The Honey Factory

[shawluvsbirds]

So cool huh?

In a nightmarish horrific kind of way.

 

[R2elk]

I thought about putting a queen excluder under and over the hive..

Back in the 60s they used to sell a drone trap that covered the hive entrance. Like the queen excluder, the workers can pass through it. Neither the drones or the queen can pass through and get trapped in an upper compartment.

Doesn't look like it is still made.

Vintage Drone Trap

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I thought about putting a queen excluder under and over the hive..

You can try it, but the queen actually shrinks down prior to swarming so she's able to fly so it's likely she'd fit right through the excluder.

 

[jerryse]

Could of been a mating flight . Do you have a swarm trap set ?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I have this wooden frame queen introducer too. I release the queen when I want to. It could trap a queen so they won't swarm or keep the bees from killing a good queen if you don't know if the hive will accept her yet or not.
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-simple-effective-method-introduce/dp/B07D2F2557

 

[duluthralphie]

Could of been a mating flight . Do you have a swarm trap set ?

Yes

The workers wouldn’t leave the hive for a mating flight would they?

 

[Apis mellifera]

Yes

The workers wouldn’t leave the hive for a mating flight would they?

No they don't leave for a mating flight.
If they haven't swarmed yet now is a great time to do a Taranov Split. There should be YouTube videos on how to do it. But you have to do it today.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

No they don't leave for a mating flight.
If they haven't swarmed yet now is a great time to do a Taranov Split. There should be YouTube videos on how to do it. But you have to do it today.

Do you have a link?

 

[R2elk]

Apparently the bees were successful pollinating the Honeycrisp Apple tree.

 

[R2elk]

I have two Little Leaf Lindens just starting to bloom.