Beekeeping

[ScienceGirl]

Officially a beekeeper!

We picked up the girls last night in a nucleus. The workers are all aurora's (a hawaiian hybrid) and the queen was replaced with one from Carniolan stock. They are currently in a nuc (nucleus hive = small version of a standard langstroth hive, same height and length, width is just smaller) and will be moved into a standard Langstroth hive the weekend after this, if they have adequate numbers.

I'll be posting more and showing pictures, too!

-ScienceGirl

 

[MandellaMandy123]

Congratulations! I've always kind of wanted to keep bees. I'm not quite brave enough though...

 

[ScienceGirl]

Congratulations! I've always kind of wanted to keep bees. I'm not quite brave enough though...

Haha! I'm sure that you could do it if you're interested!!!

I worked with bees for the first time in August, alongside an experienced beekeeper is a big name in the pollination business (agriculture in the US is a 1.5 billion dollar industry. Farmers want every blossom to produce and to guarentee a bountiful harvest, so pollinating beekeepers are contacted.) I wore a bee-suit then, but was still nervous for the first 10 minutes. Then, even though the bees were flying everywhere, I was pretty calm. I've only been stung once, and that was on perpose so we could be sure I wasn't allergic before I took the nucleus home.

When we picked up the nuc, there were hundreds of hives at the beeyard and it was a sunny day, so there were thousands of bees in the air. He didn't even wear a suit, and I didn't receive mine until later. Now I'm much calmer and I've been sitting 2-ish feet away from the hive, watching their comings and goings and noting the color of pollen in their baskets. :donatello:

 

[aNisip]

I am so jealous! I have always wanted to be a beekeeper but city restrictions because I could get blamed for stings to ppl. I'm not afraidof them at all and always freak out my ffriends when they seem me almost touching a bee as its pollinating and they're freaking out...

Your going to use wax, right? (Or plastic) for the grids...

Keep us updated with pictures (like u said above↑↑↑!!!) I still am very interested in bees ^-^

All the best beginning beekeeper!

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[lancaster1313]

I am interested as well. It seems that no one here in Pompano Beach keeps bees. I hope it is not some law, cause I would like to one day.

Andrew, you don't touch the bees? I pet bees all the time. I have been doing it since I was a child. Mostly they don't care when they are busy on or in a flower. As long as they don't feel trapped, they will put up with the molestation. My daughter was stung a couple of times because she got carried away and grabbed a couple bees. Some like to learn the hard way. lol

The only time I was stung by one was when I accidentally stepped on it when I was barefoot.

 

[aNisip]

I am interested as well. It seems that no one here in Pompano Beach keeps bees. I hope it is not some law, cause I would like to one day.

Andrew, you don't touch the bees? I pet bees all the time. I have been doing it since I was a child. Mostly they don't care when they are busy on or in a flower. As long as they don't feel trapped, they will put up with the molestation. My daughter was stung a couple of times because she got carried away and grabbed a couple bees. Some like to learn the hard way. lol

The only time I was stung by one was when I accidentally stepped on it when I was barefoot.

I will pet them, when my friends aren't there to stop me I love putting honey on my finger and going up to bees and letting them lap the honey off my finger (I once had 6bees eating the liquid gold)

 

[lancaster1313]

I like to feed honey to any of the lost bees or wasps that end up wandering onto my porch or driveway. They seem to just walk around aimlessly so I will feed them. Many of them fly away after their treat, even if they were just walking before. Maybe they are just worn out when I find them?

 

[ScienceGirl]

Yes, I loved petting bumblebees, those plump and fuzzy little flying tanks. Right now I'm working on being okay with honey bees landing on my face. You can't swat them away (it causes "purple/black" light that they see and attack), so I just wait until they fly off. Since I'm sitting to the side of their hive entrence, it's really my fault for blocking them if they land on me. ^_^

 

[jamurfjr]

Officially a beekeeper!

We picked up the girls last night in a nucleus. The workers are all aurora's (a hawaiian hybrid) and the queen was replaced with one from Carniolan stock. They are currently in a nuc (nucleus hive = small version of a standard langstroth hive, same height and length, width is just smaller) and will be moved into a standard Langstroth hive the weekend after this, if they have adequate numbers.

