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Posted: 10/9/2020 8:22:22 PM EDT
[#1]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: @cuttingedge What do you use to uncap currently? Cappings plane and and heated knife and I hate both... Time to step up to the next level. |
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Posted: 10/9/2020 8:22:48 PM EDT
[#2]
Next page???
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Posted: 10/9/2020 8:26:55 PM EDT
[#3]
I liked the uncapping plane when it worked well. Doesn't seem to maintain heat long enough to do a frame. Set it down and forget to turn off the switch and it scorches the honey/wax residue on it. Try to uncap 10 frames and it is dragging into the wax since it doesn't stay hot enough. I will pick up a new heating element for next year.
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Posted: 10/9/2020 8:34:57 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: I liked the uncapping plane when it worked well. Doesn't seem to maintain heat long enough to do a frame. Set it down and forget to turn off the switch and it scorches the honey/wax residue on it. Try to uncap 10 frames and it is dragging into the wax since it doesn't stay hot enough. I will pick up a new heating element for next year. I also use a heat gun when I don’t want to mess with wax. All of these things are too slow for me and honestly, I despise playing with honey. You guys are more into honey production than I am but things are changing and we are beginning to sell more wholesale. |
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Posted: 10/9/2020 8:57:13 PM EDT
[#5]
Wholesale is where to be, on the smaller scale. I am not into bulk sales as they only bring $2-$3 per pound. I plan on staying smallenough to have a niche in my area. Just picked up 3 new retail outlets. I plan on a goal of ~2000 lbs next year to fill sales. $6 per pound wholesale and $7-$8 retail if I sell it. If I have to sell it at $2 or $3 per pound I will let it set on the beehives as that is what the syrup costs me.
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Posted: 10/9/2020 9:41:58 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: Wholesale is where to be, on the smaller scale. I am not into bulk sales as they only bring $2-$3 per pound. I plan on staying smallenough to have a niche in my area. Just picked up 3 new retail outlets. I plan on a goal of ~2000 lbs next year to fill sales. $6 per pound wholesale and $7-$8 retail if I sell it. If I have to sell it at $2 or $3 per pound I will let it set on the beehives as that is what the syrup costs me. $2-$3 per pound isn’t worth the effort to extract it. We are getting $6 wholesale and $10 retail. Honey prices were driven up over the last two years here. I am also going to be selling pollen but have no idea how to price it as nobody else is selling it locally. Right now I am sitting on approximately 80lbs of pollen in a chest freezer. |
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Posted: 10/10/2020 3:19:48 AM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Don't do something special for us...just interested in what you are doing. Obviously Dux noticed something I did not in the extraction video you posted. Very interested in what you are doing and why. I've been to busy to make a detailed post and probably won't have time in the next few days. HERE is a link describing the uncapper with a FAQ section and a list of some of the advantages. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions about any aspect of my extraction process. |
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Posted: 10/10/2020 9:24:38 AM EDT
[#8]
Pulled thi off facebook. A beekeeping suit for his donkey, but its the logo on the keepers suit...which one of you is this?
