Honestly, this is the best beginner video I've seen so far on youtube, and I've watched hundreds! Very concise, relaxed and organized information. Very relatable and exactly what new beekeepers (and some old!) need to know. Practical and easy to follow. You guys rock!
This is such a fascinating video being able to see everying at such close up detail, being able to observe the bees behaviour and interactions with their fellow hive buddies. Very valuable source for learning about keeping bees, thank you for taking the time to film this
Glad you enjoyed the video! Let us know if there's a topic you want us to cover in a new video! Also keep in mind our information is made more for our region. Things may differ in your area than in ours!
Wow, thank you for all the great ino. Today I had a bee invasion to my backyard, and since I love bees, I wanted to welcome the the majesty the queen. But I have not a clue about what to do next. The queen found a place in a large tree I have in the backyard, and everybody seem to fit in there. So I'm happy, but I still don't know what to do, but this video was so good to watch.
Honestly if you leave those bees there. They will be fine. Next year I would be prepared with swarm traps or empty hive boxes. Maybe even with swarm commander if you have the money. What will happen is next year those bees in the tree will swarm. If you're lucky. They will swarm to the empty boxes or swarm traps you have waiting. Your best bet in the mean time is to learn as much as you can. Not all beekeeping information is directly related to your geographic region so be aware of that as you're taking in information. Good luck! Once you get started it's hard to stop beekeeping!
Great Video!! I have learned more from watching your video than anyone I have spoken to and as a brand new bee keeper I am asking a lot of questions thank you!
This is great, thanks. I have to do a bit of a crash course as my sweetie is way ahead of me on the learning curve and we have three hives prepped to start this spring. New-bees (dumb puns abound, it seems). New subscriber, everything to learn.
Excellent! We have a Playlist I put together at the end of last year for beginners. I tried to put it in order of tasks to know from the beginning of the season to the end. So you have an idea of what the next step is!
Thank you! Did you keep bees this year? Was there anything from our video that was a lifesaver or something that you wish we covered that you learned elsewhere?
I used the dried wood mushroom for smoking (chaga mushroom). To reinfoce frames, I installed thin wires crossing on the middle. It will support honeycomb and middle.
We have an enormous problem with wasps. I have been stung hundreds of times by bees without problem and when we bought this farm I was stung three times by these wasps and since then have been deathly allergic and always have to carry epi-pens in my pocket. My Dr. doesn’t know if this means I’m allergic to bee sting now….hopefully not as I have just dove into bees and hope to have 40 hives within the next few years. I am a shepherd and as I get older my sheep get bigger and faster and less cooperative…..so I started bees to take the place of the sheep income. I’m a rank newbie and am very grateful for your instruction and experience. Could you talk a little about wind? About twice per year we have a couple days of high winds up to 105mph that lasts aa few hours to a couple days. I plan to put my hives in a gully near an Aspen grove for cover but there is a barn nearby (1 of 4) that is unused in the Winter so if needed I can move the hives indoors for the two days.
I've saw the critics on your video skills already so i won't say anything lol. I'm getting ready to get into beekeeping and i really appreciate all the information you shared ! Thanks
Thanks! We've made quite a few videos since then. We've learned some lessons but we're always open to any feedback! Let us know if there's anything particular you'd like to see
The very last words you said in this video were "make sure you keep your chickens close"....but no explanation. I'm about to get our first hives (complete newbies) and I planned on putting them far from the chickens so the chickens don't eat the bees. Is there a reason you say to do differently? Thanks! GREAT video!
The chickens don't eat the bees! They actually work really well to eat the pest that pupate in the ground around the hive. Pests like small hive beetle larvae pupate in the ground around the hive. The chickens will eat those. Wax moths our chickens will eat and if we find wax moths larvae they will eat those too. Those larvae are good for fishing too. Our chickens are set up about 10 feet from our hives. There is a video on youtube where bees killed chickens. We don't have that issue since our state doesn't have africanized bees. If yours region does I'd use caution with how close is too close. Thanks for the question!
I learned more from your video than previously expected. You surely take great notes, and I loved the tool references. Where did you purchase the Broodminder from? I'm a wanna-bee beekeeper :) and new subscriber.
We got our broodminders from a sales rep but this is their website broodminder.com/ Thank you for the kind words! Keep I'm touch and let us know how your beekeeping starts!
@@RascalApiary All joking aside, very informative. I added this to my "bees and hunny" library. Also subbed your channel. Planning to start a small hobby project with videos. A subscription back may prove entertaining. I like to think I'm a hack comedian when I'm not crying in my breakfast cereal.
