Beekeeping Change That Could Totally Improve Beekeeping

[@brianhoffman500]

Thank you David for another great video. I am excited to take this journey as you produce more videos. Does it make sense to combine queen rearing with splitting? Rear new queens in a new hive, but instead of removing her after she has mated, keep her with the new hive. This will essentially speed up establishing a nucleus.

[@beek]

Yes, that works fine But always concern how long you might be waiting on her to lay. So you could possibly create a huge gap in the work force. If you can time it so you have less than 5 days they are queenless, the better.

[@kennethwiggins7362]

@@beek where do you get these kind of queens

[@Peter-od7op]

Lost 2 hives this summer to hive beetles

[@beek]

They can sometimes be relentless.

[@brucesbees]

Queenkeeper. I love it! Might have to start using that phrase. Great stuff as always David!

[@beek]

Great seeing you Bruce

[@ScottPickettUT]

I needed this info this last fall. One of my 3 hives was struggling. Queen stopped laying after mite treatment and took weeks to recover. I should have re-queened right then. This hive went into winter weaker than I would have wanted. If they survive winter they will need a new queen immediately. Wont be surprised if they fail. I hesitated in June to start a 5 frame NUC from my big hive. Had I done just that one thing I would have had a queen and, if necessary, some frames of bees I could have combined in to strengthen the weak hive. That's my year 2 lesson learned. I will always have at least two NUCs as resource hives from now on.

[@studygodsword5937]

the Queen wasn't the problem, it was the major highway ! constant shortage of worker bees !

[@wesleybryant7839]

Excellent. We need more of this content. Thankyou.

[@beek]

More to come!

[@garyRt23Bees]

Superior queens, good nutrition, and dead mites! You have all 3 of these and the hive will take care of the rest.

[@beek]

So true

[@maple-and-bees-hobby]

THANKS for the download "FREE Downloadable "Raising Quality Queen Bees" and I did subscribe again and will follow this series.

[@TNWhiskey1968]

Another GREAT video my brother David! I truly believe the Queen makes or breaks the colony whether it be thru egg laying, temperament or mite or disease resistance. Having a healthy Queen that checks off those boxes is what I will always strive for. Thank you for helping us on what is probably the #1 most important part of our colonies as she is what determines so many aspects that make our colonies strong or weak. Thrive or die.

[@princenephron7546]

This is kind of a minor issue. The typical difference between an aging queen and a healthy queen is pretty negligible... Mites and healthy keeping a steady, healthy flow of resources coming in are farrrr bigger factors.

[@beek]

We'll have to agree to disagree here. I agree that mites and nutrition are huge, but without a strong workforce, no one can bring in resources in great numbers.

[@danielweston9188]

@@beek Yes we will need to disagree . . .

[@lisacarol1433]

😆 you always speak to my fears and obstacles to being a bee keeper.

[@beek]

Thanks Lisa

[@greensmash]

I agree, however it totally sucks tearing the hive apart all the time and trying to find the Queen.

[@beek]

True, but it is just part of beekeeping. If we are going to succeed at beekeeper we have to level up our inspections and monitor our brood/queen.

[@markcross3629]

David this is powerful and what is needed to be successful in bee keeping.

[@beek]

Good to hear

[@philweaver9299]

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@beek]

Same to you!

[@whispershuman5742]

I'm excited!

[@beek]

Good to know

[@charleswrinkle4262]

Randy Wrinkle from Kriegerkeep Bees here. In Texas we have started using peppermint either crushed or whole in our hives to help control the numbers of small hive beetles. This was my first year to use it and it was a tremendous difference. Most hives had no SHB and if I found some it was 1 or 2 max. I will know the truth of the process in a couple of years if this trend continues. You might give it a try to see if it helps. Personally I drop 1 Peppermint disk in each corner and the same on the queen excluder of the second box. I only run 1 deep brood chamber. Then the same number on every super I put on. I lay these on the top bars. I add more as needed each inspection. Good luck!

[@anthonymauceri8919]

That was great thanks, I can wait until spring to start

[@beek]

Wonderful to hear

[@skooterbumm]

great perspective. I think your correct on all of this

[@beek]

Glad you think so!

