Last Year I Started Beekeeping - So Exciting

[sgtmom52]

Hi galanie! I'm new to this too.


sgtmom...........I narrowed it down to the heat. It is much cooler this morning and the bees are back to what I've seen previously. When it's hot, there are more bees hovering around the hive.

The heat does make them a little grumpy ~ just like people. When it gets too hot inside they tend to hang out on the porch!

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Galanie, Good Luck! I am a total newbie to the bee thing but have gotten scads of great info here and on bee source.com. I have not had bees mailed to me so cannot answer your ? About queen coming with workers or not. Everything I've read and been told at hive openings points beginners toward an overwintered nuc -that could just be directed at me as I am in the North, the overwintered part.

 

[madamwlf]

Wish me luck. I'm going to start beekeeping for the first time pretty soon. I'm going to build my own Top Bar Hive with scavanged wood from pallets and old cabinets. The old cabinet wood will have the finish sanded off on the inside part so it's bare wood. I've put my two questions in italics.
No one will ship 3lb packages of bees this time of year but they will ship queens. I understand that queens come with a few workers, is this correct? It gets really hot here and plan to have the hive in a shaded area that is open to all directions but sheltered on the north.

Can I mix up sugar syrup to feed them or do I really need to buy a mix for this? Edit: Nevermind, found the answer in this thread.

From what I understand, if you only order a queen she will come with attendants.

 

[galanie]

Wish me luck. I'm going to start beekeeping for the first time pretty soon. I'm going to build my own Top Bar Hive with scavanged wood from pallets and old cabinets. The old cabinet wood will have the finish sanded off on the inside part so it's bare wood. I've put my two questions in italics.

No one will ship 3lb packages of bees this time of year but they will ship queens. I understand that queens come with a few workers, is this correct? It gets really hot here and plan to have the hive in a shaded area that is open to all directions but sheltered on the north.

Can I mix up sugar syrup to feed them or do I really need to buy a mix for this? Edit: Nevermind, found the answer in this thread.

From what I understand, if you only order a queen she will come with attendants.  

I hope you are right. They won't ship 3lb of bees this time of year, only queens. I'd have to wait until next spring otherwise to get started.

I grow lemongrass so I plan to put some on the inside or rub it in the wood and the top bars will have beeswax soaked string so hopefully it will be a really attractive place for her to get started.

 

[sgtmom52]

I hope you are right. They won't ship 3lb of bees this time of year, only queens. I'd have to wait until next spring otherwise to get started.
I grow lemongrass so I plan to put some on the inside or rub it in the wood and the top bars will have beeswax soaked string so hopefully it will be a really attractive place for her to get started.

If I am understanding you correctly, you are thinking about starting a new hive with only a Queen and her (maybe 3 or 4) attendants. This will not work. You must have several thousand bees to start. You need a lot of bees to build wax comb and forage for nectar and pollen. A swarm would be your best bet to get started.

If you have another hive you could make this work though. You would have to take young bees from the other hive and shake them into the top bar hive making sure you do not move the old queen too. You want the young nurse bees from the old hive as they are not foraging yet and shouldn't go back to the original hive. You should introduce the new queen in her cage and allow the workers to release her. Make sure you feed them to get them established.

Is there a local Beekeeping Club near you? Perhaps you could find a beekeeper who would sell you some bees to help you get started.

 

[galanie]

Thank you! This is what I've been wondering about. Seems all my reading and searching haven't answered the question as to whether it would work or not. There is a beekeeping club here so it looks like I'd better contact them. Thanks again!

 

[ThePigeonKid]

Does this:









look good?

 

[madamwlf]

I think I was told those are drone cells. They are larger then worker bee cells. Hopefully sgtmom will chime in on it.

 

[sgtmom52]

The top picture is a beautiful frame with eggs, larva and capped worker brood. It looks like there may be a couple of capped drone cells in the upper left of the brood area. Worker brood is capped flat while drone brood is "bulleted" out. Queen cells look like peanuts in the shell. There is also a variety of pollen along the bottom.

The "funny" thing in the bottom picture looks like a queen cup. Bees often have queen cups in the hive just in case they might be needed at some point. They are nothing to worry about unless they draw them out, fill them with royal jelly and start raising a larva in it. Even if they do begin to grow a new queen it is not always a bad thing. It could signal a hive thinking about swarming or there could be something amiss with your queen and they are thinking of superceding her. You can get an idea of what they are planning by the location of the queen cell on the frame. Typically along the bottom indicated swarming while in the middle of the frame is supercedure or emergency queen cells.

Does this:









look good?

 

[galanie]

Wow do I feel stupid. I looked on our local Craigslist and people are selling bees locally. Duh.