My uncle had bees in the early '70s. His were the standard Langstroth style he had to work them constantly and they were aggressive. My father had a similar set up with only two hives in the late 1980's but were wiped out by the, new at that time, mites and beetles. I came across Dr. Leo's work with Layens hives and have been working on building my first hive. I hope to be ready by spring 2024. I am building my retirement job. It is a blackberry patch that should work well with the bees. I call it Hooey-Doo Hollow.
Well, best of luck to you!! I wanted to build my own but I'm not all that skilled and I wanted to get started quickly, so sent Dr. Leo the money and got up and running pretty quickly. I have an elderberry patch that I'm expecting the bees to help me out with!! Look forward to hearing more from you as you progress!!
Thank you. It's always helpful to have a good mentor that's patient! There's a lot to learn but mostly the bees will teach you. I watch a lot of RUclips and Rumble videos myself! Especially Dr. Leo
I am eager to join your excitement my friend!!! Because of my bad back I felt I would never be able to return to beekeeping again due to the heavy lifting. I ran across Dr. Leo on the Doug and Stacey youtube channel. So glad I did!!! My only modification is to build my hives to be bear proof ... I won't bore you with the details but i'm excited! I am only a little concerned of our NH winters. I look forward to following your experiences.
Wow, yeah, NH winters should be a good test. What a challenge to make them bear proof! I watch some youtubers that have bees in Alaska so surely NH won't be much more harsh than they are. Best of luck to you ! Keep in touch and let me know how your bees thrive! Thanks for commenting!
Great video. I love the enthusiam people have for such a great hive design. One point to consider I believe which may help you and others is to note that @5:48 you give the impression that the bees don't move across multiple frames and it makes it sound as if they form a pancake circle on a single frame. In fact, the bees form a sphere shaped cluster (if the frame size allowes them) across multiple frames and the sphere or ball moves about 1mm a day usually up towards the honey at the top and between frames to the left or right through holes they make in the comb. They do this in order to keep the queen and centre of the ball above 20 degrees C during the most dormant phase of winter and then to be able to raise it again to 35 degrees again when the queen starts laying in early spring. If the bee's were in a pancake the comb underneith or above them would be too cold for them to maintain their temperature. Bee's at the crust rotate frequently with bees in the core. They are just so fascinating 🙂
@@johnnytaylor5123 Got the idea from what Mr. Ed says about not disturbing his brood chambers but once a year. Frederick Dunn Interviews Jeff Horchoff, AKA Mr. Ed! About feral cutouts and honey bee observationsruclips.net/video/30jOP9Ywgfc/видео.html
I'm in the process of building my first Layens hive-ala Dr. Leo! I'm pretty much a convert to natural beekeeping, too. Got the book-got the lumber-will also build a swarm trap. Actually I'm planning on next year to stock it with a caught swarm. (This year, I'm working my last Langstroth setup.) I'm particularly interested in how this will work as it relates to mites and other pests. As you know, there's no screened bottom on the Layens hive so there is no way to deal with mite infestation other than "naturally." Keep you readers up to date on your experience with these little critters (which have destroyed three of my hive due to my refusal to use chemicals on the ladies). I wish you much good luck.
I caught a wild swarm around end of may using Dr. Leo's method and I built traps and a hive from his plans. The bees built out on 7 frames. I live in Kentucky and hopefully they will make it thru winter. Great video!
Wow!! Kentucky is so beautiful!! The cold, cold winters are tough on bees here and that's why I bought the insulated one from Dr. Leo! I'm hoping to catch a few swarms this spring!! We'll see how it goes!!! Thanks for watching!!
I am also learning. And plan to do natural Bee keeping next season. I’m glad to see other people doing in Natural Beekeeping. I feel like a duck out of water here in Colorado us natural beekeepers need to stick together. Looking forward to more videos.
Good luck. The bees might move right into your new box on the ground! I built a bunch of Layens boxes over the winter and have them placed all over town. Swarm traps too. I'm excited about the swarm season. It starts soon for us here in south eastern Tennessee.
