Honey Harvest 2023 - What Went Wrong?

A very disappointing year for honey. Only 44 pounds off of this harvest. Also, I find a surprise queen bee on the outside of a hive and make a split with her.

[@ChrisOgle210]

You would think watching these extraction videos would get old but it never does. So satisfying to watch that honey flow

[@DaybirdAviaries]

I love extraction videos.

[@jonathangreene4223]

24:30 RIP little bee.

[@evelyndole4618]

When my dad raised bees he always planted the nearest pasture in clover after the last frost date. Clover honey is to die for it is so good!!!

[@falllineridge]

They had a nice stand of clover in the field right in front of them, and in a smaller field on the place. Just didn't have much else.

[@saltycreole2673]

Our neighbor planted 2 acres of clover for his cattle. Just mowed it down. Our bees slowed down too. No swarming detected either. Just one of them years. Fall should be better. Maybe next year.

[@bobwollard9105]

Fascinating. Since I am a lifelong city dweller, I have little exposure to honey bees. I know about the difficulties that the bee population has been experiencing over the last few years and really hope these little guys can recover and thrive. So much of our agriculture depends on our little winged buddies. Thanks for taking us along, Wes. God bless.

[@robertshorthill6836]

As an ex-beek, and constant bee enthusiest, I enjoy how folks are doing in this difficult and hot year all over the nation. Great wishes, as always. Bob

[@RahilSethi]

You mean little girls. Since worker bees are females :-) Only small number of drones are males.

[@chasing_giants_tv_terrypeer]

Those lights in your shed extend your day as long as you need. What a great work space now! That will come in real handy when it gets dark at 5:30 PM

[@falllineridge]

Yep! They're really handy, and very bright.

[@paulbombardier8722]

Jeff Horschoff Bees out of Louisiana said much the same thing. That late frost killed off a number of the flowers that the bees depended on for early season nectar/honey.

[@falllineridge]

Very sad. Hoping for a better year next year.

[@GarySmith-up1un]

3:56 thanks for pointing out the Queen, I would never have found her.

[@michellemullins6741]

I could watch this guy for hours. His voice is so soothing. He's like a cute version of your dad who tells you it'll be okay. Love your videos!

[@user-xu5pr4nj6f]

Scrape the cappings off over a queen excluder. It will save you a whole lot of honey when you can drip the comb and squeeze the rest out!

[@sherriek3476]

You need to plant a hardy crop of wild flowers on that can handle a hard frost in the spring that may help your honey harvest

[@teddie_schaefer1963]

Jason over at Cog Hill Farm in Alabama planted a bunch of different flowers near the beehives a friend has on their farm. He also planted a sunflower cover crop and another flower i can't find the video though. When I was looking to see if I could find it, I discovered that bees will self medicate with sunflowers so thinking those and bee balm would be a plus to that field!

[@XLeGiTcOoKiEX]

Rest in peace bee that got squashed at 24:32. 🙏🙏

[@richardmcmahan2851]

I live in SC and was fortunate enough to catch 5 swarms. We only had one active hive that we could extract from and we harvested 35 pounds of honey. Went back in mid to late June and there wasn't much to harvest so we left them alone. We have 7 active hives, all have been treated and have to feed 3. Hopefully next late spring will be bountiful. Love the video. Thank you.

[@robertshorthill6836]

I was stationed in California with a fellow from Athens, Georgia. We became good friends and kept in touch for many years after our service duty was over. These were days before cell phones or internet. Hearing your voice and Georgia accent reminds me of my good friend Eugene

[@CaseyBbees]

Also I did get some beautiful spring honey I want to send you a jar of it from Michigan, very light very sweet

[@JonahHuffman]

Poor little feller at 24:32 getting squished

[@eliseficalora3635]

Been watching your videos the last few days. It is so calming to watch your process. Thanks for being awesome!

[@falllineridge]

Thank you so much! Very glad you're enjoying the channel.

[@DDL2728]

You are brilliant to know all that bee stuff!! That you can touch them like you did without getting stung is amazing. I have a friend in PA, & he & his buddy harvested 160 lbs of honey from their beehives last week. That's impressive! God bless you and your family! 🙏 💗

[@falllineridge]

160 is great! Thanks for stopping by.

[@choirmom78]

Great post...loved seeing and hearing about the bees.

