Any Bee keepers in here?

I tried managing a TBH with a buddy as his first colony. They evacuated after about six weeks. I feel to do it right you need to spend a lot more time managing them. They were constructing comb every which way and it turned into a mess. Us trying to straighten things out may have been why they took off. You have to be very attentive to the size of the box and expand only as they need it. We also had them constantly connecting comb to the sides. They do say its supposed to be more natural and all. If i didnt have multiple hives and had more time to play with them i would give it a shot again. But the langstrothe hives are easier and more universal.

 

Langstroths were definitely made for us they are simple and easy to work. The top bars arent to bad from what Ive seen but I havent worked one very much just a peek here and there. They are a lot of work and you cant use an extractor to get your honey out. I wonder if a top bar would be easier for someone that hasnt worked a langstroth before?

 

I made a top bar hive in a pinch to save a colony that swarmed too early in the year. We had a warm snap in early April and they took to the sky but were sidelined with cold weather. Found them in a tree and made the hive one night from some wood I scavenged off jobsites. The pic shows what it looks like when hornets take over the hive. I kept my colony from that April until the next spring. They left imo because I was running a chainsaw near them every two days over the winter. You can also see in the pic how the comb does not touch the walls. If you follow the instructions and make the box accurately, the only other thing to make certain of is that the hive is level when set. The bees will make comb that hangs straight downward. Any angle in the position of the box will cause angled comb and could create poor conditions within the hive. Note that each honeycomb cell is a 6 sided and that creates a specific angle. That angle will be matched by the angle of the walls of the hive (if built correctly) and dissuade construction of comb that connects to the walls. I really enjoyed the experience and satisfaction of knowing I saved the colony. I hope to do it again, but will likely use the dresser type hive.

 

Just go with the flow and remember have fun with it.

 

Haha...flow...i get it

 

Dang, wish I knew. Could of joined you.

 

One hive very large cluster across 90% of the box. The other half as big. Both very little honey left. Lots of casualties in the smaller colony. Hope the bigger one doesnt starve out before nectar flow starts. Added two pounds of winter patty to each hive. Very calm they were.

 

There is a lot going on in a hive. Quite fascinating to most once you really start getting into it.
Will they make it? Hope so. As long as all the dead are removed from the hive i dont sweat it much. Gotta remember those dead are at least four months all at this point. In the summer the lie for six weeks at most.
Winter is a balancing act that ends up being just a crap shoot in the end. Too much ventilation and they will freeze. Too little and you get condensation in hive. If you insulate it and keep the hive too warm then they go through all thier honey reserves before the spring nectar flow.
The larger cluster i would guess is 15,000 or better. Good for keeping the queen warm but that is still a lot of mouths to feed. If it stays warm the smaller cluster should do better. If it gets cold again then my money would be on the larger one. Either way i do need to feed both at this point to keep them going.
A lot of new beeks mess around with hives too much. During swarm season i will check weekly for queen cells. Other than that i leave them bee for the most part. I dont use any chemicals or treat for mites either. Just hive beetle traps. They do alright in the wild without our intervention. Problem is we take all the honey in the summer that they are trying to save up to get them through the winter.

 

If you try to contain ur bees in a small hive, they WILL swarm. Hives get built up vertically. Why the crunch for space? Assuming you are on a tight urban lot, just have a game plan on what to do wen they swarm and i would let at least the neighbors i am friendly with know what to expect. At one point i had five hives on a 1/4 lot although there was a lake on one side. Past ten feet in front of the hives you wouldnt even know they are there. The go up and literally make a bee line to and from where they need to go.

 

Ahh, a small apiary is what you want.

 

I did my first hive inspection of the year today and everything looks good both of them survived the winter. Im looking forward to the spring and summer bees are so much fun except for the one that stung me on the hand which is now swollen up pretty dang big.