[@darenguckert8192]

Thou u could leave the grafts in the starter longer until capped right , or put them in a hive above the brood and queen excluder for finishing

[@beek]

Yes and No, I'll answer that in my next video.

[@michaelmartin446]

Great knowledge in this video. When you open a hive, you see a lot of propolis on the top of the top bars and caged bettles. You know you have hive bettles. Your bees are caging them up, so they don't eat your eggs.

[@beek]

Yes beetle jails have been studied for years. Bees actually will feed SHB in the propolis jails and when we open our hives and break open the jails, beetles go everywhere so have the hive tool to ready for smashing.

[@KayiFarmJaHoneyBees]

absolutely true! love the perspective!

[@beek]

Thank you so much! And thank you for being part of our growing KZbin community!

[@howdydoody6634]

Merry Christmas, David!!

[@beek]

Thanks!

[@johnvanderslice7966]

Amen! Somebody finally said it.

[@beek]

Thanks John!

[@heavymechanic2]

Interesting David, this week I was assembling a Queen Castle and ordered two more NUC boxes, and double screen boards in preparation to rear Queens in April. Last spring I went from six colonies to twenty by grafting and now have the assets to to build NUCs for sale.. There is so much information out there and it all says about the same regarding the timeline from egg to capped cell. Like you said, its not hard but you must be committed to the timeline.

[@neilstafford4166]

Merry Christmas David to you and your family. Thank you for the great teaching video that helps us so much.

[@mikek6073]

Thanks David, great content, you’re the best.

[@beek]

Thanks Mike

[@saundimcclain-kloeckener1234]

Thanks for the focus on queen rearing. Still getting that extraction technique down pat. Excited for spring after your Spring Management Course. Wado/thanks & Merry Christmas to you and Sherry.

[@beek]

Thank you so much!

[@dasmaus]

i have one hive that is 24 deep frames in custom 6 frame boxes and it went into winter with 3 mated laying queens in it... had 2 queens last year in the same hive at this time

[@beek]

Very unheard of. I'd like to see them all in a family portrait 🐝 🐝 🐝

[@chuckcampbell3927]

@@beek I'd like to have a copy of that portrait as a keeper. Truly, David, If possible what is the odds of having multiple Queens that produce sustainability?? Would brood growth rate be untenable?

[@pooo90002]

الف الف شكر تمت الترجمة للغة العربية عيدكم سعيد

[@kenthompson6539]

One hive dead here in Ireland. For some strange reason it kept its drones when all other hives had killed them off. The dead cluster had a lot of drones in it. The Queen was laying OK in autumn but what little brood it had, it seems she had become a drone layer in her last days when it was too cold to look in. But today it is 10°© so there were bees flying today.

[@beek]

Sorry to hear Ken, another example of a queen event that crashed the hive.

[@jimlowery3945]

David your videos are improving all the time. Merry Christmas to you and your family

[@beek]

Well thank you, maybe I'm just growing on you 😃

[@beesandtractors]

I am sure loving this series! Merry Christmas to you all!

[@beek]

Thank you so much

[@ericshipplett3517]

Excellent video.

[@beek]

Thanks

[@phyllisflorian3540]

You asked about small hive beetle problems. Here in Michigan, they were plentiful last year. 😒 I have yet to identify an unmarked queen - - IF I can ever get better at this skill, I'll definitely feel more confident about becoming a queenkeeper some day.

[@beek]

Hopefully Phyllis you will gain more skills.

[@phyllisflorian3540]

@@beek After a peek in the 4 hives on this warm day, I'd say yep, I should probably get into queen rearing. One strong hive, one looking a little sparse, and two gone. *sigh*

[@loudimel5068]

Merry Christmas to you and your family.I just hope I have bees this spring after these below zero ,going to find out Thursday going to be 58 here in Ohio

[@beek]

Merry Christmas to you Lou and yes, gonna be near 60 hear next Thursday

[@577bluegrass]

Thank you!

[@beek]

My pleasure!

[@CMPearrow]

That’s what I’ve done since day one ! Everyone is like if you see eggs , larva , yada yada . I want to see her everyday I’m in the hive I want to look her over see what the hive is doing around her .

