Apprentice BeekeeperClass

• 12:15pm – 2pm (w/break) Fred/Gail Pollard

• After the bees arrive (nucs vs pkg. of bees)

• Installing the bees & queen

• Early care (feeding)

• What to look for

• What you might see (Drawing comb)

• Requeening

Your Start

• Hive – Accessible by vehicle to transport honey – Pick a sunny spot with air ventilation– Avoid heavy wind areas use wind breaks– Place hive south to east catching early sun– Place hive 4-6 inches above ground– Use of standard size equipment allows

interchange between hives (home made?)

Working Bees

• Wear comfortable clothing light color (PPE)

• Use a smoker (only if needed) with just enough smoke to control bees

• Temp should be 55 degrees or warmer

• Best time of day between 10am & 4pm

• Move slow and steady as not to trigger aggressive behavior

Buying Bees

• Types of bees• Spring Time – Bees arrive mid-April

– One pound of bees is approx 3,500

• Equipment – New or used• Packages, NUC, or buy used?• Inspect any winter colony you buy

– Look for diseases– Weak colonies– Poor equipment

Types of Bee: CARNOLIANS

• Dark bees with gray or brown hairs. Native to the Alps of Europe.– Large dark bees (good for

cold climates)– Gentle Bees– Conserve winter stores– A little late in spring raising

brood– Dark bees, makes finding

the queen harder

Types of Bee: CAUCASIAN

• Dark bees with gray hairs. – They are gentle– Long tongues– Winter well in cold

climates– Finding the queen is a

challenge

Types of Bee: ITALIANS

This is the most popular bee in North America. Light color with bands of brown to yellow.– Gentle – Good producers– Use less propolis than

some darker breeds– Their biggest weakness is

that they are prone to rob and drift

Types of Bee: RUSSIAN

• Due to isolation in Siberia and a century of exposure to mites these bees are hardy winter and resist parasitic mites.– Gentle– Frugal winter eaters– Can be aggressive

After the bees arrive (Nuc vs Package bees)

• When you decide to get bees, you can obtain your colony in two ways:– A Nuc, pronounced nuke, is a nuclear hive. It

is four or five frames from a working hive including a queen.

– Package bees come in a screened cage the size of a shoebox. There are three pounds of bees (upwards to 10,500) in the package. There is a can of sugar syrup in the cage and a queen in a box.

NUC: 5 frames = small hive

• A nuc comes in a nuc box. It is usually a cardboard hive. The cardboard nuc boxes cost around $7.

• You can get wooden nuc boxes for a bit more.

Nuclear Hive

• A Nuc is 4 or 5 frames from an existing hive. • It is a colony that had been working well for a time and

the bees know and are related to their queen. • The frames will contain honey, pollen, eggs and larva. • The frames were pulled from a working hive. • This is the nucleus of a hive. If you feed the bees and

keep them happy, they will have a good start • Some think a NUC will stand a better chance of success

than a package.

Installation of NUC

• Remove 4-5 frames from hive body

• Transfer frames from NUC box to hive

• Add sugar syrup via feeder

• Close hive body to insure the bees stay and get acquainted with their new home.

• Seal the hive for 3-7 days

Package of Bees

• Screened Wood Box• Can of syrup (1:1)• One Queen in cage• 3 lbs of bees /

~10,500 workers

Package

• The bees are grabbed from many existing hives • The queens are raised separately and may not

be related to the hive. • Store your package 2-3 days, if necessary• Empty the package into your hive and let them

get used to the queen. • If you feed them enough and all goes well, they

will all get along and start a colony. • In three or four weeks the hive should be

established and start increasing.

Installation of package

Install Package

• Prep - have a cover ready to replace can!

• Remove can (hive tool)

• Pull queen cage (PREP)

• Cover opening

• Replace cork with marshmallow

• Locate cage in hive

• Add bees

Package: Prep Queen Cage

• Wait for queen to move away from cork

• Pullout cork• Keep hole covered!• Add marshmallow • Workers will eat

marshmallow and release queen

When you Hive

• Feeding

• What to look for

• What you might see

• Drawing comb

• Requeening

Hive Package Bees (pg17)

• Prepare with two hive bodies and a feeder• Remove most of the frames from the top hive body• Add a feeder of your choice • Set the can of syrup drip side down into the space you

made (can rests on the top of the frames)• Place the queen cage w/marshmallow use the metal tab

make a loop, secure to the inside of the hive body• Sprinkle a little syrup onto bees through the side screens

of package• Gently place the package down into the hive body• Close the hive, seal the hive for 3-7 days

To Hive Bees continued

• After 3-7 days open the front of your hive, allowing a 1.5 inch opening

• Remove top cover and inner covers

• Inspect the hive, you should be ready to remove the package box, syrup can and queen cage…..

• Introduce new frames

Early Care of Hive: Feeding

• Feeding sugar syrup to honey bees helps ensure that bees survive periods when honey may run short, such as new hive or before winter. 

• Feeding syrup is also an important way to ensure bees build up well in spring.

• Bees should never be allowed to run short of feed.  (how long before a bee starts to starve?)

Feeding Hardware

• External – Boardman– Easy to see level– Refill often

• Internal– Top Feeder– Holds large amount of

syrup– Hard to see level

Feeding Alternatives

• Small Chicken water bottle• Solid patties• Pile of sugar• Humming Bird feeders

Feed the Bees

• Feed the bees as necessary, keep a constant supply of sugar water. – Feed until 2-3 frames are full of drawn comb

on the bottom hive body– Remember Top feeder (pg17)

Drawing Comb

• Bees can make the wax comb on anything

• Plastic wax foundations help keep uniformity for extraction

• Bees build the comb structure with wax

• Angled comb keeps the honey inside

• Comb is caped when full

What you should not see!

• Dead or Missing Bee’s– What might go

wrong??– What causes loss

• Lack of water• Hive ventilation• Insects (ants)• They simply left?!• Insecticide Spray

What If’s

• Queen is trapped in cage– Gently release her into the bottom of the hive and

close the hive ASAP to keep her from flying away

• Queen is missing– The queen has left the building

• Need a new queen ASAP (Who ya gona call?)

• Queen is dead– Need a new Queen ASAP

• Add a frame from an older hive, larvae, capped brood,

After 6-7 days

• Check to see if Queen is laying– Work carefully use

minimum smoke, – Queen is usually in the

center of the bee cluster

• If you see brood present then you know the queen is there

What to look for 3 weeks

• Frames with drawn out comb

• Caped honey• Brood (eggs – larva)• Queen • Lots of working bees

Requeening

• WHY?– Sick queen– Old queen– Queen is gone?– Swarming

Looking at your Queen

• How Sick Is The Queen?

Queen issues

• Sick queen– Diseases– Parasites– Insecticides

• Old Age– Pheromones, different or low?

• Swarming– Honey bound- other?

Queen Cells (two types)

• When; typically just before nectar flow

• Often supersedure and swarming take place at the same time (inside frame)– Need to replace

• Swarm cells (edge of frame)– Need to leave

Need A Queen??

• Buy a queen– Online– Local seller

• Buy a frame (How long before a queen is raised) – Local seller– Brood– Worker bees

Questions and Answers

Thank You