tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post7768679321236574861..comments2024-03-26T12:17:40.771-04:00Comments on Linda's Bees: Carl Chesick and Sustainable BeesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-51590906709524557082015-06-03T08:36:16.283-04:002015-06-03T08:36:16.283-04:00The healthier the bees are the more chance they ha...The healthier the bees are the more chance they have to live with/survive varroa any yes, they might eventualy adopt and co-exist together. In the meantime we should try to fight varroa without chemical treatment. There is no evidence so far that on the long term the mite will not grow stronger and stronger.Thermosolar Beekeeperhttp://thermosolarhive.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-70209370267264941812012-09-16T10:13:56.408-04:002012-09-16T10:13:56.408-04:00Four years, WOW! Your thoughts are very helpful! I...Four years, WOW! Your thoughts are very helpful! I am really struggling with what to do. I am a "four hive" hobby beekeeper and I don't want more than four colonies. We typically have overwhelming swarming issues here as a general rule so splits are a must do in the spring. Heading into winter with four strong colonies and one weaker one presents a huge issue for me in the spring if they all survive. That being said, not taking every measure possible to help the bees overwinter seems irresponsible. I never bother checking my mite load as it won't impact my beekeeping management. I let the bees decide what to bring in and don't add any chemicals or treatments. So I guess if they are strong enough they will survive which would indicate a strong colony that should reproduce. I don't have the where-with-all for the population explosion of splitting four or five in the spring nor do I want swarms on the farmers land I am lucky enough to have access to. I might have to go looking for folks to take bees off my hands if they all make it. Thanks again! Love your blog!sweetpeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14084788796914784918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-72242621712487285892012-09-16T08:20:53.119-04:002012-09-16T08:20:53.119-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.sweetpeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14084788796914784918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-75283769320572066992012-09-14T21:12:42.449-04:002012-09-14T21:12:42.449-04:00Linda, you hit on a key point with splits. Put th...Linda, you hit on a key point with splits. Put the queen in a nuc and make the original hive build new queen cells. Go back in 10-12 days later and harvest the extra cells to fill your empty nucs. Any queen's that fail to mate or lay poorly you can merge the bees from those nucs with the ones that have healthy queens. Best time to pull the queen is just before the flow when they are probably thinking they might want to swarm anyway. <br /><br />- JeffJeff Steenbergenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01511063123637255176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-92218156162510844022012-09-14T21:12:01.284-04:002012-09-14T21:12:01.284-04:00I will overwinter over and over as long as the hiv...I will overwinter over and over as long as the hive survives - my longest hive lived four years. I don't requeen with purchased queens. Only once have I ordered a queen and killed the resident queen to replace her. That will not be me going forward. I will not do that again. I might move an old queen to an observation hive, but I trust my bees to know when they need a new queen. I have often put frames of brood and eggs into a hive when I thought they might be needing a new queen to give them resources.Linda Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08089537760868691562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-1498670945382058852012-09-14T07:41:26.809-04:002012-09-14T07:41:26.809-04:00I have never tested or treated for Varroa. Last ye...I have never tested or treated for Varroa. Last year I had two hive that overwintered. I only split one of them as the other had a late August swarm (Minnesota). My parent hives ended up being huge producers, the split struggled all summer with various queen issues. Heading into the winter I am not sure what to do. The U oF M entomology department suggests we don't overwinter more than one season. They claim the mite load is simply too much for the bees and even if they survive they won't do well. Do you overwinter more than one season Linda? What are your thoughts on this?sweetpeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14084788796914784918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-53729849062576217432012-09-13T10:32:27.872-04:002012-09-13T10:32:27.872-04:00I've been reading (on beesource mostly) that y...I've been reading (on beesource mostly) that you should let the larger hive raise a queen because it has more resources and can thus devote more to the success and health of the queen larva. <br />After this summer, I try to remember bee math with the +-5 days for queens. Mine took 37 days!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27329001.post-50564986216599079622012-09-13T04:50:13.794-04:002012-09-13T04:50:13.794-04:00Linda, I learned this year that cutting out all th...Linda, I learned this year that cutting out all the queen cells does not guarantee that your queen will not swarm anyway...wound up with a large but queenless hive as a result. Next year I will use these managed early splits as a way to increase my stock AND pre-empt swarms. This video set (Beekeeping - Making A Split Part One and Part Two) does a nice job of explaining that:<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQI21KrdEboWesternWilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12765821422247317378noreply@blogger.com