Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 257, clustered bees, and more.

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May 10th, what's going on with your honey bees? Is that normal?
Submit your own question for consideration:
www.fredsfinefowl.com/thewayt...
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Today's topics are as listed below:
1) What bees transfer resources from the forager to the honey super?
2) I have not been able to find the integrated inner cover you've mentioned in the past: • Honey Bee Feeder Shim ...
3) I hived a swarm and a now I have laying workers? How would you suggest that I fix the situation?
4) I have a cluster under my hive that's been there for 14 days.
5) I picked up and installed some package bees. One queen flew away, how can I tell if she returned?
6) 2 of 3 hives made it through winter. Should I treat the remaining two hives now, and with what?
7) Now that the nectar flow is on, will you make a comparison of honey fill rates based on hive design?
8) My Flow Hive is going gangbusters, I recently noticed drones through the Flow-Super window, Is this normal, or something I should be concerned about?
The Flow Hive Experience: www.fredsfinefowl.com/theflow...
9) Following up on the Swarm Reacher, It worked for me, and I have 3 new hives because of it.
Don't forget to register for FREE BEES in your area, and provide a link so the general public can report swarms: beeswarmed.org/
Are you looking for a good cause to support? Please consider this excellent organization: hivesforheroes.org/
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Introduction
05:27 What bees transfer resources from the forager to the honey super?
12:35 I have not been able to find the integrated inner cover you've mentioned in the past:
17:36 I hived a swarm and a now I have laying workers? How would you suggest that I fix the situation?
23:10 I have a cluster under my hive that's been there for 14 days.
31:06 I picked up and installed some package bees. One queen flew away, how can I tell if she returned?
38:00 2 of 3 hives made it through winter. Should I treat the remaining two hives now, and with what?
55:10 Now that the nectar flow is on, will you make a comparison of honey fill rates based on hive design?
01:07:48 My Flow Hive is going gangbusters, I noticed drones through the Flow-Super window, Is this something I should be concerned about?
01:14:33 Following up on the Swarm Reacher, It worked for me, and I have 3 new hives because of it.

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2 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 126

@Adam.Holmes. Месяц назад

1) What bees transfer resources from the forager to the honey super? 5:27 2) I have not been able to find the integrated inner cover you've mentioned in the past: 12:35 3) I hived a swarm and a now I have laying workers? How would you suggest that I fix the situation? 17:36 4) I have a cluster under my hive that's been there for 14 days. 23:10 5) I picked up and installed some package bees. One queen flew away, how can I tell if she returned? 31:06 6) 2 of 3 hives made it through winter. Should I treat the remaining two hives now, and with what? 38:00 7) Now that the nectar flow is on, will you make a comparison of honey fill rates based on hive design? 55:10 8) My Flow Hive is going gangbusters, I noticed drones through the Flow-Super window, Is this something I should be concerned about? 1:07:48 9) Following up on the Swarm Reacher, It worked for me, and I have 3 new hives because of it. 1:14:33

@michaelshelnutt3534 Месяц назад

Never apologize for the length of the video... they are worth the time.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thanks, Michael! I appreciate that. I love talking about bees, and sometimes don't know when to wrap it up. With RU-vid, I can't see anyone falling to sleep in the front row :)

@dixsigns1717 Месяц назад

I always look forward the the opening sequence. Happy Friday, Fred.💚🤗

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thank you, I did that this morning :)

@halleyevans1980 Месяц назад

I am excited to see your grandson get maximum honey from his flow hive :). I would like to get a flow hive myself next year out of curiosity. Thank you for sharing once again Fred.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

He askes every single day if it's time to put the flow-super on :)

@richardbest2537 Месяц назад

Fred, your opening sequences always have a wonderful way of calming my nerves after a long week. Thank you! The bee facts are also appreciated... 😊

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thank you so much, I'm so glad that it has contributed to your relaxation :)

@Steele_Wings Месяц назад

I used a Doca pole.

@laureldoherty9363 Месяц назад

I use an extra veil as a queen muffin. Works fine.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

There you go, lots of ways to add that extra insurance with handling purchased queens.

@saintjohncoleman8602 Месяц назад

Nice opening sequence.. bought a holly last fall for the bees…goats ate it…

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Here, the deer eat it in winter, so I have to fence it.

@abstract1dea Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn Bob Binnie had some holly honey last year and it was excellent but it seems like a one off.

