Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We are David and Sheri Burns and we are giving away some cool beekeeping things on our Facebook page. We've given away a smoker, T-shirt and hive tool, a 5 frame nuc and more. 

To win, just like, comment and share our Facebook page.

We are also giving away another 5 frame nuc from our  Beekeeping video blog (Vlog). Watch this video and subscribe and comment that you want the nuc and you could win a nuc (bees not included). It's just our way of saying thank you to our great customers who follow us online. 

We'll be presenting our 4th Basic Beekeeping course of the year this coming Friday (sold out) and our first Spring Management class is coming up this Saturday (sold out). We are looking forward to both classes and with spring right around the corner our new Spring Management course will be just in time to learn what to do for your hives that survived the winter.

We have lots of classes still to come with openings for the year:

Advance Beekeeping May 15th

Our advance beekeeping class will take beginners to a new understanding of management techniques and how to better control pests and diseases.

How To Raise Queens May 20th

Probably the best queens are the queens you will raise. You'll save time and money and have stronger hives when you have queens on hand that you have raised.

Basic Beekeeping June 9th

Some beekeepers start keeping bees and then take a class. If you didn't get signed up in time for our earlier Beginners Courses, this one is for you.

Beekeeping Institute June 10, 11, 12th

Everything you ever wanted to know, hear and see about bees. 2 Spots left.

A Day In The Apiary With David June 18th

Very popular last year!  Come and spend 4 hours in hives and learn from certified master beekeeper David Burns. Ask questions and learn how to work and manipulate a hive.

Starting with 2 hives is better than one. There is an old saying that two is one and one is none. Starting with 2 hives gives you more resources to share between hives to keep both strong. We still have Freedom Kits with bees, but these are selling out fast.

Click Here for details. And also check out all the various kits we still have available for the 2016 bee season.

Remember our hives are built right in central Illinois. Thank you for supporting our family business... old fashion hard work!

Almost Daily YouTube Videos Have Started!

On January 1st I started producing my almost daily Vlog. A Vlog is a video blog.

I have produced some on how to feed bees, propolis, beekeeping vocabulary, comb honey, honey and more.

Subscribers are growing and I am hoping to reach 50,000 subscribers by the end of the year. Please introduce our channel to your friends.

Check out my recent one below on how to make comb honey. Please subscriber afterward. We are almost at 5,400 subscribers now.

Feed Your Bees The Right Way This Spring

Leave it up to our EAS certified master beekeeper, David Burns to create an awesome feeding system. Several years ago he nailed it with our Winter-Bee-Kinds and last year he nailed the perfect spring and fall feeding system. Our Burns Bees Feeding System. He has continued to modify it over the last year. The jar holes now are both in the middle rather than side by side as in the picture. We have sold a bunch of these. It's a great way to feed your bees in the spring and fall.

The feeding ports are screened to keep the bees from flying out when you add more sugar water and patties. Get yours in time for spring. It is especially good when installing new packages. It's essential to strengthen your fall colonies for winter.

Be sure and give us a call, and get started in beekeeping today! We are looking forward to hearing from you for all your beekeeping needs. Thank you.

www.honeybeesonline.com
217-427-2678

Don't Get Too Excited About The Warm Weather www.honeybeesonline.com 217-427-2678

We are David and Sheri Burns here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. You've seen us online at: www.honeybeesonline.com

Hey, before you get too excited about the upcoming warm up outside, it may not be as good for the hives as you might think. I'll tell you why, but before I do, I have a few things to share.

Our YouTube almost daily Vlogs have been a huge hit. People from around the US and around the world are enjoying them everyday. In one of my vlogs I talked about different flavored honey and why honey is different colors and why and how it crystallizes. It is a fun video and in that video I mentioned that I am giving away a Long Lane Honey Bee T-Shirt like the one I am wearing above.

Here's how we are picking the winner. If you go to that particular video vlog and subscribe and leave a comment letting us know you want the shirt, we'll randomly select a winner in a few weeks. So watch that video and subscribe and leave us a comment that you'd like to try and enter the drawing for the shirt. Here's the video:

If the video above didn't play right, here's the link: https://youtu.be/eeGwskCy_X4

OUR BEE KITS ARE STILL AVAILABLE BUT GOING FAST

We still have hive kits that include a package of bees with a mated queen. But they are going very fast and we have less than 80 kits that include packages of bees available. If you are considering getting started in beekeeping and sitting on the fence, get off the fence and jump in with both feet.

Once we run out of bees with our kits, we recommend you buy our kits and find packages from other places. But they are selling out fast. I do not want you to be disappointed from procrastinating. 

Our most popular kits are:

FREEDOM KIT - 2 Hives With 2 Packages Of Bees

FREEDOM KIT  -  2 Hives Without Bees

Nearly a decade ago we started building and selling hives. Our completely assembled and painted hive is still a big seller. Comes with frames and foundations. Ready to be placed in your yard or field. Check it out today.

And if you want me to put my special touch to your hive, check out my David's Ultimate Wish List Hive. Comes with scored inside walls, extra wax added to frames, beetle traps and green drone comb traps. 

Hey women, we've got a beautiful hive tool just for you. It's pink! Ok fellows, if you want a pink one you can buy one too. A Pink Hive Tool. 

