Apimaye Ergo Bee Hive Update, The Swarm Didn't stay around, now what? I have a fix in mind.

[@CastleHives]

Got stung on the thumb, most don't care. . I care Fred, I care. Bummer they are building out cells and going through the process to re-queen this late in the season. I've had good luck with my 7 frame Apimaye this season. Enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you for caring :) I'm glad you are enjoying your Apimaye hives :)

[@MKIV2JZGT]

Fred 1 tip when you are inspecting apimaye hives remove cover place on a stable surface (on the ground or another nearby roof) with the inside part of the the cover facing the sky(flip it over), the 2 feeders whether they are full of liquid or candy can be placed into the cover, the cover was made to hold feeders even if bees are below and are filled with feed, bee's won't be squashed under the feeders when placed in cover the right way.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks for sharing that detail :)

[@fuzzynuggetsbees]

Aww bummer the queen didn’t stick around. Thanks for the update and it is always great to see what you do to give everyone the best chance for success. I really like the smaller hive spaces. I had two late season swarms last year that I put in one ten frame box to share, and made my own divider board. Added a super of honey with a divider board and both colonies did fabulous through the winter even though they went into September with two frames of bees each. They surprised the heck out of me.

[@FrederickDunn]

I'm with you, I've often hived very small late-season swarms in 5-frame boxes and had them make it against all odds. I really don't like that these hives vent through the top with no option to close that off. My small colonies that have made it winter had well sealed covers. Always nice to see your comments :)

[@TechOutAdam]

You’ve inspired me to be a beekeeper. Not because I want the honey. But because I want bees to keep going ❤

[@FrederickDunn]

If you want bees to keep going, then you're actually way ahead in simply improving the environment and helping others to do so. It's not necessary to keep bees in order to improve habitat for pollinators. :)

[@Kaalokalawaia]

@@FrederickDunn That's what I've been doing recently because my location isn't very good for bees. Trying to help the solitaries at least.

[@Rrailroad3]

My first thought in that situation would be pull a few frames from multiple colonies and order a mated queen. Good luck, looking forward to seeing an update.

[@FrederickDunn]

That's certainly one way to fix that situation, but I'm not interested in lowering resources in any other hives this time of year.

[@Amethyst1919]

Finally getting some buds om my hibiscus bushes I planted this spring... been waiting forever... Hoping this gives my girls a little boost while it's still warm (in AZ).

[@dixsigns1717]

I really liked this because, I am going to get a test to see if I am highly allergic to honey bees like an uncle of mine, if I am not I want to try a hive of bees. The Apimaye could be perfect for me. We are in the high mountain desert of central Idaho with winter temps to -40° and our home is built on a rock peninsula next to the east fork of the Salmon river. Thank you again Fred for a very educational video.

[@FrederickDunn]

Let's hope that your tests prove that you are able to keep bees. Fingers crossed.

[@charrison2005]

Looking forward to your update.

[@FrederickDunn]

I can say this, they are providing a steady stream of pollen as of yesterday. That's a fantastic sign!

[@hatedcritic8066]

Nice to see that vinegar bottle being reused. I use them for so many things.

[@FrederickDunn]

Definitely, they are rugged bottles.

[@bc58]

That’s one reason why in Arizona we don’t requeen right away. Sometimes they don’t like their new home. We have to wait and see.

[@nealskelton1425]

I have 5 Apimaye hives. They are definitely the Swiss Army knife of beekeeping .

[@peacepeople9895]

Honestly, I like the route you're taking. I believe you'll find out how adapted the bees are to their local environment and if they can pull off a late emergency re-queening if they have to. While I don't think it's a fair shake to the equipment you're testing out, it is a fair shake to the bees and how resourceful they are in their environment. Thanks for the video, awesome as always.

[@FrederickDunn]

So, you think I'm not being fair to the design? We know this is a challenging situation for the bees. They did divide themselves with another swarm. The hive vents through the top with no option to close that off. If the bees can seal up the reming openings at the top, their chances are far improved. I actually thought I was showcasing one of the adaptable advantages of this hive design. The ability to create an instant nucleus from a 10-frame brood box is very convenient. Thanks for commenting.

[@peacepeople9895]

@@FrederickDunn Honestly, when I saw it I thought you would need to have a colony that is very proficient and prolific at propolizing (sp) as it seem there are a lot of places it would vent. I don't have one, but just the way it appears makes it look like there are lots of places it could vent unintentionally. I think you're giving it a fair shake, I'm just not a fan of plastic for the most part. The splitter seems to be very convenient. I think you're being fair to the design, in fact the only part that might not be fair is the timing, being later in the year.

