I heard of a trick to unstick the honeycomb "frames": Put the box on its side, go in from the bottom with a long, slender knife kept in hot water, then repeat on the other side. Return the box to upright, and you should be able to extract each bar with its comb, like it was a frame. Don't know if it works, though.
Thanks very helpful, first year. I was going to harvest in August as I just added a third box the top two are full. But I might wait until spring now. I live in zone 5 and sometimes the winters are harsh and long.
I was wondering after watching this how you were able to get the bees out of the box you pulled off prior to pulling out frames? I know a lot of people will use smoke to do this, but I didn't see you using any. Maybe you left the box awhile so the bees left on their own accord?
I am curious about harvesting in the springtime. I see how it makes perfect sense as far as the bees are concerned, but can you discuss any challenges the cooler springtime temperatures present to harvesting? I am wondering if making the slurry is more difficult because the wax is chilled. Also, are the bees interested in "cleaning up" the slats and the equipment when harvesting is complete? I really enjoyed this video. I am just about to order my first hive and have decided that the Warré system is definitely the one for me. I can't wait to get started!
The time to harvest is during the nectar flow, at the height of fruit tree bloom. At this time bees will not be using their stored honey. They prefer to raise brood on nectar. So by this time things will have warmed up in whatever region you are in. Depending on how much you are harvesting, the slurry can be warmed up on a seedling mat or heating pad or any other multitude of ways (I usually put mine into my stove that have a pilot light ad that is enogh to make the honey flow). Bee Blume
Yeah, I totally agree with the spring harvesting of the honey. It's not just that you know it is surplus, but if you tried doing this in the wrong time of the autumn, the robbing frenzy that results would be spectacular in not a good way.
How do you know that there may be extra honey in the spring? And have you ever made a video about adding boxes to the bottom? Seems like it could be a heavy lift. Also, how do you get the bees out of harvested box?
if there is no honey in the spring, then the bees needed it all. this way, they use what they need and the beekeeper only takes what is left. Bee-centric. Any time nectar is available bees prefer it to honey (just as we prefer "fresh" food to preserved food, or should anyway), so it is then safe to take their honey. Here's the video of adding a box below: beerepair.com/index.php/how-to-nadir-a-warre-hive/
Very nice! Thank you very much. Two questions please? What is the difference in the Warre hive and the Japanese pile box hive and what is your cover cloth made of? Thank you in advance.
The pile box hive is similar to the warre hive, but does not use the "quilt" box on the top. Also Warre hives use small top bars that the bees build off, but the pile hive has no bars, th bees build completely freeform. My cover cloth is canvas. You can learn more about warre hives at biobees.com
Love the sirens in the background; kind' matches how my heart was feeling as I watched you... One big problem I have is that I don't want to 'squish' a single bee; I know, stupid, but I can't help it. Your video was quite helpful though; it gave me some courage.
A problem with Warre hives for me is lack of premade parts from a local source, and honey harvesting is all manual crush and sieve. There is plenty of cheap Langstroth equipment being sold locally though. What do you think of Warre method using 8 frame Langstroth medium boxes and frames, i.e. take the top box of honey, add a box with empty frames on the bottom. A quilt box and ventilation can be improvised from empty medium or shallow boxes. Then honey harvesting can then be done in a standard spinner if the bees don't build cross comb. I am thinking about starting beekeeping, so I don't know whether this might work. I have a hard time believing nobody has tried this.
Yes, it's been done by many people in various forms, similar to what you describe. No reason it wouldn't work really. Here's a link to one company offering a pre-packaged version of what you describe: beecentrichive.com/beecentric-hive/ Of course you could do it yourself the way you describe, with a shallow super converted to a quilt, and either a standard gabled Langstroth roof, or just make or modify your own roof, because ideally the roof should completely cover the quilt for stability.
If the top box is l honey there won't be a lot of bees on that comb. You can use a drumming technique to egt the bees to move down, you can also brush the bees of each paddle of comb as you harvest.
I just watched a video where the guy had added an excluder panel between the top and next box a few days before. It has a one way door so the bees leave to go down and can't return. If you're concerned about having bees int he top box, that might be an option to explore.
Nature. She won't be in the box when it's full of honey. Workers draw out comb for the queen to lay eggs in the upper box and basically, once she's done that, she moves down to lower levels and lays there and will continue to move down, hence the reason you add boxes to the bottom of the stack. Once the larvae hatch from the upper box, the workers will use the now-empty combs in that section for honey storage and the queen won't go there. Once they're full, you can harvest it.
How do you treat for Varroa in this "hands off" method of beekeeping. It's my understanding that if you don't address varroa, you spread it to everyone else. Thoughts?
