Hi Stewart liked the vid, I wish I could find my queen as easily as I saw yours! Not found her in 2 weeks but plenty of eggs and no queen cells. Hope to see her this weekend Tim
Hi Tim, I got lucky spotting her so quickly, now she has a spot on her she should be super easy to find. If I see lots of eggs and no queen cells I know all is well. Stewart
Wonderful! The comb is being drawn beautifully. I inspected a hive today, they had brace comb connecting three frames with foundation. Frames were tight too. I made the mistake of worrying about the comb and not paying attention to where the queen could be. Hopefully she's ok. Thanks again for your time making these videos.
If it's not raining here in Galway it's going to rain, so I bring a piece of Oil Cloth with me rolled up. (Table cloth that is waterproof) I place it over the frames that I haven't inspected yet just in case the clouds start to spit. It keeps my bees calm and it is heavy enough not to blow away in the wind. Another very good video Stuart.
The only issue I have with using a cloth roll on the hive to keep the bees calm is the worry of transferring any form of disease between colonies. Once it's been on a few hives you have no idea what you might be moving from hive to hive. I know the risk is small but it is still there. Thanks as ever for your kind comments. Stewart
I live in the New Jersey the states, and buckfest queens and Ligustica are difficult to obtain here. It's primarily Italians, Carniolans, and Russians are being breed by some suppliers in the states. I,m impressed with the size of the dark queens. Italians run larger here, and Carniolans a bit smaller in size. I enjoy watching your videos, they are informative as to how bees are maintained over seas.
Hi Bruno, I encourage the "local bees for local climates" philosophy, bees that do best here are the ones designed to be here that evolution has given us. The trouble is beekeepers are often after the quick fix (like so many in this world) and so imports can mess up the local balance. I just breed my own queens and select the ones that suit my beekeeping style and area the best. Stewart
My split is in almost exactly the same situation but I put a super on a few days ago as I felt she was running out of room. Will check tomorrow and take it off for a week if they aren't drawing out the last couple frames of brood box
I have noticed that your hive has 12 frames that are deeper than the U.S. Langstroth standard hive dimensions . Do you have knowledge of the langstroth hive and frames. What, in your opinion, are the advantages of the larger national hive as compared to the U.S , standard langstroth hive and frames. I was wondering if the larger brood box might bee too much space as I use only one brood box during the honey flow. However I use two brood boxes prior to the honey flow to control swarming. I sincerely appreciate your work. GREAT JOB! Glenn
hi your videos are always interesting. what is the alternative material to mark the queen with? i could not find the marker pen in our market. do you think the water base paint would not hert the gueen ?
Hi H. Thanks for commenting. I know people use all manner of different paints and pens to marks queens. A popular one is fluid correction ink, the white stuff. The queens never seem to mind after they have been marked so I don't think it does them any harm. Stewart
Great video thank you. Question : when I inspected my hive last week I noticed that one of the brood frames ( the sort of wooden handle bit had broken, ( must have been a wood weakness already , now it doesn't fit, I left it as I saw brood, however its at an angle, not sure what to do! How can I resolve this?
Hi Iris, I've had the same happen to me before. You could just shake off the bees and remove it, then replace with a new frame or if you wanted to keep the brood, move it to the outside of the frames over a period of a few weeks and once the brood has emerged remove and replace. Stewart
I am along the mid-Atlantic coast of the US. Our nectar flow is nearing its end. I was watching your videos on splits. Do you typically split before your nectar flow? During? After? If swarming is under control, is it a good idea to hold off splitting until after the flow to maximize the harvest? Also, do you use only a single brood chamber? In our temperate zone two deeps is what we usually use in order to have enough stores to get through winter. I even have several colonies with three deeps. But I see you use only one? Thanks for another great video. Is there a video you recommend I watch that addresses some of these questions?
Hi Dave, I typically split after the flow to try to maximise the honey crop. I try to raise queens ready to go into the splits so they are not left without brood production as the splits are usually first week of August and to be without brood towards the later part of the year can make it tricky for some colonies to overwinter. The Commercial brood boxes are plenty big enough for all but the largest colonies in our fairly brief Winters. I haven't yet produced a video about Winter preparations but it is on the list for later this Summer. Stewart
Whew! You have put my mind at ease. Thanks. Yes, a video about temperate and even cold climate hive management techniques would be great. (When you get the time!!)
I noticed that you have a black "thing" over one of the crown board hole....is that for ventilation ? for letting some of the humidity to be able to leave the hive from the top ?