[@shevlin2650]

Down here in SWVA we still have many Drones flying about. Hope this Hive makes it. You are God's helper here with these Bees. SML Bees.

[@redfish440]

Thanks Fred as always , looking forward to “Fred Dunn Friday” !

[@FrederickDunn]

You're welcome, and thanks for being a frequent viewer :)

[@pmlm1571]

I didn't hear you consider combining the two hives into one: the nuc into the queenless hive, after crushing the queen cells the queenless bees are making. Beautiful photography, thank you!

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, I explained that I didn't want to disrupt the established nucleus to do that. They are full of brood and resources in their bottom box and are too large to combine with the Apimaye.

[@carlsledge3868]

I still want to know what they did with the 2 gallons of syurp? My bees will draw out 10 frames of Premier foundation on that much syurp.

[@FrederickDunn]

@@carlsledge3868 We've have cold nights, I think they burned through it keeping brood warm.

[@carlsledge3868]

@@FrederickDunn Sorry, I forgot where you are, today here was 91/66 f, this coming week will be the first time our overnight lows will below 60's since April.

[@TrickyTrev01]

interesting hive Fred, i do like it. It's a shame they left, but you do have some left. I'll bee interested to see how they go over time. Thanks for sharing👍🐝🍯

[@kennith.]

Been eagerly waiting for the update. Thank you Fred. I thought you were going to squash all the queen cells and merge the other resource nuc into this one. Will be interesting to see if they manage to get a mated queen.

[@FrederickDunn]

Could have definitely done that, but I'm curious to see if they can make it under the mating-flight wire. We can still combine them later, it's not over.

[@Darren_Nicola]

Be interesting to see how they get on raising queens , best of luck and fingers crossed 🤞

[@FrederickDunn]

The odds are profoundly against their success, but we'll see.

[@spudgn]

Hello Frederick. I think combine it with a resource nucleus hive? Two small one into one better hive. 2nd. Been looking a queen insemination plus a resource brood frame vs grafting and mating nucs to propagate queens and hives. Tropical Miami Florida type weather and 75% endless jungle and agricultural. Apis Cerana are the local feral bees and seem to swarm three to four times per year depending on rain and flowers. What would you do to build extra resources in your bee yard? Anything more then splits as often as queen cells are seen on inspection? I probably have two years yet in planning and learning. Your talk on long hives vs stacked hives during windy weather has my sold on long vs stacked. I will be shielded by some mountains from typhoons ….. but! ??? The wind still knocks down many trees.

[@khraila_RockyRillFarm_Apiary]

Thank you for the update

[@FrederickDunn]

You're welcome.

[@tvideo1189]

All those slots look like a perfect refuge for Small Hive Beetles.

[@FrederickDunn]

I'll let those who keep these in the south, or who have small hive beetles in their hives answer that one. I haven't had a small hive beetle for quite a while, so can't test that aspect.

[@tvideo1189]

@@FrederickDunn I'm in Florida and we have them in plenty.

[@beternakayok3381]

Very cool, your bee farm is kinda very active

[@GaryManess]

I care you got stung. It does hurt no matter how tuff you are lol. Great video as always. Not a fan of plastic hive but not shunning them nether. Will be interested to see them get queen right this late. Pulling for them keep us posted

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks, this colony is definitely on my mind lately. I agree, I wish these features were available with a wooden configuration. I'm happy to test a few of them here. JC's Bees and Kamon Reynolds have Apimaye test yards so you can also check in on their progress.

[@enricotoesca3941]

Hello Mr . Frederick 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@Kaalokalawaia]

It's interesting. I wonder what is the deciding factor with queens not liking a particular environment and just leaving again. You would think that would be less likely with the colder temperatures.

[@FrederickDunn]

That is possible.

[@MKIV2JZGT]

Since the nucleus hive is still fortifying it self you can check the frames to see if they are using all frames it doesn't look like they have filled out or using all frames as yet. So you can combine them with the Apimaye hive since they only have have what looks like 3 frames filled, you can use the divider board to combine both the hives. Put on second box with divider board and place nuke on one side, 5 over 5 and leave them, open the circular gates to the smallest slots so they can smell each other and the queens pheromones from the double nuke passes through out the hive then open to bigger slots once they have gotten accustome to each other so they can pass or just remove divider board.

