Been running behind ever since I started this beekeeping journey. Lol. You don’t know what you don’t know. Been picking Greg’s brain as well. Good friend to have. Lots of knowledge from that one. Lol. Great video.
Thanks again for the videos. It's appreciated that you take time to share your bee keeping hobby after your work even when you are under the weather. Stay healthy and wish you a great 2023 bee season!
The splits look like they should do well once the privet comes. Keep us posted. I am doing splits soon about the same size. We should have enough flow in two weeks if the weather stays warm. Your grafting went well. Thanks for the video. Take care Mike.
Thanks Garry. If we don’t get privet in any kind of quantity, we could be in trouble. Our Tallow is burned and the freeze has knock our moderate flow out. Might need to feed, but at this point, we’re not sure what we’re feeding towards with the tallow not growing anymore. Wait and see I suppose.
Mike you always hear people feeding cellbuilders or starter/finisher..but really feed patties to your donor and they'll have copious amounts of jelly and make grafting much easier as far as being easy on delicate larvae .Course pollen flow wouldn't need to but I started doing this and it's really helpful.
That’s why I like the cloake, it’s all one operation and with a decent flow happening, they didn’t need anything for now. I put a frame next to the cell frame that was solid bee bread. The first grays I did were so loaded with Royal jelly that when I had a cell emerge in the honey house, there was still a quarter inch of the dried up jelly left😮😮. I guess boosting the donor makes bees that are plentiful with what they need to pour the Royal jelly to them. Appreciate you watching John!! Thanks for the input.
Your Tulip Poplar should be blooming soon if it hasn’t yet . Our Blackberry, Tulip poplar , Private , black cherry , wild rose vines blooms almost the same time . Our sourwood blooms later in May . Prince George, Virginia.
We don’t have any tulip poplar down this way. All we have for trees on my area are the red maples which are early January and then we get the wild cherry, blueberry, blackberries, pears, plums, and citrus. All of which, except for blackberry, are tiny spurts of nectar that simply helps the colonies build somewhat in February/March. After that we get privet in April and tallow in May and that is it. Tallow got froze a couple weeks back in a late freeze that had us at 27F and 31F. So we’re not sure if we even will get that flow, so we have to wait and see.
Great to see you queen rearing there. I'm getting my first cells started here in Ohio. Boy do I hate dealing with robbing too. I've noticed sometimes they'll rob in the afternoon but not in the morning. When there's a trickle of a nectar flow it seems to run out by the afternoon
Nice to see, maybe you can let some worker bees in for a while and then lock them in and get free workers for the new little hive, But then of course you have to move the whole hive to another apiary further away so they don't find home directly. Personally, I can't wait until we can start the year here at home in Sweden.
Yes you would want to move them if you lock in some workers. What I learned the first year I made NUCs like this is that if you leave too many workers and then in the same yard, those workers go back to the donor hive and they report the new NUC as a feed source and the rest of the colony goes to the NUC and robs them. So definitely have to move them in that case. Hope your season starts out great and finishes even better!!!
Hey Mike, I didn't see any issues with camera angles. Very good video. Good description of Cloake Board and how to use it. I totally understand how trying to multi task with limited time and darkness approaching. Thanks for sharing real life beekeeping.
Thanks Tom, glad it turned out okay. That cloake really helps me with being so busy with work and all. Helps me be more efficient. Thanks for your continued support!!
Thanks for sticking with me for this entire adventure!! You’ve seen the first couple years of attempting queens, and I’m pretty pleased with this result. I had some really good takes so far with them.
Funny thing. Regarding the frame of honey to add to the Nuc at 7:36.... At first I thought you were saying "I haven't thought it out yet" as if you were winging it or your first time to do this but then I suddenly realized you were saying "I haven't thawed it out yet". Thought you would get a kick out of that.
Ha!!! I thought it sounded that way too when I was editing!! 😂😂. I tried to edit it out or voice it over, but in the end I let it go figuring it wouldn’t make much of a difference… and then you catch it…LOL!!😂😂
You’re welcome and the cloake board is very easy. It’s a bit to setup with moving frames and getting everything situated, but once in place, it’s a breeze.
