Bee Keeping Frequently Asked Questions # 9 Beginning With Honey Bees

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Welcome to the 9th episode of Beginning With Bees where I address and discuss viewer submitted questions about beekeeping.
In this video we talk about:
1) Can you tell when honey bees are making swarm cells - Lost a hive when the bees swarmed out until it was dead.
2) Can you show us more on the technique you use to render your wax? (This will be answered as a special video on Sunday)
3) What pollen were your bees bringing in last week?
4) It is a requirement to have captured swarms of honeybees quarantined? Are they safe around other colonies?
5) Would you please explain how you plan to obtain "chunk honey" this year. How will you harvest that?
6) Do survivor honeybees produce less honey? Do other bees perform better?
7) How much do you sell your honey for? Pint, Quart? etc...
Links to some products discussed in this week's FAQ video are below:
Flow Hive Discount Link for $50 off mbsy.co/hpFB2
Muth Honey Bottles with corks: amzn.to/2U11QVA
ReCap Mason Jar lids - I use these when extracting honey from FlowHive Supers - amzn.to/2HBiFR6
Metal Feeder Shim Entrance Gates: amzn.to/2HC5f7r
Survivor Bees That I have used for many years: www.beeweaver.com/our-breed/
Avoid Fakes, get a real flowhive at a discount: mbsy.co/honeyflow/29307941
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Опубликовано:

6 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 120

@dennissmith8005 5 лет назад

I watch a lot of you tubers and i can say i get the most info. here THANKS FOR WHAT YOU DO

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Thank you so much Dennis! But, I have to respectfully point out that there are many truly excellent beekeeper channels out there and I like to think that we are all just complimenting one another with additional information. I do appreciate your comment! :) and I'm glad to know you are happy with what I'm sharing.

@beefcurtains6691 5 лет назад

Time for my weekly bee fix thank you again fred 🐝🐝

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I'm so happy to know that you and others are enjoying the weekly posts/updates!

@johnmcneill923 5 лет назад

Wonderful again, Fred!... Continuing to learn. I guess having bees in SoCal is a breeze compared to you. Hope the “lost” colony is not lost! Interested in today’s video. Cheers, Johno... stay warm 🤔😊🍷🍷🍷

@remington271 4 года назад

I am also getting saskatraz line this year from a local beekeeper here in Pennsylvania.

@6Deep6 5 лет назад

Thanks for another FAQ, Fred. I've been thinking about feeding the bees. What if you didn't want to feed your bees sugar water? What if you didn't leave enough honey in frames for the bees to get through winter? Could you feed back honey somehow? Maybe via some "chunk" honey?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi 6Deep6, Not having to feed sugar syrup is definitely the goal that I have set for myself. I did feed one hive as it was a swarm. It's always best to leave honeycomb on the hive to get them through winter. There really is no overall health advantage to putting in frames of honey from other colonies - the research shows that hives with "borrowed" honey stores on them don't do as well as simple sugar syrup supplemental feeding. BUT, they do benefit strongly from their own stored honey that has not been rotated in from another hive.

@58Kym 5 лет назад

This saturday is working out great. A Thomas Johnson video AND a Frederick Dunn video. That’s two cups of coffee worth! I also love that shot of the cardinal flying off.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

@matthewsweeney2577 5 лет назад

Very informative, i have to say your video of the skunk cabbage was amazing (at least to me) What climate zone are you in and elevation? Thanks

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I'm in agricultural zone 4 and thanks!

@1stBumbleBeeMaster 5 лет назад

Great Video, I find that if you have tons of Gorse and Heather that flower all through even the coldest months it helps with survival rates. I have seen Bees foraging just days after a -6.2c spell. Our Gorse is in full flower now and has been since December 2018 With out that the bees would of had nothing. So a real life saver for late colonies etc Ulex is the botanical name for any one that cannot find it. It is a serious must have for all Honey Bee Keepers its great for Bumble Bees as well.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Thank you for sharing about that!

@framcesmoore 5 лет назад

Your videos are never to long they are great and I thank u for them

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Thank you Frances :)

@wayne-oo 5 лет назад

At this point this year just bee thankful it's not -40 !

