Hi Joe I find it very therapeutic watching you with a cup of tea even though I have apiary work to do 😁 In this video you mention your tube viewing numbers. You will have many, many 👍more than you think watching you via TV because if I watch you on TV on you tube through our play station box I cannot press a like or comment there and we are not added to your viewing numbers.
Hello Joe: I'm writing to you from Louisville, KY. Our weather generally isn't too much different from weather in your area. I had what I believe are two fairly strong hives & one weak hive. Anyway, I took advantage of the fairly mild weather we had today & opened up a couple of hives to check on them. Opening the weak hive first, I found it to be a dead out. About 1 1/2 - 2 cups of bees, all lifeless. There were maybe 100 or so scattered & dead on the bottom board. But the majority of them, including the queen were clustered up toward the top of the 2nd 8 frame box in between two frames. Many had their bodies, head first completely submerged in the comb with the others clustered on the frame covering them. Now there was several frames of honey contained within the hive. But I did not see much in the way of pollen stores. I have been giving them summer pollen patties & they had been consuming them. I started switching over to winter patties when we had a warm day about 2 weeks ago. I noted that this weaker hive did not have strong numbers, but they seemed to be moving around the hive on the upper frames fairly well. But with the recent colder weather we have been having here lately (40 degrees and below), I have not been in the hives. I have sugar boards on top of the frames of all 3 hives. It appears they all have been feeding on them as well. I also have cut & installed 2" insulation boards to surround the hives & hold them into place with 2-1" cargo straps per hive. I had been treating the hives with oxalic acid on a regular basis until the bees stopped flying. So I don't believe there to be a mite problem & I see very few hive beetles. Also, there did not appear to be any signs of any moisture problems or condensation buildup within the hive. The other two hives seem to be thriving from the limited view I can get of them.This is only my second year of beekeeping & I really enjoy it. Watching & learning from your videos has been a big help in guiding me through the sometimes challenging process. I value your opinion & the knowledge you display in your videos, they are priceless. Any thoughts or suggestions regarding this limited description I have provided here in this writing? Thanking you in advance for any advice you may be able to offer this somewhat befuddled beekeeper wanna be... Sincerely JGA.
Just a suggestion, instead of wax strip put lollypop sticks or a thin strip of wood or a barbecue skewer which I stick on with a hot glue gun and they all work just as well as a wax strip!!!!! You have a saw so you can make strips of wood the thickness of a lollypop stick.
I always look at winter as my downtime, but then I realize I'm just as busy in the winter building frames and boxes as I am in the summer taking care of the bees LOL. Thanks for sharing.
I missed you Joe, thank you for the tip on the frames, I will start doing them like that as I like it better then my way last year. I just did one x and that caused me many worries as I pulled frames out. Merry Christmas dear man, I hope your holiday is filled with joy and laughter.
Joe I can't ever imagine you being bored, you're always doing something. Thank you for the video. I hate to admit but I learned the hard way that fishing line saves your drawn out frames. Have yourself A Merry Christmas sir.
I found that 10 lbs test fishing line the bees chew it and when you open up the hive there cut fishing line every wheres.. I will use 20 test now.. it wire from an old electronics motor..
Thanks Joe for all the valuable insights and information. I'm in middle Georgia and somewhat new to beekeeping. You've saved me from making a number of mistakes and I've been had more success this year by listening to your advice. Thanks again, you're special to the beekeeping community. MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Hey joe thanks for all you vidios/ tips !! an merry Christmas to you ! I couldn't imagine the time doin 1000 frames that way , i just bought 1000 deep frames assembled with cell rite waxed foundations for 1.90 each , just sayin ,thats alot of work. Happy beekeeping 🐝
Merry Christmas 🎁 Joe And Thanks for the Video. I enjoy the live chats. Keep up the good work. I know you do a lot of work on your videos so other people can learn and you definitely deserve more Thanks and tribute than I can give. Take Care Bob A
Merry Christmas Joe. This video was very helpful and will save me a lot of money from buying those premade frames. This is the first time I have seen someone wire with 2 Xs like that. I'm going to have to try that. I bet you are building boxes too.
It's nice to get those frames together if you've got nothing better to do over winter. The fishing line I've seen before. I may try that this winter as a weekend project. I've always used full foundation but it's expensive. I'll buy foundation and cut it up into starter strips and see how it works for me. The other thing about starter strips is to place them between existing drawn frames, or so I've been told. Thoughts?
Joe, Thanks for the video. I like the idea of the double X configuration. I did couple dozen founationless frames lsst year but the bees built mostly drone comb. Wondering why? Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
You need to put them in the middle of the brood nest. Sometimes in the spring on a good flo they will make drone comb because they are wanting to swarm.
When did you change from the single fishing line cross to the double? You have an earlier video of just one cross of fishing line. I've been using that without a problem on my deeps. Using fishing line with my honey supers always results in a blow out. So I need to cut and strain.
Thanks Joe, I really enjoy your videos. Do you end up pulling the starter strip cleats later for new wax? If so, do you end up being able to reuse the cleat? What size staple for the cleat?
I have been buying my sugar at Wal-Mart here in WV, they charge $9 for 25lbs it was around $8 price went up for canning and baking season. I was thinking along the lines of pallets or something of the sorts.. Thank you
Question,i have a hive that is all med boxes,2 brood of medium frames,How would i change this over to deep like my other hives and when can i do this,thanks
I would take a deep box and put it between the two mediums with the queen and brood in the bottom box when they move up to the deep take the bottom box off.
Do you have a good paper pattern PDF file for frame parts, I don't have any bees yet I'm hoping I can save up for a package, but I need a pattern for the frame parts
