Main Flow Hits Early - (Building a Bee Business Vlog #44)

[@carpenterandhisbees]

Im at catching 36 swarms this year in Sacramento. Always have some equipment set up at the house and had 6 swarms move in. We had 3 swarms move into the bee yard traps. Crazy year.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Wow, maybe it’s just a swarm year?

[@neilroberson2964]

My tulip poplar was about a week early this year, too. When I have one making swarm cells right up against the flow, I pull the queen and knock down all the cells but one or two. Those colonies make really big crops and they can’t swarm without the queen. By the time the new queen is laying, I’m near the end of the flow.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

I’ve tried a bunch of different things depending on whether I can find the old queen or not.

[@brianworrell9667]

Just picked up a bottle of your honey from Publix in Mt, Juliet, TN.I am on my fourth year in bee keeping and really enjoy seeing your videos.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Awesome, thanks!

[@hopesadler4000]

Hey Nathan. I think you're in for a wild nectar flow. I in SC just below Charlotte and I believe our flow is over. However, I normally produce 450 lbs of honey and I estimate this year at well over 1000 lbs. Best of luck to you.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Wow that’s great Hope!

[@AmericansBee]

Just remember what bob binnie says about a swarmed colonie. Consider it a harvest and split the cells and make new colonies. No honey to harvest but a potential for many new queens

[@EagleNestApiaries]

Looking good! It’s a swarmy year here also, even though I equalized early. Good for the bees though.

[@joshtibbs6377]

I usually see my supers full of dark poplar honey. This year they’re full of lighter stuff. I’m thinking the black locust was prolonged. I was hoping for 100 gallons this year(did 80 last year). Persimmon is starting to bloom and mimosas starting to bud up. Not sure I’ll make my goal but it’ll be close.

[@waynelivernois5412]

Have you ever heard of swarm calling? That's really taken Bang of pot and PAN together. You know, spoon and a PAN together 2. Make a sound to call the bees down. I don't know if it works with swarms that are already in the tree. But it does work with swarms that are in the air. So maybe you should try that some time. To see if it works We have bees in a tree

[@robertlewis3336]

You took down that big cedar tree. That would've made a great swarm catcher. I do wonder why swarms tend toward evergreens.

[@dcsblessedbees]

God is keeping us guessing, keeps us on our toes. Blessed Days...

[@DuckRiverHoney]

👍

[@hickoryhives8372]

Pathfinder also works on the woodies as a basal bark application. Good luck with the flow!

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Thanks, never used pathfinder. I have heard of using remedy mixed with diesel as a basal application.

[@AmericansBee]

17:25 I love those marking pens, for marking queens. Not boxes

[@saintjohncoleman8602]

Here in SE coastal VA we have the blackberries and privet at the same time, the dual major flows at the same time have me doubling up on supers and the bees are even filling the Flow supers and Hogg Halfcombs this early heavy spring. Next is mimosa to get us to the cotton flow for the next major nectar crops.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Do you make anything from mimosa?

[@DStewart2022]

Love your work. You can stretch your Tordon RTU a little. Only need to ring the cambium layer where the bark meets the white wood.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

I’ve heard that, but I tend to overapply just to make sure it kills.

[@brianbennett4374]

Great video like always 👌 Thanks for sharing with us 😊

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Thanks Brian!

[@russellkoopman3004]

Thanks Nathan for the video. I have an idea how busy you are and yet you keep us up to date. I hope you have a good flow. With those storms in TN did the winds mess up the tulip poplar? Hope you missed the big storms.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Thanks Russell! Poplar was 2/3 over by the time the storms came through.

[@caven930]

I found many tulip poplar trees for the first time but couldn't find a single flower on any of them. I found some that had fallen, just not actually in the tree.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Sometimes it takes binoculars to spot them. They’re green with a little orange when seen from below.

[@3boysbees]

We caught our first swarm..... A freshly mated virgin and all of the bees from one of our nucs.... Good fun for the whole family that day. Everyone thought it was exciting. And I have been avoiding that experience with all my powers.... God knows best

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Ha! Can’t win them all, just try not to lose them all!

[@KajunHomestead]

Great video , I had a swarm 30 feet up and used my shotgun with buckshot to get them down, works great , you need to try it.👍

[@DuckRiverHoney]

I’ve done it with a turkey load.

[@deniswagner9458]

Hey Nathan, does it seem that this year's nectar flow seems lackluster. I'm in Benton county TN and it seems that way to me. I think these hard rains and strong storms blew many of the privet flowers away I'm in my third year and last year's spring honey was dominated by tulip poplar. This year it doesn't seem the poplar has done much. I can only hope the few sour woods I have around me will do well this year

[@DuckRiverHoney]

This years early flow was much better for me. Poplar did produce, but so did locust so it got mixed.

