THE BEE SUPPLY
Monthly
May 2024
Photo Credit: Kim Townsend
FEATURED TOPICS Adding Supers Identifying Queen Cells Stop the SHB Invasion
EDITION 47
Contents
Clicking on a topic will take you right to it!
Table of
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4 Monthly Tips 8 What Is Wrong With This Hive? 14 Adding and Managing Honey Supers 18 Drawing New Comb 21 Should I Use a Queen Excluder? 22 What am I Seeing—A Swarm, Supersedure, or Emergency Queen Cell? 26 I'm About to Pick Up My Bees—What Do I Need to Know? 28 Which Is Better for My Bees—A Sunny Location or Shade? 30 What Should a Newly Obtained, Healthy Nuc Look Like? 34 Beekeeper Chat: Yappy Beeman 36 How I Install Nucs by Blake Shook 40 Your Hive's First Month Home 42 What's the Buzz? Do Varroa Mites Feed on Hemolymph or Fat Body? 46 Stop the Small Hive Beetle Invasion! 50 Recipe: Crispy Chicken Salad with Honey-Jalapeño Vinaigrette 52 Monthly Buzz Webinar Q&A 53 Club Directory 54 US Drought Map
May
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When should you add a honey super? Check out this short video!
As the honey flow begins in most of the nation, your hive should be reaching its peak population. Check your hive weekly to ensure the bees have enough room. In some areas, bees can bring in up to 10 pounds of nectar per day! If you are adding supers of foundation rather than comb, you may need to feed the bees for a few days or weeks to encourage them to begin drawing out foundation. Once they have drawn out a fist-size piece of comb on three to four frames, you can stop feeding, add a queen excluder, and let the bees continue drawing out the foundation naturally. Using a queen excluder is optional. If you do not use one, your queen will move up into your honey supers and lay eggs. In many cases, as the bees fill the box with honey, they will begin forcing the queen back down into the lower brood box. However, you will typically still have a few frames of brood left in the super. This is not a problem but an inconvenience that will be addressed as we pull honey. If you do use a queen excluder, be sure the bees have begun to draw out a fist-sized piece of comb on three to four frames before adding it. Bees will not travel through a queen excluder to draw out foundation if they have not already started. If you have started with nucs or packages, continue feeding them until they are ready for their first super, which is when 75% of the frames in the first box are drawn and covered with bees. At that point add your first super and follow the instructions from point #2. If queens were not available in March or April, splits or requeening can easily be done in May, but do not expect a honey crop. Check out our April issue for more on splits and requeening. Begin providing ventilation for hives by using a screened bottom board or slightly cracking the lid. If you already have a screened bottom board and it’s been closed off for the winter, remove that board completely.
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MAY TIPS
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BEGINNING BEEKEEPING CLASS
Live in the Beeyard Tips Nectar Flow Adding Boxes & Supers Drawing Comb When to Stop Feeding Queen Excluders Live Q&A
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By Chari Elam
May runs a close second to the busiest time of year for beekeepers, with July honey extraction rightfully holding first place. Right now, we’re running around determining which hives are ready for supers and, in some cases, adding second supers for the overachievers! What about those underachiever hives? Although it’s probably a waste of time, most hobby beekeepers will nurse our underachiever hives until the very end—meaning, until they are dead. We pour all of our love (and money) into saving these not-so-fortunate bees, all for what? To cure what ails them, of course. At least that’s what we hope. Over the years we’ve tried a multitude of tricks to save weak hives, some of which have been successful in bringing a hive back into production. There are, however, hives that are just too far gone. That’s when you accept the circumstances and move on with your head held high. After all, statistically, 40% of hives die each year. Identifying a low-performing hive This is a hive that is nestled between or along with other thriving colonies with no visible difference whatsoever, yet it struggles with consuming syrup, low brood production, and low forager activity. Overall, it’s a weak hive. Why is this hive different from the others? Did the hive have a higher mite load than its neighbors? If so, did you retest after treatment? It is understood that hives with higher mite loads (continually) fail to thrive. This could be a queen issue, in which case you should requeen. After a full brood cycle, you should see the colony start to improve. If not, the problem could be one of the following. Drifting Bees that are placed closer together drift. It is my observation that hives that underperform tend to be the ones that bees drift away from. Why would that be? The populations can’t seem to increase, the queen is laying, but it just can’t seem to keep those bees coming back! Location, location, location! It may sound crazy, but I am convinced that there are locations on the earth where bees don’t want to live. We’ve had multiple bees on a platform where colonies one, two, and three did fine; number four didn’t; and five, six, seven, and so on did fine as well! Why? Beats me. I have no idea! But when we moved that one failing hive to the end or in another position on the platform, it almost instantly started growing and doing better! Why? I have no idea! Studies have shown that bees on a platform don’t do as well as bees spread apart or placed in a horseshoe pattern. Drifting is a big part of it. When bees drift, they share mites and viruses and can deplete the forager population simply because the bees don’t return to the hive. Having said all of that, try moving the weak hive to another location in the beeyard. You might be surprised how it makes a difference! If it doesn’t, move on to the next suggestion. Rotate out old comb It is possible that your frames are the culprit. Older brood comb can become so old that the cocoon buildup (from years of brood rearing) is so extensive, the queen and workers just simply don’t want to work it. Read this short article on how to rotate out old comb. Once done, the odds are good that the colony will start to improve. Strengthen the hive with bees As mentioned, population is typically a big factor in a hive’s ability to thrive; therefore, adding bees can often boost a weak hive. Do you need bees, brood, or resources? Maybe all of the above! My best recommendation is to add a frame of capped brood about to emerge (dark brown) and a frame of nurse bees tending open brood about to be capped (large larvae). Insert the capped brood frame at the outer edge of the brood nest and the open brood in the center. The capped brood should emerge within a few days, and the nurse bees tending the open brood will be aging into forager status within a week or so. Between the two, a population boost will ensue, and health should improve shortly thereafter. Feeding weak hives Feeding nutritional supplements can make a big difference in a hive’s health. Products like Complete, Super DFM (dry powder distributed on top of the brood frames) and Apis Biologix are known brood boosters and should become part of your regular maintenance routine if they aren’t already. There are times, however, when weak hives won’t take syrup. Why? It seems illogical (in my best Spock voice) that a hive with virtually no resources wouldn’t take nectar, especially now! More times than not, it’s a population —better yet—a forager problem, and adding bees can help. When all else fails If you have only three frames of bees or less, odds are you aren’t going to be able to add enough frames from neighboring colonies to save the hive without hurting the donor hives; therefore, combining hives is a good solution. But some weak hives should not be combined with a good hive. If a hive is truly a “failure to thrive,” you’ve tried all of the above, and nothing has helped, I’d cut my losses and let it go. If you are certain you don’t have any disease issues, freeze the frames (minimum three days) that are in good shape to use later.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS HIVE?