And we brought back our popular Busy Bee Special  

ONLINE SPECIAL ONLY! INCLUDES SHIPPING COSTS 

How much easier can it get? We know you're busy and maybe you've been confused by what you need. Our Busy Bee special takes all the stress out of getting started in beekeeping providing you with a completely assembled and painted hive, and a 3 pound package of bees with a mated queen. The hive (Woodenware) is shipped soon after you place your order, but the bees must be picked up at our farm in central Illinois in May (see below for more info). Our complete hive comes with: 1 screen bottom board, two deep hive bodies(each hive body contains 10 wooden frames with foundation, beeswax coated and one medium super containing 10 wooden frames with foundation bees wax coated, one inner cover, one telescoping top cover with metal covering and a front entrance reducer. The box corners are rabbet joint corners. Also includes one feeder (styles vary).

PACKAGE BEE INFORMATION: This kit couldn't get any easier.  You receive the hive at your house, then you come to the Training Center at LONG LANE HONEY BEE FARMS to pick up your bees.  The estimated date for pick up is May 7/8 from 9 - 3 in Fairmount, IL.  You will receive an email with detailed information, so you must register here with a valid email and check it to read all information.  While we will do our best to hit the targeted date, and keep you informed if it changes, it is your responsibility to put the date on your calendar. We suggest taking a beekeeping course so you understand how to hive, maintain, inspect, and feed your bees, as well as understanding overwintering conditions and pests and diseases. We also suggest a minimum of a hat with veil, hive tool and smoker to complete your set. Click on videos above for installation instructions. 

Our first beekeeping class of 2016 will take place this Saturday! We are working our fingers to the bone preparing for another great year of classes. I'll be doing some filming for upcoming vlogs too. We have some special hive kits available for class students. Take a class, buy our student kits and save a buck! If you are coming to our class and still need a hive and some bees, call Sheri for the special deal. 217-427-2678. Check out all of our classes.

DON'T GET TOO EXCITED ABOUT THE WARM WEATHER

I've seen the forecasts and it looks like a warm weekend here in Illinois and maybe where you live too. This would be great if there were nectar sources available but there is nothing out there. This would be great too, if it remained warm the rest of the year. Here in Illinois it will get very cold again. 

Bees will break cluster, eat more and feed the queen more which means there will be more larvae that will require much more food in a few weeks when it might be very cold again. I like to feed my bees liquids if they can fly. While it will be warm, it is predicted to be very windy here so I am not going to feed them liquids in fear that the winds will hold them in the hive.

For those of you who have wrapped your hives with insulation, I would recommend you remove the insulated wraps on sunny days above 40 degrees (f). Insulated wraps can block the warm sun from warming the hive. If you used roofing paper to wrap your hive, the warmth will penetrate through the paper, not need to remove it. But when temps drop below freezing, be sure to wrap them back up.

A mild winter means that bees consume more food and transfer more food to each other which  means viruses spread more when the bees feed each other. I'd rather see a cold winter where temps remain from 15-30 degrees (f) until March and then an early spring. That would be perfect.

The main thing to remember is continue to feed  your bees until you have a good source of nectar in the spring. The bees need your help over the next 8 weeks. This is the time weak hives begin to die no matter how warm it gets.

Someone said they read that it is good to keep water in the hive in the winter. WRONG! They have plenty of moisture in the hive in the winter. Do not add any. We work hard to reduce moisture in the winter time. Healthy colonies do a great job at keeping the moisture where they want it.

Be sure and spread the word and try and get your friends and relatives into beekeeping. We need more beekeepers to increase the number of hives in America for pollinating our fruits and vegetables. Thank you for sending them our way!

As always, thank you for doing business with us. We appreciate it.

David and Sheri Burns
www.honeybeesonline.com
217-427-2678

How Does A Warm Winter Effect Honey Bees?

Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We are David and Sheri Burns and we operate www.honeybeesonline.com

I've been sending this blog out for nearly 10 years. It's been my humble effort to help beekeepers keep bees better. People from around the world have told us how much this blog has helped them so I feel like it is doing some good!

The weather has been very nice for winter. Here in Illinois it has been very warm and I have not ran my snow plow once. It's hard to believe because now we are in to February and I haven't had to turn on my big house furnace.  Wow!

So how does a warm winter effect honey bees? It's not good. But before I explain this in more detail, let me share some other cool stuff.

Are you losing your colonies every winter to mites? Varroa destructor is the leading cause of why bees die in the winter. They carry various viruses that can spread quickly through a hive during winter months. Watch my recent video on how you can use Green Drone Comb to help control mites. We teach this in greater detail in our beginner classes.
Over the years we have worked hard to educate and encourage more and more people to become beekeepers. I spend a great deal of time speaking at various groups like 4-H, FFA, home schools groups, Lions and Rotary clubs, Park Districts, bee clubs and school groups. Any opportunity I get to encourage the younger generations to keep bees is exciting to me. Anyway, as a result I see more and more people becoming interested in beekeeping.

Now, almost anywhere you go you see something about beekeeping. It wasn't always that way. In fact, in the early 90s I'd say beekeeping was practically on its way out.  But now, it is "cool" to keep bees.

For those of you who are currently keeping bees you too play a huge role in helping others get into beekeeping.  You can introduce a neighbor or a friend into beekeeping. Maybe you can encourage a grandchild or relative to start keeping bees. It's only February so there is plenty of time to help more and more people jump in and enjoy keeping bees. We have a website dedicated to "How To Start Beekeeping."

Those square, white boxes gracing the countryside is a beautiful sight and has been featured in many picturesque photos and paintings. It's a peaceful scene depicting the balance of nature. Bees are pollinating flowers and plants ensuring that we will have our next meal.

Those white bee hives were once much more common than they are now, although they are making a come back. Years ago I remember seeing those white bee hives and wondering how in the world I could ever keep bees. Maybe you've wondered that too.

