Don't forget to check out our organized playlists that have over 200 videos addressing issues from installing packages and nuc - to feeding pollen patties in SHB country.
I depends where you are, I spent a couple of seasons in Western Australis along the west coast and you could not help but raise bees there and the local bee club memberships were exploding just like the bee colonies and people were desperate for bees even though they were everywhere. I stopped trying to raise bees to sell and made a very good living just picking up bee swarms throwing them in box's with syrup for a week to draw out the frames and selling them on. The hives I had were constantly being split to stop them swarming. The coastal regions of WA really are Bee and Bee Keepers Paradise. Beekeepers there expect to get 200 kg of honey a year and good migratory beekeepers can get as much as 300 kg of honey a year and feeding bees is not something many beekeeepers there expect to do.. So it does depend on where you are.
@@MegaDavyk - you also don't have Varroa mites, which devastate bees colonies universally, no matter where you are. We've become less beekeepers and more mite managers. Consider yourself very lucky.
I'm 6 years in and suffered a lot of losses listening to crazy advice. Yours and Ian's information is sound and probably why my bees are doing so well this year. Keep spreading the word!
True story. I am assuming you are talking about Ian Steppler. He is the big reason why I switched to a single brood box management style, and I haven't been happier for doing so.
Even in my bee club I have been told queen excluder is a honey excluder but I tried it on a few of mine and didnt notice a differnce. I will be using a queen excluder on all my honey colony it's just so much faster and can pull boxs without worry if the queen is there. It's really crazy all the myths spouted as the gospel by even good beekeepers with alot of hives. Nice video 100 percent agree
I actually think that all things equal, the queen excluder for sure doesn't hinder the honey production,. If nothing else it forces the bees to push the honey up in order to make more room for brood down below. I use a single brood box management style and noticed last year that there really wasn't a lot of honey being stored in that bottom box while at the same time the brood seemed to cover upwards to 8+- frames.
The difference isn’t in the honey production it’s in the bees, you wear the wings off the young nectar depositors with the excluders and they cant forage but it’s only a small amount of bees this happens too because they’re dedicated to that job for a certain period o time, because they can’t fly they get relegated to other in-house duties instead
Myth #7. I use cedar chips in all of my quilt boxes for the winter and I also store my honey super frames buried in cedar chips, Works great and keeps out the wax moths and other bugs. I just air them out before using them again.
Kamon, Please do an experiment this year using queen excluders. Two good hive of comfortable size. One with and one without a queen excluder. This test will settle this assumption or belief once and for all. With great respect, I lean toward greater honey weight from experience. Most reasons for the excluder is to keep the queen in the lower brood chamber and not in the honey supers. Beekeeping is most exciting isn't it. Thanks my friend.
We started with bees last May, and have heard many of these myths. We get into our hives frequently to see how they are changing so that we can learn. We feel if we are not in there to see what is going on and comparing them to each other then we can’t correct issues that arise.
We at Mighty MO Apirary will donate a full cedar hive setup to you Mr. Reynolds if you'll do videos to show how a cedar hive does to help show that it works. Please feel free to contact us on Facebook or call Jake Knight or I (Austin Robertson).
Nice to hear that I can get into the hive more often than once every 7 to 10 days as a new bee keeper the first few times I didn’t get everything done and wanted to go back and check things a couple of days later but didn’t because it was too soon. I will be checking more often this year providing my bees make it through this cold Canadian winter.
Not a beekeeper, just researching so far. Myth #3 concerning opening a hive in the winter. From just a common sense standpoint I wouldn't think this is a myth. Maybe it doesn't kill your bees outright, but isn't it still harmful to the brood? They try to keep the brood around 95F and if you're opening the hive when it's 55F out, that is a big temperature differential. You open the hive top and all of that heat is going to escape up and out the top. Wont't this chilling affect hurt the brood?
It certainly causes a loss of energy. However, we are not talking about long inspections or opening at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't pull frames of brood unless it is 40 degrees or higher and I am very quick. Keep in mind that bees don't warm the whole hive just the cluster. Most colonies up north have little to no brood right now. Unless there is a need opening a hive is Ill advised. Many are of the opinion you can't open a hive until it is around 60 degrees and this is wrong. We actually requeened a colony in late December this year. It was in the 40s
Great video. If I can add one myth to your list. 11- Honey bees need a double brood-box, especially in colder climates. This is just completely not true. After switching to a single brood box management last year I have to say that I could not be happier. That being said, the management style is very different, but the bees do great, especially in the winter months.
I couldn't agree more on all 10 points! You mentioned Tom Seeley's books. He also has some great presentations at the National Honey Show (along with other greats) which were video taped.
What about “the color of your bee jacket HAS to match your underwear”? Personally, I’ve popped into hives on occasion in my Rocky Raccoons a few times and the girls did not seem offended.
Giles Honey Steppler collects over 300 thousand lbs of honey most years and uses excluders exclusively. I’m only beekeeping for 20 minutes and I read and watch this myth a lot ??? 🤷♂️🤷♂️
Giles Honey Yes I’ve seen a lot of single management style brood boxes all over TH-cam and everyone seems to love them? I am going into my second year with two hives here in NJ and I’m just not experienced enough to try out the single box style? I went double brood box and did not use excluders. I was able to harvest 50lbs of honey for my own use and leave about 60 lbs of honey for the bees in each hive. Local Beeks said that amount was sufficient enough to get them through winter in my area? So far so good as both hives seem to be doing well. The majority of Beeks in my area do not use excluders? Have you ever heard of putting 2 or 3 frames of capped honey in the middle of a honey super right on top of the brood box. The Beeks here say that if the Queen gets up into the super, she will not lay because of the capped honey in the middle of the super???
@@oneshoo I have heart stores about queens not laying above the honey line, but I don't find that to be true. This is my first year using sing brood boxes. I have to admit that you do have to change your management style over that of using double brood boxes, especially in the spring due to the increased chance of swarms. That being said, I found the honey season to be better than when I used doubles as the bees put the honey above the excluder in order to make more room for brood (at least that was my experience). Last year I pulled about 200 pounds of honey from 4 hives (all first-year hives). I then worked hard at getting the weight of the hives up to over 90 pounds before winter. I also added a 1-inch shim, put down a newspaper and added dry sugar. As of a few days ago, they were all doing really good. Feel free to follow me on my channel if you want to see how things go through the winter and into my second year using single brood boxes.
