Beekeepers Friend

Rain keeps a beekeeper away from his bees. In some cases, that is bad. But in other cases, that gives him time to stop and recoup. It also gives the essence of life to the flowers so there will be some fall honey for the bees.

Now is the time to read, plan, and do the little things that can be done inside the shop, like build frames, repair and replace foundation, melt wax, clean up in general. And don’t forget the honey-dos for the spouse. In my case to write some more words of wisdom?! hehe.

Since my daughter-in-law is cleaning up the jungle in the back yard, I need to get something put together to stack all my plastic foundation in to get the  4 1/2-5 foot high pile of frames and foundation inserts knocked down so she will see that she is getting somewhere. (I piled frames and foundation in a single pile when I was cleaning boxes and it really grew tall.) I am thinking of different ways to make a long frame rack that will extend across the back fence from one side of the yard to the other so I can check the frames when I get time to see if I have enough to load all my boxes that I am in the process of painting. Another good project for the rainy days.

Have I told you how I buy the light colored miss-mixed paint at the discount table and mix it all together when I get home? That way all the boxes in the equipment yard will be painted the same color this time. Next time, the equipment that I bring in to be repaired will get a paint job and will be of a different color and that gives me a multicolored stack of boxes. Believe it or not, the general public will not see the multicolored stack as readily as they do with a solid white stack.

Some people will paint their equipment then paint their ID number on, then later when it is time to paint again, go through the same process again. Me, I just use a rotozip and carve my ID number on the boxes and it is there no matter how many times I paint. Of course, I have not gotten all my equipment marked yet. I try to mark the boxes on both ends so no matter which way the boxes face, the numbers will be seen. You need to mark your equipment for identification in case of theft. In times past, we didn’t have to worry about that, but now even some beekeepers are not as honest as they used to be.

I chased rabbits again, didn’t I? Back to the frames and foundations. Frames should be kept up off the ground and in a dry place. Sometimes dry is not possible, but they can be kept up. That is why I want to build a frame rack. Once that is done, then I can clean and wax-coat the plastic foundations and get ready for the spring honey flow and splitting.

I will write another post about re-waxing foundation. Uh oh! Rain stopped, I will have to hide before someone wants me to go outside and do some work. hehe

Catch you later, enjoy the long Labor Day weekend.

The good part is: My wife was in the hospital for only 2 1/2 days this time and the hernia was repaired with no complications.

The bad part is: I have not done any studying  for my Master Beekeepers certificate in October. Go ahead and laugh, but you have to be at the school and take some of the tests to appreciate what I am sweating about.

The not so ugly part is: My son and his family are here from Argentina, and are getting ready to go to their new home around Knoxville, TN. While they are here, my boy, his wife, and son have been cutting the jungle down around my house. I can see yard that I haven’t seen in two years. I can now see my bee hives from my back door and they are only about 50 feet from the house. But now, I cannot see the road in front of the house because that is where they piled the jungle waiting for the yard trash truck.

I don’t know how I am gonna be able to thank them enough. I guess that I’ll just have to give them a rain-check for that. I am, however, letting them use my Grand Marquis for transportation, after my son replace the intake manifold because the old one had a crack in it. It was the least I could do. hehe

I see the bees are flying at both hives today, so I suppose that all is okay. (Famous last words.) I really do need to go thru them and see if the beetle numbers are down. If not,  I need to recharge the beetle traps again. Oh yeah, I just remembered that I have a church farmers’ market Saturday and I have not got the Observation Hive loaded yet. Ooops!

Well enough writing today. I have ta stop and git arginized afor I furgit it agin. Have a nice day and I will try to keep you posted on my preparations for the upcoming Bee College test.

Several things needs to be completed before the Florida State Beekeepers Association Fall Convention, October 26-29, 2011. First I have to get my pickup truck loaded with bottled honey and meet an exercise class to deliver some honey and sell to new customers this morning. Then I have to go get an empty observation hive so I can put another batch of bees along with a queen in it to be ready for some bee talks in the near future.

