Honey Bee replacements, Installing package bees, backyard bee hive & apiary how to

[JayGeePee1]

Very informal video. If you dont mind me asking how did you start, and where do you get your bee's from?

[HTCSWEOD]

@JayGeePee1 Thank you, I'm glad you have enjoyed the video... there are local bee keepers in my area that sell nucs (nucleus bees in frames) and this is where I purchased my original honey bees. I also capture swarms this time of year by putting a complete hive body out with a pheromone lure inside. If you are trying to purchase bees for 2011, that will be tough. BUT you can order package bees for next year. I recommend Weaver Bees as a source... Learn to catch a swarm. See my vid on that.

[bigcity1974]

Nice camera shots

[HTCSWEOD]

@bigcity1974 Thanks!!  I try... (">

[HTCSWEOD]

Protect your honey bees from Bears and other night raiders.... visit Fred's Fine Fowl and read the predator protection page. They work and are 100% guaranteed or your money back! Sounds like a win win to me... I have them here are my apiary... we'll see. Google Solar Nite Eyes to read about them.

[TRICIA757]

I love chickens, yes it gives great setting!

In Baja when I was living in a ranch, we had lots of of different types of fruit trees. Our neighbour (three ranches from us) had bees, but I notice the bees were not around that much when 14 pomegranate trees were blossoming, well I got up very early to pollinate them and I would stop usually about three hours after and it is tiring work. I got so much knowledge of what is happening with to the bees, that I am going back to Baja to start apiaries.

[HTCSWEOD]

@TRICIA757 Oh that's great news!!! WE need more activists like YOU... let me know how it goes and how the bees survive in Baja... thank you for posting and sharing!

[aceman4564564]

whats with the chickens?

[HTCSWEOD]

@aceman4564564 Chickens are just cool... thought I'd use them to introduce the setting... (">

[HTCSWEOD]

Just a follow up... in the spring of 2010, I experienced 100% survival of all four apiary colonies on my property. One change I made, aside from using no chemicals or treatments, was to add a upper vent hole to the top back side of each super... super hygienic, varroa resistant lines... success is sweet!

[djdnauk1977]

great video man thanks a lot for sharing, might even give this a go myself some day. looks fun!

[HTCSWEOD]

Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I do hope you give it a go.. we need more backyard bee keepers in this country! This year, I'm glad to report that ALL my colonies survived with NO losses... using un-treated survivor bees....

[djdnauk1977]

@HTCSWEOD yeah its great, wish i had room for chickens too! im in uk by the way, im sure we need more bees here too though! glad yours survived this time :D

[trbajaz]

@djdnauk1977 You are sure right! We need every other person not allergic to bee venom to have at least one hive. If we don't start a community project teaching Americans about bees and how important they are to the survival.of the human race, we as a species may not survive. Colony collapse is very real. I've been keeping bees for over fifty years, but these last five have been the most challenging for my fuzzy little friends.. Bees are the greatest! Thanks for your wonderful work.

Regards, Ted

[djdnauk1977]

@trbajaz thanks, yeah i will do what i can, trying to persuade my dad to setup a hive as he seems interested :) ill help him, or if he doesnt want to do it, then ill just do it myself instead i think. do you have any good guides on how to go about it text/video etc... ?

[GabbyT2]

This was a great video, we have been toying with doing a hive for our garden. I think we are going to do mason bees instead, as we are in town. But this was a great video

[HTCSWEOD]

Thank you! You may be interested to know that often people keep honey bees in the city. They actually do very well, but of course you have to check on regulations within city limits. This spring, every hive survived and I used no treatments of any kind. Consider using survivor colonies rather than those which have been treated if you can.

[HTCSWEOD]

This year has been an excellent year for honey and colony expansion in my area... several of the association members have divided their hives and expanded their apiaries... what sort of queen issues have you had? As you can tell, I'm no bee expert.. just sharing as I learn myself and enjoying keeping and observing them.

[debay777]

Im a new beek myself but I did catch a few things that are worth a slight mentioning. Package bees are essentially in a swarm mode.They are usually calm and non aggressive.Most folks just spray them with sugar water. They cant fly well and they fill up on it making it harder for them to sting should you disturb them. I guess smoke is OK, just never seen it on a new install. Drones dont make with a queen from their own hive. they fly off and mate with other queens to keep the gene pool fresh.

[debay777]

overall a good video. sorry you had issues with your hives. mine have been a pain this year. I have had queen issues left and right. Another guy near me has been struggling with the same issues. Must be something in the air here. Good luck and dont give up.

[HTCSWEOD]

Thanks for posting... you're right normally, package bees are calm and I do like spritzing them with sugar water.. these bees for some reason, were the meanest most angsty honey bees I've ever had and they are still super hostile! I have two other research colonies, both of which are calm and never zip out at me when I'm inspecting or moving things around... the smoker was just to show a friend how it works and why. Also, these drones are not from this queen. Thanks for sharing! I never give up

[HTCSWEOD]

The reason the honey appears black on the frame, is that these are pergo black polymer frames, otherwise, they would appear golden if light were to pass through a normal wax foundation.

[CerealPest]

Thanks for the info! Truly professional analysis & approach. Hope you succed with your bees, as we know, they are being subjected to extinction in a few parts of the world, which we know is deliberately man-made. Best wishes from the Australian bush!

[HTCSWEOD]

Thanks for your comments! You're right, in some parts of China, they have resorted to hand pollination... fruit only for the wealthy in that province.

[HTCSWEOD]

Hi, thanks for writing and for your concerns, it is good to have questions like this posted. The hive had no evidence of foul brood, wax moths nor other issues, everything was clean and tidy.  Also, bees won't inhabit hives abandoned due to CCD based on my reading and consultations. The failure was probably due to extreme exposure. Very high winds, 15 deg. F and the lids blew off. Not noticed until the following day. I'm confident that this was the reason for their demise. Poultry are no prob

[lee1PA]

Your video raises some questions for me. This was a very nice job on a quick video. It looks like you have a good quality camera. Since you lost your last colony how did you know it was safe to install these bees in the same hives? Are there any concerns about your fowl and the bees sharing similar space?

[HTCSWEOD]

The hive and drawn comb showed no signs of abnormality nor disease and in the absence of the workers, the interior hive temps went well down in to the teens, so same as isolating and freezing the frames as a preventative measure. The new inhabitants have done very well in the same hive bodies and are thriving now. Thanks for your question/comment.