I need your help. The Army Bee Barn is dying. Can you save it?

For more frequent updates in between videos please visit the Bug Farmer Instagram page: / thebugfarmer
About this video: In today's video I need your help to deiced how to proceed. The Army bee barn is in pretty bad shape and I nee your help to save the hive.
This Channel:
Although this beekeeping channel is primarily about beekeeping I am also a quasi pepper who believes in becoming self-sufficient. With that in mind, I have started a garden, planted fruit trees, replaced the hedges in front of my house with blueberry bushes, and have recently built a chicken coop. In short, I will share a lot more than beekeeping on this channel.
A little about me:
I am a person who believes you are never to old to learn something. Be it beekeeping, farming, raising chickens, painting, filming and editing video, making wine, beer, bread, cheese, and other fermentation consumables, play guitar etc... If I see something I want to try I start it immediately. If there is one thing I could choose to pass along to my children this would be it. Never be afraid to try. My wife famously told me once that if you are not willing to be bad at something, you will never be good at it. I am bad at quite a few things.
I hope you find my beekeeping videos fun and entertaining as well as get something out of them. I hope I inspire someone to get out and try something new. If you do enjoy my videos, please take a moment to spread the word about this channel and help it, and myself, grow. Have a great day and BEE Happy!
###############################################################
The gear I use:
Primary Camera: Sony FDRAX53/B 4K HD
Secondary Camera: Sony FDRAX53/B 4K HD
Primary MIC: Sony ECMXYST1M Stereo Microphone
Secondary MIC: Sony ECMXYST1M Stereo Microphone
Tripod: GEEKOTO Camera Tripod
Editing Software: Adobe Premier
Graphics Package: Adobe Photoshop
Learning Final Cut Pro

[@BugFarmerBees]

Please provide a solution to the Army hive or leave a like on a solution proposed in another comment. I will be working that hive on Sunday the 14th and do whatever is the most popular solution. Also, if you stayed for the gripe session at the end, sorry you had to listen to that. Sometimes I need to rant 🙂

[@dcrosco1458]

Before I started keeping bees I would of said to you let them die off. NOW I am keeping bees I think you should put all the bees in another colony and start fresh with a package or swarm of bees. It is sad to see the colony go.

[@sndgo1]

I don't know if you can take the bees from the first small hive you inspected and move it the army hive and take the bees from the army hive and add them to the second smaller hive you inspected.

[@paulahello7435]

If you have a decent nuc with a laying queen I would do a paper combine. She will have the time to build the hive for winter. I would also possibly steal a frame of brood to boost the hive.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@kylebartholomew395]

I agree with what others have said--newspaper combine with one of your Vevor hives. Probably it makes the most sense to do the combine with the weaker of the two, although you do run the risk of the army hive laying worker killing the Vevor queen. It's probably worth the risk in my opinion. Combining will boost that queen's population and resources since the army bee barn still has some honey. Leave the pollen patty and consider adding a bucket of syrup. After they combine, I would put a queen excluder to ensure the queen is below and then cycle out the deep frames as the brood emerges and use the drawn comb elsewhere. The goal should be to fill the bee barn completely with as many bees as possible so the girls can hit the goldenrod flow to stock up for winter. Oh and pray the goldenrod flow is decent this year 😉

[@HappyLittleBees-qh1yp]

If you newspaper combine with one of the resource hives, you should use the STRONG hive - NOT the weak hive. The strong hive has a better chance of taking over the bee barn, and making it into a working hive, while the weaker resource hive has a higher chance of failing if added to the Army bee barn. So... I would shake ALL the Army girls out, put the STRONGER resource hive (first one you entered / screen left) on top of the Army Hive bee barn, and let them sort it out. With a laying worker, I don't know how you can recover from this without first shaking out the bees. Fun experiment! Best of luck with it! [funny how "BEE BARN" in this font, lower case, looks like "BEE BAM"] 😎

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@rsquared3542]

After 6 weeks of trying to get two of my hives to rear their own queen - I bought 2 queens. They simply refused to do it. No eggs at all. I have successfully done this since 2007/2008. Just last year I did 10 walk away splits - 100% success rate although one was a little stubborn. The only difference between this year and previous years - one hive this year was a swarm, second was a rescue. Previous years were either packaged bees or NUCs with an Italian queen. So my vote, in the middle of July, is I need brood now not later so buy a queen lol I would also add a few fully capped brood frames or emerging brood frames to the hive. These new queens I purchased took off like it was a race to lay eggs. So for me it worked out better to purchase the queens. One hive did manage to rear their own (I just missed it somehow). Each of the hives have 3 - 3 1/2 frames of brood and the reared queens haven’t emerged yet.

