So why did you take the single deeps up to double deeps?im running singles and I feel like you’re doing something that i should be doing.Your videos have taught me more than anything or anyone else.i learn something every day from them.
Thanks for this good question. I'm aware that at times my videos must seem a bit confusing and it probably seems like we're doing something different all the time. Although there is a bit of truth to that, and we are constantly evolving, at the heart of things we generally have the same strategy which demands flexibility. I need to address this partial illusion of constant change, and more about our beekeeping business strategy, in a video that in itself is not confusing. I promise an attempt to do that in the near future. If I can pull it off right It could be a good video .
Hey Randy. Brad here. I follow bob as well and love his content. In Georgia where Bob lives, I can see where single deeps would benefit him. Yet here in the New York State, I run all double deep brook boxes, filled with frames that are 18.5" deep. Wow what a difference I have seen. They bring in twice the honey every day and over winter very well on these. so i guess what would be best for you depends on where you live. Blessings.
@@bradgoliphant that’s a good point.i was just wondering why he was doing that because if he does then i should probably be doing it.Bob is the man as far as I’m concerned and I’m trying to soak in everything I can from him.
@@randyblankenship2115 As Bob is by far one of the best teachers out there, he does not always have the answers for everyone. And just because he is doing something, does not mean that what he is doing will best serve your needs. I like the idea of taking in everything you can learn, then figuring out what works best for you. It took me 15 years to learn what is best for my apiary. Your demographics plays a huge part in all this. Where you are located? The best advise I ever received is to make sure you have at least a few hives, then experiment with all these teachings, until the bees show you what is working best. I wish you all the best.
Man Bob. I have been working with bees for 4 years going on 5 soon. I manage several yards of bees. I have a mentor that I help weekly to manage multiple yards. Every time I watch one of you and Randy Oliver’s videos, I feel like such a chump. I feel like I am in the despair stage of the Dunning-Kruger graph. I feel like I have a long way to go before I start having confidence in my work. I still make mistakes and get my butt chewed by more seasoned beekeepers. 3 times this year, every time I feel like such a dummy. I feel like I could never hang with you and your work crew! Y’all are amazing! Thanks for the videos.
I've been doing this since 1981 and there's not a year goes by that I can't look back on and say "I wish I wouldn't have done that" about something. You're in good company my friend and it will get better.
This year I bought pro dfm, 1st time ever, after watching one of your videos. Honestly, forgot I had it. Then my bees took a hit of herbicidal drift from a crop duster. I lost my fieldforce, a couple of queens, and a lot of bees. The survivors shut dowm for a few weeks. When I found out what had happened I remembered that probiotic. Each hive got pro dfm, 1 to 1 syrup with a pinch of honey be healthy. I removed the queen excluders. (I run a deep and a medium. ) It was a slow progression but the girls have made a comeback. I truely believe that probiotic helped them recover. Now to make it thru winter. Thanks for that video Bob. I also watched one where your bees took a hit from pesticide. Thanks for that one as well. Susan NW Georgia
This is our fifth year and trying to keep Bees. So far our only experience has been with Saskatraz Bees. We are quite pleased with them yet we have no REAL way in doing a comparison to other breeds of Bees. We will be going in a couple of hours to check our few hives (6). Hoping to see and the slight possibility of some honey this year. Last year we got NADA! Also to see if any brood is being made. As always Thank You for another fun and informative video!
They will make crazy burr comb in a decent nectar flow. We will remove them in spring through summer. For Apigaurd treatments, extended oxalic pads and winter fondant feeding they are very useful.
Thanks for sharing bob and crew. Got into my hives yesterday and every hive is looking good. Waiting on goldenrod flow and fall flow here in cleveland county. Thanks again friend!
I agree with you on the pro dfm Bob. I can’t put my finger on what exactly is different. Extremely deliberate flights, faster, the bees seem plumper. They tear it up when applied. Any is advantage is a good one
Hi Bob! Such a great comparison. Being in the northern part of the central valley in California, at base of the lower foothills, we have very hot, dry summers from May to October (we hardly have any "winter" or down-time for the bees, except for perhaps late December and January - we get about 10 days of temps under 32 degrees and about 12 inches per year, Nov to April). I was very curious about what races you found to be good in these climates. Most folks around here keep Italians, but recently I have had very good results with the New World Carnolians. I am very curious about trying the Caucasians or a mix of those!
Good morning Bob . I was doing inspections earlier this week in my eight frame colony with a deep an a medium brood set up . I have Italian bees in all of them an thy had six frames in the medium an three frames of brood an at this time the colonies we’re still busting with bees . In the DFM I also use it an I really think it is doing good for my bees .🤷♂️Thanks Bob !!.
Morning Bob. I had a line of Caucasions just a few years ago and they are one of the easiest bees to take care of. Another huge factor in the line I had was their level of swarming. It was almost non-existant. Basically once you got them through spring your concerns for swarming were done with. Thanks for your work Bob.
Hi Bob, I use dadant hives which means I leave bees in a single story colony all year long, In winter we try to reduce the amount of frames we let bees have in order for them to be more efficient on food consumption, I find it very interesting that you add another box in august before preparing them for winter, it’s the opposite of what most people do around here, do you feel like double deeps get overwintered better than single story colonies?
We are mainly adding these boxes because we're generating frames of honey when we put the feeders in. I actually like double deeps and they generally do come out in spring with more bees. Both systems overwinter fine in our region.