Hi Mieszko, It's a piece of black plastic just to cover the hole in the crownboard, nothing more than that. I usually use a piece of wood board but didn't have one to hand so cut a piece of plastic. Stewart
Really helpful stuff Stewart, thanks. Is there a "right time of the day" to do my regular inspections? I usually get to my hives around lunchtime, when the bees are (presumably) at their most active. Would I be better off getting there first thing in the morning or at dusk instead?
Hello Stewart, yet another excellent and informative video. Just wondered why you don't have a dummy board to fill the gap once the frames are pushed together, or is this something that is only used in winter to help the brood nest keep warm?
Hi Chris, Thanks for the comments. Dummy boards, Honestly??? I ran out of dummy boards and need to spend some time making up some more! I've already suffered the consequences of not having a dummy board in a couple of colonies, heaps of brace comb! I will have to plan a slot after the Spring extraction is done. Stewart
I was advised that if I mark the queen I should put her in a cage with a candy plug again as the new scent of the mark can cause the bees to kill her. Looks like this is not necessary? Thanks, great video.
Hi Melissa, Thanks for commenting. I've never cages a queen after marking and have never had any problems with bees trying to kill her. I have watched them clean off the water based paint immediately I've marked her to the point that it was completely gone and needed marking again so rather than attacking her they seemed to be taking care of her. Stewart
Hi Mathijs, I think as long as you have a good nectar flow you could get away with not feeding but for me here in the UK it helps the bees pull the foundation quickly. We have periods of drought and then cold, wet spells so I like to think there is always a supply of food for them to be able to continue producing wax. Stewart
Hi Michael, Thanks for your comments and it's really not a dumb question at all. I'm sure there is probably some Russian in the mix with this one! I live in an area where it is almost impossible to get true mating in any open mating scenario so I take what I get and cross my fingers. Stewart
I always use small plastic plates with numbers on to mark my queens they are just stuck on with a drop of shellack then I know were she came from who her mother is and who the father is I relize you haven't got the control over the males but there schould be some were neer you were you can bring your maiting nukes that you know the males or of good quality. I would never turn a frame around if you look at a frame in the sun light you will see an upside down Y and on the other side a normal Y in a normal bee hive or wild bee hive the bees alway bild there frames from the middle and the Y is always going outwards may be you schould look in to this because when the frames are positioned like this the bees are alot more quiet and don't swarm as much I just mark my frames with V on one side so I can see every thing is correct
Hi Richard, Great to hear from you again. I try to flood my mating apiary with my own drones of choice but I am surrounded my beekeepers with mix genetics so it's always going to be difficult. Also a lot of beekeepers here buy queens in so are getting Buckfast and Carniolan and that doesn't help. I get some nasty crosses sometimes! The thing I really appreciate from having posted all these videos is the great feedback I get from really experienced beekeepers like yourself. I would never have considered the "Y" issue, I love finding out new things and yes I will investigate it more. Thanks for all the comments Stewart
Hi Bruno, My queens are all mixed but I have a personal preference for the darker bee. I am surrounded by a wide range of genetics where I live as a lot of beekeepers buy Buckfast or Ligustica or Carniolans so trying to get back to a pure strain is almost impossible I think. I just go with darker bees and calm bees on the comb and remove any nasty ones. Stewart
Hi William, My Mum always said "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all" I am just grateful for all the support and kind comments I do get and I ignore the rest. There are some very lovely people following my channel and for that I am very happy. Stewart
Great video. Nice informative close up shots.
Thanks Thomas
Hi Stewart
liked the vid, I wish I could find my queen as easily as I saw yours! Not found her in 2 weeks but plenty of eggs and no queen cells. Hope to see her this weekend
Tim
Hi Tim,
I got lucky spotting her so quickly, now she has a spot on her she should be super easy to find. If I see lots of eggs and no queen cells I know all is well.
Stewart
Wonderful! The comb is being drawn beautifully. I inspected a hive today, they had brace comb connecting three frames with foundation. Frames were tight too. I made the mistake of worrying about the comb and not paying attention to where the queen could be. Hopefully she's ok. Thanks again for your time making these videos.
Hi Jeffrey,
I'm sure all will be fine in your hive and the bees will eventually sort themselves out with a little help from you :)
Stewart
Thanks so much for the positive response! I will check them again in two days. I Find these little creatures so amazing and fascinating.
