Archive for January, 2012

First Bee Date Sold Out

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

I have my order in for bees with AZ Apiaries for April 8th. Today I found out that it is already sold out.

That was fast. I ordered my bees around Christmas last year and here it is a month later and they are all gone. Things are moving fast.

The next due date is May 8th.

New Beekeepers MUST start now

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

If you want bees this Summer, you have to start now.

You need to order your bee packages or nucs now. If you live near me, North Jersey or Southern NY, the best bet is to pick up a couple of packages from http://azapiaries.com/ The bees will be sold out in February. Reserve now.

The bees from AZ Apiaries are coming April 8 to the Palisades Mall Parking lot. Probably 4 or 5AM. Put your order in now. The other dates on the website are for Connecticut pickup only. (The date is usually delayed depending on weather, but the word is that a mild winter has resulted in large bee populations and the delivery might be on time this year)

These are very good bees from Wilbanks Apiary in Georgia. I have bought bees from 4 different sources and these were the best by far. They are healthy bees with low verroa counts. The queens are vigorous and the hives build very fast.

If you are a first time beekeeper you should order a Starter Kit. This includes the wood, frames, some tools, gloves and a veil. They have all you need to get started, but don’t assume that it has all you’ll ever need. You will be buying more wood and frames as you bees fill their hives with honey. These are for standard beekeeping boxes. You can also build your own boxes using some interesting styles. If you want to harvest honey, however, these are the best choice.

https://millerbeesupply.com/beginner-kits/cat_1.html
(seems to be most for your money)

or

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Bee-ginners-Kits/products/3/
(The one I bought because the shipping is lower.)

or

https://kelleybees.com/Products/Detail/?id=3336333133353339&grouped=1

or

http://www.betterbee.com/Products/10-Frame-Hives/Assembled-10-Frame-Beginners-Kit
(you get much more stuff, but you have to it buy anyway. In NY you have to pay tax.)

This year I will be building a bunch of hive boxes out of cheap plywood and I’ll see if they hold up. The plans to build hive boxes are all over the place, just do a Google search. The plans, however, all require some woodworking equipment and expertise. I am going to see how far I can get with just a ruler and circular saw.

Bee Killing Weather

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

My brother lives up in Rochester, NY. He was emailing me regularly last night as the temperature dropped. It was 4° at 11 PM when I logged off.

It went down to 13° here overnight. I never did get around to wrapping the bees. I know that they can make it through the cold. The problem will be their honey stores. I hope that they don’t starve over the winter. If I can find time I will wrap the bees this weekend. It is sort of like closing the barn door after the horse is gone, but This won’t be the last cold spell we get.

My brother is ordering some mixed Italian-Russian-Carniolan bees from an apiary near him. These are what is called “Survivor” bees. They have proven that they can make it through the winter.

Some of the bees he has now are mixed parentage that the Russian seller called “Amerikanski”, by which he meant they are mixed breed bees from swarms and other sources that over the years have proven they can thrive in the Rochester summers and survive the Rochester winters.

I will be making queens this Spring and I am hoping that my brother will too, and we can trade queens to vary our stock.

New Year’s Day Bees.

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

I was back by the bees New Year’s Day. I put some sugar on top of the inner cover on the hives that are still alive. I almost got stung when they got a little upset with me. I was wearing a black hoodie – the very opposite of a bee suit, and I must have looked like a bear to them. As soon as dropped in the sugar they were upset and headed for my hair.

It was 48° when I gave them the sugar. There were a few bees around the entrance. Here are a few pictures of the front of the hive. You can see one or two bees wandering around the entrance to each hive. When you open the top, the vent hole on the inner cover is full of bees.


Compare this to October 22. These are a couple of pictures of the hives in 75° weather. I had taken off the top feeders in June when I harvested honey, so I was using front feeders in October. I certainly hope that I was able to get the girls enough stored honey to make it through the winter.