My visual inspection of the frames I robbed suggest that we are still in flow. They have decapped and are filling up the cells at a rate of knots. I’m not too far from the base of the escarpment.
All the bottle brush flowers have whittled away. But the jacarandas are all in full bloom now. It’s a beautiful site to see all the purple flowers. When they drop, it’s like having a bright purple carpet.
This is my first spring. So I’m learning what’s in the area and watching the hive with eager eyes.
I plan to inspect my parent hive that I split a month ago and see how many of the fresh foundations have been drawn etc. Watch this space…
I don’t have any around here Freddy. The more I look the more I realise my Sheilas will mostly rely on native bush. And my syrup.
Do you mind asking, are you already splitting a hive from a nuc you got this spring? My recently acquired nucs (the one I stuffed up, and the one that was a dud with only a few bees) … I’m hoping I don’t have to split before next year.
I started with a full 10F brood box (with 9 frames) in March this year. They wintered well and by very early spring I supered. A month ago, they were honey bound and bursting at the seams and I saw signs of swarming behaviour so I performed an even split (my first).
My new split is likely at the stages of your new nucs. I’ve been waiting for the queen to emerge and will check in 2 weeks time to see if I have a mated queen. They appear to be foraging well. They have a full frame of honey from the parent hive to use. I haven’t had to feed because my thinking is that they are currently in a flow.
Regular inspections will determine if you have to do any preemptive swarming or not. But if you’re having to feed, sounds unlikely.
Hi Stefan, to add my 2 bob’s worth. You can add a few jars of syrup with only one small hole in each one. It’s worth remembering that the bees can’t forage during the night, therefore you can expect them to take the syrup, while it’s available during the night as well as during the day.
I never heft the hives to see how they’re filling, I lift the lids before peeling the hive mats back. A plan view of the honey frames will indicate a honey flow… You’ll see lots of brand new wax on the edges of the frames, as well as what is adhered to the hive mat. Then an inspection of one or two frames will indicate what %age is capped.
I have nothing against hefting, it’s just that I’ve never gotten into the habit.
I rarely feed, only if the bees are completely out of honey, in those cases it’s normally a recent swarm I caught. To help one out this morning, I gave it 3 stickies to clean up. Other times I’ll move a frame containing some honey from one colony to another.
If I have 4 or 5 frames containing bees in a 10 frame super & I want to feed them, I’ll take advantage of the empty space to feed with a jam jar with a tiny hole in the lid, sitting on 2 little bits of wood on the floor.
There must be a honey flow at my place right now because a sticky tub has been sitting out the back since yesterday lunchtime, untouched by the bees. Come to think of it, untouched by the honey eaters also.
Hi Stefan, I forgot to mention. I haven’t thought about feeding my bees because my hives have always had plenty of honey stores. Your situation could be different.
I’ve made a conscience decision in my approach to bee keeping in that I only take anything I consider ‘excess’ or ‘surplus’ to the bees need.
Absolutely. I’m with you there. Oddly, honey harvesting is not my primary interest. At least not yet. I just find the bees fascinating and I want to encourage the kids to get interested in the intricacies of nature.
We don’t even consume a lot of honey. I don’t have family here to share with. Being an eccentric hermit, I don’t even have friends to give either. Just a couple of neighbours, as the other is an irritant of biblical proportions, so no honey for him.
Yup, I’m in Morangup just outside Perth. Got my nuc at Guilfoyles(so) (Thanks Suzie) 5 days ago. It was nerve racking but so enjoyable doing it myself. Fingers crossed I didn’t squish the queen. Can’t wait until first inspection. Lots of happy Italian ladies. My Nonno would be proud.
That is great Dave! You must be just North East of me.
I hope you were more successful than myself. I think Guilfoyle’s queens would be marked with this year’s colour. It is worth trying to find it on your first inspection. We already had 40 degree days here, and we have 39 forecast for this week. You’re probably the same. Mine don’t get any shade at all and am starting to worry.
