Long Lane Honey Bee Farms is a family beekeeping business designed to encourage, assist and educate others in the wonderful experience of beekeeping.
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Happy Last Days Of Summer! We are David and Sheri Burns from Long Lane Honey Bee
Farms and honeybeesonline.com. It's finally almost here. Fall will arrive on September 22nd, 2018. Four days away. Are your bees ready? Our lane is lined on both sides with an abundance of goldenrod. And yes my hives smell weird! Nectar produced by fall asters make hives take on a funky smell. Don't panic and jump to the conclusion that you have the dreaded, smelly American foulbrood disease. Probably just a fall crop of goldenrod.
Watch my new YouTube video as I explain the importance of understanding that beekeeping is: Art, Science and Love
David and Jon will be producing their live beekeeping podcast, HiveTalk, this Thursday at 1:30 central time. Please call in with your questions. Here's how:
Join online
Connect to the podcast using your computer microphone and speakers with no connection fees. https://www.talkshoe.com/studio/5182187 (Google Chrome is required.)
Or Dial in using your phone: Call: 605 - 562 - 0444
Enter the Show ID: 129777 # During the show, press 2 on your phone to "raise your hand" and let the David and Jon know you would like to ask a question on the air. They will unmute you in order for you to speak. Call in during the live show and you may be selected to be on the air with Jon and David.
This week's topic is contentious and argumentative topics beekeepers fuss about. David and Jon have the "right" answers.
Freedom Kit with bees is our kit for the serious beekeeper...Read more
How Many Hives Should You Start With? The average backyard hobbyist should always start with 2 or more. Why? With two hives, you can compare...Read More
How Close To The House Can I Put My Hives? This and 18 other questions are answered here...Read more
It Will Soon Turn Cold Outside. Are Your Bees Ready?
Our Winter Bee Kinds Can Make A Huge Difference
Don't delay ordering your Winter-Bee-Kind. Now that fall is only a few days away, make sure your bees have adequate food for winter by placing our Winter Bee Kind on your hive if for no other reason than insurance that they won't starve! Available for 10 frame, and 8 frame hives.
Beekeeping sounds and seems easy until you start. Then there are a thousand questions. And there are so many different opinions and answers. Which one is best for my bees?
Sign up now for BeeTeam6 Beekeeping Coaching Program because over the next several weeks David will be answering the top 20 questions beekeepers have in the fall. Sign up in September and receive a free winter-bee-kind on your December anniversary. Free shipping too. Click here to sign up for BeeTeam 6 now. In the last BeeTeam6 teaching video, David explained to subscribers how to evaluate frames in the fall to help determine if a colony has 40,000 future bees of winter physiology needed to carry the hive through winter. Remember, all the bees you are seeing now as adults will only live until Thanksgiving. They are mostly summer bees which die in 45 days. Bees of winter physiology live 4-6 months. Are you missing the steps needed to raise winter bees?
Here are several ways to get caught up to speed on "Getting Your Bees Through The Winter".
Online Course - Learn how to get your bees through the winter with David's new online course, from the comfort of your home. Watch the video lessons when you want. Comes with one Free month of coach with David. Click here for more info
"Getting Your Bees Through The Winter" - David's eBook on Amazon. Click here now.
Fall Tips
David has an entire article dedicated to explain bees in the fall. One thing David writes about is mites. Mites are shifting from drones to workers and increasing in number, spreading viruses in your colony in the fall. If you think you do not have varroa mites, you are wrong. All colonies have mites. In our winter classes we actually teach you how to test for mites and calculate your hive's percentage of infestation. Do not think you do not have mites simply because you do not see any. You have them! Get rid of them. Mites prefer drones, but now that drones are being killed, mites are now parasitizing your worker brood--soon to be your winter bees. And when mites have viruses, they spread them to worker bees which shortens the life of that winter bee from 6-9 months to 3-4.5 months. That means a bee born in October will live until May or June without viruses spread by mites. But, if a winter bee has a virus it will only live to January or February. Sound familiar? If you do nothing to get rid of mites then your hive will probably not make it to see March or April...READ MORE
I'm glad you are keeping bees or thinking about it. Thank you for supporting our family business for all your beekeeping needs.
