Beginner Backyard Honey Bee Keeping Questions and Answers Slatted Rack Update Hive Supports and more

[@Adam.Holmes.]

1) What do honey bees go for this time of year, what should I plant? 1:55 2) Do you have an update on the slatted racks? 4:00 3) When putting a nucleus hive in the bee yard, should I lean it against the final hive a few days before installing them so they can get oriented? 9:00 4) Wouldn't it be good to just scoop some bees from a package and test 200-300 for mites instead of treating the entire package? 15:08 5) Do I need to put a Queen Excluder on top of the brood box and under the medium super, or just under the Flow-Hive. Should I take the Queen Excluder off for winter? 19:54 6) How tedious was it to install Iron T-Posts to support your hives? I would like your thoughts on how your stands are working? 25:46 7) What should I do with frames of leftover honey going into spring? I have rotated my boxes and the second box is nearly full of honey with new resources coming in. 31:07

[@schammond8993]

Just saw this one. I've been looking for a hive stand solution. Thanks!

[@FrederickDunn]

Still working great btw :)

[@masterbeekeeper30years18]

You have a singular ability to instruct and educate. Thank you again and again. I send lots of new beekeepers to your site and this channel.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you as always, for your generous comments. It's a pleasure to see you here!

[@weasleoop]

I put up two swarm traps so far. One is by a box hedge and the other is up in a black locust tree.

[@FrederickDunn]

Keep us posted on what's working for you this year Carlos! What kind of swarm traps are you using?

[@weasleoop]

@@FrederickDunn Just self made ones. I posted elsewhere about them.

[@johnmcneill923]

G’d Evenin Fred...another nice QnA... glad you got the patches sorted... look good. Will invest in a large coffee mug and patch... so if you stick a couple of patches in a mug... shipping should be free. So... I am semi retired... a member of Orange County Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers (OC CRGG). So fruit trees are in bloom... all my grafts were successful and bearing fruit. Mangoes are pushing as are avocados, lychees and longans. Persimmons, and cherimoya also pushing new growth. Figs doing OK. We had rain, roof leaks to fix. So all is OK for now... but not same for all and community helping where needed. Take care as we find our way through this challenge.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you John! Wow, sounds like you have a lot going on there! I absolutley enjoy grafting fruit trees. I have a friend with an orchard of long forgotten apples, including sheep nose apples etc. so I took samples and grafted them onto my trees here. It's a great pass time and exciting when they "take"! I wish you would do a KZbin about that! I'd be happy to share the link!

[@johnmcneill923]

Frederick Dunn ...we have a You Tube channel called “Let’s Find Out!” Rick Yessayian is host...the OC chapter teaches members and other interested parties how to graft before our “Gr8 Scion Exchange”...

[@matthewsweeney2577]

Well said👍

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you Matthew :)

[@larag4646]

I used a slatted rack too. Mine overwintered more towards the front of the hive away from the breeze, I guess.

[@FrederickDunn]

Very... innnnteresssting.... hmmmm... I'm liking them more and more... Thanks Lara!

[@larag4646]

@@FrederickDunn I'm in zone 7 so we get cold but we also see 100 in the summer and they were able to stay on the bottom board inside the hive and ventilate the hive. I had a few guard bees at the entrance, maybe two or three outside venting but never had any bearding with it.

[@goodenoughhoney1667]

Thanks for the information

[@6Deep6]

Hi Fred, I am just finishing up my first season of bees, mostly thanks to your videos. I feel things went OK, lots I could do better next season. Something I noticed here in the southern hemisphere that may interest you and creates my question. Due to the hillside, my bees do not get the sun until about 10AM, after that they will get sun until dusk. So I situated the beehives so the entrance faces NW, rather than due straight due north to try and bias the sun exposure to about the middle of the sun time. What has happened in each of my 3 hives is that the bees have made a lopsided hive. The side that gets the first morning sun around 10AM on each hive has more frames of honey on them and the brood is biased to the opposite side of the hive. I have concerns going into winter that the cluster will not reach the outer edges of honey in this lopsided layout. I wonder if you have encountered this before and what your thoughts are on the situation. Should I re-center the brood in the hive? With many thanks, MK

[@FrederickDunn]

HI 6Deep6 it's been a while! YES, this is something that I have been meaning to talk about in my FAQ videos. I'll talk about it on Friday. What you're describing also happens here, my bees fill frames to the east by southeast first and then towards the west. This will be demonstrated in the horizontal hive and is why I want to talk about it a little more. Since you are the opposite of my solar exposure... consider slightly rotating your hive entrance/face until they begin to build out evenly. It's going to be a slow process and swapping frames around, I think, won't solve their natural instinct to store where the warmth is early in the day.

