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Posted: 6/4/2023 10:52:21 PM EDT
[#1]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By shooter_gregg: Last week I had a hive given to me, sight unseen. The gentleman was mowing his yard and the hive, cared for by his wife, ran him out. The hive hadn't been opened since February 2019. I went to look and it was two deeps and two supers with a queen excluder over the deeps. It had swarmed last year and a friend of mine captured the swarm. He helped me evaluate it. They were very pushy bees and we didn't stay long. We separated the deeps and put a super on each. It was too active to get any pictures (I wish I had). The plan was for him to take one super and extract it and give the honey to the owner. The owner wanted a half gallon only, packaged a certain way. I decided to wait till night fall and move them then. What a sight. The bottom board has a hole in it making a second entrance. There must have been 2-3 thousand bees bearded on the front and back. I picked up the second super and the upper deep to take to the new bee yard. Even at night they put up a fierce fight. I had to wear my suit the whole way to the yard. I passed a deputy who did not pull over the man in the strange suit. (It was 11 pm) I went back the next day and split the remaining box to make it easier to manage. It was too heavy to lift and control without getting lit up, even with a suit on. With as many foragers as were out, I left a box with a couple frames to see if I can catch them too. At the yard I started going through the deeps. What a mess they can make in four years. All the frames were bridged and had to be cut apart. I didn't find the queen but one box seemed to be the favorite to hang out in. I found enough supercedure cells to make three other hives. After they settle down for a day or two I may change that. Lots of honey and a decent amount of brood. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/210715/20230604_125056_jpg-2840651.JPG They also have me some extra supers and deep and a hand crank extractor. I put it to use today on the other super. I got over a gallon of honey out of ten frames. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/210715/20230604_201343_jpg-2840654.JPG The donors also said they have a bee suit and some other equipment if they can find it. Some of the hive parts were rotting and most of the frames will have to be replaced. I don't know if the bees are mean or they just got too big. I can get new queens and will probably kill the queen cells and re-queen the others. My friend kept the rest of the honey from the super he got and is going to make mead with it. I'm waiting to see if he brings me some mead or just the empty super. Very cool, great job so far yet, you still have your work cut out! |
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Posted: 6/4/2023 11:07:12 PM EDT
[#2]
Last week I went through my hives and found one without a queen. It was a new package from this year that must've rejected their queen. It had a laying worker and several drone cells yet they were doing a decent job storing nectar and building comb. I took all the frames out to the center of my pasture and shook the bees out as I have heard the laying worker cannot fly so I am hoping she didn't make it back to the hive. By the time I got the empty frames back to the boxes they were already coming home. That evening, I checked the area where I knocked them off the frames and found a few walking so I pinched them.
I checked the Queenless hive once more Friday morning for the Queen and decided to merge it with a stronger hive with a sheet of newspaper. I took the top off the strong hive laid a sheet of newspaper over the box and frames and put the Queenless hive atop. Before closing it up I added a couple of drawn out frames hoping to give the current queen a boost on laying more brood. This morning I checked the newspaper and the bees had already eaten through and they were living together in what seemed to be pheromone harmony. Wed I'll inspect the hive, check the queen and check the progress on the frames. |
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Posted: 6/4/2023 11:29:01 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Idaholandho: Very cool, great job so far yet, you still have your work cut out! Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Idaholandho: Originally Posted By shooter_gregg: Last week I had a hive given to me, sight unseen. The gentleman was mowing his yard and the hive, cared for by his wife, ran him out. The hive hadn't been opened since February 2019. I went to look and it was two deeps and two supers with a queen excluder over the deeps. It had swarmed last year and a friend of mine captured the swarm. He helped me evaluate it. They were very pushy bees and we didn't stay long. We separated the deeps and put a super on each. It was too active to get any pictures (I wish I had). The plan was for him to take one super and extract it and give the honey to the owner. The owner wanted a half gallon only, packaged a certain way. I decided to wait till night fall and move them then. What a sight. The bottom board has a hole in it making a second entrance. There must have been 2-3 thousand bees bearded on the front and back. I picked up the second super and the upper deep to take to the new bee yard. Even at night they put up a fierce fight. I had to wear my suit the whole way to the yard. I passed a deputy who did not pull over the man in the strange suit. (It was 11 pm) I went back the next day and split the remaining box to make it easier to manage. It was too heavy to lift and control without getting lit up, even with a suit on. With as many foragers as were out, I left a box with a couple frames to see if I can catch them too. At the yard I started going through the deeps. What a mess they can make in four years. All the frames were bridged and had to be cut apart. I didn't find the queen but one box seemed to be the favorite to hang out in. I found enough supercedure cells to make three other hives. After they settle down for a day or two I may change that. Lots of honey and a decent amount of brood. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/210715/20230604_125056_jpg-2840651.JPG They also have me some extra supers and deep and a hand crank extractor. I put it to use today on the other super. I got over a gallon of honey out of ten frames. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/210715/20230604_201343_jpg-2840654.JPG The donors also said they have a bee suit and some other equipment if they can find it. Some of the hive parts were rotting and most of the frames will have to be replaced. I don't know if the bees are mean or they just got too big. I can get new queens and will probably kill the queen cells and re-queen the others. My friend kept the rest of the honey from the super he got and is going to make mead with it. I'm waiting to see if he brings me some mead or just the empty super. Very cool, great job so far yet, you still have your work cut out! Our goal is to blanket an area with apiaries to have a queen raising yard in the middle. With known drones all around we can control genetics. |
