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madmatt112 posted:Update: My wife and I closed on a house purchase, and get possession in 15 (calendar) days. Which means I get to spend the winter preparing, finding gear, and finding a mentor apiarist so I'm ready to rock in the spring. My city allows beekeeping in backyards with very very few regulations (the exception being that a first time beekeeper [me] must work with a non-first timer to learn, in their first season). Congrats, it's an addictive hobby. Best of luck to you and the wife.
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Sep 1, 2018 17:31
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I'll be starting this spring too!
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Sep 4, 2018 14:18
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HOPEFULLY we will be remaining where we currently live. I have a Layens horizontal hive that I've been slowly working on over the summer. Kicking myself that I bought wood that wasn't kiln cured and now is all kinds of warped/spiraled. Wish I had a jointer. Anyhoo I decided that bigger was better, so went with 30 frame length. Walls will be 1.5" finished thickness. (Gets to -20F here) and heavy as hell, but on the bright side I won't have to lift anything but the individual frames. Going to borrow a couple mods from other hive styles: - Angled top-bar foundationless frames with holes through the top bar to allow the bees more easy access to adjacent comb - Up in the air with entrance locations. - Removable bottom board (again, thick as hell) with a screen so I can do mite stuff If and when I track down decent cured wood I will eventually be trying my hand at a cathedral hive. Bees won't know what hit them in the spring.
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Sep 5, 2018 15:37
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So, our bee year is coming to an end (kinda). We started the second and last varroa treatment via ant-acid today. Overall, the year was rather good, and while a lot of other beekeepers around us had major problems with wasps, our hives and splits managed them. One of our hives (where we lost the queen in spring) is now one of the most aggressive hives I ever witnessed with the queen/brood, and they are batshit crazy in regard to building. We feed with feed paste, and they not only empty the bag out in no time, no, they also build one comb after another in the empty bag. They sting through facemasks, they try to kill everyone around. I once witnessed a similar hive, not quite as aggressive, and it didn't make it through the winter. Let's see. I actually prefer a hive that knows how to defend itself rather than a hive where I have to help so it keeps out wasps/other bees. The other five are looking cool, one of them is a bit weak, but I hope the will pull through. I am a bit afraid of the winter. The years was super-strange here in germany. Everything was at least one month too early. After the second treatment, we will feed them another 5kg per hive, so each hive is at about 25kg of food. This sounds rather high, but that's what our nationwide beekeeping society proposed in regard to the super strange year. One more week of varroa treatment, then (I guess) another week or two of feeding, and then we will send them into the winter. Fingers crossed to all the bees out there.
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Sep 16, 2018 15:53
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Why feed them so much when it is the time of year they would typically reduce numbers? In theory if they stored away enough honey, you should not have to feed them, period, beyond perhaps late winter through early spring IF they actually need it. In regard to the aggressive hive, I personally would requeen. If you’ve got some kind of africanized thing going on why wait? Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Sep 16, 2018 |
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Sep 16, 2018 16:15
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Hasselblad posted:Why feed them so much when it is the time of year they would typically reduce numbers? In theory if they stored away enough honey, you should not have to feed them, period, beyond perhaps late winter through early spring IF they actually need it. Well, they didn't store enough honey, because we took that. Normally, we feed around 15kg per hive, and that's been working good. But we have a very strange summer this year...stuff that bees normally collect in august was available in June. It also was a super-dry year, so not much water for plants to produce nectar. Thus the advice to feed more. Of course it's a burdon on the typical winter bees, because they shouldn't be tasked with food collection, but we are not there yet. And also: it was advises to all beekeepers here to feed at least 24kg for the hive-size I have. In regard to requeening: nah, they requeened themselves already this spring, and I am not a big fan of playing too much bee-god. My concern is not the aggressivnes (because, eh, we are keeping bees) but the fact that the hive is exploding of bees. They are building poo poo left and right, and to my experience, these hives have a harder time in the winter. We'll see.
