Saying this year has been a little different might be an understatement. It has been different in the bee world as well. Typically I wait until February to supplementally feed my bees. However, I recently decided that now is the time for my hives to be fed. As you may recall, we had a beautiful November. The bees were flying daily for about two weeks. Although it was so great to see them out and about, they were burning precious calories foraging in a complete desert. So, food stores were utilized much more rapidly and intensely than usual. I found that the bees in several of my hives have already come to the top of their hive boxes which were packed with honey in the fall.
Last week I utilized the "Mountain Camp" method as a way to supplementally feed a hive I was concerned about. Then today, I began putting winter feed patties on my colonies. All 40 of them will get a patty. Plus, I am going to put some granulated sugar on as well. (Mountain Camp Method). The sugar is not so much for feed as it is for a little added metabolic moisture management.
I was thrilled to see how strong my colonies looked and my biggest fear at this point is starvation. If your bees are alive right now, pat yourself on the back! That is a strong indicator that you helped manage your hive's varroa counts effectively. Most colonies that succumb to varroa will do so by mid-December.
Being mid-January, your queens have begun laying again. Although their egg laying rate is nowhere near what it is in spring and summer, she is already building up the colony's late winter/early spring work force. More and more nurse bees will be needed as well as heater bees as the winter slowly turns to spring.
]]>A lot of people don't really think about what honeybees do in the wintertime. Many think that they simply die off or hibernate. That couldn't be further from the truth. Scientists are still discovering the complexities of honeybees and their techniques for surviving the coldest of winters, all while keeping their queen at a balmy 94 degrees fahrenheit inside the hive.
When temperatures start to fall, the bees start to cluster in their hive. Meanwhile, the queen stops laying eggs in late fall and early winter since food stores are limited.
To insulate the colony as outside temperatures drop, the honeybee workers form a cluster around the queen and the brood (immature bees, from eggs to larvae) to keep them warm. The bees in the cluster keep their heads pointed inward, and the bees on the inside of the cluster feed on the honey that’s been stored in the hive for the winter. Those on the outside of the cluster insulate their companions inside the sphere of honey bees.
When the temperature reaches about 57 degrees Fahrenheit, the cluster tightens and the bees remain relatively motionless. The combined body heat that’s generated (more details below) by the bees lined up side-by-side in the outer ring of the cluster is sufficient to keep the colony warm.
The cluster can also expand or contract as temperatures fluctuate. As ambient temperatures rise, the bees on the outside separate a bit to increase the air flow through the cluster. As temperatures fall, the cluster tightens as the outer workers pull together.
As temperatures continue to drop, the worker bees start actively generating heat within the hive. They begin to flex the flight muscles located within the thorax of their bodies. But their wings don’t move. Instead, this vibration raises each bee's body temperature. With thousands of bees vibrating in this manner, the temperature at the center of the cluster warms to a cozy 93 degrees Fahrenheit.
During warmer spells, the entire cluster will move within the hive, positioning themselves around fresh supplies of nectar or other sugar sources.
About 40% of honeybee colonies die out every year. Most of the mortality occurs in the wintertime. However, with the right resources and strength, colonies can make it through the winter and begin a rapid growth trajectory in mid to late April here in Michigan. Beekeepers can play a significant role in the survival of their honeybee colonies by helping to manage varroa mite loads, (mites that prey on honeybee larvae and also transmit diseases), ensure that colonies have adequate food stores going into winter and also aiding by providing adequate shelter for the colonies.
Honeybees have many challenges but responsible beekeepers can really improve their chances for survival with just a few interventions. If you'd like to continue learning, More information will be coming soon!
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If they're alive now, they have most likely staved off the threat that Varroa poses. Most colonies die out in November or December if they have succumbed to Varroa. Good job!!!!
Take a peak when you can. Look for signs of life. If your bees are at the top of the hive, they have migrated through or past their honey stores. Typically the cluster will not move back down. This puts them at risk of starvation.
