von Dee Lusby:
grundsätzliche Parameter für den Aufbau von starken Völkern die Überschuss abgeben
Basic hive building up strength parameters for surplus stores...
The first foraged nectar in the spring along with pollen will be stored in
the cells around the sphere of brood laid and will not be sealed at once to
allow for faster eating/using for brooding up faster, and the more speed
achieved the faster the bees build up in worker numbers for expanding.
Now special note to understand: and so why I am the way I am about tonka
toy hives NOT WANTED……you see, if the colony is too small with worker
bees with brood in less then 2-3 frames laid up, and has also no good heat
parameters (outside frames filled with honey for hive thermoregulation of heat
for keeping for bees to use inside more radiating back to the bees/brood)
the hive is likely to become honey bound or corraled and unable to move and
work ……which is basically not being able to generate enough heat, and
not able to move into other combs for nectar and pollen which is around
the brood for eating and expanding with queen laying, nor can they eat fast
enougoh to make empty cells for queen to lay in, so staying put due to not
enough heat with all paramenters in place, then become crowded in small area
at and unable to grow and cannot move also to other empty comb areas of
same hive which takes eating for muscle movement to so do……..so colonies
fail to expand/grow, and die back then in numbers and desperate with those
left then you see early small swarms no bigger then size of fist sorta..and
sad. ……. and clear broodnest colonies with ample stores to each
side and enough bees to work don’t have this problem………….and so is
good reason for workup up colonies in spring with also keeping a minimum of
3-5 colonies for then having back up hives stronger to help the weak with
backfeeding of some food, brood and nurse bees to get things rolling more for
the weaker colonies, though don’t want to over take from the strong to make
them weak too…..and then problems with them later………..so any hive
above 4-6 frames of brood you can use to help balance out the weaker, along
with surplus honey still available, but not overdoing taking from the
strong ones too!…
Now for summer or mail flow colonies…….the colonies should have it’s
maximum population already pror to the beginning of the main honey flow.
…and here is the part now taught differently since the 1980s that never used
to be this way fwiw………….
Some beekeepers are okay with 10 pounds of bees in their hives or aka tonka
toy hives smaller then 3 deeps kept on average…..but this is not enough
for best results….nor is 15 lbs enough also!!!! and 10 lbs of bees is
about 50,000 bees too!……………For old school doings, and I am old
school, we used to want at least 20 lbs of bees in a hvie and the best
beekeepers wanted still more to get to 140,000 to 180,000 bees per hive for then
good surplus stores getting of honey and pollen………….which is why 3
deeps are needed minimum and better beekeepers smiling if seeing brood in 4th
box…………………and then supering hives 4-5-6 deeps for running
for the gold of the honey fwiw. and then its extracting and refilling as fast
as can be turned, without crush and strain for then forcing making new wax
and combs while refills can be done just so much faster until the
year/flows are done………while keeping the broodnest back stocked with stores
and opened up for the queen to lay.
Also, one or more supers should be put on each hive in observance before
there is any chance of the bees becoming overcrowded space wise for working
both in supers for honey and broodnest to keep the queen laying……….and
here again small cell worker brood is 85% of all combs while the
sides/periferie of the combs are at mot 10-15% drone brood and bigger size……and
not as wanted taught today for bigger is better and teaching bees bad
habits by using bigger stuff not matching nature.
Anyway.more food for thinking about……..while working and redoing
woodenware with winter coming on now nor of then equator while you more south
are just starting your summer doings.
Dee A.Lusby
