BEE KEEPING

[hoot owl]

I have been keeping bees off and on since the lats 70s. At this time I have around 40 hives and over see the Branson Mo. bee club with about 30 members if every one showed up at one time.
If you have questions ask here, If you have something to say remember bee keeping is local. What works for you may not work for someone else.
Example = I have 7 locations where I have hives, they are all with in a 20 mile radius as the crow flies. Each location is different therefor the hives are different.
Just like people we are the same but different.

Let's get this thing humming.
Jim
Hoot Owl Lane Bees LLc

 

[Bee-Positive]

As I get older...

 

[Code]

This is something on my todo list. We have a big garden and 100 acres of alfalfa surrounding us. Id love some beginner reference that come from someone who knows what they are doing. Can be books or whatever. Theres too much crap out there regarding it.

I have been keeping bees off and on since the lats 70s. At this time I have around 40 hives and over see the Branson Mo. bee club with about 30 members if every one showed up at one time.
If you have questions ask here, If you have something to say remember bee keeping is local. What works for you may not work for someone else.
Example = I have 7 locations where I have hives, they are all with in a 20 mile radius as the crow flies. Each location is different therefor the hives are different.
Just like people we are the same but different.

Let's get this thing humming.
Jim
Hoot Owl Lane Bees LLc

 

[Bee-Positive]

This is something on my todo list. We have a big garden and 100 acres of alfalfa surrounding us. Id love some beginner reference that come from someone who knows what they are doing. Can be books or whatever. Theres too much crap out there regarding it.

JOIN A CLUB!!!! Search on-line and see if there are any clubs close to your location and when they meet. As Hoot Owl said get advise relative to you and where you live. Not the same advise as somebody needs in the south or here in the east.

Sit in a local club meeting to see if it's to your liking before joining.
Beginners classes, books, mentoring, meetings with ask a beekeeper session, seminars etc.
No better way to get to know what bee keeping is all about.

Just like OTT - ask a 3 beekeepers their opinions and you'll get 4 different answers.

Start here maybe...

Southwest Idaho Natural Beekeepers Club
2130 S Pacific St
Boise, ID 83705-3962

 

[skeets]

I had 2 swarms last year I tried to catch, nada,, And the price of a nuc is pretty high

 

[hoot owl]

As far as books go, I started with First Lessons in Beekeeping (still in print) and Beekeeping for Dummies is what one of the bigger clubs in our area uses now for beginners classes.
First question you need to ask your self is DO I MIND GETTING STUNG???
Because you WILL no mater how you suet up.

2 good you tubers are Duck Ridge Honey and Bob Binnie. There are others but they are two I like.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Because you WILL no mater how you suet up.

This is your problem you've been doing it all wrong!
Your baiting yourself by "suet up"!
Try to suit up, you'll get stung a lot less!

Sorry couldn't help myself.
Carry on!

 

[hoot owl]

That's what happens when you rely on spell check.
In my younger days I worked hives in shorts and moccasins.
No I use the full body SUIT so I can work faster and check all hives in one day.

 

[hoot owl]

Another good you tube https://www.youtube.com/@JeffHorchoff

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

That's what happens when you rely on spell check.
In my younger days I worked hives in shorts and moccasins.
No I use the full body SUIT so I can work faster and check all hives in one day.

For me bee stings smart, but they are ok and calm down quick.
Now Yellow Jacket Wasps and Bald Faced Hornets, that a whole other story!

 

[hagrid]

I, Spraynard, am an amateur apiarist, apprentice to my grandpappy. He got stung a lot.

Teh beez are happy when there's plenty of nectar about. Beez ignore Spraynard.

During a drought/dry spell there is no nectar. Teh beez are unhappy. They eyeball Spraynard and examine his every move with scorn.

 

[BBFarmer]

Now Yellow Jacket Wasps and Bald Faced Hornets, that a whole other story!

You aint lyin, can stand a wasp. They just fly around and act like @$$holes all day. Love the bees though.

Any of y'all see any of these dudes before? Ran into this fella a couple years ago. Look closely, there is actually two of those massive spiders he (or actually I reckon it'd be a she) brought to the party.

The youngins love watching that Brave Wilderness show and I've seen a great deal about the Tarantula Hawk Wasp on there. I figured that this was some sort of variant of that. Never seen one red before though. Moved like one with the crazy wing flickers and dartin around.

Above and beyond your standard yellow jackets, wasps, and hornets, we get massive red wasps here in the summer. I aint gonna say this dude was twice the size of our massive red wasp, but man it sure had to be close. Impressive mofo nonetheless.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

For me bee stings smart, but they are ok and calm down quick.

Well, depends. When you get stung by a single bee (because she felt attacked) miles away from the hive, you pull out the sting as quickly as possible and that's it. But if you inspect a hive and get a sting they all go for you. They smell the venom and try to sting you too. Better to close the hive and walk away. They still smell the venom on the clothes / gloves a week later, so we figured if you get stung you have to wash those.

Typically you try to breed calm bees but in Ireland beekepers still like the black native bee (apis mellifera mellifera) which is kindof aggressive but gets a good yield with normally only 14 days per season to collect nectar (thanks to the weather).

And when you inspect a hive, lift up a honey box without twisting it first (typical beginners mistake) and hence lifting up a few frames from below that were gunked together and those frames then come loose and crash into the box below you only have one option (suit or no suit): run !

 

[Hugo Habicht]

I had 2 swarms last year I tried to catch, nada,, And the price of a nuc is pretty high

How did you catch them?

I caught one of my own swarms (I know, negligence) by holding a box with a few frames under the swarm and simply cut off the branch they were hanging off. Lid on, box fully closed, and leave them over night (!) in the basement / garage. Then you put out the hive and open the entrance. Worked fine.

Swarming erases their flight radius memory, so they will go back into the new hive and not go back to the old hive.

 

[skeets]

How did you catch them?

I caught one of my own swarms (I know, negligence) by holding a box with a few frames under the swarm and simply cut off the branch they were hanging off. Lid on, box fully closed, and leave them over night (!) in the basement / garage. Then you put out the hive and open the entrance. Worked fine.

Swarming erases their flight radius memory, so they will go back into the new hive and not go back to the old hive.

Neither swarm would go in to the boxes, I had foundation and a feeder in both, they emptied the feeder but never moved in, I dont know what I did wrong but I missed both of them

 

[Hugo Habicht]

You have to force them into the new hive box and lock them in initially.

When they swarm they normally hang in a big cluster on a tree branch, the queen inside somewhere. Then they send out scout bees to find a new place for a hive. This can take a while. You shake the swarm into the box or I prefer to simply cut the branch so that they all fall into the box. Entrance closed off already and the lid ready to go on top and they are trapped. Then leave them locked in overnight.

No need for food, they have their bellies full when they swarm but you can put one honey frame in, just in case. Put that on the outside and ideally drawn out brood comb in the rest of the box so that the queen can start laying.

I use a box with frames and an empty box on top for extra space. The next day when they have settled in I fill the top box with frames.

 

[hoot owl]

I have caught 100s of swarms. Mabey 3 or 4 of my own. I put out about 30 swarm traps around water facing south. I use 10 frame boxes with 4 top bars in the center, then 2 drawn frames, one on each side. Fill the rest of the box with frames with starter strips. A shot/spray of swarm commander and hang it about 5' off the ground. I don't have move the hive until I am ready and by using the 10 frame box I can move them straight to the permeant location. I give them away most of the time unless they are very large.