Using heat for mite control is counter productive as the interior temp of the hive would have to be sustained at 104 for a period of time and the bees would be trying to reduce the interior temp of the hive to optimum temp. for them. So this is probably why it hasn't really been used as a remedy for treatment
lol what u just said is how a bee hive works your heat kicks in more because your not well insulated if a beehive is not well insulated the heat also turns on and burns fuel 👍🏾
Why do we shrink the boxes for winter ? So they don’t have a hard time keeping heat why do we insulate so the heat the bees make stays with them longer so they don’t have to work 6 months of the year and eat 120 ponds of honey and be stressed out that’s why Canadians put there bees in a shed to keep the temps set at a set temps as when bees are In -10 and up for a long time is very stressful on bees
Diatomaceous earth in a hive? Absolutely not! It will get into every joint of the bees body and slice up all the soft flexible areas. That stuff is like razor blades to insects and slugs and earthworms!
Dr Derek Mitchell has been studying the fluid dynamics of bees in natural nests for years now. Under ideal conditions they dont need to cluster until -34C external temperature. The taller the nest the more heat is retained. He has some very interesting bits of advice regarding hives, humidity retention and how high humidity is helpful against varroa.
Dave, this year I lost 11 hives do to hornets and yellow jackets! We witnessed several attacks. We have been in a sever drought in northern Indiana and we have never seen a hornet and yellow jacket issue like the one that has gone on this fall, the carnage is horrific. Whats left is a mostly empty hive and a queen with 20-30 bees. No eggs, no larva and the capped brood chewed on. We became aware to late to effect much change, we reduced and put up defectors on trying to hide the entrance. Nothing saved the hives, remaining hives where greatly reduced in bee numbers and resources, evwn though they where being fed. Many of the colonies stopped foraging and stayed in to guard the entrances. We even used the plastic robbing screens as well as other designs, but the jackets figured them out faster than the honeybees did. We put up hornet traps and have trapped thousands. Even after numerous frosts and freezes we still have some hornets and yellow jackets looking for food. Beekeeping is stressful and the struggle is real!
Yes I’m the guy lol your not logic if you had 40 thousand bees there not gonna make as much heat as 40 thousand horses there bigger animal and produce way more heat then one bee come on 😂😂😂😂😂😂if I put 40 thousand horses together there gonna create way more heat then 40 thousand bees 😅
Don't know if anyone addressed the cane vs beet sugar question, but sugar beets are one of the most highest GMO plants, where as I can't find cane sugar on a GMO list. Some people would like to avoid GMO at all costs.
Hi David, Apparently, where I live in Newcastle, Australia, it has very similar weather to Savannah, Georgia, with 5in more rain and 100 hours sunlight here. Do Savannah beekeepers have a brood break in wintertime that you know of, or do they carry on as normal or maybe slow down a little? Our bees may slow down a little laying, but they will still lay all winter ready for spring when they pack out the brood fast. When seeing advice on UA-cam from the US, it's handy to know an area I can cross reference for similarities. Thanks for the great info you provide and keeping your channel going all the years you have. I'm sure you've covered most of the questions you get now in an older video, but you still take the time to talk to people and have your question time every week. Your work on this channel is appreciated. Thanks, mate. Will.
Thanks David for answering my question. As always, I gain so much knowledge from your 😢videos. Your take on beekeeping is so informative, quirky and entertaining. It’s always relevant. I look forward to your next video. I will see you over there. 😊
Hi David (1st question) - starting 2nd winter w 4 hives in Harrisburg Pa. Checked hives 1 week ago - no capped over brood in any of them. Idk if any eggs - looked very dry. It’s been hot w no resources and I’m top feeding each hive (not consistently) Also started feeding them out in open last week. I always have water available. Amazing amount of bees coming to my “breakfast bar”. All four hives can’t be queenless right? Didn’t see queen or any capped brood and dry cells. Are they cannibalizing their brood/eggs? Winterizing them soon - next week we start staying in the 50s and below… concerned here in PA… Bees are sooo hungry rn… also do u think using sugar cakes / honey b kinds now would be ok? Or would more hive beetles be invited in?? I’ve not seen many hbs this year (used Scott’s method you showed during summer… Thanks - we enjoy all the great wisdom you are sharing !!!
Hey David! I really need advice! I have a nice sized Hive, 2 deeps and a super, they have lots of resources. The Queen is alive and walking around but ever since doing a mite treatment ( formic pro, 2 strips for 14 days) I haven't seen a single egg! No brood anywhere in the hive! It's been at least 4 weeks if not more since I have seen any sign of the Queen laying. Yet the Queen has been seen waking around aching fine. Still have lots of bees but I'm scared they won't making is she isn't laying. I have been feeding them 1:1 sugar water with your additives and it's been in the 70° In the day time and 50-60° at night. I'm located in sc. What do I do? I also noticed a few bees have k wing? What should I do about this?