@lc7014 5 лет назад

Hi Fred enjoyed my coffee with your video☺ the only benefit to losing hives is that I have plenty of comb, pollen and honey frames. Have a packAge and nuc coming. Maybe you could discuss how you would utilize these in New hive setups, In northeast spring,. PS no sign of disease. Fresh comb frozen prior just in case.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Re-Using and repurposing frames and equipment is an important topic. Thanks LC, I'm going to tie this in with my response to Aaron's question regarding sanitizing hive gear.

@phillipthomas253 5 лет назад

Fred, did you ever post the exact dimensions and further descriptions of your heavy duty hive top feeder? If not, do you plan to?

@thehiveandthehoneybee9547 5 лет назад

I would appreciate that also!

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Philip and Hive and Honey Bee, I am adding this to my FAQ 10 where I will post/share about all of the dimensions and features in my response. The outside dimensions match the outside dimensions of the standard 8 or 10 frame boxes. The height of the feeder shim is just large enough to accommodate that metal entrance control wheel. Just under 5" tall. Underneath the box/shim, the bottom is recessed 3/8" to allow bee-space. Then the interior remaining space varies based on the thickness of materials used. There is a 2" diameter hole drilled in the center of the bottom board and a 1.5" diameter hole drilled in the front panel which can be used for an upper entrance or additional venting etc. The metal wheel is offset so the hole is centered, not the wheel.

@phillipthomas253 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn It looks like you built it out of 2x6 on the sides...yes? I will wait for your next video - which I know will be exceptional, as usual! As I noted in an earlier question, as a Flow Hive user, I appreciate the information you provide about Flow Hive use, in addition to other versions, as well.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

@@phillipthomas253 It's actually not 2 x 6, the sides are made from maple and I cut it myself, it's around 1 and 1/10 of an inch thick. I have a friend with one of those mobile mills and he cut maple/cherry/walnut/oak and others for me, including extremely thick pine which is what I use for the bottom. None of the wood I use is standard dimensional lumber, but the dimensions are not critical, so you will be able to adapt it to any thickness.

@fezwhy 5 лет назад

How do we determine if there is a flow on or when to put the feed on? How much pollen does the average hive bring in each year? Is it a quicker build up in spring to feed the bees back their honey vs sugar syrup? If so than How much honey should I save each fall for each hive for buildup? My local club has not been very helpful in answering my questions.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I will address this in FAQ #10, If there is honey left over in the hive during spring, they will use it. If you provide additional feed through a hive top feeder and they don't need it, they simply won't be taking it. The nectar flow is when a predictable warmup has happened early in the year and the bees are very busy at that landing board bringing in resources. You should see lots of bees with and without pollen being met on the landing board entry and touching tongues with hive workers - that's a nectar taste test. If you are interested in putting a hive on a scale or using something like a hive-minder, you'll know when they are gaining weight. During a strong nectar flow, the bees will also not visit open feeders in high numbers. When nectar is low and there is "no flow" in the environment, they can get "cranky" and rob other hives, as well as pile up on any sugar water, offered open feed style. You can also smell the honey at the hive entrance when it's from floral resources and not from feeders. Follow the bees, look at flowering trees and flowering plants to see what the bees are on - you'll soon know.

@SpiritBear12 5 лет назад

I like to say that just because the man made calendar says it's spring, Mother Nature may have other ideas. Don't rely on a calendar to say it's spring as the nicer weather associated with spring may be different from region to region, and from year to year. Would you be interested in using a horizontal top bar hive but modified for Langstroth frames just to see how the bees fair in that sort of a set up as opposed to a vertical one? From what I understand, those are good for people who may have limited strength, back issues or even wheel chair bound. I'm not saying you have any of those concerns, but they are easier to deal with weight-wise. If I were to keep bees, I think I would be very interested in a top bar hive. You mentioned the cold climate bees from Canada, I was going to ask you if you'd be interested in trying out a cold climate bee from Maine. There's a breeder of colder climate bees in Maine who really seems to know his stuff. I have seen him on RU-vid here and there. I can't for the life of me remember his name, I would just bump into his vids once in a while. If I can find out who he is and track down his apiary I will send the info to you so you can look into him if you want.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Several of my friends locally have attempted to use top bar hives and they just didn't work out for them. I may test one out some day :) As for the breeder you mentioned in Maine, please do feel free to share a link here so we can all check into what he's working on. Thanks SpiritBear! It's always nice to see your comments!

