Confessions Of A Forgetful Beekeeper...

[@mikeries8549]

WOWBIG You are one of a kind. Most every beekeeper in the world would never in a million years admit that they made any mistakes and for sure would not be posting them online. I'm another beekeeper that will share the do's and do not's of the hobby. I often wonder how beekeepers keep from falling over from the weight of their giant noggins. Thanks for sharing!

[@drmkiwi]

Your forgetfulness (and willingness to share interesting stuff) provided a great window into what the bees actually do in the wild. Apart from the beautiful hexagons for the honey, they are amazing at stacking those hexagons together. Thanks and cheers, David.

[@RoseThistleArtworks]

That really IS AMAZING how they build such honey holding structures.

[@hughbrackett343]

They build the comb curved on purpose too. It's much stronger that way.

[@WayOutWestx2]

You're right - it's all amazing. I've been working with bees for more than 40 years and I'm still in awe of them

[@paulwyleciol3459]

when I started with bees, there was this very old beeskeeper, when he saw parts with drones-breed, he did not wait a second, before he ate the wax plus the drones. When he saw my shocked face, he shouted at me: "You silly! You will not find any better food on this planet". Not been used to it, I still gave it to the chicken later on ... these fluffy(thyranno)saurus-raptors exactly knew what to do about in seconds it was gone ...

[@WayOutWestx2]

I still think I'd rather cook mine first though

[@paulwyleciol3459]

Way Out West Blow-in blog - chacun à son goût ;-)

[@WayOutWestx2]

Ha! Too right!

[@RamiJames]

i get a happy feeling every time you guys upload a new movie.

[@WayOutWestx2]

Aw, thanks, Rami : - )

[@skattin1238]

Okay???????

[@gloxiniee]

Rami James it’s called video not a movie like seriously 😐

[@RamiJames]

@@gloxiniee i like to think of youtube like lots of little movies

[@bobbymancini9069]

@@RamiJames me to

[@FrederickDunn]

Some of the most beautiful natural honeycomb I've ever seen and what a bonus! Also a great opportunity to observe the thickness of the comb that the bees would construct on their own, informing us as to what our preferred frame spacing should be for those bees. Six "natural" comb thickness over Eight "man-made" frames demonstrates to me, that possibly you should space your frames out more to their preferences? Are they telling us something? What you've actually demonstrated, is how bees were kept and honey removed prior to the Langstroth system of frames. I really enjoyed this, thank YOU! My only tiny criticism is that I personally would have packaged it as chunk honey and would not have crush strained it as chunk honey is fabulous for sore throats and chewing honey snacks. What a treat!

[@WayOutWestx2]

The spacings between combs depends on what the bees intend using it for - where brood will raised, enough space is left for two workers to pass each other back to back. Where it's intended for honey, that space is reduced by half. Also the honey cells are longer (and therefore the combs are thicker). It's all so interesting, isn't it. I learn something everytime I open a hive.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you for taking your valuable time to reply. :)

[@jayb9117]

@@FrederickDunn that is awesome thanks for sharing

[@jayb9117]

@@FrederickDunn thanks for sharing

[@FrederickDunn]

You're welcome Jay B :)

[@springwoodcottage4248]

In the UK we regularly get asked for comb honey, except for when we have it & then we can't sell it. I used to put in wooden boards with a 4 inch hole & the bees would make lovely round comb, but it would sit in its little plastic pot for months before selling & then as soon as it was sold folk would come & ask for it. So I took to cutting up frames too make square & rectangular comb honey till I gave up as we could easily sell 100 jars to one piece of comb. Strange how people think about honey. Thank for sharing!

[@kme]

Springwood Cottage funnily enough, the only way I will eat honey is if it's on the comb, but I can't find it for trying. It's not like there aren't beekeepers here where I live (in the Moselle wine region, you bet there's gotta be bees lol) but I haven't seen any selling it anywhere.