[@beek]

So true

[@CMPearrow]

@@beek If you say yea I got eggs and stuff , but don’t notice a queen . Your hive is already in shallow water . You need to do a queen hunt by shaking til you find her or isolate some boxes to find her .

[@EDluna1983]

David, how can you make sure you have grafted a fertilized larva versus a drone larva?

[@beek]

That's a great question and I'll answer that in a future video.

[@TheUrbanBeekeepers]

This was great, looking forward to these

[@beek]

More to come and glad you are enjoying it.

[@scotthenderson4376]

When can I start this process? I'm in north Fl I have to wait till I see drone cells correct ? Probably Mid February I'm assuming

[@beek]

Hi Scott. As soon as you have mature drones, but usually when bees naturally swarm in your area is a good time. That's when they are in queen rearing mode anyway.

[@robgarvin5634]

good evening I just tried to make fondant for my bees and it didnt work out. still crystal and can not work with it. can I put it back into the pot and try again thank you

[@beek]

Sorry Rob, I'm afraid I do not know what your mixture is to answer that. Perhaps starting over is best.

[@bernardardis8796]

use peppermint candies to get rid of shb

[@gr8belayr]

I don't need to see the wind to know that it's there. I dont need t directly see the queen because I can see the evidence of her and that tells me how well she's doing.

[@chickabeesapiary7920]

David, will you be speaking at Hive Life 2023? I see you on the list of speakers but not on the schedule...

[@beek]

No, I'm there as a KZbin content creator to see everyone. I do have a booth.

[@chickabeesapiary7920]

@@beek Ok! Thanks for the reply! Looking forward to seeing you there!

[@realliferecruiters]

In Pittsburgh. Still in my first year and loving it. My question is how do i get better taking out the frames to inspect. They have become stuck together. It was easy in the beginning but as the hives grew it became way harder.

[@beek]

Hi Philip, one of the ways is to try and remove the propolis with your hive tool during each inspection. You don't have to spend a ton of time or be meticulous about it, but reducing it each time will help.

[@davidmaloney2724]

You are dead right queen strength is the most important thing if you want success.

[@beek]

Sure is

[@timphillips4623]

Merry Christmas David. Thanks for the content and please keep it up.

[@beek]

Merry Christmas to you too Tim. Glad you are enjoying the videos.

[@markray6000]

I came to the belief that most hives that died out were not from mites as most new beekeepers are led to believe, but from failing or weak queens. Lots of attention or blame has been on mites and rightly so. Unfortunately this tends to overshadow other signs or factors that may have led to a bee colony's demise. I have been a firm believer that MOST hives are lost from weak or failing queens. Companies that produce and sell queens are for profit. The problem is producing high quality queens at massive amounts to meet the demand of new beekeepers. My experience is that there are quite a few DUDS from these queen suppliers. As backyard beekeepers; we put our trust into these companies to produce high quality and well mated queens. I agree with David Burns. The future of successful beekeeping relies on the backyard beekeeper to learn to produce their own well mated queens and management of the queens in all their hives.

[@Xanabys]

Lets go go go i like your idea

[@beek]

Nice

[@mr.msadventures427]

I had the queen leave my hive last fall so now I want to raise queen's at some point, if I raise queen's and don't have any use for them do I have to kill any extra queen I have, I don't think there's enough bee keepers in my area who would be looking for queen's?? What do I do with extras?

[@beek]

What area do you live in. I suspect there is a bee club close enough where people would drive to buy queens from you. Even though I’ve shipped tons of queens many people have driven hours away to buy them.

[@mr.msadventures427]

@@beek I live in Nova Scotia Canada and there is a couple bee supply stores around here, if I raise queen's how many nurse/worker bees is needed for each new queen, in other words, how small can I split up one colony?

[@blackberry5908]

Could you also please explain in the upcoming videos how do people keep these nucs running all the season when they are queenless most of the season ? Is splitting hive constantly needed to keep these nucs alive to put the virgin queen in ? What do we do with the excess queens ? Will be waiting for your new series videos. Thanks again.

[@beek]

Opposite is true, the mating nucs expand so quickly because you you let the queen lay as long as you want before you sell her from it.

