Any beekeepers out there?

[EagleKeeper]

I had my first hive this past summer. Had a lot of fun with it. A buddy and I both got our own hives. Learned a lot, my hive swarmed in the early summer so I didn't get the honey I probably should have, but we got 90lbs between the two hives.

Are you going to keep the bees through the winter? Guess it depends on where you live. I'm in MN and thought about keeping them but heard bad things about the wintering process. Decided to sell them to a guy that took them down to Oklahoma for the winter.

The hive swarmed because you possibly did not add space as they grew.
Strong hives will use 4-5 full supers; 3 will be for excess honey storage.

One should place a retainer above the second full super to allow the workers in but keep the queen out.

As super #4 starts to fill with honey, #3 can be removed and an empty super placed on the stack.


Note: An empty super is one with all the frames having a wax insert but not cells. the bees will follow the pattern of the insert to build up the cells and deposit the honey inside.

 

[EagleKeeper]

No, but it's something I've always been interested in. I'd like to hear your experiences along the way, and how you make out with it.

Sure...I'll keep you posted. I'm looking forward to standing in a bunch of bees and trying not to end up like that kid from 'My Girl'.

See my first response in the thread.

A bee suit/helmet/mask and gloves will protect you as long as you keep all entrances sealed.

Any little opening wil be found and exploited.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Yea, I know they don't "need" the room, but, I can just buy clover honey which is better than "miscellaneous" honey from the neighborhood... I'd only get the bees if I had an orchard

And I don't mind getting stung, but, I do have some pretty big BBQ's in the summer, and my back yard is like 50 feet wide by maybe 75 feet deep .... no matter where I were to put the hive(s), it would be close to the property line, or close to my shed, or close to my deck .... or too close to my fire pit, etc...

Unless your neighbors use the property line, it could be OK. Once the bees learn that you have nothing for them, they will ignore you. They may investigate the BBQ, but if no one swats at them, no harm, no foul. Make them angry and they will win.

A 10-15 ft buffer from the hive and you should be fine.


Avoid clover honey - it is very weak flavor.

What has the flavor is the honey from goldenrod and fruit trees.

Darker the honey, the more flavor.

And all honey is pure - do not let the deceptive advertising fool you.

Honey should not be stored in a chilled area (refrig). If it crystallizes, sit the bottle in a pan of water and warm the water to the point that the honey is liquidfied. There is no quality loss.

 

[EagleKeeper]

As a science lesson, the bees & hive can be used for interesting experiments.:thumbsup:

Taking the drones into school and tying a thread to them can generate plenty of amusement in class.

Great for getting kicked out of class when you do not wish to take a test.()

 

[BurnItDwn]

Unless your neighbors use the property line, it could be OK. Once the bees learn that you have nothing for them, they will ignore you. They may investigate the BBQ, but if no one swats at them, no harm, no foul. Make them angry and they will win.

A 10-15 ft buffer from the hive and you should be fine.


Avoid clover honey - it is very weak flavor.

What has the flavor is the honey from goldenrod and fruit trees.

Darker the honey, the more flavor.

And all honey is pure - do not let the deceptive advertising fool you.

Honey should not be stored in a chilled area (refrig). If it crystallizes, sit the bottle in a pan of water and warm the water to the point that the honey is liquidfied. There is no quality loss.

I use honey to make mead, I don't really use the honey for anything else.

Clover honey is a good mead honey because it's mild, available in large quantities, and generally pretty consistent. It's sorta like using Pine for building a deck.... not the sturdiest or best stuff out there, but it makes a good deck.

Cherry honey is floral in taste, somewhat subtle, but really good.

Tobacco honey is one of my favorites, but, that doesn't mean it's ideal for making mead

 

[lxskllr]

I had a honey once that tasted like marshmallow. I can't remember what the bees used, but it was fairly scarce. I always asked the guys if they got more, and never did. That was one of the best tasting, unique honeys I ever had.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Thanks for all the responses EagleKeeper. For those wanting to know prices, I ordered a queen & package bees locally for $80. This is a little more than what they cost online, but I don't have to worry about receiving a bee carcass in the mail and can ensure that the queen & bees will be alive when I go pick them up.

