Hello Bill,
How’s your hive? Mine is good - lots of bees and lots of activity. I’m not sure I’ll harvest any honey next month. Although there are a lot of bees in the super, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of honey. I have a ton of flowers in the garden but they aren’t really going for them. It’s strange but this is my first year so I’m just observing. What observations do you have on your bees?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
It is great to hear from you!
I am glad to hear your hive is doing well.
My brood box is filled out so I put the super on and did not get many bees to fill it. I removed the super and for this year will not try to collect any honey. Next spring when the Nectar Flow starts back up I will put the super back on hoping to collect honey.
Do you have any more infestation in your hive?
I have not had any mites come into my hive so far.
Stay in touch and let me know how your hive is doing.
Bill
Hi Bill,
Glad we connected so quickly. I have a bit of honey in my super so I’ll just leave it on for the meantime and see what September brings. I haven’t done a proper mite inspection so I can’t tell you if I’ve had an infestation. My gut says no considering how active the hive seems and the tray looks pretty clean. In any case, I need to do a proper mite inspection this weekend. Question for you - why didn’t you put on a second brood box or a medium?
g.
No one ever mentioned to me about getting two brood boxes. I consulted local bee keepers and Flow Hive and no one stated I should have doubled up on brood. It makes sense to have two.
Remind me your first name please.
Bill
My name is Genevieve. 
I didn’t really consult anyone about removing the super but I wish I had. I also work with another hive, a Langstroth, and we added another brood box. In any case, honey harvesting from a first year hive is probably hit-or-miss, or so I’m told. What mite management product did you use on your hive?
Hi Bill,
When you took your super off, did you feed any of the honey back to the bees? If so, how did you do it?
Thank you!
Genevieve,
There was no honey in the super so that is why I removed it. There were just a few bees that crawled around in the super but never produced any honey.I am just going to let them eat the honey they produced in the brood this winter and try next spring with the super once the nectar run starts.
Bill
Hi Bill,
I hope you’re well! I was able to harvest 2 jars of uncapped honey on Friday, Oct. 1st, which I’m in the process of feeding back to the bees. I am terribly late with applying the mite strips. I’ll probably do it this week, although I never did the sugar shake to check for mites. Everyone tells me that I should just do the strips to be sure because there’s a good chance I have mites. I heard that bees will die because of the treatment. Question for you - are you feeding your bees now? I bought the bee smart 1 gallon feeder and the girls consumes almost a gallon of syrup in less than 24 hours (partially filled). I just put in another gallon today and I bet they’ll finish it in 2 days. I’ll transition to 2:1 later in the month. What are you doing?
Genevieve,
The bees never filled the super so the only honey they have is in the brood box, which I have not touched and plan on leaving for them to eat.
I thought I had mites this summer but have that was not correct and have not seen evidence that I do to this date.
The bees are quite active since it has been warm outside.
I will monitor if I will provide additional fees to them.
Let me know what else you are doing please.
Bill
I’m just feeding the bees now. I’ll put in the mite strips once it gets below 85F, which will be on Friday. I don’t think I have mites but you never know! I check this morning and the bees had already consumed a 1/2 gallon of the sugar/ honey syrup! I just want them to make it through the winter and maybe do a split in the spring. I feel like my queen is doing very well; I witnessed an orientation flight on Sunday.
ANything else you’re doing?
I believe I will wrap my brood with an insulated wrap so they do not get to cold over the winter.
Bill
Yes, I am going to wrap my hive too. Will remove queen excluder tomorrow and continue feeding until November. I also plan to buy a flat metal roof so I can treat and paint the flow roof.
I painted the roof as hive before I introduced the bees. Why are you using a queen excluder.
Bill
Hi Bill,
I put in mite strips on Sat. and ugh, I found so many mites in the tray today. Mites weren’t visible to me at all; I wish I had put them in earlier. I think it’s a good idea to use the formic acid strips in just as a precaution. They do say, “If you keep bees, then you also keep mites.” The window is closing on mite mitigation as we move into colder weather. You can’t feed at all while treating mites so all sugar water/pollen patties are on hold until the end of the month. I’ll also wrap my hive when it gets colder.
Where did you get the mite strips
Where did you place the mite strips in the hive?
Bill
You can wrap your hive with the insulated packs Whole Foods uses to pack food for delivery.
Bill
Bought them from a beekeeping supply store called To Bee or Not to Bee. It’s called Formic Pro. I also bought a bee cozy wrap from Amazon ( search: Bee Hive Winter Insulation for 2 Story Beehive,Bee Hive Wrap for Winter,Overwintering Beehive Protective Cover Beekeeping Supplies)
Thank You for letting me know.
Bill
I could not reach anyone at bee or not to bee.
What is the cost of the formic pro?
Thank You,
Bill