Alot of good tips. I also think that just reading the beekeeping for dummies book helps to get some basic info. Hard to get some newbees to read anything
I’ve read dummies, Layens, lazutin/sharaskin and brother Adam since January. Old man Dadants book is on the way. Any others that I should read? I’m a reader. lol.
Just started raising bees. A local beekeeper brought over 2 complete hives with bees and honey. I'm watching your videos that are very helpful. Thanks!
Online courses are excellent, taking the plunge after 3 years of research and courses. NUC ordered and gathering equipment, lots of used equipment locally. In Ontario used equipment must be inspected by the provincial bee inspector and certified. Feeling safe buying used the seller provides a copy of the certificate.
Great video! I'm in to my 2nd year and have no idea what I'm doing with inspection and felt overwhelmed last year. I really like your advice on just doing 1 or 2 things during inspection!
During my first year of beekeeping, I actually caused my queen to get balled & die because I took too long to do my inspection (trying to do too much at once, as mentioned). I find time of day depends really on the season. I prefer to work with the hive in the afternoon in spring and fall since it takes longer for the daytime temperatures to rise. On the contrary, I like to do my inspections mid-morning during the summer because it gets too hot to be suited up once the afternoon heat peaks. Greetings from Canada :)
Getting bees for the first time this year. I'll be getting a 4 cell nuc about the middle of May to mid-June. I live up here in Nova Scotia, Canada. A bit cooler here. Learning a lot from your channel.
Great tips! I use sugar syrup with a splash of vinegar under certain conditions, like no deep-dive inspection, no dearth, and never on a huge colony. It works well if I am going in for a quick inspection and don't want to smell like smoke afterwards. It is only used on the top bars not on the brood
I should mention, I have found that the sugar solution wets the wings, keeping them from flying and distracting them with grooming activity. The vinegar, just a splash in the one-to-one sugar water, disrupts any alarm pheromone. Beginners should probably stick with just smoke for a while. I have mine puffing away for full apiary inspections
I just got a nuc yesterday. Everything looked good it was a nice day bright clear but windy. I used your feeding board and used the appropriate amount of additives I bought from your line of product. Closed it up and will check it in a week!!
I'm a newbie. Bought a hive and a package in April. Everything seems ok except for the large clump of honey on top of my bottom set of frames right above where i installed the queen.
Great tips, here in southern VA we have a lot of things blooming. My bees have been all over some quince bushes and my cherry tree. We also have lots of dandi lions and a dozen other things blooming.
Good tips, as usual. I highly recommend suiting up, with gloves, every time, until you've A) gotten a lot of experience, and B) seen how that colony is behaving once you open the hive. Weather, overnight critters, and shifts in genetics of feral queens can cause the colony to be crabbier some times than they are at others. And on a grumpy bee day, you'll be glad you've got a suit & gloves. 😉
I have a hive that is a bit weak compared to the other hives. When we checked on this hive it had 7 queen cells in it, 5 open 2 closed on 2 different frames. We put one frame in a nuc and left one in the hive. Are they re queening or are they getting ready to swarm?
I have two questions that I can't find answers for. The first is mold inside the hive. I live in the PNW and I bought 3 nucs recently. I put them each in a brood box and within 4 weeks one had mold inside. It was a whitish blue mold and prolific, so I removed the frames into another brood box - the bees were struggling at that point. Less numbers, lots of brood but no real honey. And they were too quiet, slow, they looked sick. That box also got moldy, so I transferred to a brand new box my son made for me - and they are doing better now. More active but still recovering from low numbers. Honey now. But as we go into fall and winter with a lot of rain here (we get about 100-120" per winter) I am worried the mold issue will return? When I asked local beekeepers, they said the bees should be keeping the mold under control?????????? The second question is, I have one hive that is very large now and very active. It has 2 brood boxes and all but the outer frames are filled with a mix of brood and honey. However, when I try and check the hives, they have created brood cells connecting the top and bottom frames together and when I lift up, I'm tearing the baby bees and comb apart. I was horrified the first time, but since I had no one to ask, I went ahead and cleared all the comb and brood off the bottom of the second box's frames. Went back 2 weeks later and they had already replaced it. I have no idea what to do now? Out of the 9 frames, they are using 6-7 frames for brood and honey - the outermost frames are empty. So they aren't overwhelming full. What do I do for this, I don't want to keep killing baby bees :( ANY help is appreciated. I have no one really to ask here. There are a few beekeepers but they keep to themselves. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Always wear a veil!!! I have long hair and have made the mistake of gardening near my hive without a veil and getting a bee caught in my hair. I got stung in the scalp! Both the bee and i panicked! The noise, buzzing near my ear was traumatic! Veil is key
No joke I find when I check my hives after 4 pm they don’t seem to bother me and let me do what I want but threw the days they are nastier but that’s what I fine works best
Hi David! Unfortunately my bees died over winter and I haven't figured out why. Is it safe to put the comb into another hive? And what about the honey, can I still extract it?
