Bee Hives Not Holding Up, Time for a Swap, is Apimaye compatible with Langstroth Boxes?
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- This video was recorded on October 5th, we only have two days this week that are suitable for opening hives and working with the bees.
Two of my Langstroth Hives have issues, and in this video I'll demonstrate how to swap out your hive equipment with new undamaged boxes.
I'll also answer the question, are Apimaye Ergo hive boxes compatible with standard Langstroth equipment? They are indeed.
It's very late in the season to be trying to start new colonies, but refitting equipment to give your current colonies a better chance at winter survival is still a possibility.
The smaller colony needs all of the help it can get, so to keep them going strong I'll be adding Hive Alive Pollen Patties as well as providing 2:1 sugar to water for late-season syrup/carbs.
See my initial Apimaye setup here: • Apimaye Ergo Plus Bee ...
I also converted a full deep brood-box to a 5-frame nucleus hive by using the Apimaye brood divider board: • Apimaye Ergo Bee Hive ...
UPDATE: On the morning of 10/7 I placed a Hive Alive Pollen Pattie on one side of the Apimaye feeder, and 2:1 Syrup (Sugar to water) on the other side.
The second Hive which had a much higher population now has a Hive Alive Fondant Pack on top of the BeeSmart Insulated Inner Cover. You can learn more about why I have chosen Hive Alive to supplement my lagging hives, by clicking this link: www.fredsfinef...
The magnetic hive tool holders I was wearing are by BeeSmart and sold at BetterBee. (this is not an affiliate link, just providing a source) www.betterbee....
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Bar None!! 🍸 Thank you Fred for your dedication! This beekeeper has profited from your knowledge. You and Bob Binnie shine the brightest! ✨️
Thank you very much, and I'm glad to be a part of your beekeeping journey. :)
Apiamay has wonderful equipment I must say, very advanced systems
They have definitely put a lot of thought and features into their equipment.
Thanks for showing your mistakes and problems. Videos often show their "best" side and not the real world.
It makes me feel better to know that even the seasoned Beekeeper has a bad day or maybe missed something. It shows everyone how to deal with real bee problems in the real bee world.
Thanks
These warms days are some of the last days above 70 I think. Insane activity around the colonies. I like the Apimaye hives. Seems like they really thought of everything, or close to everything. Thanks for sharing Fred.
Thanks Fred, for all your time efforts, and commitment, I am truly grateful for all you do for beekeeping. ✌️
You're very welcome, and thank you for taking your valuable time to watch and comment :)
Wow the 1st colony had very few bees let’s hope now she’s all snug and warm that they can pull a miraculous turn around before winter , was a great video as always , have a lovely day and as always look forward to the next video 👍🏻🇬🇧
Today they were a steady stream of pollen, so I think we hit it just in time :)
Great video Fred! I am getting back into beekeeping next year and my research keeps landing me on the Apimaye hives.
I feel pretty good they are made from recycled plastics and the insulation properties would serve me well down in the Ozarks of Missouri.
Having had a hive blow over during our recent storm series, I can say that I wish it had been an Apimaye hive as they just don't come apart no matter what nature throws at them. I also think they will outlast any other hive I've owned.
Mr. Dunn,
Yes sir this video was a great help. Every one of your uploads always seems to have something that will benefit everybody 👍
GOD Bless
🛐📖🐆🐝🐝🐝🐝
Thank you so much! :)
Wonderful and educational video, as always! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
My favorite type of Videos from Mr.Dunn,,🇱🇨👍🏼♥️
Thanks, Robert!
P.S. the Parker box comes with a 25 year garrantee if assembled as per instructions - you just have to pre drill holes for the stainless screws that hold it together. Can't add a picture here for you to see how good they are.
way to go for you to become real master beekeeper
I have found out that Flo Hive is not completely compatible with Langstroth, and now Apimaya is not either. A little bit of truth in advertising is needed here, eh? Thanks for the informative video.
They definitely have different external dimensions. And you can't put a standard medium super on a flow-hive as the Flow-Roof won't fit standard Lang Boxes. I'm not sure about "truth in advertising", did they say that they are compatible? They are 1/4" narrower than Langstroth boxes. There are many changes I'd like to see the Flow people make :)
@@FrederickDunn Oh yeah! I think your idea of a medium Flo Hive Super is an idea whose time has come.
Yes, Flo Hive advertises as "completely compatible" with Langstroth. I've been making reducers to fit hive gates to my solid bottom hives, and it only took two seconds to see that the advert was a lie.
The metal grated bottom of the Flo Hive managed to fry two queens waiting to come out of their cages before I realized what was going on with the hive of the guy I am mentoring...
