Splitting a Bee Hive in a Hive | A 'How I Do Production 

Got to talk nice to them and I read the basic beekeeping book to all my hives in December so they know how to carry on the next season. 😁😁

Yep, I agree Randy.

No worries. Glad y’all got it done. Our flow is weird but seems good. It’s off some but there is definitely some honey in the boxes. I am on the ragged edge of whether I needed to pull more, being the flow was just about to shut down about the same time the supers were just about full. So I left them after the first two times I pulled some. We shall see. Hope to check some this weekend. I hate losing swarms this time of year since it’s so sketchy on queens making it back. Y’all take care!!

Thanks! I need to put some wire over the top😁😁

Yes indeed, that load would’ve cost a fortune in this day and age and was not cheap then relative to the cost of living. I used to use wired wax with hooks and would get my wedge frames from Walter Kelley. The bees loved it!! I still have several worked was medium frames that I reuse every year in honey supers. I’ll be extracting the soon I hope. I’m not so sure which is really more practical than the other when it comes to plastic and wax. Honestly, plastic takes a ton of work and time to clean and re-wax. So really, either one are a lot of work. Thanks for sharing your story!!

@brucesbees, I agree. I have quite a few and just ordered more of the 7 framers and find them very useful in the apiary.

I’m looking forward to having a few more Bruce. Very nice unit for sure. My first experience with them at all was at your house and I really was impressed.

Had to be it Joey😂😂

Well Brice, I can see myself with horizontal hives one day. My back screams at me now and with your layans hives, you’re essentially doing the same with insulation on the sides as the Apimaye is doing. I hope your harvest is a great one and take care!!

Yea Van, the tallow was odd. Everyone is on and on about a huge bloom and harvest, but I do like I always do and that’s to just wait until the honey is in the bucket. That’s when we know.😬😬

Thanks Tom!

I sure am looking forward to the days of retirement!! Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Maybe so because I sure heard a lot of folks talking about it. You found the bright side of them in the brood breaks. Anything helps😁😁

I’ve glass see the pollen traps that can be put on wooden hives. I’m looking at those as well.

Thanks for the comment. Confirms what I was thinking could be done with it. Hope to have a few more as I go on.

With an Apimaye? I haven’t see that and need to check it out if so. I’ve seen the wooden boxes, and I can make one with a wooden box, but I am pretty good with identifying the right larvae. I think the divider will only help me. I also like the timing cages. I think better bee and the two major bee supplies carry them. I thought those were neat for sure. Thanks for the comment and info!!

Th aka you my friend!!

That’s good to hear. I think it’s a viable plan and they should last forever being plastic and all.

Good to hear and I agree. That sounds convenient Robert.

It’s a really nice tool to transition a hive when needed.

I do believe I am going to have a couple of the supers for the 7 frame box. Just so I can do just as you suggest in the case I can’t get to it for whatever reason. Plus it can make more brood. I do believe I can use the same cloake board principle with this 7 frame. Going to try it next year if my time permits.

Same

He knocked it right off the scaffolding 😁😁

Thanks so much for the comment and you’re welcome. I hope I can do some logging of my experiences with it. I hope to have a couple more on hand next season.

Yes it will. You’re right about that. 😊

Yea, I just read that in another comment. I need to check that out. Thanks!

Thanks for the great comment and sharing your experience with one. Great post!!

Yes, I’m reading that in the comments. That’s great!! Thanks for everyone shooting me that. I had no idea! I think Apimaye needs to add a little better info sheet in the box. Thanks again John!! I’m going to take a closer look at it.

Thanks again Tommy and appreciate the comment! Yea, just want to show what I found and it’s not for everyone. I just thought it best to lay everything out there as I saw what uses I could find and the folks make their own opinions. Have. A great weekend!!

Glad you enjoyed it. How you have great success with it. I plan to get a couple more as we go along. I really like it.

I have heard they do very well in the heat Zelma. I know Bruce has seen great performance in the summer there in Alabama.

Great to hear!! Thanks for sharing your experience and for watching!!

Actually, closing the entrance on the queen right side would have put too many field bees and older bees into the side of the virgin. That’s a recipe for disaster. Experiences I’ve had and more experienced beekeepers I’ve listened to have taught me that young nurse bees accept queens at a very much higher percentage than older bees and field bees. So closing that side would force the field bees into the queenless side. As far as the side with the queen, yes it’ll be tight, but it’s more of a precaution really since the flow is shutting down. She will probably be fine, but just not chancing it. In a wooden hive, I would definitely move her, but I’m going to watch the Apimaye. It’s not always about plugging the nest with nectar in the summer since we go into a dearth, but about heat and overcrowding of population. In wood, I know it’ll be very hot and more work for the bees to control the temp, but with the Apimaye, they claim the temp is easier to control. So I’m actually leaving her there and going to watch and experiment and see if she will stay as she slows down laying since they can control the temps easier in that hive in the shade than wood. Honestly the voice-over was to fend off comments I know I would get. We will see. It’s an experiment for now. Going to check her this weekend and what’s really nice is I don’t have to disturb the new queen at all. The bees took to her when I released her, but I never like to check until two full weeks after release of a virgin. Mating is so tough this time of year here where I’m at.

