# Bees



## pineywoods (May 20, 2012)

I got 3 hives of bees last Monday and opened the hives today to check on them. I tried to get some pics of the frames inside the hives but they didn't come out so I'll try again when I open them again. I had to add a super to one hive as soon as I got it home as they were already working 8 of the 10 frames and today had to add a super to another hive.

For people that have been here here's where the hives are located that's the greenhouse on the right


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## thoseguys26 (May 21, 2012)

Cool. We just got our first queen a month ago. We had to add a super right away after the first week. It's our first hive so we've learned sooo much so far and it's pretty exciting.

Is this your first time? I'll have to keep you in contact in case we have any questions. We decided to build all of our trays by hand (with real wax, not plastic combs) since my GF's dad used to do it when he was younger and wanted us to 'experience' the work :) It's been fun so far and our peach, plum and the rest of our flowers are sure much much happier now.

What do you do about the drones? From my understanding they are pretty much worthless, besides mating with the queen, and you should clean out their larva when you see it. Supposedly their larva sticks out further then the females so you can just scrape each one out? Let me know your thoughts.

We have to let them build two supers and then on top of that is our supply because the winters are tough here.


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## diggingdogfarm (May 21, 2012)

Gotta love bees!!!!
My first job was working for a commercial beekeeper/honey packer due to my fascination with bees!
Hard to believe that was 30 years ago, still have them to this day.




~Martin


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## thoseguys26 (May 21, 2012)

Alright! DiggingDogFarm, you've been added to my contact list. I hear the bee world is worse (in a good way) then any beer making, bbq'ing world out there, meaning, "each to their own". Some say leave em be, others, open the up at noon each day cause you can train them like a dog.. Either or, I'm a rookie but I am extremely amazed by the little creature's and what they accompolish in their short life. What do you all do with the honey? Just curious.  Awesome thread, I'll be watching!


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## roller (May 21, 2012)

I am waiting on my first hive from a friend. How many hives are you going to keep?


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## pineywoods (May 21, 2012)

These are my first hives and I'm not sure how many I'll have in the future it depends on how these go


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## oldschoolbbq (May 21, 2012)

Piney , are you going to sell the Honey? I have been looking for some "Citrus Blossom" Honey.

PM me and good luck with those little beauties...


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## alblancher (May 21, 2012)

Nice job on the hive Piney,  so you decided to go with medium supers?  

I have both wood & wire and plastic frames.  The plastic frames sure seem to be a lot easier.   I built a wax melter last weekend.  I think I spend $ 3.50 on a 1x4 I had to go buy.  Everything else was scrap as you'll be able to tell from the pics!

Good luck and congrats on the bees.  I harvested 13 1/2 pints last week from my one hive,  looking to harvest again in a couple of more days


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## baja traveler (May 21, 2012)

We have one hive in our back yard. I've never done anything to the hive other than collect honey once or twice a year, so the colony just takes care of itself. Being in San Diego, we have mild winters - or no winter some would say, so no need to feed them during winter months. Our hive is due for a harvest right now, so I'll probably be busy one day over the Memorial Day weekend coming up. I'll try to take some pictures.

I typically get 6-8 quarts of honey out of it every year, some years are better than others as with all things. I cook with honey alot, the wife goes through tons of it in her tea and on toast. I'm always attracted to the recipes here that include honey in the ingredients.

One thing I need to make one of these days is a frame spinner to extract the honey, but I don't have alot of space to store it just to use once or twice a year... We'll see - it would make everything so much easier.


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## thoseguys26 (May 21, 2012)

I've heard a lot of people rent extractors? Does anyone have any plans they would share for homemade extractors?

I've seen some youtube videos of people using a power drill inside a clean 50 gal plastic drum.


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## diggingdogfarm (May 21, 2012)

thoseguys26 said:


> What do you all do with the honey? Just curious.



For many years i sold honey, I had around 100 hives for several years.
I only keep a few hives here at home and give much of the honey away because I'm a diabetic now.....I still do make some dry mead however.


If you get to the point where you have a lot to sell, I have some secrets to moving a lot of honey at a premium price.
Well, not really secrets, although I see very few others doing it, it's really just common sense! :biggrin:




~Martin


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## pineywoods (May 21, 2012)

oldschoolbbq said:


> Piney , are you going to sell the Honey? I have been looking for some "Citrus Blossom" Honey.
> 
> PM me and good luck with those little beauties...


Stan it's going to be awhile before my bees are on citrus trees but when they are I'll make sure you get a jar. More than likely it'll be next year tho


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## alblancher (May 21, 2012)

I have pdf files of home made extractors.  I also have a link to an inexensive two frame extractor I was able to afford.  I'll try and pm to anyone that wants them tonight.  Don't want to steal Piney's tread.


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## BGKYSmoker (May 21, 2012)

YIKES

I wanna do the bee dance just looking at the pics.


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## whittling chip (May 21, 2012)

Great job and good luck. I see a lot of the hives but have never seen one laid out to be built. That would really be fun to make.

Many of my clients are in the citrus industry here in Central Florida. I really love the smell of the orange blossoms in the groves and the hives associated with them.

Hives are set up on hundred of acres of citrus in specific locations. They want the bees to do their job pollinating the trees. Many of my growers have specialty fruits, lemons, limes, grapefruit, etc. The mix of the pollen from the different varies really give the honey a very complex flavor. If you compare store bought versus straight from the grove you'll know what I mean.

The growers also plant wild mustard down the rows and last month they were blooming bright yellow flowers all over the orchard. This keeps the hives busy until the citrus starts blooming.

