Author Topic: feedback for lburou  (Read 2696 times)

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Offline neillsayers

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feedback for lburou
« on: February 22, 2017, 04:43:29 pm »
A while back we had a convo in which I said I had trouble seeing eggs with my veil on. Today is in the mid 70s so I did an inspection. I have had an Alexander style veil I bought in case friends or family wants to stand in on an inspection, so I gave it a try. No problem seeing the eggs at all. Mesh size made all the difference.

Thanks Lee! :)
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2017, 06:17:45 pm »
I think Lee is off running about the country somewhere at the moment, But Awesome! Glkad you can see them with the other veil!  I can see them best with no veil, but do occasionally pay the price for looking so closely...
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Offline Perry

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2017, 06:20:25 pm »
I have to agree with Scott, no veil is best. After that I have my very first veil with metal mesh and I can spot eggs well with it. The new veils are so tightly meshed that I find seeing eggs hard.
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2017, 12:52:44 am »
I was explaining to Lee how these Russians would constantly head butt me in the face while I was looking for eggs and how I found it a bit unerving. My jacket is a Mann Lake with the fencing style veil. He suggested I try another veil so I took a magnifying glass to my other veil and sure enough-about 1/3 the thread count.

Who knew?
 Lee did. :)
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Offline riverbee

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2017, 11:55:54 pm »
neil...........russian bees can be and are a bit of a challenge until you get used to them........some days you might check them bare naked and some days, ok well most........ :D  wouldn't matter what veil you are wearing, BUT, do wear a veil and use your smoker.  i will wear cheaters, and will use a magnifying glass if i need to when checking on the queen.  if they get annoyed with me, i guess i have become used to it, if they are really annoyed they are trying to tell you something!  less is better with them sometimes,  they can be a bit fussy.......... :D
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2017, 10:19:52 am »
RB,

I'm going into my third year with these girls and I don't find them particularly ornery. I get stung from time to time but no mass attack or "run you out of the bee yard" scenario. I've bred animals all my life and I find it useful to have a plan at the outset. My goals for my bees are simple:

1) thriving with minimal treatments and intervention in my locale
2) honey production
3) temperament
In that order of importance.
 
I tried some VSH colonies last year and it was a disaster. But those girls were gentle as newborn lambs.

Currently my colonies are hauling in pollen like nobody's business and growing exponentially. So an occasional head butt doesn't discourage me. I call it a kiss. :) The occasional sting relieves my achy joints.
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Offline riverbee

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #6 on: February 25, 2017, 10:00:08 pm »
neil,
you have a good plan!

russkies can be somewhat ornery (more so than other breeds), mostly weather, nectar, pollen and queen problem and even pest/disease. they will let you know. just an adjustment. they seem to be more temperamental to environmental changes and problems within the hive.  sometimes i have managed to get a queen that has produced a little more temperamental bees......... :D
that's okay, i wear the protective gear, as long as they are mite/disease free, producing honey, i don't mind. i have become accustomed to it.

with russians from the rhba, minimal mite treatments, if at all.  some say they are not good honey producers.........i disagree.....have had many good years with them and last season (2016);  5 hives producing 700 + lbs honey........
with that said honey production is also dependent on one's environment. we had a good year this year.

they winter very well neil.
many things about the genetics i guess a trade off for not being so 'gentle' in the 'temperament' department....... :D

  i don't mind anymore.
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #7 on: February 25, 2017, 10:09:51 pm »
RB,

I have three colonies now. One queen is the Russian hybrid I started with in April '15. The second is a split I made last year with a  pure queen from Coy bees in Mississippi. The third is another split I made at that time that reared their own queen. That colony is doing phenomenally. More honey, more bees and less mites than the other two. I'm hoping to rear some queens out of that original queen this year and cross my fingers that they mate with some of those drones last years girl mated with.

