1- What about "Hot" bees from Texas, do I worry about those? 1:27 2- Is there an upper vent for Flow-Hives? What about feeding? 5:30 3- Where do you open feed your bees, what do you use? 9:40 4- Why to beekeepers clip the wings on the Queen? 15:05 5- Is powdered sugar a good method for controlling varroa mites? 17:45 6- Removing the Oxalic Vaporizer iron right after treatment may save some bees from being burned. 22:30 7- What is a Fume Board and how do you use it? 24:05
I see you mentioned the powdered sugar question. Good to know. I have yet another question. I see you have a coffee mug from the McMurry hatchery. It's a nice mug, but I had the thought of maybe with your photography skills, take nice photos of your own bees out on some flowers this coming spring and have the pictures produced on some mugs and maybe some other small handy household items, and maybe even a calendar. Perhaps you can sell them and make a few more bucks for your bees or camera equipment. What say you?
Thank you for these videos, they are very informative. I have a clipped queen from Beeweaver as well; I started beekeeping by buying a package of bees from them in Spring 2018. In Spring 2019 the hive swarmed and I was able to locate the queen on the grass. I scooped up most of the swarm and placed it with the queen in a new box across the yard. I wouldn't recommend this method for splitting a hive, but it did work. Both hives thriving now.
I just finish posting a question/request on FAQ #3, refresh the RU-vid page, and apparently I've missed the bus! Here this is! Aaargh! I guess I'll just have to watch through this and wait for an answer next time (or in the comments)...Anyways, please keep these coming, they're a very nice resource that I can throw at people.
Thank you Frederick - I continue to learn things every time I visit your site! First I heard of fume boards, as just one thing that impressed me. Thank you!
@@FrederickDunn Hello there! Had a rough spell, doing better. I need to come and run through your back videos and get caught up! Currently on lockdown, it is Day 13 of 14 so Monday I am mobile again. Happy 2021 to you and yours also Frederick. Keep those girls happy!
Another nice round of explanations.What type of filtered water you use for making the syrup?I use non filtered water to make the syrup and i also drink non filtered water( non filtered tap water or well water) because i believe that the filter ,depending on what type it is,can strip the water of minerals,calcium and magnesium.I have a RO DI filter that makes water with TDS =0 while the tap water here has a TDS=500-600.Bottled water is like 100-150 TDS( total dissolved solids).The minerals like calcium and magnesium should help the bees to build theyr exoskeleton.
Fred outstanding video as always. I just got 9 of those bee smart feeders in for my apiary last week. It may sound like a lot but I get double so I can do easy swaps instead of having to get the feeder, go fill it, then go back out. I like to bring out new, and take in old. I also bought three flow hives last year and used the discount code to get Fred his credit. Also I am going down to Texas in April to pick up some Nucs from Beeweaver apiaries. I also started my chicken coop last year because of Fred. Moral of the story, Fred is important to bee keepers as bees are important for pollination. This picture reminds me of Fred. Because who ever this picture is talking about was probably related to Fred. lol. imgur.com/gallery/wEwPVOy
What?! You just became my favorite viewer Carlos! :) And I agree about the drinkers/feeders... I have a shelf full of them so I can hot-swap without visiting the hives twice - show up with a fresh full feeder and pull the old one all in one visit, you are definitely on the "Fred-track", Thank you also for using that discount code, I'm saving up for another flowhive2 for some experiments I have in mind. I envy you going down to the Weaver Apiary to pick up your nucs! Please give them all my kind regards! I would really enjoy making a location RU-vid video with them some day. Always great to see your comments!
@@FrederickDunn I give you comments and likes because your videos are just a bee keepers dream to watch. Plus you are very talented with your videography and pictures. Then all your reviews and knowledge. Super talented and deserve tons of more subscribers and I am going to be here when you open your play button for 100k. I stumbled onto this the other day. They are expensive but super neat. beecosystem.buzz/ But also in the budget this year is a FLIR camera and a weather station. I will tell the Beeweavers Fred sent me, because I did not know about these bees until you showed me. Anyway I love your reviews and videos Fred, keep up the great work. I know lots feel this way, but I am very vocal when I like something. You definitely do not hear it enough for the quality of work you do.
Have you ever tried using a propane fogger to do your OA treatment? I just started using it and it seems to work great. Only takes about 30 seconds per hive.
