Honey bees

[Fred Henderson]

Are there any bee keepers amoung us? I am going into keeping them next year. I am looking for hands on advice.

[red maples]

oh I want to do it too. I know absolutely nothing about it, would like to give it a try next year.

[3% Solution]

Hi guys,
Sugarmaker is into bees.
I was in my younger days.
They are interesting little buggers.

Dave

[KenWP]

They make honey and they buzz and they work hard. I was in a castle in France and Napolean had his symbol as a bee. I collect Langouile knives and they have a bee on them.
People wonder if I am weird as I can have even wasps land on me let alone bees. I have suggested haveing bees for over 20 years now and have been turned down by the boss.

[red maples]

I told my boss about it and she said oh no, not another obsession, but she loved the idea because it will help her gardens(which are pretty impressive) and I have a huge front yard that is more clover than grass!

[stoweski]

I'm in my second year keeping bees. Started last year with two hives. Now we're up to five. Managed to get 40lbs of honey last year. Should add a few more lbs this year. It's been tough for the little workers being all cool and wet for most of the summer. They were loving this hot/humid weather today though. Bringing in as much nectar and pollen as their little bodies could carry.

Anyway, it's a neat hobby. Started it because my SF told me it was either bees or chickens. Needless to say I chose bees. And to answer a popular question, sure you get stung, but they aren't Africanized. They don't attack and they only sting if they feel it's absolutely necessary. I believe I've been stung twice this season. That tied the total number of times I was stung last season.

Here are some links to fuel your fire...
The online 'bible' of beekeeping...
http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

My beekeeping site...
http://home.roadrunner.com/~mrfreeman/beekeeping/beekeeping.htm

A friend of mine in Keene, NH site...
http://www.morningdewapiary.com/

Let me know if you have any questions.
Maybe we can work out a deal... I'm going to start sugaring next season and may need some advice. :)
Keith

[Brad W Wi]

It's something I'd like to get in to. Any one in Wisconsin want to talk about it?

[Fred Henderson]

Thanks for all the good info and the links.We are headed to Greenwich NY tomorrow to see what Betterbee.com has to offer in the way of equip and help. Its a long ways to go but this is like a minn vac for us.

[softmaple]

i got bees this year 2 hives. its like maple season but during the summer. i watch them about 10 times a day. no honey this year due to problems with weather and other factors with thier queen. is not just boil it down and its done. it takes some trainning to know what to look for during the weekly or biweekly inspections. i would recommend taking a bee class course for an introduction.
check out
www.beesource.com (http://www.beesource.com) its like mapletrader but for beekeeping
check out my picture on flickr of our package installation.

[stoweski]

Thanks for all the good info and the links.We are headed to Greenwich NY tomorrow to see what Betterbee.com has to offer in the way of equip and help. Its a long ways to go but this is like a minn vac for us.

I'm about an hour south of Greenwich. If you think you might be near Albany you're welcome to stop by for a visit. I can show you the hives and my progress on our sugarshack - for both honey and maple syrup.

PM me if you're in the area.

I forgot to mention beesource. I'm on it just about every day. :)

Keith

[KenWP]

My Grandfather had bees. I need some around here as I even have to pollinate my cucumbers by hand this year as there are no bees. Dosn't help the flowers are all flooded in the morning all the time. Hardley have any pumpkins or squash even.
I ate honey everyday for probbably 20 years and I still buy some now and then. I like the thick sugary stuff not the liquid.

[Sugarmaker]

Fred,
I have 11 colonies of "local" bees right now. Bee keeping is quite different than syrup.
We market our honey right next to the maple syrup on the shelf.
Folks can get local honey just about any where in the world. Syrup is only produced around the great lakes.
Our honey production this year has been about four 5 gallon pails full of extracted honey. That’s about 200 Lb of honey. We sell it for $5.00 per lb and $3.00 for 1/2 lb size.
Yes there’s a good chance that you will get stung. Make sure your not allergic to bee stings.
The wooden-ware to get started and the cost of the bees is the biggest expenses. Each combination of wooden ware could be $200 per colony. The bees if purchased in a package (3 lb of bees) is about $100.
A good hive may produce 100 lb of honey in a good season. So the pay back can be quick.
Like other livestock they need a little bit of attention. and you can feed and medicate and do all kinds of things to try to keep them healthy and happy. After several years of having them I tend to leave them alone a lot and only get in to then about 6-7 times per year. (two of those times are to take honey off).
Our web site has some pictures. I enjoy swarm catching and helping others get started. Let me know how I can help!

