I started out last year with a Top Bar hive. They lived until February after it got down to 0 in December. So then, I built a Layens hive, with Dr. Leo’s plans. My daughter has 4 Langstroth hives. When one swarmed, I got bees the end of April. Other than having 3 partial frames of honey collapse in the heat, they are doing great. They were doing orientation flights today. This fall, I will make another Layens hive.
Love those comments and I 100% agree on all of them! Let see if I can add a few: 1- "If you are starting and it's your first year, start with at least 2 hives, maybe 3. If you have only 1, it's hard to know if what you are seeing is normal. Having 2 or 3 gives you something to compare with." 2- "If you have the time/tools/skills, it's a lot more rewarding to build your own hives and seeing the bees enjoy what you built for them. Combine that with catching feral swarms and that's the cheapest way to beekeeping". 3- "If you live in a neighborhood with neighbors fairly close to you, giving them free honey is a good way to make them a bit more tolerant of your hobby! Some will be fascinated with it and even plant new things to attract and feed your bees!"
Rabbit hole is right, My first year this summer, one layens hive purchased from Dr. Leo, I hope to take on the task of using his instructions and building 3 more. I put 4 traps out and only 1 "took", It weighed 25 lbs before putting up in the tree and 50 lbs when I brought it down, it was full. I've been fortunate this summer in that the bees I trapped are pretty docile. The journey continues and there is always something new to learn or observe. Thanks again for your postings,
Wow, thank you from the bottom of my heart. What a beautifully thought out video, perfect for someone with zero experience like me. I'm so glad Heather introduced me to your channel.
I've read Keeping Bees with a Smile and have the Honeybee Democracy on my list to read as well. I'll be following you closely as it sounds like you are keeping bees the way I want to (low intervention). My kids love watching the bumbles in our yard every summer and the handful of honeybees that find us, so we would love to keep them eventually but I want to make sure I can keep them well. Thank you for sharing!
They are fascinating and amazing, and just get moreso the more you learn. If you are able to go to Dr. Leo's seminar in Cabool, MO, it's well worth the time and cost.
Before getting your hives get a few books or take an online beginners course and watch RUclips videos like the Sodbuster, Dr. Leo Sharashkin and Fredrick Dunn they all have great information. Once you get your hives take the time to watch the entrances you can learn a lot like how they are acting what they are bringing in if they are getting robbed out etc. good luck and enjoy your bees.
I’ve learned how much resources they can take in a day which is amazing. My 2 hives are taking in 8 lbs of sugar a day during the occasional winter days over 65 degrees.
I know almost nothing about bees but they’ve long piqued my interest, and even more so since we’ve started gardening and growing fruit trees. I had no idea there were other types of hives that may be better suited for “sideline” keepers. Thanks for sharing Monty!
Yes, there are multiple options. Every beekeeper can choose what they feel is best for them and their bees, but I'm glad that I discovered Layens Hives and the natural approach to beekeeping before I got started.
I’m finally coming around to watch! Thanks for sharing this valuable information, sometimes biases are good, systems that work. The $ and time explanation it makes a lot of sense now. Thank you for your prayers ! Lety
I like how you premise your advise and let people know about your bias' ahead of time, very well done.👍 That is one thing I love the most about beekeeping is such a personal experience. Only thing I would say as a beginning beekeeper pay attention to your bees sit and watch them they will teach you so, so much. Plus they will show you what questions to ask a mentor or bee group. The best mentors help guide their pupils along the bee keeping path with information and experience they don't make the decions for for them.😊 Ty very much for this video, I enjoyed it very much.👍
Thank you for this informative video. We were given a used bee hive and have been reading about bees. You raise wonderful points concisely and with humor at the end.
As always, great video. I’ve read the honeybee democracy and soak up any information I can about bees. They truly are fascinating creatures. I always enjoy your content. Looking forward to seeing more.
I don't consider it lazy to do no more than is necessary for the bees. In my Layens hives, as long as there is good traffic at the entrance and bees are bringing in pollen, then typical inspections might consist of checking the end frames to see if the bees need more space, disturbing the brood frames as little as possible.
