A ROAR OF BEES! (What would YOU do with that nuc?)

[@PaulButkiewicz]

I think I speak for everyone that we're looking forward to seeing how your first full year goes with the Bee Barns. Looks like a good start. Love the Jim Barn updates on Instagram too. Thanks for sharing!

[@hisimagenme]

I don't do social media, sure wish the updates could be seen by us youtubers.

[@honeyonwales190]

Jim, I'm so thrilled to see you in a better spot this spring vs. last year. Feels wonderful to see you get over the hump to progress from having bees into keeping bees. Welcome to the club, Buddy!!! Go with what you know for the nuc: 1) Individual colonies are not precious; 2) Things work better when conditions are favorable; 3) It's easy to produce a queen when timing is right & resources are plentiful; 4) Critical mass is paramount; 5) Population will shrink before it increases during re-queening process. With all that in mind, the logical decision is to combine the two nucs now with the intent to re-split once your season is hopping. TUTORIAL NOTE: Pollen is pure protein, which only fuels tissue development of larvae. If a hive is queenless, there's no need or use for pollen patty since there's no brood production ;-) All the best, Andrew

[@vinofarm]

I agree on all that. Thanks! When I was standing there in the moment, the thought of combining didn’t cross my mind. But it did the next day as I was editing. It got cold right after this and it hasn’t been suitable weather for opening hives in the past week. I’m hoping to get in there today. And yes, seeing the un-eaten pollen patty was the thing that clinched that they were queen less after I opened them. I didn’t even need to look. I heard the roar and knew something was wrong. The pollen patty was a dead giveaway. I’m getting this. Thanks!!!

[@honeyonwales190]

@@vinofarm You GOT this! Thanks again for all your continued help & advice getting my channel up & running!

[@julieenslow5915]

I believe you are right, Jim - that was an emergency queen cell. They don't roar like that if they are replacing the queen voluntarily, they just do it. Something happened. But they are handling it, just means a bump in the spring growth for that nuc. The deer however are a problem. Shame there are no guard dogs for trees.

[@lordmike9384]

this early in his area that queen won't be worth squat because there aren't drones for her to mate with yet if she's even lucky enough to have mating weather during the mating period of her life. will def need an immediate requeen asap just for this hive to survive winter let alone a honey crop.

[@hyfy-tr2jy]

Jim, I would suggest you merge the nuc replacing it's queen as there is no good drone population yet. This way you can supercharge the queenright neighbor instead of setting the queenless one back or even never requeen

[@vinofarm]

This is a great idea. Thanks.

[@russellkoopman3004]

My thoughts also. No mature drones around so she wouldn't stand a chance of mating.

[@branchandfoundry560]

Same here. This early in the year one bigger hive will produce more than two mediocre colonies. Facilitate them building up more efficiently, then split once resources (food AND drones) are plentiful. Efficiency rules the day to achieve success.

[@jeffrdnck7973]

May thought exactly 👍🐝

[@mikerevendale4810]

The apiary looks great! And it's exciting that you've discovered through experimentation that hive insulation plays a crucial role in colony survival over the long winter months. I'm definitely acting on that discovery. Thanks for sharing!

[@KaizenEnergyUS]

Thank you, informative and entertaining too. I would like to see how ur build your frames for the Barn Hive. Bravo Aloha.

[@LifeWithMatthew]

I have loved seeing your bee life on it's ups and downs over the past several years! Glad to see that they've done well over the winter this year!

[@86offroad]

"You wanna know why I take the paper off...because they don't eat paper". Lol. I do the same thing. Thanks for the videos.

[@angryedgelord4111]

Looking good! I'm super excited now for my first batch of bees arriving next week! Everything I know about beekeeping I learned off your channel!

[@driftingsoulsisters]

Thankyou for the vlog, we have year round summer weather here in northern Western Australia, have missed your vlogs over your winter, glad to see your bees are doing so well

[@fishnado7914]

Just checked my girls after watching your video pop up. Glad i did, I can't remember ever seeing brood this early before! So happy! Fingers crossed it's a good bee year here in Somerset MA!! 😁

[@calliknudsen]

"The part you never watch." 🤣 Except that I always watch it! It's where I learn a lot!