Regards,
Chris

[gmcooper]

Dad has about 20 hives now. I help out once in a while but try to keep up with what he is doing so I can fill in for him when needed. Lots of work at certain times of the year. For help in getting started check to see if there is a beekeeping group in your area or county. That would be a great place to get lots of info and some local support. Like with maple everyone has an opinion and not every idea is a good one.
Best of Luck
Mark

[The Birdman]

I started keeping bees this year myself. I found beesourse a fourm for beekeepers almost the same as maple trader.

[twobears1224]

my dad and i had bees for years.we tryed to keep atleast 10 hives at a time.it,s fun to be with honey bees.
i,am thinking about getting a couple hives of my own next summer.it,s been years scence we had any and i miss being around them and i miss that ooooo,soooooo good honey!
i might start building and selling supers if anybody's intrested.we always built our own and i have good plans for them that match the commerical supers.

delbert

[KenWP]

Was at a rummage sale today and they had a couple of bee smokers and gloves and a couple of some kind of boxs with screens about 3 inches high. I have no idea what they are for. Guy could have bought them really cheap. The lady that owned them decided she didn't like bees.

[Fred Henderson]

I am sure that there is a lot of used stuff out there if a guy just knows where to look. We went to Betterbee yesterday and bought a veil,smoker, hive tool and helmet and gloves. Not knowing all the terminology yet we stopped right there. We need to decide if we want 8 or 10 frame supers and what depth. Just another learning curve and a challenge.

[stoweski]

Way to go, Fred. You got the bug. No pun intended, of course. :rolleyes:

Two suggestions:
First, go get "Beekeeping for Dummies" and give it a good read.
Second, go on Beesource and read through the "How To Start Beekeeping" forum. There are a few threads on there that are very good.

I could give you my advise on 8 vs. 10 frame and what depth boxes to buy but as is always the case, as 10 beekeepers the same question and you'll get 11 different answers (which by the way, I'd suggest going with all mediums for consistency).

Feel free to ask any questions you'd like.
Oh, if you're looking for bees next season I'd contact Michael Palmer. He's in Vt but has hives in NY too.
Good luck!
Keith

[red maples]

bought a book on bee keeping for beginers yesterday. Doesn't look too bad... is it true you can get 100 pounds of honey out of 1 colony??? or is that like getting 1/2 gallon of syrup per tap? for the amount of honey you get from 1 hive the set-up for beginners is pretty reasonable. right around $300 including bees. for 8 frame 2 super set-ups(see that even usung bee terminology)

what type of bees are bettter the russian, italian or whatever else there is.

If anyone knows where a guy could get plans to build a hive that would be great!!!

[mapleack]

For lots of good information, similar to mapletrader, checkout beesource.com. Its a great site. I've had bee's for about 6 years, and at this point I'd rather spend money on sugaring equipment. I'm so busy with work in the summer time that its difficult to spend enough time working the bees.

[softmaple]

with bee keeping dont expect Honey. if you expect it you will be disapointed if theres none for your taking. its about keeping them alive with all the problems they can experience. this year mine were going gang buster then all of a sudden stopped going and stabilized at almost full brood box capacity couple of frames still empty. nothing in the super yet.
and for used equipment. ive read that its not a good idea to use other peoples equipment and don't buy used equipment because of disease being transfered to your bees. its not worth the headaches.

[KenWP]

Has to be a bee problem around here as I hardley ever see one and we have golden rod all over the place.

[Fred Henderson]

A very good friend told me that I would be a good bee keeper if I can keep my bees alive. Alive and healthy is what I want and not so much the honey.I just want to watch them for they are marvlious little creatures.