Now it is practically a prestigious thing to own hives. A common mistake many beekeepers make is that they never have enough empty hives to catch their own swarms or the swarm calls that will come their way in just a couple of months. All beekeepers need to have a few empty hives on hand to help rescue swarms. The faster we can rescue swarms the better image honey bees and beekeepers have among the non-beekeepers of our communities.

One of our most popular kits is our Freedom Kit. Starting with 2 hives is always better than starting with one. There is an old saying, " One is none and two is one." It means that if you have one and lose it, you have none. But if you have two and lose one, you still have one.

I have an entire article answering the question of how many hives to start with.

Our Freedom Kit is fully assembled with frames and foundation, and it comes with 2 hives and 2 packages of bees. This kit also comes with a hat and veil, hive tool, book, queen excluders, a smoker and smoker fuel. Click here to view our Freedom Kit

I believe this has become a very popular kit because it removes much of the guess work out of beekeeping. What do I buy? How many? If I buy my hives at XYZ place, then where do I find bees to go in to my new hives? The Freedom Kit solves these problems.

Classes are very popular today. Not just beekeeping classes, but classes on just about any subject. My wife recently flew out to San Francisco to take a class on becoming a Chocolatier. Taking classes is enjoyable because as we get older we realize we need to keep expanding our horizons. We need to keep our minds sharp and it's enjoyable learning something new.

I cannot imagine starting beekeeping without taking a class. Be sure and visit www.honeybeesonline.com for our class schedule. We put so much effort into our classes and we'd love to meet you. Our classes are filling up so fast this year. Every spring people are disappointed that all classes are full. So sign up and take a class before the spring rush.  Review all of our upcoming classes.

Our next Basic Beekeeping Class still has a couple of spots available. It's on a Friday from 8am - 1pm. Take off work on Friday and come join us! Click here for more details. 

We have 3 spots available in our spill over, new class on how to manage your hive in the springs. People are always wondering about making splits and how to prevent swarms. This class is on March 26th (Saturday) 9am-1pm. Click here for more details.

Now, is this warm weather good or bad for honey bees? Normally we would think it would be good for bees because they are flying. There are some good benefits to a few warm days each month in the winter. Bees are able to break cluster, move closer to stored food in their hive and take a potty break. However, a prolonged warm spell means that bees are moving around much more, laying more eggs, raising more brood and consuming food at a faster rate. A prolonged warm spell could cause the bees to starve because even though it is warmer and they are flying, there is nothing to go and gather. The more they fly and move around the greater the food requirement is. Most of us would love to see the temperature stay in the 30s all winter. This is the optimal temperature for bees to coast through winter.

One way to calm your concerns during these unusual warm spells is to make sure your bees have plenty of food for the next two months. Most colonies starve in February and March.  Keep a fresh Winter-Bee-Kind on top of your clustered colony all winter long to ensure they have the protein and carbohydrates they need. Colonies are consuming an unusual amount of food this winter because our customers are ordering more Winter-Bee-Kinds and bringing an unusual amount back to be refilled. Stay alert and meet the nutritional needs of your hives.

Finally, we provide many entertaining ways for you to stay current on beekeeping trends.

Like our Facebook page.
Watch our Videos.
Read our Beekeeping Lessons.
Listen to our Beekeeping Podcasts.

Stop in and see us soon.
David and Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
www.honeybeesonline.com
217-427-2678

Monday 9am- 6pm
Tues - Thur 9am-4pm

Crazy Surge In Beekeeping www.honeybeesonline.com 217-427-2678

Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms we are David and Sheri Burns. You can run out to the farm store and buy a hive, order a book on beekeeping, and get a package of bees from Billy Bob’s truck whenever he comes through town. But is that really what  you want to do? Why not start with one of our brand new, clean hives, fully assembled, American made right here in Illinois, painted and sturdy, built by beekeepers! We provide a fresh 3 lbs package with a mated queen that you pick up only a couple of days after it is packaged. And take a class by a certified master beekeeper when you pick up your hives . We are here for you.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Some of our customers desire to purchase equipment online but want to avoid shipping cost by picking items up here locally. Many of our online items have fixed shipping. It is best to call us to place a pick up order. 217-427-2678 With gas prices so low, consider coming over and picking up your hives. Thank you!

This year has started out as a phenomenal year with interest in beekeeping. I have never seen such a huge interest in beekeeping. It is very exciting. Not only are we seeing this surge in people buying hives and bees from us, but our classes are filling up like crazy! Our first two beginner classes in February and March are sold out. If you are thinking about taking a class I would suggest you secure your spot quickly.

Our next beginner classes with spots available are:
Mar. 18  Basic Beginners Class  Friday 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Only 4 spots left)
Apr.   2  Basic Beginners Class  Saturday 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Apr.   3  Basic Beginners Class  Sunday 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.

New to our class menu is: Spring Management. We scheduled this class for March 19th and it quickly sold out. So we added another one last week for March 26th and it is now over half filled. If you’d like to learn what to do with your hive in the spring such as making splits, swarm control and more, sign up now  Spring: Splits, Swarms, Supering and Survival (Spots Still Available).

INFO ON ATTENDING ONE OF OUR CLASSES

People from around the US have taken our classes and even a few from other countries. If you live out of the area, we are only a couple hours from O'Hare International airport in Chicago and only an hour and fifteen minutes from the Indianapolis International airport.

There is a beautiful winery less than a mile from our farm where you can stay. Some of our students have stayed there and it is new, and can sleep 5-10 people, and has a full kitchen etc.