Placing your hives on separate stands and farther apart will reduce drifting.
HIVE STAND
Listen as Tara Chapman gives us some good advice about whether or not to save a hive.
Check out this video showing how easy it is to utilize brood from a thriving colony to boost the population of a weaker hive.
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We are entering the time when most strong, established hives should be getting honey supers installed. How do you know if your hive is ready for a honey super? Read the article in the April issue of TBS Monthly titled, “How to Tell if the Nectar Flow Has Begun and When It’s Time to Add Honey Supers.” Once you are comfortable that it is indeed time for your hives to get supers and have decided what size you are going to use (included in the above link), remember that not all hives are ready. What is a strong hive? A strong hive is 75–80% full of bees and resources. This can be a hive that is a single or double deep. Don’t discount a hive just because it’s a single box. For those who want to add a super instead of doubling up the brood box, now’s the time! However, I do suggest you think about these two points: If it is truly full of bees, hold the queen excluder. They will want this added space to spread their wings, so to speak. You’ll no doubt still get some frames of honey to extract from this hive and very well could have the opportunity to add more than one medium honey super before the flow stops. Plus, the queen will probably lay in the super, but we’ll talk about how to address that next month. Point two: Consider leaving one of the supers on this hive after the flow stops. This will ensure that the hive has enough space to move around to prevent a swarm and give them a pantry of food reserves for the summer dearth ahead. Managing honey supers Just like brood boxes, honey supers require adding to when they run out of space. Your indicator to add a box is that your honey super is 75–80% full of wax and nectar and the flow is still going. I’m going to throw the proverbial wrench in it here: Do you add the super on top of or underneath the almost full one already in place? Opinion alert (because it works for me): A super with new foundation should be added underneath the almost full super to inspire the bees to draw comb quickly. If it’s drawn comb, checkerboard the supers. Here’s what I mean by that. Alternate full and empty between the two boxes. This inspires the bees to complete the task of filling them with nectar. Having said that, checkerboarding isn’t essential. You can certainly just put the drawn comb box on top of the other one and let the bees do their work, with little difference in the end. Food for thought: For new(er) beekeepers, it takes time to grow a backstock of drawn comb honey supers. It took us three to four years to have enough for all of our hives. This speeds up honey production exponentially! Drawn comb is gold to a beekeeper. When to stop adding supers It’s important to point out that there is an end to the means. Most nectar flows are wrapping up by the end of June. Some of the northern states will see flows well into July, but the same applies. When you are within just a couple of weeks of the end of your flow, do not add a honey super. The bees won’t have time to do anything with it, and if there are any blank spaces in the other supers, they’ll likely abandon them to try to work the new one, leaving you with open spaces on your extractable frames and boxes. Having said that, after honey extraction time, we’ll talk about adding boxes of undrawn foundation and feeding to give the bees busy work and to help grow your drawn comb for next year.
Checkerboarding Diagram
ADDING AND MANAGING HONEY SUPERS
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KEEP IT SIMPL. The other comb honey production kits produce 32 to 40 sellable packages for retail. With SimplKomb, you get 80 sellable packages. Just fold, wax, and snap SimplKomb cassettes into your frames. Kick back while your bees build that delicious comb honey right in the package. When you’re ready to harvest, simply remove SimpKomb from your frames, flip the lids closed, and snap each serving apart. Once you affix your branded sticker to the top and decide on a price, SimplKomb is ready for sale! Less hassle. More sales. SIMPL!
Watch as creator and founder Mick Fry shows us how easy this one-and-done system to make comb honey really is!
SIMPLKOMB
KEEP IT CLEAN. Traditional cut comb honey packaging methods guarantee a sticky mess and a loss of honey. SimplKomb keeps that liquid gold intact and your production mess-free. Take your comb honey straight from your hives to your shelves—or enjoy it yourself! We even beat those crystalline packages by a cost savings of $0.50 per package on average.