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Sep 16, 2018 16:55
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tuo posted:Out of interest: were you're buckfasts aggressive from the start, or only after hatching a new queen? Sorry about the delay, I have been in school and working full time so I had to put my beekeeping on the shelf. My Buckfasts were hot from the moment I got them. Tried requeening, twice.Did not help. Every time I went into the hive I got my jacket pinned to me. The only reason I didn't boil the little shits alive was the fact that their one hive put out 200 lbs of honey for me that year, which is more than I can say for the Caspians, who would not forage for anything. As with anything, these are lessons learned, I now know that I will be working with Caspians and New World Carniolians moving forward. I also know that I have a lot of work to do when I get back into it as I want to set up a Trailer for AZ hives... https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/the-slovenian-beehive-arrives-in-the-us/
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Sep 16, 2018 17:05
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tuo posted:Well, they didn't store enough honey, because we took that. Then don't do that? Again, feeding them at this point is well, pointless, as you are keeping their population up for no reason whatsoever when they should be downsizing for over wintering. Not only that if you are taking more than just the surplus honey, you are taking away their preferred food that would stave off diseases and such. I get it, getting the honey from the bees is nice and all, but simply leave them enough to over winter. No wonder your hive is hostile. I'd be hostile too. tuo posted:Normally, we feed around 15kg per hive, and that's been working good. But we have a very strange summer this year...stuff that bees normally collect in august was available in June. It also was a super-dry year, so not much water for plants to produce nectar. Thus the advice to feed more. Of course it's a burdon on the typical winter bees, because they shouldn't be tasked with food collection, but we are not there yet. And also: it was advises to all beekeepers here to feed at least 24kg for the hive-size I have. Again I have to question why you would even take the honey that they struggled to create in such a year. Who are the powers that be that were giving the advice to beekeepers there? tuo posted:In regard to requeening: nah, they requeened themselves already this spring, and I am not a big fan of playing too much bee-god. My concern is not the aggressivnes (because, eh, we are keeping bees) but the fact that the hive is exploding of bees. They are building poo poo left and right, and to my experience, these hives have a harder time in the winter. Trying to stave off africanization is not a concern in those parts? Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 17:30 on Sep 16, 2018 |
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Sep 16, 2018 17:25
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Hasselblad posted:Then don't do that? Again, feeding them at this point is well, pointless, as you are keeping their population up for no reason whatsoever when they should be downsizing for over wintering. Not only that if you are taking more than just the surplus honey, you are taking away their preferred food that would stave off diseases and such. Then nearly every beekeeper over here is obviously doing it wrong. Also, it's one of six hives that is hostile, mostly because they decided to requeen this year. Hasselblad posted:Again I have to question why you would even take the honey that they struggled to create in such a year. Because some beekeepers do that. And the year was a very good year for honey over here, but everything was way too early in contrast to past years. That's why it is adviced to feed them more than usual this year over here. tuo fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Sep 17, 2018 |
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Sep 17, 2018 19:24
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Have been wanting to get into beekeeping for years but not being a homeowner I'd written the idea off for the time being. I'm not really any closer to having my own place (thanks, grad school) but I do have a friend/neighbour who has a decent sized allotment (replete with fruit trees and garden) and is very keen to host, plus pick up half the cost as long as I do all the work. I am a homebrewer and have done a few meads, so looking forward to being able to brew with my own honey at some point down the track  I am hoping I can secure a nuc (it is now spring here in Tasmania) - didn't get the idea to ask neighbour until a few weeks ago unfortunately. Due to our agricultural quarantine policies I can't order bees from the mainland, so my options are gonna be pretty limited. I am looking to do more research and preparation in the coming weeks, and was having a look at locally available equipment this morning. Would something like this be suitable for a beginner, or is it too much? quote:
Assuming it's OK, how should I go about painting it? I'd have probably a month or so before I get the bees (will be overseas from mid Oct/first week of November). Would it make sense to paint it a darker colour due to the chillier climate here?
