This channel is hosted by Frederick Dunn who covers a wide array of topics. Education is at the center, and Frederick is a Pa. Dept. of Ag Licensed Poultry Technician as well as a Cornell University Certified Master Beekeeper. Expect to see a wide range of honey bee-related videos that are intended to educate backyard beekeepers as well as introduce new or useful beekeeping hives, equipment, and practices. Dedicated to Art and Education, some videos may be presented purely for entertainment value. Welcome, and please subscribe so you don't miss a single video. Frederick Served in the United States Navy on active duty for over 20 years, on both coasts, and worldwide.
I saw the part about using a wooden dowel and drilling.25 in hole thru it. But what O.D. Dowel are you using? And are you just butting it up to the entrance? Thanks
Liked & subscribed! What a pleasure to get wise advice from a beekeeper who is observant & intelligent enough to work with Nature to get desired results on his homestead. God bless you for being a good caretaker of the natural world. We have both aggressive yellow jackets and a newly forming paper wasp nest only a few feet from each other near our fire circle & potting shed. We can't use the fire circle till we relocate or eliminate the yellow jacket nest, and there isn't enough room in our tiny potting shed to accommodate the paper wasp nest so we'd like to carefully move that to a suitable wooden habitat structure that I could build for them. Another issue is that some wood boring bees have tunneled into our newly constructed temporary potting shed, and I'm told that once established they will return season after season and build ever more tunnels - weakening the structure. They will also seek out any new wooden structures that we build and tunnel into them as well. Not sure what to do about them. If I unsealed the current tunnel entrances, perhaps the wasps would feed on the wood boring bee larvae as they hatch and solve the problem for me? (We're in a forest with lots of dead & dying trees for them to tunnel into - they don't need to burrow into my various structures.) Anyway, lots to learn about being a wise steward of our 5 acres and listening to an experienced beekeeper is a good starting point for us. Thank you!
People making videos that don't know what they're doing is okay as long as they finish the video with, well this is how I screwed up, this is what I learned, if I were to do it over again I would do this differently.
Watched this morning and my 6 year old daughter watched with me. She has a new suit and will come with me to the bee yard. This video inspired her to get out one of the bee books. Thank you for producing great videos that are interesting and fun for kids 6-60😊
I'm so glad that someone so young is inspired. My grandson would spend every single day in the bee yard if I let him. They are the future! Thanks for sharing :)
I am very interested in the bats they are indanger up in Nova Scotia there was a spot when we were kids they take you down into the caves and see the bats and I say bats there were millions and now they shut the attraction down as there are no more bats 😢
I wish we could win over more of the population when it comes to bat conservation. They are not liked by many people and information can help overcome that prejudice. :)
Frederick, i have 2 new hives that came from a split, they have been doing well, queen laying and size of colony grew exponantially, infsct i now had to put a super on it as they were running out of space(after about 1 month or 6 weeks after split), we moved them last week to the final location, on sunday we moved them, on tuesday all was ok and so on wednesday, i went in yesterday , saturday and one of the hive had about 60 or so dead bees in front of the hive, evethign else loos perfectly fine. Queen present and laying, brood apperance all good, no sign of deseases or pest( that i can see) and they seem to be drawing comb and storing honey very quickly. Hive was calm and relaxed, clean. Do you recogn is something to worry? Could have been a attack from some predator? Some of the dead bees looked like they have been dead for a while other looked fresh, legs under their abdomen, look perfectly healthy, no tongue sticking out, wings look good. Any idea? The other hive has no desd beas only ome or two.
Thank you for making this video, it's very helpful in deciding which system I want to get. I do have a question. Can you look at your historical data? I'm interested in logging long-term data for my location, is there an option to download all your data? I would love to look at trends over years if that's possible.
Thank you Fred for doing this interview and all the pearls of wisdom given by Steve and you. I'm reading about the OTS method of raising queens and that one of the claimed benefits is that it controls swarming of hives? It seems to make sense and be well credentialed and valid but I've been wondering about it trying to think of any downsides and if that is another "experiment" to try it and see.