This is a great place to stay for those attending our Beekeeping Institute. June 10-12 Beekeeping Institute 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. each day


Check it out: Sleepy Creek. But there are also name brand hotels near by. If you live far away, make it into a working vacation and come take a class.

If you are still undecided about taking a class consider breaking up the monotony of winter. The winter doldrums can really get us down. This is a great time to take classes, socialize with other beekeepers and just see something different than your frozen yard.

By taking a class you WILL avoid making many mistakes. Some mistakes your bees may not recover from and you will regret losing your bees to your mistakes. A state inspector informed me that the best hives that she inspected were from my students. The right information is powerful.

To view all of our 2016 classes click here, but remember they are filling up so fast! http://www.honeybeesonline.com/bee-classes/

Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone! My bday was Jan. 20th and you loaded up our Facebook page with so many kind comments. Thank you.

NEW BEE VIDEO BLOG

We are having a blast making daily Vlogs. Usually they have something to do with bees, but not always. And we are back to producing more beekeeping podcasts as well. We are hoping to have 50,000 subscribers to our video channel on YouTube by the end of the year. We just cracked 5,060 so spread the word and subscribe and get your friends and family to subscribe. Follow this link to subscribe or to watch our popular beekeeping videos.


Here’s a few ways you can help make this a huge success in promoting beekeeping:

1. Send us your questions, or submit your questions at the bottom of each video. I’ll try and answer them as quickly as possible.
2. Leave your positive comments below our videos.
3. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
4. Feel free to stop in and visit us during business hours and with your permission we’ll add your visit to our vlogs.
5. Tell others. Word of mouth is powerful.

BEEKEEPING VOCAB
Five words to learn are:

Precocious- When bees develop certain abilities at an earlier age than normal, usually out of necessity.
Trophallaxis- The exchange of food from one bee to another.
Polyethism-  Describes a division of labor within a colony carried out at different ages.
Thelytoky- A type of parthenogenesis in which females are produced from unfertilized eggs. More common among cape honey bees but it is possible among apis mellifera (Our European Honey Bees)
Parthenogenesis- With honey bees, it is when a drone develops from an unfertilized egg.

Now you can really show off at the next association meeting.

WINTER TIP
In the next few months colonies in the north will slowly start raising more and more brood for spring, thus increasing the demand for more food and heat. In other words, February and March are when most colonies crash because they simply starve out. And the number of bees are lower resulting in less heat in the hive. Keep Winter-Bee-Kinds on your hives during these critical months. Once it warms up and bees fly, you can switch to our Burns Bees Feeding System and feed 1:1 Sugar water for spring build up.

WINTER-BEE-KIND UPDATE

We are still selling lots of Winter-Bee-Kinds. It’s never too late to add one to your hive as long as it is cold outside. As soon as your bees finish one be sure to refill it with the recipe we provide or purchase another one. Do not think that one is enough if they eat it all early in the winter. Keep feeding your bees for maximum spring build up. Visit our Winter Feeding Solutions now.

PACKAGE BEE UPDATE
We sold out of individual packages of bees in less than 20 days. A new record. Because of the surge of new beginners taking classes and seeking equipment, we have reserved packages of bees only with our hive kits. So if you are looking for a complete kit with packages of bees (pick up only), then click here. If you are looking for just individual packages without hives, we do NOT know of a source we would recommend at this time.

WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR HOURS
We have expanded our hours to help meet the needs of those who cannot call during work hours.
Mon 9am-6pm Central Time
Tues-Thur 9am-4pm Central Time

We work so hard that we are closed to the public on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  217-427-2678

Before you visit us, please be sure we are open and if you are coming to buy certain equipment please call first to be sure we have what you want in stock.

Now, since we serve the entire US, please remember we are in the central time zone. So check out what time it is here if you live outside the central time zone or you may be calling outside of our hours.

BEEKEEPING EXPERTS AVAILABLE 4 DAYS A WEEK
Four days a week we have beekeeping experts available to answer your questions. Recently I saw a big box store bragging that they had a beekeeping expert one day a year. To be successful, you need more than one talk. You can call us Mon-Thur and we are dedicated to help our customers. In fact, our customers prefer to purchase their bees, hives and equipment from us and pick it all up when they take a class. Daily we have prospective beekeepers who call us, not knowing anything about beekeeping, and we are able to walk them through the entire process. There is no reason to stumble around not knowing what to do next.

OUR FACEBOOK PAGE IS A COOL PLACE TO HANG OUT
Stop by and visit our Facebook page. Almost daily we share cool photos, videos and important beekeeping tips, discoveries and important facts. Be sure to check us out.

Thank you for making Long Lane Honey Bee Farms a fun, family business!
David and Sheri Burns

Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We are David and Sheri Burns and along with most of our family we have been helping beekeepers for a decade. We are located in central Illinois and we are a small, American, family business.

We’ve dedicated our lives promoting beekeeping and doing our part to ensure honey bees have a bright future. We are winding down another successful year thanks to our fabulous customers. We are more excited about 2016 than ever before. In 2006 we thought  the interest in beekeeping had reached its peak. Boy were we wrong. Every year thousands join the clan of people that want to do their part to save our major pollinators and improve our precious fruits and vegetables by becoming beekeepers. We are stoked about dreaming what 2016 will be like for beekeeping.

