November 2022
www.TexasBeeSupply.com
TEXAS BEE SUPPLY
Monthly
Cover Photo: Nanette Davis
Text
Feature Topics Winter Feeding Creating a Beekeeping Business Overwintering with a Honey Super Winter Hive Inspections
Edition 29
Table Of Contents
Did you miss last month's issue? Click the cover below and step inside. We welcome your feedback and submissions! Beekeeping Questions: help@texasbeesupply.com
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6 Monthly Tips 8 Winter Feeding 14 Creating a Beekeeping Business 22 A Cold Front is Coming - What Should I Do? 24 Talk with the Expert - Matthew Mulica HBHC 25 Quick Tip - Overwintering Bees with a Honey Super 26 Hive Forensics 32 Winter Hive Checks 34 Ask the Expert: When and What to Look for in Winter Hive Inspections 36 What's the Buzz? - What is the best foundation? 42 The Importance of Propolis For a Winter Hive 44 Quick Tip: Moving Bees to a Sunnier Spot 48 Queen Piping 52 Beginner Purchasing Guide 54 Webinar Q & A 56 Recipe: Honeyed Party Mix 59 Drought Map 60 Club Announcements
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Kim Townsend & Shannon LaGrave
HOUSTON AREA
Learn what you need to know to keep bees and produce honey in this extensive 1-day, 6 hour beginning beekeeping class. Our experienced beekeepers lead you through topics such as the basic functions of the hive, types of bees present in your hive, necessary gear, identification and treatment of bee diseases and pests, managing a beehive, honey production, honey harvest, collection of nectar and pollen, how to get bees for your hive, a year in the life of a beekeeper, and much more. We will cover the necessary information you need to begin producing honey and raising healthy bees in this exciting 6 hour class. Plus - You'll get to work with live bees! Lunch included!!
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James & Chari Elam
DALLAS AREA
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As November progresses, you should begin to see less and less brood in your hive. Many hives are completely broodless by late November. However, in warm years, with strong hives, you can still see multiple frames of brood. As the temperatures cool, bees will begin drinking less syrup. Hopefully your hive already has all the 30-40 stored pounds of honey/syrup it needs to survive the winter, but if not, continue feeding. If your hive still has more than 2 mites per 100 bees, methods such as Oxalic Acid can be effective when used during a broodless, or nearly broodless period. Combine any hives that are less than 5 frames of bees. If you have a screened bottom board, covering it is not necessary. However, prevent wind from blowing underneath the hive by blocking off each side of the bottom board. Fortunately, things like insulating hives, providing an upper entrance to prevent condensation, candy boards, etc. are not necessary in Texas. Our winters are mild enough that none of those things are needed.
By: Blake Shook
NOVEMBER TIPS
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By: Chari Elam
This is one of those “hot” topics in cold weather – ha-ha! I can vividly remember the disagreements between seasoned beekeepers at club meetings about what you can and cannot feed bees as the weather gets cold. Who won? Each and every one of them! Because who’s right? All of them, of course! It is truly our right to feed our bees what we want “if” we have given due diligence to the topic. This is one of those cases where knowledge is power! As we enter the cooler months, my recommendation is to convert over to 2:1 syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part water). But - One thing I can go ahead and get out of the way – Bees won’t drink cold syrup! Look it up… it’s a fact and an accepted reality. What’s cold you ask? 50⁰ F or below. This doesn’t mean that if it’s 50⁰ F outside the syrup inside will be the same temperature. The hive warmth will come into play here. We can expect a colony to keep the inside temperatures well above 50⁰ F until outside temperatures sustain 30 – 40 degrees for a period of time. A hive cluster will maintain around 70⁰ F with those temperatures outside, but you can estimate the box temperature “around the cluster” to be around 50⁰ F. That’s when they will stop taking syrup. Regardless of your location, when cold sets in, take the syrup off the hive. Leaving it will just cause moisture and mold issues. What should you do if your hive is light on stores? Here’s where the “opinions” start to fly! I’ve never been a fan of feeding fondant. It seemed to be a system done in northern states and not commonly done in my area, the south. BUT, as the years go by, I find more and more beekeepers using it to supplement carbohydrates when cold syrup wasn’t an option. Does that mean I’m wrong? Well, of course not – ha ha! Really what that means is, if your bees are running short of stored honey and it’s November or December… or January for that matter, and you don’t have frames of honey stored back – I might use fondant as a supplement! There, I said it! Typically, fondant (candy) is fed directly on top of the hive. This most often will require a shim of some sort to allow space for the candy board. I would avoid using a hive body (even a medium) because of the temperature loss that will occur. You can make a shim out of old hive boxes by putting them on a table saw and cutting them down to 2”. This works beautifully … We’ve done the same thing to use some Varroa treatments such as Apiguard. When it comes to feeding pollen, I believe we’ve covered that very well in the last couple of issues. To reiterate, high quality pollen patties can be used through this month. My recommendation is the Global 4% patty. This isn’t a brood builder, but more a nutrition builder. What if you want to combine the two – carbohydrates and protein? That could be done in the form of sugar bricks. If you want to get really confused, Google “sugar bricks for bees,” and get ready for a multitude of versions to decipher through! Most are only sugar and water not a lot unlike fondant. Last