Since I got the hive and starter equipment for free, I don't have the same startup costs as anyone else wanting to get into it.
Here are some links to places that provided the class I took with catalogs. I've seen starter kits range from $130-180 depending on what all they come with. Most are unassembled and require wood glue, possibly nails, and paint....it's a few hours of work getting a hive assembled, but not too bad.

http://www.mannlakeltd.com/ListProduct.asp?idCategory=33
https://www.dadant.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=90&products_id=945
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Bee-ginners-Kits/products/3/

BTW- This is the kit that I won: http://kelleybees.com/CMS/CMSPage.a...oductDetail&productId=6159%7cProductGroup

 

[DrPizza]

Looking forward to turning part of this wild swarm into a food producing swarm. Doubly excited because seeing that goldenrod honey & fruit tree honey is better than clover honey... I'm guessing that golden rod and apple trees provided the majority of the food for the bees during the past few years.

Nearly the entire wall of that barn/shed, plus a good portion of the roof is full of bees and honeycomb and honey. Speaking of which, just grabbing a hunk of honeycomb with the honey inside and chewing on it is pretty tasty.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Containing/relocating the swarm is not going to do you any good unless you can locate the queen.

If you can locate her; place her inside a hive with restrictors to prevent her from leaving.

The main swarm will follow her if you take enough (few handfuls) of the swarm with her. Those that you take should be from close proximity to her within the wild swarm. They will have her scent on them and transfer it to others they come in contact with when they leave the hive area.

They will alert the rest of the swarm where she is and the main body should relocate.

Best bet will be to get dressed up properly, lay in a stock of calamine lotion, get a smoker and flashlight and go to work when it is dark.

The combination of darkness (less heat) and the smoke will help docile the swarm.
Then you can start sweeping them gently out of the way until you locate where the actual hive area is.

You may be able to cut that area out and place it inside a super on top of the bottom restrictor; removing frames to allow for you place in the cut out area package. It would be best to have the super with the restricters already in place before you dance with the devil.

 

[preslove]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAPaGzVJves&feature=related

 

[edro]

 

[BurnItDwn]

Eaglekeeper for custom title: "Elite lord of the bees"

 

[Newbian]

It doesn't require anything in the way of land. As long as they have a food source somewhere nearby, you can keep bees almost anywhere.

Silly question but would you not need to look into some kind of special insurance if you don't have that much land and they will more then likely roam around in neighbors property?

Would suck getting sued over it as not everyone would want a beehive so close near them.

 

[lxskllr]

Silly question but would you not need to look into some kind of special insurance if you don't have that much land and they will more then likely wonder in neighbors property?

Would suck getting sued over it as not everyone would want a beehive so close near them.

They'll definitely wander to the neighbor's property. I'm not sure how regulations would apply. I imagine it's different everywhere, and varies at the town level. I don't think any kind of insurance is useful, or necessary, but it would probably be worth looking at local law on the matter. People are litigious assholes, and will sue/win in court over spurious claims.

 

[DrPizza]

Containing/relocating the swarm is not going to do you any good unless you can locate the queen.

If you can locate her; place her inside a hive with restrictors to prevent her from leaving.

The main swarm will follow her if you take enough (few handfuls) of the swarm with her. Those that you take should be from close proximity to her within the wild swarm. They will have her scent on them and transfer it to others they come in contact with when they leave the hive area.

They will alert the rest of the swarm where she is and the main body should relocate.

Best bet will be to get dressed up properly, lay in a stock of calamine lotion, get a smoker and flashlight and go to work when it is dark.

The combination of darkness (less heat) and the smoke will help docile the swarm.
Then you can start sweeping them gently out of the way until you locate where the actual hive area is.

You may be able to cut that area out and place it inside a super on top of the bottom restrictor; removing frames to allow for you place in the cut out area package. It would be best to have the super with the restricters already in place before you dance with the devil.