Hope springs eternal. :) :)
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Offline riverbee

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #8 on: February 25, 2017, 10:28:04 pm »
neil,

good luck! 
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Offline Zweefer

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2017, 09:42:53 am »
Hope springs eternal. :) :)

And you have just summed up beekeeping in just words...
Keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.
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Offline Lburou

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #10 on: February 26, 2017, 08:30:21 pm »
Congratulations on your new lease on bee inspections Neil!  :)
Lee_Burough

Offline neillsayers

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #11 on: February 26, 2017, 10:14:00 pm »
Lee,

Your back! :)

I still owe you an update on my red cedar hives I made. I won't know if the boxes will have an impact on varroa populations. I made my top bars out of cedar also and the bees flatly refused to draw comb on them. I tried painting the guides with beeswax and it didn't help so I used the old pine bars I had and the bees drew them all out. I took all my cedars bars and put them in dry storage to lose some of that cedar smell. My plan is to use them on splits this spring and see if given no other choice they accept them. If not, I'll just have to stick with pine.

Thanks for the good advise on the veil.
Neill Sayers
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Offline vvand111

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #12 on: February 26, 2017, 11:03:44 pm »
Stick with the pine.  I grew up on a tobacco farm in eastern NC and My grandfather had certain rules for wood used around certain animals. Sorry He died and I grew up too soon to learn from my father and uncles but there is something to it. They r all gone now.  What a waste of my youth.

Offline Lburou

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #13 on: February 26, 2017, 11:36:38 pm »
...I made my top bars out of cedar also and the bees flatly refused to draw comb on them...
It sounds like the bees are taking you to school about this cedar business.  I hope you sort it out.   ;)
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #14 on: February 27, 2017, 12:47:37 am »
Lee and vvand111,

My working hypothesis at this point is that the cedar bars were foreign to them. When I split I use mostly capped brood with some nurse bees shaken in. Perhaps these new bees will draw them because they have no other choice. It will require keeping a close eye and being prepared to act quickly.

Locally I have heard of feral hives in cedar trees that lasted for many years. Like any idea, only time will tell.
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #15 on: March 18, 2017, 11:29:42 pm »
Well, time to throw in the towel on my bright idea. I added a box with cedar bars on my strongest hive about a month ago. Went in today and although they clearly need the room they have still refused to draw out the cedar bars. So I gave them some older waxed pine bars and we'll see how it goes from there.

Not a complete loss those waxed cedar bars will make great fire starters. :)
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #16 on: July 23, 2017, 07:23:34 pm »
I did my first varroa drop count of the summer last weak and wanted to report on the efficacy of red cedar to deter varroa. In a word, NOT. I have hives that are all pine and others all cedar and the cedar hives had no discernable effect on varroa populations. Mine is a very small sampling but its all I've got. I requeened all my hives this spring with queens I reared from the same mother queen. The hives work fine and if there is any advantage the bees seem to be reluctant to attach the comb to the sides of the hive which is not a bad thing.
I've got a load of roughsawn pine waiting at the sawmill that i will be building future hive bodies from.
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Offline Perry

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #17 on: July 23, 2017, 08:05:49 pm »
I read somewhere that hives with rough sawn boards on the inside somehow managed to be slightly healthier, something to do with coating the insides more with propolis. I even heard that some keeps were roughing up the insides of their boxes.
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #18 on: July 23, 2017, 09:00:43 pm »
I read somewhere that hives with rough sawn boards on the inside somehow managed to be slightly healthier, something to do with coating the insides more with propolis. I even heard that some keeps were roughing up the insides of their boxes.

Perry, That was part of my reasoning behind using it but primarily it is economic. I can get roughsawn pine for 60 cents a square foot, red cedar for 75. In addition, it runs on the thick side of 4 quarters, generally 1-1/16". I have to adjust my cuts to compensate for thicker wood but I believe I gain insulation and durability for a slight increase in weight. :)
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: feedback for lburou
« Reply #19 on: July 28, 2017, 07:47:47 pm »
I read somewhere that hives with rough sawn boards on the inside somehow managed to be slightly healthier, something to do with coating the insides more with propolis. I even heard that some keeps were roughing up the insides of their boxes.

Perry, That was part of my reasoning behind using it but primarily it is economic. I can get roughsawn pine for 60 cents a square foot, red cedar for 75. In addition, it runs on the thick side of 4 quarters, generally 1-1/16". I have to adjust my cuts to compensate for thicker wood but I believe I gain insulation and durability for a slight increase in weight. :)

   I so wish i had a mill I could buy rough boards from. in Iowa they are few, and the wood they provide is usually hardwood. The rough sawn boards I brought back from maine made excellent boxes, and I was astonished at how well the bees liked the rough interiors.
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