Bee Vlog #80 – February 2, 2013 – Queen Anne is dead
It looks like the Varroa mites did their damage. Not enough winter bees in the hive and they couldn’t keep warm enough. Queen Anne is dead. Lots of mold and …
20 Responses to Bee Vlog #80 – February 2, 2013 – Queen Anne is dead
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Yep, I did just that, and will continue this year. But it can only be done during the nectar flow, which is about 3 months long. Otherwise the bees aren’t able to draw much comb and also aren’t interested in raising great gobs of brood. Queen Anne didn’t really seem to regress at all during that time. So the change from generation to generation isn’t that great. The fastest way to regress bees is to force them onto 5.1 foundation the first year, then 4.9 the second. I wasn’t interested in that.
TheBeeVlog
September 29, 2013 at 10:20 pm
I’ve also seen a blogger was doing an experiment they called “instant regeneration”
All they did was use small cell foundation forcing their bees to make smaller cells in the hopes of producing more natural size bees in 1 generation. the foundation frames could then be rotated out with foundationless frames.
Unfortunately, they never posted the results of the experiment. It may be something I’ll have to try myself in a year or two.
khiewolf
September 29, 2013 at 11:20 pm
You’re right that it takes a few seasons, but every 23 days a new generation of bees arrive. That generation is slightly smaller, therefore will build slightly smaller comb. Giving them empty frames to build that comb will set it up for the next generation, causing them to be slightly smaller.
Once a month, replace 2 or 3 frames of brood with empties and move the brood up. Since the old brood comb will eventually be honeycomb, they won’t be using extra resources building it.
khiewolf
September 30, 2013 at 12:18 am
Regressing the bees is definitely something I’m working on. Unfortunately it takes a few seasons and they have to survive the winters. I’ll be cycling out older comb each year, regardless of regression efforts anyway. As for the SBB…that’s something I’m going to be playing around with. Here in the Portland, Oregon area people say we need plenty of ventilation. But I think too much ventilation and they can’t keep it warm. I’m trying to figure out the right balance.
TheBeeVlog
September 30, 2013 at 1:00 am
It might have helped if you closed off the SBB. A top entrance may have also helped as far as condensation.
I would suggest rotating frames out of your brood box to regress your bees to their natural size. Take a couple frames of brood from the middle and replace them with empty frames. Then replace honey frames on the outside of the brood boxes with the brood frames.
You can then either harvest the honey or put it in a super on top.
khiewolf
September 30, 2013 at 1:06 am
Your bees were to few, they got wet and died it happens a lot in the spring. condensation kills a lot of hives. But I really like you blog.. great work on your part.
Mika Lee
September 30, 2013 at 1:58 am
For my area it seems to be advised to use 2 deeps (or in my case 3 mediums) to overwinter. This gives them enough brood space and honey for the winter. My healthy hive hasn’t had any difficulty keeping the space warm. It all depends on the needs of the individual hive though. Of course, I’m also still learning.
TheBeeVlog
September 30, 2013 at 2:47 am
Is there any reason why you keep the hive three stories high? I only used one story to get my bees through the winter. They told me it was easier for the bees to keep warm. I also did do a varoa treatment though. Sorry for your loss.
Cinqmil
September 30, 2013 at 2:47 am
I’m sticking with my initial diagnosis. In the fall I noticed the bees were removing brood that was infected with Varroa mites. That’s the dead larva you see on the bottom board. They were so overrun with mites that they weren’t able to raise enough bees to survive the winter and just didn’t have the numbers to keep warm.
TheBeeVlog
September 30, 2013 at 2:59 am
Wow. I am sorry for your loss. I pick up 2 packages from brushy Mt. om 3/23/13… Did you figure out what happened? With the white looking spots it could be chalk brood.. What do you think now that you have had a few days to think about it?? Thank you for your video’s..
pickerick1
September 30, 2013 at 3:08 am
So far I like Hive Tracks. Since I really only started using it toward the end of the season I haven’t had many chances to really get a lot of history with it. But so far, so good.
TheBeeVlog
September 30, 2013 at 3:53 am
Cool, thank you. One last question, how do you like the Hive Tracks?
teseract911
September 30, 2013 at 4:03 am
I’m scraping down the really bad parts of the frames and will reuse them. I’ve been told that the bees clean up the mold. I’m going to try melting down some of the really moldy brood wax to see what happens with it. The honey frames aren’t too moldy and I’ll be giving those over to the other hive for them to clean and eat. Good luck with your bees!
TheBeeVlog
September 30, 2013 at 4:10 am
What will you use to clean the frames off? or will you use new frames because of the mold?
Sorry for your loss dude, I’ve watched all your videos, keep going you help me out a lot. I start this year as soon as I get my bees. Thank you!
teseract911
September 30, 2013 at 4:59 am
I actually do have dead bees head-down in the comb, but it’s part of the cluster. As I understand it, the bees will fill all available space inside the comb to make the cluster tighter and transfer heat more efficiently through the comb. But it looks like they died in that position…just couldn’t keep warm enough. I agree, that this doesn’t seem like starvation.
TheBeeVlog
September 30, 2013 at 5:52 am
Well, sorry to see that Queen Anne was lost. I vote “Anastasia” for the next queen! As far as the diagnosis, starvation most likely NOT the case. Telltale sign on that would be dead bees with heads dug deep into combs with butts sticking out. That’s not the case here. I’m going with small cluster + space = chilled/froze to death…of course, that’s until some other “wise” beek comes along and gives their view… shouldn’t bee long, LOL. Again, too bad about the hive, but keep on keeping on!
ThisnThatPackRat
September 30, 2013 at 5:55 am
Hi Bill,
Sorry about the hive lose 🙁
Apparently you can offer the those frames to your bees and they will clean them up, get rid of the mold, take the honey out and clean the cells. Not sure if you would want to put the frames right into your good hive, but maybe leave them out for the girls to get at.
Well it looks like Queen Beatrice and her hive would make a good candidate for a hive split this spring. It appears her hive was able to manage Varroa well.
Glen
GlenGH
September 30, 2013 at 6:37 am
It’s a learning process, may be the hive was too big for them caused heat loss
Megahs2010
September 30, 2013 at 7:10 am
What part of the Caribbean? I’ve been to Turks & Caicos, so I’m only familiar with what I saw there, and I wonder what type of forage is available to bees. As the only beekeeper on the island you’d certainly own the honey market. Best of luck to you!
TheBeeVlog
September 30, 2013 at 7:38 am
Sorry about that Bill.
All you can do is learn from the experience…
I’m trying to start a colony here in the caribbean so I know i wont be having any problem with winter!
Only thing is, is that i need to find a swarm or a wild hive to start as I will be the only beekeeper on this island! haha.
Hope all goes well.
Jack Barwick
September 30, 2013 at 8:36 am