Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 176 how to get bees OUT of Honey Supers and more.
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Welcome to another episode of backyard beekeeping topics. Today we're focused on work that should be done in preparation for wintering your colonies.
Check the fluff segment at the end of today's presentation to learn my thoughts about how to get your bees out of a super.
You are invited to submit your own topic for consideration here:
www.fredsfinef...
All of these presentations are also available via podcast:
frederickdunn....
1) One of my hives is not silent, I don't want to lose my bees. Would QMP help?
2) At one of our beekeeping meetings, it was suggested that we pack-down our hives. Can you explain packing down a hive?
3) I plan to remove honey supers on the 23rd of September. My question is about a product called Super DFM. Do you have any experience with this sort of thing?
You can find all of my interviews on this page, including the inventor of Super DFM as well as Best for Bees regarding the "inspensing" system.
Dr. Vera Strogolova, and Dr. Erica Shelley "ProtectaBee".
• Interview with Dr. Ver...
www.fredsfinef...
4) I have tall hives with two deeps and supers on top of those, if I'm not harvesting honey this year is it ok to leave them on for winter?
5) When do you put the Hive Alive Fondant on in the fall, right after you pull supers or wait until it is really cold.
Learn more about Hive Alive right here: www.fredsfinef...
6) Does OAV mite treatment also kill tracheal mites?
" Some Canadian beekeepers obtained good results under cool
conditions by applying pieces of cardboard saturated with a mixture of
menthol (dissolved in alcohol) and vegetable shortening to hives. If
the air temperatures outside are too high, menthol vapors may drive
bees out of their hives. If bees are hanging outside the colony entrance
in treated colonies, crystals should be removed until temperatures
drop."
For those wanting to dissect their bees and learn more about these mites, please follow this link: www.tandfonlin...
7) Would you say that one of the flaws of the Flow-Hive is that they encourage robbing after harvesting a frame, or frames?
Here are my Flow-Hive Videos: www.fredsfinef...
8) You mentioned using the "BeeSmart" inner cover with the BeeMax outer cover. Did you not likke the BeeSmart outer cover?
You'll find the BeeSmart covers on this page at BetterBee (I am not compensated for this link):
www.betterbee....
Below is the Fluff reference section:
Honey-B-Gone (don't sniff this stuff), is available right here:
(not an affiliate link) blythewoodbeec...
Watch a video and learn more about Honey-B-Gone right here:
• What Is Honey-B-Gone &...
Excellent owner, truly great company!
Today's Shout Out goes to Roosevelt Roberson, well a video showing an interview where Roosevelt shares a little about his path to mastering beekeeping: Please say hello from Frederick Dunn
• Encore Excursion - Bee...
Some of you have shared how much you like my bee mugs and are collecting them. I very much appreciate your support. Today's mug is a collage of honey bees on various nectar plants:
freds-fine-pro...
Thank you for Bee-ing with me here today! Please subscribe so you'll never miss a presentation :)
1) One of my hives is silent, I don't want to lose my bees. Would QMP help? 3:10
2) At one of our beekeeping meetings, it was suggested that we pack-down our hives. Can you explain packing down a hive? 8:30
3) I plan to remove honey supers on the 23rd of September. Do you have any experience with a product called Super DFM? 17:00
4) I have tall hives with two deeps and supers on top of those, if I'm not harvesting honey this year is it ok to leave them on for winter? 29:56
5) When do you put the Hive Alive Fondant on in the fall, right after you pull supers or wait until it is really cold. 39:56
6) Does OAV mite treatment also kill tracheal mites? 51:04
7) Would you say that one of the flaws of the Flow-Hive is that they encourage robbing after harvesting a frame, or frames? 54:08
8) You mentioned using the "BeeSmart" inner cover with the BeeMax outer cover. Did you not likke the BeeSmart outer cover? 1:03:11
Thank you Adam
Your the man, thanks for all your effort.👍👍
Thanks Adam, always helpful to see this breakdown. :)
Hi Fred. Thanks so much for answering my question today! Thank you for the wonderful information and assistance! Happy Birthday to your grandson. Enjoy the family time!
You are very welcome Bob! :)
Fred, great video, and thanks for taking the time!! By the way, I was the one with the question mark over my head........😉
:) ah, mystery solved...