@bbqridge 5 лет назад

Thanks Fred for your input. The hive seems to be thriving with healthy numbers . The hive swarmed a few months ago and numbers were down but now good again. I haven’t tried out any SHB traps but will look for some right away.

@weasleoop 5 лет назад

Fred why is your apiary limited to ten hives? Great video. Also I use feeding shims as well and use that to get comb as well as setting up propolis traps in there to harvest. I love those cork bottles, as well as those Saskatraz bees. Everything is blooming here Fred, even the Tulip poplars. My bees are happy.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Carlos, 10 hives is just my personal limit, I don't have the time to provide reasonable care for more than that. Always nice to see your comments.

@wendybachman6224 5 лет назад

I always wonder if the very few people who give your FAQs a thumbs down are the ones who have mental blocks in place against Flow Hives :o).

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Wendy, anything is possible. There are a small group of beekeepers who are still unhappy that I ever took on the flowhives. It's fine with me :)

@bbqridge 5 лет назад

The Australian Dept of Primary Industry has recommended freezing the frames for 72 hours which will kill all stages of the moth. So I am trying to figure out if there is a way to do this without losing the bees, but I can’t think of one. If necessary, I will have to start over and clean out the whole hive. I have a professional beekeeper coming over today to help me with a thorough hive inspection so I will see what advice he has. Meanwhile I have another hive at my country property which is going gangbusters as there are several varieties of eucalypts starting to flower

@thibautm9311 5 лет назад

Hi, you could add another brood box on top of the existing one. Separate them with a queen excluder, leave the queen in the bottom and wait that the new bees emerged I. The new brood box

@vansquebec2099 5 лет назад

Hi Fred, when are you going to do oxalique treatment in spring? Thanks again for your good video.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

This coming Thursday - and two more treatments after that (three Thursdays in a row).

@bbqridge 5 лет назад

Hi Fred, another great informative video. I have just taken four full frames of honey out of my FlowHive and one of the frames delivered plenty of honey but also a quarter of a cup of slimy mess . In the messy stuff there were two larvae , one about three quarters of an inch and the other less than half an inch. There were also lots of small long bits less than an eighth of an inch of what could have been bits of wax but I am not sure. This was the only frame affected . The honey from this frame smelled slightly different . The honey from the other three frames was normal. I assume this is hive beetle . I am waiting for the hive to clean up in a few days , then I will do a full inspection. I don’t plan to eat the honey from the affected frame, but is the honey from the other frames OK to eat ? What have you found is the best way to eradicate the hive beetle? Regards Chas Greenway

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

That definitely sounds like a small hive beetle issue as they will slime up honey stores given the chance. Please keep us posted. I would consider the honey from the unoccupied frames to be fine. If it was bad you'd know right away! Another reason why the single frame extraction process from flowhives can save a batch! Wow, that's terrible. Was that hive population low? I've never had SHB make it to the honey supers as the bees route them right out or into upper corners, or lower bottom board corners. Are you testing out any shb traps?

@seriphtucker8563 5 лет назад

I want to ask about re queening a hive with a different strain of queen

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I will discuss that in my next FAQ Video! Thank you!

@mrwonk Год назад

Love your videos. Thank you for the thoughts on Italians and BeeWeavers. I know this is an older video; any chance you could do a comparison of all the types of bees you have worked with, side by side? The good/bad/ugly of the various breeds?

@FrederickDunn Год назад

For me, it's really come down to my local mutts that recycle back each spring in swarms. And when I purchase queens, it's BeeWeaver still. My local stock is doing very well these days. Beyond that, I think I'd like to experiment with Carniolans due to their great wintering, and long tongues etc... I'm looking at a source in Ohio for those.

@mrwonk Год назад

@@FrederickDunn Thank you. I'm only a couple hours' drive in California from a location that has the Saskatraz queens. I had thought about buying my first nuc or package there because they are a reputable seller; but my concern was, would the bees be as docile as the Beeweaver bees. I really would like to start with docile bees for my first hive.

