You know, I ended up doing this on my own by accident this year. It just seemed like a good idea....I had no idea this was an actual method. I'm so happy to have an organized and simple outline to better guide me. Thank you!
I did something similar in one of my yards this year and it worked pretty well. One thing to mention is that if you add that medium box in early spring so queen can lay there, there will be also drone brood (at least if you are using wax foundation and not plastic one). If you will put queen excluder under it and have suppers without holes drilled in it, drones will get stuck in that supper.
Thanks for the presentation Bob. He is in my state and I do buy from that MannLake. I've overwintered bees in nucs, but never really did it in singles. I was taught to always overwinter in double deeps. I'll give it a try next year (not now, it's too late). I do want to start getting some more syrup on the bees to try and get them continuing to rear brood as long as I can. I was in the hives last weekend and the just didn't seem to be heavily laying. I know the fall is a time to slow down, but I'd like to see more bees in the colonies.
This is something I’ve really considered ! My bees haven’t been really big honey producers .Which in the first of Spring to prevent swarming .So doing so I cut the numbers down enough they aren’t forced to utilize the top box .
I leave the medium of honey on for winter feed after doing basically the same process (though I get his point about the price of honey vs sugar, though you have to figure time and labor also). Single during the summer, deep + medium over winter.
Absolutely. The medium store almost guarantees they'll have enough food where you won't need to supplement or do too much emergency feeding. It also gives them room coming out of Winter. I don't think I've ever over-wintered a hive in just 1 deep. If you have the boxes and stores, you might as well give them that medium to better increase your odds of survival
Great info! I was wondering what percentage of the brood box is typically stored honey in say September? Have you ever inspected the bottom (brood box) in September? Please keep these videos coming!!
I run mediums as well. A double medium is a great brood nest. Running a single size of frame in your bee yard means you always have drawn comb available to move around as necessary.
Enjoyed this video. I tried single brood chambers and they didn't work for me, but it was really because I didn't have enough drawn comb to give them room. I'm in Central AR and I can tell you that here if you do not make early splits and have an abundance of drawn comb singles will eat your lunch. I'm considering giving it another shot more as an experiment now that I have decent resources. Also, when I say drawn comb I'm not talking about just 2 or 3 frames with drawn comb on them and the rest blank; you need at least 8 frames of fully drawn comb for it to really give them a lot of room to grow quickly. In my experience it doesn't really matter what variety of bees you have when it comes to their propensity to swarm because if they run out of room they will swarm guaranteed. For me the singles are a lot more trouble to manage and keep the wheels from falling off, and I would rather deal with moving the 2nd brood box than fighting swarming 24/7. This approach can be very beneficial for experienced beekeepers and beekeepers that have a lot of extra equipment and drawn comb but if you're a newbee and don't have a lot of experience or resources make sure you have a good ladder and some extra equipment to catch those swarms! Finally I would say that time is just as important as drawn comb and extra equipment. You really need to be able to dedicate a good deal of time to overseeing your singles from early spring until the flow is going strong, so if you have a busy schedule and have difficulty finding time to get in your hives single brood chambers is probably not a good option.
@@benjaminmeadows1380 Hey Benjamin, not surprised by that you guys have such a long flow and ideal temperatures. Man I wouldn't even want to think about singles in FL.😂
@@wagyu12 In the end i went with double deeps. It's gonna be easier to control swarming and i need more drawn deeps than mediums. I plan on putting mediums on when flow starts, but on top of double deep.
Great video, I run two different configurations as the 40 mile range I have hives are so different here in Oklahoma. I'm half in the edge what we call green country and westward to aired dryer area. I run singles in the east and single and a medium out west. I enjoy seeing videos on both singles and single plus medium configurations. I enjoyed your friend who runs singles with a medium and this one on singles. I don't think people know much about the other options. Thanks again, Bob Binnie.
I was expecting to see Bob not Frank from Wilkes-Barre! With Mann Lake being less than 5 minutes off I-81 I've stopped there every time I go to see our grandkids south of Harrisburg since becoming a beekeeper. Frank talking bees has been one of the highlights of my (4 years) beekeeping career.
I am planning already for my winter/ spring set up for next spring. I like to re-queen to keep a fresh queen yearly. When would I plan on grafting (from my own bees) and replace my queen and still not allow my queen to go backwards in my honey production? Would I do this before the flow (when drones are flying) or after the flow has started or when the flow is over. My flow is generally over July 4th.
The easiest time to requeen in my experience is during the nectar flow. Of course there are benefits to requeening in fall and spring too. Check out our video "Queen Acceptance and Queen Supersedure" for info on this. ua-cam.com/video/xI_FL3xwXNM/v-deo.html
Been running singles for about 6 years now. They are definitely more demanding, if they aren’t hungry they are plugging out. That being said, I’d never go back to doubles. I’ve found they absolutely will swarm after the flow starts. This year I even moved 4 empty frames in the middle of the brood box at the beginning of our flow and they still managed to fill them with nectar and build swarm cells. In my experience an empty above an excluder before the flow starts works best in our area, with way less work. I’ve also had years when I allowed her to run up into the super and lay, then shake down and put excluders in. The result was two heavy filled frames on the outsides of both the super and brood chamber. Putting the excluder in at this point essentially reduced the open area to lay to 6 frames. Instant swarm impulse.