[@rsquared3542]

1 queen was direct released and the other had a 3 day wait to be released. It looked a little iffy if they would accept her or not.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@mjp5318]

Few things to input A) 50 dollars for a pack of Tshirts is absolutely insane . B) no one wants to smell like a urinal cake, selsun blue had that staple smell to it , like baby powder or playdough and its a shame they have to mess up good things C) I think you should combine that 2nd vevor hive into the army hive throw a 2 gallon bucket of sugar water on top with the patty and let the chips fall where they may. Like you said that 2nd vevor is doing ok, but not great, but if it has a queen , you can kill 3 birds with 1 stone , Queen/Feeding/boost the population up a small bit to help them get off the ground .. Just my thoughts , I learn from your Jedi Master Skills .

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@BrianCooper901]

If you do end up shaking out the bee barn it would be interesting to see the inside and how everything is holding up. I am combining mode since we are getting later in the year, but I don't know the best approach but it'll be fun to see what you do. Thanks for sharing!

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@redhare976]

I think you should dump the hive in the grass and move another colony in. any bees that can bribe their way in wins. The ARMY is strong and will come back.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@brianbennett4374]

Combine with a strong hive too late in season to play 😊

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@daveb8598]

I have a similar situation, have a hive that swarmed last month but their new queen didn't come back from a mating flight I think. I only have 4 hives so I just gave them a frame of larvae /eggs . I hope they can make a queen and build up before winter (Not in a bee barn, double deep that I add a big 2" insulated foam cover for the winter) For your situation, I vote to combine another hive on top of the bee barn

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@Bee_Cathy]

Mic sounds great. New beekeeper here so I'll watch to see what you do. 🐝

[@BugFarmerBees]

Thanks. Welcome to the hobby :-)

[@AmandaSparkle]

Love the "you fix it" challenge! I'm just watching so no suggestions from me but will be watching for the outcome. 😊 FYI Hanes 6 packs white tshirts are 18.98.

[@BugFarmerBees]

I will be buying my t-shirts from Amazon in the future. Retail is just to expensive these days.

[@Bowhunters6go8xz6x]

Pretty obvious laying worker (shotgun pattern drone laying), a worker will lay undersized drone eggs which is why those caps almost look like workers but they aren't. Idea ---- Since you also need a couple or more queens for your bee farm hives I would create a Queen Nursery, use a 3 frame nuc with one frame of eggs in the middle and lots of nurse bees and 2 frames of food stores (no Queen or forage bees needed) you want eggs and nurse bees only and they should make 3 to 6 Queen cells. You can take that small Nuc with you to the farm and you can use a baby spoon and small knife to cut the queen cells out of the comb and plant them in where you need them.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@kevinogden4363]

Old me would try to save them, now not so much. Besides providing eggs, they would also need resources to provide nutrition in order to make a healthy queen, plus you would need to shake the bees out. So shake them off and store the frames. As far as the 6 month thing, depends on what kind of shenanigans are pulled. Bad part is that prices won't go back down like they were, they may take a little step back. Main thing is fuel costs need to go down to knock delivery costs down. Loved the gripes, just feeling the way we all feel.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Serious shenanigan yesterday. Praying for the nation today. Vote noted.