@PaulCoughlin Месяц назад

Timeline: 00:00 Intro 02:49 Welcome 05:20 Bee transfer resources in hive 12:30 Inner cover 17:30 Swarm with laying workers 22:50 Under hive cluster 31:00 Package Queen Flyer 37:54 Treating after winter 55:05 Honey per hive type 1:07:48 Flow Hive drones 1:14:25 Swarm Reacher update 1:21:00 Extra Fluff 1:28:29 Out take

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thanks, Paul! Adam beat you to the keyboard :) chapters are up. I always appreciate your suggestion!

@atlas4225 Месяц назад

Happy Friday! I noticed on you self having swarm, some unusual hive stands. I believe I see how you did it but I thought it might be of value to ask what hive stands you have considered over the years and what you generally do today. Also, we are always receiving content about the bees themselves but I was wondering if you might consider making a video on gearing-up. I tend to find myself collecting a number of items and often head back to the bee shed when I find I need something more. Hope all is well.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

All great ideas. I've posted videos regarding the hive stands, but not an overall comparison video. If you think that's valuable I may do that :) Thanks!

@tommychew6544 Месяц назад

Great episode! On your pole with the wrong thread, just take out your tip and buy a wooden painter's pole cut it off to the correct length and work the end you cut down the right diameter on a belt sander then drill a hole thru the wooden end where the tip clip holes are and bolt it in. I've done it with mine so I could use different attachments, mine is an Ettore with replaceable plastic tips.

Месяц назад

Monday afternoon after program. If I knew that they were low on stores, I would definitely feed something( wet or dry) to save them.

@saintjohncoleman8602 Месяц назад

RE: fill rates-1) 10 Lang-single deep, medium super, honey bridge, no queen excluder, flow super MUCH greater than with queen excluder. 2) 10 lang, deep super, queen excluder, flow super, medium up top to lure bees up-NOTHING in flow super. 3) 10 lang-single deep, honey bridge, no queen excluder, Hogg half MUCH greater than no queen excluder. 4) 7 frame Apimaye double deep, medium super-fastest honey production. 5)8 lang, queen excluder, flow super-SWARM FACTORY! 6) 10 lang, double deep, no queen excluder, two medium supers- most honey. NEXT SEASON? ditch queen excluders, assure the honey bridge before flow and Hoggs. No hives are vented. No hives have upper entrances. Encourage highest population for the size of the box.

@kennith. Месяц назад

Thank you for taking the time to make the video for us. Great opening sequence.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thank you, Kennith! Always nice to see your comments!

@lambbrookfarm4528 Месяц назад

It's Fred-day!🥰 As a past home builder I learned ants love foam. Prefect for chewing out new homes....for ants! If you want an ant farm quick, use polyisocyanurate foam, they really love that.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Annnnd they hate aluminum foil :)

@LIL-RED-BIRD Месяц назад

I had a colony last until February where it went from+15C to -15 in 24 hours. When I cleaned it out the bees were not clustered and had lots of honey. So I’m going blame myself for letting that hive get a bit honey bound from over feeding and the weather for the final straw.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

We are constantly learning, I'm glad you are paying attention to cause and effect in your hives. Sounds like a good note for he apiary diary. Thanks for sharing :)

@redfish440 Месяц назад

Thanks Fred as always, have a great weekend!

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thank you, you too! :)

@Huntnlady7 Месяц назад

I helped a woman in Artesia (NM) who showed me a Flo Hive she'd bought for $200. Nearly every cell was infested with wax worms! I've never seen anything like it. Told her what an immense cleaning job she had ahead of her. The woodware was garbage too. People will rip off beginners every chance they get.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

I don't have a lot of sympothy for people who support ripoffs with their financial vote. Those ads are everyhwere, and some of them have my face on them. Unethical. Power Washers are good for blasting out the flow-frames.

@wrad8292 Месяц назад

I caught a swarm that was so big I had to split it in two. They would not come off their branch until I cut it. One has a Queen, the other does not. To keep them in place, the hive with no Queen, I gave a frame of brood from another hive to keep them in place. My burning question is - How small does the larvae have to be for them to make a new Queen? Tiny egg stage? White, C-shaped larvae stage? There may have been just laid eggs but I'm not sure -storms and high winds were coming and I had to house them quickly. I did see open larvae and it did make them stay. I can get a Queen if they need it. Bee season is certainly hopping!