Just finished Apiguard treatments- question- do the bees carry out the Apiguard when it is moist or after it dries out? Asking because a few colonies did not finish carrying out and the portion left was dried out with some powder around a small nugget of Apiguard. Wasn’t sure if I should remove the dried portion or wait till the bees finish carrying it out.
Starline was my Favorite bees to work out of all the bees I kept, was very sad to not be able to get them anymore. Back in the early 90s Starline was the first bee I tried. and over the years I tried many others but for me in Northern Illinois at the time they where by far the best in all ways for me. Gentle, great brood producers and piled on the honey each year.
Good info, Thanks for sharing. Perhaps you have covered it before and I just missed it. I noticed you are putting a small shim on each hive although there wasn't any treatments or food. What is the size and purpose?
Good evening America. I have a question and would like an answer from you. How much space should be left in the hive for brood-rearing for Caucasian bees and Italian bees? And dozen-frame hives are the most optimal for Caucasian and Italian bees? P.S. Lithuania
Hey Bob, Brad here. Could questions for you. 1. What is the OA Extended Release you mentioned? Where do you get that? 2. You mentioned feeding in late fall to stimulate extract honey production--can adding fondant help as well? I have extra I want to get rid of. And as far as the Strong Microbial Probiotics, I swear by it--BUT BE CAREFUL LEAVING IT OPEN LIKE I SAW IN VIDEO. Humidity activates its, and once it activated, it will become useless within a couple weeks. So keep it closed up tight until you need it.
Hi Brad. Check out Randy Oliver's site on the OAE. scientificbeekeeping.com/instructions-for-extended-release-oxalic-acid/ Thanks for the reminder on the probiotics. We use it up daily and it's only open as we're using it but I should mention your point the next time I talk about it.
Just wondering why the Apiguard when you were washing zeros in some of the colonies? I used OAE’s in the spring and the summer with fantastic results. Love your videos! Thanks
We were washing all zeros in spring but we did have some show a few in late July and we wanted to make sure everything was really low before fall buildup. So far my experience with OAE is that it helps maintain low numbers but doesn't tend to bring them down. It's interesting here that the Italians are still showing one or two after Apiguard but the Caucasians are not. Probably due to more brood.
Morning Bob.😁I kind of figure the probiotics helps if they need it and doesn't if they don't. I personally see nothing but benefit with the OA over time they appear to be a very useful tool in mite management. Yep it's that time of year, beginning my Fall grading and Winter prep myself. Winter is Coming... Thanks much Bob and Crew.
I've been hoping for some follow-up on the progress of the Caucasian bloodlines. I hope you can do more of an in-depth look at them at some point. Would love to see some in hive closeups of the breeder stock as well as the offspring. I've started with 3 solid black Carniolan queens, and I have found their survivor offspring to be far superior in over wintering. They may be smaller going into winter, but they come through with far more resources and ready to swarm a month earlier. I've also made use of the bee barn style hives by Vino Farms, which has made a tremendous difference in year-round hive vitality. I do hope you can bring us a window into the darker colored subspecies. Perhaps a feature-length film style. I realize that's asking a lot, but I think you would find it very rewarding. Thank you for the update. This helps to cement my philosophy regarding subspecies bloodlines for my yard
I use that same type of plywood for my lids & bottoms seems like good stuff so far. I have mostly Saskatraz and overall they’ve done well for me some are a bit hot though. I’m having the best luck with my own queens, Wintering in Saskatchewan.
Believe I would have to run grab 3-4 hives and set them on the picnic tables with a super or two on each for the next couple days to let the cleaning ladies do their thing.
Loved it Bob! I watch your videos, & learn a lot from them; I am planning on starting it as a hobby. When you get a chance please share your knowledge/ anything about bee keeping in Austin, Texas area. Thanks, & stay blessed.
Thanks. I'm not sure what I could say about Austin. I'm afraid Austin is on a different planet than us. I'll be speaking there in December at the American Honey Producers convention.
We've only had them for 2-1/2 months and they are raised and mated in California not Canada. So far they seem average in temperament, definitely not as gentle as our Caucasians but not bad. Lots of brood for this time of year, we will begin feeding next week because they need it badly. Next spring we'll know a lot more.
Hello Bob. I do intend to multiply the bees in order to keep using the frames instead of stoking them up for next season. Question: do you sell queens or do you have someone that sells queens during this season? How do you make the OA puds? Please let me know. I do appreciate your teaching videos. The vegetation looks great there while here in N Texas everything seems to die out. Hopefully next weekend will rain.
I'm not up on who is selling queens right now. Perhaps search online. I would suggest looking at Randy Oliver's site for instructions. scientificbeekeeping.com/instructions-for-extended-release-oxalic-acid/
We're putting the feeder in the lower box so it will be close to the center of the brood nest when we feed in fall. The colonies will access it more readily in cooler weather if it is close.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you very much for your explanation, I have always had the feeding bag in the upper brood chamber as far away from the entrance hole as possible but your argument that the opening of the feeding bag is approximately in the middle of the brood nest makes sense to me
@@Bienenwolf-marcel I know I don't always explain what we're doing very well (or at all). Your question has actually led me to address it in my next video. Thank you.
Bob, Quick question if you have time... a couple of videos ago, I think you made a brief comment that thymol hangs around in colony a bit and may have an adverse reaction with oxalic acid. How long would you wait after after apiguard treatment before using oxalic? PS... I bought some double screen boards from you and love them! They are the most well-built, solid piece of equipment I own... thank you for all you do!