@@RascalApiary low budget, eco-friendly harvesting and processing techniques. I'm currently a carpenter and would like to build affordable solar wax melters of different dimensions for folks new to this but get "sticker shock" when they see the price tag. Local beekeepers here in Michigan have started selling Nucs for $200. Ugh. Other commercial keepers call authorities on the "little guy". Beekeeping is scary enough without the fear of being fined or sued. Just sayin. Honeybees should be being promoted, not shut down to keep the prices high.
We got pretty lucky and ended up with some very friendly bugs so far. My oldest son and I got in there yesterday, removed some supercedure cells, framed up a big chunk of burr comb they made next to their feeder, checked on the queen and the brood/eggs. Lots of nice drawn-out comb, good solid laying pattern, lots of pollen and eggs in various stages. It's a 2-month old package so the population is still pretty low - we don't wear gloves or use a smoker yet; just a mosquito net as a precaution to face stings. I've had 2 stings in 2 months and both were my own fault; partially pinched a worker each time working too fast. I kinda wish they would sting more often, it seemed to really reduce my arthritis in the hand they nailed. Haha
Nice! We're glad the experience has been pretty positive! We haven't had arthritis yet, however, there are studies that show stings helping. (Venom therapy)
Great video guys!!! My favorite part is when the queen froze!! She hates light!! Back of the frame asap.... flip the frame..repeat ✅😁👍👍Just subbed ill be checking you out tomorrow. Late here.
@@RascalApiary im an avid apiary lover. Ive loved honey bees for 40 years now and as a youngster i learned to pet bees and just did it again on wednesday, good times. Beeeee nice
That’s awesome! I love holding a drone and just letting him crawl around on my hands and arms. No worries about getting stung and we can have a closer look.
@@RascalApiary cool i have never seen a real male bee just those cute girls buzzing around. I need to find a local apiary and go see the bees in person
@@Planespotterdude I highly encourage it! It's wonderful to see in person. Especially if you can just grab a bench and sit and watch them come and go from the hive. It's mesmerizing!
Abt marking the Queen with paint, could you plz say what kind of paint u used? Doesn't the smell of paint interfere with queen pheromones or cause any toxication or sth? Thank u for the amazing video btw.
They are non-toxic paint pens. Most beekeeping suppliers sell them. You wait until the paint dries before releasing the queen back into the hive. By that point, what smell there was is reduced even more. We never noticed a problem with it interfering with any pheromones or anything else in our hives.
We use multiple treatments in a yearly rotation. If the bees need it we can use mite away quick strips (formic) or hop guard II. We vary the treatments yearly so the varroa do not adapt and the treatments remain effective. Thanks for the question!
You two are amazing! I went from knowing nothing a week ago to watching videos and working through a university extension course to have some idea of what is going on. Your continuous commentary about what you are doing and why has been extremely helpful. Thank you!
Thank you so much! That means the world to us. We really try to put out information that we would have liked to have seen when we were learning. Please let us know if there’s anything in particular that you’d like to see.
This is true, All I can find in big manufacture stores is 1/4", if you have a local beekeeping seller short lengths of #8 or so can be had cheaply, otherwise, 100' lengths on online sellers are the next cheapest option, unfortunately. I would suggest talking to local beekeeping clubs and maybe find a bunch of people that can share a big roll :)
The smallest a bee can squeeze through is #5. That's about 2/10 an inch, and 5 wires per inch. That's really too big for SHB, not that it matters. #8 is the smallest before the bees will just propolize it. SHB can squeeze through it, going diagonally. The bees wont fit through it, which is what you would want.
To be honest. This year I just used some left over beer to fill a wasp trap and put processed hot dogs in it. The bees hate the smell of rotten meat, but the wasps love it.
Correct, there are small holes in the metal lid that forms a vacuum in the jar, the only cavate is if the temperature changes drastically between day and night it may leak a little.
Careful lighting the smoker while wearing your veil. It does not take much heat at all to melt the mesh. Don't ask me how I know. I always take it off or hold the smoker at arms length. Never bend over with the smoker below your face.
@@RascalApiary Weird. I put in too much new Plastic foundation, they did not want to pull it and I had way to many swarms. Including one in..late August. Now I find despite feeding this fall that some of my hives are a little light. The top blew off of one and it died from rain and cold. But I am hanging in there. Oh and I have developed a strong reaction to getting stung.
