[oxnatbees] Lifting 4 boxes etc
- From: Oxnatbees <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:19:18 +0100
I decided to send this to the List rather than just Marie. It's educatinal
and maybe someone will have better advice!
Marie mentioned:
I would also love some advice from you re one of my hives having 4 boxes
full of comb - & what to do about that. It's pretty hard trying to
disassemble and reassemble a Warre by yourself when it's full of honey! And
how do I remove a box when the hive is full of bees on every level. I'm
pretty sure today's swarm is from this same hive but when I glanced in
through the windows it looked as full as ever!?!
It is often tricky to tell a hive has swarmed 'cos bees in a crowded hive
expand to fill the space available!
OK first thing is to consider whether you really need to add a box? I would
generally add an empty box if all the boxes were full of comb, but why? (a)
So they can build down and I can eventually harvest the top box that
Autumn; (b) so they don't feel crowded and swarm. But, your hive has just
swarmed. And, if you have 4 boxes of empty comb, maybe adding another does
nothing. I'd appreciate others' views here. I've never had a colony grow
beyond 4 boxes and this is new territory for me.
Don't assume the comb is full of honey, especially after a swarm has
emerged (they take some with them).
The other day I lifted 3 boxes at once on 2 hives I was adding a 4th box
to. It was the absolute limit of what I could lift, and I made sure it was
just a quick sideways lift to a nearby robust chair, but I know that
previously I have been unable to lift 2 boxes when they were full of honey.
So though I am NOT recommending you lift 2, 3 or 4 boxes at once I think it
worth saying that maybe the task is not as forbidding as it seems. Now if
you were asking in Autumn, that would be a different matter...
In the past I have forcibly separated boxes, once using wire to slice them
apart (like cheesewire). This doesn't generally go well because you cut
through or rip apart comb (some combs do seem to go all the way down to the
next set of bars, no "bee space" gap) and you may end up cutting a bee or
three. And you inevitably cool brood. So you have dripping honey, possibly
broken comb, alarm pheromone etc and it gets quite exciting. The bees pour
out...
But I noticed that when I remarkably lifted those boxes as a unit the other
day, the bees were pretty calm about it. Sure their floor temporarily
disappeared but, the nest wasn't disturbed, just rotated for a couple of
minutes. In fact one of the trickiest aspects was the BULK of moving 3
boxes at once. I couldn't really get my arms in sensible locations for a
stable lift until I removed the roof and quilt box, then I could sort of
tuck my chin over the top.
So I think your best option, if you decide to add another box, is to get
someone to help you for a cautious 2-person simultaneous lift. They will
need full protective gear. In particular Wellington boots as bees will drop
out the bottom and try to crawl up your trousers.
By the way, the BBKA News this month says bees often get aggressive just
before swarming, something to do with multiple queens.Then they settle down
again after the swarm has flown. Fingers crossed...
Paul
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