 Attached File |
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Posted: 10/10/2020 9:58:09 AM EDT
[Last Edit: JQ66]
[#9]
That’s neat/funny with the donkey
But as far as the uncapper goes, I found the website and a video on utube That’s very slick. I am hesitant to take any frames so far from my hives, but I think I will be ordering one of these for next year. Just never know what the winter will be like, although I will be feeding them into the winter, and then restock on whatever nice days in Jan/feb that I can. Have learned a lot through this year beyond what my Dad and I were doing together before he passed. I never cared for the chinese made plane or the rakes. And he didn’t have a good decapping tub. Very messy process. I’ll have to order a tub with a nice screen too. We have a nice spinner/separator This bee stuff has cut into my gun money a lot more than I’d ever thought, but this was a rough year with a drought through most of the summer. At least they should be doing well on all the golden rod, although that is getting close to the end no |
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Posted: 10/10/2020 10:57:30 AM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By JQ66: That’s neat/funny with the donkey But as far as the uncapper goes, I found the website and a video on utube That’s very slick. I am hesitant to take any frames so far from my hives, but I think I will be ordering one of these for next year. Just never know what the winter will be like, although I will be feeding them into the winter, and then restock on whatever nice days in Jan/feb that I can. Have learned a lot through this year beyond what my Dad and I were doing together before he passed. I never cared for the chinese made plane or the rakes. And he didn’t have a good decapping tub. Very messy process. I’ll have to order a tub with a nice screen too. We have a nice spinner/separator This bee stuff has cut into my gun money a lot more than I’d ever thought, but this was a rough year with a drought through most of the summer. At least they should be doing well on all the golden rod, although that is getting close to the end no My uncapping plane is actually AMERICAN Made by MAXANT. As far as the uncapping tub I think Mann lake sells the 2 piece tote type for an outrageous amount. I bought the tote parts from ZORO and cut out the bottom and slid in a removeable queen excluder to hold the wax off of the bottom. Worked well enough but the frames just didn't quite fit well enough as a holding area once uncapped and I moved on from it. It's in storage right now. Bought a Mann Lake tank and although it is light duty it works well. I think with the uncapper from HeloBravo on that tank things would work smoothly... |
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Posted: 10/10/2020 1:23:25 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: My uncapping plane is actually AMERICAN Made by MAXANT. As far as the uncapping tub I think Mann lake sells the 2 piece tote type for an outrageous amount. I bought the tote parts from ZORO and cut out the bottom and slid in a removeable queen excluder to hold the wax off of the bottom. Worked well enough but the frames just didn't quite fit well enough as a holding area once uncapped and I moved on from it. It's in storage right now. Bought a Mann Lake tank and although it is light duty it works well. I think with the uncapper from HeloBravo on that tank things would work smoothly... The Mann Lake tank it bullet proof. I've used the same one for years with my uncapper. If I had a hundred hives and a designated building, I'd probably have a rectangular stainless tank with my uncapper mounted on it. A little more room would be nice for the inevitable broken or otherwise messed up frames that I usually just stick in the bottom of the uncapping tank until I can repair them or let bees clean before throwing away. I never used a hot knife, always a cold serrated long bread knife until I used a friends $1300 Sideliner, which was so far from what it could be, I made my own device. A friend used a heat gun which seemed very messy and he had wax hardening back up at inopportune times. We sell our honey for $8/pound. Since we don't do farmers markets anymore, we have others sell out honey but I don't know what the wife unit sells it for wholesale. |
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Posted: 10/11/2020 9:34:37 AM EDT
[#12]
A dedicated building would be great. We just put everything back into storage after we are done. I was asked about a few farmers markets so we do the same. If someone is going I give them the honey wholesale. If I know them well enough we will take back what doesn't sell. I am not going to spend a day for $100 worth of sales... Stores prefer to buy it outright and I am better with that also.
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Posted: 10/11/2020 11:42:39 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: A dedicated building would be great. We just put everything back into storage after we are done. I was asked about a few farmers markets so we do the same. If someone is going I give them the honey wholesale. If I know them well enough we will take back what doesn't sell. I am not going to spend a day for $100 worth of sales... Stores prefer to buy it outright and I am better with that also. If you are the only honey at a farmers market, which we were at ours(by agreement with management) a friend still is at his it is an ATM machine. I wouldn't get up early, drive to town and set up for $100. We made many, many hundreds of dollars every morning. My friend who is at a much more upscale market makes north of 500 every Saturday. I was going to put my extracting operation on a trailer so I could rent it. I can do everything I need to do in an 8x12 area, including my 30 frame extractor. When I was going to to go all in and try to get big, I was going to put it in a school bus. I was just looking at some pic and figured I'd post one showing my hive stand. Bottom boards are expensive and I very seldom move my hives. I do not use solid bottom boards.  Attached File |
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Posted: 10/11/2020 4:50:32 PM EDT
[#14]
I like the bottoms integrated with the hive stands. I am starting to rethink my early philosophy also. Being a Deputy in a rural area put me in contact with many farmers. They asked me tp put beehives out on their property. Eventually I got up to 30 Apairies containing 1-3 hives. Now that I am getting older I realize the foolishness of this. My idea at the beginning was to spread out the hives so they did not compete with each other for resources. Now I am combining my yards to 8-10 hives per yard. I think your stand idea would be great for me.