[@FrederickDunn]

That is an option. My nucleus hive has five frames on the bottom level and are working the upper five frames, they also have the advantage of no venting through the top which would make their efforts more challenging. I'm keeping them separate. But you're right, if they were only occupying 5-frames, then putting that on the queenless colony would then beenfit both. 5 over 5 has proven a better configuration than 10 side by side.

[@MKIV2JZGT]

@@FrederickDunn You can achieve both in the Apimaye hive with second super and divider board extending into second super. So you will just move the 5 over 5 nuke into Apimaye hive in the same configuration they are now 5 over 5 on the empty side you have now open the vents to the smallest in the divider board and after a week remove divider board. So by next week you can have a double deep in the Apimaye hive.

[@jamesrobley1019]

Great job ! Looking good !

[@hadrast]

19:31 You've set aside the idea of bolstering the colony with an imported queen, but what about cutting out the queen cells and merging in the just-doing-OK resource nuc?

[@FrederickDunn]

That remains a possibility if they begin to fail in October. Those two colonies can still be combined, but we have time for obsrevation first. Also lots of configuration options, so we'll see.

[@jdselfokstate]

Its too bad they are queenless, I feel like their chance of survival is pretty low but I really want to see how well they overwinter in this Apimaye. I run a few Apimayes and overall like them. Although I have found it difficult to get 2 queens in the hive separated by the partition board. They seem to share a little too much pheromone and 1 usually doesn't get accepted.

[@FrederickDunn]

All interesting, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience.

[@904bees]

Interested in the progress of this hive. In NE FL I wonder how the more insulated hive would affect brood rearing through the year.

[@MarkShields00]

Insulated hives are better year round, even in the humid Georgia summer.

[@FrederickDunn]

With my other hives, insulating the inner covers and top of the hive has made a profound improvement in winter brood production. These top vents on this design are working against what the bees would have/choose.

[@wendygrant2735]

I'm curious how this will evolve. Where I live this was the end of the colony but who knows.

[@FrederickDunn]

My expectations are low, but I've been surprised before. We'll see :)

[@tjjastrem127]

I’m doing a similar experiment to see if a small hive can make it against all odds without taking resources from another hive

[@FrederickDunn]

I hope it all goes well.

[@bthyme]

Isn't this the swarm that had an injured queen that resisted going into the hive?

[@FrederickDunn]

No, that's a different originating colony and was hived in a small 5-frame nucleus #15

[@fuzzynuggetsbees]

I thought this was the injured queen too.

[@JK-dj1zj]

I would give those bees a new queen, more bees and change the Apimaye hive to a wood hive. I'm just wondering if that would make a difference. Maybe the previous queen didn't like the Apimaye hive? Or bring what you have of bees in the Apimaye hive inside your class hives.

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, if we did all of those things and added an insulated inner cover without venting, they would have a much better chance.

[@ChristieAnnMitchell]

Yay!!! Thank you!!

[@FrederickDunn]

You're welcome.

[@defeatSpace]

Maybe brush some beeswax on the landing board so they have more traction and a familiar surface.

[@FrederickDunn]

Interesting suggestion.

[@ME_MeAndMyBees]

Fred : Interesting Video. Some of my Nucs made New Queens at end of August... doing great.👍 Bees must of thought we need a better Queen for Winter (!) I often convert a x10 Frame Langstroth Box into a Lesser Frames / or into a Nuc... by using Insulation Foam Block (from Dumpster Builders Trash) useful offcuts ! 👍 And, add a kinda Frame Bar to the top with Wood Glue, and Screws into Raw Plugs (open up in that foam.) You can do Single Frame (thinner) Double Frame (thicker) as needed. Works a treat. Eg you can Centre the Brood, and Double Board both sides (down to x6 Frame Brood, and maybe x4 Frames of Stores above.) You can mix and match as they Grow in Strength ! Easy. 😎 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝Happy Beekeeping 2022. 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

[@HoskinsHoneyBees]

One of my best queen was a supercedure

[@FrederickDunn]

We'll see how it goes. They are pushing the very limits of the season.

[@mechelleblanton9646]

Thank you for this info. My dad has one long langstroth hive here in central OK. We have checked the past 2 wks and can not find the queen or eggs. There are still stages of larva and they are working on 3 qn cells. We are concerned a new qn may not be able to get mated and back before the weather turns. Who do you know that may still have mated queens for sale? We are trying to decide what is our best option so we don't lose this hive of his. Our average first frost is Oct. 15. My husband and I also have 1 long langstroth hive that seems to be doing great. Any advice would be so helpful! Thank You.