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Sep 30, 2018 23:25
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No reason to paint it. Bees are more susceptible to moisture when cold than cold itself. As far as getting a bunch of bees to populate it, what is swarm catching like around your area?
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Oct 1, 2018 00:54
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Hasselblad posted:No reason to paint it. Bees are more susceptible to moisture when cold than cold itself. As far as getting a bunch of bees to populate it, what is swarm catching like around your area? Ah, gotcha. From the looks of Gumtree... highly competitive! Lots of people offering to remove them for free, one guy even offering money for tip-offs of where to find them. There is also someone selling hive + bees for AU$300 about 5kms from me.
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Oct 1, 2018 03:26
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Painting the raw wood will help it last longer, though. A light color or white will be fine in any climate, and keeping warm is easier for the bees to accomplish than keeping cool, so even in a cooler climate I'd favor white. Just use some white latex outdoor paint, let it dry & cure fully before use, and you'll be fine. Leave the inside and the surfaces that touch each other between each box unpainted (paint-on-paint may stick).
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Oct 4, 2018 23:30
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Oct 20, 2018 18:48
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My box painting method is to pick kind of goofy light colors like lavender and seafoam green, colors that don't look like beehives right off the bat but also won't soak up sunlight and roast the bugs in the summer, and I also either (depending on time) mask the contact points of the boxes or paint the upward edge and then coat with sand to reduce sticking. Neither method actually stops the bees from coating everything with propolis so just do what works. This year I've had the privilege of helping an elderly couple manage their apiary, and they began the transition to styrofoam hive bodies a few years before health issues got in the way of working the bees. The styro boxes are actually really excellent to work with so far. To my surprise, the bees don't gnaw on them and I haven't seen any of the boxes shitted up with propolis. More importantly, the boxes insulate very well -- important in our northern climate -- and they're very light, which helps a brokebody like me get much more done when we're talking about dealing with more than a dozen hives at a go.
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Oct 20, 2018 22:40
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Speaking of cold weather hives... Made some progress on my build. 36-frame Layens Horizontal Hive with 1.5" thick walls. The walls and tops of the frames are complete. The frame tops are an EXACT fit. To do: balance of frame parts, decide and built whatever roof design and floor design I am going to go with. I SHOULD be done by spring. This sucker is heavy, but on the bright side once it is in it's permanent home, it is not moving. Like, ever. You can work the Layens like any other horizontal top-bar. I plan to use a couple timbers sunk into concrete for the base. It will laugh at the blizzard winds and -20F temps we can get. Bees will be so stinking snug.  The frames: https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/layens-hive-frame-plans.shtml Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Oct 21, 2018 01:02
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are the combs in that intended to go straight down on the sides? just a 90 square (or rectangle) comb?
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Oct 21, 2018 01:05
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It is like a langstroth hive turned on it's side as far as depth-wise. A lot more volume, of course. Uncertain if I will go with center dowels, or a .6" bar across the middle with 3/8" holes for bee pass-throughs. https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/foundationless-frame-layens.shtml Pic from their website:  I may do a few Langstroth-to-Layens frames in case I get a nuc. https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/convert-langstroth-layens.shtml  But to answer your question, they are basic 4-sided frames, just foundationless. Oh, And they also have plans for a bee-bed. For people that are into that kind of kink (not judging) https://horizontalhive.com/how-to-build/bee-bed-sleep-hive-plans.shtml Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 15:30 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Oct 21, 2018 15:22
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Ahh, I see now. Very cool! Thank you for sharing.
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Oct 21, 2018 16:05
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Is there an extractor that takes those frames?
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Oct 24, 2018 08:43
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Tally posted:Is there an extractor that takes those frames? Nopers. It will be a cut and crush process. (or cut into squares and sell as such). Maybe down the line I will do a similar build sized for Langstroth frames.
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Oct 25, 2018 02:15
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Beekeeping on an apartment balcony. I'm on the ground floor so it is a fairly big balcony. How much of a dick move is it for a) the bee's and b) the neighbours?