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Posted: 10/12/2020 6:16:23 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: I like the bottoms integrated with the hive stands. I am starting to rethink my early philosophy also. Being a Deputy in a rural area put me in contact with many farmers. They asked me tp put beehives out on their property. Eventually I got up to 30 Apairies containing 1-3 hives. Now that I am getting older I realize the foolishness of this. My idea at the beginning was to spread out the hives so they did not compete with each other for resources. Now I am combining my yards to 8-10 hives per yard. I think your stand idea would be great for me. Competition? I don't know how many hives you'd have to have to worry about it. I keep 35, and have had about 50, hives 20 yards from my house. Never an issue. Bees fly a long way... I know guys who keep more than that in one place and they know a lot more than me. No way i'd keep up with 3 hive bee yards. Having hives close has to lead to cross contamination of parasites and viruses. I've never had a noticable issue. Every guy I know who put bees on some dudes property for his crops regretted it. Bees struggle if not die due to pesticides and other stressors. I did lose a bunch of hive a few years ago because some absentee "farmer" rented land across the road and his guys were spraying in the middle of the day and who knows what all. I spoke to the owner and she booted them. So, you never can be sure you're safe, even on your own land. |
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Posted: 10/12/2020 8:13:13 PM EDT
[#16]
Maybe not competing for the same resources but out here we have huge corn, bean ad wheat field with few treelines so I just thought it would be better for the bees to be spread out rather than have them work the same areas. It worked for me as for as the health of the hives, except for keeping up with them. I ended up with a touch of foulbrood at a yard or 2 and it never spread to a bunch of hives so I do like the strategy. If something would get sprayed the wouldn't get a bunch of hives. Luckily I never really noticed but a few die offs I attributed to sprays and none of them killed any of my hives. Around here most of the farmers are small family owned operations and they are aware of my hives and notify me the day before they spray.
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Posted: 10/18/2020 7:04:46 PM EDT
[#17]
Well, 5 of my 7 hives have absconded. Not really sure why, although the hopguard 3 probably shares some of the blame, at least for a couple of them.
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Posted: 10/18/2020 9:24:03 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rcav8r: Pulled thi off facebook. A beekeeping suit for his donkey, but its the logo on the keepers suit...which one of you is this? https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/85434/FB_IMG_1602335991870_jpg-1628830.JPG That's pretty freaking cool! Had his donkey run off a few times while he was tending hives, I guess. 