Thanks Fred, great live stream, I wish I could have been there in person but great information is great information live or played back. Have a great weekend!! PS my tardy slip just arrived in the mail ✌️
I wanted to mention HillCo also makes an extractor that does layen frames. Heartwood is an american company that makes the oil tray to fit specifically for 5, 8 and 10 frame hives you can get a whole cypress bottom board or just the tray if you wanted to do a DIY style bottom board. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on Randy Oliver's DFM research that was in the ABJ. I just wanted to share the above resources incase it is useful to you or anyone else. Good chat. Thanks for all you do!
Hi Fred thanks for all you do in regard to bee keeping information and knowledge. I currently have one colony in my backyard that is strong and growing. I want to split them early next week for an insurance policy in case I lose one colony over winter. I am south of you outside of Pittsburgh Pa. Any concerns with spitting during this time of the year? Anything I need to do to insure success with the split as we move towards fall and ultimately winter? I plan to install a queen into the split. Thank you
Here in SE coastal VA, the flow on 6/30 is mimosa, white clover, mint, and catnip! Bonus= my goats don’t like mint or catnip! Cotton is about to bloom in a week. Supers ready!
Re cut comb: there are one or two customers out of 20 who demand cut comb in my area. I would suggest Quinn find one or two “concierge cut comb customers” and tailor his production to their consumption.
Alarm pheromone has been likened to banana smell. The assumption is that someone chewing bananas smells like alarm pheromone. I thought this was debunked, but who knows?
No. No way. When an Africanized colony exudes that alarm/attack pheromone, it goes right through me to the base of my skull. It is not just a smell, it is an airborne hormone. I've worked with other experienced Beekers who expressed the same feeling of dread. The bees are coming at you by the thousands and it makes it difficult to see through the sweat in your eyes and the black bodies covering your head. They target your CO2 exhalation and if there is any hole in your armor, they'll find their way in. I've got a couple of the GoPros that have been simply covered with stingers. They are no longer black, the brownish colored stingers make them look like some crazy porcupine. In discussing this with Fred Dunn in an email, I'm thinking about paint my GoPro's with white enamel paint.
More than 40 hives😮, I wanted to start with one, my mentor suggested two, now I am up to 5, in my first year. It must be a full time job taking care of 40 hives. Thanks for all the information you provide. I was going to inspect my swarm today but we are getting rain.
A question ... Regarding comb honey. My granddaughter and I harvested three frames of foundationless comb honey and placed them in the freezer. After thawing, cutting the combs and boxing the product, does comb honey have the same shelf life as regular honey? Our county fair is early in the summer, before the honey harvest gets going and my granddaughter is wanting to show comb honey next year instead of just liquid honey. I'm also curious how long it can remain frozen prior to processing it. I can't tell you how much I value your expertise. Thank you!
I'm going to talk about this on Friday! It's interesting and important. I keep the comb honey in the freezer and never take it out until about 24 hours prior so sale or gifting. The freezer keeps it from crystalizing in the comb.
Hi Fred, I love my polystyrene hives. For oa vapor treatments, I use stainless steel straws cut to appropriate size so it sticks out of the back of the hive at an angle pointing up into the bottom board area, barely sticking out inside, but an inch on the outside. I then gorilla glue it into the hole. I leave a screw or stick in the straw. As bee's will go through the straw as well. Two years and no more melt spots. Works great!
Hi Anthony, thanks for sharing... I like that idea but have some concern that the bees may propolize the interior hole in the straw, how do you verify that they don't close it up and how do you keep it clear? I get tha the outside part can have something inserted to serve as an escape block, it's the interior that I'd like to know more about. Thanks :)
I had so many bees bearding on the outside during that heat spell a week ago that I swapped my inner cover for vented inner covers. I was happy because the bees all went back in the hive where I feel they're much more protected but I had not thought about me venting off the humidity inside.
Thanks for commenting. I didn't say it's a native, but it is mostly found in the northeastern U.S. and has been here since the 18th century. I'm sorry you found that to be misleading, true, it's not native to the United States.
@@FrederickDunn Thanks for the response! I just assumed the tree would mostly be found in its native Europe. You learn something every day. Keep on educating! Love the videos, Fred. Keep up the inspiring work.
