Effingham 1 Ton of Honey Grant Gillard

Grant F.C. Gillard Jackson, MO

General Infowww . Slideshare . net

Gillard5 @ charter.net

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What’s this talk about?Potential!Not just potential honey production, but

potential to change lives.What are we selling or offering?Gifts! Honey or fruitcake at Christmas?Open doors to speaking engagementsFinancial opportunities

But mostly,Honey is the confirmation…

“I am a Beekeeper!”

Honey production is not hard:Who really does the work?

Beekeepers…We set the stage,We prime the pump,We unlock the flood gates,We help the bees to do what they do

best.The Timing of Management

Luck with Weather ConditionsHealthy Colony of Bees

What’s at stake? Why is this important?

Spouse/partner looking for return on the investment in all that bee equipment

Relatives are looking for some of that free honey you’ve been promising them

Honey is healthy to eat, makes great giftsHoney harvest is the ultimate reward for all

your hard work, even if it’s “just a hobby.”Honey harvested = the yardstick of successMoney and the financial return

Major Complaints“Well, I just don’t have the time.”“That’s more work than I bargained for.”“I’m not in it for the money”

(implying, “like you, Grant.”)“The weather looked a little cloudy. I

thought the bees might be a little aggressive so I went fishing instead.”

Quotes:C.C. Miller, “Almost every beekeeper

dreams of producing the most honey from their hives, then dreads how they are going to get rid of it.”

Roger Morse, “The person who seeks to maximize their bees’ honey production gets the most in terms of profit and enjoyment whatever their reason for keeping bees.”

Producing Honey – 6 ElementsBees (good health)Colony (highly populated)Beekeeper (management)Location (some better than others)Floral crops in that location (diversity)Weather (luck)

Wild Card: Two-queen systems

What Does It Take?#1

Overwinter Strong Colonies

What’s at stake?Strong colonies survive winter betterStrong colonies deal with health

issues betterStrong colonies begin laying eggs

earlier in the springColony growth expands

exponentially, start with more bees, end up with more bees

When does the new year start?August 1st – Happy New Year!!My marketable honey is offTreatments (if any) begin, IPM to determine

needHives have been requeened and splitConfigured for winter

Double brood, maybe brood/medium Pollen patty thrown in for insuranceFed through September, maybe until

November 1st

Optional candy boards (?)

Five cornerstones for winter survivalYoung queen, markedLots of young bees, strong populationMinimal pest problems, low mitesAbundant stores, preferably honeySufficient ventilation (upper entrance)

And all of this has to be done prior to winter.Timing is important.

Winter Sabbatical – regain the big pictureNotebooks reviewed – what worked, what didn’t

What I saw and observedWhat actions taken that dayWhat needs to be done next timeWhat equipment I need to bring along

Any other rambling thoughts (journaling) Where do I want to go next year?Hopes and dreams, written goals

Equipment triaged for repairSupplies ordered (consider picking up at

meetings)

What Does it Take?#2

Rapid SpringBuild Up

What’s at stake?Earlier egg laying means a bigger

population for the nectar flow Productive, young queens lay more

eggsQueens start laying in January, and

everything needs to be in place long before winter arrives.

Right Kind of BeesWe have an early flow in SE Missouri

Begins in mid-AprilComes on strong Mother’s Day to 4th of July

Italians and Buckfast, and ferals work bestCarniolans and Russians – too slowBrother Adam: Queens raised in the summer

(nectar and pollen abundant), then overwintered will be the most productive (annual requeening?)

Mel Disselkoen: Queens mated after June 15th (summer equinox) lay more eggs into winter

Early Spring InspectionsLate January into mid-February

Bring home any dead-outs to clean upCheck candy board and replaceSlide pollen patty under inner cover *“Mush” ziplock baggy (4# sugar / 1cup water) “Wet patty” 5# sugar / 1 cup water, on wax

paperMarch 15 – daffodils bloom

Open hives on 60+ degree daysPull excessive “honey” frames and freezeFeed 1:1 to stimulate brood productionThrow in ½ pollen patty*

Early Spring Inspections, contMid-April

Remove feeding, depending on weatherAdd another brood box (?)“Checkerboard” frames, or reverse brood boxesAdd a super on top

What do I do with weak colonies that just haven’t got the memo that we’re going to produce honey?

Dealing with weak coloniesPlan A:

Combine weak hives (probably too late to requeen)3 parts water to 1 part sugar, 1/4 tsp of Honey-B-

Healthy or several drops of lemongrass oil, lightly spritz the frames of bees. No newspaper necessary.

Kill one of the queens? Let them fight it out?Plan B:

Leave them alone for now.Reduce expectations, but make a note of where they

areAdd swarm and/or package when available.Kill existing queen, spritz existing bees, top with

newspaper, add in swarm or package to top brood box.

3:1 Uniting spray

3 cups hot water1 cup sugar¼ tsp Honey-B-Healthy or four drops LMO

$3.87 Wal-MartPaint section

What Does it Take?#3

SwarmPrevention

What’s at stake?When a colony swarms, the productive

“margin” of bees leaves.These are the bees that make up the

foragers that bring in the surplus nectar.If the colony swarms…you’ve given

away your honey crop.Swarming takes time to prepare, but the

“signs” are not necessarily self-evident

Swarm Prevention“Congestion” is the trigger that sets up

swarmingCongestion is the competition for open cells

between a) a productive, young queen looking to lay eggs and b) abundant, incoming nectar needing storage (or feeding more than necessary).

