Comments on: Splitting the hive video

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:13:09 +0000

Terrific to have this exchange; looking forward to your photos and to comparing notes, Mike

By: Marjory Williams

Marjory Williams — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:25:59 +0000

Hi Michael. I have found droppings (which are a distinctive black, with a white dot on the end.Somewhat like an explanation mark!!) around the entrance and on the bee platform. We have them everywhere here in Qld. They can take over your house if they are not controlled, so they are a real pest. They are also destroying our native Gheccos. I will try to get a photo of one and send to you. The mesh wire may work as there was no evidence (droppings) near the hives this morning.
Thank you for your reply.
Marjory

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 01:13:20 +0000

Marjory – haven’t heard of this; will double check mine to see; what is the ‘evidence’ you’re seeing from the Asian Gheccos – any photos you can post or email me to put on this blog, please? Mike

By: Marjory Williams

Marjory Williams — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 11:45:48 +0000

I would like some suggestions from anyone out there who may be having the same problem as I am at the moment. I have been finding evidence left by Asian Gheccos, each morning near the front of the bee hives. Think they reckon this is a good, easy ,food supply. I am trying about a 10mm wire mesh around the front of the hives at the moment but may need to be finer than that, to keep the lizards out. It doesn’t seem to be bothering the bees too much, but a finer one may. Will check each morning and hopefully it will work. Is anyone else having problems with these little menaces.
Am open to suggestions on this problem.
Regards
Marjory Williams

By: Marjory Williams

Marjory Williams — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 07:21:37 +0000

Thank you Michael for your response to my enquiry and special thanks to Tim for his helpful reply. My bees are very busy putting a new “nest” together in the front new box, I am able to observe them from time to time by gently lifting the lid. So far they have built up a food supply and various other tunnels but not, as yet, a brood nest, so it looks like I will have a time to wait yet. It is an inerresting experiment though, as long as the bees keep coming through the tube from the back box. This was what I was concerned about. and was hoping the back box would remain active. Thank you again Tim and you ,Michael for passing this on.
Regards
Marjory.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:29:39 +0000

Marjory – Tim Heard has asked me to pass on his answer to your question: “Dear Marjory, Great that you are trying two methods of colony propagation. Congratulations that your first attempt of the splitting method worked so well. It usually does. Although some people find it a little brutal that some food storage pots are broken and some bees may be squashed. The second method, called budding, is softer, but much less reliable and takes a long time. Often the bees never establish a second independent colony in the second box. When you can see brood cels being built in the new box, you know that a queen is active and the bees have successfully founded a new colony. The bees from the original hive will continue to pass through the new box until this occurs. Then you can separate the new box from the old and take it to its new position. John Klumpp describes this process in detail in his book.

Best wishes,
Tim Heard”.
thanks, Tim – good luck

By: Marjory Williams

Marjory Williams — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:26:03 +0000

The video were a great help to us when we needed to split two hive of the stingless bees. We split one successfully and both hives are doing well. It was a breeze!! The second one is an experiment with the plastic tube joing the full hive to a ne box. So far the bees are happily building in the new box which I observe from the lid. How long before the bees are etablished with a queen in the new box and will the bees from the full hive continue to us the entrance in the new box until then and the two boxes can be separated. Hoping some one will advise me on this.
Regards
Marjory.

By: Howard Jackson

Howard Jackson — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 23:39:57 +0000

Hi Michael,
Here’s the link to the video on the envirotube youtube channel – http://youtu.be/mvXHnVxx7LY
Cheers

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:54:41 +0000

James, your video is short n sweet – thanks so much, Michael

By: James Robertson

James Robertson — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 10:52:54 +0000

Happy to provide the first video on the page! Thanks for the opportunity to see how the hives are split, gives me confidence to do the same to mine when the time comes…

Cheers, James