Now is the time to ensure that there is some form of supplementary feed such as a candy board, pollen patty or dry sugar pile for them. Be sure to monitor your supplementary feed throughout the rest of Winter and into early Spring. If your bees consume what you've provided but still have weeks left before they can forage nectar and pollen, they could possibly starve to death.
If you installed quilt boards, check on them to ensure that they are still dry. If not, change out your wood shavings or leaves etc, with fresh, dry insulation.
We're heading into our last stage of winter! Let's finish strong and come through the off season with bustling hives ready to build up strong in the spring!
]]>Before we get too far, lets discuss your bees acclimating to the pheromones of their new queen. It takes several days for this process to occur. Keep in mind that your bees will be quite new to their queen and container. As soon as the bees are loaded down south, they are on their nonstop (accept for gas) trip up to their new homes here in Michigan. It is fine to wait a day or two to hive your bees as long as they are nourished with some sugar water. They will have cans of syrup inside their packages. However, I have found that it is also a good idea to spray sugar syrup onto their screen for them to access if the can is not dripping sugar syrup and a quick enough rate.
If you are storing multiple packages for the night, keep them separated. You don't want the queens' pheromones mixing and causing confusion between the two colonies. Keep in mind that they have been transported in close quarters with pheromones flowing every which way. They still need time to acclimate.
Also, some beekeepers lay their packages screen side down on a damp towel. This enables the bees to have access to a means of hydration if necessary. Although, the can provided will also serve the same purpose.
For bees, you can provide carbohydrates and protein in the form of sugar and pollen. The sugar should be in the form of 1:1 sugar syrup. This is, one part sugar to one part water. It can be fed through many different types of feeders. (Boardman feeders, frame feeders, top jar feeders, etc) . The sugar syrup will also serve the purpose of hydration. The main function of the sugar syrup is to stimulate the wax secretion glands in the worker bees thus enabling them to quickly draw out comb for the queen to begin laying in. Feed, feed, feed! A new colony can take down about 1/2 gallon per day. Give your bees sugar syrup until they stop taking it. Once they stop you can rest assured that they have found other sources which better suit their needs.
Protein is not as necessary in May because there is ample pollen for them to forage. However, one can purchase pollen patties or dry pollen substitute to provide if they so choose.
Having some drawn comb frames is ideal because your queen can begin laying right out of the gate instead of waiting for her colony to draw out comb for her. Since many of you are just starting out, you might not have drawn comb to provide for your bees. Some of you are choosing to go "foundationless", others are going with wax foundation and still others are going with plastic foundation. All of these have their certain advantages and drawbacks. They are all suitable options though. Just remember that it is imperative that they have the sugar syrup to draw out that comb sufficiently. If you have plastic foundation, be sure that it is pre-coated with wax. If it's not, purchase some bees wax, melt it down and paint it onto your plastic foundation.
Now is the time to be painting your hive boxes, bottom boards and covers. I suggest applying 2 coats of latex primer followed by 2 coats of latex paint. Be sure to select lighter colors that will reflect the heat instead of absorb it. You don't want to be applying paint the week before your bees arrive because you want the paint to be fully cured and free of smells before you try to sell it to your new colony. If they don't like it, they just might abscond.
You want your bees to feel like they are safe and have a defendable shelter. Be sure to use your entrance reducers for this purpose. Leave the reducer on its smallest opening for several days. Your newly installed package bees are in a vulnerable state and can feel the need to take off if they suspect that they are unable to defend their new dwelling from other would be predators and pests.
Leave them be!!! You will be tempted to peak in several times a day to see what's happening. Just let them adjust to their new surroundings. You will only seem like a predator if you keep lifting the roof of their house off and pulling up frames to inspect them. Again, that may tempt them to think about moving on.
Install the queen. REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE CORK! There will either be a candy plug behind it or you will need to replace the cork with a marshmallow. DON'T LET THE QUEEN CLIMB OUT DURING THIS PROCESS.
Please refer to the recommended videos for how to install your bees and queen.
After 3 days, you will need to go in and see if the queen was released. At this time you should check for eggs and/or brood.
