The Way To Bee

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 228, spotted lantern fly honey dew, and much more.

Welcome to another episode of backyard beekeeping topics, this is the audio track from today's video:  https://youtu.be/hyM-RT-BR3U

 

The topics and associated time links are generously provided by Adam Holmes

@Adam.Holmes.

23 hours ago

1) There are spotted lantern flies where my bees are located. I have heard about bees making honeydew honey from there excrement. What are your thoughts on Honey Dew Honey? 4:30

2) Do bees store the 2-1 sugar water this time of year or are they just consuming it? 11:21

3) I built a horizontal hive from your plans. I have a question about pulling frames. I was planning on taking all fully capped frames, is it safe to assume they will continue to process the uncapped nectar and cap it once all resources dry up? 23:38

4) Can I use crystalized honey to make syrup to feed my bees? Same amount of honey and water by weight. 33:34

5) In episode 213 you mention that you do not use a queen excluder in your hives. Does that include Flow Hives? What is your hive set up for your Flow Hives to help prevent brood in the Flow Frames? 36:37

6) My honey is cloudy with foam on top. Do people shy away from buying cloudy RAW honey? The honey I processed last year wasn't cloudy. 46:38

7) It's time to pack down the hives so I busted into 2 of my 6 hives today. To my surprise I found zero brood in one and scant at best in the other. There are about 6-8 frames of bees in each. I'm wondering if I should join these two hives. 52:52

8) Quick question about OAV Treatments, should it be done every 7 days and for three sessions? 59:30

 

 

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 227, should we be open feeding or putting out robbing stations? Things to consider.

This is the audio from today's YouTube Video:  https://youtu.be/hxfze-BIFLg

 

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

1) Please stop promoting open feeding and robbing. Lots of negatives. 5:16

 

2) I have a question about my winter feeding setup. Would it be better to have the fondant patty above the insulated inner cover? Could I perhaps double up the fondant patties under the cover to make sure they don't run out? 25:08

 

3) Can I take frames of honey to boost another hive that doesn't have as many stores? I also plan to feed fondant and sugar patties. 35:07

 

4) I have been thinking about insulating my hive with 2 inch foam insulation and making a five-sided box. Do you think it would be a too sealed and they wouldn't get enough fresh air? 40:23

 

5) I did a series of OAV treatments and then could not find my queen. I tried to install a new queen and they rejected her. A friend said the hive wasn't likely queenless. I doubt the new nucleus can make it through winter after making a split. What are your thoughts? 47:27

 

6) I have the new insulated inner covers. They have holes around the edges. What is the reason for this, could other things make their way in? 56:21

 

7) New research has shown that certain mushroom species may be effective against varroa mites. Have you have researched this topic? 58:47

 

8) Is it possible to over feed bees for bees? 1:01:26

 

(apologies, question 9 was missed)

 

10) I remember you talking about using Bleach solution to spray your drawn frames for winter storage. Has that fallen out of favor? Do you stack supers tight, or alternate them at 90 degree angles? 1:14:25

 

11) I'm trying to make a decision about feeding hives in October. I am a backyard beekeeper with 5 colonies. 1:18:26

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 226, are you ready for winter? What about honey storage? Cut comb is a high value offering...

This is the audio track from today's YouTube: https://youtu.be/FZiMXjQa2jo

 

The time stamps and topic list below are generously provided by Adam Holmes:

 

1) Many beekeepers remove a full frame of brood and reinforce other colonies that are not doing as well. Why don't they fight it out? 4:36

 

2) I'd like to know more about Cut-Comb honey, I understand what it is and how it's harvested but why is it so popular? 13:02

 

3) You mentioned long-term honey storage in a freezer. How would you store 5 gallon buckets of honey over winter and what temperature? 26:50

 

4) The NOAA Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a strong El Nino year going through early next year. How can we prepare our hives to best overwinter these extremes in temperature and precipitation? 34:29

 