[@6Deep6]

@@FrederickDunn Yes its been too long Fred! I've been building a new house (off grid) since DEC and didn't get power going and Internet until 3 weeks ago. I missed your videos! I was afraid you might say that about the bees...Hard to move them around now as I used steel posts bashed deep into the ground as part of the hive stands. I'll have to think about what to do here. I agree their natural instinct will make this a frequently recurring issue.

[@user-md4di6yg2p]

Thanks Frederick! It's people like you that are helping us maintain a sense of calm in this, shall we say, "interesting" time we're experiencing. (and thanks for addressing what to do with leftover frames of honey this spring...I was just thinking about that the other day!)

[@FrederickDunn]

You are very welcome Steve, thank you for watching and commenting.

[@madddog7]

Very much looking forward to your long hive series. (I may have said that before :-). With a bad back at 70 yo., my long hive makes beekeeping possible. Nearly thru my (our) first winter. 67*F and breezy today; 29*F last night. I dropped in 4 frames of BetterComb (BC) a couple of weeks ago and checked today. They seem to be taking to it. Placed the BC sorta outside the brood radius, I think I am finding pollen (yellow stained cells & yellow pollen coming in the 'front door' and honey (glistening in the light). No brood in the BC yet. Need to get new glasses. Found a huge number of capped drone cells and only a couple of queen cups. As my mentor says, my queen is "a beast" and I would not want to lose her. Also a lot of capped worker cells and without having brushed bees aside, seems to bee a fair number of eggs. Thanks for all you do, Fred.

[@FrederickDunn]

That is great news, thank you for sharing your progress!

[@Henry.Bendik]

How exactly would you perform an OAV on a package / bee bus, w/ a plastic bag or place into another container of some kind? That would be good to see.

[@FrederickDunn]

Install the package in the hive box first... then treat them in the hive and add the Queen after an hour. :)

[@Henry.Bendik]

AH! install first then treat. Makes sense, thanks@@FrederickDunn

[@weasleoop]

Out of all my hives. No Varroa at all. I found one hive beetle. Not too bad.

[@FrederickDunn]

Insanely good news Carlos! You're definitley doing something right! :)

[@timothylewicki7381]

Hi Fredrick, How does the queen prepare for flight before a swarm? I know the queen is normally not supposed to be able to fly after her mating flight. Great channel, learning alot from watching.

[@FrederickDunn]

HI Timothy, I will talk about this on Friday during the next FAQ Video. The queen never does another "mating" flight, but they can fly again. The workers push her around and the nurse bees reduce her food resources which causes her to lose weight and get some exercise in the process. Then she can fly out with the swarm. It's an interesting behavior. Thanks for watching and asking that question!

[@weasleoop]

I opened my hives up. The ones that used the slatted racks. There were no bees piled up at all. But it does look like they like that slatted rack for room to hang down. But I guess my bees are just too hygienic to let bees pile up at all.

[@FrederickDunn]

Depending on your weather there, they may have already done some house keeping! :) My bees are only getting isolated days where flying is an option at any meaningful level. I think you're going to have a great year Carlos, always nice to read your posts!

[@JBEESHoneyJoelBrutcher]

Thanks Fred! Looks like I'll be spending time painting and assembling hive equipment this weekend. Hope everyone stays safe and healthy🙏😁

[@FrederickDunn]

I just wish it was warmer in the shop! I can't wait to finish so many bee-yard projects! I can't afford to heat the building!

[@JBEESHoneyJoelBrutcher]

Frederick Dunn Weather not cooperating here either really want to use paint sprayer but to cold outside I’m afraid.

[@twistedcrazytrucker4250]

Can you show how to oav a package in detail do you put the cage in box an do it do you take out the queen or leave everything in

[@FrederickDunn]

I will be showing that video when the packages arrive this year. It will be a part of my package health evaluation.

[@errcl65]

Any down side to putting dry pollen supplement directly in the round feeders atop each hive over community dry feeding?

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, please keep it outside the hive. Some pests are drawn to it and not all colonies want or would use it. Much better to offer it outside the hives and away from the apiary to take advantage of their selection and foraging practices/instincts.

[@MarcellaSmithVegan]

Chewy.com is good also for Pet food and supplies :)

[@JakeBeesos]

Hi everyone.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hey Jake!