You are the winner of the drawing for 1 lb of honey. Congratulations! Please send an e-mail to me at contact@suburbansodbuster.com with your shipping info so that I can get your prize to you. Announcement video: ruclips.net/user/shorts-TyuM7gtuvs
Great video! We're thinking about bees in the future. We're going to get some native wildflowers planted first and try to get the infrastructure set. We've subbed to your channel too. Have a great week! Thanks for sharing all this!
I look forward to watching your progress. Remember that the bees can range around 3 miles. If you draw a circle on a map, with a 3 mile radius, with your home at the center, you'll be surprised how much ground it covers. Depending on what's around you (i.e. forests vs. cornfields) you won't need to worry too much about providing the forage for the bees.
@@SuburbanSodbuster I'm in farm country so lots of corn and soybeans. The crops don't "flower" til around July. I fear there won't be much to feed on within three miles. There are some small woods but not much. I'm going to plant "just in case." I found some bee frames/boxes last summer so I have some of the parts. I'm going to ask for some of the books you reference. Thanks for your video. Quite helpful!
It never hurts to plant ample wildflowers for pollinators, and you're absolutely correct that the bees will need forage before the field crops flower. Although corn is wind pollinated bees will collect pollen from it, and I recently read an article saying that, despite previous thoughts otherwise, soybeans can be very beneficial for honeybees (and vice versa). Of course, there's also the consideration of whether the crops are sprayed with pesticides. That could be a real risk and frustration.
The last thing I need is more honey, thank you. Thank you too though for the interesting and -to me - well thought out approach to the subject of keeping bees. I'm in my second year as a back yard beekeeper, now with 6 hives originated from 3 or 4 native swarms. I live deep in the countryside in France, in an idyllic environment without too much heat, nor too much cold. I totally agree with your position on treatment free beekeeping only the next few years will tell whether or not this approach works out. Fingers crossed though. Over here, we don't have small hive beetles. our major problem is usually the Asian hornet which can be devastating as they hover in front of hive entrances, picking off bees as they come and go. Moreover, the bees become fearful and reluctant to leave to forage. Last year - my first - was pretty bad, though by all accounts the year before was much, much worse. This year, for some reason, I've only seen a handful of them, so no need to do anything about them. Other parts of the country haven't been so blessed though. I did invest in a set of hornet 'tents' - these are clever fabric enclosures that get placed in front of hives, capturing the hornets as their natural habit it to fly upwards after grabbing a bee to eat. This year though, I haven't needed to put them up at all. You asked for ideas. Slightly off topic, but your video production would be helped by leaving a short gap between each edit. A half second or so would make all the difference, making the result much less 'choppy' and easier to listen too. The hardest thing I've found with beekeeping is coming up with unique pet names for each bee - that and remembering what each one looks like.... Cheers and good luck. Keep on watching, it's much more interesting than anything on TV
Enjoy your message, I have the bee “bug”! I talk way to much about my bees. I’m working both Layens & Langstroth hives. Starting 3rd year and still not sure what I prefer. Thanks
My experience - and one reason for my preference - is that bees take more naturally to the Layens hive, where they can build continuous comb from the top down. But others' experience and observation may vary. Outside of this channel I don't really talk a lot - much to my wife's frustration. But if someone asks about bees then it's on!
I have been gleaning as much info as I can possibly get on honey bees. I have been "feeding" some (well, a LOT) of the "locals" to encourage them to visit my garden when things start to flower. While early in the season I am in Arizona and will be putting my garden in in a matter of weeks here. I would love to have a hive to maybe get some honey but am pretty afraid as most of the feral bees here are Africanized. While they seem gentle and leave me alone while I feed them sugar water I don't know if having a hive full would be a smart idea! I have heard you can "re-queen" the hive to take on traits of a gentler bee....but after watching your video's I don't know if that would be the right thing to do either since the feral bees are most likely healthier and more adapted to climate here not to mention them being less resistant to mites. The struggle continues!
