Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers Episode 123 Formic Pro things you should know and more.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ต.ค. 2024
- Welcome to another backyard beekeeping questions and answers episode.
I invite you to visit my main website: www.TheWayToBee.org
Or, listen to this segment as a PodCast:
www.podbean.co...
Today's topics are listed in order below:
1) I had queen loss after a treatment with Formic Pro, have you used formic pro on your hives? What would be your theory regarding my problems?
Formic Pro is approved for use with honey supers on: amzn.to/3BnzcQv
2) Are there any occasions when you wouldn't smoke your bees when entering a hive? Since they react to smoke in negative ways, do they also react badly when no smoke is used? What might be the downsides?
For those wanting to use 1:1 sugar syrup with Honey B Healthy added instead of smoke for those hot days, here is the Honey B Healthy essential oil that I use: I put two teaspoons per quart of sugar syrup. amzn.to/3sTeh4u
3) If supercedure cells are created to replace a queen, why do so many beekeepers destroy them?
4) Regarding the BeeScape App, what did your follow-up mite test numbers show?
This is the application we're discussing here: beescanning.com/
See my video demonstration here: • Horizontal Long Langst...
5) Big storms are about to hit us, I have no idea how to secure my hives against high winds.
Here is my video showing how I strap hives down for heavy weather:
• How to tie down a Bee ...
These are the ground anchors I use here: amzn.to/3gGGKWt
6) What factors drive a colony into winter preparation?
7) Bees navigating in cloudy/rainy weather... Don't bees see into the UV wavelength of light? That would mean they can see the UV that transmits directly through the water vapor of the clouds.
Here is a broader explanation regarding how honey bees navigate:
journals.plos....
8) Please discuss the effects of forest fire smoke on honey bee behavior.
Go to page 22 of this document to read further regarding the impact of wild-fire smoke on honey bees: file:///C:/Users/Fred%20Streaming%20Lptp/Downloads/ResearchReports80th_2021-A.pdf
9) Questions about wintering horizontal hives - Would you leave a space below the follow/divider board if it's going to be insulated?
10) What's your opinion regarding feeding Pro-Sweet vs Sugar Syrup?
TANGING!!! High Pitch? Low Pitch? Fast tangs, slower tannnggggsss..... at the end of this video, I tanged for ten minutes while the swarm was actively beginning to assemble on the upper part of one of my trees. For those who are hungry for more information, here is an interesting article - low tones of a meditation bowl? My search continues... www.beeculture...
(Tanging) Another source for Science Minded Individuals: www.tandfonlin...
Read more about Pro-Sweet here and see how expensive it is: www.mannlakelt...
Some of the links above are affiliate links from which I may earn from qualifying purchases. Particularly those with "amz" in the link.
Thanks for being here!
I invite you to Join The Way To Bee fellowship on Facebook: www.facebook.c...
1) I had queen loss after treatment with Formic Pro, have you used formic pro? Your theory regarding my problems? 1:44
2) Are there any occasions when you wouldn't smoke your bees when entering a hive? Since they react to smoke in negative ways, do they also react badly when no smoke is used? What might be the downsides? 8:00
3) If supercedure cells are created to replace a queen, why do so many beekeepers destroy them? 16:38
4) Regarding the BeeScape App, what did your follow-up mite test numbers show? 22:30
5) Big storms are about to hit us, I have no idea how to secure my hives against high winds. 28:00
6) What factors drive a colony into winter preparation? 32:18
7) Bees navigating in cloudy/rainy weather... Don't bees see into the UV wavelength of light? That would mean they can see the UV that transmits directly through the water vapor of the clouds. 39:32
8) Please discuss the effects of forest fire smoke on honey bee behavior. 45:00
9) Questions about wintering horizontal hives - Would you leave a space below the follow/divider board if it's going to be insulated? 49:20
10) What's your opinion regarding feeding Pro-Sweet vs Sugar Syrup? 53:26
Love your Tanging. So sorry you got stung. The sacrifices you make for science are great and painful. My cat and I listened together and then we took a nap. Thank you for all the contributions you make to the bee world. I wait for all of your videos. And I have learned to "Always wear your veil." 🤗🐝🐝💕
:)
Just a thanks Fred, as we start our second year of beekeeping and spring starts here on Wednesday we continue to enjoy and learn from your channel. Our hives are exploding with activity. Just can't wait to see them thrive. Regards John Sydney NSW.
