1) I'm wondering how many supers I need to buy. I want to use mediums over one 8-frame deep due to medical issues. 4:26 2) I had several hives bringing in pollen on a mild day, now it's back to 25 degrees. Any thoughts on strategies at this stage of the game? 41:09 3) I understand you're working on a hyssop growing video that will likely come out later. But I'm interested in knowing more about your current experiments before it's too late to play around. What light sources are you trying out? 45:23 4) Can you discuss how and why you are keeping the 1 deep and 1 super arrangement. I feel like I'm missing something. 52:30 5) This spring, my hives are showing wet bottom boards. Is this a concern, or can this moisture be better managed? 1:06:13
My one hive a dead out. So I bought 2 more hive boxes gonna go with 3.this year. Got Eco treatment. Gonna try it out. join a bee keeping club reading book. Watching Fred. Maybe just maybe they make it next winter. Thank you Fred for all the information when those magnified bee pictures get used up please share them with us. Love them extra close shots.
Ive had success winter sowing all perennial seeds- it is a good way to cold stratify seeds and grow them with minimal maintenance before transplanting them to their final location. Hyssop, Echinacea, lavender and especially milkweed do great with winter sowing.
Thanks! I have learned so much from you these last few months. Thank you for answering my questions. It was nice meeting you and your wife at Hive Life. Have my equipment, seeds to plant, excited for my husband and I to get started on our farm/apiary!
This was absolutely your best, most informative video yet and I have watched your videos for years. I have enjoyed watching your journey. You today hit on exactly what I have learned through the years after I quit listening to others and paid attention to the bees themselves. I love the information you gave out today. I still have people argue with me about a top entrance. Yet these same people don't do as well as my bees through the winter and very low losses, which usually I can look at and see it was from my own personal neglect. It was nice to say hi again to you at Hive Live Conference for the second year. You probably have now idea who I am because I just say hello and keep walking. May God bless you and your family.
Two other options for the medically challenged beek would be going to all mediums. Because I'm not as young as I was, if I were starting over I do all mediums, much less inventory to manage. The second is the Palmer double nucs. 4x4 side by side 2 or 3 high. If you want honey you can put a queen excluder over the 2 separate nucs and put supers over the 2 queen hive. Another would be the 6 frame Styrofoam nucs like they use in northern EU. Using more and more of those also. Love your videos. Glenn
Thanks, Glenn. My only personal issue with all mediums is that you pull the brood right in half when doing lower box inspections. The medium frames just aren't deep enough, and they end up bridging two boxes with the brood structure. I think I'd rather steer people toward horizontal hives if they are having problems lifting, the deep frames are closer to their brood depth. But I get it, all the same frames, boxes, all interchangeable, it's practical for beekeepers for sure.
@Frederick Dunn I have single deeps, deep and mediums, and 3 mediums. Like you I am moving to smaller hives and have almost all my double deeps converted. I would probably go all mediums, except most of my nucs are deeps, but I'm gradually converting those also as they wear out but I'm not sure I'll live long enough to get them all converted😆 FWIW on your 3 medium comment on breaking the brood nest, I NEVER reverse the 3 mediums and leave them intact. I'm debating removing top entrances. I agree with your logic and am adding more top insulation. We do have a lot of humidity here in Fort Wayne. I'll try some this fall and let you know. Glenn
Thanks for addressing my question. I built some visors today as it's pretty obvious they will benefit from them. That should dry up my front porches considerably. A minimum of a 50% reduction of water at the front door from the visor. If the front door is drier that will help dry out the bottom boards too. I had only angled my porches for drainage previously. Now they should be able to walk out of the hive without getting their little feets wet. I did not want to drill holes in the bottom board corners, but that is next on the list of tactics. I dislike the open bottom (even with a tray) because that weakens the structure of the bottom board, I have seen more than one roll a sideboard and possibly topple the hive.
You new old fashion studio theme with that old style sweater is great. It gives more noble vibe for your work, and reminds us about old better days when the world was less mad.
I watched your 194 episode and you mentioned trying to do a few hives in a green house. I am doing that now. I have a small green house (7 x 8) that at the beginning of winter I had the two hives at the front of the green house where the front flap zips open. As the weather got worse, I moved the green house forward (not the hives) so that the hives were more toward the back of the green house. I watched the thermometer everyday. When its 30 degrees outside, it was generally 55 to 60 degreese inside the green house. It would warm up enough for them to move around and do their thing and to come out and do cleansing flights. (the inside of the green house walls are covered in bee poop) On warmer days, I open the front flap of the green house and let them decide if they want to go outside the green house or not. So far it has worked out great. There were a few times I thought they were all dead, so I would wait for a warm day and open the hive, and they would be alive and kicking and looking great. You really need to watch the temperature because its a lot warmer in the green house then the outside temp.
I think regardless of the structure I'd put them in, they would have their entrances protruding through the southern wall and have no flight path inside the structure at all.
Thank you, Jen, I'm already on the drawing board with that project :) I think it's going to be more for bees and people while doing ok with plants as well.
great info on moisture,dew point,eco wood treatment,and nucleus hives,i liked the part about pulling queens forcing new to be made,and longer brood break ,have a great weekend
I love the opening sequence. It reminds me of my university days of spending hours and hours looking through a microscope to pin broconid wasps. I worked in the entomology lab. I had the privilege to work with the leading professor in that department. He had the most amazing telescopic microscope with the ability to pull up the picture of the wasp on a computer screen. Your setup and videography was soooo good. I insulated last winter and kept it on my Flow hive all summer and only had them beard zero times.
I have a 10’x12’ greenhouse that works great as a feeding station. I’m in zone 4. When temps are around 55f my carni’s will be flying. I can feed both liquid feed and pollen. The temps in the greenhouse can reach 80f on sunny 55f days. Syrup stays warm all day and bees have no trouble flying back 75yds to the hives. It is also quite exhilarating walking into the greenhouse with thousands of bees in the air.
That sounds like a greenhouse that I'd put my cappuccino bar in :) I think you have a fantastic setup there! I also like that you're putting your feeding station where the rain can't ruin things. Although, with that syrup station inside, don't you end up with thousands of bees headed toward the windows as they try to get out? Do you have the ability to open the top row of windows so they can fly up and out? Thanks for sharing.
@@FrederickDunn The panels on the gable ends can be slid down allowing several inches so bees can escape. Double doors and roof vents are also wide open. Additionally more panels can be removed as necessary keeping an eye on the inside temp. This is a cheap Harbor Freight greenhouse. Original panels only last a couple years. I have been replacing them with much better panels. I would provide a video but I can’t figure out how to attach it in this format.
I decided this year to do nothing about moisture. I used the Apimayve in a double deep set up. I drilled a quarter size hole in the dead centre of each feeder tray and fed the Hive Alive through those holes. I see some water draining out the leg portions outside at times. Bees are happy. Pulled the bottom tray out a few times throughout this winter and just a little bit of water in it and it must be fine inside. I just dried it, cleaned off the debris of them eating stores and one or two dead bees. I will be sealing the vents in the lids this year, the bees do not want them. I may even seal all the tiny vents in the feeder trays. The Hive Alive was wet and warm from being directly available to them. Plenty of safe water for them. The frames were dry on top, so nothing is dripping onto the cluster. Am enjoying experimenting and learning about my bees.
Sounds like they are doing great! I visited with the owner of Apimaye at the conference and he shared that they will be offering the option to close those cover vents in the near future. I liked his proposed modifications.
Mug up at the Dunn's. Good morning Fred. Good morning indeed. -21 F and 10 mph wind at 4am, it's warmed to -20 in 45 minutes, so we're gaining! Got both woodstoves stoked and it's Fred day!...5:18 am -19 F, oh yeah, warming up!
-21 ! I am happily not in competition for the lowest temp. Wow. I think they recorded the lowest temps in the U.S. in recorded history recently. Mount Washington had a windchill of -100 two days ago. A nice place not to live :)
Something l learned from an old lady. I don't know why it works. I use it on tomatoes and peppers. Instead of using only water for seeds in paper towels, make a chamomile tea (no sugar) and use that for seeds in paper towels. Young plants start much stronger and more equalized... easy to test
Fred, the opening sequence is just lovely! We are starting cedar raised beds and guess what! Treating with ecowood will extend the beds life. Organic compounds can be used on any farm structure- chicken coops, greenhouses, etc. Thanks for that idea. We have Black Minorca chicks coming and Today, Feb 4th, we are picking up 7 Nubian Dairy goats, 2 are expecting babies! We want to have goats milk and make other dairy products. Thanks for this weeks video, I learned alot of things and not just about bees
Hi Llissa, you're going to really enjoy those Minorca chickens :) I've had chickens depart from their coops and elect to live with the goats. One hen would actually groom the goats as they loafed around chewing. Great companion animals. I wish you all the best!
Hello, Mr. Dunn , I would like to the comment on leaving insulation on hives year long. I have found out when I leave my wraps on in the spring that ants, earwigs, roaches and other pest start to nest in the wrap. I have had large colonies of those tiny ants in the area between the box and the wrap. The wrap I use are those black premade wraps sold by Dadant for 10 and 8 frame boxes. I made my own wraps that also ended up providing homes to other insects I don't want next to my hive bodies stressing the bees. Also I live in Charlotte, NC and our winters are mild.