If you see eggs and brood then you will know that your queen has been released, has been accepted, is laying and all is well. Sometimes the bees choose to "supersede" the queen provided. The caging of queens and putting them with packaged bees is basically like an arranged marriage and sometimes, the colony just chooses to raise their own. That is perfectly fine. It is a minor setback for the beekeeper's standpoint but, is best the best option from the bee's point of view.
Another significant sign that all is well in your hive is if you see incoming bees with
pollen sacks on their back legs. This is one sign of a queenright hive. Although some would disagree, I have found it to be true. Once you see bees carrying pollen in, I'd say it's time to open your entrance reducer to a wider setting. Observe the traffic in and out of your hive. If it seems congested at the opening, plan to completely remove the excluder soon. After a week or so, let 'em fly! May and June provide ample pollen and nectar for honeybees. They won't be at much risk for being disturbed at this point.
Hopefully this information will help you give your bees a strong start to their season. Remember to watch the package installation videos!
]]>Saturday was the A2B2 Club's build day. Matthaei Botanical Garden's hosted us. There were about sixty of us. We had a blast and I couldn't believe how much was accomplished! These beekeepers know how to get things done! In just a few hours many had assembled all of their frames and boxes. They're all well on their way to having a great season. I'm really excited for them.
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I got caught like that once and vowed to not let it happen again. Unfortunately, I still find myself scrambling for one thing or another as I try to keep that balance of growth and stability in my bee yards. Here are a few bottlenecks I've found as I've learned how to be prepared.
Healthy hives are going to want to do what nature intends them to do; swarm. It's nature's way of ensuring that healthy bees continue to proliferate and populate our planet; in spite of what we humans do to either help or hinder them. Although a spring swarm is typically a sign of a healthy hive, I am not interested in watching 50% or more of my healthy hive fly off into the sunset after I've spent all of this time, energy and resources keeping them alive and well throughout the winter.
Having 10%-20% more equipment on hand than you anticipate needing is always a good practice. You want to stay slightly ahead of your bee's progress, being on the ready to add another box at just the right time. I think tending a fire is similar to tending the growth of your hive. In the same way that you wouldn't throw big logs on some newly lit tinder, you wouldn't place 3 or 4 empty boxes on a colony fresh out of winter. The bees would feel compelled to guard and maintain the over abundant comb surfaces thus causing them to spread their workforce too thinly and hinder their maintenance of more important components of their hive like the queen's freshly laid eggs and the brood.
Have your boxes assembled and painted well in advance. I used to frequently get them assembled but would not get them primed and painted. This caused them to prematurely age. One can assemble a box and throw it in the mix but, one shouldn't paint them and expect the bees to take to it with the smell of paint still present on the boxes. Ample time for paint to cure is a must.
Make sure you have a surplus of frames. This is where many beekeepers cut corners in their haste to keep up with the bees. They make the mistake of not filling their boxes with frames for the bees to draw comb on. Often times they plan on getting back to the hive in a day or two to fill in the frame slots once they've assembled more frames. A day turns into a week. Then, the beekeeper is faced with the consequence of "violated bee space." The bees fill in that empty slot or two with comb. Now the beekeeper is faced with the dilemma of what to do. The bees used a ton of energy and resources and the beekeeper feels compelled to remove it and put in the neglected frames. It's a setback to both the beekeeper and the bees!
Ensure that you have extra bottom boards. In a pinch, many things can be used as a temporary cover or lid for a hive. However, bottom boards serve a certain purpose which cannot be simply slapped together then replaced a day or two later when the beekeeper has caught up. The bottom board is not only the floor of the Langstroth style hive, it also typically serves as the hive entrance. Without that functioning bottom board, the colony cannot function well.
Feeding a newly split hive, package, nuc or a captured swarm is of utmost importance! Be sure you not only have an adequate amount of feeders. Be sure that you have a supply of 1:1 sugar syrup ready in the spring. You don't want to make your split then have to run into the house to prepare a fresh batch of sugar syrup then wait for it to cool, then provide it to the colony. Have it ready to go. Don't give your bees another reason to feel like the new home you're providing is not up to their standards!
