Posted on 02/08/2014 5:04:27 PM PST by US Navy Vet
Well to day I ordered 2 3 lb PKGS of (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniolan_honey_bee). This will be my first go with this type of Honey Bee(in the past I have kept Italian Honey Bees(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_bee). Wish me luck!
what is your first hand experience in the general overall health of the ‘bee community”?
All the best.
How many hives do you have? You sell honey?
How fun. I love bees. I collect dead ones and show them to my students under a microscope. Their wings - those little ‘bones’ in their wings - are actually full of bee blood (hemolymph). God’s wonderful creation. Such a beautiful little thing. They make nice ‘pets’??
A couple things about the Carniolans . . .
One thing is when you package them. You wait and wait and wait thinking your queen is a poor layer and the package starts to dwindle. Then, BANG! They explode and more than make up for their delayed population curve. I’ve kept Carniolans and Italians for nearly 20 years. The other thing is their habit of capping with beautiful white wax. They make the capping dome a little off the surface of the honey and the air makes it snow white. They make exquisite rounds or comb honey. You’ll like them.
Italian bees are a little to pushy and take too many breaks.
Very cool, US Navy Vet. I wish you all the luck!
Awesome, I want to do that some day!
Indeed they are. While many who really don’t know them would think them just an unpleasant little ‘’bug’’ that stings they’re humble, industrious , gentle little beings without whom life on this planet would be next to impossible as you know. I wonder if anyone who has ever sat down to a steak dinner would ever think that without the honey bee to pollinate the plant that produced the grain to feed the cattle that became the steak.... And a humble little insect that makes the only food on Earth that never spoils! Amazing.
Best of luck with the new variety of bees.
I have long thought about putting in some hives here. Our domesticated bee population appears to be down somewhat. Not sure if it is cotton treated with nicotinamide and chloronicotinic acid insecticides. Have read that is a problem, but am cautious to chime in with the alarmists.
We did have a pretty heavy population of Solitary bees. Purple Orchard Mason bees, leaf cutters and other Solitary bees 2 years ago. But we had a very late freeze in the first of May last year and this either killed those bees or the plants failed to bloom properly because of the freeze.
Chicken or Egg question. But either way, we mad no fruit last year and had very few native bees apparent.
But it appears the cotton populated properly, there was a pretty good crop harvested.
I have had a drawing for building good quality bee hives and have read about some of what it takes. But simply have never done it.
You might find this literature worth looking at.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24583/24583-h/24583-h.htm
THE HONEY-BEE, A Bee Keeper’s Manual,
BY REV. L. L. LANGSTROTH. (1853)
—
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25185/25185-h/25185-h.htm
MYSTERIES OF BEE-KEEPING EXPLAINED
BY M. QUINBY (1853)
—
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2884/2884-h/2884-h.htm
THE MASON-BEES
By J. Henri Fabre (1914)
Have a great beekeeping year!
Been beekeeping now for 10 years, have 5 to 8 hives at any one time.
Honey harvest has run the gamut.... 540 lbs to 8 lbs.
Quite the range, eh?
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Placemarker
Forgive my ignorance, but how do they ship 3 lb containers of bees without killing them in the process?
I used to be terrified of Bee’s. I had a couple nasty stings when younger and puffed up pretty bad (worse than most). My girlfriend has a decent size hive and I am fascinated by them now (esspecially since observing them much closer at “their” home and how they don’t give a damn; just don’t truly get in their way and don’t mess with their home!!).
If you get a ping list going, please put me on it as I am seriously considering taking a turn at bee-keeping.
/note, PGH Bee keeping conference is coming up real soon.
I liked carniolans, when I kept bees.
You do need to be alert for swarm control. The number of queen cells un my hives was prodigious!
Good luck!
BFL
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