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Sinister_Beekeeper posted:They don't survive below freezing that well so they only are going so far North.  Though this was a scary video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLoicT0mT_U
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Feb 21, 2017 01:41
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Catberry posted:
I don't think my eyes have rolled quite so much in a long time. WATCH HOW AGGRESSIVE THESE ARE *pounds on hive* THEY'RE REALLY COMING OUT NOW! *pounds on hive more* THEY ARE REALLY STINGING ME *pounds yet again*
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Feb 21, 2017 03:40
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That video was great. I wasn't rooting for Ted Nugent being violently murdered by those bees. Really. Also, glad they mentioned the queen excluder being removed, which let the "Killer Queens" out.
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Feb 21, 2017 06:12
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Fog Tripper posted:I don't think my eyes have rolled quite so much in a long time. The bees are sitting in there going "I think the guy with the sledgehammer is Africanized. Humans normally don't attack unprovoked"
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Feb 21, 2017 11:27
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Is it just a thing in the US to not wear veils?
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Feb 21, 2017 14:08
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Aramoro posted:Is it just a thing in the US to not wear veils? The woman tending to the "shed full of killer bees" wears a veil but no gloves. Maybe bee resistance has diminishing returns. Catberry fucked around with this message at 14:24 on Feb 21, 2017 |
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Feb 21, 2017 14:19
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Aramoro posted:Is it just a thing in the US to not wear veils? I know some folks that don't, but I think it's mostly a thing with the South and being more afraid of heat stroke than bees. I'll occasionally take mine off if I've been working the bees for a bit and know they're being mellow if I'm trying to locate eggs because I can't see them through veils. But I'm wearing a veil more for keeping bees out of my ears and nose than concern about stings most of the time.
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Feb 21, 2017 19:14
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What the gently caress are my girls finding to stuff their pollen baskets to the brim in Februrary? They're super happy that it's so warm out, but I have no idea what on earth they're foraging. My daffodils and tulips are indeed sprouting a month early, but I sure don't see any actual flowers around. http://imgur.com/a/rhgb3
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Feb 21, 2017 22:51
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Melicious posted:What the gently caress are my girls finding to stuff their pollen baskets to the brim in Februrary? They're super happy that it's so warm out, but I have no idea what on earth they're foraging. My daffodils and tulips are indeed sprouting a month early, but I sure don't see any actual flowers around. Where do you live?
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Feb 22, 2017 14:44
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Aramoro posted:Where do you live? Haha oh right sorry, Chicago!
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Feb 22, 2017 18:09
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TouchyMcFeely posted:3 pound box of bees 
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Feb 22, 2017 18:48
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SA once sent several thousand pounds of goon rush bees to the needy through Heifer International one christmas. We also built a school in hati, they make lovely silk paintings. Why don't we do cool poo poo like that any more?
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Feb 28, 2017 21:52
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Suspect Bucket posted:SA once sent several thousand pounds of goon rush bees to the needy through Heifer International one christmas. Mental image of goons carpet bombing the poor with crates of bees. I never heard of Heifer International but it seems pretty cool.
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Mar 1, 2017 06:45
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Yet when I dump bees on people, I'm somehow a bad person. But yeah, Heifer International also sends folks with the bees to teach them how to do everything instead of just airdropping a few crates of bees and some woodware. Figured I'd mention it since they appear to be a really great charity group.
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Mar 1, 2017 19:01
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Suspect Bucket posted:SA once sent several thousand pounds of goon rush bees to the needy through Heifer International one christmas. Because everyone who doesn't post like a 15 year old has been run out of GBS, repeatedly, and the various subforums lack the critical mass needed.
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Mar 1, 2017 19:36
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Sinister_Beekeeper posted:Yet when I dump bees on people, I'm somehow a bad person. I was going to donate for a crate of bees but the page wouldn't let me choose paypal. My bank is a bit troublesome about using my card for international payments but I'll use my internet bank to set up a card this weekend and make sure one crate of bees arrives anyway. Catberry fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Mar 1, 2017 |
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Mar 1, 2017 20:35
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I've been trying to donate some bees from heifer.org all week with no luck. I contacted their customer support and they tell me I need to use Chrome to donate. I don't have Chrome and I wasn't planing to get it. I tried with firefox and internet explorer and neither worked. I guess I can go get Chrome but I just wanted to give them my money 
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Mar 3, 2017 16:20
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Well this is the year I am going to get some bees. I wanted to years ago but living in a tight neighbourhood put a damper on things but now I live in the bush. Started building a pair of top bar hives the other day. Should be finished making all the bars tomorrow. I picked up a copy of Les Crowders top bar book. Any one else in South West Ontario? Edit: Made 66 bars today. Buddy of mine is into fancy woodworking so we started with rough sawn pine boards. They fit together so well and the top is perfectly flat when they are butted up against each other.    
