A beekeeping topic.

[ness]

On 5/7/2022 at 8:39 PM, BilletHead said:

                 Two more big swarms captured since last post. Again, from my existing hives. Nothing yet in swarm traps that I have out that I know of. All I need to do is introduce one into a long hive and I have my nine hives filled.  Two of these swarms are in the back and will be gifted to friends. Hoping for more gifts to appear. May save one of two for resource bees and brood. I will spare you all little videos and pictures of new catches unless you want to see them. BUT I will share something pretty cool. Remember nine weeks and two days ago I started a gallon of Meade?  Today was the rack day. From one gallon jug to three-liter jug. A bit of aging again and bottle. this is how it started,

    A swirl of the in the first process to get things going again was all that was done. We today transferred bottles. Really clear and did a taste test. Oh, my I had no idea! 

     The air lock replaced for more clearing and aging.

    After the taste test I know one thing. there will be a five-gallon carboy ordered and the bees better get busy .  Was told by A friend there is no way I could bottle this and keep one bottle a year to age longer. After the taste test I am kind of believing him.

Looking good!

A suggestion: If you're not going to drink it real soon, it would be better to not have a large air space on top. (Contamination/oxidation). Either smaller bottles or I suppose you could use some clean marbles or glass beads to raise the level and reduce the air space. 

[Quillback]

On 5/8/2022 at 8:27 AM, BilletHead said:

    Have you ever tasted Meade? You might change your mind. JD.

I tried it once and did not think it was good, but maybe it was not made correctly.  

[Dutch]

There is a winery 7 Cs north of us that specializes in mead.  My wife has bought it a few times.  It’s not for me.

[BilletHead]

          Don't know what to tell you all,

 We think it is good and so does my buddy in Herman that did a ten-gallon run before.  

5 hours ago, ness said:

Looking good!

A suggestion: If you're not going to drink it real soon, it would be better to not have a large air space on top. (Contamination/oxidation). Either smaller bottles or I suppose you could use some clean marbles or glass beads to raise the level and reduce the air space. 

            Thanks Ness,

  I know there is the headspace in there. I have some 12oz bottles ordered with screw on lids and shrink rings to really seal them. Going to go a couple more weeks to clear it up more and bottle it. Have ordered a set of four more gallon bottles with airlocks included. This way I can run a four or five gallon batch and when ready to bottle maybe do a full gallon or two and smaller bottle the rest. Hopefully I can really let some age and stay out of it. 

  Plastic caps I know but here in the M&P Wild Bee home brewery in the boonies we take baby steps . 

[jdmidwest]

The thing about honey from the hives, either you find a use for it or piddle around and sell it.

Extracting it into 5 gallon food safe buckets is pretty easy.  Bottling it to sell requires more time, more expense finding containers, more time labeling, and more time finding buyers.

Most commercial guys bucket it and sell it.  Those with more time sell it bottled as a boutique item and market it as clover honey, danderlion honey, etc.  Truth is, unless your bees are confined to an area, they make honey off every flower they want to during the course of the season.

[BilletHead]

             No boutique bees here,

 Wild free range get it while you can bees. Wildflower mix.  They work with the the various blooming seasons taking advantage of what they are given. The BilletHead's are like this too.  Swarm traps and now getting hit and in the picture. 

[jdmidwest]

Hottest day of the year, came home and was going to make more garden.  Noticed more activity around the hives down the hill.  Walked down and all hives were bearding due to the heat.  But 2 swarm traps had bees in them.  I had baited 2 hives full of frames from an old hive and put a Swarm Commander lure in each a month ago.  I have noticed many going in and out of them, but today they were full.

Swarms from somewhere, maybe out of my hives had taken residence and were packing in honey.  Suited up and sweating like a pig, I moved one into a full hive where it sits.  The other I left as it was, waiting until I find a good laying queen then off to a buddy that has been wanting bees.

I put 3 more traps out with swarm lures in them and frames of comb. 

I added a honey  super on the weak hive that is building up well.  I left the other 3 alone, too hot to do any more.

[BilletHead]

12 minutes ago, jdmidwest said:

Hottest day of the year, came home and was going to make more garden.  Noticed more activity around the hives down the hill.  Walked down and all hives were bearding due to the heat.  But 2 swarm traps had bees in them.  I had baited 2 hives full of frames from an old hive and put a Swarm Commander lure in each a month ago.  I have noticed many going in and out of them, but today they were full.

Swarms from somewhere, maybe out of my hives had taken residence and were packing in honey.  Suited up and sweating like a pig, I moved one into a full hive where it sits.  The other I left as it was, waiting until I find a good laying queen then off to a buddy that has been wanting bees.

I put 3 more traps out with swarm lures in them and frames of comb. 

I added a honey  super on the weak hive that is building up well.  I left the other 3 alone, too hot to do any more.

              Productive Day JD for you!  I have been running my traps. They have been hit. I have seen bees in and out of two Layens traps and one Langsdorf trap. I had hopes of another swarm way high in a tree above a Layens trap. That big ball of bees were there over thirty hours. I thought they were checking the trap but now not so sure. It had bees in and out of it. Drove over there a couple times a day. Well last trip I witnessed the lift off. It was amazing. The cluster became airborne all at once. I actually walked into it and was emersed in a  tornado of sound. They began to get into formation and headed due east. I opened and close gates and roll under fences to try to follow on foot hoping they would alight closer to the ground. I finally lost sight of them in the distance. The farmers wife (Ardis) came behind me on their side by side wondering what the heck this nut was doing amongst the cattle. Too funny. Great people. I have caught bees there last year and am always welcome. Of course they like honey. I believe there had been a swarm get into that trap before this bunch left or it was a multiple queen swarm and some had already split off because when the swarm left bees were still in and out of the trap. 

   I also transferred a gifted colony into a friends long lang. They got a little testy once and the friends pit bull cross dog dis not like my hooded bee jacket so I was on guard from the little stingers and the toothy dog. 

[Ham]

I really appreciate y’all working with the bees.

[jdmidwest]

Did some more work in the bee yard this week.  I spent yesterday after work putting together frames for the hive of bees that I am donating to a friend.

Today, did some other maint. around the yard.  Set up another area for a stand. 

I have one hive bearding pretty bad, too many bees and its only mid May.  They will swarm, so I made the swarm myself.  I took a full deep box of brood, bees, and stored honey off the stack and started a new hive.  They will make a queen and complete the hive of bees.  The box I removed was just empty frames and comb a month ago when I added it into the stack.  They had filled it well.

I added a honey super of new frames so they can draw out the wax and fill with honey.  The extra room will give the ones bearding outside something new to work on.

One of the new swarm traps have bees using it, there may be another soon in it.  Those are coming from the woods nearby.  Not my hives.  But, maybe swarmed bees from mine in years past.