year I researched this topic in detail for an article I did about this same time, and I can say, with all the choices I compared ingredients on, Stan Gore’s “Stan’s Soft Sugar Brick” had what I considered the most legitimate ingredients than any other. It not only includes pollen for protein – but essential oils that I believe are beneficial to our overwintering bees. Another “feature” of this feed supplement is its usefulness throughout the year. Prior to first frost as a winter feed supplement Slow brood buildup any time of year For cutouts (bee removals) – use Stan’s Soft Sugar Bricks™ in place of any wet comb. Eliminating any and all honey and replacing with these soft sugar bricks will prevent hives from being robbed out as well as being overrun with Small Hive Beetles.Feed light (1/1 syrup) when using this method for removal bees. The wrap up on winter feeding can pretty much be summed up by saying: keep a continual check on the honey stores, monitor your hives as we go through winter – and even more so if we have a cold, wet one. I would be remiss if I didn’t say – Don’t over complicate this. If you started fall with a good hive with ample food stores you should be fine at least until December. Do your hive checks and “react” accordingly, understanding that bees can starve with food stores still in the box. See page 8 in last month's issue - “The Dynamics of a Hive Preparing for Winter”
Winter Feeding
Recipe for Fondant 4 parts sugar (by weight) 1 part water (by weight) ¼ tsp vinegar for every pound of sugar Candy thermometer Heavy thick bottomed pot Stove Hand mixer, immersion blender, stand mixer, or whisk
Photos and recipe credit: Angi Schneider
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Shim between boxes
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Join Blake Shook as he walks you through what's going on in your hives and prepares you for the month to follow! James and Chari Elam answer your questions LIVE and present short practical timely topics.
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Upcoming Agenda
In the Bee Yard Tips Feeding Sugar Bricks Winter Inspections Final Feeding Diagnosing Dead Hives Screened Bottom Boards & Winter
I began beekeeping like many others: Slightly timid around bees, uncertain in my ability to find one queen bee amidst thousands of workers who all seemed to be doing the bee dance at once, and highly skeptical of these people who called themselves “beekeepers.” In my all-knowing 12-year-old head they simply had to be somewhat strange to be so excited about their career working with millions of stinging insects. Not that I didn’t think beekeeping had its perks (in what other job can you lick your fingers?) but really, there had to be an easier, less painful way to achieve the American Dream. I never believed those guys who claimed to get used to stings anyway. My two milky white 5 coats of paint beehives were plenty for me. Fast forward a few years, ok, more than a few now, and I’ve spent the years since completely immersed in almost every facet of beekeeping, from migratory beekeeping to honey production, to pollination, local, state, national club and legislative involvement, honey packing, bee supply stores, selling bees, classes, and more. I kinda took the diversification concept to heart, I guess. Stings are a minor inconvenience, and finding queens, well, it’s a bit easier. I’m not sure what changed in me during those years. Perhaps I became a beekeeper…perhaps I lost a few brain cells. I’ll never know for sure what made me go all in. But one thing I can tell you, beekeeping as a career or sideline job is a wild, thrilling, challenging, unique, and well-worth-it journey. 2008 was a pivotal year in my business. I liken that year to where many hobby beekeepers may currently be. I was making a decent gross income and was about to graduate from high school. I had the choice to begin full time beekeeping or put that career on hold and head to college. You may be faced with the same dilemma. I had always heard the common joke that there is money in beekeeping – because you keep putting it there! Though funny, I often found myself wondering how much truth that saying held. I found it to be good for a laugh in any crowd, but over time, not quite true. There really is money in the beekeeping industry if you are resourceful and willing to work. So, after graduating at the top of my class (hold the applause; I was homeschooled in a class of one), I pursued full time beekeeping. While there are countless methods and opportunities to make money in beekeeping, there are some key traits to those who are successful in beekeeping and those who are not. Many years ago, as I was just starting to expand into a full-time business, I noticed an often painfully clear difference in beekeepers – those that struggled year after year and those who were largely successful year after year. The successful guys certainly had challenging years, but overall, handled it well and moved on. After talking to dozens from each camp I found some key attributes that separated the two and have since worked hard to apply these to my business with varying degrees of success. What follows is an outline of those traits and how they apply specifically to beekeeping as a business. Understanding Business & Beekeeping Finances - At the end of the day, beekeeping is a business! Commercially, a business that picks up and moves around the country several times a year no less! On all scales, understanding basic business principles and especially “beekeeping finances” is critical. That looks like having realistic expectations of expenses, annual losses, average honey yields, wholesale honey pricing and more. This is where sharing your business plan with an experienced beekeeper is critical. Diversification - Sharp beekeepers don’t put all their eggs in one basket. They know years will come where they have major die offs above normal, poor weather will ruin honey crops, etc. Having a variety of sources of income is critical. It could be pollination and honey production, selling