Not to steal a thread but for oldschool, here is the link to one of my business associates. They can hook you up with some of the best orange blossom honey around!

http://www.ceebeescitrus.com/category/60/honey.aspx

Thanks for posting,

WC


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## pineywoods (May 21, 2012)

alblancher said:


> I have pdf files of home made extractors.  I also have a link to an inexensive two frame extractor I was able to afford.  I'll try and pm to anyone that wants them tonight.  Don't want to steal Piney's tread.


Post them in here Al I'm sure several people would be interested and this isn't really "my" thread I just started it we can all share


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## baja traveler (May 21, 2012)

Here is a link to a cheap extractor plan using bicycle rims and a 55 gallon barrel. I think I'll build one of these this weekend. There is a local source for food grade 55 gallon drums for $35, so I'll pick one up this week.

http://www.voiceofthehive.com/VotH/15_1_Voice_of_the_Hive-Roll_Your_own_Extractor.htm


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## alblancher (May 21, 2012)

I'll look to see if I can find more
https://statich.smokingmeatforums.com/1/15/1592ba56_4frameextractorplans.pdf
Check Dadant for an inexpensive 2 frame extractor


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## roller (May 22, 2012)

This is what I like to see. Everyone sharing info on the same thread. No clame jumping here. Great job and I can use this info. Thanks.


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## alblancher (Jun 5, 2012)

I harvested another 13 pints this weekend from my single remaining hive.  There is still about a pint in the extractor.  That makes for 27 1/2 pints and I hope to make another harvest in a couple of weeks if the nectar flow continues.  

7 quarts  I guess that is about right.

I ordered some 6 oz plastic bear jars and lables.  Make a bunch of shortbread cookies, a little ribbon and I have Christmas gifts for the wife's co-workers


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## smokinhusker (Jun 5, 2012)

Outstanding! I like the Christmas Gift idea...so neat! I sure do miss the honey we had as kids growing up...I buy local now.


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## alblancher (Jun 6, 2012)

Chef Jimmy asked this question in another thread I would like to see what everyone interested in Bees thinks about his questions?







Chef JimmyJ









alblancher said:


> Probably not but I didn't know if you where out burning the back 40 or something! Harvested another 13 pints of honey from my one remaining hive yesterday. That gives me 26 pints so far for this season and hopefully at least one more harvest to come!


13 Pints from One Hive...I don't think I have eaten that much Honey in my life so far. Do you sell it or use it up in Recipes? That is too cool! I don't think I have the Nerve to tend a Hive. Too afraid of being Stung! Plus don't you Southern boys have to worry about Africanized Bees...JJ

Does anyone have any good recipes for fresh Honey?   I have been told by many local beekeepers that consuming at least a Tablespoon of local honey everyday goes a long way to clearing up and preventing allergies caused by local pollens. Spring honey from Privet and early summer honey from Tallow trees is very light in color and taste.  I love it on homemade biscuits, pancakes and in green tea.

Some of the later season honey is darker in color and tastes more like a natural cane syrup or molasses.  This honey is loaded with vitamins and comes from plants like  goldenrod.  This honey is great baked into things like fig cookies and pecan pies.

I put honey on my shredded wheat cereal for breakfast, use a bit in my oatmeal and homemade yogurt, It's also good drizzled on cookies.

Any other ideas?

As far as AHB we are constantly reminded by the State of what to look for when tending our hives.  When compared to Small Hive Beetles, Mites, Foulbrood, Wax Moths and other problems AHB has not become an issue down here.  I understand that there is a lot of work being done to eradicate AHB before the get established very well in the state.


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## alblancher (Jun 6, 2012)

BTW, 

properly protected and a slow, careful, deliberate approach when working your bees prevents most stings.  They will sting through the suit if the suit is tight or wet with sweat but my biggest concern is having bees get under the veil and stinging me on the eyelid or lip.    When one gets into the veil  I'll grab him with my glove and slowly walk to a safe place and remove him.  They don't like fast jerky movement and they don't like dark colors.

I've been stung many times through my clothing or by my carelessness but most stings are just irritating little pin pricks.

Fascinating hobby,  I'll go stand by my hives, out of their flight path, and just watch them.


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## pineywoods (Jun 6, 2012)

The man I bought my hives from doesn't wear a bee suit or veil and he has talked me into doing that more than once while opening hives with him and I usually end up with multiple stings doing it. With a bee suit consisting of a jacket with built in veil and separate gloves I haven't gotten one sting. The day we were opening my hives to inspect them before I brought them home he stopped to go put on a veil because of the amount of stings he was getting. It was funny right up until the time I had to take my gloves off to tape up the openings in the hive for transport they need to make duct tape you can work with while wearing heavy gloves 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





As for the Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) we do have some in the southern part of the state and because of that the state recommends that you not allow hives to re-queen themselves. If you were to get an AHB queen then the entire hive would become an AHB hive. AHB's still produce honey it's just that they are a lot more aggressive.

We have a state bee inspection program here and my hives will be inspected tomorrow.


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## big andy a (Jun 6, 2012)

I'm a rookie at this bee keeping but last year a neighbor was asking around for a place to put another hive and I offered our place.  We have the hive behind a large wood pile with our koi pond nearby so they are really going.  It is amazing to stand close enough to see the returning bees with their bright yellow pollen sacks as they swagger into the hive like returning heros - well I guess they are!

Curt.


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## moikel (Jun 6, 2012)

Remember bee keepers as a kid. They would put the hives on dads farm that backed onto 19000 acres of forest reserve on the Murrumbidgee River. The flowering gums were a favourite.Often sold here by tree type.leather wood,yellow box,iron bark.

I eat it with pecorino style cheese bit of an Southern Italian thing. I dont bake cakes but there are a few recipes for orange & honey cakes.

Makes you wonder about how long something as pure as beekeeping has endured,despite industrialization,pollution changed eating habits .Its thousands of years,there is a message in that somewhere!