[@WayOutWestx2]

I found that comb honey was worth doing - though it's messier and has to be perfect it sold for twice the price. Not that I worry about that any more - now I can just produce enough for us and friends..

[@ranyaahmed2575]

Springwood Co agency

[@kme]

Siggesatan I actually managed to find some last week, in a Turkish shop. It was expensive (especially for what it was, a large jar of honey syrup (not actually honey) with honeycomb inside), but since it was imported... I haven't tried it yet (no time) but it seems to be relevant to what you were saying.

[@bren106]

Bees must have amazingly small combination squares to make those hexagons so accurately.

[@paulwyleciol3459]

bren106 , yeah, each one got at least one, plus one of those luminous bubble levels, so they can see, if they are doing well in the dark. They also tried this chinese laser-distance-things, but hence someone lost the charger, they dumped it after a not even a week ... (When they found a "firefly", they knew instantly who got the charger)

[@jessicadirkis7567]

I think they actually make circles that melt together from the heat of the hive and that forms the hexagons. Kind of like a group of bubbles on top of some water

[@paulwyleciol3459]

Jessica Dirkis - very good theory though ... I'm very impressed! Thank you, never thought about that!!! It's all about building principles of the universe again, (and maybe also a bit, why religious people could never believe, that beauty could just come by lucky incidents ... and that it is just ok with that ...) So possibly in the last second they tear on it, to get more length, like with the old automated chapeau claque ... Tim (and 'bran 106' as well) would never have suggested to start this kind of 'deep edit' and thorrow contemplation of their important information, did they?

[@YourIQDoesntMeanShitToMe]

What?

[@beebob1279]

That comb honey could be sold in my area as wild drawn comb honey. It would bring beyond a premium price at the farm where my bees are kept

[@trollforge]

Oops. At least this oops has a sweet ending.

[@oshanethompson9190]

TrollForge that a good one. are you one of us or just some who like to see whats going on here.

[@reubenwest8364]

@@oshanethompson9190 youve been waiting 2 years for a response🤣

[@RoseThistleArtworks]

"the carnage"! That looks so good at the end of the video, though! Poor, sweet, hard working bees set to work as soon as you put the first frame in there. :)

[@f.demascio1857]

I've left boxes on without frames as well (too many times.) I usually re-frame them with rubber bands & let the ladies fix it all. Of course I take the good stuff with me. Thanks for sharing the vid.

[@Fikrikool]

When the bees fly to the camera and I hear them buzz it makes me tingle.

[@piedolo]

oh man, I understand the feeling. I made nucs sometime ago, and i forgot to add 2 frames with foundation. Well I have about 15 nucs now with two beautiful natural combs, I guess I'll winter them like this and we'll see next spring.

[@AdevăruriIstoriceAscunse]

Wonderful! 💗 Thank you very much, dear friend! 💗 Greetings from London! 😉

[@tropifiori]

Lovely. I have had colony collapse twice am almost ready to give up. However, I have planted a field of clover and will press on one more try.

[@WayOutWestx2]

Good luck. I know how frustrating it can be, Frank - but when it goes well there's nothing like it..

[@louradelaney69]

I spread two types of clover seed for the bees, then got to watch from my house as every damn bird for miles around came and ate nearly all of it 😏

[@dallasmandy]

That was wonderful! Thank you for sharing

[@Kirmeins]

Ohh the sight of that fresh golden honey running out at the end - GORGEOUS!

[@gooberbeans7972]

Another wonderful peek into your lovely lives, thank you.

[@marcusm4271]

I wish you would share some of your amazing bee knowledge. Your books are fantastic but you have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Love the Beek videos.

[@WayOutWestx2]

Thanks, Marcus. If only we had consistant summers I would be quite happy being a full-time beekeeper again. But I take your point and will try harder : - )

[@matkin]

I love to watch your channel! I have been subscribed to you for a long time and you are in my favorites. Thank you for what I have! Greetings from northern Belarus. City Novopolotsk. Your friend Andrew, gardener, grower, beekeeper.

