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Good listening

Excellent video. Always happy to watch Dirtrooster's cheerful demeanor. Excellent job James helping find and shine a light on TF beekeepers who have been hiding in the shadows.

Thanks for Sharing SBGMI & Randy Excellent Presentation and 🐝Discussion🍬 God Bless Ya'll 🐝Folks!

I can definitely relate to a lot of this. I have been treatment free for a long time now, and my survival rates are much better. I think there are probably a lot more of us, but many don't want to be shunned by the beekeeping community. I'm glad you are open and honest about your process with your own bees.

Artline Garden Markers last much longer in the sun than Sharpies do. I use them on plant labels in my garden and they are very legible after a full season where the Sharpies are super hard to read.

You seem to accept as a constraint that the only possible hive shape is the standard US Langstroth hive, deeps of course, but that's still only 9" of comb on the frames. Now that you've established the benefit of the super insulated condensing hive, why not use the Langstroth hives as a control but evaluate data points from Layens (13" wide by 16" deep) and Lazutin (Lagnstroth width, but 18.5" depth) hives (although I guess a double deep would work for an 8 or 10 Lazutin frame hive)

Thank you for sharing your insites & observations . I am in Queensland , Australia and verroa are a recent arrival in the country .

The GREATEST Bee Keeping Video of 2025!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!God Bless!!!

I've run Earnie's queens in Texas, and they were fantastic genetics. Real nice guy with a great operation.

I have been treatment free since 2014 that is when I pulled my first bees from the wall of my garage I have herd of mites but did not know it was a thing so never thought about treating them, I had done a few cutouts but in 2019 when I accidently brought deformed wing virus home so that was my last cutout I ever did and of course that hive did not make winter and I torched the hive and frames and have not seen DWV since, I have not lost a hive through winter since the big 2021 Texas freeze

Swarming is not a need, swarming is a response.

I have something interesting I am in the middle of New Hampshire and I got newbies last April set them up in a nice hive and put one deep with two supers had a queen excluder above the first super and I did not take very much honey this year because they are new just a couple frames and I set them up for winter wrap them put a candy board on top of the one soup that was full and the one curious thing I found was that I did not see not one drone , one thing I do that I found out was a spray my bees lightly in the summer and the fall with a mixture of sugar water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar I don’t know if that had anything to do with it but supposedly this helps with viruses Not one drone cell all year 😮😮😮😮😮

You may come out better if you start renting out swarm traps boxes at a lot of those locations where you do a lot of cut outs . LOL

Talking about box sizes . I have always ran a deep an a medium brood setup. Well this year I Have been switching out using medium an going also to double deep Brood setup . Ya I have had the same problem with trying to do splits . I would never have the size frames I need to do splits . I got a bunch already switched out but not finished yet. Thanks Randy .

In The North heat isn't the issue it is the cold when we get down to 0 Deg F bad things can happen. I keep insulation on all year round and my hives are in the sun and had no bearding last summer.

It would be interesting to hear the reflections of somebody that does what randy does but in the north. In NJ my colonies in full sun out produce those in shade. Same with entrances facing south.

I like to place my hives where they are in the shade in the afternoon. I'm in SE texas west of Houston, it gets hoootttt here. I use sniffer sheets for the most part for hive beatles. I make my swarm traps using a 10 frame deep and a ratty shallow or medium with a plywood bottom. When it catches I wait 2 weeks then move it to my yard as is. In another week or so I'll take that deep box and just put it on a bottom board, done.

Swarms don't care why mono culture all they have is us lol there are no trees left . The next best thing is our gear from a garden shed wall to your house 🏡. Traps I have used full sheets 30mm thick 24 x12 trap is made to edge full seal entrance has a guardian fitted landing board is inside 2 brackets a cutting boardneuropreen has pattern of holes so if a beetle gets in past guardian bees push them into holes picking lid is under jar has half ins of oil or dirt the one with shards or one can make a box .top left 25 fdf double Grove place one wax sheet on wire add plastic foundation clip in other side 5 to 6 table spoons of melted wax swirl wax over plastic that's the leg up they need depth of trap full length of a 10 frame box rails frames sit on 10 mm stainless 306 round bar any frame can be moved with ease ie no hive tool needed. The 25 frames well 9 weeks all drawn out pluse if there is a good flow ya could have easy 40 to 50 pounds of honey. Standard 10 fram box is made for the human not the bee.😂 have a good one lads best to ya all for 2025.😂

I catch 2 to 4 swarms from the Amish in the spring swarm season. Treatment free bees.

Great talk. I enjoy watching his videos and Mr.Eds I’ve learned a lot from watching them.

How many years can a comb last before the cells are to small from layers of cocoons?

Great vid Thanks.

I appreciate the video and the sentiment. I find it hard to talk seriously about reducing chemicals in the hive when also discussing decade old frames and the pesticides/fungicides that will be contained within that wax. I have treated and untreated colonies, all from feral colonies then selected for desirable traits same as you. I have noticed that feral bees seem to either die off or abscond occasionally now and what better place would there be for scout bees than prebuilt abandoned comb in a place that bees thought previously was a great location, this would make sense, 1 year to build up, 2nd year, large population, crash to high population of mites and low population of bees heading into winter. Leading to an empty nest next swarm season. This is how asian bees deal with tropilaelaps. In nature queen bees are designed to move if and when they feel the need Dr Derek Mitchell has been studying the fluid dynamics of air movement around the comb of feral colonies and hives for about a decade now if you are interested in how much better they are insulated than wooden boxes and how they maintain an environment that is less accommodating to varroa (Higher humidity) Finally on comb orientation, i've heard it said that if bees have build north south and are removed and placed in an empty box they will draw north south again, independent of where the entrance is. Cory Stevens treats his bees.

