Recent Posts

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NATURAL & ORGANIC BEEKEEPING METHODS / Help! Best natural feeding options

« Last post by asfodeltreegiver on Today at 12:39:44 pm »

Hi everyone! I'm a new beekeeper about to establish my first colony. I've been studying and preparing for over a year and have apprenticed with two local beekeepers.

One question I still have is this - what is the best food for bees in the spring and fall? I have a hard time believing that sugar water is the most nutritious and most viable option... To me, it feels like humans eating candy or processed sugars rather than fruit. Is it truly unsafe to give a colony honey from another healthy hive as they get established, and does the beekeeper have enough to spare on hand? Is there no better option than store-bought inverted sugar syrup or homemade sugar syrup?

If sugar syrup is truly the best option, would an unprocessed sugar like coconut sugar be more nutritious than white granulated sugar syrup?

Thanks in advance! I'm so excited to be here and to be starting on this amazing adventure!

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by Terri Yaki on Today at 12:04:37 pm »

I'm still having pretty good activity out there. It's like a mini hive moved in or something. Maybe it's a drone's club.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 12:03:24 pm »

Is there any detriment to using dish soap to clean them? Will any residue be harmful to the bees? I need to figure out how to get my hands in there to get a good cleaning action.

I usually just run jars through the dishwasher, but there is no problem using soap.  Just rinse them good.

The hive tool is homemade from a picture that 15thmember had posted and I'm giving it a try. My mentor has the larger tool as you described and I see one advantage for the smaller one so far. I can keep it in my hand the whole time and not have to put it down, then have to figure out where I left it. I wasn't really struggling with it too bad just yet but they haven't really applied the glue yet either. But then, I haven't finessed the using of the tool yet and my handling of it will improve. I do, however, like that step on the back to use as leverage and will probably make one on this tool.

I do also have a standard 8 in. tool (without a J hook), and I use that for cracking boxes, moving all the frames back and forth as a single unit, and for cleaning boxes.  I use the small tool for all individual frame manipulations.

You might get some frowney faces for switching frames around, but be reasonable about it. I do it all the time. Moving foundation to make comb is fine. Putting a pollen or honey frame in the middle of the brood box wouldn?t serve any purpose.

Moving frames around is completely allowed, it's one of the benefits to the moveable frame hive.  Just always be sure you know why you are moving a frame, and that you are doing it at a time when the bees are strong enough to adjust to the change.  Moving things around in the brood nest is far more stressful on them than just moving frames of stores around though, since the care of the babies is more critical and time-sensitive than the care of the honey or pollen.  If someone took the food out of your pantry and put it somewhere else in your house, it would be annoying, but you'd manage alright.  If someone put your baby somewhere else without telling you, you'd be a lot more stressed out.  

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HONEYBEE REMOVAL / Re: Expensive Issue

« Last post by animal on Today at 10:54:37 am »

I don't see the bees doing that much in damage to the structure either ... but I can see it being done by people in the process of working on it.

You guys are basing your opinion on your own skill level and conscientiousness. You guys are also typically the first on the scene. In this type of situation, I would be the guy that comes in later to pick up the pieces and put them back together and while I might agree with you IF I knew I was going behind someone like you guys, with lots of experience removing bees, and would take care with the building; that's a huge IF. (not to mention that I know some otherwise good contractors that I wouldn't trust with an older structure) Going in behind someone else is the worst and that's partly what I'm basing my opinion on. One thing I learned very quickly is to NEVER EVER assume the competence of someone because they are certified to do the work.

I think your guess is probably right, but there are other possibilities.
 
Is it considered hyping it up if she's stating her expenses and the reporter calls it damage to the house? A hotel bill for the family could account for a goodly chunk of money if this is the case. Has she been charged consult fees by others that looked at it leading up to the cut-out and how much did that amount to?  She mentioned other "beekeepers" had looked at it before one cut a hole to the attic.

Next, there's the "beekeepers" or whoever did the cut-out, and the possibility they cut where they shouldn't have , or made other mistakes.

Then there's the building contractor who may or may not know what he's doing on an older structure and what can be cleaned and resurfaced and what can't. There are many that would avoid the headache and skill required to match materials and opt for giving a price of ripping out the whole thing and starting over with the methods they know.

There are several things I have to wonder about the article. For one, it mentions honey seeping between the floorboards. Ummm why? Honey is not exactly known for it's wicking action. Next, why can't it be cleaned out and resurface the floors after?
Why do they have to vacate the structure if the damage is confined to the daughter's bedroom and the attic?
Why is this bs on the news to begin with?

There are too many open questions to even begin to give an estimate, but that's from a guy that guarantees that he won't go over his estimate.

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GREETINGS/TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF / Re: Hello from a newbee located in Central of New Jersey

« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 10:49:36 am »

We also have an alternate hive styles section where our members who use Layens hives typically post questions related specifically to that style of beekeeping.  You might want to explore this area.  https://beemaster.com/forum/index.php?board=96.0

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GREETINGS/TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF / Re: Hello from a newbee located in Central of New Jersey

« Last post by Kathyp on Today at 10:37:27 am »

Welcome!  Try putting your questions in the general beekeeping section and also use the search feature.  Hopefully, someone will be able to help you out. 

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GREETINGS/TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF / Re: Hello from a newbee located in Central of New Jersey

« Last post by BeeMaster2 on Today at 08:44:34 am »

Welcome Tam,
My father-in-law, Lou Zeleskey was the president of the bee club in Central NJ, then he started a new club in Bucks County, PA before he passed away.
Jim Altmiller

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by Terri Yaki on Today at 08:39:17 am »

And at 0730, we have a good amount of activity at the swarm trap. Keeping my fingers crossed for a winner today.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by .30WCF on Today at 08:39:13 am »

You might get some frowney faces for switching frames around, but be reasonable about it. I do it all the time. Moving foundation to make comb is fine. Putting a pollen or honey frame in the middle of the brood box wouldn?t serve any purpose.

You?ll get proficient at whatever tool you get used to.

Some mild soap like Dawn should be fine. Try dropping a sponge in the jar and using a handle from the ladle or spatula to scrub it around the bottom and sides. My hands don?t fit in a wide mouth jar either.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by Terri Yaki on Today at 07:55:01 am »

My mentor had a chance to review my video last night and he has reiterated most everything that yous have told me. We have a rainy weekend coming in with one beautiful day today so I'm going back in and switch frames around, add another box and put the syrup back in. I have an extra set of jars and replace the old with fresh and wash them to prevent growth of molds but apparently, something didn't work right this time. Is there any detriment to using dish soap to clean them? Will any residue be harmful to the bees? I need to figure out how to get my hands in there to get a good cleaning action.

The hive tool is homemade from a picture that 15thmember had posted and I'm giving it a try. My mentor has the larger tool as you described and I see one advantage for the smaller one so far. I can keep it in my hand the whole time and not have to put it down, then have to figure out where I left it. I wasn't really struggling with it too bad just yet but they haven't really applied the glue yet either. But then, I haven't finessed the using of the tool yet and my handling of it will improve. I do, however, like that step on the back to use as leverage and will probably make one on this tool.

Thanks for the review and input. I do appreciate it. And when my mentor's thoughts match yours, I feel good about the direction.