We have already planned a great 2016 classroom roster of beekeeping classes. Click on any class below for more information:
Beginner Classes – Our First Beginners Class is February 20th 8am-1pm. Several spots are still available.
A New Spring Management Class
Our 4th Beekeeping Institute
Queen Rearing
Advanced Beekeeping

A Day In The Bee Yard With David :

June 18  A Day In The Bee Yard  Saturday 8:30-11:30 a.m.
June 24  A Day In The Bee Yard Friday 8:30-11:30 a.m.
July 9  A Day In The Bee Yard Saturday 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Getting Your Bees Through The Winter

Aug   6  Getting Your Bees Through The Winter Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Aug 20  Getting Your Bees Through The Winter Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Sept 9  Getting Your Bees Through The Winter Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Today, I want to encourage you to pursue your dreams whether your dream is to start keeping bees, become a doctor, take up a musical instrument, or to retire. Before I do, let me share some things going on around here.

I’ll be speaking at the American Beekeeping Federation at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach (Jacksonville), Florida January 5-9. Leave winter behind and come get some sun and learn more about beekeeping.

I’m a Christmas junkie. I love Christmas music and start playing it on Thanksgiving Day. Sheri loves it too, but she is not as fanatic about it as I am. I catch her toning down my Christmas music. I love Christmas because my mom and dad always made it a special time to remember the birth of Christ and to be with family. My mom would cook all sorts of foods and candy and my dad always hung lights and decorations. My apologies to the few of you who can’t understand my obsession. To be honest, Sheri is the one who hangs most of the decorations and certainly the only one who cooks all the candy and food. Yep, might as well call me the drone bee.

We hosted our annual Christmas luncheon for our workers last week. We handed out some gifts and thanked them for all their hard work. Haley Watts made a cool Christmas tree out of cake pops. Haley has been helping us ship your items and sometimes answer the phones. The top pop is yellow like a star. Our 8 year old son, Christian, said he wanted to eat that one. He grabbed it but handed it to his nephew JD. I thought that was sweet.

We all worked extra hard to get caught up on all Winter-Bee-Kind orders and we did it. More orders are coming in, but being caught up now means we can ship them out within several business days after the order is placed once we get back to work after the holidays.

I made a commitment not to put WBKs on my hives until I took care of all customer’s orders first. We were aiming for the day before Thanksgiving but we missed that deadline so my next goal was the Tuesday before Christmas and we made that happen. Thank you for all your orders and it is definitely not too late to purchase a Winter-Bee-Kind. I’ll be putting mine on in a few weeks. If you have not ordered one for your hive yet, try it out this year. Click here for more information on our Winter-Bee-Kinds.

This year Sheri and I enjoyed hanging out a day in Indianapolis where we enjoyed a Christmas dinner theater with another couple. We rode around Indy on a horse pulled carriage. It was beautiful! Sheri also surprised me with tickets for us to see Mannheim Steamroller. They are known for their Christmas music and decades of Christmas tours. Their website boasts, “Mannheim Steamroller is the #1 Christmas music artist of all times, selling over 27 million albums. The second highest Christmas artist is Elvis Presley.” They were awesome. We did not get anything free or reduced for mentioning them here. It was just fun.

Package Bees Soon Going Online

Packages of bees will go online late on December 31st, this coming Thursday. I don’t want to stay up late and put them online at 12 midnight, so that’s why it will be late on the 31st. We’ve already sold a bunch of packages of bees with our hive kits and we always reserve lots for first time beekeepers who attend our classes so what we put online is limited. Just watch from our main website: www.honeybeesonline.com and you’ll see a link from our  main page on the 31st. Please send us your business. We know you can get your hives and equipment at other places, but we need your continued support. While buying bees, why not buy the kit with bees. Thank you.

New VLOG

Starting January 1st I’ll be producing a daily vlog. A vlog is a video blog. These will be posted every day on YouTube. So I want to let you know what to expect and what not to expect. This daily vlog will vary in length. It might be 4 minutes one day and 30 minutes another day. Some might be nicely edited and others simply raw video.

Now about content. The content may sometimes have something to do with bees and at other times nothing about bees. Some days may have themes and some days you will just be hanging out with me. This is a huge commitment to produce 365 of these, and I’ll do my best. There are several ways you can make the vlog much more enjoyable and entertaining:

1. Send us questions we can answer on the vlog. Questions can be related to beekeeping or something else if you want. You can also send us pictures. Lots of beekeepers will write to us and include cool photos of their hives. Send them to Long Lane Honey Bee Farms, 14556 N 1020 E. Rd, Fairmount, IL 61841  

2. Leave positive comments at the bottom of each new vlog.

3. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. By subscribing you’ll have easier access to the daily videos and you’ll help boost our efforts. Feel free to subscribe in advance of our first vlog episode. After you follow our link, you’ll see a picture of Sheri and me and to the right of us is a red subscribe button as shown in the picture to the left. Here’s the link:  click here to subscribe to our daily video blog (vlog). We are at 4,947 subscribers now and our goal is to reach 50,000 subscribers by the end of 2016 with your help.

4. Feel free to stop in and visit us during business hours and with your permission we’ll add your visit to our vlog.

5. Tell others. Spread the word and encourage others to come along with us in 2016.

The Pursuit of Life’s Dreams

Cat posters always have catchy phrases promoting positive living and the pursuit of dreams. Most children dream of being a famous athlete or actor. When we are young we have high hopes and aspirations. As we get older our dreams are usually met with unanticipated challenges, obstacles and road blocks. I’ve been a dreamer ever since I can remember. I’ve had a ton of dreams dashed against the rocks. Early on it was easy to let people hold me back, you know the folks that say you are crazy for trying something so outlandish.

