BEE-L Archives

Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

BEE-L@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Malcolm Roe <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 2 Sep 1994 16:45:16 +0100
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (35 lines)
        Of course I try to avoid honey setting in the comb but every now
and then I'm caught.  Usually it's a whole super so I cut the combs from
the frames, fit new foundation and separate the wax from the honey using
heat.  This year the pattern is completely different.  I know why -
the available forage has been different and so, in response, has my
management but I didn't get things quite right.
 
        Anyway, the problem is this:  after extracting I find many of
my frames have lots of odd patches of set honey - sometimes just single
cells, more often patches of tens or hundreds of cells.  At least 50%
of my frames are seriously affected.  I suppose I could just ignore it
and put them on again next year but my experience is that the bees
usually just put more honey on top rather than cleaning the cells up
first so I would only be postponing the problem.  On the other hand I'm
loath to replace over half my foundation in one year.  It's not just the
cost.  It'll take quite a lot of time.
 
        One possibility is to put the supers back on for a time now.
There is very little nectar coming in so I suspect they'd be cleaned up
quite well if I left them on long enough.  Unfortunately there is still
some forage so I suspect that if I left the supers on sufficiently long
for the crystallised honey to be removed they'd start putting honey back
elsewhere!  A more serious objection is that I need to start winter
feeding soon and I can't do that while the supers are on.
 
        At the moment my inclination is to replace the worst and ignore
the rest.  However, if anyone's got any bright ideas I'd be interested
to hear them.
 
--
Malcolm Roe                            Phone  :  +44 442 230000 ext 5104
Crosfield Electronics Ltd              Fax    :  +44 442 232301
Hemel Hempstead, Herts. HP2 7RH, UK    E-mail :  [log in to unmask]
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATOM RSS1 RSS2