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## rabbithutch (Jun 6, 2012)

There will be a special recall election because those bees are 'beeing' exploited and drone't have sufficient representation from hive leaders!

:bluesbros:


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## rabbithutch (Jun 6, 2012)

nepas said:


> YIKES
> 
> I wanna do the bee dance just looking at the pics.



Ouch!  My eyes!  Somebody?  Please erase that awful image!:th_crybaby2:


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## roller (Jun 6, 2012)

There is nothing like home made gifts...I have made over 100 1/2pt jars of jelly the past month...I have given over 1/2 of them away to friends already..


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## thoseguys26 (Jun 7, 2012)

13 pints! WOW  ------   100 1/2 pt jars GEEZE

I can't wait to get my first honey. They've just started to build up the second super at our house. This is a great thread, didn't know so many people had honey bees.

I've learned so much so fast with my new hobby. I'm very glad to have seen this post because I feel much more confident reading about all the expert bee keepers here.

Please share any recipes that you have. And please subscribe to this post so we can ask questions and share our experiences, recipes, and bee adventures.

I'm in CO, not sure if climate / location makes bees act different but at first we were all suited up sorta afraid of being stung but now we don't smoke and only wear eye protection (goggles) when opening the hive and checking on the bees. We've had them for four weeks, no stings.


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## pineywoods (Jun 9, 2012)

I had an interesting day yesterday in the state of Florida you are supposed to register your hives and they come out and inspect them once a year to make sure you don't have any bad diseases and check for AHB's. The amount you pay is based on the number of hives you have which in my case is 10 bucks and as I told my wife just having a bee expert open the hives and go through them with me is well worth more than that. Originally when I went to get my hives the man I was buying them from and I opened them to inspect them and mark the queens. We had one hive we didn't find the queen but figured even after having gone through every frame twice we must have missed the queen since there was lots of brood and everything else looked so good in fact he told me to put a super on as soon as I got home since they were already working 8 of the 10 frames. I've opened the hives each of the two weeks I've had them and never found the queen in that hive. I didn't see as much brood in them either and asked the man that I got them from and he said the big flows are ending and I may have to start feeding. Fast forward to this week and the inspector was coming out so I waited to open the hives until he got here yesterday. We happened to start with that hive and there was zero brood in it lots of bees, pollen, and honey but no brood we went through the frames three times and no queen to be found. So I called the man I got them from and he told me to come get another queen right away and rob a frame of brood from another hive to put into that one. All the other hives looked great and we alcohol tested some bees to test for mites and found zero not even one. I went and got the new queen and put her in and will open the hive Sunday to make sure that she is out of the cage.

Several other things I found out

I had supers on two of the three hives but the bees weren't working the plasticell frames I was told to add sugar water to the top feeders and this would prompt them to start working those frames. We also added a super to the third hive.

I wanted to start feeding pollen and went to buy a stand alone pollen feeder and the man I bought the bees from who also sells bee keeping supplies told me rather than buy the big expensive feeder for just three hives why not just use and old hive which he gave me. He said just put a lb or two of pollen in the rear area of the hive with no frames and make sure that I had the front angled down so water wouldn't run in. Then he suggested since deer like the pollen and I have so many of them to screw the lid down. If you should decide to try this place the feeder hive about 25 feet out in front of the hives if possible then when weather permits leave the lid off during the day for a couple days. If after a week they still haven't found it take a frame out (make sure the queen isn't on it) and take it over and shake the bees into the feeder. Once they discover it they will communicate to all the other hives what they have found.

I was also told a free standing sugar water feeder would promote more bee numbers. If you feed on the hive they will draw out the hive more but if you make them fly to the sugar water that will prompt more brood laying therefore more bees. So I put the sugar water into the top feeders to prompt them to start working the supers and next week I'll make free standing liquid feeders to try to get them to produce more numbers of bees to try to speed up when I can make splits.

Take this information for what it's worth I sure don't know that much about bees but this is info I got this week from the inspector and the man I got the bees from who has had bees for over 40 years and makes his living from them


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## diggingdogfarm (Jun 9, 2012)

Some of your comments brought a big smile to my face, reminds of some of the tricks in a humorous book I read a long time ago...way back in the early 80's.....
_Mastering the Art of Beekeeping_ by Ormond and Harry Aebi. They , at one time, held the world record for pounds of honey produced per hive.
They had lots of questionable tricks up their sleeves!!!
Anyway, it's a fun book to read.








~Martin


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## smokin trees (Jun 9, 2012)

Anyone ever hear of someone using dried honey crystals in their rubs?


Joe.


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## diggingdogfarm (Jun 9, 2012)

I'm sure it's been done, but dried honey is some pretty expensive stuff....and that which isn't as expensive is from China. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	







~Martin


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## alblancher (Jun 9, 2012)

One way to get a hive to produce a lot of honey is to pinch the queen.  You requeen after the main honey flow.   Thats one of the things to look for, if a hive is producing a lot of honey but you don't see the amount of brood increasing you have a queen problem

Honey crystals?  I'll have to look into that.


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## thoseguys26 (Jun 11, 2012)

How do you re-queen?


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## pineywoods (Jun 11, 2012)

There's more than one way to re-queen but since I had plenty of bees and no queen in there I got a queen that was in a cage. The cage has corks on each end and a piece of what they call candy inside. They put both the cork in the end nearest the candy and then put the queen and a couple worker bees in the other end then put that cork in. When you get it to the hive you take the cork out of the candy end and run a toothpick through the candy and pull it back out that leaves a little hole that seems to stimulate the bees to work the candy faster. You place the cage in between two frames in the hive with the uncorked end pointing up at least somewhat. By the time the candy is eaten the bees in the hive have become used to the new queens pheromones and will accept her. You put the cage in almost straight up in case one of the worker bees die they won't trap her inside the cage. After about 3 days you open the hive and check the cage to make sure she is out if for some reason she isn't then you open the other cork and dump her into the hive.