Not true at all. If you catch wild swarms or acquire survivor bees, they are already dealing with mites on their own with no treatments. All bees will have a mite load. If they have good resistant genes, they deal with them keep them at bay. If not then mites take over and spread diseases then will kill the colony which could spread to others through robbing. But you need the right genes. Dont believe what conventional beekeeping spews. Look up your own facts and do what works for you and what you feel your bees need.
I practice "treatment-free (TF)" beekeeping. The premise is that given the freedom to adapt, bees will...the bees that survive the varroa will be resistant.
@@BeeBlume Is it true that the cell size that bees build naturally (rather than foundation that dictates) is less conducive to infestation, too? I'm a newbie and read that somewhere but didn't really understand why. Thanks.
@@thisculturedlife2220Anecdotally (not proven by science), the larger cells of imprinted foundation increases the time in the brood cell before hatching by as much as 24 hours. This also give varroa mite reproduction an extra 24 hours to increase. Once the bes revert to smaller cells ( can take several generations), the life cycle also reverts to shorter brood time.
You destroy the comb sorry not a fan of this way. I enjoyed watching and scratching my head wondering why. I stay with Langstroth hives but wish you all the best
the benefit to "destroying the comb " is that the oldest comb, which has the most bacteria and pathogens gets cycled out. in nature bees will eventually abandon older comb, so this mimics that.
I congratulate you that you have begun to deal with bees. This method of beekeeping has long been tested. The invention of the frames is still in place and is not opposite to the bees.
@@calumgrigor9547 Wondering how is managing Varroa different in Warre compared to your hives for you? You can use same treatments for Warre and Langstroth (if you call hard poisons "treats")
I like how you get right to the point no music or fillers, you are a pro
I heard of a trick to unstick the honeycomb "frames": Put the box on its side, go in from the bottom with a long, slender knife kept in hot water, then repeat on the other side. Return the box to upright, and you should be able to extract each bar with its comb, like it was a frame. Don't know if it works, though.
It would be far more effective to lay the box on its side and cut all combs free of the sides and not from the top of the bars!!!!
That's amazing. Thanks for the video. I have wondered for a long while how you can be sure there's no brood comb when you harvest a Warré hive.
Thanks very helpful, first year. I was going to harvest in August as I just added a third box the top two are full. But I might wait until spring now. I live in zone 5 and sometimes the winters are harsh and long.
I was wondering after watching this how you were able to get the bees out of the box you pulled off prior to pulling out frames? I know a lot of people will use smoke to do this, but I didn't see you using any. Maybe you left the box awhile so the bees left on their own accord?
I am curious about harvesting in the springtime. I see how it makes perfect sense as far as the bees are concerned, but can you discuss any challenges the cooler springtime temperatures present to harvesting? I am wondering if making the slurry is more difficult because the wax is chilled. Also, are the bees interested in "cleaning up" the slats and the equipment when harvesting is complete? I really enjoyed this video. I am just about to order my first hive and have decided that the Warré system is definitely the one for me. I can't wait to get started!
The time to harvest is during the nectar flow, at the height of fruit tree bloom. At this time bees will not be using their stored honey. They prefer to raise brood on nectar. So by this time things will have warmed up in whatever region you are in. Depending on how much you are harvesting, the slurry can be warmed up on a seedling mat or heating pad or any other multitude of ways (I usually put mine into my stove that have a pilot light ad that is enogh to make the honey flow). Bee Blume
PS the bees will love to clean up anything you give them after a honey harvest,just din't put it close to your hiuve as it will encourage ribbing
Yeah, I totally agree with the spring harvesting of the honey. It's not just that you know it is surplus, but if you tried doing this in the wrong time of the autumn, the robbing frenzy that results would be spectacular in not a good way.
Looking for a new hive system. The Langstroth ones I've been using for the last 6-7 years are always a pain.
How do you know that there may be extra honey in the spring? And have you ever made a video about adding boxes to the bottom? Seems like it could be a heavy lift. Also, how do you get the bees out of harvested box?
if there is no honey in the spring, then the bees needed it all. this way, they use what they need and the beekeeper only takes what is left. Bee-centric. Any time nectar is available bees prefer it to honey (just as we prefer "fresh" food to preserved food, or should anyway), so it is then safe to take their honey. Here's the video of adding a box below: beerepair.com/index.php/how-to-nadir-a-warre-hive/
Very nice! Thank you very much. Two questions please? What is the difference in the Warre hive and the Japanese pile box hive and what is your cover cloth made of? Thank you in advance.
The pile box hive is similar to the warre hive, but does not use the "quilt" box on the top. Also Warre hives use small top bars that the bees build off, but the pile hive has no bars, th bees build completely freeform. My cover cloth is canvas. You can learn more about warre hives at biobees.com
@@BeeBlume thank you so much!
Love the sirens in the background; kind' matches how my heart was feeling as I watched you... One big problem I have is that I don't want to 'squish' a single bee; I know, stupid, but I can't help it. Your video was quite helpful though; it gave me some courage.