So look forward to these videos on my Saturday morning with breakfast thanks heaps Fred it for your info it has helped me and my bees in many ways, I’m currently volunteering to fight the mite incursion in NSW a very depressing hard job as we are euthanising hives in infected areas currently but I believe we may have the upper hand at the moment here, regards Warren
Good onya mate Your and everyone elses efforts to contain this incursion are truly appreciated. Hopefully you guys will be able to fully eradicate the little buggers before they establish themselves here permanently.
Thanks for all the good info. Guess I'll be figuring out how to transport & store a medium honey super in the next few days so my colony doesn't freeze this winter!
A little slow to post here but I want it publicly noted that I am trademarking the technical term, "Double Bubble" if it has not been so already. I have been playing with Reflectix in lids. Will share with you what I have come up with. As always, thank you for the video.
I think Double-Bubble is already in use... could be wrong :) If it's nto currently trademarked, you might have a chance. www.ecofoil.com/collections/double-bubble-insulation?gclid=CjwKCAjw4c-ZBhAEEiwAZ105RWlFVVYXDtuRUU8S39xBWk91pH7QPtCz563EnwOY-Jb-sXtPxakaNRoCD-EQAvD_BwE
I'm in AZ so we still have some time on our season. Still in our rainy season. I've planned from the beginning to do a 1 deep, 1 med base for my hives. Started with only one hive and had many struggles due to not having drawn comb. Once all that was fixed, I decided to put a 2nd deep on rather than the medium, in order to have it drawn out for a future split. I now have a 2nd hive that was collected from a friend's home... they benefitted from some bettercomb and their own comb banded into frames.
The first hive currently has the 2 deeps, a medium, that I consider belonging to the bees since it will eventually be their 2nd box, and a flow super that I'm just trying to get the cells sealed on for future use. The medium was full and capped. I checkerboarded it with the undrawn frames from the 2nd hive since they weren't drawing theirs out... now they both have honey and are drawing comb.
I obviously only need 2 boxes on each for the winter. Probably don't even need that since winter is quite short here, but I'm committed to the 2 boxes for each. the flow super will be pulled and stored. Do you think I should pull the 2nd deep, since I intend to use it for a split next year anyway? This would get it down to the intended 1 deep 1 med... or should I pull the medium, leave the 2 deeps, and pull the deep next spring when I make that split... I'd put the medium on at that time...
The major difference is that the 2nd deep has pollen, and occasionally brood as well as honey... I can easily install and excluder to allow the brood to emerge before pulling it... The medium is only honey (from syrup as I was feeding them at the time) without any pollen... Thinking that pulling the 2nd deep now would possibly make it easier to use in a new hive in the spring. Would it be harder to store with the pollen in there as well as honey?
Storing the pollen isn't a problem other than it may attract some pests. The bees may ignore and just clean out the left over pollen in spring. They tend to use fresh first. I don't see that as an added storage problem.
@@FrederickDunn Cool... I'll store the deep and have it ready to go for my first split in the spring. Thanks for the response...
I like your new multi faceted bee cup -- one bee could have all those sweet flowers in her memory. Now I do too. Many flower memories. Thank you for showing us all. One of your videos I watched featured a drone take or bee's eye view of your neighborhood. I think one of your bees did that highlight for you! I love watching my bees disappear into the sky. My bees are grumpy today. Some days it is risky to sit down next to the hive without a bee jacket and veil. One bee had bounced my baseball cap 20 feet from my hive as I approached today. So I put on my jacket and veil for my sit next to the hive. 30 seconds or so after I sat down two feet to the side of the hive several guard bees suddenly and simultaneously flew out to chase me away. Perhaps it is time to wash that bee jacket. It is a hot September 24th afternoon here in California. Great cup!
Maybe get a few suits and rotate them :) Glad you were protected.
all day long looking at the bee
harvest lane has beesmart covers 10 bucks,...good buy,glad you mentioned honey as a cold battery,,good info,90° F here tomorrow
Wow, that's a great price! Feel Free to share that link! Thanks, Mark.
Have you experimented by comparing open feeding vs hive top feeding for the fall?
They serve different purposes. The in hive feeding targets a specific struggling colony of bees. The open feeding is one way to draw off the foragers from potentially attacking and robbing smaller colonies. Not all colonies will receive feed in-hive. But open feeding makes it available to any bees that are still foraging, including bumble bees and wasps. It's an opportunity to observe what other species are in your area.