I'd do a mite test, to see what your mite load is now after treatment. If the queen isn't laying you need to replace her if that is an option. I know it's getting late. In the future, it's great to hang on to a few resource nucs with good queens as late as you can for times like this. But for now, test for mites, wait 10 days and check for egss, then hopefully someone near you has queens forsale still.
My oldest son got me started in the he's been in to be keeping himself at 12 years he has been my mentor I know I drive him crazy with questions but he has always encouraged me to watch the different videos and I might find an easier and different way for me to work my bees he always says this is the way I do it but that don't mean it will work for you mama so when I see something that I think might work better for me I try it and then I tell him and he has actually changed a few of his ways up he is a fantastic mentor that is for sure I'm not saying that just because he's my son but he is patient he will answer any questions that I have no matter how dumb they sound
Thanks again for sharing your time and knowledge. You've been a blessing to an almost new beekeeper. Gramps made it all look easy until the mites and beetles became a problem, and his advanced age of 90 something. So happy I captured a couple swarms this summer and learning and reminiscing times with the best bee man I knew, until I found you. Send some of that cool air south!
Hi David. I store frames in the freezer for a few days then put them in a big Rubbermaid container. I leave the top off and I put them near my dehumidifier. I keep it running anyway so I’m killing two birds with one stone!
Using heat for mite control is counter productive as the interior temp of the hive would have to be sustained at 104 for a period of time and the bees would be trying to reduce the interior temp of the hive to optimum temp. for them. So this is probably why it hasn't really been used as a remedy for treatment
lol what u just said is how a bee hive works your heat kicks in more because your not well insulated if a beehive is not well insulated the heat also turns on and burns fuel 👍🏾
Why do we shrink the boxes for winter ? So they don’t have a hard time keeping heat why do we insulate so the heat the bees make stays with them longer so they don’t have to work 6 months of the year and eat 120 ponds of honey and be stressed out that’s why Canadians put there bees in a shed to keep the temps set at a set temps as when bees are
In -10 and up for a long time is very stressful on bees
I really think someone is having issues identifying the queen
Diatomaceous earth in a hive? Absolutely not! It will get into every joint of the bees body and slice up all the soft flexible areas. That stuff is like razor blades to insects and slugs and earthworms!
Dr Derek Mitchell has been studying the fluid dynamics of bees in natural nests for years now. Under ideal conditions they dont need to cluster until -34C external temperature. The taller the nest the more heat is retained. He has some very interesting bits of advice regarding hives, humidity retention and how high humidity is helpful against varroa.
🎉
Dave, this year I lost 11 hives do to hornets and yellow jackets! We witnessed several attacks. We have been in a sever drought in northern Indiana and we have never seen a hornet and yellow jacket issue like the one that has gone on this fall, the carnage is horrific. Whats left is a mostly empty hive and a queen with 20-30 bees. No eggs, no larva and the capped brood chewed on. We became aware to late to effect much change, we reduced and put up defectors on trying to hide the entrance. Nothing saved the hives, remaining hives where greatly reduced in bee numbers and resources, evwn though they where being fed. Many of the colonies stopped foraging and stayed in to guard the entrances. We even used the plastic robbing screens as well as other designs, but the jackets figured them out faster than the honeybees did. We put up hornet traps and have trapped thousands. Even after numerous frosts and freezes we still have some hornets and yellow jackets looking for food. Beekeeping is stressful and the struggle is real!
Yes I’m the guy lol your not logic if you had 40 thousand bees there not gonna make as much heat as 40 thousand horses there bigger animal and produce way more heat then one bee come on 😂😂😂😂😂😂if I put 40 thousand horses together there gonna create way more heat then 40 thousand bees 😅
What R value insulation do you recommend for the inner cover?
Don't know if anyone addressed the cane vs beet sugar question, but sugar beets are one of the most highest GMO plants, where as I can't find cane sugar on a GMO list. Some people would like to avoid GMO at all costs.
Olá, muito bom, encontrei seu canal aqui no UA-cam, vou acompanhar seu trabalho por aqui, grande abraço!
Bem, muito obrigado. Fico feliz que você goste do meu canal e obrigado por assistir.
