Great video and allways kool to see your aproch and what you are doing with your bees at what time of the year,, im new to beekeeping and flat out getting my head around this craft and your vidoes and straight up talk helps a lot
Thank you i learn't a lot from your brief inspections and the comment... we were in sinc toward the end when you opened the light box! lol Thank you thank you, please continue to share. Knowing not to be overly worried with a full hive but recognising an overly full hive is critical. Keep posting and again Thanks
Thank you, thank you, you give so much information, experience one would only gain working for someone in a commercial operation. Do you think the hives that are lacking are poor queens or good enough and just fell behind?
Ian you mentioned it is hard for hire someone to do what you are doing ? That ability comes from spending time and study of the colonies which you have done well in reading the status of each colony in seconds as well as what they need for the upcoming main flow . Great job ...Rick
Ian, you said you hire students do you also use these videos for "human" worker orientation and training - for skill definition, motivating your intended goals? "What we do today is for and known in the future weeks to come - you will see it happening and for why we did it then."
Ian, what is your target honey production per hive? I'm curious about your timing on the frame manipulation. Wouldn't any moving of brood not affect honey production for at least 30-40 days, being that bees become foragers at the end of their life cycle. More to the point, if I want a larger honey crop, how long before the flow do I need to start arranging my hives for production, and how many frames of brood should each hive have X number of weeks before a flow. Thank you sir. Best beekeeping channel on TH-cam.
Jknudsen0523 Frames for a honey crop..., as I show in earlier vids, 4 frames brood last week of May to get them under swarming but large enough to move on honey crop mid June
Great explanation of what your doing Ian. One question. Your spacing in your brood box. I noted you don’t follow the distance of the spacers, you have them even more apart? Can you comment on this? Thank you
So even tho the broodnest currently extends into the top box, top box will eventually be used as a honey super, correct? Will you leave brood comb in top box or replace with “cleaner” comb for honey stores that will be extracted? In other words do you extract honey from frames previously used to raise brood or only use dedicated honey frames? Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
In a perfect world every beekeeper has enough virgin drawn comb with no cocoons. They also have extras and even have several hundred new boxes with new frames and foundations ready AT ALL TIMES. In reality it's not quite like that. It's very difficult even on a hobby scale to produce all your honey in combs that have zero cocoons. I suggest that you watch some commercial extraction lines and see what "real world beekeeping" is.
Indeed - adding a frame of brood or eggs from one strong colony is a great way of giving a boost to a weaker, smaller hive. They don't seem to care if the genetics might be different!
Ian, this seems to be your method of swarm prevention rather than going through every hive more thoroughly looking for queen cells, is that correct? Do you even tip up the brood box and look at the bottoms of the frames for cells, or no? Approximately what percentage of your hives end up swarming do you think?
I had not seen this before, but sort of figured it out along the way. It adds a bit of work you are right there, but if you are looking to make honey, you do what needs done or you do without. There are so many new beekeepers out here now, I count my self in this with just 3 years, that haven't had the opportunity to pick up the teachings of the old guys. I helped my uncle when I was a kid with his, but that was 35 years ago, and about all I remember from it is the smells. TH-cam has been a valuable learning tool for me. Once you get past all of the commercials they drop in them or the sales pitches to "click and subscribe and support me on Patreon !" there is a wealth of information from folks, mostly hobbyist, and a few like Ian from the pro end of things. You just have to be willing to sift through all of them to pull out the good stuff.
Hi Ian, you say about 10-15% of your apiary swarm, how do you think would this number change if you start requeening all the colonies each year? Or annual requeening and all the labour connected with is not worth financial results it provides (plus 10-15% crop if the apiary is swarm-free). Thank you and greetings from Ukraine! Max
I have trouble with "Robbing" do u think equalizing All hives is best solution .Italian/Carni sometimes Italian side rather steal from neighbor instead of going to work.
Ian, what do you do with weak colonies that have queens laying spottier patterns and not nice solid frames of brood, do you still boost them by equalizing prior to the flow, or do you replace the queens, or do you just pinch the queens and combine them with other hives?
Ian, you say canola and alfalfa comprise your main flow, when does it usually start and end up there? Do you get honey to extract from anything later in the season?
So, in the good hives, the bottom box is full of brood and that is why the queen has moved to the top box? Any body, please feel free to tell me if you the answer. Thanks.
At this time in a strong hive, both the upper and lower boxes each have 4-6 frames of brood? Then it makes sense to me why you are only assessing the top box at this check.