I have two remarks. I am in North Africa, and most hives are single deeps. 1. Putting the excluder at wrong time causes swarming. 2. Adding the super to let the hive expand but using drawn comb only is also dangerous as it can cause swarming. The queen in fact "does not like" used frames. It wants new frames. If you put drawn comb, the workers are quicker than the queen. If you use foundation, the queen is quicker and is able to lay before even the bees are able to finish it while in other situation whenever the queen tries to look for empty cell, it finds almost evry cell with some drops of honey or pollen. So putting drawn comb is similar to having blocked growth, and having constrained the queen. That leads to swarming. In addition, it also thought that yound workers want to draw comb. So if you do not give it foundation, it is kind of jobless, so it swarms. Evry beekeeper, depending on the region, needs to allow his hive to expand (expansion = foundation frames) but the moment the bees shift to honey (new foundation are drawn very slowly), then we can shift to inserting drawn comb and evenb remove unfinished frames and put the excluder. In my region many do not use the excluder. If you put frames in the super, the bees will enlarge them and put only honey there, most often. When we use excluder, we just insert it for merely few days, then we remove it. Those few days are enough for bees to go to evry cell and start putting honey. Of course, no cell might be full with honey but the goal is achieved, the queen if she ever wants to go up she can't find where to lay, so she goes back. By doing so, the bees are not hampered by the excluder and they can move in/up very fast. We also use some other techniques but they only apply to our harsh environment.
Great video Bob, thanks for posting. I made a big mistake the other day and let the bees clean up the storage buckets after bottling. It started a robbing frenzy on the hives that I should have removed honey supers from weeks ago. Going to break them down and assess the damages today. Hopefully I can salvage some of the comb.
As Bob mentioned in a previous video, by adding a medium for expansion, eventually the combs will become black. Also, without removing brood, adding a medium is still not enough room to prevent swarming, in my experience. Also, the spotted lantern fly is changing the dynamics of mid summer dearth management in the northeast. There is no longer a death in N.W N.j And a single will easily become honey bound displacing the brood nest. I add a deep of foundation after the honey pull and in 6 weeks it s drawn and filled with brood and capped honey. Good time to make a fall split ucs or keep as a double for winter . Colonies can be run as doubles for winter, then spring splits and then back singles for honey production. I'm still figuring it out but all the above has worked for me. Also, reducing big hives to singles after pulling the summer supers is a recipe for swarms with no more dearth period. Again, good time to make walk away nuc\splits to winter over or new comb.
I agree... no dearth in south central PA this year. Had to change up management style and like you added frames of foundation to all 21 hives and now have approximately 130 fully drawn, 90 partly drawn and 40 with beginnings of comb. Just kept pulling out the drawn comb and adding more foundation in its place. Took that spotted lanternfly honeydew as drawn comb instead of as "dew" honey. Had left full supers of honey on for the dearth (normal management) and it was all still there and then some by end of August. I like to split those big colonies after honey harvest having grafted some queens at the end of the spring flow. Gives plenty of time to get virgins mated, grow those nucs on and deal with any unsuccessful splits. Overwinter quite a few 5x5x5 medium nucs each year with great success for early spring nuc sales.
Ha Bob good video, will this work using 8 frame boxes , 1 more question as well I got some foam boards for the tops of my hives for insulation do u think I should paint them some say paint so say no what say ye. , I hope there is more to the video and u will post it at a nother time. I got the 2 gal, buckets from u folks they work great they have 6 holes in the plugs. does this stimulate the queen as well I got some plugs with no hole as well Thanks for the video hope u have a blessed week.
Hi Frances. I believe it would also work for eight frame although a single eight frame deep is a little restricted for a brood nest in my opinion. I'm not sure about the paint on insulation boards, I've never used them. Yes, six holes is plenty for stimulation and you could always add more for quicker weight gain if you like. They are 1/16 inch drilled holes. Thanks.
Hello, Recently watched your video about overwintering single deep. I am planning to do same thing this year. I live in Pacific Northwest where our winter is not stable like in Michigan. The lowest it can get is 20F for couple of days. Do you think it is possible to overwinter with single box in warmer winter climates?
Been rocking only single hive management for a few years now and I’ve never looked back. The pros far outweigh the cons for me as a backyard hobbyist. Good information here but I still use queen excluders right from the start in the spring. In my bees swarm, they swarm. I can still get significant honey production from a hive that has swarmed. More than I need anyways. I just don’t like my queen laying in my supers. If I choose to sell comb honey, it won’t be dark, etc. Just my $0.02 and personal preference.
What if you don't have any drawn comb for the supers. I'm a newby, just starting my second year so I don't have drawn medium sized combs. I only have plastic frames. Can this still work with only wax coated plastic frames in my supers?
Yes, but if you use a queen excluder the bees can be reluctant to pass through to work on only foundation. In this case it's helpful to let them get started a bit before installing the excluder.
Great video. Frank says he stores his brooded medium supers separately from others. Hpw does he store them after the honey pull to prevent wax moth and beetle infestation when they have had old cocoons and pollen in the cells????
So as i understand he doesnt make splits during of spring, he just puts the super on top of the brood box? It would be enough space for bees not to swarm?
As a startup, I had no drawn comb and had a lot of swarms last spring. I went to a double deep configuration to reduce feeding and swarm pressure. The constant practice of adding and removing super boxes with brood comb and storage makes it less practical than having more honey per hive. I'm interested in offering pollination services and not becoming a honey producer.