[@emilandrusko8597]

i'd combine with another hive. Adding eggs at this point will not help as by the time a queen emerges and begins to lay the other bees will be too old or dead.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@apveening]

As I see it, there are several options for that army bee barn hive: 1) Let nature take its course - Not recommended 2) Shake the bees out and install a package - Costs money 3) Give a frame with capped brood and a frame with milk brood and eggs to make a new queen - Unlikely to succeed with a laying worker 4) Introduce a new queen - Not recommended as the population is too small, but that can be remedied with some frames with nurse bees and capped brood 5) Combine with another hive (second Vevor hive?) and feed heavily - My recommendation

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-). #5

[@framcesmoore]

Ha Just a piece of my mind. I do not remember where you live I am in virginia, I am feeding I am in a dearth my queens shut down if you do not feed. here we have no fall flow to mount to anything if I do not feed the queens and hive will not build up enough to goe through the winter and they will die. yes sugar is a lot of money 20.00 here for 25 lb bag but it is cheeper then replacing a hive or better to feed then to lose the hive. jus a piece of my mind. They are your hives do what you want. hope you and your family have a blessed week

[@BugFarmerBees]

Maybe I wasn't clear. I am not letting them starve, I just left honey on the hives so I didn't have to buy sugar. All hives have honey on them an the bees are in pretty good shape.

[@kendallc8807]

I think putting another hive into the barn would be best. Don’t throw good after bad. Question since I cannot find an email for you - what do you have in your pocket that your tool sticks too? I am assuming a magnet. What size and where did you get it?

[@AmandaSparkle]

I'm sure he'll answer too but I asked too before so I know the answer... it's from Amazon and it's a magnet that comes on a magnet fishing rope. Just remove the rope & voila! Love mine FYI! 😊

[@BugFarmerBees]

Thanks Amanda. Here is the link Kendall. Just use a hacksaw to remove the ring and your in good shape. a.co/d/ejFu5Cz

[@jenniferdeghuee7590]

I vote you shake them and out remove the hive from the stand so the bees will go to other hives. If you don't remove the hive, the bees will return to their home. If you want to save them, you can give them brood from other colonies, you will have to do it repeatedly for several weeks to suppress the workers ovaries. You can also add brood pheromone. Being that we have passed the summer solstice, you have to decide if you want to compromise your other colonies by removing brood (but you have a lot of colonies and can take from multiple colonies). If you don't suppress the laying workers, a new Queen will most likely be killed because the laying worker pheromone makes the colony think they have a queen.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@williamkn621]

My girlfriend votes to buy a queen and add 2 frames from other hives

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@pbest5040]

Loved the gripes! In my experience, there will NEVER be a time without something worth griping about. The solution is not In your vote. It comes from within , and how you live. Travel to places that will help you realize how well off you/we actually are here in North America. Avoid the posse mentality. Your channel is worth watching. Cheers.

[@BugFarmerBees]

You are awesome! Thank you for the kind words.

[@pbest5040]

Laying workers. Plural. Will not combine. Shake them out. Preferably 100 feet away. Install a Nuc. Or preserve the frames , safely from moths. Oh what fun. Cheers.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@MikeNappier]

I say shake out the hive on the ground, freeze the frames, store the hive, and start again next year.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@rsquared3542]

And if you decide to shake them out, can you shake them out into one of my hives - I’ll buy a queen for them lol

[@BugFarmerBees]

That would be a long distance shake :-)

[@rsquared3542]

@@BugFarmerBees will travel for bees!!!

[@amfarmsllc5624]

@bugfarmer..also, Sam’s wholesale has 6 pack Hanes T-shirts for 19.98

[@BugFarmerBees]

Unfortunately I am not a member. :-(

[@framcesmoore]

The sound is great

[@BugFarmerBees]

Thank you.

[@dalefriedhoff4098]

Great videos, I love to watch them. Built a Beetle Sucker 5000, it works great !!! Thank you !! Question for you, what type of magnet do you carry in your pocket where you place your hive tool when it is not needed. I would like to buy one, if you have a link to where one could be purchased and willing to share it. I would certainly appreciate it !! Thank you !!

[@BugFarmerBees]

a.co/d/faYvZR6

[@dalefriedhoff4098]

@@BugFarmerBees Thank You !! I have order one, Thank You !!