Thanks Bruce! I think that if the bees will take it give it to them. During the summer dearths. I don't feed it all winter. Once we have natural pollen in early Feb we leave it out to fill up gaps. still testing things out though!
Man I miss this video somehow but dang I sure do agree with every single word of it ,every single word..there's a whole lot of repetition hearsay on TH-cam , and it's a shame cuz the people that have worked hives countless hours just becomes annoyed to hear it when they know better,that's why I like the Kamon decided to teach.. because I know what he's saying is right! Good job Kamon you tube needed you for real
Hi I live in Western Australia and would like to say a big thank you for all your great information that for the most part has worked very well for me so good on you mate and keep on doing your videos thanks Christian.
Two questions: 1...does the Queen bee lay eggs during winter and compared to summer, what is the difference in quantity? 2... Can we use plastic made hives with plastic combs fully made?🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
yes, queens generally lay eggs during winter, just on a MUCH smaller scale as the warmer months. I am in central Maine, and if I were to go through my frames I would find a small amount of brood. keep in mind that the brood needs to be kept warm, so your hives need to be at a point where the bees can regulate that temperature. That is part of the reason why I chose to switch to a single brood box management style.
How do you feel on hives getting first morning sunlight? I am going to test a few colonies in wooded areas. I have heard numerous times it’s crucial to keep bees in early morning sun for honey production.
Kamon, some of the blind hobbiest aren’t as blind as you might think because they watch every video that Fredrick Dunn, Ian Steppler, Jeff Horchoff, Randy McCaffrey and the famous Kamon Reynolds from Tennessee’s Bees post on TH-cam! RTR!
It is more a warning than a rule of thumb. You could easily make the argument that TH-camrs can be the blind leading the blind. Thanks for the kind words though Don. Football season is too far away :(
What I seen many times here on TH-cam is that youtubers repeat what other youtubers said in their in their videos without checking the facts and spreading lies and fictions. That is why I limit my youtube videos to Kamon, Ian and maybe 1 or 2 more folks. Kamon is on my #1 list.
Myth #12. Anyone can be treatment free. All you need are the right "magic bees" Ankle Biter, Mite Mauler, Saskatraz, whatever. I just want bees that produce honey.
Yeah, 1st year, 100% treatment free. Made me lose 100% of the bees. 2nd year, all season 100% treatment free, treated right before winter because the bees did not do so good. Made me lose 100% of the bees. 3rd year listen to Kamon and done what he done and treated like he done. Made me get 80% of my bees go through winter and gave me a bee explosion the following year(2020). Even got plenty of honey from those bees. Sometimes , bees just need some help for maybe another million years before they can handle situations that where caused by humans. If we have animals , we need to take care of them and it does not matter if it is a cow or a pig or bees.
This was truly fantastic kamon thank you so much ..I say it again I new the first time I watched one of your TH-cam posts I was paying attention to the right person..It would be great if you put a book out with all the experience you have I sure would purchase one thanks so much for all you do for us bee keepers that want solid and sound information and advice...
Yeah that cedar tree one's definitely BS. I have a hive that seems to love to just pull out of the hive almost completely and hang out in a cedar tree and then they come back at night
Myth number one. Is that really true that the bees chase the queen around to make her lose weight I always wondered about that I thought it was a pheromone that they released or something that told the queen to stop laying eggs
I watch Ian for the gee-whiz aspect of seeing 7 deep supers on a single deep brood box, but you are my bee guru for how to approach my own little (one colony so far) apiary.
I thought FOR SURE you would include the myth of "You can't reuse old comb" ... and we all know who generates this myth ;) We all love watching your videos here at Starlight Bees (cheap, shameless plug).
I agree with everything you said here. For a long time I thought the Queen ruled the roost until I learned otherwise many years ago. And a queen excluder is your best friend, I hate having to sort through frames to pick out the honey. And if breaking the seal on your hives in winter kill them, all of mine would be dead. Here in the Northeast you have to get into your bees to make sure they have plenty of feed or come the end of March you do have a bunch of dead hives. of course you don't go breaking medial on a day when it's 5° outside. But on any day that we have a break and whether where it jumps up around 48° that's a good day to assess your hives. And you're right there are so many myths out there. Excellent video and as always thanks for sharing.
Regarding wax moth, from the PLoS ONE Journal, the bees bite has an anesthetic effect and they can make wax moth sleep temporarily to remove them. The compound is also being studied so that someday it can be used in hospitals.
Couple things I don't agree with you on this video. Breaking the seal, first of all if you need to reseal the hives at all after you break it you're obviously well aware it poses some degree of risk to the bees so I don't know why you're saying it poses none. Obviously if you need to feed them feed them. Inspecting too much, first of all there have been many studies done on stress hormone build up in animals and how it can have adverse health effects and lead to death, while it might not kill the entire colony too many inspections could definitely overstress and kill some bees which if you want a healthy coloney is not ideal. Recognition of the beekeeper honestly mate, unless you're someone who's done a comprehensive study on this, or a bee I wouldn't comment on this one way or another. It's possible the nervous system of bees is capable of some degree of recognition of beekeepers especially if they are domesticated, of course it's equally possible the nervous system has no such capability but until such a study is done I wouldn't run around saying it's one way or the other. What I will say is that some bees have been bread in such a way to be docile, that means their nervous system has been manipulated in such a way to respond less strongly to certain stimuli that much is certain.
Great info, myth 7 hits me, 😆 i caught 10 of my 12 swarms i caught last yr in cedar trees, they love em, heck i even cut cedar trees and tie to fences where arent any close , works better than swarm traps! 😀 , after all my honey buisness aint called "cedar Branch hives" for nothing ! All your myths are for sure nothing but MYTHS !!!