So I just noticed that those few hives you showed us had the brood centred toward that shared wall. Is that typical of your hives on those pallets, and how does this affect your inspections and the decisions you make?
a Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog Oh Wow, really? That's counter-intuitive. I would have thought they shared heat between them. Is there any benefit to keeping hives so close together, aside from the obvious logistical gain?
I normally go to 8 frame honey supers during the flow. allows the bees to produce nice fat frames with lots of wax that's easy to uncap. You end up with more honey and more wax per honey super. but mind you those frames can get heavy !
I hate to say this, but I see so much that I feel is wrong with the way so many of these newer beekeepers work their bees that I don't have space on here to reply. Maybe because I am in the Texas panhandlers, but I never ran less than 2 deep supers for brood and preferred 3 and 4 deeps. Keeping them back to less than 2 supers kept them from reaching their proper natural potential. Weakens them needlessly. Harder for them to produce the maximum amount of honey . Also harder for them to survive the winter.
Please keep posting these videos. I am getting so much info from someone who knows what works!
Great video and allways kool to see your aproch and what you are doing with your bees at what time of the year,, im new to beekeeping and flat out getting my head around this craft and your vidoes and straight up talk helps a lot
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips.
Thank you i learn't a lot from your brief inspections and the comment... we were in sinc toward the end when you opened the light box! lol Thank you thank you, please continue to share. Knowing not to be overly worried with a full hive but recognising an overly full hive is critical. Keep posting and again Thanks
Thank you Ian. It is so good of you to share your knowledge and experience.
Excellent Video, I have learned a great deal from your videos. Thank you
thx Ian for taking the time to make videos even in such a non time/rush period/season
I agree with Richard, nice work will study this one again
Little 'rule of thumb'. One good well-laid frame of capped brood will fill three frames with bees when they emerge.
Mike, is that in terms of average space they - an adult - take up on a frame in comparison to the volume of a brood cell?
Probably more like the surface area an adult bee takes up, in comparison with the surface area of a capping.
I'm guessing, of course.
Thanks, I always wondered if I could just add a frame of brood with the attached bees.
Thank you, thank you, you give so much information, experience one would only gain working for someone in a commercial operation. Do you think the hives that are lacking are poor queens or good enough and just fell behind?
Joseph Chianelli
Could of been poor queens but everything passes the grade earlier,
Maybe they're not behind at all and the others are just extraordinary.
Joseph Chianelli
That is a good take on it 👍
Your frequent use of "brilliance" and what you intend to reinforce for them - your hives. No struggling, no faltering but keeping the momentum going.
Superb video. Thanks ian
Ian you mentioned it is hard for hire someone to do what you are doing ? That ability comes from spending time and study of the colonies which you have done well in reading the status of each colony in seconds as well as what they need for the upcoming main flow . Great job ...Rick
Ian, you said you hire students do you also use these videos for "human" worker orientation and training - for skill definition, motivating your intended goals? "What we do today is for and known in the future weeks to come - you will see it happening and for why we did it then."
Can you show us the flowers on the pollinator seed mix you planted back at the start of the season
Munibungbee King
Yes, but those are merely seedlings right now
Ian, what is your target honey production per hive? I'm curious about your timing on the frame manipulation. Wouldn't any moving of brood not affect honey production for at least 30-40 days, being that bees become foragers at the end of their life cycle.
More to the point, if I want a larger honey crop, how long before the flow do I need to start arranging my hives for production, and how many frames of brood should each hive have X number of weeks before a flow.
Thank you sir. Best beekeeping channel on TH-cam.
Jknudsen0523
Frames for a honey crop..., as I show in earlier vids, 4 frames brood last week of May to get them under swarming but large enough to move on honey crop mid June
Great explanation of what your doing Ian.
One question. Your spacing in your brood box. I noted you don’t follow the distance of the spacers, you have them even more apart? Can you comment on this? Thank you
Richard Noel remember this second is a honey super,
a Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog of course yes! We go to 8’s very good point!! Thank you!
So even tho the broodnest currently extends into the top box, top box will eventually be used as a honey super, correct? Will you leave brood comb in top box or replace with “cleaner” comb for honey stores that will be extracted? In other words do you extract honey from frames previously used to raise brood or only use dedicated honey frames? Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
So you don’t worry about getting protein in your honey from the cocoons
In a perfect world every beekeeper has enough virgin drawn comb with no cocoons. They also have extras and even have several hundred new boxes with new frames and foundations ready AT ALL TIMES. In reality it's not quite like that. It's very difficult even on a hobby scale to produce all your honey in combs that have zero cocoons. I suggest that you watch some commercial extraction lines and see what "real world beekeeping" is.
Nice trick! Didn't know a hive would accept another's brood lol.
