Disagreeing with Bob Binnie! - Discussing queen excluder use.
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2022
- Queen excluders! Some say honey excluders, but they don't have to be!
There are some simple techniques that allow queen excluders to be used to their full potential. Like most things in beekeeping if you can find a way to take advantage of the bees instincts you can get things going your way.
Hi Gus. I just ran across this video. Good job with good info. Thanks.
Hi Bob, thanks for watching.
It ruffled some feathers, so I’m glad you didn’t take any offense!
I’m a big fan, see you in September!
@@gusmitchellcranesnesthoney6529 No feathers ruffled here. I crack my lids sometimes also and talk about it and show it in a couple of my other videos. It's helpful with swarming too. I brushed through it quickly though and you did a much better job of demonstrating it than I did. Thanks for a good video.👍
Ask three beekeepers a question and get five different answers. "It depends....."
As a retired builder who grew up on a family farm, I look at the hive as a bee house and I apply my past experiences to my beekeeping. I agree allowing them control points of their own ducting system works wonders jmo. Gets them use to working the top box, I don't care if they use a top entrance or not as long as the queen stays down :-)
I think that's one of the things I love the most about beekeeping they are so many methods and tools it makes for a rich variety of styles. Ty for sharing your time, Blessed Days...
I think every beekeeper develops their own methods. I always like to see how other people keep bees. I also watch Bob's videos, kamons and yourself. All great Beekeepers.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate having more than one perspective to consider. When I find something that works for my bees in my area, I keep doing that 😊
Gus, thanks for the explanation of your perspective on excluders & I have also recently tried the offset inner cover & lid for more circulation on these hot days we have had here in Missouri. Seems to help with bearding during the day & nite. I know it was sunny out but I was waiting for lightning to strike right about the you said you disagreed with Bob......
Good video! Bob seems like a humble enough man that he can handle someone disagreeing. We can still have respect for one another and differ in opinion. You played it well and explained yourself. I’m going to try this method while i still have nectar coming in.
Hello Gus. Nice demonstration. I am just wondering that after ending of the honey flow, removing the supers, and closing the upper entrance do the bees that have used on the upper entrance have any problem with recognizing and entering back through the bottom entrance?
Best Regards from Lebanon
Mohammad El-Labban
Hello, yes there is confusion and chaos when the colonies are reduced down to singles.
They seem to figure it out though before the days over.
good video, FYI, Michael Bush is a big time proponent of the upper entrance. Actually for more reasons that honey, in his book is the Practical Beekeeper, one of his big advantages of the upper entrance is the lack of skunk pressure as I remember it, and as a fellow husker I tend to agree that there is a lot of skunks in the midwest. I tried upper entrances early on a few years ago and the bees did not seem to use it much, now with a few more years of experience maybe I should give it a try again and see if they would take to it better.
Great tip on the up and down on metal queen excluder….cross bars go down. I did not know this!
When you have the upper entrance are the bees filling out the honey supers near the offset entrance?
They fill out the whole super, generally starting in the middle, some colonies start at one side though
After learning about off setting supers from you, Randall Carter and a friend of mine Ted Kretschman I decided to try the offsetting of supers some this year. It works extremely well. Definitely some good advice.
I really believe it keeps them working those boxes longer in the high temps we get!
@@gusmitchellcranesnesthoney6529 I have out a stick in the corner of the upper box and lid for years but really like this offsetting. Will plan it incorporate into the future.
Gus your advise on offsetting make sense. I see you are not having robbing issues with a good flow but what if the flow shuts off suddenly and you still have the supers on and offset?
@@woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc to be a good beekeeper you need to be observant, learn your flows and area, how weather effects nectar sources etc and you won’t have a problem.
Otherwise you are about to have some problems.
@@gusmitchellcranesnesthoney6529 I was only asking if that could happen. I'm just getting started and feel like everything I try causes me problems. I put the excluders on to keep brood out of my supers. Because I don't have much drawn comb yet that move cost me a lot of honey I could have gotten because the bees wouldn't go through the excluder with foundation above it. Had I known about offsetting or upper entrances that may have helped.
What do you mean by offsetting the supers? I'm not understanding that completely. If there is a gap left there can't rain get in?
Not squared up, slightly offset providing a gap.
No rain is not a problem.
Also love the offsetting supers we tried that this year for the first time and saw tremendous improvement with production
Glad I have Layens hives so I don't have to worry about all this stuff. Only one entrance, no vent. Just 1 question, what happens with heavy rain? Thanks for sharing
I don’t have any issues when it rains, it just runs out if it gets in.
I am a firm believer in using excluders. They are a tool that works if the beekeeper understands how and when to use them. I also use upper entrances, during the flow especially. The notched inner cover with the telescoping lid propped back like you show is what I do. Really makes a difference with big hives and a flow on.
Yes sir, it really does.
How bout making a “spacer” out of 2” 3/4 board and place on top of inner cover. This allows full access w/o propping outer cover. I watched the video and I think I’ll increase the size of the entrance in inner cover and keep the plug on top of outer cover in case of robbing. I hate robbing!
I'll have to try this method out. I have half of my colonies with excluders and half without. Definitely trying out some different methods. Thanks Gus.
And did you notice any difference in honey production? Greeting from Argentina 🇦🇷
@@nicolasrivero3027 2 of the 5 without Excluders ended up with the Queens getting into my Supers and making a mess, so moving forward I'm using them. As far as Honey production, no difference.
@@CastleHives thank you very much for your response! We run around 1000 beehives and we are just about to start massively using them because of the agility of harvesting they provide. Checking frame by frame is a very tiring and time-consuming job
Your attic analogy was both hysterical and spot on !
only thing I have to say about offsetting is water ,rain could be a problem,I use queen excluders and don't have any issues,good video thanks.
