A BEE thread....for those interested in beekeeping.

[KsKingBee]

Congratulations to all of you taking classes! And being wise enough to realize that learning the basics and having your equipment ready BEFORE getting your bees is the right thing to do. Frustration is the number one cause of beekeepers failing and leaving beekeeping.

We are getting ready for a VERY busy spring! Starting off with teaching a three week beginners course in March and then a queen rearing class in June. Here is to hoping that you all enjoy the classes you take!

 

[drakeschicks]

Wow, class was fun last night! We did a mock hiving with a package of packing peanuts for bees. How to open the package, take the queen out and get her settled in the hive, take the feeding can out and how to shake the bees into the hive. Also, how many different ways there are to feed them! Then we did a demo on using a smoker. We were assigned our mentors too, these classes are great!

 

[Deb B]

So great to see so many aspiring beekeepers! With spring (hopefully) around the corner if you are planning on planting bee friendly plants I would suggest you don't forget about planting trees. While shrubs and flowers are helpful, in many areas of the United States the majority of nectar to support bees comes from trees. Here in the mid-Atlantic one major source of early pollen for spring brood rearing is Maple and most of the honey produced in my area (southern Maryland) comes from nectar from Holly, Tulip Poplar and Black Locust. So if you have the room and the climate, plant a tree (or two) for your bees. Here's a good list on Wikipedia that shows good nectar sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_American_nectar_sources_for_honey_bees .

Keep in mind that many trees bred to be ornamental flowering trees (like Bradford Pear) generally don't interest honeybees. However, they may (and often do) attract other native bees and other pollinating insects. And some non-native trees (like the BeeBee Tree) are great sources of nectar for honey bees, but can be invasive in some areas of the country. I prefer to go native. Speaking of which, if you live in the state of Maryland, you can get a $25 coupon from the state for buying a native tree that many nurseries will honor. We used it to buy a native Linden (great nectar source for bees and smells divine when flowering) a couple of years ago. http://www.trees.maryland.gov/coupon_page.asp

 

[Heiko27]

I have a problem and am looking for advice.
I am new to bees and purchased a top bar hive a few years ago. Got bees and they were amazing. Did not harvest anything in the first year I had them. Then the second year. It was all going well until I had not opened it up for a few weeks. In my top bar design, you have the bars that are supposed to match up and the roof. I discovered early on that over time the bars warp and so one may not fit back in. I patched that up, but later discovered I had a problem in my booming hive. The sides of the bars do not meet flush to the roof, even with trying to rearrange it and such, so there is always a sliver of space leading to the roof space in between roof and bars. It is difficult or impossible to patch, so the bees got in made honey galore. I had no idea what I was doing of course, and thought maybe I could harvest the roof and leave the rest for them that was under the bars, and there seemed to be plenty there and I know the queen stayed down there. Well I had a suit and smoker, but it was a mess of course when I opened it up, and boy were they mad! They had usually been nice before when handled gently. I hucked all the honey from the roof into buckets, and quickly got out of there. But there were like a billion bees in my honey I had to sort out and like there were tons of dead bees everywhere and in everything, it was bit of nightmare as I didn't want to hurt them. I took the honey into my house and for three days we had mad bees all over my house, that had just been waiting outside at the doors to come in whenever anyone opened them.
I checked my bees later that week and the next two weeks. The queen was there and I thought maybe it would be alright. Then it cooled down a bit, but not too cold for bees to be out yet, and I checked them again! Totally vacant!! They moved out, every one of them, and left beautiful honey, healthy cells and young!
What did I do wrong or what could I have done better?
I want to try again but moved states and am just too hestitant to try it again unless I know I can be nicer to my bees.

 

[KsKingBee]

Bees should not be able to get above the bars on a top bar hive. Can you post us a picture of you TBH? Sounds like it was not made correctly.

 

[Heiko27]

This is with the roof off. You can see remnants of wax, most was attatched to the top of the roof though. On the left is an extra hole they have but can also slip in to the roof from there.



See, it's not flush, even with me wiggling the roof around a bit.

 

[KsKingBee]

Two things could be holding it up, first is the burr comb but I don't think that is the problem, there would not be burr comb unless thee was a lot of space up there. In the first picture, all the way to the left on the end there is a board that sticks up above the top bars. It appears to me that is holding the top cover up making an attic. If you cut that board flush with the top bars it should let the top cover set down on the top bars. You might also consider using a piece of heavy plastic in between the top cover and the top bars to keep the bees from gluing them together.

 

[Mrs Rebecca]

I ordered 2 sets of Italian bees last night along with 2 hives and all of the gear! Now, to get my hives set up before the bees come in on April 11! I am very excited!

 

[Heiko27]

Two things could be holding it up, first is the burr comb but I don't think that is the problem, there would not be burr comb unless thee was a lot of space up there. In the first picture, all the way to the left on the end there is a board that sticks up above the top bars. It appears to me that is holding the top cover up making an attic. If you cut that board flush with the top bars it should let the top cover set down on the top bars. You might also consider using a piece of heavy plastic in between the top cover and the top bars to keep the bees from gluing them together.

Thanks I will try that

 

[Deb B]

I ordered 2 sets of Italian bees last night along with 2 hives and all of the gear! Now, to get my hives set up before the bees come in on April 11! I am very excited!

Congrats!! It will bee fun. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

If you have to paint the hives, just make sure you do it at least two weeks prior to their arrival (or use low VOC paint) so it can air out before you hive them.

Enjoy!