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## smokin trees (Jun 12, 2012)

alblancher said:


> One way to get a hive to produce a lot of honey is to pinch the queen.  You requeen after the main honey flow.   Thats one of the things to look for, if a hive is producing a lot of honey but you don't see the amount of brood increasing you have a queen problem
> 
> Honey crystals?  I'll have to look into that.


honey crystals....yessir...

...let me know if you find something.  i think i heard myron mixon say he used it as a "secret" ingredient.


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## scarbelly (Jun 12, 2012)

Try here - saw this a while back when looking for something else 


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## baja traveler (Jun 23, 2012)

Harvest Day!

The brother and I opened the hive today, and pulled fully loaded frames out one after another. It's been slightly over a year since we did it last, that's way too long, so I'm going to push for a 6 month schedule. Don't know the quantity yet, but the bin we put the frames in weighed 50-60 pounds!


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## pineywoods (Jun 23, 2012)

Cool hope you got a bunch. I had a friend harvest his last week and he got about 5 gals per super.

I see you have two hive body's then a super where is the queen excluder?

I have one hive body then a super and the bees aren't really working the supper but are storing lots of honey in the hive body not leaving much room for the brood. I was told to take the supper off and add another hive body to give the queen more room for brood then wait until they are about worked out before adding a queen excluder to the top of the two hive body's then put the super on that.


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## baja traveler (Jun 23, 2012)

Queen excluder is right under the super. The wood is starting to rot out on this hive, so we are in the process of building a new one. The next hive will have two supers for even more room. The hive is very happy with their home the way it is, but going to 20 frames may prevent the hive from getting as packed as it always seems to get.


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## roller (Jun 29, 2012)

No Bee`s for me this year buddy did not come thru..I think it will be best for me to buy my Bee`s next year ...


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## alblancher (Jun 29, 2012)

you have plenty of time to build your hive bodies!


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## flyfishjeep (Jun 29, 2012)

We will be purchasing our bees next spring.  We have so many wild flowers on our property along with the fruit orchard I have planted the last two years.  Thanks to everyone for sharing on this topic. I would have never thought to ask about bee keeping on this forum.  Hopefully I can get my reading in before  too long.  I need to find some people here in East TN to teach me "hands on".  Reading about something will only take you so far...

Thanks again!


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## alblancher (Jun 29, 2012)

Check with your extension service for classes or google bee clubs in your area.  It is  a big help  to have a mentor.


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## pineywoods (Jun 29, 2012)

flyfishjeep said:


> We will be purchasing our bees next spring.  We have so many wild flowers on our property along with the fruit orchard I have planted the last two years.  Thanks to everyone for sharing on this topic. I would have never thought to ask about bee keeping on this forum.  Hopefully I can get my reading in before  too long.  I need to find some people here in East TN to teach me "hands on".  Reading about something will only take you so far...
> 
> Thanks again!


I went to a very long bee class spread over 8 or 10 weeks it was good but as you said nothing beats hands on learning. We are actually starting a Bee Club in our county since there isn't one. Our first meeting will be next month and our Extension Office has been a great help with getting things rolling.


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## pineywoods (Jun 29, 2012)

I went to pick up more supplies yesterday and the owner (kinda my mentor) said he had to go pick up a bunch of nucs after he closed the shop. I told him I'd give him a hand so we went to get nucs from two of his bee yards. We picked up the first 8 and a full hive and on the way to the second one he said he might have something there I'd be interested in. We got there after dark and while he was backing the truck around I went and smoked the hives I saw a nuc with a second nuc box on it and thought that was strange. Turns out that's what he thought I might like it seems his guy was kind of busy and when the nuc got worked out he just added another nuc body full of frames onto the existing nuc box so now it's a 10 frame nuc. Needless to say I'll be picking up that nuc in the next couple days as soon as I get a new hive painted 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






This morning a friend who has had bees for awhile came over and we pulled the still un worked super from each hive we inspected the hive pulled two frames of brood and put them into a new hive body with wax frames and set them on the existing hive bodies after putting empty wax frames where we took out the brood frames. This will allow the queen to lay in both hive bodies and in the fall I will pull the upper hive body and make a new hive. I'll leave the queen with the weakest hive and let the stronger hive attempt to re queen itself if they aren't successful I'll add a queen. .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

I won't be making any excess honey but hopefully during the fall flow they can store enough to get them through the winter if not I'll have to feed. In the spring I should have to split again if everything goes as planned.


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## baja traveler (Jun 29, 2012)

Thats awesome that you are starting a club! Having a club not only benefits by having experienced mentors around, but you now will have a built in community to share equipment like honey extractors and bee vacs that you don't typically need everyday. Maybe you can recruit a woodworker into the club, then hold a periodic hive building production line. Once the setup is done, it's just as easy to cut the parts for 10 hives as it is for one...


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 1, 2012)

Does anyone know of any online stores to order plastic frames for a super? We just lost 5 frames to the hot hot heat here in CO and they melted / collapsed.. We used all wax frames because we heard the bees like them better.. Now we're going to try some plastic.

The places I looked online had really expensive shipping.


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## alblancher (Jul 1, 2012)

Mannlake has free shipping over 100 bucks  won't work for 5 frames but maybe you need other supplies


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## baja traveler (Jul 2, 2012)

thoseguys26 said:


> Does anyone know of any online stores to order plastic frames for a super? We just lost 5 frames to the hot hot heat here in CO and they melted / collapsed.. We used all wax frames because we heard the bees like them better.. Now we're going to try some plastic.
> 
> The places I looked online had really expensive shipping.


