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OT: Anyone Keep Bees
Comments
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nolaegghead said:Bees...you guys have a hive mentality.Large BGE and Medium BGE
36" Blackstone - Greensboro! -
Very cool! I use a alcohol wash to count mites, I can almost guarantee you have them. If you can learn to manage mites beekeeping will be more enjoyable.
This is a very handy resource.
http://scientificbeekeeping.com/varroa-management/
With a passive plan for mites your hives will last a year or two and die out, other hives will rob the dead hive and carry mites back to theirs.
South of Columbus, Ohio. -
© Randy Oliver 2006, 2009
The varroa mite is the toughest challenge ever faced by American beekeepers. Our reaction to it reminds me of the five stages of dealing with trauma (greatly paraphrased from Kubler-Ross 1997):
Stage 1: Denial (this isn’t happening to me! There can’t be mites on my bees.)
Stage 2: Anger (You little hive-killing buggers—I’m gonna obliterate you with my Silver Bullet!)
Stage 3: Bargaining (Apistan’s not working any more—please give me another Silver Bullet!)
Stage 4: Depression (It’s just too danged hard to keep bees anymore!)
Stage 5: Acceptance (I accept the mite as a formidable enemy that I’ve got to learn to live with)
South of Columbus, Ohio. -
CTMike said:Bought one of these and picked it up last weekend. Bee pckage will be ready for pickup in mid- to late-April. Couple beekeepers at work are going to mentor me.South of Columbus, Ohio.
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No, it’s a Langstroth. He also makes Warre and Top Bar Style hives.MMBGE / Large BGE / XL BGE (Craigslist Find) / SF30x80 cabinet trailer - "Ol' Mortimer" / Outdoor kitchen in progress.
RECOVERING BUBBLEHEAD
Southeastern CT. -
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you guys rock with the bee's...always wanted to have a few but limited time. Don't like to do things half ass so figured you need to be "in" or "out" on bee's. Love to read about the details of keeping!!! Keep on keeping on fella's!!!
"it is never too early to drink, but it may be too early to be seen drinking"
Winston-Salem, NC
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If you don't want honey production (insert pun here), you can order Mason bees from tractor supply. They are just pollinators.LBGE, and just enough knowledge and gadgets to be dangerous .
Buford,Ga. -
Well,
Picked up a 3# package with a mated queen today. Got them installed in the hive without passing them off too much (I think).
We’ll see how things go.
MMBGE / Large BGE / XL BGE (Craigslist Find) / SF30x80 cabinet trailer - "Ol' Mortimer" / Outdoor kitchen in progress.
RECOVERING BUBBLEHEAD
Southeastern CT. -
@CTMike Is that the typical way you get Nucs down there. I remember that from 30 years ago. Nucs typically come with 4 frames around here. Interesting.
Sudbury, Ontario -
My understanding is that’s a 3 pound marked queen order.
A Nuc would also include full frames of brood and capped honey. Number of frames varies 3 or 5.
I am probably mistaken.
Large BGE and Medium BGE
36" Blackstone - Greensboro! -
@MaskedMarvel So when you're re-queening this is what you would order?
Sudbury, Ontario -
Yes, this was a marked queen order with 3 lbs of bees.
Around here a nuc is 5 frames (basically an established hive).
MMBGE / Large BGE / XL BGE (Craigslist Find) / SF30x80 cabinet trailer - "Ol' Mortimer" / Outdoor kitchen in progress.
RECOVERING BUBBLEHEAD
Southeastern CT. -
If you were requeening all you need is a queen. Package bees are basically a swarm.
South of Columbus, Ohio. -
Definitely do NOT add bees into an established hive. Only add a queen, and only when the hive is queenless.
The queen comes in a cage that has sugar blocking the entrances. When you hang the cage in the hive, the bees will eat the candy from both sides. It’s enough time for the existing bees to acclimate to the new queens pheromones so she isn’t attacked.
Large BGE and Medium BGE
36" Blackstone - Greensboro! -
You can add a queenless lot of bees to Queen right hive, sometimes I will combine a queenless hive to weaker hive that needs help.
The manipulations are endless and that is part of the fun.
South of Columbus, Ohio. -
I've been trying to keep bees for a few years now and have been lucky with only losing one hive during that time. Then came this past winter that didn't want to end. It completely wiped me out.
Starting out with a few nucs when they're available in my area and plan to rebuild.
Sudbury, Ontario -
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@alaskanassasin That's a uuuuge swarm you have there. Not sure about your box on a ladder trick though but good luck. I usually cut the branch and bring it back to earth.
Also seems early for swarming but not sure of your climate.Sudbury, Ontario -
They were both huge swarms! I had to take 5 frames out to get them in the boxes. Swarms are a bit behind here, it has been cold.
South of Columbus, Ohio. -
So my grandson is helping me learn this new hobby.
MMBGE / Large BGE / XL BGE (Craigslist Find) / SF30x80 cabinet trailer - "Ol' Mortimer" / Outdoor kitchen in progress.
RECOVERING BUBBLEHEAD
Southeastern CT. -
Looks good! Do you have any capped brood?
South of Columbus, Ohio. -
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There was some capped brood on another frame, the queen was also on another frame. Just didn’t get pics of all the frames.
MMBGE / Large BGE / XL BGE (Craigslist Find) / SF30x80 cabinet trailer - "Ol' Mortimer" / Outdoor kitchen in progress.
RECOVERING BUBBLEHEAD
Southeastern CT. -
Wasp sting to the eyebrow. Wear those veils!
Large BGE and Medium BGE
36" Blackstone - Greensboro! -
As an update, this is what I was greeted with when I pulled the super off a few days back for an inspection.
Looks like a very healthy population, hoping they make it through the winter. This is the top of the upper deep box. Plan on a full inspection, mite check, etc tomorrow.
MMBGE / Large BGE / XL BGE (Craigslist Find) / SF30x80 cabinet trailer - "Ol' Mortimer" / Outdoor kitchen in progress.
RECOVERING BUBBLEHEAD
Southeastern CT. -
Hey guys, if you have kept bees for more than 3 years you are going to have some losses. Today I was cleaning out a hive and saw some varroa mites I thought I would share the photo so you could identify them in the future. One on the bee and one on the bottom board. Even with treatment they are relentless.South of Columbus, Ohio.
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