They help when using the OAE pads and Apiguard treatments. Also, I'm planning on using some fondant patties in mid winter. You won't see them in the honey season.
Hey Bob! Great video as always. Im in my 4th year keeping bees. Ive grown 60 double deep colonies from 2 nucs. I want to introduce new genetics/race of bee next year. Can you point me in a direction? Caucasian or carni?
Caucasians queens I don't know. We use artificially inseminated breeder queens purchased from" Two Rivers Bees" in Tennessee and produce our own. I used to purchase Carniolans from "Strachan Apiaries" in Yuba City, CA which were good at that time.
Ha Bob always look forward to seeing you My bees are looking great as well If I find a queenless hive or one not so well I have to combine I do not have any extra queens. I want to learn to graft I have everything I need to do it I just have to just do it. Your videos are great I wish u had a thanks button on your videos so I could give u a gift to say thanks so much for your teaching me how to take care of my bees. I enjoy every video u make and so much look forward to them. I hope you and your crew and family have a God Blessed Week
I remember the starlines. Stack boxes head high on the flow, swarm themselves silly if you don't stay ahead of them and starve out or feed heavy by August. When it came to brood they had no quitting sense.
Italians here up North in Nova Scotia do well overwinter. I pollinate blueberry in mid-May, and the Italian will give me a split weeks before they go. Being early vs the later buildup of carniolian is a great benefit for this reason. Yesterday, I was checking hives, 10 to 12 frames of brood, and 10 frames of pollen. Those colonies will survive the winter with ease. They will be a box of bees, some maybe almost 2 deeps in March on first inspection. I find the mite load per bee is less with Italian, only because there are more bees to share the mites with. Italian do consume 2 gallons more syrup over winter than the Kona Carniolians, the other line of queen that I use. They have a 3 deep brood nest all summer, which has its draw backs because it's so much extra equipment. But if my colonies looked as small as yours do today in this video, I would be worried for winter survival.
Bob, I listen to your videos while driving. When you put up a screen with words on them, please say something like here's added information, and then read it to us. That would make my driving much safer, because I wouldn't try to read what's on the screen.
@@ericshipplett3517 I play them on my phone, and listen to them. If I'm on cruise control on an interstate, I sometimes put the phone right in front of me over the speedometer, and watch it a little bit.
😢 I wish we had the genetic variety in southern New Zealand that you guys have, Carniolan drones were the latest import a few years ago giving us Italians , British dark Italian hybrids and Carniolan mostly hybrids with Italians now. I really wish we could introduce Caucasian and other varietys and Carniolan queens and drones, but of course we don't have European foulbrood here, thank the Good Lord, which is the main reason other breeds from other countries are kept out of New Zealand. It's unfortunate because I'm convinced we're going to have to diversify our honey bee breeds in the not to distant future. Great video 👍 and thanks for showing us the wingstem plant👋😃
@@yoshigg I used to live in Dunedin, I worked for Cadburys on the second floor. They closed the factory a few years ago and demolished it, the hospital is putting buildings there now. I grew up in central Otago near Ophir and left when I was 15. Dunedin is a great place but central Otago is better 😃👍
@Manuherikiabeekeeping Dunedin seems like it's going through a transition. We stayed in Roslyn just north of city rise. Would very much like to spend more time in otago when the kids get a bit older. Last time we traveled Canterbury and Fjordland mostly. Wouldn't trade it for the world, but NZ has enough to see in a lifetime.
Your caucasians look just like my USDA russians - same type of traits they put quite a bit of honey at the top of every single frame, take a lot less syrup than my italians on a relative basis, and rarely eat themselves out of the hive during the summer dearth.
We do get good pollen but not much nectar. Fall swarms are often with poor queens and small in size. I'm not always sure what that is about. Perhaps it's during an attempt to supersede.
@@bobbinnie9872 This swarm was 60 percent of my bees what I time getting into the tree to get them she was last years queen there were many cells I took all out but 1 if she can’t get mated I’ll just combine them back
We made these. Very soon there will be a similar product called VarroxSan available. We have some preordered for our store and have been told they should be coming soon.
I lost my bees back in June due to vandalism and I bought three five frame nucs from a beekeeper west of Houston. He said the bees were gentle. Those bees are so gentle I dread even going out to the bee yard. Trust me next spring they will become gentle. I think I will invite that beekeeper over to work some truly gentle bees. I have worked true AHB although these bees aren't as aggressive as AHB they are close. I HATE MEAN BEES!
Your first bees died because they were gentle bees are not supposed to be gentle I run German Russian cross they are the meanest bee you could ever work sometimes I get stung 30. 40 times in a day of course I only use a veil but they are never sick I never lose bees they always produce they are little eaters give me a mean be any day
@@TheFamilyFarmHomestead I had some people tried to vandalize some hives years ago with some Russians I had they kicked the first two over by the time they got to the third one they had eat them alive the neighbors to the yard they could hear them screaming mean bees no vandalism gentle bees vandalism
@@leannholbert16 The Vandals did their deed from inside their pickup they backed into the hives you could tell this be the tracks the pickup left. So mean bees would not have stopped them.
During your off-season, would be great to offer online ordering! Would really supplement your income! I need some stuff. I’m gonna be your squeaky wheel Bob😂😂 Are you going to sell any of your queens with the good genetics you speak of next year?