Yes, Ian, I asked about that in an earlier video about queen acceptance - here I like your term: "they 'mingle' well".
Indeed - adding a frame of brood or eggs from one strong colony is a great way of giving a boost to a weaker, smaller hive. They don't seem to care if the genetics might be different!
it is all about time of the year, too many workers flying outside, too much pollen coming, etc..so adding new frames is not a problem!
Ian, this seems to be your method of swarm prevention rather than going through every hive more thoroughly looking for queen cells, is that correct? Do you even tip up the brood box and look at the bottoms of the frames for cells, or no? Approximately what percentage of your hives end up swarming do you think?
john mizak I don’t cut cells
Bees swarm, one year more than others, I’d say 10-15%
I had not seen this before, but sort of figured it out along the way. It adds a bit of work you are right there, but if you are looking to make honey, you do what needs done or you do without. There are so many new beekeepers out here now, I count my self in this with just 3 years, that haven't had the opportunity to pick up the teachings of the old guys. I helped my uncle when I was a kid with his, but that was 35 years ago, and about all I remember from it is the smells.
TH-cam has been a valuable learning tool for me. Once you get past all of the commercials they drop in them or the sales pitches to "click and subscribe and support me on Patreon !" there is a wealth of information from folks, mostly hobbyist, and a few like Ian from the pro end of things. You just have to be willing to sift through all of them to pull out the good stuff.
Hi Ian, you say about 10-15% of your apiary swarm, how do you think would this number change if you start requeening all the colonies each year? Or annual requeening and all the labour connected with is not worth financial results it provides (plus 10-15% crop if the apiary is swarm-free). Thank you and greetings from Ukraine! Max
ЭКОПАСЕКА Интернет - магазин
Requeening is good
I work on a 2-3 rotation
I have trouble with "Robbing" do u think equalizing All hives is best solution .Italian/Carni sometimes Italian side rather steal from neighbor instead of going to work.
Ian, what do you do with weak colonies that have queens laying spottier patterns and not nice solid frames of brood, do you still boost them by equalizing prior to the flow, or do you replace the queens, or do you just pinch the queens and combine them with other hives?
john mizak hopefully I have caught them before now, because now I’m not paying attention to that, focused on catching the flow
Ian, you say canola and alfalfa comprise your main flow, when does it usually start and end up there? Do you get honey to extract from anything later in the season?
john mizak
June July into August sunflower
@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog What kinds of sunflowers do your bees like? I planted several different varieties and only bumblers wanted to visit them.
So, in the good hives, the bottom box is full of brood and that is why the queen has moved to the top box? Any body, please feel free to tell me if you the answer. Thanks.
Ron Beatty yes the queen has reign over both boxes to give her lots of space
And so there is ample room for those attending to her needs and those of the brood? You need room to manage and she and they need room to manage.
Yes, this time of year her laying has plateaued
Onto summer laying the bottom out, the. She starts slowing down for fall
At this time in a strong hive, both the upper and lower boxes each have 4-6 frames of brood? Then it makes sense to me why you are only assessing the top box at this check.
Ron Beatty just slimming and spreading
So I just noticed that those few hives you showed us had the brood centred toward that shared wall. Is that typical of your hives on those pallets, and how does this affect your inspections and the decisions you make?
Michael Robinson
That was coincidence
a Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog
Oh Wow, really? That's counter-intuitive. I would have thought they shared heat between them. Is there any benefit to keeping hives so close together, aside from the obvious logistical gain?
Michael Robinson
You might be right
But typically it’s pretty random
Very educational - TY
9 frames in a 10 frame box? Is that ease of spacing? Such a pain to squeeze that 10th frame back in for every inspection.
Ryan Edmonds always 10 frame brood
9 frame supers
Ryan, there is also another brief comment and Ian's reply here with this video.
I normally go to 8 frame honey supers during the flow. allows the bees to produce nice fat frames with lots of wax that's easy to uncap. You end up with more honey and more wax per honey super. but mind you those frames can get heavy !
I hate to say this, but I see so much that I feel is wrong with the way so many of these newer beekeepers work their bees that I don't have space on here to reply. Maybe because I am in the Texas panhandlers, but I never ran less than 2 deep supers for brood and preferred 3 and 4 deeps. Keeping them back to less than 2 supers kept them from reaching their proper natural potential. Weakens them needlessly. Harder for them to produce the maximum amount of honey . Also harder for them to survive the winter.
Larger colonies can do a more efficient job of pollination.
you run 9 frames in a 10 frame box?
goodoleboy11668
Remember, this is a honey box
goodoleboy11668 - there are two more comments here with just a bit more on this "9in10" topic.
You drive a Chevy?