2017 Bee hive swarm information, history, lessons, successes, etc.

[CLSranch]

I'm currently checking here and reading (along with all the other research) all the other peoples threads form their starting out questions that I can find. With what I have time for. I'm not big on the internet but bigger on doing something right.
I can get some calves, foals, chicks, kids, and most anything else and if I'm not already there it wouldn't be a stretch to get there.

 

[Latestarter]

I know you said you're wanting Lang hives, but I'm sure you have scrap lumber laying around your place and you can put together a top bar at virtually no cost with scrap. If you build it and set it 10-15' from the entrance to the tree hive, you might just get lucky.

 

[soarwitheagles]

It'll be here soon and would loooovvve to have one set now even though I know it's not here (in my location) yet. Still some freezing days left. I'm not working at the moment (not by choice, last job fell through) and have 0 extra to get a swarm or even some boxes if I ordered bees. I would much rather catch a native swarm out of my tree though. More disease, mite, etc... resistant and natural sized with a much higher rate of survival without treatment. Maybe later in the year without honey harvest this year. Currently my best case scenario.

Thanks for all the input. I'm obviously a newbee and am researching here, other sites and watching a lot of Michael Bush's natural beekeeping along with many others. I just like his way best.

Michael Bush's natural beekeeping

CLS,

Michael Bush is considered one of the best beekeepers in the nation...so you cannot go wrong with him. He is a wonderful person to learn from.

LS is right...you could save yourself a lot of money [especially if you are not working at the moment], by simply building your own beehives out of scrap wood. You might wanna consider asking your local bee association for help too.

My local bee association was absolutely worthless in regards to help...I paid the dues[membership fees], but didn't receive any help at all. Perhaps I could have received help from them if I attended their meetings...but teaching full time, ranching, and farming, etc. I simply did not have the time to attend their bee association meetings. My emails went unanswered and I wish I had never paid the yearly membership fees. Darn, at least they could have had the decency to reply to my questions and offer some good advice.

I have found massive help and lots of good advice at Beesource.com

I also feel I received a good basic foundation and understanding of how to work with bees by reading the following books:

Bee Keeping for Dummies [free pdf files can be found on line]
Langstroth's Hive and the Honey-Bee: The Classic Beekeeper's Manual
The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture
The Practical Beekeeper: Beekeeping Naturally


But most of all, a local master beekeeper keeps coming to our ranch and helping us for nearly two years now. I have learned the most from him, and consider him a good friend now...not simply for giving good advice for the bees and showing me the ropes, but because he is super nice and we share a lot of mutual interests together. I enjoy taking him out to lunch, fishing together, shooting together, and hanging out together. So nice to make a new friend...my wife says he is a keeper!

If you have the extra time, and if you have the tools, and you like working with wood, wow...build you some swarm traps and get into bee keeping, and make some easy money!

I visited a somewhat local woodshop that specialized in making bee hive boxes, tops, bottoms, etc. The owner told us to help ourselves to free pine wood pieces that he could not or did not want to use...we could have loaded up 5-10 pick up trucks full. At the time we did not realize what a treasure it was...so we picked up enough wood to make 20+ hives/nucs of good quality wood. Hope to visit him again soon, with a pick up truck and a trailer!!

Hope this helps!

 

[CLSranch]

Thanks for the info. I may build a top bar to get started. I do have some scrap boards around.

I was wanting some of those books haven't ordered any yet. May try the free Bee keeping for Dummies. Have read in several places that even though it's not the most advanced it's almost mandatory for a beginner. At least suggested.

All the Local associations are not very local. 3hr + round trip to go to a meeting. I may try another state's assc. that I'm close to.
Also have found out about some other bee keepers in the area that are local. Wanting to find and talk to them.

 

[Latestarter]

http://www.klcbee.com/school.shtml

This is Knox County Maine. If you scan down the page you will see the entire class was recorded back in 2013 in sessions. Though it costs to take the present day course, you can watch the recorded course from 2013 for free. It is quite enlightening, but by no means all inclusive.

 

[soarwitheagles]

Oh, I almost forgot...I have also learned so much from the Fat Beeman on youtube! He has a way of making super complicated things [such as queen rearing], super, super simple and easy! I like him a lot!

 

[soarwitheagles]

UPDATE: still no swarms caught. The weather has been cold and/or wet. But this last week we had weather up in the 70's. Our bees were doing massive flights nearly every day. I was able to do an in-depth inspection of every hive. Massive comb building going on right now, queens are laying eggs like crazy, lots of larvae, major flow of nectar happening.

I hope to start the Nucot system to make up 40+ queens and 20+ nucs in the next week or so.

A number of our hives are already nearly completely full [two full supers of bees, pollen, nectar, brood and honey]. If I did not inspect yesterday, they may have been swarming within days. Added supers and frames with wax foundation of the full hives...

 

[CLSranch]

wow and congrats. There are no bee's moving as of yet around the house. It's supposed to stay above freezing starting this week and maybe the wind will calm down.
The flowers and trees just started blooming 2 weeks ago.

 

[babsbag]

My neighbor had 19 hives at his place and they are gone. They didn't belong to him but to a friend so maybe they went to the almonds, or maybe they died this winter, don't know. But what I do know is that there are no bees on my fruit trees. I won't be getting my bees until the almond pollination is done so maybe as long as another month.

 

[soarwitheagles]

My neighbor had 19 hives at his place and they are gone. They didn't belong to him but to a friend so maybe they went to the almonds, or maybe they died this winter, don't know. But what I do know is that there are no bees on my fruit trees. I won't be getting my bees until the almond pollination is done so maybe as long as another month.

So sorry babs! We will not be able to sell bee nucs or packages for at least one more month. I will need our existing bees to make up the nucs and packages.

Have you tried local beekeepers?

Here's LP's list for your area:

https://www.yellowpages.com/redding-ca/beekeepers

Also, please ask Mr. Tom Bennett:

https://www.bennettapiaries.com/

He is incredibly nice and he knows a lot of beekeepers in your area.