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When I was first looking at what breed to go for I was really interested in Russians. Unfortunately they've only been allowed in the US for a couple of years now and there's only a couple suppliers and they're mostly on the east coast. If I end up doing a second hive I might try to get a box of Russians. I hope they come with little hats. 
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Feb 16, 2011 04:12
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I got Russian bees for my hive and I live in Cali. My supplier ships the bees too so you could get some if you wanted. They're very hardy. I haven't had a problem with pests or diseases at all. If anything they're too efficient. http://www.honeybeegenetics.com/
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Feb 16, 2011 04:20
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No one in my local guild likes Russians because they have had bad experiences with them swarming often. The italians are most of the other urban keepers favorites, I will stick with them for now though I have debated requeening either with local survivor queens or some hygenic bees. People in the Philadelphia Beekeepers guild all have similar things to say about most of their experiences with different bee types from the few meetings I have attended.
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Feb 16, 2011 04:28
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Ikantski posted:Weird. Who are you planning on getting bees from? Maybe a neighbouring island, failing that? Internet. I can order them from the UK, import shouldn't be an issue.
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Feb 16, 2011 10:13
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ReelBigLizard posted:Maybe a neighbouring island, failing that? Internet. I can order them from the UK, import shouldn't be an issue. It's definitely an advantage to get them from a local breeder or someone around the same latitude as you. I'm in Eastern Ontario, it's regularly -30C and rarely above freezing during winter. I got a 5-frame nuc on May 21st last year and they managed to fill 2 deeps and 3 honey supers. The queen was DOA too so it took them 3 weeks to make a new one so that's why I was thinking mid-June should be ok in a nice climate. Beginning of April would obviously get you much more honey.
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Feb 16, 2011 14:21
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Ikantski posted:It's definitely an advantage to get them from a local breeder or someone around the same latitude as you. I'm in Eastern Ontario, it's regularly -30C and rarely above freezing during winter. I got a 5-frame nuc on May 21st last year and they managed to fill 2 deeps and 3 honey supers. Thanks, I'll look at sellers in Brittany and the neighbouring islands first in that case. I'm not too concerned about honey capacity the first year, just getting them established and happy. Getting them in when all the apple blossom is out would be a boon too, no?
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Feb 16, 2011 14:44
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Maximusi posted:I got Russian bees for my hive and I live in Cali. My supplier ships the bees too so you could get some if you wanted. They're very hardy. I haven't had a problem with pests or diseases at all. If anything they're too efficient. I stand corrected. Awesome! Thanks for the link.
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Feb 16, 2011 15:17
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Dandelion and apples are the first good nectar flow around here, I completely missed both last year and really wish I hadn't.
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Feb 16, 2011 15:20
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Just ordered a 5 frame nuc from Noble Apiaries in Dixon, Ca for pickup in April. I cant wait!
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Feb 18, 2011 20:01
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I, too am about to take the beekeeping plunge. I'll be ordering my first colony and hive shortly, largely thanks to goon beekeeping enthusiasm.
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Feb 18, 2011 20:17
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lightpole posted:Just ordered a 5 frame nuc from Noble Apiaries in Dixon, Ca for pickup in April. I cant wait! I think you'll be happy, I got my bees from them last year and they've been doing well. Very hygienic and etc.
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Feb 18, 2011 21:10
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We ordered a package with "local queen" from Beekind this week, for pick up on april 16th. These are queens bred by a local guy which the beekind folks favor; in theory it should do better than an imported queen from somewhere far away. My plum tree in the back is already starting to bud. I'm sad that I'll again not have bees to pollinate it; last year it only produced about six sad little plums, because nothing came to visit when it bloomed in march.
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Feb 18, 2011 22:18
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My bees have been hiding from the rain. It's been nonstop pouring for a couple days. Stop raining so my bees can get to work!
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Feb 19, 2011 04:47
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[Starting] Second year beekeeper here. Had two hives, one didn't make it through the winter. Tons of dead bees, no real semblance of a cluster inside, and the bottom deep is jam packed with honey (which I'm stealing as soon as we get a good warm day to sling it out with our extractor). We checked for Varroa mites, didn't find but one with the the sugar test so we didn't treat. Didn't see any of the foul brood symptoms The hive that did make it through the winter has a healthy looking number of flights the past couple of weeks now that we've had some decent weather (70 yesterday and today). I took off the inner cover and put a feeding tray on last weekend and they appear to be chowing down. Will do an inspection probally tomorow. I am planning to requeen the dead hive by raising my own queen from our good hive using the Miller method. Good idea? Experiences anyone wants to share?
