Honey Run Apiaries-A Beekeeper’s Blog

I was hoping the silence on television, radio and the newspaper was a sign that CCD had gone away as quickly as it came, or at least wouldn’t be as big a problem as it was for many last year.  Apparently that may not be the case. Maryam Henein, who is working on a documentary about CCD, wrote in Kim Flottum’s blog that the largest beekeeper in the US apparently has been stricken by CCD.  She describes a sickening scene where nearly 40,000 hives moved  to holding yards in California in preparation for this years Almond pollination are now  were empty.

Maybe it simply hasn’t hit the news yet since many hives are still snow covered and beekeepers haven’t yet checked their hives.  But I’m still hopeful that the loss won’t be so widespread as last year.  My own hives seem ok at this point, but spring isn’t here yet.

Update: CBS ran a story tonight on the above including an interview with the beekeeper Kim Flottum’s blog mentioned.  No new news unfortunately, just a very ugly picture.

Yesterday was in the mid 40s and was a good time to do the first inspection of the season and install pollen patties on the hives.    The forecast was for a high of 50 with Monday being even warmer, but with a narrow window and rain being called for on Monday, today was the day.  Once the temperatures warmed up to 42 I headed off to the first yard hoping that what I found would be dramatically different than last year’s huge loss.  The bees weren’t very active at the first yard, but as it got a bit warmer though the day they were more active until the sun disappeared behind the clouds.  The timing for placing pollen patties was just about perfect.  While we are expected to get some very cold weather yet this week, it should only be 2 or 3 weeks until the maple trees begin blooming and the bees will quickly loose interest in the pollen patties when the real stuff is available.  So they really need to be on the hives soon so the bees will take advantage of them.

Much to my relief I found most hives were quite alive.  Most had fairly tight clusters still with the chill in the air from the snow pack, but many more hives than not were very strong.  Even with the smoker going to drive the bees down into the hive it was a challenge to place pollen patties on some hives without squishing any bees.  It was too cold to consider pulling frames a checking brood, but judging by a peak between frames and the warmth coming from the hives, they have started raising brood already.  It’s like night and day compared to last year where I could count the strong hives on my fingers.

It’s also very important this time of year to check the weight of the hives to evaluate how much honey they have left.  As the bees start rearing brood over the coming weeks they will accelerate their use of honey and hives that are strong now could quickly be lost to starvation.  I found a few hives will need some feeding soon myself, but most will be fine, at least until I get around to check them again in a couple weeks time.

The tally at the end of the day, 123 Live hives, 8 dead (including 2 I knew were dead months ago and 2 others that are so weak right now that I’m betting they won’t make it), and one very tired beekeeper.  Checking 131 hives in 5 yards in a matter of 6 hours by oneself, even if it was only a quick inspection, is exhausting work.  But it’s a good feeling when you get back home and peal off the soggy boots after finding only a 6% loss.

I have periodically given talks and even classes last year on raising your own queens. Inevitably someone will come up and ask questions and seek advice beginning with ‘I don’t want to compete with you, but I’d like to know how you do x’.  My response is always the same, ‘Please compete with me.  Raise a few queens for yourself, then for your neighbor, and sell as many as you care to produce. The industry needs it.’  It may be just the view I see, but the demand seems to only increase each year with few new producers entering the market, large or small.  In fact two large companies with a combined production of 75,000 queens retired this year according to Kim Flottum.   At the same time the number of hobbyist does seem to be growing.

I’ve also heard plenty of complaints about supercedure, queen size and other problems from those who have purchased mass produced queens.  I’m not saying all mass produced queens are bad, nor are all operations at fault.  I just hear the complaints and know the pressure of getting queens out on time, disease, stress, financial concerns, and residue from mite treatments can affect the queens in a real operation.   Many beekeepers want a queen at the lowest price possible, and they want it now.  Quality and cheap just don’t play well together . But this is a topic for another post.

So there is a good market out there, and there are beekeepers not happy with the queens they are getting.  They are looking for quality queens, the kind YOU can raise in small number at home.  It really isn’t that difficult to do, even on a very small scale. So I’d encourage you, if you have even the slightest interest, and even if you only intend to raise queens for yourself, to take advantage of the queen rearing classes given though the Ohio State Beekeepers Association or your own local or state association.

