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jsallington Nurse Bee
Joined: 14 Jan 2014 Posts: 31 Location: Two Rivers, Wisconsin
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 2:54 pm Post subject: What happens when your top bar hive is full? |
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This is my 3rd year of keeping bees and I haven't had this problem yet but I can see it coming. There is not much more space in the hives for them to build, I've only collected 1 frame of honey from each a year. Does this mean I get to collect more this year? |
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Adam Rose Silver Bee
Joined: 09 Oct 2011 Posts: 589 Location: Manchester, UK
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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Being ram full and having nowhere to put incoming stores is one of the signals to start swarm preparations.
You can either let them swarm or do a split at that stage.
There is some evidence to say that smaller hives whose colonies swarm earlier have better survival rates, because they both have a brood break and have time to build up for winter after swarming.
Having said that, "full" is a slightly elastic concept. Simply building comb is one thing, filling it up with brood and honey is another. And bees can get quite inventive when humans might think there is no more room in the hive. |
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Barbara Site Admin
Joined: 27 Jul 2011 Posts: 1857 Location: England/Co.Durham/Ebchester
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 4:13 pm Post subject: |
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If the hive is full and there are several combs of capped honey as well as plenty of nectar coming in, then yes, now would be a good time to harvest some.
How big is the hive? I believe the "Golden Hive" which is available in The States is quite a bit smaller than our standard 4 foot hive and is probably designed to be harvested little and often. There is a good chance the bees will swarm once the hive is full. Keep a look out for queen cells and of course a swarm emerging usually between 12 and 2pm.
It sounds like they are thriving though so congratulations on getting them this far. |
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Quality Top Bar Hives by Andrew Vidler
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Conserving wild bees
Research suggests that bumble bee boxes have a very low success rate in actually attracting bees into them. We find that if you create an environment where first of all you can attract mice inside, such as a pile of stones, a drystone wall, paving slabs with intentionally made cavities underneath, this will increase the success rate.
Most bumble bee species need a dry space about the size a football, with a narrow entrance tunnel approximately 2cm in diameter and 20 cm long. Most species nest underground along the base of a linear feature such as a hedge or wall. Sites need to be sheltered and out of direct sunlight.
There is a spectacular display of wild bee hotels here
More about bumblebees and solitary bees here
Information about the Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
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