Quick questions quick answers

[For want of a better word]

QUICK QUESTIONS QUICK ANSWERS

Title says it all.
A place for ANY beekeeper new or old to place a quick question asking for a quick answer... no sarcky comments please
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I do not always have time to Google search or read through one of the beekeep tomes to find the answer to a sometimes simple question!

???Single handed queen catchers... anyone using them to mark queens with numbered discs... and is super glue the best to use as I find the glue supplied takes an age to dry>>>

Cheers

 

[maz0]

Oh that's a great idea...I didn't want to create a full thread for this question

Anyone find the clear crown boards that come with the poly hives are very squishy on the bees? every time I lay it on, it feels like it sags and squishes bee's against the top of the frames....

 

[pargyle]

Oh that's a great idea...I didn't want to create a full thread for this question

Anyone find the clear crown boards that come with the poly hives are very squishy on the bees? every time I lay it on, it feels like it sags and squishes bee's against the top of the frames....

Use them for sealing up hives or separating supers stored over winter .. go skip diving for some 5 or 6mm polycarbonate (I find old shower screens at the recycling centre) and make new ones with a rim that allows bee space above the frames .. they will also support a feeder. Cut a 40mm hole in the middle with a tank cutter and glue the cut out piece to a square of polycarbonate or plywood and you have the perfect plug for the feeder hole.

 

[Poly Hive]

I think they are rubbish. All the years I have been using poly hives its been solid plywood CBs with a 9mm rim.

PH

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Oh that's a great idea...I didn't want to create a full thread for this question

Anyone find the clear crown boards that come with the poly hives are very squishy on the bees? every time I lay it on, it feels like it sags and squishes bee's against the top of the frames....

If you are referring to the flexy ones used on Paynes polynucs, yes they sag but they aren't heavy. A squirt of smoke clears the frame tops before laying the plastic on

 

[pargyle]

If you are referring to the flexy ones used on Paynes polynucs, yes they sag but they aren't heavy. A squirt of smoke clears the frame tops before laying the plastic on

They provide them with all their hives .. not just Nucs. The full size ones do sag in the middle and they stick them to the top bars. I knwo some people like them but I much prefer my solid ones.

 

[domino]

What smoker fuel doesn't fill the smoker with black gunk that carboard does.

I'm want to make a change after spending a few hours scrapping it off.

 

[B+.]

???Single handed queen catchers... anyone using them to mark queens with numbered discs... and is super glue the best to use as I find the glue supplied takes an age to dry

No. If you mark them as soon as they emerge in an incubator, they move very slowly and don't fly. It's much easier to mark them by hand IMHO.
Tried it. Hate it. Get a spot of superglue on her wings and she's finished. The best way I've found is to mark her (I wear a magnifier headband to get the number the right way around) then let her walk around. I bought a plastic goldfish bowl from the 99P shop which is perfect for the job - small enough to keep her contained but transparent so I can see where she is.
Not quite a quick answer but I hope the explanation adds something to the answer.

 

[enrico]

What smoker fuel doesn't fill the smoker with black gunk that carboard does.

I'm want to make a change after spending a few hours scrapping it off.

Burn it off with a blow torch. Just don't melt the bellows!
E

 

[B+.]

Lots of views on clear perspex cover-boards.
I use https://www.screwfix.com/p/capital-valley-plastics-ltd-plastic-sheeting-clear-1000ga-4-x-15m/2665p which can be cut to size for hives or nucs (I hate the coverboards that came with my Paynes nucs). The bees will propolise the edges down in winter but it still does the job and can be lifted in Spring. It doesn't crush bees which, I think, was the main problem with perspex. I find it far too time-consuming getting it back in position before putting the lid on.

 

[pargyle]

Burn it off with a blow torch. Just don't melt the bellows!
E

I use a bit of hessian to get the smoker going quickly with a small gas blowtorch and then burn hardwood sawdust/shavings from my woodturning. Unlike cardboard and softwood shavings it doesn't leave a lot of residue on the lid... I find a quick scrape with the hive took is enough to remove the crusty soot like stuff. Unlike carboard and other materials it doesn't leave a sticky residue so dead easy to remove with the hive tool .. tip the lid back up give it a tap and you are good to go again.

 

[maz0]

What smoker fuel doesn't fill the smoker with black gunk that carboard does.

I'm want to make a change after spending a few hours scrapping it off.

Another quick question: What's the problem with the black gunk?

 

[pargyle]

Another quick question: What's the problem with the black gunk?

It builds up and eventually closes off the holes in the lid of the smoker and your smoker goes out ... before that you notice that there's no smoke coming out of the spout !

 

[Murox]

I don't have a blowtorch but I have found that a soak in washing soda pretty much cleans the gunk off, just a quick scrub with a metal pan scourer for the stubborn bits.

 

[Millet]

Another quick question: What's the problem with the black gunk?

you end up having trouble opening and shutting the smoker when the black gunk builds up..a quick scrape with the hive tool sorts it out.

 

[blackcloud]

Burn it off with a blow torch. Just don't melt the bellows!
E

Shove a jersey royal in the lower vent and one in the nozzle.
Fill each half with strong hot soda solution and leave over night
Remove spuds ,flush,good to go.

 

[Beefriendly]

Unlike cardboard and softwood shavings it doesn't leave a lot of residue on the lid... I find a quick scrape with the hive took is enough to remove the crusty soot like stuff. Unlike carboard and other materials it doesn't leave a sticky residue so dead easy to remove with the hive tool .. tip the lid back up give it a tap and you are good to go again.

We must have different cardboard in Yorkshire.
All I ever use is cardboard rolls.
I clean the dry sooty residue off at the end of the season, doesn't really need doing even then.

 

[madasafish]

Oh that's a great idea...I didn't want to create a full thread for this question

Anyone find the clear crown boards that come with the poly hives are very squishy on the bees? every time I lay it on, it feels like it sags and squishes bee's against the top of the frames....

Top bee space solves that..

 

[For want of a better word]

No. If you mark them as soon as they emerge in an incubator, they move very slowly and don't fly. It's much easier to mark them by hand IMHO.
Tried it. Hate it. Get a spot of superglue on her wings and she's finished. The best way I've found is to mark her (I wear a magnifier headband to get the number the right way around) then let her walk around. I bought a plastic goldfish bowl from the 99P shop which is perfect for the job - small enough to keep her contained but transparent so I can see where she is.
Not quite a quick answer but I hope the explanation adds something to the answer.

Thanks.... is there any problems in using the discs prior to open mating any more than marking with the uniposca.
Will give the super glue a miss!

 

[B+.]

Thanks.... is there any problems in using the discs prior to open mating any more than marking with the uniposca.
Will give the super glue a miss!

No.
I want to track the queen through it's entire life. The only way to do that is mark her as soon as she emerges from her cell