Next, I have to gather all my Bee College papers: signed Public Service sheets, articles I have written for my major, research papers that I have been working on, documents proving that I am an officer of a bee association and mentor for a couple of beekeepers,  etc.

Then I have to make a guesstimation as to how much this trip will cost and make plans accordingly. Remember, I posted about making this a business, and this is part of it. My business is paying for my education and is part of the expenses of doing business.

In the meantime, I have asked my wife to go with me and I have to figure in her expenses as well. WOW! I am getting into big business now. hehe

I have to go now. I have to start writing my papers. I only have about two months to finish one year’s work. I know, I know… PROCRASTINATION. I was like that in school too. You would have thought that I would grow up in my old age, but it didn’t happen. Oh well, my fault. Anyway, I really do need to go and start getting my notes together so I can type out several thesis to turn in.

Until Next time, please mind the temperature. Keep hydrated and check the water for your bees too. Later….

Well, we Floridians now have a chance to bottle and sell our honey…LEGALLY!! The House and Senate have passed the bill and it remains with the Governor to sign the Bill to make it law.

It says that we little beekeepers do not have to spend big bucks to build a bottling room/building and buy a license/permit to be legal. The cottage foods act, which honey is now part of, will allow us to use our kitchens in our homes to process, what little we do, our honey for sell.

Now there are some restrictions that we have to follow:

1. We have to sell to the end consumer only. This means that we cannot sell to someone for resale. (No grocery stores, no consignment stores, no other beekeepers, no selling to packers, restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.)

2. We can sell from our homes, roadside stands, flea markets, farmers’ markets, fairs, and out of our vehicles.

3. We cannot hire any outside help to sell our goods. Must be immediate family only.

4. We can sell up to $15,000.00 gross retail. Anything over that puts us in the commercial group and new governing laws.

5. Now for the most hardest part of this whole thing to me is the labeling law. I want a label small enough to not cover the whole pint jar. Go to this address for the posted story:

CottageFoodAdvisoryAugust11Revised (2).pdf

Now the Government is strapped for $ $ $ so we don’t have to worry about them breathing down our necks. Make sure that you treat you customers right and you will have no complaints. Complaints are the most common reason for the food safety man to come around and talk to you. However, if you have a food related complaint against you for any reason, the inspectors will have to go to your home and inspect your facilities.

But, until that happens, just carry on, keep good financial records, and enjoy retail sales until you make  $1,5001.00. Then you will have to start thinking about going commercial which is another story and post.

Since my last post: I have lost my observation hive bees because they didn’t have a queen; had a bee inspection by the State Apiary Bee Inspector and passed; watched and encouraged my son, just returned to the States from Argentina, in replacing the intake manifold on my ’99 Grand Marquis and rejoicing when it actually worked; and getting my big toenail surgically removed.

I need to be sure that all my colony hives have Screened Bottom Boards (SBB). I have been wanting to replace all the solid bb for a long time now. You know, procrastination. As hot as it has been this last 2-3 months, you would think that I would have already done so, but alas, no! You know, the bees have been doing for themselves a long, long time now and we really don’t have to do everything for them, but as beekeepers, we feel that we have to do something so this is what I want to do to make me feel better.

The inspection showed that I really don’t have any kind of diseases, however, I do have Small Hive Beetles. Lots and lots of ’em. Just because the inspector and I didn’t see any Varroa Mites doesn’t mean that I don’t have them. I need to do a powdered sugar roll to count the little buggers. You know that if you control the mites, the bees will control all the other critters in the hive.

I was at one of my associations’ meeting last night and the question came up as to how much honey do you leave on the hive to overwinter the bees? One of the loudest answers was–Nothing! Keep all the honey and feed corn syrup or sugar syrup.– That is what most of the old-timers say. “It was good enough for my dad and granddad, it is good enough for me–period!”

Well my own personal opinion, and you know that everybody has an opinion, is that the bees made the honey for themselves and they know what they need as far as nutrition goes. Why give them something man-made that doesn’t have the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and all that other stuff? Give them some of their hard earned goods back to them so they can stay healthy and do it again next year.

