The Honey Factory

[duluthralphie]

As the OP any attempts at organization and note keeping will be discouraged.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

You call that a beard?


This is a beard..
View attachment 2239325

I said they were starting to beard, so that was just bee stubble

but your pic appears to be a bee goatee... this is a bee beard

 

[duluthralphie]

That was a light night. But mine make a smile when they beard.

They were bearding again tonight even after I opened the cover and it is only 70 outside. I think they just like sleeping in the open air.

I do know I would hate to e the skunk or raccoon that decides to go for their honey with all of them hanging out on the porch.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

That was a light night. But mine make a smile when they beard.

They were bearding again tonight even after I opened the cover and it is only 70 outside. I think they just like sleeping in the open air.

I do know I would hate to e the skunk or raccoon that decides to go for their honey with all of them hanging out on the porch.

My understanding is the skunk will reach up and get the bees to fly out onto the ground and then he’ll smash them with his paws (which will leave scratch marks) and then he eats the bees ... or if they attack him he’ll roll on the ground and smash them all and then eat them...

I once saw a video of a possum eating bees from a hive, and it would just snatch a mouthful of them, and then dance and snap and swat at them as they stung it’s mouth, then it would eat the dead bees... then it would do it again, even though the bees just stung the snot out of it ... but I don’t think possums going after bees is very common

 

[shawluvsbirds]

My understanding is the skunk will reach up and get the bees to fly out onto the ground and then he’ll smash them with his paws (which will leave scratch marks) and then he eats the bees ... or if they attack him he’ll roll on the ground and smash them all and then eat them...

I once saw a video of a possum eating bees from a hive, and it would just snatch a mouthful of them, and then dance and snap and swat at them as they stung it’s mouth, then it would eat the dead bees... then it would do it again, even though the bees just stung the snot out of it ... but I don’t think possums going after bees is very common

That's crazy!

 

[OhZark Biddies]

That's crazy!

I had to look and see if I could find that possum video... I would not have guessed a possum would go for bees

I don’t think this is the video I was remembering, but it shows a possum in action pretty well

Hopefully this link works
https://photos.app.goo.gl/X341YPwi3tewXnFW2

 

[Ggg]

I have just started my very own honey factory.

I was going to ha e two hives but decided to just buy one batch of bees, in case I kill them instead of two.

I can use advice from anyone and everyone with experience.

I do not plan to over winter my bees. I will use them as protein for the birds when their work is done.
My bee box:


View attachment 2078027View attachment 2078028

I have it level side to side and and 1/8th bubble high on the back side.

Here are my new workers;View attachment 2078032View attachment 2078033View attachment 2078034

this was right after I moved them into their new home.

I was out and visited them a little bit ago. There were 50-100 bees crawling on the box above the door. I hope that’s normal.

I have Saskartraz bees. I think that’s because the Sasquatch developed them.

@R2elk might know more. As I said these are my first ones.

I know they were friendly and would purr when they sat on my arm, so I could pet them.


It was a tad intimidating to have a box of bees clumped together and buzzing like mad in my hands. I was not sure how getting them into the box would go.

It was not bad, I took the queen out first. She assured me we would get along fine and she had no hostility towards me. Hopefully, she pays her rent.

Her box had a wood plug and not a candy plug in it. I popped the plug out and put a marshmallow into the hole.

I hung her box between two supers, then dumped the rest into the box and replaced the supers I had removed to make space to dump them.

All of this was accomplished without a sting!

I am a tad nervous they won’t like my box and leave tonight.

I gave them a pollen patty and a jug of sugar water inside the box and I have a chick waterer set up outside the hive for them.

They have been here 4 hours. I will check on them in an hour or so.

“In case you kill them”. Why do people have such disregard for other living beings?

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I had to look and see if I could find that possum video... I would not have guessed a possum would go for bees

I don’t think this is the video I was remembering, but it shows a possum in action pretty well

Hopefully this link works
https://photos.app.goo.gl/X341YPwi3tewXnFW2

It's really eating the bees!
Omg!

 

[OhZark Biddies]

“In case you kill them”. Why do people have such disregard for other living beings?

Because goats are like mushrooms...

 

[duluthralphie]

“In case you kill them”. Why do people have such disregard for other living beings?

Because they are a farm crop, or livestock.

I am not sure if you noticed or not, but we only survive by eating other living things. Be it plants or animals.

Now if the choice is my eating or bees eating, I chose me..