LESSON 117: A Strong Queen Means A Strong Hive www.honeybeesonline.com 217-427-2678

Hello from David & Sheri Burns at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. Thanks for joining us for another lesson in beekeeping.

For those that are new to these lessons and new to beekeeping, you may want to start at lesson one and work your way through all the lessons. Click here to go to Lesson Number One.

In today’s lesson, we’ll take a look at why a strong queen is so important in keeping a strong colony. But before today’s lesson, we want to tell you what’s been going on here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms, after all this is a blog/lesson.

We had to make more room for our operation. So in the middle of winter we poured concrete and built a new addition to our production building.

Though it was a mild winter, it did turn cold after we poured the concrete so we had to work hard to keep it curing at the right temperature for 5 days, but we  pulled it off. Who, in their right mind, builds a building in the middle of winter. We did.

We try to make wise use of every inch of our space and usually end up adding on each year. The added space will help us keep up with orders and better serve our customers.

 

Many have been calling in and wanting to start beekeeping. This is great news. 2012 is like no other year so far in the number of new beginners. Our classes are maxing out. Orders are staggering and we are working as fast as we can so if you’ve ordered a hive, please be patient.

We strongly suggest that all beekeepers complete a class. We offer many classes. David is a certified master beekeeper and you will benefit greatly from one of our classes. Here’s the upcoming list:

Here's a list of our future beekeeping classes.

Click on the links below or call to register today!

Basic Beginner's Class March 25th Noon-6pm

April 21 Advance Beekeeping (Chicago) (Request info by email)

May 12 Queen Rearing 9am-3pm

June 15-16 Two Day Queen Rearing Course

July 14th  Advance Beekeeping

October 6 Basic Beekeeping

October 13 Natural & Organic Beekeeping

Join David in St. Louis Missouri this weekend March 9-10, 2012.

David will be speaking at the Missouri state convention along with Dr. Greg Hung, Jerry Hayes and Dr. May Berenbaum. Click here to register to attend or go to: http://mostatebeekeepers.org/meeting/

LESSON 117: A Strong Queen Means A Strong Hive

I love to raise queens. When I first started beekeeping I loved to harvest honey. There was no greater thrill than opening the valve at the bottom of the extractor and let the golden honey flow. For years I was more interested in producing honey than bees. I thought about raising queens at times, but it seemed too complicated. But, finally I took the plunge and with the help of Joe Latshaw spending an afternoon teaching me how to raise queens, I was raising my own queens. I started off like most, learning, failing and occasionally succeeding. But over the years we improved and now raising queens is second nature. Over the last few years we’ve shipped queens throughout the US and we are proud of our Pioneer Queen. I gave her that name because I’ve heard people talk about our great grandparents as having “pioneer stock”, meaning for what they endured they must have had great genetics.

Some people want our secret recipe for raising good queens. Sorry, it’s not a secret. Graft only from the best hives. Graft from hives that produce large amounts of honey, are gentle, don’t swarm much, put up with mites without crashing and overwinter well. There’s no exact science to it but then there is also no fool proof guarantee either. Queens mate with over 20 drones so though our results are very similar, bee genetics are still difficult to clone.

Once again, we will raise our Pioneer queen in 2012 starting sometime in last April or May, depending on the weather and how early the drones mature. We are excited to be able to also sell other queens from our friends who raise queen after our similar technique. We train many people each year, and we are glad to help sell queens that also meet our qualifications. This will help us to meet more of our queen orders.

A healthy queen means a healthy hive. To maintain a healthy hive the colony has to have lots of bees. A strong laying queen will build up the numbers in a colony. A weak laying hive will keep the numbers low and the colony weak. A weak colony is not always the result of a bad queen. For example, if a colony is sick or has an infestation of a pest, the numbers can go down resulting in the queen not being fed well. This will cause her not to lay well. That same queen would lay like crazy in a healthy colony. So do not always blame your queen.

If the colony is healthy, strong in  numbers but the queen is not laying well, it very well may mean a new queen is necessary to keep the hive growing well. All queens sold for less that $100 have been open air mated, which means no one can perfectly control the results. These are known as production queens. Queens that have been instrumentally inseminated with drone sperm from chosen lines are called breeder queens. These queens are not production queens, but are queens used to raise other queens. The average beekeeper uses production queens but queen producers will buy breeder queens to raise queen from her eggs.

I do not believe anyone will be able to produce a queen that can totally resist all pests and diseases in the near future. We can make small headway, but with open air mating it is not easy to hold the lines tight. There are many claims about queens, but if there was a perfect queen we’d all be buying queens from that producer. Much more goes into a successful colony than a perfect queen. For example, we cannot control the weather, amount of nectar produced in plants, bears, skunks, pesticide poisoning etc. Even the best queens need a skilled beekeeper to help monitor and manage the hive.

Spring queens must be monitored closely. It’s not uncommon for new colonies to have queen issues. A new queen may not be immediately accepted. In fact, she may be “balled” or attacked before she is finally accepted. Therefore, it is very important for the beekeeper to inspect the colony every 2 weeks in the spring and early summer. If the queen is missing or not laying populous frames of eggs, replace her immediately with a mated queen. If one week goes by without a queen, close to 10,000 eggs may not have been laid. This iwill lead to a small and weak colony unless a new mated queen is introduce. Call us immediately to purchase a Pioneer queen if your queen is missing.

Whether you are a new beekeeper or an experienced beekeeper you must monitor your queen. Please consider these important tips when inspecting the queen’s performance:

1) Locate your queen. Become familiar with her appearance. It is best to mark your queen so that you will know if the colony replaced her by raising their own queen. Pay close attention to her color, legs, wings and abdomen.

Visible damage could also mean she is unable to lay effectively.

 

2) Observe the number of actual eggs she is laying. A new egg stands straight up in the cell. This will allow you to see how well she is laying. Learn to identify eggs.

3) Observe the number of frames of sealed  brood as this reveals how well she was laying 8-10 days ago.

4) When manipulating the frames, keep your eye on the queen especially as your return a frame back into the hive. Be sure to allow enough space to slide the frame into position without smashing the queen against the next frame. This is called “rolling” the queen. Many beekeepers carelessly kill their queens when inspecting the hive. If the queen is on the outside edge or wooden parts of the frame, do not place the frame back into the hive. Wait until she moves to the safety of the middle of the comb. Keep your eye on her all the way until the comb is in the hive.

Thanks for joining us for another lesson on beekeeping. Please let others know about these lessons and our business. We appreciate you spreading the word!

Your donations helps us continue our work and research on the honey bee, such as our recent development of our Winter-Bee-Kind. These lessons are free and will provide you with as much if not more information than you would find in a $30 book. So consider making a $30 donation so that we might continue these lessons, CLICK HERE TO DONATE $30 Thank you in advance.

David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
217-427-2678
Website: www.honeybeesonline.com

LESSON 116: STATE BEE INSPECTORS & YOU MUST FEED YOUR BEES www.honeybeesonline.com 217-427-2678

In today’s lesson David will share why state bee inspection programs are so important and give you several ways you can best utilize this service. And David will also explain why this warmer winter posses a serious threat to bees surviving and what you can do to save the bees!

Hi, we are David & Sheri Burns, of Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. Sheri and I were high school sweethearts, married as soon as we graduated and immediately started our family of six children, now ranging in age from 30 to 4. (That’s not a typo). We set out to work hard, make a decent living and raise our children in the fear and admonition of the LORD. I’ve spent my whole live (from age 18) preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. I’ve preached in villages in Africa, India and lots of other countries. When I was younger, I worked in the fields, factories and even went door to door selling smoke detectors to make a living. So Sheri and I are as ordinary as it gets.We are down to earth, hard working folks trying to get the most out of life and pay our way through life. Isn’t that what we’re all really trying to accomplish. Honey bees have helped us reach our dreams.

From early on, keeping bees has been part of our life. I started keeping bees 17 years ago. Didn’t know what I was doing, but an elder in our church helped me get started by cutting a hive from a fallen tree. He suited me up and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s a hoot. We’ve learned to really love keeping bees and this passion has spilled over to our beekeeping business. We want others to enjoy this relaxing hobby and to help rebuild the honey bee population in our country. We need our bees to pollinate our food. Not to mention that the honey is good for us.

After 17 years of constantly learning about bees I studied hard and became a master beekeeper. There are only about 120 EAS certified master beekeepers in the world. I worked to become a master beekeeper so that our customers could benefit more from the classes I teach and these lessons that I write. Becoming a master beekeeper equipped me to be a better mentor and teacher for our customers. That’s my story, what’s yours?

OUR CLASSES ARE OVERFLOWING!  Due to the increase student registration for our March 24th beginner’s class we are now offering this same beginner’s class on Sunday, March 25th from Noon – 6pm. Click here to register for our Sunday, March 25th Beginner’s Class.

We are trying hard to get more packages, and as of yesterday we have about 50 remaining, but we are only selling packages of bees that go with our hive kits. So call us today or next week to place an order to get started with a hive or two and some bees. Don’t delay. 217-427-2678.

Join me March 9-10 as I’ll be speaking at the Missouri State Beekeeper’s Association meeting in St. Louis. Here’s the agenda. To register, CLICK HERE. It will be held at the Marriott St. Louis West,  660 Maryville Centre Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141. Other speakers include Jerry Hayes, Dr. May Berenbaum and Dr. Greg Hunt.

LESSON 116: State Bee Inspectors And You Must Feed Your Bees.

Throughout my years of keeping bees I’ve always benefited from bee inspectors. I first started keeping bees when I lived in Ohio. A year before I started beekeeping we lived in a house that had someone else’s bee hives out back. I remember watching from the window the bee inspector taking the hive apart and looking at frames. He left a sheet of paper with me stating that the bees were healthy.

Because we sell nucs, our bees have to be inspected every year. A nuc is a very small hive, maybe four or five frames with a queen. In order for customers to purchase nucs, they must be inspected, approved and also have a moving permit for each nuc. This has been the best of experience. Each year, the inspector spends the big part of a day searching for any problems, filling out health certificates and moving permits. It is a valuable service. We know our inspector very well and consider him a friend. Though some states do not have any inspectors, our state has 8. Our neighboring state of Indiana has only 1.

I’ve heard some say they feel threatened by “big government” messing with their bees. But this is not the case at all. Our honey bees have much more to deal with today and state inspectors are here to help. They are a tool that beekeepers should embrace and take full advantage of their services.

If you see something that concerns you or you just need help knowing if your queen is doing okay, call your inspector. Don’t sit around and wonder if you have a disease or a pest, call your inspector.

Because of our inspection program we can rest more comfortably knowing that our inspectors are merely trying to prevent the spread of harmful pests and diseases.

So we strongly urge all beekeepers to register hives with either your Department of Ag or Division of natural Resources.

WARNING: YOUR BEES MAY STARVE FROM THE WARM WINTER

Bees cluster in the hive when the temperature drops below 50 degrees F.  A mild winter can cause the hive to get an early start raising new brood. This new brood requires a significant amount of pollen and nectar. Now that most hives are raising significant amounts of new brood, the demand for pollen and nectar is strong. In northern states we are several weeks away from any type of natural resources for our bees. And if we have more than a few days of extremely cold weather, the bees will be forced to cluster without food over the brood to keep it warm, and they may starve out.

There are several ways to feed bees during late winter and early spring. For Northern states the weather will change back and forth so an entrance feeder is not recommended. In a cold snap, bees will cluster and not be able to reach the entrance feeder. Here are feeding methods we recommend:

1) Candy Boards
Our first choice is the use of candy boards. We sell a candy board we call Winter-Bee-Kind which has an upper vent/entrance, insulation and 5 lbs of sugar with pollen mixed in as well. Placed on the top of the hive, it is always above the cluster for easy access. The upper vent/entrance allows bees to stay close to the food source but still be about to exit the hive when needed without having to travel all the way down to the lower entrance.

2) Top Feeders
Top feeders are large reservoirs placed over the top of the hive and usually hold between 1-3 gallons of liquid fed such as 1:1 sugar water. As long as the temperature remains warm these are effective. However, if there is a sudden drop in temperature the bees will be stranded feeding and fail to re-cluster and freeze. So be sure you are out of the woods for cold snaps. Some make their own top feeders by placing pails or entrance feeders on top of the hive and then place an empty deep hive body around it with a lid. Again, make sure the temperature does not rapidly fall off or this added space above the hive can deplete their pocket of warmth.

3) Frame Feeders
Frame feeders are plastic reservoirs shaped like a frame and slip in place of a frame in the brood nest area. Their obvious disadvantage is that the temperature has to be above 60 degrees F in order to manipulate frames to place it in the hive. Be sure to include chicken wire, card board or some sort of floaters to prevent the bees from drowning in the sugar water.

Please take the warning that most colonies starve and crash in March. The increase brood requires much more food. In fact, they are consuming much more food than they can bring in. So they will rapidly deplete their stored resources. Feed your bees starting now!

Thanks for joining us for another lesson in beekeeping. Please check out our other resources:

BEEKEEPING PODCASTS
FREE ONLINE LESSONS IN BEEKEEPING
OUR BEEKEEPING VIDEO INSTITUE

We have the lowest price on complete hives. Assembled, painted with wooden frames and plasticell foundation, screen bottom board, inner cover, two deeps and a medium super with metal covered telescoping top cover only $199. Same price for the last 3 years!  When comparing prices remember that a good gallon of paint is $25. Our hives are painted, assembled and ready for bees. CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR COMPLETE ASSEMBLED HIVE FOR $199

CONTACT PHONE: 217-427-2678 M-F 8:30am-4:30pm Central Time

LESSON 115: Is A Warm Winter Good For Bees?

www.honeybeesonline.com  217-427-2678
Isn't it time you improve your beekeeping knowledge and skills? Spend the whole day with certified master beekeeper David Burns, February 11, 2012.  Pick his brain, and advance you knowledge of beekeeping. Click here for class registration information.
Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We are David and Sheri Burns. We live out in the country in central Illinois where we’ve enjoyed running a beekeeping business for 5 years now. We raise chickens, bees, queens and of course manufacture beekeeping equipment. In fact, David and a few others have been so busy building hives that they’ve become really fast at it. Watch this video of David in high speed!
(If the videos in this lesson do not play, view this blog directly at: www.basicbeekeeping.blogspot.com)

We take great pride in our work, building hives by hand for our customers. We view our customers as friends and David is one of two EAS certified master beekeepers in the state of Illinois so you’re in good hands with us for all your beekeeping needs.  David will share his next beekeeping lesson with us, Lesson 115 and he’ll be talking about how a warm winter may actually not be so good for our bees. But before today’s lesson…
We’ve produced another Studio Bee Live podcast! Click here to listen.

We have a Valentine Special now available. It includes one hive and one 3 pound package of bees with a queen.
Get One Complete Hive painted and assembled, 1 package of bees with queen an we’ll also include a FREE Queen Excluder and a FREE Entrance feeder with jar lid with holes.
OFFER ONLY GOOD THROUGH FEB 20th.
This is an easy way to add to your hives or get started in beekeeping. This offer is good through Feb. 20th, 2012. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
JOIN US IN ONE OF OUR UPCOMING BEEKEEPING CLASSES
ADVANCE BEEKEEPING FEB. 11, 2012 DANVILLE, IL 9-4.
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms is offering an Advance Beekeeping Course Saturday February 11th, 2012 from 9am to 4pm. Take the next step, and leap into becoming a better beekeeper! We'll take a more in depth look at swarm prevention, splits, overwintering hives, pests & disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention, increase honey yields and tricks of the trade. Stop repeating the same mistakes. Join EAS certified master beekeeper David Burns and go to the next level in understanding beekeeping. This course will be held in Danville, Illinois at the Farm Bureau building. Call 217-427-2678 or CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
BASIC BEGINNING BEEKEEPING  MARCH 24th, 2012 DANVILLE, IL 9am-4pm. Sheri and I are looking forward to the upcoming basic beekeeping class we are offering on Saturday March 24th, 2012. We have designed this one day beekeeping course to cover topics on basic beekeeping. Those interested in becoming beekeepers as well as those who have kept bees for a few years will benefit from this class. We have a maximum registration so register as soon as you can to reserve your spot! It will be held at the Farm Bureau in Danville, Illinois (Central Illinois). Get a few friends to come along with you! Lunch is on your own, but there are several places to eat lunch nearby. Also, why not save shipping costs and purchase all your hive equipment on this day? This course is team taught by David & Sheri and you'll have a great day learning about beekeeping. Don't let distance keep you away. We've had people from California to Louisiana and other states, so come on over. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
SPECIAL TUESDAY BLOG READER SPECIAL! Our Complete Hive, assembled and painted is normally $199, but we are offering this special to our blog readers of only $179 to the first 10 callers on Tuesday. Calls will be answered starting at 8:30am central time. This offer is only good on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 to the first 10 callers. The 7th caller will receive free shipping of the hive. You must use CODE: 2VS
PACKAGE BEE UPDATE: We are sold out of our individually shipped packages. We only have packages left that go along with our hives or hives kits. We always save back packages for new beginners or beekeepers adding to their current hives. We’ve sold individual packages for the last four months. Call for availability or click on our valentine special which is one hive and one package.

Check us out on Facebook. Every Monday we post a picture of a malady of the hive and the first person to guess correctly wins a prize from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. This Monday’s photo is already posted.
LESSON 115: IS A WARM WINTER GOOD FOR BEES?
Bees overwinter best when they are held at a temperature that keeps the cluster quiet and eating very little honey. That’s why sometimes we say we are putting the bees to bed for the winter. Though bees do not hibernate like bears, they cluster, produce heat, eat and wait for warmer days. There is an ideal temperature between 30-40 degrees F that keeps the bees quiet and eating the least amount of food. The warmer the weather the more the bees eat. AND oddly enough, the colder the weather (below 30 degrees F) the more the bees eat to generate heat. Does an unseasonably warm winter mean trouble for bees? Yes.
Don’t panic just yet. If a colony is healthy, meaning they are not suffering from viruses, mite overload or high nosema spores, they always stand a better chance of making it through the winter. But remember this: They need numbers!  A colony must be heavily populated to provide the needed heat during extreme cold snaps. A large colony can generate more heat with less consumption of honey. In a smaller colony each bee will have to work harder to generate enough heat, which requires the consumption of more food.
It is not unusual for smaller colonies to die in the winter even though they had plenty of honey. It is because they could not maintain a survivable temperature in the cluster. In this case, the winter did not kill the colony, but rather poor summer and fall management. The colony was just too small to overwinter.
In the winter, the colony’s cluster shrinks in size as temperatures fall. The colder the temperature, the tighter and smaller the cluster becomes. This can be another explanation as to why bees die in close proximity to frames full of honey. Let me explain. On day one, the outside temperature can be 30 degrees F resulting in the cluster compressing into a loose cluster. They will begin to consume honey in combs near them. The next day, the high temperature may drop  to 10 degrees F resulting in the bees compressing into a very tight cluster, shrinking in size even more. If the bees are held in this tight cluster for several days, they can quickly consume all honey near by. To complicate matters, winter can throw another punch and the temperature can continue to sink resulting in the bees being unable to break cluster to go to areas nearby containing honey. As the cluster tightens and shrinks the comb around them has been drained of honey. As a result, the bees can starve out with nearby honey in combs they cannot reach due to the cold temperatures.
Winter survival depends on these factors:
1) Low level of mites
2) Low level of diseases and viruses
3) Amount of bees that can generate heat
4) Volume of stored honey and pollen
TIPS FOR WINTER FEEDING
1) Lift the rear of the hive to check the weight. If the hive is very light the colony is lacking stored honey and needs fed.
2) Do not remove frames unless the temperature is 60 degrees F or higher.
3) Do not feed liquid sugar during the winter. It will freeze. Also the bees will be unable to fly out and defecate due to being tightly clustered. Instead feed solid sugar such as our Winter-Bee-Kind Candy Boards. We’ve started the Beekeeping Video Institute and we featured our Winter-Bee-Kind in our first video. See our 1st Beekeeping Video Institute below.


4) Bees die in February and March when the weather begins to warm up a little, but there is still no available nectar or pollen. This is more common in northern states such as mine, Illinois. The queen starts laying more and the added brood requires much more consumption of resources that cannot be replaced. Late winter is the time to start feeding a liquid sugar mixture, one part sugar to one part water. It is only advisable to feed sugar water when you know the bees will be able to fly out of the hive once or twice a week. Pollen substitute is always a valuable resource to keep in the hive. Bees with a variety of pollen are always healthier. Yes, bees need pollen even during the winter. Pollen is the bee’s protein. In late winter, here in Illinois, bees are starved for protein and will begin eating almost anything that resembles pollen such as dog and cat food, dust from tiny bird seeds, and even our saw dust piles. Every spring I spread out dry pollen powder and the bees go crazy hauling it back to the hive.
Thanks for joining us for another lesson from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We are glad that we can provide these free and informative lessons to the beekeeping community.  We hope you’ll consider making a purchase from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We need your business. Buy a hive or two from us. Check out out hive kits. Attend one of our classes. Your future business helps us raise our family, enjoy life and pay bills.
Your donations helps us continue our work and research on the honey bee, such as our recent development of our Winter-Bee-Kind. These lessons are free and will provide you with as much if not more information than you would find in a $30 book. So consider making a $30 donation so that we might continue these lessons, CLICK HERE TO DONATE $30 Thank you in advance.
Here’s our contact information. We hope to hear from you soon.
Check out our website: www.honeybeesonline.com
Phone: 217-427-2678

LESSON 114: 6 Ways You Can Help Save Honey Bees www.honeybeesonline.com 217-427-2678

Hello from David & Sheri Burns at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We had a wonderful Christmas and we are looking forward to 2012. Already the new bee year is in FULL SWING!

In today’s lesson, I’ll be sharing 6 ways you can help save the honey bees. We MUST increase the number of people keeping hives so that we can maintain adequate pollination of our crops, vegetables and orchards.

Before today’s lesson, let me share with you some important beekeeping events, products  and services we are offering here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms.

First, one of our specialties is education. We have many beekeeping educational opportunities throughout the year. In fact, in 2012 we will be offering 12 beekeeping classes. Our first class was held on Saturday and was completely full. We always have lots of students from the Chicago area, and even though Chicago had 7 inches of snow, we only had a few students that could not make it due to the weather.

Our classes fill up fast. Here’s why others tell us they prefer our classes over others. They are one day classes. Our classes are taught by a certified master beekeeper. Our students become our friends and we are committed to their future success. Our classes are very educational but fun too! There are plenty of nice hotels and restaurants in the area so plan to join us for a class this year.

Our next class is our Advance Beekeeping Class coming up February 11th. Sign up now!

You can click on the links for more information:

FEBRUARY 11, 2012 ADVANCE BEEKEEPING SKILLS

MARCH 24, 2012 BASIC BEEKEEPING

MAY 12, 2012 HOW TO RAISE YOUR OWN QUEENS

JUNE 15th-16th, 2012 TWO DAY QUEEN REARING COURSE

FREE SHIPPING on our Freedom, Liberty and Independence beekeeping kits. Take advantage of huge savings on free shipping until January 25th. All of our hives are painted and assembled, ready to go. Order now to avoid the busy season.

We have WINTER-BEE-KIND candy boards on our hives and once again they are doing great. Here in Illinois our winter was mild until about two weeks ago. Then, the bottom dropped out and we fell into the single digits. Early January was so record setting warm that the bees were flying daily. While some new beekeepers might feel this is good, it is not. Many warm days in a row means the bees eat through lots of winter stores of honey. When it’s colder, the bees cluster, remain calm and eat very little. So now many beekeepers will find that there bees will be lacking sufficient food to make it through the winter. I used to worry about this but now our Winter-Bee-Kind boards give me confidence to know that my bees have food should they run out. 

We’ve been monitoring our Winter-Bee-Kind boards and it is amazing how much they have eaten. A strong hive needs good nutrition. We now mix in an ample supply of pollen powder into our Winter-Bee-Kinds and it is giving the bees the protein and nutrition they need to survive the winter.  You can put them on even on cold days by removing the top and inner cover, place it on with the candy facing down, and place your top back on and leave off the inner cover. Give your bees a treat by making sure they have enough food. Click here for more information on our very popular Winter-Bee-Kind candy boards.

Look at this video taken in early January showing how well the Winter-Bee-Kind works and it has an upper entrance/vent as well as an insulation panel all built in as one unit.

WARNING: Our packages of bees are selling out fast. We estimate that we will be sold out in 2 weeks, so please consider placing your orders soon!  Each year thousands of potential beekeepers wait too long and cannot find packages. We have packages that are shipped or available for pickup here in Illinois. Order online at: www.honeybeesonline.com or call us at 217-427-2678

Now, for today’s lesson. I want to share 6 ways you can help save the honey bee.

1. Start Keeping Bees

There is a tremendous interest in beekeeping. So many people are getting back to nature, planting their own gardens, buying small farms, eating local food and striving to be more self sufficient. As a result, more and more people are putting bees on their farms for pollination and to provide a natural sweetener.

Remember as a kid how you had to be careful when you went barefooted across the backyard not to step on a honey bee. Not too  long ago, it was common to have a jar of honey on the table as a natural sweetener and often it had a big chunk of comb in the jar. Remember seeing your grandpa or dad out there having so  much fun working the bees. We need to rally folks to help restore beekeeping back to the way it was, when there were plenty of bees to pollinate our crops.

If your garden and orchards are not producing like they should, it may be that they are not being adequately pollinated. Please consider placing a couple of hives in your area. Bees can fly up to three miles, so you’ll be helping out others in your area too. Maybe you’ve always wanted to keep bees. Perhaps you’ve thought about it each year but waited too long. Read our special article for those interested in starting this year.

2. Encourage Others To Keep Bees

If you are a beekeeper you are in a perfect position to encourage someone else to keep bees. Ask them to assist you as you work your hives and give them a jar of raw honey. They’ll noticed the difference from store bought honey. Help set up their new hive and help install their new package. A couple of buddies that live near each other might want to keep bees. So many great friendships have been started through beekeeping.

Also, consider encouraging young men and women to keep bees. We need more young people to enter into beekeeping. Young beekeepers ensure a solid future in beekeeping. Beekeeping is a beautiful way to teach many categories of science to young children. It is also a great way to teach responsibility and work ethics.

3. Be An Ambassador For The Honey Bees

Even though public awareness of honey bees is really good, honey bees are sometimes viewed in the wrong way. Some people immediately are scared of honey bees and pass along wrong information such as all bees are killer bees. That’s not true at all. We now have queens that are so gentle that there is no reason to have a defensive hive. It is very easy to requeen an overly defensive hive and in 45 days the new queen will have produced bees that reflect her gentleness.

Speak positively about beekeeping and honey bees. Share with others that 1 out of 3 bites of food is a result of honey bee pollination. Tell others that raw honey never spoils and has many proven health benefits.

If you are a beekeeper, do not pass up opportunities to speak at schools, clubs and civic organizations. Talk with your local newspaper or TV stations and see if they are interested in doing a story on honeybees.

If you remove honeybees from homes, always call the news stations and ask them to do a story on the removal of honeybees from a home. When they interview you, speak positively about the need for honeybees. Be a good ambassador of the honey bee.

4. Buy USA Raw Honey

With so many beekeepers bottling US raw honey directly from their hives, there is no reason to purchase honey from unknown sources. Support your local beekeepers by buying local honey. It has even been suggested that raw honey from your local area can help relieve some allergies. By buying honey from a local beekeeper you are helping them continue their hobby or business.

5. Let Roadways, Ditches and Fields Grow Wild

For bees to have sufficient nutrition a variety of pollen and nectar is needed. Bees that have only one type of floral source are not able to receive the balance of nutrition needed. One way you can help is to allow wild flowers to grow freely along roadways, ditches, yards and fields. Every spring dandelions fill yards. These dandelions are needed by the bees for their first real strong source of nectar following a long winter. Yet, so many people use chemicals to destroy dandelions. Do your part and allow these and other flowers to grow freely, giving the bees the variety of nectar and pollen they need for a good start in the new year.

If you have fields available for cover crops consider planting clover, alfalfa or buckwheat.

6. Reduce Harmful Spraying Around Yards, Gardens & Orchards

Finally, be careful when spraying your yard, garden and trees with insecticides.  When you use an insecticide powder dusting, bees can pick up this toxic chemical and carry it back into their hive which will kill the hive. Avoid using chemicals which are harmful to bees.  If you live near agricultural fields start an open dialog with the farmer. Have your farmer notify you when chemicals will be used. This will give you time to either temporarily move your hives during the spraying or to seal the entrances to your hives to protect them from spraying.

Please forward this on to others so they too can help save the honey bee!

Thanks for joining us for another lesson from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. Here is our contact information:

Check out our website: www.honeybeesonline.com
Phone: 217-427-2678

LESSON 113: The Sticky Subject Of Propolis (www.honeybeesonline.com 217-427-2678)

I’ve never written a lesson on propolis, that sticky stuff that ruins your nice, new, white bee suit, that stuff that won’t come off your fingers unless you use alcohol. But, propolis plays an important role in the colony’s health. This lesson will be very important for understanding how propolis can improve the health of your bees and be a fun lesson examining where propolis comes from, how the bees use it in the hive, the health benefits to humans and much more. But before we get started let me say...
Hello friends, we are David & Sheri Burns from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms in central Illinois. Folks tell us we have the best website, most complete information on beekeeping and the best price on beekeeping equipment. Whether you are just thinking about getting into beekeeping or have kept bees for many years, we are here to help you. When you buy from us, we do not consider you a customer, but a friend!

Spectacular Beginner’s Beekeeping Workshop
Mark your calendars and join us on January 21st, 2012 for our Basic Beekeeper’s Workshop at the Farm Bureau in Danville, Illinois from 9am-3pm. This class is filling up fast, but we still have openings. This is for people who do not know anything at all about bees but want to start or for those who have kept bees for a year or two but want to be trained by an EAS certified master beekeeper.Click here for more information.

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FEED YOUR BEES

Don’t “assume” your bees have enough food for winter. Check out our WINTER-BEE-KIND system that we’ve made. It insulates,  ventilates and provides carbohydrates (sugar) and proteins (pollen) for your bees during the winter. It also provides an upper exit incase snow or ice blocks off your lower entrance. Order now.
ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO START KEEPING BEES
Here’s a great offer to help your friends and family get started in beekeeping. Click on the image for more information on this product.
Beekeeping is a hoot! It’s enjoyable, educational and provides natural and healthy products from the hive. Not to mention we need honey bees to pollinate our fruits and vegetables.  One out of three bites of food can be enjoyed due to the pollination of the honey bee. If you are presently keeping bees, encourage your friends and family to keep bees. We would appreciate it if you’d lead your friends and family over to Long Lane Honey Bee Farms where we can provide them with hives and bees and protective gear. Have them check out our HOW TO GET STARTED IN BEEKEEPING or check out our COMPLETE VIDEO PAGE with videos on how to install a package, how to inspect a top bar hive and many more.
TO HELP OUT BEEKEEPERS, WE REFUSE TO RAISE OUR PRICE FOR THE 3rd CONSECUTIVE YEAR!
Let’s talk savings. Our complete hive is awesome for several reasons:
1) Made here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms, handmade for you.
2) Don’t be fooled by cheaper prices because our hives are painted, and assembled, and have real wooden frames and includes foundation.
3) While others have raised their prices every year, and again this year, we are holding our hive prices the same now for the third consecutive year. Our complete hive comes with two hive bodies, 20 wooden, deep frames with foundation, a medium super, 10 wooden super frames with foundation, screen bottom board, inner cover, top cover, entrance feeder and entrance reducer for only $199. That’s been our same price for 2010, 2011 and now again in 2012. We’re proud of the quality of our assembled and painted hives. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
In addition to beekeeping woodenware and equipment, we now carry a host of beekeeping specialty items. We’ve added shirts, candles, beekeeping key rings, etc. Most of our candles are made by the Amish in our area. Click here for more product information.
Finally, before our lesson, please sign up for our new beekeeping newsletter
LESSON 113: The Sticky Subject Of Propolis
(I’d like to thank some of our top bee experts in the country who spent time feeding me great information in preparation to this lesson. I’ve added their names at the end of this lesson.)
When we think of products from the hive we are most familiar with honey, wax and maybe pollen. But two more products from the hive are more obscure to us, royal jelly and propolis. Today, we’ll take an in depth look at propolis. Soon we’ll take a look at royal jelly.
If you have ever opened a hive of honey bees you have encountered propolis. You probably still have some on your bee suit. If you have a hive that produces copious amounts of propolis then you know what it’s like to fight gummed up frames and lids. Caucasians bees are known as excessive propolizers.
Propolis is sticky and it makes hive inspections more challenging. If you work your hives bare handed like I do, then you know what it feels like at the end of the day to have your fingers coated with propolis. All the dislikes aside, I love the appearance and smell of propolis. Each year I scrape off propolis and keep a ball of it handy to use in our queen rearing operation, to help set the cell cups and bars tight in position.
What Is Propolis And Where And How Do Bees Gather It?
Bees gather propolis from plants and trees such as the poplar, alders, birch, willows, and conifers. Trees and plants produce a sticky resin to protect their buds against bacteria and fungus. The makeup of propolis varies depending on the plant source, and therefore varies from region to region and colony to colony.Particular foragers are assigned the task of gathering propolis. Since propolis can only be gathered when it is pliable (between 77 and 113 degrees F), foragers gather it on warm, dry days. They fly out to the plant source, then use their mandibles to scrape off pieces of plant resins.
They pass the propolis from their mandibles to their forelegs, then to the inner surface of the middle leg or basitarsus. Here the propolis is packed into their pollen basket or corbicula on the back leg. When the foragers returns to the hive loaded with propolis, they go to the area of the hive where it is most needed.
Since they are unable to remove the sticky substance themselves, nearby house bees remove the propolis. The propolis foragers may even perform a dance to communicate to other foragers where the propolis is located, including robbing it from old abandoned equipment if it is sticky enough.
How Is It Used In The Hive
Propolis is undeniably the bee’s glue, sealing cracks, smoothing over rough wood and used to encase foreign objects too large to carry out of the hive. Bees have been known to kill mice inside their hive and since they cannot remove the mouse due to its size, they encase it in propolis so that the decaying mouse cannot spread disease. Notice in this photo how the bees have used propolis, here a bright reddish brown color, to smooth out the wood grain on a frame.
Bees coat much of the inside area of their brood nest, especially in more natural habitats such as trees and Warre hives that have rougher surfaces in the hive. When I remove colonies from homes, I always find that the bees have coated all the wood in their colony with a layer of propolis mixed with their own wax. We often find this even in traditional Langstroth’s hives over time, especially frames and lids. Here’s a picture I took showing how the bees have varnished the surroundings of their hive in a house.
