April 2023
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www.TheBeeSupply.com
THE BEE SUPPLY
Monthly
Cover Photo: Nanette Davis
Feature Topics Turning Swarms into Production Hives How to Tell if a Hive is Queenless Adding Supers Splitting a Hot Hive
Edition 34
Contents
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Table Of
We welcome your feedback and submissions! editor@thebeesupply.com Beekeeping Questions: help@thebeesupply.com
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8 Monthly Tips 14 Turning Swarms Into Production Hives 20 How to Tell if a Hive Needs to be Requeened 24 Requeening in 4 Easy Steps 28 How to Tell if a Hive is Queenless 32 Hive Inspections: How to Get it Done Quickly 36 When to Add Honey Supers 37 Status of Spring 38 Expert: Paul Kelly 39 Upcoming Events
April
40 Splitting a Hot Hive 41 Dr. Jamie Ellis: The most critical aspect of colony management 42 I found swarm cells! What do I do? 46 What's the Buzz? To Paint Inside Hive Boxes or Not? 50 Wax Dipped Boxes 56 Bee Eater aka Summer Tanager 60 Recipe: Smashed Potato Frites 62 Club Directory 64 Webinar Q&A 65 U.S. Drought Map
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Clicking on a Topic will take you right to it!
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2023 BEGINNING BEEKEEPING CLASSES
As spring enters full swing, your hive should continue to grow rapidly. Feed sugar syrup only as needed. Work to maintain a 20 lb surplus of stored honey or syrup in your second brood box (or medium if you are using single brood boxes with supers). The more syrup and honey you have stored in your second brood box at the start of the honey flow, the more honey the bees will store in your first honey super, rather than having to fill the second brood box first. There should be no need to feed any form of pollen substitute unless you are in areas where spring is late in arriving or in the northern most regions still dealing with cold weather. April is the perfect month to requeen hives if queens are available in your area. We recommend requeening every year for seamless brood production and healthy hives. Using queen availability as your guide, splits are typically done when the populations reach 80% in their perspective boxes. Remember to give each split 3-4 frames of brood, a new queen, and feed them well for at least 3 weeks. Check out our virtual splits class to learn more! If you are purchasing hives, Nucs or packages, make sure to feed well, verify the queen is laying, and add boxes when the first box becomes 80% full of bees. Check out the article “Your First Month Home” for more details! Swarm season is here! Ensure each hive has sufficient room or is split to prevent swarming. It is generally not advised to treat for mites (or any other issues) as the spring honey flow begins late April or early May in most regions. An exception to this would be in the southern states such as south Texas and south Florida where the honey flow can begin in early April. For up-to-date help on when your area is having spring blooms – check out this Spring Status map.
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By: Blake Shook
April Tips
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Join me the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm for our Live Monthly Buzz Webinar - It's free and there's always something new to learn! Blake
Come meet Becky Barajas - veteran beekeeper of 10 years, and our NEW Round Rock store Manager! Becky and her staff are super excited to get this store going and help you with all of your beekeeping needs! With this type of experienced staff, you can count on quick answers and solutions every time you walk in the door!
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Upcoming Agenda
Live in the Bee Yard Tips April Tips Splits and Split Care Package, Nuc & New Hive Care Swarms Adding Boxes - When & How Brood Diseases & Varroa
Italian/Carniolan
By Chari Elam
We’ve all heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as free bees!” This is so very true – but there is a way to take swarms (we’ll call them “discount bees”) and make them part of our production hives. The most important aspect of capturing swarms has been covered in the March issue, in the article “Capturing Swarms with Bait Hives” (Pg. 38). But what do you do once you have them trapped? Great question! Hiving your swarm Taking a swarm from a bait hive can be relatively easy…or not! If you used a bait trap like the paper mâché bucket trap, you’d be doing what constitutes a “cut out.” In this case, take a Langstroth hive body with a bottom board and lid, remove the foundation from a few of the frames prior to starting the transfer. This will enable you to rubber band or wire brood comb into the open frames. Once you have pulled the outer covering from the bait hive bucket, carefully cut one comb lobe at a time using a bread knife (or a decapping knife) cutting it to fit each frame, and either rubber band or wire it to secure it in the frame. Try your best to keep the comb in order. I recommend taking little to no honeycomb. This will only bring and invite Small Hive Beetles, causing potentially disastrous problems within the first few weeks. Try to get all the brood comb into the new hive box without damaging too much of it. If you are using a Top Bar hive, rubber bands won’t work as well, therefore, plan to wire the brood comb to the top bar instead. Once you’ve retrieved all the brood comb, center those frames and fill the balance of the box (left and right) with drawn comb frames if you have them, or frames with new foundation if you don't. If you trapped your swarm in a Nuc box or full hive – you picked the easiest way to start a production colony! If it was a Nuc box, simply remove one frame at a time and transfer it to a full-sized hive box – keeping the same order in which you removed them. Center them, then fill the balance of the box with drawn comb frames if you have them or new frames with