Drawn comb is great to have on hand. Remember that springtime is when bees will be drawing new comb. Be preparing for future comb needs by harnessing the power of a strong comb building hive. A spring hive that is fed ample amounts of 1:1 sugar syrup will be stimulated to draw out comb. Bees typically will not draw out comb later in the season so, collect your comb frames while you can! Providing drawn comb to a split or a weak hive going into winter can make all the difference in the world to a colony trying to get up and running. It is important to provide to package bees as well. You can never have enough drawn comb. Well, once you do, melt it down and process it into that beautiful golden wax!
So remember, have your hive boxes assembled, primed and painted well in advance. Get those frames ready to install. Bottom boards are a must! Be sure to have several ready. Have 1:1 sugar syrup ready to go so your bees can draw out comb to provide you with that essential resource.
Stay ahead of the wave!
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A new twist on beekeeping has created quite a stir in the industry. Some love it, some hate it and some just don't know what to think. My friend, Jen actually taught a session of my bee school last summer on the Flow Hive. She's written an article describing her experiences as a Flow Hive user. Read on to learn how you can get a discount for yourself and may even be able to get a free Flow Hive for your local club.
]]>In 2015, my sister-in-law sent me a link to the Flow Hive Indiegogo (like Kickstarter outside the US) campaign. She knew one of my dreams was to keep bees. I have to say that at first glance the Flow Hive seemed too good to believe, and it was also way outside my hobby budget at the time ($750 with shipping). But then my mother-in-law said she was also interested in keeping bees and would split the cost of the Flow Hive with me and help me keep bees on her sheep farm, so I took a risk and we purchased a Flow Hive through the campaign. Not knowing what I was getting myself into with beekeeping in general, we could’ve waited a year to make that purchase, but I’m not sorry we did it.
In 2016, we purchased our first two nucs and stumbled through a year as beginning beekeepers without using the Flow Hive’s patented frames. They are not really meant for first year bees who don’t have an established hive because you might take too much honey and leave your bees starving in the winter. Despite taking an excellent beginner beekeeper class, our bees died over the 2016-2017 winter, but this didn’t deter us.
In 2017, I took the intermediate bee class, and we purchased two new nucs which took off on our old bee’s comb, so we felt confident in using the Flow frames. At first the bees were
a little reluctant to use the plastic frames, but not because of the required queen excluder (brood in the plastic frames is a big pain to clean out) which we witnessed the bees flying through like it wasn’t even there. I imagine that it just took a little while for the bees to figure out that they could fill in the gaps with wax or propolis and then fill the plastic cells with honey, but they finally did.
Through the observation window and the removable back panel, we watched the plastic frames fill up and when they were around 80% full of capped honey, we popped off the caps, popped in the spigots, turned the key, and watched the honey flow into jars without needing any filtration. Wow! For us, each frame yielded around 6lbs, and once emptied, the bees would chew through the still-intact wax caps and fill them up again! No muss, no fuss, no heavy lifting and transport of full honey frames.
Now that’s not to say things went perfectly. At our first harvest we had the spigot in backwards and lost a lot of honey to the inside of the hive (fine for the bees, but less honey for us). We also found the need to set up stands at the back of the hives so we didn’t have to hold filling jars. Tipping the hives to help with the honey flow was additionally useful, but a bit of a pain, as was covering the spigots and top of the jars with plastic wrap to keep the bees out of the honey as the jars were filling. There’s a little leakage every time, but it is minimal and goes back into the hive for the bees.
I’ve learned a lot about the Flow Hive in these two years. Firstly, it’s just a Langstroth garden hive with a modified honey super filled with special, plastic frames. In fact, you don’t have to buy a complete Flow Hive if you don’t want to. You can buy the frames only and then modify a regular deep Langstroth super to fit the Flow frames. The frames are made of many sheets of plastic which form nearly complete cells. After the bees complete the cells with wax or propolis, fill them with honey, and cap them, you slide in a key at the top of the cell and turn it so that half of the sheets move and “crack” open the cells. The honey then flows down the inside of the frame to a channel at the bottom where the spigot attaches, and out the spigot into your jar.