If it's not raining here in Galway it's going to rain, so I bring a piece of Oil Cloth with me rolled up. (Table cloth that is waterproof) I place it over the frames that I haven't inspected yet just in case the clouds start to spit. It keeps my bees calm and it is heavy enough not to blow away in the wind. Another very good video Stuart.
The only issue I have with using a cloth roll on the hive to keep the bees calm is the worry of transferring any form of disease between colonies. Once it's been on a few hives you have no idea what you might be moving from hive to hive. I know the risk is small but it is still there.
Thanks as ever for your kind comments.
Stewart
Oh... you are 100% correct. I must get one per colony and mark it accordingly. Thanks for the heads up. :D
I live in the New Jersey the states, and buckfest queens and Ligustica are difficult to obtain here. It's primarily Italians, Carniolans, and Russians are being breed by some suppliers in the states.
I,m impressed with the size of the dark queens. Italians run larger here, and Carniolans a bit smaller in size.
I enjoy watching your videos, they are informative as to how bees are maintained over seas.
Hi Bruno,
I encourage the "local bees for local climates" philosophy, bees that do best here are the ones designed to be here that evolution has given us. The trouble is beekeepers are often after the quick fix (like so many in this world) and so imports can mess up the local balance. I just breed my own queens and select the ones that suit my beekeeping style and area the best.
Stewart
My split is in almost exactly the same situation but I put a super on a few days ago as I felt she was running out of room. Will check tomorrow and take it off for a week if they aren't drawing out the last couple frames of brood box
Hi Jack,
See how they are and try to get them to draw out the brood frames first.
Good luck with it.
Stewart
I have noticed that your hive has 12 frames that are deeper than the U.S. Langstroth standard hive dimensions . Do you have knowledge of the langstroth hive and frames. What, in your opinion, are the advantages of the larger national hive as compared to the U.S , standard langstroth hive and frames. I was wondering if the larger brood box might bee too much space as I use only one brood box during the honey flow. However I use two brood boxes prior to the honey flow to control swarming. I sincerely appreciate your work. GREAT JOB! Glenn
That queen is really big! Never saw such a big queen in my 3 years of experience!
Mathijs yea she's very long
Hi Mathijs,
She is one I'm hoping will have a long and successful life in my hive, I think she's a beauty.
Stewart
Hi where can i find a queen bee marker ? What store. I dont have idea. Help please.
Great video. Can I mark the queen with acrylic pain, sharpie or permanent marker. I don’t have the proper marker pen
hi
your videos are always interesting.
what is the alternative material to mark the queen with? i could not find the marker pen in our market.
do you think the water base paint would not hert the gueen ?
Hi H.
Thanks for commenting.
I know people use all manner of different paints and pens to marks queens. A popular one is fluid correction ink, the white stuff. The queens never seem to mind after they have been marked so I don't think it does them any harm.
Stewart
The Norfolk Honey Company thanks for quick reply
Great video thank you. Question : when I inspected my hive last week I noticed that one of the brood frames ( the sort of wooden handle bit had broken, ( must have been a wood weakness already , now it doesn't fit, I left it as I saw brood, however its at an angle, not sure what to do! How can I resolve this?
Hi Iris,
I've had the same happen to me before. You could just shake off the bees and remove it, then replace with a new frame or if you wanted to keep the brood, move it to the outside of the frames over a period of a few weeks and once the brood has emerged remove and replace.
Stewart
Thanks very much Stewart, appreciate your time to reply , Yes I did place it to the outside... will replace after. Love & Peace ... and bees :)
I am along the mid-Atlantic coast of the US. Our nectar flow is nearing its end. I was watching your videos on splits. Do you typically split before your nectar flow? During? After? If swarming is under control, is it a good idea to hold off splitting until after the flow to maximize the harvest? Also, do you use only a single brood chamber? In our temperate zone two deeps is what we usually use in order to have enough stores to get through winter. I even have several colonies with three deeps. But I see you use only one? Thanks for another great video. Is there a video you recommend I watch that addresses some of these questions?
Hi Dave,
I typically split after the flow to try to maximise the honey crop. I try to raise queens ready to go into the splits so they are not left without brood production as the splits are usually first week of August and to be without brood towards the later part of the year can make it tricky for some colonies to overwinter. The Commercial brood boxes are plenty big enough for all but the largest colonies in our fairly brief Winters.
I haven't yet produced a video about Winter preparations but it is on the list for later this Summer.