Let me preface my reply by saying that each keeper should follow what's right in their location and you would have to decide what's best for you. Here in Missouri we don't have to deal with strong Africanized genetics, so I hardly ever mention them in my videos. Africanized bees are notoriously mite resistant, but also more prone to swarm and, of course, can be very defensive. I know that some keep feral bees in your part of the country - but do so at a good distance from residences and livestock. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that for someone just starting out because, even when suited up, dealing with a defensive hive can get exhausting - and potentially dangerous with the bees in your locality. If you did re-queen, I have found that there is a treatment-free queen provider in Northern New Mexico, so maybe a somewhat similar climate to yours. They are www.ziaqueenbees.com - I don't know anything about them but found the link on bee-mindful's resource map (www.bee-mindful.com/treatment-free-resources). I have heard from Les Crowder, who is in Texas, that the Africanized bees, through genetic mixing, are generally less defensive now than they were when they first arrived. So requeening might not be a requirement, but is certainly a possibility. And yes, the honeybees - even Africanized - will typically be gentle as they forage, unless they feel directly threatened. When they have no need to defend their hive they typically just go about their business. But things can get very different when someone is opening up their hive.
Great video and great advice. I started with a layens last season and by the end of the season I ran out of room for my bees. It was too late in the year to do a split (my opinion)....how would you add more space to a layens hive if your bees have filled the hive body....hope that makes sense.
How big is your hive? My 12 frame ran out of space and swarmed, but I didn't have any problem in the 20 frame hives. In either case, you can always pull full honey frames and replace them with empty frames to give the bees "more" space in which to work.
Thanks for sharing knowledge, particular on natural bee keeping. In my place (Philippines) apis cerana is native bee, i'm planning to keep apis melifera if posible without oxalic fogging, is that sustainable?
Thank you for watching! I think it's certainly possible - after all, I do it. But, depending on where you get your bees, it may be an uphill fight at first of accepting losses and propagating from survivors. Here in the US the feral bees have had 30+ years to adapt and recover after the introduction of varroa. If you have any feral populations of Apis Mellifera and you can populate your hives with those, you might be a step ahead. That's a situation similar to the Russian strain of Apis Mellifera, which lived in close proximity to Apis Cerana and had longer to adapt to varroa. But if you only have Apis Cerana, I'm curious about why you wouldn't keep those? I'll admit that I don't know much at all about keeping Apis Cerana, maybe you can educate me about why you'd choose Apis Mellifera instead.
Is ok to take honey from a new hive like I did a split now I have 2 lol lol just wondering if I should this is my second season and I do sit and watch them regularly...thks
As long as a colony has adequate resources to survive through your area's dearth periods and winter there is no issue with harvesting surplus honey. Every colony is different; some take the first year just to build up for winter while others make honey like crazy.
advice for new beekeepers...make sure no one in the family is allergic to bee stings. because if they are, have all the medical equipment and allergy supplies you can, 911 on speed dial. Or just sadly have your bees away from them.
I'm loving this collaboration!!!! Thanks for the information !
11:43 lol 😹 the sudden dog behind you.
Just working a little magic into the presentation. 😆
I started out last year with a Top Bar hive. They lived until February after it got down to 0 in December. So then, I built a Layens hive, with Dr. Leo’s plans. My daughter has 4 Langstroth hives. When one swarmed, I got bees the end of April. Other than having 3 partial frames of honey collapse in the heat, they are doing great. They were doing orientation flights today. This fall, I will make another Layens hive.
"You are in danger of being like me". 😆💀⚰️
People need to know the risks.
Love those comments and I 100% agree on all of them! Let see if I can add a few: 1- "If you are starting and it's your first year, start with at least 2 hives, maybe 3. If you have only 1, it's hard to know if what you are seeing is normal. Having 2 or 3 gives you something to compare with." 2- "If you have the time/tools/skills, it's a lot more rewarding to build your own hives and seeing the bees enjoy what you built for them. Combine that with catching feral swarms and that's the cheapest way to beekeeping". 3- "If you live in a neighborhood with neighbors fairly close to you, giving them free honey is a good way to make them a bit more tolerant of your hobby! Some will be fascinated with it and even plant new things to attract and feed your bees!"
I agree with each of your additions!
I love your channel and would love some chemical free honey! Thanks!
Good luck! I think it's very good, but I'm biased.
I LOVE the honeybee democracy book!! Thanks so much for your participation in this collaboration!! I love your view on beekeeping!!