SimplKomb is an in-hive solution to comb honey production without all the other parts and pieces. Let your bees build delicious comb honey right in the consumer package.
Innovation at work!
KEEP IT AFFORDABLE. Investing in a comb honey production system before SimplKomb would cost you at least $130 as a new buyer—and that only fills one super! You can fill one super with SimplKomb by purchasing one single pack for only $80.00, saving you between $0.50 and $1.50 per serving and giving you the potential for 10x your investment. SimplKomb fits into the most common medium frames you already own with ease, letting your bees get to work!
This one can be frustrating! We often want our bees to draw comb faster than they do. However, I usually find that bees will draw comb when they are ready and need the space, not because we want them to. Patience is certainly a big aspect of beekeeping! That being said, I’ll share all the tips and tricks I have on getting bees to draw out comb. But in general, the speed at which bees draw comb is largely based on two factors: the strength of the hive and the amount of food they have access to. If those two critical factors are missing, bees simply aren’t going to draw comb no matter what. I’ll start with those two factors: A hive needs to be strong and growing to draw out comb. Whether you are trying to get them to draw comb in a new super or in frames in your brood box, there have to be excess bees to draw comb and to warm the hive. If there aren’t enough bees to cover the area where they are drawing comb, they won’t be able to keep it warm and thus draw comb. This is one of the most common reasons a hive won’t draw comb. Make sure your hive isn’t declining in strength due to mites or other issues and that it has excess food (more on that below). If there aren’t health issues, your hive probably just needs more time. Be patient and let them grow. It takes about ten pounds of honey/syrup for bees to make one pound of wax. If a hive is short on food, it cannot draw out wax. If you have a new hive that has a lot of foundation to draw out and you don’t have a strong nectar flow in your area, feeding them almost continuously with a 1:1 syrup will help them draw out comb much more quickly. Check on the brood area every week to make sure they are not filling in the brood area with syrup. That’s a symptom of overfeeding (see Fixing Honey Bound Hives). It’s more common to see this issue in the summer and fall rather than during spring buildup. A rapidly growing hive can eat a few quarts of syrup per day and utilize it properly. Make sure your plastic foundation has a fresh coat of wax. If frames of foundation get a layer of dust on them or are old, the bees are slower to draw out comb. For me, the test is to smell a frame of foundation. If it smells strongly of beeswax, you are good to go. If you can’t smell the wax, it needs to be recoated with wax. Spraying foundation with a light sugar syrup can help encourage bees to move onto the new foundation and begin working it as well. If you are adding your first super of foundation above a brood box, make sure the bees begin drawing out the comb before you add a queen excluder. Bees won’t go through a queen excluder to begin drawing out comb. However, once they do start, you can go back and add the queen excluder. Make sure your hive has a queen. A queenless hive that’s declining in population is slower to draw out comb. If you are trying to produce comb honey or need bees to draw out comb quickly for some other reason, the key is to make sure the hive is overcrowded and has an excess of syrup/nectar. When trying to produce comb honey, you can combine two to three swarms into a deep box, feed them heavily for a few days, then add a super. They can often draw it out in a few days! If you don’t have swarms, you can take a very strong single-story hive that’s 100% full of bees and add a comb honey super to achieve the same rapid drawing of comb. See “Comb Honey and How It’s Done” for more information. If your bees still won’t draw out comb, it likely means they just don’t need more comb yet. Wait for the hive to grow, and they will draw out the foundation as they need it.
DRAWING NEW COMB
Are your bees ready for you to add a box? Check out this video to find out!
SHOULD I USE A QUEEN EXCLUDER?
Two Hives Honey - Tara Chapman talks about using queen excluders.
Dr. Jamie Ellis explains just how valuable drawn comb is for our bees and to us as beekeepers. Getting bees to draw comb can be as simple as feeding, but at times it can take more effort than that. Let's listen!
This is greatly debated in the beekeeping world! It largely comes down to preference. Cons of using a queen excluder: Bees tend to store a bit less honey in the supers when using a queen excluder and put more in the brood nest below the queen excluder. This is especially true for weaker hives and for those with a poor honey flow. Bees are often slower to begin storing nectar in a super when a queen excluder is used. Bees will not begin drawing out a new super of foundation through a queen excluder. You must let them start without the queen excluder, then place the queen excluder back on the hive. Pros of using a queen excluder: Queen excluders prohibit queens from laying in the honey super. It’s not a huge problem if they do, but during honey harvest, you have to deal with the brood. We'll learn more about that in the next issue. Harvesting honey is a bit faster and easier, as brood and honey are clearly separated.
WHAT AM I SEEING— A SWARM, SUPERSEDURE, OR EMERGENCY QUEEN CELL?
