At 37:28 Daniel walks back into the light of bee-ing :) Sorry about that :) I think the sun was gradually setting as the conversation continued. Thank you all for your patience :)
What a professional way to approach this conversation. Most keepers out there can fathom the idea of not treating for good reason. I've been lucky enough not to have to treat for the past ten years. Keeping bees alive sure is hard work and my hat's off to both Dan and Fred for keeping the conversation going for improving varroa resistance genetics. Feel lucky that I don't have to treat my 40ish colonies every year.
Having been a backyard beekeeper over the passed 30 years, I have had the rewarding experience to visit the Bee Weaver facility in Navasota, Tx. The gift shop is exceptional ( almost took a temper tantrum to get my wife and daughter to move on), the basic hive tour was informative for my grand children as well as me, was interesting to find out how many times a queen rearing professional with over 50 yrs. experience has been stung by a queen ( have to take the tour to find out ). The most exciting part was a visit to the “Fly By” for a round of samplers that completely changed my attitude about mead ! Now just have to figure out how to get queens or a package from my daughter place in College Station back to the “Beehive State”. Congrats to Daniel and his wife being able to reap some rewards from all of the past risks and hard work, thank you both.
Daniels statement regarding "feeling nervous and excitement and adrenalin when starting out beekeeping changes to an almost meditative state when ones skillset improves working hives" was a great relief to me. In my 2nd year I still get anxious and I thought I was failing. I love the way I am so much more in touch with local fauna and flora.
Thanks Fred for getting Daniel Weaver on your show. I just happened to meet Daniel and his wife at the Bee Weaver farm. They are the nicest people. Sure there are those who are not convinced of their bees and I understand that developing to the of understanding that they have of their bees is a real commitment. I love the fact they rely heavily on data driven research. It really shows their professionalism. I really think that they have a key to solving the varroa problem. Their approach is definitely different.
In another beekeeping world, where all beekeepers advance together, we could in theory all practice the same approach to stock improvement without miticides and end up with very strong bees. BUT, everyone wants their own favorite line and many are more than happy to cycle through treatments to keep them going. There needs to be middle ground on this at some point. AND, agriculture needs to be part of the solution, by moving to healthier land management. But that's another story.... and that interview is coming up :)
Being a newbee in November 2020, and having more questions than bee in my 2 month old Nuc. Attended the local bee organization meeting, and being a student of Dunn U, I hoped to find someone who knew of Beeweaver breeding. Attending the club meeting, the presiding official informed me I must be referring to a "mutt" breed. If you have a helpful club, become active. My bees are doing great, but I miss the friendly beekeepers community. My mentor and I are the same ago, but he's 45 miles away. He is a master, and just had a stroke, and I need to visit. 1946 was a very good year. Thank you Mr. Dunn for this program.
@@FrederickDunn … hope you have one in the works with Cedar Anderson n his Dad on Flow Hives… the evolution, Revolution and Patenting… not to mention the funding… still a record I would believe.
Great topic, great interviewer, and a great Mr. Weaver. Daniel Weaver, and apiarists like him, are dioing a lot of good work for the apiculture world. Good job Fred. Thank you.
Really enjoyed the interview. I’m a central Texas back yard beekeeper and have purchased several Weaver Queens in the past and plan to requeen a couple hives with them this year. I personally have not found them to be any more aggressive than my other colonies. They’ve also been my best honey producers. I also noticed that after treating with o/a in early December that the mite drop in my Weaver colonies was substantially lighter. Loved what y’all were saying about how therapeutic beekeeping is, so true! The minute I open the cover and smell the hive it’s instant calm. I always enjoy your content and like that you’re starting to do the interviews. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Daniel, I can't thank you enough for stepping up and showing others that treatment free beekeeper is not only possible, but more and more of us or following your lead--Including myself.. I also wanted to thank Frederick for always beeing available to help support all us backyard beekeepers. I'm super grateful.
Thank you Daniel and Fred. A lot of Great information. Glad to see the man behind the weaver bee. Thanks for talking in a way that was comfortable to follow all information
I loved hearing about his adaptation in the face of Africanized bees and varroa mites. I wouldn’t mind hearing more historical perspectives of beekeeping over time and from those who have overcome adversity. Great work!
I haven’t had a lot of time recently with all the floods and power outs but I managed to watch Mr Ed interview and Daniel Weaver interview this evening and WOW Fred, this is a great series. I will be catching on the rest of this series too.
This year, 2024, after watching your video on the introduction of B Weaver Queens and Saskatraz Queens using Honey B Healthy, I broke down and bought 2 of each queen. It's been two weeks, and the B Weaver queens were accepted and are doing fine. The Saskatraz queens seem to have disappeared, and temperatures in those two hives (saskatraz) have varied dramatically according to my broodminded temp/humidity sensors. I'll check the Saskatraz queens in another week. I also watched another video of yours on these two types of bees. It was winter, and you had cleaned the dead bees out of the hives and counted the mites. The Saskatraz bee mites were intact, while the B Weaver mites had their legs chewed off. Now, I have to say that the video really got my attention. I will watch B Weaver hives this winter to see if I get the same results as you. Thank you for the great videos you put out.
Some keepers have had excellent performance from the Saskatraz Queens, the issue is that they are open mated and often demonstrage a range of traits. My experience with them wasn't good, but it wasn't a large test group. I hope yours do well.
This is amazing information and interview! Thank you so much for this content! It has been possible on a small scale for me as well. Keep these interviews coming Fred!
Thanks, Bob, I hope to be visiting with Daniel later this year. He is definitely doing great things with genetics and is finally getting the recognition that I've been hoping he would.
Thanks again Fred. I am really enjoying the interviews you have started doing, both with you as the interviewer and interviewee. You make them so interesting as well as very highly informative. You keep this up and you are going to turn me into a decent beekeeper after all. :)
Thank you so much, I appreciate the opportunity to learn while interviewing people with a depth of experience. I'm glad you also enjoy it. There are more to come. :)
LOVED this talk. Such great information on topics I am in the process of researching. And I very much enjoyed your back and forth and the questions you asked, Fred. Big thank you to you both!
