I've been following Gus a few years now. He's so good at explaining and breaking down the how-to's! This is another great interview for Intentional Beekeeping! Great job Bruce!
I really enjoyed the interview. I watch everything Gus puts out. Another down to earth, plain spoken beekeeper I gollow is Randall Carter. You should interview him sometime. He has a lot of knowledge and experience to share.
This video speaks DIRECTLY at what I'm aiming for 😁 Like Gus Mitchell and Richard Noel, I want to be in the 300ish hive range. The fly back method does make a large amount of good quality cells. I used this method alongside my first attempt to graft. That split is the main reason that I was able to reach 15 hives last summer. Thank you Bruce and Gus 🙂
Looking forward to this chat. Enjoy listening to Gus. Thanks for putting this together Bruce. Black Mountain Honey, I enjoy watching Laurence. He is a great Beekeeper.
Bruce, you and Gus have done it again. You knocked it out of the park yet again. Thanks for your work and your time and effort. Always enjoy your topics.
Mr. Jenne … your comments about not doing in the bee yard what you originally set out to do made me think of Proverbs 19:21~Man proposes but God disposes. ❤❤ Thank you for all you do for the bee community. I learn so much and I appreciate you!
Great video! I think you guys hit a lot of the topics a lot of us are dealing with and struggling with out here doing the same thing you guys were discussing. Gus is so informative and provides such great insight!
Hey thanks for checking in. Glad we could hit on some important topics. That is exactly what I am trying to do with these video interviews/podcast format videos.
I loved this chat I’m from the mountains in ky . The closest bee keeper I know of in the past 20 years is about 15 miles away an he has 8 hives the rest is feral bees I’m setting swarm traps this year I’m hoping I can use Cory’s queens an set up drown hives to hopefully get those genes Thanks for video
Bruce this was great keep them coming I like the idea of fly back split, and I have a shaker box but I did not know u had to shake the box I did it the way you were. because the video I watched by Tim did it that way. Man I like learning new way to do bees I am intentional in my bee keeping I go into my bees every week but it will never be a business for me but I am fixing to retire from my job and I will be doing bees just because I like it going to make q"s this year just for me to save money my thing is just honey at this point. have a great day bruce
Gus briefly mentioned Queen tags as an alternative to Cattle tags to keep track of his queen rearing operation. Do you recall where he gets those Queen tags from?
I've found cutting out the queen cells stops the continuous swarming. It's beekeeper error. Giving the bees space in the brood area stops that swarm issue. Weekly inspections prevents most issues in any colony. Gus started when I did but maintenance is important. Early swarms I've gotten each year have been great as those colonies have brought in alot of honey each year. It's the classes I attended where I learned about keeping the bees in the hive and not in the trees. If a colony swarms it has many cells behind. Not removing all but a couple is asking to lose that whole colony. I'm surprised to hear this not being said in this day and time. I've concentrated on my queen rearing and I make swarm colonies to get the cells I need. I've never used chemical treatments as most do. My mite counts are staying down just from sugar dusting all the bees on every comb in every hive. My survival rate has increased because I'm not using anything to kill the mites. Grooming behavior is more important.
Always great stuff Bruce! Grateful. Question: if I have a double deep hive that is packed coming out of winter, how soon can I add my honey super? Thx.
I talked with a guy who worked bees for a living for yrs. He teaches a class in my bee club sometimes. He said a Russian queen could lay a 10 frame box up in a week. Any thoughts on this
I am not sure about this as I done have any Russians that I know of. But I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised. Bees are capable of amazing things if the conditions are right.