Thank you, and thanks for putting the collaboration together. I enjoyed preparing and making this video.
Rabbit hole is right, My first year this summer, one layens hive purchased from Dr. Leo, I hope to take on the task of using his instructions and building 3 more. I put 4 traps out and only 1 "took", It weighed 25 lbs before putting up in the tree and 50 lbs when I brought it down, it was full. I've been fortunate this summer in that the bees I trapped are pretty docile. The journey continues and there is always something new to learn or observe. Thanks again for your postings,
I went down the same rabbit hole… and I love it. Thanks for the vids!
Merry Christmas and peace for you and the whole family.
I was “doing well” until all hives up and moved this last year. No idea why. Layers was the system, but I have faith.
All hives? How many? There are multiple things that might contribute to this so I won't speculate, but I wish you better luck in the future.
@@SuburbanSodbuster yup. All the hives. Frustrating. They were empty. Moved out.
Down the rabbit hole. The layens hives are a back saver. Love my bugs in a box!
Time savers, too, I believe.
Wow, thank you from the bottom of my heart. What a beautifully thought out video, perfect for someone with zero experience like me. I'm so glad Heather introduced me to your channel.
Thank you so much for your comments and for stopping by!
I've read Keeping Bees with a Smile and have the Honeybee Democracy on my list to read as well. I'll be following you closely as it sounds like you are keeping bees the way I want to (low intervention). My kids love watching the bumbles in our yard every summer and the handful of honeybees that find us, so we would love to keep them eventually but I want to make sure I can keep them well. Thank you for sharing!
They are fascinating and amazing, and just get moreso the more you learn. If you are able to go to Dr. Leo's seminar in Cabool, MO, it's well worth the time and cost.
Thanks for sharing
Great information. Your honey is delicious!
Before getting your hives get a few books or take an online beginners course and watch RUclips videos like the Sodbuster, Dr. Leo Sharashkin and Fredrick Dunn they all have great information. Once you get your hives take the time to watch the entrances you can learn a lot like how they are acting what they are bringing in if they are getting robbed out etc. good luck and enjoy your bees.
Listing me before Dr. Leo and Frederick Dunn in your comment is flattering, but doesn't improve your chances for the honey drawing. 😁
@@SuburbanSodbuster lol was just showing my respect since it was your video but never hurts to try🤪
So much valuable information! Thank you so much.
I’ve learned how much resources they can take in a day which is amazing. My 2 hives are taking in 8 lbs of sugar a day during the occasional winter days over 65 degrees.
I know almost nothing about bees but they’ve long piqued my interest, and even more so since we’ve started gardening and growing fruit trees. I had no idea there were other types of hives that may be better suited for “sideline” keepers. Thanks for sharing Monty!
Yes, there are multiple options. Every beekeeper can choose what they feel is best for them and their bees, but I'm glad that I discovered Layens Hives and the natural approach to beekeeping before I got started.
I’m finally coming around to watch! Thanks for sharing this valuable information, sometimes biases are good, systems that work.
The $ and time explanation it makes a lot of sense now.
Thank you for your prayers !
Lety
Thanks for watching and for your comments, Leti! I hope everyone is recovering well and that your family has a very Merry Christmas!
I like how you premise your advise and let people know about your bias' ahead of time, very well done.👍
That is one thing I love the most about beekeeping is such a personal experience. Only thing I would say as a beginning beekeeper pay attention to your bees sit and watch them they will teach you so, so much. Plus they will show you what questions to ask a mentor or bee group. The best mentors help guide their pupils along the bee keeping path with information and experience they don't make the decions for for them.😊 Ty very much for this video, I enjoyed it very much.👍
Thanks for your comments. Yes, the bees will show us a lot. And the more we learn about them the more we can understand what they're communicating.
Thank you for this informative video. We were given a used bee hive and have been reading about bees. You raise wonderful points concisely and with humor at the end.
Good luck with your hive! I'm glad to help as much as I can with any questions you might have.
Great video, thanks for sharing your knowledge so openly
Thank you! It's worthwhile if it's helpful to others on their own journey.
As always, great video. I’ve read the honeybee democracy and soak up any information I can about bees. They truly are fascinating creatures. I always enjoy your content. Looking forward to seeing more.