foundation. For fullsized hive box swarm traps, it would be best to move the hive as far away from the trap location as possible. Reason: Most often we let those sit longer than we should and it’s basically moving a hive. And those precautions need to be observed. Requeen Keeping in mind that the swarm queen you now have is the “old” queen from the swarmed colony, it stands to reason that requeening is your first order of business. You really don’t have a choice here. If you leave her to build the hive, her production is guaranteed to be failing by fall (if not well before then) leaving you in the lurch if you can’t requeen. It’s best to go ahead and get a new young queen that will correct any “attitude” problems that may have come along with the swarm, and ensure you have the best shot at making these “discount bees” a part of your production hives. Test for Varroa Once hived and settled (about a month), test your new hive for Varroa mites. The swarm caused a natural brood break which reduces the number of mites, but we’d never expect that to last. If this hive is going to be a good honey and/or bee producer, it must have low to no mite loads. Treat accordingly if you have more than 2 mites per 100 bees when tested. Feed Building a swarm colony into a production colony requires a robust hive. Depending on the strength of the swarm once you placed it in a hive, and the timing, it’s almost a given you must feed them. Odds are it wasn’t so large you filled an entire deep hive box. And remember, I suggested you not take any honeycomb, so these bees need food! Feed 1:1 heavily and nonstop for several weeks. Most regions will see a nectar flow in April and even if it’s a minor one, I would still feed until there is a full deep box of bees and nectar/honey. Adding a honey super The same rules you follow for established hives apply to this swarm hive. When it’s 80% full of bees/nectar/honey, and you are within a week of nectar flow (or no later than mid-June) add a honey super. This hive shouldn’t have any trouble filling a super (or two) in the same amount of time as an established hive.
Turning Swarms into Production Hives
Whoa! Can I do that? You bet you can!
Need a New Queen?
FAST FACT
Honey Bees can consume 1 quart of sugar syrup per DAY when they are in growth mode with no nectar flow is going.
TAKE THE SURVEY
Calling all beekeepers! We are working on expanding our educational resources to include pollen flow, nectar flow, honey harvest, and splits seasons for each location nationwide. If you would like to participate, please click on the link below. Thank you for being a part of our “Educational Research Team”!
Significant Pollen Flow Start Dates (Example Map)
One of the Bee Informed Partnership’s major focuses is to bring together several disciplines to study ways to keep honey bee colonies healthy. One way we try to help all beekeepers is by conducting annual surveys and sharing the results with the beekeeping community. Our flagship service, The Bee Informed National Loss and Management Survey, reflects this goal. We release our National Survey annually to study beekeeping management practices using epidemiology. Epidemiology looks for patterns across groups of people who are infected with specific diseases and their common traits. We then compare this data with people who are free of disease to pinpoint the most influential factors in contracting the illness. We poll thousands of beekeepers every year to find out as much as we can about their beekeeping management practices. We then compare the rates of loss among beekeepers who did or did not use a specific management practice. Now that we have years of data, we are beginning to identify patterns across the best performing beekeepers in each region to start to understand what combinations of management practices work best at keeping colonies alive. What’s just as interesting is looking at the patterns across beekeepers who aren’t doing well so we can better understand what we should stop doing. We hypothesize that over time, certain practices or products lose their potency and we need to adapt.
ONLINE SURVEY
Bee Informed Partnership Annual Survey Starts April 1st
Here's a video explaining what I'm talking about in this article.
How to Tell if a Hive Needs to Be Requeened
There can be many signs and reasons to requeen a hive. In general, it’s a good idea to proactively requeen each hive every year before they begin to show signs of needing to be requeened. It’s important to note that what may look like a failing queen is often the result of other factors. Below are the conditions when a hive actually needs to be requeened: Your hive is consistently aggressive. If several bees are following you post- inspection for several minutes, even as you walk away, and they behave this way consistently, it’s a good idea to requeen for your own comfort's sake. The brood pattern is “spotty” throughout the hive. See "Causes of a spotty brood pattern." Dwindling, or a population that’s not growing when it should be. Between February and July, a hive’s population should be ever increasing. If a hive has been consistently well fed, doesn’t have a mite issue or a brood disease, yet has not been growing or is dwindling for a few months, you should requeen. Drone brood is mixed in with the worker brood. A queen running out of sperm will lay unfertilized drone brood mixed with worker bee brood. This results in random large bumpy cells of capped brood mixed with the more even flat worker brood. This will be visible throughout the hive, and you should see hundreds of these larger cells mixed with worker cells. Drone brood isolated on certain parts of frames is normal and expected rather than scattered throughout the worker brood. There are no eggs, larva, or brood. This is a really tricky one! Depending on the stage of queenlessness, the hive may have already begun raising a new queen. Since this is a more complex issue, read more detail in "No Eggs, Larva, or Brood".