Fred you get a lot of questions about what to do because of the weight of boxes. All they have to do is take a hive butler or home made tote and transfer frames into them. Cover the tote after you put the frames in. Avoids robbing. This makes the box as light as you want to handle. Just a thought. I do this sometimes when pulling frames for inspection. Then put them back in when I put the top box back on.
Hi Fred, I use my horizontal hive as a "resource" hive for making splits/nucs, drawing foundation, etc since I don't have an easy way to extract deep frames. I also have the problem of it busting at the seams certain years. Another use is for my sinhle frame obs hive i take to school talks, easy to lift the lid and pop out a frame. Good problem I guess. Glenn
I listen to you while driving distances; you have the best voice and I always learn something. I have had a bad experience with patreon with another account so I don’t want to use that, but now see I can support your videos another way with the ‘thanks’ button. Do you get all or most of the money, or just a small portion? Thanks for your superb content.
That's a great question! I'm not sure what percentage of the "thanks" donations I receive... Oh, just looked it up, creators get 70% of the thanks donations :)
Question Fred! For many years it was thought that the Queen Bee lead from a place of direct oversight and complete control of the hive. It was later learned that the workers - the hivemind - carefully observes the Queen and the health of the hive and informs her when things needs to shift. Which is it?? I always thought the later, yet there are some reputable beekeepers out there saying it’s the queen that leads everything. This would be a great Friday discussion. Thx always. Brad.
Hi Brad, the queen is a genetic resource and has no leadership role at all. The workers are in complete control of her diet, the eggs she produces (removing any they don't want), and when she leaves the hive to permit new queens to replace her even that is decided by workers. However, a queen "can" decide not to enter a hive space and in that way can shut down a swarm from moving into a new location. I'm not sure who would suggest that Queen Honey bees would, or even could direct the hive. She makes decisions regarding the sex of the eggs she produces. But overall, she's at the mercy of the hive collectively.
My take is 8 frame gear is very hard to sell. I also would not want to mix 8 and 10 (headaches). A full deep 10 frame brood box is lighter than a medium full of honey or very near that. My heaviest boxes appear to be full (medium)supers. I pull frames to lighten up the heavy boxes. I think it's smarter and has a better return to use 10 frame gear I think the bees are more productive (less wood in the way). I use a deep brood box as a base for all my hives because that is the size frame a nuc accepts, all my other boxes are mediums.
Hi Fred! I had same issue with Hive alive. Bees couldn't get to corners. Kamon Reynolds cut a huge x across the brood nest side and exposed the entire surface..........
We have a small 10ft x 8ft greenhouse for growing plants but even with the windows open in the summer it’s horrendously hot and humid not sure bees would br happy at all ☹️, great episode have a nice weekend
Mine would definitely have shade-cloth for summer months and top-venting. You're right, some green houses that are all glass will produce lethal temps in summer. In winter it would serve as a great wind break and southern glass walls would be a nice bonus. Adjustable shade is something I consider a must in considering design.
Solid bottom boards are the best.. BUT.. a newbie back yard beekeeper should use open boards with trays.. because that tray is like a book that you can read.. and will teach you alot about what's going on in the hives. Ofcourse you'll have to clean it.. but at the same time you will read it, and that's how you learn...
If you had solid bottom boards, would you consider drilling wick holes behind the entrance reducers? Something smaller than bees / ants but can be cleaned from the bottom with a wire? We had a few of the plywood bottom boards, also, and found spreading wood glue on the front face and then painting, prevented delaminating. We started making our own, and find that moisture collects at entrance reducer due to the tilt, and the reducer swells, so with added propolis, it is impossible to pull it out without breaking it. We are going to try hivegates, but have a budget, so likely won’t be able to for all hives. Thank you.
You could do that, but I found that the bees glue that up when the weather is warm... however, if you did it as a fall preparation, then the weep-holes would be there through winter if it is much of a problem. You could also just cut weep-hole grooves in the bottom of your wooden entrance reducer if there is a low side, maybe 1/8" cuts? I haven't done that, but seems like it may be a solution.
Are these a good value? I saw a basic kit advertised for 91 back in December on their website but has increased. Dunno if foundation has wax coating or dry, some say the frames don't hold standard foundation. Just asking someone who has them. Was considering the stack of super boxes w/o frames
@@heavymechanic2 The frame inserts don’t have wax, so I have to wax them. No big deal, about a pound of wax to do 40 frames. I’m pretty happy with the build. Took me 6 hours to build the boxes and frames. I did build a jig to make the frames.
Green house is fun but if it's not heated the plants die at night. Daytime is nice and warm, but it gets cold fast inside when the sun goes down. Then in summer its very hot inside. I still vote get a green house, you only live once. Plus, the wife loves it!
@@FrederickDunn The one thing I do use the green house for involving bees. If I think a hive is dead in winter. I bring it to the green house and inspect it. So far they all have been dead, but just in case its warm inside no harm done.
I have 1 inch of foam board insulation above my inner cover, with a feeder shim big enough for a rapid round feeder, another inch of foam and then the telescoping outer cover. The inner cover has a small vent on the bottom front that has a plastic tape flap the bees can push through if they need to get out when the bottom entrance is frozen closed. The hive is 2 deeps, and the broodminders are indicating the bees are in the top box where all the honey was in the fall. Instead of the rapid round on some hives I have hive alive fondant. There is a quarter sized spot of condensation on the inside of the fondant pack just above the hole on the inner cover and lower insulation. When scraping out dead bees from the solid bottom board I have noticed they are quite moist, and there seems to be ice on the bottom board, maybe thicker in the middle where most of the bee drop is. The internal temps near the bees are above 70F. Should I worry about this bottom board moisture?
I would not do anything about that condensation in the fondant pack. The bees use that condensation when consuming the fondant. If there is dampness on the bottom board, and even some ice, I don't see that as a problem considering that it's at the bottom and not on the bees themselves. I think, based on your description, that you have a good set up there.
I have unfinished and untreated plywood that has been stored outside in the worst the weather can throw at it for over a decade, (in my "not throwing it out in case it comes in handy" pile) and it is in fine condition. It has bleached somewhat from the weather, but that is all. I even had one piece which was standing for a long time with the edge in a semi-permanent puddle without rotting or delaminating. The difference is - it is marine-grade plywood, which is what should be used for any exterior project and seems not to have been used for the bottom boards you mention, where they clearly cheaped out. If you want to use plywood it is fine if it is marine plywood, even though you will pay for it heavily at the builders' merchants upfront, it will be less expensive in the long run. I only mention this for the benefit of any DIY hive builders or experimenters out there. 19mm/3/4" marine ply lasts almost forever in most environments, and as long or longer than most solid woods, cedar excepted. But it may well be less expensive than cedar - local prices will vary. We have little native cedar, so it costs a fortune (as does anything except soft pine, and even that is pricey).
Hi Phil, that's a great point, and Home Depot has brought their prices down. It was $80/sheet and now I see 3/4 MG at $50.27/ sheet here, when you cut it all down, that's a pretty good savings. Thanks for sharing.
Do you consider the black roof paper insulating the sides that would affect the condensation on the sides? I have no upper entrance and insulated top cover above feeder shims.
Roof felt isn't an insulater at all. It's just a wind barrier and isn't particularly effective. I personally do not consider it to be very effective. I f you want to reduce winter wind, there are other wraps available. But I also don't use those. I think roof felt, or tar-paper was in use many many years ago before there were other options. Some just kept using it without being able to validate the benefits.
Right now, no one is making one that I would endorse. There are two companies with prototypes but they aren't available yet. The removable tray is only available for the Flow-Hives at the moment at HoneyFlow.com but they don't match up with standard Langstroth equipment, but serve as an excellent model for what I'm talking about.
Loved this episode, you covered so many things I had questions about from a way I can understand and learn from. I am going to Dr. Leos class in March and hope I can keep from asking and taking up more of his time then I should with questions, at the detriment of other people there, I'm pretty good at not making things about myself to a fault, I think. What do you think about bee inbreeding and how that would affect colonies? I'm worried I won't have enough diversity in my area for the drones to pass on other genes, I stopped growing cucumbers a few years ago because I had the worst crop I had ever had, and I didn't see not one honeybee that summer on my blooms. How far do you think the Queen will go to a drone mating area?
I would not be concerned about in-breeding when you have an open mating situation. The virgin queens can travel a remarkable distance if drone pickings are slim. I think you'll do fine. Please tell Dr. Leo that I send him my best :)
@@FrederickDunn I will, you are the one that steered me his way after all, and I thank you. I really want honeybees back in my area. The native bees aren't able to take up the pollination role like they once could have, we've poisoned everything too much. The difference between when I was a kid in the 70's is night and day to now. The flying bugs were so numerous back then that they blocked the streetlights. They don't exist anymore and that can't be a good thing. I feel sorry for my kids and grandkids, I have nine Grandkids right now. Did we live in the best period before the extinction no one is talking about? The birds traveling south or north used to last forever it seemed. I haven't seen anything like that in so many years I think my adult kids think I am making it up, it never happened in their lifetime.