I have a question about the using fume boards. Since honey is hygroscopic and will absorb moisture, do you think the honey bee gone or whatever used could get into the honey?
It can absolutely impact the honey. That's why you really want to carefully consider what honey-robbing scent you will be using. Some of the strongest formulas work very well, but can provide a smell of bad cheese or worse. So, a mild odor is very important in my opinion. Uncapped honey would be the most prone to taking on that odor.
Fred are going to wait until your first frost to take honey from your layens hive?
The Layens and Long Lang Hives are on my to-do list for next week. I'll be condensing them down. I'll also be adding the insulation to their covers at the same time if the weather cooperates.
Great vdo. Fred on flow hive when do you not vent the flow hive. On bottom
If you're talking about the back vent to the tray area, I already have that in the closed position this time of year.
@@FrederickDunn ty so much for reply
my son has honey bee at his house in pop can. so I a swom trip over. just Robin bees. Bees in a tree
would spraying your bee jacket with s squirt ofbee repellant bee a good practice ,where the zippers come together,keeping those determined bees away from getting in 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝
Hi Mark, I think you should ask the inventor at Blythewood Bee Supply, he's very responsive. I personally don't want that scent on me as I'd rather not be coughing and wondering what's causing it? I'd use it to move bees around, but not on myself.
I couldn't harvest a flow hive here in GA. until it's colder than the Argentinian sugar ants can tolerate, because they're everywhere during warmer times.
That's one unpleasant challenge...
I use Mavrik Perimeter in a spray bottle, mixed @ 50% the recommended ratio to control them around and under my hives, that's an offlabel usage, but seems to work and doesn't seem to effect the bees. A state bee inspector told me about this and sez a few drops of this mixture where SHB jails are congregated at the end spaces of top bars works wonders as well, IDK because I'd never put insecticides inside my hives, but I hope it kills any larvae that crawls out to borrow into the ground.
frist for mu son. leaning
Great info as usual, really love the squadron of venters and the end. I didn't notice pollen coming into the hive, is that because of the more limited access in and out because of the venting or is there less available. Thanks for the video
Excellent observation! That landing board sequence was taken at sunrise. The air and plants are damp so pollen gathering didn't go into full force until the landscape dried out. By 11:00 am they were bringing in pollen at a fast rate.
That leads me to another question. If it was very early, were they venting to cool it or reduce humidity, both maybe?
Could you possibly do a vid on a dummy (without bees) Langstroth hive set up for winter showing everything your using and doing? Seeing it is easier to understand than listening how it’s done. That would give us a head start on building and acquiring the materials before it’s too late in the year. Maybe also show what you remove or change in that configuration during summer.
That video is on my status "to-do" board and I hope to get to that very soon.
@@FrederickDunn thank you! Thank You !
I came across a video of a bear in Russia that was drunk on "Mad Honey" and I would love to hear your take on the stuff. The internet says it is fairly rare in the USA.
I think that's very very rare. I'm glad we don't have that honey here :)
😁Fred made a bunch of real cool looking swarm factories. Now you can record the complete swarm process.
It is surprising me how my carni fly when it's in the low 50's😊it's good kuz I'm in the NW I like it. Was watching them this morning getting busy while I was drinking my coffee and looked over at my apiary thermometer and saw it was 50f. I really like the 5 over 5 set up, I think I am going that route with my Spring splits next season.
Fred I got to give another new local keeper 2 of my spare queens to help him this fall.🥳Beekeeping community, we get to help each other succeed.👍 Ty for sharing your time Fred, Blessed Days...
I love the Super DFM. I had a issue with DWF virus with no mites. The DWV came with the package bees. My bee store gave me DFM and cleaned up the virus.! I live just north of you in Vermilion Ohio so we probably go to the same bee store!
Glad I saw this reply. That’s good to know! Thank you.
I *do* live near a corn field and had a die off due to pesticides once this summer.
I also have a neighbor with a gorgeous garden I have seen spraying… something…
So it probably is worth a try. I may try one of my hives that seems weaker than the other (I only have two) and see if it has an effect.