Simple solution: provide more cells space with drawn comb

Stay one step ahead of the need

Swarm PreventionOpen up and expand brood nest

Walt Wright, checkerboarding*Lloyd Sechrist, expanding brood nest“Demaree” method of swarm prevention

Add third brood box, alternate frames*Young queens retard swarming – queen

substance(consider annual requeening)

Prevention is preferred to swarm controlPrevention is pre-swarming managementControl is post-swarming damage containment

Swarm ControlIf you see capped swarm cells, chances are good the

swarm has left with the old queen…but not always.So if you see capped queen cells and a queen

walking around, is she the old queen? Or virgin?Have you marked your queens?Plan A: squish all the queen cells, then come back

10 days later to do it again (and don’t miss any)Plan B: Remove queen to a nuc, squish all but two

queen cells and allow the colony to resetPlan C: Divide up the colony and allocate frames

with queen cells to nuc boxes. Squish all but two cells

Easiest Swarm PreventionAbout a week prior to the normal swarming date,

around April 15th, perform a reverse splitPull out the existing queen (marked=easier to find)Place two frames of open brood in a nuc boxAdd compliment of drawn comb, feed 1:1 syrupMove nuc to new bee yard? MaybeThe queenless remnant is fully resourced to raise

queen cells.Plan A: One week later, perhaps, consider

squishing perfectly good queen cells and leave only two.

Plan B: Or split into nucs (probably three or four)

What Does it Take?#4

Intelligent Supering

What’s at stake?Incoming nectar might be stored in

brood nestCongestion – swarmingYou have to harvest brood frames

SuperingSuper before it’s needed, stay ahead

of the gameStart out with one super well before

flow, early April, and drawn comb is preferred (allows bees to clean it up and make it ready) – queen may lay eggs here!

Add additional supers below existing supers (bottom supering)

Using Queen ExcludersNew foundation: do not use queen excluder

until comb is drawn out nicely, allow queen to lay in comb, then add excluder.

Super with two frames drawn comb on outsides, six frames of new foundation in the middle.

Or wait until the end of May or mid-June, add excluder if you want (need three weeks to clear out larvae)

With excluder: Provide upper entrance!!!!

Honey Excluders?Hive A: Control – no excluder, bottom entrance

Most honeyMost brood

Hive B: Excluder, standard bottom entrance1/2 brood – “honey bound”1/3 honey production

Hive C: Excluder, upper entranceComparable honeyComparable brood

What Does it Take?#5

Expedient Harvesting

HarvestEarly and often, begin middle of JuneRemove capped frames, not necessarily entire

supersMost capped honey in middle of superReturn freshly harvested frames and supers

“Dry” supers, not “wet” supers – robbed outMultiple yards – segregate varietiesMarket separately, offer taste challengeFinish about mid-July, get ready to treat, splitUncapped honey – drying/hot room, test

moisture

Bee Removal from supersPull frames and shake individually, no bee brushBee escapes with screen, then return after 24

hoursFume boards – quick and easyPushes bees down, but reluctant to leave brood*

Bee-go – the most effective, the worst smellHoney Robber – Bee-go with cherry flavoringHoney Bandit – Really good, nice smell (Mann Lake)Fischer’s Bee Quick – good

Fume boards on stack of supers in truck - robbing

What Does it Take?#6

LocationLocationLocation

LocationIs your back yard really the best place to produce

honey? (2 mile radius = 8,000 acres)Urban/suburban vs. rural countrysideMultiple locations offer diversity of bloomsCreek bottoms, flood plains insure against

drought (watch out for flash floods next to creeks)Contact farmers for locations (sprays?)CRP ground, ditches along Interstate HighwaysLeased ground through Dept of Natural Resources

Consider Moving Your BeesInconvenient…must be done at nightBees crawl, not fly…need their beauty sleep,

screen entrance? Tape all the cracks?Unless you have forklifts, you need hives

secured, strapped down, hand carts, young fellas with strong backs….

I move some hives from Cape Girardeau County to Scott County (different flow, later flow, second harvest).

☻

What Does It Take to Make a Ton of Honey?

Luck = Preparation + OpportunityPreparation = setting the stageOpportunity = mostly weather

Passion and desire to work when it’s hot, to put up with getting stung, and to stay one step ahead of the bees.

Wildcard: Two queen systemBasis: One colony of 60,000 bees will

produce more honey than two colonies of 30,000 each.

Why? A certain number of bees must stay home to take care of the brood. The rest are free to forage.

That number does not change significantly with increased colony populations.

Why does this work?Walter Gojmerac

Two Queen ManagementNot new

U of Wyoming 1940U of Wisconsin, Dr. Farrar, 1946 into 1950s

Requires extra manipulations, tall hivesIs the additional labor worth the extra honey?Most advantageous on mid-summer flows2nd queen needs 5 to 7 weeks to make an

optimal impact

Two Queen ManipulationsIn a double brood box situation, remove five

frames of capped brood taken from the brood nest.Add five empty frames to the brood nest (swarm

prevention)Top with double screen, add the five removed

frames to a brood box, add five more, set above the double screen, introduce a mated queen.

After 5 to 7 weeks, combine in three brood boxesPlan A: Let the queens fight it outPlan B: Pull out one of the queens to a nuc

Question: if six weeks remain in nectar flow, will this make a difference on early flows?Where can I get queens? (Remember reverse split?)

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Better Bee Tower Colony

Every Beekeeper is DifferentEvery Hive is DifferentEvery Year is DifferentEvery Location is Different“Nothing important merely happens.” “Ben Hur,” Cecil B. DeMille to Charleston

Heston“Stay in the race.

I’ll see that you win”