No, I haven't and have no plan to, it's more equipment than I personally care to deal with and these days I use the Oxavap 110 - fast, clean, effective. I actually don't know of anyone locally who uses the fogger and it's not a delivery method currently endorsed by better beekeeping Best Practices - but if it's working for you, I'd stay with it.
Regarding Oxalic Vaporizer - in the last FAQ video you recommended doing this on a brand new package at install while holding out the Queen. After dumping in all the Package - won't they be piled at the bottom board and get fried by the vaporizer? How do I clear them up into the frames so I'm not having a honeybee barbeque?
The medium boxes are generally supers for honey production and they are heavy when full. The deeps are generally reserved for brood, though I also use them for honey. Physical strength is the primary issue, lifting medium boxes lightens the lifting load on the beekeeper. I'm adding this to my next FAQ.... thanks!
Ha Mr Dunn again the videos are great. Question on the open feeder Have bees in several places Have u every put the open feeder in a hive with just water will that work. I have found that, even though I keep water for them at these places, some times it runs dry they go else where in a kids pool to be straight with u I can not go every day to check the water. The animals there drink the water. Hope u understand my question. Thanks again for the wonderful video u are great ! more question if I may do u use some type of brood builder in your sugar syrup. Thanks
I would not put drinkers with water inside the hive. My thinking on that is regarding humidity in the hive which the bees work hard to regulate. Adding surface water there would cause them some climate control challenges as they attempt to dehydrate the honey/nectar. I am doing Brood-Builder observations this coming spring if the weather cooperates. I have four recipes that are being commercially sold, so we'll see what the bees tell us! Thanks for watching and I always appreciate your comments!
Hey fred Do you have smal hive beetle in youre area? I live in holland and SHB has been spotten in southern europe. So it wil Wil be a matter of time before it arrives in my area. I like to know what to expect. Great video.
I think the cold is helping to keep them in check here, though they can certainly show up. I also have free ranging chickens that help as they pick around the beehives. SHB has to make it to the soil and back to the hive. Of course, they fly to the hive, but crawl to the soil, so that's when we want to get them! I'm adding this to my next FAQ Thanks! :)
Personally, If I'm going to vaporize anything for mites, it's Oxalic Acid. Since there is so much data on it and it's approved in my State, that's good enough in my opinion.
I'm really interested in having my Queen's wings clipped now. I contacted the seller of the Nuc to ask if he will do this for me. If he doesn't, is there a right way to do it? Is it something a complete new-bee like myself should even attempt? I trim my chickens' wings who are light enough to fly over the vegetable garden fence, LOL. I imagine it would be very easy to damage the queen while clipping her wings?
HI Steve, please try to get an experienced beekeeper to assist you with this, you can very easily damage your queen. I consider wing clipping to be an advanced procedure - here is a pretty good video demonstration for you ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-igGLBXJDW4Y.html
Hi Frederick, I have a question about introducing a new queen to a hive, if you get a queen that is lets say it is a BeeWeaver and the hive is not, in time would you have a BeeWeaver colony since the queen and its eggs would all be BeeWeaver type?
Yes, once you introduce that mated BeeWeaver Queen you'll eventually have an entire colony of weaver bees. In roughly six weeks from her introduction, all of the bees in that hive would be hers.
Many years ago I was evaluating the pros and cons of various bee-lines and working with survivor-treatment free bees seemed like the way to go. I did also have Italians for a short period and they loaded up on honey at an extreme rate, but proved to be dependent on treatments for survival. As of last year, I am keeping BeeWeaver bees exclusively to create a pocket in my area that will have one type of honey bee. I won't even be bringing in swarms and will freshen the apiary with new queens from the Weaver family.
Hi Linus, that's a question that will be largely regional. Depends on what kind of winters you have and the immediate environment the bees are being kept in. I like to provide entry board venting with some slight venting through the top while attempting to control drafts. The outer cover, inner cover, and this year I did not have any upper entrances which I have used in the past. Humidity control is something many are most worried about.
@@FrederickDunn I am in Minnesota and and have a 1" hole on top and a 4" opening on the bottom and have a bad time with moisture so was wondering if it would be better to leave the hole bottom entry open thank you for your reply.
It's great if you can do comparisons with open vents and reduced vents to see what the humidity levels are inside. There are also humidity sensors if you want to take the tech route.
@@FrederickDunnThe bees he had been using were Apis mellifera iberiensis which are rather feisty, He is now using Buckfast. Portugal is quite warm in December. This is one of the links beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38586&highlight=chances