[@matthewhaldane425]

G'day Fred. I'd love to hear some tips about how to obtain drawn frames that can be set aside to use with swarms etc. Another issue that has me confused is leaving honey coated equipment near hives for the bees to clean up.... Is this bad practice if I have 3 hives in close proximity? Many thanks

[@FrederickDunn]

I would never ever leave honey coated frames or equipment alongside a hive for cleanup. this is why I much prefer to have a feeding/robbing station where frames and equipment are staged for cleanup. The problem with putting that against a hive, or on it, is that when there is nothing left to clean up, they start putting pressure on the resident hive.

[@thinless4439]

I was wondering why you alternate between an acorn waxed frame and a foundation less frame? What is the purpose for that?

[@BESHYSBEES]

Checkerboarding, If you use all foundation less the bees will build comb through the cavity with a wild comb, by using the solid frames in a checkerboard the bees are restricted to working on and between the frames making them follow the frame, I like to 180 the frames a couple weeks after they’re installed to help prevent the bees cross combing or bracing

[@FrederickDunn]

Excellent response Beshy! :)

[@TerryRomanko]

Another great video. Thanks Fred!! I'm looking forward to getting my first bees near the end of April. I was putting a few more wood frames together and putting Acorn dipped plastic foundation in them. I've seen before and now that there are cutouts in tow of the corners (which I put in the bottom). I'm assuming this is to "pop" them out so that the bees can move through the lower corners. Do you use these and/or do you see any real benefit in popping them out?

[@FrederickDunn]

yes, those are so you can snap those corners off. I did that in the past and the bees put drone comb in the openings :) I can talk about this a little more on Friday. Thanks Terry!

[@noahzegart5190]

how do you build a swrm trap

[@FrederickDunn]

You can build to these dimensions, or take the fast track and just buy one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZ-tpYyAl8-Kh5o

[@weasleoop]

I made two of these this weekend. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHKqdaVpf953etk

[@fgronstadt]

Hey Fred, how do the bees clean out the entrance of their dead sisters in the wild? I'm also wondering if the entrance should always be small since they tend to be small in the wild. Thanks!!!

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Fred, I'll talk a little about this on Friday. Most wild nests end up with a pile of various bio-matter at the bottom which can bee quite deep. There is a cycle of decomposition and renewall in wild tree-hives. They have lots of help from other organisms.

[@fgronstadt]

@@FrederickDunn I look forward to hearing about that. Things we can't replicate in the backyard apiary...

[@fgronstadt]

@@FrederickDunn Thanks for the explanation and picture! I just received two Saskartaz bee buses from Mann Lake that I'll be installing tomorrow! Wish me luck!

[@MarcellaSmithVegan]

Just remembered its Fred Friday!!! :). I had decided to wait a couple years before starting, then I hit the BUY button on a bee suit, hehehe, thank you Fred, I couldn't do this or enjoy this new hobby without you :). But with the move this year, next spring will be my season!

[@madddog7]

Might I suggest putting on your bee suit while watching Fred :-)

[@235112347]

When adding supers; if I have 2 supers (one drawn and one foundation) should I: 1. Start with the drawn super 2. Start with the foundation super 3. Checkerboard the two and put one on? Trying to get them to draw as fast as possible and fill with honey.

[@FrederickDunn]

I would start with the drawn super, that's the fastest build up and they can expand into the other frames and get that founcation drawn out soon. But giving them ready-cells will be the best for a quick start. :)

[@kenblew2625]

Great videos Mr. Dunn. 1:1 sugar water or left over capped honey frames from last fall? I'm getting a package Monday and putting them in a 10F deep with drawn comb. Can I put a med. box with leftover honey frames (still in the freezer) on top the deep when we install the bees? Or should we feed 1:1 right away? NE Kansas temp are still swinging from 30f to 70f on some days. When we put the capped honey in the freeze we had planned on feeding it to our other 2 hives this winter but they didn't need it. We too are planning to OA Vap the package. Thanks for all you do.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Ken... we'll talk about this Friday. I would not add the medum box to a newly installed package.. I think you're better off offering the Syrup until they are starting up well. The extra space could stress them, even though it's loaded with honey. I'll talk more about why I think this is best... thanks :)

[@kenblew2625]

@@FrederickDunn Thank you, we've been keeping bees for 364 days (:

[@johnmcneill923]

Fred... I didn’t see the patches on the site ???