[@tyrejoseph1]

So glad your hive/bee castles did the job. Those hives are awesome. Looks like you had no losses this winter. Looking forward to see your videos this year.

[@emmawood2784]

Thanks for the roar another bit of info installed into the memory bank, can’t wait to see how this season goes and your ideas for the damp fix.

[@mattf3238]

Jim I think this is going to be you best year yet. I hope you give us a honey harvest video with the totals. Average pounds per bee barn.

[@011446603]

I’m looking forward to that as well, the bee stock is huge and flowers are coming. Hope you have budgeted time to harvest. You’re a genius. 🇿🇼

[@jonathanday5610]

I am looking forward to the bee videos this year, with the barn near done, and the new bee barn design working so we'll, a newer bee barn design sometime later, I feel like this is the start of a golden era on the vino farm

[@jamesspargo]

Congrats on 100K; been watching you from the beginning.. thanks for all you share!!

[@Peter_Gunn]

Glad to see you making videos again. Looks like your bees are doing great this year.

[@HIMNicholasII]

Thanks for the Video... I get my First Nuc THIS MONTH!!!! so excited!!! Love watching your vids keep them coming!!!

[@AndrewAHayes]

The cherry blossom is 2.5 weeks early this year in my garden, and they were covered in bees and it was so good to see my girls all going in laden with fresh pollen, the bluebells should be up shortly and then the Lavender which produces the most fragrant and tasty honey period

[@seeyouonthemountainbeekeeping]

Thanks for the update! We have dadelions starting and lots of pollen for two weeks now! Keep up the great work brother!

[@annkrupa2349]

I love your bee barns. I would like to try to make a couple of my own to see what happens here with them. They just seem to make so much more sense for the northern climate. I am waiting to see how you improve the top moisture. I had 70% loss this year. In WI. Sad day when I went through mine. Keep on keeping. I learn so much from your efforts. Definitely appreciated.

[@ulloa8521]

Damn where is my time machine when I need one. Glad they are doing Ok, hope the nuc gets better? doesn't really matter but better they end up okay. thanks for the update, I still can't believe how invested I got into your bees lol. Hope you give us a tentative solution to the insulation issue soon because other than adding another insulation layer to the affected zone be it tape or "plastic" i don't really imagine how to break the inside and outside to meet.

[@naxgulengames9863]

Congrats on the 100k subs. I am loving how well the winter went for you.

[@Jason-xu6pi]

Exciting time brother. Glad to see you're doing well just a few weeks ahead of you. Considering splitting some colonies next weekend!

[@ME_MeAndMyBees]

Hey. My lime green pollen is coming off the Willow Trees (Catkins are all Fuzzy with Pollen. Do you have Willow Trees near Vino Farms. Wish we had Maples here in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 alas, I only have Maple Syrup from the grocery store. 😎 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 Happy Beekeeping 2022. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

[@brown5588anna]

I love your Bee barns and cant wait to see your video on making them! Also I would like to know how you are going to keep the hives from swarming and keeping the amount of hives you have w/o explanding?

[@duconce]

I think you have some good ideas, you just need to insulate the top box, the transfer of cold thru the board to the the top box is nothing, open a vent thru to your top insulation should stop condensation, your burlap should dry it out

[@beemanrunning977]

Good videos. Thanks. Only been a beek for 10 years in the Seattle area but IMHO: Our season is pretty short so in that situation I would rather introduce a mated queen. If I let the bees make their own queen there is a chance she doesn't get mated and/or she is a lousy queen (more likely when queen is raised in an emergency cell due to fewer nurse bees than in a queen builder colony). Either way I'm losing close to a month of build up (16 days to make a queen and another week or so for her to get mated and start laying) which could result in a lot less foragers for our blackberry nectar flow in mid June. A long queenless period can also result in a laying worker colony which is also a challenge.

[@user-asyoulike]

Here in North Africa is spring oms finish keep up greet work i like what you doing

[@jz1552]

So windy here in Oklahoma. I need to get into my hives, but I feel the wind would upset them too much.