[@davidhorsley4657]

Nice video. Why not make a wooden uncapping rack that sits on top of your gray tote. You can throw one together pretty fast with random pieces of stock 1x boards and a table saw. It lets the cappings fall into the tote, but you won't have to reach down so far with the knife. Or send me your tote dims & I'll make you one 😊

[@itegei1]

Keep us updated on how the new split with new queen thrived

[@andychristopher3887]

You may have to plant a flower field next year in the spring

[@raterus]

A single hive can forage up to 16,000 acres, it's doubtful a little flower field is going to make much of a difference

[@paparick1038]

​@@raterusI don't know at all . Just asking. Dandelions originally were a crop. I wonder how many acres of complete bloom coverage it would take to equal that many acres of foraging? Growing up we had bees to support our orchard and our orchard supported our bees...I thought.

[@brucewelty7684]

Christie's thoughts exactly

[@billslaughenhoupt5669]

Hello from Fredonia Pennsylvania, New subscriber. 👍

[@falllineridge]

Welcome!!

[@monster2804]

Great job!

[@bobuncle6962]

Fasinating video. Thank you for bringing us this.

[@lesabre1972]

Great video very informative

[@rudyrivera7426]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing! 👌👍

[@williamr.kirkland6317]

Thanks for the education. Always enjoy your program.

[@skip4scrap]

Fantastic Video.....👍

[@shellybourbeau4773]

I’m new to your channel and appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us. It’s important to know where our food comes from and how it’s produced. Being self sufficient is hard but so rewarding. Thank you from Massachusetts!

[@joeanonemouse]

Great video. I enjoy all of your videos but especially enjoy your bee keeping videos Wes. Thank you. 👍

[@slhasebroock]

Fascinating!

[@katietamblingson9255]

Anyone else want to know what happened to the new queen and new hive? I want an update! Did it work? Did she survive?

[@yeagerxp]

Well done . Informative 👍👍👍. Thank you for sharing, be safe, 🇨🇦

[@daviddifonzo7938]

Excellent! A garden update would be nice. Thanks.

[@thejackhomestead8638]

The freeze happened here too in northern pa. By the way love your vlogs keep up the good work. God bless!!!

[@Kimberly26]

Thanks for sharing

[@falllineridge]

Thanks for watching!

[@paulahello7435]

great tips

[@glenglazier3691]

That was truly amazing watching bees in action, thanks for sharing.

[@Bassmaster1256]

Nice video. I had to chuckle and rewind at the 14:00 minute mark. I see your cargo shorts wear out in the same area that mine do. lol

[@JustinDOehlke]

Nice work man!

[@martingale7760]

Great video as normal. Have you thought about planting flower mix strips around your farm fields??? Plus, more at home yard. If you sow early spring, early summer, and early autumn, this should extend food for your bees. Think about more fruit trees and more flowering shrubs /lavender, climbers like honeysuckle, roses, sweet peas for though out the seasons. Depending on your area and weather conditions.

[@charlessessions7293]

Interesting video 📹 🤔 😊 !!! Man that honey looked delicious . All I could think off was buttered 🧈 biscuits ,pancakes and waffles 🧇 😋 😅

[@shearit1854]

It's always good honey looking to getting more in November

[@saltycreole2673]

We had late frost too. Mornings below freezing in April‐May. Slowed everything down. Didn't place supers till early June. Hot hot now, over 100° every day. Thinking late August early September for honey, will leave a full super for fall-winter. Don't want to rob them out. We have very cold Winters. Using Apimaye insulated hives. Can't be too careful right now. Blessings.

[@MarriedWithBackpacks]

RIP to the bee that got crushed at 32:24

[@markbrown6236]

Please keep us updated whit how that Queen is doing. Thinking positive.

[@davidwatsonii9469]

I JUST BOUGHT BEES, MINE LOOK LIKE THEY BEEN NEGLECTED ALOT OF SHORT FRAMES IN BIG BOXES AND COMB CROSS OVERS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD OR TERM, BUT MINE DONT ACT LIKE YOUR BEES AT ALL, SMOKE HELPS, BUT THEY DO NOT LIKE ME IN THERE, I TRY TO BE GENTLE AS POSSIBLE, BUT I HOPE WE GET ALONG AS WELL AS YOU AND YOUR BEES, I CAN WEAR THE COAT AND NOT GET EAT UP, BUT MY HANDS NEEDS THEM GLOVES, WHAT THE KZbin BEE SECRET TO HANDLING THEM BARE HANDED, LOVE SEEIN THAT YOUNG MAN WATCHIN HOW TO DO THINGS, HES LEARNIN THE ROPES PRETTY WELL, GOOD LUCK, LOVE WATCHIN THE CHANNEL

[@falllineridge]

Use smoke, only work them in nice weather, go slow and easy, they'll get nicer as you get better with them.

