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Comment by Rob Shepler on April 21, 2013 at 10:28am

Hive check today, pollen coming in but not much nectar. No drones or drone brood. I am feeding some hives while doing a rain jig and it is not pretty. Should I be doing a reel instead?

 

Anybody want to go in on a pallet of sugar? Sheesh!

I think I may have just witnessed two trees fighting over a dog. Dry? Yep.

Comment by Ralph N Gallegos on April 20, 2013 at 8:28pm

 Rob your comment didn't have a link or recipe, but I looked back and found it!                                                                                                                    Paul’s Secret Bee Recipes (Tried and found to be successful in varying degrees)

Syrup 1:1 syrup – 4lb sugar mixed with 8 cups of water. Heated and stirred. Mix in equal amounts of lemongrass and spearmint oil (8-10 drops) and 1 tblspoon of apple cider vinegar. Makes a little over 1.5 gallons. DO NOT BOIL!

For 2:1 syrup, reduce amount of water to 4 cups per 4lbs of sugar.

Candy Mix 4 lbs sugar with 2 cups of water and 1 tblspoon of apple cider vinegar. Bring to boil at around 220-238 degrees (soft ball). When boiling, stir continuously. Mixture will get milky and foam up, then will turn clear and foam will stop when it reaches the candy point. (If mixture turns brown, throw it out!) Remove from heat and stir in 1-2 cups pollen substitute and lemongrass oil (10 drops). Mix with blender until white and creamy. Pour into mold. Makes two large bricks. Caution -Burned sugar will kill bees!

Comment by Ralph N Gallegos on April 20, 2013 at 8:21pm

Litta & I would like to thank Rob for letting us get a feel for the bees today, We were somewhat Leary about working Bees when we got ours, but after today were looking forward to getting started. Thanks again!

Comment by Rob Shepler on April 20, 2013 at 7:09pm

So glad to hear it! They are sure doing well, you and Robert have done a nice job with them.

Comment by Diana Calkins on April 20, 2013 at 7:02pm

Tonight we sucked it up and went out to enlarge the opening to our hive.  For those of you who have seen our hive box, the opening was only about 3/8"h x 2"w.  I've been dreading it, because I knew that drilling into their home would make them very upset and defensive.  I planned it all out; wait till they were all inside then tape a piece of screen over the opening.  To keep them from coming out from the new opening, Robert brought some cotton balls to stuff the new holes with.  I placed the screen over the the old entrance, then prepared for the worst, Robert drilled while I stood off near the house.  I wasn't wearing a veil or anything.  And......nothing.  The bees never reacted except to start cleaning the small wood pieces out their new entrance.  Robert never even used the cotton balls.  He pulled the screen off the entrance and then used my pocket knife to assist the bees in clearing the wood chips from the new entrance, which is now 4" wide.  So much for aggressive BeeWeavers.  Robert said that they ignored him so bad, he felt insignificant.  LOL!  So far, these girls have been a dream to work with!

Comment by Rob Shepler on April 20, 2013 at 12:48pm

A re-post for Ralph G, Jeanne and Bev. Paul's Secret recipes!

 

For those bringing in packages this year, you may need to feed them to get them a good start. Below are Paul’s secret recipes that he shared with us last year. A new package has a lot of work in building a new home and they consume a lot of recourses. Honey or nectar is always best, feeding sugar is better than loosing a hive!

Paul’s Secret Bee Recipes (Tried and found to be successful in varying degrees)

Syrup 1:1 syrup – 4lb sugar mixed with 8 cups of water. Heated and stirred. Mix in equal amounts of lemongrass and spearmint oil (8-10 drops) and 1 tblspoon of apple cider vinegar. Makes a little over 1.5 gallons. DO NOT BOIL!

For 2:1 syrup, reduce amount of water to 4 cups per 4lbs of sugar.

Candy Mix 4 lbs sugar with 2 cups of water and 1 tblspoon of apple cider vinegar. Bring to boil at around 220-238 degrees (soft ball). When boiling, stir continuously. Mixture will get milky and foam up, then will turn clear and foam will stop when it reaches the candy point. (If mixture turns brown, throw it out!) Remove from heat and stir in 1-2 cups pollen substitute and lemongrass oil (10 drops). Mix with blender until white and creamy. Pour into mold. Makes two large bricks. Caution -Burned sugar will kill bees!

Comment by Paul McCarty on April 19, 2013 at 5:14pm

If you make your split big enough, the cold should not be an issue.

Comment by Diana Calkins on April 19, 2013 at 11:52am

I'm thinking with the previous winds and two very cold nights we've had, it was good that I haven't done a split yet.  Planning to go into the hive tomorrow if warm enough.  Not supposed to be too windy.

Comment by Jeremy McK on April 17, 2013 at 5:21pm

A guy at the Abq Beeks meeting showed me his idea for a bee well that I really liked, simple and cheep.  He picked up some cork matting like you would put in a cabnet bottom, he said it was several sheets for a few bucks at his local home store.  Cut to shape, drill some small holes and float in the water.  His 5gal bucket also had holes drilled all the way around a few inchs from the top so he could put it under a rain spout and the cork pad wouldn't get flushed out. 

Comment by Ralph Ketter on April 17, 2013 at 8:34am

I did a quick hive check this morning for my bearding hive under less that ideal breezy conditions.  Did not see any swarm cells.  I agree Paul,  I too think it is bearding but due to crowding or a decline of good foraging (local fruit trees done) as opposed to heat.  I had provided shade with no change.  I move some vacant bars to the front this morning.  They have added about 6 bars of comb this spring but they are still lightweight without much nectar being stored yet.  Wind is forecast through Thursday now, so I will resist checking until better conditions.

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