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Posted: 6/5/2023 3:41:52 AM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Idaholandho: Last week I went through my hives and found one without a queen. It was a new package from this year that must've rejected their queen. It had a laying worker and several drone cells yet they were doing a decent job storing nectar and building comb. I took all the frames out to the center of my pasture and shook the bees out as I have heard the laying worker cannot fly so I am hoping she didn't make it back to the hive. By the time I got the empty frames back to the boxes they were already coming home. That evening, I checked the area where I knocked them off the frames and found a few walking so I pinched them. I checked the Queenless hive once more Friday morning for the Queen and decided to merge it with a stronger hive with a sheet of newspaper. I took the top off the strong hive laid a sheet of newspaper over the box and frames and put the Queenless hive atop. Before closing it up I added a couple of drawn out frames hoping to give the current queen a boost on laying more brood. This morning I checked the newspaper and the bees had already eaten through and they were living together in what seemed to be pheromone harmony. Wed I'll inspect the hive, check the queen and check the progress on the frames. The laying workers can probably fly, they just have never ventured out of the hive yet as they aren't that old, and so they haven't learned to track the scent and location of the hive to be able to fly back. Ive been told shake out at least 100 yards away. The foragers should be able to make it back. Both times I did that to one of my hives, they never recovered after being requeened , and ended up being robbed out Im not sure I would try that again, but instead introduce some frames with uncapped brood and eggs from another hive, and then maybe a caged queen if they dont try to make a new one with the new frames |
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Posted: 6/5/2023 5:34:17 AM EDT
[#5]
A new queen will kill laying workers. All you did was kill off all your nurse bees. They have never had an orientation flight and don't know how to get back. I hope your hive recovers.
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Posted: 6/6/2023 10:56:29 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By shooter_gregg: Last week I had a hive given to me, sight unseen. The gentleman was mowing his yard and the hive, cared for by his wife, ran him out. The hive hadn't been opened since February 2019. I went to look and it was two deeps and two supers with a queen excluder over the deeps. It had swarmed last year and a friend of mine captured the swarm. He helped me evaluate it. They were very pushy bees and we didn't stay long. We separated the deeps and put a super on each. It was too active to get any pictures (I wish I had). The plan was for him to take one super and extract it and give the honey to the owner. The owner wanted a half gallon only, packaged a certain way. I decided to wait till night fall and move them then. What a sight. The bottom board has a hole in it making a second entrance. There must have been 2-3 thousand bees bearded on the front and back. I picked up the second super and the upper deep to take to the new bee yard. Even at night they put up a fierce fight. I had to wear my suit the whole way to the yard. I passed a deputy who did not pull over the man in the strange suit. (It was 11 pm) I went back the next day and split the remaining box to make it easier to manage. It was too heavy to lift and control without getting lit up, even with a suit on. With as many foragers as were out, I left a box with a couple frames to see if I can catch them too. At the yard I started going through the deeps. What a mess they can make in four years. All the frames were bridged and had to be cut apart. I didn't find the queen but one box seemed to be the favorite to hang out in. I found enough supercedure cells to make three other hives. After they settle down for a day or two I may change that. Lots of honey and a decent amount of brood. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/210715/20230604_125056_jpg-2840651.JPG They also have me some extra supers and deep and a hand crank extractor. I put it to use today on the other super. I got over a gallon of honey out of ten frames. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/210715/20230604_201343_jpg-2840654.JPG The donors also said they have a bee suit and some other equipment if they can find it. Some of the hive parts were rotting and most of the frames will have to be replaced. I don't know if the bees are mean or they just got too big. I can get new queens and will probably kill the queen cells and re-queen the others. My friend kept the rest of the honey from the super he got and is going to make mead with it. I'm waiting to see if he brings me some mead or just the empty super. Demand mead!   Seriously that is an amazing story, and you are braver than I am. I started beekeeping with just a "jacket" style bee suit (jacket/hat/veil), used leg straps around my jeans, and I never got attacked really in the years I had hives here. Last year I gave all my stuff to a neighbor down the road and I was supposed to help him take care of "our" hives. Went down there in my jacket outfit and got torn all to pieces by a mean hive. Stung the crap out of me through my jeans. Time for a full suit. 