My top myths: 1. Beekeeping is conservation. Nope, beekeeping is agriculture with non-native ag livestock superorganisms. NOT conservation. TRUE conservation is habitat restoration with NATIVE plants. ONLY native plants help to heal an ecosystem. 2. Honeybees need saving. Nope, not native to the entire US continent, colony numbers have increased the past 10-15 years. Simply agricultural livestock. Save the pigs? Save the chickens? Save the cows? Sounds absurd right? It's our NATIVE pollinators at true risk and many endangered. 3. We need honeybees to save the environment. Nope. They did not evolve here for thousands of years with our native plants like our native pollinators have. fealty large nectar sources? Non-native invasive plants. So if honeybees are pollinating and helping non-native invasive plants, that is bad for the ecosystem. 4. Beekeeping helps all pollinators. False. Honeybees are non-native superorganisms that hoard all they can. They fly further than all native pollinators for forage and have very large foraging numbers. A. They can outcompete the native for every decreasing forage. B. They are transmitting diseases and viruses to native pollinators. C. They might be propagating non-native plants more than native plants which is bad for the ecosystem and native pollinators. 5. Honeybees are a great way to teach the public about all pollinators. They are a rare superorganism and are SO unlike our native pollinators, over 400 native bee species in PA alone, over 4000 in the US , not to mention all the flies, beetles, moths, wasps, hornets, butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, etc. Most all native pollinators are solitary. Bumblebees usually make small colonies, from dozens to hundreds but only queens overwinter alone. 6. We would not have 1/3 of our food without honeybees. Not true. Recent studies show in orchards where honeybees are brought in native pollinators do over 80% of the pollination. Native bees are better pollinators as well tranferring more pollen. The ONLY reason we rely on honeybees is due to chemical non-native crop, and all the chemicals used. environment the bees disappear refer to all bees/insects, not just honeybees which are usually pictured. What if all the honeybees died? Worse: What if ONLY honeybees survive? *** I am a beekeeper. I just cannot tolerate all the misinformation out there, basically false marketing to sell stuff. Clubs, businesses, mentors all do a great job teaching HOW to beekeep well (Step B) but skip the most important Step A: What is beekeeping? What are honeybees? Beekeeping is taking from the Earth, make sure we give back, plant NATIVE plants, shrink the useless unused lawn spaces.
I agree opening the hive in winter wont do harm in an emergency... I did learn I want bees more than honey to that end many years ago I went to 3 deep hive bodies and never looked back... In Northern Ohio and the snowbelt weve had snow as late as 3rd week in May and as early as first week of October and a couple years had 20 plus days in a row with daytime temps below 25 nights temps single digits and teens...
I agree with everything. Whot about sany/shedy spot... Misspeling everything. We gota excluders with frames and an enthering. Center. No bercome. Just wood
@@kamonreynolds Thanx Muchly. Down here in South Australia we wouldn't see any of those outside of a zoo exhibit. Lots of deadly reptile type thing down here though.
Last August I fed pollen through a Burns feeding board, with the patty on top of the board over a wire mesh screen, so the bees could get to the pollen but they could not get out to on top of the board. Apparently the SHB were laying eggs in the pollen on top of the feeder board that was inaccessible to the bees. I found and killed dozens of very small larvae. In future I will lay the patty directly on top of the frames so the bees can take care of the problem. Thanks for you input.
But...but...but.... my bees KNOW me! I know, I know! We love THEM - they don't love US! Great list. I am no expert, but there are also those that would like to keep it mysterious and complicated. You take the mythology out of keeping our bees, and I appreciate your methods!
Thanks Kamon for this informative video. I'm relieved to hear that one can open the hive in the winter to feed. I was under the impression that you shouldn't open the hive in the winter because the bees will die. I lost a hive over the winter because of starvation. I had a wireless thermometer in it and in Jan the temp went to 28 degrees so I knew the hive died. I looked in it during a thaw and noted that the bees went through all of their food stores. Any chance that you could do a video on 'Queen Bee Myths' ? It's Nov here in the Northeast, very warm fall and when I checked my single brood box colony I saw a large queen cell being built. I thought that bees don't make queen cells in the fall esp when there is a current queen running around the colony.
I liked the idea of a second entrance above the excluder makes lot of sense. Here Aus the eucalyptus flows are usually heavy and fast, but short lived. which is why we have to move hives more than other countries. So you don't want your foragers wasting inside the brood box. I'll try it on a couple of boxes
Myth 10, there are variables. I had someone call me to remove bees from under a container. He had disturbed them 2 days before with a weed wacker slinging debris under the container they came out and stung him. I go up to the container get down on my knees stick my face right in the pathway of the bees coming and going. The bees all of a sudden streamed out past my face and went straight to the guy who had disturbed them 2 days before and stung him up, completely ignoring everybody else who was standing around. They recognised this guy presumably by smell.
Kamon, I had mixed results with Queen Excluders. Last year my home yard with 70 plus hives, I used 15 Queen Excluder. All had upper entrances. The honey supers were getting high, some were five honey super high. Getting too high to work, time to steal the honey. I was shocked. Three hives had double Queens, one on either side of the excluder. The honey supers had three to four frames of brood all running up the middle. Boy, I had lots of bees. Note: I had a marked queen in a nuc that I thought died. I think I found her in one of the honey supers. LOL One more thing I saw. One of my hives looked like it was having a drone mating area in front of the hive, like a mini swarm. After ten minutes the bee mostly went back by the upper entrance. I check the hive the next day. The honey supers above the excluder were loaded with drones. I removed the excluder. For me, if I use excluders, I will think twice about upper entrances
The upper entrance is good and bad. You saw why it's bad. I guess I'd try screening off the upper with 1/8" mesh. Managed one hive for someone else that was low on my priorities because I had to climb a ladder to get to it. That one did the same thing yours did. Double queen. One above and one below the excluder. Pita.
SOS. For the last 3 years I've lost my hive (as I only have one). I buy another pkg in spring, they do phenomenal then ..one year October. Next year February. This time was yesterday I noticed. Ive been working w bees for five years. Still consider myself a novice but...what is going on. I had over an inch of dead bees on the bottom board!! I tested for mites in fall. Got zero..tested twice! Two full supers of honey on them..tho I did remove one as there's few bees still in there. Idk if queened still. I did go thru the dead id pulled out on a big cookie sheet n didnt see her. They were active two weeks ago. Three years in a row tho?
