Thread: Beekeeping

My grandfather had bees (between 2-15 hives) for at least 30 years and I helped him, so after he died (I was 17) I took over. Then I left and my parents took over. Few years ago they got down to 2 hives (due to illness they had to burn the rest). They've been somewhat irresponsible (they do too much other work) causing lots of swarming and right now they have 10 hives again. I've been trying to get them to be more precise and deliberate with the bees so that they can maintain this level (in fact 5-7 hives would probably be better for them).
The big expansion was in the last two years - my dad made the new hives himself, as the ones they previously bought turned out to be of poor quality (the wood wasn't dry enough) and last year they managed to get all frames rebuilt, so hopefully this year would be simpler and less stressful for them.

I wish they had done the uniform size for the brood and suppers (more flexibility) but they went for the old-school dadant blatt mainly because those were the 2 hives they started with and most of the old boxes laying around that they had to make do with when surprised by another swarm.

They don't move the bees, so it's three main varieties of honey (from the forrests/fields near the house) - acacia in early spring, lavender in mid summer and sunflower in late summer. If any of those don't happen for bad weather or something it's much less honey from whatever flowers the bees find.
I think last year apart from the expansion they got about 80kg of honey from each of the best hives (and leaving plenty for wintering).

Originally Posted by 32t

As I have already stated I won't be keeping my bees at my house. I figure that these last few posts are trying to calm my fears but they are making more.

I live across the street from a school playground. If some kid gets stung by a wasp outside during recess and they know I have honey bees.....

I think it is a sad statement about our society that I even think of such things.

Sorry for increasing your fears; starting something new always comes with what ifs. You'll see that there's really nothing to worry about.

Honey bees look for nectar and pollen, and will travel up to two miles from the hive to find it. The odds that any will be in the schoolyard across the street are slim, especially if there's no clover or other non-ornamental flowers there. But that seems to be a non-issue if you're not keeping them at your house. If you ever decide you'd like to have a hive or two at home, you could consider building a relationship with the school, getting an observation hive and doing presentations to the kids in conjunction with appropriate school lessons. That would turn you into Mr. 32t the cool beekeeper rather than an anonymous beekeeper.

I could never keep bees considering where I live. Nor would I really want to. But there is an older gentleman who lives on the other side of the forest preserve from me, about 1/4 mile, who keeps bees. I get my honey from him. Its a wild flower honey. But I love the fact that it is about as local of a product as you can get. It gets used on my morning toast or in my seasonal gingerbread. I bought about two liters of it in late summer last year. I'm due for a new supply.

This thread is getting me farther along hehehe

Was looking at the kits available locally this weekend


Edit:

Question

We seem to have an abundance of Yellow Jackets & Hornets in our immediate area would this effect me having hives ???
I know there are hives in the general area like within a 5 mile radius, so I would assume they have the same issues as I would...

I have also considered keeping bees. We have one of Beekeeping Supplies | Quality Beekeeping Equipment office/stores just 30 minutes away. I've gone there several times, just haven't jumped into it.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

This thread is getting me farther along hehehe

Was looking at the kits available locally this weekend


Edit:

Question

We seem to have an abundance of Yellow Jackets & Hornets in our immediate area would this effect me having hives ???
I know there are hives in the general area like within a 5 mile radius, so I would assume they have the same issues as I would...

The wasps won't pose a problem for a strong hive. You'll see them about the hive alot, especially in late summer (at least where I am). They mostly attack the dying bees that are staggering around the outside of the hive (pretty amazing how quickly they can dismember a bee and take the parts back to their colony). If the hive is weak they can be a problem. If the hive is weak you have to reduce the entrance to as small an opening as possible. The real threat won't be the wasps but other bees coming to rob out the hive.
A strong colony can take care of itself.

Originally Posted by Moonshae

Sorry for increasing your fears; starting something new always comes with what ifs. You'll see that there's really nothing to worry about.

Honey bees look for nectar and pollen, and will travel up to two miles from the hive to find it. The odds that any will be in the schoolyard across the street are slim, especially if there's no clover or other non-ornamental flowers there. But that seems to be a non-issue if you're not keeping them at your house. If you ever decide you'd like to have a hive or two at home, you could consider building a relationship with the school, getting an observation hive and doing presentations to the kids in conjunction with appropriate school lessons. That would turn you into Mr. 32t the cool beekeeper rather than an anonymous beekeeper.

I agree with you, it was more of a statement about our litigious society.

My wife is a teacher and I have done many things with her classes including bringing my race car to school. But an easy example is that my wife has to turn away parents that bring birthday edibles to share because of allergies. Heaven forbid that I exposed them to bees!

Plus I would have to brush up on my German because it is a German Immersion school.

Tim

P.S. The flat roof over there would be a great place for an apiary....

My Dad is extremely involved in beekeeping and has been for decades. I have helped him throughout the years. I do not share the same fervor that he does, but I can appreciate it. Given the critical role bees play in pollination, if they ceased to exist in an instant, I believe humans could run the risk of global starvation in short order.

He's even built an indoor temp controlled room to winter over his hives. The walls are black inside the room which is lit with a red light.

The more bees the better!

One funny story: He was experimenting with different varieties about thirty years ago and got some variety that was supposed to be a good honey producer. The problem was, the bees were so ornery, anytime he'd check the hives they would unleash a fury for up to a week afterward dive bombing any human they could see on the property. Walk from the house to the mailbox no where near the hives:.....end up running for the house swatting at one or more bees entangled in your hair..... It was like watching a silent movie out the window when you'd see a family member chaotically making wild arm motions like a chimp. You knew what was going on.....

Chrisl

I've found this thread very interesting, educational and intriguing. Perhaps there's a beehive at the Boars Nest in the future.

However I stumbled upon this video and I've never seen a 'bee hive' like this. It does look interesting, easily accessible and expandable. If you remove the slats that allow for the bees to have a hive it looks like the old feed troughs that we used to feed horses and cattle with.

I hope that those who are experienced with keeping bees chime in.

In no way do I mean to disrupt this thread. I'm just Curious

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JqFo5lzCPY

That is a variation of what is called a bartop hive.

Many possibilities other than a feed trough. I have read but not seen the use of a filing cabinet drawer......