Hillside Apiaries does not mark up shipping.

http://www.hillsidebees.com/Deep-Plastic-Beehive-Frame-p/es-002.htm


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## pineywoods (Jul 2, 2012)

thoseguys26 said:


> Does anyone know of any online stores to order plastic frames for a super? We just lost 5 frames to the hot hot heat here in CO and they melted / collapsed.. We used all wax frames because we heard the bees like them better.. Now we're going to try some plastic.
> 
> The places I looked online had really expensive shipping.


Have you tried this one??    http://www.dadant.com/catalog/advan...i cell&search_in_description=1&sort=2a&page=2

I was told by several people I trust that if your in a decent flow and introduce plastic frames they will usually work them however if you don't have a good flow going they might not work them at all. Last week we took off three supers with plasticell that had been on since May that the bees weren't working. I was told when I put them on that if the bees didn't start working them to feed a thin sugar water in my hive top feeders and this would often get them started. After three tries a week apart I gave up and pulled the supers. That's when I decided to give up on honey harvesting for awhile and concentrate on making more hives. We removed the queen excluders and put another hive body on all of them with wax frames


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## baja traveler (Jul 7, 2012)

After the last harvest I'm finally getting around to taking care of the wax from the crush & strain process. I brought it to my house and spread it out on cookie sheets in the shade of the backyard, didn't take more than 5 minutes for the first bee to find it. By tomorrow afternoon the wax will be all cleaned up and ready for melting and processing into lip balm or bullet lube using my own recipes.


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 7, 2012)

OK, that was actually my next question.. We had about 10 wax frames melt. What do you do with the wax? Do you just set them out by the hive w/sugar water to help them fill the plastic (wax coated) trays? The plastic trays I ordered have a wax coating.

This is a great thread. Thanks.


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## baja traveler (Jul 8, 2012)

Was what had melted full of honey? If it's just plain wax, save it for your own use. You can set crushed & strained wax out by the hives, but one of the issues that we discovered is that other bees will be coming in to rob, causing some very aggressive behavior. Thats why I choose to move the wax to my house in neutral territory. That keeps the bees away from their own hive and they don't get aggressive. When I get my own hive here at the house next spring that option will go away, in that case I'll just put an empty super on top of the hive with the tray of wax to be cleaned inside. That keeps it inside the hive so robbing (and pissed off bees) isn't a problem. Just be sure to remove the empty super after several days or you will end up with them building in there. In this picture I just took you can see practically the whole gang here this morning cleaning up, I'm standing 2 feet away from the trays watching them do their work while I'm in shorts and a tee shirt and nobody is paying any attention to me. You can already see pure white clean wax in places.


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## rabbithutch (Jul 8, 2012)

This has been a very interesting thread.  I've never kept bees because I have to keep an Epi-Pen handy just in case a sting might lead to anaphylactic shock.  We have the persistently aggressive Africanized strains around here.

Why do you set out the wax?  Is this wax just taken with the honey crop, still containing honey dribs and drabs?  Is that why the bees are working it, to get the sugar and any left over pollen?  Or, are they somehow reusing the wax?

I bought some wax from a wholesaling honey operation not too far from me.  It was raw wax that had not yet been cleaned or strained.  I spent considerable time heating it and puring it through successively smaller strainers to get clean beeswax.


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## baja traveler (Jul 9, 2012)

I set the wax out because the bees will do an amazingly effecient job of cleaning off the remaining honey residue that is trapped. They will literaly dig through it to get to any remaining sweet spots. Some of the bees will also be collecting the wax and packing it on their hind legs to transport back to their own hive. If I lost more than a tenth of an ounce to this I'd be surprised. I now have the cleaned comb semi compressed in a gallon ziplock, to be later melted in a pot of hot water to further purify it for bullet lube. The hot water will dissolve any remaining stickiness the bees didn't get. Don't use your wifes pots for this step, or you will be spending hours scraping the sides to clean it back up! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





When I make lip balm out of it I just melt it as is because my recipe uses a touch of honey as one of the ingredients anyway.


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## roller (Jul 9, 2012)

I built10 hives for the guy that was supposed to get me 3 swarms. He supplied the material and brought it to my shop..He did how ever catch his cusin 3 swarms..Guess blood is thicker than 10 new hives...


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## rabbithutch (Jul 11, 2012)

Baja Traveler said:


> I set the wax out because the bees will do an amazingly effecient job of cleaning off the remaining honey residue that is trapped. They will literaly dig through it to get to any remaining sweet spots. Some of the bees will also be collecting the wax and packing it on their hind legs to transport back to their own hive. If I lost more than a tenth of an ounce to this I'd be surprised. I now have the cleaned comb semi compressed in a gallon ziplock, to be later melted in a pot of hot water to further purify it for bullet lube. The hot water will dissolve any remaining stickiness the bees didn't get. Don't use your wifes pots for this step, or you will be spending hours scraping the sides to clean it back up! :wife:
> 
> When I make lip balm out of it I just melt it as is because my recipe uses a touch of honey as one of the ingredients anyway.



Thanks for the explanation.  I don't think I've ever seen any beeswax that was left out for the hive to pick clean.  All I've ever dealt with personally required a lot of boiling and skimming and straining.  You are right.  It is a job best not done with her pots or she might make you wear one of 'em.


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## pineywoods (Mar 19, 2013)

It's about that time for some of y'all and some of us are already into it. Caught this swarm last week and have split several of my hives in fact I've split one twice already this year.

See the swarm?













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__ pineywoods
__ Mar 19, 2013






Just touched the tree and they fell to the ground. Put the nuc box on it's side and the queen climbed in and after that the other bees started crawling in after awhile I stood the box up and left it for more bees to fly in. It got pretty full after about 45 minutes.













