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Protective my rear end. Those bees were PISSED. Never again will I steal honey in August without a SHOWER and full protective gear. I must have smelled like a bear. They kamakaze'd me as if I were one. No accidentally mashing them in the fold of my arm, no sudden jerky movements to pin one under my hand. These bees dove in and stung ON PURPOSE. I knew it was only a matter of time before I got stung but they made up for lost time in one day. I definitely earned that honey. 20-30 minutes of pain from a little sting I can handle; it's the 5 days of pain and swelling and itching from secondary allergic reactions that I could do without. It's really hard to scrape out that stinger and poison sack too, when your hands are busy manipulating heavily filled honey frames. Not my best beekeeping day. I think I am going to start harvesting a little bit (a few frames) in late June or early July before they get irritable and leave the rest until spring. I think that harvesting in spring will both assure the bees enough of their own honey to feed them through the winter (an end to sugar syrup altogether) and they won't be nearly as irritable during spring nectar flow. Seems that spring harvest used to be the way bees were kept until commercial beekeepers started taking ALL their honey in the fall & supplementing them with sugar syrup in the fall & spring. I was actually kind of traumatized by my "nice bees" going all crazy kamikaze on me although not surprised, seeing them act somewhat desperate for the last few weeks, I should have known they would completely change their attitude. Traumatized yes, but I also felt really sorry for them and somewhat guilty for stealing their hard earned stores with them willing to give their lives like that trying to protect it. I just don't see the same kind of commitment in the human species. I mean, if a robber comes in and starts emptying my fridge, I'm probably going to let him. I think that if adept is so keen on all this "right now" honey, he should be the one facing the wrath of the bees in August. On the up side: Our new honey gate fills the jars like a dream. Highly recommended. Oh, on a side note: Those hummingbird feeders that you see full of red syrup? Honeybees love them. They also get stuck in them and die. I would venture to guess that the artificial color and high fructose syrup they are made of isn't exactly GOOD for them either. Made me re-think trying to be nice to the hummingbirds. Hey, here's a novel idea: PLANT MORE REAL FLOWERS!!!
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Aug 11, 2009 23:32
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I took out the queen excluder and there seems to have been an explosion of bees. Now they're all over the super, I really wish I had taken it out much sooner.
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Aug 13, 2009 22:42
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Should I harvest honey today? If so, how many frames should I take? I haven't looked in my hive for a couple weeks but they had one super full and one barely touched, the last time I looked. My beekeeping club's timeline says honeyflow has been over for about three weeks. So, should I go for it? I will post a trip report, promise.
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Aug 23, 2009 20:27
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There are three frames of honey draining into a tub on my kitchen table as we speak. I took pictures but I'll have to post them later due to being very tired and needing to go to bed.
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Aug 31, 2009 07:53
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My friend's theft of honey from his bees has prompted me to consider that I should ... misplace some of my bees' hard work. They'll not miss just one frame, right?
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Aug 31, 2009 10:21
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Simkin posted:My friend's theft of honey from his bees has prompted me to consider that I should ... misplace some of my bees' hard work. They'll not miss just one frame, right? I assure you they will. They were highly displeased when I stole those three, and I was glad I had my full gear on.
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Aug 31, 2009 15:10
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walrusman posted:There are three frames of honey draining into a tub on my kitchen table as we speak. I took pictures but I'll have to post them later due to being very tired and needing to go to bed. What the hell is this noise? The internet demands pics no matter the cost!  How am I supposed to live vicariously through you guys if you don't post pics?
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Aug 31, 2009 16:51
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I just found out there was a beekeeping seminar last weekend here in town, and I missed it! 
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Sep 17, 2009 22:41
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My mother has been sending me honey from Arizona. I'm not sure what flowers are responsible but it has a lovely, mellow taste to it.
