It's official...they were ahb

Discussion in 'General Beekeeping' started by crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013.

Page 1 of 3
  1. Apr 2, 2013 #1
    crackerbee

    crackerbee Member

    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Last month I post a thread(Assassins from the apiary)that while mowing near my hives,that the bees got really agitated were so viscous they attacked and killed 2 out of 4 of my chickens(and me on the mower)with hundreds of stings to each.So I called the state inspector to come take a look,and resulted in her collecting samples from all 4 hives to have tested for AHB.
    She called the following week and said hives 2 and 3 were cleared not being AHB,but were retesting the other 2.Today she finally called(you know how quick the government works:roll:)and said hive # 1 results came back negative,however hive #4 was full blown AHB.

    So I'm taking tomorrow off,and have finally located some queens,and going to requeen all 5.Not to confuse the numbers,I did a split on hive #1 last month that was full of swarm cells,so now I have 5,and most likely the virgin queen from the split got hooked up with some of the AHB drones in hive #4,another reason to requeen.
    a
    Wish me luck,I'm not looking forward to requeening hive #4 that's for sure.:chased:
     
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
  3. Apr 2, 2013 #2
    PerryBee

    PerryBee New Member

    Messages:
    5,829
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Ugh! :sad: Anybody near to give you a hand Cracker?
     
    PerryBee, Apr 2, 2013
    PerryBee, Apr 2, 2013

  5. Apr 2, 2013 #3
    Marbees

    Marbees Member

    Messages:
    983
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Leave hive # 4 for the very end. Best of luck :thumbsup:
     
    Marbees, Apr 2, 2013
    Marbees, Apr 2, 2013
  6. Apr 2, 2013 #4
    Ray

    Ray Member

    Messages:
    582
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    This is a perfect chance for an experiment! Fat Bee Man claims that the flowers?/buds?/fruit? of the staghorn sumac placed in the smoker calms hot bees. I'll wait up here in MICHIGAN for your results. :) good luck:)
     
    Ray, Apr 2, 2013
    Ray, Apr 2, 2013
  7. Apr 2, 2013 #5
    tecumseh

    tecumseh New Member

    Messages:
    6,487
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    good authority informed me that you might wish to break up #4 into smaller population and then requeen. no matter what size or population in the process I would rake all the drone brood in #4 when I did the dirty deed.
     
    tecumseh, Apr 2, 2013
    tecumseh, Apr 2, 2013
  8. Apr 2, 2013 #6
    crackerbee

    crackerbee Member

    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    No Perry,unfortunately,the only person close to me is member R.E. Jones,and I just wouldn't impose on someone I met only once a year ago.But thanks for the food for thought.:thumbsup:


    Tec, you're getting a little spooky on me here:lol:.Your post quoted almost word for word the advice that the state inspector gave me today.
    I can always count on good advice coming from your way.

    Thanks:thumbsup:
     
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
  9. Apr 2, 2013 #7
    crackerbee

    crackerbee Member

    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16

    Ray I'm sorry I don't quite get your meaning..
     
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
  10. Apr 2, 2013 #8
    tecumseh

    tecumseh New Member

    Messages:
    6,487
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    the black cat can do the spooky thing from time to time.

    fully africanized bees can be difficult to requeen especially in a large hive with a robust population.
     
    tecumseh, Apr 2, 2013
    tecumseh, Apr 2, 2013
  11. Apr 2, 2013 #9
    arkiebee

    arkiebee New Member

    Messages:
    256
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    May the force be with you......and be sure your suit is zipped!:eek:

    About how long will that take to get those little heifers worked out of the system?
     
    arkiebee, Apr 2, 2013
    arkiebee, Apr 2, 2013
  12. Apr 2, 2013 #10
    crackerbee

    crackerbee Member

    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Arkie yesterday marked 2 years I've been at it. and to date I've not dealt with AHB. Should be interesting to say the least.
     
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
  13. Apr 2, 2013 #11
    Ray

    Ray Member

    Messages:
    582
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Sorry crackerbee, i just meant I would offer advice from a distance, a looooong distance. :)
     
    Ray, Apr 2, 2013
    Ray, Apr 2, 2013
  14. Apr 2, 2013 #12
    riverbee

    riverbee Active Member

    Messages:
    3,048
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    wishing you luck from up north cracker........:grin:
     
    riverbee, Apr 2, 2013
    riverbee, Apr 2, 2013
  15. Apr 2, 2013 #13
    crackerbee

    crackerbee Member

    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    No problem just didn't get it...the wife says so all the time[​IMG]
     
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
    crackerbee, Apr 2, 2013
  16. Apr 2, 2013 #14
    Gypsi

    Gypsi Super Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    2,887
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    38
    I did this last summer in 100 degree weather on a cordovan ahb cross hive, the workers acted pure ahb.