I'll be posting more and showing pictures, too!

-ScienceGirl

Good going! My bees should be here in a couple of weeks, but I'm starting from package bees. All the nucs in this area were sold out. You lucky devil . Post pics if you can. I'd like to see your bees and setup.

 

[ScienceGirl]

Good going! My bees should be here in a couple of weeks, but I'm starting from package bees. All the nucs in this area were sold out. You lucky devil . Post pics if you can. I'd like to see your bees and setup.

Haha! Oh yes, planning on posting pictures, just as soon as I get them uploaded. Lots of things will be changed as my equiptment comes in. We put in a fence around the nucleus today and hacked at the blackberry vines. We reclaimed quite a bit of earth from the brambles today! Hoping that it will be easy to manage the weeds once we put barkdust down.

I'll be posting updates and pictures soon! Keep me updated as well, and I love chatting with you guys!

 

[ScienceGirl]

Trying to track down supplies and comparing prices from three different companies. One of them has way higher priced items than the others. $47.50 for a screened bottom board!? $41.50 for a 4x10 smoker!?

I wonder how much business they get... :blink:

 

[ScienceGirl]

Good going! My bees should be here in a couple of weeks, but I'm starting from package bees. All the nucs in this area were sold out. You lucky devil . Post pics if you can. I'd like to see your bees and setup.

How did you get the 100 dollars off? Was there a coupon code? Is it over?

 

[jamurfjr]

My bees (two packages w/ marked queens) are coming through my bee assoc. and cost me $76 a package. I bought my hives and equipment (over 150lbs) from Mann Lake and the order qualified for free shipping which saved a bunch.

 

[Rick]

Awesome. Really warm here yesterday and my bees were very busy.

 

[ScienceGirl]

Awesome. Really warm here yesterday and my bees were very busy.

Mine has been busy ever since we got them, too! The days have been sunny and hot, lately, strange for March/early April... Global warming? Yesterday felt like it reached 90 degrees F! The only thing that I can see in bloom are dandelions, but the foragers are returning with sometimes bulging baskets (uneven lumps the size of a bb gun pellet) of pollen in four distinct colors: light green/yellow, light yellow, bright yellow, and orange. Hmmm... Well, if they're finding protein, I'm more than happy! :clap:

The best foraging weather includes:

• wind less than 15 mph
• sunny and warm, no rain
• temperatures over 60 degrees F (some breeds of bees forage in lower temps, like Carniolans)

“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

 

[ScienceGirl]

Yesterday I saw a drone fly out of the Carniolan nuc. I almost died laughing.

The big tank swaggered out onto the landing board, pushing the workers out of his way. Once he made it to the edge, he flew up a couple inches . . . then fell on his back on the landing board. After righting himself, he managed to fly up and away, sounding much louder than the foragers when they buzz off.

I heard him before I saw him when he came home. ^_^ Not very stealthy, those drones, but quite necessary! They get a bad rap, but are good for an exclusive job: mating.

 

[aNisip]

Wished u gotta vid of that! They are so clumsy! Its really funny to watch them!

 

[ScienceGirl]

Wished u gotta vid of that! They are so clumsy! Its really funny to watch them!

Haha, yes!!! And when they come back to land, they don't wait their turn and hover in the air, like the workers. Nope - it somebee's in their way, they can move or be moved, cause they're making a landing! :donatello:

I took videos on their first day out of the hive, along with some pictures. I'm going to post them once I download the memory card. Planning on taking some footage of them tomorrow, since there is a big difference in the amount of foragers and the busyness between now and their first day.

 

[ScienceGirl]

I've noticed another survival skill. While hovering and circling above their water source, foragers, if they see another honey bee, may land on top of or almost on top of that honey bee. It makes sense, because there is only so many footholds on or next to the water source, and if you don't land on dry land, you may drown. It's quite comical when the surprised bee that got landed on shoots up a foot in the air in surprise before gliding back down.

Some of them are very good flyers, and can hover right above where they plan to land. Others, though, must circle and circle and come down swooping.

My returning foragers hover in front of the entrance (for the nucleus, it's a single hole a bit larger than a quarter). They prefer shooting straight in to stepping onto the landing board and crawling in. What special flying tricks honey bees have! B)