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Posted: 4/23/2021 12:16:11 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Kitties-with-Sigs]
[#1]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Top bar hives are supposed to create a 'more natural space' for the bees, allowing them to draw out the comb naturally. I found them to be hard to work with. One complaint is that they'll build honey comb in the top 1/2 to 1/3 of the frame, then fill the rest with brood; come harvest time, the brood must be destroyed to harvest the honey. Much of the comb past the center of the hive was almost pure honey, but there still was brood to deal with. ETA One attraction of TBHs is that you don't need to move supers to get to the rest of the hive; you remove the top cover and all the frames are available to you. I did notice that there was a lot of cross-comb building, despite the spacing I'd built into the hive. At this time, let me add that I deeply appreciate the assistance I've received from this thread and the people who inhabit it! Kitties-with-Sigs (I love that name!), props to you for moderating this thread! There's a great quote from Rev. Langstroth in my sig line. Great quote!  And you are very kind.  I think Langstroth hives have a-survived over time and b-become the most popular hive configuration....because they work, with fewer problems than other (thus far) introduced hive designs. That is not to say all introductions do not have benefits. There is so much value in any new idea/introduction. If we are not open to these things, we will not progress. Beekeepers are weird. We are just a strange bunch of people. I mean let's face it. We like playing with boxes of stinging bugs. Lot of reasons we like that, but overall....how weird is that??? So a lot of us have the "what I been doin for 50 years is good enough an I don't need no learnin' " thing going. Others are all like, "Let's try the newest thing going!" And I"m like.... all y'all go for it. Let me know how it works. Ima use Langstroth hives for now, mostly cuz my mentors use Langstroth hives." Everybody who experiments paves the way for those of us who come after. I take the easy road with beekeeping, because it's not that easy anyway.  |
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Posted: 4/23/2021 12:16:42 AM EDT
[#2]
New page?
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Posted: 4/23/2021 9:10:41 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: New page? Yes indeed. And you're right about experimentation. In addition to langs,.I will have my long lang and am adding a.couple of layens hives. |
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Posted: 4/23/2021 3:05:49 PM EDT
[#4]
Got my hive painted and the frames finished. Here's how I'm installing it; if anyone has any ideas, I'll welcome them.
 Attached FileI wonder if the shallow super is overkill at this time? Or is even the second super too much? I expect the bees at the end of the month. Should I install a queen excluder between #1 and #2? What's not visible is the weight of the box and frames, and my name and address on the box. I've recently learned of hive rustling; I don't know if it's a problem here but it seems to have caught on in some areas. |
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Posted: 4/23/2021 8:31:23 PM EDT
[Last Edit: rcav8r]
[#5]
You only start off with one deep when you get your package installed. When about 8 of the 10 frames are filled, add the 2nd deep, and so on. Don't put them all on at once.
No, you won't need a queen excluder between the deeps, when the time comes. She'll want to use the upstairs too. You might use it between the 2nd deep and the honey super, but most beeks don't bother. |
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Posted: 4/23/2021 10:35:57 PM EDT
[#6]
There are many good reasons to use queen excluders. I think that they are one of the most valuable pieces of beekeeping equipment.
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Posted: 4/25/2021 12:04:35 PM EDT
[#7]
Yesterday was the first of our 2 package pickup days, we had customers from all over Colorado and a few surrounding states pick up 404 of the 3lb packages with mated queens. Definitely a looooooong day, starting at 3am, and we still have one more package day, plus when our nucs are ready to go out we have them as well! Between interest in beekeeping growing, and the "pandemic", we've noticed almost double the orders this year
 Attached File |
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Posted: 4/26/2021 7:09:23 PM EDT
[#8]
How about treating the new package for varroa, either before or after installing in the hive?
Also, I have a large brush pile in my yard about 100 feet from the hive. Should I burn this or haul it away after they are installed? |
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Posted: 4/26/2021 7:14:33 PM EDT
[#9]
Worker bee producing wax from its body:
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Posted: 4/26/2021 8:10:53 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: How about treating the new package for varroa, either before or after installing in the hive? Also, I have a large brush pile in my yard about 100 feet from the hive. Should I burn this or haul it away after they are installed? My opinion is to give a package a chance to settle in before treating, even if it's a passive treatment. get the queen laying strongly first, so the hive is more committed. Then passive treatment. Then test after the first course of treatment. Some people are willing to treat a package after installing, since there is no brood for mites to hide in. Some bees don't take kindly to some treatment, and might be willing to abscond when there is no brood. My 2 cents. |
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Posted: 4/26/2021 10:51:35 PM EDT
[#11]
Looks like I'm in.
