Post by rjoki on Aug 18, 2011 8:58:00 GMT -7
I pulled what I think will be my final frames from my supers for this year on my three hives on August 15th. I have 15 fully capped frames in the house, and I left one super with partially filled and sporadically capped frames on each hive to contribute to the winter stores.
I have read about beekeepers who use three deeps for winter, so have decided to basically use 2 1/2 by leaving the single super on for the winter. I didn't use a queen excluder on any of them this year as I knew it was going to be tough enough for them as it was. The result is that I will be leaving a pretty heavy hive which should have ample stores. I believe that they will move the honey when they begin to rearrange things when fall weather sets in.
For now, I will begin a treatment with Apiguard, and am planing to add one of the new round flat covered top-feeders that I got from Ruhl's. The feeders were a bit expensive, but they will fit nicely inside the slim top-space expander that i used last year to fill with burlap when the weather got cold. Even though the bees are still flying like crazy with the warmer days - I think that feeding may also give them a more ready access to help them fill out the winter storeroom. As the round capped top-feeder only allows access from deep inside the hive, I am hoping that it also will eliminate any robbing from other hives that sometime happens when you begin fall feeding. My hives are all strong so it shouldn't be a problem. I am planning to not use an entrance reducer until the weather begins to chill in October at this point.
As to the honey harvest - two of my three hives are new this year and only contributed a minor amount - I think I'll count my blessings that I got the 15 frames out of the three hives. It looked worse a couple of weeks ago. Last year I pulled a few frames on Sept 1st, but this year I think I should start my treatments for mites etc. this week and be happy with the year.
I also have tried to open a conversation on the general forum here regarding "Africanized" strains here in Oregon, as one of my hives from a nuc this year seems to be uncomfortably aggressive. It's under an ongoing thread called "Mean Bees". I felt that this conversations was most appropriate on the general board, but would love to know if any other Portland beekeepers are experiencing the same aggressive problem with any of your hives.
So how did you do, and where are you at with your hives
I have read about beekeepers who use three deeps for winter, so have decided to basically use 2 1/2 by leaving the single super on for the winter. I didn't use a queen excluder on any of them this year as I knew it was going to be tough enough for them as it was. The result is that I will be leaving a pretty heavy hive which should have ample stores. I believe that they will move the honey when they begin to rearrange things when fall weather sets in.
For now, I will begin a treatment with Apiguard, and am planing to add one of the new round flat covered top-feeders that I got from Ruhl's. The feeders were a bit expensive, but they will fit nicely inside the slim top-space expander that i used last year to fill with burlap when the weather got cold. Even though the bees are still flying like crazy with the warmer days - I think that feeding may also give them a more ready access to help them fill out the winter storeroom. As the round capped top-feeder only allows access from deep inside the hive, I am hoping that it also will eliminate any robbing from other hives that sometime happens when you begin fall feeding. My hives are all strong so it shouldn't be a problem. I am planning to not use an entrance reducer until the weather begins to chill in October at this point.
As to the honey harvest - two of my three hives are new this year and only contributed a minor amount - I think I'll count my blessings that I got the 15 frames out of the three hives. It looked worse a couple of weeks ago. Last year I pulled a few frames on Sept 1st, but this year I think I should start my treatments for mites etc. this week and be happy with the year.
I also have tried to open a conversation on the general forum here regarding "Africanized" strains here in Oregon, as one of my hives from a nuc this year seems to be uncomfortably aggressive. It's under an ongoing thread called "Mean Bees". I felt that this conversations was most appropriate on the general board, but would love to know if any other Portland beekeepers are experiencing the same aggressive problem with any of your hives.
So how did you do, and where are you at with your hives
