the basics of basic beekeeping
TRANSCRIPT
The Basics of Basic BeekeepingPart 1 – January 25, 2016
Grant F. C. Gillardgillard5 @ charter.net
www . grantgillard.weebly.comwww . slideshare.net
Simple Overview – 4 keys• Read! Read! Read! If nothing else to
understand the vocabulary and jargon.Request supplier’s catalogs.
Watch youtube.com videos. Read blogs. Discern verbal fertilizer!
Lots of wheat, plenty of chaff.• Join a local association/club (or start one)• Take a class (usually offered by local club)• Find a mentor (“Can you just come over…”)
Bee Clubs• Jackson Area Beekeepers– 4th Tuesday, 7:00 pm– First Presbyterian Church– 206 East Washington Street
• Parkland Beekeepers – Farmington– 3rd Tuesday
• Dexter Beekeepers – Dexter– 1st Tuesday
Best Learning Tool:
Get some bees and learn by the seat of
your bee suit
The idea is when you find yourself over your head,
you’ll learn to swim.
Resources – Supplier Catalogs
• Brushy Mountain Bee Farm www.brushymountainbeefarm.com 800-233-7929
• Blue Sky Bee Supply www.blueskybeesupply.com 877-529-9233
• Dadant www.dadant.com 888-922-1293• Kelley Beekeeping www.kelleybees.com
800-233-2899• Betterbee www.betterbee.com 800-632-3379• Mann Lake www.mannlakeltd.com 800-880-7694
Resources – Local Suppliers
• Buchheits – Little Giant, pre-assembled. More expensive (convenience) cheaper quality.
• Isabees – www.isabees.com, St. Louis. Fantastic people! Dealers for Walter T. Kelley
• The Bee Barn – www.beebarnshop.com Paducah, KY Good reports. Never met the guy.
• Facebook: Missouri State Beekeeperswww.mostatebeekeepers.org
Resources – MagazinesRequest a free copy
American Bee Journal (more technical)www.americanbeejournal.com
Bee Culture (more basic)www.beeculture.com
Advertisers and classified ads
Caveats• Most bee clubs run by opinionated, though
successful beekeepers.• Most bee clubs bogged down in bureaucracy. • Most classes teach a traditional method of
beekeeping, the “dominant” model, that fits the average beekeeper with chemical treatments.
• Most mentors share what works for them. Learn their way, then find your own niche or make your own path.
More Caveats• There are a thousand ways to keep honey
bees (most of them work).• Every experienced beekeeper has an opinion
(not all of them correct).• Beekeeping is more art than science. Go with
the flow.
Factors to Consider
• 1. Location• 2. What type of hive?• 3. What type of bee?• 4. Where to acquire bees?• Mistakes made by beginners
1. Suitable Location• Full sun• Offers floral diversity, water source nearby• Sheltered from prevailing winds• Away from direct pesticide applications• Far away from people traffic, human activities• Respectful of neighbors (swimming pools)• Accessible in all kinds of weather (mud)• Floods, flood plains, bottom ground
Some sun, sheltered from wind
Leveled on hive stands
Usually relegated to the side of a field, out of the way, but with access
Seasonal Flooding
Location Factors
• LP tanks, mail boxes, on-farm stores• Fences and gates in a pasture• Local ordinances, city codes• Home owner’s association, CCR’s• Test cases
--Set up two empty bee hives in front yard--Sting incident, moved hives, repeat incident
2. What Type of Hive
• Langstroth -- 16” by 20”, stacked boxes• Top Bar Hive (TBH) -- Longitudinal hive• Warre Hive -- French design• Design your own
Langstroth
• Perhaps originated from champagne cases16-1/4” by 20” basically a six-foot board
• Stacked vertically, no reasonable limit• Three sizes - height
--Brood boxes, deeps, 9-5/8” tall--Medium supers, 6-6/8” tall--Shallow supers, 5-11/16” tall
• Two options - width--8-frame or 10-frame
Langstroth
• Advantages--Many parts interchangeable, moveable--Conventional dimensions--Plans on the Internet--Mechanical harvest, Frames reusable
• Disadvantages--More expensive to buy--Involves heavy lifting
Styrofoam® (expanded polystyrene)
• Thought to be warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer.