Thanks for asking. I learned that I need to bring the bees home where I can keep a closer eye on them. I confirmed what Gunther Hauk writes in his book "Toward Saving the Honeybee'- the swarm has incredible regenerative qualities. I had colonies that were produced from swarms this spring that outproduced established colonies from the previous year BY FAR! The downside was on colonies that were not in my yard, I missed the swarms and in most cases, the queen left behind was no good and the colony failed! So now I feel the swarm is ESSENTIAL to colony health and regeneration. That's great because it's also the most fun you can have with the bees. @@willowbeesnaturally
@@willowbeesnaturally Still no swarms caught even as long as it's been. I am going to get a bit more serious in the coming spring....I'm thinking I'll have a bit more time.
I’m also excited about natural bee keeping, & have a Layens trap box set out. Hope to get started soon! Good luck!!! I’m in central MN, so overwintering is the biggest issue.
Hey another Layens Beek! Ill keep up with your channel, we've been using the Layens system since early 2019 and following beekeeping methods as taught by Lazutin's "Keeping Bees with a Smile". I subbed to your channel and will keep up with you! Best, - Wes
Looking at your divider board, I like the pins on the bottom, but from the size, it looks like it can be turned upside down instead of removing the pins to close in down.
Ken here from Blue Sky Ranch in Hockley, Texas. I currently have five (5) colonies, one in a traditional Lang, one in a long Lang, and three (3) that are being overwintered in my homemade swarm traps. I am currently constructing three Layens swarm traps which will each house six (6) frames. I construct my swarm traps out of recycled, cedar fence boards which I find in local subdivisions. The traps become heavy, even while empty, so attach an eye bolt in the top. I use ropes and pulleys to not only raise the traps, but also lower them when bees move in. This area fortunately has many feral colonies because I have a 100% success rate with all that I put out. Of course, April, May, and June are the most successful months. The traps are constructed to mimic a wall cavity being the width of a Langstroth frame, 5 1/2” deep, and here to four feet high. Until this year, I have not had drawn out comb to place in the traps, so the transfers to permanent housing is accomplished as would be a cutout. I use Swarm Commander as a lure along with some scrap comp placed loosely in the bottom. The horizontal slats across the face are fastened with screws which makes the extractions very easy. Nevertheless, I’m planning to transition into the Layens format for reasons similar to yours.
I'm going thru the first winter with a Layens Hive and just did an inspection and Oxalic acid treatment. I reduced the bee space since I did not have as much bees as I thought I had. I seem to have some humidity problem because I noticed the side wall had black mold on some spots. They seem to have enough honey resources so maybe I will remove a frame for myself.
I thought your video was very informative I like the way you explain things about the lands hive I've watched a few videos of Leo the Russian doctor and I'm very interested in the lands horizontal hive but you explained it very well and very informative thank you
Great video! Thank you for sharing this and your thoughts as to why you prefer this type of bee box as opposed to the traditional. I have been considering switching also. Your video cemented my decision. It just makes more sense, to me. Where in W TX are you? I’m a truck driver & would love to drop by for a live demo & to pick your brain. I am between San Antonio & Houston.
I’m in Amarillo. Thanks for your kind words. I’d bee happy for you to drop by and see. I just got my bees this morning and will bee putting them in the box later today after it warms up a bit. It’s 34 degrees this morning. A bit chilly to bee introducing newbees to their new home!!
Intriguing! Why did you chose this largely untried horizontal method over the proven Kenyan top bar hive configuration? I've kept bees for about five years (Langstroth) but I'm not really happy with it for reasons you understand. Thank you so much for sharing!
Horizontal hive have been used successfully for over a century in Russia and surrounding countries. I’ve been reading about their methods and realized it might work better for my particular situation.
@Alexander Van Burk Wow!! That's a pretty big start! If you get a chance, check out Dr. Leo at horizontalhive.com . He is the one that translated the book into English for the author. He seems to really have his stuff together! Very much into natural beekeeping which is what interests me most.
The Layens hive design was invented by Georges de Layens in 1870 and has been in use throughout the world. Much of Europe and Russia use the design. Layens book "Keeping Bees in Horizontal Hives" is old but an interesting read.