[@richardthornhill4630]

Interesting experiment. Wait for the results.

[@tonyn3123]

It's amazing how much more knowledge has been gained since I worked with my dad years ago raising our bees. Question. When we robbed the bees years ago a lot of people (most) wanted comb in their honey, thus we jarred our honey in quarts with the comb intact. Has that changed for a reason? I have noticed in the past several years you just don't find honey with comb. How many years ago was that? I'll tell you we sold our honey for $1.25/qt. Thanks.

[@falllineridge]

$1.25 a quart! A quart with the comb is probably worth $25 now. People still love the comb, and a lot of people still sell it that way. I don't because it's a good bit of extra work for both me and the bees. They've got to rebuild the comb once I cut it out.

[@roberta.brokaw3829]

Very cool process. We purchase natural honey from our local Farmers Market and just love it. Stay safe.

[@Novaaaa9]

New insult just dropped: “you sound queenless” 😂

[@DaybirdAviaries]

It got down to 9⁰F here in Alabama . I lost all my fruit. The figs died down to the ground.

[@falllineridge]

My fig tree got hurt pretty good too, but thankfully it came back. I pruned the dead limbs off and it's doing great now.

[@judyhoffer7976]

You could plant a bunch of wild flowers around

[@jdollar5852]

I lost all my peaches and plums. I had one apple tree that was in full bloom during the March freeze and we got 30 apples off of that tree. All 4of my figs were leafed out and all 4 died back down to the ground. Of course,, they are already 8 feet tall from regrowth. Your theory makes sense about the bees. So much of the spring bloom was impacted by that late freeze, and I bet it impacted their ability to locate nectar during what is normally a plentiful time. I have a couple of Asian pears that are blooming right now but not a lot else is in bloom. It's just miserably hot right now. The dog days of summer are upon us.

[@timrauscher3965]

I guess things are different out here in California. This year, I have extracted more honey from my 5 hives than in previous. In 3 harvests I got 34 lbs first time, 43 lbs second time, and 55 lbs 3rd time. This has all been since late June to ptesent.

[@JeffreyAu1]

We had a bunch of rain in California over the winter and otherwise mild temperatures so the bees got off to an amazing start early in the year.

[@timrauscher3965]

@@JeffreyAu1 are you in California also?

[@JeffreyAu1]

@@timrauscher3965 I am. San Diego.

[@timrauscher3965]

@JeffreyAu1 ok. I'm in North East Sacramento County. Interesting that we've had such different results this year.

[@adamdoingthings]

We lost our peaches here this year in Indiana in the spring too. No peaches this year :(

[@falllineridge]

Sad. I heard that our local farmers had some for local folks, but were not shipping to other states this year.

[@wilkind7]

The queen with small cluster of bees on the outside of your hive looks like a usurpation attempt. I live in Georgia and have some colonies in my backyard. Two weeks ago I witnessed a cluster of bees on the side of a nuc box with a weaker colony inside and when I opened it they were balling a foreign queen while my marked queen was protected. An absconded colony will sometimes attempt this “usurpation” (invasion or take over attempt) in order to kill the existing queen and utilize the weakening colony’s resources in a last ditch effort to survive. No way to know for sure if that’s what you had going on, but I believe that happens mostly in the late summer/early fall time frame and could explain why they were on the outside of your hive and if all of your colonies were queen right with no open queen cells, might very well be what happened.

[@silentfart4345]

RIP bee at time stamp 24:32

[@o0ShayBee0o]

🥺 I'm worried for your babies. Sending you all of the buzzy vibes

[@kathyw6635]

We are in MA and we lost 100% peach flowers from the deep freeze in Feb and lost later spring flowers from frost in mid May, so our bees didn't make much honey either this spring.

[@RolandSumipo]

Wow amazing brother just like my job in the pillipines wild honey hunter❤❤️❤️😍

[@bobbyperkins9188]

Great video where did you purchase the extractor

[@cristiangheorgheristea8148]

Hi there, nice to watch your movies, I guess the problem with honey is that sometimes the temperature is not right for the flowers to produce nectar or, according to a new theory, some pesticides will change the electromagnetic fields of flowers and the bees will notice that and will avoid harvesting from. Of course could be more than that. Here, in Romania, the spring harvest was poor, we had less acacia honey than usual despite the fact that we had enough flower. The temperature was too low so we did not have enough nectar. Thank you and good luck! :)

[@johnsonlam]

Now I realize why some people will bought the expensive FLOW HIVE because that design save lot of work.