[@klungtvedtapiary2753]

We are jealous. We are still getting snow storms in Northern MInnesota. Did see some cleansing flights tho.

[@lachdananx7686]

It´s a bit early for drones, especially for "adult" drones. Recombining the two half hives sounds like a quick fix, they are whining they will accept any queen. (removing the emergencycell recommended)

[@vinofarm]

Excellent idea. Thanks.

[@lewisgoodall320]

Agree it's to early for queen to mate. Best to combine with another colony or likely failure otherwise...

[@bluzervic]

Looking good, keep an eye on that one box, they might need a wee bit of help depending…..

[@effingbeesapiary2599]

I did 2 splits on the 2nd. It might have been too early but dang I am just so ready to get in the bees and work. I check boarded 1 and just took a frame of eggs from the other.

[@josephvincent3727]

Congrats on 100k!!!

[@colleenmurphy6529]

I am so happy for you. You are going to have a good year. You conquered adversity from last year. Go Jim!

[@kathyhathaway8823]

All looking great . Keep it up. Thanks

[@walterwilliams6043]

Bradford pear trees are in full bloom in SE Indiana, lots of bees 🐝 there!

[@nkapiariesjeffbeezos796]

to fix moisture problem just replace inner cover with two inch foam and protect with feed sack or house wrap. Put on in Nov or so and remove in march or so depending on your temps.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Let us know if the patty shift changed the consumption rate! I’m curious what happens in others hives. It’s interesting to see them consuming the patty that far to the side, those are good looking colonies

[@vinofarm]

We’re on the edge of local pollen explosion (Maples about to pop) so I’m not sure how good of a test it will be, but it’s a great tip anyway! Thanks Ian. Hope your bees are packing in the syrup.

[@asparklesofthebless601]

Amazing! My two best bee keepers - i am learning my beekeeping from you both. Thank you a lot! ❤️

[@frogsurfer4403]

Looking good Jim! Ian's weather today is more similar to what we are getting here in coastal eastern Newfoundland. Keep up the good work guys, here's to a great season.

[@russellkoopman3004]

I suppose the hive is so insulated that the outsides aren't cold.

[@RyanMcDonnough]

I have noticed that the bees consume patty much faster when placed directly above the brood nest. And this year I’m comparing Ultra Bee patties to Global Patties. My bees consume Global Patties about twice as fast as Ultra Bee.

[@noahG82]

Everything about this is awesome!!! Thanks for the video sir!

[@aRedstepchild]

Bees need that moisture to rear brood. It's ok. Wax coat the inner cover if it bothers you. But they need the moisture around the circle. But not in it. It's not broke. You did it right. Bees need the moisture. Dry hives are terrible incubators.

[@leobaltz2057]

That apple that the deer where eating is going to die anyhow. Did you notice how something has collared that tree and chewed the bark all around at the base

[@vinofarm]

Field mice and voles have eaten all the tree bases over the years. They're still alive. So many pests to deal with...

[@leobaltz2057]

How frustrating! Best of luck!

[@jprob2443]

Jim, during an upcoming bee inspection, let us know when you notice drone comb. Thanks!

[@randyclinganfarms4806]

It all looks GREAT

[@l...]

Which frequency bees like Or could we calm the bees by sound

[@alistairmacquarie2976]

Hi Jim. Been following your Beebarn insulated extra deep brood box and 7 x mega frame design. Interested in trailing the extra deep box with megaframe size in place of the 2 standard brood box with 10 each full frames. Will Try it out in the tropics, am in the south pacific .have you posted the mega frame and brood box sizes yet you mentioned 11months back. Is it a 15 inch deep brood box and with the mega frame size about 14.5 inch deep.

[@vinofarm]

It is a standard deep + medium Langstroth box cavity. Then I just measured the total depth and made the frames hang 1/2” from the bottom.

[@banjoboy8802]

Hi Jim, Great to see you back creating new video's. I am curious, why do bee keepers feed sugar in winter rather than saved honey from previous season? I get it, the goal is to use or sell the harvested honey, but why not hold back on some of those honey reserves to feed the bees during the harsh winters?