Here's a pic of the wife starting to transfer her first package late last week for our first hive. I'm proud of her. She took this on by herself and took a local class for a month of Saturdays and assembled everything on her own. She ended up getting my help as a five thumbed assistant that didn't know anything. I've been busy as heck since our move from FL last fall and didn't need a new hobby right now. But I think this one will be worth the effort to assist her. After 4 days, the hive's been really active with the temps finally warming up close to 70 today. Something knocked out the reducer bar in the entrance last night. She texted her local mentor and he thinks it was a skunk. She replaced it and will wait a few more days before disturbing them again. Based on her local mentors, they recommend not disturbing the new hive and letting them get settled for a week before reopening the hive to check the activity. I've got a lot to learn to support her in this; but it looks like we've entered a new venture. She says they all told her 'Ask 10 beekeepers a question and you'll get 20 different answers.' 
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Posted: 4/27/2021 12:34:00 AM EDT
[#12]
I check the hive about 3 days after installing, to make sure the queen is released or to release her.
But akin to what your wife said, that's my opinion! |
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Posted: 4/27/2021 1:39:09 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rcav8r: I check the hive about 3 days after installing, to make sure the queen is released or to release her. But akin to what your wife said, that's my opinion! I may or may not admit that the queen was released while installing due to a couple of the five thumbs of the unhired help.  She was very ready to get out when I removed the wrong plug and she was summarily dumped into the bottom of the hive. We're crossing our fingers as hopeless newbies as we're trying to build a hive to make it through next winter. |
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Posted: 4/29/2021 7:09:21 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Worker bee producing wax from its body: https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-35d0d7e2e1b05f37e15f305a564a1255 I had no idea that’s how they excreted wax |
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Posted: 5/4/2021 4:23:44 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HELOBRAVO: 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. I just ordered one of your uncappers a few days ago Excited to try it out - especially hoping for a lot less mess. So far it looks like the bees are making some decent amount of honey. Hopefully the weather/rainfall is more evenly distributed this summer and fall. I also thought I would try out some saskatraz bees this year. Well that didn’t work out too good, but at least I got refunded my purchase price. Bought two packages, got them in the basement so they would’ve been about 65F and out of the sun. Didn’t have time to check them too closely that evening after work due to an emergency and poor weather anyways that evening. Checked them the next afternoon - they were 95% dead. All slumped on the bottom. Probably just too many days on the road in the back of a likely hot truck, and not enough food and water for them. Many had their tongues sticking out the sides of the box. Shame. Whoever packaged them put in some blue/green jello like stuff, that they didn’t really seem to care for. One queen survived out of two packages, but she’s only got maybe 200 bees left. I guess I could give her a frame of uncapped and capped brood (Italian/carniolan mix probably) to help them out, but not sure if even with that they will survive. |
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Posted: 5/4/2021 4:29:34 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HDGator: I may or may not admit that the queen was released while installing due to a couple of the five thumbs of the unhired help. She was very ready to get out when I removed the wrong plug and she was summarily dumped into the bottom of the hive. We're crossing our fingers as hopeless newbies as we're trying to build a hive to make it through next winter. She’s probably OK Last summer I lost a couple queens. Not sure why as they were all first year queens and had been laying lots of eggs up through July when we got into a drought. If they absconded or swarmed, they didn’t take many with them. But one of the hives, I got the queen, and was a little too anxious to get her freed. They appeared to have accepted her so I figured it was safe. What does she do as soon as I unplugged the box? I watched her fly out, circled the open box a couple times, then fly off toward a cherry tree about 15 yards away. It was getting late in the day, so Inhad the close up the box and hope for the best. I think It was about 3-4 days later I found her right back in the box. |
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Posted: 5/4/2021 6:11:23 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By JQ66: I just ordered one of your uncappers a few days ago Excited to try it out - especially hoping for a lot less mess. So far it looks like the bees are making some decent amount of honey. Hopefully the weather/rainfall is more evenly distributed this summer and fall. I also thought I would try out some saskatraz bees this year. Well that didn’t work out too good, but at least I got refunded my purchase price. Bought two packages, got them in the basement so they would’ve been about 65F and out of the sun. Didn’t have time to check them too closely that evening after work due to an emergency and poor weather anyways that evening. Checked them the next afternoon - they were 95% dead. All slumped on the bottom. Probably just too many days on the road in the back of a likely hot truck, and not enough food and water for them. Many had their tongues sticking out the sides of the box. Shame. Whoever packaged them put in some blue/green jello like stuff, that they didn’t really seem to care for. One queen survived out of two packages, but she’s only got maybe 200 bees left. I guess I could give her a frame of uncapped and capped brood (Italian/carniolan mix probably) to help them out, but not sure if even with that they will survive. Where did you get the bees? I've heard a rumor that Mann Lake is having a good percentage of their packages die off, supposedly because the gel feed isn't done right. Only a rumor though. I've never gotten the gel in a package, just 1:1 syrup in a can. I had one dead queen DOA out of the 6 packages I got, and got a replacement. I need to go check that she's been released. |
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Posted: 5/5/2021 10:22:43 AM EDT
[#18]
My bee supplier says he's shipping today. What's the typical shipping time for USPS? Reason is, Friday I have a medical procedure out of town and wont' be able to drive to get them.
