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Sat Oct 02, 2004 10:23 pm
Thanks for the info Beestingz,
I figured I'd place the hives around the apple trees; 1) for the obvious, apples blossoms in the spring and 2) short trees for when they decide to swarm. My buddy said if you can get to them we might be able to catch'em
. He didn't go into much detail, but I'm relying on his experience. I'll be sure to suit-up for that when it happens 
.
Waxmoths, Maine, Cold......hey that give me an idea. I might have to clean out the wife's freezer to store the frames in this winter
. Or buy a new one for her stuff 
.
I figured I'd place the hives around the apple trees; 1) for the obvious, apples blossoms in the spring and 2) short trees for when they decide to swarm. My buddy said if you can get to them we might be able to catch'em
. He didn't go into much detail, but I'm relying on his experience. I'll be sure to suit-up for that when it happens .
Waxmoths, Maine, Cold......hey that give me an idea. I might have to clean out the wife's freezer to store the frames in this winter
. Or buy a new one for her stuff .
Sun Oct 03, 2004 7:22 am
Jeff,
I'm glad you're enjoying the bees company. And it's great that your friends are giving you good advice. When I started with bees I bought the "ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture" book as a guide to learn more about the nature of bees. I don't know if this book is relevant today, or a better book has replaced it. A book on this subject can provide many proactive things to do in order to prevent bad things happening to your hives. Although I've heard only good info about bees on this thread, it seems that there are a lot of myths about bees that people like to pass on. That was good advice about allowing the bees to clean pu the MT supers prior to starage. When I first started with bees, I placed the supers out in the open so that all of the bees could share in the remaining honey. What I didn't know at the time is that doing this often promotes bees robbing other hives, and affects honey production. I can still visualize the home bees tumbling around and fighting off the robber bees at the hive entrance.
ljw
I'm glad you're enjoying the bees company. And it's great that your friends are giving you good advice. When I started with bees I bought the "ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture" book as a guide to learn more about the nature of bees. I don't know if this book is relevant today, or a better book has replaced it. A book on this subject can provide many proactive things to do in order to prevent bad things happening to your hives. Although I've heard only good info about bees on this thread, it seems that there are a lot of myths about bees that people like to pass on. That was good advice about allowing the bees to clean pu the MT supers prior to starage. When I first started with bees, I placed the supers out in the open so that all of the bees could share in the remaining honey. What I didn't know at the time is that doing this often promotes bees robbing other hives, and affects honey production. I can still visualize the home bees tumbling around and fighting off the robber bees at the hive entrance.
ljw
Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:31 pm
Well, I put the extracted supers back on the hives last week and they sure did a good job cleaning them up. Opened the hives yesterday and medicated with Terramycin (antibiotic), Check-Mite (for Verroa Mites) and a couple of lard based patties my buddy concocted for something or other, It didn't quite register at the time. But he said it would be good for them.
The colonies looked great, plenty of active bees and lots of stored honey. They did have alot of propolis on top of some of the frames which made them hard to seperate. We scraped them clean and put them back in the proper orientation.
Something new I learned this time around. Cut dried grass is NOT a good fuel source for your smoker . Had to stop too many times and reload. I need to check into something that will last longer .
My buddy said we will go back in in about 40-43 days and pull out the Check-Mite strips and get them ready for winter. A little late in the season, but we should be OK.
Boy, I sure am glad to have his help. This stuff can BEE complicated
.
Hope ya'll enjoy the honey
.
The colonies looked great, plenty of active bees and lots of stored honey. They did have alot of propolis on top of some of the frames which made them hard to seperate. We scraped them clean and put them back in the proper orientation.
Something new I learned this time around. Cut dried grass is NOT a good fuel source for your smoker
. Had to stop too many times and reload. I need to check into something that will last longer .
My buddy said we will go back in in about 40-43 days and pull out the Check-Mite strips and get them ready for winter. A little late in the season, but we should be OK.
Boy, I sure am glad to have his help. This stuff can BEE complicated
.
Hope ya'll enjoy the honey
.
Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:05 am
Jeff. Try dried out flower clusters from sumac trees for your smoker. (Not poison sumac!!!)
Fuel for your smoker
Sun Oct 17, 2004 8:26 pm
I've tried several different types of fuel types. Pine needles and pine cones are pretty good and lasts. Just fill a bucket with needles and you'll have plenty all year round. And as stated in last message sumac is good and they say it also rids of varroa mites in a safe way when used with an open bottom board. My latest source of fuel for my smoker is to take the extra egg cartons and break off two of the cupped holders at a time and stack a couple together and insert them in the smoker. They seem to last quite long also. There are plenty around seems that we have chickens.
Re: Fuel for your smoker
Sun Oct 17, 2004 8:50 pm
I assume you mean the paper cartons, not styrofoam.Beestingz wrote: My latest source of fuel for my smoker is to take the extra egg cartons and break off two of the cupped holders at a time and stack a couple together and insert them in the smoker. They seem to last quite long also.
Sun Oct 17, 2004 9:22 pm
I've used rotten wood before. It seems to last a pretty long time. One thing I just thought of, is that the smoke can get too hot, which tends to anger the little fellers.