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Posted: 6/6/2023 11:02:10 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By JQ66: The laying workers can probably fly, they just have never ventured out of the hive yet as they aren't that old, and so they haven't learned to track the scent and location of the hive to be able to fly back. Ive been told shake out at least 100 yards away. The foragers should be able to make it back. Both times I did that to one of my hives, they never recovered after being requeened , and ended up being robbed out Im not sure I would try that again, but instead introduce some frames with uncapped brood and eggs from another hive, and then maybe a caged queen if they dont try to make a new one with the new frames I agree that this is likely the best way. Loss of nurse bees/house bees is a shame. But hopefully the hive is strong enough to recover. |
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Posted: 6/6/2023 11:08:02 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Kitties-with-Sigs]
[#8]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Idaholandho: Last week I went through my hives and found one without a queen. It was a new package from this year that must've rejected their queen. It had a laying worker and several drone cells yet they were doing a decent job storing nectar and building comb. I took all the frames out to the center of my pasture and shook the bees out as I have heard the laying worker cannot fly so I am hoping she didn't make it back to the hive. By the time I got the empty frames back to the boxes they were already coming home. That evening, I checked the area where I knocked them off the frames and found a few walking so I pinched them. I checked the Queenless hive once more Friday morning for the Queen and decided to merge it with a stronger hive with a sheet of newspaper. I took the top off the strong hive laid a sheet of newspaper over the box and frames and put the Queenless hive atop. Before closing it up I added a couple of drawn out frames hoping to give the current queen a boost on laying more brood. This morning I checked the newspaper and the bees had already eaten through and they were living together in what seemed to be pheromone harmony. Wed I'll inspect the hive, check the queen and check the progress on the frames. @Idaholandho This is a really good example of weighing the science vs the folklore. Of course those laying workers can fly. Can they make it back to the home hive? There is a good chance not, because they have no way to orient. They've never been out of the hive before. BUT...I'm so glad you told this, because it's a great way to see how some folklore comes to be. People saw EXACTLY what you saw...bees crawling around who did not go back to the hive....and they said,"those laying workers can't fly." Because our ancestors, without the benefit of the research we can access, came up with what seemed like solid reasoning. It was NOT solid reasoning, but the success they had seemed to prove it out, right? Cuz more than likely, that laying worker (who was a house/nurse bee and had never been out of the hive) could not get back. This is some of the best education that could happen in our bee thread, so THANK YOU for this story!  The good news is...even if the basis for your choices was a little to one side, maybe you did not lose too many house bees.  And it sounds like you have a good start toward the combined hive!  Please let us know how the combination does!
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Posted: 6/12/2023 9:28:39 AM EDT
[#9]
I'm falling behind on equipment. I made a 50 frame jig to help out.
 Attached FileIt really goes a lot faster. I need to build a low table to work on though. The flatbed was a little tall and restricted access to the back side of the jig.  Attached FileHere I'm almost finished. |
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Posted: 6/26/2023 12:37:07 AM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: @Idaholandho This is a really good example of weighing the science vs the folklore. Of course those laying workers can fly. Can they make it back to the home hive? There is a good chance not, because they have no way to orient. They've never been out of the hive before. BUT...I'm so glad you told this, because it's a great way to see how some folklore comes to be. People saw EXACTLY what you saw...bees crawling around who did not go back to the hive....and they said,"those laying workers can't fly." Because our ancestors, without the benefit of the research we can access, came up with what seemed like solid reasoning. It was NOT solid reasoning, but the success they had seemed to prove it out, right? Cuz more than likely, that laying worker (who was a house/nurse bee and had never been out of the hive) could not get back. This is some of the best education that could happen in our bee thread, so THANK YOU for this story! The good news is...even if the basis for your choices was a little to one side, maybe you did not lose too many house bees. And it sounds like you have a good start toward the combined hive! Please let us know how the combination does! Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Originally Posted By Idaholandho: Last week I went through my hives and found one without a queen. It was a new package from this year that must've rejected their queen. It had a laying worker and several drone cells yet they were doing a decent job storing nectar and building comb. I took all the frames out to the center of my pasture and shook the bees out as I have heard the laying worker cannot fly so I am hoping she didn't make it back to the hive. By the time I got the empty frames back to the boxes they were already coming home. That evening, I checked the area where I knocked them off the frames and found a few walking so I pinched them. I checked the Queenless hive once more Friday morning for the Queen and decided to merge it with a stronger hive with a sheet of newspaper. I took the top off the strong hive laid a sheet of newspaper over the box and frames and put the Queenless hive atop. Before closing it up I added a couple of drawn out frames hoping to give the current queen a boost on laying more brood. This morning I checked the newspaper and the bees had already eaten through and they were living together in what seemed to be pheromone harmony. Wed I'll inspect the hive, check the queen and check the progress on the frames. @Idaholandho This is a really good example of weighing the science vs the folklore. Of course those laying workers can fly. Can they make it back to the home hive? There is a good chance not, because they have no way to orient. They've never been out of the hive before. BUT...I'm so glad you told this, because it's a great way to see how some folklore comes to be. People saw EXACTLY what you saw...bees