New Hobby: Bee Keeping

[markem]

You are the bestest bee Mom, Vin

[jonumberone]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...103-story.html

[massphatness]

Got the hive wrapped for the winter last week now that the overnight temps are dropping lower. I used roofing felt which provides a bit of a wind break as well as helping to warm the hive by absorbing solar gain in direct sunlight.

The entrance to the hive remains open as does the notch in the top board to allow for circulation and air flow.

[BigAsh]

Originally Posted by massphatness

Got the hive wrapped for the winter last week now that the overnight temps are dropping lower. I used roofing felt which provides a bit of a wind break as well as helping to warm the hive by absorbing solar gain in direct sunlight.

The entrance to the hive remains open as does the notch in the top board to allow for circulation and air flow.

You mean the notch covered by the giant f'ing rock?

[Steve]

Originally Posted by BigAsh

You mean the notch covered by the giant f'ing rock?

Technicalities counselor, technicalities...

[icehog3]

Those bees are going to be pretty cozy!

[massphatness]

The notch is actually in the top board which is beneath the hive cover.

The hive cover is a little larger than the hive boxes which allows for a bee-sized gap between it and the top board. In a pinch, the bees can enter/exit from the top of the hive if necessary although I've never seen them do it in my hive.

To be clear, there's nothing under the rock except the metal wrapping over the hive cover. The rock's just there to help keep the cover in place when the wind blows.

[shade]

Hey Vin, looks good. How's the food supply going into winter?

[massphatness]

Originally Posted by shade

Hey Vin, looks good. How's the food supply going into winter?

The frames are packed in pretty good with honey. Very little brood - which panicked me at first, but as I understand it, that's normal for this time of year.

Hoping for a mild winter, or at least one with some intermittent warm-ups over the course of the season.

[johnbljr]

I have wanted to get into this but the kids are terrified of bee's. We even have a local company here in Cincy that will let you house hives (4) and get the first batch of honey for them for free. Then eventually if you like it you can purchase the hives from them.
Maybe after the kids grow up a bit....

[markem]

Vin - have you heard about this hive?

https://www.honeyflow.com/

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by markem

Vin - have you heard about this hive?

https://www.honeyflow.com/

Mr. Mark - have you heard about this flow?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKQU8j8lzRg

[AdamJoshua]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Mr. Mark - have you heard about this flow?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKQU8j8lzRg

Should have stayed out of Vegas, I told him, he wouldn't listen to his homey jew.


Hive looks awesome, Vin, do you check on them during the winter like open the hive and see what's going on, or do you basically leave it sealed up and trust that they know what they are doing and will be okay?

[massphatness]

Originally Posted by markem

Vin - have you heard about this hive?

https://www.honeyflow.com/

Yes, but I wanted to go old school for the sake of experience

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by massphatness

Yes, but I wanted to go old school for the sake of experience

Just like Tupac!

[bonjing]

If you're cold, they're cold, bring them inside

[massphatness]

Sad news in the world of bees: as I feared, the ladies did not survive the brutal cold snap we had to start to the winter. I peeked in the hive yesterday as temps got up to 50* and was concerned I didn't see any activity. Even in the winter months, the bees will leave the hive when the temps get way enough in order to make cleansing flights to relieve themselves.

Looks like the entire cluster froze to death in a big ball.

Plenty of honey stores in the hive, so I know they didn't starve.

Grace & I are going to give things another shot this spring. Going to order a nuc instead of a package. A nuc is a working mini-colony of bees: 4-5 frames of bees who have already drawn out comb and are working with their queen. You slide the frames into the hive, and away they go. They'll have a head start on honey stores from last years hive -- I think I have 6-8 full frames of honey still in the hive -- so the hope is this helps them to rapidly build up & strengthen the hive.

Look forward to continuing the adventure, but kinda' sad about losing the bees.

[BigAsh]

I'm strangely saddened by the news...thru this thread, and personal conversation, invested in the project from afar... anything that would've prevented the result?? ...looking forward to the next round

[MarkinAZ]

Sorry to hear about Grace and your loss of the colony, especially after all of the nurturing given to the bee's.

Maybe before next Winter set's in, some form of wind break with a heat lamp pointed in the direction of the hive. That is, just enough heat to keep the freeze off the hive. Just a thought...

[massphatness]

Originally Posted by BigAsh

I'm strangely saddened by the news...thru this thread, and personal conversation, invested in the project from afar... anything that would've prevented the result?? ...looking forward to the next round

Originally Posted by MarkinOR

Sorry to hear about Grace and your loss of the colony, especially after all of the nurturing given to the bee's.

Maybe before next Winter set's in, some form of wind break with a heat lamp pointed in the direction of the hive. That is, just enough heat to keep the freeze off the hive. Just a thought...

May look into planting some shrubs as a wind break. I knew going in that could be an issue, but I thought the area was wooded enough to provide a natural break. Need to research what kind of shrubs do well in heavy shade.

Not sure a heat lamp is a solution. As I understand it, artificial heat can cause the bees to think it's warmer outside the hive than it really is, and they venture out and die.