. We also know that for the new supers with undrawn foundation, we don’t use the queen excluder. We also know that we can’t feed syrup or medicate when honey supers for human consumption are on. Our question: can we leave on the pollen patty while we have the honey supers on? The bees are really going after the patty and I want to be sure they have all the food they need. Since this goes “down” to the brood, is it ok to leave on with honey supers?
Thanks

Comment on Is MAQS™ Available in New Jersey by Kevin Inglin

Kevin Inglin — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 01:13:58 +0000

MAQS=Mite Away Quick Strips for those that are not familiar with the new Acronym.

Comment on All Hives Are Not Equal by Kevin Inglin

Kevin Inglin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:25:36 +0000

Ran into this same situation last year. Two hives installed, one queen started laying in a few days and the other took almost two weeks. Be patient, it is proable that she’s in there getting acclimated.

Comment on Where is Early Pollen Coming From? by msunshine

msunshine — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:23:48 +0000

Thanks Landi!