Alden Marshall
B-Line Apiaries
Hudson, NH 03051
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tel. 603-883-6764
 
On Fri, 20 Feb 1998 07:40:07 -0600 "Excerpts from BEE-L"
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>From:          Allen Dick <[log in to unmask]>
>To:            [log in to unmask]
>
>> Another interesting thing is that it has been scientifically proven
that
>> the foraging urge of bees is in direct relation to the amount of
>empty comb available to the bees. (within reason)
>
>I've read some on this -- and yet I find this to be a generality that I
>have trouble understanding.  I don't doubt its truth, I just wonder
>about its universality.
>
>I used to produce a lot of comb honey.  Books always say the honey crop
>will be reduced on comb production, yet we did not find this effect to
be
>as obvious as expected, and often felt we got  comparable poundage
>yields between extracted hives and comb hives.  The comb hives were
>crowded and on foundation, the extracted hives were on ample drawn
>comb
>-- usually 6 standard boxes or more.
>
        Is the claim for the reduced crop credited to the increased wax
production, assuming that extracting supers have drawn foundation? I
suppose if one had two identical (clone :-) colonies the arguments for
nectar consumption for wax conversion would be believable. However there
are usually other factors not as easily explained such as stimulus for
different conditions which do occur when drawing or not drawing comb.
Perhaps bees have more incentive to horde if they have to draw comb? I
think these kind of experiments take more time and effort than most
researchers are willing to expend for the knowledge gained.
 
>The time the above quoted principle seems to apply best is in late
spring
>and early summer.  Not only does the extra comb prevent swarming to some
>extent and allow room for sudden flows that are unexpected by a
beekeeper,
>but there does actually seem to be a stimulant effect on bee buildup.
>
>We seem to get more honey late in the season if we reduce the number of
>supers a bit. There is an offsetting effect that becomes more noticeable
>in the late summer in temperate regions: if the amount of  space
>above the brood nest is excessive, the bees withdraw to the brood
section
>-- especially if excluders are used, and are unable to occupy the
>entire hive.
 
        Since I've changed my management practices with the onset of the
mites i have been able to keep tabs on the open brood chamber concept. I
use queen excluders as long as honey supers are on. While monitoring
drone brood (one full frame per colony) for mites.and applying oil on a
nearly 20 day basis the top brood combs filled, or nearly so with honey
get stuffed to the bottom and the youngest brood below gets brought up.
The youngest brood also gets put to the outside, you know, where the bees
normally start stuffing honey, this maneuver slows down that process. If
only empty frames available they get staggered in amongst the top brood
frames. As you know honey stuffed below brood gets cleaned out in pretty
short order and put up above the excluder for no better place to put it.
My practice, brood against the excluder and honey down. If the queen
can't keep the top super full of brood during the honey season she is
candidate for replacement. I use 3 mediums now for brood, this allows me
even more flexibility than was available with 2 deeps.
 
>
>If bees are unable to continuously occupy an area of a hive they seem
>reluctant to fill it permanently with honey.  This is one reason
>why controlled crowding is important to getting comb honey built. This
is
>also why top ventilation can result in reduced crops if not applied
>wisely at the correct time in the year, if at all.
>
I used to use a lot of top ventilation but over the years I have
convinced myself that the bees draw and store better with less. Very
rarely do we see bees clustered outside because of heat buildup. I used
to rush around and prop up covers when a heat wave came on but it wasn't
worth it, they only lasted 3 or 4 days and  then it was better to  have
them down.
 
>This above also explains why it is wise to remove the crop at least once
>during the season, so that the total volume of the hive can be less than
>if full supers are left on while still having empty comb near the brood
>area to stimulate activity.
>
>After August 8 here in Southern Alberta, we usually restrict all but the
>largest hives to 4 standard boxes, including broods.  Of course that
means
>visits must be made regularly to forestall plugging in exceptional
hives.
>
>Comments?
>
>Allen
>--
>Buy, sell, trade, get a job, hire help, announce a
>meeting, advertise a business or publication...
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>visit http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/BeeAds/
>
 
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