bees, selling honey retail, sending bees to almonds, raising queens, producing pollen or propolis, or hundreds of other concepts. Adaptability - New beekeepers are great at this! Beekeeping best management practices can change fast. Good beekeepers stay up to date through publications, conferences, sharing ideas and more. New pests come into the US, mite treatments fail, weather changes, laws change and more. Be adaptable, and never assume what worked last year will work this year. Hard Work - I know this seems simplistic, but honestly, it’s one of the biggest things that separate the successful beekeeper from the unsuccessful one. Beekeeping, especially on a sideline or commercial level, is just plain hard work. It takes an incredible work ethic and discipline to be successful. If it's cold, hot, raining, etc. your bees still have to be cared for. If you’ve not slept in 2 days, bees still have to be cared for. If you are a week late treating for mites or supering bees, it could have a major negative impact on your business. Partner up with a beekeeper the size you want to be and ask to work during a few of the hardest weeks. Make sure you know what you are getting into. Timely Care - Your bees must come first over other aspects of your business. You MUST super, feed, treat, split, requeen, move, and fix hives ahead of, or right on time, no matter what. If this isn’t done, and with great consistency, your bees won’t make it. This is one of the most common reasons for failure. Relationships - Beekeepers can be like a big family, for better or for worse. I can honestly say that a large (greater than 50%) percentage of the opportunities that have come my way over the years are due to having relationships in the beekeeping world. Networking is incredibly helpful! Having a Long Term/Ahead of Schedule Mindset - For individual hive care, this looks like never skimping on the care of vibrant hives and being quick to combine or shake weak hives that aren’t growing. Keep in mind that 10 strong hives will always outperform 50 weak hives. It’s being willing to spend money now to make it later when it comes to bee care and equipment purchases. The investment has to make sense, but with beekeeping, the ROI is often 1-2 years or less. Also, always think ahead. When you are making splits in March, your mind should already be on your upcoming honey crop and what you and your bees need to be doing now to prepare for it. A good beekeeper is always looking 6 months ahead. Never Forget the Basics - In beekeeping if the basics are cared for, it is hard to go wrong. Bees need plenty of food, good forage, plenty of space, and mites and diseases need to always be under control. Don’t get caught up in the endless array of products and methods and lose sight of the essentials. Bottom line: Take care of your bees and they will take care of you. Marketing - Don’t ever underestimate the power of marketing. If you are strictly a migratory commercial beekeeper this isn’t quite as applicable, but it still has its merit. As an industry we are far behind on the marketing front when it comes to honey, retail, our businesses and more. If you are selling honey, invest in logo and label design. Invest in good photography. Invest in a decent website. Do those things, and you will already be ahead of most other businesses. Involvement in Associations - This is one of the best ways as a newer beekeeper to establish relationships, learn, and most importantly, talk to those who’ve made all the mistakes. Join state and national organizations as soon as possible! Good beekeepers never stop learning, and many serve in organizations as well to help protect the industry and get to know others even faster. Don’t Get Discouraged and Get Help - Even when we follow all the right steps everything doesn’t always go right. I don’t know a single experienced beekeeper who has not had major losses (often unexplained) and major setbacks. It’s part of Ag and beekeeping. Having friends in the business to help during those times is critical, and important to help you realize we’ve all been there. My business is built on 1000 mistakes... keep learning, keep planning, and keep going. It has been a long time since I was skeptical of beekeeping and friends have finally stopped politely asking when I’m going to get a real job. I have long since thrown the “strange beekeeper” idea out the window and accepted that we beekeepers are “unique” as my old friend John (see an interview with John here) says…not “strange.” And to discover that fact all one has to do is discover the wonderful world of beekeeping. Here is the punch line of this article…I was making a decent living from beekeeping as a 20-year-old kid. If I can grow a beekeeping business from nothing to something of a success, with no college degree, more energy than sense, and making every mistake in the book, so can you! I don’t have any special skills or abilities… just a willingness to work, accept help, and learn from my many mistakes. Many have done this before me, and many after me can as well. Hopefully, this was helpful to you as you try to discover your journey in beekeeping. Blake Shook - Desert Creek Honey and Texas Bee Supply
Creating a Beekeeping Business
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What if: I have a weak hive and no other hive to combine it with – In this case, it would be advantageous to place something close on either side of this hive as an insulator. This can be stacks of empty bee boxes or even cardboard boxes stacked with bricks inside. Anything that can act as an insulator without wrapping the hive. My honey stores are low – In this case you will need to feed. This would ideally be from a honey frame. If you have other hives to share that would be great… if not – consider feeding thick syrup continually, understanding that they aren’t likely to consume cold liquid. My hives are in a vulnerable place and getting cold north winds directly on them – In this case, consider putting up a wind block on the north side several feet (5 – 10) away from the hives.
