The Wally-Gee Bee Journey 🐝

[WallyG74]

My hive gets shade in the afternoon. It needs it, that's for sure! Right now isn't bad, but we still have 2 months of summer.

Mine is in the shade as well. It may get 2 hours of direct sunlight around midday. When the scorching afternoon sun gets going, the hive is already in shade. It’s just so hot. I sold some pullets yesterday around 5pm. We were standing in the shade talking and sweating. It’s just miserable.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Not hot just humid, no fanning. Too busy drawing comb for Cranberry pollen and nectar. Can watch them exit the hive, over the Cedars and drop into the bogs. With Cranberries it's more pollen than nectar.

 

[Skyewatcher]

When my husband first wanted to get into beekeeping I was afraid of getting stung- and we only have a .23acr lot, and I have been stung so many times I lost count. I also have bad reactions to stings- swell right up, aches, feel horrible! But we still have them. The past 3 or so yrs we haven't extracted and just left the honey in the hives. We seem to loose the bees over winter but every spring we get swarms- a couple weeks ago or so I took this pic- looked like a swarm moving in. Since our backyard is south facing it gets so hot and feels hotter than it is- the bees have normally bearded on the outside of the hives.

 

[Sally PB]

The past 3 or so yrs we haven't extracted and just left the honey in the hives.

Honey...

I know we won't get any this year (first year), but I think we might take a small taste. Love-love-love honey...

 

[WallyG74]

No, it’s not a honey super. It’s a “honeybees only” feeder. The sun, bumblebees, and piss ants were getting a little too much of the action from the community feeder.

I got taught a lesson, bee-style, today. Don’t get cocky and go in your hive with shorts and a t-shirt during 100 degree weather and expect to not get stung. Here’s the internal view of my feeder setup.

 

[WallyG74]

@Apis mellifera
I watch a lot of YT bee videos. I also ride around and see the hives of beekeepers. Some people will stack hives 6’ high. Others will do splits and keep it down to 2 and 3 boxes. I’m not judging one way or the other as better, but just wondering what sways someone to go one way or the other. Personally, I think that if I wanted a hive that stands 6’, why not go with a horizontal hive instead? What say you?

 

[Sally PB]

Some people will stack hives 6’ high.

Wow.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@Apis mellifera
I watch a lot of YT bee videos. I also ride around and see the hives of beekeepers. Some people will stack hives 6’ high. Others will do splits and keep it down to 2 and 3 boxes. I’m not judging one way or the other as better, but just wondering what sways someone to go one way or the other. Personally, I think that if I wanted a hive that stands 6’, why not go with a horizontal hive instead? What say you?

I'm less than 6', I would be so scared of those toppling down on top of me in a gust of wind

 

[Apis mellifera]

@Apis mellifera
I watch a lot of YT bee videos. I also ride around and see the hives of beekeepers. Some people will stack hives 6’ high. Others will do splits and keep it down to 2 and 3 boxes. I’m not judging one way or the other as better, but just wondering what sways someone to go one way or the other. Personally, I think that if I wanted a hive that stands 6’, why not go with a horizontal hive instead? What say you?

It depends on the beekeeper. If they have a lot of out yards or hives, or both, it may be easier for them to just stack the hives high in productive areas. It helps slow down swarming too. Harvesting even 50 hives is a lot of work. Setting up a honey house extracting, bottling, rendering wax, etc. and then cleaning it all is a chore. So a beekeeper may only want to do it once a season and put extra supers on. Less chance of missing a strong flow as well. Others may extract more often for seasonal or varietal honey. Spring honey is typically light and Fall is usually dark in my area and have distinct flavors. The highest colony I had was a 2 queen colony about 10' and produced just under 400 pounds of honey. Its no fun taking off supers on a ladder. There's old time photos of hives over 20' in Calgary, Canada. Some years I harvest twice others just once depending on the time I have. I miss plenty of flows but thats okay its not a business for me.
If you're asking about brood boxes some beekeepers use 1 others 2 deeps, its all in how they like to manage their colonies. I like to overwinter in 2 or 3 deeps. Sometimes 2 deeps and medium depending on the amount of stores they have in the fall, I hate feeding in the fall so I just leave a super on. I know some beekeepers that use all mediums and overwinter in three.
Horizontal or long lang hives are great for those who dont want to or cant lift heavy boxes. They're great for people who are handicapped as well. The problem is you're never going to see a 10' long hive. Bees are much more productive vertically. I always tell people that are having back problems to have extra empty boxes and take out half the frames and then lift the box off the hive.

 

[WallyG74]

It depends on the beekeeper. If they have a lot of out yards or hives, or both, it may be easier for them to just stack the hives high in productive areas. It helps slow down swarming too. Harvesting even 50 hives is a lot of work. Setting up a honey house extracting, bottling, rendering wax, etc. and then cleaning it all is a chore. So a beekeeper may only want to do it once a season and put extra supers on. Less chance of missing a strong flow as well. Others may extract more often for seasonal or varietal honey. Spring honey is typically light and Fall is usually dark in my area and have distinct flavors. The highest colony I had was a 2 queen colony about 10' and produced just under 400 pounds of honey. Its no fun taking off supers on a ladder. There's old time photos of hives over 20' in Calgary, Canada. Some years I harvest twice others just once depending on the time I have. I miss plenty of flows but thats okay its not a business for me.
If you're asking about brood boxes some beekeepers use 1 others 2 deeps, its all in how they like to manage their colonies. I like to overwinter in 2 or 3 deeps. Sometimes 2 deeps and medium depending on the amount of stores they have in the fall, I hate feeding in the fall so I just leave a super on. I know some beekeepers that use all mediums and overwinter in three.
Horizontal or long lang hives are great for those who dont want to or cant lift heavy boxes. They're great for people who are handicapped as well. The problem is you're never going to see a 10' long hive. Bees are much more productive vertically. I always tell people that are having back problems to have extra empty boxes and take out half the frames and then lift the box off the hive.

10 & 20’ hives… that’s amazing! I can’t imagine trying to handle a heavy box full of honey while on a ladder. Tenacity to the highest degree!