Should I do a split?

21

Thanks Peter, I really appreciate the advice.
I would like to leave as 1 brood box if I can being a beginner
I will cycle out the frames as the one that has only honey on looked pretty old when we got it, so good chance to do that

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22

When you buy a nuc the frames are probably older frames, I cycle out frames more than two years old from the brood box. If you have a conventional hive those frames can then be used in a super for honey storage. After two years the cell size in the brood has reduced because the cocoons remain in the cells after the emerged bee cleans it out. So with the reduced cell size you can have ‘runt’ bees emerge.
I would stick with a single brood hive if your Winters aren’t cold. They are much easier to manage and inspections are much quicker, especially for a beginner.
Cheers

23

Thanks,that’s handy to know about the cell size and frames

24

The reason for double brood in Sydney is not to cope with cold but to ensure the brood nest doesn’t get back filled with honey thereby inducing a swarm.

It’s gives more headroom in the event you cannot inspect due to weather or a busy schedule preventing you getting to your hives as regularly as you should.

BTW last time I checked Richmond and the Hawkesbury are very much part of Sydney and while prone to occasional frost the climate isn’t that different to the coastal areas.

25

Lots of good information to think about. If the bees are now working in my super are they still likely to back fill in the brood box , or just when the super starts to get full.
If you have 2 brood boxes in summer do you pack down to 1 brood box in winter?

26

If the super fills up they will start to use any available space to store nectar if it is coming in.

On a strong flow they can fill a super in only 1-2 weeks.

If you run double brood boxes you would normally remove the super for winter and the upper brood box will likely be mostly honey so that becomes their stores over winter.

However in Sydney we don’t really get that cold and my hives this year actually came out of winter with more honey stored than they started with.

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27

It’s amazing how quickly the bees can fill the super

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28

Hey Stevo do you harvest any honey that has overwintered or does it crystallise if you do so?

29

I extracted 6 frames on 3 different occasions this spring - all which were overwintered. 1 of frames only returned 1kg of honey. I didn’t witness any flooding, so I’m hoping it was a case of crystallised honey which the bees will hopefully cleanup. Planning an inspection on Sunday, so hopefully I can report my findings.

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30

The reason I had double brood hives at Richmond was because of the longer and colder Winter there, -7c there in Richmond in mid Winter, I really doubt Sydney gets that cold. Your right, Sydney has spread out, I can remember Kellyville was surrounded by dairy farms and market gardens. it was the end of suburbia.
Cheers

31

I didn’t this year as I over wintered in singles but a couple of years ago the winter honey was so dark it looked like molasses and had a very strong taste and it never crystallised, maybe due to the native plant nectar it was likely made up of.

On the other hand some stuff from spring/summer crystallises in no time.

The urban sprawl is disgusting and now the state government is pretty much cutting all red tape in the way of development by using Covid as an excuse.

I can remember vegetable farms at Warriewood and its now housing estates, and they’re about to start destroying the rest of the northern beaches. Now the council wants to ban horses and limit bee hives to 2 per block regardless of size.

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32

Sydney is choking itself to death and the politicians and developers are stuffing money in their pockets. I’m really glad when I decided to head for a milder climate and a better lifestyle.
Even the bee keeping is better up here with the cooler months, May, June and July are my biggest honey yield months. I do my Spring splits in July and increase my hive numbers, bee keeping is always busy. A lot of adjusting from 10 frame double brood hives to single 8 frames and cane toads the biggest problem here.
Cheers Steve

33

I came across ’keepers that say honey extracted from over wintered supers will always crystallise shortly after so not worth harvesting.

That wasn’t my experience but as you say it may have to do with the flora the bees foraged on.

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34

Hi Peter,
So I ended up just taking out a frame of honey and replacing with a new frame into a different position. Bees were fine during this process, but went out about an hour later and a couple of bees wouldn’t leave me alone. Tried again this morning in the back yard and same again. The hive is facing a fence so the guard bees are looking at a fence. I normally have no trouble walking near the hive. Is this normal for the bees not to be happy after taking a frame out?

35

Did you use a smoker?

36

Yes we used a smoker

37

Any time you disturb a hive in the brood box you are very likely to get a negative reaction from the bees. A lot less likely if your only working in the super. But sometimes they can react to you if you only lift the roof for a quick look.
I is just something you have to accept as a bee keeper.
When I go down into the brood box I assume the bees will turn a bit nasty about my intrusion. If they are a bit over the top and you can close up and have a try tomorrow they might be calmer. It can be any bee that takes a dislike to you and gives you hell, just as likely a foraging bee as a guard bee. They might remember you for a day or so, and although you used your smoker when you worked in the hive I bet you didn’t have it going an hour later when this event happened, but probably would make no difference anyway as you were only near the hive.
Cheers

38

Thanks Peter,
We are on a suburban block, we garden and walk near this hive constantly.
So was a bit shocked yesterday when a couple of bees got aggressive afterwards. Hopefully they will settle down in a couple of days

39

They will settle down and next time you will take it all in your stride. Bees are very defensive of their home and they didn’t know you were doing the right thing for them, that just see you as a disturbance and having changed the furniture about in their home. so to speak :thinking:
Cheers

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