this has to be the best series on the net for anyone who wants to learn how to be a bee keeper, there's no bull here, it's all business, he doesn't make a foolish video talking but saying nothing just to have people give him a thumbs up and the people who gave him a thumbs down obviously don't know a honey bee from a cricket. Great series from day one.
Hi Stewart. I came across your videos in late February while incapacitated with a severe ankle sprain, so spent a month on the sofa! Have watched hours of them, each one has been so informative and helpful to me as I will be getting my first Nucs in May. Coupled with the courses I have been on and helping out with friends bees, I feel quite confident to start up without too many mistakes! However, I am sure I will make plenty enough. So, thanks for all the videos, they have really helped in my injury rehabilitation phase and I have learned so much while sofa bound. I am sure they will be a source of future knowledge as well. Here’s to a good summer!
Hi T.S. Thanks for commenting. Sorry to hear you've had such a painful injury and I'm glad the videos have helped. Sounds like you're all set to receive the nuc in May. Good luck with your first year of beekeeping. Stewart
Hi George, Thanks for the comment, I'll try to video around the corners so you don't have to lean so far next time :) I appreciate your support. Stewart
G'day Stuart great video I'm fairly new to bee keeping in Australia and recently found your UA-cam channel which are very thorough and easy to follow keep up the good work cheers Dan from Aussie land 🍻👍
Great vid. I'm new to beekeeping, looking to get a nuc, scared of losing the queen. But I guess there are options, so we don't have to worry for the entire week. Thanks.
Hi Nuruz, Thanks for commenting. It's not always so important to find the queen and she is usually in there safely tucked away somewhere. Good luck with this season. Stewart
G'day Stuart great video I'm fairly new to bee keeping in Australia and recently found your UA-cam channel which are very thorough and easy to follow keep up the good work cheers Dan from Aussie land 🍻👍
Hi Jimmy, Thanks for the comment, things didn't turn out quite as I expected which you'll see in the next video once I get it edited and uploaded! Stewart
Thank you. very helpful videos. I have just caught a swarm in a nuc box. But my hive frames go warm way and nuc is cold way. How do I put the frames in? Are they ok to just be rotated to the warm way?
Hello Stewart, thanks for your reply. I zoomed in at 400% and at 1080p: the abdomen is rounded rather than pointy and long, so it was probably a drone ;) But I learned some Queens can be quite smart and elusive. Last year, in an Apidea mating box, she was hiding in the bottom back behind some wildly drawn honey comb. She kind of knew we were after her ;) It took us quite a while to cage her ! Happy Easter and great season to you too, thank you. Best regards, Diego.
I’d have been tempted to put the frame with the queen cell back in the nuc with some frames and a feeder and see if they make it. Hate throwing $40 on the ground.
Hi T.C., Yep, you're right. The trouble is I get so focused on what I'm trying to film and say that I'd get sidetracked and lose my train of thought. That said, this colony is going to be a real nice one so I will be producing queens from them once they've settled in. Stewart
Stewart great videos very informative, many thanks. Is there any way to give back the stores you've removed from the roof of the NUC by maybe squeezing out the honey in the comb onto the top bars of the new commercial hive? The bees would then lap up that honey and store it in the new hive or they may just eat the honey. Obviously you won't want to drown them in honey but maybe waste less stores. Regards Jim.
Hi Stewart. A question re: hive entrance size. For my two original hives, when I set them up, I selected the approx. 6" option on the entrance block. My captured swam went int a poly nuke box with 4 frames of old drawn comb, that colony has the 1" rond hole selected. My local mentor suggested that 6" was way to big and I should reduce the entrance to 3". I note a huge variation in entrance sizes (from a 1" dia. hole, to a entrance the full width of the hive.) used by different people on English and U.S. UA-cam videos. I understand winter time and Nuke/new colony will benefit from smaller easy to defend and heat efficient entrances. But in a healthy rapidliy expanding colony at this time of year in North East England, in your opinion, what is the optimum size? Thanks in advance. Stuart FYI. I've finally sorted the Patreon payment issue!
Hi Stuart, I change to the entrance size all the time on my colonies depending on the time of year and the nectar flows available. For instance, right now on the Oilseed Rape lots of my colonies have no entrance blocks in because they are so busy, my standard entrance is around 4" but on big colonies it goes out to 6-8" but in the Winter a 3" opening is plenty big enough. Watch your bees and if they start piling up at the entrance make it bigger, if in the latter part of the season wasps start being a problem, shut it down to a single bee. It's all about watching and adjusting your methods to your bees. Stewart
this has to be the best series on the net for anyone who wants to learn how to be a bee keeper, there's no bull here, it's all business, he doesn't make a foolish video talking but saying nothing just to have people give him a thumbs up and the people who gave him a thumbs down obviously don't know a honey bee from a cricket. Great series from day one.
Hi Stewart. I came across your videos in late February while incapacitated with a severe ankle sprain, so spent a month on the sofa! Have watched hours of them, each one has been so informative and helpful to me as I will be getting my first Nucs in May. Coupled with the courses I have been on and helping out with friends bees, I feel quite confident to start up without too many mistakes! However, I am sure I will make plenty enough.
So, thanks for all the videos, they have really helped in my injury rehabilitation phase and I have learned so much while sofa bound. I am sure they will be a source of future knowledge as well. Here’s to a good summer!
Hi T.S.
Thanks for commenting. Sorry to hear you've had such a painful injury and I'm glad the videos have helped. Sounds like you're all set to receive the nuc in May.
Good luck with your first year of beekeeping.
Stewart
I find when when watching the videos that I lean into the screen in an attempt to see what's going on as if I was actually there..... Very nice video.