I've noticed that the hive swarms at least once a year, splitting off to make a new hive somewhere else. I had a guy come up and capture one of the swarms hanging from a tree branch behind my house. Prior, he had said he was going to give me the supers, etc., that I'd need. But changed his mind when it came time to capture that new colony. When he died about a year later, my brother and I ended up with all his equipment. My brother still has that colony; of all his colonies, that's the only one that consistently thrived. Late this spring/early summer, if they start swarming again, my brother described what to do so that I can coax them into just moving in next door instead of moving to who knows where (unless I see the swarm.) The bee keepers I've spoken with said that I was likely to do a lot of damage to the colony in attempting to rip out the wall, and "what?! you have wild colonies?!" Their advice was to leave the original colony alone, since it's done so well (it's been there for at least a decade as far as anyone knows; signs point to it being there much longer, with attempts to block the bees from entering (metal lids nailed over holes.)... and to simply wait until the colony decides it's time to split off again.

 

[Newbian]

They'll definitely wander to the neighbor's property. I'm not sure how regulations would apply. I imagine it's different everywhere, and varies at the town level. I don't think any kind of insurance is useful, or necessary, but it would probably be worth looking at local law on the matter. People are litigious assholes, and will sue/win in court over spurious claims.

Google for the win:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...s&aq=0sx&aqi=g-sx1&aql=&oq=inusrance+for+beek

Sounds like they even added some for it in the stimulus money.

I would be more worried if it was a small property as the person said and you live in a somewhat full neighborhood, especially if you don't know if anyone is allergic around the area or a lot of young kids.

Bringing in a hazard like that could be a issue, especially if people find out you have the beehives compared to them simply thinking mother nature is out for a bit of revenge.

It sounds like many places you would need a permit if it's within a city area.

 

[lxskllr]

Google for the win:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...s&aq=0sx&aqi=g-sx1&aql=&oq=inusrance+for+beek

Sounds like they even added some for it in the stimulus money.

I would be more worried if it was a small property as the person said and you live in a somewhat full neighborhood, especially if you don't know if anyone is allergic around the area or a lot of young kids.

Bringing in a hazard like that could be a issue, especially if people find out you have the beehives compared to them simply thinking mother nature is out for a bit of revenge.

I think those policies are to compensate for commercial loss, not bee stings from neighbors, or silly stuff like that.

People are irrational idiots, and some add greed on top of that. Honey bees are extremely docile, and I wouldn't have any qualms about being near a hive, even if I were highly allergic(I'm not). What /I/ would do is put up a hive, and not say a thing to anyone. I don't necessarily recommend that approach, but that's what I would do :^)

 

[DrPizza]

I think those policies are to compensate for commercial loss, not bee stings from neighbors, or silly stuff like that.

People are irrational idiots, and some add greed on top of that. Honey bees are extremely docile, and I wouldn't have any qualms about being near a hive, even if I were highly allergic(I'm not). What /I/ would do is put up a hive, and not say a thing to anyone. I don't necessarily recommend that approach, but that's what I would do :^)

I've probably spent a cumulative total of 5 to 10 hours just standing next to one of the entrances to the bee hive. I've been stung a grand total of once, while mowing about 15 feet away, and I'm not 100% sure it was a honeybee rather than a ground wasp or something.

 

[joesmoke]

this is the 5th time i saw this thread and thought somebody opened a thread about bookkeepers...

 

[paulney]

If I lived in a more remote area, I'd definitely set up a few hives. Seems like a fun thing.

 

[Born2bwire]

Ahhh, my legs!

 

[EagleKeeper]

Ahhh, my legs!

In the early days, I had one crawl up my undershorts and once tangled...

 

[Conroe]

I had a hive in my yard. A friend know a local apiarist and they came and took it. Killer bees are close to here. I don't want my kids attacked.

I would like to make some meed. I make some good beer. Meed takes too long. I might try making some Joe's ancient orange.

 

[AMCRambler]

Nick Cage LOVES bees!

 

[zinfamous]

hahaha

oh snap!

:hmm:

wait, why am I laughing?