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Sep 17, 2009 22:45
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Ishamael posted:I just found out there was a beekeeping seminar last weekend here in town, and I missed it! This happens to me every third Thursday of the month. If anyone is in the Orlando area, the orange blossom beekeepers association meets every month.
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Sep 18, 2009 17:26
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I picked up my hive yesterday! Woo! Some guy was selling eight hives on Craigslist and I bought one. It has one brood and two supers that are already well built out. I've taken a couple beekeeping workshops but I was NOT prepared for doing the move myself but sure learned a lot! 1. Initially closed their entrance at about 4:30 while it was still light out. Next thing I knew I knew the hive was covered in bees wanting to get in. I removed the screening and duct tape from the entrance and let them in. I then waited until dark. 2. I don't yet own a suit, veil, etc. I borrowed one that was way too small for me. This resulted in me getting stung more times than I could count. 3. Hives full of honey are HEAVY. Getting it into my truck was incredibly hard. 4. Working in the dark while it's also pouring rain is not so fun. However, I have a hive of bees at my land now and lots of beekeeping equipment enroute via Dadant. Wooo hoo!
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Sep 21, 2009 02:22
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Where do you live that you're just picking up a hive now? For most of us, our season is over already and for a few of us, we get no honey this year.
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Sep 21, 2009 15:12
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TouchyMcFeely posted:Where do you live that you're just picking up a hive now?
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Sep 21, 2009 17:46
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Socratic Moron posted:because I live in an Ohia Lehua forest, when they bloom, I can't have enough supers. ung  I've harvested seven frames of the ten that my bees filled this year; net result, about 25lb of honey so far. It's the best honey I've ever had, and I've been sharing with my friends and earmarking it for Christmas presents, in addition to eating it on toast, peanut butter sandwiches, and the like. Unfortunately, the harvesting method that we developed, which is the only one that works for us without an extractor or infinite patience, involves smushing up the comb. But that does mean that I get to play with the wax left behind, so...candles!
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Sep 21, 2009 18:45
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walrusman posted:ung I'd also recommend making homemade honey butter. *Mix heavy whipping cream in a mixer for an hour on low-medium low. *Drain and squeeze the butter milk out of the butter. *Put as much butter and honey into a container as you want to make honey butter and liquify it in the microwave. *Mix it up good and proper and there you'll have yourself some excellent honey butter. I should actually go out and check my hive again. It's been over a month now and they very well may have filled in some of the super. I certainly hope so. I'm jealous of all you honey gatherers
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Sep 21, 2009 19:20
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Socratic Moron posted:The Big Island of Hawaii. Many beekeepers get multiple harvests a year here. From what I'm told, because I live in an Ohia Lehua forest, when they bloom, I can't have enough supers. Yup, that'd do it all right. Good luck with your new hive and be sure to keep us posted while we're all socked in with snow!
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Sep 21, 2009 19:22
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Mother Earth News has an article on top-bar hives: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Top-Bar-Beekeeping-Method.aspx Looks pretty cool. Someone posted an awesome video in the comments demonstrating this method, as well: http://anarchyapiaries.org/ I wish I had some land so I could keep bees, you guys are all so lucky.
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Sep 21, 2009 21:20
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Chajara posted:Mother Earth News has an article on top-bar hives: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Top-Bar-Beekeeping-Method.aspx I am very interested in that top-bar method. I have read some articles saying that the box hives promote a larger-cell build, which makes the bees more susceptible to disease/mites, etc. And that the top bar promotes a more natural comb-size, which is beneficial to the bees. Not sure of the science behind that, but the simplicity of the top-bar hive definitely appeals to me (and the price!). Ishamael fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Sep 21, 2009 |
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Sep 21, 2009 22:11
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Chajara posted:Mother Earth News has an article on top-bar hives: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Top-Bar-Beekeeping-Method.aspx I can verify that they're easy to build, made a top bar hive a few months ago from the instructions on bushbees.com. Next year hopefully I'll get some experience keeping bees in them compared to the conventional/langstroth hives. Watch Conrad Berube's videos on youtube if you want to see how the frames are handled in a top bar.