I know it sounds too good to be true, but seeing is believing. I encourage you to check out www.honeyflow.com to watch videos of this amazing system and how it works. The good news is, the Flow Hive company is invested in the global health of bees and the education of beekeepers worldwide, are happy to answer any questions you have, and have excellent customer service. They also have a Bee Club Support program offering education, discounts, and sometimes free hives to bee clubs around the world. The Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers club (A2B2) is a participant in the Flow Hive Ambassador program and members receive a 7.5% discount on most Flow products. If you are a member contact an A2B2 board member to receive a link to get your discount.
Now, one word of warning about the Flow Hive: it is not a substitute for active, informed beekeeping. A Flow Hive makes extracting honey easier, but doesn’t change anything else about beekeeping. You still need to maintain your hives, check and treat for Varroa mites, and properly winter your hives to be a successful beekeeper. Bee classes and joining your local bee club help tremendously with this!
All in all, the Flow Hive is a great tool for hobby beekeepers like me. So, would I buy another Flow Hive? I just did. Looking forward to double the honey next year!]]>
“It’s just no good anymore since you went away…”
Twenty-four hours after I installed my first two packages of bees, one colony absconded leaving me with just one hive. I couldn’t believe it! I wanted to quit right then and I probably would have if I didn’t have my second hive to look after.
What I learned was, that stuff happens with bees. In the end, they do what they want to. They leave, they can become weak, they sometimes die off.
I limped through my first season with only one hive. And, there were a lot of lessons I missed out on because I only had the one hive. In this article, I will tell you the reasons why it is of utmost importance to start off with at least two hives.
Reading the Hive
Both new and seasoned beekeepers need to “read the hive”. With only one hive you have no way of comparing what might be good, normal or a matter of concern if you don’t have experience in knowing what to look for. If you were to observe a single hive and count 25 bees per minute going in and out you might believe that all is well. However, if that hive was by a second one which had 100 or more bees going in and out per minute, you would then realize that you have a weak hive. By the same token, bee traffic might be very low in both hives. Often times, bee traffic is determined by weather patterns and nectar flows. So, if both hives are quiet on a certain day, you can easily surmise that it’s probably the bee’s natural response to environmental factors and the bees are choosing to stay home. You can’t arrive at those conclusions by observing only one hive.
Sharing the Wealth
With two hives, you now have resources. One way to bolster a weak hive is to add a frame of brood. This can jumpstart the hive and get it back up to speed. Take that frame from the strong hive and place it in with the weak one. This will not only increase the hive’s workforce but can also stimulate the queen to lay more.
Help Raise a Queen
Sometimes a hive can go “queenless”. There are many reasons why this may occur. If the weak hive has no 3-day old (or younger) larvae, the hive will become “hopelessly queenless”. They need that young larva to develop a new queen from. Taking a frame of open brood from your strong hive and giving it to the weak one gives them a fighting chance to raise their own queen. In a few weeks the hive can be back in business with a new laying queen.
Combining Hives
If you only have one hive and it is dwindling away it can be demoralizing to watch it slowly die off. Many new beekeepers give up at this point feeling like they’ve failed and they were never meant to keep bees. There is another chance to save those bees though. Combining the weak hive with the strong one is a good way to preserve whatever is left. The weak bees can assimilate into the strong hive, become part of the workforce and further strengthen the strong hive. Depending on where you are in the season you could still possibly split that hive by purchasing a new queen. You may still finish the season with two hives.
“Two can be as bad as one, it’s the loneliest number since the number one…”
Just getting back to the “Three Dog Night” theme… A great idea is to have two hives and a “nuc” or “nucleus colony”. Not sure what a nuc is? Basically, it’s a mini, full functioning hive with a queen, worker bees, brood, nectar & pollen. It’s a great resource for bolstering your two-full hives, it’s added insurance for the sustainability of your apiary and it allows you to experiment and improve your skills with a bit more of a safety net.
