buzzzzzzzzzz new adventure

[addy1]

They were packaged for shipping, i.e. the hives closed up. I need to read up on it, wonder if they put the queen in a queen box so she does not get hurt during the move. Not sure.
The article said they called professional bee keepers, they would know the steps to make to save the bees, as many as they could. A working hive is darn valuable.

 

[j.w]

I will hope they are ok and that they saved them.

 

[beerfish]

Sounds like you're off to a good start! We were trying to get started last year ourselves, but we got the equipment together a little too late. My wife is a bit of an artist, and we wanted to do something fun with our hives, so we primed and painted them, then she put her mark on them, and we sealed them with a clear sealant. The second one isn't quite done, but here's our Winnie the Pooh themed hive. The honey supers are less involved, and just have some bees and butterflies on them.

The second hive is going to have an aquatic theme and should be finished soon.

 

[Big Lou]

Proud of you for giving bee keeping a go. With the loss of so may bees it is so important to increase their habitat.

 

[Big Lou]

Beautiful hives.

 

[j.w]

You bee people are so SWEET to take on this project. Love those cool painted hives bf

 

[addy1]

Very nice looking hives! I need to paint something on the front of each hive. They say it helps the bees find home, even though they use scent to find the right hive.
I put bubble wrap under the top cover. Help with the heat and the cold, I would think lol. The screened bottom is supposed to help with the mites, they drop off and fall out of the hive, also ventilation. I still need to make a flat area for them (the only flat we have is the house and driveway) , put down a tarp and some gravel, supposed to help with the hive beetles.

They are now saying full sun, top of your land i.e. with our slope they will be near the garage , which is the top of our slope. The bottom of the slope near the pond stays too damp and cold. Most of my ponds are slow moving water, The stream only flows when the timer is running, but retains water, so between all the ponds they will have a lot of water to drink. I planted 4 large, (100 x 10 feet, 70 foot circle, 100 x 7 feet) full of nectar friendly flowers. Those I have to put up the electric fence to protect from the deer. Also planted a garden for the deer to snack on. Will be putting the electric fence around the hives, a black bear was seen in the woods behind our house, they love bee hives. That will also protect them from the raccoons and skunks. Ants are another issue, if they are a problem I will need to put the hives on something that is in motor oil. We have tons of ants.

Right before the cold hit we put in 10 black locust trees, known for having great nectar flow for the bees. We have fruit trees. The maple has great nectar but it blooms to early, the bees are not out feeding when it does.

 

[addy1]

our first class, got to handle bees! They are so gentle.

 

[j.w]

Really neat addy

 

[Texas ponder]

Your in for a great adventure Addy. I've been tinkering with these great little insects for a couple of years now. I am still reading and studying. I have 4 hives now, all feral bees coming from trees, birdhouses or swarms.

 

[addy1]

Your in for a great adventure Addy. I've been tinkering with these great little insects for a couple of years now. I am still reading and studying. I have 4 hives now, all feral bees coming from trees, birdhouses or swarms.

The class we are taking is by a master bee keeper. He said he used to get 10-20 calls a summer for swarms, now not getting maybe 3. It does not happen often here. He told us he check a hive towards the end of february, checked it two weeks later, they were all dead. Plenty of food still in the hive so they did not starve. He said our area is real tough on bees, poor nectar flow.

 

[Texas ponder]

Yes they seem to have more stress on them these days from many things. A beekeeper friend of mine that lives fairly close to me here in North Texas told me yesterday, that he had lost 1/3 of his hives this winter.

 

[addy1]

We are just going to do our best to keep the alive, it is all you can do.

 

[MitchM]

Hi addy,

Here is a picture of s bee hive setup near us.
This was taken on Sunday. The beehives are insulated and there's about 2 or 3 feet of snow around them. The farmer sells the honey around here at the general stores.

There is an electric fence around them as well. Possibly for the bears in the summer time.

 

[addy1]

We don't really need to insulate ours, for a winter like this tar paper would help, I would think. The main this in to have a hole at the top of the hive so they can get out during heavy snow fall. They take poop flights on 50 plus degree days, which I doubt you have many during the winter. We seldom have that much snow here.
But I also read bees do great up there in the cold north, you have long long summer days lots of flowers growing with great nectar.