Thanks Fred. It was great to hear the history of BeeWeaver queens. I ordered one last year that didn’t make it to me. They sent me another. But, USPS was not covering their lost queens. I hope it worked out for BeeWeaver in the end.
Thank you for the interview; truly interesting and such an impressive beekeeping heritage. I hope one of his sons, if not all, continue the family business.
Thank you for this interview. Really puts into perspective the trials of beekeeping when all the new pests came to North America, compared to today when we can manage them.
@@FrederickDunn Well what mean is you approach beekeeping from a scientific viewpoint, rather than the "he said she said" method, which has it's own value in different locals with locally specific problems. Such as you have to deal with snow and late pollen every year, as where I am we havent seen any snow 15 years and pollen starts around Feb 20th.
Thank you my brother :) It was a pleasure to visit with the owner of my favorite breeding operation :) I also regret not learning more about Monsanto from your Dad! :)
hopeful to see the continued sucesses,as im about to likely lose my 1st colony to dwv ,they did seem to bounce back late in fall after rounds of OA vapor ,im presuming cluster is small, and not seeing activity near as much other colonies, 3 yr old queen,i can relate to habitat reduction,and urban sprawl encroachment,the topic of usurpation was interesting,...thanks both of you
Thanks for that informative interview, Fred. I purchased a package from B Weaver a couple of years ago, and I was amazed by their gentile nature. Last year I started building and putting out swarm traps, and was 100 percent successful. I am fortunately located where B Weaver places a remote apiary, so my swarm catches are presumably out of their colonies. Additionally, I encountered an Africanized colony in south Texas earlier this year, and they put me in the hospital! They are an extreme level of HOT!
Wow, I am sorry about that Africanized colony! I was impressed when Daniel explained how they seemed like a completely different species/animal, attacking 1/4 mile away. If I lived down there, I think I'd make videos showing what their levels of defensiveness really are... I'm VERY interested in the remnants of Africanized Bees. You must have received hundreds... thousands... of stings?
@@FrederickDunn I can count on at least twenty stings every time I do an Africanized cut-out. It is especially disturbing when they get inside my hood. I don't know how they get inside my suits, but now I often put a Dadant jacket over my full suit and also wear some kind of neck wrap. It is just a fact of life here. But recently someone asked if the Africanized sting was worse than the regular sting... I had to reply that it was actually just the opposite! The Africanized stings I usually ignore, whereas European bees can really pack a whollop. For those, I keep sting-eze on hand.
Thanks for putting this together Fred! So many of the “Old time beekeepers” up here in the PNW are always badmouthing Beeweaver because they say all the bees coming out of Texas are Africanized. But I loved what he had to say about how they’ve kept those genetics out of the bees. Really great info.
Thanks Larry, it was eye-opening to learn how much adversity they have had to overcome. I also found it very interesting that some of the Africanized feral colonies are beginning to lose their aggression... I'm glad to have never met the monsters he described, in person. (';')...
@@FrederickDunn I agree 💯.... To have bees chase me for 2 miles would wear me out lol. It certainly was 👁️ eye opening and ear 👂 opening to hear his insights. Thanks for sharing and having Daniel Weaver on your channel. Cheers from NJ 🤙🏽
@@FrederickDunn - Yes Sir! 100% agree. And they pushed through and made it! Remarkable story. I was curious about the folks you helped a few years ago that had a hive that was attacking their chickens and pigs. You helped euthanizethat hive. Was that an Africanized hive or just an aggressive hive? Thanks again Sir!
I'm a beekeeper in Texas and very, very rarely need to wear a bee suit or veil. I'm not saying there's not Africanized bees here, but I think there's a lot of undeserved over exaggeration on that topic. There's some great bees here. Michael Palmer had a livestream that he did with another RUclipsr recently and he reported going to Mexico visiting obvious Africanized hives and said they were not aggressive. I do believe they could be losing their aggression.
I bought a BeeWeaver queen last year and I am in NW Oregon, as of yesterday they are going strong. My experience has been with my hive is that they are hot in the spring and fall. I have to fully suit up
I am 20 minutes in and its absolutely fascinating! Well done Mr Dunn on this idea of interviewing prominent people in the industry. If I could recommend a guest it might be Dr Terry Houston on Australia's native bees. Specifically regarding tetragonula carbonaria. He appeared on All the Dirt Podcast EP 67 so you can check him out. He's spent around 50 years studying Australian native bees. Might be interesting for you and the listeners. Have a good Sunday Fred!
WOW that would be had to kill 2500 colony's. LOL let there be light. LOL. Fred I have a question. If you make a split would the off spring have some resistance of mites. I know the new queen would mate with local drones but just wondering if they would have a little resistance. Thanks Fred for this video. I would like to try them again the last one was damage in shipping.
I think you end up with mutts, but, mutts that hopefully also mix with locally adapted stock. It's very hard to preserve the full genetic profile once they split off and mate with unknown drones. I think you lose the original traits pretty fast.
Thank u fred it was very educational interesting. I have wild bees in 5 layens hives near selinsgrove n one in hobesound fla.it is nice to find out about weaver bees if I need a queen
Recently Bruce had to replace a Weaver hive with Lappes Bees because the Weavers were too hot. I have 3 hives that have come through winter, this was my first winter as a bee keeper. One of my hives is a Buckfast queen that was open mated in a Latshaw Carnolian yard. That hive is more defensive than the other 2 which are Carnolian mixes. Not aggressive, but when you go into the brood they will jump on you. So I wonder if the “heat” many report with Weavers is genetics from that old Buckfast line and/or some old African traits showing up…?
That's interesting! As Daniel mentions in this interview, the Buckfast genetics are not heavily represented in their current stock. But there certainly could be some scuetllata genetics lingering in there. I haven't had a "hot hive" for years, but recessive genes can certainly surface. I think I'd stay ready for anything :)
I'm driving over there in April to pick up a couple of nucs, it's only about 4 hours from my house. Well worth it. I don't want to put chemicals on my bees either.
My queen I bought last year has survived eastern wa winter. This year has been mild, but time will tell. I plan to split and replace her anyways to spread those genetics. Using OTS this year to trial.