[@ja-canadian5451]

Looking at the Apple tree in your opening segment... you focused on the deer damage but behind that it looked like the trunk was completely girdled (all the bark eaten back to the wood layer beneath) by Rabbits. Rabbits have killed many of my trees that way. The buds were set last fall before the Rabbits did that, but don't be surprised if that tree dies. If it survives it will be weak and you should not let it expend energy making apples this year.

[@tamiyah7]

Maybe a fence around the trees. I've read that a double fence would confuse the deer and they would stay away as they won't know how to jump the fence. Looking good though can't wait for more videos ❤️

[@carlotta4th]

I live in an area with a lot of deer and they are incredibly dumb, they will try to jump over almost ANYTHING and the only way to stop them is to have your fence higher than the deer can jump.

[@timothyodonnell8591]

I heard that too. I'm trying to remember where I heard it from . . . .😉

[@russellkoopman3004]

@@timothyodonnell8591 Vino Farms has a video on double fencing. Check it out.

[@vinofarm]

@@russellkoopman3004 I think that was the joke… ha ha.

[@russellkoopman3004]

@@vinofarm You are right. Tim did get it. Carlotta not so much. LOL

[@jaynemar1]

Everything looks great!

[@AmandaTroutman]

Should you get a farm dog to keep the deer under control?

[@davidapp3730]

Looking great in the Bee yard. Do you make your own pollen patties?

[@whiterose686]

Hi! I love your videos! I was just wondering what your plan is for these huge hives when they get ready to swarm? Are you going to let them swarm or stop them? If you’re going to stop them, how many more hives/nucs do you want to create? Can’t wait to see how this year goes!

[@SheepDawg1374]

Hey Jim, awesome video! But, did you put your Broodminder strip back in that Nuc? It looked like you left it sitting out on the lid. Whether you did or didn't, I was just curious. Anyway, keep up the good work and AWESOME videos. Thanks.

[@vinofarm]

Yup!

[@rachell6642]

The part you never watch lol! I watched it out of respect this time Jim.

[@BlanchardsBees]

Snowed in SW Iowa yesterday. 🐝❄

[@vinofarm]

Ha... Yeah, I'm still expecting more snow at some point.

[@russellkoopman3004]

Here in MN it snowed 4 days this week. Never much, just enough to disgust me. LOL

[@alancadorette3447]

would daffodils work for bees? grow like mad this time of year in northeast ohio. also for fall, what about marigolds, easy to grab seeds off plants in late fall, and store to replant next year

[@vinofarm]

Sure. But our daffodils are not out yet. To make an impact, you’d need quite a few, though.

[@drrota]

Great job - slamm'n hives! Is there any chance you can publish the finished V2.0 barn hive top design? Thanks!

[@vinofarm]

Yes. Once I design it. Not there yet.

[@ZelmaBees]

Nice to see all your hard work pay off. Do you anticipate any hive beetle problems with your new configuration?

[@vinofarm]

We don’t have them up here. (Yet)

[@johnw8419]

What is you plan for swarms or splits? You probably don’t want many more hives. Maybe sell or give away nice?

[@salembeeman370]

You are right. Go buy a queen. There are plenty of them for sale in Connecticut. Go to long and you'll have a laying worker.

[@CastleHives]

Wonder why that colony requeened. So odd this time of the year. Not the first one I've seen this year do this. The season is so close to going gang busters. Have a good day Jim.

[@russellkoopman3004]

You would almost have to think that the queen got rolled. That is a long frame to pull out without scraping the sides. I know Jim is a great beek but those frames are a challenge.

[@vinofarm]

@@russellkoopman3004 I’m going to go back and watch the footage! If I did that I promise to share it. I’m 99.9% sure it wasn’t me. The thought makes me cringe!

[@russellkoopman3004]

@@vinofarm I was hoping you wouldn't read my comment. I don't try to hurt people feelings. Rolling seems logical and we are all humans but you are such a good bee keeper. But the timing seems to fit with the timing of the brood and the inspection.