[@time2fly2124]

need to get yourself a stick with a nail in it at the top of that bucket for when your cutting! will make uncapping alot easier and less messy than putting frames into the bucket like you are.

[@jmert_5859]

It's gotta take a minute to clean out that centrifuge.

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

Not sure if you do this but my farmer friend down the road that does bees keeps a binder with notes on each hive broke down to individual boxes. he also marks the frame wrote on a piece of tape date it was extracted and any pertinent info back in notes to track.. He also uses this huge metal scraper that looks like a big paint scraper and has somewhat of a sharp edge on it. He cuts caps and scrapes down all in one motion. He likes it way better than a knife. Yeah I'm from south Louisiana and the bee guys are having similar issues and also affected some from the unusual high temperatures. Iv also seen on KZbin guys further up north saying the Canadian smoke has caused them some issues. How I'm not sure just repeating what they said.

[@falllineridge]

Really wish I was that organized. I've tried notes and other things, but nothing stuck.

[@johnwoody4905]

good video hope next year will be better. do you think the heat and all the smoke from the wild fires also played a part.? we had lots of dutch clover and i didn't see that many honey bees on it. take care, be safe and well.

[@randydobson1863]

hello fall line ridge it's is randy and i like yours video is cool thanks friends randy

[@ICU2B4UDO]

Just like others mentioned, you need a nice big patch of blackberries and raspberries planted near the boxes...

[@billhatcher2984]

I liked those clear packs that you let the bees fill up that was cool are you ever going to do that again

[@Tonious]

Any reason you don't plant a lot of flowers or clovers in the field infront of them to feed the bees?

[@meandale]

I love your beekeeping videos! I would love to do this myself, but man I hate getting stung. (wasps, yellow jackets)

[@falllineridge]

Honeybees aren't as bad as wasps and yellow jackets. It hurts, but it's just a different pain...guess it's just worth it because of the honey.

[@billslaughenhoupt5669]

I only have five bee hives’s and all were double deeps with one super on top for honey for myself, check them 3 wks ago and they couldn’t of looked any better with heavy loads of capped honey and said to myself I’ll extract them in a wk or two. Well I shouldn’t have.!!! I should of did them that wk, I noticed what looked like bee swarming around one hive and didn’t think nothing of it because I watched it that day and part of next day, it never came to mind they we’re being robbed. Short end of story, so instead of harvesting 150 lbs plus of honey I only got a little over 50 lbs. I watch every one’s videos of bee keeping because this is only my 5-6 year of myself doing it and I learn a also learned my lesson in mistakes, plus also goes to show how Mother Nature of the bees do what it takes to survive. Thanks for sharing this video. In a way it makes me feel better that I wasn’t the only one it happened to. Thanks for sharing and see you on your next video.! 👍✌️💯

[@falllineridge]

Yep! I've made tons of mistakes with my bees, they always have lessons to teach.

[@BucksBeesS.C.]

You really need a mann lake exstraction tote. Cheap and you will get extra honey easily

[@chrisbarr1359]

I think bee keeping is so interesting. I'm constantly amazed by nature and the world our Lord has given us. We are all so bless!

[@falllineridge]

Yes we are. Thank you for watching!

[@RealtorCrawford]

Try planting high polin flowers on your tree line for them just incase.

[@CrazyIvan865]