Most beekeeping books explain that swarm cells (queens being raised in preparation for half the bees and the old queen to swarm away) and supersedure cells (queens being raised to replace a failing queen) are easy to spot. Swarm cells are typically located along the bottoms and sides of frames, and supersedure cells are located in the middle of frames. While that is often true, I’ve seen the contrary plenty of times. Here are a few additional ways to tell the difference: Swarm cells Often located along the bottom and sides of a frame on the outer row of cells with larvae Found in overcrowded hives, where every box is more than 80% full of bees 90% of the time found in spring or very early summer Hive appears generally healthy, is full of bees and brood, and has a good brood pattern Often 5–20 queen cells present Supersedure cells Often located in the middle of frames (center of the brood nest) Typically found in weakening or dwindling hives that aren’t full of bees Found at all times of the year Hive often appears weak, with a poor brood pattern (see “How to Tell When a Hive Needs to Be Requeened" to see what these hives often look like) Often only a few queen cells Well formed and larger than an emergency queen cell Emergency queen cells When a queen is killed or hurt, the colony must react by rearing a new queen as quickly as they can. These cells are different from supersedure or swarm cells in that the workers select a larva already existing in a regular worker cell to raise as a queen. This new cell must be modified and the feeding schedule altered so as to reengineer a worker that is fed bee bread into a queen that is fed only royal jelly. The cell is extended to accommodate her soon-to-be large size. They are usually located wherever eggs and larvae are present. These queen cells tend not to be well formed and are smaller than swarm or supersedure cells due to the fact that the bees are in hurry to grab the youngest larva they can find, which is often two or three days old. In a nutshell, swarm cells are found in healthy, overcrowded hives preparing to swarm. Supersedure cells are usually in weakening hives that need a new queen, so the bees are preparing to requeen themselves. Emergency cells are formed when the queen has been severely injured or killed, forcing the bees to generate a new queen to save the colony. For more information, see “My Hive Has Queen Cells & a Laying Queen. Now What?” or “A Hive Preparing to Swarm.”
SUPERSEDURE CELL
About this photo: In this short article, I describe the different types of cells bees will build for the reasons described. All of them refer to where the cell is built on the frame "in comb." This photo submitted by Hickory Hill Bees of Waverly, Virginia, clearly shows the bees making their own rules! The only thing we can be certain of on this frame is that these are indeed queen cells. As to whether or not they are swarm, supersedure, or emergency cells, who knows! This proves, once again, that bees continue to keep us on our toes.
SWARM CELL
Both of these images are good examples of emergency queen cells. Notice how many there are, and in a lot of cases they are a bit smaller because the bees are in a mad rush to find the youngest larva possible to create a new queen.
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This is swarm season! Now is the time to utilize those management skills you've learned to prevent swarms from even getting started. Watch as James and Chari go into great detail on indicators and what you should do to prevent and stop swarming from your colonies.
I'M ABOUT TO PICK UP MY BEES—WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?
This is a very exciting time for beekeepers! Some of you are just now getting started in the beekeeping journey, while others are simply growing the number of hives. Either way, knowledge is power! Let’s start with what you need to have ready at home prior to picking up your bees. Protective gear Smoker and fuel Hive tool (at least one) One additional hive box with frames, painted and cured (one week) for every nuc or single hive you have coming For package bees you will need a bottom board, hive body with frames, and a cover Hive stand(s) in place where your bees will live Tip: Putting your newly painted hive boxes in place ahead of bringing home your bees will help cure the paint plus make them ready and waiting for the day to install the bees. Picking up and transporting your bees We realize it can be a bit intimidating if you’ve never transported bees before. That’s why we are determined to make this process as easy as possible. Although our stores are open during bee pickups, ordering ahead on our website and choosing “in-store pickup” will ensure we have your order ready for you when you arrive. Common questions Transporting in a truck or trailer? Bring small straps to secure the lid to your hive and a larger strap to secure the hive to your truck or trailer. Transporting in a car or SUV? Bring a sheet to loosely wrap around your nuc/hive, or even better, purchase a nuc net sold at TBS. Do I have to load my own bees? No, but you are responsible for securing your bees in your vehicle. Bring and wear your protective gear as there will be a lot of bees flying at the pickup location. Is the entrance of the hive closed off so bees can’t get out? Yes, the entrance will be closed on nucs and single hives, but it’s not uncommon to have a few bees hanging on the outside of the box. Can I look into the box before you load it into my vehicle? No, unfortunately, pickup time isn’t conducive for everyone to look into their new hives. Your bees do, however, come with a 30-day guarantee, so if you believe there is a problem once you’ve gotten them home and inspected them, please let us know. What should I do when I get my bees home? For complete hives, place them where they will go long term, and immediately open the entrance screen to allow them to ventilate the hive. (Wear your protective gear for this process.) For nucs, transfer them into their permanent equipment immediately, or place the nuc box on top of their future home, open the entrance of the nuc, and transfer them the next day. For packages, install immediately.
As the weather warms up, a very common question is whether it is better to keep your bees in full sun or in the shade. The answer is rather simple: If you are in the northern half of the US, full sun is ideal, year-round. A few brood diseases thrive more in cooler and damper conditions, and bees tend to be a little more aggressive in the shade and start working a bit later in the day due to cooler hive temperatures. Small hive beetles also love the shade and tend to be worse in hives in full shade. A bit more complex is the southern half of the US, or areas where summer temperatures are routinely in the upper 90s and 100s for long periods of time. In those regions, partial shade is ideal if possible during the summer months or, at the least, shaded during the heat of the day. A strong and healthy hive can typically keep itself cool even in full sun; they just have to work very hard to do so. Conversely, a weaker hive less than a deep box full of bees or with just one box total rather than two to three boxes will struggle to keep the hive cool. In those cases, shade is more critical. It is possible for weak hives or nucs to be killed by 100+-degree temperatures A bit of shade can go a long way toward helping bees stay cooler. A beach umbrella, sunscreen, and tree shade all work well. See “Moving Hives.”
