SPRING HAS SPRUNG
(4:58 p.m. central time today)
Wake up and smell the flowers
The weather is just starting to warm up,
and our bees will soon be out on spring flowers.
SOCIAL HOUR (Noon - 1pm)
SAT. MARCH 30TH
PRIOR TO OUR ONSITE
SPRING MANAGEMENT COURSE(1pm- 5pm)
Honey Tasting
Mead Sampling
David's Special Coffee*
Refreshments
*David will be roasting, grinding and making his special coffee in a French press for this event. This coffee will be Yirgacheffe grown in Ethiopia at an elevation of around 6,000 feet.
Come join us for this special social hour before our Spring Management Course. You do not have to attend the course to enjoy social hour. EAS Certified Master Beekeeper, David Burns will be mingling and answering beekeeping questions.
Spots are still available for this ONSITE SPRING MANAGEMENT COURSE.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER.
Once your bees survive the winter, knowing what to do next is crucial. When to split? How to prevent swarming? When to add supers? Join us for this exciting spring class.
What Your Bees Wished You Knew
Give your bees your best. Your best is going to be limited by what you don't know about beekeeping. Don't be fooled, it isn't as easy as it may look. Our Online Beekeeping Course is a course designed for the new beginner. From the comfort of your home at your own pace. Watch these instructional videos anytime. Earn a certificate of achievement.
Beekeeping Conference
This Saturday David Burns will be a keynote speaker at the Will County Beekeeper's Conference in Joliet, IL. There is still time to register for this event.
Which Is Better?
Package or Nuc?
David has just produced a new YouTube video on the pros and cons of starting with a 3 pound package of bees versus a 5 frame nuc. This video also demonstrates how to transition from a Winter-Bee-Kind to a Spring Burns Bees Feeding System. Click on the play button below.
FRAME PROP
Your hands are full when you inspect your hive. You are holding your hive tool, and most beekeepers wear gloves making it even more difficult to handle everything. Our new Frame Prop allows you to prop your frame up on top of the hive so you can look for the queen or easily catch her. Only $15 with free shipping.
Spring Tips, Tricks and Essentials
These are some common issues beekeepers face in the spring?
- Swarm prevention. All healthy colonies swarm in the spring.
- Diseases caused by excessive spring moisture
- Making splits
- Rotating hive boxes
- Dealing with a worn out queen
- Catching swarms
- Spring nutritional needs of the colony
Swarm prevention requires a tremendous amount of effort. You must inspect your colonies in the spring every two weeks and carefully search every frame for the possibility of swarm, queen cells. If you see cells on the lower half of the frames it usually means they will swarm soon. 50% of your colony will leave with your queen. The 50% left behind will use only one of the queens in the queen cells. This will decrease your chances of having a good honey production due to the reduced workforce.
While swarm prevention is impossible, it can be reduced by making splits, pulling out several frames from your overwintered colony with eggs or the queen and starting a new hive before they swarm.
In some climates, spring rains can cause excessive moisture around the hive. This spring moisture can increase the chances of such problems as European foulbrood, chalkbrood or nosema. Make sure you are able to provide a dry location for your hives in the spring and allow plenty of ventilation within the hive.
Rotating your deep hive bodies is only necessary when the complete colony has moved out of the lower deep. Do not rotate if any portion of the brood nest area is located in the lower deep hive body.
Some queens do not lay well coming out of winter. Be sure to monitor the eggs in the spring to ensure you still have a prolific queen. You must have a fast building up of bees in the spring. If she cannot lay sufficiently, your hive will fail to build up in numbers.
When your healthy, overwintered colonies swarm, you must have an empty hive ready to place them in. Make sure you have a swarm catcher hive ready. Otherwise, you will lose 50% of your hive. You will need to shake the swarm into a new hive to save it.
Finally, feeding bees in the spring is so vital to their future health. We recommend you add a teaspoon of pollen powder to a quart of 1:1 sugar water and feed from the top.
New Beginners Bundled Online Course
This bundle includes 3 of our top courses designed to help new beekeepers:
1. Basic Beekeeping
2. A Day In The Apiary
3. Getting Your Bees Through The Winter
1. The Basic course will ground you in the fundamentals.
2. The Day In The Apiary will show you what to do out in the bee yard.
3. Getting Your Bees Through The Winter will help you do the right things all year to prepare your bees for winter.
Save money when purchasing these courses as a bundle. Still not convinced? Read testimonials from some of our students by clicking here.
What If You Pick Up Your Package But You Cannot Install The Bees Because The Weather Is Bad?
What do you do when you need to install a package of bees but the weather is bad? You waited all this time to start beekeeping but now the weather doesn't look too good when you need to install your package. You are hearing mixed reports on whether you should keep them in their package...Read Full Article
Private One To One Lessons With David
David has traveled around the country to train one on one with various instructors in his sport. Now, you can train one on one with David. It's a private class. Private beekeeping lessons are tailored to your specific needs. You can choose from 30 minute sessions up to 4 hour sessions. (If you plan to travel through our area, why not schedule a private lesson?) These private lessons make great gifts! Choose the amount of time you prefer.
Once you make your selection, you can call into the office or leave notes in your order as to what specific needs you'd like David to teach you. Also, you are welcome to bring a friend or spouse or others at no additional cost (limit 3 others). CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Only A Few Hive Kits With Bees Left
If you are still on the fence on whether to start beekeeping this year, now is the time to make the decision.
This kit comes painted, assembled and ready to go. Kit includes: a screen bottom board, two deep hive bodies, a honey super, and a package of bees with a mated queen.
It also comes with a total of 30 strong, wooden frames with beeswax coated plastic foundation.
Also includes:
Cloth hat and veil combo, hive tool, smoker, and a queen excluder.
We are David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms located in east central Illinois
www.honeybeesonline.com
David & Sheri Burns
217-427-2678
Business Hours:
Tues. - Thurs 10 a.m. - 4:30
Friday & Saturday 10 a.m. - Noon