Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Awesome. Hope you get a good thaw in and some Indian summer temps.

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

This is pretty cool. Looking forward to following your progress.....from a safe distance. :tu

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Yea yea, the hive is nice...BUT:

This thread is worthless without a picture of you in the "Bee-Suit"...:tu

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

-(P

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Here's the entire hive!

https://trsorrell1138.files.wordpres...iller-bees.jpg

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

And singing,

I'm bringing home my baby bumble bee. . .

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

For future reference, the wax is really useful stuff!

http://www.rachelssupply.com/bwax.htm

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Wrapped up the last week of bee school with a hive opening at the instructor's apiary.

Temps were cool and the bees were docile though two did manage to find their way into the fleece I was wearing. One decided to initiate me into what a honey bee sting feels like (not bad, really - at all) while the other walked around my shoulder while I gently removed the fleece. She flew off with neither of us worse for the experience.

Here's a shot of the hive opening
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3839/3...1a7944ee54.jpg

A frame of bees tightly clustered for warmth
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3800/3...07bafe2bf2.jpg

Me assisting with one of the outer frames (way fewer bees)
https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3736/3...9354b0229e.jpg

My girls arrive April 10 -- will be interesting

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

anyone else itching and feeling things crawl on them looking at those pics... or it might just be something on this couch :lr

I i was looking at those "automatic" hives, with the cells pre-made and you just turn the tap and honey comes out ... seems like that's more my speed, ok to be honest the little squeeze bear of honey is more my speed.

Again, best of luck!

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

I think that last pic is "I wonder if I can get away with shoving my face down there and waiting my fill?". To which I reply, "you never know until you try." ;)

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

No gloves?!?....baller....

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

My girls were due to arrive this Monday, but because of the crazy weather down south (they're coming for Georgia) delivery is being rescheduled. No deets yet, but the extra time will give me an opportunity to practice getting the smoker to work properly.

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

MMMM.....smoked ribs with bee sauce. :dr

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

I will bee down there tomorrow I will check on the ladies. LOL

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Get your **** together, Vin.
And realize where you fit in the colony.
Otherwise you'll just thunp them into Polanderdom.
I found my books and lecture material if you want to take a look.
Oddly, the guy across the street has about 10 hives. But they're only one frame high.
I worry for the girls. I'm going to go talk to him soon.

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

The bees arrive tomorrow!

Little bit nervous at the moment - I really don't want to screw this up. Grace is a tad more nervous as she's the one that has to go pick up the package of bees from the apiary. :)

Made some simple syrup just in case their feed can is empty from the trip. Grace can give them a few squirts while she waits for me to get home.

I've got a single 10-frame deep box ready for the initial install. Will add a second deep box once they've drawn out 7-8 frames of comb.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3952/3...b61edc8525.jpg

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Geez, Vin. Nice box....

Enjoy your new Honeys

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Phrasing!

I for one would bee remiss if I did not wish our new resident Apiarist the best of luck!

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

It beegins ...

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3953/3...ed0e941e80.jpg

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Holy crap that's a lot of bees! So the queen is separate in there or in another box or something, this is truly fascinating, though only enough to live vicariously through you. You better bee-live it!

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

That's awesome, Vin!

Let us know how many times you get stung this week :)

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

That's a sweet setup.

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

*rim shot*

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to go as easily as it did!

The bees wanted NOTHING to do with me or Grace. They wanted to get into the hive and start making it their home. The sugar syrup and pollen patty didn't hurt, I'm sure, but while there were a lot of them flying around initially, within minutes they were making a, uh, beeline(!) for the hive.

Here's me initially shaking the package of bees into the hive. Literally just dump them in. Some fly around, but most start exploring their new digs.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2949/3...5893a95495.jpg


Here are the bees crawling around the frames. At the far left is a feeder frame that's filled with the sugar syrup. There are little bee ladders that extend down into the feeder so the bees can climb down, gorge on syrup then climb back up. Bees are notoriously bad swimmers and even worse snorklers, so having something for them to hold on to is really important. The syrup provides them with the necessary carbs they need while waiting for the New Engalnd flora to start blooming. That chunk of cake looking thing is a pollen patty. The bees feed on that as well - protein source. Between the syrup and the pollen patty, they've got what they need to fill their little bee bellies and start making honey comb.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3937/3...6234b2f10a.jpg


The bees clustered around that gap between frames are getting acquainted with their queen. She's in a little queen cage that hangs between the frames. She'll eat her way out of her enclosure over the next few days, and if all goes well, begin ruling over her hive.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2917/3...0b768ac48f.jpg

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

The package is almost empty -- will leave it in front of the hive for a bit, and eventually the remaining bees will find their way out and into the hive.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2875/3...6973f3b9fd.jpg


The bees mostly enter and exit the hive via the bottom board. It's here where the guard bees will stand watch (seriously), and it's here where the bees will take out the hive's trash -- such as dead bees.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2870/3...c04440338a.jpg

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Was your queen a part of this hive before they shipped, or is she new to these bees?