[@FrederickDunn]

There is a link in the video description, please try it again and let me know if it doesn't work? I'll fix it asap if it fails.. I did re-do the page yesterday because people were having problems selecting color or black and white: www.fredsfinefowl.com/thewaytobee.html

[@johnmcneill923]

Frederick Dunn ...ok got it thanks...

[@kenjackson4471]

Holly are horribly invasive here in the Pacific Northwest. It is all out war on our Oregon tree farm.

[@FrederickDunn]

Wow, an example of how different climates and zones can have a very different experience with the same plant species. There are a few different varieties of Holly, can you specifically identify the species you're dealing with there? I'd like to know more. Do you see honey bees on them during their flowering stage?

[@kenjackson4471]

Ilex aquifolium. European Holly. Christmas decoration industry is big in W. Oregon. Birds love the berries. We find trees up to 15’ in our woodlot on occasion. Mostly smaller. They must be dug out as they sprout vigorously when cut. There are a couple of species native to your area. Fred, you have inspired my young grandkids. Today they will add artwork to my two new bee boxes. We all learn much from you and truly appreciate you efforts.

[@kevmo7773]

I’ve seen homade bee boxes with built in -not separate bottom board. What would be the advantages or disadvantages of that?

[@FrederickDunn]

Just the difficulty in cleaning out that bottom board surface and you can't rotate boxes. I have several swarm boxes that are attached/screwed to bottom boards.

[@stevekleinman7209]

You mentioned that you are going to treat your new package of bees with oxalic acid as a test to see what mite load they are carrying. I thought that you cannot effectively treat for mites while the bees are clustered (and when I received my package of bees last spring, they were tightly clustered). Please comment. Thank you.

[@FrederickDunn]

That's not the same as a winter/cold weather cluster. When the package is in 60 degrees or warmer, the OAV will be effective. Thanks for that question, I can see why someone may think it wouldn't work. Packages are vented on all sides, a cluster between frames if virtually fume proof.

[@LaraLovesBees]

Hey there, Fred! So I went into one of my hives today and saw a newly emerged virgin....who was piping! So cool! One other hive seemed to have lost their queen (she may have flown off during an inspection) and later, *after seeing all emergency queen cells removed by the bees, I couldn't find a queen. Is it frowned upon to put in a frame of eggs/larvae/resources even though the queen may be present but not spotted? I was thinking it would be a boost if she is present but on a mating flight...or...a chance for the bees to start some emergency cells if there is actually no queen and to prevent laying workers.* Your thoughts? Feel free to wait until Friday to answer. Many thanks!

[@BESHYSBEES]

Lara M it’s fine to swap brood frames as long as you have enough workers to cover them, if the bees have pulled down the queen cells it’s most likely you have a queen but didn’t spot her, usually the workers as a backup will protect a later cell from the queen by covering it tightly and keep the queen away until she is mated and laying, it’s advised not to enter the colony while there is a virgin because the workers can blame her for the intrusion and ball her

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Lara, I will talk about this on Friday, lots of options! :) and of course, considerations.

[@FrederickDunn]

great info Beshy, since the queen is piping still, she's fresh. You can expect her to go up to two weeks before you see any new eggs. There is a lot to it, so we'll have that discussion.

[@LaraLovesBees]

@@BESHYSBEES Yes, on the hive with the piping queen, I did see one cell with a would-be queen being uncapped by the workers ( I didn't see a hole in the side where the Virgin would have stung her but she didn't appear to be moving). I did see at least one other perfectly intact cell being covered by workers. That's when I heard the piping, spotted the Virgin and immediately closed up that hive. On the hive with all of the cells torn down, I had tried earlier to cut out one of the emergency cells and donate it to a split. I was very careful to brush the bees off the frame to get to the cells, got distracted, then my brain turned off completely...because I shook the frame to get the bees off!! I know the workers can't tell if a queen inside the cell is damaged, so did one of them emerge and take out the rest? Conversely, do the workers know that the queens are overdue to emerge, know they are all no longer viable, then tear down the cells (here in lies my confusion)? I didn't see any cells being guarded for a later hatch (that is some good info, thank you!), thus the decision to give them another shot at it with the egg/larvae frame. Also, if there is indeed a virgin, I'm worried that she is defective because of my lapse in judgement and maybe she can't fly. Or, if she can fly, when she returns, will they ball her because of my inspection and then use the larvae to start a new queen? Either way, I won't be going into that hive for the next two weeks, in protection of the Virgin or to see if new emergency cells have been built. Heart-breaking lesson!

