Our fall flow had a lull and all the hives were very light. I compressed all of them (removed every frame that was completely empty and left any frame with anything in it). I bought a thousand pounds of sugar and we fed all the hives. The home yard is lighter because of queen rearing so I fed them twice. I have the Mann Lake cap and ladder medium frame feeders. I put two on the bigger hives. I make five gallons at a time. 24 pints of water to 40 pounds of sugar. I painted a line for each. So I fill to the water line with boiling water and to the sugar line with sugar. The syrup is all 5:3 with a heaping tablespoon of ascorbic acid added to the water. I boil the water, add the ascorbic acid, add the sugar, stir until dissolved the turn off the heat. I pour that into three metal pots to cool while I make the next batch. I hope I won’t need to feed again. I will check the weight again in a week or two to see if they are burning it up. The other issue in the fall is getting those young fat bees that can live the six months until spring.
http://bushfarms.com/beeswinter.htm
http://bushfarms.com/beesfeeding.htm
I saw this frenzy going on and turned the cover over to block the entrance. They were doing this same thing before I blocked it. They would pile up until they would fall in clumps. I slowed it down to try to see it better.
I have fallen behind on posting. I work 40 hours a week and then try to keep up with bees, so I've fallen behind on my posts most everywhere including here. I'm feeling my age. For the first time I find myself thinking that 8 frame medium boxes full of honey are too heavy. And the 8 and 9 frame "queen castle" mating nucs are also getting too heavy. You would think this constant increase in the pull of gravity would have people concerned...
Last year I had an apprentice, which helped a lot on getting bee work done. We raised a lot of batches of queens, but did not have very good returns. Some of that is probably weather, some is probably predators (dragonflies etc.). Some of it, I think is that the dividers on my mating nucs are deteriorating and queens are getting killed by the neighbors. The corners at the top are getting chewed out. I hope to get enough help, between apprentices and Bee Camp, to build some separate 3 medium frame mating nucs. We will see. It's that or ...
https://bushfarms.com/beescamp.htm
Bee Camp dates: 22-26 May 2025 (arriving 21 May leaving 27 May)
(Work week will be 17-21 May 2025 arriving May 16))
Location: Nehawka, Nebraska 68413(45 miles south of Omaha Eppley Airport)
Cost: $1,000 ($100 non-refundable deposit. $900 on arrival) or if you do work week, just the $100 deposit.
Accommodations: meals and camping in a tipi provided. I highly recommend staying in the camp. If you don't you will miss a lot of the camaraderie, but Hotel or Glamping (glamour camping) are available in the area at the cost of the camper and the camper is responsible for arrangements.
Weather permitting we will be doing bee things for at least 4 hours a day, usually more like 12 and other activities the rest of the day.
I guess this is a clear sign I don't post here enough. You can still see my last post on last year's camp. Last year was another great year. A lot of fun, a lot of camaraderie and a lot of new friends. Here's my...
New member looking to meet local natural beekeepers: anyone in/near Central Massachusetts?
I just got started with a langstroth hive this summer, planning to build a top bar hive and swarm traps for the spring. I am a decent carpenter; would be fun to collaborate and build some hives together with others in the area.