Here in SE NM, I see so many problems with vented bottom boards on hives sitting over Caliche soil. It is white and basically rock. It can cook the bees from the bottom. Even if they manage to survive; good natured Bee Weavers will appear "mean" when their hives have nothing but a piece of white cardboard between them and Caliche.
Did a hive dive last Saturday; my very first advice was to put down mulch or wood chips all around and under the hives.
Stop blaming the bees for bad beekeeping, people!
weather proof duck tape is what i use in a quick fix pickle situation. Weather proof wood glue works great on those box joints too.
Great tip!
Great video as usual Big Fred👌👍👍It would be very helpful, educational and informative on doing splits with out introducing a queen. And show some methods where bees make their own Queen in splits. Especially for Beekeepers who don't have access to extra Queens or not able to buy/order Queens from from Queen rearing Beekeepers.
Yes, I've done those, my preferred method is walk-away splits. I also did that when I was setting up my Observation hives. Each hive had a different starting point. One was a complete swarm, the next was three frames of brood with a queen, the third was two frames of brood with eggs and larvae but no queen. They simply build out their queen cell over the egg of their choice as it hatches. Very easy to do, just pull the frames of resources with eggs in them and leave the queen behind. Here is the video: ua-cam.com/video/QE7IaqVAIPk/v-deo.html
Enjoy your nice weather I am in Michigan Upper Peninsula and there is snow flakes in the air .
Wow, I'm not looking forward to that weather this year. It always seems to come along too soon.
Try giving your hives a coat of good primer and two coats of good quality acrylic white paint inside and out. Make hives last for years. It help reduce heat loss.
Alternately, source a Parker super Bee Hive. It a really good quality well design mortems and tenon design and provides good insulation.
I have about 20 nuc’s don’t know exactly how I’m gonna set them up yet , my thought was start some 3lb packages and keeping it small and observe how they grow here in southern Maryland, I have 21 acres , I have a small orchard 18 apple and peach trees started last year , 4 acres of 5-6’ new pines , 5 acres of established pines , acres of imperial clover I planted every where, wild flowers , sunflowers, echinacea, 300 acres of pumpkin and corn on the adjacent farms are so the bees are always busy and have plenty of resources, but back to the nuc’s I’m instinctively thinking the triple nuc would be a good way to build better , stronger colonies faster , which I’ve told folks /friends over the years when I wasn’t keeping bees anymore but offering help to friends , I had to remind them that their colonies would most likely fail when they bought complete kits and put them all together and put 3lbs of bees in , I was too let with a couple friends who didn’t know that I knew anything about bees and their bees froze and starved , I know that too much space is probably deadlier than not enough. But how does your triple nuc work for you ? Thanks Fred!!! I am going to try my hand at some Queen rearing so the nucs will be handy I know
My triple nucs are perfection. That's the sweet spot for resource hives that need no help. BTW, I went to school in Southern Maryland, and married a girl from Bryans Road. :)
@@FrederickDunn that’s the Indian head /Waldorf area if I’m not mistaken, I live straight across the bay in Delmar which isn’t far from the ocean, I used to drink beer with the frogmen and navy guys over by Calvert cliffs/ Solomon’s area , what a great bunch of guys , I’m more of a jump from the plane kinda guy , to me boats were for fishing lol if I had it to do over again I would have tried all branches until I found my niche lol , when I was at fort Meade I met a fella at M E. P. P. S . That had been in all branches starting out in the Air Force, then navy , then marines and he went in the army last and here I was 17 with my parents consent and this fella was early to mid 30’s and he just seemed old to be starting out where I did in the army lol he was a great guy though!!
Ok back to the nucs , I’m really looking forward to getting some bloodlines mixed up and building some good colonies and I’m seeing how beneficial it is keeping the bees tighter and higher, the 5 frames might be the way to go for me too , I will keep you posted, I will do my splits this year in 5’s , thanks Fred ! P.s. I’m still trying to figure out what custom hive tool I’m going to forge for you this year 😀I’m going to use a railroad spike , that’s the only hint 😄
“Who’s the beekeeper around here?”……. lolol 😂
:)
Great video as always, Fred. Do you think the chewing you experienced on the top of that Hoover hive had anything to do with it being coated in beeswax?
I think they were just working on the joint between the boxes.
Ya I have to change a bottom board kuz of my girls desire to chew on it lol must be lead paint.😉😅 Take it easy Fred work them bees often.🤠
Really educational video, thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Hello Fred great info. My one hive is a hoover hive. I wish the bees wax was only on the inside. That would allow us to paint them. My bees are striping the wax off the outside around the entrance. Next boxes I get will be just wooden. Probably the cheapest I can find. Do you have a recommendation?