[@vinofarm]

@@russellkoopman3004 I just watched the footage! Seeing how I put the frame in, it is highly unlikely I could have injured or killed her, but the thing that makes it impossible is the date... Last time I opened that hive was March 18. If I DID kill her, the bees would have known immediately and started looking for a suitable egg to make a new queen. Even if they waited MAX of three days to start a queen cell, that would have been March 21. Which would have them capping the cell around March 28. She would have been emerging April 4 at the latest. I saw that queen cell (uncapped) on April 5, indicating they started that queen roughly 7 days prior. The time between my last inspection and 7 days ago was 11 days. There's no way it was me! Phew...

[@russellkoopman3004]

@@vinofarm That makes sense. "Phew" You just wonder why or how a queen would die during such a slow time in the hive.

[@ISYL515]

I had my first hive of bees die on me back in January from high condensation and harsh winter, lot of bees were dead with their butts sticking out of frames but they had easily 80 pounds of honey left, what should I do better?

[@shevaspshojai6483]

I know….but those 🦌 need some snacks too…🙈

[@craigkirich9646]

The roar and K-wings are a good indication even if you don't find her. Lack of eggs of course.

[@FioreCiliegia]

If you gave the deer something more appealing than apple twigs do you think they would stay where you directed them? I know some native cultures use salt licks to domesticate them…

[@bobnewkirk7003]

Hey Jim what is the plan for the nucs now that all your main hives are good?

[@vinofarm]

Need to find people with Bee Barn sized hives and start selling frames of brood!

[@devinahudson]

Technically anybody that runs a deep+medium can take them. Is that combo common?

[@vinofarm]

@@devinahudson True.

[@cbbees1468]

@@vinofarm Would the frames fit a Layens hive? (Realize the Layens is uncommon). Or possibly splitting the frames to fit a Langstroth deep?

[@russellkoopman3004]

@@vinofarm LOL

[@paulchristensen7963]

"The part you never watch"..... hahahaha

[@erwincango1378]

Excuse me, friend, tell me what made the difference between using the 8 frames of 16 inches deep to a hive of 10 standard frames, how bees behave.

[@vinofarm]

I used to keep in 8 frame boxes. 1 deep + 1 medium brood box. The queens laid just the top box mostly. They never went down to the lower box very much and no frames were ever filled with brood down there. With the full uninterrupted comb on the 16” deep frames, the queens lay massive circles of brood from top to bottom. All the way down the the last row of cells. Way more brood overall. The other huge change is that instead of inspecting 16 brood frames between 2 boxes, I only need to inspect 7 frames MAX per inspection. And no box lifting and no bending. It’s pretty nice for the bees and the beekeeper.

[@o-canada]

Quick Question - how doYou extract the big frames ? Best Tad

[@vinofarm]

I do not. They are brood frames. Supers with regular medium frames go on top.

[@o-canada]

@@vinofarm Thank You

[@jack00scarecrow]

oh them buds are getting close

[@cascades500]

Any other people doing lazutin like horizontal hives with insulation? Have another friend in Georgia that's doing really well with these deeper frames. Doing even better than the layens frames.

[@tomelzear]

While you were showing deer damage to the branches of the apple tree, I noticed what might be girdling damage to the trunk of that tree. It was a quick view so hopefully, I am wrong.

[@vinofarm]

Mice. They’ve done that to all the trees over the years. Luckily they’re still growing.

[@Dustpuuppy]

I think the idea of the pollen patty over the brood is that the bees don't have to break cluster to get to it. A lot of hives will starve with food just inches away because they can't break cluster to get to it.

[@vinofarm]

The hives are 90° inside right now. There’s no real “cluster” that needs to be broken at this point. I think Ian was just saying that they’re lazy and don’t like walking All... The… Way... Five... Inches... Over… to get to the patties.

[@Dustpuuppy]

@@vinofarm Works either way. LOL

[@russellkoopman3004]

The nurse bees eat the pollen to make royal jelly for the young. Putting the patty over the brood means the nurse bees don't have to abandon the brood to eat protein sitting out on the edge of the hive. But more important in hives not so well insulated.