Beekeeping at one time was a dream. When I wanted to start, I was my worst enemy. I was worried I couldn’t do it and was uncertain about it all. Then, a friend helped me jump in with both feet. Years later I had a dream of making a living from beekeeping. I first pursued trying to have enough hives to make a  living from honey, back when honey was a dollar a pound. That was challenging. But I held to my dream and simply changed my approach. In the early years I lost and wasted lots of money. But I continued to hold to my dream of making a living in beekeeping. I love beekeeping so much that I was determined to make a living beekeeping. That dream was slowly realized over the last decade but I had to do many things I did not know about. Had I known about all of those challenges I think I would have thrown in the towel.

I took baby steps. First I dreamed of making my own hives. I did and they looked nice so I sold a few on EBay 10 years ago. Then around 2005-2006 I started sharing on my blog what I was learning about honey bees. The following of interested people grew very fast.

Then my dream was to sell more hives we built on EBay and I quickly became a power seller. Then I used my web skills and designed my own website. Then I wanted to teach others about beekeeping but I felt I needed to know more, so I studied long and hard and went to conferences and classes. Even then I felt like I didn’t know enough so I knew that if I pursued becoming a certified master beekeeper it would force me to learn in areas I was weak in. So I spent 2 years reading and studying more and more. Finally in 2010 I passed all my certifications. That was a huge accomplishment for me, and another dream fulfilled.

In 2010 the pursuit of becoming a certified MB was taking its toll. I was low on money and time. I had convinced myself that if I couldn’t get certified in 2010 I’d forfeit trying. But I passed all four modules. So you see where I’m going with this, right? A dream costs so much. But if it is really what you want to do, why not spend a decade of hard work and make it happen.

Slowly over the years Sheri and I continued to be loyal to our customers and class students and they appreciated our sincerity and stuck with us and new customers and students continue to support us and our dream is being fulfilled. It is very rewarding.

Look at my dream to have 50,000 subscribers on my YouTube vlog. I have no clue if that is outlandish or possible. But I’m going to work hard at it all year and see. If I don’t reach that dream at the end of this year, I’ll just adjust my end date further out. But never give up on a dream. Maybe I’ll reach 100,000 by the end of the year, that’s the way dreams work. Sometimes you reach them fast, and sometimes you spend a life time. One thing I have learned is that the pursuit of a dream is probably more rewarding than finally reaching it.

What is your dream?  I’ve learned a bunch about pursuing dreams from the honey bee. I know it may sound silly, but sometimes if we overcome one area in our lives, like finally becoming a beekeeper, it builds our confidence to pursue other dreams. 2016 is around the corner. Don’t give up on that dream of yours no matter what it is. Stick to it. You’ll have plenty of people who will be jealous, and try to pull you down but don’t give up. When you hit an obstacle, climb over it. Be encouraged!
Happy New Year!
David and Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
217-427-2678
www.honeybeesonline.com

Basic Beekeeping Skills Trumps Gizmos And Gadgets www.honeybeesonline.com 217-427-2678

 

Hello from David and Sheri Burns at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms located in central Illinois. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Here’s our youngest son, Christian, taking the first slice on our Thanksgiving turkey. I’m sitting in the middle watching and Sheri’s dad is next to me. We are thankful for our honey bees that made our Thanksgiving meal taste so good. Think of which foods we would not have had without honey bees. Most fruits and vegetables and certainly that wonderful pumpkin pie we owe to the honey bees.

We had a local Girl Scout troop tour our farm. I have a set of frames that have close up photos in the frames instead of foundation. This way I can teach inside my building without opening a hive. This is a very good teaching tool for younger audiences. I enjoy speaking to groups because honey bees always fascinate people.  Their parents asked many questions too and showed an interest in getting started in beekeeping. Passing out some free honey straws is always a winner too.

We have been shipping out our Winter-Bee-Kinds as fast as lightning! Thank you for your patience.

I’ll be speaking December 5th at the University of Illinois Extension workshop entitled, “Getting the Most out of Small Acreage.” 9 AM–2 PM at the 4-H Memorial Camp located at 499 Old Timber Road, Monticello, Illinois. You have to register by November 30th by calling (217) 877-6042 or register online at: http://go.illinois.edu/SmallAcres_Monticello

I’ll be speaking at the American Beekeeping Federation at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach (Jacksonville), Florida January 5-9. Leave winter behind and come get some sun and learn more about beekeeping.

I’ll also be teaching at the short course at the Eastern Apicultural Society Conference held this year July 25-29, 2016 at Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, just minutes west of Atlantic City, NJ. This short course is taught by four certified master beekeepers. If you are new to beekeeping or experienced and want to improve your skills mark your calendar.

These are a few things to start putting on your calendar. While you are planning the year, be FOREWARNED that our classes are filling up fast, especially our Beekeeping Institute and our Spring Management class. Every year people are disappointed that our Beekeeping Institute fills up so fast, so don’t delay if you are planning on attending. Check out all of our classes at: http://www.honeybeesonline.com/bee-classes/

Our first Basic Beekeeping Class is Saturday February 20th from 8am-1pm.

Maybe you stood in long lines and battled crowded parking lots on black Friday looking for a few bargains. Maybe you lucked out and single handedly carried that 92” TV out on your shoulder for half price. But maybe there are still gifts to buy for a few hard to buy for folks in your life. Beekeeping is an awesome Christmas gift. Imagine getting your special someone a hive or two, beekeeping equipment and a package of bees. It is the present that will intrigue them for months, maybe years. We have three kits available now that includes bees. Hives and equipment are shipped now in time for Christmas and bees are picked up here in the spring. Here are a few examples. Every year we sell many kits as Christmas presents. Please let us know, so that we can keep it a secret. Some people have us ship them to an friend’s house so the spouse doesn’t look inside when UPS delivers a huge box.  Click on the images below for more information.