Just wandering what is on your arm RL something
Hi David, Apparently, where I live in Newcastle, Australia, it has very similar weather to Savannah, Georgia, with 5in more rain and 100 hours sunlight here. Do Savannah beekeepers have a brood break in wintertime that you know of, or do they carry on as normal or maybe slow down a little? Our bees may slow down a little laying, but they will still lay all winter ready for spring when they pack out the brood fast.
When seeing advice on UA-cam from the US, it's handy to know an area I can cross reference for similarities.
Thanks for the great info you provide and keeping your channel going all the years you have. I'm sure you've covered most of the questions you get now in an older video, but you still take the time to talk to people and have your question time every week. Your work on this channel is appreciated.
Thanks, mate. Will.
What happened to the link for the demaree
It’s at the end of the video
@beek thanks
Should you remove a center frame for the winter so the colony can ball up warmer together better?
Thanks David for answering my question. As always, I gain so much knowledge from your 😢videos. Your take on beekeeping is so informative, quirky and entertaining. It’s always relevant. I look forward to your next video. I will see you over there. 😊
You are very welcome
I love the way you talk about your dad ❤
Hi David (1st question) - starting 2nd winter w 4 hives in Harrisburg Pa. Checked hives 1 week ago - no capped over brood in any of them. Idk if any eggs - looked very dry. It’s been hot w no resources and I’m top feeding each hive (not consistently) Also started feeding them out in open last week. I always have water available. Amazing amount of bees coming to my “breakfast bar”.
All four hives can’t be queenless right? Didn’t see queen or any capped brood and dry cells.
Are they cannibalizing their brood/eggs?
Winterizing them soon - next week we start staying in the 50s and below… concerned here in PA…
Bees are sooo hungry rn… also do u think using sugar cakes / honey b kinds now would be ok? Or would more hive beetles be invited in?? I’ve not seen many hbs this year (used Scott’s method you showed during summer…
Thanks - we enjoy all the great wisdom you are sharing !!!
Hey David! I really need advice!
I have a nice sized Hive, 2 deeps and a super, they have lots of resources. The Queen is alive and walking around but ever since doing a mite treatment ( formic pro, 2 strips for 14 days) I haven't seen a single egg! No brood anywhere in the hive! It's been at least 4 weeks if not more since I have seen any sign of the Queen laying. Yet the Queen has been seen waking around aching fine. Still have lots of bees but I'm scared they won't making is she isn't laying. I have been feeding them 1:1 sugar water with your additives and it's been in the 70° In the day time and 50-60° at night. I'm located in sc. What do I do?
I also noticed a few bees have k wing? What should I do about this?
I'd do a mite test, to see what your mite load is now after treatment. If the queen isn't laying you need to replace her if that is an option. I know it's getting late. In the future, it's great to hang on to a few resource nucs with good queens as late as you can for times like this. But for now, test for mites, wait 10 days and check for egss, then hopefully someone near you has queens forsale still.
If you’re not messing up your not trying
Yes!!
Yes, I failed one of my colonies this fall too. Even with a great mentor like David, we still make mistakes.
Thank you David even for some us that have been watching you for many years still learn from your videos.
I appreciate that!
Thanks for all your advice! Love the unedited and it's funny!❤
My oldest son got me started in the he's been in to be keeping himself at 12 years he has been my mentor I know I drive him crazy with questions but he has always encouraged me to watch the different videos and I might find an easier and different way for me to work my bees he always says this is the way I do it but that don't mean it will work for you mama so when I see something that I think might work better for me I try it and then I tell him and he has actually changed a few of his ways up he is a fantastic mentor that is for sure I'm not saying that just because he's my son but he is patient he will answer any questions that I have no matter how dumb they sound
Thanks again for sharing your time and knowledge. You've been a blessing to an almost new beekeeper. Gramps made it all look easy until the mites and beetles became a problem, and his advanced age of 90 something. So happy I captured a couple swarms this summer and learning and reminiscing times with the best bee man I knew, until I found you. Send some of that cool air south!
So nice of you
I grew up near Lubbock TX. It might be flatter than where you are!!! I loved it there. Lots of wind though!
Quick question, David. Could we have a “State of the hives” address including your plans for 2025?
I actually had three hives Scandic left the Queen
What do you think happened
Hi David. I store frames in the freezer for a few days then put them in a big Rubbermaid container. I leave the top off and I put them near my dehumidifier. I keep it running anyway so I’m killing two birds with one stone!
Brilliant
Can Pesticides can kill off the bees but not the Queen?
You need to be in the hive. Good answer. Thanks for your time.
You got that right!
Oh and by the way you was the first name that he gave me on videos to watch
Ah so nice!