[@BESHYSBEES]

Lara M it’s not the end of the world, bees have been looking after themselves for 100 million yrs, you’ve got time if you wait and there is no queen in a couple weeks it’s no big deal so don’t stress just give them a frame of eggs they should start again, sit close enough to the entrance so you can see the bees if they are bringing pollen in? If so you’ve usually got a layer pollen is protein for brood no brood no need to forage pollen

[@MrScottnewburn]

Do you use a slatted rack with your flow hive 2?

[@FrederickDunn]

Some yes, and some no. Eventually they will all have them.

[@PGrace-ch8mj]

When you receive a nuc - does this nuc also include forager bees or is it nurse bees primarily? If it is just nurse bees primarily and no foragers - how long is it before the nurse bees are old enough to turn into foragers?

[@FrederickDunn]

A nucleus hive has nurse bees, and foragers with everything inbetween. It's a complete colony. Package bees would include mostly foragers.

[@PGrace-ch8mj]

@@FrederickDunn Hi, Fred, I had to chuckle at this as I read my reply. . .thinking good grief, did someone post with my identity? Then I looked at when it was posted. It is amazing how much you learn in just a few short years. Thank you for your answer! If I asked as a spanking new(beek), then others will have the same question. 😊

[@twistedcrazytrucker4250]

Can you feed to much sugar water I think I have the queen do not have a place to lay what do I do about that

[@FrederickDunn]

If there is a nectar flow on, you don't need sugar syrup. If your Queen doesn't have cells to lay in and they aren't building wax comb fast enough, consider adding a few frames of BetterComb which is available at BetterBee. If you have frames of comb and they are all full, it's time to add another super on asap. :)

[@ericmanteuffel6403]

Question regarding the slatted racks. I am thinking about building one (instead of buying one) so it matches my cedar flow hive. Anyways, why aren't the slats the same depth as the outside frame boards? i.e. If the slatted rack is 2 inches tall, why aren't the 10 (or 8) inside racks that line up with the frames 2 inches tall instead of the 3/4 inch square boards supplied with most preassembled ones? It would seem to make more sense everything would be the same depth. Please let me know. Thanks

[@FrederickDunn]

Part of the design it to provide a congragation area for the bees below the slats. If the slats ran the full 2" depth, that would be lost.

[@ericmanteuffel6403]

@@FrederickDunn That makes sense. So leave some space below the slats. What about extending the shelf all the way down to the entrance? So instead of space above the entrance below the shelf, it would create a 4 inch tunnel? Would that help defend the hive better from wasps and/or other bees? What do you think?

[@FrederickDunn]

@@ericmanteuffel6403 I think that actually may be worth testing, Eric. If you do that modification, please make videos and share the results :) I can't say it's a bad idea other than they may tend to run comb through that area if it's at the normal clearance. You'd need to make it 3/8" clearance to prevent that.

[@ericmanteuffel6403]

@@FrederickDunn Okay. My Flow Hive arrives next week. Then I can check the clearances above the entrance and make sure if I do extend the shelf down, it remains the correct 3/8 inch clearance. The pain part is finding the cedar I want (that matches the FH) without having to rip everything and unfortunately, my table saw is buried in my shed. Then I am taking everything to a gentleman who will hot wax dip all the wood parts.

[@ericmanteuffel6403]

@@FrederickDunn Okay, so I did some more thinking about the slatted rack. On one hand, I like the idea of the shelf extending the hive entrance back another few inched for wasp protection (in theory). On the other hand, I don't like the fact a board will catch all kinds of things below the frames (i.e. mites, bee parts and comb) instead of the debris falling out below the screen. Also, I read the bees will build comb down from the slats. The one thing I really like about the idea, is moving the comb (frames) another couple inches above the entrance and enticing the queen to fill the frames all the way to the bottom of such comb/frames. I like the idea of a wood buffer space. Hmmmm, what to do. Make my own without the shelf and 1x2 inch slats all the way across. Or just buy the prefabbed slatted rack.

[@aaronluecking3597]

Good evening Fred, found an interesting tree to try this year and perhaps you are already aware of this tree.Tetradium Daniellii- aptly named the Bee Bee tree from Korea. Blooms in August, great late summer provider of nectar for bees. Zones 5-8, sorry. Logees seems to be one of only a few commercial growers in the states that provide small to medium starts. Thought I’d give it a try. Just sharing some plant information.