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

I'll discuss this on Friday! :) you have many options here.

@wrad8292 Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn Good! Because it may happen again today! 😀

@sonofthunder. Месяц назад

plant tulip polar,chestnut, catalpa, persimmon, bees n deer,oh black locust too😊 ,

@sonofthunder. Месяц назад

im still liking the inner cover feedshim combo,although I have both deep n medium frame feeders,and rapud rounds,I add double bubble ,and should cut some as box gaskets,for poor fitting gaps,🎉

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

I've found double-bubble insulation sheets to be almost endlessly useful :) I don't know how I got along without it! Also, with the advent of double bubble, I may turn back to feeder/combo shims again.

@DonnaLeRowKy Месяц назад

Built your Langstroth long. Got my 2 Nucs today. Will let you know.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Excellent, I hope all goes well for you and your bees.

@DonnaLeRowKy Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn FYI. We built 2 6 frame nucs from the remnants of the long and caught a swarm last week. They are bulging at the seams!

@robertlewis3336 Месяц назад

With that swarm staying put for 14 days, it wouldn't surprise me if they had comb built there.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Very common.

@saintjohncoleman8602 Месяц назад

Re: salt- my bees routinely visit the effluent from my household water softener. I use Morton salt. They also use the turtle ponds and boggy moss logs in them.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Yes, they definitely go for it, it's key to have free choice for water. With ponds and bogs I think your bees are all set :)

@willweiser5441 Месяц назад

Mr Dunn Thanks for heads up info on switch grass smoker fuel , it works great, Also ordered bee suit for great grandaughter (best Gift ) all smiles and had to go to bee yard( 4 hives) and look and touch all bees she says I'm not afraid now. I thought we would only be there for A MINUTE so no jacket and veil for grandpa (mistake ) 2nd time looking at bees without veil . Should have learned the first time Bees in hair bees in beard. Always where veil.. thank you Oh wife and grandaughter laughing at grandpa dancing and waving. I guess alittle joy is worth it.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

That is all fantastic! Plus, you served as a practical demonstration regarding why a veil is important. :)

@mariax8041 Месяц назад

Blessings, Frederick! Must admit that as a latecomer, an enthusiastic one to at that, I have been listening to your video on nurse bees' hive activities, a little under two hours, twice a day, in the past several weeks. Went for a check up the other day, and learnt that my condition has deteriorated. All those hours, wasted. As they provide healing properties, why don't u furnish commensurate testimonials to that effect, as that would greatly encourage your subscribers? Just a suggestion. Best regards.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

When if comes to honey bees, the sounds they make, or even breathing the air from a hive, I leave any health claims to those who have direct experience and wish to post about them. The only solid benefit I know of, being in the presence of honey bees, or listening to the sounds of the hive, is derived from simply being calm and present while escaping the stress associated with man-made noise. Other than the obvious health benefits of being relaxed, I find no current scientific evidence of more advanced health benefits from listening to bees.

@jamesbarron1202 Месяц назад

I planted 10 serviceberries this spring and I think they’ll all die from water standing on them for months. I wanted them close to my pond because they like moisture and it won’t stop raining. We’re seeing record rainfall. Last year it never rained. I think it was the driest year ever recorded here. Usually my pond drops pretty quickly because the dam is sand and it leaks. I planted a Mexican Plum and Soapberry today for my bees. I grow almost all my trees from seed. I’m fixing to go make cages to keep deer, hogs and rabbits off them. I planted a bunch of Tupelo Black Gum seedlings grown from seed this year. I’m wondering if I’ll ever see them bloom at my age of 62. I lost an apple, pawpaw, Fuju persimmon and 3 peach trees to a wind and hail storm this week. Many big limbs broke in other my trees. That apple tree was very old and snapped off on the lower trunk. My neighbor had a huge Willow get uprooted.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Wow, you certainly have a lot going on there! I'll be curious to learn if your Serviceberry trees continue to grow in that challenging soil. The weather is constantly throwing curve balls our way these days.

@jamesbarron1202 Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn a bunch of my seedling Black Gum have been in 2” of standing water for months and they’re doing fine. We have more rain forecast today and tomorrow. Rained yesterday also. This summer I’ll be begging for rain when I’m dragging water hoses around the property and hand watering around 200 small trees.

