Who killed our Bees

[@jenineclonch6359]

It appeared your bees were clustered together to try to maintain/promote warmth for their queen and any brood, but there were way too few bees. If a hive goes into winter with too few bees, they can't generate enough heat to survive. Also, could they reach their honey stores? In cold weather, they tend to only move upwards for honey, not side to side. Just something to think about. Believe me, every bee keeper has lost their share of bees. You just keep on trying the next year!

[@menace2584]

Agree with your assessment that the bees starved to death even though they had some honey in the top super. Really could not tell for sure since they didn't pull out the other frames in the brood chamber. Also, the wasp had nothing to do with the death of this hive. Good luck to them this spring on their new hives. They should have feed this hive in the fall.

[@DougTrantham]

Greetings. I’m a 10 year beekeeper. There is so much to learn! I would put the empty brood box on the living hive. That way they will use the space in spring. If you leave the empty boxes where they are, wax moths/hive beetles may ruin it as soon as it gets warm since there are no bees to defend it.

[@7StandsFarm]

Hi the I believe reason those bees dies is because the number of bees got low (most likely lost queen) and you had to much space and the colder nights we had killed the bees. Something I have learned from experience is you have to have a good ratio of bees to the amount of space you have in the hive. An example that I like to use is trying to heat a 3000 square foot house with a small electric heater is like a small cluster of bees trying to keep two boxes of the hive warm.

[@RickP654]

Hey Jason, if you pay attention to all those pine trees, you won't find much grass growing underneath them. You should get rid of all of those pine trees. Plant something like Whiteoak, Hickory, Poplar, or Maple. Any thing besides pine. Hope you have a wonderful new year and God bless you and the family.

[@Citi-zen86]

Bees can die for a variety of reasons including varroa mite load, damp, lack of honey stores, wasp attacks etc. Were you doing inspections during cold weather? They should really be left over the winter and make sure they have enough stores (including some extra fondant) if you took of the supers

[@karenmiller6088]

It's definitely worth getting a honey extractor/spinner. The honey pours and it's super fun to bottle up gallons of delicious honey 🍯😋

[@SowtheLand]

it's on my Christmas list for this year

[@davidfincher4571]

You never ever do a hive inspection in the winter you want them to stay warm and wait till spring

[@huttonsvalleypermaculture]

Oh how upsetting!! I have 5 hives here and I love all my girls - I'd be devastated to find them gone. Hope your other hive survives!!

[@Dawn-di1qs]

Love your methodical non drama ways.

[@ShaunBurke-r8f]

Make sure you plant flowers for them in the spring

[@douglasbooker8330]

The high tunnel is coming along you been busy brother.

[@SowtheLand]

busy bee

[@leannekenyoung]

That time lapse on the honey dripping was very cool! Now you can make some honey garlic ferment!! It’s considered GOLD for preventing illness and colds! God bless! Thanks for sharing love your videos! Listened to the podcast today always enjoyable!❤️🥰🇨🇦🍁🙏🏻

[@pamelamurphy4765]

Well that is very upsetting! I would cry if I lost a hive. Now you have a chance to capture a wild hive of bees. Put a bee box in a sturdy tree and see what you can catch.

[@janetwithers7427]

Am glad all the Beed didnot die. Yummy honey. You are coming right along on the high tunnel. Way to start the new year. 👏😊💕

[@belieftransformation]

You’re both good at learning & I’m sure your bee keeping will succeed. Maybe you & the Hollars can rent some processing equipment together? Sad that you lost a whole hive. The progress is wonderful in spite of this. May 2024 be a prosperous, healthy year for everyone 🤗💕🇨🇦

[@TheBonnieberry]

The hours of viewing pleasure!Thank you,dear Jason and family. The berrys in Nova Scotia

[@shawnmcpeak6184]

I remember When you were building buss homes. You worked on Justin and Rebecca's bus.

[@Me-ov9nw]

So sad about your bees😢. Hope the other hive winters over well. Happy, healthy 2024 to all of you!

[@mspeedie52]

You are going to have to get an extractor to spin the frames to extract the honey.

[@robinsonjohn4975]

This is a natural cycle for honeybees! A few survive and surround the queen over the winter and then the hive revives in the Spring.

[@shawnmcpeak6184]

Turn the light on in your oven. will heat slightly and increase flow in the funnel.

[@littlehillsidehomestead6362]

My wife and really like your channel and content. We watch 99 percent of your videos but hardly ever if ever comment. Thank you all so much!