Thanks for the thought. We are trying very hard to get a new website up but we've had one stumbling block after another come up. We'll get there I'm sure. I definitely want it up too. Selling our own queens would be nice but it seems to take too much time away from everything else. There's a part of me that would like too but I currently can't pull it off.
I used some years ago when they were still much like the line Brother Adam created. They were nice bees. The Buckfast sold in this country today are something entirely different and not desirable in my opinion. Bees much like the original can still be found in a few other countries.
My mentor was a pollinator who talked about the starlings and minutes. The second generation were very defensive to a point of African defensiveness. Did you see this when you had them?
🤨Whats the matter Bob, ya don't wana face sting when they make those girls 😡🐝's! 🤣Honey bees are so much fun.😂 I like the Northern Bee lines compared to the Southern, them Mountain bees know how to sock away fall honey for Winter. They seem to work the best for me here in SW Washington, the majority of my stock are out of Old Sol Apiaries out of Rogue River, OR. I'm running my over Wintered Carni, Caucasians and their Hybrid stock, I call them my Sol stock. Beekeeping in the Northern regions is a bit of a different beast then in the south. Thanks for a Great video Bob, Blessed Days...
9:55 If you have done an apigaurd treatment and then 98% of the hives have less than .4 mites per 100 then treating any hive again is just building resistant mites.... any hive that is over the 1% AFTER a treatment like apigaurd should culled. Treatments are not a solution to the mites.... it is a stepping stone to stronger bees but if you keep the weak bees we as a group are not getting ahead. To a person like yourself loosing all the bees from 2% of your hives should mean nothing. You still get the comb and the honey but the bees should be ended so they dont spread the mites out of the colony. As you can show the loss and why I cant imagine why you cold not right off the loss of the hives against profit as you can show they are diseased. Can anyone name any example where we used a pesticide to our long term benefit? Cigarettes are a great cure for tuberculosis and look at where that got us.????
@@bobbinnie9872 I was pondering if I was too hard on you... on bee keepers for not wanting to exterminate a colony. Which lead me to why do goat, pig, cow, buffalo, chicken, or rabbit farmers have NO issue with culling? It is because they dont have to do it... they just take the animal to auction and the meat buyers take care of the rest. Time of year and condition of animal set results. I admit it is much easier.
So why did you take the single deeps up to double deeps?im running singles and I feel like you’re doing something that i should be doing.Your videos have taught me more than anything or anyone else.i learn something every day from them.
Thanks for this good question. I'm aware that at times my videos must seem a bit confusing and it probably seems like we're doing something different all the time. Although there is a bit of truth to that, and we are constantly evolving, at the heart of things we generally have the same strategy which demands flexibility. I need to address this partial illusion of constant change, and more about our beekeeping business strategy, in a video that in itself is not confusing. I promise an attempt to do that in the near future. If I can pull it off right It could be a good video .
@@bobbinnie9872 I’ll definitely be on the lookout for that video
Hey Randy. Brad here. I follow bob as well and love his content. In Georgia where Bob lives, I can see where single deeps would benefit him. Yet here in the New York State, I run all double deep brook boxes, filled with frames that are 18.5" deep. Wow what a difference I have seen. They bring in twice the honey every day and over winter very well on these. so i guess what would be best for you depends on where you live. Blessings.
@@bradgoliphant that’s a good point.i was just wondering why he was doing that because if he does then i should probably be doing it.Bob is the man as far as I’m concerned and I’m trying to soak in everything I can from him.
@@randyblankenship2115 As Bob is by far one of the best teachers out there, he does not always have the answers for everyone. And just because he is doing something, does not mean that what he is doing will best serve your needs. I like the idea of taking in everything you can learn, then figuring out what works best for you. It took me 15 years to learn what is best for my apiary. Your demographics plays a huge part in all this. Where you are located? The best advise I ever received is to make sure you have at least a few hives, then experiment with all these teachings, until the bees show you what is working best. I wish you all the best.
"Amazing! I watched the part at [06:36] and couldn't take my eyes off it! Thank you for sharing such valuable information!"
Bob Bonnie: The current encyclopedia of beekeeping! Thanks Bob!
Man Bob. I have been working with bees for 4 years going on 5 soon. I manage several yards of bees. I have a mentor that I help weekly to manage multiple yards. Every time I watch one of you and Randy Oliver’s videos, I feel like such a chump. I feel like I am in the despair stage of the Dunning-Kruger graph. I feel like I have a long way to go before I start having confidence in my work. I still make mistakes and get my butt chewed by more seasoned beekeepers. 3 times this year, every time I feel like such a dummy. I feel like I could never hang with you and your work crew! Y’all are amazing!
Thanks for the videos.
I've been doing this since 1981 and there's not a year goes by that I can't look back on and say "I wish I wouldn't have done that" about something. You're in good company my friend and it will get better.
@@bobbinnie9872 I appreciate the reply. I really view you as a great teacher so your comment is very valuable to me. It’s been rough this year.
Nice explanation of the different genetics and their origins and behaviors. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Greetings from Spain, though things are complicated over here I always love to watch your channel
Greetings.
This year I bought pro dfm, 1st time ever, after watching one of your videos. Honestly, forgot I had it. Then my bees took a hit of herbicidal drift from a crop duster. I lost my fieldforce, a couple of queens, and a lot of bees. The survivors shut dowm for a few weeks.