I don't think it would hurt at all. We ended up putting metal t-posts all around my hive to insulate for winter. It didn't seem to bother the bees at all.
Thanks for the video. I went to Dr Leo’s workshop a couple of years ago. I’m very glad I went; found it very informative and had a delightful time. How was your experience? God willing I’ll start one to three hives this year. I’m leaning towards a horizontal deep frame set up, Layens or otherwise, my only concern though, is that I’ve heard complaints about the horizontal hives ending up as big brood chambers because a lot of queens will lay brood on every frame. What has your experience been in this regard? Thanks again
Wow, I haven't heard of those issues. My bees were doing wonderfully all summer but it seems that when fall hit, it's like they almost all left me. Not exactly sure what happened. I'm waiting till spring to check them out and make whatever adjustments I need to make. I'm sure I'll be checking in with the good doc then!! Thanks for the comments!! God bless your endeavors!!!
Love the layens insulation. Less death in winter and more work without bearding in the heat. Langstroth is designed around commercial production which isn't my goal.
I have good results with Italian bees. Very gentle and easy to work with. I love the horizontal hive, definitely got me interested. I would love to know if your successful with the swarm catcher. Thanks from fellow Texan down here in Conroe.
Jodi DeTuncq I’ve also had Italians but our area in winter is tough on them. This horizontal is insulated so perhaps I won’t have that problem this coming winter. I’ll have some more info soon. Thanks for watching!!
I started off Italians but I have since re-queened everything to Russians. Better winter survival rate, less robbing and I have not really noticed any difference in aggressiveness for my three hives.
As long as they have enough space to expand, they shouldn't swarm but if they do, there's not much you can do other than have a swarm trap close by and hopefully they will move to it. It's a precaution worth taking for sure!!
I'm looking for a Layens hive that holds langstroth frames that are 18.5" deep. Do you know if anyone who might sell those? Basically a double deep Layens hive that is modified to hold double deep langstroth frames.
Heard that also, but I can tell you that I found a large hive in a hollow tree that had fallen down. The comb was hanging from the top and was as far back in the tree that I could see. The tree had fallen at ground level and the opening was probably close to two feet in diameter. The comb started about two feet back into the hollow. The hive wintered over and sometime the following summer left. I live in southeastern Ohio, Zone 5/6
EXCELLENT VIDEO! You are on track to a hole lot of fun keeping bees with a smile. Tell Dr Sharashkin he needs to get a channel going on keeping bees because I see a hole lot of people trying but not succeeding with horizontal hives and all it would take to set them straight is available content on how to do it right. Good luck.
try to find someone who has had a swarm. we call that a 'bee tree' - put your swarm trap there - they will generally come to the same tree every time. second, if you want the 'prime swarm' (first one in spring) - they're the largest, generally the healthiest....those huge swarms want to be high - try to get it about 15' if you can. bee careful with those bees - some are becoming the 'killer bees' -
Yes, and I already have a large 20 frame (langstroth) extractor but hey, that's the bee business huh? I'll either sell it and buy another or trade or perhaps reconfigure this one.....if it can be done.... Thanks so much for watching!!
Actually Layens frame extractors are no more than Langstroth. The one I am planning does both LAyens and Langstroth frames which is what I run. Never had an issues with burr comb but dont keep a lot of space below the frames.
When you filmed this you were new and I think you did othe new beekeepers (and bees) a disservice by implying you can set it up and not come back till Autumn with your only intent being to take the honey. Now that you've done a course you know there are many pests to be mindful of. All treatable but you need to be checking on the health of your hive to catch them early. You also need to be mindful of molds, brood patterns, and know when to open and close ventilation, etc.. You need to check on the productivity/health of the queen (which would be an old queen if you're catching a swarm). If you leave problems till Autumn your bees may not survive the winter in this thin walled hive. If they swarm away from you leaving behind a weeker colony its because you wernt checking and seeing the signs. Most established beekeepers are checking the hives regularly throughout the summer, every 2-3 weeks ideally if you have just a few boxes. If done right the disturbance to the bees is quite minimal. My question is will you take this video down or edit it?, because the set it and forget it approach you advocate really is disastrous to most new beekeepers. Maybe you'll be lucky in youre climate, but the advice just wont hold most everywhere.