HIVE TALK is a beekeeping podcast with Jon Zawislak and David Burns. Join them today at 1:30 central time. They will be talking about why colonies become more defensive in the fall and steps to take to reduce stings during fall inspections.
Join two EAS certified master beekeepers and listen to them gab about stuff but mostly about bees. We need some of you to please call in and asks questions. You can make Hive Talk more interesting by calling in and asking questions live, or by logging in on your computer and texting us your question. Here's how: The number to call is: 1-605-562-0444
When you call in you'll be asked to enter our SHOW ID which is: 129777 followed by the # sign. Then the automated system will ask you for your Pin number which is 1 followed by the # sign. At that point, you'll be on the show with us so you can ask your questions. So you don't have to worry about keeping your kids or dogs quiet. You will be muted unless you press * 8 on your phone and that will allow us to unmute you so you can ask your question. Call in around 10 minutes prior to broadcast, at 1:30 p.m. central time. If you want to just listen from your computer, go to: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/129777
Set your alarm and your smart phones.
If you missed us live, listen to the recorded episode on iTunes by clicking here.
FREE WINTER BEE KIND
FOR NEW BEETEAM6 MEMBER SIGN UPS
Beekeeping Mentorship/Coaching Program
SEPTEMBER SIGN UP - Free Winter-Bee-Kind
David offers a mentoring/coaching program to beekeepers around the country. You can call, email or text your questions to David, an EAS Certified Master Beekeeper. Plus, you receive a regular tip and video from David. Those who sign up in the month of September will receive onefree Winter-Bee-Kindon your four month anniversary, in December. YOUR CHRISTMAS PRESENT! Free Shipping too!Click here to sign up now.
2:1 or 1:1 Which Is Best For Fall
The fall presents many challenges one of which is to know what to feed bees. Should it be? 1:1 or 2:1 sugar water. Traditionally, 2:1 (2 parts sugar and 1 part water) sugar water is given in the fall. However, this does not afford the colony the opportunity to build up brood. 2:1 is thicker enabling the bees to dry it faster in the fall for stored honey. 1:1 is much more beneficial because it enables the colony to continue to raise brood. Brood raised in the fall will be bees of winter physiology, meaning that they will live 4-6 months rather than 45 days in the summer. I, therefore, encourage you to do both 2:1 and 1:1.
Our Burns Bees Feeding System allows the beekeeper to feed both 1:1 and 2:1 and a pollen patty in the fall. This gives the bees added incentive to store honey, raise brood and to have the protein to do it all. Our Winter-Bee-Kinds provide winter food.
TIP OF THE DAY: When to feed liquid sugar and when to feed a candy board: A colony will cluster when temperatures reach 50 degrees (f) or below. At this temperature bees will no longer consume liquid sugar water. My rule of thumb is that when bees are no longer flying due to colder temperatures it is best to place our winter-bee-kinds on top of your brood nest area. This allows the winter cluster to continue to have the added food as insurance. You've worked so hard to keep your colony healthy all year. So don't let them starve this winter.
Getting Your Bees Through The Winter
Take our ONLINE COURSE "Getting Your Bees Through The Winter" and learn how to properly prepare your bees for winter. You are likely missing out on simple steps needed to keep your bees healthy all winter. Get one month of free mentorship by David.
HIVE TALK is a beekeeping podcast with Jon Zawislak and David Burns. Join them today at 1:30 central time. They will be talking about the science, art and love of beekeeping. Join two EAS certified master beekeepers and listen to them gab about stuff but mostly about bees. You can make Hive Talk more interesting by calling in and asking questions live, or by logging in on your computer and texting us your question. Here's how: The number to call is: 1-724-444-7444.