[stoweski]

I made a hive cover for my father last year and gave it to him for Christmas along with the rest of the hardware. We bought a nuc of bees from a place in Vt. I've been in them three times so far this summer and they are doing quite well. I'm ready to add another super and the last before winter. We won't be taking any honey from them and if we do in the next few years it will be a little bonus.
His reason for having bees was simple, he wanted them to pollinate his garden. And boy are they! He loves going out there and watching them and sends me pictures of them when they are doing something 'out of the ordinary'.
I should probably tell you that he's not the beekeeper nor does he want to be one. He just liked the idea of having a hive because of the lack of bees in his yard.
Oh, and his neighbors absolutely love the hive too. They come from all directions to watch and talk to him about them.

Yes, you can get 100lbs of honey out of a very strong hive, but don't count on it. I'd say closer estimates are between 40-60lbs. Remember, you are taking their winter food. If you take too much you wind up starving them. Why would you want to do that?

As far as making your own hives, go to beesource.com and check out their plans under 'build it yourself'. The first link are plans for a 10 frame hive.

We started with Italian bees. We caught a swarm last year of carniolians. Only the carniolians made it through the winter. We added a Russian hive, split the carniolians, and also added a Russian/Carniolian hybrid hive. We'll see who produced and survives this winter. They all have their pros and cons. And they all sting if provoked.

Here's a good read on the species of bees...
http://www.mainebee.com/articles/best.php

[Fred Henderson]

What is best to start with, 8 or 10 frames? I plan on buying one complete set up from an Amish man near here. That way I will have all the patterns that I will need. What size super should I get. Are the brood chambers the same size as the honey supers? So many question and so little time.

[gmcooper]

Dad and most of the beekeepers near us all use 10 frame deep (9 5/8")hive bodies with two high. Any supers (shallow 5 1/2"?) get added to that when needed. As said most everyone warns against using used equipment. Sometimes there is a reason it's empty and or for sale. Treating for mites has become very important in most areas. I know some do not like to use any chemicals but with out treating hives many are seeing more than 50% loss and some are near 100% of hives over winter from mites.
With bees there are "beekeepers", those that "have bees", and those that "got a hive" and they all have an opinion.

It can be very fun and interesting keeping bees. Just for fun last night when I got home from work dad found a swarm on a dead oak that fell into a beech tree. Problem was the bees were about 25 feet in the air hanging from the dead oak 10' beyond where it layed acroos the top of the beech. I climbed the beech stood on the top fork and cut the oak top (6" dia). Top and bees dropped to ground. 2 min later they regroup on the second oak top in the beech. One more cut and the were down. They clustered near the ground and dad got them in an empty hive he had ready.

[TR Hardwoods]

I've been keeping bees in Wisconsin for about 5 years now. The talk of keeping your bees ALIVE is correct. That is the biggest challenge. Replacing dead colonies costs the beekeeper money in both new bees and in lost honey. New colonies tend to produce little honey their first year. They spend the better part of the summer just building up numbers. 21ish days from egg to baby bee. The most honey I've had from one colony in one summer is 350#. The average hive for me will produce around 100#/colony/season if they overwinter correctly. If anyone has any questions I'd be more than happy to give some advice. More beekeepers are always welcome.

[stoweski]

What is best to start with, 8 or 10 frames? I plan on buying one complete set up from an Amish man near here. That way I will have all the patterns that I will need. What size super should I get. Are the brood chambers the same size as the honey supers? So many question and so little time.

Hey Fred,

You do have one thing on your side... time. Get your equipment ready and then get your bees in April. Oh wait, where you are the snow leave in what, May??? :D Well, get them when you can. If you order from Betterbee plan to do it early and plan to wait a while. They've been pushing back their delivery dates weeks and sometimes a month from when they had originally scheduled.
As I mentioned before, I prefer all mediums for both brood chambers and supers. That being said, I went with the Betterbee Beemax hives last year with two deeps for brood. The reason for only getting mediums is simple, consistency. You can overwinter them in three mediums. You only need to buy the same size frame for all of your boxes... brood or supers.
The difference between an 8 frame hive and a 10 frame hive is the weight of the supers after they are filled with honey. A 10 frame medium filled with honey is around 60lbs. An 8 frame medium is around 48lbs. It depends on how much you like your back.