Ha, ha....I used to operate my bees the way you explained it above. Every year I was losing bees, not to swarming, but to dying. I checked them regularly, as you so eloquently stated. Then I ran across Dr. Leo Sharoshkin (sp) who has been natural beekeeping for almost as many years as I am old (well, not quite). His natural beekeeping method struck a cord with me because what I'd been doing for years wasn't working out so well. Thanks for your input, but I'm pretty sold on the methods that Dr. Leo uses and has used for many years. Your way failed miserably for me. No, I won't remove or edit the video. I really think it's a good thing to hear of and perhaps try different methods so I see no reason to rob others from the opportunity to discover alternative methods as well. In this day of cancel culture and censorship there's enough of that elsewhere, I see no need for it here. We all deserve to make our own decisions. Thanks for your input anyway. Maybe it will help someone else.
@@tayloracreshomestead887 I'm a big fan of Dr. Leo......just think about this....a native beehive in a hollow tree lives for many years with no interference by humans........that's the beauty of catching a local swarm......the bees you buy from a commercial bee guy are genetically inferior to the native bees....native bees may tend to be a bit more aggressive but worth a few stings....
Denver Denver, Most “established bee keepers” have the commercial Langstrouth hives designed for convenience to man, not health of the bees. If hive is healthy and you physically can’t look often it can be looked at just twice per year. Remember if you catch a swarm, take it 5 miles away for a week then back to your hive or it won’t stay
@@tayloracreshomestead887 I'm much of your opinion. Dr. Leo's way makes sense to me. The bees survive well on their own. I'm a relatively new beekeeper having been unsuccessful with commercially purchased bees. Why so much intervention. I think it's too much. the feral bees are more aggressive but, I'm continuing with the natural beekeeping method. Less intervention-the better off for me and the bees!
My uncle had bees in the early '70s. His were the standard Langstroth style he had to work them constantly and they were aggressive. My father had a similar set up with only two hives in the late 1980's but were wiped out by the, new at that time, mites and beetles. I came across Dr. Leo's work with Layens hives and have been working on building my first hive. I hope to be ready by spring 2024. I am building my retirement job. It is a blackberry patch that should work well with the bees. I call it Hooey-Doo Hollow.
Great, I wish you well.
Well, best of luck to you!! I wanted to build my own but I'm not all that skilled and I wanted to get started quickly, so sent Dr. Leo the money and got up and running pretty quickly. I have an elderberry patch that I'm expecting the bees to help me out with!! Look forward to hearing more from you as you progress!!
Good video. I too am converting from Langstroth to Layens. Like your reasoning.
I wish you the best. It's certainly been a game changer for me.....
Excellent video! Learning about bees before getting them! Thank you, hope I can find a local mentor in my area that is as pleasant as you
Thank you. It's always helpful to have a good mentor that's patient! There's a lot to learn but mostly the bees will teach you. I watch a lot of RUclips and Rumble videos myself! Especially Dr. Leo
I am eager to join your excitement my friend!!! Because of my bad back I felt I would never be able to return to beekeeping again due to the heavy lifting. I ran across Dr. Leo on the Doug and Stacey youtube channel. So glad I did!!! My only modification is to build my hives to be bear proof ... I won't bore you with the details but i'm excited! I am only a little concerned of our NH winters. I look forward to following your experiences.
Wow, yeah, NH winters should be a good test. What a challenge to make them bear proof! I watch some youtubers that have bees in Alaska so surely NH won't be much more harsh than they are. Best of luck to you ! Keep in touch and let me know how your bees thrive! Thanks for commenting!
Great video. I love the enthusiam people have for such a great hive design. One point to consider I believe which may help you and others is to note that @5:48 you give the impression that the bees don't move across multiple frames and it makes it sound as if they form a pancake circle on a single frame. In fact, the bees form a sphere shaped cluster (if the frame size allowes them) across multiple frames and the sphere or ball moves about 1mm a day usually up towards the honey at the top and between frames to the left or right through holes they make in the comb. They do this in order to keep the queen and centre of the ball above 20 degrees C during the most dormant phase of winter and then to be able to raise it again to 35 degrees again when the queen starts laying in early spring. If the bee's were in a pancake the comb underneith or above them would be too cold for them to maintain their temperature. Bee's at the crust rotate frequently with bees in the core. They are just so fascinating 🙂
Excellent point!!
