Recent Posts

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EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS / Re: Frame width

« Last post by FatherMichael on Today at 09:34:35 am »

Think I'll do that, since so many of my frames are now out of commission.  Just need to figure out a way to do it with intact frames.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: How are your Bees?

« Last post by Ben Framed on Today at 09:03:24 am »

Cao you have quite an operation going! Very impressive! Have you considered transitioning from a hobbyist beekeeper to a professional Beekeeper? Your Bees might be in great demand because You do not Treat for Varroa Destructor . Thanks for your reply!

As a side: Since you do not treat for Varroa  Destructor. I have often wondered if the viruses carried by Varroa Destructor may be the main cause of colonies collapsing in relation to Varroa; Much more so than the Varroa Mite itself?  If that theory is correct, that may explain to an extent why you are so successful in your non-treating Beekeeping methods.  Is it Possible that your Bees are immune naturally from those viruses (is it possible that those viruses may have already ran their course through your apiary)? 

And you are not alone on you?re successful non-treating methods. Mr. Bush is as well. Which leaves me thinking you two are ahead of the game When it comes to Varro Destructor? These are just out of the box thoughts. I have no proof. But I have thought of contacting Cameron Jack once again for his thouhts on this as well. Have either of you considered this theory?

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: How are your Bees?

« Last post by Terri Yaki on Today at 08:55:49 am »

Cao, you obviously have a fairly large operation. Would it be OK if I asked what you do with the honey?

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Trap deadout/abscond

« Last post by Ben Framed on Today at 08:50:29 am »

My first season  I lost some emptied honey frames which I was saving after extraction. (and after the bees had cleaned them up ). This was disappointing. I learned with interest that Ian Steppler storeds his in a stationary refrigerated 53 foot trailer, the kind that is used for over the road transportation. He simply puts his empties stack neatly inside. Cranks up the unit and freezes them. These trailers are sealed so no chance for infestation afterward.

For an operation of his size, I don?t know of a better solution to keep this fresh comb safe from the wax moth.

Thanks, Jim and Michael for pointing out the two different type of wax malls and what those differences are.

Phillip

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Trap deadout/abscond

« Last post by Michael Bush on Today at 08:03:00 am »

The greater wax moths need the cocoons.  The lesser wax moths do not.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Trap deadout/abscond

« Last post by BeeMaster2 on Today at 07:53:45 am »

Phillip,
Wax moths for the most part don?t go after brand new wax.  The older the wax the better they like it. If you put a frame of brand new wax in a box of old wax they will devour everything but the new wax. They will build there cocoons all over the frames and make a trail through the new wax but mainly ignore it.
Jim Altmiller

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EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS / Re: Frame width

« Last post by Michael Bush on Today at 06:52:52 am »

My end bars are 1-1/4" (32mm) in the brood nest.  For honey it's not that critical, so anywhere from 1-1/4" if it's not drawn to 2-1/2" if it's drawn comb in the honey super.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: How are your Bees?

« Last post by cao on April 22, 2024, 11:33:37 pm »

I was talking about this the other day with friends.  This year was a mild winter with an early spring that had no major cold snaps.  Now we are getting the rains that are delaying some of the farmers from killing the cover crops to plant.  So, there is an eighty-acre farm with crimson clover and some other white flower blooming that I can see the majority of my bees heading that direction when they leave their hives.  I had one hive swarm almost a month ago.  Having 40+ hives make it through the winter, I made the first round of splits 3 weeks ago.  Almost time to check if queen is laying.  I made another round of splits about a week ago.  Even with those splits I have caught 6 swarms, 3 of them today.  As of today, I have bees in over 110 boxes.  They are full hives with multiple boxes all the way down to 4 frame nucs.  Right now I have all my stands full and have nuc boxes sitting all over the place.  And the bad thing is I still have 8 hives that I still need to inspect (they are probably the ones that swarmed today).

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: How are your Bees?

« Last post by Ben Framed on April 22, 2024, 10:43:54 pm »

Thumbs up Caashenb, sounds good! It seems folks from Louisiana and South Mississippi who report on such, are in a honey hole area for catching swarms. Thanks for your repot, and keep up the good work!

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HUMOR IS A FUNNY THING / Re: Old Man Jokes

« Last post by Salvo on April 22, 2024, 08:34:01 pm »

An old man goes back to bed ...And asks his wife " does the light in our bathroom turn on and off automatically ", she replies with "No why?", the old man sighs and says "well.... I'm going to buy a new fridge tomorrow"



I asked an old man, "Even after 60 years of being married, how can you still call your wife 'Honey', 'Darling' and 'Sweetheart'?"He replied, "Well I forgot her name 10 years ago and I'm scared to ask her!"




Why did the old man hate living next to the tennis courts?
He couldn't stand all the racket!