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Comment by Kevin Schwebel on September 1, 2012 at 3:27pm

unless, of course, I find some wild ones that need a home.

Comment by Kevin Schwebel on September 1, 2012 at 3:27pm

Yes, I think there is enough time, especially down here. I'm pretty far away from the commercial yards, but have my own drones close by and there's also feral colonies a within a couple of miles.  I think for now, I'll just consolidate the 2 strong colonies I have left and start splitting in the spring. It will give me time to build more wooden ware too. 

Comment by Paul McCarty on September 1, 2012 at 3:23pm

With as many commercial outfits as there are in the Mesilla Valley I would not think making their own would be a bad option. You still have a few weeks where they could raise a queen if you have enough bees. Other than that, there is a commercial beek I know who still has queens for sale.

Comment by Kevin Schwebel on September 1, 2012 at 3:11pm

I was also worried about my biggest hive, so we tore it down for a look. It has obviously swarmed, probably while I was away last week.  I was considering another split from it, but wasn't quick enough. The good news is it still has a LOT of bees, and there's a new queen who is laying quite well. I know she's new because she's very blonde, while the other was almost black. They're still bringing in nectar, so they're quite well off for winter now, and I'll have another full super soon. Maybe the thing to do with queens is to let them make their own?

Comment by Kevin Schwebel on September 1, 2012 at 3:08pm

It's been a hard few weeks here at the bee ranchito.  I've been trying to get a heavy split to take a queen, but all to no avail.  After nearly 6 weeks, they've rejected a virgin, had a new queen abscond or not be accepted, and they weren't able to make their own either.  They were down today from nearly 6 lbs of bees to probably a pound or less. And they've had a laying worker.  There are a lot of funny-looking bees out there, so today I pulled the frames and dumped the survivors. A complete loss.

Comment by Paul McCarty on August 30, 2012 at 7:35am

Just removed bees from a plastic 5 gallon bucket. A very odd removal. Must have gotten 10 lbs of bees out of it.

Comment by Paul McCarty on August 27, 2012 at 10:57pm

My bees have been kicking out drones off and on all summer. They are still making some, not a lot. They are still dragging in nectar and starting to get defensive about it. I just started about a dozen more grafts. We'll see how these queens take. I need to check my high altitude bees and see what is up with them, but they are so mean I hate to do it. Last I checked they were raising 6 new queen cells from my most docile bees.

Comment by James H DAWDY on August 27, 2012 at 7:42pm

Rob- I just checked my hive and noticed exactly the same thing.  Lots and lots of worker brood, and drone brood like the bees think it's the June/July swarm-mating season- as a matter of fact, more drone brood than I've seen in the last couple of months (though not enough to be worrisome that the queen is pooping out).  Wonder if the bees know something about the onset of fall that we don't?

Comment by Rob Shepler on August 27, 2012 at 5:54pm

The Beeweaver hives have had a nice build rate, I hesitate to call these bees swarmy, they most certainly have a strong swarm impulse. They were not at all over crowded and they were not honey bound. The tassels on the clover are about half bloomed, so there is more nectar to be had up here, my hives are still building so I don’t think it is an effort to be rid of excess population before fall. Most of my hives are still laying and building brood at a good clip. I certainly did not expect this swarm at this time of year, but all of my hives are making drone brood. Go figure.

Comment by Paul McCarty on August 27, 2012 at 8:05am

Are they just building up too fast or are they just swarming regardless of hive size?

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