Another video I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm sorry about the misfortune with the light harvest. That hurts I'm sure. I had N idea for a citizen scientist project; if you may be willing to hear it out and possibly share it to some open minded beekeepers who may be willing to test out a new hypothesis. It's partialky based on your video where you left supers on through winter and they did great. Along with Randy Olivers review of a few different studies of energy usage during winter clustering, one of the biggest points I remember, was about 42F seemed to be the sweet spot for minimal energy usage. As well as other people stating that "leaving honey on during winter woukd be like leaving ice blocks in the hive"... stions of bee trees, in which most seem to have about 3-4" of woor surrounding the cavity of the tree, which should be about an R5-R7. And another video in which a fellow had tempersture sensors in his hives and "insulated" them with tar paper. In the video, the 2 or 4 hives that were in the mid to low 40s were not active on this sunny day with snow all around, while the hive that was showing 57F was quite active. Bees dont have anyone to harvest honey in aummer or fall in a natural environment. That honey woukd stay there "acting as ice blocks all winter". But that moderate insulatuon, creates a more stable and gradual temperaturs gradient between the hot part of the day and thd cold part of the night and even across the span of several days.... maybe the honey, radiating cold, helps maintain a lower temperature, which helps combines with the temperature stability for better efficiency and less honey usage during winter. It sounds crazy... but the less activity and breaking with cluster, or less starting laying because it's warmer for a few days, and then going back to cold... from what I understand, the bees more or less correlate to soil temperatures. Most seeds tend to propogate best around 55F or just above after a cold period, the seeds get going, start growing, a couple weeks later the bees start emergig when the flowers need the bees and the bees need the flowers. I wonder what yiu ourcome would be of monitoring 3 hives, 2 fully insulated throught the entire year, one uninsulate and more of a convention set up. And all hives periodically monitored for estimates of capped honey stores, anything taken from insulated hive A and Contol hive C recorded, and insulated hive B not touched until the following spring, with estimates of total weight of honey stores taken before frost, and then at harvest in spring. My hypothesis is that with increased insulation, theres increased honey stored, that would otherwise be burned as fuel for heating or cooling the hive. It's liquid coal, it's a fuel source or source of energy. Similar to how we use electricity to run the AC on a hot summer day, or the heat pump during winter. With greater insulation, the less we've got to spend to maintain stable comfortable temperatures. My other hypothesis, is that the ice blocks of honey, helps to actually keep the internal tempersture of the hive more cool and more stable, for better efficiency during winter cluster. But we wont know unless multiple people repeat the same test and record results, to see what the average outcome is. Anyway. If you read this, thank you for your time, I hope I was able to pique your curiosity. It goes againat everything thats taught, and everything thats believed to be common knowledge and common sense. But... it seems like an aweful lot of dots connecting on how things correlate in a natural environment.

[@edwardmoriarty1507]

I hope next year makes up this years lost !

[@karencary3312]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@buddyreed2623]

Hi Wes. I would try the part you cut off, just because I never have, unless I was told that it just is not good. Being the most optimistic person around, I will say that the splitting will be a success. Have good days!

[@falllineridge]

The part I cut off tastes great! Just waxy. I like your optimism! They seem to be doing pretty good so far.

[@buddyreed2623]

I am optimistic until the only choice left is the one that is the most undesirable.

[@aaronfletcher3971]

@@falllineridgeDr DC Jarvis in his book Vermont folk medicine (title may be off just a bit) says that honey camping’s will cure asthma.

[@Burntbranchcreekbees]

Looked like they were grooming her and they should do fine. Regardless of virgin or mated, accepted or not, if the bees need a queen they would also make one from very young larvae. This is what happens in a walk away split or a double screen board split. Like your videos Wes. Keep up the good work.

[@mrjp2149]

It kind of Looks like multiple eggs per cell which would indicate a laying worker.

[@stephaniewilson3955]

Would it have helped your bees if you had planted nectar rich flowers after the frost? I am thinking annuals like sunflowers.

[@jobcacka1330]

In that pasture by the bees could you plant clover, seafoam and/or wildflowers to feed the bees?

[@leighco9]

Do you make your own hive boxes?

[@cryoine7194]

at 25:30 are those bumble bees taking the honey too?

[@09FLTRMM77]

MM77 Approved 👍🏼👍🏼

[@crowefamily1]

Are you going to make a new hive for the young queen?

[@Sean-pe3ic]

What do you do with your surplus honey?

[@gabba5423]

I live in Georgia to

[@vanessalake4468]

I wish I lived in Georgia!

[@johnhauser5939]

So the comb don't get destroyed and rebuilt each season?

[@walidhappy9197]

i checked your page today for a new honey video .... 30 min after the video comes out

[@falllineridge]

Nice! Thanks for watching!

[@ASIFSPRGaming]

Why don’t you use a queen excluder?

[@sharonromer6606]

Wow

[@yourfriendlyneighborhoodin1559]

God said the climate will be fine. Genesis 8:22 - While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

[@andrewklahold2880]

That was interesting I have to remember that

[@skrtskit1521]

💖💖🎶🎶

[@ketfrigg]

I was wondering, how do you clean up all the honey that's left after the harvest in the bucket and in the extractor ... do you just let the bees clean it up? Do they do a good job? How much cleanup do you end up with?

[@billslaughenhoupt5669]

I’m not trying to answer for Wes, but I let my bees clean it up as much as they can get to take back for themselves, then I use my pressure washer to clean it up, the frames I don’t pressure wash. I just scrape off whatever needs cleaned up, inspect the frame for and damage and put it away for next’s years harvest. But again that’s what I do. Good luck and hopefully you did better then me this year,. 👍✌️

[@ketfrigg]

@@billslaughenhoupt5669 Thank you for your answer, I appreciate it :)

[@shareemibitsfala5534]

Update on that hive?