@mandyterry2925 5 лет назад

Thank you for answering my question about the chunk honey. I hope to be able to try this! The Saskatraz bees, I have some on order also! Yes, expensive, but if they live up to their hype then I will be happy as I lost my bees due to mites. This is only my second year. I started with a single nuc last year that unfortunately came with a heavy mite load, and I wasn’t prepared to treat so early. It was nice to hear your encouragement at the beginning of the video. These videos have been interesting and helpful.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Mandy! I'm so glad you are going to continue your beekeeping! I'll try to do a chunk honey demo as the season progresses :)

@MarekArawn 5 лет назад

I'm sure you've talked about it, but I can't locate a video: (I know we're "in" spring) How do you ensure air flow in winter with a feeder on top of the hive? I didn't have enough flow (I suspect) on my hives and want to avoid that again for winter 2019-2020.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Marek! I have added this question for my FAQ#10 I will show feeder shim options and how to provide additional venting if desired. Currently with the feeder shim in place during winter, with the dry feed, the interior cover is off, so there is venting through the rapid-round-feeder. With syrup on (which should not be the case in winter), I showed another video where I added three 3/8" thick shims under the rapid round for venting and bee movement through the feeder shim. I will explain these options in detail on Friday! :)

@bbqridge 5 лет назад

Hi Fred, the larvae turned out to be wax moth. Apparently I will have to freeze the frames for 72 hours, which should kill all stages of this pest.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Wow, that's terrible! When I have wax moths, normally in a die out, I put the frames down for the chickens to pick them clean. How do you plan to remove all of that webbing?

@linusritter9280 5 лет назад

Hi Fred, to let you know I had 3 Saskatraz bees and they were moderate to mild bees and produced about 60 lbs per hive of honey and even tho I use oxalic acid when I did my checks after, there were very few mites. as you can see I said had, will like I had posted earlier the winter here in Minnesota was brutal and I could not get the moisture under control and nosema so I lost them and a lot of my other bees. I will bee trying a different top boxes for moisture that I have seen from other bee keepers and hopefully that will work.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Thank you for sharing Linus! That's not a good testament to those cold-weather bees though! I hope you can figure out the best hive configuration for your area. Are you going to try them again, or are you going with another line of bees?

@linusritter9280 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn I will try them again because of there temperament and build up. I like you like to take a challenge and some people that i know just kill there bees and take the honey so I asked if i could have them and see what I could do, will i took transferred them to my boxes ,feed them outside and when it got cold put them in the garage which I keep 40 degrees and had a sugar syrup and pollen supplement on them. Well three of the four are doing good,the one that died was my fault, the jar tipped over and drained down on them and killed a very strong hive. So far I have 70.00 stuck into them and its fun to try. there is a bee keeper that sells queens about 50 miles from me that are a mix breed of Italian,Russian ,and another breed that I can't remember but they are from a Texas breeder so I my try to split and get a few Queens from there. By the was those bees I am trying to save I got them the end of September and the guy already said I can have his bees this year but I am hoping to get them a month earlier.

@linusritter9280 5 лет назад

by the way the Queens are MN Hygienic, Russian, and Mike Palmar overwintered queens I never heard of Palmar before and i hope with the Russian in them they are not to hot, but they say they are mild and good honey producers.

@stgermain1074 5 лет назад

I've completed my beginning beekeepers class and now need to take the big step of buying bees. (Yay!) There was a young man in my class who's interested in beekeeping more for the wax than the honey derived from bees. He's eastern Orthodox and wants to make beeswax candles for church. Are there lines of bees who are prolific wax producers?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

without a doubt, Italians! Prolific honey and wax comb producers!

@miguelarturopalomaresruiz 5 лет назад

I've been looking into bee keeping. Is bee keeping something that can be done during spare time while keeping a full time job? Or something that can be done for retirement ? Also, how much do I need to learn or study before getting my first pair of hives ?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Miguel! I have added this question to my FAQ # 10 which will launch on Friday! Thank you for watching and for your question!