40c and a hive with no shade is a worry in my mind. I would be looking for the shade of a shrub or against a wall or something as it is not even Summer yet and it is going to get hotter. Also be sure your bees have a reliable water supply.
What is left of the bush that hasn’t burnt with the bush fires is producing nectar but about 30% of the natural bush my hives forage on has gone up in flames so I’m not getting the Spring flow this year.
Cheers
Hope you haven’t lost any hives in those fires Pete.
Yes these high temps are worrying me. I saw hives around here in full sun with migratory kids, but don’t know how well they thrive. I just happened to see them.
I don’t have anywhere on my patch I can place the hives where they get afternoon sun without being a nuisance to my neighbors or away from foot traffic. Trust me I don’t. I don’t even have fences.
It is also tricky to erect some sort of shade cloth. Hard to explain why without being here.
My heat mitigation measures have been:
Paint the hives white
I glued 20 pieces 30mm thick sandpaper cork pads on the underside of the roof as insulation.
I raised the lid about 60mm as a further buffer against the heat. I did this by putting a shallow 60mm box sitting on the crown board and under the roof. This also gives me more headroom for feeding jars. Plan is to have vents in this box that I can close when not needed.
So far I haven’t noticed any bearding but that could be due to colony numbers not being high enough yet.
Since it is tricky to build some shade structure around the hives, I’m wondering whether I can have something on each hive individually that can survive the daily wind and occasional 60km/hr easterlies. I don’t know how much heat is transferred into the hive through the sides walls when it is in direct overhead sun.
Like you I have hives facing East in full sun and as yet have had no issues. I’ve added 20mm foil backed foam insulation inside the top and have another piece on the lid overhanging all sides by about 50mm raised 20mm on one side to create an air gap between the two.
I also have a hive in full tree shade all day and after having a peek yesterday needs harvesting for the third time this Spring!
Cheers Mr Skeggley. It is good to see other people’s setups. Mine are facing North, but get sun on them very early in the morning.
Those hives of yours don’t get any shade at all in summer? That gives me some peace of mind for my hives’ location. Well, tomorrow’s forecast is 42 °C.
That overhang on the roof doesn’t provide much extra protection, similar to the Flow Hive’s roof overhang, does it?
From what you are saying, the shady one is the most productive, right? I guess, the only way to know whether it is the microclimate contributing to the success is to swap it with another hive and see whether you get the same success.
I like the Flow Hive and I’m a sucker for nice designs, but I have to say I find the Flow Hive roof cute, but not practical. Can’t put anything on it.
My hives will struggle with the reduced foraging area as the only impact from the bush fires, but I feel sorry for those more affected.
The hive will suffer more from overhead heat than through the sides of the hive. What you have done will be a help. Vents in the roof will be a big help.
I have fitted migratory roof to my hives with vents on most of my hives and found has dramatically cut down bearding of the hives that have vents.
I’m lucky with my hives only a few K’s from the beach so often there is a cooling sea breeze but still get Summer temps of around 35 to 38 in the shade. Nothing like guys away from the coast get.
Maybe you can buy some fast growing shrubs if you have the water to spare that will provide shade for Summers to come.
Cheers
@Numbatino I don’t recall a photo of your hives but if they are located somewhere you could grow a vine/creeper over to provide the necessary shade take a look at a local native plant called Kennedia Nigracans. Within a year of planting you’ll have a thick big cover. NOTE that it needs proper support, not just a light trellis.
Hi Stefan, painting your hive/s white is spot on. The cork under the lid will certainly help. The hive walls are thick enough in reality. If it’s too hot near the walls, the bees simply wont raise brood against them. My advice differs to others. I don’t use any extra ventilation in the roof or on the floor. The bees do an excellent job of air conditioning their hive via the entrance. What I do, & I think it helps the bees in their endeavors to air condition the hive is evenly space 9 frames in a 10 frame brood box. I believe the extra 3mm of space between frames allows bees more room to move air around.
Apart from that the bees need to be able to access water, which they use to aid in air conditioning.