Seems regional flows also play a major role when going fulltime into beekeeping if staying local - if the flow isn't there when you need it then the plan has to be rethought. I sell nucs to new beekeepers on a small scale (~20 overwintered nucs and maybe 6-8 spring splits in south central Pennsylvania). Beginners want local nucs early (April) in our area to have them when the flow starts. I'd say the biggest concern for you Bruce on nuc sales are your spicy bees - beginners just would not be able to handle them. I only had one complaint in the 10 years I've sold nucs and it turns out the beekeeper was really terrified of so many bees and then claimed they were aggressive to get me to take them back. Long story short an experienced beekeeper went and collected them and said they were the gentlest bees but more the problem was the new beekeeper had the frames spaced too far apart and the bees built a lot of bridge comb everywhere - so of course when he went to pulling frames the bees got squished, setting off alarm pheromone, robbing probably started with all that broken nectar and honey flowing and the bees got a little agitated and rightly so. So it wasn't the bees but the ill informed, inexperienced beekeeper that was the problem not the nuc of bees - I try not to think about my bees when they drive away. Get those bees gentle for beginner beekeeper nuc sales. Teaching classes to new beekeepers can be a nice income stream but it can be time consuming. Our local club has a 6 month program (meets monthly Mar-Aug) to walk new beekeepers through their first year with zoom classroom sessions as well as time for hands-on in the hive inspections each month. Much more than just a workshop or one day experience.
I love listening to Gus, he is a great beekeeper, awesome interview.
He certainly is. Down to earth. Honest. Bare bones stuff.
I've been following Gus a few years now. He's so good at explaining and breaking down the how-to's! This is another great interview for Intentional Beekeeping! Great job Bruce!
Thanks man. It’s been a lot of fun collaborating to you, Gus and others. I am learning a lot but still have a long ways to go.
Lots of wisdom being shared, thank you both!
Thanks for watching
Thank you for putting this on, one of my new favorite channels!
Thanks for the kind words Steven. This means a lot to me!
I really enjoyed the interview. I watch everything Gus puts out. Another down to earth, plain spoken beekeeper I gollow is Randall Carter. You should interview him sometime. He has a lot of knowledge and experience to share.
Yes Randall is great. Similar in some ways to Gus.
Gus just comes across as a humble, friendly, honest, helpful chap.
Each of those words is a good description of him. He is a good man.
This video speaks DIRECTLY at what I'm aiming for 😁 Like Gus Mitchell and Richard Noel, I want to be in the 300ish hive range. The fly back method does make a large amount of good quality cells. I used this method alongside my first attempt to graft. That split is the main reason that I was able to reach 15 hives last summer.
Thank you Bruce and Gus 🙂
Awesome. Great stuff!
Enjoyed listening to you guys👍
I appreciate that. Thanks for checking in!
Looking forward to this chat. Enjoy listening to Gus. Thanks for putting this together Bruce. Black Mountain Honey, I enjoy watching Laurence. He is a great Beekeeper.
Yes Gus is really good at what he does. He has found success doing things is a non-traditional way.
Great tips on finding queens! Thanks Gus!
Hey thanks for checking in and for supporting the channel!
love Guss!
Yes Gus is great!
Great video.
Thank you.
Great interview thanks gents!!
Thanks for checking it out.
Bruce, you and Gus have done it again. You knocked it out of the park yet again. Thanks for your work and your time and effort. Always enjoy your topics.
Thanks for your kind words. It is a lot of work. But I enjoy it!
Mr. Jenne … your comments about not doing in the bee yard what you originally set out to do made me think of Proverbs 19:21~Man proposes but God disposes. ❤❤
Thank you for all you do for the bee community. I learn so much and I appreciate you!
#truth. Thanks for checking in and for the encouragement.
Awesome good stuff
Thanks for checking in!
Great video! I think you guys hit a lot of the topics a lot of us are dealing with and struggling with out here doing the same thing you guys were discussing. Gus is so informative and provides such great insight!
Hey thanks for checking in. Glad we could hit on some important topics. That is exactly what I am trying to do with these video interviews/podcast format videos.
I loved this chat
I’m from the mountains in ky . The closest bee keeper I know of in the past 20 years is about 15 miles away an he has 8 hives the rest is feral bees I’m setting swarm traps this year I’m hoping I can use Cory’s queens an set up drown hives to hopefully get those genes
Thanks for video
Awesome. Good luck with your bees!
Bruce this was great keep them coming I like the idea of fly back split, and I have a shaker box but I did not know u had to shake the box I did it the way you were. because the video I watched by Tim did it that way. Man I like learning new way to do bees I am intentional in my bee keeping I go into my bees every week but it will never be a business for me but I am fixing to retire from my job and I will be doing bees just because I like it going to make q"s this year just for me to save money my thing is just honey at this point. have a great day bruce
Great stuff…thanks for checking in!