Depends on what they died from. If it was the cold or starvation, you can reuse the resources. If it was disease, such as foulbrood, you'd need to destroy the frames and boxes. If it were pesticide exposure, you might need to throw out nectar, pollen, wax, but might reuse frames.
Hey David, thanks for the video. just a heads up that the video was blurry. This is the second time this has happened with one of your videos. It seems to happen when you are indoors. Thought you would like to know.
I took a look at the video after it was posted on RUclips and it does not appear blurry to me. The background is blurry on purpose, this is called bokeh in the video world. But my face appears in focus. I cannot film in 4k due to my budget cameras get too hot, and I cannot afford enough internet to upload 4 videos a week in 4k plus livestreams. Because I live in the country that type of internet service is $500 per month.
YES!! That's the only way we can livestream. At $150 a month the livestream freezes too much, but $250 a month works well. That's why we always appreciate livestream donations: www.honeybeesonline.com/livestream-donation/
David I’ve been keeping bees for 45 years. Still looking for best methods for swarm prevention of strong overwintered hives. What are your best recommendations?
David THANKS for all the tips on hive inspection. Winter weather is back here, 8 inches of snow and temperatures from 10 degrees in the morning to high 20's. Looking forward for warm weather with above 60 degrees - it's mid April if we are lucky.
![KSI - Dirty [Official Visualiser]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VoDh1h1dPUE/mqdefault.jpg)
Alot of good tips. I also think that just reading the beekeeping for dummies book helps to get some basic info. Hard to get some newbees to read anything
I’ve read dummies, Layens, lazutin/sharaskin and brother Adam since January. Old man Dadants book is on the way. Any others that I should read? I’m a reader. lol.
I read everything and will be ordering this book also! Thanks
Very excellent video David. Really informative and fun to watch. Thanks a million!
Just started raising bees. A local beekeeper brought over 2 complete hives with bees and honey. I'm watching your videos that are very helpful. Thanks!
That is awesome!
Online courses are excellent, taking the plunge after 3 years of research and courses. NUC ordered and gathering equipment, lots of used equipment locally. In Ontario used equipment must be inspected by the provincial bee inspector and certified. Feeling safe buying used the seller provides a copy of the certificate.
So glad I found your site. 3 weeks til my bees come. Excitement and trepidation are warring!😅
How's it going?
Thanks for a particularly helpful video.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! I'm in to my 2nd year and have no idea what I'm doing with inspection and felt overwhelmed last year. I really like your advice on just doing 1 or 2 things during inspection!
During my first year of beekeeping, I actually caused my queen to get balled & die because I took too long to do my inspection (trying to do too much at once, as mentioned). I find time of day depends really on the season. I prefer to work with the hive in the afternoon in spring and fall since it takes longer for the daytime temperatures to rise. On the contrary, I like to do my inspections mid-morning during the summer because it gets too hot to be suited up once the afternoon heat peaks.
Greetings from Canada :)
Thank you for video! Very useful!!
Getting bees for the first time this year. I'll be getting a 4 cell nuc about the middle of May to mid-June. I live up here in Nova Scotia, Canada. A bit cooler here. Learning a lot from your channel.
That smoker tip is something I wish I did before i got my bees! Last year i struggled with keeping my smoker going.
Great tips! I use sugar syrup with a splash of vinegar under certain conditions, like no deep-dive inspection, no dearth, and never on a huge colony. It works well if I am going in for a quick inspection and don't want to smell like smoke afterwards. It is only used on the top bars not on the brood
I should mention, I have found that the sugar solution wets the wings, keeping them from flying and distracting them with grooming activity. The vinegar, just a splash in the one-to-one sugar water, disrupts any alarm pheromone. Beginners should probably stick with just smoke for a while. I have mine puffing away for full apiary inspections
Your videos are and have been extremely helpful
NW Missouri still waiting for excellent weather. My hive survived and getting 2 nucs end of April to mid May. Really looking forward to this year!
Good deal! Hope it's a great year for all of us.
I just got a nuc yesterday. Everything looked good it was a nice day bright clear but windy. I used your feeding board and used the appropriate amount of additives I bought from your line of product. Closed it up and will check it in a week!!
Exciting, and best of luck! Thanks for using our feeder board.
I'm a newbie. Bought a hive and a package in April. Everything seems ok except for the large clump of honey on top of my bottom set of frames right above where i installed the queen.
Great tips, here in southern VA we have a lot of things blooming. My bees have been all over some quince bushes and my cherry tree. We also have lots of dandi lions and a dozen other things blooming.
Wear boots! So hard to take a bee out of your sneaker 😮
Great help!
Great video very informative 😊
Glad you enjoyed it.