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Posted: 5/5/2021 10:42:35 AM EDT
[#19]
And what's the preferred way to release a package? I plan to tie the queen's cage to one of the frames for 3-4 days, then release the rubber plug and replace with a marshmallow.
I want to remove half the frames, put the hive covers on and open the bee package. Or leave all the frames in the lower box, remove frames from the upper box and put the bee package in the upper box. What's the right way to do it? |
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Posted: 5/5/2021 2:49:35 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By rcav8r: Where did you get the bees? I've heard a rumor that Mann Lake is having a good percentage of their packages die off, supposedly because the gel feed isn't done right. Only a rumor though. I've never gotten the gel in a package, just 1:1 syrup in a can. I had one dead queen DOA out of the 6 packages I got, and got a replacement. I need to go check that she's been released. That’s who I bought them from. Now the saskatraz was coming first from the west coast, they might’ve said who the beekeeper out there was. Then to their warehouse in Wilkes barre (in my case). Then another 2-3 days on a UPS truck. So that’s just too much time in transit. Probably 3-5 days tops is what they can handle. And I think that jello stuff was garbage. No moisture in it I ordered another two packages of mix Italian/carniolan from barnyard bees. I also ordered these as I wasn’t sure one of my surviving three hives was going to make it this far. Really low numbers during my first inspection this year. But I put another frame of brood in there a few weeks ago and so far doing better. And she’s been laying eggs decently. I don’t think he’s shipped mine yet as I asked for them in early May - to avoid any of the cold spell we got last week. But who knows with the USPS being so screwed up - that how he shipped the last year. |
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CO, USA
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Posted: 5/5/2021 5:01:13 PM EDT
[#21]
So y'all are tracking, if you're a Ham radio operator there is a TGIF Talkgroup for beekeepers now, TG #555
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Posted: 5/5/2021 5:06:41 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: And what's the preferred way to release a package? I plan to tie the queen's cage to one of the frames for 3-4 days, then release the rubber plug and replace with a marshmallow. I want to remove half the frames, put the hive covers on and open the bee package. Or leave all the frames in the lower box, remove frames from the upper box and put the bee package in the upper box. What's the right way to do it? Pry the lid off the package, get the syrup can out, then the queen cage out quickly, and place the lid back over the hole for the moment. Your queen cage should have candy on one end. Pull the cork on that end, and either hang the cage candy side up, or smoosh it into the comb if you have any. Make sure the screened side of the cage is facing sideways, not into comb or foundation. Move up a frame of comb or foundation against the other side of the cage, so it's sandwiched between frames. Next, at least one frame over, make an opening at least 3 frames wide. Grab your package, remove the lid, and turn it over (while over the hive), and shake the bees out into the hive into the opening in the frames. Tilt the box while shaking to get them all out. You will probably have a good number of bees left in the package. Put it in front of the hive, and make a ramp from the cage to the entrance. You may be able to use the lid for this. Now gently put the missing frames back in the hole you made to dump the bees. Easier to simply insert them from above, rather than sliding them over. Do it gently so the bees can move out of the way. Put in your feeder if you are going to feed internally, then close up the hive. Come back 3 days later to insure the queen has been released. If not, pull the cork from the other end (and make sure you do it over the hive). Put the cage on top of the frames and wait for the queen and attendant to go out. You can encourage them a bit by tilting the cage and shaking a little bit. |
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Posted: 5/5/2021 5:08:23 PM EDT
[#23]
Oh, and only use 1 deep box to start!