!cid_image839CE1FF-A03F-4318-A469-3B1592E2FDE5.jpg



__ pineywoods
__ Mar 19, 2013


















!cid_image3C993F52-0611-4E21-9809-76C614374B05.jpg



__ pineywoods
__ Mar 19, 2013






Finally put the top on it taped it up and brought it home. It was pretty full so the next day I put it into a full sized hive. We made 5 splits that day and caught the swarm so a pretty good day. I'm helping a friend split a couple hives tomorrow and have to split another one of mine sometime this week.


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## kathrynn (Mar 19, 2013)

A friend of mine got theirs yesterday.  I have some of their honey....and it's fabulous!  That looks a bit scary tho!!!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Kat


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## daveomak (Mar 20, 2013)

I've tasted some of Jerry's honey.... Deep, rich flavor..... don't taste like no store bought stuff.....  Very, very good...


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## roller (Mar 20, 2013)

After helping a friend ( I thought ) build 8 hives last year he gave all of his swarms to his cousin..He promised me 2 of them but did not come threw. He did give me 2 pts of honey...Oh well such is life....


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## DanMcG (Mar 20, 2013)

Nice Jerry!


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## boykjo (Mar 20, 2013)

talk about free bee's......lol


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## squirrel (Mar 20, 2013)

Oh Jerry that is fantastic!! I've been researching bee keeping and hope to get in to it some day. Great post thanks for sharing!


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## pineywoods (Mar 27, 2013)

Caught another swarm at a friends place today













photo.JPG



__ pineywoods
__ Mar 27, 2013


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## daveomak (Mar 27, 2013)

That's a money shot.......


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## baja traveler (Mar 28, 2013)

Our hive swarmed a few weeks ago, managed to get a new nuc out there and capture it. They seem happy in their new home...

I also found a local nursery that carries bee keeping supplies, and they rent a really nice stainless centrifigal spinner for harvesting the frames for only 1 pound of honey per day of use. Going to make next harvest so much easier...


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## johnnyt (Mar 28, 2013)

I've been using honey from a local bee farm for my foiling sauce and it can't be beat! We've noticed the difference from the store bought since we switched over. Can't say enough about homegrown honey. I think that's what you'd call it eh?













image.jpg



__ johnnyt
__ Mar 28, 2013


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## pineywoods (Mar 28, 2013)

We went through hives today went through the ones here first then went to my friend's the one I got the swarm from yesterday and here's what we found when we got there.













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3-28-13-3.jpg



__ pineywoods
__ Mar 28, 2013






They were wanting to swarm when we opened the hive we found two brand new queens and six queen cells that were in the process of hatching we quickly caught the two and moved the cells into jars and within an hour they had all hatched as well. We made 2 splits off of this hive. We took the other new queens and put them into other hives that hadn't made queens yet so all is good now. At least I hope it is


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## thoseguys26 (Mar 28, 2013)

Piney, you're the bee whisperer. That's awesome!

JohnnyT - What's the Sweet Heat jug?


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## johnnyt (Mar 29, 2013)

Not actually sure, it's a sauce that a buddy of my father in law makes. I've deducted pineapple juice, ketchup, and red pepper in it but not sure what else is in it. Does have a little twang so im guessing vinigar too. All I know is I love the stuff, and use it on a lot of stuff. Works great in my foiling sauce.


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## thoseguys26 (Apr 9, 2013)

I haven't checked my bees for about 6 months. We're having a snow storm and cold weather the next couple days and I figured it'd be a good time to check on them since they should be slow moving. I have two supers and a half on top. We got them last year and are hoping to gather our first honey this summer.

Is there anything I should keep an eye out for when I peak in tomorrow? Should I check the supers at all or just the half on top? The bottom two supers were pretty much full last fall and maybe a third of the half on top.

Things are budding and they're really active during the warm days. Pretty exciting.


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## dcarch (Apr 9, 2013)

Two days ago, I got an e. mail from a friend. All her six hives died. She has been keeping bees for four years now. Her farm is in Columbus, GA.

I wish you lots of luck. Bees are having problems.

dcarch


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## daveomak (Apr 9, 2013)

http://www.king5.com/news/environment/Bees-winter-better-in-cold-storage-180454391.html

Interesting......  Dave


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## diggingdogfarm (Apr 9, 2013)

Bees have always had problems.
In 1985 we lost 90% of about 900 colonies!!!
That'll get your attention!!!! :icon_eek:

~Martin


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 23, 2013)

Alright! We got our first honey!! Soo delicious. We just love chewing on chunks of it, wax and all. I'm not sure how much will come out of the 10 frames in the shallow super but we'll see soon. I might just try to make a simple extractor that'll hold two frames and powered by a power drill.

Any tips from you experts out there would be greatful. I have them all sitting in an air conditioned room until I can get to them tomorrow. I'll make sure to put them in the hot garage for a half day before trying to extract them.  These frames have plastic dividers, not wax.

These are the full frames being put away until tomorrow. Yes, my neoprene waders came in handy today.













Screen Shot 2013-07-23 at 4.35.17 PM.jpg



__ thoseguys26
__ Jul 23, 2013


















Screen Shot 2013-07-23 at 4.35.24 PM.jpg



__ thoseguys26
__ Jul 23, 2013


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## daveomak (Jul 23, 2013)

Boy O Boy that honey looks nice and clean....    and delish.....  

Dave


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 25, 2013)

It took a year before I collected rent and these tennants let me know that rent was a little steep. Luckily my 5mm neoprene waders combatted their attempt to impail the landlord and take over the property.

As a good landlord, I gave them an extra top level unit, slightly furnished, and free with no charge......until next summer   
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






It was a blast! Thanks everyone here for the great info and help to a new bee keeper.

Here's some Bview













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__ thoseguys26
__ Jul 25, 2013


















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__ thoseguys26
__ Jul 25, 2013


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 25, 2013)

I'm ready to listen to the pro's here to what to do next.

