The Way To Bee

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 203, my favorite inverted jar feeding system and more.

This is the audio track from today's YouTube:  https://youtu.be/z03CYZRynVk

Interview with Heather Broccard-Bell, Ph.D. regarding Honey Bee Communications and much more!

This is an interview with Heather Broddard-Bell, Ph.D. Heather is a Honey Bee Health Researcher at NOD Apiary Products Ltd. Located in Ontario Canada.

This is the audio track from the corresponding YouTube Video:  https://youtu.be/t-dmxHP0kpY

 

You are invited to learn more about NOD Apiary Products by visiting their website: https://nodglobal.com/

NOTE: There is no affiliation agreement, and no compensation has been offered in exchange for this interview, or for sharing links to NOD. Learn more about the Bee Cozy here: https://nodglobal.com/bee-cozy/

 

 

Are we counting Varroa Destructor Mites on the right bees? How about Drones, that’s right, drones may have more mites than nurse bees.

This is the audio track from my interview with Dr. Zachary Lamas:  https://youtu.be/GfzkreMezCI

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 202, How To Attract, Trap, and control varroa mites with young Drones.

Welcome to another episode of backyard beekeeping topics. This is the audio track from today's YouTube:  https://youtu.be/YTC3pMHlwqU

 

 

 

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 201, new books, and Episode 200 Contest Winner.

This is the audio track from today's YouTube video:  https://youtu.be/OVG-OrlqhrQ

Time stamps and related questions are generously provided by Adam Holmes -

1) One of my hives has a good population, but only drone brood. Can they can make a successfully mated queen, or should I order a queen? 5:01

2) Does it matter where the entrance is on a single Langstroth brood box? 9:51

3) I have a very dirty (very very nasty) beesuit. What is the best way to clean them without throwing it in the washing machine? 13:13

4) I had a problem with crystallized honey in the frames last fall. Will these residual crystals get cleaned out before the bees store nectar? 16:35

5) Have you used a Russian Scion in your apiary? I am very interested in all options for swarm management and would love your thoughts. 18:37

6) What can I do about a hive that had a fire drill and went back in? I hate to open the hive in the cold to look for queen cells. 24:05

7) Someone mentioned that bees have a hard time jumping the gap between the brood and super in winter. Do you have any thoughts on it? 29:16

8) Would you use sugar syrup instead of smoke in a wet climate like Ireland? I'm afraid to add water to the hive. 33:24

9) You showed an audible alarm device you use in your apiary to discourage bears. I plan to put units in front of and behind two hives. Now I think I should have one unit on each side, what would you recommend? 40:41

10) What, if anything, can I do to keep my colony count static when I've decided 'm at my limit. 51:07

11) Will Flow-Frames fit into the Hive Butler? 58:19

12) Considering putting up a hive near a rescue horse farm. Do you think the swarm would avoid the horses or is this a risk? 59:22

 

 

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 200 are pollen substitutes equal? There is a top performer, and more...

This is the audio track from Friday, 17 March's YouTube Video:  https://youtu.be/yWtlA3kUgk4

 

Thank you very much for Bee-ing here :) 

 

https://www.fredsfinefowl.com/thewaytobee.html

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 199 nucleus hives and when to move your swarm trap...

This is the audio track from today's YouTube video:  https://youtu.be/jPF44YZsS5o

Topics and time-stamps are generously provided by:

Adam Holmes

1) How would I set up a swarm trap camera for traps several milles away from home? 3:17

2) I was reading about the survival rate of bees after a sugar shake test. It seems the sugar shake might not be as harmless as I thought. 8:00

3) I am moving bee boxes just 20 meters to my yard from the swarm trap location. How do you know when the bees occupy the box and when you can move them? How do I keep them from moving out? 12:52

4) For people who are out in nature and not wearing protective clothing, is there anything we can do to deter a swarm of aggressive bees? 23:20

5) I have questions about making splits in the bee yard. Some keepers replace the hive with box they are making into the split and then move it back later on. Then rotate them back. Have you ever tried this? 31:20

6) Do you manage nucs differently than a full size hive? My understanding is that nucs are less likely to swarm. 42:02

7) What is the purpose of the slight taper on the underside of the ears of the top bar of a frame? 50:12