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Sep 21, 2009 22:12
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Ishamael posted:I am very interested in that top-bar method. I have read some articles saying that the box hives promote a larger-cell build, which makes the bees more susceptible to disease/mites, etc. Not sure of the science behind that, but the simplicity of the top-bar hive definitely appeals to me. It's the foundation that is commonly used which defines the bee size, not the hive type. Somebody with a commercial hive can pull their frame foundations out and put some comb guides in so the bees build comb the correct direction, and they will have a similar result of "natural bee size", no different than the natural comb size in a kenya top bar as I understand it. Commercial beekeepers actually want that foundation (you can order it in different sizes) to keep their bees large which keeps lots of honey rolling in--these are the beekeepers most affected by colony collapse and other bee diseases from what I have read. Maybe it's because they're greedy fucks! EDIT: I should go a bit further into this point, unnaturally large bees are very susceptible to varroa mites specifically, so then the commercial beekeeper starts insisting on medicating the bees and a bunch of other stupid things. Where the Kenya Top Bar Hive seems to really shine is the cheap cost to build, the easy construction, and very basic construction materials. adept fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Sep 21, 2009 |
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Sep 21, 2009 22:21
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Varroa mites recently came to Hawaii so I'm SUPER interested in top bar hives and smaller cells (and of course any other means of dealing with the little fuckers). In addition, the cost of shipping equipment here is utterly outrageous, so if I can make my hives, all the better. I have two feral hives near my land. Has anyone ever tried or heard of people transferring feral hives to top bar hives? We have an excavator working on our land right now. The vibration from that got the bees SUPER PISSED today. I ended up having to smoke them as it looked like they were about to go postal. I've never seen so many bees outside a hive before. Boy did it scare the poo poo out of the excavator operator. Hahah. I took a couple pictures of my bees today. They're super busy looking which is good considering the transfer. I'm not seeing any come in with pollen yet so maybe they're just exploring right now. You can see the duct tape and wood I screwed the supers and brood box together with for the move. I'll take that stuff off when I get my veil   
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Sep 22, 2009 04:31
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I popped open my top super today and at least three of the frames are completely filled with capped honey. Woo! That tells me my bottom super is probably chock full as well. As soon as my veils and other equipment get here, I want to harvest. Some questions though: 1. Do you guys know of any "harvesting honey for newbies" tutorials out there that are really good? 2. Do you take your frames out and return them the next day or? 3. Does the honey have to be treated in any way or can it remain raw? 4. If I have one brood box and two supers, how many frames of honey should I leave the bees? Keeping in mind that I'm in Hawaii and the bees can probably gather nectar and pollen almost year-round. Thanks! I'm excited *edit* Adding a picture of a full frame. Unfortunately the lighting is off but oh well. 
Socratic Moron fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Sep 25, 2009 |
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Sep 25, 2009 03:06
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Socratic Moron posted:I popped open my top super today and at least three of the frames are completely filled with capped honey. Woo! That tells me my bottom super is probably chock full as well. As soon as my veils and other equipment get here, I want to harvest. Some questions though: 1. The easiest way to harvest your honey is to rent a honey extractor but doing so for a single hive might be a bit much. Your best bet is probably to do like Melodywise posted earlier in the thread. Get yourself a large, fine mesh strainer and drop your chunks of honey filled wax in it. You can heat the wax with a lamp or leave it out in the sun to help move things along but you'll probably end up having to do a bit of squeezing to get it all out. 2. Take 'em out and return them whenever you like. If you're going for high output you'll want another set of frames to drop in immediately after taking the full ones out. Otherwise, simply return the frames whenever you like. 3. Leave it raw. The only step beyond the strainer that you might do is to pour the honey through cheesecloth as a final strain to get anything out that might have slipped through the strainer. 4. Everything in the supers are yours to take. There are stores of honey in the deep for the bees to live on. However, I would recommend getting a second deep ASAP so that your hive doesn't swarm and split due to a lack of room. What was recommended to me was 2 deeps and 3-4 supers. You can also use deeps as supers but they get pretty difficult to work with because (as you found out) they're heavy as hell. Great pictures and I'm glad to see things are going well with your new hive!