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Posted: 10/18/2020 9:33:31 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rcav8r: Well, 5 of my 7 hives have absconded. Not really sure why, although the hopguard 3 probably shares some of the blame, at least for a couple of them. Oh no!!! What is the hopguard 3? And why do you blame it? |
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Posted: 10/18/2020 11:23:35 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Oh no!!! What is the hopguard 3? And why do you blame it? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Originally Posted By rcav8r: Well, 5 of my 7 hives have absconded. Not really sure why, although the hopguard 3 probably shares some of the blame, at least for a couple of them. Oh no!!! What is the hopguard 3? And why do you blame it? Hopguard 3 us a mite control that is safe to use with honey supers I noticed that when I put the 2nd treatment on, the bees were attacking the strips. I used hopguard 2 last year without problems. My thought is that they really didn't like it, and decided to leave. The alternative would be that it didn't really do much to control the mites, and they decided enough was enough. |
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Posted: 10/19/2020 8:44:44 AM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rcav8r: Hopguard 3 us a mite control that is safe to use with honey supers I noticed that when I put the 2nd treatment on, the bees were attacking the strips. I used hopguard 2 last year without problems. My thought is that they really didn't like it, and decided to leave. The alternative would be that it didn't really do much to control the mites, and they decided enough was enough. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rcav8r: Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Originally Posted By rcav8r: Well, 5 of my 7 hives have absconded. Not really sure why, although the hopguard 3 probably shares some of the blame, at least for a couple of them. Oh no!!! What is the hopguard 3? And why do you blame it? Hopguard 3 us a mite control that is safe to use with honey supers I noticed that when I put the 2nd treatment on, the bees were attacking the strips. I used hopguard 2 last year without problems. My thought is that they really didn't like it, and decided to leave. The alternative would be that it didn't really do much to control the mites, and they decided enough was enough. Late season Absconding is almost always the result of high mite loads. We have done some testing with Hopguard II and have found that it is not very effective at all. I was at an Apiary Inspectors Meeting last week and many of the inspectors said the same. There are much better products available for controlling varroa. |
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Posted: 10/21/2020 2:18:06 PM EDT
[#22]
There are much better products available for controlling varroa. What's the latest plan? Is anyone still smoking their hives with oxalic acid? I'm going to put in at least one hive next spring and want to be prepared. |
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Posted: 10/25/2020 1:54:45 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: What's the latest plan? Is anyone still smoking their hives with oxalic acid? I'm going to put in at least one hive next spring and want to be prepared. I had pitiful to negative results with Hopuard and whatever was the competitor back in the day. I use an OxaVap vaporizer with great results. I participated in a year long university study that proved the effectiveness. This is the vaporizer I've used for 3 seasons. |
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Posted: 10/25/2020 11:15:02 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: What's the latest plan? Is anyone still smoking their hives with oxalic acid? I'm going to put in at least one hive next spring and want to be prepared. We rotate treatments to help prevent resistance issues. This year we used Apivar (Amitraz). Last year we used Formic Pro on all of our production colonies and Api Life Var (Thymol) on all of our nucs. We have been working on a Combo treatment of Formic and OA with a few friends and will have some results by next year. Basically we are using some of the known negative effects of Formic Acid to our benefit and following up with a clean-up treatment of OAV at a specific time to catch all of the mites missed by the Formic. For these tests we are using something very similar to the Provap but it is made locally and is constructed of all metal. 
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Posted: 10/25/2020 11:59:35 PM EDT
[#25]
Thats nice
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Posted: 10/27/2020 10:42:58 PM EDT
[#26]
Here is a graphic from our research project that should help explain what we are working on without getting into too much detail.
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Posted: 11/9/2020 11:29:42 PM EDT
[Last Edit: JQ66]
[#27]
My bees are still bringing in some pollen. Crazy 75+F days mid November, A couple of frosts has killed most flowers.
Must be a few scattered dandelions and something else. Two colors of it, Not a lot, but surprising since the goldenrod has been done for about two weeks. There were some little daisy like flowers until a few days ago. Also some Queen Anne’s lace type weed, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen honey bees on that. Probably next to no pollen and nectar They seem to have good honey stores now. Gave them more syrup today, making sure they are well fed, and some winter pollen patty/paste. Supposed to be quite mild for several more weeks, so still need to get the sugar feeding boards done, and will try Vivaldi board this year on top. |
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Posted: 11/15/2020 2:46:24 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge: We rotate treatments to help prevent resistance issues. This year we used Apivar (Amitraz). Last year we used Formic Pro on all of our production colonies and Api Life Var (Thymol) on all of our nucs. We have been working on a Combo treatment of Formic and OA with a few friends and will have some results by next year. Basically we are using some of the known negative effects of Formic Acid to our benefit and following up with a clean-up treatment of OAV at a specific time to catch all of the mites missed by the Formic. For these tests we are using something very similar to the Provap but it is made locally and is constructed of all metal. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/294057/EC99E903-076B-4424-B755-3080018ECF26-1654175.jpg Interested in your results. |
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Posted: 12/14/2020 11:00:42 PM EDT
[#29]
I’m fighting with a bear.