Hey Fred. Great Q&A as always. I am wanting to use eco wood on some of the new slatted racks I made. How much coverage do you get from the 5 gallon package?
I can't really define "coverage" by square inches. I've done lots of pieces with plenty left over with the 5 gl packet. Then whatever is left over, I use on my benches and other exposed wood around the property. How many pieces did you have in mind? I did all of this with plenty to spare ua-cam.com/video/VP4kbX4ny5k/v-deo.html
I actually was curious about the green house idea. I am moving to a place in zone 5 at 4700 ft. I'm going to do a green house for sure and was wondering about keeping my hives or at least some of them in there with the entrance going outside, but I'm wondering if the warmth of the greenhouse vs outside cold would cause an issue somewhat similar to having an observation hive that is in a heated area. What are your thoughts on this? Maybe it warrants experimenting? Maybe it is a moot point? I'm still unsure of it myself, but I'm very curious if this would actually work and help the bees survivability or if it would actually cause more issues.
The bees are fine in a warmed space with an entrance that receives the full blast of winter. They sense the outside conditions as they travel to that entrance and fly when it's nice, and don't fly when it's too challenging. There are nature centers with observation hives that people observe year round, and I think having a fairly long entrance channel is helpful. But they aren't flying out and just expiring in the cold. I actually get this question quite a lot. Bees have the ability to feel the air and weather conditions.
I continue to love your videos! I have a first time problem. I’ve heard you say that you do not feed pollen patties inside your hives but because I listen to you all the time and I know you have knowledge of applications that you do not usually use I hoped that you might have an answer for me. I went into winter with 25 hives. I live in Texas and usually in February we start feeding pollen patties. I had a half bag of pollen supplement - a 50 pound bag of Ultra Bee from Mann Lake. I had kept it in a cool room but when I opened it up I found weevils! They were lightly scatter along with an occasional larvae. I’ve been using my flour sifter to sift them out but it takes such a long time. Do you think if I didn’t sift them and used it straight out of the bag it would hurt the bees? Or if I froze the powder and then made the patties? What do you think? Letitia
HI Letitia, I'll answer this one right here :) Just in case someone else is reading this, I don't hold-over any pollen sub or bee feed to the next season once it's been opened. I think it's important to use fresh each feeding cycle. BUT, I don't want you to toss all of that Ultra Bee out. Freezing it would not hurt at all, and I'd consider leaving it in the freezer for 72 hours. After that I don't think you'd need to remove the dead from your pollen sub, and I'd go ahead and put it out in your pollen sub feeder. Please let us know how that went :)
Couple of my isa browns got a little bit of frostbite on top of their combs last night in that cold snap-25 up in northern maine -60 with the wind..anything to frett about you think? They seem happy still..
This is too late, but you could put vasoline on all of their combs in advance of the hard freeze. Some roosters can get frost bite so badly that it impacts fertility. Chickens are so pain tolerant that you don't often notice any change in their behavior even when comb tips turn black and fall off. It's why you often see single comb roosters with smooth combs and no points on them. It really takes a severe case of frost bite to impact their overall health. I wish you and your birds all the best.
Hi Fred, The bee supply was sharing on their Feb. Podcast about using a easy check and Co2 dispenser and cartridges for mite checks. What are your thoughts on this. I like the thought of not killing bee's. I do sugar rolls... but this is "suppose" to be more accurate. Thank you. Cathrine
I have the CO2 unit, I think that I prefer the sugar shake method for no-kill mite counts. The CO2 knocks them out fast, but the mites still hang on pretty well and you have to really agitate them to get them off. With the sugar, I think you're just as good but it just takes a while longer.
Can you show us how to fix a honey bound hive? Last summer my double deeps were filled with honey and no place for the queen to lay. I didn't have any drawn comb to replace some honey frames and they didn't like the waxed frames that I gave them.
Hi Rene, sounds like your bees are doing extremely well to fill double deeps! You can pull capped honey and checkerboard foundationless wooden frames. They are inexpensive and I think that colony will drawn comb well. I Personally would to do that in your brood box as those frames are unlikely to be put through an extractor, so foundationless would work nicely. So, place a foundationless frame in-between two fully drawn frames and that will help keep them from making wild comb. I wish you all the best.
Fred I have a brand new nuke this year & I honestly find these bees nasty. The guard bees are particularly intense even for just lifting the cover. They are hybrids. I already have 14 stings this springl
I'm in Illinois, and I've been told by other beekeepers that we must overwinter with 2 deeps. Could I use your hive setup and overwintering method with 2 deeps and 1 medium of honey for overwintering?
Two deeps with an insulated inner cover is more than enough. I personally wouldn't go much larger than that. I've wintered in single deeps (small colonies), and the single deep with one medium has wintered very well for me here in my climate.
I use 15 frame Lazutin hives usually 8 double deep frames for brood on stands fixed to trees. Nail boards over insulation because bears. In cold weather you need to push condensation zone outside the hive. I have never had a colony fill a hive. I use follower board in winter. My bees like the floor entrance. I drilled a drain hole and found they love it and they sealed side entrance. So I use floor entrances no landing board. Crown the floor boards towards the ground and drill drain hole. I assume condensation happens on floor with no insulation just nail board over 2x10s. I am thinking of building a bee hive window. I love seeing the tall bee hive removals. I really like Japanese warre hives. But totally unpractical with my location. 5 Lazutin Hives with 6 colonies and swarm trap. I let my bees swarm. Central U.P. Michigan county population 9000. So trap is always filled. Plus a bee tree blew over and I moved them into divided hive with smaller colony. So need to build 2 hives already and find spots for them. My hives are spread over 10 acres. Plus setting up bumble hives. Lots and lots of soft mast on property.
Hello Frederick. Your info has been invaluable and I've tried my best to keep to your great advice...... I asked last year re I noticed you added another medium/shallow onto your deep and medium. I'm making ready with more shallow 10 frame boxes to add if necessary another shallow to match your two mediums or shallows over a deep brood box. I have my third Flow hive now. I am paranoid about swarming. So As I understand it that is why another box is added to prevent them swarming? I was relieved to hear you say a deep and two more shallow boxes are about right for a not too big a colony? The varroa are well under control with the first bigger colony a free of mites, no wonder as I've vaped them with oxalic acid at 4 gram twice since mid December. In the meantime although it is not legit the bees have had a few strips dangling amidst them which seems to kill mites off. I notice some beekeepers with hundreds of hives one with thousands of hives are finding the strip do work. I am really looking forward in the hope that you may endorse this newish method. A green house is fantastic. these three Flow hives will back onto ours and is working great not least to give a bit of mild air circulating to the bottom and up through the cluster and out through a very small vent into the top feeder. Then a meshed small vent out to the pitched roof. There was still quite a bit of condense on the catch tray but the bees seem happy and numerous. Have you still the idea/desire to have more Flow hives? Best of health this year and success. As I'm typing I hear you say varroa. I dreaded the word but now I don't. This is due to Randy Oliver seeing what the Argies do re the strips. He said outright if it works for them their system could well be worth investigating..... One day the method will be passed for all to help their bees. Did you see Harris not a million miles from your lovely Farm having success with the strips. He is in a totally different league to me with his hundreds of hives/
By "strips" do you mean the extended release sponges? Or are they now working on something different? I am remaining up to speed on most upcoming or treatments that are being evaluated, but don't personally have a need to expand my treatment practices. I do understand the need for some keepers to expand their varroa mitigating practices. I wish you all the best as your find your way with treatments and management.
@@FrederickDunn Hiya Frederick..... Thank you so much for your reply. Yes indeed the strips. I am surprised there are so many bending the 'rules'. It seems unusual to me that the sublimation seems inferior to the strips but used together it seems devastating to the mites but I'm thankful for that. Regarding your expertise on the Flow hives. We are thinking we may need to add another shallow to the deep and a shallow already on all winter when needed to try to prevent swarming? I was worried the 2020 queen would need replacement but the beekeeper says 'they' can last 5 years? The professionals who are looking for maximum production tend to requeen after only two years but I wonder what you do actually. I wonder also how you manage to answer all the questions you must be inundated with. You are so good at what you do & I was so glad to see your Flow Hive video of 2015. Best wishes Mick in the mid UK
Feb 5th 23 and these bees are bringing in pollen which I find remarkable but good for them. A snap 4 day frost killed the near flowering Viburnum tinus.... the temps are sure up and down.
Local breeders with good reputations would be best. After that, I'd visit Mann Lake and see what lines they are offering as they are brokers for the largest breeders. Aside from that, consider getting yourself on a swarm capture list, or let local beekeepers know that you're interested in having spring swarms.
@@FrederickDunn I found a breeder here on Long Island, I will be attending his seminar on Thursday. He raises Nuc’s here locally. BtW, my VEVOR came out great. I do have wood working skills but a beginner, I believe, could handle the kit no problem with basic tools. Thx again and I will continue to be a faithful subscriber.
The only problem with the hives inside the greenhouse and the entrances to the outside only, is the temperature inside the green house is a lot warmer then the outside temperature. If they go flying out thinking its warm outside and the temp is only 30, they will freeze to death.