crawling around who did not go back to the hive....and they said,"those laying workers can't fly." Because our ancestors, without the benefit of the research we can access, came up with what seemed like solid reasoning. It was NOT solid reasoning, but the success they had seemed to prove it out, right? Cuz more than likely, that laying worker (who was a house/nurse bee and had never been out of the hive) could not get back. This is some of the best education that could happen in our bee thread, so THANK YOU for this story! The good news is...even if the basis for your choices was a little to one side, maybe you did not lose too many house bees. And it sounds like you have a good start toward the combined hive! Please let us know how the combination does! Sorry it took me a bit to get back. Well a week later(a few days later than I wanted) I really got into the hive that I combined and found no queen but the hive was thriving but no new brood. I called a buddy and his queens were at least 10 days out and I needed 2 in a bad way, One for this combined hive and one for another that had a weak queen and colony. Fast forward 12 days and I got my queens and replaced them. On the combined hive, the queen is beautiful and doing queen stuff. The 2nd weak queen hive I added 4 frames of brood to the colony but is also killing it as of this morning. Short bee story - Last Mon I was to pick up 3 empty hives and some bee equipment a buddy's daughter left at home when she left for school 3 years ago. It has been sitting outside collecting moths, bugs and generally going to waste. Before I got there he called and said over the weekend a swarm had made itself at home in one of the hives and his wife got to watch them fly in when she was mowing. So I picked up two of the hives and decided to shake the bees from the swarm into 2 boxes and return in the morning at 600am to seal them and drive them home. The next morning I drove them home and set them up and left them for a week before I checked for the queen. All week I watched the hive drag webbing and dead moths, bugs and dirt out of the hive and this morning with the help of a buddy went through it and found the most gorgeous queen I've ever seen and decided to feed them pollen and nectar as the resources seemed low on the frames. They seem to be doing a great job cleaning the frames up and I'm here to tell you that I have never suited up for my bees and now I do. My hives I can tend to in flip flops, a t shirt and shorts but, these bees are just assholes. They seem to be calming down a bit now but I think they have stung me more in a week just watching and tending to the other bees than I have been stung all year. These are the 3 hives behind my garden, the white one is the swarm hive.   Couple of cool pics this morning with my cell phone.    |
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Posted: 7/1/2023 7:33:04 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Idaholandho: Sorry it took me a bit to get back. Well a week later(a few days later than I wanted) I really got into the hive that I combined and found no queen but the hive was thriving but no new brood. I called a buddy and his queens were at least 10 days out and I needed 2 in a bad way, One for this combined hive and one for another that had a weak queen and colony. Fast forward 12 days and I got my queens and replaced them. On the combined hive, the queen is beautiful and doing queen stuff. The 2nd weak queen hive I added 4 frames of brood to the colony but is also killing it as of this morning. Short bee story - Last Mon I was to pick up 3 empty hives and some bee equipment a buddy's daughter left at home when she left for school 3 years ago. It has been sitting outside collecting moths, bugs and generally going to waste. Before I got there he called and said over the weekend a swarm had made itself at home in one of the hives and his wife got to watch them fly in when she was mowing. So I picked up two of the hives and decided to shake the bees from the swarm into 2 boxes and return in the morning at 600am to seal them and drive them home. The next morning I drove them home and set them up and left them for a week before I checked for the queen. All week I watched the hive drag webbing and dead moths, bugs and dirt out of the hive and this morning with the help of a buddy went through it and found the most gorgeous queen I've ever seen and decided to feed them pollen and nectar as the resources seemed low on the frames. They seem to be doing a great job cleaning the frames up and I'm here to tell you that I have never suited up for my bees and now I do. My hives I can tend to in flip flops, a t shirt and shorts but, these bees are just assholes. They seem to be calming down a bit now but I think they have stung me more in a week just watching and tending to the other bees than I have been stung all year. These are the 3 hives behind my garden, the white one is the swarm hive. https://i.imgur.com/hLs8zup.jpg https://i.imgur.com/IeyKcPj.jpg Couple of cool pics this morning with my cell phone. https://i.imgur.com/3zSNS91.jpg https://i.imgur.com/GgiusTX.jpg https://i.imgur.com/0ltDAIr.jpg Awesome photos!
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Posted: 7/24/2023 2:53:58 PM EDT
[Last Edit: lokt]
[#12]
How far do honeybees roam?
Edit: I suppose what I’m asking is how much space do I need to keep a colony happy? I could site colonies on the back third of my three acres away from areas anyone frequents, and there’s a substantial hayfield, woods, and forest adjacent to me. Closest neighbor to the colony would be about 100 yards severely uphill. I’ve got so much clover that seems like it is constantly in bloom I can’t help but think of bees. I’m in eastern Tennessee. |
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Posted: 7/24/2023 4:59:44 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By lokt: How far do honeybees roam? Edit: I suppose what I’m asking is how much space do I need to keep a colony happy? I could site colonies on the back third of my three acres away from areas anyone frequents, and there’s a substantial hayfield, woods, and forest adjacent to me. Closest neighbor to the colony would be about 100 yards severely uphill. I’ve got so much clover that seems like it is constantly in bloom I can’t help but think of bees. I’m in eastern Tennessee. Up to 5 miles, but then its a negative return on the energy expended. 1.5 miles is more commonly quoted, but i think the minimum is 90 feet. So its a wide range. |
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USA
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Posted: 7/26/2023 12:53:22 PM EDT
[#14]
Does anyone have any experience with bald faced hornets attacking their bees? I have killed about six hornets, they are not actually getting into the hive but just killing bees around the entrance to the hive.