@@jeremynguyen2346 it got dark and the light wasnt on, not sure what the concern is. Fred corrected this later, kinda late IMO, but later is better than never.
Wow! What a guess. I am so surprised and thankfully for your choice of guest. This the path I have chosen. Very few do and I can understand it. But it’s nice to cross path with one who is the same path. Ok I think I have my apitherapy for this season and now the show must go one. I especially appreciated he using the expression »natural » bee keeping » . Words matter and that connects to something that is lost in the concept of the being of bees when using the expression « evolutionary method of bee keeping 🤮)»! As a consequence this was also soothing to my intellect. And I apologize in advance for those who are irritated by my expressing it...I know not politically correct! He said that of his stock only 1% survived. That encourages me. I had put mine at 0% for the next few years. So I’ll rejoice if I get 1%. (Just a way to fight discouragement! Keep one’s expectation low and rejoice in the small victory!) I also rejoiced when he mentioned certain things that I had put on my protocol to give myself a certain direction and that by just going with my common sense, something I have underaged, I might add. Now I can go back in my rabbit hole and not as worried of the dark confident that at the end there will be something worth while. So thank you, thank you, thank you. I am never desappointed when I watch your video. Now I’ll go back to my truckers protest. Please have a special thought and/ or prayer for this situation. I think we are under Nazi rule right now. Scary!
Was very interested in this subject. After watching the entire video I went to the bee weaver site and saw that all of their hives have been chemical free for around 20 years. Do you know if Daniel uses any non chemical mite control methods or if the bees just survive and prosper in spite of any mites that might be present? I know you use and recommend bee weaver queens so what has your experience been with them? I am in NC and am constantly fighting mites. If bee weaver queens could eliminate my mite problems I would definitely be interested in getting some. Thanks
Hi Fred I have a question Do you know if they sell packages of bees and if they ship them to other states. I'm asking because I live in Wisconsin and I can't go there to pick up the package of bees from their farm Thanks for your time and your amazing and very informative videos Dimitri
You're in the situation that I am, they do not ship packages or nucleus hives. They only ship mated queens. If you're starting out, that's hard. But if you have at least one colony, you can make a split at the time you introduce the mated queen and begin your BeeWeaver colony that way.
I was going to start this year but I didn't catch any local bees in my 3 swarm traps and I'm thinking to get a package of bees next year. I'd like to get local adapted bees or a package of bees from bee Weaver company because I like their mentality and the genetics of their bees
Thanks Fred, your interview with Daniel BeeWeaver was awesome. Great information on the Buckfast Bee. I am happy to live close to the Guelph University we’re they are still breeding true the Buckfast bee.
I am curious what apis mellifera the bee weaver bees are. I was reading something that said they were not going to cross breed even in close proximity. Meaning Italians and carniolions wouldn’t make a hybrid. I wonder if what I was reading is false. The reason I got on this line of thought is because of the possibility of a cross with AHBs (apis milifira silica). Thanks if someone answers. 😊
Hi Fred… please continue. The history, hardships, genetics that have been created by Bee Weaver was an interesting journey told by Daniel. I wonder if he was approached by Paul Stamets with his mycelium extract to improve bee immune system and DWV reduction/illumination???
Paul Staments hasn't produced his honey bee treatment "yet" it's a work in progress. I'm anxiously awaiting his final targeted formula and special feeder. BUT, he's currently focused on human supplements.
While watching intently, I was stifling a laugh at the self control displayed by the professional photographer watching his lighting slip away. Great job bringing in some controversial content. As always thankful 😊
They do to some extent, but unless you have lots of BeeWeaver colonies sending them out into your area, it's likely that the genetics get very diluted by other nearby stock.
Very interesting. I have always leaned towards treating, but that is just me. If there is a way to successfully keep Bees and not treat, kudos. My 2020 season ended a failure because of Mites, so I stay on top of that now.
Since you talked to him Mr Fred you remember when I text you about the Queens especially the one that was hot you told me I needed to contact them and I did and I was told to make sure I had a bee suit and a lot of smoke and I told them how I was working the bees and how much hotter than she was all the rest and that was the fix if I was going to do anything with that hive I was going have to wear a Bee suit and use a lot of smoke and I told them and smoke had no effect they said I just had to learn how to work them I just put her down and put another queen in there. I hope I'm not wrong by putting this on here. I just thought everybody should know but they was really nice
Indeed it was/is, but that's not listed in their traits. I made videos of them really getting frenzied over mites they find but just couldn't get the actual "chewing" behavior so relied exclusively on the dead mites and their condition.
Frederick, thanks for setting up this interview. I watched all of it with great interest but I have a question. What does all this mean for me as a beekeeper in NC? I went on the bee weaver site as saw that all of his bees have been chemical free for around 20 years. Does he use any treatments or mite control that are not considered chemical or do the bee weaver bees just survive and prosper without any intervention? I know you recommend and use bee weaver queens so what has your experience with them shown? If I could replace my stock with bee weaver queens and not have to worry about mites and their associated viruses I would be crazy not to do it, but it just sounds too good to be true. Thanks, Gary
They are treatment free, meaning that he does no varroa mite interventions at all. And yes, If you had all BeeWeaver Queens heading up your colonies... you'll find they require no treatment. However, once you have a swarm, or supercedure, the stocks begin to alter their traits with subsequent mating unless all of your neighbors are also using survivor stock :0
@@gwtill I was treatment free with them for 10 years... when I partnered their line with OAV, I had the only 100% survival winter I've ever had. Their stock is very good, but you have to keep your colonies from swarming, and that's a challenge. Then tend to swarm easily, so you'll have to be on your toes to keep your BeeWeaver stock pure... request to have the queens marked so you'll know if they are superseded, or if a swarm happens.
Golden Ridge Honey Farm in Iowa is also 100% treatment free Russian honeybee breeders Association member. They are definitely a lot calmer on the combs Then some of the southern strains.
@@Huntnlady7 nope Golden Ridge is up in Cresco, Iowa 4 and a half hours north east of Lappes. It was the first thing that popped up in my Google search so you might want to try there. They also have a Facebook page. Lappes strain of Carnies seem to have less issue with mites.