First, make sure you are able to spot eggs and larva. See “Tips for spotting eggs & larva”. If you are confident there are no eggs, larva, or capped brood, then you almost certainly have a queenless hive. The most important question at this point is: how long have they been queenless? If there is still capped brood in the hive, then there is a good chance the hive has a virgin queen that hasn’t started laying yet but should soon. Give the hive a frame of eggs and larva from a stronger hive (see how to here) and check back in 2 days. If they are beginning to raise queen cells all over the frame then they are queenless, and you will need to add a queen. If they don’t raise queen cells, give them another week, and you will most likely begin to see eggs from a new queen. If you don’t, give them another 2-3 days. If there is still nothing, then proceed with adding a new queen. If you don’t have a frame of brood to give the hive, just wait another week then check back for eggs. If they have no brood, not even capped brood, they have been queenless for at least 21 days. In that span of time, they should have been able to successfully raise a new queen, and she should have begun laying. Assuming your hive is strong enough to survive, then give them a frame of brood from a stronger hive (not necessary if you don’t have a second stronger hive) and give them a new queen as quickly as possible. If your hive matches any one of the above symptoms, it’s a good idea to go ahead and requeen as quickly as possible
No Eggs, Larva, or Brood
1. A failing queen - As queens age, they begin running out of sperm, and begin laying a spottier pattern mixed with drone brood. A spotty pattern as a result of a failing queen will look spotty on every frame of brood, not just 1-2 frames. 2. Only spotty on some frames, as the queen lays around cells of honey and pollen, giving a “spotty” appearance. Keep in mind that a failing queen does typically have a spotty brood pattern. However, it should be on all the frames all throughout the hive. If it has been a year since you’ve requeened, it is most likely time to requeen. 3. Rapid growth & laying around resources - When the queen is laying faster than the bees can move cells of honey or pollen out of her way, she will often lay around them, causing a spotty pattern. However, you typically only see this on a few frames of brood, and the rest of the brood will look normal and compact. 4. Varroa mite infestation - As a hive becomes increasingly infected with varroa, the bees will begin pulling infected larva and pupa out of their cells, causing a spotty brood pattern. Treating for varroa is critical if it gets to this point. You can learn how to treat for varroa here. 5. Chalkbrood - Brood infected by the fungal infection chalkbrood will die, causing a spotty brood pattern. It’s typically found in the spring months, and is best treated with probiotics, and warmer drier weather. 6. European Foulbrood- This disease affects the larva and causes developing larva to look yellow and melted. It is also commonly found during the spring. Probiotics, warmer weather, requeening, and feeding can help. Check out our article on EFB here. 7. Poor nutrition - If a hive is starved nutritionally, they will begin to cannibalize the brood, causing it to look spotty.
Causes of a Spotty Brood Pattern
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Tara Chapman - Two Hives Honey, tells us her secrets to finding queens. Let's listen!
Requeening in 4 Easy Steps
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Check out this video! Blake shows you just how easy requeening really is!
Requeening a hive can be one of the most intimidating activities for beekeepers! Probably the #1 reason being, the old queen must be located and eliminated. Rest assured once you are past that, the steps are as easy as 2-3-4! Locate and remove the old queen Wait 2-24 hours to install the new queen Insert the new queen in her cage into the center of the brood nest, perpendicular to the frames with candy opening facing down. Check back in 4-7 days to verify the queen has been released
Gentle and easy to work Parasite and disease resistant Early spring buildup in population Tendency to limited swarming Ability to ripen honey rapidly Less propensity for robbing behavior Adept at handling dearth Rapidly adjust brood production according to food availability Among the best at overwintering
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Originates from the Italian family Believed to be the gentlest breed in the world Good honey producers Does well in warm weather Good wax producers Great choice for backyard Beekeepers
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QUEENS
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Supersedure cells: Often located in the middle of frames. Typically found in weakening/dwindling hives that aren’t full of bees. Found all times of the year. Hive often appears weak, with a poor brood pattern. See (“How to tell it’s time to requeen a hive” in this issue to see what these hives often look like. Often only a few queen cells
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Swarm cells: Often located along the bottom & sides of a frame Found in overcrowded hives, where every box is more than 80% full of bees. 90% of the time found in Spring or very early summer. Hive appears generally healthy, full of bees & brood, with a good brood pattern. Often 5-20 cells
How to Tell if a Hive is Queenless
Supersecdure Cell
Is your colony Queenright or Queenless? There are a variety of ways to tell if your hive has lost its queen, and at some point, all hives do eventually lose their queens. At times they requeen themselves and we never know it (which isn’t ideal), and sometimes we catch it in time to do something about it. Here are some ways to tell if your hive is Queenless: There are no capped brood, eggs, larva, or queen cells If your hive has no brood of any form in the hive, and it is between February and October, your hive is almost certainly Queenless. There is capped worker or drone brood, but no eggs or larva. There are no eggs or larva, but there are queen cells with developing larva in them. If this is the case, determine what kind of queen cells they are – Supercedure cell or Swarm Cell. If they are swarm cells, check out our article in this issue “I found Swarm Cells – What do I do now?” There is brood but it’s all drone brood, not worker brood! ”Most likely you have a laying worker. See “Identifying and Fixing Drone Layers” Note: Queenless colonies cannot produce new workers resulting in a rapid population decline. The bees are backfilling the brood nest with nectar. Bees are acting nervous, jittery and exhibit an unusually loud “roaring sound”.