He flipped over one of my hives this weekend, but rode the lightning of my electric fence and split once he pulled it over. I was able to right the hive, and they seemed no worse for wear. Still, this bear and I are have to going to come to an.......understanding. |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 8:40:47 AM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By fttam: I’m fighting with a bear. He flipped over one of my hives this weekend, but rode the lightning of my electric fence and split once he pulled it over. I was able to right the hive, and they seemed no worse for wear. Still, this bear and I are have to going to come to an.......understanding.  How did he get close enough to the hive to pull it over if you've got an electric fence?
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Posted: 12/15/2020 3:58:59 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: How did he get close enough to the hive to pull it over if you've got an electric fence?My bee yard is surrounded by a 4’ high chicken wire fence. Around that is the electric fence (on its own posts). It’s low enough that he was able to stand up and reach over the fences. He grabbed the hive closest to the fence, which fell over into the chicken wire, which touched the electric fence, which shocked him. This guy. He’s been waiting a while to make his move.  Attached File Attached File |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 9:56:22 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By fttam: My bee yard is surrounded by a 4’ high chicken wire fence. Around that is the electric fence (on its own posts). It’s low enough that he was able to stand up and reach over the fences. He grabbed the hive closest to the fence, which fell over into the chicken wire, which touched the electric fence, which shocked him. This guy. He’s been waiting a while to make his move. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/287916/246A89F2-27E2-41CD-A771-ECC85A5D26C2_jpe-1732500.JPGhttps://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/287916/B69ACE7A-C6B7-482D-AA2D-F544D488B0B7_jpe-1732503.JPG He is a beautiful bear, and you can't blame him for going for honey, right? Can you set your fences up different so he gets shocked earlier next time, so he doesn't have to die for your beehives? |
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Posted: 12/15/2020 10:30:02 PM EDT
[#33]
He’s a beaut, but huge. He’s been hanging around a lot, and he’s surely flipped some hives of a neighbor down the road.
I’m going to rethink my fence setup. I’d rather let bygones be bygones. |
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Posted: 12/16/2020 11:25:12 PM EDT
[Last Edit: cuttingedge]
[#34]
Some sponges soaked in Ammonia work very well.
I have a friend that had a major problem with bears up here when doing blueberry pollination and the state biologist recommended soaking some sponges with Ammonia and spreading them around the perimeter of the bee yard. This is in conjunction with the fence. |
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Posted: 12/17/2020 11:25:38 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge: Some sponges soaked in Ammonia work very well. I have a friend that had a major problem with bears up here when doing blueberry pollination and the state biologist recommended soaking some sponges with Ammonia and spreading them around the perimeter of the bee yard. This is in conjunction with the fence. Guess what I’ll be doing! Thank you 
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Posted: 12/23/2020 11:51:50 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Kitties-with-Sigs]
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By fttam: He’s a beaut, but huge. He’s been hanging around a lot, and he’s surely flipped some hives of a neighbor down the road. I’m going to rethink my fence setup. I’d rather let bygones be bygones. I will be really interested in what you do, and thank you for not just killing him because that's the easiest way. I know sometimes we have to do that. No condemnation either way. I've had it with some raccoons around here, and I grew up dispatching varmints that I couldn't keep out. But I also think...hey... God made him too. I'm getting so soft in my older years.  Listen...we don't have bears here. I'm scared of bears. They are one of my major fears (Grizzly bears, not so much the smaller ones). So he is beautiful, but that's at a distance. I'm not doing a "omg don't kill it it's cute". I just appreciate that you aren't killing him as the first choice. Cuz...God made all of us. |
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Posted: 1/3/2021 2:33:02 PM EDT
[#37]
Someone remind me when does all of the bee supply companies put there sale on. Think I'm going to abandon my long lang and get enough boxes and frames for at least 3 hives.