I’ve not had any problems with rain, been offsetting my supers for years.
I learned it from Robert Hodum, he’s been doing it for decades, he’s 83 now and still doing it.
Give it a try, let me know how it works for you.
great video, i paused it at about 4.30 to go outside and open my super entrances :). back in now watching the rest👍
Does offsetting the supers cause any problems getting rain in the hive?
Not a problem
@@gusmitchellcranesnesthoney6529 I am in my first year beekeeping and learning a lot. I liked this idea the first video I saw of you doing it, just wondered if rain would get the brood cold or anything like that. Thanks for the help
@@Weshole5W rain can get in but it’s not an issue.
Not forcing the bees though the excluder is the best plan for strong hives.
Gotta do something with that high humidity.. I've played with upper entry made no difference either way. We don't get humidity like that in the north unless it blows up from the south
I have upper entrances on all my colonies and I see the bees guarding them but they really aren't ever using it for resources. It's definitely not as hot where I am compared to you. The bees seem to have no problem going through the excluders and filling up supers. I also use vented shims above all the inner covers, not sure if that's good or bad but colonies that I didn't vent would beard on hot days?
They can go through, what I demonstrate is just a bypass, and will get you a little more honey.
My definitely come and go from upper entrances, like I show about the middle of the video.
I think it’s good when they’re not bearding. Bearding bees aren’t working.
Talk with 12 beekeepers and you will get at least 20 opinions on how to best keep bees.
Years ago, I used to use bottom screen boards to allow air flow.
Now, all my supers have a 1 inch hole below the grip indentation. I have found the bees seldom us the holes.
Ten -twenty bees may cluster around the holes, but at least 99.9% enter through the bottom entrance.
I don’t use upper entrances and have never had any issues with the bees moving past the excluder. That being said, I run foundationless brood chambers so my bees tend to run smaller so maybe that helps.
Where did u get your bee suit? Also, r your gloves sting proof?... if so where did u get them? thx
Each beekeeper has their own methods. Only the bees have the final say .
When u offset the honey supers #1 doesnt that let rain in? ... and... #2 doesnt that promote robbing? thx i am a novice trying to learn.
We all can learn from one another and respect and disagree with each other at the same time. Good video. Beans blooming there already?
Yeah, they’ve been blooming in places, but lots of fields in different stages.
Is there a difference In soybeans? Our around in NC doesn’t get much attention from the bees. There’s 2 fields within 300 yards of one of our yards with blooms and they aren’t doing much more or a less a dearth now here beside spread out clover
It’s not the beans, it’s the soil.
Soil has a lot to do with how much nectar a plant produces, some to do with color and flavor as well.
My bees are on the edge of 20 acres of beans. And in flying distance of a 100 plus additional acres. But they are unirrigated acres in the hills.. Clay soil.. Have never thought the bees made any off of the beans. A friend of mine would say " hills of clay no honey today"
Do you know of any studies proving that queen excluders shorten bee lifespan?
No I don’t know of any studies with research data. There is lot of discussion available to read but I have not found anything scientific.
Enjoy following your videos brother
How bout making a “spacer” out of 2” 3/4 board and place on top of inner cover. This allows full access w/o propping outer cover. I watched the video and I think I’ll increase the size of the entrance in inner cover and keep the plug on top of outer cover in case of robbing. I hate robbing!
Wow ! Thats a great idea.
During summer no problem with top Entrance close it off in winter To keep the heat in
Yep,I agree with you!
I have argued with people who pull brood up to draw new comb.
I was taught to have a upper entrance and to close the bottom entrance and then they get used to the top entrance being forced to travel down through the supers.
Later in the season open the bottom entrance for circulation.
I live in South Central Texas where there is a huge population of wild Africanized honeybee colonies and they would completely rob my hives out if I propped my covers up like that ( with in a few hours ) . I am glad that it works for you but it’s not for here in South Texas .
Keep it real Gus,lots of soft people watching but that's OK 👍
"Click bait"....I'd never thought thats what that was, I read title a yr ago and lost confidence in you cause I trust Bob 100%. And I quit watching your videos. But I decided to hear you out to see how anyone could disagree with Bob. Never seen a lie that made me wanna watch. Thanks for videos
The name of this is not appropriate. We never put down another UA-camr beekeeper. Please change the name. Everything in beekeeping is experience or opinion. No one way is right or wrong. Again please remove Bob's name. Personal agreeing or disagreeing is fine but don't make it public.
I’m going to guess you didn’t watch the entire video.
@@gusmitchellcranesnesthoney6529 I always watch your videos to the end. But it doesn't change the title. Ive never seen name dropping in a title before. Love your videos. Many disagree with others on youtube but don't mention names.
Why would you title a video like this ? Bob has over 40 years as commercial bee keeper. Is a book of knowledge. An has thousands of beekeepers that totally back his theory. You said it rite…click bait !
I titled it that way after much thought.
I watched Bob’s video and I disagreed with his thoughts on the problem with single story colonies.
I kept it respectful, you can respect someone without agreeing with everything they teach.
If you got far enough into the video to hear the clickbait part you at least watched most of it, I hope you got something other than pissed off out of it.
@@gusmitchellcranesnesthoney6529 I’m not peed off. Just don’t understand why you wanted to beat on bob. He wouldn’t have done that to you. I don’t know bob never met him. We are all in this together, but I can tell you by the comments that follow his videos, he has thousands of people that agree with him. I think you would do better just to give your options an idea’s an let people decide for themselves.
@@mikeconley3031 If Bob minds I’ll change it, but I’m pretty certain he doesn’t.
No where in that video do I “beat” on Bob.
Learned something today... 👍🏼@sandia_hives