This video made me happy ! Spring is here and new life will 'spring' up. This hive is a survivor and so are you. Wish you all the best this season with bees and other homesteading projects ! Keep on youtubing...
Love, love, love the care that you put into both your videos, and your hive. Its better then most professionally produced reality shows out there, and I feel like we're watching you get better all of the time.
really nice that you made the celsius conversion and those location texts for the queen, larvae etc. very educational. glad you're back in business with beekeeping!
Maybe you could try making some mead or a nice cyser (that is mead with apples or cider with honey, depends on how you look at it) when you get a nice harvest from those apple trees. Being a home brewer and having your own bees has certain advantages you know :)
Really glade to see you have a healthy hive. We have just got two hives at our allotment after watching and learn from your RUclips videos. Thank you for publishing them it has been a fantastic help. Good luck with your bees this year.
I'm still technically in my first year at this. I got my bees 11 months ago. Every time I open a hive I learn new things. Make sure you get a mentor and ask lots of questions (even if the questions seem stupid/obvious.) Best of luck and Thanks for watching!
Hello! I just want to say thank you for making these videos!!! I just recently found these and binge watched them all! I've learned so much, and me and my dad have a hive that we're starting this season. When we went to go pick up out nuc today the beekeeper we bought them from was so impressed with my knowlage, and I learned it all from you! thanks again so much, your videos are fantastic, keep it up!
Xmus Jaxon Wow. That's a really nice compliment! Just remember that these are not 'how to' videos. I am a beginner and in no way an authority on bees or beekeeping. I'm just showing what I do and what I learn. If you can take away tips, that's awesome. But please get a mentor and ask lots of questions. Thanks for watching!
of course! we've got some people to help us but your videos have helped me learn alot of terminology and different things about bee keeping, keep it up!
Like you vids and was disappointed all your hives didn't make it through the winter. It was not for lack of insulation but maybe numbers going into winter. We were 18C to 27C a few days last week. Moved brood down and honey up. The bees will do the honey but I thought why not save them some work. Then we had 5cm of what I call the Robins snow(last bit of white for the year) last night and it's 3C today but some of the girls are flying. But then again they are some of those crazy Canucks. Looking forward to seeing the farm grow.
Spring hit here last week. Solid 70's for a couple of days. So the bees got pretty active. This week however the temperature dropped to 50's during the day and 30 at night, thank you cold north eastern wind. It's a real mess.
Love the update mate! Just peeking on your bottom board I thought I saw lots of dead bees, next time you're cracking into the hive give it good clean to help them out. Also cheers for the Celsius conversion 👍. From your Aussie fans
Justyn B I know I should have cleaned them up after I watched the video. But I did open the bottom entrance so I figured the bees might do it themselves anyway. Thanks for watching and hello in Australia!
It's a plug in for final cut pro. I'm not going to give away my secrets, but I will tell you that you can find more information by searching for "Final Cut Call Out Plug In" Have fun.
You're videos are looking better and better each upload, nice going ~ Hive looks healthy as a rock coming out of winter like that :) Hope things go a little more smoothly this year and we finally get some honey :D
ya, that pollen is actually from tree buds. as for the honey in the frames, the cluster generally wont move sideways. they move up. so thats why there is still honey in the hive. that would be fine for starting off their spring. i wouldnt bother feeding them unless they get hungry but all in all, looks like a good start to the year.
It's a tiny hive, but they are right on schedule. They were smaller than this when I inherited them last fall... but in about three weeks of feeding, she filled almost 10 frames with brood last October. So I know she responds to syrup. I moved the honey frames directly below the brood thinking they'd move up and down, so Im glad I got that right! The syrup is just a little stimulant because the days are getting warm, but there's hardly any nectar yet. We'll have trees and flowers fully opening in about 2 weeks so I'll probably take the syrup off at that point.
Jealous of the warm weather. We had it..but suddenly the temp dropped and we're getting snow (only a few cm but still!!). Looking forward to apple blossoms in a few weeks here
ponyvet77 It looks like we are past snow, but we are not completely free of cold, raw days and nights. That 80° day was not normal, but it did feel great!
Best of luck Jim this season, hope your hive and hives build up well. Here in the uk it's kinda cool each day so far anything from mid 40's to 60* at best so far
Looking good soon you will reap the fruits of your labour. I think you should spend some time creating a wind break around your bee yard. I suspect this may be one of two reasons for the demise of the other two hives, the second being using formic acid to treat for varroa may have killed the original queen in your flow hive. You can plant flowering shrubs around your bee yard this will act as windbreak and will give your bees pollen and nectar right at the doorstep.
Ziad Natsheh I am working out ideas for the windbreak. We will have something in place for next winter. The formic acid didn't kill the queen. She was alive and laying right into late October. (We did the treatment in September.) There is evidence she might have swarmed in late fall and taken half the hive with her.
80 sounds nice! Heck 70 sounds pretty nice. It has barely gotten over 60 degrees for a couple of days so far this year. Probably won't get much of a maple flow this year at this rate.I found that no bees were really using the bottom box when I did my first Spring inspection so I moved the bottom box up to the top.
