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Thank you so much for your kind words!

Thank you! "Robbing season" is usually during a warm dearth (dry time where there isn't much nectar being produced). Here in North Florida is in July and August. The time between the gallberry season and Fall goldenrod bloom. The bees are still active and wanting food so they will steal from other hives. If you only have one hive you shouldn't have an issue. I'm not sure where you are starting your hive but you may want to keep sugar water available to them since they missed the spring nectar season.

No harvesting video this year... again.

Thank you for the feedback! Good point.

I started using a Michael Bush design and later transitioned to a size that maximizes a 2x12s. I take an 8ft board, cut 2 15 inch sections off. I am left with 66 inches. I cut that in half leaving 2 33 inch sections. The sides are 33 inch sections. The 15 inch sections become the front and back. I make my bars 1 and 3/8 inches wide. I'm going by memory. I think I have a short with the quick dimensions. The angles I just measure to match the already built top bars. I used to be a Framer but never made it to doing real carpentry. My cuts are rudimentary 😂 I hope that helps.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Some places do. I have had some people comment from other countries on some of the videos they plan to try it. If I remember correctly there was a person from Mexico at one point that spoke to me about it. I also know of a person in St Augustine, Florida that goes to places in the Caribbean to set people up with top bars. I think it is a great idea to set the up like this.

You could. The knife makes it easier for cutting and trimming comb that is attached to the sides. It's also the honey harvesting tool. So I have turned it into my own 5 in 1😂. Another reason is it was readily available when I needed it and have stuck with it.

You're welcome. I like being able to give back. A lot of videos and local mentors helped me a lot in the beginning.

Thank you sir.

Exactly right. 1 3/8 is the best. I have never done it but some people will do 1 1/2 inches for the bars with honey. For me that is too much to keep track of and movement. Here is a short I talked briefly about the size. I hope this helps! Thanks for the comment! ua-cam.com/users/shortsjvcKYai867E?feature=share

Thank you sir.

I only know what I have heard and my limited experience. That is some areas are really populous with feral bee colonies. My area is not known for many feral colonies. Most swarms are most likely from other managed bee colonies. I have done a few cutouts; in trees. They did not seem like they were there for a long time. Of course there are other factors in that such as moths eating old combs and such. I have heard before the mites and beetles made it to the US in the 80's feral colonies were much more common. It's perfect weather in North Florida for hive beetles and during the heat of the summer they do damage on weakened colonies. I personally always try to attract swarms though. Even if the swarm comes from managed colonies in your area they at least have made it through a year there (hypothetically). They should be somewhat acclimated to your area. Also bee keeping is best done with a realistic attitude while wishful thinking😂. I really hope you catch a swarm. Another thought. Make sure people at your work, family, neighborhood, and any other local community you have know you are looking for a swarm and a bee keeper. Lots of times others are the best way to find out where a swarm is. I have gotten strange calls from family or friends about swarms they saw or someone on Facebook saw. It may open up an opportunity for you.

I am happy to share the little bit of experience I have with everyone. I will make a short video in the next couple days with it. I'm not sure of them off hand.

That's awesome! They are really great! I feel like part of the appeal is seeing them as more natural. Like you are working a hive in a tree or less fun doing a cutout. (Laughing) I think you will like working it. Keep us updated!

Thank you so much! I am happy my excessive rambling helps☺️ Sometimes I feel like I talk too much. Thank you for your support and kind words!

Thank you so much! That means a lot. I think it's great you have your top bar set up. The glass panel is a great addition. You will love seeing how fast they put on wax at first. I was joking with a coworker about putting an observation hive at my desk at work. I don't think that will happen. Keep us updated on how it goes and have fun with it!

Thank you!

Too true! Luckily I only have females now. In the past I had a buck. He would drink his pee and smear it all over himself. He smelled awful! He would also want to try to fight us often and rub against us. For a 35 pound goat he did cause a ruckus🤣

@@ralphwhite759 Good idea having only females, can just send them out for breeding

I call it "taxing the bees"😂

True!I remember what happened to the goat in the T-Rex pen. I don't think the goats will do much.🤣

@@ralphwhite759 Naaaaaa

You're too funny. I could have used your OCD to do things a little neater. I can't believe you got through the whole video without going crazy 🤣.

@@ralphwhite759 I love it…!

I tend to be shy when it comes to asking. You may have helped me get over that since it helps the tree service also. There was a website I signed up for at my old place to get on the local list for wood chips. It linked tree services with people wanting them. I can't remember the name now though.

We would lightly spray them with a 1 to 1 sugar to water solution. It makes them sticky so they can't fly out as easily when they get dumped into the new hive. Also, it distracts them for a bit. It puts them into cleaning mode grooming each other while giving them a snack.

When I built my first one I modeled it after Michael Bush's design. I have modified mine a tiny bit to be more efficient use of wood, but he is the guru. Here is his blog. He has measurements on his. www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm I have a short with a super brief description as it's hard to fit that in a minute. ua-cam.com/users/shortsjvcKYai867E?si=TstdLiINr1A0Z4vZ

That is great to hear! Starting is the scariest part. Being realistic that there will be issues helps push through when you deal with them. Finding a local community of beekeepers, if possible, is the best way to succeed. Thank you for the comment and keep us posted on how things work out.