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Oct 26, 2018 04:23
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bees don't care, and it shouldn't bother your neighbors if you don't live in a skyscraper or a situation where they have to interact directly with your balcony. if they can't see onto it or hear, they may not even ever know
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Oct 26, 2018 08:47
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Under normal circumstances, (western honey) bees don't sting when going about their daily business. There is always the off-chance of a bee flying into long hair, panicking, and stinging, but that's a freak accident. They don't actively attack anything outside of their hive, like wasps do. They tend to poop when leaving the hive, because apart from the queen no bee is allowed to poo poo inside the hive. This led to one beekeeper here who had to move his hives because the were on a garage top directly next to a luxury car dealer. I have my own car parked directly under the balcony where I raise the splits, and imo the poo poo stains are really, really minimal. My neighbours - as they say - hate bees (as they claim they sting, and obviously can't tell a wasp from a bee). Since they told me this fact, I put the splits where they can't see them on my balcony, and they don't even realize I have two or three splits there over the summer.
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Oct 26, 2018 09:11
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:This year I've had the privilege of helping an elderly couple manage their apiary, and they began the transition to styrofoam hive bodies a few years before health issues got in the way of working the bees. The styro boxes are actually really excellent to work with so far. To my surprise, the bees don't gnaw on them and I haven't seen any of the boxes shitted up with propolis. More importantly, the boxes insulate very well -- important in our northern climate -- and they're very light, which helps a brokebody like me get much more done when we're talking about dealing with more than a dozen hives at a go. A friend of mine moved completely to styrofoam over the last years, and he also says he'll never go back. I hesitate to try one, because it simply feels somehow "wrong" to host the bees in styrofoam....but I read so much good things about them, I might try one out next year, as I need two or three new boxes anyway. Still somehow feels "wrong".
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Oct 26, 2018 09:15
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tuo posted:A friend of mine moved completely to styrofoam over the last years, and he also says he'll never go back. I hesitate to try one, because it simply feels somehow "wrong" to host the bees in styrofoam....but I read so much good things about them, I might try one out next year, as I need two or three new boxes anyway. I think I know what you mean! Styrofoam just mentally equates to trash for me. That said, these are actually pretty sturdy and I haven't noticed any damage from prying out frames with hive tools, either. I'm just really over all pleasantly surprised with how nice these hive bodies are to work with. They don't have the a e s t h e t i c of beautifully joined wood, but other than that, I have absolutely no complaints about them so far. Next time I'm out there, I'll take some pictures so the thread can get an idea of what's up with the entrances and such. I think these were modified by the old fella.
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Oct 26, 2018 22:23
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:I think I know what you mean! Styrofoam just mentally equates to trash for me. My fellow beekeeper uses a special opener for them because he told me they still wear down a bit over time if you use typical hive tools (then again, wood does the same over time I guess). Looks like this: 
tuo fucked around with this message at 09:51 on Oct 27, 2018 |
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Oct 27, 2018 09:49
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Anyone have experience with saskatraz bees? Our local supplier will have them this year and I am considering getting 2 packages, 1 carnolian and one saskatraz. Part of me really wants to go as little treatment as possible to help in a small way to strengthen resistance to varroa. The saskatraz bees are reportedly bred to be more varroa resistant and it would defeat the point if you treated them. (and at least one site suggests not treating as that kind of defeats the whole point of the breeding program)
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Dec 7, 2018 16:29
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My brother lives out in rural Ohio and has expressed an interest in starting beekeeping. I found an unopened hive kit on eBay for around $175, and pulled the trigger for a Christmas present. After purchase my parents sent me this bit of feedback from a friend they have that keeps bees:quote:I could give many reasons why I would not purchase this hive. It’s pretty but its not for a beginning beekeeper, Ask the boys if they know that a first year hive makes no honey for the beekeeper. Ask where the bees are supposed to store their 50 pounds of honey to make it to year two when they will be strong enough to try to fill the honey jars. Just wanting to know if I really wasted a bunch of money on this gift -- not the end of the world, but hoping it isn't as useless as this guy seems to think. Hive I bought: https://smile.amazon.com/SummerHawk...+ranch+bee+hive https://beekeepclub.com/summerhawk-ranch-complete-backyard-beehive-kit-system-review/