Good tips, as usual. I highly recommend suiting up, with gloves, every time, until you've A) gotten a lot of experience, and B) seen how that colony is behaving once you open the hive. Weather, overnight critters, and shifts in genetics of feral queens can cause the colony to be crabbier some times than they are at others. And on a grumpy bee day, you'll be glad you've got a suit & gloves. 😉
I have a hive that is a bit weak compared to the other hives. When we checked on this hive it had 7 queen cells in it, 5 open 2 closed on 2 different frames. We put one frame in a nuc and left one in the hive. Are they re queening or are they getting ready to swarm?
I have two questions that I can't find answers for. The first is mold inside the hive. I live in the PNW and I bought 3 nucs recently. I put them each in a brood box and within 4 weeks one had mold inside. It was a whitish blue mold and prolific, so I removed the frames into another brood box - the bees were struggling at that point. Less numbers, lots of brood but no real honey. And they were too quiet, slow, they looked sick. That box also got moldy, so I transferred to a brand new box my son made for me - and they are doing better now. More active but still recovering from low numbers. Honey now. But as we go into fall and winter with a lot of rain here (we get about 100-120" per winter) I am worried the mold issue will return? When I asked local beekeepers, they said the bees should be keeping the mold under control??????????
The second question is, I have one hive that is very large now and very active. It has 2 brood boxes and all but the outer frames are filled with a mix of brood and honey. However, when I try and check the hives, they have created brood cells connecting the top and bottom frames together and when I lift up, I'm tearing the baby bees and comb apart. I was horrified the first time, but since I had no one to ask, I went ahead and cleared all the comb and brood off the bottom of the second box's frames. Went back 2 weeks later and they had already replaced it. I have no idea what to do now? Out of the 9 frames, they are using 6-7 frames for brood and honey - the outermost frames are empty. So they aren't overwhelming full. What do I do for this, I don't want to keep killing baby bees :(
ANY help is appreciated. I have no one really to ask here. There are a few beekeepers but they keep to themselves. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Great job with this video! I won’t be in bees in my bikini either 😂
Always wear a veil!!! I have long hair and have made the mistake of gardening near my hive without a veil and getting a bee caught in my hair. I got stung in the scalp! Both the bee and i panicked! The noise, buzzing near my ear was traumatic! Veil is key
Thanks for sharing
tanks...
What about in Az when it hits 100 by 8am
No joke I find when I check my hives after 4 pm they don’t seem to bother me and let me do what I want but threw the days they are nastier but that’s what I fine works best
How do you know what time of day to move your hives?? I need to move two
Evening works best for me after they are all home, you can screen them in and move them.
Hi David! Unfortunately my bees died over winter and I haven't figured out why. Is it safe to put the comb into another hive? And what about the honey, can I still extract it?
Depends on what they died from. If it was the cold or starvation, you can reuse the resources. If it was disease, such as foulbrood, you'd need to destroy the frames and boxes. If it were pesticide exposure, you might need to throw out nectar, pollen, wax, but might reuse frames.
How do you manage to inspect the hive bear hand without a stinge
Probably just decades of experience in reading bees. I don't always though!
Hey David, thanks for the video. just a heads up that the video was blurry. This is the second time this has happened with one of your videos. It seems to happen when you are indoors. Thought you would like to know.
I took a look at the video after it was posted on RUclips and it does not appear blurry to me. The background is blurry on purpose, this is called bokeh in the video world. But my face appears in focus. I cannot film in 4k due to my budget cameras get too hot, and I cannot afford enough internet to upload 4 videos a week in 4k plus livestreams. Because I live in the country that type of internet service is $500 per month.
@@beekOuch, that's expensive internet access!
YES!! That's the only way we can livestream. At $150 a month the livestream freezes too much, but $250 a month works well. That's why we always appreciate livestream donations: www.honeybeesonline.com/livestream-donation/
When does swarm season end?
Where can I find some nice sweaters like yours?
Velcro straps around your ankle.
Comment just to help the Al Gore Rhythm
Watching this from Australia, fantastic advice, very much appreciated!
I have 400 hives I want to get to 600 this year
Thank for all the good information. My bees are coming April 10th
David
I’ve been keeping bees for 45 years. Still looking for best methods for swarm prevention of strong overwintered hives. What are your best recommendations?
Hi. Thank you for information. I do the two weeks.
Good tip about the smoker. I had a smoker that didn’t have the bottom metal disc. Real struggle before I found that was missing.
Good afternoon David! Greetings from NWArkansas!.
David THANKS for all the tips on hive inspection. Winter weather is back here, 8 inches of snow and temperatures from 10 degrees in the morning to high 20's. Looking forward for warm weather with above 60 degrees - it's mid April if we are lucky.
Finaly hit 65 yesterday saw 3 full frames of honey 3 full frames of brood. Did not see the queen hoping she wendt to the lower box to start laying.
Still No bees,het, waiting to find the right place.