That's really interesting Andrew, you look a bit precarious up that
ladder lol. So many supers !!!
Ann
On 30/04/2019 16:44, Andrew Bax (Redacted sender andrew.bax for DMARC)
wrote:
Paul’s remark that he has never had a Warre of more than four boxes reminds me of a huge swarm I collected about 25 years ago. I was using Nationals at the time and it expanded so rapidly that it filled two brood boxes and five supers – probably more because I had to keep harvesting honey just to keep up with the need to put on empty supers. That single colony produced 126lb of honey in its first season. I attach one of my proudest photographs, taken with a 35mm camera (remember those?).
Also, the queen was marked although the nearest beekeeper to me was nearly two miles away as the bee flies. Swarms would normally settle much closer to the parent hive, I believe.
The following year I raised some new queens from that colony but they didn’t perform better than average - and neither did the original queen.
Andrew
*From:*oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *On Behalf Of *Oxnatbees
*Sent:* 30 April 2019 00:19
*To:* oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [oxnatbees] Lifting 4 boxes etc
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
