Surviving Minnesota!

[blackandtan]

Because I am not losing enough money raising chickens....

I have decided to raise bees....

I have ordered 2 hives, boxes, supers and so forth..

Along with two families of friendly bees to occupy the hives.

Judy was actually in agreement with my getting these, so there was no need to win them.

GOOD LUCK!!!
We have had less than good luck with bees so far; dh has always wanted them, so when a customer of mine moved to Alaska and offered us his hives, we jumped on the opportunity. All went well till late spring, April I think, and they all died cause they ran out of food.
Later that summer we were given two more nucs, but they hadn’t been split till late in the year so there weren’t enough bees. Some made it till spring...then I drowned the poor buggers cause the hole in the feeder was too big and dripped.
Last year we put a deposit down for a few nucs from a mite-free breeder, (third times the charm, right?), but another late season meant not enough queens to split.
Maybe this is my year?
So good luck to you in your bee adventure!

 

[jerryse]

Morning . Snow coming tonight and tomorrow 2-4 inches predicted .

 

[blackandtan]

Ralphie, I wouldn’t let them go in the fall, that would be a death sentence for most of them anyway, and finding a swarm or buying a nuc may be tougher than you think with all the troubles bees are having.
Many keepers up here overwinter their hives with no trouble at all, then you’re at no risk for importing someone else’s mites or diseases, I think it’s simply a matter of figuring out your own microclimate. Join your local beekeepers Assosciation, I’ve found bee people to be even better at sharing info than chicken people. There’s really great new hives and packages available all over, BEWARE of buying old stuff as it could easily have invisible mites, mould or disease that cleaning won’t remove.
Folks around here have no trouble wintering bees, though most were hit with ccd last winter and about 80% of the hives died, but that’s par for the course I guess for most of the world right now. Anyway, if you happen to be visiting the TBay area I can send you contact info for a local keeper who is a fount of knowledge, he has hundreds of hives, builds all his own stuff, captures swarms and keeps his hives right next to the chicken yard (he loves talking about them too!), and he’s always happy to take people on a little tour - honestly his yard is a mini garden of eden, bees/chooks/goats/orchard/garden etc etc....

 

[duluthralphie]

Ralphie, I wouldn’t let them go in the fall, that would be a death sentence for most of them anyway, and finding a swarm or buying a nuc may be tougher than you think with all the troubles bees are having.
Many keepers up here overwinter their hives with no trouble at all, then you’re at no risk for importing someone else’s mites or diseases, I think it’s simply a matter of figuring out your own microclimate. Join your local beekeepers Assosciation, I’ve found bee people to be even better at sharing info than chicken people. There’s really great new hives and packages available all over, BEWARE of buying old stuff as it could easily have invisible mites, mould or disease that cleaning won’t remove.
Folks around here have no trouble wintering bees, though most were hit with ccd last winter and about 80% of the hives died, but that’s par for the course I guess for most of the world right now. Anyway, if you happen to be visiting the TBay area I can send you contact info for a local keeper who is a fount of knowledge, he has hundreds of hives, builds all his own stuff, captures swarms and keeps his hives right next to the chicken yard (he loves talking about them too!), and he’s always happy to take people on a little tour - honestly his yard is a mini garden of eden, bees/chooks/goats/orchard/garden etc etc....

I have been researching bees for a couple years. My brother in law has kept them for 7-8 years. He has finally stopped trying to over winter them.

I always thought honey bees were native to the area as we use to find them in trees as kids and harvest the honey. Killing the bees as we took their honey.

Honey bees are not native to the USA. They are an invasive species brought here from Europe in the 1600’s. Some escaped and went feral.

It appears no bees can survive as feral bees at this time due to mites and disease.

It costs more to overwinter bees than it does to buy a nuc in the spring. With the odds of survival to spring around 30% or less. Many hives overwintered will die out from mites in early summer.

When the hives are empty during the winter any mites will die as they live in the brood. It also gives the beekeeper the chance to disinfect the hive preventing disease.

Killing the hive is not PETA approved. That said neither is killing cows, sheep, hogs, chickens or turkeys for their meat product. I am looking at honey as a farm product, so that is why I plan to kill the hive in the fall they are my mini hog farm..

Unless, I become emotionally attached to them and start petting them a lot.

 

[R2elk]

Unless, I become emotionally attached to them and start petting them a lot.

 

[blackandtan]

Well I know most people around here don’t even wear gloves when handling their hives, so I guess petting them is an option, I mean they are soft and fuzzy, they’re just little!
I’d never heard of starting new every year, I’ll have to ask at the next meeting if that’s a thing now.
I guess maybe it’s easier to buy nucs in the states, I know in Canada our hives have to be inspected and you’re supposed to have the tags on each hive if you’re selling colonies, and I’ve only been shopping for bees that are certified mite-free, and they’re getting VERY hard to come by; the government guy who does inspections said that mites aren’t guaranteed to die overwinter in an empty hive, but maybe I heard him wrong?
They are fun to have and I can’t wait to try (again!) this season!

 

[R2elk]

I’d never heard of starting new every year,

It has been a thing for many years.

 

[Molpet]

Well I know most people around here don’t even wear gloves when handling their hives, so I guess petting them is an option, I mean they are soft and fuzzy, they’re just little!
I’d never heard of starting new every year, I’ll have to ask at the next meeting if that’s a thing now.
I guess maybe it’s easier to buy nucs in the states, I know in Canada our hives have to be inspected and you’re supposed to have the tags on each hive if you’re selling colonies, and I’ve only been shopping for bees that are certified mite-free, and they’re getting VERY hard to come by; the government guy who does inspections said that mites aren’t guaranteed to die overwinter in an empty hive, but maybe I heard him wrong?
They are fun to have and I can’t wait to try (again!) this season!

In my area have to have a permit to have bees. They can come on your property at anytime to inspect the hive. No honey bees for me.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Maybe this belongs on our other favorite thread. But consider placing your hives on wood chips with fungal mycelium growing through it or near birch trees with Tinder Fungus (toad stools) or I guess any other fungus amongus. Apparently some of the viruses that occur with the bees are less likely if these mushrooms are around.

Search deformed wing viruses, Tinder Fungus, Red Reishi mushrooms. Interesting.

Yah. Electric fence needs to be good. We have deer that take out electric fence here at work. They bolt right through it. And then horses are munching on the lawn when I drive in. I know the blueberry farm near here puts peanutbutter on tags on their electric fence to get them to learn about the electric fence. The guy says they haven't been hit for a while but it was a while of training that went on.

 

[jerryse]

The snow has started . Time to put away stuff and then relax .