That means: Food stores 30 lbs. or more in the top brood box Entrance reducers in place (if you use them) Screen bottom board closed off, or block drafts around the bottom of the hive Weak colonies combined with stronger ones
Even if it's snow - Bees tend to handle cold temperatures quite well. If it is already winter and a cold front moves in with a rapid drop in temperatures, there is nothing at all you need to do for your bees. The same applies for the fall – bees are already prepared to handle cold weather, as long as you’ve properly prepared them for winter.
Don’t worry if: You left your honey super on – this can be an insurance policy for feeding if needed The entrance reducer didn’t get in place – Bees are pretty good at adapting and will propolize the entrance if they need to. You didn’t get the bottom board closed off – Most hives survived the winter storm of February 2021 even if they didn’t have the bottom board in place.
A Cold Front is coming...What should I do for my bees?
The name Honey Bee Health Coalition has become synonymous with Varroa management since it's inception in 2014. Matt and his team with Keystone Policy Center are one of the reasons why! With this collaboration of two forces, we as beekeepers are afforded a continuing updated bank of resources relating to Varroa, Foulbrood, and honey bee health in general. Join me as we get a glimpse into the updates recently released from HBHC and what the future looks like moving forward.
Overwintering Bees With a Honey Super
with Chari Elam
Talk with the Expert Introducing Matthew Mulika - Senior Project Director Keystone Policy Center - Honey Bee Health Coalition
QUICK TIP
A question often asked: Can I overwinter my hive with a full super of honey they produced in the fall? Simple answer, yes, of course! It would be well advised to check it every few weeks as the bees consume it. The empty space it will create as winter progresses could pose a temperature regulation problem if left on once empty. Often, you’ll find the bees will consume the middle of the super and not the outer frames. In this case, simply rotate these outer frames to the center as they are eaten and remove the entire box when empty.
How many of us have walked out to the bee yard no matter the time of year and found a dead colony? What happened? In the beekeeping world we call that a dead out. What is a Dead Out? A dead out is the name given a colony that’s dead! Well, that seems a little too simplistic right? Not really. It’s only a term for the end result…it has no determination of why this happened. There are a host of reasons why a colony can die. Here are some ideas to help you figure out what happened, in hopes that next time the results may be more favorable. Condition: Dead bees head down in cells and/or a group of dead bees clustered around what “was” brood but has long since died. Cause of Death: Starvation – The bees simply ran out of resources to eat. This can happen any time of year, but primarily at the end of winter and early spring. Hive Condition: Dead bees with no evidence of old brood Cause of Death #1: Failing Queen in late fall/early winter. If your Queen wasn’t laying sufficiently in the later fall months, you lacked the workforce to stock up on resources, warm the hive during cold weather, feed larvae, as well as groom and feed her. In spring, summer & fall – the colony will quickly die with a failing queen simply because of no eggs being laid; no eggs = no nurse bees = no foragers = no food! Cause of Death #2: Varroa – High Varroa Mite loads can and WILL cause your colony to die. Typically, your indicators were prior to death and are now long gone now because of the decay of the colony. Testing and Treating for Varroa is CRUCIAL for survival ALL YEAR, EVERY YEAR! Hive Condition: Few bees milling around; may or may not still have a queen present along with an overwhelming bad fermented odor as well as little “worms” (looks like maggots) crawling in and around the cells. Cause of Death: Small Hive Beetle infestation has overtaken the hive. Small Hive Beetles are a part of our everyday beekeeping life, but when not controlled they can and WILL cause your colony to abscond (leave) or die a slow miserable death. Staying on top of SHB is truly one of the easiest tasks we face. It doesn’t require any testing and all effective methods of control are mechanical and don’t require medication or pesticides be placed in our hives. Hive Condition: Few bees or no bees; “worms” and moths crawling around, cocoons and webbing built on the tops, sides, and faces of frames. Cause of Death: Wax Moths infestation – meaning, if they are allowed to come in and take over where the bees had previously been, they will completely destroy old comb and even eat into frames and the boxes. The nasty webbing mess is completely preventable. When you have a colony in decline, ideally address the problem immediately. If it’s obvious the colony isn’t going to make it, break the box down and store the equipment for future use. A dead out left in your bee yard will quickly turn into trash if not addressed. Hive Condition: Some dead bees or no dead bees and no resources. Cause of Death #1: Robbing – If the rims of the resource cells (honey/nectar) appear to be ragged or torn and you find a lot of wax debris on or below the bottom board, the colony probably didn’t