Great Saturday watch , as always have a fab weekend and a great week , happy birthday too the little beekeeper from our family in the uk 🇬🇧
Hi Fred. Been feeding 2:1, just switched to Hive Alive Fondant. In doing so, learned that the Italian bee hive died (except for maybe a couple dozen) sometime in the past 2 weeks. The Saskatraz are flourishing. If all things were as equal as I thought, that means something killed them. Are Italians that much less hardy?
Italian lines are less cold hearty, I don't manage them.
cool
I got a message as a member of Hive Alive newsletter that their website do to high demand is out of product. Fondant and liquid. Message said that they were trying to go into higher production but we're out of stock.
True, but there are still some available on Amazon for now, but will be depleted very soon. They underestimated the demand.
Do the bees create swarm cell cups like queen cups without going forward with swarming? I’ve seen two hives do this on the bottom deep box frames so I removed them and a week later there were again so I removed them again. There has never been an egg or larvae inside the cells so I wondered if they were being built just in case, like a queen cups are for emergency supersedure cells?
Yes, they often make up cups that don't receive an egg. It's common in the middle of a brood frame as well as along the edges.
@Frederick, are talking about seed treatment of neonictinoids on soybeans and corn, in association with the Super DFM?
Please watch the interview, or visit the Strong Microbials website, they explain what their formulas are intended to treat. Thanks, Carl :)
I was at one of my local bee supply stores to pick up sugar syrup, and store told me the syrup they had in stock smelled like it had begun to ferment before I purchased it. It tasted fine. I used an open feeder to feed it to the bees, and for the first three days only wasps were present at the feeder. On day four the bees found it. How much fermentation of sugar syrup can honey bees tolerate, and if it were too much would they still try collect the syrup?
If it's beyond what they will tolerate in an open feeding situation, they simply won't take it. Much like apples that fall on the ground and spoil, once it goes so far, you'll see only wasps and flies.
Fred… you never finished the complaint you now have with the hive butler?
Oh, sorry. I was going to add that some of my hive butlers that had full frames of honey in them over winter did not support the frames and bowed out in the center allowing the frames to slip down. So, I no longer leave full deep frames of honey in Hive Butlers for extended storage.
Thank you Fred!
You are more than welcome. We owe you a debt of gratitude for the years of providing excellent beekeeping products! I'm a fan.
The footage of venting bees at the end is amazing. I could almost smell the warm honey scent.
🇱🇨♥️👍🏼
Was this talk about the feed additive from Canada
That's one interview, the Strong Microbials interview was in Wisconsin. They are separate companies.
Mug up at the Dunn's, good morning, Fred. Good morning, all. 609 am and 42 degrees F with winds of 15mph and gust to 30 here in central NH. Thanks for another Q&A. Now for the show. Great info, thanks again, take care
I always picture Schroeder on his toy piano playing your intro music!! 😆
It is very similar to that. Vincent Anthony Guaraldi probably left a deep impression on many of us with his piano compositions used in the Peanuts specials :) I wish I could get license to use his music :)
Hi Fred: I have a 10 frame hive that was a captured August swarm. They started out drawing wax fast, and I added a second deep, but then they petered out. So they essentially have 6 frames top and bottom with a few partial frames in a double deep 10 frame hive. I thought, given the change in weather and slow down in wax production, and that they are currently on more frames than a stacked nuc, that I would replace the empty frames with a solid break, or insulated block, and cozy the bees up so they had minimal empty space to keep warm. What material do you suggest? I don’t have much wood on hand, but I do have lots of green foam sheets - although I know the bees will chew it. Will painting make a difference? Will the bees chew reflectix? Thank you.
I can't validate that the bees won't chew reflectex, just haven't tested that. Regarding ridid foam board insulation, I would read everything I could about the composition before puting that inside a hive, many forumlas involve off-gassing and wouldn't be ideal in my opinion. I don't currently have an in-hive preferred insulation material at the moment.
@@FrederickDunn would you try to reduce them down to a stacked nuc? It would be a tight squeeze because they are still expanding, and I’d hate to trigger a swarm. I do insulate the outside with top/ 3 sided windbreak foam because of our high winter wind loads, and there are plenty of bees.
Thanks for all the information. I have listened to all the pod cast on pod beam. I wished you had all you're FAQ on the pod cast. I am now listening for the 2nd time now. Enjoy you're channel.