I'm thinking some sort of Langstrom on top of Layens with queen excluder on top Layens. Leave bottom alone and harvest top.
Not sure how that would work but I'd be interested in hearing your results!
@@johnnytaylor5123 Got the idea from what Mr. Ed says about not disturbing his brood chambers but once a year. Frederick Dunn Interviews Jeff Horchoff, AKA Mr. Ed! About feral cutouts and honey bee observationsruclips.net/video/30jOP9Ywgfc/видео.html
I love dr Leo. Super happy to hear you are catching a local swarm. Great vid!
Thank you Katie! I hope to have a swarm soon.....still waiting!! Thanks for watching!!
I'm in the process of building my first Layens hive-ala Dr. Leo! I'm pretty much a convert to natural beekeeping, too. Got the book-got the lumber-will also build a swarm trap.
Actually I'm planning on next year to stock it with a caught swarm. (This year, I'm working my last Langstroth setup.) I'm particularly interested in how this will work as it relates to mites and other pests. As you know, there's no screened bottom on the Layens hive so there is no way to deal with mite infestation other than "naturally." Keep you readers up to date on your experience with these little critters (which have destroyed three of my hive due to my refusal to use chemicals on the ladies). I wish you much good luck.
Thanks, so far my bees are doing wonderfully! Really busy building inside and so far no issues at all...loving the hive!!
I caught a wild swarm around end of may using Dr. Leo's method and I built traps and a hive from his plans. The bees built out on 7 frames. I live in Kentucky and hopefully they will make it thru winter. Great video!
Wow!! Kentucky is so beautiful!! The cold, cold winters are tough on bees here and that's why I bought the insulated one from Dr. Leo! I'm hoping to catch a few swarms this spring!! We'll see how it goes!!! Thanks for watching!!
Looking forward to your bee videos. I am interested in this hive.. So keep us updated.
I know it's been a year, but I'm working on updates now.
I am also learning. And plan to do natural Bee keeping next season. I’m glad to see other people doing in Natural Beekeeping. I feel like a duck out of water here in Colorado us natural beekeepers need to stick together. Looking forward to more videos.
Welcome to the field! I've been doing this for about 5 years now and still learning! I actually still feel like a beginner!!
You're going to love the Layens design.
Good luck. The bees might move right into your new box on the ground! I built a bunch of Layens boxes over the winter and have them placed all over town. Swarm traps too. I'm excited about the swarm season. It starts soon for us here in south eastern Tennessee.
I’m also looking forward to it. We’re still about a month away here.
Wow so how did it go?
Thanks for asking. I learned that I need to bring the bees home where I can keep a closer eye on them. I confirmed what Gunther Hauk writes in his book "Toward Saving the Honeybee'- the swarm has incredible regenerative qualities. I had colonies that were produced from swarms this spring that outproduced established colonies from the previous year BY FAR!
The downside was on colonies that were not in my yard, I missed the swarms and in most cases, the queen left behind was no good and the colony failed! So now I feel the swarm is ESSENTIAL to colony health and regeneration. That's great because it's also the most fun you can have with the bees. @@willowbeesnaturally
@@willowbeesnaturally Still no swarms caught even as long as it's been. I am going to get a bit more serious in the coming spring....I'm thinking I'll have a bit more time.
Thanks for sharing what you've done so far. I'm in the process of moving and hope to get a swarm trap out this spring.
I'd love to hear how it went. Sorry for the delay in responding!
I’m also excited about natural bee keeping, & have a Layens trap box set out.
Hope to get started soon!
Good luck!!!
I’m in central MN, so overwintering is the biggest issue.
Good for you hope it went well for your start! We put hay bales around our hive in the winter for some extra insulation. Works very well.....
Hey another Layens Beek!
Ill keep up with your channel, we've been using the Layens system since early 2019 and following beekeeping methods as taught by Lazutin's "Keeping Bees with a Smile". I subbed to your channel and will keep up with you!