Again, I would suggest consulting "Bush's Beekeeping Bible" as I like to refer to it as. He has a lot of great information on his site relating to all kinds of beekeeping topics... http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm.

Now wait, you'll get 10 more totally different answers. That's a beekeeper for ya. :rolleyes:

[KenWP]

Where I come from they take the honey and feed the bees sugar for the winter. You have to make sure its cane sugar and not beet sugar as the clay or ash in the beet sugar constipates them.
I hardley have a bee around here anymore. I used to have lots of those big bumblebees around. I hardley get a cucumber unless I pollinate them myself. I go out every morning and look for new female flowers and try and do as many as I can. Nobody grows alfalfa around here close which helps attract bees also.

[Seguin Sugarbush]

We have17 colonies this year.It is challenging to keep them happy this year.They came out of winter well,only loosing one colony.In late May we made some splits but were late in receiving queens.We improvised with our own but that set them back 3 to4 weeks.Most of july was wet and cool which gives them the tendency to want to swarm.But it is warm and sunny now and they as happy as there keeper.I have to be carefull, I rattle on and on when I start talking bees and maple,oh well,at least it keeps some of the neighbours away.:D

[3% Solution]

Fred,
When my dad and I had bees we would never take anymore honey than the family would use.
Just remember, lots of honey means lots of plants that produce the nector.
Now, lots of nector means you have a good flow into the hive.
The queen knows about flowage and will lay eggs to match the flow, which means a bigger swarm, which means a larger hive, meaning more honey for the winter.
As others have said, don't take too much off ....... ever.
Ok, enough about the little social buggers.
Do you have bears, skunks and flycatchers (bird) around?
You will need to make adjustments for these annoying little problems, too.
Just a couple of thoughts.
I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Dave

[Fred Henderson]

We have skunks and lots of Raccoons, wild turkeys and the average amount of birds. We live on 40 acres and it is all woods except for a 1/2 acre garden. I will have to clear a spot for my hive/hives.

[Lwood]

Just saw this thread today. I now have 11 hives. Beekeeping is a sickness just like maple. I'm located about 1/2 hour north of betterbee. If you want to order package bees or nuc's from betterbee, order as soon after the first of the year as you can. They sell out fast. I'm starting to rear some of my own queens to have on hand just incase myself or one of the other local guys needs one. (Like I said, It's a sickness.) Just be careful, Before you know it you'll be doing things like this. I'm about 14 feet off the ground and could not get any closer. Good luck with it. Feel free to ask questions or stop in when your down this way.
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm41/Lwoodhoneymaple/swarm%208_16_09/swarmdropping-1.jpg

[red maples]

So I was at loews today getting a few things. I come out and there is a swarm right in the parking lot. easily over a 1000 bees and they started gathering on a branch right there outside the door in the parking lot. it was really cool because I have never seen anything like that before. I wish I already had a hive I would have went back and got them...oh well!!!! right.

[3rdgen.maple]

You guys got to stop talking about honey. I don't need another hobby habit.:) The more you guys post the more interesting it gets to me. It does sound like fun.

[red maples]

yeah I am gonna try to make my own stuff over the winter. too much stuff going on right now to do it. but it does sound like fun another hobby habit. goona be on that beesource.com soon!!!! I already spend too much time on this one!!!!!!!!!!!

[softmaple]

its just as fun as maple and just as expensive too. but theres a sweet treat at the end.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I have been resisting the honey bees and I even have a spinner if I want it from the farm that I tap the trees. Im affraid that if I bring it home Ill get the bug bad.

[Fred Henderson]

I still have a lot of home work before I get any bees. They are a very interesting creature. They have been around for over 200 million years. I am on book one right now and probably will end up reading 10 by the time spring gets here. I am going to buy a couple of hives to get me started. I will then use them for patterns to make more.I built my house I guess I can build bee hives.