die of starvation but instead was robbed of all of its resources. This most often doesn’t happen to “strong colonies” but rather colonies with reduced populations due to virus, diseases or failing queens (causing decreased population.) Cause of Death #2: Queen failed – The queen was present but stopped laying; if left unnoticed the colony was doomed. With no new brood to carry on, they had no new house bees to clean cells, warm the brood nest, feed larvae, feed and groom the queen, build wax, ripen nectar, or guard bees to protect the colony. In turn no bees aged into foragers to bring in resources for the colony to survive. IF you spot an excess of dead drone brood cells (capped or not) it is possible your queen became a “Drone layer.” A Drone laying queen means, at some point she ran out of sperm; either she wasn’t mated well or she simply aged out (ran out of sperm). Either way when this happens the colony is hopeless. Recognizing they need to replace the queen, the workers have no “fertilized” eggs to make a Supersedure or Emergency cell at this most crucial time. Colony ultimately dies. Cause of Death #3: Absconding (the colony left) Often when colonies are sick and failing, starving or have high mite loads, they will just leave! Would you live where the conditions are so bad you can’t stand to stay? Odds are those bees didn’t survive long once they left but they really didn’t have a choice…die if we stay, die if we go. Hive Condition: Some bees still milling around but Queen long gone, no brood or bad/sick looking (white, black, shriveled) dead brood, maybe an overabundance of nectar but no nurse bees present Cause of Death #1: Possible disease or virus present – When a colony dies from disease it can be very difficult to pinpoint the cause. Your “evidence” is most likely gone by the time you find the dead out. BUT – it is very important to know the most common among those we experience. It would take a small novel for me to list the description and explanation of the viruses and diseases Honey Bees are subjected to. For a very good reference guide CLICK HERE to learn more. Note: Most viruses and diseases are preventable by controlling Varroa Mites. Check out past issues for more information on controlling Varroa mites. Cause of Death #2: Swarming - Yes, swarming can cause death of a colony! When a colony prepares to swarm, “in theory” they will create a viable queen cell (Daughter Queen.) Depending on how many swarm cells were produced and how well they were fed has a huge bearing on the viability of the “queen left to take over!” OR – the daughter queen left to be mated and never returned, leaving the remainder of the colony that didn’t swarm to fend for themselves, often with bad results. Hive Condition: Dead Bees on the bottom board (moist and rotting) Cause of Death: Moisture – If the colony didn’t have sufficient ventilation in the Winter, condensation can occur. Water vapor rises as it condenses and chills it will then drip back down on to the bees and cause them to chill/freeze. Mold and mildew are also problematic with an overabundance of moisture. It won’t likely kill the bees but makes for a very poor environment for your colony and they will often abscond if left unresolved. Hive Condition: Dead Bees inside the box, on the bottom board, on the landing and on the ground in front of the hive Cause of Death: Possible insecticide, herbicide, or pesticide poisoning (see October issue pg.26) A good indicator that bees have been exposed to poison is evident if you find a bee dead with wings spread and her tongue sticking out. Sometimes a kill can be over a period of time if the bees simply foraged in an area recently sprayed. In this case, the forgers may die off slowly and/or carry the poison into the colony causing a rapid kill. There are so many “if’s, and’s and but’s” in forensics of a hive. BUT – truthfully, it all boils down to 1 BIG point – Doing regular hive inspections and staying on top of the condition of your bees! When we do the bi-weekly checks and quarterly Hive Inspections on our bees, we are able to see if something needs to be addressed. The problem starts when we DON’T react to a situation, then a month later we are faced with the reality that our colony didn’t recover without our intervention.
Hive Forensics
Photo credit: MorningsideHoney.wordpress.com
A natural attribute of real, raw honey is that it crystallizes. For some beekeepers, forcing crystallization helps preserve the qualities of fresh honey – so why fight it! This bucket heater makes quick work of liquefying honey for bottling. Simply place the heater around the bucket and turn it on. For optimum heating, move the bucket heater up and down the bucket several times and stir during the heating process. Bring honey from 70 degrees to 125 degrees in 6 hours 6 ft. grounded cord and junction box Adjusts from 9 1/2″ to 12″
Crystallized Honey?
...so now what? After months of activity caring for your bees, it's finally time to take a deep breath and wait for spring. If you are like me, waiting is the hardest part! During every cold rainy night, or cold front, I wonder what's going on with my bees, when can I check on them, is it too cold to take a look, etc. Here are some answers to common winter inspection questions:
Watch this short demonstration on how I do a quick November hive inspection!