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Sep 25, 2009 14:06
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I wouldn't harvest more than a super at a time. That's over 25lbs of honey usually! Like TouchyMcFeely pointed out, your seasons and harvesting are going to be very different... If we tried keeping bees in Utah with the hive you have, we couldn't take any honey (at least in the fall) since you have the minimum recommended hive size to overwinter here (2 deep hive bodies). It makes sense that yours doesn't need to be as large with no winter. I'd suggest talking to more local beekeepers if you can (maybe the locals will explain that one deep hive body is enough in Hawaii?). Without any additional advice, I would simply harvest that top super over and over again as soon as all of the frames are capped. Crush and strain harvesting is great for doing a single super or even less frames (feel free to harvest a single if it's capped). About needed processing, I have read that freezing your honey overnight can get rid of wax mites, but we don't do this. That also applies to your frames. I don't know anything about wax mites, just that I ignore these precautions currently.
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Sep 28, 2009 19:17
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Socratic Moron posted:In addition, the cost of shipping equipment here is utterly outrageous, so if I can make my hives, all the better. Cost of shipping aside, it's illegal(and a terrible idea) to import bees or equipment to any island due to varroa mites. It's also illegal to trap wild swarms within 5 miles of Hilo bay for the same reason. Also, the Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture is laying off their honeybee inspectors, leaving the entire island to fend for themselves against varroa infestation. In the next year or so, these guys should be releasing their varroa traps, which are basically flypaper for varroa mites. http://www.ars-fla.com/ disciplinary action fucked around with this message at 02:50 on Sep 30, 2009 |
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Sep 30, 2009 02:47
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Thank you guys for your advice, I appreciate it!disciplinary action posted:Cost of shipping aside, it's illegal(and a terrible idea) to import bees or equipment to any island due to varroa mites. It's also illegal to trap wild swarms within 5 miles of Hilo bay for the same reason. As for the 5 miles around Hilo, that may be, but the mites have already made their way to Kapoho Island-wide infestation is only a matter of time at this point Are you on the BI?
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Sep 30, 2009 09:52
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Socratic Moron posted:Thank you guys for your advice, I appreciate it! I'm planning on coming out there. Just been doing homework. EDIT: Correction, apparently the importing equipment rule is about used equipment. disciplinary action fucked around with this message at 18:44 on Sep 30, 2009 |
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Sep 30, 2009 18:41
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Well crap. According to weather.com it snowed in my neck of Utah yesterday and I haven't done anything to winterize my hive. For folks who get snow (screw you Hawaii!) what's your plan for the coming season?
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Oct 2, 2009 00:37
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I pulled my last three frames of capped honey today, and removed my second super (the one they never really built much on). I'll take the other super off once they've had a chance to clean the honey off the harvested frames. You can definitely tell the bees are getting ready for the winter, because the top super, which a month ago was full to bursting with bees, had three bees in it today. The full super had just a few on each frame. The deeps looked chock-full of bees though, so I'm not worried that my hive is dying or anything. I have to go crush and strain this honey now, and maybe I can take some pictures before my hands get too sticky.
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Oct 2, 2009 03:16
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If anyone was wondering exactly how much honey three full-ish frames will yield using a crush-and-strain method: That much. For scale, the largest jar on the right is a pint, and the next couple from the right are 12oz...which conveniently hold exactly 1lb (by weight) of my delicious honey. The rest are smaller jars for gifts for people I don't really like.
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Oct 3, 2009 06:24
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I hate you. I'll be lucky if I get one frame. My bees suck.
