# TBH - Noob Help & Seeking Huntersville, NC Mentor



## Chuck Jachens (Feb 22, 2016)

Lots of good questions. It will take afew post to work down the list.

Hive questions: the bees attach to the sides because they think it is needed. The bees think the comb is too heavy given the geometry of your tbh. It could be temperature thing also, so the bees are reinforcing the comb against collapse. I would need dimensions to more specific. My bees like to attach to plexiglass in a few places but not with glass. 

Bridge comb is also bracing. What width of top bars are using? Is there any reason the hive might be subject to movement? Again it's likely to be related to the geometry of the comb. 

My follower board dimensions are 17 inches wide at the top on 19 in bar, 12inches deep, and 4.5 inches wide at the bottom. The comb is a bee space from the sides and a little less than an inch from the screened bottom. My side slopes are 25 degrees.


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## Chuck Jachens (Feb 22, 2016)

Location? Sould like a real benefit to have those green houses since the bees will get a variety of pollen sources. The bees will focus one type of flower as indivuals but based on the variety of colors of pollen, the bees visit whats available as a hive. I would be a good neighbor and introduce yourself and ask some questions. Are they using any pesticides or are they organic? 

Good locations are hard to find. Need good access but away from casual traffic. Sound like yours is workable.


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

Welcome from just west of you. Check out Meck County Bee Club. Its very strong with a variety of members.


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## Chuck Jachens (Feb 22, 2016)

Pests. The worm sounds like a wax moth larvae or maybe a small hive beatle larvae. Look up pictures of both to see if you recognize it. A strong hive will keep wax moths in check and you can put in small hive Beatle traps (that use oil and is safe for the bees and you). 

I have similar ants during the winter above the cluster where the top bars are warm. Again, as long as the hive is strong they should not be a problem. Fire ant are another story....


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

Metrolina Greenhouses are not organic. You can bet they are using the really bad neonics. Their interest is a beautiful plant, not a healthy honey bee. They are the supplier of Lowes and Home Depot. Let's hope your bees find other forage than what is in their greenhouse. (and learn to recognize pesticide poisoning in a hive, and keep a backup queen) http://myowndruidry.weebly.com/commonplace/garden-center-plants-killing-bees


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## threepingsthree (Mar 3, 2014)

Concerning the side attachment problems. If given a chance, the colony will draw comb and leave an empty beespace all around the sides and bottom of a comb. What happens to me, is if, I don't pay attention to that when replacing bars after an inspection and put the comb too far to the left or right they will attach it. After that, the comb grows large enough that no matter where it is positioned do bee space is violated and they attach it. Some of my combs that do that repeatedly get repaired during a flow by trimming the offending side back 1/4" and that prevents that from happening


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## TopBarLoveHate (Mar 3, 2016)

Chuck Jachens said:


> Location? Sould like a real benefit to have those green houses since the bees will get a variety of pollen sources. The bees will focus one type of flower as indivuals but based on the variety of colors of pollen, the bees visit whats available as a hive. I would be a good neighbor and introduce yourself and ask some questions. Are they using any pesticides or are they organic?
> 
> Good locations are hard to find. Need good access but away from casual traffic. Sound like yours is workable.


Yeah I thought so too but a response a little further down says they are heavy pesticide users. I'd say half go left and half go right so we'll see what happens. The greenhouse is gigantic though, literally 1 square mile of glass-covered space. 




heaflaw said:


> Welcome from just west of you. Check out Meck County Bee Club. Its very strong with a variety of members.


Thanks, I will check them out! 




Chuck Jachens said:


> Pests. The worm sounds like a wax moth larvae or maybe a small hive beatle larvae. Look up pictures of both to see if you recognize it. A strong hive will keep wax moths in check and you can put in small hive Beatle traps (that use oil and is safe for the bees and you).
> 
> I have similar ants during the winter above the cluster where the top bars are warm. Again, as long as the hive is strong they should not be a problem. Fire ant are another story....


10-4, I'll take a closer look. Sounds like the moth because I saw a small cocoon on the top of a bar. That said there was no damage to the hive (yet!), so I'll take care of them.




ruthiesbees said:


> Metrolina Greenhouses are not organic. You can bet they are using the really bad neonics. Their interest is a beautiful plant, not a healthy honey bee. They are the supplier of Lowes and Home Depot. Let's hope your bees find other forage than what is in their greenhouse. (and learn to recognize pesticide poisoning in a hive, and keep a backup queen) http://myowndruidry.weebly.com/commonplace/garden-center-plants-killing-bees


Well I sure hope they have ok stuff they use there that doesn't harm the bees. I know they have bees of their own.. but those are "business bees" so I'm sure they're not overly concerned with their welfare.


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## Chuck Jachens (Feb 22, 2016)

The key point is to ask. If the they are using neonicotinoids and from what I have read, they are. Your bees will be exposed. It would be good to know if they only apply neonicotinoids to the seeds or soil and how they do it. If they Spray, you should be able to ask to be notified when they do. Since there will be a lot of water available in the green houses it would be a great idea to have water features for the bees on your property. Good luck.

There has been some pressure to the big box stores to stop stocking plants raised with neonicotinoids. Hopefully that will happen.


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## TopBarLoveHate (Mar 3, 2016)

Chuck Jachens said:


> The key point is to ask. If the they are using neonicotinoids and from what I have read, they are. Your bees will be exposed. It would be good to know if they only apply neonicotinoids to the seeds or soil and how they do it. If they Spray, you should be able to ask to be notified when they do. Since there will be a lot of water available in the green houses it would be a great idea to have water features for the bees on your property. Good luck.
> 
> There has been some pressure to the big box stores to stop stocking plants raised with neonicotinoids. Hopefully that will happen.



So a little good news here, I made a call to the greenhouse and they pointed me to their social media page where they had this posted (below). The BAD is yes they apparently do use them on their poinsettias. The GOOD is they apparently abide by any EPA guidelines to not apply when bees are foraging. 

*Metrolina Greenhouses….thanks for your question. Metrolina has reduced the use of chemicals OVERALL by 25% over the last 3 years through better growing techniques, the use of beneficials, and other new technologies. Our stated company goal is to use as little chemicals as possible in the growing of our product. We still use minimal Neonicotinoids for particular crops (i.e. poinsettias)and they are applied as directed by the approved EPA labels. (i.e. when bees are not foraging, only at certain times of day, and never when there is an open flower present). Hope that helps. . Lastly, these was just an article released in Forbes Magazine that talked this issue and might shed some new light on the discussion. I attached the link below.http://www.forbes.com/…/bee-deaths-reversal-as…/*

If you recall, I mentioned they have bees on site... so I am assuming this would also kill their colonies... so *here's to hoping*...


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