@stevebachman6661 5 лет назад

I am curious about keeping bumblebees.

@FrederickDunn 5 месяцев назад

When it comes to bumble bees, it's best just to provide great habitat and they will come around.

@craig6903 5 лет назад

I have been hunting for wild bees in trees. Just wondering if your Flair camera can see bees inside a tree? If so, it would make it so much easier to locate wild hives

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Craig! That's a great question regarding the Flir Camera, but unfortunately, just like bees inside insulated hives, they wouldn't have a surface heat signature that you could use. A swarm in a tree would show up, but you would probably see them before detection with thermals. Bees inside a tree would be venting through the entrance and you could see that, particularly on colder days when the difference would be more noticeable. BUT again, you'd probably notice the activity mid-afternoon better than searching with a thermal camera.

@anthellis 5 лет назад

Should I add a second brood box to increase honey production, or do a split?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I would personally just add another box :)

@tonykillingsworth9247 3 года назад

My Question is can you put a 40/60 watt light bulb under the bottom board in the cold winter up North would the Bees have a better chance to overwinter in Hope's they would make it that 2 " over to food to survive.....I am in south Alabama so I probably wont benifit .

@FrederickDunn 3 года назад

I would not suggest putting any auxiliary heating to any bee hive. They are natural survivors if you provide a well constructed hive that protects them from winter drafts and is sized right for the colony of bees. Heating the bottom would create a dewpoint elsewhere in the hive and cause condensation which complicates the interior hot/cold interfaces that the bees then have to deal with. They heat their cluster very well on their own so long as the bees are healthy.

@stevebachman6661 5 лет назад

My first Colony will be Caucasians. They're known for more prolific propolis production, among other things. The Apiary I ordered my Nuc from says that some people harvest the excess Propolis. What is it used for? Is it good to consume, like chunk honey?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Steve, for me, propolis is mostly a wood finish ingredient, but some people do eat it. I don't eat it, nor do I save it. They are great at building comb, so you'll certainly enjoy having them.

@arogue469 5 лет назад

I intended to ask this after your last faq video, but just didn’t get around to it: You advised against going into a hive any more than absolutely necessary, and yet you work Langstroths, which seem to demand a more hands-on approach. What is your experience or opinion on Warres or other less-intrusive designs and methods - especially for the backyard hobbyists?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Adam, a Langstroth hive doesn't require more activity than others, it's really up to the beekeeper. The FlowHives are less intrusive during honey extraction and there is a big difference there. But as for routing inspection and pulling frames, I recommend leaving the bees to themselves as much as possible no matter what hive design you have. In my State, we are required to use hives that have removable frames for inspection - I'm personally concerned that with the Warre hive design, an inspection would ruin the frameless comb and not properly facilitate inspections. It's not a system I'm currently interested in and I think it may not even be permitted here? I need to check further into that frameless approach. Thanks :)

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I'm going to discuss the Warre Hive concept in my next FAQ, so thanks Adam!

@arogue469 5 лет назад

Frederick Dunn I’m actually just getting into beekeeping, and am making my own Warres right now. Although Warre did prefer fixed comb, he did offer plans for frames. A number of people use ‘half-frames’ partly for the sake of inspection, and I’ll be doing my own twist on that. But Warre recommended only going in once or twice a year, while a lot of beekeepers talk about being in their boxes every couple of weeks at the longest. I much prefer the idea of providing the best I can for the bees, and then trusting them to take care of themselves. I look forward to seeing what you have for us next time.

@aaronluecking3597 5 лет назад

Just a quick question. What are your thoughts on using steam to melt wax and sanitize the box and equipment all at once(even inherited equipment)? I like the science behind your explanations helps me to appreciate why you reason the way you do. I was thinking of something like this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Wzkxq7qGqxQ.html. Or this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gbx-Dv5iLmA.html Does that seem reasonable if you have the extra old equipment? And do you think it will actually sanitize the equipment from previous contaminants, such as foulbrood? Oh and 1 more thing....if it’s not too much. Will putting a package into a hive body next to an existing hive cause the existing hive to swarm?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Aaron, I don't personally see an advantage of using steam over simply heating the box/wax with dry conditions. This would probably be a good area for discussion! I'm adding it to FAQ 10 - thanks so much!