Hello sir, is there any population you want before you put the queen in the bottom box and adding a queen excluder. Like how many frame of brood or how many frame of bees?
How is it working for up there Brian? I can’t seem to keep them in the boxes this season. Had 4 of 15 swarm so far. One hive had 5 boxes on it and swarmed on me. One of Greg’s queens too. Built up great and left😢
@@CastleHives what are you using to determine when to split? Been in mine every week knocking down queen cells and trying to keep as many bees in the boxes as I can. Lost 4 so far.
@adamsoutdoors Visual signs. When I see practice cups and drone brood, I know I'm about 2 weeks away. It takes practice and timing. Friday when I split the 3, I only found like 2 or 3 capped cells, and they were newly capped. So had I not split, I would think 2 to 4 days they'd swarm. Gotta really time it out or they're in the Trees. My next video shows this.
@@CastleHives need to get with ya and see what your doing. Everyone is talking about it, but I haven’t seen a real good video on what to do or what people are looking for as keys.
I already run singles in a similar way, but when it comes to splitting I have always shook the bees down added excluder and put brood frames on top for splitting the next day. I like the idea of using a fume board to get the queen down instead of shaking. I may try that this spring.
@@dadu63 Ask if I'm there when you come in. I know I have some appointments this week but I don't remember just when without looking at my calendar at the office.
Huge fan, hopefully can meet you and visit your store in a near future. Location seems to be a main driver for single hive management, but does single hive management work for small commercial beekeepers that pollinate almonds in California and migratory. Any insights or point me into where I can research more on changing my practices considering this? Thanks!
I'm sure there's a way to make singles work in pollination but I would think that at least an extra feed super over an excluder would be desirable in most instances. I'm not sure where to look for examples or information on this. Thanks.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks for response! I have a couple ideas to make it work, but it will definitely need some testing. Look forward to more of your great work, thanks for sharing!
Wow! Recent? I been a bee keeper for 35 years 3rd generation bee keeper I’ve never run double deeps my father stop doing dbl deeps 6 years before I took over.
Hello, Would you be able to share your experience on overwintering in single deeps? I am new beekeeper and looking for this method. Also, I live in Pacific Northwest where winters are pretty warm, the lowest it can get is 20F for one or two days. Most of the time it is in low 30s. How to feed them and when to condense a nest to one deep after honey flow at the end of summer. Thank you.
The best thing I've done for economy is to switch all the colonies gradually into Warre hives. Learning the slightly different methods and tools need is simple. The time and materials costs are 1/4 or even less. Harvesting is slower, but as a hobby, this isn't an issue. I've been hobby beekeeping 14 years now. I had been an assistant beekeeper when I was young, learning just enough to get confused. Commercial gear is expensive unless you can make your own.
Speaking of single box mite treatments. Mr. Binnie does anyone who does the 1 pad of Formic Pro 10 day, second pad for another 10 days, ever throw in a 3rd pad for an additional 10 days? I was thinking about trying that but I'm wondering about the queens shutting down a bit while I'm looking for those precious winter bees to develop. Thank you sir!
Hi Mike. I run singles but I usually always use two strips of Formic Pro which is best for penetrating the brood cap. If you are using option two: 1 strip for 10 days followed by a second strip for 10 days. You are most likely killing just the phonetic mites. I would suggest doing an alcohol wash 2 weeks post treatment and if your mite levels are still above the recommended treatment threshold for your area, there is no reason you could not treat with a third strip providing your temperature is still below 85F or 29.5C.
I don't think Frank has a channel but he does speak periodically around the country on a variety of beekeeping topics.. If you search his name a few come up. I'm going to try and get him down to Georgia soon. His last name is Licata.
I’d like to purchase the veil that you wear. Would you be able to steer me to where I could? Thanks love all your videos I have learned a lot from you.
The exact veil I wear was sold by Kelly Beekeeping before Mann Lake bought them out and is no longer available. A less expensive version (also less quality) is now offered by these companies.
I am into October now. My question would it be too late to drop down to one box for the winter? I live in Central Arkansas. I have never tried single boxes before.
The answer probably comes down to making sure if that single can have enough feed for winter. If you're using fondant, candy boards or sugar patties for overwintering feed it wouldn't matter but if you are feeding to make sure they have enough weight to overwinter time could be a factor.
@@macguinn5563 I gotcha. I'm in Little Rock on the far East side of Ferndale basically Chenal/West LR. Not too far from each other so beekeeping strategies should be about the same I would think. Appreciate you responding!
@@christophersublett1037 I have a idea where you are. I would think our weather patterns would be about the same. I will be checking mine today to see if I can go to one box.
Hi Bob! Do you know or listened of any instances of interaction poisoning of oxalic acid treatment with any other compound like fluvalinate ( or any other treatment compound) ?
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks for the reply bob! I think i have suffered already. 5 colonies dead, on second dose of oxalic acid. The beekeeper with whom I had purchased the packages had used fluvalinate strips about a month ago! It was just bewildering because I had never listened to any death from oxalic acid treatment. Now i atleast know the reason for that. It was perhaps the combination of fluvalinate, rain and a bit heavy dose of oxalic vapours that caused the damages!!
