Bees

[user 7704]

My mentor said get the tack strips too. Great minds.

 

[user 7704]

I just got the call to pick up my 2 nucs of Italian bees. I don't think I remember how to drive.

It's in the woods and I won't be around others. He's going to load them so I won't have contact.

 

[user 7704]

Got my bees. Very active so I only found the queen in one box. I'll let them calm down then check on Friday.

I was transferring them to box and husband drove in and stopped to take a picture. I told him they were very riled and it was dangerous. He got it right in the ear. I warned him. Muahahahahaha

 

[GaRp58]

We have all seen, read and heard how very stupid and destructive the human animal can be...how shocking even more if it is a direct destruction of one of the two most important insects that Mother Nature has. The following picture was made in Eastern Europe and I do not know if it was a natural disaster, (extremely doubful), if it was an act of frustration, anger or even revenge, (more probable), of just a hateful, spiteful and unjustified act of human stupidity. The cause is no longer important. The end product will never be understood and the perpetrator will never be understood either. I cannot describe what I feel when I see something like this and I can never believe what other humans do and are capable of doing. Only judge for youselves and pray God and Nature will recover from the loss.......in tears, Gary

These are around 40 families of bees and their graveyard...........GP

 

[Wiredog8]

I've decided to spend this year accumulating hives and materials as well as reading up all i can find on running an apiary.
I have a past co-worker who is heavy into bees and runs 40 hives. I'll be getting a few nukes from him next spring and hopefully be successful in my endeavors.
I have also been collecting heirloom seeds to plant a garden and preferred flower species for bees to plant next spring.

 

[TexasFreedom]

WD8, join a local club & start learning. Learn a good bit before your first colony, otherwise you'll be throwing money away. 40 colonies isn't really 'heavy' into bees, he's not even at the 'sideliner' level yet. But he's got plenty of experience to be really helpful. Always remember that beekeeping is local, very local. 10 miles one way or another can be a completely different ball of wax.

Gary, beekeepers make plenty of mistakes on their own, they don't need help killing colonies. I remember reading about one fellow who had 100k colonies going into winter, and came out with 50k. Talk about losses...

Robin, sounds good! Make sure they have good stores & let them bloom. Remember that beekeepers have been practicing social distancing for 1000's of years.

 

[user 7704]

Prepping to put another deep box on hives and pulled the frames from the plastic bags and some had mold on them.

I scraped the ones with plastic foundation and about that time my mentor called and said I had wasted my time because the bees would clean the mess. Oh well, better safe than sorry.

He advised me to wait another week before adding another box too. I found some frames that need a little repair on the bottom slat. Should have done all of this last Fall, but life got in my way.

Definitely need to buy some new foundations. I mangled mine during the harvest.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Robin, I would recommend 3 choices: 1. Plastic. 2. Foundationless. 3. Starter Strips. #3 is taking a 3/4" strip of plastic foundation and securing that on top. The bees start with it, but build all the comb below. That lets them build larger cells for drones (rather than making it between boxes) or you can cut it for comb honey. Wax foundation is a mess from the beginning.

 

[user 7704]

Robin, I would recommend 3 choices: 1. Plastic. 2. Foundationless. 3. Starter Strips. #3 is taking a 3/4" strip of plastic foundation and securing that on top. The bees start with it, but build all the comb below. That lets them build larger cells for drones (rather than making it between boxes) or you can cut it for comb honey. Wax foundation is a mess from the beginning.

I agree the wax is messy especially if it gets the least bit warm or brittle from cold.

I like the plastic a lot. Most of my Supers are plastic and much easier to harvest the honey

 

[Maverick]

Asia's 'murder hornet' lands in US for first time

https://www.foxnews.com/science/asia-murder-hornet-in-us-first-time

 

[TexasFreedom]

Asia's 'murder hornet' lands in US for first time
https://www.foxnews.com/science/asia-murder-hornet-in-us-first-time

Makes great dramatic news, but fizzles in reality. 2 colonies were found last year, one in Vancouver & one in Washington State. Both were destroyed. Beekeepers in the regions are on full alert to see signs of another colony of these hornets. I predict they have been/will be stopped in their tracks. Japanese bees have adapted to kill these hornets.

 

[user 7704]

Asia's 'murder hornet' lands in US for first time

https://www.foxnews.com/science/asia-murder-hornet-in-us-first-time

It's even trending on twitter. I'm sure it's all Trump's fault

 

[Maverick]

It's even trending on twitter. I'm sure it's all Trump's fault

Luckily these are easier to identify than killer bees thus easier to locate and destroy but that's all our honey bee population in the states need is another threat.