• Must be painted to protect from UV light• Not suitable for moving/loading
• Mann Lake – BeeMax brand• Walter T. Kelley - new this year
• Google: “polystyrene bee hive”
Top Bar Hives
• Perhaps not really suited to Missouri• Longitudinal design, horizontal orientation• Fixed, limited capacity of frames• No need for foundation, bees draw out comb
Top Bar Hives
• Advantages--Relatively cheap to make--Plans on Internet--Low input construction--No heavy lifting or bending over
• Disadvantages--Harvest whole comb, crush and strain--No standard conventions
Warre Hive
• Combination of vertically stacked, top bar hive frames in a Langstroth box
• Plans on the Internet, inexpensive construction
• Disadvantages of TBH and Langstroth• “More Natural” – means the bees draw out
their own comb, which can be done with Langstroth hives and TBHs
Homemade Designs
• Likely some plans on the Internet• Make your own design -- basically reinventing
the wheel, creative but unnecessary• Still need movable frames…that fit.• Widows and Orphans – don’t meet Langstroth
conventional dimensions • Resale value? If this is an issue…• If the only size you use is what you create…
Once you decide….• Buy new hives– Buy hives pre-assembled– Buy hives unassembled– Buy plain wood and cut out your own
• Buy used hives – Disease issues rare, but beginners obsess about it– Much shorter life span, but they get you started– Harder to find than ten years ago (Craig’s list)– Retiring beekeeper = a lot more stuff than you want
Make Your Own • Can be therapeutic, but time is money• Ample plans on the Internet• Or buy a set of conventional hive bodies and
duplicate the dimensions• Decent table saw is all you really need• Do not need “finger” joints (dovetail joints)• Cost of raw wood at Lowes = cost of precut
from beekeeping supplier with no labor• Value of scrap or free lumber, crating
Finish Protection• Wood = pine, cedar, cypress (think weight)• Short life span if not finished/protected• Walter T. Kelley = “ECO Wood Treatment”• Paint = doesn’t matter, any color• Paraffin/rosin for dipping/boiling (260 degrees)• USDA public domain formula FPL-0124
1-1/2 cup boiled linseed oil, 1 oz paraffin6-1/2 cups turpentine to make one gallonHeat linseed to melt paraffin, add turpentine Brush or dip for 3 minutes. Two coats, less than four hours apart. Dry for several days. Paint after cooling is an option, but must use oil-based paint.
Frames
• Wood with wired wax foundation• Wood with no foundation (foundationless)• Wood with plastic foundation• All plastic
3. What Type of Bee
• Races of beesItalians – gentle and productiveCarniolans – thrifty and calmRussians – tough and winter hardyHygienic Behavior, VSH, SMR, etc. Feral Stock, i.e., “wild,” unmanaged swarms
• ManagementCommercially raised, treated for mitesTreatment-free survivors
4. Where will I acquire my bees?
• Buy Packages – can be delivered in the mail• Buy Nucs (Nucleus, mini-colony)• Catch Swarms (traps and phone calls)• Purchasing whole, existing hives• Taking feral colonies out walls and trees, “cut
outs” and “trap outs”
• Different sources will raise different expectations, yield different results.
Prices
• Packages for this year $110 - $125• Nucs for this year $150 - $170
• Package – loose bees and a new, mated queen• Nuc – frames of bees, brood, laying queen,
and a three-week jump on the season
www.createspace.com/4107714
Swarm Trapping
Swarm Trappinghttps://www.createspace.com/4106626
Swarm Trapping – the lazy way
• Set up a bee hive right where you want it.• Buy “Swarm Commander” a swarm lure from
Kelley Bee. Follow directions. $30• Buy lemongrass essential oil, rub a little on the
entrance every week. $8• Get some old dark stinky comb from a
beekeeper.• Wait.
Buying Existing Hives
• Quite often a good value for the money• Often neglected, but not always• History can be fuzzy, why are you selling?• REALLY HEAVY TO MOVE (honey is heavy)• Have to be moved with bees in them• Best to move after dark, entrances screened, bees
agitated, and hot• Better yet, split into nucs, requeen and lighten the
weight…but only in warm weather
Bee Removals = cut outs
My Method
• No perfect bee, no pure breed, “open” matings• Buy a few commercial queens here and there
to diversify genetics• I really like trapping feral swarms (free!)• Find a locally-adapted bee– Works well in your area, survives– Responds well to your management (gentle)– Raise new queens from this stock
Top Beginner’s Mistakes1. Not starting with two, or more hives2. Opening up the hive too often3. Being afraid of opening the hive and not
inspecting at all. **Once every two weeks.4. Not recognizing queelessness. **eggs?5. Thinking you have to find the queen every time.6. Not installing full compliment of frames or
leaving frames out **slabs of burr comb.
Top Beginner’s Mistakes7. Taking honey early (uncapped) or taking too much
honey.8. Not feeding newly established colonies
** 1:1 syrup9. Placing hives in full shade or troublesome locations
(people traffic, activities, garden) 10. Not suiting up (nucs are gentle, but increase in
temperament)11. Not using smoker12.Thinking you know it all after one or two seasons and
not continuing your education.13. Being too embarrassed to ask for help (a mentor)