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Posted: 5/5/2021 10:34:59 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge: There are many good reasons to use queen excluders. I think that they are one of the most valuable pieces of beekeeping equipment. I've never used them, but may start with this new bunch of bees (if we succeed in getting them to take off). @cuttingedge will you talk about how you use them or don't use them? Or give tips for using them? I'm not sure, in all these years, that this subject has been covered much. |
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Posted: 5/5/2021 10:36:48 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Worker bee producing wax from its body: https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-35d0d7e2e1b05f37e15f305a564a1255 Frank did you take that photo? That's awesome! |
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Posted: 5/6/2021 12:16:53 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: Frank did you take that photo? That's awesome! No, not my photo, it's from online somewhere. kind of gives me the willies, y'know? 
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Posted: 5/6/2021 10:26:26 AM EDT
[#27]
 How to Install a Package of Bees |
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Posted: 5/6/2021 11:38:26 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge: There are many good reasons to use queen excluders. I think that they are one of the most valuable pieces of beekeeping equipment. agreed!!! |
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Posted: 5/6/2021 11:40:01 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Vespid_Wasp]
[#29]
Yesterday was a good day!
 17 splits and one swarm. |
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Posted: 5/7/2021 6:15:38 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cleaner: So y'all are tracking, if you're a Ham radio operator there is a TGIF Talkgroup for beekeepers now, TG #555 Interesting! Someday I will finish studying and take my test. 
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Posted: 5/7/2021 6:17:12 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Vespid_Wasp: Yesterday was a good day! https://scontent.ftol1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/182676180_10115557224120088_179758011023841377_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=825194&_nc_ohc=Db57E9782bAAX-2gweN&_nc_ht=scontent.ftol1-1.fna&oh=44827124a20b832ab46e78781d8fd543&oe=60BB9B38 17 splits and one swarm. Wow!!! 
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IL, USA
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Posted: 5/9/2021 11:22:36 AM EDT
[#32]
So this is a pretty amazing thread at 138 pages! Clearly a wealth of information.
Aaaaand a bit daunting and overwhelming too. The wife and I are talking about getting a hive to put in the back corner of our two acre property. Amazon has a lot of kits and resources at what seem like good prices. Our plan is to buy into one of these kits as a learning experience, and if we enjoy it, I'll build more hives in my workshop and try expanding. My question is: Is there are "boiled down" start-up procedure? Maybe a step by step with some links to resources? Can @kitties-with-Sigs then maybe put it in the original post? I still plan on skimming the whole thread of info, but in the meantime, I'd like some info to make an informed decision! Thanks! |
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Posted: 5/9/2021 12:16:51 PM EDT
[#33]
Get "Beekeeping for Dummies", 5th edition, for basic information.
Then do some serious reading and video watching on mite control. Find a local bee club, even if it's online. It's already getting late to be starting a hive for this year, so take the time to plan ahead and learn. Maybe find a local mentor who can show you stuff over the rest of the year. |
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IL, USA
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Posted: 5/9/2021 12:35:28 PM EDT
[#34]
This is great advice, many thanks.
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Posted: 5/9/2021 12:48:27 PM EDT
[#35]
I like the 'Beekeeping Like a Girl' series. A lady in San Diego has a good deal of good info.