Best,
- Wes
Secure Acres Natural Bees thanks for the sub. I’ll check out your info.
I enjoyed your video!!! Thanks for the info.
Thanks Rickey for watching! Hope you'll continue to check us out as we progress.....
Looking at your divider board, I like the pins on the bottom, but from the size, it looks like it can be turned upside down instead of removing the pins to close in down.
I agree. Good observation!!
Ken here from Blue Sky Ranch in Hockley, Texas. I currently have five (5) colonies, one in a traditional Lang, one in a long Lang, and three (3) that are being overwintered in my homemade swarm traps. I am currently constructing three Layens swarm traps which will each house six (6) frames. I construct my swarm traps out of recycled, cedar fence boards which I find in local subdivisions. The traps become heavy, even while empty, so attach an eye bolt in the top. I use ropes and pulleys to not only raise the traps, but also lower them when bees move in. This area fortunately has many feral colonies because I have a 100% success rate with all that I put out. Of course, April, May, and June are the most successful months. The traps are constructed to mimic a wall cavity being the width of a Langstroth frame, 5 1/2” deep, and here to four feet high. Until this year, I have not had drawn out comb to place in the traps, so the transfers to permanent housing is accomplished as would be a cutout. I use Swarm Commander as a lure along with some scrap comp placed loosely in the bottom. The horizontal slats across the face are fastened with screws which makes the extractions very easy. Nevertheless, I’m planning to transition into the Layens format for reasons similar to yours.
Isn’t Shockley county where Leveland is located? I’ve not been as fortunate with my swarm trap. Obviously you are doing something right!!
Hockley
Great explaining.
I have two ready for two more… I love them…
I need to get another. Looks like it's about time!
This was the explanation I needed. You covered it.
Good, I hope it helped!
I'm going thru the first winter with a Layens Hive and just did an inspection and Oxalic acid treatment. I reduced the bee space since I did not have as much bees as I thought I had. I seem to have some humidity problem because I noticed the side wall had black mold on some spots. They seem to have enough honey resources so maybe I will remove a frame for myself.
I’m trying to follow the natural method as explained by Dr. Leo Sharushkin. Waiting for spring to get bees
@@tayloracreshomestead887 Great! No chemicals Is best!
I’m building a Layens insulated hive now. I think it’s going to be the best way to keep bees.
Excellent, I think you are right!!
I thought your video was very informative I like the way you explain things about the lands hive I've watched a few videos of Leo the Russian doctor and I'm very interested in the lands horizontal hive but you explained it very well and very informative thank you
Thank you for your comments
Great video! Thank you for sharing this and your thoughts as to why you prefer this type of bee box as opposed to the traditional. I have been considering switching also. Your video cemented my decision. It just makes more sense, to me. Where in W TX are you? I’m a truck driver & would love to drop by for a live demo & to pick your brain. I am between San Antonio & Houston.
I’m in Amarillo. Thanks for your kind words. I’d bee happy for you to drop by and see. I just got my bees this morning and will bee putting them in the box later today after it warms up a bit. It’s 34 degrees this morning. A bit chilly to bee introducing newbees to their new home!!
Very helpful!
Thank you
Intriguing! Why did you chose this largely untried horizontal method over the proven Kenyan top bar hive configuration?
I've kept bees for about five years (Langstroth) but I'm not really happy with it for reasons you understand.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Horizontal hive have been used successfully for over a century in Russia and surrounding countries. I’ve been reading about their methods and realized it might work better for my particular situation.
@Alexander Van Burk Yes, I was reading about that in the book "Raising bees with a smile" .
@Alexander Van Burk Wow!! That's a pretty big start! If you get a chance, check out Dr. Leo at horizontalhive.com . He is the one that translated the book into English for the author. He seems to really have his stuff together! Very much into natural beekeeping which is what interests me most.
The Layens hive design was invented by Georges de Layens in 1870 and has been in use throughout the world. Much of Europe and Russia use the design. Layens book "Keeping Bees in Horizontal Hives" is old but an interesting read.
