enrico
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2011
- Messages
- 12,078
- Reaction score
- 3,371
- Location
- Somerset levels
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 5
This is just to give you some idea of how different hives can be.
I have five hives and have some experience.
Today was warm enough for my first seasons look....I can stand in the shade in a t shirt and not feel cold!
Hive 1 : no food left but I had hefted earlier in the season and fed one slab of fondant, I fed another today. Saw the queen who was a virgin last summer that I shoved through the front entrance of a queen less hive. Amazingly she survived and is still there. She laid last autumn but no signs of eggs yet this year!
Hive 2 : this was a strong hive last year overwintered on double brood, still had so many stores left that the top box had little room for the queen to lay, left the bottom brood box on to give her more room. No sign of brood yet
Hive 3 : a really strong swarm that arrived last year, five frames of capped brood and plenty of food left, overwintered on brood and a half and left them like that as they were so strong already.
Hive 4 : best hive last year. So many stores in brood box that no room for laying, an empty super was underneath so I put it above the brood box in the hope that the queen will use it to lay in. They have so many stores that I have no fear about heat loss, I am more concerned in getting the queen going .
Hive 5 : perfect hive, plenty of stores and capped brood, only on single brood box
Interestingly the two hives with insulation in the roof both have capped brood. The uninsulated hives have none obvious.
Each hive is so different even when in the same apiary and each time you open your hive you have to make an instant decision what to do with it. This is just for your information as to how I dealt with them but I am sure others would do something different.
The interesting thing about this winter is how many stores my hives have compared with recent winters. A surprise to me! No need for emergency feeding except for one.
Good luck everyone!
E
I have five hives and have some experience.
Today was warm enough for my first seasons look....I can stand in the shade in a t shirt and not feel cold!
Hive 1 : no food left but I had hefted earlier in the season and fed one slab of fondant, I fed another today. Saw the queen who was a virgin last summer that I shoved through the front entrance of a queen less hive. Amazingly she survived and is still there. She laid last autumn but no signs of eggs yet this year!
Hive 2 : this was a strong hive last year overwintered on double brood, still had so many stores left that the top box had little room for the queen to lay, left the bottom brood box on to give her more room. No sign of brood yet
Hive 3 : a really strong swarm that arrived last year, five frames of capped brood and plenty of food left, overwintered on brood and a half and left them like that as they were so strong already.
Hive 4 : best hive last year. So many stores in brood box that no room for laying, an empty super was underneath so I put it above the brood box in the hope that the queen will use it to lay in. They have so many stores that I have no fear about heat loss, I am more concerned in getting the queen going .
Hive 5 : perfect hive, plenty of stores and capped brood, only on single brood box
Interestingly the two hives with insulation in the roof both have capped brood. The uninsulated hives have none obvious.
Each hive is so different even when in the same apiary and each time you open your hive you have to make an instant decision what to do with it. This is just for your information as to how I dealt with them but I am sure others would do something different.
The interesting thing about this winter is how many stores my hives have compared with recent winters. A surprise to me! No need for emergency feeding except for one.
Good luck everyone!
E
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