PHASE 2 Theory: Part 1

[College Beekeeper]

Hey BEE Team of Wageningen, aka, the Waggleningen-ers!

I now present...
the first part...
in a three part series...
of videos/websites that should help you increase your beekeeping
knowledge.

We decided to present this material via the web, so that everyone
could do it on their own time schedule, whenever works for them.

The FIRST thing you should take into account, is that we need you to
ASK questions as they come up. And that's what this discussion group
is all about. So whenever you have a question, please mention the
video, and if possible, the time point when the question came up.
That way others can go back and see what you were looking at. If
people don't ask questions, then this doesn't really work like we need
it to.

The SECOND thing to take into account, is that ANYONE can give a shot
at answering a question. So if you think you have an idea of how to
answer a question, go for it. Perhaps someone else will have a
different idea/answer, and they can put it up there too. At the same
time, we will be sure to clarify any gray areas and/or fallacies.

And the THIRD thing, is that beekeeping will always be modified
according to location and person. So don't take these videos as final
authority on what to do. That's why we like to keep good ties with
the local beekeepers, because they're the ones who have the local
tricks of the trade. So this is to guide you, but it's not the law.

OK!
Now that that's outta the way...

The videos that we've chosen for this week cover chapters 1, 2 and 3,
of a nice round of videos from the University of Georgia. Honeybees
and Beekeeping: A Year in the Life of an Apiary. Watch the whole
chapter, which is usually divided into three parts (eg, chapter 1 =
1.1, 1.2, 1.3)

You can find these videos here:

Chapter 1:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeeHealth#p/u/25/UjrdwXXEtLo
Chapter 2:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeeHealth#p/u/22/psx6sVUWxUc
Chapter 3:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeeHealth#p/u/18/HgHUgNbgnc0

If the links don't work, go on youtube, and type in "Honeybees and
Beekeeping", and you should find the videos. Alternatively, you can
go to the youtube channel "BeeHealth", and all the videos are there.
As you can probably guess, next week we'll go into the next couple of
chapters (with other stuff added too). So if you want to go ahead, or
see what other videos they have, no problem. (if you find a video
that you think is especially interesting, send it along to me, and/or
post it up!)

The WEBSITE for the week is here:
http://agdev.anr.udel.edu/maarec/

Check it out, read a bit here and there, and see what you think. Of
course, they also have other links, so feel free to explore those, but
keep in mind that you might get sunk into the abyss of the internet.

AND, the final thing:
a funny video, to keep your spirits up.
It's one of my all-time favourites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-OiCkB8v2g

Enjoy!
Michael

[College Beekeeper]

So it's been just about a week...
and I'm figuring we should put in the 2nd installation...
but I'm still wondering: does NOBODY have ANY questions?


If you have a question, and you don't want to post it up, you can
email me directly, and I'll post the question and an answer (as best I
can). Cause I'm SURE people have questions somewhere along here...





On Mar 17, 7:55 pm, College Beekeeper <collegebeekee...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Christophe célénie]

Hi,
That is right, I have questions but I don't know how to post it up! Shall I
need to have an email address on Gmail?
My questions are:
Why are there 2 different roofs on the hive?
Can we make a hive with every species of wood?

Thanks.

C�l�nie

On Thu, 24 Mar 2011 01:45:04 -0700 (PDT), College Beekeeper wrote

--
C�l�nie Christophe
�tudiante AgroParisTech
cursus agronome

Erasmus exchange student at Wageningen University
from March to July 2012

[Algoet, Pierre-Emmanuel]

Hi,

I also do have some questions, but same problem than Christophe I don't have gmail adress so I can't post any comment on the google group !!!
- Since it is needed to add all kind of chemicals to avoid diseases and pests in the beehive, is it still possible to have organic beehives ??? Are there some "grandma" medicines to avoid diseases and pests ???
- How to get an organic honey when we know that bees just forage for pollen and nectar on every flowers they will find on a large area? Shall I still trust somebody that is selling organic honey ???
- Is there a specific period to install a new beehive with a new queen (Couldn't find this information on the video or maybe I flying too much with the bees and not paying attention to the content of the video ;) ) ?? would it be more in spring before the pollen flow ?? or it is still possible at any time of the year ??

Thanks in advance for your answers !!!
Waiting forward to go to get a look at the bees !!!!

Pierre

-----Original Message-----
From: wageningen-stu...@googlegroups.com [mailto:wageningen-stu...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Christophe célénie
Sent: donderdag 24 maart 2011 14:13
To: wageningen-stu...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: PHASE 2 Theory: Part 1

Hi,
That is right, I have questions but I don't know how to post it up! Shall I need to have an email address on Gmail?
My questions are:
Why are there 2 different roofs on the hive?
Can we make a hive with every species of wood?

Thanks.

Célénie

--
Célénie Christophe
étudiante AgroParisTech

[College Beekeeper]

So!
My mistake that people didn't know how to post questions with the google groups. 
- you don't need a gmail account to do so.  you can actually just reply to these emails and everyone will get it, and it'll also be on the googlegroups webpage.  (the email address you're replying to should look like this:  wageningen-stu...@googlegroups.com)

And!
Some attempts at answering questions. 
Others should put in their own two cents if you've got em to throw. 

Why are there 2 different roofs on the hive?

