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Barnyard Buddies:  Honeybees  |
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 04 2012 : 09:17:47 AM
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A friend told me of a guy locally who is selling complete hives for $125 a piece. I told her I was interested. That seems quite inexpensive to me.
Anyway, I mentioned this to my husband who informed me that the honeybees had returned to the big rotten oak at the top of the hill! Last year he had a beekeeper come out who was interested in taking the hive and they were gone. But now they're back.
I walked up the hill the other day and they were busy. There was quite a "cloud" of them in a holding pattern outside the entrance. At first it seemed chaotic and that nothing was being accomplished other than them buzzing around. But as I watched I could see that about half of the bees had bright yellow pantaloons of pollen and they were going in one by one.
The bees are fairly small and cardboard-brown in color. What kind are they? I don't know how big the hive is but the tree is two-feet in diameter.
If I were to purchase a hive, does it need to be some distance from this wild hive?
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Apr 04 2012 : 12:11:13 PM
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oh loyce, how fun for you. i have no idea no clue. LOL but i think that is a good price. if they have more could i get their number. my DIL is wanting to start this. we can not since papa is allergic to bee stings.
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4260 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4260 Posts |
Posted - Apr 05 2012 : 04:35:01 AM
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It seems like a good price on the hive. You would probably have to purchase or make extra boxes and frames. Having your own honey is the best kind.
Michele |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Apr 07 2012 : 02:28:29 AM
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Hi Loyce!
Sounds good! The price for the hive is pretty good. If you buy a package or nuc from a domestic apiary then, yes, you might want to keep them from these feral bees (although they might be an escaped swarm--not sure what native bees are on your coast, the small dark bee you describe could be a Carnolian or Russian domestic colony)...
Anyhoo--since you don't know if the ferals have diseases, you want to keep them a distance from your bees...and also, any new queens from either colony can breed and you'll have feral traits in your bees if you have a new queen breed with their drones.
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View My Work:
art/dolls: www.vagabondcreations.blogspot.com
The Horse Drawn Project and Farming!
www.beyondvagabond.com
View the blog and radio show!
Renegade Farming!: www.therenegadefarmer.com
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Marylyn
True Blue Farmgirl
316 Posts
Marylyn
Ellsinore
MO
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - Apr 07 2012 : 07:25:57 AM
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Good morning...the sight you saw at the oak tree were the guard bees. Bees go throu stages in their lives. First is being babied, then the housework to keep the hive clean, next they serve the Queen, then they become guard bees, flying around at the entrance of the hive, to keep preditors out. Then they really stretch their growing wings and go to work collecting pollen to make honey...the guard bees check them out to make sure they belong there!!!!
I love bees!!!!
Auntie M
Farmgirl # 4062 |
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
Posted - Apr 10 2012 : 08:52:19 AM
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Sherrye--here is the phone number. His name is Robert. 541-679-4172. I have not talked to him so I don't know what he has.
So how much distance between the new hive and the wild bees? The tree is 100 feet up the hill from my garden. The barn and apple trees are 300 feet down the hill.
Later this year the horses will be on the pasture so the new hive needs to be where they can't mess with it. I can put it down by the barn or possibly over at the neighbor's under their apple trees. But I kind of wanted to put it where I could watch the bees.
And how would I know if the wild bees are diseased?
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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Farmtopia
True Blue Farmgirl
1465 Posts
Zan
New York
New York
USA
1465 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2012 : 11:29:35 AM
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Hey Loyce!
Well--considering bees can travel up to 6 miles--it'll be hard to keep the two colonies from avoiding each other--yikes!
If you go under the tree where the wild bees are--try to check to see if there are dead bees at the bottom. The morgue bees will remove any diseased bees or brood and throw them out of the hive. Dead bees are not a problem. Your worry is if you see LARVAE out there--warped shiny larvae is a sign of foulbrood, and it is way bad if any bees make contact with bees from a colony that has it. So if you see lots of larvae down at the tree base (and to be fair, they could have gotten carried off by other things that eat larvae), then be worried.
If you check how strong the bees seem--are there lots going in and out of the tree?--are they vigorous? Then most likely its a good colony. How many years have they been in the tree. If they have kept going for several years, they probably are ok. But nothing is 100% guaranteed. Of course, I'm a worry wart about bees, too.
Ok, I would put the bees somewhere out of the way of any animals, underneath or near a windbreak of some sort, where the rain or snow or puddling can't get to it. If you have wild animals (skunks, mice, bears) then you will have to pest proof the hive, too.
~*~Dream all you dreamers~*~
View My Work:
art/dolls: www.vagabondcreations.blogspot.com
The Horse Drawn Project and Farming!
www.beyondvagabond.com
View the blog and radio show!
Renegade Farming!: www.therenegadefarmer.com
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2012 : 09:38:38 AM
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The hive is in a rotten oak log. I will go up and check around the entrance. The day I was up there watching, it was warm and there was a lot of activity around the entrance, so that's a good sign.
The hive has been there before; was gone last year; and has returned. So I don't know if this is even the same hive. But they are busy!
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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Barnyard Buddies: Honeybees |
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Honeybees