So the prices per pound will very I don’t get $8 I average about $5. But even still those prices are not even totally correct. What does it cost to pul, extract and bottle per pound. Plus what are the cost for labor on feeding the hives. You’re still ahead but it’s not as much anymore
Bob, I have a question about getting a single colony through winter. I’m from the Piedmont region of NC. We have cold weather but not like those that live more north of me. To get a single deep colony (Italians) through winter how many frames of brood should that colony have and how many frames of honey should it have as well? Thanks.
In your area, and at this moment, I would think 3 or 4 frames of brood should be expected and a month from now you would want to see 7 to 8 frames of stores. The timing is important. Don't plug them out with syrup too soon. They need to continue to brood for a while. I like to slowly backfill the brood nest as it shrinks this time of year.
So, do you let your hives brood through October and then let them start back filling the brood area in November? Also, I’m feeding 1:1 sugar syrup now. Should I be switching to a 2:1 ratio now or wait until later in the month?
@@jamesdavis3600 Hi James. If I was in your area I would stick with 1 x 1 until the job was finished. 2 x 1 is good to put weight on if you're in a hurry. You might check out this video if you haven't seen it yet. "The Chemistry Behind Feeding Bees Part 1". ua-cam.com/video/aN428TJpDuw/v-deo.html
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks Bob. I’ll definitely check out this video. I appreciate you taking the time to share this great information with others. Keep up the good work!
Single hive management doesn't work very good in my area .. fall flow just to strong .. I can draw out deeps of new foundation on it.. bottom boxes are half full of pollen right now and well over hundred pounds of goldenrod aster smart weed ect above that.. I do run excluder and single box below during the summer.. makes huge difference in honey production.. bees still have their drones and will have them thru January.. see drones being kicked out normally means there's a problem all that pollen they just don't shut down
Bob, Thank you for posting this. The speaker talked about honey crystalizing. How should I handle a frame of honey that the bees didn't cap before winter set it. Will the bees eat that next spring? Thank you!
The first few minutes don't make sense: "I'd have a double deep and each one of those deeps would have at least two full frames of Honey on the outside each outside and on the top well if a deep frame is going to weigh about what five pounds or so maybe right so you're talking about 40 pounds of honey" Coming out of winter those 4 frames don't have honey, they have probably winterfeed, sugar or sugar/honey mix, anyway those frames even if they are crystalized they are ideal for NUC feeding.
He talks like swarming is a bad thing. I use insulated lazutin hives. Swarming is a natural thing for bees and part of bee's mite prevention. Bee's evolved to colonize. Most of my hives are central U.P. I do reduce size and add divider for winter. My hives are roughly r10 and with floor entrances 32" off the ground. They have nail boards because bear and strong stands. The floor entrances are for moisture. Moisture condenses when it gets cold.
You know, I ended up doing this on my own by accident this year. It just seemed like a good idea....I had no idea this was an actual method. I'm so happy to have an organized and simple outline to better guide me. Thank you!
This is exactly what I been doing for several years. Thanks for sharing Bobby boy!
Great information! Thank you so much for sharing!
Nice explanation of single hive management. Thanks for the video.
Thank you.
Thanks for the vlog!
Respectfully Adrian
Enjoyed this video... especially since I live in Pennsylvania!
I am a no treatment gal! My bees are happy in natural environment.
I did something similar in one of my yards this year and it worked pretty well. One thing to mention is that if you add that medium box in early spring so queen can lay there, there will be also drone brood (at least if you are using wax foundation and not plastic one). If you will put queen excluder under it and have suppers without holes drilled in it, drones will get stuck in that supper.
This is very similar to my strategy here in northeast TN. It works well for my operation. Thanks!!
Good point. An upper entrance of any kind would be helpful in this event.
Thanks for the presentation Bob. He is in my state and I do buy from that MannLake.
I've overwintered bees in nucs, but never really did it in singles. I was taught to always overwinter in double deeps.
I'll give it a try next year (not now, it's too late). I do want to start getting some more syrup on the bees to try and get them continuing to rear brood as long as I can. I was in the hives last weekend and the just didn't seem to be heavily laying. I know the fall is a time to slow down, but I'd like to see more bees in the colonies.
I skim brood off the top until the honey flow starts then put a queen excluder on a single seemed to have worked well. First year trying it.
This is something I’ve really considered ! My bees haven’t been really big honey producers .Which in the first of Spring to prevent swarming .So doing so I cut the numbers down enough they aren’t forced to utilize the top box .
I leave the medium of honey on for winter feed after doing basically the same process (though I get his point about the price of honey vs sugar, though you have to figure time and labor also). Single during the summer, deep + medium over winter.
Absolutely. The medium store almost guarantees they'll have enough food where you won't need to supplement or do too much emergency feeding. It also gives them room coming out of Winter. I don't think I've ever over-wintered a hive in just 1 deep. If you have the boxes and stores, you might as well give them that medium to better increase your odds of survival
Great info! I was wondering what percentage of the brood box is typically stored honey in say September? Have you ever inspected the bottom (brood box) in September? Please keep these videos coming!!
The bottom box can be quite light if not managed properly. We usually feed singles immediately after removing the last super.
Great Mr. Binnie I have to try to overwinter some of my colonies on singles, thank you , I hope every body is good.
We're all good. You come up in conversation from time to time.