Yes, for woodenware, I currently like the boxes coming from BetterBee. I used to get them from Mannlake, but they have been sending inferior wood even when I select their prime grade lumber. BetterBee for now, gets my vote for assembled and unassembled boxes.
I'd fix a box like that, slice off about 1/2" then graft a new piece on. Good as new!
Depending on how the rest of the box is, You can even add more than needed (say, an extra 1/8" on the top) then simply slice off 1/8" from the bottom.
The only ~difference is you'll have moved the handles down 1/8" of an inch...but it's a fairly easy fix (I build RC models....I like complicated stuff! =D )
Lots of options for sure. Yes, you could cut the box down and clamp and glue new wood to replace what's been warn off.
Frederick I watch all of your beekeeping videos because you do such a great job.
The hive you placed in the Apimaye has an uphill battle. Wow they need more bees. I understand that a queen will not lay more eggs than the colony can nurse. If this is true it will take a while to build this hive up in time to handle your cold weather. Is this true or am I misunderstand this belief?
They are what I'd consider to be borderline. They needed that insulated hive for sure. As of this morning, they are industrious and bringing in pollen. That's always a good sign, but that colony will need to be nursed along with feed over the next three weeks. With a situation like that, weather will play a huge role in their recovery. If I had worked with them just 2 weeks ago they would have had a very good chance. We'll see how they do and what the weather brings.
The challenge of have had mixing Apimaye with woodenware is putting wooden boxes on top of the Apimaye boxes. There is no lip to fit over which means they are just two smooth surfaces meeting just like two wooden boxes. That is not really an issue except that the plastic is more slippery against the wood versus two wooden surfaces and sometimes that makes things a little awkward. During the summer I run wooden supers on the Apimaye brood boxes just to save expense.
I'm glad you mentioned that issue, I personally would not put wood on top of the apimaye boxes for that reason. They have a great system when it overlaps the box below which basically eliminated any wind or rain getting in.
@@FrederickDunn It has worked OK for me so far. My equipment is all relatively new, so I have not had any problems with gaps, etc. As my equipment ages that may change, we will see. I am definately overwintering with a Apimaye deep and medium. Thanks for the video, helpful and imformative as always!
I should also mention that I purchased a set of the latches for wooden boxes from Apimaye thinking that might help keep things together. Unfortunately they do not come with any templates or guides for installation so I have not tried to use them yet.
Do you have issues with wax moths? With the few bees in the first.hive and all of the unattended frames, it seems that would be very attractive to wax moths.
No wax moth larvae, no wax worms evident. But you are correct, if the hive space is well beyond the occupying bee numbers you do risk a wax moth larvae bloom.
Curious to know what kind of boots you wear when fully suited? I never know if I want suit over boots or boots over suit. Have you put the research into boots that you've put into everything else you do?
That's funny as I'm testing out boots right now. I like Muck boots and always tuck my pants into them, just easier for me.
In Iowa
Fred do you ever do brood frame equalization this time of year?
Unfortunately many people are running into the same problems with their Hoover hives. They are not wax dipped. Wax coated instead. From China so who actually knows what the the wax actually is?
It looks like my Hoover hives may not be going the distance. They (the company) say that they do a first dip with earth wax and then final dip in bees wax, but as you say I have no way to actually test that.
So right, Mike! I bought foundation a couple of times off of Amazon, and I swear that one set was coated with Paraffin!
On this first hive you showed the reboxing that you are going to feed sugar water and dry sugar, next spring will it be easy for you to tell the real honey from the sugar honey they make? You don't want to accidentally give your friends family or customers sugar honey when you harvest the super next year. Do you need a trained eye to tell them apart?
That's a great question, and just in time to make the list for today's Q&A. Thanks!
Thanks, Fred. I'm a little confused. For the first hive, was there something wrong with the Hoover hive box which led to the bees being able to create a new entrance in the back? Wasn't that box less than 2 years old? I've been waiting for you to do a follow up review on the boxes since they seem like a good value. And for the second hive, why only 9 frames in the brood box? You had 8 which really flummoxed me since the medium super had 10. Then you added a frame and said you took a frame out for the queen cage. But I still only counted 9 brood frames total when you sealed it up. Just wondering.