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Swarm Cells
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NEW PRODUCT ALERT!
BIO-CONTROL
Photo By: Gijsbert Van Frankenhuyzen - Bath, Michigan
Hive inspections do NOT have to be extravagant – regardless of whether it’s a quick peek or a deep hive dive, 5-7 minutes is all you need! How? Be prepared with the proper tools, additional boxes, frames, and any pest control equipment you may need - Beetle Blasters, mite treatment, etc. Stay focused on the tasks – Get in and get out! You are looking for: Population/Frames of Brood Eggs & larva (aka Queen laying) Frames of honey/stores Pollen in hive Well-fed brood (moist/shiny/white) Space – too little or too much Brood disease or evidence of Varroa mites Quick peek hive check For checking honey stores, queen laying, and/or population growth, you can estimate it takes less than 2-3 minutes per hive. Here’s how: Give a few puffs of smoke at the entrance Remove the lid and observe how many bees are in the hive. This is done by looking down in the cracks between the frames. For those on a fast track into spring, you should be seeing at least 6-8 full “cracks” of bees in the brood nest. Pull an outer frame and verify there are still honey stores (2 full deep frames = 20 lbs.) – inspect and return. Remove a center frame(s) and verify your queen is laying – inspect and return. Note the progress and determine if you need to feed (less than 20 lbs. of stored honey), or you need to expand the box or split, (expand single deeps or split double deeps more than 80% full) Deep Hive Dive You can expect that at least 4-5 times a year you will need to go deep into your hives. This means, if you are inspecting a double deep – you MUST also look into the bottom box! I know, I know… the top box is heavy. Get some help if you need it, but do it! This inspection can take 5-7 minutes – Here’s how: Follow steps 1 & 2 from the Hive Check Pull an outer frame (usually the 2nd one in) and quickly look at what it contains. Honey, brood, pollen, Queen…? Prop it up on the side of the box leaving it out for the inspection. Making your way through each frame, look for eggs, larvae, pollen around the open brood, the queen if you see her, space available for her to lay, and swarm cells – returning each frame after you’ve inspected it. Make this quick – less than a minute per frame should be enough. Note: if you find swarm cells, plan to act immediately. See: "I found swarm cells, what now?" As you observe each frame, keep in mind you are also looking for any evidence of Varroa mites or disease (i.e., Deformed Wing virus, Frass - ‘varroa poop’ or sick looking brood like dried, sunken cappings or shriveled brownish larva) Note any findings and close up the hive. What you found determines how quickly you should go back in! I found: Hive is out of food and there isn’t a nectar flow coming in yet = FEED same day The hive is running out of space for the queen to lay and it’s a single deep = Either add a queen excluder and a medium super (for those keeping single deeps) or add an additional brood box, making a double deep. Don’t delay – these bees could swarm! The hive is running out of space and it’s in a double deep = Plan to make a split or take some brood out and share with another hive that isn’t as full or add a honey super if a minor nectar flow has started. Again – Don’t delay! These bees WILL swarm! Evidence of Varroa mites = Test as soon as possible (can be a week or so), but don’t put this off. An over-infestation of VM will cause a colony's health to decline, low brood and honey production. Have a plan for a high mite load and implement it! That’s it… for the most part! Some inspections can take longer depending on what you find, but rest assured they don’t have to be a long drawn out (dreaded) part of beekeeping! Most importantly – Enjoy the process, and HAVE FUN!
Hive Inspections
By: Chari Elam
How to Get It Done Quickly!
CEDAR PINE AND APIMAYE OPTIONS AVAILABLE
It is Bee Season and our team is building frames and boxes non-stop to keep up with the demand! How many can we build for you?
Psst... My favorite hive tool when doing a hive inspection is a J-hook!