Should I let the honey settle for a few days and skim off any floaties? or combine it all in one container and then try to filter it all with cloth and strainers?

Should I keep it in my hot garage to make the process easier?

Any tips on how to jar it? Should I just put it in canning jars and store in a shaded, cool area?

How about the left over wax? Should I put it by the hive or put it in a shallow super for a week or two? 

_I'm in a fenced local area where no bears will get to it but wasps and other critters could get to it.._

Any tips would be most greatful! On another note, does anyone have any honey recipes out there? Ways to subtitue honey for sugar?


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## smker (Jul 25, 2013)

hay there

if you like beekeeping there's a group here in Knoxville IA,  i didn't know it when i started work here at he hospital but they hold monthly meetings here,  the last meeting around 2 weeks ago a member brought in a homemade hive you can use in a city or town that would eliminate the fear from neighbors for bee keeping in town,  

thats all i heard about that tho.  

they put out a magazine id say 4 times a year.

if your interested let me know and ill get you his phone number,


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 25, 2013)

Thanks smker, there is actually a group 30 min from me that also does monthly meeting, etc.  I would be curious to hear about the hive designed for the city.

I woke up this morning to a delightful surprise. *The wax bits all floated to the top! I don't think I'll need to filter it now! *













Screen Shot 2013-07-25 at 9.44.37 AM.jpg



__ thoseguys26
__ Jul 25, 2013


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## pineywoods (Jul 25, 2013)

I extract into 5 gal buckets and course filter it as it goes in (they have filters that fit right into a 5 gal bucket) after that I filter it with a fine filter into 5 gal bottling buckets (basically has same valve the extractor has) then into containers. I bottle into plastic honey jars as I sell a lot of what we produce. If you have to filter it then leave it in the garage so it heats up and thins runs easier. Leave the wax sit outside away from the hives and the bees, wasps, etc will clean it up then you can melt it down or what ever


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 25, 2013)

Thanks Pineywoods.

What do you do with the wax after you let everyone clean it up? Do you toss the waxy frames or put them back in the supers?

Why plastic vs glass?


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## pineywoods (Jul 25, 2013)

After extracting put the supers right back on if you still have a flow going if not then leave them out away from the hives and let the bees clean them up. After they are cleaned up stack them somewhere where the moths can't get to them. I put them inside stack them up then use para-moth in a tray in the bottom, middle, and top then place a lid on it all. Some people wrap them tight in a cellophane type wrap. If moths do happen to get into the frames then you can put them in the freezer and kill the moth eggs.  As for the cappings you can melt them and use them for candles, soap making, bee balm, etc or when you get a good amount of it many bee supply places will buy it from you.

I use plastic just because they don't break when moving them round


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 25, 2013)

So very helpful!

I put an empty new shallow super with new frames back on right away. Is that correct procedure?  I've been leaving the spent ones out for a few hours a day the past few days.

So, the moths help pollinate also?

Here's the glory shot so far! 30 lbs  or a little over 2.5 gal













Screen Shot 2013-07-25 at 5.47.18 PM.jpg



__ thoseguys26
__ Jul 25, 2013


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## pineywoods (Jul 26, 2013)

Put those supers right back on not supers with new foundation if you have a honey flow going. It takes the bees a lot of work to draw comb. It takes them enough nectar and pollen to fill 1.5-2 supers just to draw comb in a super with new foundation. What type foundation are you using?

Moths do not help with anything they will ruin frames and foundation they will lay eggs in the drawn comb.


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 26, 2013)




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## thoseguys26 (Jul 26, 2013)

What if the wax/comb's from the frames we harvested aren't in perfect shape? Some got crushed, etc. Should those not go back on the hive?


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 26, 2013)

Screen Shot 2013-07-26 at 5.21.21 PM.jpg



__ thoseguys26
__ Jul 26, 2013


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## pineywoods (Jul 26, 2013)

The bees will usually fix any damage to the extracted frames unless they are really bad. If there is no flow going then it's more a matter of choice whether to have any supers on. Another thing to consider is that the supers are more area for the bees to have to defend most of the time if there is no flow I take the supers off thus reducing the area that hive beetles or moths to get started.

Are you going to run double deeps as brood boxes or are you going to split off one of the deeps and make another hive?

We're actually having to feed sugar water here right now as we have zero nectar flow. I usually only run single deep brood boxes but do have some double deeps on. When they get about full I'll split the top one off and add a new queen basically making a 10 frame split. I also have some hives that I have supers on but no queen excluders they will work those new super frames easier without the queen excluder. The queen may move up and lay in them but once they draw them I'll put the queen excluder in and let the brood hatch but at least I'll have more drawn comb frames so when we do get a flow the bees will fill them faster.

If the comb is drawn in the super when the flow starts then the bees are storing honey instead of building comb so you end up getting more honey faster. It's a pain getting started and trying to get the equipment you need and the way you need it. Lets say you had two exact same hives side by side when the flow started on one you had a super with drawn comb and the other with new frames and foundation. The one with the drawn comb would be full and you'd add another drawn comb super and it would be full and possibly working on a third one before that other hive with the new foundation gets filled with honey the first time. Now you understand how nice it is to have drawn comb frames and why I try to take such good care of them


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 27, 2013)

I was told to leave the two supers on the bottom for the brood & bees to survive the winter and anything above that I can harvest. I guess I'll take off the new empty frames and replace them with all of the harvested frames that are in decent shape. Next time I'll make sure to take special care when capping the frames before extracting honey so I can reuse them.

Thank you for the great info!!

We filtered once and bottled them up.













