Page 3 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 38

Thread: New beekeeping apprentice

  1. #21

    Default

    I'm sure i got to see a Paynes hive on Friday, i really liked the ledges where the frames sit and the bees had space to get out the way. So that was noted!!

  2. #22

    Default

    The long hives sound interesting and I'm in the same northern climate too.

  3. #23

    Default

    Forgot to say, planning to join ADBKA too.

  4. #24

    Default

    Hi I know it sounds self explanatory but what is isolation starvation? I'm trying to think why one way may be more lightly than another?

  5. #25

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BethPotters View Post
    Hi I know it sounds self explanatory but what is isolation starvation? I'm trying to think why one way may be more lightly than another?
    Its when the bees starve to death with food in easy reach
    They can do some moronic things at times
    If the stores in question are below them for instance on brood and half (broodbox+super)
    So you have to think for them and have stores above the cluster

  6. #26

    Default

    Thanks, thought it must be something like that but then I didn't take in to account them being moronic lol! Now I know its possible and to watch out for it.

  7. #27
    Administrator gavin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Tayside
    Posts
    4,464
    Blog Entries
    41

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BethPotters View Post
    Thanks, thought it must be something like that but then I didn't take in to account them being moronic lol! Now I know its possible and to watch out for it.
    To be honest, they do try hard to put their stores above their heads in autumn and perhaps we are to blame for rearranging things and putting them in boxes of shapes not to their liking . If we do that, then insulation (especially above their heads) helps them warm up enough to leave the cluster and collect stores from the colder parts of the hive to see them through the worst of the weather. Or give them more food immediately above them.

  8. #28

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gavin View Post
    To be honest, they do try hard to put their stores above their heads in autumn and perhaps we are to blame for rearranging things and putting them in boxes of shapes not to their liking . If we do that, then insulation (especially above their heads) helps them warm up enough to leave the cluster and collect stores from the colder parts of the hive to see them through the worst of the weather. Or give them more food immediately above them.
    Your right there Gavin I don't much care for brood and a half overwintering because once they get up into the super they stay there and even that small gap between the brood frames and the super frames can become a real barrier
    In the SBA mag Ian Craig advised two brood boxes with only 8 frames in each plus a wide insulating spacer either side, rearranged so all the food was above the bees in September when any top up feeding was done.
    Wish I was as organised as he is

  9. #29

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by prakel View Post
    I've got a few 13 frame bs boxes which hardly deserve the title of longhive but offer similar options to those which you're searching for. They are supered of course (with dadant shallows) but the 13 frames afford the option of pulling a couple of store combs from the back of the nest at harvest time -adds up nicely but of course in such a small box it does need replacing with sugar or a late summer flow such as the benweed but I'm quite partial to that myself! I have a friend who's taken to running his nationals warm way so that he can (some years) pull that extra honey comb from the back.

    I definitely prefer the warm way for similar reasons to those which you outline; quite often see claims that warm/coldway are now irrelevant with mesh floors but we don't use them so I can't really comment on whether that statement holds water or whether it's simply a misunderstanding of the depth of difference between the two configurations.
    It's good to know you've found the same regarding nest arrangement/reading. I've only a few hives, so I've only made a few observations. & good to know I'm not alone in liking "warm way"! (I just call it "warm way" because other beekeepers usually know what I mean. All my floors are mesh, so warm/cold is almost certainly irrelevant in my case.)
    I don't get to harvest that extra honey comb, alas. I came to beekeeping with a big heap of ideals, one of which is to overwinter bees on honey. It makes beekeeping even harder, and I don't know whether I'll stick with it in the long term, but that's what I'm aiming for at the moment.

  10. #30

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BethPotters View Post
    Hi I know it sounds self explanatory but what is isolation starvation? I'm trying to think why one way may be more lightly than another?
    Longhive entrance position can cause isolation starvation because in cold weather clustered bees have limited options for movement. If they move along and eat through all the honey at one end of the longhive, they may not have the energy (or the right decision-making ability) to double back to get to stores at the other end. If all the stores are packed at the back, then in winter the cluster will start moving backwards into the stores when they run low on food, and can then keep on moving in the same direction into more & more food.
    That's the theory, anyway! So far I've found, as Prakel has, that if the entrance is at one end, the bees will tend essentially to start by building brood combs, & store any honey surplus at the back. So the first part of the theory holds. As to whether they'll keep eating backwards during the winter... It worked well for me with one colony, last winter. That's all I know so far, but it was an encouraging start. Most Scottish beekeepers (and most Scottish bee colonies!) will tell you that moving "Up" is what bees do best, but for various reasons I wanted to give "Along" a go.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •