Honey bees

[CloverKnollFarms]

What would you say your failure rate is?

In two years, zero.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Well, we have bottled 31 of the 100 pounds…

 

[BnRidge]

Ah, the best kind, local mutts.

I "kept" bees for 15yrs. I was able to market 6-800lb of honey a year through a local farmer/farmers market. Towards the end the packages I was getting had a survival rate progressively less to the point of it all becoming a money pit. 3yrs ago a couple swarms took over some of the abandoned equipment. It's back in business since - productive survivors that work with the mite and disease issues instead of giving up. Like holsteins out on the range would not survive, but aurocks sure would. Except that these are shirtsleeve tame to boot. Thing is, I know where the swarms came from. They gave up the California almond migrating bit cold turkey and restructured 100% locally. They've got a good thing going apparently, and I'm now in on it.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I’m pretty sure that one, or both of my purchased bee colonies won’t see year three… all of my swarm catches seem to be strong. The other two… meh…

Bees have been bred to be calm, and honestly, my aggressive bees, actually work to survive. The more domesticated ones seem to just barely get by. It’s like they are waiting to be fed.

 

[IndyJay]

I’m pretty sure that one, or both of my purchased bee colonies won’t see year three… all of my swarm catches seem to be strong. The other two… meh…

Bees have been bred to be calm, and honestly, my aggressive bees, actually work to survive. The more domesticated ones seem to just barely get by. It’s like they are waiting to be fed.

There is a morale in this somewhere...

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Finished extracting. Still 50 pounds to get bottled! This honey extractor is amazing.

 

[cqaigy2]

Is that extractor doing those layen frames? Must be good sized.

 

[NorTracNY]

I don’t treat for mites… so they are either resistant, or they die and I stop the weak genetics from propogating

The last I heard, research was showing that this isn't working for varroa like it did for the tracheal mites in the 80s. The hives that can handle higher mite loads end up suffering from other viruses and don't last long term. There was a larger beekeeper from Kentucky (forgot name) that covered what happened when he decided to just not treat over several years. It was expensive research!

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

The last I heard, research was showing that this isn't working for varroa like it did for the tracheal mites in the 80s. The hives that can handle higher mite loads end up suffering from other viruses and don't last long term. There was a larger beekeeper from Kentucky (forgot name) that covered what happened when he decided to just not treat over several years. It was expensive research!

I know numerous beekeepers who are treatment free and successful. Sure you lose some, but my “traditional beekeeper“ friends, had between 50-100% die out last winter. We had 100% survival. I can imagine a guy with treated bees, who are descendants from treated bees, who have been propped up like welfare recipients for years… would lose most colonies shortly after shutting off the support of chemical treatments. That makes sense to me. I’ve listened to numerous bee experts, mainly from Europe, where they care more about chemicals in and around their food sources, state that initially losses would be high, but weeding out poor genetics is possible, and advised. We have never done this in the US. We treat 99% of our colonies, and FEED THEM REFINED SUGAR to boot. Then we lament how sickly they are. No. Kidding.
Bees are free… so losing a colony shouldn’t be “expensive” to a small time guy like me. My problem is finding homes for all of them. Bees are being bred for better grooming traits, to be varroa resistant… genetics do exist. Numerous universities have created their own lines of genetics with these traits.
The problem with treating a bug that you cannot eradicate, is that the bugs that survive, are themselves, better adapted to survive… becoming resistant to chemicals used to treat them to begin with.
To each their own… but I also hear the BEST hives are thin walled, vertical boxes that don't emulate the habitat of a bee at all… from the same folks that feed refined sugar and chemicals to their bees. Expensive or not, if I have a weak colony, I don’t want them propogating… I want them to die. I care more about bees, than profit. Bees are being made weak, because we make them weak through our cultural practices.
We over harvest, for profit. Feed refined sugar. Treat weak colonies, for profit. Then we sell “pure honey“ that comes from bees who spent the winter and half the summer eating Costco sugar by the sack.
There is a very successful treatment free beekeeper in NY who had a great YT channel… but he was forced to shut it down when NY made it ILLEGAL to keep bees without treating them with chemicals. The state actually has the right to come destroy every hive.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Is that extractor doing those layen frames? Must be good sized.

Yessir, it is designed specifically for the extra deep Layens frames. Each full frame weighed in at about 10 pounds.