[@TheMennomilist]

You don't convert school buses any longer? I liked when you did that and recall the one or two videos where you talked about doing so. I am sorry about your bees dying. I enjoyed watching how much honey you were able to get, and how you went about doing so. You're working hard clearing and building!

[@gaylewatkins4685]

Hello Jason, Lorraine and Penelope. You are an amazing homesteading family. I love following along as you rebuilt, reclaim and revitalize this property. Your work ethic is incredible. Can't wait to see your before and after pictures after 5 years. 🤗❣️🙏

[@mrv8rick2]

Hi I joined 2 tubes at a time on my tunnel, both work as you show. Our tunnels in UK are a bit different (they were 10 years ago when I put mine up) I didn't have the spring clips like yours They looked interesting on your pig one. I did mine in summer to get poly really tight . It is still like a drum skin, it was 50°C inside the tunnel when covering on my jack as all the people that said they would help with cover dissapeard for a few days LOL. I enjoyed a cold beer or 10 when I was done

[@lindamartinez8569]

I’ve got greenhouse envy.

[@heaven-is-real]

make the passage to get into the hive too small and restricted for the wasp to get in maybe that will work a strong hive will try to kill the wasp

[@PierceWellnessCenter]

Great Job on the high tunnel. I built mine last year by myself and so can truly appreciate your accomplishment. My elbow hurt for months from using the impact driver. Sooo many trips up and down the ladders! 😂❤ Many blessings on your endeavors!

[@GOakland]

Lorraine has learned a lot on beekeeping and processing honey in a short amount of time!

[@dieselds678]

Merci for sharing your experience w/ bees! Strongest hives survive, weaker ones go by wayside, Bond method, live & let die survival of the fittest. Now you have proven strong survivor hive that can be split into another hive or 2 later this year. Your empty can be used for splits. Also can use styro coolers (Omaha steaks/Jenny craig etc) to make swarm lures to catch your or other feral survivor honey bee swarms. Keep on Beekeeping the Planet! 🐝🐝🐝

[@denisestone8491]

I read somewhere that some bees go into a hibernation or a kind of shutdown when it gets too cold for them. It gives the appearance that they are dead.

[@teakkabean5369]

Ridge pole -I’ve done 2. The long pole method I didn’t have space for. Attaching 1 at a time was exhausting for me. But building out 3 lengths to run into the brackets & adding a new length everytime the other end was in the bracket on the hoop worked for me. There was a lot of back & forth. But less stress on my neck & shoulders

[@JamieSantos]

Really enjoyed watching you build the greenhouse and seeing how Lorraine harvested the honey. I know what it feels like to lose your first colony! Been there! Just bought your chicken tractor plans and probably will buy the course on chicken processing too. Thanks for making these available!

[@suegreen4123]

My son had some of his hives in a mint field. It didn't seem to affect the flavor much, but the honey was a deeper amber color.

[@secretgardenhomestead3251]

Love your videos! Till up a patch of land and sprinkle wild flower seeds to help your bees this summer 🙂thanks for another video!!

[@Mamasmovietime]

I so enjoy watching what you and Lorraine do all around the homestead. It's definitely a huge improvement from two years ago. I'm sticking around for all of it. Happy New Year Jason, Lorraine and Penelope.

[@catsmother4556]

On my 60’ tunnel I put up the ridge pole piece by piece just like you did. Brings back memories. I think the worst bit was the constant up and down and move the ladder.

[@gretaknebel8495]

Slow and steady wins the race of getting your greenhouse done. Looking good!

[@tracybruring7560]

To help the honey flow put it in the oven with the light on

[@danielleterry2331]

Great vid , love your place. Sorry about the loss of 1 hive, my Uncle lost all 4 of his hives due to crop sprayers down the road a bit.

[@centexan]

Knee pads are okay. I found the Velcro straps really irritating to the back of my legs. I started using the rectangular pads that are sold for gardening. Quite the improvement.

[@marilynclayton3430]

If the bees are dead and the their tongues are sticking out that means they where poisoned somewhere that ppl have sprayed. I lost 8 hives due to ppl spraying chemicals.

[@LazyDogsRanch]

It can also mean they starved to death.

[@trippnbilly7130]

I'm awfully curious how you build your end walls. Can't wait for that video and I hope you give us details.

[@SowtheLand]

stay tuned, coming soon

[@shannonswyatt]

Put the honey frames on top of the other hive to help save the comb.

[@rodneyjackson7793]

Put the honey in the other hive to help the other hive survive through the winter.

