Chris and other beekeepers advice to solve honey bound problem at bee
meeting:
Chris said:
Fortunately the beekeeper had not fed sugar last autumn so the spare stores
about to be shifted into the super, which we added, are undoubtedly honey.

The bottom line is to not overfeed so honey/syrup need not be moved into a
super.

With all due respect to my friends from across the pond if I had been
standing in the crowd doing analysis of the above honey bound hive (which I
see all the time in spring and have dealt with many  times this spring) I
would have suggested  to remove frames of honey to be used for nucs ,etc.and
give frames of drawn comb in its place to open up the brood nest. I believe
most honey bound bees will swarm before moving a whole super of honey up in
our area.

Another point would be . What if the honey/syrup had been exposed to a
chemical hive treatment last fall (U.S.A.) and honey/syrup was moved up into
honey supers? Hmmm.


I am very stingy with feed  almost all the time as syrup costs effect my
bottom line. I see feeding as necessary  when needed to prevent starvation
or as done in the Midwest to bring hives up to the required stores to winter
in the Midwest which as been common for the last few years in the U.S. due
to draught conditions and weak fall flows being widespread. .

A quick glance into the world of larger scale U.S.  beekeeping:

Rationing feed  is time consuming (I use a syrup tote and a  pump with a gas
pump handle and the operation is like pumping gas into a car). Even
switching hands your hands become very sore from squeezing the handle after
a couple days of feeding.

Those on the list which say they do not ever use smoke or never where a veil
or gloves should go with me on a long day of feeding hives in holding yards
right before winter when all the bees are in the hive ( but be sure to bring
your veil and gloves in case you change your mind). The feeding I am
referring to is done in holding yards of several semi loads of bees.

Asked of me last month:
A truck driver with a calculator asked me while we were loading his flat bed
semi how many bees were in each hive. I casually said those hives contained
about 50,000 bees to the hive as they were solid bees in two boxes . He then
asked the number of hives going on his truck . I said around 450 hives. He
punched his calculator and showed me how many bees were approx. on his
truck. 22,500,000. I assured the driver our bees were very well behaved and
he seemed not as worried.

 Many stings are the order of the day even suited up when feeding in large
holding yards. . Things go OK (with minimal stings) unless you get a small
syrup leak or spill then the air fills with bees robbing. Weak hives can be
robbed out in a matter of minutes if syrup is spilled and runs from the
entrance . Careful care must be taken to not run a feeder over.

Bob

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