Beekeeping

Thanks for all the advice man. I think as of now I'm gonna pick up a 8 frame to get started with then use that for a pattern to build some more. I've been working with wood pretty much since I could walk, so that wont be a problem.I've got some 3/8" plexiglass and am diggin' the idea of a clear top to view the bees. We normally don't see temps higher than the mid to high 80's, so I'm hoping that won't be too much of a problem. What do you suggest as far as keeping them warm? I'm sure I could pose these questions to Brushy Mtn. but I'm already here so why not.

 

no problem man before i started beekeeping i spent 6 months reading on forums, books, magazines just to make sure i knew what i was getting myself into.

since we have established your ability with wood working (most call for atmost finger joints) here is a link with many plans. you can use any wood but most hives are made of pine
http://www.freeww.com/beehives.html

im not really familiar with overwintering in colder or wet regions but i heard of beeks using tar paper to wrap the hive or making wind breaks with those fence lattice. Basically from what i read when snow is coming down hard all bee activity stops and all the bees do is keep each other warm. (you should really ask a beek or apiary in your area for advice on overwintering)

For really wet conditions such as heavy rain some people use over sized top covers as roofs some with and without sloped roofs. also make a stand for your bees to keep them off the ground, ants (especially RIFA) really mess with bees and sometimes the bees will just abscond instead of dealing with the ants.

 

I wouldn't mind having an indoor hive similar to the one at the smithsonian. I always liked that one.

 

OP, you may also want to look around if there is a local beekeepers club, that can be really a huge help in getting started.

 

You can go further too, you can look into plants that butterflies need for feeding and breeding, the breeding plants tend to be less showy but are crucial to their lifecycles. Well worth the effort. I like building landscapes that incorporate as many useful plants as possible, i see it as taking an ecologically worthless landscape and turning it into a self-contained ecosystem. Bees are part of that equation and the addition of a super is the icing on the eco-cake.

 

Kinda funny you mention that Chris. Been a lot of talk about the decline of populations and all kinds of theories have been postulated. However, no one talks much about the decline of habitat-which I happen to think plays a part (however small).

 

At my job site, had to repair a valve and when i looked i found this.



Had to have a beekeeper come and get them out.. This is what was in a 9" round carson valve box

 

hmmm about this plant essential to the lifecycle of the butterfly can you tell me specifically what plant? do you meann like a milkweed plant?

@xrunner
Man im sure glad that you did not get hurt by the bees int he ground irrigation conduit. In socal anytime i someone asks to remove a bee hive and they say it is in the water meter box or irrigation conduit box i worry that they may be africanized honey bees because they love using those cavities

 

It's been huge, what's that syndrome called, sudden bee something death? I think habitat decline plays a part in it. Like any critter, loss of habitat plays a role, i believe we should all be planting feeder and breeder plants and big native trees, plant them fucking everywhere, besides, it's so much nicer than fucking turf, I absolutely fucking hate turf with a passion, it's the most resource-sucking water-wasting landscape crop and it's so goddam boring to me.

lololololol! Usually I only find Black Widows and the occasional snake in carson boxes. BW's are not aggressive by nature, usually they'll crawl down into the corner of a box and leave you alone, just as long as you don't corner one you're good.

Milkweed is one, shit, there are all kinds, I'm not sure for your area, what you need to do is look up what species of butterfly are native to your area and look them up and find out what plants they need to feed and breed and then plant them both near each other. Some plants host several species. Also you may try to see if there is a native plant club or society in your area, chances are good they would know a lot about vector plants, that's the term: vector-friendly plants.
The feeder plants tend to be more showy (flowers), than the breeder plants so I would usually plant the breeder plants further back or less visible in a landscape. Here's the kicker, you have to be very careful when you prune breeder plants to make sure you don't disrupt any lifecycles

And on Killer Bees, when they get to Norcal, i will be long gone out the the landscape industry, no fucking way i want to play with those.