Just found your channel and I love how you explain everything. Good job! I'm back to beekeeping after a few years off and this is a great refresher course.
Allah (God) says in the Noble Quran about bees theses Quranic verses: ( And your Lord inspired the bees, saying: "Take you habitations in the mountains and in the trees and in what they erect, Then, eat of all fruits, and follow the ways of your Lord made easy (for you)." There comes forth from their bellies, a drink of varying colour wherein is healing for men. Verily, in this is indeed a sign for people who think)
Boy I hate to be the stick in the mud but I'm committed now. It's not that you don't have knowledge of the craft, there was a # of items I had not seen before regarding equipment. The brood cells were especially good as far as explanation. I guess my only issue is it being a beginner's training video that moves almost as fast as gunnery Sgt Hartman double timing the recruits. It would require more filming and time but if you could break it down into more parts and slow the discussion then it would be better understood. I realize those interested could just watch this video more or get a book on beekeeping so that is always another option. I don't keep bees anymore due to health problems so I really don't have a right to be critical, correct? lol, anyway best of luck with your endeavors.
Thanks for the critique. This video is meant to be an overview as we have other videos that go more in depth with specific topics. Glad to hear that the explanations were well done. Thank you!
I've lost chunks of comb, & my solution was a hair pincher I had with some of the teeth broken out, over the top of the frame. My girls obligingly added some wax around it as their own safety measure. It worked great.
nice presentation . . . i like the fact that your very well planning things out . . .Like myself I spend the extra time with my general hygenic value of keepin my workspace clean and like myself I buy lots of beekeeping supplys to make my life easy . . great job . * * * * * stars.. I clicked like..clicked subscribed . .
Thanks. We're planning on filming a lot more in the coming weeks and I've been upgrading our filming equipment and editing software. What a big mistake that was but it will be corrected. We're glad you enjoyed!
might be a stupid question but do bears come around your hives? im planning to retire to the country and was thinking of bee keeping... i know i have a lot to learn. Ive been curious about bears and how to keep the hive safe.
Not around ours. However, I heard the key is to set up an electronic fence and place bacon on the fence. Bear will sniff it and shock it. Then they won't go through the fence. If you set up a fence after the bears know of the hives. They will continue to walk right through the fence. Bacon or no bacon so it has to be done prior to hives being placed
@@RascalApiary thank you so much for answering. That makes sense, I know about electric fencing for live stock, and were planning to use it so now I know I need an extra one 😊 thanks again
Noticed you have the flow /comb model. What's your thoughts. I had just gotten the 7 frame this year, wondering if it's worth just buying the frames for when I split the hive. How do you like it so far?
We like it. The hybrid helps draw the bees up into the super since they prefer the natural wax, but we’ve had success with both the hybrid and the full flow hive supers.
How do you like your Hoggcomb super set up? I’ve been studying it and watching it for awhile now. So was wondering how you liked it and if it performed well
It's great! First year they didn't touch it. Kind of like our flow hive. However, second year we got the hogg half comb and the flow filled. I think it has to do with it smelling like bees the second year. Bees don't like that "new car smell" A lot of folks say to add a coat of wax. We've only do that for our mason jar experiment, it's about the same result.
This is the most informative new video I’ve stumbled across. Thank you for taking the time and explaining everything so thoroughly. You’ve got a new subscriber!
Thank you so much! We're continuing to make more videos as we can that are a little more focused in certain aspects. If there's something you'd like more information on we can answer it in the comments or we'll make a whole video on the topic! Thank you for subscribing!
The purpose of the queen excluder is to keep the queen from going into the honey supers. At that point the queen is in your brood boxes laying eggs and being fed well. In swarming the worker bees won't feed the queen very much and will chase her around the hive. This is so she slims down and can fly more efficiently. When they slim down they'll be able to walk right through a queen excluder. Some folks will clip the wing on the queen to prevent er from flying even if the hive decides it's time to swarm. Others will move the queen to a different hive to simulate swarming. But that's a different topic.
Right now our thoughts on horizontal hives is I need to build one! 😁💪 We think it's a great idea for folks that don't want to lift heavy boxes and don't want to deal with the mess of top bar hives. We support the idea now. I want to get some hands on and give some experienced feed back!
This video was so helpful. I'm going to order several of your suggestions. Thank you. Only comment, I've never care for the vertical format in video. Such a limiting window to view. But love all you did.