Future articles will explain ways of obtaining a nuc from your own bees. It’s a step in the direction of creating a self-sustaining apiary. And, that’s a very important goal to strive for as a beekeeper. Now is the time to be planning for next season. If you’re embarking on your first season as a beekeeper, save yourself a lot of unnecessary stress, speculation and worry. Plan on starting with two hives. If you’re coming into your second season, I wish you and your hives the best this winter! Starting the Spring with live bees is exciting and provides you with many options. Plan at least, to create a nuc. Or, split your hives to grow your apiary and build up that safety net. Sustainability is the key to being a successful beekeeper.
All the best!
Dave Pearce
Local Buzz Bees & Honey
www.LocalBuzzBees.com
]]>So, wherever you’re at, take a look for a bee club near you. You will find that it is one of your most valuable assets. Most are free to attend but for a membership fee of $15.00 or so, there are a lot of benefits. The $15.00 helps the clubs serve their members. The value is not only in being a part of a great community.
Members get first preference for joining bee schools, get to participate in bulk discounts on equipment and bees and free educational opportunities. And that all makes for a sound investment! The Michigan Beekeeper’s Association website is a great resource for finding a club near you. If you’re not in a club, take a chance and get to a meeting sometime! It’s a great way to stay connected in the bee world.
By the way, the bees in the photos are "festooning". Scientists don't seem to have all agreed upon what the actual purpose of this behavior is. Some theorize that the bees are making a scaffolding upon which they secrete and pass wax for building comb. Others believe that the bees hang together and link legs to communicate and orient themselves.
Dave Pearce
Local Buzz Bees & Honey
]]>I’ve received several emails and calls this month from upset beekeepers. Most have made a lot of really good decisions and cared well for their bees going into winter. But then, after a few cold nights they’ve found a pile of dead bees in the entrance of their hives. Not just tens but hundreds! It looks as though the entire colony has succumbed to our harsh Michigan winter before it even struck its first real blow.
I’ve learned to never count my bees out. Losses of this magnitude are normal this time of year. Honeybees lose the remainder of their summer bees which are not genetically designed to survive the long winters. However, the winter bees are there to cluster and keep the queen at around a toasty 94 degrees F. They are a hardier bee with fat stores appropriate for survival of such conditions.
How can you help? Be sure their entrance is open for both ventilation and removal of dead bees. You might peek in the entrance and see pile of them! Grab a stick and scrape them out. Dead bees can clog an entrance and kill the colony.
On a warmer sunny day, (high 40’s) watch the hive. You will probably see a bee or two brave the cold and take flight. If you see that, you can know that your colony is most likely alive and well. A lone bee or two would never survive without a cluster inside to keep it warm.
If it gets into the 50’s you might even sneak a peek inside the lid. Just keep in mind that you risk disturbing them in a very important mode of survival. Do not do anything to agitate them or break the cluster. The most you will probably see is slight movement of the bees all clustered down in your lower box.
I have a thermal camera which comes in VERY handy. I attached to my iphone.. I can see which colonies are clustering, the size of the cluster and get an idea as to where they are in the hive. At this time of year they should be down low. In late Winter/Early Spring they should be up high. And when they are, I need to ensure that they have appropriate food stores or have a supplemental food source like sugar.
The last thing we can all do is use this down time in winter to study-up and learn as much as we can to become better beekeepers in 2018. Oh yeah, one more thing….keep our fingers crossed!
My dog, Pete out working the hives with me!
]]>When I first started out, the beekeeping terminology seemed to require its own class or at least its own dictionary. When I first learned of a “package” of bees I imagined something gift wrapped with a bow and packed with bees wearing party hats and holding balloons. The notion of buying a “nuc” simply sounded too explosive, dangerous and not on the up and up. I soon learned that a “package” is simply 2 or 3 pounds of bees in a screened box with a caged queen and a can of sugar syrup. The term, “nuc” is short for “nucleus” as in the nucleus of a hive and is basically all of the major components of a small colony of bees. That cleared up the semantics but it still took some time and experience to realize that the two are, if you will, two completely different animals. Here are some characteristics of the two that may help you better decide which is the best fit for you.