I don't know? He may say listen to all opinions? Can't speak for Kamon, everyone has a chosen path in beekeeping. I like to consider all angles and keep an open mind.
I would say don't be hard on Kamon for having an opinion. He is in a completely different environment than what we have in Texas. In the end we are all in the process of learning and in the end that is the key. As a beekeeper you have to keep on learning otherwise you become outdated.
@@walterhiegel3020 no one is being hard on Kamon. I just know he does not find Beeweaver queens all that and a bag of potato chips. I like them ....i have many of them. To each his own :)
@@FrederickDunn yeah I think we all want to be treatment free it's just not been worked out yet. But I can see how it might be possible someday,. Thanks Fred 👍
@@FrederickDunn well they had a bacteria that was engineered to kill mites that was in the bees guts but that was squashed by government as bio engineering God play.
Thank you for the instruction.The genetics are the right way to go- similar mentality as the founder/developer of the Beefmaster cattle breed,, Tom Lasater. God has many secrets in Nature we still need to discover
@@FrederickDunn Well I'm in the middle Ga. area, where we don't get enough cold to kill off the SHB population in wild bee colonies near me, I'm in the middle of Ga's peach and pecan belt with lots cotton fields around me as well so my bees are exposed to many pesticides, I think these darker bees I have just tolerate all the elements and this habit better than the brighter yellow italians.
I deal with SHB problem by placing 4 of the 7" reuseable type traps you can open the tops, baited with 1 drop of roach bait gel, my darker bees will chase em in then propilize them inside to die. one hive sealed in about 4 to 500 over winter
I posted all this because honeybees evolved from predatory wasp around 100+ million year ago, then socialized and began feeding nectar and pollen and storing it around 50+ million years ago all without and before humans showed up. I'm pretty sure the bees would be fine had humans never showed up. Horace Mann said "Be ashame to die without scoring some victory for humanity.", that should be amended somehow.
I would love to work for a commercial operation, I got out of bees 6 years ago and sold my hives to a commercial beekeeper from down south and he told me he didn't treat for mites and what he told me makes complete sense. I will relocate if given the opportunity I got wheels no wife, but I will need a small building for my current online business. Danial, are you looking for help pm me
No kidding. Three to four times the honey of a European hive. That's why all the beekeepers south of the border keep perpetuating them. It's depressing.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
At 37:28 Daniel walks back into the light of bee-ing :) Sorry about that :) I think the sun was gradually setting as the conversation continued. Thank you all for your patience :)
What a professional way to approach this conversation. Most keepers out there can fathom the idea of not treating for good reason. I've been lucky enough not to have to treat for the past ten years. Keeping bees alive sure is hard work and my hat's off to both Dan and Fred for keeping the conversation going for improving varroa resistance genetics. Feel lucky that I don't have to treat my 40ish colonies every year.
Having been a backyard beekeeper over the passed 30 years, I have had the rewarding experience to visit the Bee Weaver facility in Navasota, Tx. The gift shop is exceptional ( almost took a temper tantrum to get my wife and daughter to move on), the basic hive tour was informative for my grand children as well as me, was interesting to find out how many times a queen rearing professional with over 50 yrs. experience has been stung by a queen ( have to take the tour to find out ). The most exciting part was a visit to the “Fly By” for a round of samplers that completely changed my attitude about mead ! Now just have to figure out how to get queens or a package from my daughter place in College Station back to the “Beehive State”. Congrats to Daniel and his wife being able to reap some rewards from all of the past risks and hard work, thank you both.
I definitely need to get down there for a visit. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great interview. No hesitation with answering truthfully. I'm so glad I made the decision to never treat, and have no regrets.
Daniels statement regarding "feeling nervous and excitement and adrenalin when starting out beekeeping changes to an almost meditative state when ones skillset improves working hives" was a great relief to me. In my 2nd year I still get anxious and I thought I was failing. I love the way I am so much more in touch with local fauna and flora.
I'm so glad that helped reinforce what you're experiencing :)
Thanks Fred for getting Daniel Weaver on your show. I just happened to meet Daniel and his wife at the Bee Weaver farm. They are the nicest people. Sure there are those who are not convinced of their bees and I understand that developing to the of understanding that they have of their bees is a real commitment. I love the fact they rely heavily on data driven research. It really shows their professionalism. I really think that they have a key to solving the varroa problem. Their approach is definitely different.
In another beekeeping world, where all beekeepers advance together, we could in theory all practice the same approach to stock improvement without miticides and end up with very strong bees. BUT, everyone wants their own favorite line and many are more than happy to cycle through treatments to keep them going. There needs to be middle ground on this at some point. AND, agriculture needs to be part of the solution, by moving to healthier land management. But that's another story.... and that interview is coming up :)
Being a newbee in November 2020, and having more questions than bee in my 2 month old Nuc. Attended the local bee organization meeting, and being a student of Dunn U, I hoped to find someone who knew of Beeweaver breeding. Attending the club meeting, the presiding official informed me I must be referring to a "mutt" breed. If you have a helpful club, become active. My bees are doing great, but I miss the friendly beekeepers community. My mentor and I are the same ago, but he's 45 miles away. He is a master, and just had a stroke, and I need to visit. 1946 was a very good year. Thank you Mr. Dunn for this program.
@@FrederickDunn … hope you have one in the works with Cedar Anderson n his Dad on Flow Hives… the evolution, Revolution and Patenting… not to mention the funding… still a record I would believe.
@@FrederickDunn hey
What a FANTASTIC interview, Fred. Thank you.
Thanks for listening :)
Great topic, great interviewer, and a great Mr. Weaver. Daniel Weaver, and apiarists like him, are dioing a lot of good work for the apiculture world.
Good job Fred. Thank you.
Really enjoyed the interview. I’m a central Texas back yard beekeeper and have purchased several Weaver Queens in the past and plan to requeen a couple hives with them this year. I personally have not found them to be any more aggressive than my other colonies. They’ve also been my best honey producers. I also noticed that after treating with o/a in early December that the mite drop in my Weaver colonies was substantially lighter. Loved what y’all were saying about how therapeutic beekeeping is, so true! The minute I open the cover and smell the hive it’s instant calm. I always enjoy your content and like that you’re starting to do the interviews. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you, Donna! I really appreciate your comment :)
Daniel, I can't thank you enough for stepping up and showing others that treatment free beekeeper is not only possible, but more and more of us or following your lead--Including myself.. I also wanted to thank Frederick for always beeing available to help support all us backyard beekeepers. I'm super grateful.