@robertmathurin2544 5 лет назад

Am, here 🇱🇨👍

@Misssssysparkles 5 лет назад

I have had about 6 queens ( for 2 hives ) they have all absconded or been killed by the hive IDK why this is its only been a problem since i tried to do a split last september ( spring/ summer ) even bought 2 new packages (2 new queens ) 1 package was ok and the other one was full of hive beetle and stank and very few bees actually survived and they killed the queen -What the hell am i doing wrong ? There is a great project done by flow hive with canadian beekeepers who keep bees in sheds and a small entrance hole - no need to keep doors open -

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Missy - I cannot venture a guess as to what your bees are facing and you would be at a greater advantage on that one if you brought in a local beekeeping expert? As for bees in sheds, there are many options there - I was just sharing what our member did with the open doors and since they all made it, he's pleased. There will always be other methods and practices which is one of the things that keep beekeeping interesting worldwide. Always nice to hear from you!

@Misssssysparkles 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn lol lol its the joy of bekeeping

@wolfdogg28 4 года назад

Will you do pure Russian Bees? I would be curious to see how they compare with the survivor lines.

@FrederickDunn 4 года назад

For now, I'm loaded up with Saskatraz and Weaver bees but the future may bring more. Thanks for asking.

@wolfdogg28 4 года назад

Frederick Dunn our of the two which are You favoring

@FrederickDunn 4 года назад

@@wolfdogg28 It's a toss up, Saskatraz bees are highly productive while the Weaver bees are extremely good at varroa removal and surviving. If I can mix the two they should show some excellent traits including a calm disposition.

@FrederickDunn 4 года назад

But for now, if someone were wanting to go into honey production, the Saskatraz bees are looking VERY promising!

@Beekeeping_Bro 5 лет назад

I'm new beekeeper should my goal for 2019 be to multiplay bee hive from 2 to 4 first year or go torch honey production ?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Amir, that is a highly personalized issue. Many backyard beekeepers only want a couple of hives, so multiplying them isn't a goal. I don't know what "torch" honey production is? It's my opinion that the first year with any colony of bees should be focused on establishing that colony and allowing them to build their resources. This is case by case and there is no blanket answer to this question. Many first time beekeepers have gotten excited about first-year honey and taken it off only to have the bees die out in the first winter. It's a judgement call and I'm sorry I can't really give an informed answer for you in your area.

@Beekeeping_Bro 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn Thank you for your prompt reply I really appreciate it . You are experienced in beekeeping and you are starting over from ground zero with 2 hive what is going to be your long term goal ?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

@@Beekeeping_Bro I'm not starting with 2 hives? I may be misunderstanding your question/statement?

@Beekeeping_Bro 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn I no you don't starting with 2 hive. But if for some reason you have to start up from scratch what is going to be your long term goal ?

@framcesmoore 5 лет назад

Can u tell me how the bee weaver queens do example of the question. Itatian lay egga all the time. Russian stop and the carnies stop laying when the flow stops and they do not start back up till the flow starts back up what does the bee weaver queens do Thanks

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Hi Frances, the Weaver Queens have been very good at anticipating weather conditions, in that they have backed off on laying when dearth periods hit and they seem to begin laying early in spring (February) so by this time, March 24th - new emerging bees are building up just ahead of the nectar flow. They do have a problem with not stopping their laying before winter hits! They have a bad tendency to go into late fall/early winter with too much brood which causes late season swarms and puts a feed storage strain on the colony as they attempt to keep brood alive when snow hits. If I lived 200 miles due south, they could be the perfect line! It's that fall behavior which, in my opinion, is their greatest behavioral flaw.

@framcesmoore 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn Thanks Mr Dunn I just ordered 5 get them in may They are shipped may 13, They seem not to have early queens some places have queens ready in april I hope they do good here in virginia.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

@@framcesmoore Excellent! Keep us posted on how they do!

@framcesmoore 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn I will thank you please keep the wonderful videos coming they are great.