Our temps are all over the place. 82 that day was unusual. It's averaging 60-70, which is fine for me. I'm going to let her fill some frames with brood and probably flip the boxes if she doesn't move down to use the lower frames. I want to swap those old crappy frames out of the hive, too. My new nucs won't be here for about 3 weeks, so I have a little time to get boxes and frames ready. I hope things warm up out there for you.
I would like to thank you so much for documenting your experience , so far I have learned a lot from you firstly I would never start a hive foundation-less , I will put some wax foundations for the brood box . secondly when I put my bees there on day 3 I should never touch the comb , if there is a swarm there the queen is there. varoa is a nasty problem I will always pay attention. feeding syrup is unnatural in my opinion so for me I should leave my little minions to collect enough honey (it doesn't freeze in my area so honey doesn't crystallize like your case) wind is also one of the problems I have to deal with (in your case I suggest you make something like the front of an airplane !!) ventilation using coins (in my area it's a bit hot I have to save some coins for this lol ). I learned also to not allow a lot of openings as it invite some bad guests :p I also learned that beekeeping allow you to grow beard (I should relay this useful information to my brother he need this XD) thank you a lot for letting me learn this , if I may suggest a few things that might help you out firstly always use a foundation for your new bees, 1kg of wax demand 1 kg of honey, 1 wax foundation can hold 6300 larvae on contrary the natural comb they make doesn't always hold that much (the queen always put the eggs in a perfectly shaped places and she leave the ones that are deformed) secondly I suggest you stop feeding syrup too much , it's just sugar and water , it does make them lazy and when it freeze the syrup freeze too (see when you put water and sugar it's water and sucrose, the bees lick it and turn it to water and glucose, that's 50% water which mean it will freeze ) natural honey have less than 20% water . so in sum pay attention to your syrup feeding. since you have a freezing problems I suggest you use plastic bags, or just transfer your hive inside that greenhouse you have there , plastic bags actually hold temperature so it help a lot even with a weak colony.(cheapest is putting them in your greenhouse though).
awsome glad to see your queen made it everything looking great. Just fyi I am getting my bees on May 1 2017 .Getting two nucs. of Russian bees can't wait might make some videos not sure about that yet. Thanks for your helpful videos.
Yaaay, a new Vinofarm-Video =) Did you thought about switching the upper brood-box with the lower honey-box? I saw a lot of beekeepers doing that to prevent early swarming (Bees prefer to go up rather than down with the brood. So I personally would switch the boxes and put an empty box between these to boxes as soon as the lower brood-box is mostly full to prevent them of swarming because of room-shortage) [but I'm "more Novice" in beekeeping than you are, I just thought that would improve something :) ] I'm looking forward to new Vinofarm-Videos coming up in the next time - Especially with the new celsius- and bee-labeling-feautures in this video #TeamCelsius :D PS: I just wanted to say, that you inspired me with your videos in the last year to go to my local german beekeeping-club and participate in the cources so that maybe I can start the next year with my own two hives and a lot of know-how. PPS: Nice Guy Fawkes Stache :D
Addition: If you switch the boxes I think it will be easier with the adding of the flowhive too - So that the brood isn't constricted on two sides by honey... Keep up the nice videos =)
iSbPanda (Copied from another reply:) I'm going to give her a couple weeks and then do some frame and box switching. I thought of swapping the boxes, but I'm trying not to disturb her too much after the rough winter. I know she's laying and she has 5 or 6 pulled frames in the top box to lay into. In a couple weeks, I'll have a look and rearrange things when the weather stabilizes.
iSbPanda Thanks for the kind words of support! You were an early Vinofarm commenter. I appreciate you sticking around. I'm so happy to hear that you want to get into beekeeping! Definitely get involved with a local group and ask lots of questions. All the best to you in Germany!
Not really because we got our bees AFTER the spring flower bloom last year. Most of the things they would have pollinated had already come and gone. I'm looking forward to see if this year's apple season improves compared to last year. (Apples are in bloom over the next couple weeks.)
Hi! I'm here for the bees since day 1, but excited too about the saurdough episodes. When they are continues? Sorry if I misspell anything. I'm whatching you from Hungary!
Gyöngyi Farkas OK it seems like lots of people are asking! I have 3-4 other bread videos shot, but I need to edit them. Editing the bread videos takes several days and I'm way behind on things to do. I have the next video in the series almost done. I will try to get it up soon. Thanks for bugging me!
looking good in there my only gripe is all the dead bees at the bottom... personally I'd have to remove them but that's a personal choice but your doing great and i can't wait to see how well you do this year
I saw them while I was editing. I didn't notice how many there were at the time. I opened up the bottom entrance so maybe the bees will do some cleanup or I'll get them next time. Thanks for watching.
It's great to see I was wrong about that queen. She is definitely a keeper. We haven't warmed up as much as you but we have been in the steady 60's and 70's here in NorCal for about a month. My new bees are doing great and I'm glad yours are too. My new queen is already raising brood too! Quick question, what happened with the sourdough videos? Did it not work out?