[@WayOutWestx2]

Thanks, Andrew. I have subscribed to your channel to try to understand what you are up to : - )

[@fisheatinweasel]

OMG! Touched my soul!

[@jeremiahkirby6552]

So jolly! Contagious jolly. Unpretentious jolly. Jolly for the joy of jolly. I wish I lived down the street from you.

[@samatri0112]

I'm watching this late at night and now I'm really hungry.....always wonder what it taste like to bite into a fresh comb.

[@earlymorninggray8646]

atheo L it’s like eating honey and wax together

[@scottmaschino1927]

It is delicious! The wax has little flavor, but adds texture. Nothing like it.

[@paulwyleciol3459]

sometimes you have good luck (and the beekeper not), when through strange conditions the honey consists of melezitose, so it is impossible to get the honey from the combs. Then it is packed in small portions and selled as is with the wax (that is hopefully new! A responsible beekeeper would never sell it if the wax is brown with rests of the bread e.g.). Melzitose-honey is way hard and crystallized and melts in your mouth with exorbitant taste! No honey but a filled freezer ... ;-)

[@caraame]

Its a taste of heaven. I chew the wax 365 days a year and it’s probably why I still have good teeth. The medications I take dry my mouth and rot my teeth I enjoy the texture of the wax as much as the taste of the honey. Good ole bees.

[@paulwyleciol3459]

LeeFree70 - Dear Lee: You are too young to die - if you throw the medications as far as you could, maybe you will, for quite a time, as you have good humor ;-) ! But of course they do help: The companies who sell them .... And if you brush your teeth after using C6H12O6(=honey) you will keep your teeth. Some say, if you but Xylit on your teeth, you could stop and even revert caries. Not natural actually ... but is the dentist after all ... ?

[@HomesteadingWays]

What an interesting video! I had no idea that bees would make such orderly combs 😊

[@kristopheroconnell5112]

Absolutely love video of mistakes, this helps people who've made a very human mistake

[@jamesboyle1038]

Oh that comb looks so good 😊

[@vega1356]

I actually miss doing this with my grandmother I enjoy your your videos but my grandma than I used to do this a lot nice and fresh honey brings me back to the good days

[@benspatoisgarden5982]

Thia has happened to me a few times. A pain but still I'm happy for the harvest.

[@solidwoods6999]

A natural art work that's num num num .I guess the brood is put back into a frame .

[@shevaspshojai6483]

Please don’t call me crazy!!!! ---but I love to watch those ,,wild’’ combs 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤓

[@jediwarrior9347]

Nature's bounty is such a Beautiful thing to behold.

[@latui7350]

You have a very unique voice that is a pleasure to listen to.

[@RIHussey]

Beautiful light colored stuff! Do you know what flowers were predominantly in bloom when the bees were collecting?

[@WayOutWestx2]

It's mostly blackberry around here now, but it's been warm enough for clover too (and a lot of other flowers too) so it's a very flavoursome mix!

[@63256325N]

Sweet.....thanks for the video.

[@goatgal7884]

Duncan MacKenzie-LOL, Very sweet :)

[@khiljinagor8976]

OMG the honey looks absolutely gorgeous so pure.

[@MrNandelin8]

I think "num num num," sums it up nicely.

[@cluelessbeekeeping1322]

That huge lump of honey is SOooOOOOoo beautiful!

[@brothyr]

Augh, my tooth cavities ache but I'd so drink an entire mug. So light and pure looking. Is there a primary flower they get pollen from?

[@WayOutWestx2]

Nectar? Probably blackberry and clover for this honey..

[@RS-lv2lk]

Yay! More beekeeping videos! That was how I originally found your channel. 🐝

[@scottmaschino1927]

Same

[@MrFergusferret]

me too

[@berrybuena]

So happy for a new video! Can we see the pigs eat the drone brood?