 

CCD- colony collapse disorder. there really isnt one cause for CCD but biodiversity scientist and bee research believe it is the synergistic effect of pest/herbcides, GMO that are made resistant to herbicides/pesticide, habitat destruction, AHB, AFB/EFB american/european foul brood, parasitic mites, global warming, lack of biodiverse plants. list goes on and on

okay awesome im going to look further into the butterfly stuff, when i was a kid during spring to mid summer we would have these huge passings of monarch butterflies. i mean like they did not blot out the sun, but you could go outside hold a net up and butterflies would just fly into them. looking back now i havent seen a passing in like 6 years... now im feeling depressed.

wow NORCAL has not been affected by Africanized honey bees??? man i guess the AHB hasnt really gone past the top of texas in a latitude

 

Yeah, that's what i've read about CCD too, scary stuff, think about how much of our food supply depends on pollination.

Me and a hort guy were talking about Monarchs the other day and he was saying how he saw his first Monarch in years recently. I have been part of a couple projects that were specific to vectors, it's changed the way i do landscaping. I'm into mostly natives, drought tolerant, vector friendly landscapes, I don't believe in using a lot of chemicals in my landscapes and tend to stick to organic ferts and such.

Look into Buddlias, also called the Butterfly bush, they get big, have pretty blooms, love the sun and could care less how you prune them, you could cut em half with a chainsaw and they'll keep growing. Black Knight is a variety i really love. Mimulus, also called the Sticky Monkey Flower is another cool vector plant. When I get a chance I'll dig up some plant lists for you.

The Killer Bees haven't made it up here yet, but they will, that you can bet on.

 

I have sen every bee documentary online, netflix, ond on TV, Discovery etc.

Think that corn syrup is anything to do with it also?

 

corn syrup? Explain

 

Really,?/? The honey farmers were/ are pouring corn syrup in the hives to increase the Honey output. Then claiming it is pure honey.

Experts were arguein' that the simple sugars or something were causing adverse health issues with the bees and possibly causing them to go sterile.

 

no shit, wow, that sucks, could also do with the chems used on the corn or who knows.

 

the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is actually okay to use for your bees in an emergency, let say the bees had a bad collection of honey because the flowers late summer were dead or did not bloom. then a bee keeper can supplement their hive with HFCS or another type of synthetic feed. So HFCS is actually okay, BUT that is not what commercial bee keepers do.

The honey farms that try and maximize yields of honey will actually take way more honey away from the bees than they need for winter. So for a winter than requires lets say 30 lbs of honey for the colony to survive, they may actually have only 10 lbs of honey. The honey farm then uses the HFCS, which all so come is a semi-dry form, and they will put that in the hive to feed the bees and over winter them with that. Now the problem with that is that bees need to use more energy and time to convert the semi-dry hfcs when compared to real honey in a bee cell.

Then you have the bee farms who are actually heavily feeding the HFCS to the bees during the nectar flow (when bees are actively collecting from a source to make honey) now that is also bad and result in lower quality honey.

i mean both methods is a terrible because it causes more hives to die during winter and reduces honey quality

Some independent bee keepers who have a bad late summer or have no plants blooming very early spring can use HFCS and synthetic feed at no harm to the hive.


Oh yea for those states that have harsh winters will really might need to use the HFCS when compared to states that only hit the low 40s like SoCal. Also acdronin i think if the winters get cold enough in NorCal it will actually prevent the africanized honey bees from spreading there.

 

This is definitely some good reading. Going back through all of the posts makes me want to dive headfirst into this. But, the smarter side of me prevails. I think I am going to spend a while educating myself on every aspect of this, as I don't want to selfishly put anything at risk due to hastiness and being unprepared. The more you guys post the more I learn, so thank you. I will be checking out local clubs pertaining to anything having to do with vector friendly plants and designing an "ecosystem" to help sustain a healthy amount of hives. Probably just going to lurk around and ask some questions when I have them after hours. I'll keep you updated on any progress.

 

I hope it gets cold enough, I dunno, we generally have pretty mild winters here by the coast, mostly some nights in the 30's and the very occasional short hard freeze

Please do, glad we could be of service, I feel we should all do our part to make it easier for the vectors that help sustain us.

 

What a seriously stupid thing to do, killing bees by spraying trees

http://hsrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=Avp8vAFz...vbm9teQ--/RS=^ADANOCTDkpsGUteei288ETtLjQJUN4-

 

arent you scared they might sting you