When you call in you'll be asked to enter our SHOW ID which is: 129777 followed by the # sign. Then the automated system will ask you for your Pin number which is 1 followed by the # sign. At that point, you'll be on the show with us so you can ask your questions. So you don't have to worry about keeping your kids or dogs quiet. You will be muted unless you press * 8 on your phone and that will allow us to unmute you so you can ask your question. Call in around 10 minutes prior to broadcast, at 1:30 p.m. central time. If you want to just listen from your computer, go to: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/129777
Set your alarm and your smart phones.
If you missed us live, listen to the recorded episode on iTunes by clicking here.
Beekeeping Mentorship/Coaching Program
SEPTEMBER SIGN UP - Free Winter-Bee-Kind
David offers a mentoring/coaching program to beekeepers. You can call, email or text your questions to David, an EAS certified mClick here to sign up now.
aster beekeeper. Plus, you receive a regular tip and video from David. Those who sign up in the month of September will receive one free Winter-Bee-Kind on your four month anniversary, in December. Free Shipping too!
HOW TO PREPARE A WEAK COLONY FOR WINTER
Today I'll answer the following questions: What is considered a weak colony? What causes a hive to become weak? What action should be taken to strengthen a weak colony going into winter?
WHAT IS CONSIDERED A WEAK HIVE
While some hives are easy to identify as weak, other hives might be only marginally weak. Often it is easier to identify a weak hive when the beekeeper has other hives to compare it to. So let’s consider what we would look for determining the colony is weak.
1) Adult bee population
2) Amount of sealed and open brood
3) Amount of pollen, nectar and capped honey
4) Queen’s laying pattern
5) Diseases and pests
Colonies in the south require fewer bees and food resources to survive the shorter winter season. However, in the north colonies require more bees for warmth and insulation and more stored food resources (honey and pollen) to feed on during the longer winter seasons. Depending on where you live, you will need to adjust your evaluation somewhat.
First, what should the population be? We want to see lots of bees in an established hive, preferably, bees covering both sides of every frame. Of course, there will be fewer bees in the hive during foraging hours, so examine the hive prior to or after foraging hours (10am-5pm).
Many beekeepers make the mistake of seeing lots of bees this time of year and fail to realize that all adult bees in September will be dead in 45 days. This means all the adult bees you see will be dead by the middle of October. This means we need to be equally concerned about the amount of brood.
Secondly, there should be an ample amount of sealed and open brood. Here is an image of capped brood. New beekeepers may confuse sealed brood with a frame of sealed honey. Here’s some difference: Sealed brood is sealed with a dryer looking wax capping, almost like velvet or fabric in appearance. Honey is sealed with wax that looks wet or lacking texture. If you are still in doubt use a toothpick to examine what is below the capping. You’ll know immediately whether it is filled with honey or a pupating honey bee.
A strong colony consisting of two deep hive bodies will have a total of 10 or more frames of sealed and open brood in the hive, usually at least 5 frames in each deep box. These brood frames will be located near the center of the hive box. If a hive only has one or two frames of brood in each hive body it is a weak colony and something is wrong.
Because the queen reduces laying during extreme heat and when the days begin to shorten in fall, it is essential that you continue feeding your bees during the fall. This extra food will allow the queen to continue laying eggs and provide the brood you need in November and December. When these bees emerge, they will be bees of winter physiology and will live 4-6 months. There, you must feed you bees 1:1 sugar water with a teaspoon of pollen powder so the nurse bees can feed the young larvae. You need approximately 40,000 bees in a colony to provide the clustered heat to survive the winter.
We recommend using a top feed, never an entrance feeder. Our top feeder allows the beekeeper to feed from the top without being bothered by bees while feeding them both sugar water and pollen powder.
Thirdly, a strong colony will have sufficient nectar, honey and pollen stored in combs. Since a strong colony will have 10 frames of brood, and some of these frames contain open brood, lots of resources are needed to care for young developing brood. A weak colony may only have 1 or 2 frames of pollen. A strong colony will have 4 or more and the same is true with nectar. But keep in mind that these resources will usually be shared on the same frames with brood. Often bees will make a rainbow appearance on a frame, with the brood being in the center, pollen next and nectar/honey on the outside edges of the frame. This all must be taken into consideration when assessing the content of a hive.