[@WayOutWestx2]

Oops - too late. Maybe next time

[@loganv0410]

My definition of a great breakfast: a nice (Southern US-style) whole wheat biscuit fresh from the oven slathered with comb honey (mix the wax and honey together with a fork is best)

[@kwhatten]

Logan, and some good quality butter on that biscuit!

[@zestoslife]

Suspect that the Irish would call a biscuit a scone. Did my head in, until figured out that a US biscuit is a scone. What we call biscuits in NZ, the US calls cookies.

[@irondasgr]

Do you actually eat that wax? And how much of it can you eat in a seating? Can it be dangerous after a certain point?

[@MsMesem]

Biscuits do not taste like scones because of the use of buttermilk and are not presented at all in the same manner (with butter or cream and jam). Cookies (US) and biscuits (UK) manage to co-habitate in NZ! I usually think of cookies as being rather soft and biscuits as being crisp.

[@ruthannjones5873]

American style biscuits are unique in the baking world. I'm going to put a link to a video demonstrating how they're made, but there are a couple options not addressed in the video. First of all this guy used butter, while most old-time southern cooks use lard. Also if you pack the biscuits closer together before baking they will rise higher. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p33SZ6VsatWBqdU

[@robnicolson2747]

Absolutely loved this vid, your bees look great and your an asset to beekeeping

[@victoriadelosangeles6623]

Lovely video! I watched it to take a break from writing a paper... I really enjoy your channel. Maybe you could film a What I Eat in a Day video. I'm sure we would all love to see a typical day of Irish eating! Sending lots of love

[@WayOutWestx2]

I'm not sure many people would be interested - but thanks for the idea!

[@scottmaschino1927]

About the time you lifted the box, I could smell fresh honey lol. Just did our first extraction for the year last Saturday.

[@melissakramer-sarrett2591]

I love this man's accent!!!

[@denis77777777]

Nothing like fresh bee berf.

[@spaaggetii]

You make the world seem so Icky and stucky! God Bless the bees and the silly people that want and love them to combes! One day I will eat a honey comb straight out of the hive. It will be the best moment in my life!

[@LadyJennivieve]

That is amusing and amazing!

[@1charlastar886]

The brood is best eaten raw. When I am framing up brood from feral bees I capture, I usually eat some of the capped brood on the edges that has to be cut away when fitting brood into the frames. VERY high quality protein.

[@georgegarcia5052]

Lovely comb! I’ll have to make a similar mistake!

[@Hurricanehamo]

Drooling! Thank you for posting. Keeping a couple of hives is on my bucketlist!

[@david111davies]

May i ask what variety of normal size garlic do you grow please ? Thank you very much, you seem like very nice people...

[@WayOutWestx2]

Sorry - I have no idea what it's called - we just keep some back every year and replant it

[@thuffman44]

Nicely done! Great effort. Nicely edited video. Thank you very much for sharing your story. A fantastic beekeepers folly to encounter. LOL. I enjoyed watching 🐝🐝🐝☮️☯️

[@obanaru]

🐝 Hello from Romania 🐝

[@WayOutWestx2]

Hello

[@samdumaquis2033]

Hello there, it was a really nice video to watch, always nice to see how other people work their hives. Best wishes from a French Beekeeper

[@WayOutWestx2]

Thanks, Samuel

[@samantharyan4811]

Her: “honeyyyyy” Him: “num num num” Her: “can you think of anything but num num num”

[@PixieLove5]

Only 20 seconds and have a new subscriber! That was very cool and informative. Thank you!

[@WayOutWestx2]

Thanks! Welcome aboard..

[@TORALOLA]

Hello, where were your hives located when you filmed the 6 feet tall monster for the Rose hive method? Do you still have that big hives in your current area ? Thank you.

[@WayOutWestx2]

they were here or around the area. This is another year they could easily have got that high but I don't manage them in quite the same way anymore because I'm not looking for big honey harvests. Even so there will be a few 5 foot high hives, for sure..