Thanks for stopping by John!
Happy Friday! I have used formic pro this year for the first time. I actually have it on 1 colony now that has high mite counts. I only used 1 strip at a time for 10 days and always put it on in the evening pulled cold out of the fridge. Added a super with frames for space and removed any entrance reducers. So far it has worked great with no problems. Also the first 3 days below 80 degrees. Hope this helps.
Saving to watch later! I really appreciate the questions being laid out in the description. A lot of those questions I would love to know the answers to as well.
thanks for describing glucose,sucrose,and fructose, and how the metabolize carbohydrates
Formic has worked really well for me the last couple years. I stopped apivar due to lack luster effectiveness, if it's below 80 in the first two days I use two strips. The bounce back is pretty amazing after the 14 days. Sometimes I get queen loss but typically they have higher mite loads prior.
LOL That End performance is Priceless, Highly Educational as well as Entertaining. *BRAVO!*
Also reminds me of *Monty Python and the Holy Grail* in beginning, during 'Credits'.
This bit if a tale speaks how . . . in the End, All were Sacked. _hmm, i think_ - must watch again.
Just happy I wasn't attacked by a killer rabbit (';')
@@FrederickDunn LOL 8)
good info to use capped brood for nurse bees to wash for mites,for less likely killing your queen as compared to the likely finding her on open brood frame
great advice on minimum smokeing w cool smoke,and fabbing up a spark arrester in the upper cone,
I was listening to you while I was sorting paperwork and listened to the interesting so modern music you were playing at the end of the segment - as you usually choose interesting music to accompany your bees. I thought - hmmmm well it has a rhythm - I guess. . .then as soon as I had a chance I looked down to replay as I enjoy seeing your bee segments at the end . . .and there you are TANGING! SO NOW. . .yeah - rewind is a MUST. I'm sorry it didn't work - as I know time is of the essence in a swarm, but it looks like a hit and miss thing from what I hear from everyone. Thank you for showing that.
I've hung up my tanging gongs... :)
The end of this weeks episode is HILARIOUS.
But I believe it is while the bee's are still flying out from the hive, and before they form a cluster.
But I'm not one to believe old wives tails.
Sorry for your stings.
Who knew? Fred does comedy too!
Hi Anthony, they were actively collecting on the branch above when I went into the tanging routine. I thought I should have done a tribal foot stomp dance as well, but I was working alone. My wife just walked away...
@@FrederickDunn “why women live longer than men…” 🤣
Hi Fred, Happy Friday thank you for the video :)
anytime :)
Fred, thanks for all your wonderful content. It is so helpful!
I am thinking of building a deck 8 -10 ft high at the back of the house and put the hives on it. it is not over a patio or walking path but near.
I also plan to have a banister 3-4 ft high surrounding the elevated deck.
what is your thought about it ?
Hi Frederick from Australia. Love all your videos and am learning heaps, new bee keeper here. My daughter brought up a hive to our place 5 days ago now but I cant go down the back yard with out 2 or 3 guard bees chasing me around buzzing at me, being very defensive. Not pleasant, the hive she took away from here was very calm and I could sit down beside the entrance to watch them. Is there anything I can do? Thanks again for all the time and effort you put into teaching us newbees.
Ok, when there are just the one or two guards that are overly defensive, I'd have no problem just collecting them in a butterfly net and removing them. :) Try that and let me know how it goes :)
I admire your use of EarPro while tanging. My daughter thinks I'm crazy but I'll wear a headset for anything louder than a vacuum cleaner. I've already lost "10%" of my hearing from my former employer, I'd hate to lose any more.