Thanks for posting this….great info for me as a new beekeeper. Running mediums but I think a single deep would be better, even as a hobby beekeeper.
I run mediums as well. A double medium is a great brood nest. Running a single size of frame in your bee yard means you always have drawn comb available to move around as necessary.
Enjoyed this video. I tried single brood chambers and they didn't work for me, but it was really because I didn't have enough drawn comb to give them room. I'm in Central AR and I can tell you that here if you do not make early splits and have an abundance of drawn comb singles will eat your lunch. I'm considering giving it another shot more as an experiment now that I have decent resources. Also, when I say drawn comb I'm not talking about just 2 or 3 frames with drawn comb on them and the rest blank; you need at least 8 frames of fully drawn comb for it to really give them a lot of room to grow quickly. In my experience it doesn't really matter what variety of bees you have when it comes to their propensity to swarm because if they run out of room they will swarm guaranteed.
For me the singles are a lot more trouble to manage and keep the wheels from falling off, and I would rather deal with moving the 2nd brood box than fighting swarming 24/7. This approach can be very beneficial for experienced beekeepers and beekeepers that have a lot of extra equipment and drawn comb but if you're a newbee and don't have a lot of experience or resources make sure you have a good ladder and some extra equipment to catch those swarms!
Finally I would say that time is just as important as drawn comb and extra equipment. You really need to be able to dedicate a good deal of time to overseeing your singles from early spring until the flow is going strong, so if you have a busy schedule and have difficulty finding time to get in your hives single brood chambers is probably not a good option.
Did double deeps here in Florida in up with 2 splits and still have parent hive still strong
@@benjaminmeadows1380 Hey Benjamin, not surprised by that you guys have such a long flow and ideal temperatures. Man I wouldn't even want to think about singles in FL.😂
@@christophersublett1037 Yelp got all most three flows this year lot rain in Florida
This was informative, but what to do if you don't have drawn comb in mediums?
I would like to know as well. Just starting.
@@wagyu12 In the end i went with double deeps. It's gonna be easier to control swarming and i need more drawn deeps than mediums. I plan on putting mediums on when flow starts, but on top of double deep.
Great video, I run two different configurations as the 40 mile range I have hives are so different here in Oklahoma. I'm half in the edge what we call green country and westward to aired dryer area. I run singles in the east and single and a medium out west.
I enjoy seeing videos on both singles and single plus medium configurations.
I enjoyed your friend who runs singles with a medium and this one on singles. I don't think people know much about the other options.
Thanks again, Bob Binnie.
Thanks Malcolm.
I was expecting to see Bob not Frank from Wilkes-Barre! With Mann Lake being less than 5 minutes off I-81 I've stopped there every time I go to see our grandkids south of Harrisburg since becoming a beekeeper. Frank talking bees has been one of the highlights of my (4 years) beekeeping career.
I am planning already for my winter/ spring set up for next spring. I like to re-queen to keep a fresh queen yearly. When would I plan on grafting (from my own bees) and replace my queen and still not allow my queen to go backwards in my honey production? Would I do this before the flow (when drones are flying) or after the flow has started or when the flow is over. My flow is generally over July 4th.
The easiest time to requeen in my experience is during the nectar flow. Of course there are benefits to requeening in fall and spring too. Check out our video "Queen Acceptance and Queen Supersedure" for info on this. ua-cam.com/video/xI_FL3xwXNM/v-deo.html
Been running singles for about 6 years now. They are definitely more demanding, if they aren’t hungry they are plugging out. That being said, I’d never go back to doubles.
I’ve found they absolutely will swarm after the flow starts. This year I even moved 4 empty frames in the middle of the brood box at the beginning of our flow and they still managed to fill them with nectar and build swarm cells. In my experience an empty above an excluder before the flow starts works best in our area, with way less work. I’ve also had years when I allowed her to run up into the super and lay, then shake down and put excluders in. The result was two heavy filled frames on the outsides of both the super and brood chamber. Putting the excluder in at this point essentially reduced the open area to lay to 6 frames. Instant swarm impulse.
I have two remarks.
I am in North Africa, and most hives are single deeps.
1. Putting the excluder at wrong time causes swarming.
2. Adding the super to let the hive expand but using drawn comb only is also dangerous as it can cause swarming.
The queen in fact "does not like" used frames. It wants new frames. If you put drawn comb, the workers are quicker than the queen. If you use foundation, the queen is quicker and is able to lay before even the bees are able to finish it while in other situation whenever the queen tries to look for empty cell, it finds almost evry cell with some drops of honey or pollen.
So putting drawn comb is similar to having blocked growth, and having constrained the queen. That leads to swarming.
In addition, it also thought that yound workers want to draw comb. So if you do not give it foundation, it is kind of jobless, so it swarms.
Evry beekeeper, depending on the region, needs to allow his hive to expand (expansion = foundation frames) but the moment the bees shift to honey (new foundation are drawn very slowly), then we can shift to inserting drawn comb and evenb remove unfinished frames and put the excluder.
In my region many do not use the excluder. If you put frames in the super, the bees will enlarge them and put only honey there, most often.
When we use excluder, we just insert it for merely few days, then we remove it. Those few days are enough for bees to go to evry cell and start putting honey. Of course, no cell might be full with honey but the goal is achieved, the queen if she ever wants to go up she can't find where to lay, so she goes back. By doing so, the bees are not hampered by the excluder and they can move in/up very fast.
