- Thread starter
- #121
Yeah, mosquitos think I'm their own personal blood bank.Bee nerd - perhaps, but not a beekeeperI'm the one that mosquitoes target and other stinging critters.
🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝
- Thread starter drstratton
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #122
Well, I think we dodged a bullet. I don't know how, but our hive is still queen right. We went in again today and found both eggs and larvae this go around. I looked at every frame the last time we were in and there were no eggs, just larvae that was about 7 days old. I'm good at spotting eggs and larvae. 
Such a relief. The bottom box still has empty drawn comb. Hopefully the queen will move down and start laying in them. The pattern of the capped brood is still really good. I'm trying to decide if we have a new queen, but have never seen a queen cell in there. Just that smaller acorn shaped cell. The timing just doesn't seem right. I'm very perplexed.
Tuesday we will go through the package and swarm hives to see what they are looking like. Still watching the grandbaby's so can't finish today.
We pulled off 11 more frames to extract. We will be leaving on Wednesday for 9 days, then home for 2 and gone for another 4. So, we won't extract until October when we are back. At that time we will pull off the remaining honey frames and supers from the current flow and start feeding the bees again. Dale is putting together some more honey super frames to fill space where we removed the capped ones, we need 3. Those will go in today.
Well, grandpa's on duty and I have to go out and wax foundations.
Such a relief. The bottom box still has empty drawn comb. Hopefully the queen will move down and start laying in them. The pattern of the capped brood is still really good. I'm trying to decide if we have a new queen, but have never seen a queen cell in there. Just that smaller acorn shaped cell. The timing just doesn't seem right. I'm very perplexed.Tuesday we will go through the package and swarm hives to see what they are looking like. Still watching the grandbaby's so can't finish today.
We pulled off 11 more frames to extract. We will be leaving on Wednesday for 9 days, then home for 2 and gone for another 4. So, we won't extract until October when we are back. At that time we will pull off the remaining honey frames and supers from the current flow and start feeding the bees again. Dale is putting together some more honey super frames to fill space where we removed the capped ones, we need 3. Those will go in today.
Well, grandpa's on duty and I have to go out and wax foundations.
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- Thread starter
- #123
We have the freezer all ready for the honey frames after they are extracted. Had to grab wax to do the super foundations so I snapped a picture. We will be able place the frames upright on the shelves.
- Thread starter
- #124
We will be doing our 9th OAV tonight.
My counts from the last treatment were messed up as they boards got knocked on the ground. I did see 13 on the package hive and I think 4 on the swarm.
The last treatment will be on Tuesday. Then we'll test when we get back home on the day we remove the supers. If the mite count is low we will just keep the OAE pads on, if it's high, we will probably treat with Apivar.
My counts from the last treatment were messed up as they boards got knocked on the ground. I did see 13 on the package hive and I think 4 on the swarm.
The last treatment will be on Tuesday. Then we'll test when we get back home on the day we remove the supers. If the mite count is low we will just keep the OAE pads on, if it's high, we will probably treat with Apivar.
- Thread starter
- #125
This is from a new friend who's been following my thread on BYC.
"Great news!! Thats a new queen from the acorn shaped cell. They don't always completely tear them down right away that's why they can look a bit odd. The timing for the virgin queen to emerge and start laying is right. Sometimes the mother queen is still in there, but most beekeepers stop looking after they see one. The mother queen will be escorted out before winter if she is still there. "
So the thought is that we have a brand new queen.
I still don't understand why the bees would replace the original queen. She laid such a strong pattern. Bees will do what they're gonna do.
"Great news!! Thats a new queen from the acorn shaped cell. They don't always completely tear them down right away that's why they can look a bit odd. The timing for the virgin queen to emerge and start laying is right. Sometimes the mother queen is still in there, but most beekeepers stop looking after they see one. The mother queen will be escorted out before winter if she is still there. "
So the thought is that we have a brand new queen.
I still don't understand why the bees would replace the original queen. She laid such a strong pattern. Bees will do what they're gonna do.
SageHill
Herd Master
WOW!! That's fantastic news - esp since you were thinking you were queen-less! Maybe the bees know when a queen is nearing the end of being productive and start moving toward a new queen on the way.
- Thread starter
- #127
WOW!! That's fantastic news - esp since you were thinking you were queen-less! Maybe the bees know when a queen is nearing the end of being productive and start moving toward a new queen on the way.
Thank you. We were very happy.
You're 100% correct in that, they definitely know better than we do how to manage their colony. I'm also starting to wonder if they swarmed and we didn't realize it. It's hard to tell, because even when they swarm there are still a lot of bees left in the hive.
Mini Horses
Herd Master
"....escorting her out...". What a nice way to say, "your last flight in life" 
- Thread starter
- #129
I know right! I honestly thought that they always kill the old queen right away."....escorting her out...". What a nice way to say, "your last flight in life"
They also kick out all of the drones before winter. It's a very brutal society, but highly efficient. Keeping the colony alive is their primary goal.
Baymule
Herd Master
Bees—it’s a female world.
