HI ALL,
just joined today
when I was 10 I had a teacher that was into bees, he didn't seem to like me much.........til I showed an interest in beekeeping.
I somehow talked my mom into helping me get some equipment and got my self on a swarm list in my area..........now that I think of it she probebly thought that I wouldn't even get a call for a swarm let-a-lone
find a way to manage a hive.........! So one day the phone rang and mom
picked up the phone and it was for me, they had a swarm that was three blocks from me, I was SOOOO excited I said mom mom we gotta go theres a swarm a swarm lets go lets go, we have to go now...etc,
so we went with all my new stuff in her car.....
when we got to the house we met the man out front he said there was a swarm that had landed on his dauters play house out back so we went down the side yard and to the back of the play house which was more like a 12'by 16' storage shed finished on the inside with no insulation what I saw was not a swarm but a well esteblished colleny that was getting ready to swarm. So I told him what it was.....etc,I said I could still move the bees for the bees them selves, mom said honey are sure you want to do this this....? I thought she was going to say no, but she said ok and said where are you going to put them.......? thats not in my the yard, I said on the roof , she looked at me kinda funny and said WELLLLL OOOK!
Now, I know she was probebly thinkin what am I doing letting this happen, but my mom was pretty cool and was raised on a farm in north ohio, you know back when one had to walk ten miles to go to school.
back to the story , we went and got a ladder and tools and I went to work on the wall while they watched , I smokem and pulled off the first peice of plywood and wow the whole 4' by 8' was full of comb, pulled off the next two peices they where both more then half full WOW I was really getting tired at this point but the job wasn't done I gathered as many bees as I could in a big box with a bunch of brood comb and closed the box , the man got stung 4 times in the face his head swelled up like a pumpkin and his wife called an ambulance ,I piled every thing on the top of moms car and we went home I got the stuff and the bees on the roof put them in the hive , they lasted two years before wax moth got them.
then I wanted more a started lookin at extractors and tanks and more hives wow that was alot of money and mom was not so excited for me anymore and I had no clue what $1000 was when I was 10 years old
now I'm 41 and have found my way back to bees and it just so happens I have 30 ac. 10 of which is meadow with a creek that runs through it and its all in the mountains and theres lots of farms around.
but I remember almost nothing about it so I've been reading alot getting
all caught back up and had a few questions maybe you all might be able to help me with
1) how many hives can I put in a ten ac. bee yard? which I plan to over seed with wild flowers. PLUS 15 AC. OF MAPLE DO THEY FEED ON MAPLE BLOSSOM?
2) what are the biggest pests I should look for in my region?
3) -42deg F last winter was the record?
4) WHATS THE BEST QUEEN FOR MY AREA?
and I will have many more questions I'm sure
wow this is gona be fun!!! :mrgreen:
TREBOR