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Rustymofo said:
Good call, I will have to do some more research for sure. From my understanding, pretty much all bees in AZ have been Africanized at this point.

We always have bees in our yard (regular honey bees and shit loads of leaf cutter) and they’ve never been a problem, but of course they’ll be more protective near their home. Leaf cutter bees are awesome and very relaxed, wish those bastards made honey lol.
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First i heard of the leave cutter bee. I've heard the same about the bee's in your area.
I have some mean hives, i don't think i would want to fool with African.
 
Roktoy829 said:
First i heard of the leave cutter bee. I've heard the same about the bee's in your area.
I have some mean hives, i don't think i would want to fool with African.
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They are seriously fascinating. They will cut perfect circles out of leaves, fly them to their nesting location, roll them into perfect little pipe sections, and piece them together over and over until they basically end up with a hollow “leaf cigar” with sectioned chambers…which is where they lay their larvae. They pack em full of pollen for the larvae to eat. No hive, bees of solitude :smokin:

They seem to love our citrus trees for their leaf cuts mostly.
 
Getting time for things to kick off for some. Bumping back to the top.
 
Mine are active on warmer days when the sun hits them but otherwise still in hive. At least I know they are still alive. Going to probably grab a Nuc this year and then depending on my existing hive maybe split it.
 
We checked hives early February. We lost the same hive as last winter, the only one with a screen bottom. This year I cut plywood to cover most of the screen hoping that would be enough. Sucks because that was a really strong hive of pure Carneolans. We also lost our smallest/weakest hive. At the time the 5 left we're going strong, and I saw some out flying yesterday, so here's hoping.
 
Looking for Staghorn sumac seeds for a friend. Anybody or contacts? Thanks- :beer:
 
It's time to put out those swarm catch boxes. I just put 2 out. Pics from last year for attention. I caught 3 swarms last year using these traps. Nothing like free bees!
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clodhopper said:
Do you have frames in the box or is it just open space? Got a pic of the interior?
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6 frames inside. One with old comb from a dead-out and the rest are mostly empty frames with foundation. One thing I have noticed, the bees tend to use the one frame with existing comb and then build comb from the bottom of the other frames because maybe given the option they prefer to not build on foundation. So, this year I am going to try not using foundation in the other frames and then the bees will hopefully build in the frames and that will make it super easy to pull them out and put them in a hive box.
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ANGELO said:
Why can't you just leave the boxes out? They won't come to a empty box?
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Are you asking why I don't leave the catch boxes out all year? If so, I bring them in late summer as bees mainly swarm in the Spring and occasionally in the summer months, though summer swarms tend to be much smaller and are more of a challenge to get them ready for over wintering. Also, leaving empty boxes out all year attracts other things, like birds, mice and wasps. And, the boxes are made out of standard plywood so leaving them out in the weather all year shortens the life of the box.
 
baldwin said:
Are you asking why I don't leave the catch boxes out all year? If so, I bring them in late summer as bees mainly swarm in the Spring and occasionally in the summer months, though summer swarms tend to be much smaller and are more of a challenge to get them ready for over wintering. Also, leaving empty boxes out all year attracts other things, like birds, mice and wasps. And, the boxes are made out of standard plywood so leaving them out in the weather all year shortens the life of the b
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Do you need the catch boxes to catch a swarm? They won't come to just a normal box?
 
They could, but a box is not that attractive when they are looking for a new home. It is believed that the swarm is looking for a certain amount of space and the catch boxes I use are pretty close to that space requirement. They are looking for someplace to make their home that is big enough that they can grow and build their comb. I'm just going off the information that my mentor that has been keeping bees his whole life told me and so far it has worked out pretty well. I have another friend that tried using deep hive boxes as catch boxes and didn't catch any swarms last year. Best practice is to get them moved from the catch box to a hive before they start going crazy building comb all over the place.

So, could they see a hive that is empty and move into it, sure. It happens frequently. Will they take to a bigger box with more room more readily, I think so. Kind of like buying a house vs. apartment.
 
Pic of two small shipping containers for Queen bee(s). Usually when mailed/shipped, it'll be in a screened/vented cardboard box.
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~The wooden box has a plug on side, remove/pull...
~The plastic one, open & drop...
...and place inside the super.
Hopefully the workers accept the Queen to make a Nuc(nucleus) & breed-
 
49willys_mogon said:
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All our boxes are full and noticed a swarm on a tree nearby and knocked part of the swarm on the lid of a new box right below it. Those bees marched right in a were signalling for the others on their new digs.
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That's a nice healthy looking swarm, I'm sure you're glad they decided to move in.:beer:
 
Well this years NUC is of course ready for me when I’m out of state at a funeral. :mad3: The lady with them is going to put it in her bee yard till I get back. That way its not a made sprint tomorrow to get home. Going to have 1 hube in the garden, original, and one in the mew orchard area. Fingers crossed the new NUC does well.
 
shortbus4x4 said:
That's a nice healthy looking swarm, I'm sure you're glad they decided to move in.:beer:
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Our bee keeper said that the going rate on a queen in our area is around $200 and if you drive out to Sac is about $140. His hives got decimated by all the rain this winter so he was super stoked to get these. He was very suprised how well our bees were doing and it turns out that all the aloes we have around our house are winter bloomers and are loaded with sugar. The pollen basket or corbicula on the females collecting pollen are bright red from the color of the aloes flowers. So if you can grow certain aloes that flower during the winter in your area they are a key food and pollen source. Here are some pictures of them

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Couple links to winter blloming aloes

Winter means aloes in bloom

www.marriedtoplants.com www.marriedtoplants.com
www.grubbandnadler.com

Winter-Blooming Aloes Put on a Spectacular Show — Grubb & Nadler

At Grubb & Nadler Nurseries we grow a wide variety of winter-blooming aloes among our large collection of wholesale plants. View our availability list or visit our wholesale nursery in Southern California today.
www.grubbandnadler.com www.grubbandnadler.com
 
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