Thanks for this excellent discussion Fred and Dan! It's so good to 🐝 back listening to your channel Fred!
Thank you Daniel and Fred. A lot of Great information. Glad to see the man behind the weaver bee. Thanks for talking in a way that was comfortable to follow all information
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
I loved hearing about his adaptation in the face of Africanized bees and varroa mites. I wouldn’t mind hearing more historical perspectives of beekeeping over time and from those who have overcome adversity. Great work!
Great video! Thanks for having him on
Thank you for taking time out of your super fast-paced life to watch! I hope your beekeeping endoever is going very well!
I haven’t had a lot of time recently with all the floods and power outs but I managed to watch Mr Ed interview and Daniel Weaver interview this evening and WOW Fred, this is a great series. I will be catching on the rest of this series too.
I’ve watched in awe of you and Mr. Weaver’s talk on bee development on genetics. Thank you again for the amazingly infinitive information.
Wow, thank you!
This year, 2024, after watching your video on the introduction of B Weaver Queens and Saskatraz Queens using Honey B Healthy, I broke down and bought 2 of each queen. It's been two weeks, and the B Weaver queens were accepted and are doing fine. The Saskatraz queens seem to have disappeared, and temperatures in those two hives (saskatraz) have varied dramatically according to my broodminded temp/humidity sensors. I'll check the Saskatraz queens in another week. I also watched another video of yours on these two types of bees. It was winter, and you had cleaned the dead bees out of the hives and counted the mites. The Saskatraz bee mites were intact, while the B Weaver mites had their legs chewed off. Now, I have to say that the video really got my attention. I will watch B Weaver hives this winter to see if I get the same results as you. Thank you for the great videos you put out.
Some keepers have had excellent performance from the Saskatraz Queens, the issue is that they are open mated and often demonstrage a range of traits. My experience with them wasn't good, but it wasn't a large test group. I hope yours do well.
This is amazing information and interview! Thank you so much for this content! It has been possible on a small scale for me as well. Keep these interviews coming Fred!
Thank you! There will be more to come. I'm glad to know that you enjoyed this.
Second time thru was just as interesting. Thank you, Fred & Daniel. 🙏
Thanks, Bob, I hope to be visiting with Daniel later this year. He is definitely doing great things with genetics and is finally getting the recognition that I've been hoping he would.
This was an absolutely outstanding, informative and facinating interview with Daniel Weaver. Thank you Frederick Dunn and Daniel Weaver!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for doing an interview with Bee Weaver. That was fantastic! Really enjoyed it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks again Fred. I am really enjoying the interviews you have started doing, both with you as the interviewer and interviewee. You make them so interesting as well as very highly informative. You keep this up and you are going to turn me into a decent beekeeper after all. :)
Thank you so much, I appreciate the opportunity to learn while interviewing people with a depth of experience. I'm glad you also enjoy it. There are more to come. :)
@@FrederickDunn Yipee, I can hardly wait!
LOVED this talk. Such great information on topics I am in the process of researching. And I very much enjoyed your back and forth and the questions you asked, Fred. Big thank you to you both!
Glad it was helpful!
This is fantastic, Fred. I always look for ways to stay away from chemicals. So much great information here. 👏 Thank you, gentlemen 👌
Very interesting stuff! I'll be looking at adding a BeeWeaver queen in 2023.
Thanks Fred. It was great to hear the history of BeeWeaver queens. I ordered one last year that didn’t make it to me. They sent me another. But, USPS was not covering their lost queens. I hope it worked out for BeeWeaver in the end.
Dang, that's disappointing!
Thank you for the interview; truly interesting and such an impressive beekeeping heritage. I hope one of his sons, if not all, continue the family business.
Thank you for this interview. Really puts into perspective the trials of beekeeping when all the new pests came to North America, compared to today when we can manage them.
Another skillfully conducted interview Fred. Thank you.
Thank you, Angela! :)
I enjoyed the discussion, great information
Thank you!
Thx Fred, you always bring super intelect to beekeeping. Please continue your great works
Thank you Carl!
@@FrederickDunn Well what mean is you approach beekeeping from a scientific viewpoint, rather than the "he said she said" method, which has it's own value in different locals with locally specific problems. Such as you have to deal with snow and late pollen every year, as where I am we havent seen any snow 15 years and pollen starts around Feb 20th.
Thank you Fred and Mr. Weaver for enlightening us!! Amazing as always.
Thanks for listening, I'm glad you got something out of it. :)
Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for taking the time to do these!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video, I really enjoyed this interview. 😀 ❤💜💙💚
Thank you for this wonderful interview and for the previous one and those to come! Beekeeping knowledge central here!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you Fred, that was an incredible interview.
Thank you my brother :) It was a pleasure to visit with the owner of my favorite breeding operation :) I also regret not learning more about Monsanto from your Dad! :)
excellent interview...thank you both! I really enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Thank you, Sean! I always appreciate your comments.
I really enjoy this format. Great interview. I learn something helpful every time. Keep them coming.
Thank you so much for that feedback! I have two more interviews in the pipeline :) I have to say that I also get a lot out of them. Enjoy your Sunday!
Great interview Fred !
Thank you so much :)
This was a fabulous interview- very interesting to hear the company history and goals. Thank you Fred!
Glad you enjoyed it! You are VERY welcome :)
hopeful to see the continued sucesses,as im about to likely lose my 1st colony to dwv ,they did seem to bounce back late in fall after rounds of OA vapor ,im presuming cluster is small, and not seeing activity near as much other colonies, 3 yr old queen,i can relate to habitat reduction,and urban sprawl encroachment,the topic of usurpation was interesting,...thanks both of you
Thank you! it gives me such high hopes that our project of mixing different breeds of honeybees does contribute to their varroa resistance.
good stuff...thanks for posting Frederick. Dan and Laura are neighbors.