@sojourner57 5 лет назад

Fred, another great learning experience... When you talk of survivor bees, I found this source: wildernessbees.com These guys have been researching bee genetics for many years as well, and it appears to me that they have a definite method using genetics from feral bees that have survived in the wild of the Olympic Peninsula. Let us all know what you think. Cheers! Tony

@stevebachman6661 5 лет назад

Are you going to be getting your Saskatraz from Mann Lake? They're the only supplier I can find who will ship to me.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Yes, that is the source! Are you ordering some?

@stevebachman6661 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn I am thinking about it. I was pretty well sold on the Caucasians, and that Apiary already has my money, so that will be my first colony, but I'm thinking I'd like to explore more disease resistance for my 2nd colony. I am in an Urban setting, so I'm trying to stick to strains with less swarming tendencies - I can't find info on the swarming tendency of the Saskatraz. I would order a queen from Bee Weaver, but it says right on the site that they swarm often. I'd love to live on property that could support this behavior, but alas, I am city-bound...UGH!

@stevebachman6661 5 лет назад

Great news, I found a local Apiary who will be bringing up Saskatraz bees from California in their own climate-controlled 'Bee Bus'! They don't have any Nucs, but will sell me a 3lb package. The apiary is only 30 minutes from my home!

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

@@stevebachman6661 That's great Steve, I'm really looking forward to observing that line and I hope will live up to the cold-weather hype :)

@MarekArawn 5 лет назад

Once again: LOVE your videos. On a sadder note, one of my 2 hive suddenly died. All was great (you could hear the buzzing inside), then suddenly, last Friday, I discovered that they were all dead. I'm not certain that the other one has made it: they were alive and kicking, but after yesterday's snow/rain/dragon crap storm, I can't detect any activity. This week's video was just what I needed to keep at it. Info regarding the Sasktraz bees can be found at www.saskatraz.com/index.htm. :)

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I can't wait to get my hives loaded up with some of these :) Thanks Marek!

@MarekArawn 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn Same here! I need to find out what the interprovincial regulations are as these come from Saskatchewan. (There are more barriers between Canadian Provinces than between Canadian Provinces and US States!)

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

@@MarekArawn They actually contracted Queen Breeders in the United States, so they aren't actually coming in from Canada. That's just where the genetics were arrived at. They are being bred here.

@MarekArawn 5 лет назад

@@FrederickDunn I hadn't understood that. Thanks for the update. I've recontacted Albert (in Sask) to find out if they still breed some in Canada. Otherwise, getting a nuc would be very complicated up here.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

@@MarekArawn Maybe just establish a colony first, then simply bring in a mated queen? That's what I do with the Weaver Queens... they send them overnight mail :)

@thinless4439 5 лет назад

Do you have any hives that have survived for many years?

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

Yes, otherwise, I'd be replacing bees every year. BUT, I allow them to swarm, so that's not the same as saying the same Queen has prevailed for many years. I haven't kept the same Queen in a colony for more than 3 years. I prefer to replace them at two years of age.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I will give a full response to this question in FAQ 18 coming up this Friday.

@garydungelman6530 3 года назад

The genetically modified Africanized bees. Or supposed to be very active collecting honey true or false

@FrederickDunn 3 года назад

They actually produce less honey as they tend to swarm more often and hive/colony numbers are smaller. Bee to Bee, they are no more or less productive than Saskatraz, Italians, etc... They do tend to have lower mite counts, which can also be attributed to their frequent swarming.

@garydungelman6530 3 года назад

@@FrederickDunn thank you mr. Done

@willanderson1983 5 лет назад

Let's get to the questions before 10mins

@thehiveandthehoneybee9547 5 лет назад

Speak for yourself Anderson! That was my favorite part! If you are an impatient jerk, you'll be a terrible beekeeper!!! Great Job Mr Dunn! I liked the beginning words of encouragement.

@FrederickDunn 5 лет назад

I can't please everyone! I do like to open by sharing what the general conditions are and some details that are general in nature. It's rare that my videos get right into bullet points without some "fluff". Hopefully, you may still have gotten something beneficial out of the presentation.

@phillipthomas253 5 лет назад

You can always just push ahead ten minutes into the video if you don't like the general overview - I find it very relatable since we are in the Northeast and most of what Fred says applies to us...