I overwinter with one full honey super above two deep boxes. Plus, I place my Winter-Bee-Kind feeding system on for winter. Specify an 8 frame or 10 frame hive when placing your orders. This is added insurance that my bees will not run out of resources.
Fourthly, evaluate your queen’s laying pattern. A well mated queen should have a beautiful laying pattern. To evaluate our queens we use a brood vitality test. Pull out a frame of sealed brood and identify a section 10 cells by 10 cells. Now count the number of open cells within this 10 x 10 cell square. Subtract the open cells from 100 and this is your brood viability. Usually 85% and higher is acceptable, but you may want to select your own criteria.
Fifth, check for diseases and pests. Strong colonies control pests and diseases much better than smaller, weak colonies. For example, a strong colony will not allow wax moths to destroy the hive. They will kill moths and carry out wax moth larvae. Strong colonies are much better at controlling small hive beetles and other pests and diseases.
When Small Hive Beetle (SHB) and wax moths are present, the colony is usually very weak. Diseases can also spread in a weak colony because fewer bees in a colony means fewer bees that could be controlling the disease.
WHAT IF I TRULY HAVE A WEAK HIVE?
Usually there are two options available when faced with a weak hive. First, it can be combined with a stronger colony using the newspaper method. This is demonstrated in our online class, "A Day In The Apiary With David." Be sure there are no pests or diseases in the weak hive before you combine it with a strong colony. Otherwise, you might weaken the strong colony by combining. When combining hives, pull out the queen in the weak colony and lay sheets of newspaper on the top of the strong colony, just above the frames of the brood nest. Poke a few holes in it so that the bees between the two opposing colonies will gradually become familiar with each other, as they eat through the newsprint.
A second option is to strengthen the weak hive. This means that you will need to feed the weak hive. Do not use an entrance feeder as this may entice robbing. Instead use our Burns Bees Feeding System. Try to feed pollen as well. Our feeder provides an area to insert the pollen patties. If the hive is weak going into winter, be sure the queen is good and then begin to feed the bees 1:1 sugar water with 1 teaspoon of our pollen powder per quart. Continue this feeding regiment until the hive becomes strong with more brood and more stored food. Since our feeding system comes with two feeding holes for sugar water, you can place one jar of 1:1 and one jar of 2:1. 1:1 stimulates brood production and 2:1 will allow the bees to store it for winter.
TIP OF THE DAY: Do not leave a queen excluder in an overwintering hive. The colony may move above the queen excluder and leave the queen to freeze to death below. And never leave a partially filled medium super on an overwintering hive. Only leave the super on top if it has a minimum of 7 frames of sealed honey, otherwise the colony may move up but quickly run out of food.
EMERGENCY FEEDING: In the event that your weak hive goes into winter, but runs out of food, we suggest you use one of our WINTER-BEE-KIND boards.
Winter-Bee-Kind For Winter Feed For Bees
In The summer of 2011 we introduced our Winter-Bee-Kind after several years of studying overwintering hives. We could barely keep up with production they were in such demand. We still make them right here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms but we've expanded our production methods to keep up with demand. So many beekeepers tell us that these are the only thing that gets their hives through the winter.
It is a one piece candy board that provides food, ventilation, upper insulation and an upper exit/entrance to help bees remain healthier during the winter. With the built in upper vent, you don't have to worry about snow covering up your hive's lower entrance. The bees can still go in and out through the top vent spacing. We avoid shipping Winter-Bee-Kinds in hot weather and start shipping each November-March. You can place our Winter-Bee-Kinds on your hive anytime, even in the winter. Because it goes on top of the hive in place of the inner cover, and you are NOT removing any frames, it can be placed on the hive in cold weather. Just do it fast. Open the top, remove the inner cover and place the candy side down and the vent slot toward the front of the hive and you're done. Click here to order your Winter-Bee-Kinds
Commonly Asked Questions
Q: Which way does the candy face in the hive?