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Posted: 1/4/2021 12:15:52 AM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By runs_with_scissors: Someone remind me when does all of the bee supply companies put there sale on. Think I'm going to abandon my long lang and get enough boxes and frames for at least 3 hives. Hmmm...no idea, but maybe somebody would know. I would not expect sales this time of year because everybody is buying to set up for spring, but I could be dead wrong about that. Interested in what other say. |
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Posted: 1/4/2021 8:41:44 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By runs_with_scissors: Someone remind me when does all of the bee supply companies put there sale on. Think I'm going to abandon my long lang and get enough boxes and frames for at least 3 hives. Usually March is when Mann Lake has their big 12-13 % off sale. They call it March Madness. Also they usually run a big Black Friday sale! |
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Posted: 1/4/2021 11:28:31 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: Usually March is when Mann Lake has their big 12-13 % off sale. They call it March Madness. Also they usually run a big Black Friday sale! Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DUX4LIFE: Originally Posted By runs_with_scissors: Someone remind me when does all of the bee supply companies put there sale on. Think I'm going to abandon my long lang and get enough boxes and frames for at least 3 hives. Usually March is when Mann Lake has their big 12-13 % off sale. They call it March Madness. Also they usually run a big Black Friday sale! Dear Mann Lake Customer, We are writing to let you know that we recently announced changes to our Bee Buck$ and Cluck Buck$ rewards programs. Since you have previously enrolled in one or more of these, we wanted to tell you about the new policies well before they go into effect on February 1, 2021. Below is a summary of the new policies. Summary of the new policies (effective February 1, 2021): •Bee Buck$ and Cluck Buck$ will be part of a paid membership program, called Gold Club, effective February 1, 2021. •Autoenrollment into Bee Buck$ and Cluck Buck$ will be discontinued effective immediately. •Anyone can enroll in Gold Club to receive the following:Priority order handling 2.5% rewards on purchases* Plus an additional 5% discount on all in-store transactions *Earn rewards on all purchases. Points cannot be redeemed for syrup shipments. What this means for you: •Pending accruals earned through January 31, 2021 will be posted to your account after enrollment in Gold Club. You must enroll by May 31, or these accruals will expire. •You will begin accruing Gold Club rewards as soon as you enroll. Enrollments after May 31, 2021 will not be eligible to earn their previous accrual balance. Reward accruals will begin the month of your enrollment and will be posted to your account in March and September. •Prior rewards posted as a credit on your account will remain as a credit. •If your accrual is $130 or more, you will automatically be enrolled in Gold Club using your rewards. You will receive information within the month regarding your membership details. Learn more about how to enroll Enroll online starting February 1 or call customer support. Your annual membership of $130 will be automatically renewed unless you cancel. To learn more about your Gold Club benefits, call or visit our Gold Club page. Thank you for using our services. Your Mann Lake team |
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Posted: 1/4/2021 11:47:21 PM EDT
[#41]
When did they start sending out this notice? I've neve seen it yet. They did send me a free tumbler for Christmas though.
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Posted: 1/18/2021 5:58:19 AM EDT
[Last Edit: runs_with_scissors]
[#42]
Any words of advice on removing bees from a toolbox. Planning on removing a hive from one Tuesday for someone I worked with years ago.