[@gilliandejong1459]

Awwwww the poor bees😢 I'm soooooo glad you did the ridge pole in sections

[@titanlurch]

The darker the honey the better. Buckwheat and wild flowers makes great honey but the best honey I have ever had was from a mixed forest.

[@julieblack1242]

Hi , great channel, Hey you may want to invest in a hand honey spinner. It holds 4 frames and you canhot knife the caps off then spin the frames to get your honey. My father was a bee keeper for 60 plus years so I pickup up a few things. I'm in Queensland Australia. Great work and very interesting watching your channel.

[@HaroldMalaby]

One time we were at a festival and my wife and I were showing how to braid wool rugs. I took a break and visited a been vendor who let me help him spin out the honey in his equipment loved the opportunity. I would suggest going to a class hands on and see this being done first hand and in the coming years you too can add to your homestead classes on this subject. Great fun and oh so good.

[@ericduty917]

The bees starved. That is what that dead cluster on the empty frame indicates.

[@lisamaria5867]

Jason did u forget to screw nails in the individual poles making up the middle big pole on the green house ?

[@roblaing7706]

Sorry for ur loss! God bless!😊

[@Sharon-Me]

You make it look easy, Jason!

[@ChristieOconnor]

🐝🐝White house on the hill 🐝🐝 Are fairly new to bees they where learning just like you are. I loved watching their learning journey x

[@taurota1554]

Awesome as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along

[@bernadettehearn3023]

you might want to put the frames into the freezer in case the wasp laid any eggs in there. We had a similar thing happen with a hive.

[@kar702]

We had bees for years. We live in Arizona and my favorite honey is Desert honey. It’s real dark and has a flavor on its own.

[@earthinspirationspotteryde2904]

As a bee keeper, in the fall you have to do more regular inspections and it would not be a wasp attack.. most likely varroa mites if you haven’t treated your hives. 😢

[@RuneChaosMarine]

@4:28 perhaps you should simply combine the two towers to produce one strong colloney.

[@twistedponies7480]

Sorry to hear about your bees. Hope your other hive continues to thrive. That high tunnel looks great!

[@debireed6128]

I hope you plant lots of flowers in and around your veggie boxes this year, so your bees have plenty to choose from.

[@marybell6325]

My husband & i put up a 17× 48 gothic greenhouse 10 years ago . We put 1 ridge pole at a time . Happy new year

[@PurePeace20]

We lost our first batch of bees too, but most of them left in the middle of winter and there were not many dead ones left behind in the hives. We're not sure what happened, but we assume they abandoned the hives due to lack of resources. We had water and pollen out for them but we didn't provide any extra sugar water and they must have thought they didn't have enough honey to survive the winter. Oh well, we'll try again. The honey from the abandoned hives is the best tasting honey I've ever had! It's worth it to keep trying bees even though it's an expensive hobby with a huge learning curve. Good luck to you guys!

[@teresaballard2137]

I'm sure those who are building this tunnel, will appreciate your filming the process.

[@allonesame6467]

Awesome, Lorraine! Thank you for filling in the blanks. ☮💖

[@teriswenson960]

You can get yourselves set up to catch a swarm this year as well. I had one year a mouse got in the hive and destroyed it. This year I had one swarm catpture hive be lost to wax months. I still have two swarm capture hives going. PS I don't have an extractor either. This year I got 15 pints from 7 frames. Had to manually scrape frames and strain just like you did.

[@vernahelvikmontanamomma8737]

Yep welcome to bee family. We are in northern Montana. Lost three hives last year. FYI order bees ahead. Some have a time limit when you can order bee,mine is March. I scrape my frame with a pancake turner into a colander. Then let it drip. With only the few frames I wrap and freeze.

[@annettemaddalone4297]

you need to keep them warm and feed them during the winter

[@cherylcooper2838]

That is going to be one fantastic high tunnel so big!

[@Mike_squarebeefarms]

Beekeeping is tough! You’ll figure it out but it takes years to really get good at it. So much to learn but worth it. Love your videos! Take Care.

[@Qwiv]

You can place the scraped honey comb into the active hive and the bees will clean the comb for you. That is what you do on a successful harvest. You just return the comb to the bees and let them do all the work. You also want to freeze to kill off any mites that can take over without the bees.

[@leahr.2620]

When your done filtering the honey, i think if you take the funnel and boil it in hot water the wax should come off.

[@Ann-pn9or]

I'm so sorry for your losses. It's so hard.

[@CB_RITC]

Unfortunately it happens, I have a nuc and package coming in the spring

[@SowtheLand]

thanks man!