Great video! Thank you for sharing it. I was distracted by the beautiful art I saw on your platforms and boxes. Who’s the artist? You mentioned making your own boxes, they look good! I was thinking flow hive for a second. I will watch more.
A light smoking of the bees just makes the bees communicate that there's a possibility of fire nearby. When the guard bees communicate that message. The bees in the hive start eating the honey just in case they need to abandon the hive they take the honey. So what you encounter is some of the bees with their heads in cells. A light smoking does not cause a frenzy. It just makes it easier on you as a beekeeper. As you inspect the communication the bees are doing subside and they stay. If you continue smoking a lot during the inspection. You run the chance of them leaving. This does not apply to aggressive bees. You need to smoke or pick a different day to inspect.
A hot smoker next to me sounds great especially with my hot bee suit…add the great experience of smoke constantly in my face for a more unpleasant experience sounds not so desirable.
Lol totally understandable. We recommend using it sparingly. Learn how the bees are moving and responding to your actions and use it when you see them getting agitated. You’ll see in other videos, I wear a vented jacket and I’ll have no shirt on under it. Makes the heat better to handle
Ehh I really like using magnets but all the mentions I made plus some day I’d possibly moving at a fast pace in mud and end up jaring my smoker..probably trip over it breaking something in addition to my smoker…and end up covered in mud….this hasn’t happened yet so I’ll just avoid the magnets and hope it never will. I like my idea of apimaye heated syrup feeders for dessert winter conditions more…hopefully I never burn down a hive. I’ll probably 🐝 featuring this idea on my RU-vid …I think it will 🐝 taking me and also 🐝 taking my Venus 🐝’s to happier winters & years.
Love the vibe of your vide. New subscribe Q: how soon should we start mite treatment program or hive beetle traps?. What if we are not seeing any signs of either as of yet. Should we start regardless. Is there a truly organic, chemical free option on those?
Mite treatments should start after your flow but before mid summer. I'd also suggest mite checks before starting a treatment just because of the calendar date. You mite count should be near or over the national threshold prior to treating. We check for mites via sugar shake ever other inspection. Our go to treatment is MAQS but there are so many to choose from. I'd like to try hop guard at some point.
I installed my VERY first NUC this morning! I am SO excited! My husband set up a wyze camera at front of hive, so I can check on them anytime I want. I am worried I have them in too much shade. They have morning sun....but by 11am they have filtered tree shade. I think it will be fine for our desert summers..but in the fall I might cut the tree back severely or relocate them. (I dont mind cutting the tree back)
Yay! Welcome to beekeeping! Get ready for the fun. If you are concerned about the placement of your bees, I would talk to some of your local beekeepers. So much of beekeeping is location driven. Finding other beekeepers in your area is going to be a huge help going forward.
@@RascalApiary I had attended the VERY last one of 2019, and was so excited for the first 2020 meeting & this virus put a stop to the meetings. :( They have a forum, but I tend not to pull out my laptop much. I will get on the forum.
I can understand that. So much has changed during this outbreak. You might get in touch with your club as I know some are offering meetings via Facebook, Zoom, etc. Good luck!
@@RascalApiary I named my sweet queen Ms Jackson after this song. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MYxAiK6VnXw.html (I am so scared I will mess up) Lol! Only other bee lovers will appreciate it.
These videos cover a lot of the same topics but in more detail. Full screen so you don't have to squint Beginner Beekeepers: ru-vid.com/group/PL3My6t9EjBwUTW2fmsGr25UG8S7gIzgzv
Thanks, my first year starting in a few weeks. The chicken comment at the end..... serious? If yes do you keep them close to help keep the pest bugs down or something?
I run meat chickens in a chicken tractor inside of a electric fence net. If I build the same elevated stands like you use.... when I let the chickens free range around inside the fence if I set my hive up inside the fence too will they bother the chickens walking all around under and around the hives?
Depends on your situation. There are urban beekeepers that can keep bees with minimal space. Some things I look for with beginners is. Keeping the hives entrance faced away from high traffic areas kids, friends, and pets. Can you mow around the area.(if needed) City/county ordinance? Farm animals? Or open to wildlife such as deer and bear. If you can answer those and have a nice sunny place. Then all you need is about a 4x4 square foot area for you and the hive. And a couple of neighbors to let the clover grow.
Hi Guys! Thanks for a nice video. I was wondering how did You get such a good magnification on your video? Do You use some special or additional equipment for filming for example gimbal, macro lenses, other?