Now to answer the question of how much honey to leave on the hive. Up in Canada, I have read that some beekeepers leave as much as 150 lbs of honey per hive. In the northern United States, around 100 lbs. Here in Northwest Florida, I personally leave one medium super of honey, around 60 lbs. I haven’t fed bees in several years now, so I guess that is a good number for me.

Another question was how many supers to stack on a colony in the beginning of spring time? That really depends on you. If you are near your apiary and can monitor the colonies frequently, then only one at a time will be sufficient. However, if your apiary is a long way off and you cannot get back to it for several weeks or months, then three or four will do. I have a friend that is a training instructor for several law enforcement agencies all over the U.S. and is gone for long periods of time, so he would leave two or three supers in the beginning and when he gets home, he would check the progress of the bees and add supers accordingly.

At one time, I had seven apiaries spread out about 80 miles from one end of the group to the other end. I could not visit each apiary sooner than four weeks at a time. I would leave two or three honey supers per colony to be on the safe side.

Whatever the case may be, right now, I have left a full super of honey on my bees and they can use it if there is no nectar to be brought in at this time, and I have left an empty super of comb on top of that so if the bees do find some nectar somewhere, they will have a place to put it. Remember to keep water handy for the bees at this time as they need the water to keep the hive cool (and hopefully, your bees will stay out of your neighbor’s pool).

And don’t forget yourself. It is HOT out there and you need to be hydrated too! Learn the difference between Heat Exhaustion and Sun (Heat) Stroke. It could save your life of the life of the one with you.

Until the next time, keep your veil close, your smoker lit, and your hive tool sharp.

I have about two and a half months to get ready for the Bee College and Fall Florida State Beekeepers Association Convention in Orlando. I have to sell enough honey to pay for fuel down and back, food and snacks, registration fees. I will not have to have room as I will be staying with my youngest son and his family while in there. This will be the first time in three years that I will be attending.

Dr. Jamie Ellis, of the University of Florida’s Entomology Dept. Gainesville, was not going to be able to attend this year due to a prior commitment. However, in talking with him via email, he  said that he might be able to make it as he will have had a four week old by that time. We will just have to wait and see.

I will also have to review all my paperwork as I have not looked at a paper in about two years and the best. I only have this test for my Master Beekeeper’s certificate. Then I’ll have just one more test. That will be the final for my Master Craftsman Beekeeper. Whoo hoo. I feel like a young person again.

We would like for any of you beekeepers or wannabees to join the bee college to learn and earn your certificates. You will be able to help others in your associations that may not be able to attend.

Start thinking about getting your bees ready for the winter. Remember, the bees you have now, are taking care of the bees who will be taking care of the Winter bees who will be taking care of the Spring bees.

I pulled my  supers of honey 11 days ago and got them extracted the same day. I decided to go in the house and rest. I did cover the honey. Well, to make a long story short, I didn’t go back until today to pull the frames out of the extractor. Guess what I found? Yep! You guessed it. Small Hive Beetle larvae. Bunches of them. only some of my frames did not have any larvae.

So I did the next best thing I could think of at the time. Take the boxed frames out to the sun and put them criss-cross to let the sun and wind get to them. I am still trying to save the wax comb. Might be a lost cause.

I will wash them out later to clean the larvae that hasn’t dropped into the water tray that is beneath them. I need to mix some liquid soap in the water to see if that will kill the larvae. I know that bees will not rob the honey that is left in the comb. When the beetle larvae gets a good toehold, it is goodbye bees.

I’ll let you know how it turns out soon.

In the meantime, hydrate yourselves and your bees. They need water for mixing with nectar, cooling the interior of their hive (house), mixing with propolis and maybe drinking some.

Without the benefit of research books and charts, I will tell you what I know about the Varroa Mite. It came to the USA about 1990 give or take a couple of years. It hitched a ride from Asia and came with some honeybees, either as a swarm stowaway or as a boxed hive.