I ordered a robbing screen, but I don’t know how much good it will do since since the hornets are not actually getting into the hive. I am going to pick up some baited wasp traps as well.  The most easy and efficient way to protect bees from giant hornet In this video around the one minute mark they show a device that attaches to the front of the hive and traps hornets. I understand the basic concept, hornets get in but can’t get out, but I am not sure how exactly it would fit to the hive. Thanks for any tips. |
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Posted: 7/30/2023 10:08:06 PM EDT
[#15]
The only hornets that caused problems for me were like ground hornets, but instead of the ones that seem to be more common and predominantly yellow with black bands, these were predominantly black with yellow bands.
Several years ago they finished off a week hive in the fall (my Dad and I were new at beekeeping then), |
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Posted: 7/31/2023 11:09:38 PM EDT
[#16]
PSA - I bought those fluorescent green chemical wasp traps this year that are said to be "safe for bees" and I read reviews etc... Well, I was trapping/killing 100 bees to every 1 wasp. Not worth it, so I took em' down.
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Posted: 8/4/2023 1:34:37 PM EDT
[Last Edit: JQ66]
[#17]
My spinner is broke down.
 It’s only a 2-frame one my Dad bought, but it’s adequate for my needs (other than being broken), and the bigger one are really expensive!Ordered a replaced gear box on eBay, ten days ago with fed ex ground shipping from CA I will have to have another look at the old one and see if maybe one of the gear heads slipped back, very disappointing. It doesn’t seem to be a very common repair part or assembly. Have a lot of frames to get to, was a pretty good season for honey so far. Should be about in the dearth now but this is a very odd summer for flowers. I see knotweed blossoming in spots already. And some goldenrod! Although neither close to me. Clover has stayed out a long time and is almost done, same with milkweed, some of those still blossoming. *i found the source of the problem with my extractor spinner. The gear head has a short short that connects to the spinner frame holder. There is a transmission gear on it, that is pinned with some small keystock. The tiny little keys or metal rod fell out allowing that gear to spin freely. But to fix it I had to get the gear off the shaft. It has a groove around the top that must be for an e clip retainer. But the was none. Instead the top of the shaft appeared to be peened over. So I filed that so the gear head and bearings would slip off. I don't think my Dad would have done a repair like that, probably in the chinesium factory with slave labor. So tomorrow a trip to the hardware store to get a few small socket head cap screws to replace the pins I will thread the hole I had to drill out that had the key pins and get a new e clip retainer. |
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Posted: 8/4/2023 4:14:57 PM EDT
[#18]
Just learned of this last night. I don't do mite checks due to not wanting to kill 300 bees just to tell me I need to treat and another 300 bees to tell me whether or not it worked. I see the value of it just can't make myself do it. Then I saw this...https://www.varroa-easycheck.com/co2-injection Apparently it isn't as accurate as an alcohol wash but in my opinion if I see over 2-3 mites then I know I have a lethal infestation. On another note how has the honey harvest been for everyone? We averaged 55 pounds per hive in our first yard. Probably 40 pounds per hive in yards 2 and 3.
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Posted: 8/4/2023 6:45:51 PM EDT
[Last Edit: rcav8r]
[#19]
I saw that last night. The blurbs said it was nearly accurate as the alcohol wash.
It only seems to be available from mann lake at this time, $25. If one doesn't have enough for free shipping, its another $10+ dollars. Mann lake is a bit more expensive than some. I'm kinda wondering if a 3D printed adapter would work (handle the pressure). I would think so, as the gas just passes through the needle, nothings being inflated. All it seems to be is a ordinary bike co2 inflator with a thread adapter for the bike valve and a ball inflating needle? As for honey, I need to assess my big apiary tomorrow. I think I'll get at least 60# from one hive in my backyard. |
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Posted: 8/15/2023 7:02:56 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: Just learned of this last night. I don't do mite checks due to not wanting to kill 300 bees just to tell me I need to treat and another 300 bees to tell me whether or not it worked. I see the value of it just can't make myself do it. Then I saw this...https://www.varroa-easycheck.com/co2-injection Apparently it isn't as accurate as an alcohol wash but in my opinion if I see over 2-3 mites then I know I have a lethal infestation. On another note how has the honey harvest been for everyone? We averaged 55 pounds per hive in our first yard. Probably 40 pounds per hive in yards 2 and 3. I was just talking with our state apiarist about this. She confirmed my suspicions that it is not as accurate as the alcohol wash method and that just like with the sugar shake method, the bees are compromised and don’t live for very long afterwards due to damage to wings, antennae, tarsal pads etc. She said that there has been some recent research conducted about this and would forward the information. We always use the alcohol wash method as it provides the most consistent and accurate results. |
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Posted: 8/24/2023 10:27:58 AM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: Just learned of this last night. I don't do mite checks due to not wanting to kill 300 bees just to tell me I need to treat and another 300 bees to tell me whether or not it worked. I see the value of it just can't make myself do it. Then I saw this...https://www.varroa-easycheck.com/co2-injection Apparently it isn't as accurate as an alcohol wash but in my opinion if I see over 2-3 mites then I know I have a lethal infestation. On another note how has the honey harvest been for everyone? We averaged 55 pounds per hive in our first yard. Probably 40 pounds per hive in yards 2 and 3. I never could do it either. I honestly don't think there's a huge difference between a significant infestation, and a really bad infestation, as I figured I needed to treat if I saw a few mites on just a few bees, that was too many. However, I wasn't beekeeping for a living, and I certainly see the validity of the alcohol wash, and knowing exactly what you've got. Interested in more info from anyone who tries it or like CuttingEdge, has spoken to folks who know more. |