We also carry  T-Shirts, Jewelry and Skin Care for women at our sister site. These make cool gifts!

This photo of me appeared in a newspaper article when we lived in Ohio. I have so many fond memories of starting as a new beekeeper. Look at that flume of smoke. I was scared to death! This was probably my first time to open a hive. ‘94 was before YouTube, the Internet, beekeeping classes and there were very few books on beekeeping. I’m standing right in front of the hive, a rookie mistake. I made many more mistakes that year. Obviously I’ve learned so much more in two decades.

To be a successful beekeeper requires learning and implementing skills and techniques that can only be gained by years of keeping bees. Is there a fast and easy way to keep bees? A button to push? A ton of gizmos and gadgets have come and gone since I started in 1994. Tools, devices, different styles of hives, battery powered stuff, solar powered things, not to mention a host of natural oils and potions leave beekeepers wondering which is best. Some of these probably have helped. But the truth is you can never replace solid beekeeping skills and experience with new gizmos and gadgets.

This spring a surge of new beekeepers will enter the playing field. This is mainly due to the increase interest in beekeeping but partly due to major stores now carrying beehives. These prospective beekeepers are now racing to buy the coveted package of bees to shake in their new hives. Unless these new beekeepers complete a thorough beekeeping course we are likely to see one of the largest die outs of honey bees ever. When bees are mismanaged they usually die.

When you go to a large box store and buy your beekeeping equipment it is unlikely that the clerk can answer your beekeeping questions from years of experience. You may not have any idea where to buy your bees. Or you may be an experienced beekeeper and have friends that will be starting soon. Please lead them to credible classes where they can learn about controlling varroa destructor, seasonal management and when and how to feed bees.

While beekeeping is fun and enjoyable it also requires a certain amount of responsibility as in caring for any animal. The more we are armed with knowledge and skills the more we will enjoy beekeeping.

Here are several suggestions for the new year for both new and experienced beekeepers.

1. Don’t immediately fall for the newest trend or fad. New ideas and discoveries can certainly improve how we keep bees but these should never replace the hard and fast proven principles of beekeeping.

2. Find a credible source, an expert beekeeper, who can evaluate new information and discoveries. People are constantly calling me and asking my opinions on new discoveries because they know I am cautiously optimistic. Most of us are gullible and fall for fancy advertisements that promise easy success. But slow and steady wins the race.

3.  You can read all the beekeeping books in the world but you’ll never gain as much experience and skill as you will when you open up a hive and have an expert beekeeper walk you through it and answer your questions.

4.  Do not put all your hope in the package bee or queen producer. In other words don’t think that if you buy so and so’s bees or queen that your bees will make it through the winter. Bees are bees. The differences between types of bees are so marginally in comparison to the huge challenges that pests, diseases and winter present.

5. Put in the time necessary to keep bees. Every two weeks take a look and see how your hives are doing. Not knowing the health of your queen and colony usually results in a hive dying in the fall or winter. Be taught how to properly inspect your hives and what actions to take to keep your bees healthy.

6. Be careful not to make wrong choices in the spring. You will be elated in the spring if your bees survive. But one or two spring mistakes may cause your overwintered hive to crash and die in the spring. For example, if you divide or split your hive too early, both hives may die. If you feed them liquid too soon nosema can spread. This year we are offering a class specifically for Spring Management: Spring: Splits, Swarms, Supering and Survival

7. Have the right equipment on hand before you need it. You need extra equipment to catch that swarm, a nuc box to keep a spare queen in, a queen cage to carry that queen to the queenless hive etc. Be prepared for anything and everything.

Thanks for letting us share these thoughts with you today. Be sure and check out our following beekeeping media tools:

Videos, Podcasts, Lessons

Happy Holidays!

David and Sheri Burns
www.honeybeesonline.com

Questions Your Bees Are Dying You Will Ask www.honeybeesonline.com 217-427-2678

Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms!  We made it back from our trip to California. We went through 9 states and we posted flyers and promoting our business at various places along the way.

I took this picture from high atop Mount San Jacinto looking out over Palm Springs, California. We enjoyed riding the Tram to the top and back. We had fun observing bees on flowers that we do not have here in the Midwest,

While I was in California I spent a day near Piru, California. Not too far from where I was I saw a few hundred hives pollinating the beautiful crops in that area. You know me, I wanted to get out and inspect the hives, but a NO TRESSPASSING sign kept me out. We ate supper in Gallup, New Mexico where we got  a taste of true New Mexico culinary. They showed us how to tear some fried bread open and fill it with honey. It was real honey too! It was a fun trip but there’s no place like home. Karee and Haley kept things running for us back home.

Our daughter, Jennifer, who answers the phones and works in the office, had her baby. Say hello to Luke, our 10th grandchild and our 3rd grandson. Everyone is doing fine and we are excited to see our family growing.

Today we will answer some of the more common questions beekeepers ask us from around the country.

When Should I Feed And Stop Feeding My Bees?

It's never a bad idea to feed bees especially when installing a new package of bees. As long as bees need to draw out new foundation 1:1 sugar water is always a good idea.

Stop feeding bees when their consumption of sugar water is greatly reduced. This means they are relying on natural floral sources for food.