5) Regarding the wasp nest removal video, was there a queen? If Queen removed would the hive survive winter? what do they feed on during winter months? Do mites or SHB attack them in high areas off the ground? 51:07

 

6) Fred, do you use the escape boards on Apimaye hives? 1:04:35

 

7) I had 2 discs about 2 lbs each in storage in my basement. Imagine my surprise when I encountered evidence of wax moths. Does this happen to you? Should I be storing it with a Para moth sachet? Something else? 1:08:42

 

 

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 225

This is the audio track from today's YouTube video:  https://youtu.be/v7FrFivqDpc

Video topics and associated time stamps below are generously provided by Adam Holmes

 

1) Is 3 x 3/8" opening enough to protect from robbing? When should we take robbing screens off? 7:06

 

2) Australia now has varroa and moving to a management plan. I wanted to ask what treatments you recommend for our weather in Sydney? 24:20

 

3) If I put pollen patties on my hive, are the nurse bees or foragers retrieving the resources? Am I limiting the number of foragers that leave the hive because they are foraging inside the box? 36:04

 

4) I think I finally have the red ants under control. I don't think my hives will make it through winter and want to combine them but don't want to lose a queen. Can I put an inner cover with the round hole between them and combine the hives? 46:00

 

5) Do the yellow jackets get varroa mites as the honey bees? 49:06

 

6) In this video, you can see a drone land on he board in the left of the frame, then crawl into the hive. Do drones swarm with hives? 52:36

 

7) The rapid rounds don't sit flush on the inner cover due to the protrusion of the center. I've seen you use a spacer. 55:01

 

8) Can I leave extracted frames/comb in the hive? I want to put the now empty comb into the other end of the Layens hive. 1:01:40

 

9) I have read that I can re-feed the honey to the colony by putting a standard inner cover between the super and the brood chamber because the colony will not consider the comb on the other side to be part of the colony. I was wondering if you had any opinions about the approach? 1:06:04

 

10) There are a lot of people on YouTube talking about feeding bananas to bees. What are your opinions on this? 1:13:52

 

11) Do you ever harvest your flow frames at night? I had a jar overflow and the bees are patrolling the area behind the "honey disaster hive". 1:20:25

 

https://www.fredsfinefowl.com/

 

 

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 224, pheromones on the fly, and new information about plastics in hives.

This is the audio track from today's YouTube video:  https://youtu.be/TFaPDirZf8I

 

You are invited to visit my main website:  https://www.fredsfinefowl.com/

 

The time stamps and topic list below have been generously provided by Adam Holmes

1) Honey Bee forage Species Map by zone USGVT 7:05

2) Can I keep Flow Hive Supers with Flow Frames in a freezer all winter? 10:37

3) I have two Flow Hives, one with deep brood box and a deep super. The second has a deep brood box and medium super with no brood present. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 15:05

4) You recently covered OA Vaporization, but there is an additional area that has puzzled me. I haven't found a good way to treat the Apimaye Hive with OAV. How do you treat the mites for the Apimaye hive? 21:02

4a) Where is the best location to do an OAV treatment with the Apimaye hive? 32:28

5) I wonder if you could do that experiment with a mated queen in a small colony that needs some help and combine them? 34:02

6) I wonder if you have stumbled upon a swarm control method. Since it is pulling bees from other hives, it might delay swarms. 44:50

7) I wonder if you could time this type of thing to prevent swarming? Would this method (qmp attraction) work to depopulate large hives? 49:25

8) Referencing the same queen bee attractant method, "Won't this swarm be at a disadvantage because they were all foragers and no nurse bees?" 54:45

9) Referencing the same video: Would a natural swarm contain some younger bees? Could be a temperament difference between your artificial swarm with many unrelated bees and a natural swarm with related bees? 58:20

10) I dropped a mated queen next to a box, but can't find her anymore. Will it fly into the box again? 1:01:00

11) I know you don't have issues with hive beetles, but if you did would you consider using Swiffer sheets, or what would be your go to in trapping them? 1:05:55

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 223, do bees have a favorite color? What to do with incomplete Ross Rounds and more...