She's easy on the eyes, too! One thing to remember is this: if you ask 10 beekeepers a question, you'll get 15 answers. S'truth! And lots of people have very strong opinions about stuff: just google (or search this thread) on the subject of Queen Excluders. So pick & choose the answers you like. It's a very good thing that to a certain extent, bees can be very forgiving. |
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MT, USA
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Posted: 5/9/2021 12:55:43 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By JQ66: I also thought I would try out some saskatraz bees this year. Well that didn’t work out too good, but at least I got refunded my purchase price. Bought two packages, got them in the basement so they would’ve been about 65F and out of the sun. Didn’t have time to check them too closely that evening after work due to an emergency and poor weather anyways that evening. Checked them the next afternoon - they were 95% dead. All slumped on the bottom. Probably just too many days on the road in the back of a likely hot truck, and not enough food and water for them. Many had their tongues sticking out the sides of the box. Shame. Whoever packaged them put in some blue/green jello like stuff, that they didn’t really seem to care for. One queen survived out of two packages, but she’s only got maybe 200 bees left. I guess I could give her a frame of uncapped and capped brood (Italian/carniolan mix probably) to help them out, but not sure if even with that they will survive. I have seen thousands of hives running saskatraz queens for a number of years now. They are good queens but you never know what you are going to get. Some are dark and act like old world carnolians; meaning they don't want to lay eggs without some sort of natural flow. They never get to be huge hives. Other saskatraz queens are very yellow, almost red and will not stop laying eggs. Some will get so hungry they chew brood back so that the queen can keep laying eggs. They become huge hive with huge mite populations. Most of the queens are somewhere in-between and make great hives, problem is you never know what you are going to be getting. Only after you get the queens you can see what lines they came from. The gel in the packages are a new thing. It is not proven yet. I would guess you got your package from MannLake? I heard mannlake ordered half thier packages with the gel this year as a trial. I made a few packages using the gel this year and wasn't too impressed. The gel fell out of the can in a good portion of the packages. The biggest problem I see with the gel is that there is not enough water in it. Bees need water, more than you might expect, especially when fed dry feed. |
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Posted: 5/9/2021 10:20:41 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By efxguy: So this is a pretty amazing thread at 138 pages! Clearly a wealth of information. Aaaaand a bit daunting and overwhelming too. The wife and I are talking about getting a hive to put in the back corner of our two acre property. Amazon has a lot of kits and resources at what seem like good prices. Our plan is to buy into one of these kits as a learning experience, and if we enjoy it, I'll build more hives in my workshop and try expanding. My question is: Is there are "boiled down" start-up procedure? Maybe a step by step with some links to resources? Can @kitties-with-Sigs then maybe put it in the original post? I still plan on skimming the whole thread of info, but in the meantime, I'd like some info to make an informed decision! Thanks! This is a VERY good suggestion! Thank you for asking for what you need, so we can help others more effectively. I can't do it today, but I will attempt to distill some information and put it on the original post. Actually, I have wanted to index this thread for some time, but that is a daunting task. It needs to be done so the information is not lost. The advice to get "Beekeeping for Dummies" is good advice. A second set of advice is to find your local beekeeping club or association. Often these meet at the county extension agent's office, or in some local free meeting place, and there is where you will gain real knowledge AND a mentor or three. Everybody needs help starting beekeeping. The first time you have a million angry, stinging bugs flying around you while you try to determine whether you have a laying queen, can be daunting. If you've been to your mentor's hives and watched/helped while he/she opened the hives, did an inspection, and showed you what's up, you will be a million times ahead. Can you do it just by reading? Yes you can. Would I do it just by reading? No, I would not. I would find myself a network of good folks with experience. I would learn from the books, I would learn from them. I would enroll in "bee school" if it is within driving distance. These usually cost about $20-30, and include lunch. You get help from everybody including university professors and some of the most experience beekeepers in the country...people like @Cuttingedge and many others here on this forum. While our forum is amazing and you can get excellent help, nothing is like being there. And it's FUN. Often there is a "field day" associated with the bee schools. They will have a track for beginners. You should go to every class. Okay so that's my two cents. Welcome to beekeeping, and I hope you end up loving it. Ask questions here. We will help all we can. |
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Posted: 5/9/2021 10:31:57 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FrankSymptoms: I like the 'Beekeeping Like a Girl' series. A lady in San Diego has a good deal of good info. She's easy on the eyes, too! One thing to remember is this: if you ask 10 beekeepers a question, you'll get 15 answers. S'truth! And lots of people have very strong opinions about stuff: just google (or search this thread) on the subject of Queen Excluders. So pick & choose the answers you like. It's a very good thing that to a certain extent, bees can be very forgiving. This Big font is the truth. So you listen to all of it, and you learn to pay attention to who has done research, or who is quoting research, and who is just talking from his/her own experience. Just because Beekeeper Joe says you should never do X, but always do Y, doesn't mean that will work with YOUR bees. If university research, and the consensus of the "larger" beekeeping community shares something in classes, you might give that information a little more credence. BUT....that does not mean you won't learn from the old timer who never set foot in a classroom. If he keeps good, healthy bees, pay attention. Just don't take every little thing he says as gospel. Beekeeping is largely science with a nice-size slice of art included. The "art" of it, is the skill you get from observation, record keeping, and not taking for granted that because the wind blew that day, your queen laid more eggs. (Is this making sense at all?) There's a lot of pseudo-science in beekeeping. There's a right fair bit of bullshit in some circles. So....the first Joe Beekeeper who offers to help you? Yeah, appreciate the hell out of that guy/girl. Learn from him. But listen to others, and if seven people say, "no, don't do that," you should take note that maybe there are other ways to look at it. That's where reading comes in very handy. The newsletter from your state apiarist (you do have one, somewhere) and the information put out by local clubs, regional and national beekeeping associations, etc, is of great value. One thing to note is....you do need to become acquainted with beekeepers in your area because.....beekeeping varies a little by region. What will work for someone up in Maine, may not work for somebody down in Georgia, or out in Frank's area in the more arid west. Okay I've rambled, but what Frank suggested about ask 10 beekeepers, get 15 answers is dead on. One of the difficulties is sorting through all that. My goal with this ramble was to help with that, so it won't seem as difficult.
