lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on Mar 19, 2015 7:31:25 GMT -5
Any beekeepers out there? How has your garden been affected (noticed an increased yield, better pollination effects, etc.)? I have a few hives myself.
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Post by daylilydude on Mar 19, 2015 10:44:01 GMT -5
lmehaffey, I wish I did... but if you want to trade some bees for some great big red wasp... I'm game...
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on Mar 19, 2015 11:03:54 GMT -5
Thanks, but I have some of those, too --- and, while they are decent pollinators for some plants, I'd rather have honeybees or bumblebees (which, interestingly, are much better pollinators of tomato plants due to their higher wing vibration rate).
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Post by daylilydude on Mar 19, 2015 11:06:03 GMT -5
I do have what they call here "carpenter bees" chew plugs out of every 2x4 I use... lol!
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on Mar 19, 2015 11:54:08 GMT -5
Carpenter bees are pollinators also -- but their usefulness as pollinators is, in my mind, outweighed by the annoyance of their nesting habit. I have to look carefully for the white spot on their heads to be sure I am swatting a carpenter bee and not a bumblebee ...... my wife just swats at all of them!
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on May 9, 2015 18:29:15 GMT -5
Pulled my first honey supers yesterday --- looks like about 200 pounds after processing. Replaced the pulled supers with empty-framed boxes, so it may be another few weeks before I can see any production (the girls will need to build comb before they can store honey). Might be a good season.
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Post by daylilydude on May 10, 2015 5:16:24 GMT -5
Pulled my first honey supers yesterday --- looks like about 200 pounds after processing. Replaced the pulled supers with empty-framed boxes, so it may be another few weeks before I can see any production (the girls will need to build comb before they can store honey). Might be a good season. Looks like it's going to be a great one lmehaffey, I have a question... what do the girls use to build the comb with?
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on May 10, 2015 7:14:47 GMT -5
Bees have wax glands which convert sugars into wax, which is excreted via pores, then "chewed" by the mandibles and shaped into flat platelets and used to build the comb. Cell-building takes a lot away from honey production so most of us try to save as many frames of comb as we can from year to year (a good frame of comb can be re-used for several years, as the bees will clean the frames before storing honey in them).
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on May 23, 2015 6:17:10 GMT -5
Another set of honey supers going on today. Anxious to see how the last set developed. Pic below is of a colony I removed from a tree and "hived" in my beeyard. I hated to cut into that beautiful comb structure, but the property owner was going to poison the bees, so I moved them in order to save the colony.
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tomato
Pro Member
Posts: 144
Joined: October 2012
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Post by tomato on May 23, 2015 8:39:58 GMT -5
I've kept bees for the last 45 years. I generally would not recommend extracting honey yet, we have had too much rain. The moisture content of the honey will still be too high. It is better to extract in late July or August after summer heat has reduced the moisture a bit. I'm in Hamilton about 100 miles NW from you.
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on May 26, 2015 16:03:14 GMT -5
You're right about the moisture content. I borrowed a friend's refractometer and checked one of the frames from those early supers --- moisture level was still around 25 per cent ..... I could have put the honey under a heat-fan, but I just popped the supers back onto the hives instead. I generally pull in June, but might wait a bit longer this year. I missed the ABA picnic this year (Pop was in hospital), but will assuredly make it to the Master Beekeepers classes and the annual meeting.
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Post by daylilydude on May 26, 2015 19:48:20 GMT -5
Sending prayers to him and family...
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on May 27, 2015 6:03:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the prayers --- Pop is home with me, healthy and recovering nicely (his home health care providers are dismissing him early); not bad for a 99-year old fella!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 27, 2015 8:12:37 GMT -5
That's great news!
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lmehaffey
Junior Member
Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia libant
Posts: 45
Joined: December 2011
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Post by lmehaffey on May 27, 2015 14:17:20 GMT -5
Yep ---- he's a keeper.
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Post by stratcat on May 27, 2015 22:50:09 GMT -5
I bet he is!
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