I'm a hearing protection nut and always have been. It was a miracle that I screened out of the military with excellent hearing. Definitely pays off. Noise cancelling technology is something I seriously appreciate too.
I can't tell you how many times I have pulled resources from other hives to allow queenless colonies to make their new queen. Thanks!
I would never had tried going into hive without smoker, I still light it but don't use it , it has been months. Sugar water works wonders thank you for that tip.
You make me look forward to Friday's just for your Q&A Stream 💖🐝 by the way any plans for a Honey Extraction Video, aside from the Flow Hives ofcourse. Or another Vid on the Flow Hives. I know there is only so much one can say about Flow Hives 😌Have a Blesed Wkend ✌
All I need it the time and I'll share as much as I can. There are some things I could cover with traditional extraction, so that may be something coming up next month.
Your videos have been very helpful and entertaining over the past few weeks 👍 ( not that they all aren’t enjoyable and helpful) but just wanted it noted 😊
Glad you like them!
“Minding their own little BEE-siness” haha
Do you know roughly how far bees will fly before defecating? I am worried about the position of my hives. There is really only one good place in my small yard for them, and that is 2 or 3 meters (about 10 feet) from my neighbors washing line on one side and parked cars on the other. The bees would have to fly up and over a high fence first, but I dont want to cause issues for my neighbors
I will discuss this on Friday :)
In the spring it is just around the hive. But a friend of mine has a white truck in his driveway at least 20 yards away and his truck get pelted in the spring. Just depends on what the bees are targeting as a nectar source. If their whites have yellow spots on them you will know.
Hello Fred, I love my wraparound feeders but noticed if you dont get their quick enough, and they are draining it over night that they are then walking around in the area where the sugar water would be ,making it inconvenient for me to feed them more without drowning the bees and forcing me to have to shake them all out of the feeder in order to feed them more .its not so convenient anymore, is there any fix? Thanks as always, Marten
Hi fred. Varnishing those solid bottom boards today. I have 5 coats of marine varnish on my hives. With all the rain I'm seeing a little mold. Do you ever wash the outside of your hives? If so what do u use?
I don't wash them, prior to storage, I do spray them down inside and out with a 10% bleach solution.
clang ,clang,clang,the scientific method,bees laughing up in the tree,its true they laugh ..hehe
So sorry about your stings. I hate head shots. Any time we’ve banged metal anywhere near the apiary bees have come after us, and I’ve been stung. Even more than weed whacking or mowing right at the hives. One time I got nailed right in the armpit (my job is always the “holder”). Now I gear up in a veil/ jacket any time I’m going to be clanking stuff together near bees. Purely anecdotal, but I’m done trying to figure the odds for ‘research’. Thank you for convincing me that tanging may be fake news. 😆
Late edit… I just did a Formic Pro treatment yesterday for a hive with 20 mites. Daytime temps in the 70s and nighttime in the 50s. Had only 3 mites in July, but the hive population exploded, and so it goes. I have been in tears all day at the number of dead bees piled up on the landing board, which has no entrance reducer per the instructions. I can only hope that the queen survived. I am struggling to see how this carnage is best for the bees…this was a busy, active and my best hive. I’ve not seen this much die off with other treatments.
:)
Is Honey Bee Healthy and similar products used to also prevent the sugar syrup from fermenting once capped or does it just prevent fermenting before the bees can ingest it?
It prevents mold. Not certain about fermentation in the end, but it definitely delays that also.
@@FrederickDunn Thank you Fred!
Thank you again for your Time MrDunn,
I'm not fat; I'm just a winter worker bee!
I see what you did there :)
Tinning! You could get a nicer sound with a tuning fork and it will resonate for longer periods of time and that would give you more time to sip coffee and monitor those bees but, i like your idea of carrying hand fulls to the box and you would get more workers doing the same dance . Well if the tuning fork works, you could call it tuning. Which makes me think of June. I like Fred Dunn in June……. What about you? I like The Way to bee, what about you?……..