@amull9426 Месяц назад

I emailed the maker of the swarm reacher. I had some top bar that would fit in that L shaped slot and some that had a top bar that was too thick. He said if the top bar was too thick to fit, hook it upside-down or hook it to the side bars . This worked well. im embarrassed, i didn't think of that.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Yes, those are good points. BUT, make sure your bottom bar and side bars are well reinforced as those tend to be weaker. Thanks for sharing! :)

@wilszczech5399 Месяц назад

Thank you for answering my question (#6)!. This will be my 2nd summer as a beekeeper so I am still a novice. The hive that died out in the spring was a Flow hive with 2 deeps, an insulated cover (no upper entrance) and a feeder shim. It had Hive Alive fondant on top and the bees had eaten about 1/4 of it. The hive itself still had several outer frames of capped honey, so my thought was that it was not starvation but something else. Possibly, as you said, the warm up and freeze cycle that we went through this winter in upstate NY. Follow up questions .... if you have the time. 1) So you don't think I should be using the Formic Pro? I wanted to stay organic and it seemed to be the safest and most effective choice. I had done a sugar shake and my counts were higher than recommended, so I knew I had to treat. You prefer OA Vaporization? Other than after a swarm when are the best times? and 2) I have ordered a new NUC for the dead hive. Should I give the capped honey frames to the new bees? Thank you again, big fan of your podcasts. Wil

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Formis Pro is GREAT, you just have to be mindful to only use it on strong colonies. It's my ace-in-the-hole if varroa persists. Thank you for the information you've added here, I think others will appreciate it. Thanks for this comprehensive post. To be clear, Formic Pro is excellent, just don't put it on small or struggling colonies.

@sonofthunder. Месяц назад

I like the pro active approach, and bee saturation ,so my queens have good opportunity to mate,with neighbors drones ,clover is still productive at this time,and some blackberries, weather has been up n down 😊

@boredbeingbored676 Месяц назад

thank you so much for talking about signs of a queen, with pollen an all that

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

You're very welcome :)

@sonofthunder. Месяц назад

im liking the combining idea, since I'm pushing 30ish hives,and think I'd like less total, and larger production rates(big population monsters) heading thru summer

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

When you have a surplus of colonies/hives, after the swarm season has passed, combining small to large colonies can result in super production. Let me know how that goes for you :)

@boredbeingbored676 Месяц назад

i have lost about 1 hive per winter due to mold... it is completely my fault. bottom boards are a thing for a reason

@UTsnowsailor Месяц назад

Thank you for addressing my question regarding inner cover/feeder shim. Purchased the bee buffet (as per your recommendation) and will make a feeding shim using your video guide to accommodate it. Will be perfect for crazy spring weather in Northern Utah. Thanks so much

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Outstanding, I'm also glad you purchased a Bee Buffet. That company is going out of business, and I'm sorry to know that they won't be available in the future unless another company picks up on them.

@UTsnowsailor Месяц назад

Too bad. It's a nice product

@kristalburgess96 Месяц назад

Regarding Q6 and Darwinian beekeeping, you could liken it to treating your kids or dogs for worms and then socialising them with others of their kind that aren’t treated, which then infects yours again. The way I look at it is, you chose to keep livestock so you need to look after them.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Hi Krista, I had a goat with lung-worms, I could have culled the goat and considered keeping only stock that doesn't get it, or just provide oral dewormer and have a healthy goat. :) I agree.

@JimVicariously Месяц назад

Cleared up a lot of outdated info. Great video.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thanks, Jim :)

@boredbeingbored676 Месяц назад

3 min long, yeas please watching that next

@fredshoney6458 Месяц назад

The newer formulations of formic pro are much better than they used to be, but even the manufacturer says you will see brood mortality, particularly young uncapped brood, however with the new packaging formulations and different gels, they are seeing significant reductions in queen mortality. It definitely is a product that is becoming better as it evolves. BTW only the 2 pad application kills under capped cells. BTW I had a colony a few years ago that had a mite count of 9 mites per 100 bees at the beginning of November (Hamilton, ON) and none of the local bee supply stores had mite treatments in stock, so I had an out of date single formic pro pad which I dropped in and closed up the colony for the winter, and it was the only colony of 6 that over wintered.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Hi Fred, I thought that's what I mentioned about the two pad being the under-capping killer. You're right, the formula has improved and always follow the included instructions or website guidance. Thanks for sharing... when you do one pad at a time, you still get the mites as that's a 20-day treatment and most varroa will have come out during that period.