They can do just fine with 9 frames, I couldn't find the drawn comb frame I removed when I put the queen cage in the hive, so put a frame with a waxed foundation in as a place holder. That particular colony has good numbers and will recover nicely in my opinion. I normally like to put 10 frames in 10-frame equipment but this one had 9 so they drew out deeper cells eliminiating my opportunity to put in a 10th frame. The hover boxes are doing well overall, this particular one seems to be the exception. However, others have reported similar issues with them, so it's a toss up at this point. When I buy new hive equipment, I get the wooden boxes from BetterBee. One chewed box doesn't represent a trend, but if others are seeing chewed Hoover boxes, then there may indeed be an issue.
@@FrederickDunn Thanks for the explanation.
@@no1slisteninganyway Anytime :)
Thank you Fred. So hive 18 is in the shade. With the long winters you have, is it not possible to reposition the hive, before the snow comes, while it is cold into the sun since most of the foragers die over winter and the new bees come out to do orientation flights in spring?
Hi Kennith, with the sun in the south during winter, that hive gets full morning to noon sun. So it's actually in a pretty good spot. I try to have hives in various exposures so I can observe and share the differences. But you're right, it would do better in full sun and with the landing board facing south.
Those Hoover hives are only a couple years old, aren't they? Are you disappointed in their durability?
All I can say is that I won't be looking for any more of them. They make a great first impression and they aren't all degrading as this one is. But I think I'm going to be fine with other woodenware providers going forward.
Don't cut that box! I fix these with sawdust and glue. Works great. Check out the video I posted...
Too late, it's already two feeder shims now. It's true that it could have been cut and repaired with fresh wood. I needed it more as a feeder shim, so that was convenient. I'm sure some will check your videos!
i heard hivealive was back in stock,?like how the beesmart inner cover fit,...my knock off golden palace has yet to produce mediums supers,and not compatible w apimay, so wood supers are fine,wish the shim could go over the reinforcment ribs on the beesmart inner cover,ive got some bees chewing a new entrance ,my poor alignment caught late, jyst duct tape for now, i made 2 12 ft stands fir next season,s canted 4x4 legs all treated,should help in windy conditions, been feeding pollin,and 2:1 ,and low mites,ive yet to vaporize, had a successful combine ,holding at about 10 colonies, question when you scrape oropolis n burr comb, is it best to keep them seperate, and or when you render it to recoat frames,is it ok to have propolis in your wax?....thanks many
You just made it under the wire for today's Q&A, I'll answer your question in that video :)
What are those clamps you are using to hold that electrical conduit on the tposts? I'm thinking of upgrading to a similar setup from my 4x4 and cinder block stands I am using now but don't think I want to weld the conduits on place(at least not yet) so copying what you have that is working for you might be a good semi-permanent solution for me.
ua-cam.com/video/2uGhI7oF8kA/v-deo.html
@@FrederickDunn thanks, I know I watched that video not long ago but for the life.of.me.i couldn't seem to find it in my watched history or just looking through your videos on your channel last night.
First yey, love this channel
Congratulations, and thank you !
How is the hive that had a supercedure cell, did you get a queen
As of today they are bringing in a steady flow of pollen, so it looks like we may have a mated queen in there. I'll inspect that hive again if we get a nice warm day for a checkup, but they look good from the landing board.
Is the hoover hive a good quality hive?
Overall, they are fine, I've had a couple of chew-throughs with them. But well made. ua-cam.com/video/0RfZnVXghQE/v-deo.html
@@FrederickDunn thanks for the quick response. We are adding bees to our homestead this year and just lining into affordable and natural options. Just found your channel and thanks for telhe info.
@@freedom7458 You are very welcome, welcome to beekeeping :)
Do you spray wax on the new frames that are plastic to get the bees to get the bees to work on it better and if you do where do you buy that wax spray somebody was telling me that I needed to do that to my plastic frames is amson Vegas bill
Hi Bill, I don't do that I just buy in the heave waxed frames to begin with and haven't had to do any additional waxing.
@@FrederickDunn My friend tells me mine or have no wax on them he says they sell a spray it would make the bees have a better reaction to them I've looked I can't find it I don't know what hes talking about I was wondering if you knew
60 lbs per gallon is a sugar brick or a rock crystal lol
i can see some one heating it up and mixing it with a wood spoon than come back when it cools and have a 6ft rock candy. Could be the new style i suppose
That's 2:1, which is 16 lbs of dry dugar to one gallon of water. Did the CC mess that up? I hope you're the only one who heard it that way :)
So, nine frames in the brood box of the second hive? Why?
It just ended up that way. I normally put 10 frames in all 10 frame gear and 8 frames in all 8 frame gear. With it having had 9 to begin with, they drew out their cells too deep for me to put a 10th frame back in that box.
36 Degrees tonight
brrr