I really don’t build my own anymore. I do think both the Layans type of insulated and the Apimaye are very similar. If I had time, I’d sure try some comparisons like you’re talking about. That’s the fun stuff I’d love to do if I could retire.

I don’t normally get stung in this suit. But I wear the gloves a lot. But as far as around the wrist, only when I don’t have gloves on and they hit the expose skin. I mean I have been stung over the last two seasons and time or two thru the suit if the bee is burrows into the material a certain way, but it’s few and far between. How that kind of answers your question. Thanks for watching and for asking!!

They already have their specials posted as I understand Garry. I plan to line up a couple more of the 7 framers.

Well, I did that a few years back and went back down to about 15 to 20. Then when I got my previous job, time was on my side for about 5 years and I built back up and got to where I am now and was happy with that. But then a couple years ago, I switched within the same entity to this present position and wow, I underestimated the time I’d lose. I have to make a change one way or another, that’s for sure.

They feed on them at different times and then at other times they’ll be on other sources. But the blooms are drying fast this year.

You are welcome and thanks so much for watching!! Glad you enjoyed it.

Yea, I’m sure dreaming about it right now. I’ve made time to in my schedule drive Mr. Ed crazy. I even called him and bugged him just this morning g😂😂

Well, except I came out happy and Ralphie was terribly disappointed…..”A commercial”. 😁😂😂

Thanks Mike!!

Wow! So sorry to hear about the sorting. I do recall you telling me about the queens, but we can always recover when we at least have the bees, but to have them poisoned is awful. I’ve bees thru that myself where I lost 17 of 22 due to a poisoning and it’s heartbreaking. Sorry your season went so rough. How you’re able to strengthen things up and formulate a plan to move forward .

@@MikeBarryBees Thanks Mike . I had the state inspector came over an we done inspection just to look at frames an get samples to take to the labs for testing. She called me back the next day the first lab done a bunch of test an all looked great . Then they sent the bees over to another lab for different kinds of test like poisons an would call me back when that was finished but said it may take a while from that state lab . She an a few other people said it really looks like poisons an the bees were acting just like the one I had five years ago an a long long time ago I had a few hives with the same symptoms. I need to get up with you some time down the road maybe in a few weeks or so when we both have got our bee season to cool down a little more. I will send you my Email. Thanks

Yea, for supers, I would just stay with wood and then stack on the Apimaye brood boxes since they can be mixed and matched. I agree, the supers are a bit too pricy for me.

@@MikeBarryBees great job as usual and I do use the wooden boxes interchangeable.

Also, I hope you have better luck with getting your purchased virgins mated than I did. Bought 5 to the tune of $280.00 and got 1 mated queen out of it.

I like it so far and with the two Apimaye frames it was roomy enough. I’ll have to see how tight it gets when I go back to 7 with all wood. Glad you let me know to look at that.

Yes, that’s why they were given an empty and drawn frame. We were right in the middle of the flow. But having 3 frames out of 7 that had brood is really not terribly honey bound hive, but definitely on their way to being honey bound. When I reduced them to 3 frames each, I was sure to give the queen that empty frame.

Thanks!

It would, but then they’d think they had a queen and would kill the queen I introduce. So they have to be made queen less and when we make them hopelessly queenless, they’re more apt to accept the inmates queen. Thanks for the question.

Thanks so much!! Especially for the blessing at the end of your comment!!

It's from HillCo. Nice for quick looks and being out on the run in outyards.

Thanks!!

You are welcome mike berry

Thanks for watching Wade.

Air is one of the best insulators, so it should do just fine since there is some air in the walls. They’re supposed to do well in both extreme cold and extreme heat. I know about the heat from Bruce in Alabama, but obviously I can’t make any assumptions on cold😁😁😬😬. And you get COLD. Worth a try and I bet it is as good or better than wood.

You are very welcome and thanks for watching Russell and for your co tiniest support.

NOT a troll but a truth teller

I agree to an extent, but I looked up the prices at the regular suppliers, and the info is correct. Some places a a bit cheaper where and there, but the info is very close and accurate. That’s why I said, people can see for themselves, I’m not here to tell them one way or the other. Thanks for the comment.

To each his own. Just showing some features and what I like about their setup. Appreciate you watching.