Thank you for sharing your years of experience and knowledge with us all. Was such a pleasure meeting you at the expo and will soak up the info. A ton of gold nuggets here, thank you Randy!

As long as there are negligent beekeepers within 3-5 miles, I am not satisfied that anyone can successfully -- and honestly -- keep bees without treatments. I've been doing cutouts since the mid '60s. Until the advent of the Varroa mite, those feral colonies usually had absolutely black comb. Nowadays, I never see a feral colony with dark comb because the mite+virus load kills the colony long before it has time to develop dark comb. In my observation, feral colonies don't survive any better than neglected "managed" colonies.

Love to lissen to your voice! Say hi to your beautiful wife!

Thank you for posting this talk! The information is spot on in my limited experience with bees, but oh! so encouraging. I’ve been keeping bees for about 10 years and had upwards of 10 hives and had lots of experience with varroa infestations and their treatment. I follow Randy Oliver’s advice generally, and am looking forward to a better understanding of bee adaptation and mite biology.

Very interesting presentation. Living in the Sierra Nevadas of Northern California in the mountains east of the town of Chico, at an elevation of 2,750 feet, I can relate to much of what you talk about. Being a sideline beekeeper of 150 to 200 hundred colonies it was an ideal or model to consider breeding and genetics in my apairy. At the peak of 30 + years, splitting 10 frame double deep hives at the end of Almond pollination and in the beginning prune bloom down in the valley east of Sacramento along Interstate Hwy 5, this was the beginning of the yearly increase for me. I would check for queen rightness in my put in between boxes with excluders or taken apart top boxes to turn 180 degrees onto an extra bottom board and top. Then transport half my single deeps the next weekend to 5 miles down the road with the other 50% of my colonies in a different Almond orchard and bring back the other splits hives to the first Almond orchard I already split in. I would buy queens cells from one breeder that next Saturday and then more queens cells from another breeder Sunday, after finding or not finding eggs in the said sigles now. And put those 9/19 day old cells into the queenless 10 frame split singles with new bottom boards and new migratory cedar lid covers. Then once bred by the drones of the many other commercial beekeepers in the area also pollinating nearby I would bring them back home to the hills. This was a system that worked for me and the hives I didn't split I would do so back home and use my own drones to breed from the my somewhat isolated stock where I lived. Sometimes I wouldn't split so much in Almonds and bring them home after the last petal bloom to split 4 ways into 5 frame nucs along with catching the 60 swarms one season, a crazy year, as I commuted to and from work as a journeyman carpenter in my real trade and job on a construction site. Feeding was neeed then as the weather could still get cold, rainy, snowny, and no flight for just hatched queens woukd sometimes be a problem. Still I've learned from so many commercial beekeepers, about a dozen, of 1000 to 2000 colony outfit over the years. Plus being a member of the club NCBA, Nevada County Beekeepers Association in Grass Valley, California in which beekeeper scientific Beekeeping Randy Oliver was a founding member and spoke kept me in the know of Varroa Mite resistance all the better to learn and sometimes voluntary be by his side working and watching him in the various outyards. So appreciate your exposition and education on all the subjects your talked about here. Hope to watch more videos of yours in the future. Thanks 🐝

When you think about it Gathering a very large % of the American bees to California to pollinate the almonds every year is a recipe for a disaster. You are not just bringing the bees you are bringing all the viruses, bacteria and parasites from all over to one spot where they can infect bees from all over and when the almond pollination is over they all go home and spread these viruses, bacteria and parasites to all their local sisters who didn't go to California.

Well said

This is the best presentation I've seen. You have great visuals. 😊

To watch Dr. Peck's talk Melanie refers to throughout her presentation, go here: th-cam.com/video/gGzjtbXMRy0/w-d-xo.html

Hey Adrian: @7:49 it is "Lüneburg" or "Lueneburg" translates as Luene-Castle -- not: Luneberg. The vast heath cultural landscape stems from the medieval ages cutting woods for large pans filled with NaCl brine from underground over fire , producing valuable table salt. Consecutively late season heath honey skep beekeeping flourished.

I'm planning to get a Pol Line 2.2 queen 6 frame nuc this spring from B Farm. I have 2 russian queen hives now.

I missed the definition of wrapped.

Like your video thanks for sharing. I live in Canada's Atlantic Province and I am going to get my first bee colony this coming spring and I was looking for mite resistant nucs. I did manage to find a company that sold mite resistant queens with their nucs. How long can I go without treating or will they be okay as they are without treating? If I get Russian Queens would I have to treat the bees or will they live up to their reputation of killing the varroa mites?

It could take 2 generation for honeybees to build a resistances so I would be treating colonies that are high and then if you find a resistances then you have to find away to control drones in your area to keep them genetics and when you say resistance ?

Maybe work on boosting the anti viral properties of bees so if they get bit they can fight it off? How do mites know to pick out a drone cell. Does drone feces smell different?

We would have been farther along if the data had been shared with the original 2 other researchers. The good news, odors can't be patented.

What about drone vs worker capped brood? Does it make a difference for UbeeO?

My goal is to get all my hives to be varroa-resistant. What do you do with the hive that is varroa susceptible? For example, I try to keep, on average, 5 hives. What should my action plan be if I have 1 resistant hive? What if I have 2, 3, or 4? I'm looking for the most straightforward approach that takes the least time.

people make up the stupidist sh t. bees have never existed without co2 and neither can people. get a life. how do ya think there are plants to give them pollen?

I have much of the same beekeeping philosophy from my experience here in NC. I don't think bees struggle with humidity or lack of ventilation, but seem to produce more brood a couple weeks earlier. Im very interested in the relationship of CO2 PPM and the pH in the bees/brood, and how this effects physiology.