Wow, neighbors? Lucky You! I wish my neighbors up here were like them :)
Thanks for that informative interview, Fred. I purchased a package from B Weaver a couple of years ago, and I was amazed by their gentile nature. Last year I started building and putting out swarm traps, and was 100 percent successful. I am fortunately located where B Weaver places a remote apiary, so my swarm catches are presumably out of their colonies.
Additionally, I encountered an Africanized colony in south Texas earlier this year, and they put me in the hospital! They are an extreme level of HOT!
Wow, I am sorry about that Africanized colony! I was impressed when Daniel explained how they seemed like a completely different species/animal, attacking 1/4 mile away. If I lived down there, I think I'd make videos showing what their levels of defensiveness really are... I'm VERY interested in the remnants of Africanized Bees. You must have received hundreds... thousands... of stings?
Definitely hundreds of stings. My implanted defibrillator hit me five (5) times. I am blessed to still be alive.
@@kencharba2546 I'm glad you made it!!!
@@FrederickDunn I can count on at least twenty stings every time I do an Africanized cut-out. It is especially disturbing when they get inside my hood. I don't know how they get inside my suits, but now I often put a Dadant jacket over my full suit and also wear some kind of neck wrap. It is just a fact of life here.
But recently someone asked if the Africanized sting was worse than the regular sting... I had to reply that it was actually just the opposite! The Africanized stings I usually ignore, whereas European bees can really pack a whollop. For those, I keep sting-eze on hand.
I have one and she has been one of my best so far. Not a head hunter
Awesome discussion Fred 👏 Love your interviews 🤩
Thank you so much! There are more to come :)
Thanks for putting this together Fred! So many of the “Old time beekeepers” up here in the PNW are always badmouthing Beeweaver because they say all the bees coming out of Texas are Africanized. But I loved what he had to say about how they’ve kept those genetics out of the bees. Really great info.
Thanks Larry, it was eye-opening to learn how much adversity they have had to overcome. I also found it very interesting that some of the Africanized feral colonies are beginning to lose their aggression... I'm glad to have never met the monsters he described, in person. (';')...
@@FrederickDunn I agree 💯.... To have bees chase me for 2 miles would wear me out lol. It certainly was 👁️ eye opening and ear 👂 opening to hear his insights. Thanks for sharing and having Daniel Weaver on your channel. Cheers from NJ 🤙🏽
@@FrederickDunn - Yes Sir! 100% agree. And they pushed through and made it! Remarkable story.
I was curious about the folks you helped a few years ago that had a hive that was attacking their chickens and pigs.
You helped euthanizethat hive. Was that an Africanized hive or just an aggressive hive?
Thanks again Sir!
I'm a beekeeper in Texas and very, very rarely need to wear a bee suit or veil. I'm not saying there's not Africanized bees here, but I think there's a lot of undeserved over exaggeration on that topic. There's some great bees here. Michael Palmer had a livestream that he did with another RUclipsr recently and he reported going to Mexico visiting obvious Africanized hives and said they were not aggressive. I do believe they could be losing their aggression.
@@TexasBeekeeper - That’s amazing! Thanks for sharing that. I hope that they are losing the aggression!
Very interesting video Fred ,thanks appreciate your videos.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for commenting.
Thank you Fred.
you're very welcome, and thank you for taking a moment to comment ;)
@@FrederickDunn Did you happen to see the result of the OAV test on Bob Binne channel, validates your thought for caging the queen.
Thanks Fred
Great video and very informative
Great 👍 video enjoyed the conversations
Thanks!
Very great discussion! Bee Weaver has some great Genetics!
Thank you Fred for sharing this information, looking forward to more life changing information from you in the future. No pressure 😂😂😂
Thank you, Rick! :) I'll try
I bought a BeeWeaver queen last year and I am in NW Oregon, as of yesterday they are going strong. My experience has been with my hive is that they are hot in the spring and fall. I have to fully suit up
Thanks for sharing your experience Michael! Seasonal attitudes... always bee-prepared! :)
I have bought 2 queens from them. Yes, on the hot side. Daughter queens, hot also. Don't know how often they suggest to requeen for vorroa.
I am 20 minutes in and its absolutely fascinating! Well done Mr Dunn on this idea of interviewing prominent people in the industry. If I could recommend a guest it might be Dr Terry Houston on Australia's native bees. Specifically regarding tetragonula carbonaria. He appeared on All the Dirt Podcast EP 67 so you can check him out. He's spent around 50 years studying Australian native bees. Might be interesting for you and the listeners. Have a good Sunday Fred!
Thank you for that suggestion! Sounds like an interesting fellow for sure!
@@FrederickDunn who are you interviewing
WOW that would be had to kill 2500 colony's. LOL let there be light. LOL. Fred I have a question. If you make a split would the off spring have some resistance of mites. I know the new queen would mate with local drones but just wondering if they would have a little resistance. Thanks Fred for this video. I would like to try them again the last one was damage in shipping.
I think you end up with mutts, but, mutts that hopefully also mix with locally adapted stock. It's very hard to preserve the full genetic profile once they split off and mate with unknown drones. I think you lose the original traits pretty fast.
@@FrederickDunn who are you interviewing
Yep I enjoy the interviews
Thank u fred it was very educational interesting. I have wild bees in 5 layens hives near selinsgrove n one in hobesound fla.it is nice to find out about weaver bees if I need a queen
My Layens Hive has BeeWeaver stock in it. :)
Recently Bruce had to replace a Weaver hive with Lappes Bees because the Weavers were too hot. I have 3 hives that have come through winter, this was my first winter as a bee keeper. One of my hives is a Buckfast queen that was open mated in a Latshaw Carnolian yard. That hive is more defensive than the other 2 which are Carnolian mixes. Not aggressive, but when you go into the brood they will jump on you. So I wonder if the “heat” many report with Weavers is genetics from that old Buckfast line and/or some old African traits showing up…?
That's interesting! As Daniel mentions in this interview, the Buckfast genetics are not heavily represented in their current stock. But there certainly could be some scuetllata genetics lingering in there. I haven't had a "hot hive" for years, but recessive genes can certainly surface. I think I'd stay ready for anything :)
Lappes certainly breeds great Carniolans.