[Sugarmaker]

Currently at 10 colonies. Most of these are swarms, combines of swarms or from houses or trees. I have not ordered a package in years. Sunday was very hot working the bees in NWPA. I was observant enough to find the queen in one strong hive and I was happy about that since my wife says I cant find my but with both hands:) I found a hive that had a drone laying queen and one that all the bees were gone except for robbers.

I am trying to get set up on beesource forum which uses the exact format as the trader.
The bees have not brought in much goldenrod yet. Probably will start this week and end by mid Sept. I have the 4 containers ready for entry into our local fair starting this Saturday.

Lwood,
Did that swarm just fly back up on the tree?
I built a swarm catching bucket (5 gallon plastic bucket and lid) that I can put on a 10 or 15 foot pole and it works very well for these types of swarm catches. We caught a huge swarm with the bucket that was about 25 feet off the ground.

Happy bee keeping
Chris

[stoweski]

My bees are nailing the goldenrod, bringing it in by the boatloads.
I can always tell before heading out to the hives, the smell is incredibly strong. As a matter of fact I'm sitting inside right now and a slight breeze is blowing it into the house.

I can't even imaging doing an inspection over the past three days! Talk about hot. I'm waiting until it gets back down in the high 70's, low 80's and the humidity drops before taking a peek again. We did check them just before this hot spell and they were doing great... except for one hive where the stupid queen seems to enjoy laying 1-6 egg per cell. :(

Fred, you're off to a good start. 9 more books and you'll have all the knowledge to make yourself dangerous! :D

Got a few picts on my site of a recent swarm that we caught. It was also 25' up in the tree... although it didn't come crashing to the ground like Lwood's. As a matter of fact that's the hive with the bogus queen in it. Makes me wonder if we should have knocked them to the ground.
Keith

[KenWP]

Why don't you guys bring a hive over here. I am tired of buzzing around polinating flowers the last few days. My golden rod hasn't a bee near it and there is lots of it here to. I haven't seen a swarm for more then 40 years. We had one as a kid and some guy came over and took it home. I would see bees around and know if there was a hive some where close by. Even the huge bumblebees disappeared this year.

[vermaple]

Why don't you guys bring a hive over here. I am tired of buzzing around polinating flowers the last few days. My golden rod hasn't a bee near it and there is lots of it here to. I haven't seen a swarm for more then 40 years. We had one as a kid and some guy came over and took it home. I would see bees around and know if there was a hive some where close by. Even the huge bumblebees disappeared this year.

They're French Ken and they know you no speak. :lol:

[Lwood]

Sugarmaker
No, I had a cardboard box on top of a ground sheet. Layed down on the ground to line it up. Dropped almost 3/4 of them into the box. I had a 10 frame deep ready with some old comb in it placed on the edge of the cloth. After dropping them I dumped the box into the hive. Within about a minute they started fanning at the entrance. The rest of them marched right in just as nice as you please.
I know exactly what you are talking about with the bucket. Kick myself every time I find a swarm like this for not making one yet. I can usually get to them, knocking them off is last on the list. I still have to look in and see how every thing is going but they seem quite happy.

[Fred Henderson]

Now that a few my my neighbor farmers know that I am going into bees they are offering me land to put some more hives on. I think I will just stay small time.

[Sugarmaker]

Lwood,
That is a great shot of the bees falling! Glad you captured that swarm it looked big! Nice work by the camera man.
Still cant get logged in to beesource. Probably a good thing I can barely check the trader and respond to a few folks:)

I did get the honey ready for the fair tonight along with some maple products. We will see how the bees do in competition this year!

KenWP, get some bees! it will help you fill in the blank spaces in your schedule:)
Regards,
Chris

[KenWP]

Trying to figure out how you knocked them off of there. Did you have to break the branch they clung to. What I understand is the queen learns to fly and all the bees follow along with her. I could probbably learn to open a hive bare handed as bees tend to like me. Guess it's because I am so sweet.
Where I come from in Western Canada we had leaf cutter bees for the alfalfa because honey bees wouldn't pollinate as well due to the triggers in the flowers slapping them in the face. We also had lots of honey bees since it was solid feilds of canola for miles upon miles.