80 was an unusually warm day. We're in the 60s most of the time in April, but nights can still be freezing into May. Glad to hear you've got brood going out there! We'll see how this queen does once things really warm up. She's definitely had a great run despite the horrible situations she's been through. I hope she has a nice calm season and can build this hive up enough to split. I shot 4 different Sourdough "battle" videos with all my starters but they take SO LONG to edit. I got the first one up and I have the second one 3/4 edited. I need to hunker down and get it posted. I don't know when the other ones will get up now that the season is in full swing and I have no time. At least they're all shot! There will be more bread eventually.
New Bee keeper from Missouri here. I just got my package last Saturday. I have a nuc coming the first of May. I was wondering what the best way was to handle hive beetles. I opened my hive Monday to make sure my queen had been released and found 4 hive beetles (which were smashed). Today (Wednesday) I opened up to check feeder and smashed 10 more. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Google "Hive beetle traps". There are hive beetle traps that hang in between the frames. Also, if you have a screened bottom board, you can install a beetle trap under the screen so when they fall or get chased down below the screen they become trapped. I have been lucky and not seen a single hive beetle in my first year of beekeeping. (Knock on wood.) Best of luck with your new bees!
Colby Jones I live here in Arkansas and what I use is. I get some Mac's roach bait that comes in a big syringe and I get some CD cases just the cases. I take the tabs and break them off, then I get the roach bait and put in the case and set the cases into the hive I usely use 2 per hive. He bee's will chase the hive beetles in there and once they're in there they're think oh look food, then they will eat it and come to their death. Works really good for me.
C&A Rabbitry Do you just put the cases on the hive side of the screen or I have the corrugated plastic chart board under the screen I could put it on that.
Vino Farm I have seen the ones that slide under the screen and have thought about making one that would slide in the slots. it would probably be best to stable the front and back so the bees won't get in there.
Never mind, I googled it and found it. I should have done that first. Anyways, I love your videos, I binged watch them in December. I can't wait to get my first bee package this Saturday.
Make sure to move that honey around a bit, the stuff on the outside they may never get to. Because the honey is made of sugar syrup for winter you will want to encourage them to eat that. I have been gently scraping the honey i want them to move around to get them involved in the honey and work it faster. worst case, if they have have enough still, its perfect for robbing away to your nuc's to give them food while they build up. Amazing weather, our hardy Canadian bees have had to do with far lower highs for now.
I moved all the honey frames directly under the brood frames. I'm going to be swapping out a few of those really ancient messy frames from my neighbor's hive. And yes, I'm anticipating moving some honey around once my nucs arrive in a few weeks. That hot day was not normal. We're basically 60-70F these days. (15-20C)
were getting normal highs around 12-18C (53-64F). i was hoping for more robust weather by now, i probably ordered my queens too early. especially since i have had a few crazy happenings with my bees this spring.
Have you considered planting specific trees like Basswood, Tulip Poplar or willows to provide pollen and nectar? A couple of trees can, in the future, replace an acre of clover. Unless you specifically want the clover honey.
We live on the edge of hundreds of acres of forest. There is no shortage of trees. The plan with the field surrounding the hive is to plant an alternative to the old scrubby pasture that needs to be mowed a few times per year. We mainly want to condition the soil, and feed the bees, but also to have something nice to look at. Last year we planted an acre of mixed wildflowers. This year we are going to try a second acre of clover. The field was a horse pasture 50 years ago, but now it's thick with small trees and woody weeds. From a distance, it looks like a hay field, but if left un-mowed, it would be a forest in 3 years. We want to keep it open, but re-condition it.
i just binge watched like all your bee vids sence you started the hive how much longer will it take before you put the top on the flow hive part and is it normal for the bottom parts of the hive to be so dark
This hive will not be a Flow hive this year. I am getting two nuc hives in about 2 weeks and one of them will be going into the Flow Hive. I hope to build that hive up and get the Flow frames on by mid summer if I can. I don't think the hive in this video will be strong enough this year to generate extra honey. But they are survivors, so I'm hoping to build them up and maybe split them. Stay tuned.
I've answered this several times. It is a common suggestion. It is possible and some large operations do it. The thing is, the indoor location needs to be somewhat temperature controlled. If I move the hives to a location that's too warm or that warms up too early in the season, they will start flying looking for flowers and will not find any. You don't want the bees to come out of their winter cluster long before there is available pollen and nectar. Ideally, they would tuck into their hive in the early winter with enough honey stores to survive and emerge in early spring at the first sign of flowers and trees budding. If they're in a garage, they're going to start flying around way, way too early. What I need to do is create a suitable wind break and better insulation system and leave them in place. I also need to make sure they are healthy (mostly mite free) and have enough honey to survive 5 months of winter.
I'm confused - you have a number of frames with honey in the hive, and the two frames with the honey in front of the hive. Why are you feeding them syrup? I've been following since you started the beehives - very much enjoying your videos and humor!
Anthony W It is to simulate a nectar flow to try to stimulate the queen to lay eggs. The bees are ready to go, but we won't have a significant nectar source for a couple more weeks. I'm trying to give them a jump on the season. I will remove the syrup once the nectar starts coming in. Thanks for watching.