@lambbrookfarm4528 Месяц назад

because of the logging, you may get some cane berry; raspberry, blackberry honey in the coming years. I know your agent has scheduled you for a presentation with my local bee club this coming winter and I'm psyched.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

I do love giving presentations to bee clubs! :) I particularly like doing them in-person so I can get to know the members :)

@brendawydeven2934 Месяц назад

I like my Caucasian hive because they fly early, and fly later and in cooler weather. I also scraped up inside of hive and they have more propolis. They keep mite counts low. They wintered great this year without black up feed but did feed them this early spring because we had early spring in Wisconsin with 1 to 1 on nice days but we're bringing in pollen in February. I'm going to requeen a couple more hives with Caucasian. They are my favorite between Italian and carniolans.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

It's great that they reproduce so easily, and we can select traits we like for our environments. It's also great that we have queen breeders who can fill an order in a pinch with genetics that are proven. Thanks for sharing.

@Ittiz Месяц назад

I've got a lot of wild service berry on my property. In fact I have an absolutely huge tree (for service berry) I wish was smaller so I could access the berries! I don't like the dry laundered smell of the flowers and I've found, it seems, the bees don't either. They mostly attract native, non-bee pollinators. A contemporary tree/bush I've found this time of year (not native) the bees seem to love is Japanese Quince. I found some Japanese Quince's flowering on my property (tiny shrub sized) and my bees visit them almost exclusively this time of year over everything else. I'm tempted to transplant some of the volunteers to my apiary to see what happens.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thanks for sharing! Service Berries come in lots of sub-species. Ill be glad to have them for wildlife in general, but will be disappointed if the honey bees don't end up visiting the blossoms. They are already past the blossom cycle for this year, but I'll be watching for that in the spring of 2025.

@brucklay227 Месяц назад

What about a light mixture of sugar water sprayed on a Swarm Reacher😊

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

That's something that could certainly be tried. For now, here, the brood frame with nothing added gets the most attention. BUT, we can try it with sugar syrup, particularly for a swarm that's been in place for several days, as they should go for that sweetness. Thanks for the suggestion.

@illumi-Nate Месяц назад

I have a hive with a queen that was born 2 weeks ago, this morning I see no eggs yet, so I took the queen out, & then i put her in a cage & hung on a branch (150 yards from apiary) , she has drawn in a cluster of workers . My question is- Would you say she is mated & not just laying yet?

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

That's a guess... but I'd definitely put her back and check in on her in a week.

@illumi-Nate Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunnthank u for your answer... I did put her back ,along with a cluster of bees she gathered ...hope she starts laying soon.

@lindafox4065 Месяц назад

Can you put "Temp-queen pheromone" in the hive to stop laying workers?

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Hi Linda, it's intended to prevent the beginning of laying workers rather than stop those that have already begun to produce drone eggs. You can often overwhelm laying workers by installing a frame or two of complete brood that includes eggs and open larvae. The new pheromones often overwhelm them and they "should" begin queen cells. QMP/Temp Queen by itself may not do the trick.

@craigo4dds Месяц назад

I used a queen intro cage to move a queen and 1 frame of bees and brood into a hive that the queen had stopped laying. I had removed the old queen 2 days prior. Checked 2 days later and nearly all the nurse bees were killed and the new queen is MIA. Maybe I should have waited a few more days and left the old hive to not have the QMP so strong 🤷🏻‍♂️

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Hi Craig, I want to sort out what you're sharing. Are you saying that the new queen was inside the Queen Introduction Cage (not a Queen Isolation Cage), and that the workers and the queen inside the introduction cage were killed? The purpose of that introduction cage is to prevent that very thing from happening. Please provide more details. Thanks so much for sharing what happened.

@craigo4dds Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn yes that is exactly what happened. I have both the intro and isolation cages so I was careful not to mix them up. It was a single frame cage. 2 days after the intro, I did a check and there were hundreds of dead bees at the bottom of the cage. I removed the frame and looked for the queen among the dead and noticed that most of the dead were torn apart. The queen was marked and could not find her. That was a week ago and today that frame has 8 emergency cells (7 capped).