LOL... btw, I have a complete rack of tuning forks... I use them in my photography from time to time. It's how I get spiders to come to me on the web for a macro sequence :)
@@FrederickDunnthat is so cool
Yes Fred those summer mating nucs always jump into high gear quickly. I want mine to evolve to an average nuc in late summer for over winter in Tennessee but its a struggle keeping them in check.
Mine are all now 10 frame double deckers... definitely worth the time and effort. I should have been doing that many years ago. I didn't have to purchase a single queen all summer.
Fred, near the beginning of your video you retriggered an old question that I’ve meant to ask in the past. Do you think sometimes the bees may move a fresh laid egg from the cell where the Queen deposited it to an existing Queen cup?
Hi Don... that's one of those topics that comes up among researchers. I think that if they did that, one of us would have captured that activity on camera, or would have directly observed it. The deduction is made when an egg shows up beyond a queen excluder, or appears after a queen has been removed. The jury is still out, but it seems highly unlikely that they pick up eggs and move them. They do eat them from time to time.
interesting about fat bodied bees thru dearths periods,and winter to keep brood going
Awesome video. I really like the format and the actual practical and scientific info shared. I have property in southern Arizona but just don't want to risk ahb...if I move somewhere where it is more safe I might try. Either way, thanks for the awesome videos, they really are done well and have great content. Thank you
LOL...the good news is 1 more explored your box than stung you...so there's that...I guess... if you extrapolate that data, I'm not sure what kind of conclusion it would come to...other than maybe old wives tales are just that, tales.
The space under the divider board is more than just so the bees can explore. Dr Leos material also shows the physics of the spaces contribution to venting through the roof vents, without direct loss of heat in cool weather from warm air going up. Leaving it open instead of mesh blocking the bees, allows one to feed with a rapid round in the open end. Two little one inch stick the floor, to raise the rapid round so they can acces it without going out or attracting robbers, and without frame feeders, which like you, i dislike. Hv a g'day and thx for all you do!
When you pull the honey supers for the season where do the bees go. Has to get crowded in the bottom boxes.
That's where they go, right down below... one deep with one or two medium boxes for wintering.
@@FrederickDunn Thank you.
You have probably been asked this question many times before, but I can't find it. Do colors, of clothing, affect bee-havior? And if so, what is the best color to wear not to make them mad or excited?
Texture over color... avoid fuzzy garments and the colors are much less important. I've worn all colors in the apiary, including a favorite camo-bee suit. It's the combination of dark colors and hairy or fuzzy texture that will get you noticed. Cow hide by smell alone will attract negative attention from your bees. Smooth white garments are at the top of the list for being ignored by bees and wasps.
Always learning… gr8! as always. Stay safe
Our nectar flow in TN (my area) has just barely started.
Thanks Fred, the banging and clanging sent my dog Archie into a barking frenzy that lasted long after the clanging stopped. Archie rarely barks but he certainly made up for no barking very quickly. 😂😂
Archie was criticizing that tanging activity and was probably trying to warn me :)
Randy Oliver adds a little bleach to his sugar syrup to keep the mold under control.
true :)
I am also trying the Ultimate Inner Cover for my hives this winter - and was disappointed to see my Rapid Round does not fit. Any suggestions OTHER than the feeder Smart Bee makes that might work as well as the Rapid Round - or maybe a work around?
Does your rapid round have the projection that goes down the center and gets below the base? I'd trade that out for those with the flush bottom and they work fine and dandy. Rapid rounds are my favorite for summer and winter and just shave off that center cone so your RR can sit flush on the insulated inner cover, Orrrr, drill a hole into a piece of 3/4" wood and put that between the RR and the insulated cover :)
@@FrederickDunn we are making the shim you suggested. I really like the stem on the rapid round - it holds the feeder in place.
