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Grant F.C. Gillard Jackson, MO
General Infowww . Slideshare . net
Gillard5 @ charter.net
https: // www . Createspace.com / 4111886
www . grantgillard . Weebly . Com
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?)
Red Belly Bee Farm - Facebook
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”