Listen as beekeeping expert Cameron Crane shares his experience with bees in both sunny and shaded locations.
WHICH IS BETTER FOR MY BEES—A SUNNY LOCATION OR SHADE?
If you are purchasing more than one nuc, seeing variation in the quantity of bees and brood among the nucs is very common. Like all living things, bees and hives grow at different rates, and each one will look a bit different. I encourage you to ensure that your nucs meet the minimum standard. If they are better than that, it’s a bonus! Don’t expect every nuc to be packed full of bees and brood. In fact, a good nuc seller will try not to sell a nuc 100% packed with bees and brood since there is a good chance a nuc that full could be preparing to swarm. A good nuc should have two to three frames of brood (brood is eggs, larvae, or capped brood), three to five frames covered in bees, and a frame or two of honey, with a laying queen. Before purchase, ask the seller how many frames of bees and brood the nuc will contain. Most companies or individuals sell five-frame nucs, which should include two to three frames of brood, one to two frames of honey, a laying queen, and at least three frames covered front and back with bees. Obviously it’s preferable and ideal for the nuc to err on the side of three frames of brood and four frames of bees. A nuc with two very good frames of solid brood and three frames completely covered with bees should still be able to survive and grow, albeit a bit slower. Here is a quick list of things you may see and whether or not you should be concerned: No queen. If a nuc is truly queenless, this is certainly a problem! However, it can be very hard to find a queen as a new (or even experienced) beekeeper, even if she’s marked. Focus on finding eggs or larvae to verify the presence of a queen. See “Spotting Eggs and Larvae.” No brood. Again, this is a big problem! It’s easy to mistake capped brood for capped honey if you are new. Uncap a few cells with your hive tool. If there are pupae under the cappings, you’ve got brood. If there is liquid, it’s honey. No capped brood but eggs and larvae. This isn’t usually considered a problem; it just means your queen started laying relatively recently. As long as you have two to three frames of eggs and larvae and the appropriate amount of bees, you should be fine. No honey. A nuc should be sold with at least one frame of honey. But if it doesn’t have any capped or uncapped nectar or honey, feed the bees right away. As long as everything else looks fine and you feed right away, everything should be fine. Not enough bees. This is a very common complaint with nucs. It can also be a bit hard to tell exactly how many bees are in a nuc if you’ve smoked them or it’s hot outside. If your bees are running or flying a lot, try inspecting early in the morning or on a cool day and use minimal smoke to get a better sense of the bee population. A frame of bees is usually considered two-thirds of a frame covered on both sides with bees. Brood disease. If larvae look melted, yellowed, or dried, it could indicate a brood disease. If it’s just a few cells, the hive can usually recover on its own, and it’s not uncommon to see in the spring. If there are dozens of cells, I’m usually more concerned. Take some pictures and send them to your nuc seller. See “Brood Diseases” for more information. High Varroa mites. If your nuc has a severe mite infestation— indicated by spotty brood, deformed wings on a number of bees, and high mite thresholds discovered in an alcohol test—contact your seller. They should have ensured low mite counts before selling. Hundreds of dead bees. This is cause for concern as well, though it is usually a result of not transporting your bees home properly. See “I’m About to Pick Up My Bees—What Do I Need to Know?” A few dozen dead bees in the bottom of a nuc box is common, but hundreds indicate that the nuc overheated. This is common in nucs that are packed full with bees and were not transported with enough ventilation. Small hive beetles. A few adult small hive beetles in a nuc are very common and not cause for concern. If there are dozens of adults and the nuc is weak, I recommend contacting the seller. If the nuc is very strong, they should be able to handle the beetles, especially when they are transferred into their hive. A few beetle larvae on the bottom of the nuc box after you transfer frames can be common since frames rest directly on the bottom of the nuc box, creating a space for pests to hide. Dozens of larvae, especially if they are in the frames and not just on the bottom of the nuc, combined with a weak nuc should prompt you to call your seller. Frame condition. Comb color, age of frames, and condition of frames can vary wildly in nucs. Ultimately, the bees don’t really care. If the comb is black, heavy, and thus very old, rotate it out over time. See “Rotating Comb.” A good nuc seller will work to keep broken or extremely old or damaged combs out of nucs. However, one flawed frame in a nuc is very common.
WHAT SHOULD A NEWLY OBTAINED, HEALTHY NUC LOOK LIKE?
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PURCHASE WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR EACH HIVE, NUC, OR PACKAGE YOU PURCHASE FROM THE BEE SUPPLY. FOLLOW OUR SUPER HELPFUL MANAGEMENT GUIDE TO KEEP YOUR BEES HEALTHY. FILE A QUICK AND SIMPLE CLAIM WITHIN 45 DAYS FOR EACH HIVE LOST. IF NO CLAIMS ARE SUBMITTED FOR THE WARRANTY COVERAGE PURCHASED, YOU WILL RECEIVE 50% BACK IN THE FORM OF A GIFT CARD TO THE BEE SUPPLY!
Just about anyone can capture a swarm, but it takes a special character to do bee removals with finesse like the one and only Yappy Beeman. Join Chari as she and Yappy have great conversation about how he started in beekeeping, got his name, and more importantly, learned the technique of working bees in a manner that doesn’t create mayhem during a swarm capture or removal. Yappy tells how he’s developed the art of finding queens in what should be impossible situations. Enjoy the many stories he has to tell and see if you can catch the nuggets of knowledge and inspiration he offers throughout. Fascinating, to say the least.