[@29Megs]

Hey David, great video. Since swarm cells are commonly along the bottom of the brood, for rearing just a few queens, how about using a medium frame with cups attached along the bottom rail? Would it work better if it’s drawn out and has brood? Just a thought. Thanks.

[@beek]

These types of variations will become frustrating because you cannot control the timing. And it is important that in the starter hive, where the grafts are first placed for 24 hours that they have ABSOLUTELY no open brood that will need to be fed by the nurse bees. All nurse bees need to only feed your new grafts with royal jelly and nothing else.

[@jimm1589]

I could sit outside in the evening and could watch the small hive beetles fly in. They'd fly around the hive for a while trying to hone in on the exact location. Eventually land on the boxes and crawl in,unless I'd smash em first.

[@beek]

What souther state do you live in 😂

[@jimm1589]

@David Burns I'm in Vincennes Indiana not to far from you.

[@beek]

Maybe yours are flying over here 😂

[@jimm1589]

My hive is on concrete. So I know the beetles don't pupate under the hive. I am thinking most of them are coming from a near by feral hive. Not sure tho, but the bees I have at the house was a voluntary swarm that showed up.

[@2ooser]

So I will be starting a hive with Saskatraz bees this Spring. I read you should replace the queen every 2 years. What’s your opinion on this? Thank you in advance.

[@beek]

I usually replace my queens around summer solstice each year. Remember the type of queen is far less important than having superior management skills.

[@debragraff4317]

Were can I goto classes to learn this

[@beek]

Here is a link to my online queen rearing course www.honeybeesonline.com/online-queen-rearing-course-online/

[@donyork8641]

Excellent summary/overview of making my own queens! Thank you!

[@beek]

Thanks Don!

[@kentuckybob]

I'm a new bee keeper this year I looked in on my bees every 2 weeks or there abouts. I still haven't seen my queen. I know she is there from the larvae and capped brood I won't to really find her this spring I won't to learn to mark her so I know where she is so I can check on her health as well

[@beek]

YES Bob, you can do it. Let's become QueenKeepers!

[@donjohnsen6052]

I would like to know what bees make the large queens that we see on utub. My queens are so small that they are not much bigger then the worker bees.

[@beek]

If developing queen bees are fed an ample supply of royal jelly they can possibly become larger. Poorly fed developing queens are usually smaller.

[@jcbethke1]

Yep I nearly lost a new hive to small hive beetles new package a little weak

[@beek]

Yes, SHB can be relentless

[@davidpatrick1813]

David... a quick question. As I learn and try this, ... I have no idea as to overall timeline from winter going into spring etc... In other words, when would I start it and be ready for spring? I can't wait until then to get the things I need etc. and mistime massively. In the meantime, might I buy a "survivor stock" queen and just put in now and then plan on learning and doing the "queen keeping" as I go into the next season? I only have two hives and they are two and three now... no chemicals and seem okay. Yesterday surprised me, I took footage... It seemed like the hive I thought was/is weak either was swarming or maybe ... do they empty the hive and have many fly outside to help dehydrate inside. We have a good amount of rain. I put grass on already restriceted entrance and a bit of smoke outside around and it calmed,, .. but then I saw some girls going in with pollen on their legs or whatever. So I hope I didn't harm anything.

[@beek]

Claiming to have survival stock is iffy at best. Anyone can say anything about a queen and beekeepers believe it unfortunately. The sperm stored in the spermatheca is from 20+ drones so the eggs she is laying will not be able to hold characteristics exactly the same. The best practice for me is to graft from the best hives. Good honey production, survived the winter, and have low mite counts before treatment.

[@davidpatrick1813]

@@beek Excellent explanation aspect. I think last Friday with all that bee activity at the No.2 hive (total of two now) was perhaps a swarm or ... usurpation swarm ( I think it is called ). I'll take a listen when it clears again. I guess there are pros and cons ... so if it was, that might keep me going until I learn the "queen keeping". thanks for doing this for me and un-ins out here in electronic space.