[@MadMulberry]

I was sitting down to breakfast having honey on toast while watching. Quite appropriate. 😁

[@NiklasPrescher]

Very cool video!

[@kabirsharma17]

The honey dripping completed my soul. Thank you!

[@johncourtneidge]

Thank-you!

[@2011klausesbees]

nicely done ~ our comb we cut and place into small square clear boxes so that the boxes are comb FILLED with honey and none taken off ~ klausesbees llc fb

[@angeloddrev]

Can I ask, why do they make that amount of honey? It seems so much to last them over the cooler periods / winter? Also will they make that much again in the time left to them. I've always wanted bees but it's very complex, whenever I've looked around there is so much to learn :)

[@scottmaschino1927]

Angel, Bees typically store much more than they will need or use. It is sort of an emergency pantry for them though. There are years when the flowers don't bloom very good and they can't make much honey. All that surplus they bring in during a good year would normally be used to get them through those off years. When we take what they make, we are careful to leave a certain amount of honey for them to use to get through the winter. Where I am that is around 50 lbs. If there is a bad year with few flowers, beekeepers will feed the hives a sugar water syrup mix to make sure they don't starve. Hope that answered your question.

[@WayOutWestx2]

What Scott said. But they don't ever stop collecting and storing if they have the space and the nectar to collect. Which is odd really, because they can quickly amass ridiculous quantities of stored honey with no possibility of using it all. And that makes them vulnerable to all the honey stealers out there. So it remains a mystery. (I haven't fed any sugar to my bees for decades now - but then we do live in a bio-diverse area.)

[@MegaMindyLou]

Your bees were quite cranky despite the smoker. Beautification comb. Congrats.

[@WayOutWestx2]

These are native Irish bees with a ferocious reputation - that's why I wear all the gear

[@darnbunny1]

Thank you for your wonderful videos. I did exactly the same thing in one of my hives and had no idea how to remove the crazy comb. Will use your technique before judgmental fellow beekeepers see my mess.

[@JakeBeesos]

Lol 😂

[@kevinbyrne4538]

Gorgeous honey comb.

[@TheShadeTreeFixitMan]

Num, num, num. num, YUMMY!

[@LazyDogsRanch]

Doesn't everyone who keeps bees do this at some point and have to clean it up? I know I have.

[@samdumaquis2033]

LazyDogsRanch i personaly hadn't added the last two frames of a couple of hives and they worked faster than I did, so I had to clear it up and get sticky gloves too ! 😅

[@danschneider9219]

You need to do more beekeeping videos, I miss them

[@HaselorHoney]

How are the bees? Do you still keep them? I got a few more videos to catch up 😆🐝🐝

[@blacksheep_1971]

i could taste that through my laptop

[@melodyt4165]

Maybe try a small metal wine press. I've seen people do it and get much more honey while also crushing comb so it would be easier to process into wax

[@101Cecilia]

You guys are adorable

[@jimmerseiber]

This is more interesting then if you had the frames haha

[@MsMesem]

Wow, those are some industrious bees!

[@arianeshelton2667]

I feel your pain, I did this twice this year.

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

did they build perfect thick comb as these?

[@ob1shawnobi]

I can’t believe you did a video on beekeeping!!! It’s been way way too long.

[@WayOutWestx2]

You're right - but most years lately it's been a struggle in the rain. This year though, it's been a pleasure. I should do more...

[@rilanacabal972]

3:06 while he's putting those back I felt bad for the bees since they need to make their hives agaaain . Not to mention I just watched a queen make her hive and it took her long to do that .

[@WayOutWestx2]

You must have been watching a different type of bee. These are honeybees - the queen doesn't make any of the combs.

[@ralpha679]

Oh I miss beekeeping. Unfortunately about the only thing I was good at was collecting swarms!

[@MLucyLuna]

My mouth waters!! Yum yum!!

