daniel lawecki
Member
I've been watching videos on hives and bee keeping. I was wondering if any of you are into this hobby as well. I would like to here from you. This would be a nice time to learn more before spring is here.
Bee keeping
- Thread starter daniel lawecki
- Start date
cowart
US Veteran
You might have better luck on a beekeeping forum rather than a gun forum. Bees are so small that they are hard to hit at any distance.
Beesource Beekeeping Forums
Beesource Beekeeping Forums
shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
I remember reading in one of the outdoor magazines, many years ago, about an old camp cook on a hunting trip who used to sit outside the cook tent and wing-shoot bees with a Smith .35 automatic.
DavidWJ
Member
They're great for .22 shotshell practice. If you can hit one of them you can hit anything!
Seriously, bee keeping is easy and sort of fun, so long as you and your loved ones aren't allergic. Bee venom is one of the most potent venoms on the planet, but not much gets injected. Wipe off the stinger, never try to pull it off, because the stinger is a little sack that will inject venom if its squeezed. Dark Italians are the best bee to start with, just be sure to get them from a reputable dealer or a local beekeeper, they'll be healthier. Think of a beehive as a single organism and treat it accordingly, keeping everything you do as sterile as possible. Get the least expensive hives you can with frames and wax honeycomb starters. Don't use any chemicals, just flame sterilize the interior parts. Get the books "The Hive and the Honeybee" and "ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture" and enjoy the reading. The American Bee Journal - A publication about bees and beekeeping is THE place to start learning about bees.
I had one hive that lived for 7 years without any special intervention on my part, other than regular observation and harvesting of honey. Probably about 100,000 bees in that hive. I got involved with work and let it go for a few months one winter, which was fatal. Foul Brood destroyed that hive. Probably happened because one of the neighbors imported unhealthy bees that infected mine.
Observation hives are interesting. Set one up against a window and you can watch to your heart's content. Enjoy!
Seriously, bee keeping is easy and sort of fun, so long as you and your loved ones aren't allergic. Bee venom is one of the most potent venoms on the planet, but not much gets injected. Wipe off the stinger, never try to pull it off, because the stinger is a little sack that will inject venom if its squeezed. Dark Italians are the best bee to start with, just be sure to get them from a reputable dealer or a local beekeeper, they'll be healthier. Think of a beehive as a single organism and treat it accordingly, keeping everything you do as sterile as possible. Get the least expensive hives you can with frames and wax honeycomb starters. Don't use any chemicals, just flame sterilize the interior parts. Get the books "The Hive and the Honeybee" and "ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture" and enjoy the reading. The American Bee Journal - A publication about bees and beekeeping is THE place to start learning about bees.
I had one hive that lived for 7 years without any special intervention on my part, other than regular observation and harvesting of honey. Probably about 100,000 bees in that hive. I got involved with work and let it go for a few months one winter, which was fatal. Foul Brood destroyed that hive. Probably happened because one of the neighbors imported unhealthy bees that infected mine.
Observation hives are interesting. Set one up against a window and you can watch to your heart's content. Enjoy!
My Father in Law was a Bee keeper for years.It's a interesting hobby.You dont need a lot of room just make sure the neighbors are ok with it and the local zoning permits it.
About the only real problems are Skunks and other critters getting in and eating the Larva and Honey.
My Wife has been wanting to start keeping Bees in our backyard and I'm starting to think it's a good idea,At least it will keep the back Neighbors Kid's out of our yard.
About the only real problems are Skunks and other critters getting in and eating the Larva and Honey.
My Wife has been wanting to start keeping Bees in our backyard and I'm starting to think it's a good idea,At least it will keep the back Neighbors Kid's out of our yard.
dave holl
Absent Comrade
Dan,
Right now I am wintering over 6 colonies of honeybees, and have had as few as one and as many as 35 colonies in the past 50 years. We harvested 35 gallons of honey from those 6 this Fall.
Some of the information and advice mentioned in the previous posts is good, and some not so good (incorrect). My advice to you is to read all you can about the seasonal care of honeybees, equipment needed, and the successes and failures of other beekeepers. Locate a mentor, preferably an oldtimer, to give you confidence.