SHOP WOODENWARE
Spring has sprung – Not only are pollen-producing trees and plants flowering, but some nectar is being produced as well. Check out the Status of Spring map on the next page to see how your area is progressing. If you are unclear about which plants are nectar- producers in your area, check with local beekeepers, or your ag extension agent. Colonies are 80+% full – Most all frames are built out with comb and contain bees, brood, and resources (nectar/honey/pollen). Regardless of whether this is a single deep or double deep box, if nectar is flowing you can add a honey super. White wax – The number one visual indicator of when to add honey supers in a colony is opening up the hive and seeing white wax. This indicates a fresh supply of nectar and most likely in abundance. If you see ALL of these indicators, it’s time to add a honey super! We’ll go into much more detail about supering in the May TBS Monthly issue. Get ready beekeepers; it’s shaping up to be a bumper crop season!
STATUS OF SPRING
When to Add Honey Supers
April may seem a bit early to be thinking about adding honey supers, but depending on where you are – within just a couple of weeks your bees could be ready! What to look for:
How do you know when spring has begun? Is it the appearance of the first tiny leaves on the trees, or the first crocus plants peeping through the snow? The First Leaf and First Bloom Indices are synthetic measures of these early season events in plants, based on recent temperature conditions. These models allow us to track the progression of spring onset across the country. Quote: National Phenology Network
Check out this very interesting site that literally "tracks spring"! Click on the map to see how your area is doing!
A lot of great things came out of Hive Life 2023 - and one of them was getting to meet University of Guelph's Paul Kelly! He manages the honey bee colonies there for research and teaching purposes and provides research support for hive health science, training for students and beekeepers - plus coordinates and teaches beekeeping courses! Paul and I talk about several topics, including allogrooming, keeping bees in single brood chambers, swarm prevention and so much more! Check it out!
May 6th - Honey/Bee Jubilee, New Ulm, TX Educational booth and taking product and bee orders
Talk with the Expert Introducing Paul Kelly Popular research and Apiary Manager, University of Guelph - Ontario, Canada
UPCOMING EVENTS
Watch for Pre-Sale Trade Show Discounts Announced Soon!
June 17th - Texas Beekeepers Association Summer Clinic Full booth with merchandise
with Chari Elam
The Most Critical Aspect of Colony Management
SPLITTING A HOT HIVE
Photo: Susan Caldwell
Dr. Jamie Ellis Gahan Endowed Professor of Entomology in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida
When faced with a hot (overly defensive) hive it can be very difficult to “just requeen”. Often these hives are very robust with large populations, making finding the bad- attitude queen behind it all nearly impossible. The best approach is to start by making the smallest splits possible – removing the “strength in numbers” factor. 2 frames of brood (open and capped) 1 frame of honey/nectar/pollen (This frame is very important – the number of resource frames are what help determine how many splits you can make.) 2 frames of either drawn comb or new foundation It’s a good idea to bring in a mentor or expert along to help. After all, the last thing you want is for you, or your neighbors to get hurt. If you live in a suburban setting, it’s also a good idea to move the hive to a new, more rural location before splitting or requeening the colony. ALWAYS suit up really well when working with a hot hive. Also, do this in the middle of a sunny, calm day, and smoke them VERY well as you make the split. See “Splits Pg. 28”. Go back in 4 days, and whichever split has eggs, that’s the one with the queen. Find her, kill her, and give new queens to all the splits. It will be much easier to find her in a small split, plus you will find that the bad attitude of all the splits has reduced dramatically. Follow post splitting instructions of feeding non-stop until filling a full-size box, and adding additional boxes as they grow.
FUN FACT: Swarm cells are typically built on the last row of eggs laid, which tends to be at the bottom of the frame. But did you know they can be located anywhere on the face of a frame too? They can!