Hi George,
Thanks for the comment, I'll try to video around the corners so you don't have to lean so far next time :)
I appreciate your support.
Stewart
could you please tell if a multifunction crown board is good for swarm control thanks
Good video your always methodical and carefull , and explain as you go for someone that is learning appreciate it . Thanks Peter Australia.
Hi Peter,
thanks for your comments.
Stewart
Timely as I pick up two 6 frame national nucs on Friday evening.
Love the podcast.
Hi,
Many thanks for the comments, I'm glad you're enjoying the podcast.
Good luck with setting up your nucs and have a great season.
Stewart
G'day Stuart great video I'm fairly new to bee keeping in Australia and recently found your UA-cam channel which are very thorough and easy to follow keep up the good work cheers Dan from Aussie land 🍻👍
Had no idea about the high and low spots. Makes sense. Thanks!
Hi B T,
It's a simple thing that can cause problems so it's worth pointing out.
Stewart
Great vid. I'm new to beekeeping, looking to get a nuc, scared of losing the queen. But I guess there are options, so we don't have to worry for the entire week. Thanks.
Hi Nuruz,
Thanks for commenting.
It's not always so important to find the queen and she is usually in there safely tucked away somewhere.
Good luck with this season.
Stewart
G'day Stuart great video I'm fairly new to bee keeping in Australia and recently found your UA-cam channel which are very thorough and easy to follow keep up the good work cheers Dan from Aussie land 🍻👍
Great video as usual Stewart, many thanks again for the effort.
Hi Jimmy,
Thanks for the comment, things didn't turn out quite as I expected which you'll see in the next video once I get it edited and uploaded!
Stewart
I was hunting for the queen once and couldn't find it, got back to the car and saw a bee in my top pocket. It was the queen. :D
Thank you. very helpful videos. I have just caught a swarm in a nuc box. But my hive frames go warm way and nuc is cold way. How do I put the frames in? Are they ok to just be rotated to the warm way?
Wouldn't it be funny if the bee at 18:38 on your head was... the Queen ? ;)
Hi Diego,
Was it the queen???? :)
Have a great season.
Stewart
Hello Stewart, thanks for your reply. I zoomed in at 400% and at 1080p: the abdomen is rounded rather than pointy and long, so it was probably a drone ;)
But I learned some Queens can be quite smart and elusive. Last year, in an Apidea mating box, she was hiding in the bottom back behind some wildly drawn honey comb. She kind of knew we were after her ;)
It took us quite a while to cage her !
Happy Easter and great season to you too, thank you.
Best regards, Diego.
I’d have been tempted to put the frame with the queen cell back in the nuc with some frames and a feeder and see if they make it. Hate throwing $40 on the ground.
I have to agree..... as long as you were sure momma queen was not there, I would have nuc'd up the cell. It looked large and healthy.
Hi T.C.,
Yep, you're right. The trouble is I get so focused on what I'm trying to film and say that I'd get sidetracked and lose my train of thought.
That said, this colony is going to be a real nice one so I will be producing queens from them once they've settled in.
Stewart
Stewart great videos very informative, many thanks. Is there any way to give back the stores you've removed from the roof of the NUC by maybe squeezing out the honey in the comb onto the top bars of the new commercial hive? The bees would then lap up that honey and store it in the new hive or they may just eat the honey. Obviously you won't want to drown them in honey but maybe waste less stores. Regards Jim.
Do you use 14x12s for all your colonies?
Hi Stewart.
A question re: hive entrance size.
For my two original hives, when I set them up, I selected the approx. 6" option on the entrance block. My captured swam went int a poly nuke box with 4 frames of old drawn comb, that colony has the 1" rond hole selected.
My local mentor suggested that 6" was way to big and I should reduce the entrance to 3". I note a huge variation in entrance sizes (from a 1" dia. hole, to a entrance the full width of the hive.) used by different people on English and U.S. UA-cam videos.
I understand winter time and Nuke/new colony will benefit from smaller easy to defend and heat efficient entrances. But in a healthy rapidliy expanding colony at this time of year in North East England, in your opinion, what is the optimum size?
Thanks in advance.
Stuart
FYI.
I've finally sorted the Patreon payment issue!
Hi Stuart,
I change to the entrance size all the time on my colonies depending on the time of year and the nectar flows available. For instance, right now on the Oilseed Rape lots of my colonies have no entrance blocks in because they are so busy, my standard entrance is around 4" but on big colonies it goes out to 6-8" but in the Winter a 3" opening is plenty big enough.
Watch your bees and if they start piling up at the entrance make it bigger, if in the latter part of the season wasps start being a problem, shut it down to a single bee.
It's all about watching and adjusting your methods to your bees.
Stewart
Hi Stewart if I have a new nuc which has come from a supplier do I leave it next to the hive before installing it and if so for how long Thanks Tony
can i use a brood box as a super box for more honey
Would be nice if you could follow up on the queen situation.
Hi Ante A.,
I'll be following this colony through the season on camera so there'll be lots of follow up videos to come.
Stewart
Where I can get that green feeder ?
Isn’t OSR self pollinating?
Hi Simon,
No, it's insect pollinated and can produce huge amounts of pollen and nectar depending on the type grown.
Stewart
I have an question. Sorry its a little off topic but could anyone tell me if i can us Smiths frames in a BS National hive and is not why not?
I believe not as the lugs are different. Look the thorne website for frame compatibility mate.
How I can get that green feeder
Why are you using smoke at all ??
Hi Artan,
As I mentioned, I wanted to move the bees away from the brace comb on the top of the frames in case the queen was hidden from view.
Stewart