I'm assured they will be here Friday.
FRIDAY.....that's the 13th....
Well that's my luck. I talked my son in law to come over and take pic when I put them into their hives.
Yes yes he has a telephoto lens so he should be safe.
These are my first bees and I constructed the hives and frames myself, lot of work but I love woodworking and I used wood I picked up here and there.
I will post more pic Friday or Saturday depending on how many stings I get ^^_^^
Looks like a great setup! You won't get stung -- the bees will be too interested in setting up housekeeping.
I picked up 2 'package of bees with one queens each Friday AM
My 'Free Range' bunnies below.
My home made hives, second pic.
Opening the bee package which was said to have 3 lbs of bees.
Shake, bump and shake the bees into the hive...the queen has been removed, she comes in her own little 'cage'
Second pic the dark bees are in the bottom of the hive.
OK everyone in...a few of the bees were dead in the package and this morning I found many that had been carried out of the hive and droped on the ground.
This message was edited Apr 14, 2012 11:50 AM
Now the Heart of the hive The Queen. I'm holding her cage in my right hand
Whoops I she dropped down, should be hung from the top of a frame.
Well just dig her out.
Last pic is a jar with sugar water to help them out while the find flowers, which will be no problem around here.
The first package I sprayed with sugar water to make the bees docile, (I'm installing the first package here)
I got in a hurry with the second and while installing it I got stung in the back of the head, live and learn.
Just waiting for the Honey. A man can have a Beer, right... (but Two) ?
She got me right there.
My first born and helper while installing the bees.
Helper and my wonderful wife, The Boss ^^_^^
This message was edited Apr 14, 2012 11:54 AM
Great pics and thanks for sharing your experience. We pick up our first bees this coming Sunday.
Spray the package with sugar water, for sure.
I go out at night to look at mine. There is a street light across, I take a light with, I released my queens about 4AM today.
We shall see.
I'm definately spraying mine with sugar water, though I have one beekeeper who uses only water.
Having been to several county bee association meetings and a couple schools, I've learned that the statement is true, that when you ask 10 beekeepers a question, you'll get 11 answers.
yardener, looks like it just you and me here.
I have a bee supply store here called Dadant. They in 11 states but not in Ohio.
Where did you order your bees ?
Dwight
I'm reading! Just not posting.
Hi Kid, I do the same on many forms.
Do you have bees or plan to get some ?
I just love Daves Garden, I learn a lot and meat interesting people.
Picking up bees at Spille in Ky. We have an association meeting tonite but the wife and I are skipping it because we don't want to be overwhelmed with the many different opinions. LOL
Yardener, let me know how spraying water vs sugar water goes...
I sprayed sugar water, 1/2 sugar 1/2 half water and everything is sooooo sickie.
May be I used too much ??
I had bees in Illinois but left everything behind when I moved to Oregon. It's been bad out here for bees the last coupla years so I haven't invested in new hives. We've had two of the coldest, wettest years on record & the keepers out here seem to really be struggling.
I'm going to use the sugar water with a 1:1 ratio, I'm not taking a chance since all the books and videos say to do so.
I'm not worried about putting them in. I'm more concerned with the follow-up visits in the weeks ahead; knowing what I need to look for, but we'll get it eventually.
Advice from a bee keeper of less than a week, spray only the packages and try not to get the sugar on the hives.
Not much activity this AM, but yesterday I saw some coming home with pollen on their legs
Its great that you are getting activity. I've been concerned that we would miss the largest of the nectar flow for our area before the colony was up to capacity.
I'm planning on putting out 2 small plots of buckwheat and a small plot of sweet clover. Nothing real big, maybe 750+ sq ft, but big enough to monitor their activity.
We have an acre of meadow that is full of golden rod for their fall push to fill their winter stores, so all I need is a good mid/late summer source of nectar.
Advice from a bee keeper of less than a week, spray only the packages and try not to get the sugar on the hives.
Not much activity this AM, but yesterday I saw some coming home with pollen on their legs
Love you Loras, maybe tomorrow I'll have some pic of my 'Bee Fence' I have built.
I live in the city and need to shield the 'Walkers' up and down the street.
Lot of work but I have nothing to do and all day to do it.........
Checked my hives tonight, things look to be going well.
I can see the white comes being made. Hard to see from this pic.
Hallo Rentman,
Honey flowing?
S.
A little update about my Honeys
I broke my foot 2 months ago, so I've been moving a little slower.
One of my hives is not producing honey in the supper but the other has is going great.
Well for me it's great, I got two lbs. and boy is it sweet.
My oldest daughter took the pic. I call her 'The Bee Charmer Girl' from the movie 'Green Fried Tomatoes' She wares no protection and gets great shots.
My bees are Very Docile, I can run the mower and weed eater right by then.
Here are a couple of shots.
Sorry about your foot.
My bees have been docile all summer. Worked around and in without much problem, till last Friday. I walked by them, minding my own business and "BAM", 3 or 4 came out and went crazy on me. Got nailed in the right arm. Never had a problem with bee stings but this time my arm swelled up and hurt like crazy. I'm guessing I got stung more than once on the back of the elbow where I couldn't see to get the sting out.
Little boogers, but I had taken their honey the week before, so I guess I had it coming
Bad news about the stinging, I was stung twice, back of the neck when a week after I 'installed them I went out at night with a flashlight to look inside.
BEES DO NOT SLEEP.....
By the way, I sit out by my bees watching them and saw some, on the landing deck, with their heads down, tails up and it looked like they had No Wings.
I know it wasn't the beer I had been drinking that day so I looked closer. They were Fanning the hive, wings moving so fast I could not see the wings, blowing air into the hive.
God created some smart bees.
Tomorrow it'd to Berea, KY for a seed exchange.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
I loved reading your thread rentman, and hope you post more news as you can. Also hope your foot is doing well. I am pondering keeping bees right now, and want to learn.
WHen is the best time of year to set up a hive?
Hi Flower, Love Florida, was born in W.P.B., spent most of my life there.
I'm no expert on bees. Learned everything from the internet.
Last April I bought two sets of bees from the local 'Dadant supplier' here. They are nation wide, have a number of out lets and you can order supplies from them on line. There is a Dadant in High Springs, FL. or live bees can be ordered on line. Dadant got the bees from Alabama. Up here Kentucky the new hives are started in April (too cold to start them in the winter) but where you live I think you could start now.
October (see my post) I harvested 2 lbs of honey from the most productive hive and it has died out, NO bees in it. I guess I should not have taken their food.
My second hive was not as active as the one I harvested, and I did not take honey from it.
So I have one hive now and I'm feed it sugar water to hold them over the winter. Bees do not fly out if the temp is below 60, I have read.
I plan to order another box of bees to be delivered this coming April. A box cost (last year) $75 and has one queen and '3 pounds' of worker bees.
It's called a 'Humming Box' ?? When I picked up my bees, last April, all the bee boxes were in a large warehouse, maybe 50 boxes and what a Humming.
I wish you the best and stay in touch.
Dwight
Yes, my yard is filled with the weed "Florida Snow" and they love it. I do see bees every morning after after the sun warms the air.
Hundreds of them. I love the pusley (Florida Snow's real name) because my bees and butterflies love it too. Sorry you lost a hive.
I'll have to check out the Dadant information you gave me, and see if anything is close to me.
BTW< have you been to the actual capitol building there in Frankfort? Do they still have the working
flower clock? I saw it when I was a kid, and so amazed by it.
