The purpose of bee breeding is to collect honey, and only when the nectar source is brought to the best state can there be enough bees to collect honey. In the previous article, listening to the words of the bee emphasized many times:
(1) Bees should not be too early, lest the nectar source has not yet arrived at the "watershed" of the bee colony, so that there will inevitably be a situation where the bee colony is prosperous and must decline, and the honey collection effect is not ideal.
(2) Bees should not be too late, otherwise there will be no good bee colony to collect honey when the honey source comes, and the yield will be greatly reduced.
In the previous article, we introduced the specific time plan for bee breeding, which is to start bee breeding 63 days before the arrival of the nectar source. On the 63rd, the bees with 4 spleens can be bred to 12 spleens (Italian bees), and the effect of 12 spleen bees entering the field to collect honey is just right.
However, a beekeeper was very puzzled about the planning of bee breeding, because his actual situation could not be done according to the 63-day bee breeding method, and there were obstacles in the natural environment in the middle, resulting in an asymmetry between the bee breeding time and the honey collection time. Here's what the beekeeper said to Listen to Bees:
We are here at the foot of Lushan Mountain in northern Jiangxi, and there are two large honey source periods a year:
1. Rape flowers and mountain flowers in spring;
2. Gallnut flowers all over the mountain in autumn.
At the end of March and the beginning of April, the rape flowers are in full bloom, and if you breed bees 63 days in advance, it will be the end of January, and the outdoor temperature at this time is only 8 to 10 degrees, or even lower, which is not a good condition for bee breeding.
The gallnut flowers are in full bloom in mid-September, and the bees are in early July 63 days in advance, and in midsummer, the outdoor temperature is 33 to 37 degrees, or even higher, which is also not suitable for bees.
So how do I breed bees according to the 63-day bee breeding method that Listen to the Words of Bees?
In response to this friend's question, listening to the words of the bee, there are three realities that cannot be changed:
(1) We can't change the weather.
(2) We can't change the time of the nectar source.
(3) We can't change the 63-day cycle of bees, because it is calculated according to the bee development cycle.
With these three unchangeable realities, it is clear that the 63-day bee breeding method will not work, and when the honey season comes, the bees will not reproduce at all. We can only reluctantly accept this reality, after all, "beekeeping depends on the sky for food" is an eternal truth.
But is there really no other way to do it? What can be done to develop the colony to its optimal strength during the honey season?
Listening to the words of bees, I think that there is a way, and the specific method is just two words: gregarious.
Since there is no guarantee that each box of bees will reach the optimal swarm potential, why not merge the two swarms to achieve it? Usually we use a double king swarm to reproduce bees is actually a "gregarious" strategy.
When listening to the words of bees, they often bring a few boxes of relatively strong middle bees, and these strong swarms are realized by the method of "gregariousness". Here's how:
(1) Adopt double queen group breeding bees, or independent queen group breeding bees.
(2) The gregariousness of the double king group.
Before the transition, the excess queen bee is removed, leaving only one queen to achieve "gregariousness".
(3) The grouping of independent bee colonies.
Before the transition, the middle bee adopts the "jitter bee grouping method" introduced in the early stage of listening to the bee language to quickly merge the group.
If the bee does not reach the optimal swarm potential before the transition, it can also use the gregarious method to instantly become stronger.
For more information on how to be gregarious, please refer to the previous article published by Listen to Bee Talk.
In general, we can't be perfect when it comes to beekeeping, but when comparing the two situations, we can take the heavier, and only in this way can we ensure that our beekeeping efficiency is higher.
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