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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Robert Darrell <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 8 Nov 2017 21:38:05 -0500
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On 8-Nov-17, at 8:35 AM, Bill Hesbach wrote:

> I can see lots of advantages to running everything in one deep. My  
> questions are how do you handle the first box above the queen QE  
> during harvest when it has the colony's pollen stores? Then how do  
> you manage the colonies in preparation for winter?

One of the major problems with singles is, because the brood box  
contains little food, that the bees can starve very quickly if the  
first box above the QE is removed.  In autumn we have our second major  
flow of the year, goldenrod/aster some of which ends up in the brood  
box.  Once all the other honey supers are removed I start feeding 2:1  
syrup using in hive baggies, remove the QE and put the first honey  
supers on bee escapes.
U of Guelph uses barrel feeding as they are pulling the last honey  
supers.  While I have seen the bees working the barrels, I've never  
been there while they pulled those first boxes above the the QEs.

I have some data from my hives this year which was likely the poorest  
year since I started in the early 1970s, due to almost daily rain  
during the summer.
5 singles: 171#, 131#, 191#, 124#, 210# ave: 165#.  3 doubles: 105#,  
158#, 83# ave: 115#.  2 - 1 1/2: 63#, 91# ave: 77#.  4 - 4 over 4  
nucs(Mike Palmer style early June with cells): 24#, 15#, 29#, 44# ave:  
28#

The singles needed heavy feeding, while the doubles and 4 over 4 nucs  
needed very little,  the 1 1/2 hives needed less than the singles but  
more than the other two.

Bob Darrell
Caledon Ontario
Canada
44N80W

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