Beekeeping

[CloverKnollFarms]

That is one reason I plan to go to horizontal hives. The Langstroth supers get too heavy when full. I've helped my brother with his hives over the years and after back surgery and nerve issues the weight gets to be too much. I hope to put out some traps and get a couple horizontal hives next year. Building a house this year takes too much of my time.

Half my customers are older folks who still want to beekeep, but want to do it in a way they physically can. Also since these boxes are built with insulation in them, and entrance reducers... You don't need to get anything else. No more supers, no more frames, no insulation blankets, no entrance reducers... Etc.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Delivered my biggest single order of the year, today. Nice day to drive, but I also lost a full day of production on the next order. Hopefully I can knock it out late tonight and into tomorrow. I need to get these cleared so I can focus on my own bees starting next week.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Got 7 swarm boxes baited today. Going for 6 more tomorrow.

Also delivered our last hive and trap order of the season yesterday. Now it's time to focus on my own apiary.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I've got 12 bait hives out... 3 more to go!

 

[BackRoad]

Do you put those out and "hope" for a swarm, or find a swarm and mount the box to lure them in?

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Do you put those out and "hope" for a swarm, or find a swarm and mount the box to lure them in?

Bees will scout potential homes weeks in advance. Once the swarm leaves the hive, they already have a destination chosen. These are placed for them to explore weeks before they potentially swarm. Once you see a swarm out in the wild, they are already committed to a location

 

[drumminj]

Bees will scout potential homes weeks in advance. Once the swarm leaves the hive, they already have a destination chosen. These are placed for them to explore weeks before they potentially swarm. Once you see a swarm out in the wild, they are already committed to a location

So I'm now into year two of beekeeping. Both hives survived the winter and seem to be doing well with our eary blooms (maple, cherry, elm).

Just saw the coolest thing though -- got to watch my strong hive issue a swarm. At first I thought there were a lot of bees doing orientation flights, but they just kept coming..and coming...and coming until I was inside of a bee-nado. Sad and cool to see.

As far as knowing where they're going, they just collected in a cedar tree right above the hives and are still there an hour later. Not very smart bees either, as its supposed to storm this afternoon (in a few hours). First day of rain/storms in weeks.

I hastily pulled together a nuc box and put it out beneath them with some lemongrass oil. Hopefully they'll decide it's a suitable home -- the branch is too high up for me to get up there with a ladder to shake them into a box, and don't think I want to test their docility with a pole saw....

Very curious to see where they decide to call home.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Yeah, the queen isn't a great flyer, so they will stop and rest. Anywhere from 24-48 hours sometimes. I've tried convincing them to go into a box after they have left the hive, and had little luck, so I post swarm boxes about 1/8-1/4 mile from the apiary to better my chances. Good luck!

 

[drumminj]

I ended up getting out the ladder and shaking them into the nuc box. Then making another trip up the ladder and shaking more off the tree into a bucket and dumping it into the nuc box. Unclear if I got the queen, but hoping so.

The rain has started in earnest so hopefully they appreciate having a warm, dry place to call home. Will do an inspection in a week or so to confirm the queen is in there, assuming activity seems normal otherwise.

I'd been planning to build a horizontal hive but decided I would wait until next year to expand to more hives. Have a busy week with an excavation crew doing some land clearing and grading, plus a barn builder coming out so don't think I'll be able to get to the hardware store for supplies to get one built in time. Made a run to the bee supply place nearby to get another langsroth setup so at least I have something for them.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

If you don't have the queen, you'll know, because they will all fly off to be with her.

 

[drumminj]

Yeah I didn't see a mass exodus from the nuc box so feeling pretty good. But I was surprised the bees kept clumping up in the tree. I think it was just the pheromones lingering though.

I assume it will be obvious tomorrow, after the rain, observing the activity at the nuc box.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Yeah, her pheromones will last a while

 

[ponytug]

Our mustard is in full bloom (8+'high), and I stopped for a few minutes this morning to watch all the various species of bees. Carpenter bees, leaf cutter bees, several species of bumble bees, and a few honey bees, plus a couple that I think are a ground dwelling bee, but I'm not sure. Plus a few a flies, a hover fly, and something else "bee-ish, but not a bee" looking.

It is hard to photograph. Sorry.

Good luck with your nuncs and swarms, we see a swarm come over about every other year, and I love watching them.

All the best,

Peter

 

[drumminj]

Welp, only a handful of bees in the nuc box this morning. So either I didn't get the queen, killed her, or they just really felt like going somewhere else in the middle of a storm.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Yeah, that is odd... I've taken many swarms off trees, or colonies out of walls in homes, and if I had the queen and some comb for her to lay eggs in, they stayed 100% of the time. Sorry it didn't work

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I have one hive and stand left for sale… unpainted. This site won’t let me upload most photos anymore due to size. Located in central Indiana.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Alright. I found a way to reduce the size of the files. This is what I have available.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Doing my first split of the year, this weekend! Look at that beautiful queen.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

The reason I love these boxes. You can check the brood by moving a single 3 pound frame. 90% of the bees don't even know you are there.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Sold my last new hive today to a lady from Ohio. She drove 8 hours round trip for it! She bought the hive, stand, winter insulation pillow, follower board... And to get her started I added a drawn frame of brood comb and some swarm lure to the inside of the box! She also gets to text or call with any beekeeping questions or concerns, for the life of the hive . We sell value...