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Posted: 5/9/2021 10:36:33 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By HDGator: Looks like I'm in. Here's a pic of the wife starting to transfer her first package late last week for our first hive. I'm proud of her. She took this on by herself and took a local class for a month of Saturdays and assembled everything on her own. She ended up getting my help as a five thumbed assistant that didn't know anything. I've been busy as heck since our move from FL last fall and didn't need a new hobby right now. But I think this one will be worth the effort to assist her. After 4 days, the hive's been really active with the temps finally warming up close to 70 today. Something knocked out the reducer bar in the entrance last night. She texted her local mentor and he thinks it was a skunk. She replaced it and will wait a few more days before disturbing them again. Based on her local mentors, they recommend not disturbing the new hive and letting them get settled for a week before reopening the hive to check the activity. I've got a lot to learn to support her in this; but it looks like we've entered a new venture. She says they all told her 'Ask 10 beekeepers a question and you'll get 20 different answers.' https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/437928/20210422_150641-small-1920536.jpg I can't see that I responded to this. The forum is acting funny for me tonight, so forgive me if this is a repeat, but... Welcome! Good on you for supporting that. Fun to see what y'all are doing! |
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Posted: 5/10/2021 11:16:54 AM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By NEG: I have seen thousands of hives running saskatraz queens for a number of years now. They are good queens but you never know what you are going to get. Some are dark and act like old world carnolians; meaning they don't want to lay eggs without some sort of natural flow. They never get to be huge hives. Other saskatraz queens are very yellow, almost red and will not stop laying eggs. Some will get so hungry they chew brood back so that the queen can keep laying eggs. They become huge hive with huge mite populations. Most of the queens are somewhere in-between and make great hives, problem is you never know what you are going to be getting. Only after you get the queens you can see what lines they came from. The gel in the packages are a new thing. It is not proven yet. I would guess you got your package from MannLake? I heard mannlake ordered half thier packages with the gel this year as a trial. I made a few packages using the gel this year and wasn't too impressed. The gel fell out of the can in a good portion of the packages. The biggest problem I see with the gel is that there is not enough water in it. Bees need water, more than you might expect, especially when fed dry feed. It was ML. And that gello did not seem to have much moisture in it That’s going to be a painful season for ML refunding so many people. I did get a full refund. I wanted to try the Saskatraz due to their reported cold winter tolerance and for supposed more resistance. There’s a beekeeper/breeder in in WV who sells queens that are supposed to have better mite resistance, but he sells out fast - New River Honeybees. |
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Posted: 5/10/2021 11:20:48 AM EDT
[Last Edit: JQ66]
[#41]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By efxguy: So this is a pretty amazing thread at 138 pages! Clearly a wealth of information. Aaaaand a bit daunting and overwhelming too. The wife and I are talking about getting a hive to put in the back corner of our two acre property. Amazon has a lot of kits and resources at what seem like good prices. Our plan is to buy into one of these kits as a learning experience, and if we enjoy it, I'll build more hives in my workshop and try expanding. My question is: Is there are "boiled down" start-up procedure? Maybe a step by step with some links to resources? Can @kitties-with-Sigs then maybe put it in the original post? I still plan on skimming the whole thread of info, but in the meantime, I'd like some info to make an informed decision! Thanks! Also consider taking the PSU agricultural extension online beekeeper 101 course Couldn’t beat it last year as it was offered free to all at the start of the lockdowns. Not sure what the charge is now. Maybe not that cheap, now, but I thought it was pretty valuable. They occasionally offer some additional online seminars too. Didn’t cover everything. So still had some expensive lessons to learn that only actual experience gives you (laying workers - what a mess) |
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IL, USA
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Posted: 5/10/2021 12:21:12 PM EDT
[#42]
I have the Beekeeping for Dummies book on its way!