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Oct 3, 2009 06:28
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Maximusi posted:I hate you. I'll be lucky if I get one frame. My bees suck. I pretty much had ten -- one full super, give or take. The other super was pretty barren. Hopefully next year, with comb drawn on the deeps already, they'll be able to make even more.
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Oct 3, 2009 07:47
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Wow this is weird. I just opened the super and it was packed with honey (6 frames). I guess they waited till everything hatched and now they're filling all the empty cells with honey. I don't get these bees, but at least I'll get honey, yay!
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Oct 4, 2009 22:01
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The caps and crushed comb that I was getting ready to render? Well I looked in the bowl and discovered it was floating in what looked like clear, gorgeous honey. So I threw it back in the strainer overnight, and I bet I got close to another quart of honey out of it. I'll be rendering the wax today; I need to buy a big pot at Goodwill because everything I've read says never use a pot you ever want to use again for anything else. I've got a lot of wax, but not nearly as much as I thought I did, because I strained a ton of weight out of it overnight. God I love my bees.
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Oct 5, 2009 17:31
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walrusman posted:The caps and crushed comb that I was getting ready to render? Well I looked in the bowl and discovered it was floating in what looked like clear, gorgeous honey. So I threw it back in the strainer overnight, and I bet I got close to another quart of honey out of it. I read somewhere, I think that anarchist beekeeper page posted earlier, that you can leave the crushed comb in a bowl near the hive, and they'll clean out all the residual honey and leave perfectly clean wax behind. I can't wait to get into this hobby.
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Oct 5, 2009 22:29
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I had a film of honey (actually probably a couple cups worth) and a broken, sticky mess of a frame that I couldn't get back in the hive this morning, left in my big rubbermaid tub that I used to carry the frames inside. Rather than throw it away, I decided to leave the tub near the hive and let the bees steal back what they could. Bad idea. Two hours later the honey on the bottom of the tub was full of dead bees, probably half from drowning and half killed by the hundreds of yellowjackets gorging themselves on the honey. I was surprised not to see any ants, actually. So yeah, I'd read that too and I had planned on cleaning my wax that way...but after seeing how much of a mess it made with unwanted pests and dead bees, I decided to just strain it a few times and then render it. The first batch of rendered wax is cooling on top of a pot of water as we speak; hopefully it'll be nice and pure once it hardens.
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Oct 6, 2009 00:16
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walrusman posted:Bad idea. Two hours later the honey on the bottom of the tub was full of dead bees, probably half from drowning and half killed by the hundreds of yellowjackets gorging themselves on the honey. I was surprised not to see any ants, actually.  drat, that's a shame man.
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Oct 6, 2009 00:52
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God I hate yellowjackets. That's so sad to hear.
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Oct 6, 2009 01:04
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Yeah it really broke my heart. Despite my gruff exterior I'm a giant softy when it comes to animals, and I've really started to grow attached to my awesome bees. They're cute, goddamnit, and I'll fight anyone who says differently -- not to mention the massive amount of honey they so graciously made me. Seeing them fighting bravely against the more mobile and better-armed yellowjackets really made me proud of them. It was like WWII in the Pacific, except on a 1:10,000 scale. God, I'm such a woman. On a lighter note, I was able to chop up a damaged frame and make a decent entrance reducer. Should give them the upper hand against invading yellowjackets and excessive cold. On an even lighter note, my rendered wax looks great. The first batch...  which is about half the total, came out very nicely. The hole in the plank is from the beer bottle I used to hold down the cheescloth bag of whole comb and keep it from floating. The second batch is cooling right now, and it will be sans hole because I had to render it a second time. For some reason the crud wasn't as easy to skim and the finished product wasn't pure enough for my liking.
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Oct 6, 2009 04:29
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Wow that's really dark. Nice color. Walrusman what kinda bees do you have?
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Oct 6, 2009 05:21
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