[@Dustpuuppy]

@@russellkoopman3004 So it's good any way you slice it. :)

[@paddytoyne8613]

when are you putting in your mite strips

[@vinofarm]

I’ll be testing this week.

[@jackgoral8482]

I think those round cutouts in the patty paper should face down not up, so the bees have the place to start eating the patty.

[@vinofarm]

6:13

[@reggiehodges6784]

I lost 2 out of 3 hives so far . I live in Ga. And they swarmed in February.

[@davidpatrick1813]

What can we do with crabapple? I accidentally have one but bees love it ... someone said bees don't get pollen from them

[@vinofarm]

My crabapples are my favorite spring trees. My bees are all over them. Not sure what they get out of them but they are very popular.

[@russellkoopman3004]

Some of the more hybridized newer flowering crabs don't have pollen, thus they bloom longer. No good for bees but nice to look at. The old varieties have pollen and some nectar.

[@alanwiebelhaus8750]

Looks like the apple tree sustained a lot o bark damage at the trunk

[@vinofarm]

They all look like that. I had baffles at the base of my trees to stop the porcupines because they were tearing the trees down branch by branch. The mice made nests in the baffles and ate the bark. Deer, porcupines, mice, insects, bacteria, fungus… lots of things that destroy apple trees here. And this is literally Johnny Appleseed country. Ugh.

[@adrianprzybyek5758]

I think that is better to divide pollen into 2 pieces, in other way you block upper road for bees. And nobody want to eat moldy pollen, especially bees who have 100x better smell sense than humans.

[@TomsBackyardWorkshop]

wow it reached 90 here today. ive got tomatoes and peas already.

[@cluelessbeekeeping1322]

Dear meat tastes really great! Something to consider. 🤔

[@johnabbottphotography]

"The Part You Never Watch" Hehehe. For those of us who don't know; is it too early in the season to add on boxes to those that are almost already full? Also, do colonies make drones year round?

[@vinofarm]

Queens ramp up drone production when the weather warms up a bit. I see them in May up here. So there aren’t going to be quality drones out there next week. I’ll probably just combine them with the smallish nuc next door and make a space for a split of one of the big hives.

[@vinofarm]

Oh, the super boxes will go on at the first sign of local nectar coming in and preferably when the weather warms a bit. We still have freezing nights for over a month and the supers will cause a lot of heat loss.

[@johnabbottphotography]

@@vinofarm got it. I knew you had reasons... but didn't know what they were.

[@timothyodonnell8591]

Jim - a few years ago, you tried soap socks to keep the deer away from the trees. Are you going to try that again, or did the soap socks not work?

[@vinofarm]

I think they got used to the smell and it’s not working anymore. It seemed to work for a couple years. We’re about to start a big fencing project around the property. It’s gotten bad. I walked out of the barn last week and shined a flashlight toward the apples and counted 8 deer. Bastards.

[@wilkowr23]

The part you never watch definitely a funny chapter title

[@russellkoopman3004]

One YT called it the "Queenless Roar". They really let you know.

[@LthrWrstlr1]

You need an outdoor guard dog to keep the deer away.

[@hisimagenme]

Go Vino bees🐝💞

[@erwincango1378]

Maybe you have another means to contact him,,,

[@Lombricompostagefacile]

Get ready for more beehives, you will have to split your giant hives or they will swarm as soon as nectar flow starts.

[@omarboueddine9316]

Their is no Queen pheromone so they give a signal each other that her is the colonie it will bee a very good queen if she made correctly good luck

[@spudgn]

The green may be willow

[@esparka]

Deer, deer, the budz.....

[@paulajones6366]

If a hive is roaring loud then that could be its queenless. They make that noise then.

[@LthrWrstlr1]

Have you ever had bees swarm in May? You might this year! That's a good thing.

[@AllanGyllingOlsen]

Sometime in spring, the bees Will cluster the Queen to Dead, if the weather is to cold, when opening the hive

[@mikehill9888]

you may need to feed.

[@darmethisname]

spellbinding!