ETA-Guy told me I could just take the entire toolbox. Thinking about just putting the box in the back of my truck and wrapping them with a moving blanket to transport them home. Then transfer them to boxes when it warms up. Only thing I'm worried about is basically scrambling them like an egg since they are not in frames and I don't know how big the hive is or how well attached the comb is. |
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Posted: 1/19/2021 12:56:51 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By runs_with_scissors: Any words of advice on removing bees from a toolbox. Planning on removing a hive from one Tuesday for someone I worked with years ago. ETA-Guy told me I could just take the entire toolbox. Thinking about just putting the box in the back of my truck and wrapping them with a moving blanket to transport them home. Then transfer them to boxes when it warms up. Only thing I'm worried about is basically scrambling them like an egg since they are not in frames and I don't know how big the hive is or how well attached the comb is. How long of a drive is it? Do you have a thermal camera to guestimate the size of the hive? Maybe a scope to look inside? You definitely have some advantages over when I did something similar last year (or maybe 2019?) and failed. "Mine" were in a steel barrel lying on its side. Even though I marked it, I know that we did not keep it 100% level when moving it onto my trailer with a tractor. Then, I drove it 40 miles home. I unloaded by hand and put it on a metal stand. Again, I know it had some excess motion. The barrel was originally in the shade at the old farm and in the sun at my place. Within a few days, there were no bees. I had to cut off the end of the barrel to get to the comb. Most of it had fallen to the bottom. Whether it was the addtional heat, or all the motion, I don't know. It was a pretty small hive, equivalent to 5-6 deep frames, and the comb was only attached at the top before the move. The positives of your situation: 1. Cooler weather. 2. Better control on the orientation (top-side-up) of the hive 3. Maybe -- distance? 4. Maybe -- bigger hive? Good luck. I would personally try again, given the opportunity. I learn something new every time. Often, it's what not to do. |
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Posted: 1/21/2021 1:14:20 AM EDT
[#44]
I decided at the last minute to not get them. Made the decision not to try and keep bees again this year. Just have to much going on at the moment.
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Posted: 2/23/2021 3:43:55 PM EDT
[#45]
After the deep freeze we just had, I finally got to check my bees yesterday. I lost 5 of 6 hives. There were 2 which were light on resources but still capped honey. Three had a lot of stores, even more than the surviving hive. Seeing all the little frozen bodies, heads-in, in a big cluster was disheartening. The survival was 6 ft further from shade and had 2 hives behind it blocking the N wind.
I had planned to wrap the boxes in moving blankets prior to the freeze but opted to not. The experienced keepers in the groups I read recommended against it. Well, for my particular situation/location, it looks like the wrong call. It's a mess. My wife is clearly tired of me relocating colonies from water meter boxes and catching swarms. She asked how much to replace those that we lost. Almost $2K in nucs from Bee Weaver, but I really need 8 nucs, and not deliverable until mid-May. I'm still planning to build some long Langstroths with 2x thick walls. I could argue that now is the time. I'll quit whining now. How are your girls doing? |
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Posted: 2/23/2021 8:21:54 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By sgt_seti: After the deep freeze we just had, I finally got to check my bees yesterday. I lost 5 of 6 hives. There were 2 which were light on resources but still capped honey. Three had a lot of stores, even more than the surviving hive. Seeing all the little frozen bodies, heads-in, in a big cluster was disheartening. The survival was 6 ft further from shade and had 2 hives behind it blocking the N wind. I had planned to wrap the boxes in moving blankets prior to the freeze but opted to not. The experienced keepers in the groups I read recommended against it. Well, for my particular situation/location, it looks like the wrong call. It's a mess. My wife is clearly tired of me relocating colonies from water meter boxes and catching swarms. She asked how much to replace those that we lost. Almost $2K in nucs from Bee Weaver, but I really need 8 nucs, and not deliverable until mid-May. I'm still planning to build some long Langstroths with 2x thick walls. I could argue that now is the time. I'll quit whining now. How are your girls doing? