Hi Folks,
This has got to be one of the top two best seasons for beekeeping in the 14 years I've been keeping honeybees in Fairbanks! People who have kept their colonies from swarming should reap the rewards this year! I just harvested 80 pounds of honey from two colonies out of three honey supers and expect to obtain at least another 80 pounds from the same hives in a couple weeks.
Queen caging has been going very well so far this year. The colonies that I hived in the middle of April have now all had their queen caged. Colonies hived toward the end of April and beginning of May will have queens caged on Sunday, August 5th.
Anyone who wants to observe is welcome to meet me at Botanical Gardens at 4:00pm, weather permitting.
Questions? email me at sciencebasedart@yahoo.com
Stay tuned for tips on wrapping up the season. . .
Monday, July 30, 2018
Friday, July 27, 2018
Queen Caging & Honey Robbing Demo
This year I plan to cage my queens in the last week of July. I will be doing a demonstration of this on Monday, July 30th starting at 605 Betty Street at 5:30PM, then going to Cold Climate Research and Botanical Gardens. Please bring a suit as the bees become more aggressive toward the end of the season and especially during and after being robbed.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Addressing Working Layers
An experiment was recently done here in Fairbanks to address laying workers. The experiment was a great success!
Problem:
Laying workers are female honeybees that have developed ovaries and lay multiple eggs in each empty honeycomb cell. This occurs when a colony is queenless for an extended period of time (say a couple weeks or more). All worker eggs are unfertilized and become drones if they make it entirely through the metamorphosis. This is very undesirable because the comb becomes drone comb and who wants a colony full of drones?
Solution:
Cage the queen.
Take all frames that have no cells with multiple eggs out of the hive and brush the bees off both sides over the hive. Store them in cool, indoor storage.
Lay a white queen or king-sized sheet out on the ground at least 100 feet away from the hive.
Take all frames with bees and walk over to the sheet.
Brush the bees off of each frame onto the sheet.
Hang the caged queen in the middle of the top box of the hive.
Release the queen a couple days later.
Perform a complete hive check in a week to 10 days.
The colony should be rid of the laying workers because they shouldn't return to the colony with workers who have not developed ovaries.
Problem:
Laying workers are female honeybees that have developed ovaries and lay multiple eggs in each empty honeycomb cell. This occurs when a colony is queenless for an extended period of time (say a couple weeks or more). All worker eggs are unfertilized and become drones if they make it entirely through the metamorphosis. This is very undesirable because the comb becomes drone comb and who wants a colony full of drones?
Solution:
Cage the queen.
Take all frames that have no cells with multiple eggs out of the hive and brush the bees off both sides over the hive. Store them in cool, indoor storage.
Lay a white queen or king-sized sheet out on the ground at least 100 feet away from the hive.
Take all frames with bees and walk over to the sheet.
Brush the bees off of each frame onto the sheet.
Hang the caged queen in the middle of the top box of the hive.
Release the queen a couple days later.
Perform a complete hive check in a week to 10 days.
The colony should be rid of the laying workers because they shouldn't return to the colony with workers who have not developed ovaries.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Honey Harvesting and Queen Caging
Harvesting Honey
It is tempting to start taking honey now, however, we are right in the middle of the honey flow. I wait until the first week of August at the earliest to start harvesting honey.
I take one frame of capped honey at a time, brush off all the bees and walk to a Rubbermaid tote at least 30 feet away from the hive, brushing off any bees trying to stay on the frame. I quickly lift the lid off the tote and gently place the frame in the tote, replacing the lid as quickly as possible. Some bees will get into the tote and they can be released before extraction. Once all the capped frames are removed from the hive, I replace any empty space with other frames to keep the bees from building burr comb in those spaces. If I can eliminate the entire box I will. After extracting the frames, I give them back to the bees to be cleaned up. Some years I will be able to harvest two to three times.
I do have a two-frame manual extractor for rent $25 per day. It comes with all the uncapping tools, a gated bucket, and stainless steel double sieve. Please call to set up a time to pick up the extraction equipment. 907-460-6050
Caging Queens
For beekeepers who are not wintering over bees, queens must be caged 21-24 days before the end of the season to ensure all brood has hatched prior to the final honey harvest. This ensures the honey has no eggs and larva in it.
This year I plan to cage my queens in the last week of July. I will be doing a demonstration of this on Monday, July 30th starting at 605 Betty Street at 5:30PM, then going to Cold Climate Research, and Botanical Gardens. Please bring a suit as the bees become more aggressive toward the end of the season and especially after being robbed.
I am gathering up the queen cages now so I have them ready. I use a piece of wine cork for the queen cage lid to ensure my queens cannot escape and start laying eggs again. Caged queens are placed in the top box between two frames in the middle of the hive. I make sure the bees can feed the queen through the queen cage and the queen can breathe. Her pheromones keep the colony happy until the end of the season.
Any questions? Please post and I will respond.
It is tempting to start taking honey now, however, we are right in the middle of the honey flow. I wait until the first week of August at the earliest to start harvesting honey.
I take one frame of capped honey at a time, brush off all the bees and walk to a Rubbermaid tote at least 30 feet away from the hive, brushing off any bees trying to stay on the frame. I quickly lift the lid off the tote and gently place the frame in the tote, replacing the lid as quickly as possible. Some bees will get into the tote and they can be released before extraction. Once all the capped frames are removed from the hive, I replace any empty space with other frames to keep the bees from building burr comb in those spaces. If I can eliminate the entire box I will. After extracting the frames, I give them back to the bees to be cleaned up. Some years I will be able to harvest two to three times.
I do have a two-frame manual extractor for rent $25 per day. It comes with all the uncapping tools, a gated bucket, and stainless steel double sieve. Please call to set up a time to pick up the extraction equipment. 907-460-6050
Caging Queens
For beekeepers who are not wintering over bees, queens must be caged 21-24 days before the end of the season to ensure all brood has hatched prior to the final honey harvest. This ensures the honey has no eggs and larva in it.
This year I plan to cage my queens in the last week of July. I will be doing a demonstration of this on Monday, July 30th starting at 605 Betty Street at 5:30PM, then going to Cold Climate Research, and Botanical Gardens. Please bring a suit as the bees become more aggressive toward the end of the season and especially after being robbed.
I am gathering up the queen cages now so I have them ready. I use a piece of wine cork for the queen cage lid to ensure my queens cannot escape and start laying eggs again. Caged queens are placed in the top box between two frames in the middle of the hive. I make sure the bees can feed the queen through the queen cage and the queen can breathe. Her pheromones keep the colony happy until the end of the season.
Any questions? Please post and I will respond.
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