TBS Beekeeper Chat with Yappy Beeman Swarm removal expert and YouTube beekeeping super star!
Do you have a funny bee story? We would love to hear it! Send your video or written adventure to TBS Monthly Editor.
WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' SMOKER!
with Chari Elam
You remember that time we ... We've all been there in one way or another. If you can't laugh about it afterward, then you probably didn't learn the lesson! Sit back and enjoy James and Chari's top "lessons learned." It's OK—go ahead and laugh!
One of the best ways to get started in beekeeping is buying nucs. They come with a few pounds of bees, a laying queen, comb that’s already drawn out, brood, and honey. It’s a mini hive ready to grow! Transferring a nuc into its permanent box can seem intimidating, but the steps below walk you through everything you need to know. Step 1. Once you get your nuc home, you can install it immediately or put it within a few feet of the hive it will be transferred into, open the entrance, and let them sit for up to a day before installing. At the very least, waiting 10–20 minutes is a good idea to let the bees calm down after being transported. The key is to always open the entrance to let the bees fly and cool the nuc down immediately upon getting them home and in place. If the weather is bad or your schedule is prohibitive, it’s perfectly fine to leave the bees inside the nuc for multiple days after you get them home, as long as the entrance is open. However, to prevent them from swarming, try to get them installed within a week, or sooner if they are particularly strong. Step 2. Avoid using smoke. Open up the nuc. Focus on transferring the frames from the nuc to the middle of your new deep hive box. Your empty frames should be on either side of the frames coming from your nuc. Don’t worry about finding the queen, spotting brood, and so on. Transfer the frames as quickly as possible, push all the frames tightly to the center in the new hive, feed them, and close the lid. Some bees will remain in the nuc box, so check to make sure none of them are the queen. Assuming they’re not, you can gently knock the bees out of the box into their new hive or just leave the box open and they will fly into the hive over time. If you do see the queen on the walls of the nuc box, you can turn the nuc box upside down on top of the hive, and after 10–15 minutes she will climb into the new hive. Or you can gently pick her up and transfer her into the new hive. You can also put a frame back into the nuc box, close it, and wait 10–15 minutes. The queen will typically climb back onto that frame, and it can then be installed in the new hive. Step 3. Come back about three days after installation to do a more thorough inspection. Make sure you have the agreed-upon amount of brood and bees. Keep in mind that there will be fewer bees in the hive in the middle of a warm day since many of the foragers will be outside the hive. Also keep in mind that “brood” could be eggs or larvae, not necessarily capped brood. You don’t have to find your queen, but to make sure she is present and survived the trip home, either find her or find eggs. See “Spotting Eggs and Larvae” for more details. If you can’t find eggs or the queen and see queen cells being raised, you have most likely lost your queen. Consult your seller to see what you should do next. If you don’t see eggs, a queen, or queen cells, give the hive a few more days then check again. One thing to keep in mind anytime you buy nucs is that the frames are going to vary in age and color. Typically each frame isn’t going to be perfect, new wood with white or yellow wax. A beekeeper will have pulled older wooden or plastic frames from an existing hive to make your nuc. This is normal and OK! If the combs are black, you can rotate them out over time. See “Rotating Comb.” While there are risks of transferring disease, a reputable company or seller will ensure the bees aren’t diseased and don’t have excessive mite levels.
HOW I INSTALL NUCS
Photos by: Trip Attendees
In March a small group of beekeepers accompanied by Blake took the trip of a lifetime to the almond orchards in California! A great time and breathtaking views were enjoyed by all. Thanks to everyone who joined us and those involved in making it such a great success!
How to do a thorough inspection by Dr. Jamie Ellis
A TRIP WITH BLAKE SHOOK TO ALMOND POLLINATION
Check out this video I made last season, showing exactly how I install a nuc into a full size hive.
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This innovative feeder raft is your open feeding and watering solution! The feeder raft is designed to float on top of your syrup or water inside a five-gallon bucket.
YOUR HIVE'S FIRST MONTH HOME
Your first month as a beekeeper can be a bit intimidating. We remember the feeling! We’ve outlined the most critical actions to take and answered some of the most common questions new beekeepers have. Critical Actions 1. Install your nuc or package into woodenware (click links for video instructions). For complete hives, place them in the location they will remain, and open the entrance as soon as you arrive home. No need for an entrance reducer until fall. 2. An abundance of food is critical for your hive’s success, especially as they draw out foundation. Make a syrup from granulated sugar by mixing one part sugar to one part water by volume or weight. Or use our TBS premixed syrup with essential oils. Begin feeding within 24 hours of getting your bees home and continue feeding until your second brood box is 80% drawn out with comb. It is normal for bees to drink anywhere from one cup to one gallon per day! 3. Within seven days, ensure that your queen survived the trip. You do not have to find the queen, only verify that eggs and larvae are in the hive. They are hard to see! Use a flashlight to look down into cells in the center of frames. Eggs will look like grains of rice. 4. Add more boxes. Once any box is 80% full of bees or honey, it is time to add another box. It will often take two to four weeks for the bees to get that first box 80% full of bees or to draw out the comb on the outside two frames. At that point it’s time to add your second brood box, which can be a deep or medium box. If you bought a single-story hive, they may be ready immediately or within four weeks for a second brood box. Hives vary greatly in population and growth rate depending on food availability, weather, and other factors. Once your second brood box is 80% full of bees and drawn comb, you are ready to add your first honey super. This may or may not happen your first year. Keep feeding until they have drawn out a fist-size piece of comb on the middle three to four frames of your honey super. At that point, stop feeding, and you can add a queen excluder if desired. Be sure to wait to add the queen excluder until after they’ve already drawn out some comb! 5. Controlling Varroa mites is critical, but unless we say otherwise when you purchase from us, you shouldn’t have to worry about testing and treating for mites until early July. But don’t forget to promptly test and treat in early July!