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Wow, that's quite a puzzle. Thanks for the followup. @@craigo4dds

@craigo4dds Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn the week prior to all this, I used the queen isolation cage for the old queen so I could verify that she was indeed not laying, well somehow she escaped and I then did a complete hive check in search of eggs. So that is a double failure. Might try using the intro cage for isolation 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

@Peter-od7op Месяц назад

We all love long vdo ty

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thanks, Peter! I've received feedback from truckers who say they listen while on the road and they have requested long Q&A vids. I'm glad others are appreciating them also :)

@richwelch1004 Месяц назад

QUESTION: Hello, enjoy your content. Here is a two partter. First off, is it plausible and secondly is it ethical. I am new to this bee thing. I hear you talking about Temp Bee experiments. My thought is home made package. Can I collect a bunch of bees by using the temp bee, order a queen? If I introduce the queen to my fake swarm, will it work? The bees in the fake swarm too old? Thanks, Rich (Bedford, New Hampshire)

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

What you're describing is something I've done here. If you have plenty of hives in the vacinity, and it's during the beginning of a strong nectar flow, it can and does work. They are all foragers, so allow them to accumulate a large cluster prior to hiving them. A nucleus hive body works best, and you can boost them with pollen patties, or just sugar syrup. It does not work well at the end of the year (where I live) as they just don't have the time to build up properly.

@W3BKY_73 Месяц назад

Hi Fred, thoughts on slatted racks failing at the front joints from the inside out? The rest of the hive equipment lasts a lot longer, but I’m not getting more than 2 years from the racks, and it appears as though moisture on the front inner wall is settling there. It’s aggravated in winter by dead bees pile in some of the hives, until it warms and undertakers can clean out. I’m considering drilling a 1 in hole in the corners and putting #8 on the bottom to save the remaining racks in the apiary, and rethinking the concept with a different front entrance / slatted rack / landing board design to deal with the forward tilt moisture collection. I’m insulated on top and on 3 windward sides due to the apiary being on a hill. Hives are 20” off the ground, the apiary grass is kept short, and the area drains well. I do not believe it’s an environmental issue. There is no moisture anywhere else except with debris on the bottom board, which gets cleaned out regularly.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thank you for sharing this observation. Have you used any preservative on your slatted racks? I dip mine in Eco-Wood when they are new, and haven't had any wear out. The moisture and dead bees piling up on the front solid strip are typical. The rotting out of the slatted rack material isn't something that I've dealt with here. So, I'm curious about what you've preserved it with. Also, maybe your hives are tillted forward a little too much? Just a slight tilt toward the landing board for winter drainage will serve the purpose of not trapping water in the back, and would reduce the amount of water that could accumulate on the front of the rack. I've added this to my topic list. Thanks again! :)

@W3BKY_73 Месяц назад

Thanks Fred - I have not yet preserved the interior - we weren’t sure that was ok for bees until after I put the racks into service - but it is in the plan / exterior is sanded primed and exterior paint (2 coats). The tilt is only a degree or two. I’m sure the lack of full hive inspections / cleaning the racks due to an extended family emergency last year didn’t help. I am rotating the remaining racks to salvage what’s left. If I scrape / sand the wood down, do you feel the eco wood would still be valuable on the used equipment, or just for new? Thank you!

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

@@W3BKY_73 For all of the unfinished surfaces, you can still use eco-wood once everything is completely dry. Thanks for the follow up information.

@sonofthunder. Месяц назад

THANKS MR DUNN

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Thanks for watching :)

@boredbeingbored676 Месяц назад

ok, so ive had bees for 5 years now near Pittsburgh pa, (because of you, thanks) my bees have had the habbit of not drawing out comb when i think they should. any suggestions or comments ?

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Drawing comb occurs when warm weather really comes along, partnered with plenty of nectar coming into the hive, and the colony being queen-rite. When those elements come together you should see comb building.

@trishwestberg6982 Месяц назад

My question is concerning #5. I have a split sitting right next to the parent hive and have put a frame of fresh eggs into the split twice and waited two weeks to see if they made a queen from the eggs provided. They did not. Is this because the hive is sitting next to the parent hive and the queen pheromone is close enough to make the hive think they have a queen? Both hives are bringing in pollen but the queen-less hive has no new eggs.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

It sounds like there already is a queen present in the split, and they don't need to make a new one. Two weeks after install should tell the tale.

@trishwestberg6982 Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn I put a frame of eggs in the hive, waited two weeks and no queen cell were built, so I added another frame of eggs and waited one week, still no queen cells. I have a queen to be delivered today, would you install her in the supposedly queen-less hive or put her in a NUC and wait another week or so to see if the queen-less hive does have a queen I missed?

