Just some random notes from the monthly local
amateur Bee club meetings which are interesting:
- Worker bees have a lifespan of 6 weeks or less.
- Re-queening should be done every 1-2 years to maintain strong and healthy hive.
- Ask the queen supplier to mark the queen before they ship.
- Don't use too much smoke when searching for the queen.
- Queens run to a darker area when the hive is open.
- When replacing the queen kill the old queen and leave the body in the hive and insert the new queen.
- Check on the new queen after 2 weeks to make sure she is laying eggs
- Queens are sometimes easier to find on the sunny side of the hive in the mornings and the cooler side in the afternoons.
- Harvesting uncapped honey is not recommended as it candies quickly.
- Paint hive lids brown in Winter to help the bees keep warm.
- Clipping of half the queens wing will stop her from flying with the swarm and they will return home.
- After collecting a swarm on foundation lock them up in a cool place for 24 hours to encourage them to draw out the comb and let them out in the afternoon.
- Brood comb should be replaced progressively. Take out second frame from one side and 3rd frame from the other. Slide the outside frames in and insert two frames with foundation. Place the removed brood comb into the honey super.
- Some bee keepers find that having half the base board covered in mesh gives best results.
No comments:
Post a Comment