February Beekeeping Madness
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2024
- Hey all,
Video Date: February 8th, 2024
I took advantage of a warm day and put Strong Microbials fondant with Apis Biologic in each hive.
Thanks for watching. Like & Subscribe to follow the Journey,
Brian
Website: castlehives.com
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Below are Links to some of the Equipment and Products that I use in the Apiary at Castle Hives. Look no further than Rob at Lorob Bees for your Vaporizer, amazing customer service and product. Suiting up for an Inspection, toss on an AWESOME vented jacket from Terry at Guardian Bee Apparel. Looking for a supplement, try Hive Alive. The number 1 rated supplement. Use code BRIAN10 to get 10% off HiveAlive supplement and HiveAlive fondant. Looking for an Insulated Hive, look no further than Apimaye.
Lorob Bees Vaporizer: VCRVT23G to save 5%
Guardian Bee Apparel: guardianbeeapparel.com/
Hive Alive: Code BRIAN10 to save 10%
Apimaye Insulated Bee Hives: apimayeusa.com/CastleHives
Timeline:
0:00 - Intro
0:18 - Plan
1:55 - Checking the Colonies
4:10 - Recap & Thoughts
Equipment Used to Film:
GoPro Hero 12 Black with DJI Mic
Edited with Final Cut Pro X
Tags:
#beekeeping #ohiobeekeeping #beekeeper #ohiobeekeeper #honeyBees #CastleHives #hiveinspection #apimaye #hivealive #lorobbees #beekeeping2023 #bees #backyardbeekeeping #apiary #honey #beethelighthouse #beethechange #savethebees
@brucesbees @NaturesImageFarmGregBurns @628DirtRooster @beek @aCanadianBeekeepersBlog @ThatBeeMan @MikeBarryBees @YappyBeeman @JCsBees 
Развлечения
Rats, Brian. It is hard to lose your babies. I came out of last winter with 9 hives and made 2,100 lbs of honey plus 9 nucs. You will be in good shape so don't beat yourself up. It is not easy to raise bees. Every year you pick up little bits of knowledge and a sense of what is going on in the hive. You will keep getting better and better.
Appreciate that, Russell. This next season will be fine. I have a plan and will stick to it.
Thanks 4 the video 😊
My pleasure 😊
Looking good!! Nice hat too!
Thanks Greg. . I have my Endurahive with Castle Hives engraved in action now also. Can't wait to see how it performs.
My hives made it through I have a hive with 40 frames insulated hives r10 made it through winter and boy is it going to be one heck of a spring and it is packed full of bees I mean packed so I made up some more insulated boxes to take care of my bees 24 frame insulated boxes really nice enjoying watching you and your bees thanks much for the content
Sounds like you have an amazing colony there. Appreciate you watching.
You have to be carefull, make sure that they have enough honey or syrup till the nektar flow starts.
Shrew, can fit through half inch hardware cloth depending on your area and pest. They will eat bodies "fat food" and leave the heads behind because they have little nutritional value. Kinda similar to skunk pellets and bees.
I think it was yellow jackets. The colonies were alive not long ago. I'm thinking they were decimated in the fall and didn't have the numbers to survive the entire winter.
@robertstwalley3662 You can not help a youtubeer with good advice on their own channel. They know everything and seldom listen.
@@sidelinerbeekeeper You don't know me then, because I will routinely take advice from viewers. Do I say I know everything, never do. Will you hear me say I make mistakes, always do.
I was using hive a live fondant last year and had 40% losses so I switched just to plain sugar cakes this year with appitablets and only lost 2 out of forty and those were failing queens going into winter, added pollen patties with apis bio in feb. and they are all looking strong right now, I saw a video with bob binnie and he was saying plain old sugar is best for your bees.
I've had success in the past with Hive Alive. A few of the losses this year are from my errors, messing with Queen's late in the year and not following the steps correctly. Live and learn you know. Appreciate you watching.
Man it’s always tough to lose them. But keep plugging. It is going to be a fun year!
I'm excited for this season. I take lessons like this and use them as a boost. I'll be more focused this season that's for sure.
Looks good bud. You will get those losses replaced in no time. We all learn from year to year.
Thanks Anel. . We do learn each year.
Heads sounds like some type of mammal, mice, voles, etc. I would do a mite wash on any remaining dead bees. Live and learn. Thanks for updating.
Live and learn is all. That is how we grow you know. Appreciate you watching.
What do your forensics say? Any common denominator on your deadouts? Tough Winter up your way......but now it's time to GROW!!!!
2 were robbed out. The other lost colonies were from late queen issues and then mite issues. I saw mite skat in cells of 2 of the colonies, so my bad there.
I went through my hive here in New York on Monday 3 - 4 -24 I had 2 hive with one dead out the other one is doing well
Hopefully your one survives. Appreciate you watching.
Got to take those losses with the success. I lost 6 out of 23. 5 were June nucs and 1 struggling 8 frame I gave the queen a chance to survive the winter.
Spot on, take it as it comes. I know i'll lose colonies, so i'll just keep on keeping.