Photo Credit: Nanette Davis
As spring arrives across the nation, honey bees are doing what honey bees are supposed to do - perpetuate their species – all to build more hives and store more honey! Therefore, just as we are getting closer to nectar flow, swarming becomes their focus. For beekeepers that means stopping the swarm urge by managing our colonies. But what happens when the population outperformed your hive inspections? Often you are left with a colony having been in swarm mode for several days and queen cells to show for it. Leading up to a swarm A colony will hold back on feeding the mother queen for days prior to swarming, causing her to slim down for the flight, and in turn, the lack of food will decrease how many eggs she’s laying. If a minor nectar flow is occurring simultaneously, bees will start backfilling the brood nest with nectar. This is to not only stop the queen from laying there, but to give them plenty of honey to gorge themselves on prior to the flight. Multiple swarm cells being built on the outer most perimeter of the brood nest – most often the bottom of the frame but can be at the edge of a laying pattern on the face of the frame as well. What we learned here is that you should notice a decrease of eggs being laid and backfilling prior to the actual swarm. And of course, swarm cells. I found swarm cells 2 rules of thumb: If you see eggs and swarm cells, most likely the queen is still there, and the swarm hasn’t occurred yet. If you don’t see eggs and swarm cells, more than likely the colony has swarmed. What do I do now... If you see eggs and swarm cells (swarm hasn’t happened yet) here are some options: You can remove the swarm cells making certain you get every single one (even queen cups), add honey supers and watch closely. If you miss destroying even a single queen cell, the colony will swarm anyway. Prepare to make splits right away. This is the safest option but does require at least 1 new queen unless you allow the colony to requeen themselves (not recommended in most areas). In this instance, make even splits destroying every queen cell you find, and “ideally” requeening both splits. Keeping the old “swarming” queen isn’t recommended but can be successful if you move her away from the original location. But keep in mind she’s probably aging out anyway and should be replaced soon. If you don’t see eggs and have swarm cells (capped or emerged) your swarm has most likely already occurred. Here are a few options: Now you are left to wait. If still capped – Do NOT remove any queen cells and patiently wait. Check back in a week to see if any cells have opened and if so, wait another 10-14 days and look for eggs. If none, you are Queenless and need to take action quickly to requeen with a new mated queen. Adding a frame of brood hoping for them to generate a new queen isn’t ideal at this point. Too much time has lapsed, and you run the risk of laying workers starting up and your nurse bees having aged out of house duties. If emerged, keep checking back once a week for eggs. If none appear within 10-14 days take steps to requeen quickly – for the same reasons listed above. Note: Destroying all of the queen cells/cups prior to emerging or even shortly after a colony has swarmed isn’t ideal due to the fact that it would likely put you in the position of hopelessly Queenless if the new queen doesn’t make it back. Requeening Remove any and all remaining queen cells. I suggest using a mixture of 1:1 sugar syrup with a touch of Pro Health added, lightly sprayed over the top bars, then install the queen. This has a very fragrant smell and should mask any residual pheromone left by an emerging queen, helping to ensure that the new queen is accepted and released. As always feed a split until it is established. Best practices in swarm season Do quick hive checks weekly leading up to your nectar flow. Doing so will keep you informed of what is going on and most often prevent swarm measures from ever getting started.
I found swarm cells - What do I do now?
Less than 25% of swarms survive in nature. Although swarming is part of nature - containing primarily adult bees, an aging queen and no resources (other than the honey in their stomachs), it makes establishing a new colony a challenge and one not often successful. Primary reasons - starvation, Varroa mites, and exposure to pesticides due to the fact they tend to repopulate in unwanted places.
Being able to identify a hive about to swarm can be key to the hive's survival (both the swarm and the colony left behind. Watch this short video about a hive preparing to swarm.
By: Lynne Jones
I never realized painting woodenware was such a controversial topic! In the Facebook group, Beekeeping Basics, between February 25th and March 11th, there were several posts asking for advice on what parts of the hive need to be painted. One of the posts asked if the ledges of boxes should be painted. It received 86 comments. Of the beekeepers who indicated a clear preference one way or the other, 60% said don’t paint the edges because the boxes will stick together and 40% said do paint the edges because they get wet and need protection. But if there’s one thing beekeepers come close to being in 100% agreement on, it is that the wood inside of the hive isn’t painted. But why don’t we paint the inside? Is this just an unwritten rule passed down from generation to generation of beekeepers, that no longer has validity? Rev. L.L. Langstroth was in favor of protecting the inside of the beehive from condensation. In his 1853 publication of The Hive and the Honey-Bee, Langstroth says: My hives are so constructed, that if made of wood, they may be thoroughly painted inside and outside, without being so smooth as to annoy the bees; for they travel over the frames to which the combs are attached; and thus whether the inside surface is glass or wood, it is not liable to crack or warp, or absorb moisture, after the hive is occupied by the bees. If the hives are painted inside, it should be done sometime before they are used. If the interior of the wooden hive is brushed with a very hot mixture of the rosin and bees-wax, the hives may be used immediately. On one website, the recommendation is to, “leave surfaces bare where bees walk and live.” On another – much the same, “Always prime and paint only the outsides — and edges, if you wish — but not the insides of the boxes.” But neither gives a reason for not painting the interior. Rusty Burlew is a master beekeeper in Washington State, author of American Bee Journal’s The Curious Beekeeper column, and of blog posts going back 13 years on her website, Honey Bee Suite. She lists five reasons she leaves the insides unpainted: (1) sometimes bees chew on the wood and most paint contains things you don’t want your bee to eat; (2) even low VOC paint can off-gas for a long time and though it might not harm the bees, it may interfere with pheromone signals in the hive; (3) unpainted wood can absorb some moisture which may help with moisture control; (4) an unpainted interior more closely simulates the cavity of a tree trunk; and, (5) most wood seems to have natural antimicrobial properties, particularly antifungal ones. By sealing the wood with paint those properties are lost to the hive. A publication from the University of Florida, co-authored by Dr. Jamie Ellis, Preserving Woodenware in Beekeeping Operations has this to say: Outer/migratory hive covers, supers, hive bodies, and bottom boards should be painted with a non-toxic paint registered for outdoor use. The color of the paint is unimportant, but avoid very dark colors because they absorb heat. It is important to put at least two to three layers of paint on the equipment. Inner covers or the inside surfaces of supers should not be painted; painting traps moisture inside of the hive. However, you should paint the entire bottom board. If it is economically feasible, hive equipment should be painted every three to five years. Following these recommendations will prolong the life and functionality of your hive woodenware. However, much in the minority, some beekeepers paint the entire box, inside and out and claim their boxes last longer because the paint protects against condensation inside the hive. Although I now know there are specific arguments against painting the interior of boxes, I am left wondering how valid they are. Here's why: I haven’t found my bees to chew on the wood. Unpainted wood can absorb some moisture and help with of moisture control seems negligible, especially when compared to the negative effect on the wood. Unpainted wood being more like a tree cavity and having some antimicrobial properties may be beneficial, but is it enough to outweigh the benefit protecting the wood? The VOC off-gassing problem is solved by painting well before putting the box into service. I now question even more, the standard practice of not painting the box interior even more, but until I am convinced the potential issues are far outweighed by the benefit, I will leave mine unpainted.
