Checking 2023 Honeybee Splits for Queens Part 1
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Following up on the previous check for queen cells, now I inspect to see if the colonies successfully raised a queen and if she mated successfully. In the process I give myself a scare when one new queen goes lifeless. Will she survive?
Music by Slip.stream - "But You Had Already Gone" - slip.stream/tr...
I grew up on a farm on the edge of the Nebraska sandhills. A cattle ranch that bears our family name, founded in the late 1800s by my ancestors, is still owned and worked by my cousin. Life events have put me in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area in middle America, where my wife and I have raised our two kids. It's in this environment that I work to make as sustainable a life as I can, converting much of our backyard to grow food, including a garden, fruit trees and bee hives.
I attempt to use natural methods, as much as is possible, in my gardening and beekeeping. I garden organically and continue to learn to work with the soil and the plants, without the use of chemical supplements, herbicides or pesticides, to improve our harvest. Our honey bees are sourced from local colonies through swarms, trap-outs and cut-outs, and are kept, using treatment-free, natural methods, in Layens horizontal hives.
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So glad that you're queen is ok
Me, too!
Such angst. I'm pretty sure I held my breath til I nearly fainted myself. That queen deserves an Oscar.
That's how I felt as I was watching and waiting for some sign of life. Logically I knew she'd probably just fainted, but some immediate confirmation would've been nice.
I'm so glad she was okay!
It was a huge relief to see her up and active.
Nice! When in doubt, close them up and come back a week later. Anything can be fixed more easily than a wrong hasty decision.
Yep! I can tend to be impatient in beekeeping, gardening and most other aspects of my life. In most cases it works out best to pause, take a breath, and wait before acting.
I have had the queen faint twice. Scared me to death both times. The second time took 15 mins to recover. I think the way to make her recover is to panic and start looking for brood to put in there.
you killed queeny! you astard!!! just kidding, glad she was just stunned and back to doing bee stuff
OMG! My stomach would have been doing somersaults! Are you sure she's not part possum? 😂
I hate when something like that happens especially going into fall when there’s not enough drones left to get a new Queen mated. I’ve just about quit marking Queens because the older I get the more accident prong I get! What state are you located in and what city are you near, if you don’t mind me asking? Good video!
I don't think I'm going to mark my queens, it could mean more attention to notes the determine their age but, I don't think it's necessary if you see signs of a queen being present. Hope I'm not going down the wrong path with that. I put a swarm trap up next to an existing swarm today that I'm hoping I'll be able to entice into it. It's an odd site that the homeowner claims attracts several swarms for a few weeks every year before they move on. Hopefully they will like my 6 frame Layens trap with half sheets of Dr. Leos wax that he sells, there is also the two slow release lemon grass oil capsules and propolis added throughout the trap.
It's not a requirement, but it certainly is helpful for record keeping. Originally I didn't plan to mark my queens, but I'm working to become more diligent in tracking the genetic lines of my hives and propagate the healthiest and most productive colonies. Having the queens marked can help with keeping track of the generations. But that's my situation; it isn't necessarily beneficial for everyone.
@@SuburbanSodbuster Yeah, I'm going to have to make the call once I get going like you did. Taking notes is something that is easy to fall behind on, the visual marker would make things easier. Thanks for sharing your path so mine can be a little easier.
Ive seen the small round cage you put iver and gebtly push yo the comb, then mark her. You never youch her - why use Red? Its kind of hard to spot.
Neon Irange, nein green, white pink are bright colors to use.
There are standard colors which indicate the year a queen emerged. These go in a 5 year rotation: white, yellow, red, green and blue. Red is used for years ending in 3 or 8 so is this year's color. There's no requirement to use certain colors, but following the standard does give a reference of the queen's age.
Drama queen ....... :)