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

That's so cool! You can start making your own honey mead next.

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Both actually.

The queen was shipped with the bees, but she's not "their" queen. Thus the need for the acclimation period.

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

ARE THOSE ****ING BEES???

HOLY ****!!!

I'm a little jittery, please excuse my outburst.

They're all females, so no ****ing at the moment :D
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

For some reason I thought that the queen needed to be related to her bees and started out with bees from her mother's hive.

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Have you named them all yet?

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Intrigued...I like the "bee words" like "apiary"...I'm simple like that...Serious question: Is "honey" the point?...I like honey...and cake...

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Does the colony/hive eventually grow or outgrow their home?

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Kudos, Vin. This is a fascinating thread!

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Vin,
Very cool, best of luck. When you expect to have a surplus of honey?

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

I'll keep reading this thread so long as the puns keep coming :D

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Honestly, Grace & I were just looking for a low key hobby. Honey bees have always seemed interesting to me. The dynamic of the hive is fascinating. Add to it that it's an environmentally friendly endeavor. Honey bees are responsible for pollinating something like 70% of our food, and the bees are dying off for some reason. No more bees = way less food. If I can't have proper breakfast due to food shortages, you know that's going to be an issue, so I'm doing my very small part. The honey comes third. I'm actually most apprehensive about that piece of it. A healthy hive in ideal weather conditions can produce 120+ lbs of honey in a season. For perspective, a twelve ounce water bottle holds about a pound of honey. I don't have a strong desire to fill nearly a gross of bottles then figure out what the hell to do with them all. (On the plus side, honey does not go bad. It will crystallize when cold, but returns to it's gooey goodness when warmed.) In my reading, I came across a passage indicating people don't leave the hobby because of the bees, they leave because of the honey. So the short answer to your question, "is honey the point?" - I'd say no, at least for now.

The hive definitely grows! I started with about 10,00 bees. (Actually 9,874 but I think I miscounted a few.) It takes 21 days to produce new worker bees, and the amount of hive growth depends on a number of factors: supply of resources - nectar, pollen, water and is there room to grow? If we have a poor spring (wet/cold) and flowers bloom late, the hive won't grow as quickly. But if resources are in abundance, the colony will grow in size. If I'm doing things correctly, I'll be monitoring this and adding a second box of frames to accommodate the growth. A typical two-box hive ultimately supports 40,000 - 50,000 bees. And if they continue to grow the colony, that's when you can potentially have them swarm; not in a horror movie kind of way, but literally the queen takes half the colony and swarms out to find new digs. The other half of the colony remains behind, and having lost their queen, the workers create a new one.


With a brand new hive, it wouldn't be uncommon not to get much honey this year because the bees need to draw out all the comb for the new hive and fill their stores first. If we have a nice spring and a temperate summer, maybe we could see some excess late in the summer, but the key for us is making sure the bees are well stocked and fortified with a strong, healthy hive heading into the late fall because it's not unusual for beekeepers to lose 50% of their hives over the winter. That's fine, I guess, if you have 10+ hives. I just have one, so the bees eat first -- I can wait on the honey.



I am brand new to this and really just parroting back what I THINK know from the reading & research I've done as well as the 7-week bee class I attended. Yesterday was my first time do any of the stuff you see in the photos. Again, I THINK I'm doing things correctly, but if there are seasoned beekeepers here, it would be cool to hear from them.

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

You should just bring the hive inside for the winter so you don't lose 50%. :D

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Holy crap Vin, that is all very cool! What are you going to name you honey farm and can we look forward to some of your honey in an upcoming troop support auction? :)

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

This link takes you to a short video of how the bees get into the hive. If you have the sound on, you'll here Grace say:

"There Go the Bees!"

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Very cool!

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Great video, yet all I can picture is Tom running toward the woods in a sleeveless shirt and flip flops. :lr


A stream or body of water Tom, look for a stream or body of water!!!!

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

https://youtu.be/mUR14_ry1Zo

They're ripping my flesh off! Your firearms are useless against them!

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Working title is "V'zzz & G'zzz Bees" :D

My daughter's boyfriend is working on a logo

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

don't know if I want any Gizzz bees

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Better than Bee gizzz

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Right away I pictured a muscular bee, with a cigar in the corner of his mouth, facing 3/4s, flexing with a tat for Grace and your family on the bicep... funny i can actually picture it heh

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

:tu :tu

Re: New Hobby: Bee Keeping
 

Or I could just herf wearing Vin's hood and gloves. :D