First let’s discuss Package Bees. Package bees are typically purchased from either California or the Southern states like Georgia, or even as far South as Florida. Bee farmers either suck up or dump 3 pounds of bees into a screened box. The bees have nothing but themselves in there; no comb, honey, pollen, nectar or brood. They have no queen and can be a bit disoriented as you might imagine. The farmer then puts a caged queen into that box. Why would one cage the queen? Well, for the first several hours and even days, the queen’s pheromones are not recognized by the colony to be familiar or friendly. The bees need to realize that they are queenless and then they need to acclimate themselves to the new queen. The queen would be at risk of being killed upon introduction if she wasn’t protected by the cage then gradually introduced. A can of sugar syrup is added to nourish the bees as they are then transported to the northern states where beekeepers are anxiously awaiting their arrival. The benefit of package bees is that they are a month or more ahead of what a colony could be if they were on the climate schedule of the Northern states. Upon arrival they really need a lot of care and TLC as the bees are beginning from scratch to build their new home. Just like us humans, they need food, water and shelter to function. They will actually decline in numbers until the colony builds comb for the queen to lay eggs in. Once she begins laying she will be adding to the colony’s numbers by about 1,500/day but the colony won’t see that growth until after about three weeks when the first bees hatch out and become part of the workforce as nurse bees.
A nucleus colony or “nuc” is made of the essential components of a full functioning colony. A nuc comes in a small hive box called a “nuc box”. It has five frames covered in bees. A good nuc has around three frames of brood from the laying queen whom the bees recognize as their colony’s queen. The other two frames are packed with honey, nectar and pollen which has been collected and stored by the colony. The queen remains with the colony as well. It seems like the colony wouldn’t miss a beat because the queen continues to lay eggs and grow the colony. The working staff of nurse bees, foragers, drones and the like are all on site and ready to work. So, one might believe that a nuc is always the way to go, right? Not quite. There are two very different learning curves for each option.
Package bees are starting with almost zero resources. Aside from the sugar syrup in their guts, they have essentially nothing to start with. Their first few weeks are spent in a fury of foraging and building. Without food there is no shelter. Remember, bees make their shelter by secreting wax which they form into comb. The colony is not made up of a bunch of lazy bees who might say, “You want me to forage? Sorry, that’s not in my job description. I’m a nurse bee.” Everyone must pitch in! However, without every job being covered, the colony is not functioning at capacity. Therefore, the colony will struggle until it’s new waves of reinforcements arrive in a few weeks.
The greatest contribution the beekeeper can make to assist in the process is to feed, feed, feed. Keeping a mix of 1:1 sugar : water available at all times will do wonders in a hive. It enables the workers to secrete wax to build comb, it nourishes the colony, it stimulates the bees to forage and it strengthens the queen thus stimulating her to lay eggs for the nurse bees to nourish then cap. (We’ll discuss the importance of protein supplements in a future article on the basics of bee nutrition.)
For a new beekeeper, starting with a nuc may seem appealing because you are getting a colony that has all of the components necessary to thrive. However, there are other challenges that may prove to be overwhelming for a new beekeeper and may spell disaster for the colony if the beekeeper doesn’t know how to identify important signs the colony may be displaying. The new beekeeper may not be able to stay ahead of the growth with necessary equipment. And, being new they need to know signs of swarming before it occurs and how to prevent a loss of bees. So much of beekeeping is learning to work with the nature of bees, knowing what mother nature has coming down the pike and understanding how the bees will respond to such changes.
Ultimately, bees are going to do what they decide is best for the health and wellbeing of the colony and even the species. Being new to bees, one can miss an awful lot simply due to lack of knowledge and experience. And this can manifest itself in losing the control they have.
To sum it up, starting with packages vs nucs is like drinking from a garden hose vs a fire hose. Package bees afford the new beekeeper the opportunity to witness firsthand the wonder of honeybees. The beekeeper can grow at the pace of the hive and truly see and appreciate every step a colony must take in order to thrive and successfully overwinter.