I do agree with you genetics is a big thing the former sprayed here and killed about 80%. So I had 10% and see where I go
Thx Frederick, your explanation of why not to leave too much capped honey above the bees and your experiences with thermal imaging of the brood nest helped me make my wintering decisions based in the science of why and how, is best for the bees, glad you really covered that in depth.
Glad it was helpful!
Hello Frederick please do you know what appears to be white substance in a few cells that I can see at the rear of the flow 7 frame super? Could it be set honey ? There are no capped cells in the super which is disappointing because we thought we might get another lot of honey as a bonus. these cells are not together and one or two seem to have white on top of runny honey to the top of two cells. There are about 8 or 9 of these cells.
I don't think it rape seed nectar but could another type of nectar set? Best wishes & here's hoping you have been successful this season and you and your bees are well.
There is often white, somewhat granular looking substances in honey cells when someone has been feeding heavy sugar syrup. It's common when beekeepers look at spring honey supers that have been fed in fall. That's my best guess on this one.
@@FrederickDunn Frederick Thank you..... No sugar's been fed to them since the new colony were fed a bit of 1 to 1 in June.
I put a full frame of their own honey above the Flow super hoping that they would move that to the Flow super. I suspended it in the pitched roof / top feeder shim, from the ridge and the bottom of the wood frame just cleared the top board.
We've been away but I was glad to see your invaluable advice re getting the bees out of the Flow frames!
As usual there is no Honey B gone available in the UK. Hence that is why when my old pal (Warminster PA) & myself discussed the differences between the UK & the US is that on many an occasion the US is about 10 years in front of us! The mind boggles because it is well known that there are some very intelligent folks here but it seems things are bogged down here. An excellent beekeeper said the other day - beekeepers are not allowed to make their own 'things' when it relates to Bees. I said even if not doing things DIY the bees are dead? There was no answer to that one!
We must taste what comes out of the white cells if and when we take the Flow super off for the autumn/Winter. Not as yet though because they are still very busy with hundreds back and forth.
best Wishes Thank you
@@FrederickDunn Thank you Frederick for your thoughts on the white deposit in the flow frames. We spoke to a professional lady beekeeper in Ganllwyd North Wales and she said straight away. Ivy !! I wonder if you don't have much Ivy flowering in PA?
As I say no sugar had been fed to them all Summer. The bees are still working hard to fill the Flow super but it doesn't look like they'll succeed before the cold weather so we might have to use the Honey Bee Gone fluid & get what honey there is in the flow hive as best we can. Best Wishes
Thanks Fred, happy birthday to your grandson 🎊. Have a great weekend ✌️
Thanks so much
Bee Quick (also smells like almonds)
Good stuff. Many thanks.
Great video Fred, I really liked the fluff section it’s certainly getting longer. Thanks for mentioning we’re going into our season down here in Oz. Hoping to put put some videos of our bee season soon. Your close ups of the bees is excellent, I can just sit and watch ours for hours. Thanks again TrickyTrev 👍🐝🍯
Thank you so much Trevor! I am always thinking of you guys down under :)
good fall day mr dunn
Great Q&As this week. I truly enjoyed it Frederick. Thank you.
Question for you my. I'm happy to report that all six frames of my flow frames are filled again--twice this year--wow. Four frames are 90% capped and two frames are 70% capped. I'm assuming your would wait another 10 days or so to see if they complete the capping-correct? Also, with the second round, it took them over 2 months to start capping the flow super frames. Could this honey bee fermented or spoiled? Thanks my friend. Grateful for you. Brad
It really gets down to humidity levels, they often can't dehydrate the honey. If the end of the year arrives and I'm packing down, I would pull the flow-frames and other uncapped surplus and put them in a dehydrating tent until they fall to 19% or lower.
49:58 couldn't you use a borescope to inspect the insulated hive without opening it or would the giant lighted worm invading the hive cause panic?
You can use a boroscope but that doesn't indicate thermal mass. The bees do go towards the built-in led lights.
If you force an abscond, you're still going to have to do damage to the structure to get the abandoned comb, brood, and honey out, or you're only going to create other problems.
That was a video by Yappy The Bee Man, sounds like a great comment for him :) I'm sure he has an answer. I don't think he removed any comb.