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Feb 19, 2011 15:10
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Well, it's finally begun -- after several years of pining and researching, I'm going to start a hive this year! Looking forward to joining in with discussions and experiences. I currently live in a suburb of Metro Atlanta (near Grant Park) and there are a handful of backyard beekeepers in our neighborhood. They've all been helpful so far, and I've located a source to get a nuc. They should be ready by late April. As far as hives go, I've got a hand-me-down five-frame langstroth that I can start with, but I'm kind of torn between it and buying a 8- or 10-frame langstroth hive. My grandfather and great-grandfather kept bees throughout their lifetime, and they only ever used 10 frame hives. Anyone got any experience on the benefits/disadvantages to 8- or 5-frame hives? So far it only looks like the benefit is that the hives are easier to lift. AFK SWARM OF BEES fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Feb 21, 2011 |
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Feb 21, 2011 17:54
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AFK SWARM OF BEES posted:As far as hives go, I've got a hand-me-down five-frame langstroth that I can start with, but I'm kind of torn between it and buying a 8- or 10-frame langstroth hive. My grandfather and great-grandfather kept bees throughout their lifetime, and they only ever used 10 frame hives. Anyone got any experience on the benefits/disadvantages to 8- or 5-frame hives? So far it only looks like the benefit is that the hives are easier to lift. From everything I have ever read and been told the weigh decrease is the only advantage. Disadvantages include being limited to 5 (isn't that a nuc?) and 8 frame equipment, and you need more supers for your hive since each one is smaller.
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Feb 21, 2011 18:54
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In our intro to beekeeping class, the instructor told us that bees naturally tend to form about eight combs in a wild hive. He advised us (and we followed the advice) to buy 10-frame boxes, and put eight frames in them with a follower board on each side to fill the remaining space. This gives the bees the "right" number of frames to fill, but keeps the boxes a bit lighter and easier to handle than if they had ten full frames. The follower boards are necessary to prevent the bees from filling the gaps with crazy comb. They also add a layer of air around the sides of the frames, which improves airflow during our warm summers and adds insulation during the winter. Now this is all based on this one (very experienced) beekeeper's talk; lots of beekeepers have opinions and I'm not sure how well researched many of them are, so take that into consideration. I will say though that a hive that feels crowded is more likely to swarm. If you do use 5-frame boxes, you'd better get lots of them because you need to give the bees plenty of space as the hive grows, and a nuc is going to grow like gangbusters compared to a package.
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Feb 21, 2011 20:51
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Dad and I have been running 10 frame supers for years now, never had an issue with them not filling them out properly. We should have some Red Gum honey ready to gather in the near future! The trees around us were white with flowers. Probably some of the best honey we ever had was post bushfire, all the grasstrees flowered, and the trees that survived threw up buds real quick. Honey had a really smokey sweet flavour to it.
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Feb 23, 2011 12:52
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Thanks for the info. I turned down the option for the 5-frame hive and went with 10-frames. I ordered my bees today! So excited! They will be ready the last week in April.
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Feb 23, 2011 17:09
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I dunno about you guys but my bees are repopulating like crazy. :S Please don't swarm!!
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Feb 23, 2011 20:38
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Maximusi posted:I dunno about you guys but my bees are repopulating like crazy. :S Please don't swarm!! Are you above 1000 feet? It's supposed to snow down to 1000 feet this friday night/saturday morning. The stuff up on mt. diablo is just now finishing melting off. But the weather's been nice this week and quite warm so I'm not surprised they're ramping up the population. I'm seeing a lot of stuff blooming already. Hopefully another freeze doesn't kill too many of those early flowering plants.
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Feb 23, 2011 23:14
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I live around the base of Mt. Diablo. Wow, snow, really? That'll be nice.
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Feb 24, 2011 00:03
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Just ordered my bees, I can pick them up on April 16th. I am psyched; just need to order and assemble my hive and I'll be set! I largely have Leperflesh to blame for starting my interst, and the previous and current threads for ensuring my continued interest.
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Feb 25, 2011 21:08
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Awesome! Bees are awesome. You take amazing macro pictures of bugs so we can all expect some amazing bee pictures this spring, right?
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Feb 26, 2011 03:52
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The Langstroth and the Top Bar seem to have come through the winter nicely. So very, very many bees out and about. I gave the girls some honey as a reward for getting through the winter  The langstroth only has a deep and a medium hive body on, I want to put on a super so they have enough room to not swarm since she's laying like gangbusters. Can anyone think of a downside to doing so? I'm in Texas, the seven day has a low of 38 coming up overnight but otherwise it's shorts weather again.
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Feb 26, 2011 04:29
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If the bees are at a good population and they've filled the frames they already have, they need a super. If they've not yet filled those frames, adding a super gives them more area to have to keep warm. So basically you should inspect the hive and see if they have used up that space yet or not. If it's a 10-frame setup, by the time they've filled 8 frames and are building comb on the two outside ones, that's time to add the super.
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Feb 26, 2011 04:38
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So I need to bill the community garden for the hives and bees shortly, I would like to at the same time ask for some cash for sugar to get them started. About how much sugar in pounds do you guys use on average before a new hive gets their wax laid out and is self sufficient? Its an urban hive in Philadelphia if that helps at all.
