Thread: Beekeeping

Since there is such an interest in bees I would like to ask you guys for any input about the bee die off. Reason I ask is that I own and live on my Grandfather's farm. I lease the entire place to a honey man and for the last three years he hasn't had bees here because he lost 40% of his hives to die off. He told me last fall that if things improve he will FINALLY put them here this year again. I really miss his bees, without them my garden is crap.

Originally Posted by deighaingeal

Glen woke a sleeping bear.
I do indeed keep bees and for those looking to wait until they move to acreage, honey bees fair better in the urban environment due to the variety of pollen available to them.
I also highly suggest that you get those boxes built asap. You do not want surprises and, if they are not painted, you want to paint them as early as you can. Also, only paint the outside (unless you have a local bee club, then acquire some propolis, then you can paint the inside with that)

MY friend, first and foremost, Welcome Back! I've wondered about you and that family of yours quite often.

A question has been asked after your above post about the decline of bees.

I'm just an old redneck country boy who has very little knowledge of bees but I've read that there is a theory that the decline is due to pesticides and particularly to those used by non licensed applicators (home owners).

Any Input?

Again Good to hear from you!

I've read quite a few stories over the years and have heard multiple answers, as such I might be misremembering/mentally combining some articles. Overall, the general consensus is a combination of issues. Just earlier this week, there was a report about mite infestations in bees contributing to it. Pesticides seems like a likely cause as well. I remember as a child there were many in my area going willy-nilly with all sorts of chemicals to rid the neighborhood of bugs. Several used to fog their entire yards to get rid of the mosquitos. There was another article, this one I remember much less, that was pointing to something technological was disrupting the bees navigation capabilities which results in them flying around like drunken pigeons with magnets taped to their head. It used research on how colonies that were in the process of collapsing had bees in it that were erratically "dancing" to guide other bees to pollinators.

I've been keeping bees for the last 8 years. It is wonderful. Last year I made a mead (my second go at it) and it turned out excellent. My small apiary is in my backyard in a residential neighborhood.
Word of advice; don't tell your neighbors.
Paul

Originally Posted by Paulbuck

I've been keeping bees for the last 8 years. It is wonderful. Last year I made a mead (my second go at it) and it turned out excellent. My small apiary is in my backyard in a residential neighborhood.
Word of advice; don't tell your neighbors.
Paul

I,m waiting till the honey gets going, but I've bought my supplies for mead, if you got any good recipes pm me. Thanks. Tc

I live in the city and it isn't worth the trouble in my opinion to keep bees at home. $75 initial permit fee and $28 yearly renewal.
75% of your neighbors within a certain distance have to sign a release. And then you have the following that is to much to type....
https://www.stpaul.gov/sites/default...egulations.pdf
My wife and next door neighbor are allergic to them also.

I have plenty of friends that are closer but I think that my best option is some camping land that I own that is 60 miles away. I am not going to drive that far for 1 hive so I was thinking 3. And then to buy Carolina or Italian bees. From what I understand the Carolinian are calmer but the Italians make more honey. I couldn't make up my mind so I decided to try 2 of each. I hope to get my two sons interested so if they go camping for the weekend they can check and do what is needed and save a trip for me.

My goal this year is to have them alive at this time next year. If you read about all the mites diseases and pesticides etc. that can go wrong it could easily scare you that that might not happen. A coworker that is into bees kills off most of his hives every fall. The $138 for a new batch of bees is cheaper than the honey it takes to winter them. That is more of a business point of view and I don't see myself doing at this time that but I was raised on a farm and for example butchered many milk cows that weren't economical anymore so I can understand. Also I will not name my bees because then you can get to attached to them.

It is going to cost me about $500 a hive to get them going so it isn't a cheap thing. I am not going top of the line either. That first quart of honey is going to be pretty expensive!

Enough typing for me for now. I have much to learn and relearn about bees.

Tim

I have a guy at work trying to talk me into this. He buys no sugar, his family of four even sweetens their ice tea with honey. Will be curious to follow this conversation. Good luck...

Through the years I've offered to help members with things such as honing or cleaning up their razors or loaning them a razor N/C to see if they would like to learn this age old art without spending a lot of money.

Besides the friendships I've made and I've been blessed with, I've been rewarded with many physical things as a result and one of those things was a jar of honey from Afghanistan. The member wasn't part of the military he was there to help the farmers and other producers.

The honey was produced in an area that the American wasn't allowed into due to the high insurgency presence. He told me that I could tell others that I had 'Taliban Honey'.

The producer garnered used jam and such types of jars from the military bases and would take them by bicycle to have them washed and sanitized (I believe it was 10 cents American/per jar) and then would package his honey for sale.

It's a raw honey only screened to remove 'bee things' and it's very good. I'm almost out but here's a pic.



The friend who gave me this jar is very involved with the Home Bee Keeping interests and was invited to be the Key Speaker at a state's convention of Bee Keepers.

They had an assortment of items for auction to help with expenses and my friend donated two bottles of Afghanistan honey the same size as mine. When the auction was over those two bottles went for over $100 EACH.

With our premature departure from Afghanistan I don't know how the producer is doing. He 'did' have an email address and a FaceBook address.

Anyway while I doubt that I'll be keeping bees in this lifetime I just thought that I'd share this about what friendship can do.

Sorry for the delayed response, I replaced all of the hydraulics in my car today.
Anyway, beekeeping is not for profit, it is for the experience and desire to help these wonderful animals.
I obtain all of my bees from wild swarms and never purchase bees, so I cannot comment on the price, but I do know that it is often more affordable to purchase bees in large quantities and a beekeeping club is a very affordable method of creating a large order.
As far as colony collapse, it is caused by many things, above all else is capitalism and the desire to hinder science for the almighty dollar.
But enough from a biologist who cannot publish his research due to money.
My winter losses run quite high the last couple of years and summer losses have also increased, it is just part of beekeeping anymore.
As far as pesticide use, farmers spray about as much illegally utilized pesticides as residential users do. Sadly, especially here, we see it all the time and I can tell exactly when my bees will die because of night spraying.
I am still around, Roy. I still have the same email and receive PMs. You know how to find me.
Also, not every state or city requires permits, though some require a certification.
And please sell your honey, do not give it away. I have noticed a growing number of people wanting honey for cheap or free because they were once given free honey.
Back to work!

It's against city code to have a bee hive on your lot where I live. That's why I want to wait until I get my acreage..... I'd seed a few acres with red clover and wild flowers..... And in other sections apple trees, strawberries, blue berries, and raspberries...... And also a garden..... I'd hope that would enough for one hive?