[cropseyvillemark]

Sugarmaker, Can you share some details on the proper construction and use of the swarm bucket. I'm getting a bit too old and way too heavy to be dangling from the tree limbs one handed anymore. thanks

[aunt stellas gardens]

Now I'm interested. And I'm not sure I need another hobby. We have a very large wild cherry tree that has had a large bee population in a hole about 25 feet up. I'm wondering if this is one of natures natural honey bee hives. It reminds me of a scene from Winnie the Pooh. I often wonder if we cut down this tree will there be loads of honey oozing out the base.
How big of an area inside this tree would the bees be using?

[KenWP]

We once had honey bees in the wall of the chicken house. They had the walls full of comb when we tore it down.

[Fred Henderson]

I would also be interested in how to build a swarm catcher.

[Lwood]

KenWP,
Gave the limb a good healthy shake and down they came.
I used to be able to open the hives without all the gear on, now I blow up and look like the michelin man when I'm stung. So no more of that for me. Oh and let's add that I'm allergic to benedryl. But I still do it.

Sugarmaker,
The wife takes the pics. When I'm doing something where I could get hurt she take pics to say "And... just what were you thinking when you tried this?.... huh?"
Looked in on them last evening. Big fat Golden Queen in there and laying a good solid patern. They filled the 10 frame deep with bees. Should be plenty strong to go into winter with. Probably have to feed them late fall though.

All,
A swarm catcher like sugarmaker is talking about is just a 5 gallon bucket on the end of some conduit. It has the cover attached with a string and hangs to the side. The string comes down through the bottom of the bucket so when you put the bucket under the swarm and shake them into the bucket you can pull the string and the lid flips over and you have them captured. Something so simple that can be so useful when you need it.
I just never seem to get it done.

[Fred Henderson]

A telescoping painter pole would be just a cats meow

[KenWP]

My other question is are these wild bees you guys catch or some other bee keepers escaped bees.

[Lwood]

Some are from feral hives, some are from our own hives and some I have no idea where they came from. The swarm in the pic I have no idea where they came from. I've checked all of my hives and everything is as it should be. Nobody that I've talked to locally has had a swarm from their hives. But you never know who might have a hive out back behind their house and never say anything about it.
Some people get real skittish when it comes to bees. And alot of people who have them keep a low profile.

[C.Wilcox]

Question for you bee guys,

My very limited understanding of honey is that it is sold in different grades similar to maple syrup. Everything at my local grocery store is Grade A White Fancy or something like that I believe and it's pretty light in color. If different grades of maple syrup taste different, like dark syrup tasting better than light for instance, do the different grades of honey taste different / better? What's your favorite grade?

[KenWP]

I like honey that is so hard you can hardly spread it. I ate peanut butter and honey sandwichs for lunch every day for 12 years of rideing the school bus and going to school no exceptions. I never ate a sandwich again untill a couple of years ago. I used to buy a 5 gallon pail of honey once in a while which makes sense since it takes that long to eat it. Especially liked it when it started to cystalize.
On TV the other night they had a thing on honey bees on the news. They had the Queens marked so you could see them in the hives. Do you guys do that also.

[stoweski]

I"m not aware of any grading system however honey is usually labeled based on the predominant flower in that area. In other words, a 4 acre or so lot of clover could yield clover honey. Same goes for blueberry, buckwheat, alfalfa, tupelo, etc. If it's your "average" honey it's labeled wildflower meaning the bees may go to many different plants to get the nectar.
It definitely has a different taste depending on which one you get. I love alfalfa honey. I'm not sure of the acreage that you have to have in order to call it a certain flower but I believe it's 4.