Bees ALWAYS need fed in late summer and fall. Do not use an entrance feeder at this time or it may cause other hives to rob your hive. Feed from inside the hive from the top during late summer and fall. Check out our suggested feeders.

Always use a candy board during the winter to ensure your bees do not run out of food.

Do not feed bees when they are filling honey supers because you want real honey from flowers, not sugar honey.

When Do Your Packages Go On Sale?

We are excited to offer 3 lb packages of bees for 2016. We've been doing this for 7 years so we know a thing or two about packages of bees. Many people have called us and are concerned that due to the new surge in beekeeping, packages will be more difficult to come by this year. It's possible. We are now selling packages with our hive kits today! See our complete line of available hive kits with and without bees by clicking here or by going to:www.honeybeesonline.com/bee-hive-kits/

Our hive kits make awesome Christmas gifts. They will never guess what that huge box is under the tree. And, sign them up for a class in the winter and they’ll be pumped up for spring beekeeping.  Check out our package bees kits today.

Freedom Kit With Bees

Liberty Kit With Bees

Independence Kit With Bees

Does Beekeeping Take Much Time?

Caring for bees does not take as much time as caring for other animals such as chickens, dogs or horses. Bees are insects and are able to get their own food and water. There are key times of the year when bees may need fed. Most beekeepers enjoy spending time caring for their bees because they enjoy the activity.

Why Is Taking A Beekeeping Class So Important?

Books, YouTube videos and other beekeepers may be a big help. However, learning the craft of beekeeping hands on from a certified master beekeeper can make it much more understandable. This week I spoke to several beekeepers whose hives are failing due to a lack knowledge and understanding as to how to inspect hives and what to do. Their hives could have been saved had they paid closer attention to their queen’s productivity and varroa mites. Taking a class can really make the difference. We now have our 2016 classes online. Registrations fills up fast so reserve your class spots today!

Feb. 20th  Saturday 8am-1pm  Basic Beekeeping Class

Addition Basic Classes are also offered on Saturday March 12th, Friday March 18th, Saturday April 2nd, Sunday April 3rd, Thursday June 1 and Saturday October 15th. For full details on all our classes visit: http://www.honeybeesonline.com/beekeeping-classes/

Spring: Splits, Swarms, Supering, & Survival Saturday March 19th 9am-1pm 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 new spring class. There are many decision that must be made in the spring for the health and well being of your hives. We’ve listened to our customer’s suggestions and finally a class specifically directed at answering spring issues.

Bee Institute June 10, 11, 12th

The Bee Institute is one of our more popular courses we teach. It fills up very fast. It is taught over three days covering in depth teachings on honey bee anatomy, understanding the colony, specialized beekeeping equipment, package bees verses nucs, how and when to feed bees, pests and diseases, best seasonal management practices for each season, how to raise and sell queens, swarm prevention, making splits, field work, mite tests, how bees communicate via pheromones, bee stings and reactions and more. You'll learn how to find your queen, how to mark her, and how to perform a thorough hive inspection, how and when to best add supers for maximum honey production, understanding the waggle dance, catching swarms and removing bees from structures, hive placement, how to work bees with minimal protection, how to move a hive to a new location, robbing and how to prevent it, reversing hive bodies in the spring, what to do about laying workers, royal jelly, characteristics of the different types of honey bees, how to keep bees in the city and much, much more.

Should I be Scared?

Some people are scared of bugs and especially ones that can sting. While honey bees can sting, you'll soon realize that honey bees are not like hornets and wasps. Bees are easy to work provided you take the necessary precautions and learn how to work your bees to minimize stings. I have leaned to work my bees without gloves or a suit. Take a class with me so I can teach you.

Is It Safe To Use Old Equipment?

Used beekeeping equipment is empty because the bees that once were in there died. Why? It is anyone's guess. But, since you don't know if they died of a disease it is best not to take the chance unless you know for certain that no disease was ever present in the used equipment. No matter how much you try and clean used equipment, spores of some diseases cannot be destroy with bleach or freezing.

 

When Should I Put On My Winter-Bee-Kind?

As the weather begins to cool down across the US we begin to ship the Winter-Bee-Kinds. We ship in the order in which the orders were placed. There is really no need to place them on a hive as long as your bees can fly. If it is warm enough for bees to fly, usually above 50 degrees (f), you should consider feeding your bees sugar water. Once it turns so cold that bees will not fly again for the winter, then the Winter-Bee-Kinds can be placed on the hive.

If you call first, you can stop in and pick up winter-bee-kinds. Some days we may ship everything we have made so do call first.

When Do I Add My Next Hive Box?

Always start with only one deep hive body with a new package. When the bees draw out or add wax to 5 or 6 frames it is time to add the next hive body box. Use the same principle for each box. When 5 or 6 frames are drawn out add the next box. Use this same principle when adding supers. If you give the bees all the boxes at once, they may "chimney" up the middle rather than pulling out frames from side to side.

New eBook On Getting Your Bees Through The Winter

"Getting Your Bees Through The Winter." Available on Amazon or from our website.

Don't Be Fooled. Your Bees Need Fed This Fall

Use Our Fall Feeding System

Feeding Your Bees In The Fall

66% of new beekeepers are women! So come browse, shop and read awhile. Besides quality beekeeping equipment, you'll see a complete line of jewelry, shirts, bags and skin care. Be sure and check out Sheri's new website geared more for women beekeepers.

www.beekeepingchicks.com

Check Out More Questions And Answers

Our website is full of additional answers to all your questions...Learn More

217-427-2678  |  www.honeybeesonline.com