Stewart
Whew! You have put my mind at ease. Thanks. Yes, a video about temperate and even cold climate hive management techniques would be great. (When you get the time!!)
I noticed that you have a black "thing" over one of the crown board hole....is that for ventilation ? for letting some of the humidity to be able to leave the hive from the top ?
Hi Mieszko,
It's a piece of black plastic just to cover the hole in the crownboard, nothing more than that. I usually use a piece of wood board but didn't have one to hand so cut a piece of plastic.
Stewart
Do you find any issue with mold after the winter in some of your hives ?
Really helpful stuff Stewart, thanks.
Is there a "right time of the day" to do my regular inspections? I usually get to my hives around lunchtime, when the bees are (presumably) at their most active. Would I be better off getting there first thing in the morning or at dusk instead?
Hi Jack,
Lunchtime is fine, fewer bees in the hive at that time so it does make things a little easier I would say.
Stewart
Hello Stewart, yet another excellent and informative video. Just wondered why you don't have a dummy board to fill the gap once the frames are pushed together, or is this something that is only used in winter to help the brood nest keep warm?
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the comments.
Dummy boards, Honestly???
I ran out of dummy boards and need to spend some time making up some more! I've already suffered the consequences of not having a dummy board in a couple of colonies, heaps of brace comb!
I will have to plan a slot after the Spring extraction is done.
Stewart
I was advised that if I mark the queen I should put her in a cage with a candy plug again as the new scent of the mark can cause the bees to kill her. Looks like this is not necessary? Thanks, great video.
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for commenting.
I've never cages a queen after marking and have never had any problems with bees trying to kill her. I have watched them clean off the water based paint immediately I've marked her to the point that it was completely gone and needed marking again so rather than attacking her they seemed to be taking care of her.
Stewart
Thanks for the reply! That will certainly make things easier.
Is it really necessary to feed them?
Hi Mathijs,
I think as long as you have a good nectar flow you could get away with not feeding but for me here in the UK it helps the bees pull the foundation quickly. We have periods of drought and then cold, wet spells so I like to think there is always a supply of food for them to be able to continue producing wax.
Stewart
do Queens sting ?
Hi Chris,
Queens do have a sting but I've never heard of a queen stinging a beekeeper. I've never been stung by one :)
Stewart
Do you use wax or plastic foundation?
I've only ever used wax foundation.
understood
Dumb question Stewart are those Russian? Love the vids on this side of the pond?
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your comments and it's really not a dumb question at all.
I'm sure there is probably some Russian in the mix with this one! I live in an area where it is almost impossible to get true mating in any open mating scenario so I take what I get and cross my fingers.
Stewart
I always use small plastic plates with numbers on to mark my queens they are just stuck on with a drop of shellack then I know were she came from who her mother is and who the father is I relize you haven't got the control over the males but there schould be some were neer you were you can bring your maiting nukes that you know the males or of good quality.
I would never turn a frame around if you look at a frame in the sun light you will see an upside down Y and on the other side a normal Y in a normal bee hive or wild bee hive the bees alway bild there frames from the middle and the Y is always going outwards may be you schould look in to this because when the frames are positioned like this the bees are alot more quiet and don't swarm as much I just mark my frames with V on one side so I can see every thing is correct
Hi Richard,
Great to hear from you again. I try to flood my mating apiary with my own drones of choice but I am surrounded my beekeepers with mix genetics so it's always going to be difficult. Also a lot of beekeepers here buy queens in so are getting Buckfast and Carniolan and that doesn't help. I get some nasty crosses sometimes!
The thing I really appreciate from having posted all these videos is the great feedback I get from really experienced beekeepers like yourself. I would never have considered the "Y" issue, I love finding out new things and yes I will investigate it more.
Thanks for all the comments
Stewart
may I ask what queen genetics do you havw? I noticed they are dark in color.
thanks in advance
beesbuzz52
Bruno
Hi Bruno,
My queens are all mixed but I have a personal preference for the darker bee. I am surrounded by a wide range of genetics where I live as a lot of beekeepers buy Buckfast or Ligustica or Carniolans so trying to get back to a pure strain is almost impossible I think. I just go with darker bees and calm bees on the comb and remove any nasty ones.
Stewart
why did someone give this a thumbs down?
Hi William,
My Mum always said "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all" I am just grateful for all the support and kind comments I do get and I ignore the rest. There are some very lovely people following my channel and for that I am very happy.
Stewart