@@reneallen6405 Hi Rene, I'm not sure why you think that honey bees in warm hives would fly out in freezing weather and "freeze to death"? I have seen no evidence of that at all. The bees are fully capable of feeling the air temp as they travel through their entrance, and make a decision to fly or not. We have several observation hives here, one in a Natura Center, and others inside homes, the bees still just remain inside the hive until conditions are suitable for flight. Where have you observed the bees flying out and freezing?
question for next week anonymously,..WILL installing swarm traps too close , encourage swarming,from your colonies,since it would be highly likely scouts will be attracted to them,because if close proximity, and bait scent ,i tried asking on freds fine fowl,but got flagged as unsecure,un encrypted,warning me not to add personal info,it could be my own browser settings? my recent better bee order was also doing that ,so i had to call n order...thanks again
Having available cavities nearby that would be appealing to swarms/scouts would not be counted as a "trigger" for swarming. Scouts and their habits/preferences have been pretty well documented and studied. We know from those observations that they prefer a cavity around 200-250 yards from their original hive. BUT, that doesn't mean if they can't find something at that distance that they won't move into any suitable cavity... even one right in your apiary. I've had a swarm leave a hive in my apiary only to have it occupy a box I had on a rack just 30 feet away. When new queen cells begin to be constructed, scouting activity increases. If there are no queen cells in production, I don't know of any reason that a suitable cavity would cause a colony to begin those preparations.
@@FrederickDunn thank you for a great reply, i shared a link to you recently about primary and afterswarms preferences,it was interesting,they said primary swarms often bivouac, or go to a baited,b box or branch with a sachet with attractant,then fly off ,whereas virgin after, secondary swarms would, swarm to bated box or,and sachet,and stay,...they did like 5 with and 5 without bait(scent) for control...it was interesting and timely as im prepping my new yard,and will be taking advantage of nearby trees,i did read thomas seelys studies on this topic, it gets me thinking about your QMP, info in your videos about its use,and how other bees may join in,swarms they arent related too,...thanks mr dunn
Hi, I am struggling to find the video I saw where the impact of treatments was measured on a temperature graph. Before the treatment the temperature line is very regular : but after treatment the readings are erratic for days. The least intrusive was OAV, as measured by the temperature steadying within a day ! If somebody can source this video for me I would like to study it again. Important to have a scientific based knowledge that measures the mite drop, but also the disturbance to the colony. Maybe it was a Broodminder video or some other manufacturer ?? Thanks all..
Hi Alec, I posted a video like that. It was during my interview with the inventor of the InstantVap. He had some very interesting results and demonstrated that a 4g dose actually delivered an inferior amount of OA after considering the performance of the sublimation unit. Here is the link to that video: ua-cam.com/video/Bry6rcXpmjQ/v-deo.html
@@FrederickDunn Thanks Frederick for that important link. After having seen a bee wanting to inspect the hot pot get vaporized, I was not favorable to OA sublimation. Then the video I am looking for studied different treament temperature disruptions to the hive and the least disruptive was sublimation ! (The temperature oscillations in the hive came back quicker to pre-treatment stability). So maybe a collateral burnt bee is acceptable if the sublimation is the least disruptive. So from your video 194 with Janos, I have learned that OA for a dripping treatment has sugar and is not good for sublimation. I am in France and sourcing pure OA is proving difficult : maybe a pharmacist can help. OA here is often sold to whiten wood or treat rust or cleaning plaster before painting, so I have to be careful as to what I am really buying. Let the beeyer beeware. The other important info from your Janos video, is the difficulty pinpointing tne right temperature, including the risk of producing formic. Anyway, please tell Janos that if sublimation is really the least intrusive, then he should include that in his spiel.. with some sort of proof…
I had about 5 straight months of 98-105 degrees last year in central Texas. I didn't have any open screened bottom boards, although my hives do have built-in insulation. I did start seeing a lot of bearding once the hives were filling up with nectar, but I just put a little shim under the lid to make a small crack at the top of the honey supers and the bearding almost all went away and the bees actually would use that gap at the top to vent hot air out of the hive by fanning their wings. Cracking the lid of the hive is also what I've seen Bob Binnie do during peak honey production periods. Basically, the bees don't need an open bottom, just a small crack at the top will be more than enough even for extreme heat.
Hi James, the bees control their moisture and warmth much better when they have a single entrance that they can conform their brood around. The open bottom screen with no box around it leaves them unable to move air as they would like to, and they have a difficult time controling humidity up or down. Back in 2007, I had two with screen open bottom boards and the bees did everything they could to propolize the screen. If you want to learn more about what the bees would prefer, put up swarm trap boxes in the same general location and have some with closed up boxes and a single entrance, and some with open screened bottoms. You'll find out quickly what the bees are electing to deal with. Heat is as challenging as the cold is and more ventilation isn't necessarily better particularly if the climate is dry.
Thank you for that question, you can follow the link to my website, on the prints page, there is a donation button if you're feeling generous. I appreciate it: www.fredsfinefowl.com/printsforyou.html
@@FrederickDunn Great and I assume that the Anise Hyssop Agastache foeniculum variety that you are growing is indeed a native version, correct? I would like to keep my perennial planting going forward native to Pa. I started with some winter holly berries last summer.
Some do Darwinienne bee keeping and some do natural bee keeping such as Dr Leo! You often talk about Darwinienne bee keeping but never about natural bee keeping. You often mention Dr Leo as if he follows Darwinienne bee keeping which he doesn’t. Is there not a difference between them and if so what is the difference. Hope you get your green house...very pleasant to start seedlings. Thank
Darwinian beekeeping is aka bee-centric, or natural beekeeping. No feeding, no swarm control, 10 gallon (single deep 10 frame), also no pest management. BUT, you need to cull colonies that become diseased, or over run with varroa mites. That's the Thomas Seeley version. Dr. Leo also says no feeding, no management other than providing boxes and frames in spring, then harvesting in fall. Much larger space that is not based on what bees select as natural cavity occupation. Dr. Leo is also hands off and does not monitor for varroa, he has and let live approach that is treatment free, no culling of failing colonies. I lean more toward Dr. Seeley regarding being aware of varroa and disease loading and acting to cull those that are not managing well. Permitting them to swarm excellerates their reproduction and therefore adaptation to their climate and environment. It's a philosophy that I agree with. Dr. Leo depends on a honey harvest, Dr. Seeley does not. I've also gravitated toward Dr. Seeley as he's in my climate and has spent decades studying honey bee behavior unaided by humans. It's not a path that someone who needs to profit from the bees will take.
1) I'm wondering how many supers I need to buy. I want to use mediums over one 8-frame deep due to medical issues. 4:26
2) I had several hives bringing in pollen on a mild day, now it's back to 25 degrees. Any thoughts on strategies at this stage of the game? 41:09
3) I understand you're working on a hyssop growing video that will likely come out later. But I'm interested in knowing more about your current experiments before it's too late to play around. What light sources are you trying out? 45:23
4) Can you discuss how and why you are keeping the 1 deep and 1 super arrangement. I feel like I'm missing something. 52:30
5) This spring, my hives are showing wet bottom boards. Is this a concern, or can this moisture be better managed? 1:06:13
Thank you Adam
My one hive a dead out. So I bought 2 more hive boxes gonna go with 3.this year. Got Eco treatment. Gonna try it out. join a bee keeping club reading book. Watching Fred. Maybe just maybe they make it next winter. Thank you Fred for all the information when those magnified bee pictures get used up please share them with us. Love them extra close shots.
Ive had success winter sowing all perennial seeds- it is a good way to cold stratify seeds and grow them with minimal maintenance before transplanting them to their final location. Hyssop, Echinacea, lavender and especially milkweed do great with winter sowing.
Thank you so much for sharing! :)
Fred it’s like watching Ken Burns you are a national treasure looking forward to meeting you one day. Keep this under your hat.👍🏽❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks, Rick :)
Amazing photo in the opening sequence! “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille”
Thank you, Paula! :) It was a lot of fun doing that opening :)
Thanks! I have learned so much from you these last few months. Thank you for answering my questions. It was nice meeting you and your wife at Hive Life. Have my equipment, seeds to plant, excited for my husband and I to get started on our farm/apiary!
Wow, thank you so much! I hope your seeds serve you well! Thanks for saying hello at Hive Life :)
This was absolutely your best, most informative video yet and I have watched your videos for years.
I have enjoyed watching your journey. You today hit on exactly what I have learned through the years after I quit listening to others and paid attention to the bees themselves.
I love the information you gave out today. I still have people argue with me about a top entrance. Yet these same people don't do as well as my bees through the winter and very low losses, which usually I can look at and see it was from my own personal neglect.
It was nice to say hi again to you at Hive Live Conference for the second year. You probably have now idea who I am because I just say hello and keep walking.
May God bless you and your family.
Thank you! :) And thanks for saying hello!
Two other options for the medically challenged beek would be going to all mediums. Because I'm not as young as I was, if I were starting over I do all mediums, much less inventory to manage. The second is the Palmer double nucs. 4x4 side by side 2 or 3 high. If you want honey you can put a queen excluder over the 2 separate nucs and put supers over the 2 queen hive. Another would be the 6 frame Styrofoam nucs like they use in northern EU. Using more and more of those also. Love your videos. Glenn
Thanks, Glenn. My only personal issue with all mediums is that you pull the brood right in half when doing lower box inspections. The medium frames just aren't deep enough, and they end up bridging two boxes with the brood structure. I think I'd rather steer people toward horizontal hives if they are having problems lifting, the deep frames are closer to their brood depth. But I get it, all the same frames, boxes, all interchangeable, it's practical for beekeepers for sure.