Gus briefly mentioned Queen tags as an alternative to Cattle tags to keep track of his queen rearing operation. Do you recall where he gets those Queen tags from?
Not sure.
As always.....great information and some great ideas!!! Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!
Great interview! Thanks for sharing Bruce!
Thank you for checking in!
Great interview by both you and Gus. I really enjoyed listening to you guys
Great and thanks for watching!
love gus,and his t post mounts for nucs
Yes. He is great. Does things in a unique way. Lots of great ideas!
Great video Bruce (and Gus).
Thanks! It was great having him on. Wealth of knowledge!
Yep! I got the "Bee Fever" Gus mentioned. 😄
You certainly do Brian!
I've found cutting out the queen cells stops the continuous swarming. It's beekeeper error. Giving the bees space in the brood area stops that swarm issue. Weekly inspections prevents most issues in any colony. Gus started when I did but maintenance is important. Early swarms I've gotten each year have been great as those colonies have brought in alot of honey each year. It's the classes I attended where I learned about keeping the bees in the hive and not in the trees. If a colony swarms it has many cells behind. Not removing all but a couple is asking to lose that whole colony. I'm surprised to hear this not being said in this day and time. I've concentrated on my queen rearing and I make swarm colonies to get the cells I need. I've never used chemical treatments as most do. My mite counts are staying down just from sugar dusting all the bees on every comb in every hive. My survival rate has increased because I'm not using anything to kill the mites. Grooming behavior is more important.
Hey good stuff. Thanks for checking in and sharing your experience.
Great job guys. Lots of great information. Thanks. I’m
Thanks for watching and thanks for checking in. Gus is a great source of knowledge.
Always great stuff Bruce! Grateful.
Question: if I have a double deep hive that is packed coming out of winter, how soon can I add my honey super? Thx.
Pretty much anytime as long as plenty of bees to cover the frames.
Bruce, you need a database that creates your schedules for you based on your last inspections.
Sounds like a good idea. I am not a super techy guy though.
I talked with a guy who worked bees for a living for yrs. He teaches a class in my bee club sometimes. He said a Russian queen could lay a 10 frame box up in a week. Any thoughts on this
I am not sure about this as I done have any Russians that I know of. But I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised. Bees are capable of amazing things if the conditions are right.
Seems regional flows also play a major role when going fulltime into beekeeping if staying local - if the flow isn't there when you need it then the plan has to be rethought. I sell nucs to new beekeepers on a small scale (~20 overwintered nucs and maybe 6-8 spring splits in south central Pennsylvania). Beginners want local nucs early (April) in our area to have them when the flow starts. I'd say the biggest concern for you Bruce on nuc sales are your spicy bees - beginners just would not be able to handle them. I only had one complaint in the 10 years I've sold nucs and it turns out the beekeeper was really terrified of so many bees and then claimed they were aggressive to get me to take them back. Long story short an experienced beekeeper went and collected them and said they were the gentlest bees but more the problem was the new beekeeper had the frames spaced too far apart and the bees built a lot of bridge comb everywhere - so of course when he went to pulling frames the bees got squished, setting off alarm pheromone, robbing probably started with all that broken nectar and honey flowing and the bees got a little agitated and rightly so. So it wasn't the bees but the ill informed, inexperienced beekeeper that was the problem not the nuc of bees - I try not to think about my bees when they drive away. Get those bees gentle for beginner beekeeper nuc sales. Teaching classes to new beekeepers can be a nice income stream but it can be time consuming. Our local club has a 6 month program (meets monthly Mar-Aug) to walk new beekeepers through their first year with zoom classroom sessions as well as time for hands-on in the hive inspections each month. Much more than just a workshop or one day experience.
Me bees are much better and I am working on it.
Thanks for the comment. All good points.
Gus - Who are the European beekeepers you've been following? What is their "model"?
Renting equipment is an option.
True. I have thought of that. Never done it though. I am fortunate to have access to the the equipment I need.
Love my Russians 👍