Fred,
What is the best way to store partially filled honey super frames? Should they be froze first before storing?
I put them in hive butler totes with wise-dry rechargeable desiccant packs. You "can" cycle them through the freezer, but I've never really had to do that as the cold weather nights tend to take care of any potential eggs etc. The Desiccant packs take care of any condensation issues.
Pretty funny how you are against supplements when it comes to human workouts, but you promote every kind of supplement for bees under the sun.
Hello Sloppy Scientist. I actually do not promote every kind of supplement under the sun for bees. I do pass on information and find the science that supports what's being used. It's part of my responsiblity as a honey bee educator to separate scientifically proven resources from those with only anecdotle claims. Was there a specific supplement that I've recommended that you are personally at odds with? I'd be happy to look into it more if you think I've been on the wrong track. When it comes to human vitamin supplements, they are overwhelmingly proven to be of little to no value to the people taking them unless there is a specific deficiency identified that needs to be addressed in an individual patient. Vitamins and vita packs that I've mentioned are of little to no value for people already in top form. I stand by that.
I was told by someone directly involved in recruitment that increasingly young men of military age do not have the bone density to get through basic. I suspect it’s likely a result of fearful parents not allowing vigorous outdoor play and the addictive allure of games that involve only thumb exercise
That's interesting, and I hope it's not true. It's definitely more difficult to attract quality recruits according to the recruiters and command reports on manning. For my program, they are failing to test at the necessary aptitude levels for special programs. I hope that a renewed feeling of patriotism can motivate some of our young people to "serve" in the military.
@@FrederickDunn , maybe until more attention is paid to physical education, my grandchildren attend schools which no longer have outdoor recess!, the armed forces may need to recruit and basic train separately for combat versus non combat. Academic aptitude is going to be a longer turnaround.
Happy birthday to your grandson. Great relevant info. Thank you Fred.
Thanks, they are all here wrecking the house as I'm writing this. (';')
@@FrederickDunn as you know they grow so fast, great that they are exuberant :).
I don't understand why almost all beekeepers in US make their bees move up into the super over the winter. Instead (if you have 2 deep, or deep and a half) of rotating boxes, this time of year.. brood on top, and making them bring honey up, insulate them self with big crowns of capped honey and full capped frames on the sides. That way they are always in the warmest part of the hive.. with some top insulation there will never be humidity problems, and with some experience in timing, your honey super will never have brood in it. This works great in continental Europe.. the time to do it is right now, before winter.. maybe too late for some places. Bees need to have time to cap it.. but it's much better and easier on them to move honey up than to process sugar water right now in fall
I never rotate my boxes, they naturally move up into the honey because that's what they do no matter what cavity they are in. Also true, with insulation above as described in this video, you move the dewpoint below the cluster and onto the sidewalls where the bees make use of it. Honey bee biology is consistent no matter where they reside. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Rotating the lower two boxes divides the brood at a critical time. I would not recommend that. They naturally have brood near the single entrance and fill the upper cells with honey resources, we don't "make the bees move up" they naturally rise through winter.
@@FrederickDunn Ok.👍 You do natural.. l will keep doing the "unnatural" but easier for bees.
I found only one beekeeper over there that does it 'Silver lake honey homestead'.. l suggest to watch a couple of his videos.. so you have an idea what l'm talking about. Nobody cuts brood boxes.. it's not about that, it's about making them insulate themselves with honey.. not my thoughts, but common practice all over Europe
@@researcherAmateur I'm more than happy to have people do what works for them. Starting winter here with brood on top and honey below would end up in disaster as they simply fail to break cluster and descend into the cold lower area to access stored honey below. I'm grateful that everyone will find their own methods that hopefully make use of what the bees are prone to do without us. People would certainly be welcome to try both configurations and observe the results for themselves.
@@FrederickDunn yes, it's about trying different methods. This one is nothing new, that's why l wrote my first comment. This method is used in cold climate.. but it's not on me to tell you when to rotate boxes. It needs local experience.
It's always the same with beekeepers.. every one is the best, and fast to judge stuff without trying it.. but we always talk about a never ending learning curve with bees.
It doesn't take much to look into it... maybe, after trying it.. they will realize how wrong and unnecessary top ventilation and outside insulation is. But I doubt that... anyway, I'm just trying to give some easier solutions