[@FrederickDunn]

Keep us posted on how that goes Aaron.

[@danieltaylor8113]

I love the patches mr fred. Awesome to get a shout out. I was shocked at how cheap shipping was. I am excited to get them. Today was rainy here in germany and i sat down and did some work on frames. I am so ready to had better weather and start inspections

[@FrederickDunn]

We are all waiting for better weather Daniel :) and absolutely, those patches exhist because you asked for them :)

[@beemanjam]

Great talk Fred love my “Bee Guru” shirt.

[@FrederickDunn]

Ohh thank you for buying that :) !

[@joelwhite4963]

I've had a turnip patch the past 2 years. I let it it bolt and have some nice yellow flowers in early spring. They reseed themselves. Also rapeeseed is very good for bees. Just got a swarm this evening hanging on a red cedar tree. I lucked out and the queen ended up in the box when I shook the branch. It only took 30 minutes for all the workers to march into the box. And it looks like my swarm box has some bees moving in today. They seem to be aggressive so I will probably requeen them this summer. Three stings so far this week, it actually feels kinda good. It's like a sign of spring.

[@FrederickDunn]

Sounds like you are off to a fantastic start! Ah yes, I can understand how a familiar sting, can be a marker of the season!

[@linusritter9280]

why do my bees starve out every year I don't take honey(not all the hives but most), is my be cozy keeping it to warm? that they are to active I can't figure it out.

[@BESHYSBEES]

I don’t know your situation but bees starving can have a lot to do with the strain of bees you keep, Italians are notorious for it they tend to keep breeding into winter and have too many bees for the amount of stores. Dry sugar as an emergency food reserve?

[@FrederickDunn]

I will address this on Friday :)

[@linusritter9280]

@@BESHYSBEES I did have sugar but they seemed to leave it alone the one hive I have survived 7 years now, if the breed is what is the matter I think I will try to make Queens off that hive, thank you

[@BESHYSBEES]

Linus Ritter lots of factors especially in the cold north, I’m an Aussie in the Southern Hemisphere so it’s a little different for us down under.

[@BESHYSBEES]

Linus Ritter supplementary pollen feeding before winter usually helps make thicker tougher bees for winter did you feed them right up til they aren’t flying?

[@lizmichel8239]

I want a coffee cup how do i get it

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Liz, thanks for asking! freds-fine-products.preview.teespring.com/mugs

[@surindersarwara4452]

Hi I always enjoy your videos I have question for you Please let me know if you harvest any more products besides honey like pollen Royal jelly venom etc If you do so what is the market like I am located in Canada

[@FrederickDunn]

I only harvest honey. I did pollen as a test of pollen traps, but other than that, nothing more.

[@gcpd727]

I have the flow hive 2 and I'm the guy who is getting 2 packages of bees with 1 Queen ( lesson learned lol). Wondering if it's a good idea when I get my bees to put them in the actual flowhive , minus the flow frames and have the queen cage near a viewing window so as not to disturb the bees. Would this be an issue when it's time to move the flow box up and install flow frames. Then I would move the frames to a new box. Basically I'm wondering if I can view the bees when I install them and when frames are full move them to brood box? Great video today.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Jake! I'll talk more about this on Friday! I always recommend installing in the brood box right away with extra frames already installed. I don't see a huge advantage to being able to use the windows to observe the Queen during that period. I'll talk about this a little...

[@kelleydoggett495]

Thanks for answering the question! After I thought about it yesterday it made sense 1 no dead bees 2 almost zero mites to start the year and 3 a good mite count! Thanks again!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you for the question Kelley! If it weren't for people like you, I'd have nothing to talk about :)

[@frankspataro9714]

Hey fred I pulled a bunch of capped honey out of my hives today from last year and gave em drawn comb with some honey on it seemed like there starting to rock and roll

[@FrederickDunn]

Excellent! I think this is going to be a great beekeeping year! So many good stories coming in.

[@markkoster1070]

Hi Fred. Long time listener. If you have to move a colony like 2-3 feet will that be ok. Part 2. I have signed up to creat my back field by the bees to a program called song birds game birds and pollinators. Problem is I will have to burn the field then in November spray the growing grasses to kill. In the spring I would do the planting for the program. Your thoughts and ideas how to do this safely would be appreciated. I’m very worried about doing this. Thanks and can’t wait for your ideas. Mark

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Mark, not sure where you're located, but sometimes you can contact a local volunteer Fire Dept. to do a controlled burn and use it for training. They offer that where I live. I also like using propane burners which are often towed behind a tractor and they exhaust the plant roots by "scortching" green leaves. Takes several cycles but is very effective and adds ash to the soil which benefits your plantings. I would move your bee colony a foot every couple of days until it's where you want it to be. If you are still cold where you live, that's going to be easy this time of year.