@Frederick Dunn I have single deeps, deep and mediums, and 3 mediums. Like you I am moving to smaller hives and have almost all my double deeps converted. I would probably go all mediums, except most of my nucs are deeps, but I'm gradually converting those also as they wear out but I'm not sure I'll live long enough to get them all converted😆 FWIW on your 3 medium comment on breaking the brood nest, I NEVER reverse the 3 mediums and leave them intact. I'm debating removing top entrances. I agree with your logic and am adding more top insulation. We do have a lot of humidity here in Fort Wayne. I'll try some this fall and let you know. Glenn
Thanks for addressing my question. I built some visors today as it's pretty obvious they will benefit from them. That should dry up my front porches considerably. A minimum of a 50% reduction of water at the front door from the visor. If the front door is drier that will help dry out the bottom boards too. I had only angled my porches for drainage previously. Now they should be able to walk out of the hive without getting their little feets wet. I did not want to drill holes in the bottom board corners, but that is next on the list of tactics. I dislike the open bottom (even with a tray) because that weakens the structure of the bottom board, I have seen more than one roll a sideboard and possibly topple the hive.
In just a few hours time I was able to see an improvement, porches drying up. 👍🤠 I have one bottom board that is green. Another that weighs ~50#
You new old fashion studio theme with that old style sweater is great. It gives more noble vibe for your work, and reminds us about old better days when the world was less mad.
That's one old sweater :) but it's comfortable :) Thanks
Absolutely Fred, 20 years of perennials, share the mastery.......great utube tv
I watched your 194 episode and you mentioned trying to do a few hives in a green house. I am doing that now. I have a small green house (7 x 8) that at the beginning of winter I had the two hives at the front of the green house where the front flap zips open. As the weather got worse, I moved the green house forward (not the hives) so that the hives were more toward the back of the green house. I watched the thermometer everyday. When its 30 degrees outside, it was generally 55 to 60 degreese inside the green house. It would warm up enough for them to move around and do their thing and to come out and do cleansing flights. (the inside of the green house walls are covered in bee poop) On warmer days, I open the front flap of the green house and let them decide if they want to go outside the green house or not. So far it has worked out great. There were a few times I thought they were all dead, so I would wait for a warm day and open the hive, and they would be alive and kicking and looking great. You really need to watch the temperature because its a lot warmer in the green house then the outside temp.
I think regardless of the structure I'd put them in, they would have their entrances protruding through the southern wall and have no flight path inside the structure at all.
I would love to see a greenhouse you design with bees in mind!
Thank you, Jen, I'm already on the drawing board with that project :) I think it's going to be more for bees and people while doing ok with plants as well.
great info on moisture,dew point,eco wood treatment,and nucleus hives,i liked the part about pulling queens forcing new to be made,and longer brood break ,have a great weekend
Thank you, I'm glad you found the information helpful :)
I will definitely be looking into the combo greenhouse/beehive idea. It would combine the hobbies of my wife and I.
If you do that, please keep us posted.
Just get your green house you will love it and yes winter the bees in it . Then go great outside .
It's going to take some long-term planning and saving. I think it's in my future for sure :) Thanks, Michael!
Excellent, good information. I vote for you getting a greenhouse.
Thank you Linda! I agree with your vote :)
I love the opening sequence. It reminds me of my university days of spending hours and hours looking through a microscope to pin broconid wasps. I worked in the entomology lab. I had the privilege to work with the leading professor in that department. He had the most amazing telescopic microscope with the ability to pull up the picture of the wasp on a computer screen. Your setup and videography was soooo good.
I insulated last winter and kept it on my Flow hive all summer and only had them beard zero times.
Hi Susan, I'm so glad I took you back to some happy memories :)
I have a 10’x12’ greenhouse that works great as a feeding station. I’m in zone 4. When temps are around 55f my carni’s will be flying. I can feed both liquid feed and pollen. The temps in the greenhouse can reach 80f on sunny 55f days. Syrup stays warm all day and bees have no trouble flying back 75yds to the hives. It is also quite exhilarating walking into the greenhouse with thousands of bees in the air.
That sounds like a greenhouse that I'd put my cappuccino bar in :) I think you have a fantastic setup there! I also like that you're putting your feeding station where the rain can't ruin things. Although, with that syrup station inside, don't you end up with thousands of bees headed toward the windows as they try to get out? Do you have the ability to open the top row of windows so they can fly up and out? Thanks for sharing.
@@FrederickDunn The panels on the gable ends can be slid down allowing several inches so bees can escape. Double doors and roof vents are also wide open. Additionally more panels can be removed as necessary keeping an eye on the inside temp. This is a cheap Harbor Freight greenhouse. Original panels only last a couple years. I have been replacing them with much better panels. I would provide a video but I can’t figure out how to attach it in this format.
@@WalnutGroveApiary Thanks for the follow-up, that all sounds promising!
Looking forward to hearing you speak at our Los Angeles LACBA meeting!! Thank you for doing what you do!!
Thank you, I hope expectations are low :)
I decided this year to do nothing about moisture. I used the Apimayve in a double deep set up. I drilled a quarter size hole in the dead centre of each feeder tray and fed the Hive Alive through those holes. I see some water draining out the leg portions outside at times. Bees are happy. Pulled the bottom tray out a few times throughout this winter and just a little bit of water in it and it must be fine inside. I just dried it, cleaned off the debris of them eating stores and one or two dead bees. I will be sealing the vents in the lids this year, the bees do not want them. I may even seal all the tiny vents in the feeder trays. The Hive Alive was wet and warm from being directly available to them. Plenty of safe water for them. The frames were dry on top, so nothing is dripping onto the cluster. Am enjoying experimenting and learning about my bees.
Sounds like they are doing great! I visited with the owner of Apimaye at the conference and he shared that they will be offering the option to close those cover vents in the near future. I liked his proposed modifications.
Mug up at the Dunn's. Good morning Fred. Good morning indeed. -21 F and 10 mph wind at 4am, it's warmed to -20 in 45 minutes, so we're gaining! Got both woodstoves stoked and it's Fred day!...5:18 am -19 F, oh yeah, warming up!
-21 ! I am happily not in competition for the lowest temp. Wow. I think they recorded the lowest temps in the U.S. in recorded history recently. Mount Washington had a windchill of -100 two days ago. A nice place not to live :)
@@FrederickDunn bees are still buzzing at -16. It will warm up tomorrow.
Great stuff Fred 👍Take care
Thank you :)
That intro. Way to make me cry. ❤
Thank you, I'm glad you appreciated it.
Great video Fred.
Something l learned from an old lady. I don't know why it works. I use it on tomatoes and peppers. Instead of using only water for seeds in paper towels, make a chamomile tea (no sugar) and use that for seeds in paper towels. Young plants start much stronger and more equalized... easy to test
Interesting!
Fred, the opening sequence is just lovely! We are starting cedar raised beds and guess what! Treating with ecowood will extend the beds life. Organic compounds can be used on any farm structure- chicken coops, greenhouses, etc. Thanks for that idea. We have Black Minorca chicks coming and Today, Feb 4th, we are picking up 7 Nubian Dairy goats, 2 are expecting babies! We want to have goats milk and make other dairy products. Thanks for this weeks video, I learned alot of things and not just about bees
Hi Llissa, you're going to really enjoy those Minorca chickens :) I've had chickens depart from their coops and elect to live with the goats. One hen would actually groom the goats as they loafed around chewing. Great companion animals. I wish you all the best!
Hello, Mr. Dunn , I would like to the comment on leaving insulation on hives year long. I have found out when I leave my wraps on in the spring that ants, earwigs, roaches and other pest start to nest in the wrap. I have had large colonies of those tiny ants in the area between the box and the wrap. The wrap I use are those black premade wraps sold by Dadant for 10 and 8 frame boxes. I made my own wraps that also ended up providing homes to other insects I don't want next to my hive bodies stressing the bees. Also I live in Charlotte, NC and our winters are mild.
That makes sense, I've never used those wraps or bee cozies etc. I could understand why ants would move into that protected gap.
TGI Fred's Way to Bee!
Happy birthday granddaughter 🎉. Thanks Fred, have a great weekend!!
Thank you! You too!
Fred you get a lot of questions about what to do because of the weight of boxes. All they have to do is take a hive butler or home made tote and transfer frames into them. Cover the tote after you put the frames in. Avoids robbing. This makes the box as light as you want to handle. Just a thought. I do this sometimes when pulling frames for inspection. Then put them back in when I put the top box back on.
Great suggestion!
I can’t believe you don’t have a greenhouse yet Fred. They are wonderful; a miracle of Physics.
Awesome start!
Thank you, Pam :)
My first three years keeping bees I had zero swarms. I was raising sick bees and had heavy losses in winter. Swarms are a good thing.