Love the videos, probably already have done so, but a 3 year old queen is ancient, way less egg production, less pheromones, prone to swarming. I replace Queens every year.
william skrainski From what I have heard and read, sugar syrup simulates a nectar flow and can stimulate the queen to start laying more. There's not going to be a significant flow for a couple weeks and I'd like to try to get her laying eggs now that the days are warming up. I'll take the syrup off once the season starts.
I've seen "flow hive" on a previous bee video but only seen wood frames. Do you have flow hive super your going to use or does that mean something else?
My videos labeled "Flow Hive" are actually a Flow Hive, but I did not put the Flow frames in yet. All "Flow Hives" start with a brood nest in the bottom. The Flow frames are added to the top super after the bees are situated in their brood nest with sufficient honey stores. Last year, my bees spent the summer building their brood and storing honey. I did not use the Flow frames because I did not harvest any honey. I hope to get the Flow frames on a hive this summer. (Videos NOT labeled "Flow Hive" are just a traditional Langstroth hive.)
Thank you for taking the time to reply and explain. I hope you get a split from this hive after loosing two over the winter. I'm eager to see you succeed in your bee keeping efforts I'll be watching and learning from your efforts (good and bad). Best wishes, cheers
Hi, Glad to see your bees buzzing around. Just confused as to 1. Why you have put in sugar syrup when the colony has sufficient Honey store - frames of honey. 2. Why you keep opening and investigating the brood. The Bees need to maintain a particular temperature in order for the larvae to mature and hatch. By opening the bee hive you do more harm to the already depleted colony.
+Tony Mendes It was the first opening of the season. I wanted to see if the queen was laying. She was. Then I closed the hive. It was open for about 10 minutes on an 80° day. I don't have x-ray vision... is there some other way you would suggest determining whether or not the queen is laying? The syrup is an attempt to simulate a nectar flow to stimulate laying a few weeks earlier than an actual nectar flow begins.
Hi, Fair point on opening the hive. However, can't do much if the queen is not laying... Let nature take it course. They have survived the hashest winter and they are in the final stretch to rebuilding. So give it time and hope of the best. I personally would avoid the Syrup, the bees will uncap the honey store if required.
Tony Mendes I hear comments from the entire spectrum of beekeepers and it is frustrating to hear everything from "never open the hive, never feed, never treat" all the way to "weekly inspections, early sugar syrup, early treating" etc. I listen to lots of opinions and weigh the options and I'm trying to find my way. Every time I open the hive I learn something new. So I open it up slightly more often than I need to, but always under the best conditions available. Thanks for watching.
Didn't mean to upset you. I too am a new beekeeping in Melbourne Australia and enjoy your videos and the appreciate the effort you take to educate the Beekeeping community. Happy beekeeping.
I'm going to give her a couple weeks and then do some frame and box switching. I thought of swapping the boxes, but I'm trying not to disturb her too much after the rough winter. I know she's laying and she has 5 or 6 pulled frames in the top box to lay into. In a couple weeks, I'll have a look and rearrange things when the weather stabilizes.
Not going to lie, I cried a little. SO happy the Queen is thriving. Can't wait for more videos!
Thanks for adding celcius!
No problem. Thanks for watching!
That's a cool lower third graphic. Did you make it or buy it?
It's a generic plug in, but I turned it into a temperature widget.
Remsun ii
Vino Farm
When you insulate your hives they use a lot less honey throughout winter!
This video made me happy ! Spring is here and new life will 'spring' up. This hive is a survivor and so are you. Wish you all the best this season with bees and other homesteading projects ! Keep on youtubing...
intrax2tv Thanks for the encouragement. Thanks for watching!
So happy to see the hive is thriving!!!😊💜🐝
Love, love, love the care that you put into both your videos, and your hive.
Its better then most professionally produced reality shows out there, and I feel like we're watching you get better all of the time.
really nice that you made the celsius conversion and those location texts for the queen, larvae etc. very educational.
glad you're back in business with beekeeping!
I'm trying to make the videos interesting and as clear as possible for beginners. Thanks for noticing and commenting. I appreciate it!
so happy to be getting regular bee video's again!
I'm hoping to post other things, too... but the bees are back!
Maybe you could try making some mead or a nice cyser (that is mead with apples or cider with honey, depends on how you look at it) when you get a nice harvest from those apple trees. Being a home brewer and having your own bees has certain advantages you know :)
jan steyaert Oh no, you figured out our plans!
Really glade to see you have a healthy hive. We have just got two hives at our allotment after watching and learn from your RUclips videos. Thank you for publishing them it has been a fantastic help. Good luck with your bees this year.
allways looking forward to your next one. glad they survived can't wait until your first flow hive harvest !
you are so very good at this youtube thing, a joy to watch
Well that's a nice comment! I still feel pretty new but the feedback is awesome. Learning more every video I upload!
Getting mine on Monday, out in Alberta. Watching this makes me so anxious to start working with my bees. Awesome content.
I'm still technically in my first year at this. I got my bees 11 months ago. Every time I open a hive I learn new things. Make sure you get a mentor and ask lots of questions (even if the questions seem stupid/obvious.) Best of luck and Thanks for watching!