Love the humor at the end of the video :)
🍯 I definitely want some honey 🍯
Good luck!
I am a “lazy” bee keeper 😄 when I first started I would check every frame. Now I just check for eggs and move on. Nice video!
I don't consider it lazy to do no more than is necessary for the bees. In my Layens hives, as long as there is good traffic at the entrance and bees are bringing in pollen, then typical inspections might consist of checking the end frames to see if the bees need more space, disturbing the brood frames as little as possible.
"Who would do that? " cracked me up
Found your channel through the collaboration. Excellent video. Will "bee"🤭 checking out the rest of your channel.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll find information that's useful to you.
You are the winner of the drawing for 1 lb of honey. Congratulations! Please send an e-mail to me at contact@suburbansodbuster.com with your shipping info so that I can get your prize to you.
Announcement video: ruclips.net/user/shorts-TyuM7gtuvs
@Suburban Sodbuster Wow, FANTASTIC! Will do. Thank you so much!!
Great video! We're thinking about bees in the future. We're going to get some native wildflowers planted first and try to get the infrastructure set. We've subbed to your channel too. Have a great week! Thanks for sharing all this!
I look forward to watching your progress. Remember that the bees can range around 3 miles. If you draw a circle on a map, with a 3 mile radius, with your home at the center, you'll be surprised how much ground it covers. Depending on what's around you (i.e. forests vs. cornfields) you won't need to worry too much about providing the forage for the bees.
@@SuburbanSodbuster I'm in farm country so lots of corn and soybeans. The crops don't "flower" til around July. I fear there won't be much to feed on within three miles. There are some small woods but not much. I'm going to plant "just in case." I found some bee frames/boxes last summer so I have some of the parts. I'm going to ask for some of the books you reference. Thanks for your video. Quite helpful!
It never hurts to plant ample wildflowers for pollinators, and you're absolutely correct that the bees will need forage before the field crops flower. Although corn is wind pollinated bees will collect pollen from it, and I recently read an article saying that, despite previous thoughts otherwise, soybeans can be very beneficial for honeybees (and vice versa). Of course, there's also the consideration of whether the crops are sprayed with pesticides. That could be a real risk and frustration.
Great video!
Really enjoyed your video! Thank you! ❤️
Thank you so much!
So interesting definitely going to check out those book
The last thing I need is more honey, thank you. Thank you too though for the interesting and -to me - well thought out approach to the subject of keeping bees.
I'm in my second year as a back yard beekeeper, now with 6 hives originated from 3 or 4 native swarms. I live deep in the countryside in France, in an idyllic environment without too much heat, nor too much cold. I totally agree with your position on treatment free beekeeping only the next few years will tell whether or not this approach works out. Fingers crossed though.
Over here, we don't have small hive beetles. our major problem is usually the Asian hornet which can be devastating as they hover in front of hive entrances, picking off bees as they come and go. Moreover, the bees become fearful and reluctant to leave to forage. Last year - my first - was pretty bad, though by all accounts the year before was much, much worse. This year, for some reason, I've only seen a handful of them, so no need to do anything about them. Other parts of the country haven't been so blessed though. I did invest in a set of hornet 'tents' - these are clever fabric enclosures that get placed in front of hives, capturing the hornets as their natural habit it to fly upwards after grabbing a bee to eat. This year though, I haven't needed to put them up at all.
You asked for ideas. Slightly off topic, but your video production would be helped by leaving a short gap between each edit. A half second or so would make all the difference, making the result much less 'choppy' and easier to listen too.
The hardest thing I've found with beekeeping is coming up with unique pet names for each bee - that and remembering what each one looks like....
Cheers and good luck. Keep on watching, it's much more interesting than anything on TV
Just discovered your channel....I love your approach and look forward to learning from you!
Thank you! I'm glad you're here and I hope you find the content useful.
Love your advice even though I am catching your video much later than posted.
It's okay - there's no time limit. 😁 Thanks for watching!