A nuc ensures a stronger start but can be tricky to manage well. However, most of the time, a nuc will yield a strong honey harvest in its first season and can even be split into two colonies mid season. A colony raised from a package will need all of its resources to ensure winter survival. But, sometimes the beekeeper can sneak a few pounds with no harm done.
Seasoned vets purchase both packages and nucs to add to their numbers and increase genetic diversity. There are all kinds of tricks of the trade they can employ to get the most out of their bees. And, they know very well what to expect throughout the season and to be prepared.
To the new beekeeper, if you're interested in packages, I strongly recommend purchasing two. Why two? Please reference next volume’s article titled, “One is the Loneliest Number That You’ll Ever Do” . A nuc or two may be appealing as well. Do your research and determine which is the best fit for you.
-Dave Pearce
]]>A honey competition.How tough could it be? My honey is great. Mom tells me it’s the best she’s ever tasted! How could any judge see anything other than what she would?
On Saturday, November 4 at the Michigan Beekeepers Association Fall Conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan, I learned volumes about what goes into showing honey and what it takes to be a competitor.
I had the pleasure of having my conference vendor’s table right next to Colleen Harnick. Colleen & her husband Ken have kept bees and been in the honey business for over 25 years. At this conference, Colleen would be the recorder and scorer as the judges analyzed and rated each competitor’s honey. Being placed next to the judging table gave me a unique view of what went into the judging process.
The judges were Chris Beck, District II representative and Norm Adams a seasoned honey judge with many years of 4-H competitions under his belt. They are two really nice guys who brandished the seriousness with which they took their jobs.
Once the judging began, an air of intensity surrounded the table as Chris & Norm got down to business. Tools like flashlights, hydrometers, digital scales and refractometers were implemented. Every flaw and imperfection was analyzed, given a score and recorded. Even the glass of the jars was inspected and scored or irregularities!
It didn’t take long to realize that I was in over my head! Seasoned veterans like Theresa Bristol-Miller and Dan Kuehn brought their “A” game. My friend, Anne Barrat-Fornell and I were caught like deer in headlights as it dawned on us that this was waaaay more than a, “who has the best tasting honey?” contest.
A small crowd had gathered about the table as Chris and Norm did their thing. It was made up of a few curious observers. The rest of us all had horses in the race. We were trying to hear what the judges were saying about our jars as some of us second guessed ourselves and began analyzing every step of what we did and how we did it. As I’ve always found in the beekeeping community, the ones with the most experience were willing to explain their tips, tricks & strategies as we all stood around. Although there were ribbons and bragging rights at stake, information and suggestions freely flowed amongst the competitors. Theresa was the most helpful to me. She gave me some great tips on how to improve my creamed honey process to get a smoother more ribbon-worthy product.
In my defense, I simply grabbed 3 jars of my creamed honey out of the basement to see what the judges might have to say. I thought that perhaps I might even win a ribbon. Wayne Gretzky says, ‘you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Spoiler alert; I didn’t win a ribbon for my creamed honey. I couldn’t believe the difference between the creamed honey that both Theresa and Dan Storms entered compared to mine. The judges made it apparent though. Ouch!
I thought entering the contest would just be a fun experience where the judges would complement my entries and perhaps even acknowledge me with a few first-place ribbons. I got that wrong. I winced, I held back a few tears and a few times I acted like I had nothing to do with those hex shaped jars some rookie entered into the contest. But, what I gained was a new understanding and appreciation for what a truly great jar of honey should be. I have upped my game. I will now produce a better product thanks to the critiques of Chris & Norm. I met some great people, learned a ton and have already set my sites on next year’s competition.
I won’t have bubbles at the surface of my jar, I won’t let my honey touch the inside of my lid. I will meticulously examine my collection of jars to find the best of the best specimens to put my honey into. And, I hope that we can get even more to participate next year! It’s great way for us to improve our craft no matter where we’re at on our beekeeping journeys.
-Dave Pearce
www.LocalBuzzBees.com
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