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Posted: 8/24/2023 11:27:30 AM EDT
[#22]
The best advice I can give a new beekeeper is to find a successful beekeeper and follow their advice. Cutting Edge has given me wonderful advice and also suggestions on who he follows. Experience is the best source of knowledge. Look for an experienced beekeeper! I have a good group of beekeepers near me and we trade advice on the areas that we excel in. One guy in particular, a retired army nurse in his mid to late 60's. Periodically runs 600+ hives. Comes to our meetings and expresses his viewpoints about our topics. He goes down to the molecular level at times. Last time I called him to see if he or anyone he knew or wanted some bee cages from old packages in my shed stated he was surprised that I would call him, I asked why and he stated that he was "kinda Coarse" and most people are turned off by that. I told him I was a cop for 30+ years so My skin is a little thicker than most. We laughed but what I am getting at is some of the old beekeepers are kind of crusty and the new generation has to live with that. I don't accept arrogance but crustiness is ok. I tell my customers when they pick up their hives is to listen to everyone but only pay attention to the beekeepers that can keep a hive alive for years without replacement. I am sure that the old method of mite testing that kills the sample is best and the smartest beekeepers will utilize it, sometimes I am just hard headed!
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Posted: 8/27/2023 12:21:27 PM EDT
[Last Edit: rcav8r]
[#23]
I bottled 56# from one hive today. Very thick this year, as others have reported locally.
I may have to make a run to dadant for more bottles this week. I think i could get at least 200# from other hives, and that's being conservative. I was going to wait til next weekend to pull and harvest the rest, but the forecast is going to be in the upper 80's then, so maybe pull them today and store in tubs. |
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Posted: 8/27/2023 1:09:08 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rcav8r: I bottled 56# from one hive today. Very thick this year, as others have reported locally. I may have to make a run to dadant for more bottles this week. I think i could get at least 200# from other hives, and that's being conservative. I was going to wait til next weekend to pull and harvest the rest, but the forecast is going to be in the upper 80's then, so maybe pull them today and store in tubs. We extract no more than 1 day after pulling supers due to hive beetles. I am sure you are aware of this issue but new beekeepers may not be. I have friends that lost multiple supers of honey by waiting 1-2 weeks not realizing that the beetles can wreak a lot of damage unchecked. |
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Posted: 8/28/2023 12:50:09 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: We extract no more than 1 day after pulling supers due to hive beetles. I am sure you are aware of this issue but new beekeepers may not be. I have friends that lost multiple supers of honey by waiting 1-2 weeks not realizing that the beetles can wreak a lot of damage unchecked. Good advice. We don’t really have too many problems with hive beetles here. I have in the past when moving hives around for pollination as thousands of colonies are brought in from Georgia and Florida for wild blueberry pollination. Generally speaking, those hives are LOADED with hive beetles and they are all placed very close to other beekeepers. It was so bad one year that I had to move my pollination hives to an isolated out yard and work very hard to get the beetles under control before transferring the bees back to their original yard. No fun!!! |
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Posted: 8/28/2023 2:53:37 PM EDT
[#26]
Believe it or not, I have yet to see a hive beetle in my 6 years of bee keeping. I'm sure there's some, but the bres seem to keep them under control.
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Posted: 8/28/2023 8:10:12 PM EDT
[#27]
We put hive beetle traps in and caught quite a few in about a week - probably 30-40 per colony.
We also haven't done a check recently, so who knows what's happened since(?). I pulled/strained the tendons in my left forearm (thanks to one of our yellow labs), so we missed the opportunity we'd have otherwise had. No way I could lift a super, let alone, a deep - and I'm still kinda messed up. 
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Posted: 9/28/2023 3:40:26 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: We extract no more than 1 day after pulling supers due to hive beetles. I am sure you are aware of this issue but new beekeepers may not be. I have friends that lost multiple supers of honey by waiting 1-2 weeks not realizing that the beetles can wreak a lot of damage unchecked. Here it's wax moths that would get you quicker than anything else. 
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Posted: 9/28/2023 3:41:37 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Former11BRAVO: We put hive beetle traps in and caught quite a few in about a week - probably 30-40 per colony. We also haven't done a check recently, so who knows what's happened since(?). I pulled/strained the tendons in my left forearm (thanks to one of our yellow labs), so we missed the opportunity we'd have otherwise had. No way I could lift a super, let alone, a deep - and I'm still kinda messed up. Oh no! Are you going to be able to harvest honey at all? Or going to leave it all for the bees? |
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Posted: 10/28/2023 12:02:13 PM EDT
[#30]
Uh-oh!