helno fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Mar 5, 2017 |
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Mar 3, 2017 22:22
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How do you bee-prep wood? I work with wood for a living (painter) and I'm curious how you make it weather and moisture resistant without making a surface the bees might be uncomfortable with. I know you can oil wood three times in order to get a valid surface for outdoor use. How do the bees feel about that? Catberry fucked around with this message at 12:03 on Mar 5, 2017 |
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Mar 5, 2017 11:58
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Catberry posted:How do you bee-prep wood? You tend to just use wood which is naturally weather proof, like Red Cedar.
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Mar 5, 2017 12:03
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Aramoro posted:You tend to just use wood which is naturally weather proof, like Red Cedar. It doesn't absorb moisture at the ends and split?
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Mar 5, 2017 12:05
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Catberry posted:How do you bee-prep wood? The methods i've seen are the simple stand-by of a coat of paint on the outside of the box, or hot dipping in beeswax(paraffin works too but the bees dont appreciate it terribly much) and copper napthanate for 12 hours or some such. The biggest problem with any applied treatment is will it off-gas on the interior and if so for how long? As long as its inert,and ideally food-safe, the bees USUALLY dont care.
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Mar 5, 2017 15:25
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OrangéJéllo posted:The methods i've seen are the simple stand-by of a coat of paint on the outside of the box, or hot dipping in beeswax(paraffin works too but the bees dont appreciate it terribly much) and copper napthanate for 12 hours or some such. The biggest problem with any applied treatment is will it off-gas on the interior and if so for how long? As long as its inert,and ideally food-safe, the bees USUALLY dont care. It's the gas I had in mind. Paints release small amounts for months and spirit based ones can do it for years. Impregnating with molten beeswax seems like a surprisingly good idea.
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Mar 5, 2017 15:39
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Hives are just waiting on legs. Fancy metal roof made of scrap soffit. 
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Mar 6, 2017 01:36
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helno posted:Well this is the year I am going to get some bees. I have the cathedral top bar plans which will be my next project. One thing holding me back is that whoever drew up the plans put the size of the finished parts, but not a shopping list of the stock wood sizes to acquire. Did you check to see if top bars in CA are successful? I have read some boohoo their overwintering ability.
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Mar 6, 2017 18:12
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From the history of it the modern top bar hive was developed by a pair of Canadians at the university of Guelph. I have no real world experience to go on here but there seem to be many people using them in Ontario. The great lakes keep southern Ontario much warmer than you would expect.
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Mar 7, 2017 03:13
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Trip report on my Bee Thinking order: eh. Overall I am not at all impressed with the packing, the accuracy of cuts, and quality of wood. Original shipment lacked 2 sets of top bars and handles for 2 of the boxes. When they sent those out they apparently just tossed them and jammed them into the box to bash around, breaking one of the top bar ends. One box is quite out of square with the others and the window covering boards are too small by about 1/8" which is not going to work whatsoever. I am going to break out the woodworking tools and fabricate properly fitting replacements for at least the window covers. Once I find a decent divetail jug I am going to churn out a couple proper hives.
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Mar 9, 2017 04:59
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I signed up with a community garden and there are 2 box beehives that haven't had any love and or attention lately that I might be taking over. Any suggestions for abandoned bee hives that still have a bit of activity? I'll get some pictures of them this weekend. Thanks!
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Mar 9, 2017 05:19
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My son and I made a top bar hive out of some wood and an old 55 gallon drum I had lying around. I bought another one just in case they hate my carpentry skills. We have 2 packages shipping on the 6th next month. Can't wait to get back into beekeeping.