[I'm happy to see both the American Bee Journal and Bee Culture have several articles on queen rearing and breeding in the latest issues (March 2008).  Of particular interest to the beekeeper who hopes to make profit at it one day is Larry Connor's article 'Raising and Managing Your Own Queens and Drones' in ABJ where he outlines a plan to start a small scale operation, and 'Small-scale Queen Rearing' by Roy Hendrickson that is a practical article on a small Ohio operation.']

The report from California is that the almond bloom is late, at least 2 and maybe 3 or more weeks late.  The main almond variety is only just starting to bloom and later varieties have yet to start.  In most years the bloom would have ending by now and beekeepers would be starting to move bees out of the orchards the first week of March.   This could cause a delay of  queen and package bee production for operations that also do pollination.  This is not limited to just California beekeepers, but also may affect many other beekeepers across the southern states because many of the 1.2 million bee hives needed for almond pollination are moved into California.

Does this mean that our package bees will be delayed?  I can’t answer that yet.  It may very well delay the earliest queens and packages,  but there is still is more than a month to go before the earliest packages could be available here in Ohio.

I Spent some time this evening making pollen patties.  I now have around 110 ready and waiting in the freezer to go on the hives the next warm spell we have.  Hopefully that will be in just another week or two in time to get the bees moving shortly before the maple trees start blooming.  When trying to raise early queens in northern climates as I am, early drone production is often the limiting factor and feeding pollen (protein) helps get them started.  It’s not the only limiting factor, but it’s one of the few the beekeeper can do anything about.  It also increases the size of the hives earlier to one can afford to make all the splits necessary for mating nucs.  With luck I’ll be running around 200 this year.

Another sure sign spring is coming: emails and calls daily from other beekeepers wanting to order queens.  The earliest queens have been booked for some time now and recent orders are starting to book the summer and late season queens.  It seems like the demand is as high as ever, and the supply seems to be diminishing.  So if you need to order queens, get your orders in now if you can regardless of who you are ordering them from.

Snow was still on the ground today with temperatures only reaching 35F.  It was sunny and calm so some bees took the chance to make cleansing flights in spite of the temperature.  Some unfortunately didn’t make it back to the hive and died in the snow.  The sight of dead bees in the snow around the hive and on the landing board can be worrying to the new beekeeper.  They aren’t suppose to be flying when its near or below freezing, right?

In truth they will take short cleansing flights on calm sunny days even when it’s cold.  It was common to find discolored spots in the snow and a dead bee here and there when I returned from work on a calm sunny day.  Overall it’s a good sign, no bees and it means your hives are dead or missing.  A few dead in the snow means they are alive and functioning normally.  After all, with 10-20,000 bees in a hive over the winter, quite a few will die of natural causes every day.  Normally they will try to leave the hive or will be dragged out once dead (and sometimes even when not quite dead). 

Pictured below is my new bee yard.  Actually it’s not so new anymore and this post is a bit out of order as this picture was taken last April.  I was approached this spring by my wifes insurance agent for her business about placing some bees on his property.  It’s a beautiful location on a high (20-30′) bank above a river well outside of the floodplain with large groves of locust and catalpa within eyesight, as well as alfalfa fields planted by local farmers.  It will be interesting to compare how well these hives do, and their honey as the forage available here is considerably different than that available near my other apiaries.

Simply because it was easier, I started this yard completely with package bees and drawn foundation (and honey from deadouts).  They were installed this past Saturday as previously mentioned.   It also proved a good yard to test the effect of queen excluders on honey production, but more about that later…

Note: This class has been canceled because they did not get enough early registrations.  They are tentatively rescheduling it as an evening meeting in May.

On Saturday, April 19th, 2008.  The Auglaize County Extension office will be hosting a bee class.  Topics will include Spring Management; Disease & Pest Management; Pollen, Propolis, Wax and Other Hive Products; Queen Biology Management; Bee Hive Manipulation; Getting Yards & Bees; and more.

Speakers will include Dr. James E. Tew who is always a very interesting speaker, Mr. Tom Piper, Sherry Ferrell, Donald Steinke and Tim Arheit (me!)