8) I noticed the Apimaye hives have dividers. Can you split on hive and have two queens? Will the bees work both sides without killing one of the queens? 1:00:38

9) What is your opinion of using an uncapping roller punch instead of an uncapping knife? 1:04:46

10) I have heard you talk about using nucs as the primary hive before, but have not heard, nor seen, anything about splitting a 5 frame nuc in the spring. Could you please give us some of your thoughts on this subject? 1:10:26

11) I hear conflicting reports online where some say bees won't travel horizontally for honey stores during winter. Can you comment on your experiences with horizontal hives and how bees feed from their own reserves during winter? 1:16:18

12) I was wondering what kind of holly you grow and recommend. From episode 18. 1:23:50

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 198, graftless queen rearing, and more...

This the audio track from today's YouTube:  https://youtu.be/A4VPHUPwuMc

 

Topics and time stamps are generously provided by Adam Holmes

1) There is a question that I have not gotten a good answer for yet, what do you do with a polystyrene or plastic hive if you get AFB? 4:20

 

2) Are the Hive Gates good for year round use? Would they help with temperature control at the hive entrance? 11:32

 

3) You mentioned the green drone comb as a method of varroa mitigation. Could it also be used as an inspection method? 14:06

 

4) I'm starting a five frame nucleus in an 8 frame deep. I'm curious on your thoughts on building with foundationless frames. 19:46

 

5) We have had many days in the 50s and 60s with nights in the 30s and 40s. I wonder if I need to be splitting the large colonies earlier than April since I have four to five frames of brood? 24:56

 

6) Can you please explain why people do not graft eggs. if you want the youngest larvae, why won't grafted eggs in cups work? 28:54

 

7) Is there an advantage to using two deep brood boxes as opposed to using three medium brood boxes? 38:03

 

8) I have just moved to the Canada border but intend to be a snow bird from December to April. Looking for a list of things that I may have not considered before leaving bees in the snow for 4 months. 43:36

 

9) I'm having a hard time trying to find a screened bottom board with a tray and enclosed. have you found any supplier or plans for a design you are describing? 49:52

 

10) When you make a split, how far do you move the new box from the original hive to ensure foragers do not go back to the original hive. 53:30 11) How do you document information specific to each hive and what information do you maintain? 1:03:19

 

 

Frederick Dunn Interviews Dr. Nathalie Steinhauer of the Bee Informed Partnership, how Loss and Management Surveys Help all beekeepers.

This is the audio track from this YouTube Interview:  https://youtu.be/j5kz-7ZRS0w

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 197, how to use drone frames and feed chickens if you have have them...

Welcome to another episode of backyard beekeeping topics, this is the audio track from today's YouTube: https://youtu.be/oV7ucW0ZnTc

Topics and related time-stamps are generously provided by Adam Holmes

1) When a colony dies out due to a drone layer, will the queen lay drones in those worker drone cells? 3:22

2) I read that some beekeepers are feeding pollen substitute now to stimulate brood production. Is now a good time? 7:04

3) What are your thoughts on running 9 frames in a 10 frame box? My bees make it impossible to take out my first frame without rolling bees. 13:37

4) I set up a swarm trap with comb from a recent dead-out. Bees are all over it. Is it possible they would already be getting ready to swarm? 21:09

5) I have winter kills, do the mites stay attached to the bees? I ask because I want to know if a mite wash on the bee would show. 32:42

6) I have a question about using the green drone frames for IPM. Should I move them closer to the brood? 42:40

7) I plan to block my Apimaye top vents an am wondering what you would suggest? 50:20

8) I'm building a Long Langstroth Hive, I have concerns about condensation in the hive. Do I need vents on the bottom? 53:35

9) Is there a time during the year that I should stop stopping off my internal feeders? 59:53

10) I recently had to move my bees. The landing board was the sun, I've noticed bees don't really come out as much now. Does it matter? 1:06:14

11) I am considering beekeeping. Supposedly, a bees' first defense mechanism it to attack an invader's face and that they attack dark complexion surfaces first. I am African American with very dark skin. Have there been any studies that might suggest bees are more aggressive toward people with a dark complexion? 1:08:22