Young beekeeper Nike Shearn Photo Credit: Chari Elam
NEW PRODUCT
For years and years, honey bee experts and trustworthy publications have said that Varroa mites feed on the hemolymph (blood) of the honey bee. Then, in January 2019, Dr. Samuel Ramsey turned the beekeeping world upside-down with the publication of his research project findings, “Varroa destructor Feeds Primarily on Honey Bee Fat Body Tissue and Not Hemolymph,” in the PNAS journal. The honey bee fat body is often compared to a mammalian liver. The fat body tissue stores nutrients, detoxifies pesticides, regulates hormones, produces immune responses, and performs important functions. This discovery made it clear that Varroa mites don’t just spread viruses; they also feed on bees in a way that weakens them. But just when we’d all become educated about fat body, on January 25, 2024, a research paper titled “Life-History Stage Determines the Diet of Ectoparasitic Mites on Their Honey Bee Hosts” was published in Nature Communications. This research was a collaborative project between Dr. Olav Ruppell, professor at the University of Alberta, and Bin Han, professor at the Institute of Apicultural Research at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In this research, they used the same methodology as Dr. Ramsey’s, but whereas Dr. Ramsey’s research focused on Varroa mites on the adult honey bee, this latest research focused on Varroa mites during their reproductive stage, when they feed on honey bee larvae and pupae. The Ruppell and Han research found that Varroa mites do, in fact, feed primarily on hemolymph during the reproductive stage. Apparently, honey bees’ fat body tissue does not exist in a meaningful amount until the late pupal stage. If you want more info but don’t want to read the dry and scientific research paper, I recommend watching this online video interview with Dr. Ruppell about their research and findings. What does all of this mean for us as beekeepers? Probably not much because it won’t change the way we manage Varroa. However, it is probably important to the scientists working to develop products to combat Varroa and certainly important to the authors and publishers of beekeeping articles and books who might need to revise their work yet again. From a personal point of view, I am glad to have come across this new information. I wouldn’t want to tell new beekeepers, “Your book says Varroa feed on blood, but that’s wrong. They feed on the bee’s fat body.” What I need to say instead is, “… but that’s only half correct.”
By Lynne Jones
WHAT'S THE BUZZ? Do Varroa Mites Feed on Hemolymph or Fat Body?
About Dr. Olav Ruppell: Professor, Faculty of Science - Biological Sciences - email: olav@ualberta.ca Research Interests My overall goal is to understand the causes and consequences of social evolution across different levels of biological organization, using the honey bee as primary model. Specific areas of interest are life-history and aging, behavior, and genome architecture. I also seek to identify sustainable solutions to improve honey bee health, focusing on viruses, the ecto-parasitic Varroa mite and hygienic behavior, and general stress responses in honey bees.
Do you think there will ever be a safe, easy, and effective treatment for Varroa mites? You can message me on Facebook or send an email to BrazosRiverHoney77474@gmail.com
DALLAS AREA STORE 14665 County Road 633 Blue Ridge, TX 75424
AUSTIN AREA STORE 1205 Round Rock Avenue Suite 119 Round Rock, TX 78681
Photos show honey bee pupae that fed as larvae on biostains and V. destructor mites fed on these biostained pupae in brightfield (far left), fluorescence from these samples associated with lipophilic Nile red (staining predominantly fat body; center left) and hydrophilic Uranine (staining predominantly hemolymph; center right), and all three images merged together (far right). Within each representative photo, the specimen on the left is an unlabeled control and the one on the right depicts a representative labeled sample. All scale bars represent 1 mm. Ventral views of honey bee pupae (a–d),V. destructor protonymphs (e–h), deutonymphs (i–l), and foundresses (m–p). Each row of photos is a representative of at least 60 individuals from six independent experiments.
From the study:
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STOP THE SMALL HIVE BEETLE INVASION!