    Smoke, never mind the sugar water. Duct tape all openings, wear a thick shirt and heavy jeans under your suit. Wear boots, and either tuck suit pants in and duct tape, or wear suit pants outside boots and duct tape down. Do the hottest hive last, others proportionately..

    Advice for the hottest hives: if 2 boxes on, get a queen excluder between them 2 weeks in advance, or as early as possible. block hive front exit with screening or something. Have 2 boards the size of the bottom board or larger (without an exit) to set the top box on, with lid, when you go queen hunting. Remove top box with lid and set aside. Check bottom box for brood and queen, if you find her apply hive tool. If you do not find her, use 2nd board to cover bottom box, then check the top box. Agree with Tec on destroying the drone brood. and give it a few days queenless, then go back queen hunting, they are sneaky, love to kill your purchased queen when their choice hatches.

    Good luck.
     
    Gypsi, Apr 2, 2013
    Gypsi, Apr 2, 2013
  17. Apr 2, 2013 #15
    Iddee

    Iddee New Member

    Messages:
    8,996
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Get your smoker going good, drop a handful of sulfur powder in it and smoke them good. Install the next swarm you catch into the empty hive. They will take off good with the leftover honey. :D
     
    Iddee, Apr 2, 2013
    Iddee, Apr 2, 2013
  18. Apr 2, 2013 #16
    Gypsi

    Gypsi Super Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    2,887
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Iddee has a point. Those workers are just going to kill your next queen - at least hive 4 may not be salvageable. Do a split and fill it later.
     
    Gypsi, Apr 2, 2013
    Gypsi, Apr 2, 2013
  19. Apr 3, 2013 #17
    crackerbee

    crackerbee Member

    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16

    After reading these recommendations I think it's best just to do away with the AHB bunch and either save the stores for a swarm or cutout and/or split,or just donate the stores to the other 4 hives.I don't see the point to waste 20 bux on a high probability of failure of the AHB colony to accept a new queen.Besides they've already proven their deadly agenda,and my 2 remaining chickens have just last week started to lay again.

    Thanks all for the more than helpful advice:thumbsup:
     
    crackerbee, Apr 3, 2013
    crackerbee, Apr 3, 2013
  20. Apr 3, 2013 #18
    kebee

    kebee Active Member

    Messages:
    1,008
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    I like Iddee idea best of all, get complete rid of them.

    kebee
     
    kebee, Apr 3, 2013
    kebee, Apr 3, 2013
  21. Apr 3, 2013 #19
    tecumseh

    tecumseh New Member

    Messages:
    6,487
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I think Iddee is on to something worth considering and as you and other might know I myself have no 'touchy feelee' problems when it comes to honeybees. Or as the hillbilly side of my upbringing would say.... 'some folks just deserve killin'. If you do take this approach you can accomplish pretty much the same thing with just a pinch of sulfur incorporated into a 'hand rolled' cigarette which you can then place in a bit of copper pipe and then light and insert this into the front entry after lighting. you pretty much plug up everything else and hopefully trapping all adults inside. When I have done this I typically go in right at sunset when everyone is at home and by sunrise the dirty deed is done. Come the next morning shake out all the dead bees and stack onto something else that can use or at least cover the space.

    the upside of this affair is now you KNOW you have several hives that are not africanized. you can use this information to your advantage.

    I would guess by you explanation (first post) that the bee folks did a genetic test to determine africanization <which is evidently more time consuming but is also more conclusive.
     
    tecumseh, Apr 3, 2013
    tecumseh, Apr 3, 2013
  22. Apr 3, 2013 #20
    crackerbee

    crackerbee Member

    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16


    Yes they did do a genetic test after several FABIS test showed inconclusive

    As for the hand rolled sulfur cigarette,is that a right hand or left hand cigarette:lol::lol::lol:?

    Thanks again for your help:thumbsup:
     
    crackerbee, Apr 3, 2013
    crackerbee, Apr 3, 2013
Page 1 of 3