We also use some other techniques but they only apply to our harsh environment.
Great video, I've definitely seen better results from double brood boxes that we turn into singles when the flow starts. Mega colonies!
Great video Bob, thanks for posting. I made a big mistake the other day and let the bees clean up the storage buckets after bottling. It started a robbing frenzy on the hives that I should have removed honey supers from weeks ago. Going to break them down and assess the damages today. Hopefully I can salvage some of the comb.
Good luck!
Thank you for the video Mr. Binnie, I would like to know the % of colonies on singles that survive a winter like Chicago
Hi Oscar. Many people do it. Look up Devan Rawn in Ontario. ua-cam.com/channels/Tw7InclMH-yvozq5h-Svjg.html
As Bob mentioned in a previous video, by adding a medium for expansion, eventually the combs will become black. Also, without removing brood, adding a medium is still not enough room to prevent swarming, in my experience.
Also, the spotted lantern fly is changing the dynamics of mid summer dearth management in the northeast. There is no longer a death in N.W N.j And a single will easily become honey bound displacing the brood nest.
I add a deep of foundation after the honey pull and in 6 weeks it s drawn and filled with brood and capped honey. Good time to make a fall split
ucs or keep as a double for winter . Colonies can be run as doubles for winter, then spring splits and then back singles for honey production. I'm still figuring it out but all the above has worked for me.
Also, reducing big hives to singles after pulling the summer supers is a recipe for swarms with no more dearth period. Again, good time to make walk away nuc\splits to winter over or new comb.
I agree... no dearth in south central PA this year. Had to change up management style and like you added frames of foundation to all 21 hives and now have approximately 130 fully drawn, 90 partly drawn and 40 with beginnings of comb. Just kept pulling out the drawn comb and adding more foundation in its place. Took that spotted lanternfly honeydew as drawn comb instead of as "dew" honey. Had left full supers of honey on for the dearth (normal management) and it was all still there and then some by end of August. I like to split those big colonies after honey harvest having grafted some queens at the end of the spring flow. Gives plenty of time to get virgins mated, grow those nucs on and deal with any unsuccessful splits. Overwinter quite a few 5x5x5 medium nucs each year with great success for early spring nuc sales.
Ha Bob good video, will this work using 8 frame boxes , 1 more question as well I got some foam boards for the tops of my hives for insulation do u think I should paint them some say paint so say no what say ye. , I hope there is more to the video and u will post it at a nother time. I got the 2 gal, buckets from u folks they work great they have 6 holes in the plugs. does this stimulate the queen as well I got some plugs with no hole as well Thanks for the video hope u have a blessed week.
Hi Frances. I believe it would also work for eight frame although a single eight frame deep is a little restricted for a brood nest in my opinion. I'm not sure about the paint on insulation boards, I've never used them. Yes, six holes is plenty for stimulation and you could always add more for quicker weight gain if you like. They are 1/16 inch drilled holes. Thanks.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks Bob
Hello,
Recently watched your video about overwintering single deep. I am planning to do same thing this year. I live in Pacific Northwest where our winter is not stable like in Michigan. The lowest it can get is 20F for couple of days. Do you think it is possible to overwinter with single box in warmer winter climates?
Absolutely. They need to checked more often for food stores in the spring though.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you so much. I will try it this year.
Been rocking only single hive management for a few years now and I’ve never looked back. The pros far outweigh the cons for me as a backyard hobbyist. Good information here but I still use queen excluders right from the start in the spring. In my bees swarm, they swarm. I can still get significant honey production from a hive that has swarmed. More than I need anyways. I just don’t like my queen laying in my supers. If I choose to sell comb honey, it won’t be dark, etc. Just my $0.02 and personal preference.
What if you don't have any drawn comb for the supers. I'm a newby, just starting my second year so I don't have drawn medium sized combs. I only have plastic frames. Can this still work with only wax coated plastic frames in my supers?
Yes, but if you use a queen excluder the bees can be reluctant to pass through to work on only foundation. In this case it's helpful to let them get started a bit before installing the excluder.
Great video. Frank says he stores his brooded medium supers separately from others. Hpw does he store them after the honey pull to prevent wax moth and beetle infestation when they have had old cocoons and pollen in the cells????
I'm not sure how Frank does it. We store ours in cold storage. Some use wax moth crystals. There is an array of tricks that others use.
So as i understand he doesnt make splits during of spring, he just puts the super on top of the brood box? It would be enough space for bees not to swarm?
As a startup, I had no drawn comb and had a lot of swarms last spring. I went to a double deep configuration to reduce feeding and swarm pressure. The constant practice of adding and removing super boxes with brood comb and storage makes it less practical than having more honey per hive. I'm interested in offering pollination services and not becoming a honey producer.
Hello sir, is there any population you want before you put the queen in the bottom box and adding a queen excluder. Like how many frame of brood or how many frame of bees?
Every year and every set of circumstances is different but in most cases I would like to see at least six or seven frames of bees.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you sir its a great help for future plans.
This is my plan for 2024, transition to SBCM. We'll see how it works out.
How is it working for up there Brian? I can’t seem to keep them in the boxes this season. Had 4 of 15 swarm so far. One hive had 5 boxes on it and swarmed on me. One of Greg’s queens too. Built up great and left😢
@@adamsoutdoors Just did splits yesterday. I've lost 1 swarm. Hopefully the others are good now.