The mite is a parasite that sucks the blood of the honeybee. As it sucks the blood, it transfers viruses and pathogens to the bee and these attack the immune system. Because of this, the bees get sick to the point that the they don’t want to do their jobs to the best of their ability. They don’t care for the larvae, keep the floor clean, or don’t guard the hive efficiently, and cannot collect food.

The way it happens is this: The mite is already on the bee and when she is feeding or checking on the larva that is elongating in the cell just before the cap is closed. The mite hops off the nurse bee and enters the cell and hides under the larva so the nurse cannot see or detect it. Then when the cell is closed, the mite lays two to four eggs. The first one being a drone. When the mite eggs hatch, the drone (brother) impregnates his sister(s) and then dies. The girls will then get on the pupa of the honey bee and start sucking blood. When the bee emerges as a full grown adult, the mites will either jump on another bee or stay where they are and wait till the bee starts to inspect or feed another larva that is getting ready to metamorph into another pupa and the cycle starts over again.

This usually happens in the late Summer to early Fall and early    Spring. So now, we need to count mites to see if the threshold is breached.

The mites can be taken care of either by chemicals or by non-invasive means. If you wish to know more about the chemical way, then leave me a commit and I will get back to you either by this blog site or I will send you an email. Follow the link to count mites.

That is enough for now. Plan to feed sugar syrup or corn syrup, unless you have left enough honey on your colonies to carry the bees through to Fall.

REMEMBER: It is hot, so drink plenty to water.

Sunday afternoon, I had my young beekeeper friends over to pull and extract my honey from the colonies in the back yard. We ended up with a shallow, a medium, and a deep. After extraction, there was about eight and a half gallons of honey ready to be strained and bottled.

Now you are wondering why did I have three different sizes of honey supers. Well—I’ll tell you. When I was in Arkansas April and May, a year ago, one of my beekeeper friends made a check of my hives and had to put some of his supers on.  He only uses shallows.  I got most of them back to him, but I missed some and this is one of them. I use Illinois or medium supers, but sometimes I will put a deep super (brood box) on for a honey super so the bees will draw comb so I can have an extra ten frames for when I might need them. You know, pulling frames of brood and the frame I am replacing with is old comb that needs to be melted down, or a frame is broken, or a frame with duragilt  with all the wax chewed off.

I don’t do many of the deeps as I cannot lift them without help. Sometimes I have to pull  frames of honey and brush the bees off and carry the frames to a nuc box just so I can transport to the pickup or honey house.

Anyway, back to my story. You remember that I had three hives in the back yard, well now I only have two. I found that the beetles and wax moths have moved in. Seems that the bees decided to vacate the premises for reasons unknown. I had opened the top of the hive and found webbing in the second super. I will have to clean all the boxes sometime this week and I will post what I have found. I do know that the Small Hive Beetle larvae are all over the top super and assume that is the case throughout the hive.

Are all you out there ready for the Dearth from now to Fall (which is the bee’s Winter)? I hope you left at least a medium or two shallows of honey for each of your hives. They really need honey as a food. Also as a side note, I have a friend in Argentina, Oscar Perone, who has an article that is interesting.It is in English so you can read and understand. Talks about the Nosema Ceranae parasite that is the real cause of CCD, with the help of beekeepers. Go figger. hehe Good reading anyway. Another article that you might want to read. This one talks about the reason you shouldn’t feed sugar to the bees. My thoughts for a little over two years, but I didn’t know how to put it in writing. One more link is from UK, Caroline van Issum has a blog that is informative.

Now to get back to reading some more bee books. Happy 4th of July!!

Here is an article that I found on another forum and thought you might like to read it just because. It is about some pre-teenagers from the southern part of Maryland that have started keeping bees as a school project.

Now to give an update on the observation hive. I really think the queen is out of the OBH. There is more bees outside than inside. There is at least two groups of bees in the neighborhood of the hive and I cannot seem to get them to move. I will probably end up putting a frame of brood, open and capped along with some eggs, in the bottom of the OBH and move the frame of foundation up to the honey section. But for now, I will just let you enjoy the article.

Stay cool and hydrated! it is hot all across the US of A.