[@markkoster1070]

Frederick Dunn I’m in southeast Indiana near Cincinnati Ohio. Actually moves on Friday evening was cold and basically they have not been out for a day and a half. Probably won’t be out today it’s sunny but high of 42. A few will come out so going to watch them. So your also saying don’t spray correct?

[@roberthowells]

Hi Fred. I am going to paint a few new hives, but I am not sure what kind of paint to use or what colors are the best for the bees in this NW PA climate. A dark color would absorb heat (maybe too much) and a light color might not absorb enough. What colors do you recommend and what type of paint is best?

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Bert! When I paint, I use exterior semi-gloss latex... Valspar is my preferred brand. When I want to preserve the wood appearance, Helmsman's Marine Varnish 3-coats minimum. Some of the cedar hives only have painted roofs with the bodies left alone. Because summer sun is nearly directly overhead during the hottest time of day, good overhangs and of course, HIve-Visors will make a lot of difference if there is no shade. I don't use white or black, anything inbetween will do nicely :)

[@roberthowells]

@@FrederickDunn Thanks Fred. I think that I am going to use yellow semi-gloss latex, since I just happen to have a gallon left over from a previous job. Stay well!

[@errcl65]

What to do with frames from dead hive with some white mold, dead bees, dead brood? I picked the dead out and wash the frames. Some white mold developped and I froze them 24hrs. Can I leave them out to be robbed and cleaned?

[@FrederickDunn]

I would spray them down with a 10% bleach solution, then left to dry and the bees do clean up that white mold which is generally due to high moisture and low bee numbers.

[@wendybachman6224]

I'm expecting my first rooster this year! I'm excited...I have always wanted one. It's a Salmon Favorelles as I read those are the gentlest, friendliest fellows. I want my 4 yo daughter to be able to visit her ladies without fearing attack, lol.

[@FrederickDunn]

That's fantastic Wendy! And yes, just have your daughter hand raise and frequently interact with your little roo and they will be excellent friends :)

[@angelacross2216]

Is that an extra large landing board at the beginning of the video? It seems like such a good idea since the landing board is always a bit of a bottleneck for tired, full, bees, so why is it not more common, maybe the shape makes storage more difficult?? Why do I watch your videos when I no longer keep honeybees? It’s the respect you show to bees and the environment, your endless curiosity about them, and a willingness to be an iconoclast.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much Angela! :) Yes, that's a large landing board with wind-baffles which serve to save a lot of landing energy for the bees. I did that after observing foragers returning in a cross wind and getting blown off several times before making successful landings. You are very observant and I appreciate that! :)

[@stgermain1074]

Goats are hard to keep contained. I left up one of my dead colonies from last Fall as a swarm trap. Yesterday (in the 70's) I saw a few bees inside. Do you think they may be scouts for a swarm?

[@FrederickDunn]

My goats just followed me around :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZLHhaivgZ6DZrM Scout bees do begin their inspections very early on, they could be indeed, particularly if there is no food or resources in that hive box.

[@matthewsweeney2577]

It’s the yankee way “it’s the way we have always done it”. I appreciate your videos, very helpful!

[@jpthedelawarebeeman6239]

Hi again Fred, boy oh boy have you been busy today. Good odds on the hive surviving.

[@FrederickDunn]

HI JP, it was certainly a pleasant surprise. I hope they continue to hold up until the real nectar flow hits us.

[@keithkareiva9615]

Hey Fred. Great vids as usual. I may have missed this, but you were going to show the inside of the bald faced hornet nest that you removed. Just interested in seeing your insight into that construction.

[@FrederickDunn]

HI Keith, that nest completely fell apart and wasn't a good candidate for a presentation. I'll probaby try again this year if I can find a better one. Thanks for asking about that.