Hi my grandad has been a beekeeper for nearly 60 years and his myth is master beekeepers he says it's impossible as he is learning more every season so how can you be a master if your still learning
Hi kamon, I posted this question on another video but do you know if there’s a difference in oa 99.6% or oa 99.8%. I was told to make sure to use the 99.8 but it’s harder to find in bulk than the 99.6.
Kamon Reynolds. Dear Mr. myth buster really like your videos. Is this a MYTH or not, your own bees in your yard wont necessary pollinate your own flowers and vegetables? Please tell this is a myth.
Hey just wanted to say thanks for the awesome videos. I worked bees several years ago before the mite attack.loved working the bees then but after the mites I got out of it because I really didn’t know what needed to be done, then I got back into it in 2016 but bought nukes from a commercial bee keeper that moved the bees from Florida to Indiana and they just sucked. I think they were his old stock and just dumped them on a few of us ignorant bee keepers just because.I didn’t get into the Queen rearing was always scared of that for some reason. Anyway after watching your videos I’m making several boxes, hive traps and ordered a bunch of Queen rearing supplies and books, also trying to watch all of your videos! Keep them coming so much great info. Just a little word to some of these people that seem to find something wrong with how you work your bees! There are several ways to work bees just because a person does it differently than you or how you were taught does not make it wrong. And so far Kamon seems to be rocking it!
Kamon thank u for this video, lots to learne from u! So, can u answer what is the lowest temperature when sugar syrup can be given to bees? Beekeepers say that it should not be given when night temperatures are less than 5 degrees Celsius because bees can get nosemosis, because it is still cold for their digestive tract. What do you think about it? Thank u!
Myth number 10 "Bees recognise their Beekeeper". I know there is no logic to it but something is going on there. I consider my Bees to be very gentle but I have had people come to my bee yard and get stung just for being there before we did anything and it never occurred to me that I would get stung and of course I did not. Update:- I did some research and came up with a possible solution Morphic resonance and morphogenetic fields, the case can be made that the hive mind or consciousness recognises you even thought most if not all of the bees have never seen you. When you think about it, we remember what happened to us years ago even though every cell in our body and brain has been replaced multiple times, the Neurons that recorded the event are long gone but we still remember.
There is another current myth that stands in the way of successful beekeeping: there is always someone or something else to blame for the loss or weak bee communities, never a beekeeper.
What is your suggestion when creating an upper entrance during a flow so the girls don't have to travel the entire hive? Do you just drill a small hole in the front of the box of the honey super near the top of it? If so, about what size? Thanks!!
I have noticed that for some reason, a lot of bee keepers put a great deal of faith in antidotal evidence. They see something once or twice and believe that's the way it always is. I was a scientist before retiring and I'm too skeptical to fall for that! It's not hard to set up a quick little experiment with controls and repeat it until the weight of evidence reveals a pattern. A catfish gets big when he is picky about hitting the bait!
Myth 2, it shortens worker bees life. It wore down their wings and/or body. Richard noel did an explanation on that I think, leaving entrance ontop should help with that I guess. Myth 6, just a higher chances of killing queens/bees when in them often. My neighbour always kills queens 🤷♂️ our bees africanized, so idk.. Myth7, all my boxes are cedar boxes, covers, Bottomboards, frames everything. No deaths because of that 🤣
Don't forget to check out our organized playlists that have over 200 videos addressing issues from installing packages and nuc - to feeding pollen patties in SHB country.
You did not cover the biggest myth of all, "It is easy to make money raising bees!"
I think that might bee true! 🤣🤣
Haha true words
I depends where you are, I spent a couple of seasons in Western Australis along the west coast and you could not help but raise bees there and the local bee club memberships were exploding just like the bee colonies and people were desperate for bees even though they were everywhere. I stopped trying to raise bees to sell and made a very good living just picking up bee swarms throwing them in box's with syrup for a week to draw out the frames and selling them on. The hives I had were constantly being split to stop them swarming. The coastal regions of WA really are Bee and Bee Keepers Paradise. Beekeepers there expect to get 200 kg of honey a year and good migratory beekeepers can get as much as 300 kg of honey a year and feeding bees is not something many beekeeepers there expect to do.. So it does depend on where you are.
@@MegaDavyk - you also don't have Varroa mites, which devastate bees colonies universally, no matter where you are. We've become less beekeepers and more mite managers.
Consider yourself very lucky.
@@play-doughsrepublic5121 I am currently living in New Zealand which has had Varroa for 20 years, I know a we bit about them too.
I'm 6 years in and suffered a lot of losses listening to crazy advice.
Yours and Ian's information is sound and probably why my bees are doing so well this year.
Keep spreading the word!
True story. I am assuming you are talking about Ian Steppler. He is the big reason why I switched to a single brood box management style, and I haven't been happier for doing so.
@@gileshoney5796 Yes. Less voodoo and more common sense = healthier bees. :)
Thanks P mac!
Even in my bee club I have been told queen excluder is a honey excluder but I tried it on a few of mine and didnt notice a differnce. I will be using a queen excluder on all my honey colony it's just so much faster and can pull boxs without worry if the queen is there. It's really crazy all the myths spouted as the gospel by even good beekeepers with alot of hives. Nice video 100 percent agree
I actually think that all things equal, the queen excluder for sure doesn't hinder the honey production,. If nothing else it forces the bees to push the honey up in order to make more room for brood down below. I use a single brood box management style and noticed last year that there really wasn't a lot of honey being stored in that bottom box while at the same time the brood seemed to cover upwards to 8+- frames.
The difference isn’t in the honey production it’s in the bees, you wear the wings off the young nectar depositors with the excluders and they cant forage but it’s only a small amount of bees this happens too because they’re dedicated to that job for a certain period o time, because they can’t fly they get relegated to other in-house duties instead
@@BESHYSBEES
I think this is another myth!
You got to like a guy that tells it like it is! We do appreciate you Kamon.
You really are the best bloke on TH-cam.
The cedar one is really weird. In the UK cedar is the preferred wood to make hives out of. It is light, rot resistant, and lasts for decades.
Myth #7. I use cedar chips in all of my quilt boxes for the winter and I also store my honey super frames buried in cedar chips, Works great and keeps out the wax moths and other bugs. I just air them out before using them again.
