On Sun, 29 Mar 1998, GImasterBK wrote:
>Bob:  You are new to bees, and unfortunately "it shows".  This is almost
 
I sure am.  In my short time, I've made some *really fine* mistakes.  From
reading the experiences of the Old Drone and others on the list, I can see
in coming years I will make some *really fine* mistakes in beekeeping.  As
you can see, I'm making a good start. :-)
 
>April, and apparently you did not examine INSIDE YOUR HIVE from about October.
 
No, I stopped check the colonies when the cold weather set it last Fall.
Everything I have read basically said to avoid opening colonies when the
temperature gets below 50 F.  Inspecting colonies during the cold of
Winter seems to be needlessly stressful on them.  Certainly merely lifting
the cover will not tell me a lot, except maybe it was too damp inside--or
am I clueless here?
 
Up to the time I stopped checking, both colonies appeared to be doing
quite well.  I let them keep all their late Summer/Fall honey.  Up to that
point everything seemed normal.  They had plenty of capped frames in both
supers.
 
>Dec., & Jan. and at least twice each month in Feb. and March.  Remember that
>next winter!
 
Even in the cold weather?  That seems counter-productive.  What am I
missing here?
 
I can't "should have in January/February in late March".  Yes, I should
have checked more thoroughly back in February; but at that point, the
damage was already done.  I would know what I discovered later on--a dead
colony; only I would know it a few weeks earlier.  While I do want some
clues as to what I did wrong, my main cry for help is what to do *now* to
rebuild.
 
>chalk brood, and poor handling by beekeepers.  You can't keep bees like Daddy
>did!  Times have changed.  You have a computer and e-mail - Daddy didn't!
 
'Daddy' never kept bees; although he thinks it's cool.  I'm the first one
in my family to even try. My family already thinks I'm 'weird' since I
play with ham radio, computers and other 'odd' things.  Taking up
beekeeping hasn't really surprised them much. :-)  But I get your point.
 
If I discovered a collapsing colony in Jan/Feb, what should I have done?
Could I have done anything more than simply wait until the warm weather
arrive?
 
>Don't get discouraged, just learn more.   LEARN LEARN LEARN.
 
I don't get discouraged easily.  I think beekeeping is cool.  I'm hooked
on the little critters for the long haul. :-)  I expect to make mistakes.
Having a resource like this list makes the mistakes a little easier to
deal with.
 
         bob
--
Bob Billson, KC2WZ                               email: [log in to unmask]
second year beekeeper, 2 colonies (so far)              [log in to unmask]
 
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