Here in Ohio there are 3 ways of obtaining bees to start a colony:
1. catch a swarm in the Spring
2. purchase an already established nucleus from a local beekeeper in the Spring
3. order a 3 lb package of bees from an apiary in February or March, to be delivered in the Spring.
Since no drones, male bees, winter over in cooler latitudes like Ohio, honeybees must be obtained from places like KY, FLA, GA, or CA. Drones are not allowed back in the hive starting in September, and starve to death. Drones serve no purpose except to mate with the queen.
IF I purchase honeybees I get them from a local beekeeper who trucks in 2000 colonies from CA and KY. Price is $120/3lb.
The queen dictates the viability of the colony, regardless of the type of bee you get. Entomologists say it is unlikely that any pure Caucasion, Italian, or German honeybees exist because of interbreeding. A queen will mate with any drone from any source.
Look up my previous beekeeping posts here. Several months ago I offered a "honey karma".
Since I am in Ohio too, you are welcome to visit my bee yard and we can discuss bees and guns. I am a member of the local Conservation Club and we can punch a few holes in paper targets.
In the meantime, get a copy of BEEKEEPING IN THE MIDWEST
by Jaycox. It has good advice for ANY beekeeper.Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more.
Dave
Right now I am wintering over 6 colonies of honeybees, and have had as few as one and as many as 35 colonies in the past 50 years. We harvested 35 gallons of honey from those 6 this Fall.
Some of the information and advice mentioned in the previous posts is good, and some not so good (incorrect). My advice to you is to read all you can about the seasonal care of honeybees, equipment needed, and the successes and failures of other beekeepers. Locate a mentor, preferably an oldtimer, to give you confidence.
Here in Ohio there are 3 ways of obtaining bees to start a colony:
1. catch a swarm in the Spring
2. purchase an already established nucleus from a local beekeeper in the Spring
3. order a 3 lb package of bees from an apiary in February or March, to be delivered in the Spring.
Since no drones, male bees, winter over in cooler latitudes like Ohio, honeybees must be obtained from places like KY, FLA, GA, or CA. Drones are not allowed back in the hive starting in September, and starve to death. Drones serve no purpose except to mate with the queen.
IF I purchase honeybees I get them from a local beekeeper who trucks in 2000 colonies from CA and KY. Price is $120/3lb.
The queen dictates the viability of the colony, regardless of the type of bee you get. Entomologists say it is unlikely that any pure Caucasion, Italian, or German honeybees exist because of interbreeding. A queen will mate with any drone from any source.
Look up my previous beekeeping posts here. Several months ago I offered a "honey karma".
Since I am in Ohio too, you are welcome to visit my bee yard and we can discuss bees and guns. I am a member of the local Conservation Club and we can punch a few holes in paper targets.
In the meantime, get a copy of BEEKEEPING IN THE MIDWEST
by Jaycox. It has good advice for ANY beekeeper.Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more.
Dave
The old guy that owned the farm where I had my deer camp kept
bees. He was retired, and we were partners in a few head of beef.
I got deputized to help with the bees several times. I didn't mind
the processing part, of the honey, but hated to fool with the bees.
He never got stung, I did every time I was around them. I had to
hive them a couple times, when he had a sprained ankle. I went
over one morning and he asked me to drive him around over in
a strip pit area where there was a lot of Crown Vetch, said he was
looking for bee pasture. Told him I would take him on one condition, that he not call me at branding time!
bees. He was retired, and we were partners in a few head of beef.
I got deputized to help with the bees several times. I didn't mind
the processing part, of the honey, but hated to fool with the bees.
He never got stung, I did every time I was around them. I had to
hive them a couple times, when he had a sprained ankle. I went
over one morning and he asked me to drive him around over in
a strip pit area where there was a lot of Crown Vetch, said he was
looking for bee pasture. Told him I would take him on one condition, that he not call me at branding time!
HOUSTON RICK
Member
My rural relatives are amateur beekeepers. Their hives either become Africanized or diseased in short time, and then they buy more (condemned) bees. I do not doubt their good intentions, but apparently there is some skill involved that they do not have.
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