On one of my recent hive inspections I noticed some earwigs in the slots of the bottom bar of my foundationless frames. Is this a problem? How do earwigs interact with the bees? Do they hurt them,...
Type: Posts; User: johngfoster
On one of my recent hive inspections I noticed some earwigs in the slots of the bottom bar of my foundationless frames. Is this a problem? How do earwigs interact with the bees? Do they hurt them,...
I have a few more episodes up on my YouTube channel now. I don't think I will cross-post them here anymore, as it seems there is not much more discussion here, and those that are interested can just...
I showed the pics of my hive to another beekeeper in my area, and his comment was "that looks a lot like the marks my horses make on unattended vehicles in my fields". Apparently, they scrape them...
Just talked with a neighbor this am who said another neighbor had their beehive totally destroyed a few days ago by a bear. They think it was a grizly. It was a sow with a collar on, so they have...
Got this last Wednesday's inspection up. Looks like a bear tried to get my hive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM6MfRwyvRg
The bees continue to build their population up, but for about two weeks have not taken much syrup, and have drawn out most of the frames. Would you still provide feed as long as they are drawing...
Thanks, Dar. Those are really helpful suggestions. I checked them again yesterday (this video was from 8 days ago), and they had barely taken any more syrup, so I took it off. They had built up...
The build-up appears to be picking up again, and I suspect it was just due to the weather (cold and rainy). Turns out they didn't take much more sugar syrup. Here is last week's inspection:
...
The foundation on Mann Lake PF 120s/PF100s has deeper cells with more substantial walls to start drawing on. This gives the bees more guidance and they are more likely to draw out the frames, and...
These bees don't seem to be building up as fast as I expected. Am I expecting too much, or is this due to them being "Carniolan", or is it more due to my local weather, or due to me not feeding them...
That comb looks really dark for freshly drawn comb. Usually brood comb gets darker with use due to build-up of cellulose from the pupae, but this comb is fresh. Interesting.
Finally getting last week's hive inspection video posted. Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dWwefkCsJA
Howlin: I like your idea of filling the frame cavities with wax. However,...
No Brad. The entrance of the hive faces South. The comb is on the North side of the frames. There is also just a bit more comb on the East end of the hive than the West. It makes me wonder if the...
I managed to get the next video/inspection up a bit earlier this week. Again, any constructive criticisim is welcome. I'm here to learn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34kDrZ7hqck
Got into the hive again today. Found another queen cup looking cell. Left it. A bit of burr comb, which I removed again, but not nearly as much as last time. Most of the burr comb seems to...
Thanks for that, Beepro. I'm planning to check on my bees once a week for a while at least, so should be back in the hive tomorrow. I'll look to see what it looks like this time. I'm still feeding...
ETA: dupe.
Here's one using a radial arm saw:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyxfRMMD7SU
Next video is up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OySm2bNZiNE
I think she is a mated queen, but I'm not sure about that. How do you tell (other than checking for eggs)?
Yes, I believe they came from standard 5.4mm cell size. Conventional bee raising practices from a Californian apiary in Oroville. Supposed to be Carniolan stock. The queen looks dark, almost a...
Thanks, SP. We are surely blessed to live where we do. I appreciate the suggestions too, particularly with regard to the smoke. I'll try to incorporate them in my future habits.
About the eggs:...
My first hive inspection is up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAQBGwSHjLM
Constructive criticism is welcome.
Thanks. I think my problem with the recipe was mixing weights and volumes. 1:1 by volume will be about the same as 1:1 by weight. However, my mistake was to measure weight with the sugar and...
A brief introduction video is up now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb_uJ8YK50w