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

[sunflower4you]

Well, they were starting to draw out comb on the 2nd super, but no honey in it. I only extracted 8 frames because the outer 2 frames were only capped on one side. Now I have to figure out what to do with those frames because I'll need to take the super off the hive to treat for mites.

It's hard to do the work and take pictures, but here is what I got with my phone. It looks like I'll end up with 2 to 2 1/2 gallons of honey. It's still draining and straining, but I came in to have lunch. Keep in mind this is my first time harvesting, so I'm certainly not a pro at this.

I chose to extract in our well house. It is a sealed building with lighting, so it seemed like a good choice. All set up and ready to go:

Borrowed extractor and double sieve ready.

The person I borrowed the extractor from had this homemade cappings tank. My hot knife, which was very handy once I figured out how to use it correctly.

I chose to use a fume board to get the bees out of the supers. I chose the non-toxic spray Fishers Bee Quick. It worked really well, only a few bees left on the frames to brush off. You spray it on the felt on the underside of this board on top, and the bees clear out of the super in 2-5 minutes.

Frames of capped honey.

After I took the knife to them, but before using the cappings scratcher.

Ready to go for a spin.

And the honey begins to flow out of the extractor into the sieve.

Frames after extraction. They went back into the hive for the bees to clean them up.

Getting more honey now. Pretty amber color.

Had to take a break and let the sieve catch up.

Cappings draining into the tub below, so I can take the honey from that too.

I'm glad I did this in the morning, it was starting to get hotter and the bees were less patient. I had the smoker ready to go, but I didn't need it. No stings either, though 1 bee was trying like heck to get me. Overall, it went well. It's not as labor intensive as I expected, though I did think of some ways to improve the process and make it easier. I haven't done the cleanup yet, so we'll see how that goes later today.

Thanks for sharing and including pictures. I am a visual person and it is helpful to see how others do things.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I was told if you spin the extractor too fast, you will destroy the comb. I did get a couple of splits in the comb.

 

[Steadfast]

I invited a registered NC Master Bee keeper over to my place to go through my hives inspection last Saturday.

He said my hive was one of the most healthy hives he had ever seen! A 10 out of 10! my hive had only 4 hive beetles (which we squished), zero desease, and zero veroa mites in the test! (a near impossibility) Easily 25 pounds of honey. And a strong brewd population and easily a 50k adult population!

And he added that in March of next year my hive MUST be split as soon as possible to avoid swarming. Further that my hive was so strong that when I do split it I could easily split it 3 ways with a 10 frame base hive remaining. Which is insainly rare to be able to do with just one hive.

I told him,
"I have no idea how it happened... I wish that I knew how I did it..."

I eliminated the two Medium Supers surrounding my internal sugar feeder and replaced it with a new Deep hive Super.
I also panted the edge of my inner cover for vanity sake.

Before:


After:

 

[Steadfast]

I also was stung once on the arm this weekend while switching out the supers and refilling the sugar feeder.
I made a series of stupid mistakes because I wanted to “save time” as a storm was coming in.

I broke the rules 6 different ways to get there too.

I have learned that you can get away with breaking 2-3 rules without getting stung,
but if you want to break more of them in a series like I did, it is on YOU not the Bees.

The List of mistakes:
1. I changed the supers out on an overcast day.
2. I used no smoke from my smoker… did not even fire it up…
3. I had on only jeans, a t-shirt, and a veil... Bare arms, no gloves.
4. Instead of setting down the medium Supers, I banged them on the ground to shake off the bees.
5. When the guard bees started to thump me in the veil I merely backed off 15 feet and went back to complete the next step, 3 times, instead of taking the warning and simply putting on my bee jacket.
6. I also accidently squashed some bees while replacing the Sugar feeder and again when adding in some pollen cookies.

A whole lot of “DUH” going on there…

 

[sunflower4you]

I invited a registered NC Master Bee keeper over to my place to go through my hives inspection last Saturday.

