Keeping Bees

[DrewInToledo]

I figure this thread was apropos for my recent accomplishment.

I built the boxes and ordered the wax coated foundation and the un-assembled frames. My plan was to take it very slow and on Thursday I told my girlfriend that I don't plan on having bees next year. Funny how life works because on Friday the next day I had a package of bees. My frames weren't assembled yet and my box wasn't stained! You can see here that the top isn't protected yet. The package of bees, found by word of mouth, was brought up from Georgia I believe and sold to me for $95. A smoker, bee brush, and veil was given to me. This hive contains a Russian queen. I hear the breed is best for my area, so that's good.
The county inspector will be out in a couple days. Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihX9y6H1XGA

[pa_friendly_guy]

My Bees are not doing well. I was in Pittsburgh this weekend and talked with a woman who bought her bees from the same vendor at the same time I did. Hers have filled in the entire 1st brood box and have started on a 2nd. Mine have only filled in about 3 of the 10 frames in the brood box. I am concerned. I treated them for mites yesterday, we will see if that makes any difference. From what I am seeing now I do not think they will make the winter. Very sad, very sad indeed.

[DrewInToledo]

Winter is a little ways away.,, Between you and Manny, I'm losing a little confidence but I'm still optimistic. Sorry to hear the buzz, or lack of.

We have a county inspector in this area and I'm wondering if you have someone similar with the department of agriculture who might be able to help you?

[matt walker]

Sorry to hear about your bees Guy, we still have a lot of flowers to come here so maybe they will improve in the coming weeks.

Drew, that video was awesome! I laughed out loud a few times. You were so calm I wondered if maybe you misunderstood the smoke application instructions. Nice work man, I am definitely feeling left out.

[DrewInToledo]

Thank you, Matt. It was a bit unnerving, but on the second day, I ended up putting down another coarse of block and raised up the hive, all without any gear. They're very docile right now, and I believe it's because they don't yet have a hive established to protect. I really hope Guy's situation turns around as the pollen flows.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Good job Drew. You had a lot less trouble hiving your bees than I did. Seeing the video and how many bees I had when I started I an way down in numbers now. The State does have a person who runs about a 7 or 8 county area for bee inspections. I may have to give him a call, but I am afraid its a lost cause for this year.

[mannytheseacow]

Great work, Drew. You work like you've done it before! How do you plan to finish the boxes with the bees inside? I love watching them pour out of those packages; the swarm moves almost like liquid.

Guy, don't worry too much and don't forget to relax with a cold one! Depending on how much forage they have you might not get much production this year. Plant some clover for them and let it grow out and bloom. I wouldn't worry about treating for mites unless you're absolutely sure they have them. Drew is right, call your state dept. of ag and they'll probably send someone out for free.

All the bee books I've read talk about checking your bees weekly- in my experience this is wrong. You should actually leave the poor girls alone and let them do their thing. Check them monthly, at most. You're also less likely to get worked up about the minor details then, too

[DrewInToledo]

Thanks Manny. Everything has at least a coat of stain on it except for the top. I'll build another and finish it and just swap it out. I just finished 3 more deeps. Talk about putting the cart in front of the horse.

I don't like opening my hive because I always seem to smush a few bees no matter how hard I try not to. The inspector will be over tomorrow so I'll see if the queen has been freed. Also, in the natural setting, hives are not opened regularly so I'm taking the Ronco motto, "Set it and forget it". Well, almost.

I have to believe that guy's bees will bounce back since it's nice and warm outside. *sending positive thoughts*

[pa_friendly_guy]

I may have found the problem with my bees. I think they have American Foul Brood. I checked it out on the net and did the match test, You stick a wooden match into a cell and if there is a sticky stringy thing that pull out you have the problem. Well it looked to me like that was the problem, so I called the local feed mill and asked if they had the antibiotic that I needed. They did have it so I went to town and bought a pack. The lady clerk asked what I wanted and I told her, she said they sold it by the pound and it as .47 a LB. I told her to check more because the you tube video I saw said to mix 6.4 oz with 2lb of powered sugar. She checked and sure enough it was sold in 6.4 oz pacs for $11. I came home, mixed it together with the powered sugar and went up into the field and fed the bees some of the mix. I will repeat this procedure every week for the next 3 weeks. By then the new bees should be hatching and my hive should be starting to be on the increase. That is if any bees are still alive to keep the hive going that long. The small number of bees that I have left may not live long enough to get the new hatch started. I am very worried at this point about my chances of pulling them through. Anyway, I think I know the problem and I have treated the bees for it, so keep your fingers crossed. I will try to keep you posted about my Learning Experiences with my hive.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Talked with my son today. He is doing worse than I am with his bees. His just vacated the hive. No dead bees, no live bees, simply no bees at all in his hive. This happens sometimes, for some reason it just did not feel like home. Mine are on the very of extinction, but at least I still have some.