[@hadrast]

Now that I can declare the overwintering of my first hive a success, I'd like to present my personal saga of nuc installation as further food for thought, given my relatively unorthodox setup. For various reasons, after much poring through online resources, I decided to take a whack at beekeeping last year with a cathedral hive (purchased as a DIY kit), and resolved to obtain a nuc as a starter population, given the widely documented advantages over packages. I had difficulty finding a source for said nuc, however, and when I finally secured one locally in May, I found myself with 5 (well populated) medium, plastic-foundation wooden frames in my homemade temporary deep nuc box. This presented a sticky dilemma, as skinny, long, rectangular medium Langstroth frames do not fit in place of or mount onto the top bars of a hexagonal cathedral hive. The plastic foundation also meant that I could not cut up the frames, and, at any rate, I was averse to sacrificing any of the precious brood. My initial idea, to butt the two hive entrances up against each other with some scrap wood in between to join them into one big Frankenhive (with one side of the scrap wood "hallway" serving as the external entrance), proved to be only superficially successful. The bees patrolled the cathedral side as if it were their own, and they inspected the small bits of burr comb I had mushed onto the top bars as seed pieces, but the only comb development happened on the underside of the medium frames in the nuc. As temperatures rose in the heat of summer, I started to worry; while the cathedral was constructed with soffit and roof venting to keep temperatures low, the nuc was shielded from the sun by a mere layer of particle board. Bees were evacuating into the cathedral during the daytime. I resorted to capturing the queen (in a queen clip) and moving her manually into the cathedral hive, and she quickly took refuge among the fragments of seed comb on the top bars, but within a few hours, she had simply marched back into the nuc. While that confirmed the success of the Frankenhiving, it was clear that neither my queen, nor her subjects, would stay in the cathedral over the nuc. Drat. Finally, with August looming near, I concluded that more decisive action was in order. First, I captured the queen and set her aside. I then separated the nuc from the cathedral, and unceremoniously dumped half of the nuc's population onto the cathedral's landing board. Last, I released the queen onto the landing board, and watched her scurry into the cathedral, hopefully for the last time, fleeing from the midday light. I then placed the nuc a good yard away, facing in a different direction, while the cathedral remained in its original spot. Over the next few days, I verified that the bees were staying in their respective hives, with the nuc side tending to the brood, and the cathedral side in a comb-building frenzy. Over the next few weeks, I conducted weekly "shakedowns", where about half of the remaining nuc population would be dumped onto the cathedral landing board, and once the brood had dwindled away, I evicted the rest similarly, and laid the nuc parts out in front of the cathedral to be picked clean. While a wacky adventure in retrospect, I think I managed to preserve most of the advantages afforded by the nuc's resources, shakedowns notwithstanding. I'm also hoping that, by keeping the external entrance of the hive in the same spot, I was able to minimize confusion. At the very least, any bees attempting to enter the "Frankenhive" were able to follow the same route into the (cathedral) hive even after the nuc half "fell off". Thoughts?

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you for sharing this and I'll address it on Friday. It's a lesson in new bee installation and I think many will find it helpful to know how to avoid complications that can arise from incompatible frames/designs. Thank you again...

[@BrohamerT]

I would like to say at the start that I really appreciate the time and information you share with newbies, such as myself. I decided about a month ago that I am going to jump in to this wonderful hobby this spring. I plan on having 2 10-frame Lang hives going. Over the past 2 weeks, I have binge-watched your entire beginner's series of videos and have found them so educational. Thank you for that! I feel a lot more comfortable now as I prep my apiary and wait for the 2 Nucs that I'm picking up locally at the beginning of May. All of that said, I have a question concerning an answer you gave in today's video. The person had asked about what to do with the capped honey frames they now have that had been treated for mites. Your answer to using those later at the robbing station made complete sense, and I even guessed that would be your answer ;-) The clarification I'm looking for is that is it correct to assume I would need to have removed all of my human-consumption supers prior to putting those tainted honey frames out for robbing? I would think this to be the case, as you wouldn't want that honey to get brought back to the hive and stored in your personal honey super. Can you verify I'm thinking correctly? Thanks again for sharing your time and knowledge. (Sorry for being so long-winded.)

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Tom! I wondered when someone would ask that! The only time frames are offered at the robbing station is after the late season harvest when the honey supers have been removed and the end of the year dearth is upon them. So that honey is winter stores only. I will re-address this on Friday to make sure people unerstand that methodology. Thanks! :)

[@richardkuhn4358]

Lowes is Walmart LOL

[@FrederickDunn]

Lowe's and Walmart are independent companies, and neither owns the other. Lowe's is owned by Lowe's Company Inc., and Walmart is owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. owns the Walmart line of department stores and the Sam's Club line of membership-only warehouse stores.

[@robertmathurin3716]

🇱🇨👊👍🖤