When I found out what had happened I remembered that probiotic. Each hive got pro dfm, 1 to 1 syrup with a pinch of honey be healthy. I removed the queen excluders. (I run a deep and a medium. )
It was a slow progression but the girls have made a comeback.
I truely believe that probiotic helped them recover. Now to make it thru winter.
Thanks for that video Bob. I also watched one where your bees took a hit from pesticide. Thanks for that one as well.
Susan
NW Georgia
Awesome video, really appreciate the information on Caucasian bees!
This is our fifth year and trying to keep Bees. So far our only experience has been with Saskatraz Bees. We are quite pleased with them yet we have no REAL way in doing a comparison to other breeds of Bees. We will be going in a couple of hours to check our few hives (6). Hoping to see and the slight possibility of some honey this year. Last year we got NADA! Also to see if any brood is being made. As always Thank You for another fun and informative video!
It would be helpful for you to talk about the fencing you put around most of your yards.
Why do you put feeder shims on them with the top cover on top and no inner cover (example at 16:20)? Don't they make crazy burr comb?
They will make crazy burr comb in a decent nectar flow. We will remove them in spring through summer. For Apigaurd treatments, extended oxalic pads and winter fondant feeding they are very useful.
How long does it take the queen to start laying again after Apiguard treatment?
Usually before it's entirely gone.
Thanks for sharing bob and crew. Got into my hives yesterday and every hive is looking good. Waiting on goldenrod flow and fall flow here in cleveland county. Thanks again friend!
I agree with you on the pro dfm Bob. I can’t put my finger on what exactly is different. Extremely deliberate flights, faster, the bees seem plumper. They tear it up when applied. Any is advantage is a good one
Hi Bob! Such a great comparison. Being in the northern part of the central valley in California, at base of the lower foothills, we have very hot, dry summers from May to October (we hardly have any "winter" or down-time for the bees, except for perhaps late December and January - we get about 10 days of temps under 32 degrees and about 12 inches per year, Nov to April). I was very curious about what races you found to be good in these climates. Most folks around here keep Italians, but recently I have had very good results with the New World Carnolians. I am very curious about trying the Caucasians or a mix of those!
Good morning Bob . I was doing inspections earlier this week in my eight frame colony with a deep an a medium brood set up . I have Italian bees in all of them an thy had six frames in the medium an three frames of brood an at this time the colonies we’re still busting with bees . In the DFM I also use it an I really think it is doing good for my bees .🤷♂️Thanks Bob !!.
Morning Bob. I had a line of Caucasions just a few years ago and they are one of the easiest bees to take care of. Another huge factor in the line I had was their level of swarming. It was almost non-existant. Basically once you got them through spring your concerns for swarming were done with. Thanks for your work Bob.
Thanks for mentioning that. I forgot too.
Hi Bob, I use dadant hives which means I leave bees in a single story colony all year long, In winter we try to reduce the amount of frames we let bees have in order for them to be more efficient on food consumption, I find it very interesting that you add another box in august before preparing them for winter, it’s the opposite of what most people do around here, do you feel like double deeps get overwintered better than single story colonies?
We are mainly adding these boxes because we're generating frames of honey when we put the feeders in. I actually like double deeps and they generally do come out in spring with more bees. Both systems overwinter fine in our region.
Just finished Apiguard treatments- question- do the bees carry out the Apiguard when it is moist or after it dries out? Asking because a few colonies did not finish carrying out and the portion left was dried out with some powder around a small nugget of Apiguard. Wasn’t sure if I should remove the dried portion or wait till the bees finish carrying it out.
We remove it eventually when working the colonies but I don't think it hurts anything if it is there for a while.
Starline was my Favorite bees to work out of all the bees I kept, was very sad to not be able to get them anymore. Back in the early 90s Starline was the first bee I tried. and over the years I tried many others but for me in Northern Illinois at the time they where by far the best in all ways for me. Gentle, great brood producers and piled on the honey each year.
Good info, Thanks for sharing. Perhaps you have covered it before and I just missed it. I noticed you are putting a small shim on each hive although there wasn't any treatments or food. What is the size and purpose?
It's 1-1/4 inch and it helps with the mite treatments and also fondant feeding which I plan to do starting mid winter.
Good morning Bob hope you are doing well. What kind of towels are you making your oa towels with. Thanks
Swedish towels.
Good morning. Great video really good information.
Good evening America. I have a question and would like an answer from you. How much space should be left in the hive for brood-rearing for Caucasian bees and Italian bees? And dozen-frame hives are the most optimal for Caucasian and Italian bees? P.S. Lithuania
Hey Bob, Brad here. Could questions for you. 1. What is the OA Extended Release you mentioned? Where do you get that? 2. You mentioned feeding in late fall to stimulate extract honey production--can adding fondant help as well? I have extra I want to get rid of.
And as far as the Strong Microbial Probiotics, I swear by it--BUT BE CAREFUL LEAVING IT OPEN LIKE I SAW IN VIDEO. Humidity activates its, and once it activated, it will become useless within a couple weeks. So keep it closed up tight until you need it.
Hi Brad. Check out Randy Oliver's site on the OAE. scientificbeekeeping.com/instructions-for-extended-release-oxalic-acid/ Thanks for the reminder on the probiotics. We use it up daily and it's only open as we're using it but I should mention your point the next time I talk about it.