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Dec 8, 2018 14:54
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Cornuto posted:My brother lives out in rural Ohio and has expressed an interest in starting beekeeping. I found an unopened hive kit on eBay for around $175, and pulled the trigger for a Christmas present. After purchase my parents sent me this bit of feedback from a friend they have that keeps bees: The top part is gimmicky, but I personally am not fond of comb in my honey. The bottom looks pretty well designed beyond the bottom of the frames on the side where I'd imagine the bees would propolis together. It is odd that not one of the pictures shows the entrance. (The accessible windows are in the back of hives, unless you enjoy bees smacking you in the face and stinging the gently caress out of your throat) Is it a standard landing board for a langstroth? If the same footprint as a Lang I suppose he could add more boxes on top (with actual frames, not jars) as they build up comb. The jar setup could be used for jar feeding to get the colony up and running. My advice is if it is a standard langstroth size setup, for your brother to buy a langstroth box or two with frames (not terribly expensive and NOT the $94 add-on boxes from that manufacturer) to add onto the existing hive as need be. edit: Just viewed the second link. Liquid smoke? Seriously? quote:Instead of using a smoker to repel the bees, you can use liquid smoke. Rub a bit of liquid smoke on your arms and face. You can rub it on every bit of exposed skin and it acts like a bee repellent. 
Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Dec 9, 2018 |
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Dec 8, 2018 17:17
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God drat, liquid smoke - suspected to be totally bad for humans - now used on bees.  get rid of that top box, or modifiy it so it can take frames. The idea with the bottles in there is awful on so many levels...
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Dec 9, 2018 17:16
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tuo posted:God drat, liquid smoke - suspected to be totally bad for humans - now used on bees. This but a beek, and liquid smoke rather than blood: 
Hasselblad fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Dec 9, 2018 |
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Dec 9, 2018 17:27
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Hasselblad posted:Anyone have experience with saskatraz bees? Our local supplier will have them this year and I am considering getting 2 packages, 1 carnolian and one saskatraz. Part of me really wants to go as little treatment as possible to help in a small way to strengthen resistance to varroa. The saskatraz bees are reportedly bred to be more varroa resistant and it would defeat the point if you treated them. (and at least one site suggests not treating as that kind of defeats the whole point of the breeding program) I tried them this year, in hives next to regular Olivarez carniolans. They weren't a good fit for me or my environment. They produced less honey, went through more prior to winter, requiring more feed, and the varroa counts were similar or higher to the untreated carniolans in the same apiaries. Hard Meh. Pretty bees though. Little bit more defensive as well.
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Dec 9, 2018 23:24
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Welp orders opened and I placed mine for 2 packs of carnolians. Now to get the hives complete and placed.
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Dec 15, 2018 16:06
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So we did the final varroa treatment last weekend. The weather was < 5 °C for two weeks, and we followed the overall rule of thumb to treat a second time before solstice. I put varroa sheets in for three days, not a single varroa on them. Treated them, and put varroa sheets in for another day to check what's falling off (cleaned out the floor of the hive so nothing gets trapped on dead bees). On six hives, we had a total of ten varroa for all six hives. I was pretty shocked though to see two hives filling out nearly the complete box at this time of year. I really, REALLY hope the 30+ kg of food they had before the winter get them over it. Strange thing though with the split I had in my garden at home. I normally check the hives with a infrared cam which I shove under the box to see what's up, and two weeks ago, they were totally fine. Opened them up for the final varroa treatment, and the hive is dead. It almost looks like they were surprised by the sudden cold temperatures. Two frames had brood in them (some trying to hatch), the other six frames are choke full of honey and food and pollen. I inspected the dead bees, couldn't find the queen, found like two or three varroa sitting on - I'd guess - hundred bees I inspected. No deformed wings, no deformed bees. Rather sad. But the other six all like rather fine, if not too strong for my taste and the time of year. But the super dry and warm weather really helped in reducing the varroa. So fingers crossed that we get the remaining six of them through the winter.