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

 

The below topic links and associated time-stamps are generously provided by Adam Holmes

 

1) Is it true that metal with/in honey destroys the enzymes? 11:20

2) Follow up response to Question 3 from Q&A Episode 220. The observation hive was not queenless, and they are on track. 25:00

3) My colonies had high mite counts. Should I replace the queens in those hives? Are those queens spreading viruses to the next generation? 26:00

4) I have a question about storing honey supers. Is there anything wrong with just letting the little bit of leftover honey dry on the frames? Seems like the comb gets torn up by the bees. 33:45

5) I have a memory of you talking about drilling holes in your hive walls to allow OA Vaporizers. How are you placing the hole and bolt to avoid hitting frames and stopping the flow of OA? 41:40

6) I purchased the Ross Round brackets that you introduced during your Hive Life Conference video and I had to purchase them. They are 40 to 60% filled out. I am interested in your thoughts regarding what to do with them. 52:41

7) Do you have any thoughts on what a honey bee's favorite color is? 59:44

8) I'd love to know what you are going to do to winterize your Ivry-B hive, if anything? 1:05:05

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 222, Queen Isolation Cages as well as Queen Introduction and much more...

Thank you for listening to another episode of Backyard Beekeeping topics.

This is the audio track from today's YouTube:  https://youtu.be/LKqJMfQ4aO0

 

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

@Adam.Holmes.

 

1) When do you put Hive Alive Fondant on your hive? 5:45

 

2) This is my first year winterizing my colonies. I use rapid round feeders, when it gets cold how do I use an inner cover if using a feeder shim? 9:24

 

3) We found no eggs, brood, or evidence of a queen. We ordered in a new queen and then found a queen inside the hive that just wasn't laying eggs. I am stumped. 14:01

 

4) I would enjoy hearing your opinion on handling the fall flow. I run double deeps and have 1 super. I do not want to have to feed over winter. 16:44

 

5) I keep large concrete blocks on top of my hives. During the last warm spell, I noticed that his block gets very hot and my bees are bearding a lot. I was wondering if it would be better to use a different method. 20:24

 

6) I have a question about the divider board on a Layens hive. Is it necessary to leave a small gap underneath the board when you're getting the bees ready for winter? 24:59

 

7) When you have a queenless hive or nuc, queen cells have been started and some are capped. Then you install a new queen, is it necessary to tear down the cells or can you leave them for the queen or workers to destroy? 27:55

 

8) I know you have spoken at great length about top entrances and ventilation. It seems for the most part that you're against the concept. I've also heard folks say that bees know what's best for themselves. That being said, I keep a two-inch hole in my inner covers and covered with #8 hardware cloth. The bees seem to regulate this opening with propolis depending on the time of year. Aren't you deciding for the bees what is best for them without letting them regulate what's easiest and best for their hive condition? Why, or why not? 29:35

 

9) I started 2 resource hives that are 5-frame in the spring. Both colonies have grown to 5 boxes high. How to reduce for winter? 41:10

 

10) Currently Iowa is in a level 3 drought. How long should I feed them, should I feed open or inside the hives? Can I take a break or maybe start in hive feeding? It's never been this hot and dry before since I've had bees. 44:44

 

11) Can you explain on your Friday video why you used the isolation frame, and a bit more info on it as I'm not sure you have shown it before. 48:48

 

12) Should I be concerned about oxalic acid residue in my honey? 59:42

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

 

 

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 221

This is the audio track from today's YouTube:  https://youtu.be/DA1Pv8itAJM

 

@Adam.Holmes.