Just wondering why the Apiguard when you were washing zeros in some of the colonies? I used OAE’s in the spring and the summer with fantastic results. Love your videos! Thanks
We were washing all zeros in spring but we did have some show a few in late July and we wanted to make sure everything was really low before fall buildup. So far my experience with OAE is that it helps maintain low numbers but doesn't tend to bring them down. It's interesting here that the Italians are still showing one or two after Apiguard but the Caucasians are not. Probably due to more brood.
Hola Bob muy importante gracias 👏👏👏🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
Very nice and quality video
I was looking forward to the honey bee races. Back in Texas, Sunday was for drag racing, Saturday was dirt track motorcycles.
Morning Bob.😁I kind of figure the probiotics helps if they need it and doesn't if they don't. I personally see nothing but benefit with the OA over time they appear to be a very useful tool in mite management. Yep it's that time of year, beginning my Fall grading and Winter prep myself. Winter is Coming... Thanks much Bob and Crew.
I've been hoping for some follow-up on the progress of the Caucasian bloodlines. I hope you can do more of an in-depth look at them at some point. Would love to see some in hive closeups of the breeder stock as well as the offspring. I've started with 3 solid black Carniolan queens, and I have found their survivor offspring to be far superior in over wintering. They may be smaller going into winter, but they come through with far more resources and ready to swarm a month earlier. I've also made use of the bee barn style hives by Vino Farms, which has made a tremendous difference in year-round hive vitality. I do hope you can bring us a window into the darker colored subspecies. Perhaps a feature-length film style. I realize that's asking a lot, but I think you would find it very rewarding. Thank you for the update. This helps to cement my philosophy regarding subspecies bloodlines for my yard
I use that same type of plywood for my lids & bottoms seems like good stuff so far. I have mostly Saskatraz and overall they’ve done well for me some are a bit hot though. I’m having the best luck with my own queens, Wintering in Saskatchewan.
Good morning Bob, thank You for this interesting video.
Good morning.
Believe I would have to run grab 3-4 hives and set them on the picnic tables with a super or two on each for the next couple days to let the cleaning ladies do their thing.
Loved it Bob! I watch your videos, & learn a lot from them; I am planning on starting it as a hobby. When you get a chance please share your knowledge/ anything about bee keeping in Austin, Texas area. Thanks, & stay blessed.
Thanks. I'm not sure what I could say about Austin. I'm afraid Austin is on a different planet than us. I'll be speaking there in December at the American Honey Producers convention.
I'm thinking about getting some saskatraz queens how are they doing and what is their temperament.
We've only had them for 2-1/2 months and they are raised and mated in California not Canada. So far they seem average in temperament, definitely not as gentle as our Caucasians but not bad. Lots of brood for this time of year, we will begin feeding next week because they need it badly. Next spring we'll know a lot more.
What are your specific criteria for whether you will requeen?
Poor pattern of course (poor performance)and a smaller than normal amount of bees. Oh yes, and a colony with a bad attitude.
Hello Bob. I do intend to multiply the bees in order to keep using the frames instead of stoking them up for next season. Question: do you sell queens or do you have someone that sells queens during this season? How do you make the OA puds? Please let me know. I do appreciate your teaching videos. The vegetation looks great there while here in N Texas everything seems to die out. Hopefully next weekend will rain.
I'm not up on who is selling queens right now. Perhaps search online.
I would suggest looking at Randy Oliver's site for instructions.
scientificbeekeeping.com/instructions-for-extended-release-oxalic-acid/
Hey Bob, how are you preparing bulk oxalic acid sponges? Size of batches etc!
Big batches, hundreds at a time, basically following Randy Oliver's ideas. scientificbeekeeping.com/instructions-for-extended-release-oxalic-acid/
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you, you’ve helped us more than you know over the years!
weve got wing stem north of knoxville. amazing how a little elevation delays the bloom.
May I ask why you position the food bag in the lower brood chamber? So close to the entrance hole?
We're putting the feeder in the lower box so it will be close to the center of the brood nest when we feed in fall. The colonies will access it more readily in cooler weather if it is close.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you very much for your explanation, I have always had the feeding bag in the upper brood chamber as far away from the entrance hole as possible but your argument that the opening of the feeding bag is approximately in the middle of the brood nest makes sense to me
@@Bienenwolf-marcel I know I don't always explain what we're doing very well (or at all). Your question has actually led me to address it in my next video. Thank you.
Hello Bob. What material do you use for oxalic/glycerine pads? Thanks for your valuable videos.
Swedish towels.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you!!!
Bob,
Quick question if you have time... a couple of videos ago, I think you made a brief comment that thymol hangs around in colony a bit and may have an adverse reaction with oxalic acid. How long would you wait after after apiguard treatment before using oxalic?
PS... I bought some double screen boards from you and love them! They are the most well-built, solid piece of equipment I own... thank you for all you do!
Thanks. We like to wait for a few days after there is no sign of it. It is absorbed by the comb but dissipates quickly.
Curious, why you are running spacers now. Thanks
They help when using the OAE pads and Apiguard treatments. Also, I'm planning on using some fondant patties in mid winter. You won't see them in the honey season.
Do you put oxalic on top of bee tires for processing
We put the oxalic acid extended release pads on top of the top bars.
Would you try to feed any of that back to the bees for winter?
We could but I don't like using diluted honey to feed with because it ferments so easily.
Hey Bob! Great video as always. Im in my 4th year keeping bees. Ive grown 60 double deep colonies from 2 nucs. I want to introduce new genetics/race of bee next year. Can you point me in a direction? Caucasian or carni?
