Alaska Bee Keeping

[yukonjeff]

Really? You ever ride that straight up and down train thing?

The fourth Street elevator ? Yes I did when I was a child. I have not been back in many years.

[LazyBkpr]

 I was about Ten when my Grandma took me on that thing.. i was terrified...

[yukonjeff]

That was about the age that I did too. I remember that white knuckle ride to this day.

[Zweefer]

That’s the one I remember! TIL fenleon place elevator is also known as the fourth street elevator.


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[MudSongs]

I had to scrape away comb like that -- in the space created by the feeder rim -- just a few days ago.



That hasn't happened for several years.  I take it as a good sign, though.

UPDATE: That video link was supposed to skip to the 3-minute mark.

[LazyBkpr]

Oh crap that gave me goosebumps...   When your that young, it takes a bit of doing to make memory STICK, and yeah, that memory STUCK!

[yukonjeff]

Glad to see your bees made it Mudsongs

I pull my shim the same time I took off the sugar brick so I put a jar feeder on. Was still too cold to open feed then.

That was the first time they built bur comb over the winter in mine. Apparently stimulated to make wax feeding a dry sugar brick. I think they do it because it gives a foothold/ support for the cluster to hang from the inner cover.

[Wandering Man]

Jeff, have you seen this one?

[yukonjeff]

No I did watch that one yet, but I did watch one of his this spring where he lost all his hives over winter. Pretty sure it was mites he had mites on the dead bees. Now he is building a better hive.

I will take a look at it. Thanks.

[Bakersdozen]

I stopped watching at 3:15.  He reverses his boxes in the late fall, putting the food stores under the brood. His bees must work down in winter instead of up, like mine do.  I would also add that limiting your bees to one 8 frame box during the spring and summer is tight.  They would bring in the honey for sure, but you would have to monitor for swarm cells.  I know beekeepers that keep the brood nest in a single 10 frame with supers on top, but you have to be on top of the swarming situation.

[Wandering Man]

I stopped watching at 3:15.  He reverses his boxes in the late fall, putting the food stores under the brood. His bees must work down in winter instead of up, like mine do.  I would also add that limiting your bees to one 8 frame box during the spring and summer is tight.  They would bring in the honey for sure, but you would have to monitor for swarm cells.  I know beekeepers that keep the brood nest in a single 10 frame with supers on top, but you have to be on top of the swarming situation.

It wasn’t his old technique that I thought was interesting. Rather, it is the construction of his new, thick walled hive, venting system and Layens sized frames for the brood nest that I thought might be useful for Jeff.

He’s a bit long-winded, but watch some more Bakers.

[Bakersdozen]

It wasn’t his old technique that I thought was interesting. Rather, it is the construction of his new, thick walled hive, venting system and Layens sized frames for the brood nest that I thought might be useful for Jeff.

He’s a bit long-winded, but watch some more Bakers.

My apologies for the knee jerk reaction. I find anyone can post anything online.  That doesn't make it good advice.

I watched some more, skipped over some of his yakety yak, to see the part about thick walls.  In extreme climates, like Alaska, this could be beneficial.
I do like his inner cover.  I wouldn't mind having some of those and I think could be easily built. That inner cover could be used with an empty brood box on top.  I think he forgets that the bees will propolis everything down.

[blueblood]

Hello! Would a small green house keep them warm during the winter? I would imagine water and feeding would be more necessary.

[yukonjeff]

I stopped watching at 3:15.  He reverses his boxes in the late fall, putting the food stores under the brood. His bees must work down in winter instead of up, like mine do.  I would also add that limiting your bees to one 8 frame box during the spring and summer is tight.  They would bring in the honey for sure, but you would have to monitor for swarm cells.  I know beekeepers that keep the brood nest in a single 10 frame with supers on top, but you have to be on top of the swarming situation.

It wasn’t his old technique that I thought was interesting. Rather, it is the construction of his new, thick walled hive, venting system and Layens sized frames for the brood nest that I thought might be useful for Jeff. 
He’s a bit long-winded, but watch some more Bakers.