Nice interview. I liked the comments concerning Randy Oliver. You, Dr Tom Seeley, Randy Oliver, and Dr Leo, are probably the 4 I most respect and pay attention too. I had the privilege of meeting Randy in person at his place last month.
Same. I started beekeeping after I saw Dr. Leo’s horizontal hive videos. I have regular Langstroth also and I’m phasing them out. I can see them being better if your transporting them. Mine never move.
Fred, what a pleasure listening to your podcast. "A bubble gum sized piece of comb, on a slice of cheddar, on a cracker"; I've got to try that. Small cell size does not make any appreciable difference in verroa destructor infestation- good to know. Counting Nozema spores; dissecting or regular microscope? I could just go to the link and check it out, but all my bees are healthy. Propola hives- can't that be done with a wire brush? I've heard Caucasians make the most propolis of any breed of bee. Eight-frame hives fill up faster than 10 frames... I've been thinking of doubling up the walls of my 10 frames to make them better insulated and account for the fact that I have no 8-frame hives. You're at a sustainable bee level. I'm beginning to wonder if I can ever let my queens breed naturally.
1) What is your favorite type of 5 frame resource hive? 4:14 2) How do you calibrate a refractometer to measure water content in honey? 7:53 3) How would you treat using Oxalic acid on a polystyrene hive without melting it? 10:45 4) How to you store your drawn comb? 12:17 5) Is it common for queenless splits to be robbed out? 14:52 6) Do you do anything to help bees manage temperature on really hot days? 44:22 7) Can you split hives during a summer dearth if you plan to feed them? 51:54 8) My bees have been exposed to poison how can I help them recover? 55:25 9) Can you tell us more about Nosema? 59:15 10)Do you get more honey from a nine frame super vs a ten frame? 1:12:54
Thanks for your reply to my question about pesticides. I had some pro dfm and applied a dose of that to all 17 colonies. I have lost a good bit of my field force and it knocked my queens back. I'm keeping close watch on everyone. I had thankfully already pulled honey before the crop duster. Normally I would treat now but am giving them a little bit before I do that. Thanks again Fred.
Arachnophobia was John Goodman. Dan Conner, Rosannes husband. I’m having hive beetle phobia. I put beetle barns, oil traps and Swiffer Sheets on some hives today. They’re getting bad here. I put 5 traps per hive. 2 oils, 2 beetle barns and 1 Swiffer. You’re so lucky you don’t have to deal with them.
@@anthonymuma4602 I’m going to build sandpaper traps to catch larvae when I get some free time and see if those work. I don’t see many larvae. It’s mostly adults in my newer weaker hives. Hives I’ve rescued or swarms I’ve caught. I’ve never purchased bees.
Please get the swiffer sheets out as soon as you can. They get measurable micro-plastics into the honey, comb, and bee gut. Any micro-fiber style plastic cloth should be kept out of reach of any of your bees. Bad news... beetle barns, jails etc... are a go, but any "frizzed up cloth" like swiffer should be avoided. The published study was alarming to say the least.
@@FrederickDunn I don’t take any honey off my bee’s because there’s not a lot of forage in my area. It’s mostly a monoculture of Bermuda grass for cattle and I’m near a big lake so that limits forage also. I wonder if that would really harm the bees that much since they have such a short lifespan anyways. The Queen has a long life but would she accumulate any harmful material by being fed by the younger nurse bees? I just started using the Swiffer this week because my bees always block the openings in my Beetle Barns and Oil Traps with propolis. They apparently don’t like the smell of what’s inside them. This would be a good subject to bring up on your show because so many beekeepers are using microfiber towels.
34 colonies. I am laughing remembering you claiming that 10 was your limit not long ago. I'm glad you have enough stock to continue to observe, photo, and share.
Hi Fred, this interview is great,from the beginning to the end. The first part drew my interest. Being a Penn State graduate, my wife and I worked in Mifflin County mapping department as students and we were doing the cave layer for 911. We visited many caves and seeing lots of bats was fun. This was In 2000-2001. Great interview.