I'm driving over there in April to pick up a couple of nucs, it's only about 4 hours from my house. Well worth it. I don't want to put chemicals on my bees either.
Lot of great insight there. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
My queen I bought last year has survived eastern wa winter. This year has been mild, but time will tell. I plan to split and replace her anyways to spread those genetics. Using OTS this year to trial.
I hope she continues to do well for you :)
@@FrederickDunn why is Daniel weavers room dark
@@jeremynguyen2346 mishap
@@AmericansBee what does it mean
@@jeremynguyen2346 it got dark and the light wasnt on, not sure what the concern is. Fred corrected this later, kinda late IMO, but later is better than never.
Great job. Love to see you interview kirk webster.
Maybe one day!
Wow! What a guess. I am so surprised and thankfully for your choice of guest. This the path I have chosen. Very few do and I can understand it. But it’s nice to cross path with one who is the same path. Ok I think I have my apitherapy for this season and now the show must go one. I especially appreciated he using the expression »natural » bee keeping » . Words matter and that connects to something that is lost in the concept of the being of bees when using the expression « evolutionary method of bee keeping 🤮)»! As a consequence this was also soothing to my intellect. And I apologize in advance for those who are irritated by my expressing it...I know not politically correct!
He said that of his stock only 1% survived. That encourages me. I had put mine at 0% for the next few years. So I’ll rejoice if I get 1%. (Just a way to fight discouragement! Keep one’s expectation low and rejoice in the small victory!)
I also rejoiced when he mentioned certain things that I had put on my protocol to give myself a certain direction and that by just going with my common sense, something I have underaged, I might add. Now I can go back in my rabbit hole and not as worried of the dark confident that at the end there will be something worth while. So thank you, thank you, thank you. I am never desappointed when I watch your video.
Now I’ll go back to my truckers protest. Please have a special thought and/ or prayer for this situation. I think we are under Nazi rule right now. Scary!
great interview.
Was very interested in this subject. After watching the entire video I went to the bee weaver site and saw that all of their hives have been chemical free for around 20 years. Do you know if Daniel uses any non chemical mite control methods or if the bees just survive and prosper in spite of any mites that might be present? I know you use and recommend bee weaver queens so what has your experience been with them? I am in NC and am constantly fighting mites. If bee weaver queens could eliminate my mite problems I would definitely be interested in getting some. Thanks
Hi Fred
I have a question
Do you know if they sell packages of bees and if they ship them to other states. I'm asking because I live in Wisconsin and I can't go there to pick up the package of bees from their farm
Thanks for your time and your amazing and very informative videos
Dimitri
You're in the situation that I am, they do not ship packages or nucleus hives. They only ship mated queens. If you're starting out, that's hard. But if you have at least one colony, you can make a split at the time you introduce the mated queen and begin your BeeWeaver colony that way.
I was going to start this year but I didn't catch any local bees in my 3 swarm traps and I'm thinking to get a package of bees next year. I'd like to get local adapted bees or a package of bees from bee Weaver company because I like their mentality and the genetics of their bees
I love there queens and have gotten a few. Ty for telling us about his queens in your past vdo
Thanks, Peter. If I need a queen fast, BeeWeave is the only stock I buy.
Looking forward to find out about buckfast
Thanks Fred, your interview with Daniel BeeWeaver was awesome. Great information on the Buckfast Bee. I am happy to live close to the Guelph University we’re they are still breeding true the Buckfast bee.
I am curious what apis mellifera the bee weaver bees are. I was reading something that said they were not going to cross breed even in close proximity. Meaning Italians and carniolions wouldn’t make a hybrid. I wonder if what I was reading is false. The reason I got on this line of thought is because of the possibility of a cross with AHBs (apis milifira silica). Thanks if someone answers. 😊
If you just go to their RUclips channel, Dr. Weaver explains their genetic lines and how they use them.
Hi Fred… please continue. The history, hardships, genetics that have been created by Bee Weaver was an interesting journey told by Daniel.
I wonder if he was approached by Paul Stamets with his mycelium extract to improve bee immune system and DWV reduction/illumination???
I see what you did there. 🤣
Paul Staments hasn't produced his honey bee treatment "yet" it's a work in progress. I'm anxiously awaiting his final targeted formula and special feeder. BUT, he's currently focused on human supplements.
@@FrederickDunn … I take his Lion’s Mane and Stamets Seven. I wonder what my baseline was???
Thanks for such an interesting interview - it was like the X-files before the lights came on.
While watching intently, I was stifling a laugh at the self control displayed by the professional photographer watching his lighting slip away. Great job bringing in some controversial content. As always thankful 😊
I thought it was funny that he was fading into darkness unknowing... :) thank you.
I would love to find out if the bee weaver strain of bees would handle out here in south central Wisconsin.
Since they manage here in the snow-belt of PA, I would think they will do just fine there in Wisconsin as well.
Fred, do the drones from a bee Weaver queen hive help to spread the strain of the queens trait of bee?
They do to some extent, but unless you have lots of BeeWeaver colonies sending them out into your area, it's likely that the genetics get very diluted by other nearby stock.
Very interesting. I have always leaned towards treating, but that is just me. If there is a way to successfully keep Bees and not treat, kudos. My 2020 season ended a failure because of Mites, so I stay on top of that now.
Depending on your bee stock, you really have to treat if you want them to make it.
I think you should do a video on apitherapy. Lol Great video. I have a weaver queen and she is doing really good in Tennessee.
Thank you, that is definitely an interesting topic. Also happy to learn that you're having a good experience with your Weaver Queen.
Since you talked to him Mr Fred you remember when I text you about the Queens especially the one that was hot you told me I needed to contact them and I did and I was told to make sure I had a bee suit and a lot of smoke and I told them how I was working the bees and how much hotter than she was all the rest and that was the fix if I was going to do anything with that hive I was going have to wear a Bee suit and use a lot of smoke and I told them and smoke had no effect they said I just had to learn how to work them I just put her down and put another queen in there. I hope I'm not wrong by putting this on here. I just thought everybody should know but they was really nice
The hottest bees I ever had were Italians :) He does address the hot-genetics in this video.