I did watch about half the video and my thoughts on a thick walled hive like that is,... it would be great during the coldest part of the winter but the hive needs to warm up inside too on warmer days so they can move onto honey. Especially as you get closer to spring and starting to get some solar gain from the longer days, the insides will stay frozen like a insulated cooler if thick an insulated like that well into spring. I noticed that with my insulated singles this year. They had frames of frozen honey acting like ice blocks keeping them from flying on warmish days this spring.
I took the wraps off when it was still below freezing just so the thin walled hives could gain some heat in the afternoons.
I think his hive is overkill, but should work down there.

[yukonjeff]

Hello! Would a small green house keep them warm during the winter? I would imagine water and feeding would be more necessary.

Unless you keep them at 40 degrees and in the dark they will try to fly when it warms up and all go to the glass or windows and die I believe.

[MudSongs]

...have you seen this one? [The "bee barn" video.]

The "bee barn" looks fine for hobbyists just starting out and working only a small number of hives. But it seems like it would be too expensive and complicated to work with on a larger scale. The design makes sense, but some the common issues he describes in the video may be a bit overblown.  The design seems to follow the principles of the Warre hive. Most of it consists of components that have already been invented at some time other another (e.g., spacers, or what some call dummy boards, double walled brood box, "Vivaldi" box, or what some call a quilt box or moisture quilt, etc.), but it looks like it would work great in his local climate.

However, I still can't imagine many commercial beekeepers buying into it -- because it doesn't look cheap, and for anyone who has an established beeyard with standard 10-frame Langtroths, including backyard beekeepers with a relatively small number of hives, I'm pretty sure it would be big headache to switch over to his "bee barn." Too many new components to build and deal with.

I also think he has more time and money on his hands than I'll ever have.  We're living in different worlds.

It's a well thought out design, but a bit overkill, maybe?

[yukonjeff]

I agree Mudsongs. Too much overthinking it complicates things.

Well we had a cold spring here in western Alaska. Had snow flurries in June with cool 30-40 F temps until just last week. We are now getting up to almost 70 and the bees are loving it.

The cranberries and blueberry flowers are in bloom so we have a bit of a flow going on. Lots of pollen coming in of all varieties. The main Fireweed flow will start next month. I hope to get a modest harvest.

I also want to make a split this summer, but no drones yet. Might order a queen here soon.

Working cranberry flowers

[MudSongs]

I like seeing your hives.  I've been painting mine black since I saw you doing the same and it's working well for me where I live next to a cold ocean.  I'm sure everyone else thinks I'm crazy, but it's working well for me.

We've had a warm spring on the east coast of Newfoundland.  June is often colder than October and full of rain, drizzle and fog, but this year it's been sunny.  But it's not uncommon for my bees to be in the same situation yours are in now.  The black paint seems to make a difference for my bees when the sun only breaks through the clouds for a couple hours a day.

I'm impressed that your bees do as well as they do in your climate.  From what I know from online posts from beekeepers around the world, some of the harshest conditions I've seen for keeping bees are in Alaska where you live, in Newfoundland where I live next to the Labrador Current, and then Iceland.

We should start a club.

[yukonjeff]

Mudsongs
 The black paint really does help. They fly at a lower temp than a white hive. It makes a big difference in the winter also. On a sunny day at 0 F air temp, the front of the hive facing the sun is warm to the touch. It enables the bees to move onto honey using solar heat that they would otherwise not have much of. (Any beekeeper reading this in a warm climate take note don't try this at home unless its winter. Might be too hot in southern states)

And yes. Us northern beekeepers have challenges we face that separates us from the bee keepers in the southern states, and we should have a club of far north beekeepers to share ideas and help others struggling in our not so friendly beekeeping environment.

That's partly why I keep this thread is to help me remember and help any others that face the same challenges, and maybe give them a head start.

[yukonjeff]

We have a high population of bumble bees here. Its a daily battle for my bees to keep them out. When one gets in they cook it and haul it out.

Its not uncommon for me to pick a bumble off a frame during an inspection of a smaller hive.

Here is one they cooked this morning. They burn the hair right off it.