Subject: Bad Bee Day

From: [email-masked] (Matchstic)
Date: 16 Apr 1994 20:27:02 -0400

AArrrggghhh!!!
 what a bummer of a day
 I've been spending the last 3 weeks putting together a budding sideline
business (catching swarms etc), caught 19 swarms, been feeding the hell out of
them) went out to check all my hives today.
 First the hive that was going good guns(one of two I overwintered)
has swarmed, and of course had no dadgummed honey
then when I checked the other hives two of my swarms had left for other
pastures(stupid bees)

 so excuse my grumping
but I did get to watch a new bee chewing its way out of the comb and stagger
off to work!
seeya
 Mike
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (robert g nestor)
Date: 18 Apr 1994 13:52:14 GMT

Matchstic ([email-masked]) wrote:
:  AArrrggghhh!!!
:  what a bummer of a day
:  I've been spending the last 3 weeks putting together a budding sideline
: business (catching swarms etc), caught 19 swarms, been feeding the hell out of
: them) went out to check all my hives today.
:  First the hive that was going good guns(one of two I overwintered)
: has swarmed, and of course had no dadgummed honey
: then when I checked the other hives two of my swarms had left for other
: pastures(stupid bees)

Maybe you "feed the hell out of them" too much?  With my first hive I felt
kind of sorry for them the first winter and fed the hell out of them too.
Next spring they swarmed.  I was lucky in that I got the swarm back and
put up a second hive for them and they stuck around.  A professional bee
keeper told me that I shouldn't have feed them all winter because the
hive became to crowed causing them to swarm.  The next few winters I didn't
feed them at all and they remained happy and stayed at home. (Oh, don't
try this with cats - I stopped feeding mine and now he brings birds, mice
and dead rats to my back door.)