Apparently its late to start a hive this year, so I will plan for the coming spring. I have an idea for putting up a hive: Has anyone driven four steel T-Posts into the ground in a square and used this kind of bracket to mount the actual hive? Fence Bracket I wonder if that would be more critter resistant than blocks. Also I have a bunch of T-Posts on hand. 
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Posted: 5/10/2021 12:36:56 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By efxguy: I have the Beekeeping for Dummies book on its way! Apparently its late to start a hive this year, so I will plan for the coming spring. I have an idea for putting up a hive: Has anyone driven four steel T-Posts into the ground in a square and used this kind of bracket to mount the actual hive? Fence Bracket I wonder if that would be more critter resistant than blocks. Also I have a bunch of T-Posts on hand. Might actually be kind of a pain for the beekeeper, if the posts extend past the bottom board. Plus a full hive could be a few hundred pounds fully loaded with honey, nectar, frames, etc. |
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Posted: 5/10/2021 8:37:16 PM EDT
[#44]
I doubt it’s too late to get started if you’re in IL.
Just maybe difficult to source a package. And nuns may be already sold out or spoken for, If it’s been like here, there’s been some very nice warm days but more cold. So no clover yet, and stuff like corn and other crops, plus milkweed is yet to come. |
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Posted: 5/10/2021 10:38:28 PM EDT
[#45]
I just established my hive! 3# package from Backyard Bees got installed today.
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Posted: 5/10/2021 10:52:26 PM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By JQ66: It was ML. And that gello did not seem to have much moisture in it That’s going to be a painful season for ML refunding so many people. I did get a full refund. I wanted to try the Saskatraz due to their reported cold winter tolerance and for supposed more resistance. There’s a beekeeper/breeder in in WV who sells queens that are supposed to have better mite resistance, but he sells out fast - New River Honeybees. My advice with Saskatraz is save your money. The person you referenced (Jason Bragg- New River) makes excellent queens and we have done a few projects together. He has also done some insemination work for me in the past. If you ask him about Saskatraz, you are likely going to get a very similar answer. There are reasons that serious queen breeders don’t have those queens. |
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Posted: 5/11/2021 2:08:33 AM EDT
[#47]
Was chatting with Dann Purvis the other day about bringing back his Goldline queens if we can dedicate some space to queen rearing, this will be much needed with some of the varroa issues we've had the last few years. Anyone who is newer to beekeeping and doesn't know the Purvis name, give it a search
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Posted: 5/11/2021 3:10:03 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cuttingedge: My advice with Saskatraz is save your money. The person you referenced (Jason Bragg- New River) makes excellent queens and we have done a few projects together. He has also done some insemination work for me in the past. If you ask him about Saskatraz, you are likely going to get a very similar answer. There are reasons that serious queen breeders don’t have those queens. Well looks like it was a free one as it turned out. And I will keep that in mind for the future. Not putting any more effort into that group of bees with what’s left. If they make it to next year then good, if not, nothing lost then. Couldn’t have been more than 150-200 bees left plus the queen. |
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Posted: 5/11/2021 9:36:09 PM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cleaner: Was chatting with Dann Purvis the other day about bringing back his Goldline queens if we can dedicate some space to queen rearing, this will be much needed with some of the varroa issues we've had the last few years. Anyone who is newer to beekeeping and doesn't know the Purvis name, give it a search Haven’t heard that name in a while. Those Purvis Golden queens used to be very popular. |
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Posted: 5/11/2021 10:01:33 PM EDT
[Last Edit: DUX4LIFE]
[#50]
@cuttingedge
Jason, I've watched a lot of your FB videos on your queen development. I haven't seen though what you are using for stock. Are they Italians, Carniolians, or what? Also,Your suggestion on going to single brood boxes worked out so well last year that I am converting the other 1/3 of my hives to singles... |
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