Aaron Wharry
I'm Alberta also. Got bees in June at Wetaskiwin. Where are you?
These videos are so well done and informative. I've been waiting all winter to have regular updates again. Keep up the awesome work!!
David Daniels Thanks! It feels good to be back out with the bees and the edits are fun. Thanks for watching! Spread the word!
I'm so happy!!!!!! congrats!!! yay for that amazing queen!!!!
She is awesome!
Glad to see the hive is doing so well! You look so happy with it! I can't wait to see the rest of the farm start to come alive during spring :D
Me too! Thanks for watching.
Hello!
I just want to say thank you for making these videos!!! I just recently found these and binge watched them all! I've learned so much, and me and my dad have a hive that we're starting this season. When we went to go pick up out nuc today the beekeeper we bought them from was so impressed with my knowlage, and I learned it all from you! thanks again so much, your videos are fantastic, keep it up!
Xmus Jaxon Wow. That's a really nice compliment! Just remember that these are not 'how to' videos. I am a beginner and in no way an authority on bees or beekeeping. I'm just showing what I do and what I learn. If you can take away tips, that's awesome. But please get a mentor and ask lots of questions. Thanks for watching!
of course! we've got some people to help us but your videos have helped me learn alot of terminology and different things about bee keeping, keep it up!
Great to hear. All the best of luck for a successful season!
Like you vids and was disappointed all your hives didn't make it through the winter. It was not for lack of insulation but maybe numbers going into winter. We were 18C to 27C a few days last week. Moved brood down and honey up. The bees will do the honey but I thought why not save them some work. Then we had 5cm of what I call the Robins snow(last bit of white for the year) last night and it's 3C today but some of the girls are flying. But then again they are some of those crazy Canucks. Looking forward to seeing the farm grow.
If my queen doesn't start using the bottom box, I'll flip them in a week or so. Thanks for the comment!
That late snow is also called Poor Man's Fertilizer.
Spring hit here last week. Solid 70's for a couple of days. So the bees got pretty active. This week however the temperature dropped to 50's during the day and 30 at night, thank you cold north eastern wind. It's a real mess.
jan steyaert 80 last weekend was unusual. We are hovering in the 60s during the day with nights above freezing. It's good to be out of snow.
I've got to admit, your video editing skills are top notch
I'm still a beginner at bees and videos, but thanks! I appreciate the feedback.
Great job, your editing skills are getting better and better!! Makes it much more interesting, keep it up!
I'm trying to keep it interesting!!! Thanks.
Love the update mate! Just peeking on your bottom board I thought I saw lots of dead bees, next time you're cracking into the hive give it good clean to help them out. Also cheers for the Celsius conversion 👍. From your Aussie fans
Justyn B I know I should have cleaned them up after I watched the video. But I did open the bottom entrance so I figured the bees might do it themselves anyway. Thanks for watching and hello in Australia!
Hey Jim just a quick technical question. What software or app did you use for the location txt on the frame of Bees?
It's a plug in for final cut pro. I'm not going to give away my secrets, but I will tell you that you can find more information by searching for "Final Cut Call Out Plug In" Have fun.
You're videos are looking better and better each upload, nice going ~
Hive looks healthy as a rock coming out of winter like that :)
Hope things go a little more smoothly this year and we finally get some honey :D
Thanks for the kind words. I'm hoping for a smooth season, too! I want to taste honey this year.
ya, that pollen is actually from tree buds. as for the honey in the frames, the cluster generally wont move sideways. they move up. so thats why there is still honey in the hive. that would be fine for starting off their spring. i wouldnt bother feeding them unless they get hungry
but all in all, looks like a good start to the year.
It's a tiny hive, but they are right on schedule. They were smaller than this when I inherited them last fall... but in about three weeks of feeding, she filled almost 10 frames with brood last October. So I know she responds to syrup. I moved the honey frames directly below the brood thinking they'd move up and down, so Im glad I got that right! The syrup is just a little stimulant because the days are getting warm, but there's hardly any nectar yet. We'll have trees and flowers fully opening in about 2 weeks so I'll probably take the syrup off at that point.
We had piles of snow two weeks ago, too. That looks like a cool building for the bees! I look forward to the indoor tour.
Jealous of the warm weather. We had it..but suddenly the temp dropped and we're getting snow (only a few cm but still!!). Looking forward to apple blossoms in a few weeks here
ponyvet77 It looks like we are past snow, but we are not completely free of cold, raw days and nights. That 80° day was not normal, but it did feel great!
Best of luck Jim this season, hope your hive and hives build up well.
Here in the uk it's kinda cool each day so far anything from mid 40's to 60* at best so far
i love your video editing style, i love your Queen, and i love your facial hair, please keep up the great work!
I love your comment!
Looking good soon you will reap the fruits of your labour. I think you should spend some time creating a wind break around your bee yard. I suspect this may be one of two reasons for the demise of the other two hives, the second being using formic acid to treat for varroa may have killed the original queen in your flow hive. You can plant flowering shrubs around your bee yard this will act as windbreak and will give your bees pollen and nectar right at the doorstep.