Caucasians queens I don't know. We use artificially inseminated breeder queens purchased from" Two Rivers Bees" in Tennessee and produce our own. I used to purchase Carniolans from "Strachan Apiaries" in Yuba City, CA which were good at that time.
Ha Bob always look forward to seeing you My bees are looking great as well If I find a queenless hive or one not so well I have to combine I do not have any extra queens. I want to learn to graft I have everything I need to do it I just have to just do it. Your videos are great I wish u had a thanks button on your videos so I could give u a gift to say thanks so much for your teaching me how to take care of my bees. I enjoy every video u make and so much look forward to them. I hope you and your crew and family have a God Blessed Week
I remember the starlines. Stack boxes head high on the flow, swarm themselves silly if you don't stay ahead of them and starve out or feed heavy by August.
When it came to brood they had no quitting sense.
Sounds about right.
Italians here up North in Nova Scotia do well overwinter. I pollinate blueberry in mid-May, and the Italian will give me a split weeks before they go. Being early vs the later buildup of carniolian is a great benefit for this reason. Yesterday, I was checking hives, 10 to 12 frames of brood, and 10 frames of pollen. Those colonies will survive the winter with ease. They will be a box of bees, some maybe almost 2 deeps in March on first inspection. I find the mite load per bee is less with Italian, only because there are more bees to share the mites with. Italian do consume 2 gallons more syrup over winter than the Kona Carniolians, the other line of queen that I use. They have a 3 deep brood nest all summer, which has its draw backs because it's so much extra equipment. But if my colonies looked as small as yours do today in this video, I would be worried for winter survival.
I realized a long time ago that that northern colonies managed properly are generally larger going into winter, no matter what race of bees they are.👍
Good evening from Australia, Bob.
Good evening to Australia. Morning here of course.
Should you leave top entrance open when using apiguard?
I would not.
@@bobbinnie9872 thanks Bob 🙏
Bob, I listen to your videos while driving. When you put up a screen with words on them, please say something like here's added information, and then read it to us. That would make my driving much safer, because I wouldn't try to read what's on the screen.
How do you listen to the videos
Trying to put your irresponsible driving on bob. No chance. I agree though, I'm trying to listen to the videos in the beeyard
@@ericshipplett3517 I play them on my phone, and listen to them. If I'm on cruise control on an interstate, I sometimes put the phone right in front of me over the speedometer, and watch it a little bit.
@@theinvestorsperspective6142 I'm not driving irresponsibly. I don't read the text, and usually stop watching that video.
😢 I wish we had the genetic variety in southern New Zealand that you guys have, Carniolan drones were the latest import a few years ago giving us Italians , British dark Italian hybrids and Carniolan mostly hybrids with Italians now. I really wish we could introduce Caucasian and other varietys and Carniolan queens and drones, but of course we don't have European foulbrood here, thank the Good Lord, which is the main reason other breeds from other countries are kept out of New Zealand. It's unfortunate because I'm convinced we're going to have to diversify our honey bee breeds in the not to distant future. Great video 👍 and thanks for showing us the wingstem plant👋😃
Where abouts are you in south NZ? I visited there about 5 years ago and keep bees myself in middle TN USA.
@@yoshigg between Alexandra and Clyde in central Otago in southern New Zealand 👋😃
@@Manuherikiabeekeeping that's a super pretty place to call home! Drove right through there going to Dunedin
@@yoshigg I used to live in Dunedin, I worked for Cadburys on the second floor. They closed the factory a few years ago and demolished it, the hospital is putting buildings there now. I grew up in central Otago near Ophir and left when I was 15. Dunedin is a great place but central Otago is better 😃👍
@Manuherikiabeekeeping Dunedin seems like it's going through a transition. We stayed in Roslyn just north of city rise. Would very much like to spend more time in otago when the kids get a bit older. Last time we traveled Canterbury and Fjordland mostly. Wouldn't trade it for the world, but NZ has enough to see in a lifetime.
Your caucasians look just like my USDA russians - same type of traits they put quite a bit of honey at the top of every single frame, take a lot less syrup than my italians on a relative basis, and rarely eat themselves out of the hive during the summer dearth.
they aren't as close as you think. we run and breed both Russians and Caucs and they ain't the same.
Do you guys get a big fall flow ? Why would a hive swarm 2 days ago is it because my fall flow is so intense
We do get good pollen but not much nectar. Fall swarms are often with poor queens and small in size. I'm not always sure what that is about. Perhaps it's during an attempt to supersede.
@@bobbinnie9872 This swarm was 60 percent of my bees what I time getting into the tree to get them she was last years queen there were many cells I took all out but 1 if she can’t get mated I’ll just combine them back
@@aaronparis4714 I would suggest switching out those genetics when it is convenient.
First time Ive heard Starline mentioned in a long time. I had a few but they would eat you out of house and home
Oxalic strips from where? Can they be purchased now?
We made these. Very soon there will be a similar product called VarroxSan available. We have some preordered for our store and have been told they should be coming soon.
I just started Apiguard on 8.24.24. I hope I didn’t start it too late
Depends on the location. Mainly we don't like to have the queen shut down when fall pollen flows begin.
@@bobbinnie9872 I’m in Northeast Mississippi. It was so hot here I was afraid to use it
I lost my bees back in June due to vandalism and I bought three five frame nucs from a beekeeper west of Houston. He said the bees were gentle. Those bees are so gentle I dread even going out to the bee yard. Trust me next spring they will become gentle. I think I will invite that beekeeper over to work some truly gentle bees. I have worked true AHB although these bees aren't as aggressive as AHB they are close. I HATE MEAN BEES!