Hi Fred, I use my horizontal hive as a "resource" hive for making splits/nucs, drawing foundation, etc since I don't have an easy way to extract deep frames. I also have the problem of it busting at the seams certain years. Another use is for my sinhle frame obs hive i take to school talks, easy to lift the lid and pop out a frame. Good problem I guess. Glenn
Sounds like you're making good use of that hive type. :)
I listen to you while driving distances; you have the best voice and I always learn something. I have had a bad experience with patreon with another account so I don’t want to use that, but now see I can support your videos another way with the ‘thanks’ button. Do you get all or most of the money, or just a small portion? Thanks for your superb content.
That's a great question! I'm not sure what percentage of the "thanks" donations I receive... Oh, just looked it up, creators get 70% of the thanks donations :)
Not enough but ok what can you do. Will donate each time I listen now.
Question Fred! For many years it was thought that the Queen Bee lead from a place of direct oversight and complete control of the hive. It was later learned that the workers - the hivemind - carefully observes the Queen and the health of the hive and informs her when things needs to shift. Which is it?? I always thought the later, yet there are some reputable beekeepers out there saying it’s the queen that leads everything. This would be a great Friday discussion. Thx always. Brad.
Hi Brad, the queen is a genetic resource and has no leadership role at all. The workers are in complete control of her diet, the eggs she produces (removing any they don't want), and when she leaves the hive to permit new queens to replace her even that is decided by workers. However, a queen "can" decide not to enter a hive space and in that way can shut down a swarm from moving into a new location. I'm not sure who would suggest that Queen Honey bees would, or even could direct the hive. She makes decisions regarding the sex of the eggs she produces. But overall, she's at the mercy of the hive collectively.
Fred I knew this to be true. I won’t mention names but there are large beekeepers out these that say otherwise. I’m sticking with you.
Joe here. Well Done . Thank You
Thanks for listening
My take is 8 frame gear is very hard to sell. I also would not want to mix 8 and 10 (headaches). A full deep 10 frame brood box is lighter than a medium full of honey or very near that. My heaviest boxes appear to be full (medium)supers. I pull frames to lighten up the heavy boxes. I think it's smarter and has a better return to use 10 frame gear I think the bees are more productive (less wood in the way). I use a deep brood box as a base for all my hives because that is the size frame a nuc accepts, all my other boxes are mediums.
Hi Fred! I had same issue with Hive alive. Bees couldn't get to corners. Kamon Reynolds cut a huge x across the brood nest side and exposed the entire surface..........
I like the straws so the packet still remains mostly covered. But it was only on one hive. Cutting an X probably worked out well also.
I love too use 2 5fr nuc deeps and supper with mediums, also run medium 5fr hives. Just have to strap them down when over 5 boxes.
Horizontal hives work great if you can't lift boxes. I have top bar but any horizontal hive is great.
Definitely the most convenient hives I know of. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks!
Thank you, Glenn :)
We have a small 10ft x 8ft greenhouse for growing plants but even with the windows open in the summer it’s horrendously hot and humid not sure bees would br happy at all ☹️, great episode have a nice weekend
Mine would definitely have shade-cloth for summer months and top-venting. You're right, some green houses that are all glass will produce lethal temps in summer. In winter it would serve as a great wind break and southern glass walls would be a nice bonus. Adjustable shade is something I consider a must in considering design.
@@FrederickDunn yeah ours is all glass grows great tomatoes though 😀 ,I’m pretty sure you will sort out something amazing 👍🏻🇬🇧
Solid bottom boards are the best.. BUT.. a newbie back yard beekeeper should use open boards with trays.. because that tray is like a book that you can read.. and will teach you alot about what's going on in the hives. Ofcourse you'll have to clean it.. but at the same time you will read it, and that's how you learn...
I completely agree, the contents of the tray are a treasure trove of information.
No problem......buy a table saw. It will pay for itself really quick considering the price of new hives.
Just bought my first for this exact reason!😅
I agree and support all you said about insulation, ventilation, screened bottom boards and ECO Wood Treatment :-)
Thank you, Jack :)
If you had solid bottom boards, would you consider drilling wick holes behind the entrance reducers? Something smaller than bees / ants but can be cleaned from the bottom with a wire? We had a few of the plywood bottom boards, also, and found spreading wood glue on the front face and then painting, prevented delaminating. We started making our own, and find that moisture collects at entrance reducer due to the tilt, and the reducer swells, so with added propolis, it is impossible to pull it out without breaking it. We are going to try hivegates, but have a budget, so likely won’t be able to for all hives. Thank you.
You could do that, but I found that the bees glue that up when the weather is warm... however, if you did it as a fall preparation, then the weep-holes would be there through winter if it is much of a problem. You could also just cut weep-hole grooves in the bottom of your wooden entrance reducer if there is a low side, maybe 1/8" cuts? I haven't done that, but seems like it may be a solution.
I just finished my VEVOR Hive. 2 deeps and 2 mediums. Building the frames now. 38 more to go. 😅
Are these a good value? I saw a basic kit advertised for 91 back in December on their website but has increased. Dunno if foundation has wax coating or dry, some say the frames don't hold standard foundation. Just asking someone who has them. Was considering the stack of super boxes w/o frames
@@heavymechanic2 The frame inserts don’t have wax, so I have to wax them. No big deal, about a pound of wax to do 40 frames. I’m pretty happy with the build. Took me 6 hours to build the boxes and frames. I did build a jig to make the frames.
I have no experience with them. I hope it works out well.
You most definitely should get a greenhouse. It would go good with all the flowers you plant.
I also think it would be a fantastic space for visitors and hosting gatherings. :) I'm giving it serious thought.
Green house is fun but if it's not heated the plants die at night. Daytime is nice and warm, but it gets cold fast inside when the sun goes down. Then in summer its very hot inside. I still vote get a green house, you only live once. Plus, the wife loves it!
I think it would be more for me than the plants :)
@@FrederickDunn The one thing I do use the green house for involving bees. If I think a hive is dead in winter. I bring it to the green house and inspect it. So far they all have been dead, but just in case its warm inside no harm done.
I have 1 inch of foam board insulation above my inner cover, with a feeder shim big enough for a rapid round feeder, another inch of foam and then the telescoping outer cover.
The inner cover has a small vent on the bottom front that has a plastic tape flap the bees can push through if they need to get out when the bottom entrance is frozen closed.
The hive is 2 deeps, and the broodminders are indicating the bees are in the top box where all the honey was in the fall.
Instead of the rapid round on some hives I have hive alive fondant. There is a quarter sized spot of condensation on the inside of the fondant pack just above the hole on the inner cover and lower insulation.
When scraping out dead bees from the solid bottom board I have noticed they are quite moist, and there seems to be ice on the bottom board, maybe thicker in the middle where most of the bee drop is.
The internal temps near the bees are above 70F.
Should I worry about this bottom board moisture?
I would not do anything about that condensation in the fondant pack. The bees use that condensation when consuming the fondant. If there is dampness on the bottom board, and even some ice, I don't see that as a problem considering that it's at the bottom and not on the bees themselves. I think, based on your description, that you have a good set up there.
I have unfinished and untreated plywood that has been stored outside in the worst the weather can throw at it for over a decade, (in my "not throwing it out in case it comes in handy" pile) and it is in fine condition. It has bleached somewhat from the weather, but that is all. I even had one piece which was standing for a long time with the edge in a semi-permanent puddle without rotting or delaminating.
The difference is - it is marine-grade plywood, which is what should be used for any exterior project and seems not to have been used for the bottom boards you mention, where they clearly cheaped out. If you want to use plywood it is fine if it is marine plywood, even though you will pay for it heavily at the builders' merchants upfront, it will be less expensive in the long run.
I only mention this for the benefit of any DIY hive builders or experimenters out there. 19mm/3/4" marine ply lasts almost forever in most environments, and as long or longer than most solid woods, cedar excepted. But it may well be less expensive than cedar - local prices will vary. We have little native cedar, so it costs a fortune (as does anything except soft pine, and even that is pricey).
Hi Phil, that's a great point, and Home Depot has brought their prices down. It was $80/sheet and now I see 3/4 MG at $50.27/ sheet here, when you cut it all down, that's a pretty good savings. Thanks for sharing.
Duct work, plastic dryer vent, hive in the greenhouse to outside world.
Is that what you're currently doing? Sounds good to me :)
Do you consider the black roof paper insulating the sides that would affect the condensation on the sides? I have no upper entrance and insulated top cover above feeder shims.
Roof felt isn't an insulater at all. It's just a wind barrier and isn't particularly effective. I personally do not consider it to be very effective. I f you want to reduce winter wind, there are other wraps available. But I also don't use those. I think roof felt, or tar-paper was in use many many years ago before there were other options. Some just kept using it without being able to validate the benefits.
@@FrederickDunn good news because they are a pain in the buns! Thanks
Where do you purchase your enclosed screen bottom boards? I would like one with a tray.
Right now, no one is making one that I would endorse. There are two companies with prototypes but they aren't available yet. The removable tray is only available for the Flow-Hives at the moment at HoneyFlow.com but they don't match up with standard Langstroth equipment, but serve as an excellent model for what I'm talking about.
Can you paint over the eco wood treatment so the hive colors can help the bees orient?
I haven't tried that, but I think it's still porous enough for a good exterior latex to adhere just fine.
Hello Dear Frederick Dunn 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Hello Enrico!
