How much is a Russian worth?
Sweet Mountain Farm delivered 70 Russian nucleus colonies this year to Wisconsin Beekeepers. It was our first major distribution. Beekeepers traveled from as far North as Duluth, as far West as LaFarge, and as far South as Janesville to get Russian bees, intending to successfully over-winter the colony in Wisconsin’s cold climate. There were 2 out of 70 colonies that didn’t survive. Can you guess the reason?
2 colonies died in transit from suffocation. Someone covered the boxes with a flannel sheet. The lack of ventilation, whether in summer or winter is a killer. The two strongest colonies with the highest population died because there was no ability for the colony to cool itself down; not because the bees are packed too tightly but because the temperature exceeded the bees limit to adjust. Placing the nucs in the trunk of a car or running the air conditioner with the seat down, will not circulate enough air in the back of a vehicle. I learnt this when our own A/C had a similar problem and wasn’t blowing as much air as it used to, and I had to Check this out for Air Duct Cleaning in Austin.
Prior to preparing a colony for travel, Sweet Mountain Farm completes a colony inspection to assess its health and vitality. We visually inspect every colony to verify that the queen is laying. Customers are encouraged to check their colony if there is any doubt since there is no returns or refunds after delivery.
Sometimes during shipment, Russian queens stop laying for a few days until the colony becomes acclimated to its new surroundings. Russian queens are resource driven, meaning the queen shuts down egg production when sufficient pollen and nectar is not being stored by the workers. We encourage everyone to make sure to hive a colony as soon as possible and read through the document called tips for Russian Nucleus Success.
All processes in beekeeping should be clearly thought through before tending a colony. Two customers had a problem with extra brood comb at the bottom of the medium frames. One didn’t locate the queen first before cutting off the extra brood comb and accidentally killed the queen.
Bees Build Comb It’s What They Do
This year Correx portable nuc boxes were used to grow and transport new colonies. Deep nuc boxes were ordered in January before medium boxes became available. Not being able to control the area that bees build comb, most of the medium frames had brood at the bottom of the medium frame.
The additional comb stifled a few customers, some got angry, some were inconvenienced and some just didn’t think through the best response and wasted perfectly good brood.
As a breeder, I have learned from this experience. I’ll always cut the brood from the frame and give the customer the uniform looking frame that is expected. I’ll always pack fewer bees rather than more to help insure proper ventilation. I’ll never offer the possibility of receiving a deep frame knowing that the customer will expect it. I’ll always have the customer sign a liability release when picking up colonies. But is this what the hobbyist beekeeper really wants?
Beekeeping, in my mind, is all about adaptation and finding good solutions for sometimes inconvenient bee behavior. So, what should the customer do when presented with extra comb? Is unexpected comb a problem or a benefit? I, most certainly, would accept the additional brood as a benefit. Here are a few solutions.
If deep frames are used
There is no issue since the frame and unframed comb fits neatly into the deep box. Once the brood hatches the frames can be rotated out.
If medium frames are used there are a few options:
If the comb is empty remove it and reuse the extra wax
If the comb has brood
Option #1
Carefully cut off the comb and rewire it into an empty frame.
Option #2
Use 2 medium supers. Use 3 frames in each 8 frame super or 5 frames in each 10 frame super. Place the 5 nucleus frames down the center of the two supers. Once the brood hatches, reposition the frames.
TIP:
Whenever work is preformed on a frame, make sure you have checked to see that the queen is not on the frame.
Story Synopsis
Sweet Mountain Farm delivered the most nucleus colonies produced and sold to date; every colony inspected prior to delivery. Russians are not like other bee breeds. Expect differences. At Sweet Mountain Farm each colony will progress at its own rate. What you get, is a colony that is raised as its own living organism. We don’t shuffle the frames like a deck of cards so that you receive exactly 2 frames of brood and 2 frames of food. The colony inside the nucleus box has grown there for nearly two months, striking its balance within its environment. We were saddened by two losses, the result of inadequate ventilation, and want to make every attempt to educate new beekeepers on safe travel and best practices. We clearly want to have a significant impact on Wisconsin’s honeybee population in the coming years and we want our customers to be satisfied.