1) I noticed that the rapid round hive feeder that you showed has holes in the top/cover. Did you put them there? Should I vent my own, or do you feel that leaving it without holes would actually help. 5:02

 

2) Soon, I will have access to WiFi on the farm where I keep my bees. what are some of the tech tools that you would install to gain info from your bees? Scales? Sensors? What ideas do you have on how to extend WiFi to the beeyard? 10:18

 

3) Do I leave my Flow-Super on for winter? How do I store it? 24:02

 

4) Is it possible to build a bee bivouac point? what should it be built out of? Or would a swarm trap hive be sufficient? 37:37

 

5) My wife and I will begin extracting spring honey, we're keeping track of the moisture content of each bucket. We are concerned about the water content of the honey which is between 16-18%. Are we making too big a deal out of the moisture content? 50:52

 

6) SHOUT-OUT for a beekeeper who has some interesting innovations and features built into his Long Langstroth Hive. 57:45

https://www.fredsfinefowl.com/

 

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 220 August topics.

Thank you for joining me for another episode of The Way To Bee

This is the audio track from today's YouTube video:  https://youtu.be/lLLSmyK6CLk

 

Time stamps and related topics below have been generously provided by Adam Holmes

1) I was wondering if you could talk about the insulated covers that you make for your five-frame resource hives, what kind of glue do you use? 4:13

2) I just did an inspection on my hive. I want to remove my queen excluder for the end of the season so my queen can go up. I discovered 3 Queen Cups on one of the frames. 2 of the cups were open, the other had what appeared to be royal jelly. I could not see larva, only jelly. Should I be concerned about this discovery? 9:03

3) My 9-frame deep Observation Hive swarmed on July 27th. Bees have started bringing in pollen with no sign of eggs on the outside frame. If I continue not seeing eggs, when would you recommend ordering a new mated queen? 13:16

4) When bees abscond do they bivouac like they do when they swarm? 14:46

5) I do inspections every 14 days, weather permitting and the bees are building comb on the foundation. During my inspections I'm having trouble seeing anything but the mesh of my veil. I got the Guardian Bee Apparel vented jacket and the circular veil. Any suggestions? 17:38

6) What kind of ants eat honey bees? 23:41

7) Does honey made from Anise Hyssop taste like black licorice? 26:30

8) What do you think about flipping the feeder shim and putting sugar bricks or fondant directly on the top bars? 28:00

9) Have you ever done any research on the new varroa mite treatment developed in Israel called ToBe Hive Master? 34:53

Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 219, removing mold from bottom trays and more...

This is the audio track from today's YouTube video: https://youtu.be/VPk3fc5-Jls

The following list of topics and associated video time-stamps are generously provided by Adam Holmes

1) How Quickly does the Blythewood Pollen Trap Fill Up? Do you think the bees realize that the pollen is being removed? 3:49

2) As I get older, I plan to build a horizontal hive, is there a reason I couldn't design the main hive box to accommodate some flow frames? 11:23

3) Do you put robbing screens on your hives to prevent robbing this time of year as a practice? 13:41

4) We have started our summer dearth, and I have begun feeding. If someone is open feeding in the vicinity do you think it would help suppress robbing? Or do you think it would stimulate robbing? 20:56

5) We have very few nectar sources here in SW Oregon. I planted golden rod but the bees have ignored it. Any ideas why my bees are ignoring the Golden Rod? Any other plants you suggest? 27:44

6) After I've treated with Oxalic Acid vaporization, I still have half a bag left. Is there a "best if used by" or expiration date for the oxalic acid? 39:27

7) I grafted my own queens and now I have 6 nucs that I want to try to overwinter. I'm not sure exactly how I want to do it? 43:21

8) I am seeing spots of mold on the inspection tray. Is there anything else I can do? 52:00

9) How do you wash your extractor and uncapping equipment. I try to feed it back to the bees but many die. I don't want to waste the honey. 58:08

10) What cameras to you use for the surveillance of your hives? Are there any tips you can offer? 1:03:54

11) I have all medium frames, I would love to build a horizontal hive to save my back. What's the science behind the deep frames? 1:10:54