@bradgoliphant Месяц назад

Always great Fred. Love the photography! Help! I need your help my friend! All three of my quadruple deep FlowHives (two brood / 1 flow super and 1 medium super) are nearly honey-bound! I’ve waxed all my flow frames, and even added empty drawn-comb frames in the brood box only to have them backfilled in 48 hours. They just started bringing the nectar up to the flow frames, but I’m concerned about queen laying space. Will they start bringing it up naturally when the bottom is full? Ideas? Help! Grateful.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

If they have begun to fill the flow-frames, you're just fine. They should naturally put honey up high in the hive. Backfilling can seem dramatic when it happens fast, but it also shrinks back to about half the space once they start drying it. Not sure about Quadruple deeps? That seems like a lot to me, but you know your bees. I'd go ahead and pull some frames of capped honey and replace them with drawn comb is you have it, that can provide more pace for honey storage and you get an early yield. Just keep an eye on the brood area, they should leave space for brood.

@bradgoliphant Месяц назад

To clarify. My hives brood area are two deep bodies. Then I have one deep flow super and 1 medium regular super. It’s the lower two-deep brood area that is honeybound. They are very slow bring it up.

@aaronparis4714 Месяц назад

Hey Fred will you join stream team and tell us about the rain and how it effects the nectar flow they told Everyone watching his pod cast to message you and ask you To join them sometime soon ????

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

That's funny! I've never turned down an invitation to join in on the stream team :)

@boredbeingbored676 Месяц назад

maybe a dumb question: can a queen-less hive exist in the long term for honey purpose s

@LIL-RED-BIRD Месяц назад

Summer worker bees live 45 or so days, with no supply of replacement workers you’ll have no hive in 45 days. The queen and brood are needed to keep the hive healthy. So short answer is no.

@davidpotts3844 Месяц назад

Hi Fred, I had an issue with a hive that swarmed leaving Mother hive queenless with lots of queen cells. I left 4 queen cells for them to re-queen all cells have emerged. I seen a really large queen and easy to spot. I am assuming this queen is mated because her Abdomen looks very large. The open brood cells had been back filled and no place for her to lay if mated, so not sure if she was successfully mated. I just moved some drawn comb from a donor hive and placed in center Hoping this queen will find these empties before the other bees back fill. With such a large looking queen do you think this queen is mated

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Hi David, I'll add this to my topic list for next Friday. I find that when there is a mated queen present, they leave the brood center cells cleared out for her to put eggs in. Since she may recently have become mated, and if you've provided additional space for the colony to put honey stores in (above the brood box) I think you should see the bees clearing those cells for her soon. Although, with the absence of brood I think it didn't hurt at all to add that frame of drawn comb for her to begin producing on.

@davidpotts3844 Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn Thank you for your response and using content for Friday Q&A, I'll be watching.

@Peter-od7op Месяц назад

Fred why dont the bee keepers close to you get in touch with you. Just asking

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Some do, and we're good friends. Those who are physically closest to me are working with a commercial beekeeper in New York and are not interested in anything I have to say, or how I do things. They have been keeping bees commercially for three years and don't need any advice (';')... ( ';')... so.

@seanrichardson881 Месяц назад

Anyone ever try splitting double deep colonies by grafting into already existing empty Queen cups already on the frame? I got to figure out how to submit a question. I think I'm going to try this.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

I've not heard of anyone grafting into a queen cup. Hmmm... sounds interesting. If you do it, I hope you make a video of the entire process. Thanks for sharing.

@seanrichardson881 Месяц назад

@@FrederickDunn maybe I'll do my very first RU-vid video just because of your request. You want to head up to New York? I'm just a little bit over the state line. Maybe you could hold the camera and teach me how to upload a video. Haha

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

@@seanrichardson881 Thanks for that offer, but I'm already over-committed around here. I hope you try it out. :)

@tomphlipot3249 Месяц назад

Why don't I get notified when you release a new video. I have tried unsubscribing and then resubcribing. I have all notifications on. Don't have issues with other sites.

@FrederickDunn Месяц назад

Hi Tom, I have no idea why that's happening. If you click the notification bell, you should receive notifications. Maybe you have something in your settings that may limit the number, or frequency of notifications received? Just guessing.