Just discovered 2 of our 5 colonies are queen-less w/no brood. Is it too late in the year to combine them with our healthier colonies? |
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Posted: 10/28/2023 12:09:29 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Oh no! Are you going to be able to harvest honey at all? Or going to leave it all for the bees? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Originally Posted By Former11BRAVO: We put hive beetle traps in and caught quite a few in about a week - probably 30-40 per colony. We also haven't done a check recently, so who knows what's happened since(?). I pulled/strained the tendons in my left forearm (thanks to one of our yellow labs), so we missed the opportunity we'd have otherwise had. No way I could lift a super, let alone, a deep - and I'm still kinda messed up. Oh no! Are you going to be able to harvest honey at all? Or going to leave it all for the bees? I'm sorry. I missed your reply/question! We were very judicious with harvesting. I think we got 2 1/2 gallons. I have 9 super frames set back, but think we'll be giving it all back to what we've got left - whether we're able to combine or not. This has been a crazy year. Trying to keep track of what frames have Apiguard on them (still had a super-high mite count after treatment this year) and now, having lost 2 queens after using the "other stuff" which kills mites with fumes (can't remember what it's called). |
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Posted: 1/6/2024 7:15:21 PM EDT
[#32]
No more fighting Langstroth boxes for us. Moving everything over to horizontal hives. Going to offload all my medium frames and equipment and only stock deeps. Will eventually move over to layens hives and equipment.
 Attached File |
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Posted: 1/6/2024 10:32:00 PM EDT
[#33]
I tried long langs, but felt they were not deep enough for winter survival here in WI.
I am sticking with my layens, and will try a double deep this year, and still have langs and apimayes, but have 1.5" foam insulation on the outside of the langs, and 3" in the former quilt boards. |
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Posted: 1/24/2024 3:34:11 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rcav8r: I tried long langs, but felt they were not deep enough for winter survival here in WI. I am sticking with my layens, and will try a double deep this year, and still have langs and apimayes, but have 1.5" foam insulation on the outside of the langs, and 3" in the former quilt boards. I want to switch to layens but with another baby in the way the prospect of having to buy a different extractor doesn’t appeal to me this year. Our winters here on the eastern face of the park don’t horrible so the longs should work for us until we make the switch. My Apimaye and Lyson insulated hives have done well for us as well. I’ve actually got a late summer swarm that landed in one of my Lyson 6 frame Nucs that has wintered in it. I did give them some dry sugar before winter really set in, but otherwise I’ve left them to fend on their own. We’ve got a warm snap today and I noticed they were taking cleansing flights this morning. |
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Posted: 1/31/2024 7:32:13 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By The_Like_Button: I want to switch to layens but with another baby in the way the prospect of having to buy a different extractor doesn’t appeal to me this year. Our winters here on the eastern face of the park don’t horrible so the longs should work for us until we make the switch. My Apimaye and Lyson insulated hives have done well for us as well. I’ve actually got a late summer swarm that landed in one of my Lyson 6 frame Nucs that has wintered in it. I did give them some dry sugar before winter really set in, but otherwise I’ve left them to fend on their own. We’ve got a warm snap today and I noticed they were taking cleansing flights this morning. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By The_Like_Button: Originally Posted By rcav8r: I tried long langs, but felt they were not deep enough for winter survival here in WI. I am sticking with my layens, and will try a double deep this year, and still have langs and apimayes, but have 1.5" foam insulation on the outside of the langs, and 3" in the former quilt boards. I want to switch to layens but with another baby in the way the prospect of having to buy a different extractor doesn’t appeal to me this year. Our winters here on the eastern face of the park don’t horrible so the longs should work for us until we make the switch. My Apimaye and Lyson insulated hives have done well for us as well. I’ve actually got a late summer swarm that landed in one of my Lyson 6 frame Nucs that has wintered in it. I did give them some dry sugar before winter really set in, but otherwise I’ve left them to fend on their own. We’ve got a warm snap today and I noticed they were taking cleansing flights this morning. We routinely winter hundreds of 4,5 and 6 frame nucleus colonies and 10 frame singles here in Northern Maine. IMHO. It’s more about what’s in the boxes and how they are managed all season long rather than hive style that contributes to colony survival or failure. |
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Posted: 1/31/2024 8:01:39 PM EDT
[#36]
I'm building two frame nucs for the year. I'm going to raise lots of queens and try to triple my hives by the end of summer.
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Posted: 1/31/2024 8:05:43 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By shooter_gregg: I'm building two frame nucs for the year. I'm going to raise lots of queens and try to triple my hives by the end of summer. Wow, that's an awesome goal! Please take pics, do tutorials, and share your successes and challenges!
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Posted: 1/31/2024 9:52:45 PM EDT
[#38]
Good idea. I'm setting up my shop this week.