Ziad Natsheh I am working out ideas for the windbreak. We will have something in place for next winter. The formic acid didn't kill the queen. She was alive and laying right into late October. (We did the treatment in September.) There is evidence she might have swarmed in late fall and taken half the hive with her.
how exciting :) spring is coming ... and (rain) scene! lol run
Nice surprise ending! :)
80 sounds nice! Heck 70 sounds pretty nice. It has barely gotten over 60 degrees for a couple of days so far this year. Probably won't get much of a maple flow this year at this rate.I found that no bees were really using the bottom box when I did my first Spring inspection so I moved the bottom box up to the top.
Our temps are all over the place. 82 that day was unusual. It's averaging 60-70, which is fine for me. I'm going to let her fill some frames with brood and probably flip the boxes if she doesn't move down to use the lower frames. I want to swap those old crappy frames out of the hive, too. My new nucs won't be here for about 3 weeks, so I have a little time to get boxes and frames ready. I hope things warm up out there for you.
I would like to thank you so much for documenting your experience , so far I have learned a lot from you
firstly I would never start a hive foundation-less , I will put some wax foundations for the brood box .
secondly when I put my bees there on day 3 I should never touch the comb , if there is a swarm there the queen is there.
varoa is a nasty problem I will always pay attention.
feeding syrup is unnatural in my opinion so for me I should leave my little minions to collect enough honey (it doesn't freeze in my area so honey doesn't crystallize like your case)
wind is also one of the problems I have to deal with (in your case I suggest you make something like the front of an airplane !!)
ventilation using coins (in my area it's a bit hot I have to save some coins for this lol ).
I learned also to not allow a lot of openings as it invite some bad guests :p
I also learned that beekeeping allow you to grow beard (I should relay this useful information to my brother he need this XD)
thank you a lot for letting me learn this , if I may suggest a few things that might help you out
firstly always use a foundation for your new bees, 1kg of wax demand 1 kg of honey, 1 wax foundation can hold 6300 larvae on contrary the natural comb they make doesn't always hold that much (the queen always put the eggs in a perfectly shaped places and she leave the ones that are deformed)
secondly I suggest you stop feeding syrup too much , it's just sugar and water , it does make them lazy and when it freeze the syrup freeze too (see when you put water and sugar it's water and sucrose, the bees lick it and turn it to water and glucose, that's 50% water which mean it will freeze ) natural honey have less than 20% water . so in sum pay attention to your syrup feeding.
since you have a freezing problems I suggest you use plastic bags, or just transfer your hive inside that greenhouse you have there , plastic bags actually hold temperature so it help a lot even with a weak colony.(cheapest is putting them in your greenhouse though).
awsome glad to see your queen made it everything looking great. Just fyi I am getting my bees on May 1 2017 .Getting two nucs. of Russian bees can't wait might make some videos not sure about that yet. Thanks for your helpful videos.
Brother, that intro might have been the smoothest time lapse I have ever seen!
Yaaay, a new Vinofarm-Video =)
Did you thought about switching the upper brood-box with the lower honey-box? I saw a lot of beekeepers doing that to prevent early swarming (Bees prefer to go up rather than down with the brood. So I personally would switch the boxes and put an empty box between these to boxes as soon as the lower brood-box is mostly full to prevent them of swarming because of room-shortage) [but I'm "more Novice" in beekeeping than you are, I just thought that would improve something :) ]
I'm looking forward to new Vinofarm-Videos coming up in the next time - Especially with the new celsius- and bee-labeling-feautures in this video #TeamCelsius :D
PS: I just wanted to say, that you inspired me with your videos in the last year to go to my local german beekeeping-club and participate in the cources so that maybe I can start the next year with my own two hives and a lot of know-how.
PPS: Nice Guy Fawkes Stache :D
Addition:
If you switch the boxes I think it will be easier with the adding of the flowhive too - So that the brood isn't constricted on two sides by honey...
Keep up the nice videos =)
iSbPanda (Copied from another reply:) I'm going to give her a couple weeks and then do some frame and box switching. I thought of swapping the boxes, but I'm trying not to disturb her too much after the rough winter. I know she's laying and she has 5 or 6 pulled frames in the top box to lay into. In a couple weeks, I'll have a look and rearrange things when the weather stabilizes.
iSbPanda Thanks for the kind words of support! You were an early Vinofarm commenter. I appreciate you sticking around. I'm so happy to hear that you want to get into beekeeping! Definitely get involved with a local group and ask lots of questions. All the best to you in Germany!
Congrats on the post Winter success. Why the switch to foundationless frames? Thanks
Very well...
Have you noticed a difference in all of the things that the bees have pollinated since starting beekeeping?
Not really because we got our bees AFTER the spring flower bloom last year. Most of the things they would have pollinated had already come and gone. I'm looking forward to see if this year's apple season improves compared to last year. (Apples are in bloom over the next couple weeks.)
Hi! I'm here for the bees since day 1, but excited too about the saurdough episodes. When they are continues? Sorry if I misspell anything. I'm whatching you from Hungary!
