Update:
I have about 4 bars still free..I think I panicked when I opened the one
closest to the entrance, as it was a start of comb and full of bees. The ones
behind are the same..started but in early stages of comb development, I pulled
up a couple to look, and also to look back.
Hefting: didn't seem that heavy to me, but I have nothing to compare against.
But we have to burn coal here and it certainly wasn't that heavy.
Every single comb seems to be full of bees, no smell or sight of honey, but
after I saw the space I decided to leave be until cooler weather for a proper
look…we dont need a repeat of the comb crash of the spring, and it is hot here.
Anyway, for what reason now do I need to stress them for the second time today?
No lime trees that I know of, although the hives are under a walnut tree, this
gives off no sap.
These bees are def NOT commercial, they are a swarm off the only known TBH beek
in the area, who is more environmentally conscious than I am. I guess they may
have been commercial a few generations back, but not recently…I acquired them
in April.
I am sorry I cant get over this weekend due to wedding of Oxford people here,
but next time….
Jan Benson
On 22 Jul 2021, at 2:01 PM, Oxnatbees <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In answer to Jan and Zuzana
Very important point: new combs (fresh soft wax) full of 3kg of honey on hot
days are liable to collapse. The bees build brace comb from the comb to the
hive walls to avoid this. If you attempt to move or begin cutting heavily
loaded new (white) combs on hot days my experience is that they will fall off
the bars and you will have a sticky disaster in the hive. So don't go cutting
brace comb or separating comb away from walls unless you are actually
harvesting it.
Another important point: what do bees do in the wild when their
non-expandable tree cavity is filled? If it is not swarming season, once the
larder is full they set about other jobs. Torben Schiffer in Germany has
looked at this and finds they switch to housekeeping and hygiene jobs -
painting propolis everywhere, cleaning house, and each other, - those
valuable hygiene behaviours that keep pests under control and the colony
happy and healthy.
So what could you do?
If the TBH is not fully expanded you should move the follower board back 2-4
bars and allow them some more space, being careful not to touch the existing
bars/comb in this very hot weather. Always leave 1 bar space free behind the
follower board for access.
If the TBH is fully expanded, you could just leave them to now divert
attention elsewhere, or you could assess further to see if you could take a
bar or two harvest of honey, giving empty bars in their place? Just a
thought...
If you want to see if the hive has a LOT of honey stores (and not just lots
of empty comb), heft the hive to confirm it is really heavy. We are past the
June gap, they have other food sources now. Obviously you leave them a good
amount but this does seem to have been a good year for bees. I did read the
other day that one drawback of TBHs is they have a finite volume and cannot
be expanded like a stack of boxes when full, and I thought yeah, but how
often does that happen in Britain. Ha!
Zuzana, your hive sounds basically full. You either take honey (if it's
heavy) or just leave them.
Awaiting feedback from Jan but whatever new data you come back with, Jan, you
should move the divider to give them the remaining room in the hive.
On Thu, 22 Jul 2021 at 10:53, jan benson <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
yes, I would too.
Paul they are harvesting hay right next to the hives this morning, (a real
racket of engine noise and balers) but as soon as things calm down, I will
go out and get back to you with some answers.
Jan Benson
On 22 Jul 2021, at 8:45 AM, Zuzana Meryova <zuzanameryova@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Paul,
My TBH is in the similar situation - there is no more space to add any more
bars (I do have space at the end to put my hands in).
Just to remind you, this was your swarm 3 years ago. Year one I was just
adding bars, year two the same (I opened it 3 times and I took one bar of
honey) and year three (now) I only opened it last month to see that it was
full so I closed it and that was that :D . NO feeding, no treating, no
looking for anything ... just observing that they are flying in and out.
If the TBH was longer I would be adding more bars. What do you recommend I
do?
Thank you
On Thu, 22 Jul 2021 at 08:06, Oxnatbees <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Just to be clear - is the comb empty, or full?
Heft the hive at each end: if it is much lighter at one end the comb has
yet to be filled with nectar / honey. If the hive is full of loaded comb
it will be like trying to heft a couple of sacks of coal 8)
Next question: are they madly processing nectar into honey? If so there
will be a strong smell of honey up to 5 metres from the hive on humid days
(for some reason you smell it better when humid), and there will be a loud
humming at night.
If the hive has a window, what can you see through that? Combs completely
covered in bees are brood comb, in my hives up to half the combs are like
this. Can you see capped honey. Does it go down to the bottom of combs or
just run along the top (I am trying to gauge if the hive really is full).
Can you remind us of the origin of the bees. If they're commercial, the
queen will be unable to stop laying, but if they are from another
minimal-intervention source they can tune their laying when they need to.
Irrelevant to your question but of interest to me: are you near lime
(linden) trees? They seem to be giving loads of nectar this year because
it's very warm & humid while they flower. This happens about 1 in 3 years.
Paul
On Thu, 22 Jul 2021, 06:15 jan benson, <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
One of my TBHs is getting full, with only one bar left and a lot of
activity by bees: this is a hive that was populated by essentially a nuc
on 6 bars that I put straight into the hive.
I have space at the back, behind a follower board, of about 6 bars, but
after my first effort at making more space, have been a bit hesitant to
start moving bars back. Also I can see through the observation window
that all comb is heavily propolised on the side - and presumably the
other side. I have a hive tool that can cut, and have been using it
successfully to sort out braced comb in another hive.
I would be glad for some thoughts on how to expand the area safely. Or
whether it should be left as is.
Jan
Jan Benson