Location: Auglaize County Administration Building; 209 South Blackhoof Street, Wapakoneta, Ohio 45895
When: 8:30AM - 3:30PM
Cost: $25 per person ($6 for students 17 and under)

For more information contact: Mr. John Smith, Auglaize County Extention Educator @ 419-738-2219

Thinking about trying beekeeping this year?  Many organizations have already held beginning beekeeping classes this year, but it’s not to late to start. 

If you are really serious about starting this year you need to get your bees on order because they will be likely sold out if you wait until the weather gets good in April or May  (This will be sooner in southern states and later in the northernmost states and Canada).  Some package bee distributors will have a few extra on order, but those will get snatched up quick as the delivery date approaches.  Here in Ohio package bees typically arrive starting early April and Nucs (with Ohio Queens) can be available as soon as early May if the weather cooperates.  This means you’ll need to act in the next several weeks to reserve a package as orders get finalized with the producers in mid March. 

Even though you’ll need to order your bees very soon, you’ll still have some time to obtain any equipment you may need.  There also still are some beekeeping classes and meetings being held by local associations or you may find another beekeeper in your area to help you.  Some classes may be after your bees arrive, so be sure to study up enough to know what to do when they do arrive.  Many distributors of package bees would be happy to answer your questions on how to install and tend to them for the first few weeks.

Note: While I do sell both package bees and nucs, I highly recommend you buy them from someone close enough that you can pick them up.  This may mean a drive of several hours depending on your location, but the bees will be in far better shape than they would be if they were shipped though the mail.

Its the time of year again when new beekeepers and hobbyist who have had a loss or want to expand, start thinking about ordering a package or a nuc.  More than once I’m asked ‘which should I get’?  Honestly I don’t have a good answer.  While one may have a distinct advantage over the other in areas that have an earlier nectar flow and little or no flowers available later in the year, In my area our flow tends to be later and in a typical year both may do equally as well.    So I’ll leave it up to you to decide which you’d like to try, or perhaps you’d like to try both and decide for yourself.  Below are my thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of both to help (or maybe it will make the decision harder):

Package Bees: These are literally just that.  It’s a screened box full of bees, typically 2-3 pounds, and a queen.  You must provide the hive they will live in and food to get started.

• Less expensive.
• Doesn’t include brood or comb which is where many diseases are found.
• Typically are imported from a warmer climate so could bring in outside diseases.
• Don’t build up as quickly as nucs since they don’t have brood.
• Typically are available earlier in the season so they get a head start on nucs.
• Normally they are only available for a short period of time (April  into early May locally)
• May require more feeding than nucs since they start with no resources.  Starting earlier in the season may also mean the bees can find less nectar and pollen.
• May be shipped, though shipping though mail or UPS is very stressful and I’d recommend picking them up from someone who had them trucked into your area.
• Often are more available since they are usually produced by large beekeepers in the south and west.
• Far more time critical.  When delivered they should be picked up and installed as soon as possible.

Nucs: (Short for nucleus) .  This is basically a complete small hive with workers, queen, brood, comb, honey and pollen.  It usually consists of  4-5 frames (possibly more if it’s a medium frame nuc).  It will need place in a larger hive so it can grow but does have everything needed to get started.

• More expensive, but do come with several frames and possibly a cardboard or wooden nuc box that could be reused later.
• They do include brood and comb and are more likely to carry brood diseases.
• Typically are purchased from local beekeepers so won’t bring in outside disease.
• Build up more quickly than packages since they have brood in all stages of development.
• Often aren’t available as early in the season, later if the queens for the nucs are also produced locally.
• They are available over a much longer period of time  (May though July locally).  They may be purchased even later but may not have time to build up in time for winter.
• May not require as much feeding as a nuc since they have drawn comb to start with, honey and pollen.  Plus starting later means that pollen and nectar may be more available.  You will still need to feed if you are not providing drawn comb in most cases.
• They typically aren’t shipped.   I’ve seen shipping advertized for nucs, but haven’t heard many positive results on what shape they were in upon delivery.
• Quantity may be limited because they are produced by smaller local beekeepers.  Larger beekeepers, typically in the south, do produce nucs, but they aren’t local for most of us.
• They are far less time critical.  Pickup and installation into a full size hive can be delayed for some time without harming the hive.