Gyöngyi Farkas OK it seems like lots of people are asking! I have 3-4 other bread videos shot, but I need to edit them. Editing the bread videos takes several days and I'm way behind on things to do. I have the next video in the series almost done. I will try to get it up soon. Thanks for bugging me!
looking good in there my only gripe is all the dead bees at the bottom... personally I'd have to remove them but that's a personal choice but your doing great and i can't wait to see how well you do this year
I saw them while I was editing. I didn't notice how many there were at the time. I opened up the bottom entrance so maybe the bees will do some cleanup or I'll get them next time. Thanks for watching.
It's great to see I was wrong about that queen. She is definitely a keeper. We haven't warmed up as much as you but we have been in the steady 60's and 70's here in NorCal for about a month. My new bees are doing great and I'm glad yours are too. My new queen is already raising brood too! Quick question, what happened with the sourdough videos? Did it not work out?
80 was an unusually warm day. We're in the 60s most of the time in April, but nights can still be freezing into May. Glad to hear you've got brood going out there! We'll see how this queen does once things really warm up. She's definitely had a great run despite the horrible situations she's been through. I hope she has a nice calm season and can build this hive up enough to split. I shot 4 different Sourdough "battle" videos with all my starters but they take SO LONG to edit. I got the first one up and I have the second one 3/4 edited. I need to hunker down and get it posted. I don't know when the other ones will get up now that the season is in full swing and I have no time. At least they're all shot! There will be more bread eventually.
New Bee keeper from Missouri here. I just got my package last Saturday. I have a nuc coming the first of May. I was wondering what the best way was to handle hive beetles. I opened my hive Monday to make sure my queen had been released and found 4 hive beetles (which were smashed). Today (Wednesday) I opened up to check feeder and smashed 10 more. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Google "Hive beetle traps". There are hive beetle traps that hang in between the frames. Also, if you have a screened bottom board, you can install a beetle trap under the screen so when they fall or get chased down below the screen they become trapped. I have been lucky and not seen a single hive beetle in my first year of beekeeping. (Knock on wood.) Best of luck with your new bees!
Colby Jones I live here in Arkansas and what I use is. I get some Mac's roach bait that comes in a big syringe and I get some CD cases just the cases. I take the tabs and break them off, then I get the roach bait and put in the case and set the cases into the hive I usely use 2 per hive. He bee's will chase the hive beetles in there and once they're in there they're think oh look food, then they will eat it and come to their death. Works really good for me.
C&A Rabbitry Do you just put the cases on the hive side of the screen or I have the corrugated plastic chart board under the screen I could put it on that.
Vino Farm I have seen the ones that slide under the screen and have thought about making one that would slide in the slots. it would probably be best to stable the front and back so the bees won't get in there.
If you have a screen bottom board, this looks like a really simple, cheap trap to try. ruclips.net/video/9Z36cJpKtTY/видео.html
Now is the time for u to put the queen barrier in place and the flow hive on top.
Ha ha... they have two boxes to fill before we start talking about flow frames. Patience....
I like your feeding bucket. Where did you buy it? or do you know the specific name so I can find it online?
Never mind, I googled it and found it. I should have done that first. Anyways, I love your videos, I binged watch them in December. I can't wait to get my first bee package this Saturday.
I got a couple from Betterbee in NY and a couple from BrushyMountain in PA. Google "Bee Pail Feeder"
Make sure to move that honey around a bit, the stuff on the outside they may never get to. Because the honey is made of sugar syrup for winter you will want to encourage them to eat that. I have been gently scraping the honey i want them to move around to get them involved in the honey and work it faster. worst case, if they have have enough still, its perfect for robbing away to your nuc's to give them food while they build up. Amazing weather, our hardy Canadian bees have had to do with far lower highs for now.
I moved all the honey frames directly under the brood frames. I'm going to be swapping out a few of those really ancient messy frames from my neighbor's hive. And yes, I'm anticipating moving some honey around once my nucs arrive in a few weeks. That hot day was not normal. We're basically 60-70F these days. (15-20C)
were getting normal highs around 12-18C (53-64F). i was hoping for more robust weather by now, i probably ordered my queens too early. especially since i have had a few crazy happenings with my bees this spring.
Have you considered planting specific trees like Basswood, Tulip Poplar or willows to provide pollen and nectar? A couple of trees can, in the future, replace an acre of clover. Unless you specifically want the clover honey.
We live on the edge of hundreds of acres of forest. There is no shortage of trees. The plan with the field surrounding the hive is to plant an alternative to the old scrubby pasture that needs to be mowed a few times per year. We mainly want to condition the soil, and feed the bees, but also to have something nice to look at. Last year we planted an acre of mixed wildflowers. This year we are going to try a second acre of clover. The field was a horse pasture 50 years ago, but now it's thick with small trees and woody weeds. From a distance, it looks like a hay field, but if left un-mowed, it would be a forest in 3 years. We want to keep it open, but re-condition it.
i just binge watched like all your bee vids sence you started the hive how much longer will it take before you put the top on the flow hive part and is it normal for the bottom parts of the hive to be so dark
This hive will not be a Flow hive this year. I am getting two nuc hives in about 2 weeks and one of them will be going into the Flow Hive. I hope to build that hive up and get the Flow frames on by mid summer if I can. I don't think the hive in this video will be strong enough this year to generate extra honey. But they are survivors, so I'm hoping to build them up and maybe split them. Stay tuned.
nice vlog I have bees but there going into the side of my house don't know what to do should I leave them or plug the hole at night?