I tend to take advantage of all the comments I get to help me learn. It is a major reason I am sharing these videos. Your comment is a great example! Thank you for helping me think through my process. Living in north Florida my whole life, I have seen two kinds of soil. Sand and mud. Gardening in different areas has led me to one conclusion. Soil amendments are a way of life. For about 10 years, I have been gardening without using traditional methods like store bought fertilizer etc. Honestly, the newspaper and cardboard method is relatively new to me and I didn't think much about some inks having heavy metals in them. I read a couple articles and I thought this one was helpful. I never would have thought to ask myself about this so thank you for asking the question! www.gardenmyths.com/safe-compost-paper-cardboard/

The ink is non-toxic, typically some type of veggie extract, maybe soy.

​@@lonetravellereh I wouldn't be so sure

Hi Brenda! As a practice, I do not like messing with queen cups. It would be my luck the queen would die (from natural causes or me being clumsy). That is just my preference. Many beekeepers with far more experience than me may remove them. I'm just scared to. Thank you so much for the comment and keep us updated on your hive!

Interesting. I looked PFAS up. It looks like some of the chemicals are in a lot of tap water too. Scary stuff. I was going to mention in the next part about concerns about planting in this. The personal conclusion I have come to is anything I plant in this may still be better than conventional fruits and vegetables in the stores while all them being wrapped in plastics also. Organics also use some kinds of pesticides many times. I prefer to not use fertilizer (outside of animal manure) or insecticides in the garden. I would like to think I am coming out ahead but no feasible way to test that. Thank you for your comment and bringing up PFAS. It gives me something to research!

I agree with you 100% Yvonne. At our old place we had about 8 inches of wood chips over horribly drained clay. The plants were still huge and healthy! When we built the current raised bed a few years ago, we had a mini pig that was good at getting on things. We don't have him now but I do have a German shepherd who has no regard for my hard work😂. It is also a deterrent for the deer and turkey who occasionally browse as they walk across the backyard. Lots of things want to eat my garden when I'm not looking. Thank you for your comment!

It could save a trip to the store in the future by saving things. At least that is what I tell myself.

@@ralphwhite759 I'm exactly the same! They won't be laughing when we have just the thing! 😁

@@thaipanda5668 😂 Too true!

Exactly! That's the struggle.

I thought so

😂. They definitely like to stay dry.

Thank you! I will try that. I have been picking up leaf bags in my neighborhood for the flower beds. I will start putting those out in the field.

They are amazing to watch!

I wonder if you have a hive that is close enough to your light to have a direct line of vision. I have talked to a man that get hives out of places people don't want them in your general area. He doesn't use gear normally. He says the hives there can be much smaller because of the Africanized honeybee genetic influence. He isn't too concerned about the "Africanized" genetics. At least he wasn't several years ago when he was removing the hives. He found them in the little meter boxes in the ground often.

That's interesting. I have never heard to boil boxes in oil. Sounds natural also. I need to look into that. I appreciate the info.

@@ralphwhite759 you also can add little bit of wax into the oil

I agree! I love the beginning of the year when we can open them up and see the bees hard at work. It's amazing.

They definitely are!

Thank you Charlien! It is stress relief sometimes watching them work. Maybe it's my little way of feeling like a supervisor in my backyard😂 Are there any topics I could cover to help you with starting up?

@ralphwhite759 Honestly anything that you think would have helped you in the beginning. I know the state AG laws. I'm getting a sense of what kind of hives/boxes I'll use and what materials will hold up the best.Ive been working with a local honey producer to make sure im calm enough and can take the inevitable stings. I'm really not into it for honey, im in it to home as many bees as I can safely. We have so many gentle feral hives around here. I'm soaking up all the info I can so if you have free time I'll take any advice. Thank you again.

@@charlien2589 you are seriously doing your homework. That is the best thing to do really. I went in my first year (2015) really unprepared. I started attending local beekeeping meetings at the end of that year and they helped out a lot! It's good you have some local connections.

Thank you! I enjoy them myself. The best overall hive I think.

​@@ralphwhite759infact i will try that this month.. My bees are super wild though.😊

The dogs definitely had them a little irritable.

Thank you! It's a multi-purpose tool.😂

🤣

I think that would be a solution. Have you tried it? The only issue I could see is it would reduce some comb building surface area. Around the dowel they couldn't build comb out like the rest of the bar. I do think it would be a cool experiment to try. I may put it on the list this year

@@ralphwhite759 You won't significantly reduce the comb building area and you can make your hives wader because the comb has the extra support. You might have to reverse a top bar in the early stages to get them to draw a full comb but one they have one full comb they will be off. It works well. I first came up with the idea on my honey cow and it worked so well I use it on all my topbar hives which are 500mm lomg and about 400mm deep so each bar holds a lot of honey.