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Dec 19, 2018 17:01
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First time beekeeper. My hive died. Looks like they froze to death. 
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Jan 6, 2019 16:11
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celewign posted:First time beekeeper. Sadly I know the feeling of opening a dead hive. If you can stomach it (and haven't already) - don't remove the dead remaining dead bees yet. Imo, it's always important to take a look at them to find the reason why the hive died. If it froze to death, there either shouldn't be any food left in the hive, or the last remains of where dead bees fell should be far away from remaining food (so they couldn't reach it in time) or the sat on food and weren't able to reheat it (happens with some kinds of sugars in the honey). If none of that is true, I'd actually inspect the dead bees (maybe try to find the queen). Check if the wings are intact (of not, they might have been hit by a disease, varroa etc.). Check if the "tongue" is sticking it (with no food left => might have actually starved, with food left => might have been hit by a dissease). Bees that simply die of old age (during heating) normally don't stick they tongue out. I opened one of my splits couple of weeks ago for the final varroa treatment of the year, only to find the whole thing dead and gone, with like six or seven kilogramms of food left, and brood that just tried to hatch but there was noone there to help it out. I took the box and the dead bees to a couple of very experienced (one a full-time) beekeepers, and most of them told me that they have this now and again, and none of them knew why. The split was healthy three weeks before, with food aplenty. I can only suggest to not let it get to close to you, and if you can find time for it, try to find out what went wrong, and how to prevent it in the future. Over here, the local beekeepers thingy just extrapolated a death of around 17% of the hives for this winter. I shoved an IR cam under my hives again today, and I knock on wood that the split is the only thing I lost over winter, but my stomach tells me there might be another one (hive I got from someone, with not enough honey for winter in it imo, and no time left to add food) I'll lose. The feeling of opening a dead hive is something that is hard to explain to non-beekeepers, imo. It's just so loving sad....like searching your dog for the morning walk and find it dead. tuo fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Jan 6, 2019 |
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Jan 6, 2019 16:42
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I hate it. This year I had 8 of 12 hives die off and I can't tell why. I treated for varroa in late september and the die offs were prior to my second treatment in november. Most of the die offs had plenty of honey and pollen remaining. In most of the hives I saw evidence of dead queens (supercedure cells, poor brood patterns. In one it was a laying worker).) I saw the same thing with brood that died mid-hatch This next year I'm installing robbing screens on my boxes because I think pests from other untreated hives (I'm in an urban area) are causing rolling collapses in the fall. USDA says the deadout rate this past year was 46% for backyard beekeepers with larger operations reporting g about half that.
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Jan 6, 2019 17:40
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Both of my hives died late December. Both were large and had tons of food going into the winter, but one had a super late season Varroa outbreak around Halloween. Went from super low mite counts to a hive full of DWV in a shockingly short amount of time, even after having treated prophylactically. Didn’t have high hopes for that hive despite its huge size, especially considering we had such a sudden, lengthy cold snap. Sub-freezing temps for all of November. My other hive was enormous and thriving, so no idea what happened there. Haven’t done a full autopsy yet, but it looks like they had dysentery, and I’m guessing Nosema. I blame the terrible November weather, but who knows. I sent samples from both hives to be analyzed, we’ll see what comes back. loving sucks. At this point I feel like I need to scrap all of my frames and comb and start over, which of course I really don’t want to do. Sigh. I also got an IR camera for xmas, was really looking forward to monitoring the cluster with it. So it goes.
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Jan 6, 2019 20:26
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Sixteen hive operation I’ve been helping at reporting that there may only be 5 left alive.  I’ll be out there Tuesday. Don’t know if they’ve confirmed yet, it’s been so cold and wet that opening the hives hasn’t really been an option.
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Jan 7, 2019 02:12
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