Winter Hive Checks
1. How often should I inspect? I recommend some form of inspection 2 times per month, November-January. For November you should be adding a pollen patty each inspection and doing any last-minute feeding. One inspection in December and January can simply be to lift up on the hive to check on weight and peek under the lid to ensure proper food stores; then the other inspection can be to quickly look inside the hive. 2. When should I inspect? Bees do a decent job of keeping their hive warm, and recovering after the hive has been opened. If you are simply checking food stores, and not breaking the boxes apart or lifting frames, it can be done anytime. If you are lifting frames out or breaking the boxes apart, I recommend around noon on a sunny day. This will give the bees plenty of time to form their cluster before it's cold again at night. As far as temperatures, I've inspected plenty of hives around 35-40 degrees if it's sunny, and the inspection only takes a few minutes. If you want to pull all the frames out one at a time, and do an inspection that lasts several minutes, it needs to be flying weather, so 50's and sunny. But, to just break the boxes apart to see the cluster side, and pull a frame or two out, it can be quite cold and not damage the hive. 3. What should I be looking for?Typically winter inspections are gauging syrup/honey stores. If your hive has less than 30 lbs in their second box, you can feed. Check out how to tell how much honey is stored here! It will take the bees several days to drink syrup in the winter. During the winter, that's about all you can do. Outside the hive, make sure the lids are on securely, water isn't pooling on the bottom board, and your wind blocks are in place. If you do have a bright sunny day, and want to pull a few frames out, you should see the queen beginning to lay eggs early to mid-January. A pollen patty or two starting in early January will help jump start that process.
Dodie Stillman Vice President - Texas Beekeepers Association President - Austin Area Beekeepers Association Master Beekeeper
Tara Chapman Featured on the Today Show, Vice Media and Eating Well Magazine Two Hives Honey - Austin, TX
Harrison Rogers Vice President Harris County Beekeepers Association Treasurer- Real Texas Honey Program Certified Texas Master Beekeeper
Ask The Expert: When and What to Look for in Winter Hive Inspections
By: Lynne Jones
What's the Buzz?
From the Editor: Long time contributor and author of "Topics Beekeepers Can't Agree On" is now taking on the role of "Topic Watcher"! Lynne will be reporting on timely topics that "you" the beekeepers are discussing on social media. Some (like this month) will be on a particular person's journey to an answer - others on certain topics beekeepers are collectively struggling through. This ongoing article will prove to be not only interesting and helpful, but fun and insightful too!
In the April 2022* magazine, the Topics Beekeepers Can’t Agree On article asked beekeepers what they considered to be the best foundation.**By far, heavy waxed, black plastic is the most used. In the article, I quoted newbee, Becky Brandy Recer, who after reading Facebook comments on the subject, decided to use three types of foundation: beeswax covered black plastic, wired wax foundations, and wired foundation-less. Last month, I followed up with Becky to find out how the different foundations did for her and how beekeeping has gone for her so far. Becky jumped into beekeeping last summer, when a beekeeper acquaintance of her husband, gave her a swarm he had captured and helped set up in a Langstroth hive. She quickly realized there is a lot to beekeeping and spent many hours educating herself, citing the Texas Friendly Beekeepers Facebook group, Texas Bee Supply’s website, and YouTube videos as her online learning resources. Her swarm colony made it through the winter but was failing. Rather than being discouraged, she considered it a learning experience and purchased three Nucs, two from Texas Bee Supply and one from a local beekeeper. The beekeeper described them as "spicy" so she fittingly named the hive “Daughters of Satan.” The failing colony was then added to one of the two TBS Nucs - and despite the drought, her colonies thrived! She added second deep boxes and made two splits, upping her total colonies to five. Acknowledging Varroa mites were the root of her swarm colony’s problems, she requeened using VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygienic) queens, checked for mites and treated as needed. And though she had not planned to harvest any honey, there was enough production for her to extract twelve pounds in July! The frames in Becky’s original swarm hive were all foundation-less. This year she started out using unwaxed black plastic, but called it a “game changer” when she went with waxed black plastic, saying, “Those frames were drawn out quickly, and beautifully! I also appreciated the solid foundations when I extracted honey.” Due to the positive reviews by Stan Gore and others in the Texas Friendly Beekeepers group, she has transitioned over to Apimaye hive boxes purchased from Texas Bee Supply. Becky says her bees have responded well to them and the Apimayes have reduced the time it takes to complete hive inspections. She looks forward to seeing how her bees overwinter in them. Becky has some excellent advice for anyone starting in beekeeping: Purchase a very good, well-ventilated bee suit Test for mites Have at least two hives Be humble Lean on others for their knowledge and expertise Learn how to use your smoker Don’t give up! Having several hives myself has allowed me to see the differences and make adjustments as needed. Every hive is different - this is a blessing and a curse. In the end, I have learned the bees are in charge, and my role is to assist in their success. I am impressed with how far Becky has come in her first year and wish her continued success.