By Nanette Davis
Beekeepers anywhere in temperate climates are likely to have opened a hive at some point and caught sight of a small, dark beetle scurrying about like a minuscule rat across the inner cover. For the lucky beekeeper, a glimpse is all that has been seen of the small hive beetle (SHB). For others, however, a hive overrun by a hoard of beetles that resulted in the bees absconding and a disgusting slime out has been a reality. SHBs are an invasive species in North America that thrive in warm climates. However, they are also adaptable to colder regions because they can overwinter inside a hive and live up to six months. The beetles locate hives by smell and prefer locations in shade. An adult female can lay more than a thousand eggs in her lifetime. Clusters of eggs are laid in crevices or directly in comb and hatch within two to four days. SHB larvae eat honey, pollen, and brood—then, in a mass exodus, they leave the hive near the second week. If the soil is moist and welcoming, the larvae will pupate in the top four inches, typically within about three feet of the hive. If the soil is too dry, the larvae may roam over 500 feet in several weeks’ time until they find a favorable location. Weak hives with dwindling populations and honey frames that are undefended are most susceptible to an SHB takeover. Keeping in mind the hatch period of two to four days, a few beetles can turn into hundreds of larvae within one week; and unlike the tidy bees that go outside the hive to eliminate waste, the beetles and larvae eliminate inside the hive. It is this contamination that contains a specific yeast that can quickly result in the notorious slime out, where fermented honey drools out of the hive—resulting in the bees’ absconding in search of a healthier home, and the beekeeper is left with a nasty mess to clean up. So what can be done to address these unwanted guests? Being proactive is the best policy to avoid SHB problems. Maintain strong colonies. Keep hives on dry ground in sunnier locations. Be fast—the minute you open a hive, be ready to kill as many SHBs as you can with your hive tool! Use in-hive traps and screen bottom boards. Leave propolis in place for the bees to keep cracks sealed. Keep bees crowded—bees can’t defend too much space. Common Traps and How to Use Them In-hive traps: These are the least expensive and the most common method of trapping the SHB. These in hive traps are inserted between frames three and four and can be doubled up on each side of the brood box as well as in the top of the brood box if needed. As beetles seek shelter in the traps to keep away from the bees chasing them, they become trapped and die in the oil or DE (diatomaceous earth). How to use: Fill halfway with vegetable oil or DE. If using DE, replace often because it will harden on the surface, rendering it useless. Disposable traps: If left in the hive for long periods of time, these tend to get brittle, causing them to crack, which allows bees access and poses the risk of their drowning in oil. Discard after a couple of months and replace. Disposable cloth sheets: Probably the easiest of all methods, this is a disposable cloth sheet purchased at a bee supply. It is either laid across the top bars as one whole sheet or cut into strips and placed in the corners of the hive where SHB roam. Inventive beekeepers also use dryer sheets that have been used or unscented sweeping sheets, but any product that is not packaged for in-hive use should be free of scents and cleaning agents. How it works: the sheets become fuzzy as they are “scuffed up” by the bees, and the beetles become stuck when they try to hide or crawl across them. Sometimes a few bees can also become stuck and die with the beetles in these traps. Remove and discard after a few weeks. Beyond physical barriers and traps, there are also chemical and biological methods of control. These are treatments designed exclusively for use outside the hive that rely on the interruption of the SHB life cycle by targeting the larvae as they enter the ground to pupate. Permethrin drench: Permethrin is an insecticide purchased as a concentrate that is mixed with water (as directed in the label’s instructions) and poured on the ground around the hive. Beekeepers should be very careful to keep this insecticide from getting on the hive or contaminating any water supply as it is deadly for bees and other pollinators. Beneficial nematodes: These can be used as an organic method of pest control and also applied with water to the ground around hives. Nematodes are living creatures that thrive in specific conditions and should be introduced to the soil as soon as possible after purchase. The ground should be moist and watered again after application to help the nematodes move in the desired area. Once they are in the soil, they will enter any beetle larva they find, causing death within about 48 hours. Keep in mind that there are many types of beneficial nematodes. Look specifically for Heterorhabditis indica (H. indica) and consider the conditions they need to be used effectively. Ultimately, nothing surpasses the strength of the colony as a deterrent against a hostile takeover by any pest—and small hive beetles are no exception! They are opportunistic invaders that can travel with swarms and live within a hive for months. They have even developed a method to trick the bees into feeding them! Despite our best efforts, beekeepers cannot control all the factors that affect the health and strength of a hive. But knowing how to control and reduce the impact of these beetles will increase your confidence to make a difference at a critical time, resulting in success instead of a yucky mess!
This reusable in-hive small hive beetle trap tops our list of useful tools in the battle against SHBs! It is easy to clean, sits flatter against the frames to prevent SHBs from hiding under the edge, and lasts for years!
Measures 11 5/8"— 2.5" longer than disposable traps!
BEFORE
FEATURED PRODUCT
AFTER
CRISPY CHICKEN SALAD WITH HONEY-JALAPEÑO VINAIGRETTE
YIELD: Makes 6 servings INGREDIENTS 1 cup - flour 1 tsp. - salt 1/2 tsp. - freshly ground black pepper 6 (4 oz. each) - skinless, boneless chicken breasts 1 - egg, beaten with 1 T water Vegetable oil, such as canola, as needed for frying 9 cups - lightly packed baby spinach Honey-Jalapeno Vinaigrette, divided 6 oz. (about 1-1/2 cups) - Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 3 slices - crisp-cooked thick bacon, crumbled 3 small - tomatoes, each sliced into 4 wedges lengthwise (8 wedges total) DIRECTIONS Thoroughly combine flour, salt and pepper; reserve. Pound chicken until each piece is of uniform thickness. Coat chicken with egg, then press each side into reserved seasoned flour. Heat 2 inches oil in a large frying pan until hot but not smoking. Fry chicken, in batches if necessary, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes total. Drain on paper towel. Cut chicken across grain in 1/2-inch wide strips, keeping strips from each piece together; reserve. Put 1-1/2 cups spinach on each serving plate. Drizzle each with 1 Tablespoon vinaigrette. Top each with strips from 1 piece chicken. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup cheese, then 1/6 of the crumbled bacon. Garnish each with 2 tomato wedges. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon remaining Honey-Jalapeño Vinaigrette over each salad.
FIND A CLUB
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