Your first bees died because they were gentle bees are not supposed to be gentle I run German Russian cross they are the meanest bee you could ever work sometimes I get stung 30. 40 times in a day of course I only use a veil but they are never sick I never lose bees they always produce they are little eaters give me a mean be any day
@@leannholbert16 No those bees died because of vandalism.
@@TheFamilyFarmHomestead I had some people tried to vandalize some hives years ago with some Russians I had they kicked the first two over by the time they got to the third one they had eat them alive the neighbors to the yard they could hear them screaming mean bees no vandalism gentle bees vandalism
@@leannholbert16 The Vandals did their deed from inside their pickup they backed into the hives you could tell this be the tracks the pickup left. So mean bees would not have stopped them.
Hi Bob, pity about the drum of honey, are you able to insist on better drums in the future?
Although I don't like these drums they are actually fairly heavy duty. In this case I think the band wasn't secured good.
During your off-season, would be great to offer online ordering! Would really supplement your income! I need some stuff. I’m gonna be your squeaky wheel Bob😂😂 Are you going to sell any of your queens with the good genetics you speak of next year?
Thanks for the thought. We are trying very hard to get a new website up but we've had one stumbling block after another come up. We'll get there I'm sure. I definitely want it up too. Selling our own queens would be nice but it seems to take too much time away from everything else. There's a part of me that would like too but I currently can't pull it off.
Where do you get the oxalic acid pads?
We make them ourselves. Check out Randy Oliver's site for instructions. scientificbeekeeping.com/instructions-for-extended-release-oxalic-acid/
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you so much!❤️
Good Morning Bob. What is the name of the probiotic you use?
Strong Microbials, Super DFM
@@bobbinnie9872 Ty sir.
Thats a new one !
Good Morning Bob !
Good morning sir!
The Pols look Cordovan!
Good morning Bob. Thanks for sharing. As always can learn alittle new.
Hey Bob
How do you make those pads
Kaymon Renolds has a good video on making the towels
@@BarNoneBeez send me a clip please
scientificbeekeeping.com/instructions-for-extended-release-oxalic-acid/
i love more bees
Selena reads your mind I see.
She knew what you were going to ask before you asked.
I used super DFM day one of beekeeping 30 colonies 1 deadout in 3 years. Perrysville, IN
Talk about open feeding 😂😂😮😮
The crosses are 💯 better!
Hey so you can combine without papers
We do it all the time as long as the bottom box is good and there are smaller quantities of bees in the box being added
@@bobbinnie9872 👍🏾
You haven't tried Buckfast ?
I used some years ago when they were still much like the line Brother Adam created. They were nice bees. The Buckfast sold in this country today are something entirely different and not desirable in my opinion. Bees much like the original can still be found in a few other countries.
I've watched beekeepers in a hurry very disruptive to their hives. Not so here they even get sprigs of grass off edges.
Good morning sir!
Good morning!
How is Seth doing?
He's doing fine. I see him occasionally and he's staying very busy.
@@bobbinnie9872 Oh, super. Thanks for reply.
🐝🐝🐝Wouldn't the Caucasians tend to be honey bound in the brood box then?
They can, especially towards the latter part of the season. That's why many are not being fed right now.
My mentor was a pollinator who talked about the starlings and minutes. The second generation were very defensive to a point of African defensiveness. Did you see this when you had them?
I never tried the Midnights but with the Starlines I never noticed a problem.
O man. That honey spell is a mess. You can feed the bees with it.
🤨Whats the matter Bob, ya don't wana face sting when they make those girls 😡🐝's!
🤣Honey bees are so much fun.😂
I like the Northern Bee lines compared to the Southern, them Mountain bees know how to sock away fall honey for Winter. They seem to work the best for me here in SW Washington, the majority of my stock are out of Old Sol Apiaries out of Rogue River, OR. I'm running my over Wintered Carni, Caucasians and their Hybrid stock, I call them my Sol stock. Beekeeping in the Northern regions is a bit of a different beast then in the south. Thanks for a Great video Bob, Blessed Days...
I would of pulled that sewer cap off an let the honey flow into the sewer
9:55 If you have done an apigaurd treatment and then 98% of the hives have less than .4 mites per 100 then treating any hive again is just building resistant mites.... any hive that is over the 1% AFTER a treatment like apigaurd should culled. Treatments are not a solution to the mites.... it is a stepping stone to stronger bees but if you keep the weak bees we as a group are not getting ahead.
To a person like yourself loosing all the bees from 2% of your hives should mean nothing. You still get the comb and the honey but the bees should be ended so they dont spread the mites out of the colony. As you can show the loss and why I cant imagine why you cold not right off the loss of the hives against profit as you can show they are diseased.
Can anyone name any example where we used a pesticide to our long term benefit?
Cigarettes are a great cure for tuberculosis and look at where that got us.????
😂
We are beginning to address this subject but with a different approach. We'll show more on this next year. Thanks.
@@bobbinnie9872 I was pondering if I was too hard on you... on bee keepers for not wanting to exterminate a colony. Which lead me to why do goat, pig, cow, buffalo, chicken, or rabbit farmers have NO issue with culling? It is because they dont have to do it... they just take the animal to auction and the meat buyers take care of the rest. Time of year and condition of animal set results. I admit it is much easier.