The Gift That Lasts All Year even if you gift it to yourself!
References: * Texas Bee Supply Monthly magazine Pg. 36 ** Facebook Posts - Central Texas Beekeepers and Texas Friendly Beekeepers
What advice would you give to a beginner beekeeper? You can message me on Facebook or send an email to: BrazosRiverHoney77474@gmail.com
Lynne Jones is owner of Brazos River Honey Secretary-Treasurer of the Fort Bend Beekeepers Association and Advanced level in the Texas Master Beekeeper program
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The Importance of Propolis For a Winter Hive By Karl Cottrell President - Central Texas Beekeepers Association
Propolis is one of the substances that most hobby beekeepers don’t pay much attention to. It’s that sticky stuff that we all spend so much time scraping off our hives and makes it hard to lift the frames out so that we can inspect them. So, what is it, why is it important and is there a seasonality to its importance? Propolis is yet another one of those fascinating things that bees make. Along with the collection of nectar, pollen and water, the foragers collect sap from trees and plants. They mix this sap with wax to create the resinous material that we call propolis. The bees utilize the propolis for several purposes including filling cracks, narrowing the hive entrance, and polishing cells. A quick Google search reveals that both bees, and humans, utilize the many medicinal benefits of propolis. There are even a number of studies showing that a hive is more susceptible to disease vectors if propolis is limited within the hive. The more propolis, the healthier the hive! Most of us have complained about a drafty room in our house at some point… It’s common during the winter to find rolled up towels blocking the cracks under doors to help minimize those drafts. Since propolis is used by bees to do the same thing as our towels, it seems logical that it would be more important to bees in the winter than in the summer. But is there any conclusive research to support this assumption? An interesting study, carried out at a university in Turkey (Van Yuzuncu Yil University), examined the amount of propolis that bees created in three different time periods: pre-flow, during the flow, and post flow. They also studied the impact of different hive body materials - using wooden, Styrofoam and plastic hives. In the case of both the wooden and Styrofoam hives, the bees made over 10 times more propolis in the post flow time period than during the other two periods. The plastic hives also had an increase, but by not as much. Additionally, the bees made almost 10 times more propolis in the wooden hives than they did in the plastic hives. My takeaway from this study is that the bees know that winter is coming, and they ramp up their propolis production before it hits to seal up those drafty hives. What can we do as beekeepers to help the bees out? Common sense would suggest that if we cut down on the draftiness of our hives, the bees would have to expend less energy to fill in the gaps and cracks. Folks using Apimaye hives are probably ahead of the game here…But for those of us using Langstroth and Top Bar hives, we may want to minimize breaking the hive seals that the bees have created in preparation of colder weather by limiting invasive hive inspections. We may also want to explore feeding options that don’t require entering into the hive. And finally, I’d suggest that during the fall and winter we should be a little less diligent in our propolis scraping efforts. The bees created the propolis for their use, let’s leave it in the hive so they can plug those drafty holes. After all, the bees know best!
Having the mindset of keeping your bees cooler rather than warmer during the hot Texas summer…don’t hesitate to move your bees to a “sunnier” spot as winter sets in. Much needed help from the sun can go a long way to helping your bees maintain hive temperatures in cold weather. Tips: Close entrance at night – move the next morning, or Close entrance right before moving at dusk/dark No restrictions on distance – 2 feet or 2 miles, doesn’t matter Full day sun is good If you only have morning sun or afternoon sun choices – choose morning sun Entrance facing south/southeast Ideal for structure (trees, forest, house, fence) to be at the north side of the hive for a wind block Strap hive together with a ratchet strap (cranked down securely) for the move If you’ve been waiting to upgrade your hive stand – now would be a great time!
Moving Bees To a Sunnier Spot
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Have you ever stood outside of a hive or opened one up and heard a strange, unfamiliar sound? You think it’s coming from inside the hive, but you’re not sure… Did that particular sound ignite curiosity, excitement, a sense of fear or urgency? Hearing a queen (or queens) piping can trigger or stimulate any and all of these feelings. Let’s first talk about why queens pipe. Piping is a sound produced most commonly by virgin queens. A virgin queen will pipe or “toot” after emerging from her queen cell.She does this to notify the colony and other virgin queens of her emergence and arrival. Virgin queens that still occupy their queen cells will pipe or “quack” back in response to the emerged queen’s “toot”. These sounds can be the beginning to two possible scenarios. The first is that the initial virgin queen will swarm (called a secondary swarm) with part of the colony to avoid a fight to the death with other queens. The second possibility is that the first virgin queen will explore the hive and continue “tooting” to locate other queens.She will either sting them within their queen cell or a fatal combat will ensue - the winner becoming the new queen of the colony. It is truly an amazing sound to hear piping in person. I get very excited when I hear it and start scouring frames looking for the virgin queen.It’s remarkable to watch the entire frame of bees when she “toots” and observe as all activity halts for several seconds in response to it. Then begins my feeling of urgency.If I’m in a hive and hear a recently emerged virgin queen “tooting,” I usually start cutting out queen cells (if viable) before she gets to them and kills them.I will then bank these queens to use in splits, Queenless hives, or share with other beekeepers in need of a queen. Enjoy the following video that I was so lucky to capture of a piping queen in my apiary.