Juan Alvarado If they are honey bees, Call a beekeeper! They will remove them for free. Don't plug the hole.
ok thanks I will check
just question:why did not-could not move your beehives in your barn garage or shed to protect your bees from really cold nights and nasty winds
I've answered this several times. It is a common suggestion. It is possible and some large operations do it. The thing is, the indoor location needs to be somewhat temperature controlled. If I move the hives to a location that's too warm or that warms up too early in the season, they will start flying looking for flowers and will not find any. You don't want the bees to come out of their winter cluster long before there is available pollen and nectar. Ideally, they would tuck into their hive in the early winter with enough honey stores to survive and emerge in early spring at the first sign of flowers and trees budding. If they're in a garage, they're going to start flying around way, way too early. What I need to do is create a suitable wind break and better insulation system and leave them in place. I also need to make sure they are healthy (mostly mite free) and have enough honey to survive 5 months of winter.
I'm confused - you have a number of frames with honey in the hive, and the two frames with the honey in front of the hive. Why are you feeding them syrup?
I've been following since you started the beehives - very much enjoying your videos and humor!
Anthony W It is to simulate a nectar flow to try to stimulate the queen to lay eggs. The bees are ready to go, but we won't have a significant nectar source for a couple more weeks. I'm trying to give them a jump on the season. I will remove the syrup once the nectar starts coming in. Thanks for watching.
Love the videos, probably already have done so, but a 3 year old queen is ancient, way less egg production, less pheromones, prone to swarming. I replace Queens every year.
Do you really think they need sugar water?......seems like you'd want to get them off of that so the honey is better.....idk....just a question
william skrainski From what I have heard and read, sugar syrup simulates a nectar flow and can stimulate the queen to start laying more. There's not going to be a significant flow for a couple weeks and I'd like to try to get her laying eggs now that the days are warming up. I'll take the syrup off once the season starts.
I've seen "flow hive" on a previous bee video but only seen wood frames. Do you have flow hive super your going to use or does that mean something else?
My videos labeled "Flow Hive" are actually a Flow Hive, but I did not put the Flow frames in yet. All "Flow Hives" start with a brood nest in the bottom. The Flow frames are added to the top super after the bees are situated in their brood nest with sufficient honey stores. Last year, my bees spent the summer building their brood and storing honey. I did not use the Flow frames because I did not harvest any honey. I hope to get the Flow frames on a hive this summer. (Videos NOT labeled "Flow Hive" are just a traditional Langstroth hive.)
Thank you for taking the time to reply and explain. I hope you get a split from this hive after loosing two over the winter. I'm eager to see you succeed in your bee keeping efforts I'll be watching and learning from your efforts (good and bad). Best wishes, cheers
Hi,
Glad to see your bees buzzing around.
Just confused as to
1. Why you have put in sugar syrup when the colony has sufficient Honey store - frames of honey.
2. Why you keep opening and investigating the brood. The Bees need to maintain a particular temperature in order for the larvae to mature and hatch. By opening the bee hive you do more harm to the already depleted colony.
+Tony Mendes It was the first opening of the season. I wanted to see if the queen was laying. She was. Then I closed the hive. It was open for about 10 minutes on an 80° day. I don't have x-ray vision... is there some other way you would suggest determining whether or not the queen is laying? The syrup is an attempt to simulate a nectar flow to stimulate laying a few weeks earlier than an actual nectar flow begins.
Hi,
Fair point on opening the hive. However, can't do much if the queen is not laying... Let nature take it course.
They have survived the hashest winter and they are in the final stretch to rebuilding. So give it time and hope of the best.
I personally would avoid the Syrup, the bees will uncap the honey store if required.
Tony Mendes I hear comments from the entire spectrum of beekeepers and it is frustrating to hear everything from "never open the hive, never feed, never treat" all the way to "weekly inspections, early sugar syrup, early treating" etc. I listen to lots of opinions and weigh the options and I'm trying to find my way. Every time I open the hive I learn something new. So I open it up slightly more often than I need to, but always under the best conditions available. Thanks for watching.
Didn't mean to upset you. I too am a new beekeeping in Melbourne Australia and enjoy your videos and the appreciate the effort you take to educate the Beekeeping community.
Happy beekeeping.
Dont you want to put the box with queen and brood on bottom so she can build up? They might not go down to eat the honey. I would flip those boxes.
I'm going to give her a couple weeks and then do some frame and box switching. I thought of swapping the boxes, but I'm trying not to disturb her too much after the rough winter. I know she's laying and she has 5 or 6 pulled frames in the top box to lay into. In a couple weeks, I'll have a look and rearrange things when the weather stabilizes.