(Langstroth’s bee-hive design, patented in 1852, was quite different than today’s Langstroth Hive, and the interior walls could be made of glass or wood.)
What's the Buzz... To paint or not to paint the inside of hive boxes!
Beginning Beekeeping Classes aren't just for Beginners! We have a lot of beekeepers taking our class that want to enhance their knowledge to improve the health of their bees and get more comfortable making on- the-spot decisions for their hives. Is that you?
You can message me on Facebook or send an email to BrazosRiverHoney77474@gmail.com
If you are having a hard time visualizing how the original Langstroth bee-hive worked, here’s a video that explains it using a reproduction made from the original design.
BEE CLASS
Wax Dipping Boxes By: Jeff Philen
As beekeepers we have three very important tools in our arsenal: woodenware, drawn comb, and bees. We spend a lot of time and effort keeping our bees as healthy as we can and protecting the drawn comb, so why wouldn’t we do the same for our woodenware? I used to spend a good amount of time and effort painting woodenware, and like other folks, it isn’t something I’m very fond of. After a few seasons, I noticed the painted boxes not only looking dingy, but some were beginning to show areas of deterioration. Let’s face it, we’re not very easy on this equipment; between hive tools and the weather, woodenware gets abused! I began to research better ways to protect my investment and what I could do to make those items last longer. My research brought me to wax dipping and its ability to help prolong the life of my woodenware. With typical painted equipment, I noticed a window of 5-7 years (give or take) before I needed to really refurbish items or replace them all together. Wax dipping seemed to offer the alternative I wanted, with people reporting a lifespan upwards of 25 years and longer. With that information I set out on a mission to get a tank made the way I wanted and a good source for the waxes that would need to be used. Research showed me that most who wax dipped woodenware would use a 2:1 mixture of paraffin and microcrystalline wax, with some using paraffin and gum rosin. Several dippers I spoke with said their decision to use a product was dependant on the ease of obtaining the needed mixture. Picking the wax combination should be based on the melting points of the waxes; you do not want something that will melt around 100 degrees because it would melt in the hot sun. It’s best to be in the range of 150 degrees – keeping in mind the boiling point of most of the waxes is approximately 370 degrees. The sweet spot I have found for dipping seems to be no less than 275 degrees and usually no more than the 300 degrees. That keeps you well below the boiling point for the mixture and ensures a good absorption of the wax. Once the tank is up to temperature, I usually dip 3-4 items at a time, depending on what the items are and their size. Items are placed into the tank for a period of about 10 minutes and depending on the amount of moisture in the wood, it begins to foam (some more than others). The foaming is the process working as it’s pushing the moisture out of the wood and pulling the wax into it. You can see this happening once you remove items from the tank and the residual wax pulls into the wood. What does it cost and what amount of time does it take? If you’re like me and want your own equipment, the price is dependent on your choice of a tank setup. If you’ve got something around the house that will work as a dipping tank your cost is obviously much less. If you’re starting from scratch, you could be looking at a few to several hundred dollars. I find the time involvement is more than painting but the result for me makes the extra time worth it. You will come out far ahead with dipped equipment vs painted in terms of your time refurbishing or the $$ you spend replacing rotted wood. For me, having the ability to dip my own equipment anytime I want or need, plus being able to offer it as a service made perfect sense and an easy decision to invest in the equipment.
The Bee Supply’s new Cedar Woodenware is manufactured from a beautiful Eastern Red Cedar in Kentucky, USA. This solid cedar material is naturally rot, insect and mold resistant. Fun fact – Cedar molecules are tightly packed creating a strong bond in the wood. This makes our cedar woodenware lighter in weight but with strength similar to pine.