Queen Piping By: Holli Kercher
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PARTY FAVORITE
YIELD: Makes 2 1/2 quarts INGREDIENTS 4 cups - rice, corn, or wheat cereal squares 4 cups - small pretzel twists or sticks 2 cups - roasted mixed nuts 1/2 cup - butter or margarine, melted 1/2 cup - honey DIRECTIONS Combine cereal, pretzels, and nuts in 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Combine butter and honey. Pour over all, tossing lightly to coat evenly. Bake at 350°F 45-50 minutes, stirring frequently, or until crispy and caramelized. Store tightly covered. TIP For Honey-Spice Party Mix, add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg to butter mixture before cooking.
HONEYED PARTY MIX
We are so excited to update you on our Austin Area store progress! Although taking longer than we had hoped, groundwork is underway! Like most projects these days, aspects beyond our control have caused delays - but we are happy to say, we are UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
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Walker County Beekeepers Association 1402 19th Street Huntsville, TX 77340 Last Thursday of each month Q & A on the front porch at 6:30, meeting at 7:00 PM
Denton County Beekeepers Association Meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month both in-person and on zoom! Details on www.dentonbees.com and on Facebook
Williamson Co Beekeepers Association 4th Tuesday of each month at the Georgetown library in Georgetown. Zoom attendance also available. Click Here for more info
SPEAKER REQUEST
Elm Fork Beekeepers 3rd Thursday each month in person or Zoom at the VFW Hall in Gainsville, TX. Go to: elmforkbeekeepers.org for Zoom link
Tri-County Beekeepers Association 4th Tuesday @ 5:30 pm of each month Sam's Restaurant - Fairfield, TX
Lamar County Beekeepers Association Meets 1st Thursday each month at 6:30 Red River Valley Fairground - Building B Paris, Texas
Montgomery County Beekeepers Association 3rd Monday of each month 9020 Airport Rd. Conroe, TX 77303 Non-members welcome! www.mocobees.com
Kaufman Area Beekeepers Association Second Tuesday each month at 6:30 pm United Methodist Church, 208 S. Houston St. Kaufman, TX New Beekeepers Q & A 5:45-6:15
Comal County BeeKeepers Association First Thursday each month at 6:30 - 7:00 dinner - 7:00 - 8:30 meeting Beefy's on the Green - Spring Branch, TX
Pineywoods Beekeepers Association 2nd Thursday each month Lufkin Angelina County Chamber of Commerce 1615 S. Chestnut Lufkin, TX
Hill County Beekeepers Association In - Person meetings every 3rd Tuesday of the month 6:30 at Hill County Annex Office, Hillsboro, TX
Wood County Beekeepers Association 1st Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm! The current meeting location is the Winnsboro Civic Center
Travis County Beekeepers Association 1st Monday 7-9 pm Zilker Botanical Garden ~ Gift Shop 2220 Barton Springs Rd. Autin, TX 78746 www.TravisCountyBeekeepers.org
Harris County Beekeepers 4th Tuesday each month - 6:30 Meet & Greet - 7:00 meetings start - 5001 W. Oak, Pasadena TX 77504 Harris County Beekeepers Association
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Austin Area Beekeepers Association Third Thursday each month at 7:00 pm Frickett Scout Center For meeting details CLICK HERE!
Fort Bend Beekeepers 2nd Tuesday of each month (except Dec) in person or online. Bud O'Shieles Community Center 1330 band Road, Rosenberg, TX
Hays County Beekeepers Association In - Person meetings every 3rd Wednesday of the month 6:30 -9pm at Suds Monkey Brewing Company - 12024 US-290, Austin, TX
Central Texas Beekeepers Association Washington County Fairgrounds VIP room 4th Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm CentralTexasBeekeepers.org
Club Announcements
Houston Beekeepers Association 3rd Tuesday each month in person at Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet St Houston, TX 77074 HoustonBeekeepers.org
Liberty County Beekeepers Association First Tuesday each month at 6:30 Texas Bee Supply in Dayton/Huffman For more information go to LibertyCountyBeekeepers.org
Photo Credit: Caven Marsh