Nice...in Georgia...high humidity...it took me 15 mins or more to get my smoker lit yesterday and I'm an old stoner...twice I had to search where I had put the hive tool down. On a positive note..best hives two supers full (second uncapped but every frame full) on May 10th....adding another in a few days after this rain moves out. woot woot.
why do all bee videos put text in the videos?? like....please just say that comment in your videos. I listen to the videos while i work and can't always be reading and watching every video
We use paperbark from our trees so just use a fire starter for gas. We are new bee keepers. We have them registered with a HIN number which monitors any diseases. We currently have a flow hive. Looks like we will need to expanded to 2nd hive. We use no chemicals for beetles as it is believed to effect the honey. We have queen markers . So watching you guys were doing really good.
@@RascalApiary gave it a thumbs up...you have Lots of good info...had a problem with my first hive having been given two queens. One in the queen holder and a huge one with the rest of the bees...your vid really helped with the normal beginner stuff...had I watched the bee removal guy I could had dealt with this challenge better...when they were supposed to have eaten the candy and released the the queen they started building lots of comb where the frames were removed...thats when I discovered the other queen...not before I released the caged queen...either way they are doing good...new babies, honey, nectar and pollen lookin' good....been putting colloidal silver with feed for virus/bacteria protection and feed preservative...
Thank you for the thumbs up! We found that same problem in another beekeepers hive. He wasn't able to see eggs so he thought he needed a new queen. We witnessed the new queen getting balled and were able to save her. We then found the other queen laying like crazy. Luckily his new queen didn't go to waste or die. We had a home for her. Sounds like you're going through the gambit of issues but we fully support that never give up attitude!
Awesome idea. I don't know if we would do that just because we don't know what chemicals were soaked up throughout the years on our jeans. Did you keep bees this year?
@@RascalApiary I find with neew ppl i would cover smoking them with a smoker most flood the box with smoke, another is when to add a super most are too early from what i see
We rarely use the smoker unless there's a dearth. When we do use them it's to mask sting areas and to move them off the lip so we don't smoosh the bees. For the NC certification you have to have your smoker going the entire inspection. You don't have to use it on the bees but it has to be smoking. So we show how to load that puppy up and to give it a puff every now and again. But we don't teach to use it often on the bees. Teaching new folks to beekeep with out the big bulky gloves is our main task 😂
Today I noticed a black honeybee in my garden, so I caught it in a jar to look at it closer and make sure it was a honrybee, and was just wondering if you could say if this is common here where I live in San Angelo, Texas.
We can't speak directly towards your state. However, there's a good chance you caught a carniolan honey bee. They are one of the main honey bee stocks sold in North America. Here's a resource on different honey bee stocks/breeds: content.ces.ncsu.edu/the-different-types-of-honey-bees
Going foundationless waste too much valuable time and resources . Case proven by the comb breakage . Use wired foundation with support pins on each end of every frame . I never use wax coated plastic foundation . Pure beeswax foundation that fills the whole frame . It makes it easier to inspect frames that are perfectly drawn from top to bottom . when comb is connected to the frame on a four sides then it requires less time for the beekeeper to inspect and correct any issues seen . bees will draw out all full sheets of foundation uniformly and provides the needed space for queen to lay providing a stronger colony in less time . It would be aggravating to have good comb to break during inspection that could destroy valuable brood ..Brood = bees=money !
I just installed two NUCS yesterday. Do I need to provide food for them? Since it is a great time of year with plenty of natural food in their habitat, do we still need to install feeders? If so, what feeder do you recommend? Thanks!
Honestly, no during spring when the flow is on there is no need to feed. Once the dearth hits. We would feed to make sure they are going to make it through the dearth and into fall which is another flow season. We recommend not taking honey the first year so you don't have to go through the sadness of a hive starving over winter.
I've heard some keepers will drill about a 1/2" hole in the side of the super at the handle, have you tried this or suggest at all? Of course this a method to make a short trip for the worker bees into the super? Thanks.
Nope, we do shims with entrances under each super. For our region it's easier to have the shims with entrances that we can take off or put on for the situation. Like if they need more ventilation or a nectar flow is on we will add the entrance. If we notice pests making their way in we can remove the entrance and add some sort of pest management tool. To recommend what to do really depends on your region and local knowledge. If you live in NE NC I would recommend the shims over a hole in the side of the super. The way the wind typically blows here and we are in the path of most hurricanes. Water intrusion and over ventilation would be a concern for us. I hope that answers your question. Honestly, your local beekeeping club or Apiary inspector is probably a better source for your question but that's my two cents.