32/60 of my colonies made it to this point. 2 of them are marginal at best. I added Global pollen patties with Apis Biologix and a hive alive with a fondant patty. I tossed a table spoon of super DFM too. So, hopefully, all of them pull through the rest of winter. It's time to split split split. I got 750+ drawn combs and over half are capped stores so no reason to not put that equipment to work! Thanks for the video Brian!
This winter hit some folks hard. Hope your remaining colonies make it and you have a great season. Appreciate you watching.
Just a point of clarification…those Apitablets need to be directly above the brood meaning in the set up you showed, it needed to be between the boxes directly above the brood to be effective, not in a feeder that they most likely would not visit in winter
Mehmet never told me specifics on where to put them, only just use you will see. When i got them, both packages were busted open and 6 of the tabs destroyed. So from the start my experience has been bad. The few I slid in the bottom melted down and made a mess that I had to scrap out. They need to include directions for use.
@@CastleHives That's unfortunate about the packaging. You're supposed to not feed while using Apitablet. It can't be helped if the packaging was destroyed. I have no association with that product, it's unfortunate you had that experience is all.
The instructions printed on the label explain where they should be placed and when to use them. Maybe the condensation had something to do with them melting, but even melted they would still feed on them when they want it since it’s 80% sugar. One thing to remember is that they should be applied during a dearth and not while feeding fondant or syrup
@@lomavistabeeco This is a Thymol cake. They are more than likely removing the sugar/thymol than eating it. The vapors kill the mites through the same mode of function that Apiguard does. Sitting in your colony regardless of location will be irrelevant in a cold weather state or hive dormancy - they just simply aren't vacating the sugar/thymol cake. So - now the function of exposure to the thymol has no effect on the mites - and the sugar isn't being consumed because they are in a cold weather state. The worst thing happening is that during a crucial brooding period for Northern beekeepers - this thymol/menthol combo is suppressing queen activity and brood production - a side effect of thymol in honey bee colonies.
I am glad you removed it. I would remove it from your options altogether - it's not a supplement, it's a treatment with no known safety data information, no formal testing or labeling, and a bunch of anecdotal marketing claims. Additionally there is no reference to temperature sensitivity for application - which all essential oils/organic acids are going to require knowledge of for effectiveness and human safety.
One apitablet cake is equivalent to a 25g dose of Apiguard - would you put that in your colony during the winter? Think about it. If you can only give this cake to your bees during a dearth - it's not exactly a supplement now is it?
A 3/4 inch feeder shim added in the Fall works for any Winter feeding that needs to be done. Perfect for Hive Alive, fondant, sugar bricks or pollen patties and puts food directly in contact with the bees once they are in the top box and eaten up stores below. Keep the insulated top box for just that insulation protection not feeding Sorry or your losses... Was there much honey left in the hives? Was the cluster broken into two places - one group w/brood and others close to food stores? I've heard/seen this when there was a short spell of nice weather followed by a quick temp drop... the bees fail to regroup together and then neither group is sufficient in size to to keep warm. The last several years we've had warmer temps into late December and bees kept flying even though there were no flowers... I suspect the bees go robbing weaker hives and those weak hives have mites and the bees bring them home.
Nice intro B. Mine still aren't flying. Maybe next week.
Thanks Mike. . I bet they start flying soon. The weather is very early this year.
Hate to hear that Brian, wish you the best with your splits and hope you have a blessed rest of the week my friend.
Thanks Tony. .
Well talked about how we thought this was going to have losses this year. I never lost a hive till this year. Lost 4 of 7.
This winter has been a bad one for several folks I know.
@@CastleHivesI’ve talked to several people that have lost a lot more than a normal year, some that have never lost hives have lost some this year.
The winter is taking out genetics you don’t want in your yard anyway. Half is more than enough to fill the hives that you want. Thanks for sharing Brian. I think you are going to have a great season.
I think this season will be a great one also. I have a dedicated plan, and will not deviate.
Thx for keeping it real 👍👍
Always!
I had to add a shim to mine but i have a different cover. I have had the pollen on since mid Feb and did 1 to 1 1st weekend in March. I hate to hear about your losses. i have 4 that still are going good hoping to tern in to 8 to 12.
With 4, you could get to 8 or 12 easily. Appreciate you watching.
Sorry for your dead outs. That sucks I know. I'm down to 12(last I knew) out of 27. Even though I treated for mites late summer and early fall and then hit them again with OA in November, I think my dead outs were caused by mites. Weakening the colonies so they can't stand anything that comes along in winter. Another problem my be insecticide damage done from farm fields. Mike Palmer has a lot to say about that.
So many variables in beekeeping you know. I caused some of this, so my bad. A few were from mites, so that is my bad also.
As your genetics survive and you split on those genetics you should get better survival rates. Did the insulated hives do better than the normal ones. You could also do some 5 frame nucs to replace lost colonies.?
2 of the lost ones were robbed, so hard to count for that. The others were all treated the same, so hard to tell what the issue was when the remaining are doing great. Now, last year I did mess around with queens a bit much, so that probably caused most of this.