@@Michael-yl2iq Yes, thank you for the info!!
I have wondered would it hurt anything if you put in a steel post behind the hive box to help hold it in the wind
I don't think it would hurt at all. We ended up putting metal t-posts all around my hive to insulate for winter. It didn't seem to bother the bees at all.
Thanks for the video. I went to Dr Leo’s workshop a couple of years ago. I’m very glad I went; found it very informative and had a delightful time. How was your experience?
God willing I’ll start one to three hives this year. I’m leaning towards a horizontal deep frame set up, Layens or otherwise, my only concern though, is that I’ve heard complaints about the horizontal hives ending up as big brood chambers because a lot of queens will lay brood on every frame. What has your experience been in this regard?
Thanks again
Wow, I haven't heard of those issues. My bees were doing wonderfully all summer but it seems that when fall hit, it's like they almost all left me. Not exactly sure what happened. I'm waiting till spring to check them out and make whatever adjustments I need to make. I'm sure I'll be checking in with the good doc then!! Thanks for the comments!! God bless your endeavors!!!
Love the layens insulation. Less death in winter and more work without bearding in the heat. Langstroth is designed around commercial production which isn't my goal.
Same here!! It’s working very well for me!!
Nice explanation
Thank you Anna!
I have good results with Italian bees. Very gentle and easy to work with. I love the horizontal hive, definitely got me interested. I would love to know if your successful with the swarm catcher. Thanks from fellow Texan down here in Conroe.
Jodi DeTuncq I’ve also had Italians but our area in winter is tough on them. This horizontal is insulated so perhaps I won’t have that problem this coming winter. I’ll have some more info soon. Thanks for watching!!
I started off Italians but I have since re-queened everything to Russians. Better winter survival rate, less robbing and I have not really noticed any difference in aggressiveness for my three hives.
Rstlr I’ve considered Russians but can’t seem to locate any close enough!
I'm seeing your video as it is 2 years old and I was just wondering if you were ever able to trap a swarm?
No. Seems we don’t have a lot of feral bees around here
Awe, sorry to hear that. Bees are new to me and I will be trying that hive out this Spring. Enjoyed your video, sir!
@@virginian3390 thank you. I’m still trying to catch a swarm come spring.
How will you plan to extract honey from the larger frames
eas2233 I will probably end up buying a layers extractor
Don't worry about the agrssion of any sort of bees!
The agrssion will not be prezent If you follow natural princilpes.
Keep up the good work!
Fortunately these bees are very docile!!
Great 👍 job
Thanks 👍
I just built a long langstroth hive and I'm wondering about bee space? Do you need bee space on the top of frames? Thanks
prepared648 no but bee space on the bottom is important.
will you use a queen excluder?
Tropic Breeze Realty No, shouldn’t have to with this method
What do you do for them planning on swarming
As long as they have enough space to expand, they shouldn't swarm but if they do, there's not much you can do other than have a swarm trap close by and hopefully they will move to it. It's a precaution worth taking for sure!!
Check through them every week or two, depending if you clip the queen's wing or not.
I'm looking for a Layens hive that holds langstroth frames that are 18.5" deep. Do you know if anyone who might sell those? Basically a double deep Layens hive that is modified to hold double deep langstroth frames.
Brad Oliphant I saw some online a while back. Very reasonably priced but don’t know where
@@tayloracreshomestead887 Thanks. I found some at "enjoy beekeeping"
I was told bees like to go up and not sideways have you found this to be true ?
That’s what I understand as well based on what I’ve heard!
Heard that also, but I can tell you that I found a large hive in a hollow tree that had fallen down. The comb was hanging from the top and was as far back in the tree that I could see. The tree had fallen at ground level and the opening was probably close to two feet in diameter. The comb started about two feet back into the hollow. The hive wintered over and sometime the following summer left. I live in southeastern Ohio, Zone 5/6
Ever done a cut out from the eaves of a house. Layens allows them to not break cluster as often which is what they really prefer.
EXCELLENT VIDEO! You are on track to a hole lot of fun keeping bees with a smile. Tell Dr Sharashkin he needs to get a channel going on keeping bees because I see a hole lot of people trying but not succeeding with horizontal hives and all it would take to set them straight is available content on how to do it right. Good luck.