@@FrederickDunn Hello too Dear Frederick 🥰🥰🥰🥰
happy Friday
Same to you!
Great vdo i think your vdo are among the best
Thank you, I try to always improve :)
Loved this episode, you covered so many things I had questions about from a way I can understand and learn from. I am going to Dr. Leos class in March and hope I can keep from asking and taking up more of his time then I should with questions, at the detriment of other people there, I'm pretty good at not making things about myself to a fault, I think. What do you think about bee inbreeding and how that would affect colonies? I'm worried I won't have enough diversity in my area for the drones to pass on other genes, I stopped growing cucumbers a few years ago because I had the worst crop I had ever had, and I didn't see not one honeybee that summer on my blooms. How far do you think the Queen will go to a drone mating area?
I would not be concerned about in-breeding when you have an open mating situation. The virgin queens can travel a remarkable distance if drone pickings are slim. I think you'll do fine. Please tell Dr. Leo that I send him my best :)
@@FrederickDunn I will, you are the one that steered me his way after all, and I thank you. I really want honeybees back in my area. The native bees aren't able to take up the pollination role like they once could have, we've poisoned everything too much. The difference between when I was a kid in the 70's is night and day to now. The flying bugs were so numerous back then that they blocked the streetlights. They don't exist anymore and that can't be a good thing. I feel sorry for my kids and grandkids, I have nine Grandkids right now. Did we live in the best period before the extinction no one is talking about? The birds traveling south or north used to last forever it seemed. I haven't seen anything like that in so many years I think my adult kids think I am making it up, it never happened in their lifetime.
Hey Fred. Great Q&A as always. I am wanting to use eco wood on some of the new slatted racks I made. How much coverage do you get from the 5 gallon package?
I can't really define "coverage" by square inches. I've done lots of pieces with plenty left over with the 5 gl packet. Then whatever is left over, I use on my benches and other exposed wood around the property. How many pieces did you have in mind? I did all of this with plenty to spare ua-cam.com/video/VP4kbX4ny5k/v-deo.html
I actually was curious about the green house idea. I am moving to a place in zone 5 at 4700 ft. I'm going to do a green house for sure and was wondering about keeping my hives or at least some of them in there with the entrance going outside, but I'm wondering if the warmth of the greenhouse vs outside cold would cause an issue somewhat similar to having an observation hive that is in a heated area. What are your thoughts on this? Maybe it warrants experimenting? Maybe it is a moot point? I'm still unsure of it myself, but I'm very curious if this would actually work and help the bees survivability or if it would actually cause more issues.
The bees are fine in a warmed space with an entrance that receives the full blast of winter. They sense the outside conditions as they travel to that entrance and fly when it's nice, and don't fly when it's too challenging. There are nature centers with observation hives that people observe year round, and I think having a fairly long entrance channel is helpful. But they aren't flying out and just expiring in the cold. I actually get this question quite a lot. Bees have the ability to feel the air and weather conditions.
@@FrederickDunn will being in a warmer space cause them to consume more in the winter? And thank you so much for your answer on this!
I continue to love your videos! I have a first time problem.
I’ve heard you say that you do not feed pollen patties inside your hives but because I listen to you all the time and I know you have knowledge of applications that you do not usually use I hoped that you might have an answer for me.
I went into winter with 25 hives. I live in Texas and usually in February we start feeding pollen patties. I had a half bag of pollen supplement - a 50 pound bag of Ultra Bee from Mann Lake. I had kept it in a cool room but when I opened it up I found weevils! They were lightly scatter along with an occasional larvae.
I’ve been using my flour sifter to sift them out but it takes such a long time. Do you think if I didn’t sift them and used it straight out of the bag it would hurt the bees?
Or if I froze the powder and then made the patties? What do you think?
Letitia
HI Letitia, I'll answer this one right here :) Just in case someone else is reading this, I don't hold-over any pollen sub or bee feed to the next season once it's been opened. I think it's important to use fresh each feeding cycle. BUT, I don't want you to toss all of that Ultra Bee out. Freezing it would not hurt at all, and I'd consider leaving it in the freezer for 72 hours. After that I don't think you'd need to remove the dead from your pollen sub, and I'd go ahead and put it out in your pollen sub feeder. Please let us know how that went :)
Couple of my isa browns got a little bit of frostbite on top of their combs last night in that cold snap-25 up in northern maine -60 with the wind..anything to frett about you think? They seem happy still..
This is too late, but you could put vasoline on all of their combs in advance of the hard freeze. Some roosters can get frost bite so badly that it impacts fertility. Chickens are so pain tolerant that you don't often notice any change in their behavior even when comb tips turn black and fall off. It's why you often see single comb roosters with smooth combs and no points on them. It really takes a severe case of frost bite to impact their overall health. I wish you and your birds all the best.
Hi Fred,
The bee supply was sharing on their Feb. Podcast about using a easy check and Co2 dispenser and cartridges for mite checks. What are your thoughts on this. I like the thought of not killing bee's. I do sugar rolls... but this is "suppose" to be more accurate.
Thank you. Cathrine
I have the CO2 unit, I think that I prefer the sugar shake method for no-kill mite counts. The CO2 knocks them out fast, but the mites still hang on pretty well and you have to really agitate them to get them off. With the sugar, I think you're just as good but it just takes a while longer.
Can you show us how to fix a honey bound hive? Last summer my double deeps were filled with honey and no place for the queen to lay. I didn't have any drawn comb to replace some honey frames and they didn't like the waxed frames that I gave them.
Hi Rene, sounds like your bees are doing extremely well to fill double deeps! You can pull capped honey and checkerboard foundationless wooden frames. They are inexpensive and I think that colony will drawn comb well. I Personally would to do that in your brood box as those frames are unlikely to be put through an extractor, so foundationless would work nicely. So, place a foundationless frame in-between two fully drawn frames and that will help keep them from making wild comb. I wish you all the best.
Fred I have a brand new nuke this year & I honestly find these bees nasty. The guard bees are particularly intense even for just lifting the cover. They are hybrids. I already have 14 stings this springl
I'm in Illinois, and I've been told by other beekeepers that we must overwinter with 2 deeps. Could I use your hive setup and overwintering method with 2 deeps and 1 medium of honey for overwintering?
Two deeps with an insulated inner cover is more than enough. I personally wouldn't go much larger than that. I've wintered in single deeps (small colonies), and the single deep with one medium has wintered very well for me here in my climate.
I use 15 frame Lazutin hives usually 8 double deep frames for brood on stands fixed to trees. Nail boards over insulation because bears. In cold weather you need to push condensation zone outside the hive. I have never had a colony fill a hive. I use follower board in winter. My bees like the floor entrance. I drilled a drain hole and found they love it and they sealed side entrance. So I use floor entrances no landing board. Crown the floor boards towards the ground and drill drain hole. I assume condensation happens on floor with no insulation just nail board over 2x10s. I am thinking of building a bee hive window. I love seeing the tall bee hive removals. I really like Japanese warre hives. But totally unpractical with my location. 5 Lazutin Hives with 6 colonies and swarm trap. I let my bees swarm. Central U.P. Michigan county population 9000. So trap is always filled. Plus a bee tree blew over and I moved them into divided hive with smaller colony. So need to build 2 hives already and find spots for them. My hives are spread over 10 acres. Plus setting up bumble hives. Lots and lots of soft mast on property.
Hello Frederick. Your info has been invaluable and I've tried my best to keep to your great advice...... I asked last year re I noticed you added another medium/shallow onto your deep and medium. I'm making ready with more shallow 10 frame boxes to add if necessary another shallow to match your two mediums or shallows over a deep brood box. I have my third Flow hive now.
I am paranoid about swarming. So As I understand it that is why another box is added to prevent them swarming?
I was relieved to hear you say a deep and two more shallow boxes are about right for a not too big a colony?
The varroa are well under control with the first bigger colony a free of mites, no wonder as I've vaped them with oxalic acid at 4 gram twice since mid December. In the meantime although it is not legit the bees have had a few strips dangling amidst them which seems to kill mites off. I notice some beekeepers with hundreds of hives one with thousands of hives are finding the strip do work.
I am really looking forward in the hope that you may endorse this newish method.
A green house is fantastic. these three Flow hives will back onto ours and is working great not least to give a bit of mild air circulating to the bottom and up through the cluster and out through a very small vent into the top feeder. Then a meshed small vent out to the pitched roof.
There was still quite a bit of condense on the catch tray but the bees seem happy and numerous.
Have you still the idea/desire to have more Flow hives? Best of health this year and success.
As I'm typing I hear you say varroa. I dreaded the word but now I don't. This is due to Randy Oliver seeing what the Argies do re the strips. He said outright if it works for them their system could well be worth investigating.....
One day the method will be passed for all to help their bees. Did you see Harris not a million miles from your lovely
Farm having success with the strips. He is in a totally different league to me with his hundreds of hives/
By "strips" do you mean the extended release sponges? Or are they now working on something different? I am remaining up to speed on most upcoming or treatments that are being evaluated, but don't personally have a need to expand my treatment practices. I do understand the need for some keepers to expand their varroa mitigating practices. I wish you all the best as your find your way with treatments and management.