He said my hive was one of the most healthy hives he had ever seen! A 10 out of 10! my hive had only 4 hive beetles (which we squished), zero desease, and zero veroa mites in the test! (a near impossibility) Easily 25 pounds of honey. And a strong brewd population and easily a 50k adult population!

And he added that in March of next year my hive MUST be split as soon as possible to avoid swarming. Further that my hive was so strong that when I do split it I could easily split it 3 ways with a 10 frame base hive remaining. Which is insainly rare to be able to do with just one hive.

I told him,
"I have no idea how it happened... I wish that I knew how I did it..."

I eliminated the two Medium Supers surrounding my internal sugar feeder and replaced it with a new Deep hive Super.
I also panted the edge of my inner cover for vanity sake.

Congrats on your healthy hive!

 

[Steadfast]

Another detail that might interest you Bee keeping guys.

One of my other hobbies is the study of Herbal Medicines.
And I am not a doctor, so, while I can not officially publically treat or prescribe medical solutions,
I can tell you what works for me and of my own private experiences…
(That legal junk said)

Once I became stung, I realized I could try out one of my plant solutions,
So, for science, I allowed the stinger to fully pump out in my arm, to get a full dose.

I own a very cool plant called “Birthwort” or Snakeroot or Aristolochia clematitis
This plant is a massive anti-inlammatory, antibiotic, analgesic, and diaphoretic




Used Externally ONLY it treats:

• Skin infections and diseases
• Wounds
• Snakebites
• Insect and bug stings including the stings of Bees, wasps, spiders and scorpions

Never eat it or use internally in anyway as it is very powerful and thus also Very Toxic internally over time…
However the science and medicinal history shows no risks for temporary external use.

So, knowing all this, I took several leaves and stems from my plant and crushed it up in my fingers to release the juices. And held it on the sting sight for 10 minutes. It stung a lot for 20 seconds and then the massive anti-inflammatory properties of the Aristolochia took hold and the bee sting completely disappeared in 5 minutes and the venom actually oozed out of the wound on its own. The sting was gone, like it never happened.

Totally Amazing results!

This was my experience with it and I wanted you to know about it.
Now you and I may not share the same body chemestry and YOU could try it and spontaneously combust into a ball of fire.

But for me, it worked amazingly fast and well…
So grow it and try it on your own, only if YOU want too.

I for one will use it in the future.

 

[OHhappychicks]

Happy Chooks~very nice set up! Lookin good! I can't extract this year. They are a swarm a friend gave me. It was late in the season, June. Thanks for sharing your process.
Steadfast~thnks for sharing your set up and congrats on the healthy hive! That has to make you feel proud! I'm very interested in herbal medicine so thank you for the tip. I will have to get that plant, especially since I now have bees!

 

[Happy Chooks]

I invited a registered NC Master Bee keeper over to my place to go through my hives inspection last Saturday.

He said my hive was one of the most healthy hives he had ever seen! A 10 out of 10! my hive had only 4 hive beetles (which we squished), zero desease, and zero veroa mites in the test! (a near impossibility) Easily 25 pounds of honey. And a strong brewd population and easily a 50k adult population!

And he added that in March of next year my hive MUST be split as soon as possible to avoid swarming. Further that my hive was so strong that when I do split it I could easily split it 3 ways with a 10 frame base hive remaining. Which is insainly rare to be able to do with just one hive.

I told him,
"I have no idea how it happened... I wish that I knew how I did it..."

I eliminated the two Medium Supers surrounding my internal sugar feeder and replaced it with a new Deep hive Super.
I also panted the edge of my inner cover for vanity sake.

Before:


After:

Great news! You are so lucky to have a beekeeper to learn from! Are you planning on extracting your honey? Splits are my next item to research.

 

[Steadfast]

Mine is a newly transplanted hive.
So,I am not taking any honey this fall...

I want my bees to keep their honey for the winter...

BUT come late spring... Now THAT is a different story...

 

[Happy Chooks]

Mine is a newly transplanted hive.
So,I am not taking any honey this fall...

I want my bees to keep their honey for the winter...

BUT come late spring... Now THAT is a different story...

Okay, I have to ask...........is that you on the camel?