I think it was late requeening. By the time they got going they didn’t have time to be robust for winter
Yep. I screwed up the process.
@@CastleHives I forget what date it was you did it but my general rule is what is the status of my queen first week in August if you do bee math those bees hatch sept 1ish they raise the winter bees during the golden rod, so any disruption in that hurts winter. Which is crazy to think about. Bees are tough man just when you think you have them figured out they kick your butt. You’ll be back in no time though with 9 colonies
Had my highest losses ever this year. Most of them I starved though… so I guess I’ll have plenty of comb for splits, lol. Glass half full approach?
Tough year for folks. I'm looking forward to starting out this 2024 season though. I think it'll be a good one.
Thanks for sharing and as others have said “keeping it real.” No doubt you’ll develop a course of action to adjust fire and accomplish what you want to in ’24…
That's the plan! I think with what I have in mind, it'll be a great season.
Sorry for your loss, Brian. I'm not saying it would have saved your bees but, "Apitablet can be easily applied by simply placing one tablet on top of frames in each brood box" Not in a top feeder.
I'll learn from this and grow is all you know. It's all we can do.
First, sorry to hear about the deadout but things happen. Hope you have a great bee season
Thanks, you too Grayson. I think this season will be a good one.
Sorry for what happened to your bees 🐝 keep making splits and build up again
Oh yeah. It'll turn out OK. Last year, I played around to much.
What do you think causes your losses? I know you got queens from Jose, Cory, and Greg if i remember right. Any one group do better? Did you requeen late and that contribute? Pull to much honey?
I played around to much last year with Queens. The early issues caused a low harvest. Corys did good, but are mean as can be, so I'm getting rid of them this season. They will chase you for 100 feet or more. My messing around with late season Queens caused some of this, so my fault.
@CastleHives Hate to hear it but you've got plenty still to work with so not a total loss!
@@alhambraorchardapiary4882 oh yeah. it'll be ok.
Wow, so sorry for the losses. What's the cause?
2 of the lost colonies were from being robbed out, so not much to do there. 2 or 3 others were from late season queen issues that I caused.
Each year is different. Last year I lost 3 of 13. This year is too early to say. I may lose 1 of 14, but again it's too early to say. Last year I fed fondant. This year I haven't given them anything. Go figure.
So many variables in beekeeping you know.
That's a bummer you took such a hit. Beekeeping is so much harder when we guage success based on who has how many and who don't - if you've learned and adapted it's not a failure. The bees will change the outcome on you the second you implement a plan. The second we think we are in charge they remind us we aren't.
Here's to breeding from the survivors...
Thanks for the comment. So true that when we think we have it all figured out and are in charge, they say hold my beer and change everything.
The Pygmy shrew will eat bee bodies, and it only takes one to eat the entire colony overwinter. The smallest mammal with the largest appetite, larger than an elephant's. #4 or 1/4 inch hardware cloth for mouse guards is used. 50% losses is a sign of high mite counts and possible mite bombs. OAV alone is not enough, OA is great at maintaining a mite count but does not lower it as easily as a miticide will. Using OAV only, every 3 years, you will have high losses. Not feeding properly in the fall and putting a product on the colony like hive alive has the bees more active eating and moving it down to the comb and mixing it with water through winter. You want your bees dormant and less active clustered on honey. I have 450 colonies this winter and have been putting in Apivar the last two days in boxes full of bees with 2% losses this winter so far.
We have short tailed shrews in Ohio, pygmy shrews are overseas. My IPM includes Apivar and OAV. I use Apivar twice a year and check mite counts. Feeding, I feed in the fall. So question, does only have a handful of colonies discredit anything I do since I do not have 450 colonies? Other beekeepers I have spoken with, such as Chris Werner, who runs thousands, do not flaunt numbers.
@@CastleHives sounds like a potential issue is Amitraz resistant mites. OAV will take numbers down to an extent, but might not have been enough to reduce viral loads on your nurse bees raising winter bees. I'm with you on flaunting numbers. Kind of the same as the Dunning-Kruger effect....flaunting experience based on years not ability...
Seems to be a beekeeper thing.
Dunning-Kruger. . That is great.
@CastleHives So the number I was "flaunting" was 2% losses, which you can tell I'm very happy about. But what is two percent really mean if you don't know the starting point. 50% loss when you only have 2 hives is not a big loss, but 50% loss of 450 hives is. Apivar can be used incorrectly and inefficiently to the results that some might call resistance or lack of effectiveness, and the same can go for feeding. Feeding can have negative results. You can piss into the wind and get the job done, but was it the best way to take a piss? According to Wikipedia, North America has the American pygmy shrew, I have it here in Nova Scotia. You also said in this video that you have no plans to change your ways but expecting different results, I presume. Oh, the insanity. Maybe you just need better genetics.
Losing hives happens. More you have, more chances to lose more. I don't treat or feed. Last year I lost 25%. This year so far I've lost 40%. It happens. You make spring splits and move on.
That's exactly it. .