Kamon, Please do an experiment this year using queen excluders. Two good hive of comfortable size. One with and one without a queen excluder. This test will settle this assumption or belief once and for all. With great respect, I lean toward greater honey weight from experience. Most reasons for the excluder is to keep the queen in the lower brood chamber and not in the honey supers. Beekeeping is most exciting isn't it. Thanks my friend.
Thanks for the idea
I'd add comparing the plastic vs wire QEs. The wire ones are better for my bees.
We started with bees last May, and have heard many of these myths. We get into our hives frequently to see how they are changing so that we can learn.
We feel if we are not in there to see what is going on and comparing them to each other then we can’t correct issues that arise.
We at Mighty MO Apirary will donate a full cedar hive setup to you Mr. Reynolds if you'll do videos to show how a cedar hive does to help show that it works. Please feel free to contact us on Facebook or call Jake Knight or I (Austin Robertson).
“They don’t know when to stop”. Made me chuckle 😀. Another very interesting video.
Nice to hear that I can get into the hive more often than once every 7 to 10 days as a new bee keeper the first few times I didn’t get everything done and wanted to go back and check things a couple of days later but didn’t because it was too soon. I will be checking more often this year providing my bees make it through this cold Canadian winter.
They will 😎😎😎
Not a beekeeper, just researching so far. Myth #3 concerning opening a hive in the winter. From just a common sense standpoint I wouldn't think this is a myth. Maybe it doesn't kill your bees outright, but isn't it still harmful to the brood? They try to keep the brood around 95F and if you're opening the hive when it's 55F out, that is a big temperature differential. You open the hive top and all of that heat is going to escape up and out the top. Wont't this chilling affect hurt the brood?
It certainly causes a loss of energy. However, we are not talking about long inspections or opening at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't pull frames of brood unless it is 40 degrees or higher and I am very quick. Keep in mind that bees don't warm the whole hive just the cluster. Most colonies up north have little to no brood right now. Unless there is a need opening a hive is Ill advised. Many are of the opinion you can't open a hive until it is around 60 degrees and this is wrong. We actually requeened a colony in late December this year. It was in the 40s
@@kamonreynolds Thank you!
Great video. If I can add one myth to your list. 11- Honey bees need a double brood-box, especially in colder climates. This is just completely not true. After switching to a single brood box management last year I have to say that I could not be happier. That being said, the management style is very different, but the bees do great, especially in the winter months.
I get into my hive at the house all the time. Usually once a week something two just for me
I couldn't agree more on all 10 points! You mentioned Tom Seeley's books. He also has some great presentations at the National Honey Show (along with other greats) which were video taped.
What about “the color of your bee jacket HAS to match your underwear”? Personally, I’ve popped into hives on occasion in my Rocky Raccoons a few times and the girls did not seem offended.
Anyone who thinks queen excludes reduces the amount of honey bee's produce has never seen Ian Steppler, aka- Canadian Beekeeper video's 😎😎😎
True story. I switched to single brood management using a queen excluder after watching a bunch of Ian's videos, and couldn't be happier.
Giles Honey
Steppler collects over 300 thousand lbs of honey most years and uses excluders exclusively. I’m only beekeeping for 20 minutes and I read and watch this myth a lot ??? 🤷♂️🤷♂️
@@oneshoo I switched to single brood box management (like Ian Steppler) so I have to use queen excluders. I find absolutely no issues with using them.
Giles Honey
Yes I’ve seen a lot of single management style brood boxes all over TH-cam and everyone seems to love them? I am going into my second year with two hives here in NJ and I’m just not experienced enough to try out the single box style? I went double brood box and did not use excluders. I was able to harvest 50lbs of honey for my own use and leave about 60 lbs of honey for the bees in each hive. Local Beeks said that amount was sufficient enough to get them through winter in my area? So far so good as both hives seem to be doing well. The majority of Beeks in my area do not use excluders? Have you ever heard of putting 2 or 3 frames of capped honey in the middle of a honey super right on top of the brood box. The Beeks here say that if the Queen gets up into the super, she will not lay because of the capped honey in the middle of the super???
@@oneshoo I have heart stores about queens not laying above the honey line, but I don't find that to be true. This is my first year using sing brood boxes. I have to admit that you do have to change your management style over that of using double brood boxes, especially in the spring due to the increased chance of swarms. That being said, I found the honey season to be better than when I used doubles as the bees put the honey above the excluder in order to make more room for brood (at least that was my experience). Last year I pulled about 200 pounds of honey from 4 hives (all first-year hives). I then worked hard at getting the weight of the hives up to over 90 pounds before winter. I also added a 1-inch shim, put down a newspaper and added dry sugar. As of a few days ago, they were all doing really good. Feel free to follow me on my channel if you want to see how things go through the winter and into my second year using single brood boxes.
What do you think about feeding pollen sub via open feeding during dearth?
Thanks Bruce! I think that if the bees will take it give it to them. During the summer dearths. I don't feed it all winter. Once we have natural pollen in early Feb we leave it out to fill up gaps. still testing things out though!
@@kamonreynolds yeah me too. I think I will always be testing🙂
I always say. Other people's advice is where your research should start
Man I miss this video somehow but dang I sure do agree with every single word of it ,every single word..there's a whole lot of repetition hearsay on TH-cam , and it's a shame cuz the people that have worked hives countless hours just becomes annoyed to hear it when they know better,that's why I like the Kamon decided to teach.. because I know what he's saying is right! Good job Kamon you tube needed you for real
Hi I live in Western Australia and would like to say a big thank you for all your great information that for the most part has worked very well for me so good on you mate and keep on doing your videos thanks Christian.
Two questions: 1...does the Queen bee lay eggs during winter and compared to summer, what is the difference in quantity?
2... Can we use plastic made hives with plastic combs fully made?🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
yes, queens generally lay eggs during winter, just on a MUCH smaller scale as the warmer months. I am in central Maine, and if I were to go through my frames I would find a small amount of brood. keep in mind that the brood needs to be kept warm, so your hives need to be at a point where the bees can regulate that temperature. That is part of the reason why I chose to switch to a single brood box management style.
Mr. K just opened his hives showing his queen laying in the winter months. Weather looks good in the next few days I'm check mine then.
what, these are my girls of course they know me, I talk with them, my phermones are in the colony, come on
Your bees do know you and your face!