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Mar 10, 2017 03:35
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Fog Tripper posted:Trip report on my Bee Thinking order: eh. Overall I am not at all impressed with the packing, the accuracy of cuts, and quality of wood. Original shipment lacked 2 sets of top bars and handles for 2 of the boxes. When they sent those out they apparently just tossed them and jammed them into the box to bash around, breaking one of the top bar ends. One box is quite out of square with the others and the window covering boards are too small by about 1/8" which is not going to work whatsoever. I keep thinking about how much a decent saw and a dovetail jig would be versus buying more boxes pretty often. Especially as I'll have the space for a larger shop once I get done relocating things from the baby's room into the basement I'm finishing. Also, as far as top bars, I've never known anyone who overwintered successfully with one, but it could be other factors. I'm in Nashville so it's not like we get super harsh winters. LunaSky posted:I signed up with a community garden and there are 2 box beehives that haven't had any love and or attention lately that I might be taking over. Any suggestions for abandoned bee hives that still have a bit of activity? I'll get some pictures of them this weekend. Thanks! Check for brood/eggs if the weather permits so you know if you have viable queens. The Dregs posted:My son and I made a top bar hive out of some wood and an old 55 gallon drum I had lying around. I bought another one just in case they hate my carpentry skills. We have 2 packages shipping on the 6th next month. Can't wait to get back into beekeeping. Do you mind posting a pic of that? I'd love to see what it looks like. Sinister_Beekeeper fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Mar 10, 2017 |
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Mar 10, 2017 06:23
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Sinister_Beekeeper posted:I keep thinking about how much a decent saw and a dovetail jig would be versus buying more boxes pretty often. Especially as I'll have the space for a larger shop once I get done relocating things from the baby's room into the basement I'm finishing. I already have 2 different sized decent routers and a jig would be the only expense on that front. I was in timber framing and all I really lack is that jig and a couple other applicable things like a planer and bandsaw. I have seen insulated panels that bungie around top bar (kenyan) hives. It may be more of an issue with them moving sideways rather than up/down in the winter in a kenyan type? Fog Tripper fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Mar 10, 2017 |
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Mar 10, 2017 16:33
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Fog Tripper posted:I have seen insulated panels that bungie around top bar (kenyan) hives. It may be more of an issue with them moving sideways rather than up/down in the winter in a kenyan type? Shouldn't be an issue at all. I bungie my boxes in the winter because I'm paranoid snow or ice or animals are going to topple my hives and open up the boxes.
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Mar 11, 2017 04:00
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Fog Tripper posted:Once I find a decent divetail jug I am going to churn out a couple proper hives. Any reason it needs to be dovetails? You can make your own box joint jig in about 30 minutes if you have the right tools, or can cut to an exact width. Just need a router table or a table saw.
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Mar 11, 2017 04:21
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NPR Journalizard posted:Any reason it needs to be dovetails? You can make your own box joint jig in about 30 minutes if you have the right tools, or can cut to an exact width. Just need a router table or a table saw. Mostly looks. Believe me, I could do a plain jane box pretty easy with what I have on hand. Something satisfying about a nice joint though.
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Mar 11, 2017 05:03
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Fog Tripper posted:Mostly looks. Believe me, I could do a plain jane box pretty easy with what I have on hand. Something satisfying about a nice joint though. I hear you.
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Mar 11, 2017 05:33
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I don't own a table saw and if I'm going to go through that much trouble, might as well try to make it as pretty as possible.
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Mar 11, 2017 06:22
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Sinister_Beekeeper posted:I don't own a table saw and if I'm going to go through that much trouble, might as well try to make it as pretty as possible. Neither do I, I made mine for a router table, and by router table i mean plywood box with a section of t-track in it. Having said that, im awful at dovetails so I tend to avoid them.
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Mar 11, 2017 06:36
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When a beekeeper takes all the honey and then gives the bees corn syrup as replacement to last over the winter. How does that effect the hives ability to resist disease and pests? I heard bacteria have a very hard time surviving in honey but corn syrup must be pretty hard for the bees to keep clean in comparison.
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Mar 11, 2017 12:37
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NPR Journalizard posted:Neither do I, I made mine for a router table, and by router table i mean plywood box with a section of t-track in it. Same, but with a jig I would absulotely. I like the details of woodwoork. Heck, the first thing I did with my cheapo precut warre was to knock off the exterior right angles of the boxes and cover with my mini router. Then I rubbed with pure tung oil and the contrast of the open grain ends really looks nice.
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Mar 11, 2017 15:10
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One hive is on legs.  
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Mar 11, 2017 16:37
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