Picture 15.png



__ thoseguys26
__ Jul 27, 2013


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## pineywoods (Jul 27, 2013)

That looks great. I'd about bet that the bees can use all the frames you extracted cutting the cappings off doesn't usually harm them enough the bees can't fix them. We don't have the harsh winters here so I can get by with just a single brood box but I understand most people north of us use double brood boxes.

I'm trying to get some buckwheat and sun hemp planted so I don't have to feed as much so far I've already used over 500 lbs of sugar this summer and won't have much for them growing around here until Oct unless I plant it


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 27, 2013)

Thank you very much Pinywoods. You've been a huge help!


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## pineywoods (Jul 28, 2013)

Glad I could help it's fun playing with the bees most of the time


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## thoseguys26 (Jul 28, 2013)

Most of the time..except that one time where I was trying to be manly and check on them with no protective clothing... a few stings later...


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## pineywoods (Jul 28, 2013)

I usually work mine without just a hat yesterday wasn't great for that when a friend who was wearing a jacket, gloves and veil walked in front of the hives which resulted in about 10 stings to me and 3 or 4 through the suit and gloves to him


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## smker (Aug 1, 2013)

thoseguys26 said:


> Thanks smker, there is actually a group 30 min from me that also does monthly meeting, etc.  I would be curious to hear about the hive designed for the city.
> 
> I woke up this morning to a delightful surprise. *The wax bits all floated to the top! I don't think I'll need to filter it now! *
> 
> ...


sorry for the delay,   got real busy the last few weeks,   last week i was on Ragbrai  ( the largest bar hop across  IOWA)  dont ask for details all i remember is starting it and ending it a week later, 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





ill see if i get you more info on that bee hive for ya.


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## thoseguys26 (Aug 1, 2013)

My lastest question is: I've had the new frames on the hive for about a week and I still have the used, harvested frames in a sealed bin to hopefully replace the new frames i just put on. I just haven't had time to put them on yet.. Should I not bother with the used frames or is it still ok to replace them for the new ones? They've been sealed inside so nothing should have been able to get to them.

Thoughts?


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## smker (Aug 1, 2013)

Pineywoods said:


> I usually work mine without just a hat yesterday wasn't great for that when a friend who was wearing a jacket, gloves and veil walked in front of the hives which resulted in about 10 stings to me and 3 or 4 through the suit and gloves to him


the only bee keeping i do is keeping those bee's away from me as far as passable,  last time i got stung was on the for arm and it swelled up to the point i thought it would split open. how did he get stung through a suit,  was it something that was a really thin materiel and wasn't meant for sting protection?


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## thoseguys26 (Aug 22, 2013)

Hive moving question - We're about to move and I have one hive super that will eventually move with us but for now my plan was to tape the entrence, move them about 6 ft over the fence to my neighbors yard and then come back and get them in a week or so.

I've read that if you move the hive more then 2-3 ft that you need to keep them inside for 72 hrs so they can recalibrate their compasses.

I've also read that they can overheat and die if it's hot outside and you have the entrance blocked..

Do you experts have any advice for me on this?


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## thoseguys26 (Aug 23, 2013)

Any thoughts expert bee keepers? I'm moving in 8 days!! :)

I did a bunch of research but nothing beats this thread of experts.

After research I was thinking of moving them about 20 minutes away. Enclose them at night when they're all inside and release them in the morning and put the sugar water jar setup in the entrance to slow them down a bit..  Sound good?


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## biscuithead (Aug 24, 2013)

my nightmares in technicolor!


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## pineywoods (Aug 24, 2013)

I would move them the 20 minutes away before I would move them 100' away they seem to re-orient better. If you close them up and move them the 20 minutes away you can either open them back up when you get there or do it in the morning. We usually close them up just after dark, move them then open them back up. Use the vehicle headlights or where a bee suit if your holding a flashlight. Sometimes we don't even close up the hives we just smoke them good before loading and again before unloading but that does usually result in a few stings but when moving a bunch of hives is easier


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## thoseguys26 (Aug 25, 2013)

Thanks Piney, sounds good. Do you recommend putting a twig or sugar water in the entrance to slow them down to help them re-orient?


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## thoseguys26 (Aug 28, 2013)

Any issues with using a dolly to move them?


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## pineywoods (Aug 28, 2013)

Once we move them over a couple miles we don't do anything except make sure the opening is clear and allow them to get out and re-orient themselves. A dolly is fine as long as you don't dump them off of it


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## richjt92 (Sep 16, 2013)

This thread brings back memories.

My first job as an 8-9 year old was caring for the three hives we placed in the vacant lot next door to our house.  I still remember the old days of deciding if we wanted Midnight's or Italian Bees and the postman who was nervous when he delivered our first box of bees we bought from Sears and were delivered via US Mail.  

Of course we originally had nervous neighbors who were scared about the hives being in the lot next door until they saw their fruit trees and flower gardens go crazy due to the cross pollenization.

I also remember a new neighbor calling the Cops when one of the hives swarmed and chose a branch in their yard to hang out on...and I remember my Beekeeping mentor and I dropping the bees in a cardboard box and dumping them into a new brood box...

I was a Boy Scout (made it to Eagle) and was one of the few people we actuall earned the Beekeeping Merit badge (which they discontinued...sigh).

I would LOVE to get a hive going by my house in Newport News, but the HOAs for the neighborhood do not allow it.

Thanks for this thread, allowing me to go down memory lane....


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## smker (Sep 18, 2013)

i was wondering why i hadent seen guy for some weeks now, he retired from this place and im new new to this place,  but they still have there "BEE" meetings.

last week they had a meeting that went outdoors to a small cargo truck, panel van what ever you want to call it,  it looked like they were extracting the honey and passing out a honey like drink,  honey/lemanade somrthing like that,  next day the BEE's were all over this area.

i didnt want to crash his party so ill wait till i see him again,  i did have there website addy at one time but i cant find it now.

CH


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