[@zoebailey4052]

This was so therapeutic

[@manbearpig5907]

Mmmmm Fire roasted drone brood. That's good stuff!!!

[@PinkSander]

Would cheesecloth be strong enough?

[@WayOutWestx2]

Yes, I think so - handled gently

[@lincsfencingandgardeningse9128]

Really Intresting have you used top bar hives and if so what's your take on them

[@WayOutWestx2]

I have tried them many times, but the bees don't like them as much - probably because they can't keep the heat in as well.

[@lincsfencingandgardeningse9128]

Way Out West Blow-in blog thanks for that I will give national hives first. Many thanks for sharing. M

[@tavian2396]

Do you use queen excluders on your hives during the flow season?

[@OhGodAVelociraptor]

That intro is so wholesome

[@oldbaldfatman2766]

Dec. 7, 2018----Thanks for the video as I know nothing about taking care of bees, starting a hive, etc. Curious---you had 30 pounds of honey & hive....how much honey did you end up with?

[@WayOutWestx2]

I didn't take any more from this hive - but in a good year you can get 200lbs from one hive. (And in a bad year, nothing.)

[@noemicarrion6883]

Hi thank you for sharing your video. Do you sell your honey and combs?

[@WayOutWestx2]

I used to, but I only keep bees for us these days.

[@emmakelley744]

Oops! It's very interesting to see the combs off the frames though. They don't need us to keep working, do they? :)

[@WayOutWestx2]

Exactly - they've been around a lot longer than us

[@socalbeeguy8041]

That was some FAST production. Nice bees, too. Things are not nearly so pleasant here in the desert.

[@GrammyVulture]

Num num num sums it up perfectly I think. 👍

[@clifflee5404]

I would like to try roasted drone broods as well. I think I saw a video of someone roasting some, and drizzled some honey over them before and during roasting.

[@WayOutWestx2]

You try them first and report back, ok? : - )

[@clifflee5404]

As soon as I get the opportunity I will... lol. I've watched Ray Mears eat ant larvae and report it's good. He said they taste like shrimp. Considering the honey comes from regurgitated bee stuff, I have got to think it's much sweeter/better than we think. Also, after you can say, "that bee good."

[@JoseOrtiz-im5wu]

How did you get 33 trolls. Did they not understand that the video was about what happens when you make a mistake. DON'T FORGET THE FRAMES! Lol very good information, ty

[@alextate418]

I spotted something that might work well on your lazer cutter. Have a look at the pop up desks on standstanddotcom.

[@WayOutWestx2]

Thanks, Alex. I'll have a look..

[@ForbinColossus]

@1:21 Frighteningly LARGE monster bee crosses camera lens!

[@pipmagwitch]

Tim, I noticed the replacement frames had no foundation. Do you do that regularly or was this a one off?

[@WayOutWestx2]

There's always some wax in there. Philip. These days I usually just use a starter strip at the top - maybe an inch? Without anything the bees would build across the frames.

[@pipmagwitch]

Thank you. That sounds economical too!

[@tealkerberus748]

Philip Kemp not really. It takes quite a lot of honey to convert into that much wax, so the more wax they have to make, the less surplus honey there will be to harvest. The real advantage of letting the bees fill out the empty frames is that the bees are happier with it - pure beeswax foundation has to be reinforced with wire, and often the bees won't use the cells that have the wire crossing them, and plastic foundation they often refuse to use at all, even when it's been well painted with beeswax so they never have to touch the plastic.

[@monicafelan531]

That looks so good. Yum

[@stuartcoyle1626]

I will admit to having done something like this too. You are not the only forgetful beekeeper in the world.

[@PeteK-fr2zm]

How about getting a small press for these random occasions?

[@WayOutWestx2]

Yes, maybe. I'm going to sell my big extractors so I might look out for one of those instead..

[@PeteK-fr2zm]

Way Out West Blow-in blog Search for honey press. These seen reasonable... kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnSQYqeZqqeVhc0