🔵Feeding and drawing comb in October

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#Beekeeping #Beekeeper #Honeybee

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

We switched over to insulated boxes. Even the shallows. Getting 5 inches of snow tomorrow. At 32 degrees I thought it would be a good time to pull the last top feeder and drop some sugar bricks in. Forgot about your warning Kamon regarding cold weather ornery bees. So without a smoker nor hood. Well the colony was all warm, active feeling stingy. Received the organic pincushion award several times. Oops. If you folks have missed Mr. Reynold's sugar brick recipe-method check it out! From the ratio of sugar/water to the drill paint mixed in a bucket, absolutely bulletproof. I spread mine in a metal brownie tray with parchment paper on the bottom. Divided into large squares with a spatula. In the oven at 200 degrees for couple hours. Turned off the heat, left in for a couple more. Fantastic! Thank you K.

[@kamonreynolds]

Thanks Michael! Sounds like you are good on bee sting therapy thru the winter months! Wouldn't want your body to get too relaxed LOL

[@mattperryman1948]

@@kamonreynolds Can you tell me which episode contains that recipe, please? I'm over in Arkansas, and this is my first winter with my bees. I have 2 hives, and I would very much appreciate anything that will help me get them thru the winter! Love the videos

[@slavkei]

"And here's round 3." Best part of the videos after the bees is always the interactions between you two.

[@kamonreynolds]

She told me after the video I was weird! I told her .... "Well you know they say opposites attract"!

[@davidcotton7927]

You caught me between sips of tea with your “And now round three” comment with a tap on the smoker. I laughed so hard that I ended up misting the living room with tea. 😂

[@kamonreynolds]

Haha sorry!

[@davidcotton7927]

@@kamonreynolds It was worth it. I enjoy your sense of humor as well as the plethora of knowledge you share.

[@Max-po5sx]

You're the best man

[@berserkersbeefarm8041]

Your definitely a master brother hope to have a bee yard like you one day

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

In my smaller boxes I put insulation boards (the 2 sided silver wall board insulation) that I cut and use 9 frames in a 10 frame box. I also use the stuff on the inside of the telescoping lids. This way two sides and the top are insulated and it seems to help with brood rearing. Thanks for the video!!!!

[@attesmatte]

I'm going to get all my beekeeping fixes through your videos from now until April, because our bees aren't going to be flying anything until then. 😜 Got the first snow this weekend! 😁

[@kamonreynolds]

SNOW ah! Where are my snow skis?!

[@attesmatte]

@@kamonreynolds Lol, we're not quite there yet, we need a little more before we can take the skis out. 😜 This is a picture taken by my favorite local professional photographer yesterday (Sunday). I live basically a little bit out of frame to the left. 😜 facebook.com/183715635559/posts/10158519560275560/

[@jamesritter3574]

Really love your vids

[@smportis]

Kamon, checked my feeder today. Been out a week - bees are not interested. Pollen Sub either. Still bringing in wild pollen. From Nashville.

[@FloryJohann]

Kamon, thanks for the video. My concern with an insulated hive in winter would be that the bees stay warmer and do not cluster as much and consume more food and then toward end of winter or beginning spring may starve.

[@RaySarasin]

Its 18 F here i have treated already and will not be going into any hive till next spring. Looking at bringing into my heated shed very soon for winter. Its all over here for 2020

[@navarra4]

I am always curious about those apimaye hives. Do you recommend not getting them with the plastic frames and just ordering wood frames maybe somewhere else? Also. Can you show the bottom board functionality and if it is useful in helping with mites or beetles

[@charlesoneill466]

I wonder if the insulated hive would be beneficial in the Summer (Louisiana). Great video. I am putting mannlake Ultra-bee pollen patties on now with sugar water.

[@kamonreynolds]

The ease colonies heat stress in my opinion. Less cooling needed, = less work (stress) and less honey burned up

[@robertchristian1664]

if you are worried about the bees overheating in the hive i suggest you wrap cooking foil around the hive that will keep them really cool in the summer (put some foil on the ground on a hot day and see how cold it is underneath)

[@FloryJohann]

@@robertchristian1664 My father-in-law uses the aluminum foil on the wall where the stove pipe runs and that keeps the wall cool when the wood stove is used.

[@citrumpet1]

So what do you do with the surplus honey/syrup mixture frames that are not consumed during the winter? How to prevent it from getting into the spring harvest honey?

[@russk3931]

In the spring when the hive is brooding hard they will deplete almost all the honey stored over from winter. The empty super goes on top of the wintered hive bodies and new nectar will be stored in them.

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Ive still got plenty of drones up here even thou bees are in cluster done foraging .. I dont let them get low on nutrition ill see them into winter if i look .. Think ill stay out of the winter nest this year ive gathered enough information to know whats going on in past seasons .. Caused alot damage but now i know . time to quit playing going after a big honey crop next year

[@russellkoopman3004]

Light snow all day here in MN. Tomorrow 3-5" more snow. Rest of the week highs in the 30 F. No drones here.

[@rpeebles]

I am very curious to know if your colony in the insulated hives lay eggs farther into the year and mainly whether they use less resources throughout the winter. I would expect them to use less honey because they do not need to use as much energy keeping warm but would be nice to see some proof.

[@kamonreynolds]

We are keeping a watchful eye on them and will let you know if they are working like we hope they are.

[@randallmuir5570]

Kamon thanks for all the videos you have worked so hard to create. You always make me laugh while never failing to educate me with lots of useful knowledge nuggets. A double win! With respect to the feeding by way of inverted plastic pails, a’ la Bob Binnie… I have always used frame feeders and hive top feeders, but I am thinking of moving over to the pails in the future. The one thing I have failed to grasp is what keeps the pail in position on top of the hive over the feeder hole in the event it is mostly empty, and therefore fairly light, when a high wind such as a thunderstorm comes along? We all have been trained to put bricks on our outer covers just in case. It seems like an invitation to have a gaping hole on top of the hive in a rain storm. What am I missing?

[@kamonreynolds]

Thanks Randall! You aren't missing much! If the hive isn't strong enough or had enough time to propolize the bucket down they can blow off without a weight on them. On hot days this won't kill the hive but still is a problem. I am not a huge fan of buckets myself. They don't last near as long, they are more expensive, blow off, you have to clean out the bucket holes sometimes, and raccoon love to knock them off of the hive and drink the syrup. I am a Motherlode USA frame feeder guy but I keep some buckets around!

[@ronfults3844]

I've never used any kind of plastic frames. I'm wanting to get a few for spring and try them out to see how I feel about them. Never know unless I try I suppose.

[@heatherhampton8967]

I have tons of good pollen but they simply won’t draw comb. We still have pollen but the nectar is slow or done. Should I feed?

[@kamonreynolds]

You likely should feed if they don't have several frames just full of honey

[@danschneider9219]

Then here in Wisconsin bees are hunkered down, snow has fallen, ice on the puddles, sometimes I wonder why I live here.

[@charlesoneill466]

I live in Louisiana. Tropical rainforest. Kidding. I have heard Wisconsin is beautiful may thru October.

[@smportis]

Nashville 60° last night. 80° today. 73° at 7:45pm. Oct 19.

[@williamthomas1977]

LOL I JUST GOT STUNG RIGHT BY THE THUMB NAIL FRIDAY AND YEAH IT FEELS GOOD AND MAKES A BLACK SPOT ON THE SKIN. I LOVE BEING ABLE TO RELATE

[@kamonreynolds]

I got one on the thumb today cleaning out the feeding system. Sympathy sting!

[@williamthomas1977]

@@kamonreynolds I hope I wasn’t to late on my in hive feeding I had fed with n outside feeder a few weeks ago but didn’t think about My small splits not having the numbers to benefit from it. So I went in my hives earlier last week and was shocked to see no food and barely any brood if any at all. So we shall see if they can bounce back from starvation. Should I think about some pollen patties to boost the numbers before winter or should I just try to pack on the syrup. Thanks for everything you put out.

[@BlanchardsBees]

42° high and 30° low here tommarro

[@thomasbridgeman5815]

Put your old ragdy equipment on the wall as a memory

[@matthewmccormick2417]

Up North we dont have drones. I am sure IAN has same thing as his are also Winter set. Nice hives

[@davidloucky3566]

Kamon, you mention this year was a good pollen flow. We had expected more of a honey flow as well, but it was underwhelming here in Murfreesboro, despite all the goldenrod and asters. Were you surprised? (I'm one that likes fall honey!) Thanks for sharing so much good info! Dave

[@kamonreynolds]

Hey Dave thanks! The Global cooling has really hurt nectar production this year. It was shaping up to be a good fall nectar flow but it didn't do very much. Pollen flow was great. Nectar flow was iffy.

[@johnniecarter3013]

Hey Kamon first let me say thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I’m going to 🐝 a new 🐝 keeper this spring. I have been studying the subject for a little over two years now. I’m hoping that you can recommend a go to book for new 🐝 keepers. I know there are so many to choose from that’s why I’m turning to you for advice. While I have you do you think you will be selling nucs in the spring? If so can I put a deposit on one or possibly a couple ahead of time? It’s gorgeous this morning in eastern VA I hope you guys are enjoying the same. Looks like liquid sunshine starting late this afternoon for us and a 20 degree temperature drop by morning! Thanks to you and Laurel for making time to make this videos! The amount of help they provide someone like me is unmeasurable!

[@ronblack2404]

Did you drill or punch holes in the lid, about what size? I have seen buckets with screens on top but are expensive compared to getting cheap used buckets from bakery and make holes in lid

[@toddr8406]

Hey Kamon, Need some Help! I have 3 - 8 frame hives with two mediums and two deeps in each but none of the boxes are full of bees. Most have 3-4 frames of bee. Would you try to consolidate these boxes for Winter? Thoughts?

[@trichard5106]

How do you tell the difference between the sugar water and nectar frames ? Thanks, Tim

[@kamonreynolds]

You can't be 100% sure unless you put some food coloring in or taste them. Big difference between fall honey and sugar syrup.

[@chriswelch7944]

OK, I have posted this question with no answers...A bear went through my electri fence and did extensive damage to my only hive(had it strapped together, BTW). Managed to get everything back together, but virtually no brood or stores left. Can't find the queen. This was the first week of Oct up here in NE PA. If I bring the hive (still a fair # of bees in one deep) into my cool basement and add a mated queen, is there ANY chance this colony could survive until spring (id to late March)?

[@honeydropfarm1605]

The paint wears off my queens right away. How do you get yours to stay on for so long?

[@Leelz247]

How are all your frames not totally propylized??? Mine are absolutely glued together it takes a lot of elbow grease to remove a frame to inspect!

[@JamesDooley-Ryan]

Still too warm in Central Texas. It's still above 85°F for another week (based on forecast). I haven't begun "winterizing," yet. We are still in Fall flow, and lots of pollens coming in. Maybe not much nectar. When do you suppose is a good time to start pushing 2:1? I know I want then well postured for Dec/Jan. This year, the season started (lurched ahead, more like) in Feb. I'm thinking mid-Nov for 2:1. Winters here are not so harsh..

[@kamonreynolds]

Well we have a good bit of pollen coming in also. Starting to taper off a little. I like being done feeding well before getting day time temp is 60 or lower. Feeding a little can help generate a few more winter bees also if there is no nectar coming in. You know your season better than i do!

[@randallcarter-carterhillho2277]

Great video! Still have drones in nw alabama. Do your bucket feeders have rubber gasket in lids? Where do you get your feed buckets?

[@iSupaGonzo]

I use similar feeders. Better Bee sells them pretty cheap

[@randallcarter-carterhillho2277]

@@iSupaGonzo thanks

[@Rrailroad3]

First year keeper here, i put some formic pro on 2 weeks, i know its late but i had a mite problem. It is time to take it out and the temps have dropped here in NE Missouri. At what low daytime temps would you feel comfortable getting into a hive for just a few minutes? It wont take long to get the strips out of the bottom brood box but it looks like a couple days we will have 80 degrees then another drop in temp. Would it be best to wait a couple days for the temps to get back up? Also at what temperatures do you recommend to start pulling syrup off? Thanks.

[@robertstephens7034]

Found some royal jelly in a single deep w good queen ???? Wats up?

[@sharonlane1988]

I want to feed sugar camp this year when should I start.? I am in central wv.

[@kamonreynolds]

Probably sometime in November but you can start it now.

[@Lbfarmsllc]

Kamon, where do you get your feeder pails? Do they come with the screen or do you have to rig those yourself? Thanks

[@kamonreynolds]

Betterbee has the buckets with screens you can buy. These buckets are just buckets with a handful of holes drilled thru the lid.

[@Lbfarmsllc]

@@kamonreynolds Thanks!

[@scottdavis3067]

Ok thanks, just didn’t want to hurt bees when they are in a cluster.

[@hyfy-tr2jy]

Posted for 1 minute and i am still not first...LOL Hey Kamon.... I have a hive that has a laying queen that seems to be laying well but they also drew out one queen cell. Is there ANY reason to NOT tear out that cell this time of year?

[@kamonreynolds]

Hey hyfy I had a new Palmer queen/hive do that. I tore down the 2 cells. As long as she is laying I would pinch the cells. Too late for that here

[@carlwilson6459]

How do you make them bucket feeders

[@scottdavis3067]

Kamon, wanting to treat with oxalic acid in November. Will that hurt the bees in cold temp?

[@CanadianTropica]

Not Kamon but i can help ya out. Not at all, Most people treat in temps around 5 celsius so all the bees are in the hive. Its also a good time to use OA dribble as they are clustered up. Also hopefully they are Brood less so its more effective.

[@kamonreynolds]

This is a great time to do it. If the bees are not completely broodless I would come back and do it again when they are. Killing the mites early will prevent them weakening the winter cluster further

[@Leelz247]

@@kamonreynolds That’s what I’m waiting for too! I live in Maryland, and I went out yesterday to treat with oxalic, but when I noticed brood larvae, I closed them back up and will wait until they are broodless or close to it.

[@adrias4685]

Idk any better way to try getting ahold of you as I don't use Facebook, but do you sell and ship your honey cross country? I'm in Montana

[@davidrusso3183]

Kamon, we can donate to your business? You mentioned people were "being generous" and helping you to get the funds you need to expand your experimental yard. I thought your business is a for-profit?

[@kamonreynolds]

My business is for profit but it is also is for learning. For me and everyone that watches. I am already working towards setting up a yard of 50 colonies that is for testing only. As a business I need colonies like these to better understand natural mite control, better over wintering, breeding better genetics and more. If this yard can help me better understand things it will help me save and make more money with the 300+ colonies we run outside of the test yard. Setting up this yard isn't cheap. Going to cost over 10k. Obviously we would be sharing anything and everything we did. More info to come on what is going to be tried first

[@davidrusso3183]

@@kamonreynolds Ok. So how can we donate?

[@petermillson5283]

Kamon; my late summer split appeared to be struggling, but the parent hive had lots of food stores, so I ended up putting them back together in hopes of them surviving winter. and the blue sky poly hive I bought seems really strong, but when I went to inspect it the styro-foam started to break apart as the propolis was so strong that I feared doing to much damage to the hive body.

[@PaulSmith-qu3jq]

What do u do to combat small hive beetles

[@masterbeekeeper30years18]

What is "drawing" comb? I have never heard of this, is it an American thing? Please explain. Thank you.

[@attesmatte]

It's when the bees are building the wax cells on sheets of foundation, either wax or plastic foundation. 👍 (As opposed to building the entire wax combs like they do in foundationless frames or in a top bar hive, or in the wild. 😜)

[@masterbeekeeper30years18]

@@attesmatte So like the drawing board, only with comb. Thank you Sara. :)

[@2beesbuzzin850]

you never do say how many colonies you have? what is your loss ratio like?