How do you feel on hives getting first morning sunlight? I am going to test a few colonies in wooded areas. I have heard numerous times it’s crucial to keep bees in early morning sun for honey production.
It does get them out a little earlier so it probably effects it to a degree but I am sure they can still make honey
Kamon, some of the blind hobbiest aren’t as blind as you might think because they watch every video that Fredrick Dunn, Ian Steppler, Jeff Horchoff, Randy McCaffrey and the famous Kamon Reynolds from Tennessee’s Bees post on TH-cam! RTR!
It is more a warning than a rule of thumb. You could easily make the argument that TH-camrs can be the blind leading the blind. Thanks for the kind words though Don. Football season is too far away :(
What I seen many times here on TH-cam is that youtubers repeat what other youtubers said in their in their videos without checking the facts and spreading lies and fictions. That is why I limit my youtube videos to Kamon, Ian and maybe 1 or 2 more folks.
Kamon is on my #1 list.
Myth #12. Anyone can be treatment free. All you need are the right "magic bees" Ankle Biter, Mite Mauler, Saskatraz, whatever. I just want bees that produce honey.
Yeah, 1st year, 100% treatment free. Made me lose 100% of the bees.
2nd year, all season 100% treatment free, treated right before winter because the bees did not do so good. Made me lose 100% of the bees.
3rd year listen to Kamon and done what he done and treated like he done. Made me get 80% of my bees go through winter and gave me a bee explosion the following year(2020). Even got plenty of honey from those bees.
Sometimes , bees just need some help for maybe another million years before they can handle situations that where caused by humans. If we have animals , we need to take care of them and it does not matter if it is a cow or a pig or bees.
This was truly fantastic kamon thank you so much ..I say it again I new the first time I watched one of your TH-cam posts I was paying attention to the right person..It would be great if you put a book out with all the experience you have I sure would purchase one thanks so much for all you do for us bee keepers that want solid and sound information and advice...
Thanks Gino!
I really needed to hear #6 and #9 today. I'm brand new to this and am constantly questioning EVERYTHING I do. Thank you!
Yeah that cedar tree one's definitely BS. I have a hive that seems to love to just pull out of the hive almost completely and hang out in a cedar tree and then they come back at night
I've watched them do it a few times in the same year they always come back but they like to hang out in that cedar tree
Myth number one. Is that really true that the bees chase the queen around to make her lose weight I always wondered about that I thought it was a pheromone that they released or something that told the queen to stop laying eggs
Totally true. They harass her to death and don't give her time to lay which shuts everything down
I watch Ian for the gee-whiz aspect of seeing 7 deep supers on a single deep brood box, but you are my bee guru for how to approach my own little (one colony so far) apiary.
Helpful info.
Nice shirt.
Missing cowboy hat.
Best regards from cowboy country.
I thought FOR SURE you would include the myth of "You can't reuse old comb" ... and we all know who generates this myth ;) We all love watching your videos here at Starlight Bees (cheap, shameless plug).
I agree with everything you said here. For a long time I thought the Queen ruled the roost until I learned otherwise many years ago. And a queen excluder is your best friend, I hate having to sort through frames to pick out the honey. And if breaking the seal on your hives in winter kill them, all of mine would be dead. Here in the Northeast you have to get into your bees to make sure they have plenty of feed or come the end of March you do have a bunch of dead hives. of course you don't go breaking medial on a day when it's 5° outside. But on any day that we have a break and whether where it jumps up around 48° that's a good day to assess your hives. And you're right there are so many myths out there. Excellent video and as always thanks for sharing.
I learn something from you every video
Myth #12. Bees don't have 401(k)s. 🤪
Glad you addressed the myths. Neophytes and experienced beekeepers will benefit from this.
🍻🍻
Another excellent video! I recommended your channel to our Beginning Beekeepers Workshop yesterday. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Show me Bees!
Regarding wax moth, from the PLoS ONE Journal, the bees bite has an anesthetic effect and they can make wax moth sleep temporarily to remove them. The compound is also being studied so that someday it can be used in hospitals.
Just picked up a couple swarms from cedar shrubs!!
Saw a hive in a hollow cedar tree yesterday! We left them as they seemed fine in there and I didn't feel like chainsawing into a hive!
Couple things I don't agree with you on this video. Breaking the seal, first of all if you need to reseal the hives at all after you break it you're obviously well aware it poses some degree of risk to the bees so I don't know why you're saying it poses none. Obviously if you need to feed them feed them. Inspecting too much, first of all there have been many studies done on stress hormone build up in animals and how it can have adverse health effects and lead to death, while it might not kill the entire colony too many inspections could definitely overstress and kill some bees which if you want a healthy coloney is not ideal. Recognition of the beekeeper honestly mate, unless you're someone who's done a comprehensive study on this, or a bee I wouldn't comment on this one way or another. It's possible the nervous system of bees is capable of some degree of recognition of beekeepers especially if they are domesticated, of course it's equally possible the nervous system has no such capability but until such a study is done I wouldn't run around saying it's one way or the other. What I will say is that some bees have been bread in such a way to be docile, that means their nervous system has been manipulated in such a way to respond less strongly to certain stimuli that much is certain.
Great info, myth 7 hits me, 😆 i caught 10 of my 12 swarms i caught last yr in cedar trees, they love em, heck i even cut cedar trees and tie to fences where arent any close , works better than swarm traps! 😀 , after all my honey buisness aint called
"cedar Branch hives" for nothing ! All your myths are for sure nothing but MYTHS !!!
Why spoil a good story with the truth!!!
My top myths:
1. Beekeeping is conservation. Nope, beekeeping is agriculture with non-native ag livestock superorganisms. NOT conservation. TRUE conservation is habitat
restoration with NATIVE plants. ONLY native plants help to heal an ecosystem.
2. Honeybees need saving. Nope, not native to the entire US continent, colony numbers have increased the past 10-15 years. Simply agricultural livestock.
Save the pigs? Save the chickens? Save the cows? Sounds absurd right? It's our NATIVE pollinators at true risk and many endangered.