Mike, great video and 24 out of 30 is 80% and I think thats great for someone that doesn’t do it very often. I haven’t tried to graft because of my vision. I have a harder time now seeing eggs than I did before cataract surgery and I paid the big bucks for the special lenses. I need a flashlight and a magnifying glass just to see eggs. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to produce this video!
Thanks Don!! I was super pleased with the result. I really concentrated this time on keeping the warm and humid while grafting and the trip to and from the honey house. I hope over the years I can be consistent. If so, I can do two rounds a season and be set for splits and making NUCs to knock hives back.
I like it. It’s lightweight and comfortable compared to my old vented jacket. I think I like the round veil on y other non vented a bit better, but I’m getting used to this one more and more each day. It’s definitely a quality suit.
I smear a small drop of honey on the end of the cage and then a drop of water as well. They usually hit the honey as soon as they are emerged and put in the cage, then they seem to be done with it and just hang out at the end of the cage.
Can hardly wait till I get bee biology down as good as what comes second nature to you! Wish I would have continued what I started in '99 with bees but, I made a family choice that ended up being a waste of time in the long run. Great video, I'll have to make sure and watch it thru at least a couple of times. I just love the hands on feel of your videos, thanks for sharing and doing the work it takes to video it!
Well than you Tommy for that kind comment and for sharing your comment. I am still learning a lot and I do have to sit and think things through maybe more than the video portrays. It’s always something different with these crazy cool creatures!!
I’m just toying with new intros to grab attention some and switch things up a bit. I got my pro NUCs from HillCo. You just have to request multiple colors.
For some reason this year I am having a lot of trouble finding my queens . Mike on those pro nucs I have never used them . Do you have as much trouble with the bees over heating in the pot nucs like the wood nucs do ???. Thanks
I have times like that where I can’t find a queen to save my neck. But other times I see a queen every time I’m in😁😁. I think both the pro NUCs and the ez NUCs can be about the same if left in direct sun. I think the pro NUCs are better vented though when in the shade or at least out of direct sun as they have wide open vents on each end and the top is vented. Both items are made for shipping NUCs so for housing them, neither is great for it. The pro NUC even has blocks on the bottom to keep frames stable for transport, so frames can be tight and awkward at the bottom and they also have no room for swarm cells in the bottom like ez NUCs. So both have drawbacks, but I have to remember that they’re made for transport and a quick mating rather than to raise NUCs for extended periods. I have mine all in the shade, so they do well.
Awesome! I was expecting multiple colored lids when I ordered mine for this year and they sent me all blue so I’ve faced them different ways and put things on top to try to help.
Mike, Your veil makes me nervous. Looks like the screen is touching the back of you neck such that you could get stung back there. I keep holding my breath.
It makes me nervous too. I’ve taken a sting already back there, but I’ve adjusted how I wear it and I don’t have any issues anymore. I really like how light the vented material is compared to other vented jackets, so I like to wear it and had to get used to wearing the veil at a different angle to get the netting to ride correctly.
@@MikeBarryBees I just bought a guardian full suit and your right …first thing I noticed was how light it was. It was so light in fact I worried it would not protect but it does and I have put it to the test with some upset bees this spring. Also I have the fencing veil and have not had the same issues as you with the round veil.
It’s good. I don’t have any issues when I have my glasses on either. Doesn’t seem to be any glare. My Dadant jacket I wear is the same, but my old Mann Lake veils have that glossy screen that is awful. This one is good though.
Hey Mike I have a question it might be a little off topic. Mike I'm raising my own queens I'm kinda new to it but how long can you leave your virgin queen in a cage until you need her. I've raised 8 I grafted 15 they accepted 8 of them which I'm extremely happy but just wanted to get your advice thanks Mike always a pleasure to see your videos.
As I understand once they need to be in a colony within a week. Cory Stevens stated that they should have attendants with them in the cage after 48 hours as they begin to lose hope. He told me he forgot one for several days and she was ok, but he was sure to tell me he did. It recommend that. I don’t like them to be more than 72 hours.
@@MikeBarryBees okay thanks Mike within a week works for me thanks Mike for your knowledge I will def put them in a colony within a week. As always be blessed Mike and keep up the amazing work. I learn a lot from just watching you Mike. Thanks again for the advice.