Was it your BeeWeaver stock that was chewing on the mite's legs?
Indeed it was/is, but that's not listed in their traits. I made videos of them really getting frenzied over mites they find but just couldn't get the actual "chewing" behavior so relied exclusively on the dead mites and their condition.
Frederick, thanks for setting up this interview.
I watched all of it with great interest but I have a question. What does all this mean for me as a beekeeper in NC?
I went on the bee weaver site as saw that all of his bees have been chemical free for around 20 years. Does he use any treatments or mite control that are not considered chemical or do the bee weaver bees just survive and prosper without any intervention? I know you recommend and use bee weaver queens so what has your experience with them shown? If I could replace my stock with bee weaver queens and not have to worry about mites and their associated viruses I would be crazy not to do it, but it just sounds too good to be true. Thanks, Gary
They are treatment free, meaning that he does no varroa mite interventions at all. And yes, If you had all BeeWeaver Queens heading up your colonies... you'll find they require no treatment. However, once you have a swarm, or supercedure, the stocks begin to alter their traits with subsequent mating unless all of your neighbors are also using survivor stock :0
@@FrederickDunn thanks so much for your reply and for taking your time help other beekeepers.
They are great! Replace the queens in your worst hives with BeeWeaver queens. Better beekeeping through better genetics.
@@FrederickDunn Got 2 beeweaver queens on order. Hope they will end my treating bees.
@@gwtill I was treatment free with them for 10 years... when I partnered their line with OAV, I had the only 100% survival winter I've ever had. Their stock is very good, but you have to keep your colonies from swarming, and that's a challenge. Then tend to swarm easily, so you'll have to be on your toes to keep your BeeWeaver stock pure... request to have the queens marked so you'll know if they are superseded, or if a swarm happens.
thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Treatment free is the future of successful beekeeping.
Genetics are definitely the leading edge of long term honey bee survival.
Very impressive interview. I don't think he gives many.
Thank you!
Fascinating.
Golden Ridge Honey Farm in Iowa is also 100% treatment free Russian honeybee breeders Association member. They are definitely a lot calmer on the combs Then some of the southern strains.
I can't seem to find them. I have bought great queens from Lappe's bees in Iowa. Is that who you mean?
@@Huntnlady7 nope Golden Ridge is up in Cresco, Iowa 4 and a half hours north east of Lappes. It was the first thing that popped up in my Google search so you might want to try there. They also have a Facebook page. Lappes strain of Carnies seem to have less issue with mites.
I think they travel further than 2 miles after You,,and Cloud up, at you long before you get too the hive..,🇱🇨👍🏼♥️
Interesting... would love to video that activity!
@@FrederickDunn ,, they even kill any animal who comes into close proximity.
What would Kamon Reynolds say???
I don't know? He may say listen to all opinions? Can't speak for Kamon, everyone has a chosen path in beekeeping. I like to consider all angles and keep an open mind.
I would say don't be hard on Kamon for having an opinion. He is in a completely different environment than what we have in Texas. In the end we are all in the process of learning and in the end that is the key. As a beekeeper you have to keep on learning otherwise you become outdated.
@@walterhiegel3020 no one is being hard on Kamon. I just know he does not find Beeweaver queens all that and a bag of potato chips. I like them ....i have many of them. To each his own :)
he would say good queens dead mites,and good nutrition,
I just couldn't make it work for me. I'm tiered of buying bees every season.
It's definitely not for everyone. I had to turn to treatments myself.
@@FrederickDunn yeah I think we all want to be treatment free it's just not been worked out yet. But I can see how it might be possible someday,. Thanks Fred 👍
@@FrederickDunn well they had a bacteria that was engineered to kill mites that was in the bees guts but that was squashed by government as bio engineering God play.
Good stuff
I ordered a queen for May, now I just need the hive that I want to place her in to make until then, so far so good in North Idaho
I find the darker the bees the more aggresive the temperment but the tdnd to be more hygenic and better honey producers
Can't argue that Russian bees are definitely dark... aka black bees. :)
Thank you for the instruction.The genetics are the right way to go- similar mentality as the founder/developer of the Beefmaster cattle breed,, Tom Lasater. God has many secrets in Nature we still need to discover
I keep bees in Ga. which is the varroa mite and SHB capital of the world
Sounds like a huge challenge...
@@FrederickDunn Well I'm in the middle Ga. area, where we don't get enough cold to kill off the SHB population in wild bee colonies near me, I'm in the middle of Ga's peach and pecan belt with lots cotton fields around me as well so my bees are exposed to many pesticides, I think these darker bees I have just tolerate all the elements and this habit better than the brighter yellow italians.
I deal with SHB problem by placing 4 of the 7" reuseable type traps you can open the tops, baited with 1 drop of roach bait gel, my darker bees will chase em in then propilize them inside to die. one hive sealed in about 4 to 500 over winter
I posted all this because honeybees evolved from predatory wasp around 100+ million year ago, then socialized and began feeding nectar and pollen and storing it around 50+ million years ago all without and before humans showed up. I'm pretty sure the bees would be fine had humans never showed up. Horace Mann said "Be ashame to die without scoring some victory for humanity.", that should be amended somehow.
Wow my head is about to burst.
:)
I got my Ankle Biters from Frank and Zelma Boggess! It’s good to see them listed as legit!
I would love to work for a commercial operation, I got out of bees 6 years ago and sold my hives to a commercial beekeeper from down south and he told me he didn't treat for mites and what he told me makes complete sense. I will relocate if given the opportunity I got wheels no wife, but I will need a small building for my current online business. Danial, are you looking for help pm me
I think if you can locate remote enough and spare the loss of 80% for several seasons it would most likely work.
They definitely had profound losses and took serious economic hits as they progressed.
@@FrederickDunn My comment is strictly theoretical.
This Africanize Breed of Bees,,we still have them thriving all over the Caribbean,,Very Defensive,,but they produce a lot of honey and wax,,😂🇱🇨👍🏼♥️
And there you have an upside.
No kidding. Three to four times the honey of a European hive. That's why all the beekeepers south of the border keep perpetuating them. It's depressing.
First again :)
Hello