3. We need honeybees to save the environment. Nope. They did not evolve here for thousands of years with our native plants like our native pollinators have.
fealty
large nectar sources? Non-native invasive plants. So if honeybees are pollinating and helping non-native invasive plants, that is bad for the
ecosystem.
4. Beekeeping helps all pollinators. False. Honeybees are non-native superorganisms that hoard all they can. They fly further than all native pollinators for
forage and have very large foraging numbers. A. They can outcompete the native for every decreasing forage. B. They are transmitting diseases and
viruses to native pollinators. C. They might be propagating non-native plants more than native plants which is bad for the ecosystem and native
pollinators.
5. Honeybees are a great way to teach the public about all pollinators. They are a rare superorganism and are SO unlike our native pollinators, over 400 native
bee species in PA alone, over 4000 in the US , not to mention all the flies, beetles, moths, wasps, hornets, butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, etc. Most
all native pollinators are solitary. Bumblebees usually make small colonies, from dozens to hundreds but only queens overwinter alone.
6. We would not have 1/3 of our food without honeybees. Not true. Recent studies show in orchards where honeybees are brought in native pollinators do over
80% of the pollination. Native bees are better pollinators as well tranferring more pollen. The ONLY reason we rely on honeybees is due to
chemical
non-native crop, and all the chemicals used.
environment
the bees disappear refer to all bees/insects, not just honeybees which are usually pictured. What if all the honeybees died? Worse: What if ONLY
honeybees survive?
*** I am a beekeeper. I just cannot tolerate all the misinformation out there, basically false marketing to sell stuff. Clubs, businesses, mentors all do a great job teaching HOW to beekeep well (Step B) but skip the most important Step A: What is beekeeping? What are honeybees? Beekeeping is taking from the Earth, make sure we give back, plant NATIVE plants, shrink the useless unused lawn spaces.
Enjoyed this video Kamon. Thanks!
I agree opening the hive in winter wont do harm in an emergency... I did learn I want bees more than honey to that end many years ago I went to 3 deep hive bodies and never looked back... In Northern Ohio and the snowbelt weve had snow as late as 3rd week in May and as early as first week of October and a couple years had 20 plus days in a row with daytime temps below 25 nights temps single digits and teens...
It's too much work inspecting 30 deep frames. If it works for you great.
I agree with everything. Whot about sany/shedy spot... Misspeling everything. We gota excluders with frames and an enthering. Center. No bercome. Just wood
I like a little shade myself but not all day shade!
Yes, is time too thray it your way. 40 years on the san is inaf Thanks... just now we lost golden medal in handball and bronz in water polo.😥😥😥✊🇭🇷.
As usual, an informative video. BUT what I really want to know is, what's in the tank behind you??????
That Tank houses a Green Anole. He is quite, small, and can camouflage himself
@@kamonreynolds Thanx Muchly. Down here in South Australia we wouldn't see any of those outside of a zoo exhibit. Lots of deadly reptile type thing down here though.
Yessir that is what I understand you all got the Lions share of crazy critters!
Last August I fed pollen through a Burns feeding board, with the patty on top of the board over a wire mesh screen, so the bees could get to the pollen but they could not get out to on top of the board. Apparently the SHB were laying eggs in the pollen on top of the feeder board that was inaccessible to the bees. I found and killed dozens of very small larvae. In future I will lay the patty directly on top of the frames so the bees can take care of the problem. Thanks for you input.
They're like Slivers, be afraid.
I have many hives, two are at my front door and see many people many times a day. These two hives don't sting.
Thank you for all your videos. I learn something Everytime I listen and watch!!!!!
I live in Canada.. You MIGHT get a day you can open.. but I would not recommend it..
hi...
'
is that mesquite honey help good sleep well...
how long sleep a night after eat the mesquite
But...but...but.... my bees KNOW me! I know, I know! We love THEM - they don't love US! Great list. I am no expert, but there are also those that would like to keep it mysterious and complicated. You take the mythology out of keeping our bees, and I appreciate your methods!
Thanks Kamon for this informative video. I'm relieved to hear that one can open the hive in the winter to feed. I was under the impression that you shouldn't open the hive in the winter because the bees will die. I lost a hive over the winter because of starvation. I had a wireless thermometer in it and in Jan the temp went to 28 degrees so I knew the hive died. I looked in it during a thaw and noted that the bees went through all of their food stores. Any chance that you could do a video on 'Queen Bee Myths' ? It's Nov here in the Northeast, very warm fall and when I checked my single brood box colony I saw a large queen cell being built. I thought that bees don't make queen cells in the fall esp when there is a current queen running around the colony.
I liked the idea of a second entrance above the excluder makes lot of sense. Here Aus the eucalyptus flows are usually heavy and fast, but short lived. which is why we have to move hives more than other countries. So you don't want your foragers wasting inside the brood box. I'll try it on a couple of boxes
Myth 10, there are variables. I had someone call me to remove bees from under a container. He had disturbed them 2 days before with a weed wacker slinging debris under the container they came out and stung him. I go up to the container get down on my knees stick my face right in the pathway of the bees coming and going. The bees all of a sudden streamed out past my face and went straight to the guy who had disturbed them 2 days before and stung him up, completely ignoring everybody else who was standing around. They recognised this guy presumably by smell.
Kamon, I had mixed results with Queen Excluders. Last year my home yard with 70 plus hives, I used 15 Queen Excluder. All had upper entrances. The honey supers were getting high, some were five honey super high. Getting too high to work, time to steal the honey. I was shocked. Three hives had double Queens, one on either side of the excluder. The honey supers had three to four frames of brood all running up the middle. Boy, I had lots of bees. Note: I had a marked queen in a nuc that I thought died. I think I found her in one of the honey supers. LOL
One more thing I saw. One of my hives looked like it was having a drone mating area in front of the hive, like a mini swarm. After ten minutes the bee mostly went back by the upper entrance. I check the hive the next day. The honey supers above the excluder were loaded with drones. I removed the excluder. For me, if I use excluders, I will think twice about upper entrances
The upper entrance is good and bad. You saw why it's bad. I guess I'd try screening off the upper with 1/8" mesh. Managed one hive for someone else that was low on my priorities because I had to climb a ladder to get to it. That one did the same thing yours did. Double queen. One above and one below the excluder.
Pita.
Brilliant video mate!!!!