My heart sinks a little every time I inadvertently mash one of the girls.
That was most helpful. Thanks
Many thanks for this ... best video yet
A problem with Warre hives for me is lack of premade parts from a local source, and honey harvesting is all manual crush and sieve.
There is plenty of cheap Langstroth equipment being sold locally though.
What do you think of Warre method using 8 frame Langstroth medium boxes and frames, i.e. take the top box of honey, add a box with empty frames on the bottom. A quilt box and ventilation can be improvised from empty medium or shallow boxes.
Then honey harvesting can then be done in a standard spinner if the bees don't build cross comb.
I am thinking about starting beekeeping, so I don't know whether this might work.
I have a hard time believing nobody has tried this.
Yes, it's been done by many people in various forms, similar to what you describe. No reason it wouldn't work really.
Here's a link to one company offering a pre-packaged version of what you describe: beecentrichive.com/beecentric-hive/
Of course you could do it yourself the way you describe, with a shallow super converted to a quilt, and either a standard gabled Langstroth roof, or just make or modify your own roof, because ideally the roof should completely cover the quilt for stability.
I have run a langstroth hive like a warre by nadiring rather than supering. works great.
How did you get all the bees out of the top box that you harvested? I have a warre hive and am about to do my first harvest
If the top box is l honey there won't be a lot of bees on that comb.
You can use a drumming technique to egt the bees to move down, you can also brush the bees of each paddle of comb as you harvest.
I just watched a video where the guy had added an excluder panel between the top and next box a few days before. It has a one way door so the bees leave to go down and can't return. If you're concerned about having bees int he top box, that might be an option to explore.
how did you make sure the queen wasn't in the top box?
Nature. She won't be in the box when it's full of honey. Workers draw out comb for the queen to lay eggs in the upper box and basically, once she's done that, she moves down to lower levels and lays there and will continue to move down, hence the reason you add boxes to the bottom of the stack. Once the larvae hatch from the upper box, the workers will use the now-empty combs in that section for honey storage and the queen won't go there. Once they're full, you can harvest it.
Those combs were so nice
how do you then get the honey out /separated from comb thanks!!
Strain it through a seive if it is a small amount or set a bucket with a screened bottom over another bucket
How do you treat for Varroa in this "hands off" method of beekeeping. It's my understanding that if you don't address varroa, you spread it to everyone else. Thoughts?
Not true at all. If you catch wild swarms or acquire survivor bees, they are already dealing with mites on their own with no treatments. All bees will have a mite load. If they have good resistant genes, they deal with them keep them at bay. If not then mites take over and spread diseases then will kill the colony which could spread to others through robbing. But you need the right genes. Dont believe what conventional beekeeping spews. Look up your own facts and do what works for you and what you feel your bees need.
I practice "treatment-free (TF)" beekeeping. The premise is that given the freedom to adapt, bees will...the bees that survive the varroa will be resistant.
@@BeeBlume Is it true that the cell size that bees build naturally (rather than foundation that dictates) is less conducive to infestation, too? I'm a newbie and read that somewhere but didn't really understand why. Thanks.
@@thisculturedlife2220Anecdotally (not proven by science), the larger cells of imprinted foundation increases the time in the brood cell before hatching by as much as 24 hours. This also give varroa mite reproduction an extra 24 hours to increase. Once the bes revert to smaller cells ( can take several generations), the life cycle also reverts to shorter brood time.
Beehive activities are always interesting and a delight to watch
beautiful video.thank you for sharing
It's always interesting to see how various beekeepers run their hives. This is a very unique approach. Thank you for sharing.
You destroy the comb sorry not a fan of this way. I enjoyed watching and scratching my head wondering why. I stay with Langstroth hives but wish you all the best
the benefit to "destroying the comb " is that the oldest comb, which has the most bacteria and pathogens gets cycled out. in nature bees will eventually abandon older comb, so this mimics that.
well done thanks
hi , it looks like the japanese cells , greeting u from egypt .
I liked the video. well done i guess ..
Very cool not very efficient but if it's better for the bees that's fine with me
I congratulate you that you have begun to deal with bees. This method of beekeeping has long been tested. The invention of the frames is still in place and is not opposite to the bees.
Wow
Veri veri gut SRBIJA ❤
I want some bees now :/
Varroa breeder.
everyone is a expert online
@@BeeBlume I keep 30 hives, my loss rates are less than 5% because I manage my hive and manage varroa.
@@calumgrigor9547 Wondering how is managing Varroa different in Warre compared to your hives for you? You can use same treatments for Warre and Langstroth (if you call hard poisons "treats")
@@jankadlec5416 organic acids, thet do stress the bees, but dont kill them. Cancer treatments are also stressful, but cure the cancer.
Calm, gotta say, people like you are what make me hate beekeepers. You are narrow minded and ignorant. Congratulations.