Repost from [mtbakerbees] The Bees Today

[Mohan Raj]

Got Town done fast in hopes to get to the hives while weather was decent and mild. Gave them more sugar cakes. Not as many bees on the sugar boards as last week, but still a good amount eating away at it. It was cold last night with hail and thunder. So perhaps the bees were still hunkered down.

 

I tapped the inner lid to drop the bees from it, down onto the Sugar board. Then looking at the sugar board I see the areas that need restocking. Of course the bees are hanging out all over where I need to place cakes. I spritz them here and there. Wait. They clear out only a little bit. So I politely nudge them and kind of stack and overlap sugar squares, trying not to squish any bees. It feels like a puzzle game and far from perfect. 

 

That said and done I checked the reader boards. Cleaned off a week ago, there are half rows of sugar debris. Not sure if it's a normal amount or not. Judging a 1/2 cup at most sprinkled on boards.

 

Looked for evidence of brood on boards ( i.e. darker wax debris in defined rows, center frames ). I did not see this on one board, and they are not consuming much pollen. The other board might show some brood. Coincidentally, that hive is nibbling their pollen patty.

Saw one mite.

 

I still do not know if my upper rear entrance/ exits are accessible for them to use. Do some Bees just choose not to use it, or is it usually due to beekeepers error of not providing the accurate bee space?

 

  Decided I needed to get confirmation on their main entrance being clear of debris. Came back as it got dark with headlamp and smoker. Entrances and bottom boards

 

Decided I needed to get confirmation on their main entrance being clear of debris. Came back as it got dark with headlamp and smoker. Entrances and bottom boards were clear. They must have removed their dead bees themselves. Some sugar crumbs here and there but don't seem obstructing

 

 

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Jolee B. Darrow

[Mohan Raj]

Some tips on making and deploying candy boards.

Saw a couple things of interest in the photos above: 

 

1.  That's A LOT of sugar down on the slider boards. At least it's a lot compared to what I see in my hives. And, the sugar up in the candy boards looks like it might be loosely packed?

 

One thing I do to keep the bees from treating sugar like garbage is to pack it down during candy board prep with a rolling pin:

Russell Deptuch introduced us to this style candy board maybe 15 years ago and he made the point that it's important to pack sugar down. A marble rolling pin works best for me. Palms and fingers work, too. I've read reports from beekeepers who just pour loose sugar on the inner cover and then have the same problem with bees throwing it out of the hive.

 

The bees have to work harder to "mine" sugar when it's packed down, dried completely and hard all the way through. It's usually a mistake to "humanize" bee behaviors, but I feel like this technique makes the sugar more precious, more like food and definitely harder to harvest. So, not as likely to be thrown away. It only takes a few seconds to pack it down and  the results seem worth it. I'd be alarmed if I saw that much sugar on the sliders and be trying to figure out why.

 

Drying candy boards works best when they're stacked by a wood stove with a small fan blowing over the drying boards, set on lowest speed. Heat and slowly moving air usually dries them out in 24 hours. If you can make a dent in the surface by pressing with a finger tip, the sugar isn't dry enough.

 

2.  The candy board frames in the OP photos appear to be 2, maybe 3 times deeper than they need to be. This allows a large volume of warmed air from the cluster to rise up above where the bees really need it around the brood cluster and out at the sides and corners of the top box where bees are still foraging on capped honey, syrup and stored pollen. 

 

This is the same reason I don't use quilt boxes. I want the bees to get full use of the air they've worked so hard to warm up. I try to keep any airspace above the winter cluster to a bare minimum. This also makes it possible to get winter insulation closer to the winter cluster. It's useful to be able to think how the bees use "space" to best advantage.....very different compared to human notions of space.

 

With candy boards about 1½" deep, you can pack in 8-10 lbs of sugar. That leaves just about ½" space between sugar and inner cover compared to what looks like 3-4" of open space in the photos. Keeping the sugar relatively warm makes it more inviting and easier for the bees to work on. That all-important "bubble of warm air" at the top of the winter hive is worth preserving by any means possible.

 

It would take a lot of bee power and fuel (honey/sugar/syrup) to heat that unnecessary 3-4" of empty space. It also puts the potential top entrance a lot farther away from the cluster. Bees use that top entrance because it's closer to where they live and raise brood in winter. But, if a top entrance is too far away, bees might keep using the lower front entrance, which also takes more effort and energy. Conserving energy raises the odds for winter survival.