 

[Maverick]

Makes great dramatic news, but fizzles in reality. 2 colonies were found last year, one in Vancouver & one in Washington State. Both were destroyed. Beekeepers in the regions are on full alert to see signs of another colony of these hornets. I predict they have been/will be stopped in their tracks. Japanese bees have adapted to kill these hornets.

 

[DrHenley]

Texas, I know you like Africanized hybrids, have you ever seen anything like this?
It's like bee beserkers, LOL.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Yup... see the video. The guy is an idiot. Total moron. He may or may not know about beekeeping, but he has zero knowledge or experience dealing with defensive bees.

I've dealt with far worse. At 10:25, he shows his glove with plenty of bees. I've had 5 times that many bees on my face trying to sting through my hoodie, plenty of times (1000's of times). To the point where it can be hard to see. To me that is not a big deal. But old farts who've done this over and over change some of our equipment and understand the nature of the bees. And if your bees are not like this around my area, just wait 6 months and your colonies will change. I've spoken to two friends just this week who've caught multiple africanized small swarms trying to take over one of their hives.

BTW, my average hive is about as defensive as that video (average!). And I have no problem with them. But compared to Italians, it's like saying you have a pet cat vs saying you have a pet tiger!

Edit: look at 22:30. Look at how he zips his hoodie. Can't even do that right. He said he's worked aggressive hives in Africa? Sure. Whatever. Can you tell I'm not happy with this idiot?

 

[user 7704]

Since the temp is down tomorrow (low 80s) I'm going to suit up and see if I can get a frame or two of honey. My mentor said that I probably need to feed them some sugar water until the golden rod starts blooming.

 

[user 7704]

Texas Freedom, it cooled this week and I suited up to check for honey. I have the original base deep then I put another large one on in the Spring. A few weeks later I added the small honey super. When I started checking, I was rather shocked because I dont have much honey in the supers. I was planning on leaving 8 frames, but since only 2 or 3 have honey, I'm leaving it all and feeding them all Winter. My mentor said that they may have a good Fall and that will help.

 

[Jayson]

I like bees, except for the one that stung me on top of my head yesterday.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Robin,

The first year of growing a hive, the general rule is that you leave them any honey they collect. Feeding them to get the wax drawn in the top box might help. Put out a little, see if they take it. If they don't take it, there is still nectar available out there. It's hard to feed during winter due to the cold, better to have them stockpiled before it freezes.

 

[user 7704]

Robin,

The first year of growing a hive, the general rule is that you leave them any honey they collect. Feeding them to get the wax drawn in the top box might help. Put out a little, see if they take it. If they don't take it, there is still nectar available out there. It's hard to feed during winter due to the cold, better to have them stockpiled before it freezes.

Last year at this time I had lots more honey. Two of the hives are new because I killed them last year, but even the older one is sparce. I had so much going into last Winter they had plenty left over in the Spring. I usually go by the save 50 to 60 lbs for Winter feed. My mentor said he steals a little Summer honey but never the Fall.

 

[TexasFreedom]

How many hives in your area? Might be getting crowded. Or might just be a lighter year for honey production. Last year Spring was a fantastic production season. Last fall was between horrible & non-existent. Or it could be a disease/poison/swarming problem. Listen to your bees, they will tell you what is going on. Just this morning I was working 3 hives. 2 were doing battle with ants, moved them to address that issue.

 

[user 6493]

I have considered getting a hive,I thought maybe it would help the garden but you can't just get one and forget about it and I don't need the headache of taking care of them,I guess I will have to make do with the local bees,,,,

 

[TexasFreedom]

Rule of thumb: a hive nearby will increase a garden's output by 30%. Yes, it matters. But don't get 1 hive, you should always start with 2. Or, you can always convince a neighbor to get bees!

 

[user 7704]

I have three hives and harvested 1 small jar of honey this year. I thought I had done something wrong but my mentor said much of the state had the same situation.

We had so much rain that the bees were cooped up for days and had to eat their stores to stay alive. Therefore; no honey. I'll just have to feed them all Winter so they don't starve.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Tale of two cities, Robin. Nectar is too diluted for a few days after it rains as well. 1 jar? There are worse years, you feed 100 lbs/hive sugar and still get nothing.
(edit): AND, you still have 3 living hives.

 

[user 7704]

I'm going to try really hard not to kill these like I did last year.

 

[TexasFreedom]

Moisture is your enemy!

 

[Maverick]

Murder hornets vacuumed from Washington hive
https://www.foxnews.com/science/mur...from-washington-hive-by-space-suited-bug-pros

 

[user 7704]

I think one of my hives has absconded. The sugar hasn't been eaten. No sign of life and I dont hear buzzing. I didn't have smoke so I couldn't open frames. I didn't do anything wrong this year. Yet