[@coopsblooms5824]

We did the same process with the ridge pole. The worst part for me was all the climbing up and down the ladders.

[@harrietpeabody2118]

Sorry to hear about your bee's 🐝 Thank you for sharing your journey 🐝

[@evalinawarne1337]

Green House is coming together. I'm so excited for you. All the veggies, herbs, flowers you'll be THANKFULLY EATING. It's nice to get a taste of your honey. ❤❤❤🀄🥀🌹🙏🇮🇱🙏🛐🛐🛐🌹🥀 I am very thankful to watch your Loving family VLOGS And🎉 FRIDAY SHOPTALK. You are BLESSED. FROM SE MICHIGAN.

[@miguelruizm]

Doesn't the cold weather have the same effect on bees?

[@bjo867]

Thank you for the time lapse of the hunny draining

[@jenniewolford1631]

What about a heat matt like for sprouts to warm the jar and help it drain?

[@dixsigns1717]

Talk to your bee mentor about freezing the frames to destroy any wax moth eggs.

[@Mekare40503]

Sorry for your loss! I believe they are the hardest livestock to keep alive. 😢

[@barbaracranfield6703]

So enjoyable to watch the two of you learning as you go, your interest in finding the cause, so many of your posts, you have many people who will help you long the way. I am not a honey lover, but it always looks so good. The two of you work so good together, and so patient with each other.

[@lotusflowerkumudini9574]

So very sorry to hear of the hive! You guys and Lumnah are my two favorites that I watch consistently! Thank you for such a pleasant channel!

[@SundryTalesOfConstance79WESTY]

Oh Noooo! So sorry my friend. Another great video! Nooice! 😎 STOC

[@christineabedini3765]

Didn’t you put some feed jars on your hives to get them through the winter?😊

[@SuesSecretGarden3]

Sorry about your Bees but at least u did get to taste the honey. You are doing great with a High tunnel and working by yourself. Tell Zeke to help you 😂

[@cynthiawilliamson5905]

Honey looks wonderful

[@Rith9789]

10:46 "were gonna get meat chickens" I know what that means but it still sounds funny. It implies there are Styrofoam chickens, or Granite Chickens !

[@SowtheLand]

only reason I say it like that to not confuse people. When you just say chickens most people think egg layers. Well, nowadays you can say 3d printed chickens. 🤣

[@Rith9789]

@@SowtheLand can't you get meat chickens by... Having chickens lay eggs? 🥚

[@Grandma_NC]

@@SowtheLand Chicken you buy from the store might as well be 3D printed. I remember how beef used to taste and now, you might as well become a vegetarian.

[@miephoex]

Thank you for a nice 2023. You inspire me (at 75) to attempt to enjoy each and every day. God is good and I pray He blesses your 2024 with health and contentment!

[@hopechannelcat5462]

so sorry for the loss of your bees. it's always a problem when you lose any animal.

[@Wildevis]

So sad about the bees but glad you have one hive left. That is one huge high tunnel!! You are doing such a great job on the tunnel build though, I love watching you guys with all your builds, you and Ben and Miah and those Rhodes boys

[@choirmom78]

I really enjoy your channel. Happy New Year!

[@karomaalta4592]

Sorry for your bees! That high tunnel is a lot of work ❤

[@tim061960]

Hi Jason, sorry about the bees, but looks like you have good advice from others on that score. High tunnel is looking great just remember to install the plastic on a warm day. If you do it on a cold day then when it warms up it will sag and you will have to re-tighten it. Also, did they supply anti-hotspot tape for you to put between the metal poles and the plastic. It will extend the life of the cover if you use it.

[@ritahall8653]

The honey looked great

[@lisaporria7307]

Also, if it's below 50 degrees you shouldn't be opening your hive. Leave the honey in the hive until late spring.

[@lindajoe9862]

Sorry about the bees... nice out wasn't all of them. Your high tunnel will be ready soon... you're doing a good job😊

[@katechiconi]

I don't think one wasp is capable of massacring a whole hive of bees... I fear they got too cold. Anywhere that gets days of frost needs to consider either keeping a smoke fire going near the hive to keep them warm, or to put covers on the hives on frosty nights. Were you giving them extra food too? I have a beekeeping friend in Ohio, and she starts covering her hives with straw jackets quite early in the year, and she feeds them sugar patties throughout the winter.

[@ds755]

Sorry to hear you lost a hive. If it was wasps, try restricting the entrance so your bees can defend the hive

[@TheGoodlifeoffgrid]

Sorry to hear about the bees 😢 thank you for sharing 😊