Hi Les. How are they not succeeding? What are the worst and most common problems they’re having?
Thanks Les! So far it's been pretty awesome!! Looking forward to spring for a checkup!! Thanks for the comment!! I appreciate it!!
Nice - Layens is much better than Langstroth - the roof of mine is on hinges. Thank you!
I need to get hinges on mine! Seems so much more convenient! I appreciate you watching the video!
try to find someone who has had a swarm. we call that a 'bee tree' - put your swarm trap there - they will generally come to the same tree every time. second, if you want the 'prime swarm' (first one in spring) - they're the largest, generally the healthiest....those huge swarms want to be high - try to get it about 15' if you can. bee careful with those bees - some are becoming the 'killer bees' -
sophia larson we’ve had some pretty aggressive bees before
Expensive extractor, burr comb problems ect. but you don't have to work it much except for the beatles and mites
Yes, and I already have a large 20 frame (langstroth) extractor but hey, that's the bee business huh? I'll either sell it and buy another or trade or perhaps reconfigure this one.....if it can be done.... Thanks so much for watching!!
Actually Layens frame extractors are no more than Langstroth. The one I am planning does both LAyens and Langstroth frames which is what I run. Never had an issues with burr comb but dont keep a lot of space below the frames.
When you filmed this you were new and I think you did othe new beekeepers (and bees) a disservice by implying you can set it up and not come back till Autumn with your only intent being to take the honey. Now that you've done a course you know there are many pests to be mindful of. All treatable but you need to be checking on the health of your hive to catch them early. You also need to be mindful of molds, brood patterns, and know when to open and close ventilation, etc.. You need to check on the productivity/health of the queen (which would be an old queen if you're catching a swarm). If you leave problems till Autumn your bees may not survive the winter in this thin walled hive. If they swarm away from you leaving behind a weeker colony its because you wernt checking and seeing the signs. Most established beekeepers are checking the hives regularly throughout the summer, every 2-3 weeks ideally if you have just a few boxes. If done right the disturbance to the bees is quite minimal. My question is will you take this video down or edit it?, because the set it and forget it approach you advocate really is disastrous to most new beekeepers. Maybe you'll be lucky in youre climate, but the advice just wont hold most everywhere.
Ha, ha....I used to operate my bees the way you explained it above. Every year I was losing bees, not to swarming, but to dying. I checked them regularly, as you so eloquently stated. Then I ran across Dr. Leo Sharoshkin (sp) who has been natural beekeeping for almost as many years as I am old (well, not quite). His natural beekeeping method struck a cord with me because what I'd been doing for years wasn't working out so well. Thanks for your input, but I'm pretty sold on the methods that Dr. Leo uses and has used for many years. Your way failed miserably for me. No, I won't remove or edit the video. I really think it's a good thing to hear of and perhaps try different methods so I see no reason to rob others from the opportunity to discover alternative methods as well. In this day of cancel culture and censorship there's enough of that elsewhere, I see no need for it here. We all deserve to make our own decisions. Thanks for your input anyway. Maybe it will help someone else.
@@tayloracreshomestead887 I'm a big fan of Dr. Leo......just think about this....a native beehive in a hollow tree lives for many years with no interference by humans........that's the beauty of catching a local swarm......the bees you buy from a commercial bee guy are genetically inferior to the native bees....native bees may tend to be a bit more aggressive but worth a few stings....
Billy Markwell exactly!!
Denver Denver, Most “established bee keepers” have the commercial Langstrouth hives designed for convenience to man, not health of the bees. If hive is healthy and you physically can’t look often it can be looked at just twice per year.
Remember if you catch a swarm, take it 5 miles away for a week then back to your hive or it won’t stay
@@tayloracreshomestead887 I'm much of your opinion. Dr. Leo's way makes sense to me. The bees survive well on their own. I'm a relatively new beekeeper having been unsuccessful with commercially purchased bees. Why so much intervention. I think it's too much. the feral bees are more aggressive but, I'm continuing with the natural beekeeping method. Less intervention-the better off for me and the bees!