 

I'm guessing your candy boards could be cut in half horizontally, maybe even in thirds, instantly giving you extra frames for new candy boards and doing the bees a favor by reducing heat loss. Quick job on a table saw, watch out for screws and nails at the corners. 

 

3.  Sometimes bees won't use the top entrance because they are stubborn little cusses! One of my nine hives has completely avoided the top entrance this winter. I can't see any obvious reason, but am planning to measure vent stick and upper vent area when the weather warms up. Maybe it's just some dumb oversight on my part. 

 

Remember the "hive tool trick," where you stick the sharp end up between the top box and the outer cover flange at the back of the hive, then pull back on the shank. This pushes the inner cover as far forward as it will go and pulls the outer cover as far back as it will go, all in the same movement. This is only possible if the outer cover has enough horizontal "slop, about ½" in all directions as it sits on top of the hive. If the fit is too tight, a top vent is still possible, but the bees can't squeeze through. 

 

I know these things seem minor. But, it's a large collection of small effiencies that make the difference between sustainable beekeeping and standing in line for replacement nucs every spring. It's tedious work figuring out these tiny advantages for the bees. Even more tedious making sure all those advantages are in place when they make the most difference during each particular part of the bee season.

 

Even Mr Meticulous gets a little crazy making sure the hives are set up "right."  I put it in quotes because "right" is a moving target, changing with hive location, seasonal weather, forage conditions, etc. Still, I do believe there's a "better way"  to manage each individual colony based on its particular needs. The trick is finding the way, Grasshopper.......

[Charlie Garrott]

I went today to get my eyes examined and order new glasses.

 

I found that I can get bifocals with a focus distance of 9". This will give much better magnification at that distance. Maybe that will help me see eggs!

 

I'll keep you posted on how it works out. I just thought I'd share that this option is available.

Charlie

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Olympia Beekeepers Association Discussion Group
For more information visit https://OlympiaBeekeepers.org/
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[Charlie Garrott]

I inspected my 3 hives on Tuesday - Olympia, 68F.

Hive 1 - plenty of honey/pollen, reasonable population (not heavy), found and marked queen, found capped brood and larvae on 1 frame. Bees were packing loads of pollen into hive. Put in 1 frame feeder. Added strips of pollen patty. Reinstalled candy board. Reinsulated hive.

Hive 2 - abandoned - not a ton of dead bees on bottom board, still lots of honey in hive - I think the hive was too weak going into winter. 

HIve 3 - plenty of honey/pollen, reasonable population, found and marked queen, found larvae on 1 frame.  Bees were packing loads of pollen into hive. Put in 1 frame feeder.  Added strips of pollen patty. Reinstalled candy board. Reinsulated hive.

On hive 1 and hive 3, I had put top entrance hole on candy board towards front of hive. I reversed both of these. This move confused bees for over a day but they have settled down and are using the rear upper entrance just fine. Hive 3 has started using lower entrance.

I think my best move now is to leave them alone for 2 weeks to let them build brood.

Signed, 

Nervous Charlie in Thurston County

[Kristina T]

Charlie,

I enjoyed reading about your inspections. Why did you reverse the top entrance?

I am pleased that both my hives survived the winter. One hive is very strong and loaded with bees, so I need to research splits. I have a small property. I can only move the 3rd hive about 10 feet away. Any input would be appreciated (from you or the group).

Kristina

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[Charlie Garrott]

Kristina - i was advised that having ventilation air flow through the hive is much preferable to enabling the air to take a shortcut up the front wall.

I have also been convinced that slatted bottom boards are effective to spreading air flow across the hive.

I am preparing to do double screen board (Snelgrove) splits. I just need to build enough population to do splits. With Snelgrove, there is no need to relocate the split hive.

Reach out to me at next week's meeting if you want to talk. Vivian and I have been enjoying working together. 

Charlie 

Charlie Garrott 

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From: Kristina T <kristin...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 6, 2025 7:56:55 PM
To: oba-dis...@olympiabeekeepers.org <oba-dis...@olympiabeekeepers.org>
Subject: Re: [OBA Discussions] Repost from [mtbakerbees] The Bees Today

 

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