A: The candy faces down just above the winter cluster. Normally, this means that the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on the brood box that contains the cluster. For example, if you overwinter your bees in a single deep hive body, the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on this deep hive body with the candy facing down toward the cluster. If you are using two deep hive bodies to overwinter, then the Winter-Bee-Kind would be placed on the top deep hive body. It is best to disregard the use of an inner cover, and simply place your top cover over the Winter-Bee-Kind.
Q: What about winter moisture?
A: Moisture can develop in the winter from condensation, a contrast of the heat the bees produce in the hive and the extreme cold temperature outside the hive. Condensation accumulates on the warm side, which means moistures collects on the inner cover or top cover above the hive. This can drip down on the bees and chill them during the winter. A Winter-Bee-Kind takes the place of an inner cover and any moisture that develops from condensation aids the bees in consuming the candy.
Q: How long will a Winter-Bee-Kind last on a hive?
A: On average about 3 weeks. However, a colony that has ample stored honey may not consume the candy board as fast or not at all until they need it. A colony close to starvation may consume a Winter-Bee-Kind within a week or two.
Q: Since Winter-Bee-Kinds are placed or replaced on the hive in the winter, can I open the hive up on a cold day?
A: It is best to place the candy boards on a hive when the temperature is above freezing and try to place the candy board on and have the hive sealed back up within 1-2 minutes. It should not take over 1 minute. Do not remove any frames in cold temperatures, only place your Winter-Bee-Kind on and off quickly. If you can choose the warmest day during the winter, that would be best. Try to avoid very cold, windy or rainy days.
Q: How do I refill a candy board?
A: It is best to send back your candy board and we will refill it for $7 plus shipping. If you are a good candy maker, you can do it yourself.
Q: How do I get one with a pollen?
A: Our Winter-Bee-Kinds contain pollen as well.
Q: Can I make my own?
A: You can, but you must experiment, because you do not want the candy to be too hard or too runny. The exact mix depends on your altitude, heat source and other conditions so it will be different from one location to another.
Q: Why was some liquid sugar dripping out of my Winter-Bee-Kind when I received it?
A: It is the nature of candy boards to be a bit on the dripping side even though the top may be hard. Do not be concerned if you see liquid sugar dripping out of your boards when you receive it. It usually means it was left on end during shipment for a prolong period of time. The bees will clean everything up and enjoy this soft liquid.
Q: How much sugar is in one Winter-Bee-Kind?
A: Approximately 5 pounds
Q: When do I put a Winter-Bee-Kind on my hive?
A: Any time! Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb are good months to place on the boards.
Q How often should I check my Winter-Bee-Kind?
A: Every two weeks, take a peek.
Q: Do you make Winter-Bee-Kind for 5 frame nucs or 8 frame hives?
A: Yes, check out our website to order, but carefully read the description to make sure you are ordering the correct size and type.
Q: Can the candy break loose from the board on the hive?
A: It rarely happens, but during extreme winter weather, the candy and separate from the board while on the hive. This is not a problem. The bees will continue to consume the sugar.
Q: When I place it on the hive, do I use my inner cover. Just how does it go on?
A: Winter-Bee-Kind takes the place of your inner cover. Simply place the Winter-Bee-Kind on the top of your upper hive body or super with the candy facing down, then place your top cover on top of the Winter-Bee-Kind. Be sure to use a rock or brick to make sure the wind does not blow your top cover off.
Thanks for joining us for another lesson in beekeeping. We’d love to hear from you and hopefully peak your interest in beekeeping. Feel free to contact us at:
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
14556 N 1020 E. Rd
Fairmount, IL 61841
217.427.2678
EMERGENCY FEEDING: In the event that your weak hive goes into winter, but runs out of food, we suggest you use one of our 