Tests are being conducted to see if coating the insides of hive boxes improves the overall health of the colony. Many people are now recommending that we score or scratch the smooth service of the insides of our hives, forcing the bees to add propolis as they would in a natural hive in a tree. Bees also add wax to comb to give it strength. It is believed by some that house bees use propolis to polish brood cells between brood cycles.
We now sell Warre Hives made of cedar which is smooth on the outside but rough on the inside. This entices the bees to varnish the inside of their hive with propolis possibly launching a stronger defensive against various pathogens now on the rise. Click here for more information on our Warre hives.
It has also recently been discovered that bees will imprison small hive beetles in propolis jails by trapping SHB with walls of propolis. Unfortunately, every time we open a hive we release small hive beetles from their propolis jails, and even if we didn’t, the beetles have learned to rub their antennas with the bee and trick the bees to feed them while in jail.
More than a substance to seal openings and cracks bees need propolis in the hive for the overall well being of the colony. With over 180 different compounds, it is the colony’s chemical warfare against various pathogens. It is antiseptic, antifungal, antibiotic, antibacterial, antiviral, and antimicrobial.  Beyond being used as a medicated sealant there is still much more to learn about propolis and how the bees use it in the hive.
Propolis is from the Greek words pro (before) and polis (city). Ancient beekeepers observed the wall of propolis the bees built at their entrance to protect the “city”, their hive.Last year I noticed how some of my mating nucs were sealing down their openings so small that only one bee at a time could pass through.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, comb honey production was at its peak, and beekeepers did not want comb honey darkened with excessive travel stains from propolis. Queen producers responded by raising queens whose colonies gathered very little propolis. Larger beekeeping operations found propolis to be a bother, slowing down hive inspections and honey harvesting. Yet, recent research reveals this was not a good idea because it has recently been found that bees benefit from propolis in the hive. We may have accidently removed an important part of the colony’s defensive mechanism.
How To Harvest Propolis From The Hive
Propolis can simply be scrapped from frames, lids and hive boxes. When I harvest propolis in this manner, I am careful not to also scrape up bee parts, paint or wood into my propolis. It can be filtered out, but it saves me time gathering the purist of propolis.
Another way propolis is harvested from the hive is by placing a propolis trap inside the hive. The propolis trap is plastic and flexible and placed inside the hive near the top. Since bees like to seal out drafts and light, prop open your top slightly above the propolis trap and this will encourage the bees to place propolis in the trap as a way of sealing off the top opening. Then, once filled, you can remove and freeze the trap, flex it and the frozen, hard propolis will fall off the trap. Propolis is soluble in alcohol. Click here for more info.
I placed a piece of cardboard on the bottom of a top cover to add some insulation to an overwintering colony. I left it on in the spring and summer and the bees plastered it with propolis. The bees did not like that it was corrugated and attempted to smooth it out with propolis. Click on the image to enlarge.
Health Benefits Of Propolis
Propolis is being studied extensively for its health benefits to humans, even with the AIDS virus. The health benefits may date back as far as Old Testament times as Jeremiah 2 may be referring to propolis as the balm of Gilead. Many people give strong testimony as to the health benefits of propolis in helping with colds, sore throats, wounds, pimples, ulcers, burns and even cancer. Some people can be allergic to propolis and too much can be toxic, so always consult your doctor before using propolis. Many health stores sell various propolis  supplements and even Colgate makes a tooth paste with propolis that is said to promote healthier gums.
Acknowledgments:
In preparing this lesson on propolis, I learned so much. Most of the information on propolis was easy to research. But, in one area I hit a wall. I’ve always heard that house bees coat or polish brood cells with propolis between brood cycles. But as I read through books and literature I could not find a definite citation proving bees coat or polish brood cells with propolis. I found several websites that support the idea, but just because a website mentions something does not lend enough support. I contacted my friend and bee expert Jon Zawislak, at the University of Arkansas Extension, a fellow EAS certified master beekeeper and he flooded me with propolis papers and research, but he could not find a solid citation for house bees using propolis to coat brood cell linings. I then contacted David Tarpy, at North Carolina State University. He could not find an answer for me off the top of his head and said he would mention it to the world renown authority on propolis, Mike Simone-Finstrom. Mike was kind enough to flood me with many studies and his own thoughts that there is no studies verifying the use of propolis to coat individual cells between brood cycles. Jim Tew also sent me his extensive thoughts on whether bees add propolis to brood cells as did Diana Sammataro, and Keith Delaplane. Clarence Collison, who writes a column in Bee Culture went out of his way to scan and email me many pages on propolis. Jerry Hayes, the American Bee Culture Classroom answer man also gave me his feedback too. Thank you all!
We all know bees polish cells in preparation for the queen to lay an egg, but is it truly propolis that is used in the polishing stage? I think it is safe to say that it is believed that housecleaning bees coat the insides of their brood cells with propolis between brood cycles.
Thanks for joining us for another beekeeping lesson from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We appreciate your business, so please give us a call to let us help you enjoy beekeeping to the fullest.

David and Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
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