Regarding question 1: if the colony lost it’s queen due to formic treatment, then wouldn’t those cells be emergency cells (not supercedure cells)?
Also regarding question 1: I believe that the instructions also say that the first 72 hours of Formic Pro treatment should not exceed 82*F
Supercedure and Emergency Queen cells are produced in the same area of the brood frames and one situation could still have the queen present, while the other may be due to a sudden death or absence of the queen. Daytime highs should be between 50 and 85 deg F on the first day of application. If you want to tighten that to 82 deg... still good to go.
@@FrederickDunn
Indeed. I was under the impression that, based on the info provided by the questioner, the hive was queenless.
I heard hives should be facing north and south with opening facing south. My hive is east and west with opening facing west. Do I need to change it now. I live In NE WI .
It's just that statistically, the hives with entrances facing south by southeast perform better through winter. There are hives facing all directions here.
I don't know if I may have inadvertently contaminated my stock container of ProSweet (I'm usually careful so I kind of doubt it), but after a few months the stock container did have the black moldy stuff that sometimes grows in sugar syrup. My first container went over 8 months and looked pristine until it was gone. Anyway after my last experience I'm more reluctant to buy a large quantity of it. My two cents.
I would definitely only purchase what you're going to use in the upcoming season. Thanks for sharing!
😄 I had to laugh at your tanging experience, though sorry you got stung.
I think maybe you applied it wrong, my understanding was that tanging made them settle out of the air when they’re flying, not that it made them come lower after they’re already settled 🤷🏼♀️
May be worth trying again in different circumstances.
They were still in the process of assembling, they had not yet fully clustered :)
@@FrederickDunn 🤷🏼♀️
Hi! So I just caught my first swarm of bees ever the other day and I've been watching a bunch of your videos to figure out what I'm doing. I'm in Wattsburg PA and I know it's late in the year to get them. We had a friend loan us a regular vertical hive but we are building an insulated horizontal one this weekend to put them in. I know your from northern PA and I'm curious if you think we can keep them alive this winter or if its a real long shot. I've been studying bees for a long time and trying to build up areas for them. I have a very large garden and really would like more pollinators and a small supply of honey. I wanted to take some classes at a place in town before I gave it a shot but with covid all of that got put on hold. Couldn't really pass up the chance to catch a local swarm and really hoping if I do everything I can I can get them thru till spring. Thank you for all the info!
You are very welcome, and in Wattsburg, you're getting into the heavy golden rod and soon to be aster nectar flows. Your swarm can actually build quite fast, you'll have the entire month of September to watch them grow. I think you're good! There is an upcoming event at Asbury woods, if you go to that, I'm the first station you'd go to and I'd be happy to answer your questions there and then :)
@@FrederickDunn I will be signed up today! I've always wanted to go there for their bee classes or events but hadn't been able too. The bees I caught are still doing amazing and are bringing in pollen non stop. I'm worried they don't have enough room but I'm waiting on my wool to finish the long frame horizontal hive. Is it better to use foundation in the new frames because it's so late? Right now they are on the standard 8 frames that mostly came with already drawn out from a friends hive. I have always planned on using foundationless frames but it seems like that's going to make them work harder right now. I plan on putting the frames they have now in the long frames like Dr. Leo has videos on but will be adding more obviously. At night there are like 100ish hanging off the front of the box. I would be getting the foundations from horizontalhive.com. Thank you so very much for all of time you put into gathing and passing out the info. I'm trying to make it thru all of the Q and A videos right now!
I bought a 50 pound bag of ultra bee and put some out in a container for the bees but my bees won’t use it .why do you think this is ?
My first guess is that this is the wrong time of year when there is pollen in the environment and the bees are scaling back for winter.
yeah fred friday....
I do love Fridays. Watching these videos are so fun and informative.
oh, you can't use pipe to tang them, gotta be flat, or angle iron. ;)
Of course it does... I'm a b-flat instrumentalist actually, so percussion isn't my forte :) I don't think I'll be doing any future tanging...