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By sgt_seti: After the deep freeze we just had, I finally got to check my bees yesterday. I lost 5 of 6 hives. There were 2 which were light on resources but still capped honey. Three had a lot of stores, even more than the surviving hive. Seeing all the little frozen bodies, heads-in, in a big cluster was disheartening. The survival was 6 ft further from shade and had 2 hives behind it blocking the N wind. I had planned to wrap the boxes in moving blankets prior to the freeze but opted to not. The experienced keepers in the groups I read recommended against it. Well, for my particular situation/location, it looks like the wrong call. It's a mess. My wife is clearly tired of me relocating colonies from water meter boxes and catching swarms. She asked how much to replace those that we lost. Almost $2K in nucs from Bee Weaver, but I really need 8 nucs, and not deliverable until mid-May. I'm still planning to build some long Langstroths with 2x thick walls. I could argue that now is the time. I'll quit whining now. How are your girls doing? Look at "How to Autopsy a Honey Bee Colony." It may have been something else... Nope, here it is... Did the bees die with their heads in the cell, butts sticking out, away from honey stores? Was the weather previously cold? Your bees may have died from starvation. This happens often in cold weather when the hive is unable to break cluster to move to their stores. This is common in a winter killed hive. I've seen this with my own hives. It's heartbreaking, I know. |
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Posted: 2/23/2021 10:06:30 PM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Look at "How to Autopsy a Honey Bee Colony." It may have been something else... Nope, here it is... I've seen this with my own hives. It's heartbreaking, I know. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Originally Posted By sgt_seti: After the deep freeze we just had, I finally got to check my bees yesterday. I lost 5 of 6 hives. There were 2 which were light on resources but still capped honey. Three had a lot of stores, even more than the surviving hive. Seeing all the little frozen bodies, heads-in, in a big cluster was disheartening. The survival was 6 ft further from shade and had 2 hives behind it blocking the N wind. I had planned to wrap the boxes in moving blankets prior to the freeze but opted to not. The experienced keepers in the groups I read recommended against it. Well, for my particular situation/location, it looks like the wrong call. It's a mess. My wife is clearly tired of me relocating colonies from water meter boxes and catching swarms. She asked how much to replace those that we lost. Almost $2K in nucs from Bee Weaver, but I really need 8 nucs, and not deliverable until mid-May. I'm still planning to build some long Langstroths with 2x thick walls. I could argue that now is the time. I'll quit whining now. How are your girls doing? Look at "How to Autopsy a Honey Bee Colony." It may have been something else... Nope, here it is... Did the bees die with their heads in the cell, butts sticking out, away from honey stores? Was the weather previously cold? Your bees may have died from starvation. This happens often in cold weather when the hive is unable to break cluster to move to their stores. This is common in a winter killed hive. I've seen this with my own hives. It's heartbreaking, I know. Sorry to hear about your losses. So far we are doing well but winter isn’t over. As far as bees starving next to food, that often will happen with weaker colonies that have dwindled over time from varroa and the associated viruses. If you haven’t done anything with them, you can perform an alcohol wash on a cup of dead bees from each colony. If you have a lot of mites in your sample, it was very likely that they were compromised. |
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Posted: 2/24/2021 11:52:27 PM EDT
[Last Edit: joemama74]
[#48]
Omg. Someone please tell me to stop watching Canadian beekeeper videos on YouTube.
We were predicted to get to near zero degrees last week and I have an old walk-in cooler that doesn’t work within 100 yards of my bees. I had snow falling I decided to put them in the cooler for a week. We got down to zero alright. Froze my ass off, had major power outages. I basically lived in my greenhouses for a week checking generators and heaters. A week later it’s warmed up to 80 degrees. I pulled all my hives out yesterday, put them on pallets and moved them back out on the bee yard with the tractor. It was a huge pain in the ass, but they don’t seem any worse for wear. Probably the coldest we’ve been in Texas since the early 1980’s or late 70’s. |
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Posted: 2/25/2021 12:44:35 AM EDT
[Last Edit: cuttingedge]
[#49]
By Canadian Beekeeper I assume that you are referring to Ian Steppler? I can tell you from first hand experience that he is one funny dude when he has a few beers in him
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Posted: 2/25/2021 12:55:29 PM EDT
[#50]
Yeah, I guess that is who that is. It looked easier to all the hives into the cooler when he did it on youtube.
I need a bigger door on my cooler or smaller pallets on wheels that will fit through my door. I didn't measure, but it looks like a 36" door. I do have some EUR pallets 31.5" x 47.24". I guess if I can squeeze my pallet forks tight enough, I can pick them up from the small end. But I think I'm done building custom stands out of 2x6's. Everything goes on a pallet and move it with a tractor. |
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