@@FrederickDunn Hiya Frederick..... Thank you so much for your reply. Yes indeed the strips. I am surprised there are so many bending the 'rules'. It seems unusual to me that the sublimation seems inferior to the strips but used together it seems devastating to the mites but I'm thankful for that.
Regarding your expertise on the Flow hives. We are thinking we may need to add another shallow to the deep and a shallow already on all winter when needed to try to prevent swarming?
I was worried the 2020 queen would need replacement but the beekeeper says 'they' can last 5 years? The professionals who are looking for maximum production tend to requeen after only two years but I wonder what you do actually.
I wonder also how you manage to answer all the questions you must be inundated with.
You are so good at what you do & I was so glad to see your Flow Hive video of 2015. Best wishes Mick in the mid UK
Feb 5th 23 and these bees are bringing in pollen which I find remarkable but good for them. A snap 4 day frost killed the near flowering Viburnum tinus.... the temps are sure up and down.
Mr. Dunn do you have a suggestion for who I should order my bees from? I live on Long Island, NY. South Shore.
Local breeders with good reputations would be best. After that, I'd visit Mann Lake and see what lines they are offering as they are brokers for the largest breeders. Aside from that, consider getting yourself on a swarm capture list, or let local beekeepers know that you're interested in having spring swarms.
@@FrederickDunn I found a breeder here on Long Island, I will be attending his seminar on Thursday. He raises Nuc’s here locally. BtW, my VEVOR came out great. I do have wood working skills but a beginner, I believe, could handle the kit no problem with basic tools. Thx again and I will continue to be a faithful subscriber.
cool im thinking this is the long awaited microscope episode
Sorry, just the opening sequence :)
I would like to show you a picture of the green house, but I can't figure out how to get it from my phone to your channel
Thanks Rene, I'm designing my own that will attach to a 32 foot long existing structure.
The only problem with the hives inside the greenhouse and the entrances to the outside only, is the temperature inside the green house is a lot warmer then the outside temperature. If they go flying out thinking its warm outside and the temp is only 30, they will freeze to death.
@@reneallen6405 Hi Rene, I'm not sure why you think that honey bees in warm hives would fly out in freezing weather and "freeze to death"? I have seen no evidence of that at all. The bees are fully capable of feeling the air temp as they travel through their entrance, and make a decision to fly or not. We have several observation hives here, one in a Natura Center, and others inside homes, the bees still just remain inside the hive until conditions are suitable for flight. Where have you observed the bees flying out and freezing?
It was an assumption, ill try that next time. Its my first winter with bees. Thanks for the info
I’m trying a 7 frame with 7 medium this year…
I hope that works out for you :)
question for next week anonymously,..WILL installing swarm traps too close , encourage swarming,from your colonies,since it would be highly likely scouts will be attracted to them,because if close proximity, and bait scent ,i tried asking on freds fine fowl,but got flagged as unsecure,un encrypted,warning me not to add personal info,it could be my own browser settings? my recent better bee order was also doing that ,so i had to call n order...thanks again
Having available cavities nearby that would be appealing to swarms/scouts would not be counted as a "trigger" for swarming. Scouts and their habits/preferences have been pretty well documented and studied. We know from those observations that they prefer a cavity around 200-250 yards from their original hive. BUT, that doesn't mean if they can't find something at that distance that they won't move into any suitable cavity... even one right in your apiary. I've had a swarm leave a hive in my apiary only to have it occupy a box I had on a rack just 30 feet away. When new queen cells begin to be constructed, scouting activity increases. If there are no queen cells in production, I don't know of any reason that a suitable cavity would cause a colony to begin those preparations.
@@FrederickDunn thank you for a great reply, i shared a link to you recently about primary and afterswarms preferences,it was interesting,they said primary swarms often bivouac, or go to a baited,b box or branch with a sachet with attractant,then fly off ,whereas virgin after, secondary swarms would, swarm to bated box or,and sachet,and stay,...they did like 5 with and 5 without bait(scent) for control...it was interesting and timely as im prepping my new yard,and will be taking advantage of nearby trees,i did read thomas seelys studies on this topic, it gets me thinking about your QMP, info in your videos about its use,and how other bees may join in,swarms they arent related too,...thanks mr dunn
30 below for me
I jus thope they made it.
Hi, I am struggling to find the video I saw where the impact of treatments was measured on a temperature graph. Before the treatment the temperature line is very regular : but after treatment the readings are erratic for days. The least intrusive was OAV, as measured by the temperature steadying within a day !
If somebody can source this video for me I would like to study it again. Important to have a scientific based knowledge that measures the mite drop, but also the disturbance to the colony.
Maybe it was a Broodminder video or some other manufacturer ?? Thanks all..
Hi Alec, I posted a video like that. It was during my interview with the inventor of the InstantVap. He had some very interesting results and demonstrated that a 4g dose actually delivered an inferior amount of OA after considering the performance of the sublimation unit. Here is the link to that video: ua-cam.com/video/Bry6rcXpmjQ/v-deo.html
@@FrederickDunn Thanks Frederick for that important link. After having seen a bee wanting to inspect the hot pot get vaporized, I was not favorable to OA sublimation. Then the video I am looking for studied different treament temperature disruptions to the hive and the least disruptive was sublimation ! (The temperature oscillations in the hive came back quicker to pre-treatment stability). So maybe a collateral burnt bee is acceptable if the sublimation is the least disruptive. So from your video 194 with Janos, I have learned that OA for a dripping treatment has sugar and is not good for sublimation. I am in France and sourcing pure OA is proving difficult : maybe a pharmacist can help. OA here is often sold to whiten wood or treat rust or cleaning plaster before painting, so I have to be careful as to what I am really buying. Let the beeyer beeware.
The other important info from your Janos video, is the difficulty pinpointing tne right temperature, including the risk of producing formic.
Anyway, please tell Janos that if sublimation is really the least intrusive, then he should include that in his spiel.. with some sort of proof…
You wouldn’t even use a open screen bottom board in extreme heat like 95 to 107 outside temps?
I had about 5 straight months of 98-105 degrees last year in central Texas. I didn't have any open screened bottom boards, although my hives do have built-in insulation. I did start seeing a lot of bearding once the hives were filling up with nectar, but I just put a little shim under the lid to make a small crack at the top of the honey supers and the bearding almost all went away and the bees actually would use that gap at the top to vent hot air out of the hive by fanning their wings. Cracking the lid of the hive is also what I've seen Bob Binnie do during peak honey production periods. Basically, the bees don't need an open bottom, just a small crack at the top will be more than enough even for extreme heat.
@@ryan_cowan I’m in Texas also. I block my screens in winter and open them in summer.
Hi James, the bees control their moisture and warmth much better when they have a single entrance that they can conform their brood around. The open bottom screen with no box around it leaves them unable to move air as they would like to, and they have a difficult time controling humidity up or down. Back in 2007, I had two with screen open bottom boards and the bees did everything they could to propolize the screen. If you want to learn more about what the bees would prefer, put up swarm trap boxes in the same general location and have some with closed up boxes and a single entrance, and some with open screened bottoms. You'll find out quickly what the bees are electing to deal with. Heat is as challenging as the cold is and more ventilation isn't necessarily better particularly if the climate is dry.
Is there a preferred way to donate Mr Dunn?
Thank you for that question, you can follow the link to my website, on the prints page, there is a donation button if you're feeling generous. I appreciate it: www.fredsfinefowl.com/printsforyou.html
Have you ever tried Hive Alive and water as a mouth wash ? Lol !
nope
@FrederickDunn Is hyssop a native plant to Pennsylvania?
It is indeed, there are some varieties that aren't.
@@FrederickDunn Great and I assume that the Anise Hyssop Agastache foeniculum variety that you are growing is indeed a native version, correct? I would like to keep my perennial planting going forward native to Pa. I started with some winter holly berries last summer.
Some do Darwinienne bee keeping and some do natural bee keeping such as Dr Leo! You often talk about Darwinienne bee keeping but never about natural bee keeping. You often mention Dr Leo as if he follows Darwinienne bee keeping which he doesn’t. Is there not a difference between them and if so what is the difference.
Hope you get your green house...very pleasant to start seedlings.
Thank
Darwinian beekeeping is aka bee-centric, or natural beekeeping. No feeding, no swarm control, 10 gallon (single deep 10 frame), also no pest management. BUT, you need to cull colonies that become diseased, or over run with varroa mites. That's the Thomas Seeley version.
Dr. Leo also says no feeding, no management other than providing boxes and frames in spring, then harvesting in fall. Much larger space that is not based on what bees select as natural cavity occupation. Dr. Leo is also hands off and does not monitor for varroa, he has and let live approach that is treatment free, no culling of failing colonies.
I lean more toward Dr. Seeley regarding being aware of varroa and disease loading and acting to cull those that are not managing well. Permitting them to swarm excellerates their reproduction and therefore adaptation to their climate and environment. It's a philosophy that I agree with. Dr. Leo depends on a honey harvest, Dr. Seeley does not. I've also gravitated toward Dr. Seeley as he's in my climate and has spent decades studying honey bee behavior unaided by humans. It's not a path that someone who needs to profit from the bees will take.
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Help
I'm not sure i can help?
Thanks!
Thank you, Yvonne! :)