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

[cpegram]

So far so good!! It's all a new adventure!! My grandfather kept bees. I am the only one out of 30 plus grand kids

 

[Mrs Rebecca]

I've answered my own question!!

I used the pins I purchased. After the first one, it was easy peasy! I have the foundations in except for 2. I'm still cleaning the 1 and the other one I'm going to have to repair. Then I still have to paint it. It is dumping rain here, so I guess that will have to wait. I do have another question though. Can you use gorilla glue in the beehive? I just need to use a little bit as the little slat that holds the foundation, split off on one end where the nail was.
I just thought of another question. For you that just recieved your bees, did you have them ordered for a while, or is it to late to order? Just in case I don't get a swarm. I really want my bees this year.

I ordered my bees locally. I made the order in February and then picked them up last Monday. I do know that our bee shipment was postponed 3 weeks due to the late winter weather we have had here. The bee keepers said that they had a couple of packages they would sell to someone who did not order enough. So, perhaps if bee shipments are being made late in your area as well, you could still grab an extra package a local supplier has on hand.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

^ x2. I also ordered my bees in Feb, and they were delayed due to weather as well. However, there were no extra bees to be had if you didn't pre-order them. The bee keeper told us that once his trailer was full, that was it. So, we made the split decision to order the bees and get our hive

 

[GreenAcresChick]

Novice to bees requesting advise?
I bought a top bar beehive a couple of years ago, but put off getting bees until a friend called in October because a hive had settled into one of her martin gourds. I took the whole gourd and put it in my hive and fed them simple syrup all winter. On last check they looked good. They were building comb and buzzing along happily until the flood hit last week. They are in an area that lies a little lower than the rest of the property and I couldn't even get back there until today. The hive was on a stand about 3 feet off the ground, but still floated and landed on it's side next to a tree. I flipped it up assuming all was lost. There were several dead bees inside the hive and the comb was all water logged and full of maggots (76 degrees today, what a lovely smell!). As I cleaned the main hive box I noticed a few bees buzzing around. Then when I flipped up the gourd that they were originally housed, there were several at the opening and more started flying around as I moved things around. The flood was last Tuesday (11 days ago). I brushed off the top bars and cleaned up the hive as well as I could with no water source or soap and put it back on the stand. I put the gourd back in the hive and the bees settled back in. I guess my question is, is there anything else I need to do ? Also is there any chance that there is still a queen in the gourd or will the hive die anyway? Anyone else here have a hive float and still survive? Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[OHhappychicks]

I ordered my bees locally. I made the order in February and then picked them up last Monday. I do know that our bee shipment was postponed 3 weeks due to the late winter weather we have had here. The bee keepers said that they had a couple of packages they would sell to someone who did not order enough. So, perhaps if bee shipments are being made late in your area as well, you could still grab an extra package a local supplier has on hand.

I'm going to call around. I have a couple of resources that I can ask. Someone we know goes to Northern Ohio to pick his bees up. I will research and see what I can come up with. I really would like to get them one way or another. I would rather have a swarm (free!), as we are buying a Great pyrenees puppy (against predators), so I need to watch how much I'm spending. But I still may call around and see what my options are. Thanks for the info!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Just thought I'd share a few more pics of my bees, they've been very busy!

 

[OHhappychicks]

I have questions also. I only have 9 frames in the large super, supposed to have 10. Will that make a difference? I have extra frames for a med super. Could I use one of those even though it is smaller, shorter, not as wide. I'm not sure of the correct terminology!!

Your bees in the pics look happy!!

Sorry about your hive and the flood!! I sure hope someone can answer that for you. You could also look up a beekeeping organization in your area, that could help.

 

[sgtmom52]

I have questions also. I only have 9 frames in the large super, supposed to have 10. Will that make a difference? I have extra frames for a med super. Could I use one of those even though it is smaller, shorter, not as wide. I'm not sure of the correct terminology!!

Your bees in the pics look happy!!

Sorry about your hive and the flood!! I sure hope someone can answer that for you. You could also look up a beekeeping organization in your area, that could help.

Not in a super ~ in fact we intentionally only put 9 frames in a 10 frame super or 7 in an 8 frame super. Make sure that you space them evenly. The bees will then draw the comb out farther making it easier to cut the caps of when extracting the honey.

Getting ready to head out and collect a swarm I got a call on last not. Looks like it will be from one of my own hives on a farm a few miles away. The farmer noticed it last night and called. Hope to be able to post a few pictures later.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Thanks for the tip! Lucky you! They aren't swarming here yet. Hopefully soon. Please post pics!

 

[sgtmom52]

We keep some of our honey bee hives on a cattle farm and last night the farmer called to let me know that one of the hives had swarmed. The swarm had settled on a small cedar tree for the night. A good friend of mine had lost her bees over the winter, so I took her with me this morning and she collected the swarm to put into one of her hives. It was a really easy swarm capture ~ we even found the marked queen!