[@FrederickDunn]

You can still get emergency mated queens through the mail from BeeWeaver, tell them I sent you :) beeweaver.com/store/2022-BeeWeaver-Queen-Shipped-p465903694

[@ahmedbounce3053]

What could happened if you forced the Queen to stay by closing the main Entrance and opening the up one with the queen excluder?

[@FrederickDunn]

Great question, here's your answer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKeceJ5rZpx7e68si=D6vWv7GNmUF0p-KU

[@colene77]

Being that hive is “plastic” could it get to hot in the hive???

[@FrederickDunn]

That's a great question, and I think I'll talk more about this on Friday. It will be part of my Q&A, the answer isn't a brief one. Thanks for watching and taking a moment to comment :)

[@khraila_RockyRillFarm_Apiary]

What purpose does the shallow divider board serve?

[@FrederickDunn]

That's to be used if I were to add a second brood box and wanted to continue to partition the hive above. I may actually be using that to boost this colony in the very near future.

[@jessicapearson9479]

Don't the queens make a new queen before she leaves and causes a swarm and leaving a few bees to care for the new queen?

[@FrederickDunn]

Great question, the nurse bees do drive off the existing queen before replacements emerge from their queen cells. In this case, the queen departed without a plan so the remaining nurse bees are making replacements with eggs that were left behind. Emergency queen cells are different from normal swarm queen cells.

[@jessicapearson9479]

How are they going to make a queen? Aren't they all sterile unless the queen decides otherwise? What is the difference between the emergency cells and the new queen cells?

[@Peter-od7op]

Interesting

[@jamesbarron1202]

If sugar water goes bad without additives, why doesn’t it go bad when the bees store it?

[@hadrast]

There are anti-microbial compounds in bee saliva that help stave off spoilage a bit, and they dehydrate it all down to honey before it goes further than that.

[@FrederickDunn]

HAst, excellent response, thanks.

[@jamesbarron1202]

@@hadrast thanks. I read where sugar syrup can never be classified as honey because honey only comes from nectar. That’s probably just a legal definition when it comes to selling it. I think it’s illegal to sell it as honey in some countries. But I see what your saying. It’s converted by the bees in the same way as nectar honey.

[@Michael-yl2iq]

Are you combining two weak hives?

[@FrederickDunn]

No, since the colony in the nucleus hive (wood) is making progress and has a lower box that's doing fine, at this point I won't combine them. I have an ace in the hole in that I can add the next deep to the Apimaye with a divider and combine them in a 5 over 5 configuration. I'll wait them out for a while and decide during the first couple of weeks of October.

[@cotton648]

I'm sorta in a similar situation. I have 4 hives and one swarmed sometime in the last week. I'm in southern Ohio so is it too late to requeen or should I combine to make 3 strong hives?

[@FrederickDunn]

At this point, combining is your best bet for winter survival.

[@cotton648]

@@FrederickDunn thank you for the fast response! Love the videos

[@aliphotographers2782]

i want buy this type of box for bee in Pakistan

[@FrederickDunn]

Here is a link I found on google search for Pakistan. pakistan.desertcart.com/products/47629381-apimaye-insulated-7-frame-langstroth-nucleus-bee-hive-nuc

[@robertshorthill6836]

Bees living inside a plastic box... Something is wrong here.

[@FrederickDunn]

Their natural environment is definitely wood.

[@sonofthunder.]

fred ,i see bubbles in the nectar....whats that ?

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, lots of bubbles and not certain why that happened on that frame. We'll see how they move that around as well. Not common at all to see air bubbles in their stored nectar.

[@sonofthunder.]

@@FrederickDunn i noticed it in mine too,?

[@bkm2797]

Could it be fermenting?

[@carlsledge3868]

When I've seen air bubbles in capped honey it usually means they capped it at high moisture and it dried out more as the humidity came down, you see this commonly in cotton honey, but we know Frederick has no cotton within flying range of his apriary.

[@jamesrobley1019]

98 here in Tennessee

[@FrederickDunn]

wow, no thank you.

[@enricotoesca3941]

❤️🐝🐝🐝🐝❤️

[@carlsledge3868]

LOL, that swarm might not like plastic hives, so they hung out a couple of weeks for the free meals, then left, J/K , but I had to say that, Frederick

[@sonofthunder.]

96 here today nw ark,

[@beckieeldred5816]

I have one

[@KauaiBeeDoug]

IT'S PLASTIC!!!

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, Douglass, it's plastic.