@@CastleHives what are you using to determine when to split? Been in mine every week knocking down queen cells and trying to keep as many bees in the boxes as I can. Lost 4 so far.
@adamsoutdoors Visual signs. When I see practice cups and drone brood, I know I'm about 2 weeks away. It takes practice and timing. Friday when I split the 3, I only found like 2 or 3 capped cells, and they were newly capped. So had I not split, I would think 2 to 4 days they'd swarm. Gotta really time it out or they're in the Trees. My next video shows this.
@@CastleHives need to get with ya and see what your doing. Everyone is talking about it, but I haven’t seen a real good video on what to do or what people are looking for as keys.
Bob have you used reflectix insulation on top of hives & will it help in winter ? Thank you.
I have not but I have several friends that do and report that they like it.
Can you put not drawn out comb new bee keeper here it will still be fine ?
It doesn't work as well as drawn comb but it can work. If you have any extra comb at all even a couple in the mix (bait combs) is also helpful.
I already run singles in a similar way, but when it comes to splitting I have always shook the bees down added excluder and put brood frames on top for splitting the next day. I like the idea of using a fume board to get the queen down instead of shaking. I may try that this spring.
We often split in much the same way. Works great.
I have had to switch to 8 frame hives instead of 10 frame hives .
So they don’t swarm in a honey flow and they don’t swarm in a dearth?
Generally speaking, yes. There are occasionally of course, exceptions to the rule.
Hey Bob different question but how long can ya use frame feeders? I'm in cleveland county, nc.
You should be able to use them for a few more weeks in an average colony.
@@bobbinnie9872 I'm in Waynesville this week. Gonna ride your way Tuesday.
@@dadu63 Ask if I'm there when you come in. I know I have some appointments this week but I don't remember just when without looking at my calendar at the office.
@@bobbinnie9872 I was. Thanks
Huge fan, hopefully can meet you and visit your store in a near future. Location seems to be a main driver for single hive management, but does single hive management work for small commercial beekeepers that pollinate almonds in California and migratory. Any insights or point me into where I can research more on changing my practices considering this? Thanks!
I'm sure there's a way to make singles work in pollination but I would think that at least an extra feed super over an excluder would be desirable in most instances. I'm not sure where to look for examples or information on this. Thanks.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks for response! I have a couple ideas to make it work, but it will definitely need some testing. Look forward to more of your great work, thanks for sharing!
My big concern is Drone being laid in honey cell size frames in the super(s). IME the queen lays ONLY Drone in supers.
Wow! Recent? I been a bee keeper for 35 years 3rd generation bee keeper I’ve never run double deeps my father stop doing dbl deeps 6 years before I took over.
Hello,
Would you be able to share your experience on overwintering in single deeps? I am new beekeeper and looking for this method. Also, I live in Pacific Northwest where winters are pretty warm, the lowest it can get is 20F for one or two days. Most of the time it is in low 30s. How to feed them and when to condense a nest to one deep after honey flow at the end of summer. Thank you.
Don't you trap drones above queen excluder?
You will if there is drone brood up there. In that case we leave a box or lid cracked enough to let them out.
The best thing I've done for economy is to switch all the colonies gradually into Warre hives. Learning the slightly different methods and tools need is simple. The time and materials costs are 1/4 or even less.
Harvesting is slower, but as a hobby, this isn't an issue. I've been hobby beekeeping 14 years now. I had been an assistant beekeeper when I was young, learning just enough to get confused. Commercial gear is expensive unless you can make your own.
Speaking of single box mite treatments. Mr. Binnie does anyone who does the 1 pad of Formic Pro 10 day, second pad for another 10 days, ever throw in a 3rd pad for an additional 10 days? I was thinking about trying that but I'm wondering about the queens shutting down a bit while I'm looking for those precious winter bees to develop. Thank you sir!
I'll be honest and say my experience with formic is limited so I really can't say.
Hi Mike.
I run singles but I usually always use two strips of Formic Pro which is best for penetrating the brood cap.
If you are using option two: 1 strip for 10 days followed by a second strip for 10 days. You are most likely killing just the phonetic mites. I would suggest doing an alcohol wash 2 weeks post treatment and if your mite levels are still above the recommended treatment threshold for your area, there is no reason you could not treat with a third strip providing your temperature is still below 85F or 29.5C.
@@Hivetown Thanks Tom.
A lot of the single brood box users. Somehow forget to mention,how fast you better feed. Once you pull the honey off.
Great info,,, Does Frank have a Channel??? And how is his last name spelled???
I don't think Frank has a channel but he does speak periodically around the country on a variety of beekeeping topics.. If you search his name a few come up. I'm going to try and get him down to Georgia soon. His last name is Licata.
I’d like to purchase the veil that you wear. Would you be able to steer me to where I could? Thanks love all your videos I have learned a lot from you.
The exact veil I wear was sold by Kelly Beekeeping before Mann Lake bought them out and is no longer available. A less expensive version (also less quality) is now offered by these companies.
@@bobbinnie9872 thanks for the reply. Have you thought of where you would buy a new one from? I was just looking for the best quality. Thanks
@@ggallin2263 When I saw that they were going to drop it I purchased about 20 and still have a lot left.