[@briand4279]

I have the same paint pen and the color looks awesome when its wet but I agree it sucks when its dry. I thought the first hive I checked was queenless because I couldn't see that neon green anywhere. Thing had dried almost a yellow color.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Yep, the darker green color is much better. It’s still pretty easy to spot too.

[@aidanquick3151]

Nice work mate

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Thanks Aidan!

[@3Beehivesto300]

Bob B. Does offset supers to help with swarming…

[@timlewis9873]

Nice vid., good job.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Thanks!

[@researcherAmateur]

Nathan i know you're overworked but keep a sprayer in the car and pressure water wash the laying worker eggs, larva and even the capped drones out off the frames. Save your combs... Those with swarm cells.. they are comb drawing machines about to swarm on you.. and they did it. Take everything from them.. put it on other hives for a couple days, use some of it for splits. Give them only sheets and one honey and watch how fast they can draw 20 of those mediums.. than give back some of what you moved. Make them think they swarmed. That's how you draw fast and perfect combs. It's much easier than coming back to check every 6 days and break cells, or to split and aspect them to draw 20-30 frames. If they were mine l would shuck them on 20-30 sheets on the seme spot, 3 days later give back what I moved and been done with swarming. Right before the flow. I'm not criticizing you.. just want to help you do less work.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Thanks, I appreciate it. I’ve used a lot of different tricks, what you outlined I think is a good one.

[@researcherAmateur]

@@DuckRiverHoney they think they done swarming and after that they work full trotter (as a friend of mine here would say) and forget about swarming again. He's 70 years old and still keeps 300 hives. The only difference is that he shakes them on wax sheets. Just goes from one to the other that kept what he took from the first one and moves around shaking. Usually, it's done right before black locust or at the start of it here. It's not new.. actually a very old method for places with big flows

[@simion8687]

Hi, is it possible to procure the queen bee like this? what would be the price or maybe you have a website where I can buy!? thank you

[@dougmclelland572]

Love your content! Did you say you use felt paper under your hives? Looked much thicker in some of your yards.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Yep, 30# felt paper.

[@jodygucwa8892]

Have you used felt paper before this year. I like that idea but I wonder how long it would last. thanks. You have really good videos.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Yes, I’ve got one yard on felt that’s three years old and looks the same. It works way better than weed barrier.

[@jodygucwa8892]

@@DuckRiverHoney thanks for the info. Im going to try it.

[@josephrawls]

I hope your season doesn't get swarm crazy like ours did this year.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

It has got swarmier than normal Joseph.

[@dravyss]

I bought the same bright green paint pen this year with similar results. The bees react badly to it when I open it (like they hate the smell or something) and it darkens to almost olive green on the queen. Not sure why but I've got the darker green coming to see if it's better.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

The darker one is a lot better.

[@costacheliviumarian2516]

Hello frm romania, we are also ahead, 3 weeks than normal and the canola overlap the black locust , we had 7to 10 days betueen the 2, from what i see the hole norden hemesfire is the same,,ahead.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Good luck to you this year!

[@3Beehivesto300]

Hobby keeper will check for queen cells. Pro bee keeper breaks up the hive with cells, removes the queen with a nuc or hive tool test.

[@nancynolton6079]

Have the same simultaneous bloom going on here on May 10th unfortunately we are having a week or more worth of rains as well which really is going to impact the nectar flow from these two major sources in our area destroying the bloom in one and washing the nectar out of the other from which our major honey crop is made. Everything had been setting up so well for just this event and now it seems to be falling apart. Cold cloudy wet weather cannot work the bees and the bees are not flying. Supers are on and hives filled with bees doing nothing. Spinning out the last of 2023's honey from the freezer trying to keep busy but sitting and waiting and watching the grass grow!

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Sorry the weather is against you Nancy, hopefully you can get some flight days!

[@3Beehivesto300]

Keep an empty bait hive on the hive stand…

[@AmericansBee]

20:10 two full "hobbit sizes frames" lol

[@haroldmarsh5156]

Awesome The flow is off for the second year

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Yep, but at least it’s a good flow this year. Last year wasn’t great.

[@johnemmenecker4859]

ive seen them "fake" swarm a day before they really left.... it was like a rehearsal before the real deal

[@honeyandthecoop803]

Great video, Nathan. I enjoyed your narration of day to day operations of your business. I can't wait to see your extraction videos a little later.

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Extraction will be a little different this year. I’m working on plumbing now.

[@timwilliams849]

Do you sale your nucs local?

[@DuckRiverHoney]

I will next year. I kept all my nucs this year to grow my own operation.

[@timwilliams849]

@@DuckRiverHoney I live in white bluff and would like to have a couple of nucs next spring

[@timwilliams849]

Your just up the road from us so I’ll keep in touch for spring

[@DuckRiverHoney]

Sounds good!

[@Bourbonsouth47]

Tulip popular has come & gone here been done for over a week now on 2 over sources

[@AmericansBee]

20:10 two full "hobbit sizes frames" lol