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Posted: 2/5/2024 7:43:48 AM EDT
[Last Edit: The_Like_Button]
[#39]
 Attached FileIn laws want to start keeping bees but my SIL and my wife are due with another round of babies a couple weeks apart. Made my BIL a couple swarm traps out of random woodenware and made him a deal on all my medium equipment in exchange for 2 lambs later this year. Also sold some old tractor implements we found out in our woods to some hipsters from NOVA to use at their new wedding venue. Invested in the broodminder data uplink and hive monitoring system. With as little time as I have around the homestead these days it should help me monitor and predict spring swarming conditions and help me monitor swarm traps around our apiary. |
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MO, USA
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Posted: 2/6/2024 9:23:06 PM EDT
[#40]
I keep my bees in their own pasture, but due to the drought last year, I had to open it up to let the cows eat the grass. In the process, the curious cows knocked the cover off my biggest hive, just in time for the snow to come down.
I didn't catch it until several days later. I hurriedly put the cover back on, but I feared the damage was done. Today, I checked on them and found them busily gathering pollen from the witch hazel blooms. Thank goodness! I specifically didn't get honey from them last year to make sure they could make it through the winter strong. |
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Posted: 2/6/2024 9:40:07 PM EDT
[#41]
They are both tougher and more fragile than we think. I had a couple lids blow off during a rain storm (I use migratory covers), and they didn't seem to notice. The problem is when the hive is knocked on its side. The change in orientation for more than a couple hours will cause them to abandon a hive.
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Posted: 2/13/2024 10:32:47 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By shooter_gregg: They are both tougher and more fragile than we think. I had a couple lids blow off during a rain storm (I use migratory covers), and they didn't seem to notice. The problem is when the hive is knocked on its side. The change in orientation for more than a couple hours will cause them to abandon a hive. Ya know, I had a bear absolutely wreck two of my hives one night (St. Patty’s Day eve), and he knocked them completely over and onto their sides (he also chewed the hell out of multiple frames and carried a full brood box 100’ into the woods) and I didn’t get to them for almost 8hrs and to my amazement, they not only survived…….they thrived. Who knows? |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/14/2024 9:15:10 AM EDT
[#43]
I lost my ferals and 1 hive this winter. Not surprised about the ferals, but the hive was the stronger of my 2 Langs. They had a ton of resources, had been treated with apivar at mite-peak last Aug, and were booking in January. Now they're gone.
Got some nuc boxes and swarm lure incoming to try to catch some free bees. Then I'll requeen with some Weaver Buckfast queens. Might also try a Welch queen of i don't my remaining hive. |
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Posted: 2/18/2024 10:19:52 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By vic-303: I lost my ferals and 1 hive this winter. Not surprised about the ferals, but the hive was the stronger of my 2 Langs. They had a ton of resources, had been treated with apivar at mite-peak last Aug, and were booking in January. Now they're gone. Got some nuc boxes and swarm lure incoming to try to catch some free bees. Then I'll requeen with some Weaver Buckfast queens. Might also try a Welch queen of i don't my remaining hive. That's so disappointing when you lose them late in the season. I will be very interested in how Buckfast and Welch queens do, if you make that happen!
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Posted: 2/25/2024 1:42:25 PM EDT
[#45]
Checked on the hives yesterday and surprisingly they are all thriving. I thought I would have a tough year because of the crazy temp swings. I saw them frequently out in Nov, Dec and Jan in between cold snaps and big snow storms and figured they would get confused and think it was spring.
The best news for my hives is as we cleaned bottom boards off, we found no mites. They are coming in with pollen which is unheard of this time of year and I counted 3 hives that I will get to split in 6 weeks or so when our local queens are ready. |
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Posted: 3/16/2024 1:14:21 AM EDT
[#46]
Finally the temps are way up compared to the past month, 58 today and I decided to get some work done. I got all my hives fed with 1:1 and some Honey B Healthy and added 1/2 of a pollen patty. I also decided to get some boxes painted, I've been dreading this for a year. I painted 8 deep supers, some medium supers and bottom boards. My daughter had some light green she was going to use in a nursery and she changed her mind so I got the paint. I even painted one of my hives that is active and
a few outer covers on other occupied hives. I'm going to get some swarm traps set up(a new thing for me) around town and various farms and see if I can get lucky. Good to see the bees out and I'm looking forward to checking frames this week and checking the queens. |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/14/2024 9:56:48 PM EDT
[#47]
I got a new 5-frame Nuc today, first bees I've had since my previous hive swarmed back in 2020.
After I opened the nuc box the bees came out very agitated and aggressive and I got stung at least 5x thru my bee suit. I had to stay focused and got the frames moved over, got the new hive top on, and then slowly backed away. Think that my mistake was not using smoke at all. Just an unexpected outcome as my last nuc of bees were so calm I wouldn't have needed a veil or gloves with them. I'll let them get settled in for a couple weeks before I peek inside. |
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Posted: 4/15/2024 5:58:58 AM EDT
[#48]
My hives exploded this month. Some aren't doing as well, but new queens should fix that. I had one hive hive queenless and dropped a swarm cell into it. Now I wait.
I'm also trying out two frame queen rearing nucs. About half worked the first time. Next year I will only buy queens to fix hot hives. |
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