CEDAR
CEDAR WOODENWARE
If you have questions or would be interested in wax dipping your equipment, you can find me on Facebook - Jeff Philen or 3J Farms, or email me at jdphilen@gmail.com.
“Complete” is the only All Natural product in the world that combines the proven results of Nozevit, OPTIMA, and Bee Cleanse.
EASY SEE
2 NEW PRODUCTS!
SHOP
Having trouble seeing eggs through your veil? Try the Easy See! A great new product for both experienced and beginning beekeepers. Instructions for measuring and cutting your veil included.
Contains Full Strength Nozevit, Optima & Bee Cleanse Whole Plant Polyphenols, Phytonutrients, Premium Essential Oils. Complete Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids and Organic Herbals. In response to commercial and small-scale beekeepers requests, CompleteBee has introduced our all-inclusive, all-natural complete honeybee food supplement – “Complete”.
The Easy See!
When I was sixteen years old watching for spring migrants from my window in my bedroom, I saw a large paper wasp nest in the upper left corner of the window. Suddenly I witnessed a flash of red and a bird attacked the nest! In amazement, I watched as all of the adult wasps hid behind the nest while the bird pulled out the larva from the nest one at a time eating them until they were all gone. I later identified the bird as a Summer Tanager, and it carries the nickname “Bee Bird” or “Bee Eater”. The male Summer Tanager is one of the more spectacular breeding birds in North America. Its blood-red feathers contrasted by the green of fresh tree leaves is quite a sight. It is the only all red bird in North America. The female is mustard yellow, and both have a large, whitish beak. Summer Tanagers are fairly common in the southern U.S. northward into the Mid-east in the summer months (no doubt the reason of its name designation) and spend the winter months in the tropics of South America. Their diet varies, including fruit (mulberries are one of their favorites) to insects including wasps and bees which they catch on the wing somehow avoiding being stung. Summer Tanagers migrate into southern U.S. states during the last week of March and all through April. This is where they will nest, raising one to two broods (each clutch 3-4 eggs) and remain there through September to October before migrating south for the winter. Listen for their leisurely warbling song from the treetops or their repeated call which sounds like pick-a-tuck. One spring, I observed two male Summer Tanagers sitting on a branch while watching the bees fly to and from the hives on our property in Cove, TX. Each would take off from the branch, catch a bee in flight and then take it back to the branch where they would remove the stinger and eat it. I could clearly see why it was given the name Bee Eater by early beekeepers and birders! We are at the time of year when Summer Tanagers return to North America. If you see a bright red bird hanging around your apiary this spring and summer, don’t assume it’s a cardinal. Look closely and you might have a Summer Tanager feasting on a few of your bees!
In April 2018, my motion-activated camera caught a young male Summer Tanager catching a bee in flight as it left my birdbath. It was fascinating to watch the skill and delicate touch it takes to catch a bee in flight. Check it out!
Bee Eater - aka Summer Tanager
By: Paul Fagala TBS Dayton, Texas Branch Manager
SUPPLIES
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EVERYTHING YOU NEED IN ONE PLACE THE BEE SUPPLY
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SMASHED POTATO FRITES
1/4 cup - vegetable oil 1 tsp. - fry seasoning 2 T - wildflower honey 4 tsp. - parsley or chives
YIELD: Makes 6 servings INGREDIENTS 1/3 tsp. - granulated garlic 1/8 tsp. - granulated honey 1/3 tsp. - kosher salt 1 pinch - cayenne pepper 6 cups - fingerling potatoes, sliced into ½" thick wedges DIRECTIONS Combine granulated garlic, granulated honey, salt, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Mix to combine and set aside. Heat a medium pot with water until boiling. Generously season water with salt and par-cook potato wedges until tender (pieces should easily be pierced with a fork/paring knife), about 5 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander and place on sheet pan to cool completely. Gently smash potatoes with spoon to break open crevices for crispy frying. Preheat oven to 425˚F. Drizzle oil into a pan and place in oven to preheat for about 3 minutes. Gently scatter potato wedges into hot oil (potatoes should sizzle and bubble when they hit the pan) and spread out into an even, single layer. Bake for 35-40 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and crispy, turning potatoes (or shaking) every 15 minutes. Drain off excess fat, if needed, and toss potatoes in spice mixture and drizzle with honey to coat. Serve immediately or hold under heat lamp for up to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with minced herbs just before serving.
As we continue to grow you will see and benefit from more and more tools designed with you in mind. One that we believe will be very helpful is the Bee Club Directory This interactive tool allows you to zoom into any area and locate a local bee club. As we continue to add more listings, we encourage leaders from clubs across the nation to click on the form just below the map and update or add the info for your club. With that, we can stay as current as possible to provide our readers with up-to-date club locator information.
Bee Club Directory on Google Maps
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