It works only when you find them flying out of the hive, still in the air.. not when they are already on a tree. They should go back to the old hive.. not that new one you put there 5min before. And you should stay to the side.. not in front of the hive.
I seen it work many times.. but didn't work many times too
Two Horizontal TBH from Michael Bush's design. Has overwintered and swarmed 2 years in a row in zone 4a. 🤔 I guess someone forgot to tell my Saskatraz package not to overwinter Horizontally.
It's always a risk when some folks speak in absolutes when it comes to honey bees. I'm confident that the horizontal hives are fine and it really comes down to the health of the bee stock :)
Frederick, Over the summer I captured 6 Swarms. Unfortunately here in Oregon we are in a severe drought thus no Nectar. I have been feeding them 1-1 sugar @ 2-gallon per week. I did a inspection today and numbers are good but they are lite in weight. I an switching to 2-1 sugar. Now My Question is should I feed Fondant as well to build them up ?? or is sugar syrup better? I have 6 weeks of summer left?
Definitely the sugar syrup at 2:1 for building up resources. the fondant is an emergency feed source during winter and they don't use it to store resources in cells.
@@FrederickDunn thank you
Fred, You made me laugh again. Mike Berry and I think his conclusion was that "He just looked stupid". I am happy to say that is what I got from the end of your video. Now we just need to get Kamon to tang some bees down and not just blow up mites. PS saw that you were on the WA state Asian Giant Hornet site. That was interesting and would like to see what Hornets this hive was related to.
Yes, the head of that program graduated from our local high school here... Sven Spichiger, he's a great guy!
Hey Fred… it took a while. I don’t think that was the key of “Bee”… frequency not to their liking either 🤭😉🍻
With headphones on, I could feel the resonance right through my insides :) well, at least I satisfied all the viewers who bring up tanging every time there is a swarm aloft. :)
Silly Fred. You are suppose to use two hive tools to twang.
Um, it's not "twang" it's Tang.... and at that I am a profound failure :)
@@FrederickDunn Im a southern boy Fred. Maybe if you twanged instead of tanged you would get swarms in there. Lol
I’m sorry, I chuckled at the end of the video…
“Tang them down they said. Don’t climb ladders they said. Works every time they said.
Maybe it was the wrong frequency. 😂
Maybe you were supposed to wear yellow, stand on one leg and spritz the box with Swarm Commander…
I did a hive inspection today. I have double deeps . 1 honey super about full of nectar. Found honey on outside frames of top deep brood eggs and larve and capped drone brood toward the middle. Found queen swam cells on the bottom of the middle frame 4 of them all had larve and were open still. Once i found the cells i backed out. Seems to late to split? Im in north east ohio. Help :)
I'll discuss this on Friday. If you have the extra boxes, I would make a nucleus colony by removing the queen with two frames of brood. Leave the queen cells in the existing location/box and smash all queen cells you can find. Have the nucleus colony right next to the original hive with a very small entrance 1/2" diameter would be good. Then when the original colony is no longer showing eggs or open larvae, recombine the colonies into one and make sure there is plenty of drawn empty comb for them to continue or the cycle will repeat. I hope that helps.
Appreciate your wisdom love the videos. Will be watching Friday.
The music at the end was awful,, no wonder the bees stayed away and you got stung, lol. Thanks for the great info as usual..
(';')( ';')... I did my best, but the percussion section hasn't always been the best part of the band....
Whats the picture in the top right corner during the intro?
It's a vintage botany illustration of the dandelion :)
Fred i see in the news out west giant hornet deal. You have any insight
We had a live feed on that, they were happy to find that nest and are now using kevlar thread to attach trackers to the foragers. The lead entomologist is from my town and he's confident that they are on top of things :) Nothing new to report other than what can already be viewed on the Dept. of Ag Washington State U website.
@@FrederickDunn ty for reply.
Tgiff
Could have done without the banging and clanging at the end... 😵
true