So there's usually a sort of overall 'roof' as well as an inner cover, which is also like a roof.  there are many reasons for having two, and i'm probably not the best for all the reasons, but here's a couple:
- two roofs means more insulation
- the roof over can be easily removed, because it wont get stuck together by the bees, but can also have a lip, to hold over the boxes, ie, won't get blown away by the wind, but also won't get stuck together by the bees.
- the 2nd roof, closer to the bees, will often have a circular hole in it.  that way you can add a feeder above.
- the 2nd roof sticks directly onto the hives, so the bees don't have to seal up as much as they would if you only had the overall roof.
- and one last answer: it's what's usually done.  some beekeepers elsewhere only have one roof, and then use carpets or other cloths.  so really, there's no law that says you've gotta have two, although there are some practical reasons for it. 

(and if this doesnt make any sense to you, ask again while at the hives, and you might see what I'm thinking)

Can we make a hive with every species of wood?

- as far as I know, yes. 
- well, you don't want to use toxic wood.  or anything too thin.  but some people also use plastic, or other materials, like styrofoam (which I used to house stingless bees in Panama).  one problem with using other materials is that they warp, which is a problem for fitting everything together. 
- but this brings up an important point, and that's that a hive can be made of many different things, so options can be wide and varied. 

Since it is needed to add all kind of chemicals to avoid diseases and pests in the beehive, is it still possible to have organic beehives ??? Are there some "grandma" medicines to avoid diseases and pests ???

- so this is a bit of a longer question, and can get complicated. 
- as a group, we will NOT be keeping bees totally organically.  there are many reasons for this.  the most important one is that we're sharing our bee site with the research hives, and they need to be treated for varroa, effectively.  if you're the one beekeeper in your area not treating for varroa, you're making life harder for everyone nearby (and that's also from an epidemiological standpoint).  Those who remember, we're supposed to be pairing up with STEL for our 'official' status, as well as a bank account.  they are an organic organization, but we've already told them that we won't be keeping our bees organically.
- YES, some medications are necessary.  these videos perhaps show more medications than others might use, for two reasons: 1. its an educational thing, so they want to show everything, 2, it's beekeeping in the states, and they're a bit looser with medications.  keep in mind that medication will depend on YOUR area, and what's necessary to do. 
- there ARE some 'grandma' methods to avoid diseases/pests.  however, there are LOTS of ideas out there, and the methods might be more smoke and mirrors than actually useful.  so keep a wary eye when someone tells you something or other, because sometimes tests don't come back as well as they should.  that said, some of them DO work, IF done properly.  and that can get difficult.  (for example, using powdered sugar to remove varroa mites.  yes, it can work, but the sugar has to be super super fine, and technically you'd have to powder them all, so that could be a huge undertaking, and if it's not really working anyways, then you're wasting your time, and stressing out the bees). 
- is it possible to have organic beehives?  depends on where you draw the line.  (see below for more).  some people say they keep their bees organically, but they might also have more deaths than they'd like, and for us, that's not a good approach.  if you want to keep your bees organically afterward, best of luck to you, try everything out, and see what works.  as a group, we want people to see all sorts of options. 

How to get an organic honey when we know that bees just forage for pollen and nectar on every flowers they will find on a large area? Shall I still trust somebody that is selling organic honey ???

- this is a problem with 'organic' honey.  you can't tell the bees what pollen/nectar they 'should' and 'shouldn't' collect!  so you don't necesarily know for sure.  some people have said they always find some residues in honey, no matter where/what/how it's produced. 
- whether you should trust them, that's your decision.  once you're more knowledgeable, strike up a conversation with the beekeeper/vendor, and see what they do.  it's likely they have a mix of things they do on their side of the beekeeping to keep things as organic as possible, but once the bees fly off... there's little you can do. 
- for a cool little article about bees collecting forage, check this out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/nyregion/30bigcity.html?_r=1

Is there a specific period to install a new beehive with a new queen (Couldn't find this information on the video or maybe I flying too much with the bees and not paying attention to the content of the video ;)  ) ?? would it be more in spring before the pollen flow ?? or it is still possible at any time of the year ??

- you can put in a new queen at any time, as long as you're doing it properly (caging her, so they get used to her, and then she's released, and they're like, hey, it's mom!) 
- for requeening, if you're trying to get the hive in good time to actually collect the nectar, you'll have to do your timing better.  keep in mind that if you have a virgin queen, that you personally put in there, she'll have to go on her mating flight, so that'll take ~ 5 days, and then it's 20 days from laying eggs before bees emerge.  so if you want the hive super strong, you'll have to put that new queen in earlier. 
- if you're giving bees eggs, for them to make a queen themselves, it'll take even longer, as the queen itself has to develop/hatch/fight/etc.  queen time from egg to hatching is 16 days (if I remember correctly...)

- one last comment, if you're having a virgin queen, she'll obviously need some males to mate with her, so you'd need her to be flying out in the late spring/summer months.  but when you put in a new queen, she's usually already mated.  so that shouldnt be an issue. 



GREAT to have some questions!
Keep on rockin!

--

 

College Beekeeper

"Helping students initiate beekeeping programs at their place of education."

https://sites.google.com/site/collegebeekeeper/

Skype: College Beekeeper

Facebook: Apis mellifera, email: collegeb...@gmail.com