Myth... opening the hives sets colony back a day. True or false
#1 myth the bee war/crisis. ...except that I don't have bee hives where I currently live..that is a crisis..till Aprilish.
SOS. For the last 3 years I've lost my hive (as I only have one). I buy another pkg in spring, they do phenomenal then ..one year October. Next year February. This time was yesterday I noticed. Ive been working w bees for five years. Still consider myself a novice but...what is going on. I had over an inch of dead bees on the bottom board!! I tested for mites in fall. Got zero..tested twice! Two full supers of honey on them..tho I did remove one as there's few bees still in there. Idk if queened still. I did go thru the dead id pulled out on a big cookie sheet n didnt see her. They were active two weeks ago. Three years in a row tho?
Without pictures it’s hard to help, usually starving if you see bees dead with their head in the cells.
Location temp etc etc too many variables
Hey you do know they can starve even though they’re an inch away from the honey, the cluster gets cold and can’t migrate around to get to food
Thanks Kamon! As always, good information. I'm waiting on the tshirts!! LOL
WOW Thank you Kamon
Another amazing and educating video goes right back when I mentioned that I will only be using your information kamon thank you much..
Thanks for clearing those things up Kamon! Nice shirt! At least it isn't an Alabama shirt😆
Hi my grandad has been a beekeeper for nearly 60 years and his myth is master beekeepers he says it's impossible as he is learning more every season so how can you be a master if your still learning
Myth # 11: The bees need 3 deep brood chambers, especially in the north, to thrive.
😂 #5. That’s definitely a wives tale. Mine are major moochers lmao! I put my hive front towards the east. Why- I just do. No reason.
Again Great bee information.
Hi kamon, I posted this question on another video but do you know if there’s a difference in oa 99.6% or oa 99.8%. I was told to make sure to use the 99.8 but it’s harder to find in bulk than the 99.6.
Yeah about cedar, I had a cedar stump that I cut as a coffee table wild honey bees decided to move into the stump of cedar, my point bees do not care
Another myth is. The bees think that it is a bear.
How many bees actual have been seeing a bear?
love this video!! great info!!
How do people make pollen patties?😂and where can you purchase them?
Crap, i thought bees recognize their keeper and can smell them.
Kamon Reynolds. Dear Mr. myth buster really like your videos. Is this a MYTH or not, your own bees in your yard wont necessary pollinate your own flowers and vegetables? Please tell this is a myth.
My bees pollinate my cucumbers, clover, and herbs all the time. It is easier for them to find it if it is not right up against the hive though
Cedar wood makes the best hives you don’t have to paint them like the cheap pine ones
I have a picture of me at the outside and inside of the hive, so the bees do not forget who the boss is.
Interesting presentation. Thank you!!!
Hey just wanted to say thanks for the awesome videos. I worked bees several years ago before the mite attack.loved working the bees then but after the mites I got out of it because I really didn’t know what needed to be done, then I got back into it in 2016 but bought nukes from a commercial bee keeper that moved the bees from Florida to Indiana and they just sucked. I think they were his old stock and just dumped them on a few of us ignorant bee keepers just because.I didn’t get into the Queen rearing was always scared of that for some reason. Anyway after watching your videos I’m making several boxes, hive traps and ordered a bunch of Queen rearing supplies and books, also trying to watch all of your videos! Keep them coming so much great info. Just a little word to some of these people that seem to find something wrong with how you work your bees! There are several ways to work bees just because a person does it differently than you or how you were taught does not make it wrong. And so far Kamon seems to be rocking it!
Thanks for the kind words Jerry!
It sounds like you are in the toilet. Echo.
Do you ever clean your excluder after using it.
Kamon thank u for this video, lots to learne from u!
So, can u answer what is the lowest temperature when sugar syrup can be given to bees? Beekeepers say that it should not be given when night temperatures are less than 5 degrees Celsius because bees can get nosemosis, because it is still cold for their digestive tract. What do you think about it? Thank u!
I have fed it at 40 degrees Fahrenheit thru a bucket but it is much better to do it when it is warmer.
Good job thank for the good advice
Very helpful. Thank you!
Played Death Stranding lately?
are wax moths wax worms?
Yes they are the same just in different stage of development
@@kamonreynolds cool raising bee's can also get me free fishing bait
Kamon I have to ask ... what’s in the terrarium behind you? Stu
Hey Stu it is a Green Anole. They are very cool
Myth number 10 "Bees recognise their Beekeeper". I know there is no logic to it but something is going on there. I consider my Bees to be very gentle but I have had people come to my bee yard and get stung just for being there before we did anything and it never occurred to me that I would get stung and of course I did not.
Update:- I did some research and came up with a possible solution Morphic resonance and morphogenetic fields, the case can be made that the hive mind or consciousness recognises you even thought most if not all of the bees have never seen you.
When you think about it, we remember what happened to us years ago even though every cell in our body and brain has been replaced multiple times, the Neurons that recorded the event are long gone but we still remember.
Hey Kamon, great vid. I have seeley’s book and found it very informative
Yes it a great read especially for us Bee Nerds!
There is another current myth that stands in the way of successful beekeeping: there is always someone or something else to blame for the loss or weak bee communities, never a beekeeper.
Are earwigs bad for the hive?
My hives are cedar LOL!!
What is your suggestion when creating an upper entrance during a flow so the girls don't have to travel the entire hive? Do you just drill a small hole in the front of the box of the honey super near the top of it? If so, about what size? Thanks!!
I have noticed that for some reason, a lot of bee keepers put a great deal of faith in antidotal evidence. They see something once or twice and believe that's the way it always is. I was a scientist before retiring and I'm too skeptical to fall for that! It's not hard to set up a quick little experiment with controls and repeat it until the weight of evidence reveals a pattern. A catfish gets big when he is picky about hitting the bait!
Great information!!
Myth 2, it shortens worker bees life. It wore down their wings and/or body. Richard noel did an explanation on that I think, leaving entrance ontop should help with that I guess.
Myth 6, just a higher chances of killing queens/bees when in them often. My neighbour always kills queens 🤷♂️ our bees africanized, so idk..
Myth7, all my boxes are cedar boxes, covers, Bottomboards, frames everything. No deaths because of that 🤣