@@bobbinnie9872 smart move. Keep up the good work
I am into October now. My question would it be too late to drop down to one box for the winter? I live in Central Arkansas. I have never tried single boxes before.
The answer probably comes down to making sure if that single can have enough feed for winter. If you're using fondant, candy boards or sugar patties for overwintering feed it wouldn't matter but if you are feeding to make sure they have enough weight to overwinter time could be a factor.
Hey Mac I'm in Central AR like you would love to have someone local to chat about bees with.
@@christophersublett1037 I live just outside of Hot Springs about 7 miles. Take 270 west toward Mt.Ida.I live on Brady Mt Co.
@@macguinn5563 I gotcha. I'm in Little Rock on the far East side of Ferndale basically Chenal/West LR. Not too far from each other so beekeeping strategies should be about the same I would think. Appreciate you responding!
@@christophersublett1037 I have a idea where you are. I would think our weather patterns would be about the same. I will be checking mine today to see if I can go to one box.
Hi Bob! Do you know or listened of any instances of interaction poisoning of oxalic acid treatment with any other compound like fluvalinate ( or any other treatment compound) ?
Yes, I would recommend not allowing that to happen and I'm going to do a short video on it soon.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks for the reply bob! I think i have suffered already. 5 colonies dead, on second dose of oxalic acid. The beekeeper with whom I had purchased the packages had used fluvalinate strips about a month ago! It was just bewildering because I had never listened to any death from oxalic acid treatment. Now i atleast know the reason for that. It was perhaps the combination of fluvalinate, rain and a bit heavy dose of oxalic vapours that caused the damages!!
So the prices per pound will very I don’t get $8 I average about $5. But even still those prices are not even totally correct. What does it cost to pul, extract and bottle per pound. Plus what are the cost for labor on feeding the hives. You’re still ahead but it’s not as much anymore
Good points, all of which need to be considered.
Bob,
I have a question about getting a single colony through winter. I’m from the Piedmont region of NC. We have cold weather but not like those that live more north of me. To get a single deep colony (Italians) through winter how many frames of brood should that colony have and how many frames of honey should it have as well? Thanks.
In your area, and at this moment, I would think 3 or 4 frames of brood should be expected and a month from now you would want to see 7 to 8 frames of stores. The timing is important. Don't plug them out with syrup too soon. They need to continue to brood for a while. I like to slowly backfill the brood nest as it shrinks this time of year.
So, do you let your hives brood through October and then let them start back filling the brood area in November?
Also, I’m feeding 1:1 sugar syrup now. Should I be switching to a 2:1 ratio now or wait until later in the month?
@@Dougarrowhead I’ve never been a professor so it must be someone else.
@@jamesdavis3600 Hi James. If I was in your area I would stick with 1 x 1 until the job was finished. 2 x 1 is good to put weight on if you're in a hurry. You might check out this video if you haven't seen it yet. "The Chemistry Behind Feeding Bees Part 1". ua-cam.com/video/aN428TJpDuw/v-deo.html
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks Bob. I’ll definitely check out this video. I appreciate you taking the time to share this great information with others. Keep up the good work!
Based on Bob's recommendation a month or so ago, I've been feeding 1:1.4 syrup this fall. We'll see how they do in spring 2023. Amarillo TX.
We've been doing the same but will be switching to 1 x 1 next week as the brood nest begins to slow down.
Italian bees will move all the honey out of the single. Carniolans will leave a frame of honey on each side.
I agree with that.
No video today 😪😪
Sorry, it was a very busy week.
@@bobbinnie9872 i can imagine work load with your scale. Look forward the next week.
Single hive management doesn't work very good in my area .. fall flow just to strong .. I can draw out deeps of new foundation on it.. bottom boxes are half full of pollen right now and well over hundred pounds of goldenrod aster smart weed ect above that.. I do run excluder and single box below during the summer.. makes huge difference in honey production.. bees still have their drones and will have them thru January.. see drones being kicked out normally means there's a problem all that pollen they just don't shut down
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Bob, Thank you for posting this. The speaker talked about honey crystalizing. How should I handle a frame of honey that the bees didn't cap before winter set it. Will the bees eat that next spring? Thank you!
As long it doesn't ferment for some reason it fine to leave it with them.
interesting. I think I spoil my bees. Two brood and one super of honey over winter. The bees come through pretty well.
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Teşekkürler.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you so much too for these great content. 👍👍👍
@@toprakanaciftligi8037 👍
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The first few minutes don't make sense:
"I'd have a double deep and each one of those deeps would have at least two full frames of Honey on the outside each outside and on the top well if a deep frame is going to weigh about what five pounds or so maybe right so you're talking about 40 pounds of honey"
Coming out of winter those 4 frames don't have honey, they have probably winterfeed, sugar or sugar/honey mix, anyway those frames even if they are crystalized they are ideal for NUC feeding.
He talks like swarming is a bad thing. I use insulated lazutin hives. Swarming is a natural thing for bees and part of bee's mite prevention. Bee's evolved to colonize. Most of my hives are central U.P. I do reduce size and add divider for winter. My hives are roughly r10 and with floor entrances 32" off the ground. They have nail boards because bear and strong stands. The floor entrances are for moisture. Moisture condenses when it gets cold.
Apivar seems to do nothing anymore....
There is no such thing as a "honey flow"