[@skittlesskittles7577]

PLEASE HELP: can someone pls tell me a safe for the bee deterrent? The bee keepers bees have pegged our property, our chickens feed, our RV (living in while we wait for our house to get done) as a place they are VERY interested in. I thought giving them sugar water at the far corner of the property would make them happy but they went through that like nobodies business and it seemed to make things worse. One came through the AC earlier, landed on me without knowing and stung right in the shoulder 😞 I love bees, but they’re a little out of control 😁😬 IF anyone knows how I can at least get them away from the feed and our RV that would be much appreciated!!

[@beek]

Please contact the area beekeeper near you for help. Also you can contact your home extension office or DNR.

[@henryparrott2447]

GREAT SHOW old 👴 man thank you

[@charlestrotter9588]

I’m going to pick up the book at hive life,I’m looking forward to meeting you there!!!

[@beek]

Hi Charles, nice and I look forward to meeting you.

[@serenalinn]

I am hoping to raise queens this next spring. This has been a tough season for me. Fall switched to Winter in 3 days and I wasn't able to get in to get that last check for winterizing. I keep hoping for a warm day. I love how you explain things. Thank you!!

[@beek]

Thank you Serena, I'm glad my videos are helpful and encouraging to you. Good luck, you can do it.

[@bradbrown2168]

Have you considered a love shack ? A small greenhouse with a few horny drones?

[@bjrningebrserud4518]

In Norway many of us focus on queens that have a high hygiene. That mean, we don’t need to have that big focus on varroa, the bee’s take care of it themselves. Merry Christmas to you and your family 🎉🇳🇴😃

[@beek]

Yes, hygienic behavior is huge here in the US too. Merry Christmas.

[@davecavana1031]

So do you treat? Or cage?

[@kennethwiggins7362]

To you in Norway how do I get these queens

[@kennethwiggins7362]

Tell me the way to purchase these queens

[@alondo760]

Such great information for a new beekeeper! Thank you

[@beek]

Thank You Alonso for the THANKS TIP!!

[@pooo90002]

نتمنى ان يتاح ترجمة الفيديو للغة العربية نحن نتابعك من الوطن العربي عيد سعيد على الجميع

[@beek]

ليس لدي فكرة كيف أترجمها إلى العربية ، لكن عيد ميلاد سعيد

[@scotthenderson4376]

Cant we wait until say day 7 to move from the starter hive as long as there is lots of bees and resources in the box

[@beek]

The longer you leave them in the starter after 36 hours some grafts/cells will stop being fed and the nurse bees will focus their limited supply of royal jelly on less grafts. So you will lose many grafts. But if you need just half of what you grafted, sure. But if you wait 7 days, they are capped on day 8 so there is no need to move them out of the starter hive. Leave them in because the nurse bees will just be keeping them warm until they emerge.

[@johnlawler3353]

This is why going into next year as I ramp up my apiary size my focus is going to be on queens.

[@beek]

Good for you John, focusing on queens will be a huge boost for your beekeeping endeavors.

[@johnlawler3353]

Looking forward to pick your brain next week at the conference. I’m also glad that I’ve got that other Burns guy 30 minutes from me that’s there whenever I’ve got questions. 😂

[@beek]

Wow, you are about the 100th person who said they are going to pick my brain. WARNING, there is not alot of it left for the picking 😃

[@robertdoell4321]

Why don;;t queens thrive?

[@beek]

Usually good queens do, but any living organism is susceptible to issues.

[@DougMcHone]

Going into year 2, this series has me super excited! My goal next summer is to expand the apiary through queen rearing and smaller colonies. I have boxes with 3, 4 and 5 frame compartments and want to end up with several splits throughout the season. Each split should naturally involve a brood break as well.

[@beek]

Good plan Doug

[@bettygitz4411]

OMG! You’ve done it again. Your information is always so timely. Thank you so much. I purchased your class on raising queens in November when you had the great sale for your online classes. I’ve now taken them all and am a member of bee6. I’m so hopeful again that my girls make it through the winter. It’s been so incredibly cold and blizzard here over Christmas! Merry Christmas to you both🎄

[@beek]

Thank you so much Betty

[@neilstafford4166]

Merry Christmas David. Thank you for another great video.

[@beek]

Thank you Neil