The benefit of buying local honey instead of that found in the grocery store is because most of it is raw, unfiltered honey, meaning it hasn't been heated. Heating it kills a lot of the antibacterial properties of honey and allows a longer period of time before the honey crystallizes - making it look like a better product on the shelves.
Many people swear by eating local raw honey to prevent allergies and illness. I take a tablespoon a day from September to June. I'm a teacher. I haven't missed a day of school due to illness since taking honey. And yes, local raw honey tastes better too! Go to a farmer's market and get some local honey and give it a taste test!

To answer Ken's question, I do not have marked queens but it is a good idea if you actually want to find her in the hive. When doing an inspection all you really need to see is a good laying pattern and brood in all stages - eggs, larvae, and capped.

Keith


Question for you bee guys,

My very limited understanding of honey is that it is sold in different grades similar to maple syrup. Everything at my local grocery store is Grade A White Fancy or something like that I believe and it's pretty light in color. If different grades of maple syrup taste different, like dark syrup tasting better than light for instance, do the different grades of honey taste different / better? What's your favorite grade?

[Fred Henderson]

I have been told that Basswood honey is very light in color. I wiill find out as my wife just order a 5lb pail of it.

[gmcooper]

Fred I am curious where did you find basswood honey? I have never heard of it. I assume it was made from nectur from basswood blossoms. However that would be a really short time frame to get any amount of honey produced let alone enough to fill a super.
Thanks
Mark

[Fred Henderson]

Fred I am curious where did you find basswood honey? I have never heard of it. I assume it was made from nectur from basswood blossoms. However that would be a really short time frame to get any amount of honey produced let alone enough to fill a super.
Thanks
Mark

Althought the honey is not organic, she buys organic bulk food from a company called Regional Access and I think they are near Utica NY. 30 years ago a man who was in his 80's told me about him and his father getting honey from a tree when he was a boy. He told me that his grandpa said that it was Basswood wood honey because it was so light in color. I am just going by what I have been told over the last 40 years. Anyhow that is what the company said it was but only the bees really know for sure.

[gmcooper]

Like most honey they are not 100% from one flower variety but if they say it's from basswood go for it. The basswoods we have here seem to only flower for a couple days. I did a search and found a couple NY locations with it. $12-14 for 10oz. Must be good stuff I guess. Maybe a niche market for you to get into!
Mark

[Fred Henderson]

The honey has arrived and i seriouly doubt that it is Basswood honey. Its very dark and has all the appearences of being heated to many times.

[Sugarmaker]

Guys,
Finally got on to the www.beesource.com web site, Identical format to the trader, too. So I may spend a little time there.:) Wife knows I am nuts now!

I do not have marked queens, as first it seems hard to find them in the first place!, and I do not plan to re-queen. They do stick out with a dot on them.
Spent Monday evening at the bee booth at the Crawford County Fair with our local president of the bee association good time visiting with folks and talking bees.

I did catch a small 3 lb swarm about 2 miles from home. I will do a combine this week end if they look good in the box. I set them on top of another colony.

Also had a call to Edinboro on a swarm that got away before I got there:(

We do heat our honey to 130 deg F and strain it.. Folks now days don't really want things floating in there product. It also does keep some of the honey from crystallizing as fast.

The girls should be bringing in golden rod by the buckets full!

BTW I entered two classes at the fair and got a first and a second place.

Regards,
Chris

[Lwood]

I don't mark any of my queens either. I just look for signs that she is there, or has been in the last 3-4 days. If there are eggs present and only one per cell. She was there in the last few days and chances are still is. (Not always the case, but usually.)

I don't heat my honey. Many of the people that get honey from me want it that way. I do freeze it for 48 hours to kill any random eggs / larva before I let it thaw out and extract it. Then it goes through 3 progressivly finer screens to strain it. If I'm making comb honey, I'll freeze it after it gets packaged.

Cought 2 more swarms in the last few days. I think they from one of my hives. Haven't had time to check yet but pretty sure. The second one seems to have been an after swarm from the same hive, Small. I will probably combine them with another colony after I see what the queens do.

Sugarmaker:

Glad you finally got on the beesource. It is ( In my opinion) the beekeeping equal to Maple Trader.