[@Ambees_Honey]

i vote to scrap it, freeze frames, close entrance so bees cant come back and add a package next year.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@meloneycrews]

We vote on shake the army out and save the equipment for the spring! Oh and that’s 2 votes by the way!!😉

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote(s) noted. :-)

[@tjjastrem127]

Id shake out and I’d install a worthy hive on top

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@bradgoliphant]

This is an easy one. I felt the best thing to do is to add another hive body into this hive from the back as you mentioned. Adding a frame of brood to a hive already dying won’t help.

[@rsquared3542]

But taking one frame from multiple hives would/could - just depends on how you keep your bees. I did this between 3 hives the last month - month and a half. It equalized the three hives. Two of them didn’t have queens and they were stubborn bees (rescue hive from a fallen tree). They wanted a queen and now lol

[@bradgoliphant]

@@rsquared3542 If you watched the video, its clear that there were not enough bees to make a difference by adding a frame of brood from another hive.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@rsquared3542]

@@bradgoliphant neither did my two hives - but they are now. Except for the queens - they were free so no harm. Time will tell in March if it was worth it.

[@4bdennis]

shake out bees and rework entrance and analysis of how the hive is holding up

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@glennsnaturalhoney4571]

Queen and egga would be a waste of time. If enough bees swt it on too of a strong queen right hive.

[@BugFarmerBees]

What is an SWT?

[@coryrthomas6674]

mic sounds great

[@BugFarmerBees]

Thanks

[@DWChiver]

Sounds like you're talking into an empty cup or box (tunnel-ly?) But I like the dji mic better. Personal feeling on the army is move another hive into the barn. I think they aren't worth the the risk of buying a queen.

[@mikedeprophetis4644]

I started watching this video 30 minutes after being posted. You made it on July 4. Today is July 12. I think you already addressed the Army hive. If not deal with the laying worker by shaking all the bees in Army out inferring infront of the poor resource hive. Put the bees and queen from the good resource hive into Army hive Combine the brood from the good resource hive into the poor resource hive.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@Steelhorse741]

Many many years ago, there was a comedian who said “don’t eat the rock candy in the urinal! It tastes ( really bad)!!!” I sure wouldn’t want my hair smelling like that.

[@BugFarmerBees]

It's the worst :-)

[@glennsnaturalhoney4571]

Inhear the same thing honwy shouldnt be $12 a pound. I can remember when it was $5 a pound not too long ago.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Honey goes for 10.99 lb. here.

[@glennsnaturalhoney4571]

@BugFarmerBees I paid $18 in Virginia, I charge $10 but it wasn't too long ago it was $5. I can remember just a few years ago getting queens for $15 or less. Good queens today run $45. Damn Biden!! But the stock in my 401k has doubled in a couple of years, so I guess I should be happy.

[@framcesmoore]

I would just combine them with another hive I would not add brood Stop wasting your time and money u could just shake them out and walk away. I just combine. I only add brood in spring I enjoyed your video hope it all works out for uu have a blessed week

[@BugFarmerBees]

Vote noted. :-)

[@ZacThomas751]

First, take away that extra super (this goes for all your hives that I can see). I like your channel but you do drive me crazy.... you have way too much space in all your hives. Once you pull the honey off, your hives should be in winter set up (no more than deep and medium) Then, give them one frame of eggs and young larva every 5 days, they should start making queen (you can notch the cells to encourage queen cell building. Any frames with brood that comes from laying worker you can wash out with water hose on shower setting. Laying worker situation is not difficult to fix, you just have to understand what makes it go away - worker brood pheromone, but too much space will dilute it. It's bone dry right now so obviously you will have to give them light sugar water here and there. Good luck.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Unfortunately, with the design of the bee barn they either need the super of the control box in order to accommodate the lid. Without the medium super the lid will not go on. Vote noted. :-)

[@damneighbor1566]

De-Funked I say!

[@BugFarmerBees]

:-)

[@framcesmoore]

If you want the prices to go down vote for President Trump

[@kh7794]

More like if you want to be a communist and Putin's blow up doll...like Trump

[@daveb8598]

Seriously not the place for this.

[@sndgo1]

Get lost troll!!!!

[@glennsnaturalhoney4571]

LMAO. Check the recoed stock market.

[@BugFarmerBees]

Pray for the nation today.