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Feb 26, 2011 16:35
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nesbit37 posted:So I need to bill the community garden for the hives and bees shortly, I would like to at the same time ask for some cash for sugar to get them started. About how much sugar in pounds do you guys use on average before a new hive gets their wax laid out and is self sufficient? Its an urban hive in Philadelphia if that helps at all. The answer is "it depends" (on the weather, how fast the bees get going, how much nectar is available, etc.). But sugar is really cheap. Buy ten pounds of sugar and mix it with ten pounds of water and you should be set for at least the first two or three weeks.
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Feb 28, 2011 09:36
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Some flowers just started blooming near me, so the bees are all out today. I saw a whole bunch of some weird kind I've never seen before though. They were all black except for a yellow stripe near their head, and one near their butt. Anyone know what they are? lovely cameraphone pic below.
Ghostnuke fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Mar 3, 2011 |
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Mar 3, 2011 00:21
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The image is refusing to load for me. e. which is not surprising since you're trying to link to an image in your gmail account. Try hosting it on tinypic or waffleimages or something.
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Mar 3, 2011 01:09
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Leperflesh posted:The image is refusing to load for me. Oops, should be fixed now.
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Mar 3, 2011 02:09
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That's a bumblebee, I think. Hard to see in such a small picture, but fat, very fuzzy, big. Right? There's a bunch of species of bumblebee. They're ground-dwelling bees and they generally don't sting at all. They always make me smile.
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Mar 3, 2011 02:19
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Leperflesh posted:That's a bumblebee, I think. Hard to see in such a small picture, but fat, very fuzzy, big. Right? Do they produce honey as well? Seems like people would want non-stinging bees.
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Mar 3, 2011 03:08
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I looked into raising bumble bees before I got my honey bees and if I remember right they're solitary bees and don't make (much or maybe any) honey. You can "raise" them with a particular type of setup but it's mostly like a bird house where you put it up and leave it alone. They are pretty drat cute to watch bumbling around though. edit: Man, I'm bad at this. Just did a little more reading and it looks like bumble bees have smaller colonies and they move every year. You can buy bumble bee "houses" but they're not setup to harvest honey from the looks of it. They're actually kind of cool looking. I might pick one up. TouchyMcFeely fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Mar 3, 2011 |
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Mar 3, 2011 03:32
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Most bees make honey but either don't live in colonies, or live in very small colonies; and either way, they don't overwinter the way honey bees do. So they don't make huge surpluses of honey for humans to steal. Also, bumblebees are capable of stinging (repeatedly, since their stingers aren't barbed, they don't stick in your skin and rip the bee apart when it tries to withdraw); its just that bumblebees are not very aggressive and you can really bother them a lot before they'll try to sting you. My wife likes to pet them.
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Mar 3, 2011 04:16
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So my colony didn't survive the winter. Rather than purchase another box I'm going to try luring a swarm using lemongrass oil. Has anyone tried this before or have a recommendation on how much to use/when the best time is?
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Mar 3, 2011 04:21
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Ghostnuke posted:Do they produce honey as well? Seems like people would want non-stinging bees. They produce ounces of honey rather than pounds of honey.
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Mar 3, 2011 17:14
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TouchyMcFeely posted:So my colony didn't survive the winter. Rather than purchase another box I'm going to try luring a swarm using lemongrass oil. A.) Don't use lemongrass. B.) Use a Nasonov or Queen pheromone swarm lure. All the supply houses sell them. C.) Put it inside a nuc you've hoisted into a tree that has old frames of used comb. D.) Profit.
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Mar 4, 2011 04:01
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Any particular reason not to use lemongrass? From what I read it seems to work pretty well even when just put on the entrance or on the top of the frames. I also saw where some beekeepers were recommending that you take your "unwanted" queens and stick them in a jar of alcohol and let them soak for as long as possible, even up to years. Then apparently you can use the "queen tea" to attract swarms. Seems like a pretty screwed up way to go about swarm baiting from my perspective.
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Mar 4, 2011 05:13
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TouchyMcFeely posted:Any particular reason not to use lemongrass? From what I read it seems to work pretty well even when just put on the entrance or on the top of the frames. As I've used it, lemongrass is better food supplement than swarm attractant. A lot of the liquid food mixes, like Honey-B-Healthy, contain lemongrass because it makes the plain sugar water much more attractive to the bees. Bees prefer nectar, and people put lemongrass in their syrup to sort of bridge the gap. Swarm lures are only 5 bucks a pop anyways. The potential problem I see with baiting using lemongrass mixture, is that you'll attract more than just honeybees. Swarm lures contain Nasonov scent and Queen pheromones, and so they are specifically tailored to attract honeybees. Queen tea, as you call it, is a GREAT use for a failing queen. If you need to requeen anyways, it's better to recycle the old queen as a swarm lure than it is to just toss her into the trash after you squish her. Plus, it's free.
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Mar 5, 2011 19:09
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