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Ye Olde Skep

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skeps
14K views 37 replies 17 participants last post by  tech.35058 
#1 ·
I've been researching skep keeping, and ordered a book via Amazon (oh, packages, how you test my patience!). In the meantime, I tried finding something on here, and I'm mildly surprised I've not found anything. I was wondering if any of you had any experience with skep keeping? I'd imagine it's pretty uncommon, especially here in the US. I'm pondering having skeps as a bit of a research project, and for the fun of it. I think it'd be a pretty interesting undertaking.
 
#35 ·
1. Practical beekeeping in skeps is limited to about 200 year round colonies per beekeeper. Using Langstroth equipment, a single beekeeper can care for about 2000 colonies.

2. Skep beekeeping is inherently destructive with bees driven off the comb and brood killed in order to harvest the honey.

3. Skep based beekeeping rarely produces more than 30 pounds of harvestable honey per colony. A modern hive properly managed can easily double or quadruple this amount.

4. Skep beekeeping is inherently based on swarming for increase. This limits honey production potential from areas with large spring nectar flows as compared to areas with large fall flows. I don't know about others, but my personal time is better used managing the bees to prevent swarms and collect spring honey!

In favor of skeps, queens are always young and healthy, honey is produced in new comb, and equipment costs are minimal.

My personal preference would be to use a Japanese Garden Hive if I wanted to go the low cost route of producing comb honey. It is far more adaptable than a skep.

P.S. the skep videos were made in 1978 making them 37 years old. Beekeeping has changed dramatically since tracheal and varroa mites hit.
 
#38 ·
Yikes, I guess if each county had their own "bee guy" that might not be so bad, but Alabama only went from one guy for the whole state to one top guy & two "underling guys" a couple of years ago. And these guys are also tasked with inspecting ash trees or something & who knows what else. find & inspect every wild colony in the county? Yeah, good luck with that.
I watched the entire series, & I have absolutely no desire to work that hard.
Top bar hives maybe, much cheaper ( in time requirement).
I would comment that they did not "(use sulpher to kill all the bees)", ( i know, I added the word "all") but first shook all the bees out that they could, & tried to find the queens.
I guess this was a great improvement over cutting down the bee tree & destroying the colony for one harvest of honey.
The vid was good, I placed it in the 1980's but may have been wrong. but frame hives looks more efficient. the Sam Comfort website & WAM website makes me _think_ about top bar hives, but if keeping bees in skeps was my only option, I just don't have time. ... CE
 
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