Enjoy your message, I have the bee “bug”! I talk way to much about my bees. I’m working both Layens & Langstroth hives. Starting 3rd year and still not sure what I prefer. Thanks
My experience - and one reason for my preference - is that bees take more naturally to the Layens hive, where they can build continuous comb from the top down. But others' experience and observation may vary. Outside of this channel I don't really talk a lot - much to my wife's frustration. But if someone asks about bees then it's on!
I have been gleaning as much info as I can possibly get on honey bees. I have been "feeding" some (well, a LOT) of the "locals" to encourage them to visit my garden when things start to flower. While early in the season I am in Arizona and will be putting my garden in in a matter of weeks here. I would love to have a hive to maybe get some honey but am pretty afraid as most of the feral bees here are Africanized. While they seem gentle and leave me alone while I feed them sugar water I don't know if having a hive full would be a smart idea! I have heard you can "re-queen" the hive to take on traits of a gentler bee....but after watching your video's I don't know if that would be the right thing to do either since the feral bees are most likely healthier and more adapted to climate here not to mention them being less resistant to mites. The struggle continues!
Let me preface my reply by saying that each keeper should follow what's right in their location and you would have to decide what's best for you. Here in Missouri we don't have to deal with strong Africanized genetics, so I hardly ever mention them in my videos. Africanized bees are notoriously mite resistant, but also more prone to swarm and, of course, can be very defensive. I know that some keep feral bees in your part of the country - but do so at a good distance from residences and livestock. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that for someone just starting out because, even when suited up, dealing with a defensive hive can get exhausting - and potentially dangerous with the bees in your locality. If you did re-queen, I have found that there is a treatment-free queen provider in Northern New Mexico, so maybe a somewhat similar climate to yours. They are www.ziaqueenbees.com - I don't know anything about them but found the link on bee-mindful's resource map (www.bee-mindful.com/treatment-free-resources). I have heard from Les Crowder, who is in Texas, that the Africanized bees, through genetic mixing, are generally less defensive now than they were when they first arrived. So requeening might not be a requirement, but is certainly a possibility.
And yes, the honeybees - even Africanized - will typically be gentle as they forage, unless they feel directly threatened. When they have no need to defend their hive they typically just go about their business. But things can get very different when someone is opening up their hive.
Great video and great advice. I started with a layens last season and by the end of the season I ran out of room for my bees. It was too late in the year to do a split (my opinion)....how would you add more space to a layens hive if your bees have filled the hive body....hope that makes sense.
How big is your hive? My 12 frame ran out of space and swarmed, but I didn't have any problem in the 20 frame hives. In either case, you can always pull full honey frames and replace them with empty frames to give the bees "more" space in which to work.
Thanks for sharing knowledge, particular on natural bee keeping. In my place (Philippines) apis cerana is native bee, i'm planning to keep apis melifera if posible without oxalic fogging, is that sustainable?
Thank you for watching! I think it's certainly possible - after all, I do it. But, depending on where you get your bees, it may be an uphill fight at first of accepting losses and propagating from survivors. Here in the US the feral bees have had 30+ years to adapt and recover after the introduction of varroa. If you have any feral populations of Apis Mellifera and you can populate your hives with those, you might be a step ahead. That's a situation similar to the Russian strain of Apis Mellifera, which lived in close proximity to Apis Cerana and had longer to adapt to varroa. But if you only have Apis Cerana, I'm curious about why you wouldn't keep those? I'll admit that I don't know much at all about keeping Apis Cerana, maybe you can educate me about why you'd choose Apis Mellifera instead.
Is ok to take honey from a new hive like I did a split now I have 2 lol lol just wondering if I should this is my second season and I do sit and watch them regularly...thks
As long as a colony has adequate resources to survive through your area's dearth periods and winter there is no issue with harvesting surplus honey. Every colony is different; some take the first year just to build up for winter while others make honey like crazy.
advice for new beekeepers...make sure no one in the family is allergic to bee stings. because if they are, have all the medical equipment and allergy supplies you can, 911 on speed dial. Or just sadly have your bees away from them.
Good consideration. Beekeeping may not be for everyone.
Terrifying. Better with info. Thank you!
I hope I can help to reduce the terror! 😁
@@SuburbanSodbuster Knowledge is power!
Hello 👋 much love from Cleveland Ohio ❤️ FarmFresh_USA
👋