How do they handle the heat of the jar?
Beekeeping
- Thread starter Lesgold
- Start date
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Sorry Manpa,
I didnt explain the system very well. Put simply, a board with holes in it is positioned on a hive. Jars are then place into the holes to give the bees access. Some beeswax foundation or a starter strip is placed in the jar to help the bees to start and then a normal bee box is placed over the jars followed by a lid. This provides a dark, reasonably well insulated space. The bees are just confined by the internal volume of the jar and thats where they build comb and make honey. Hope that makes sense.
Cheers
Les
I didnt explain the system very well. Put simply, a board with holes in it is positioned on a hive. Jars are then place into the holes to give the bees access. Some beeswax foundation or a starter strip is placed in the jar to help the bees to start and then a normal bee box is placed over the jars followed by a lid. This provides a dark, reasonably well insulated space. The bees are just confined by the internal volume of the jar and thats where they build comb and make honey. Hope that makes sense.
Cheers
Les
Thanks Les, thought that may have been the case, just wondered if they became heat effected. They certainly are industrious buggers.
layful:
Hi folks,
Went down to check one of my hives today. Thought Id take the phone with me and grab a bit of video footage. Storms are just coming through now so I thought Id quickly edit it and post it. Might give some of you an idea as to how the mini frames are made and presented to the bees.
Cheers
Les
[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/TVTH2ZcmlNM[/video]
Went down to check one of my hives today. Thought Id take the phone with me and grab a bit of video footage. Storms are just coming through now so I thought Id quickly edit it and post it. Might give some of you an idea as to how the mini frames are made and presented to the bees.
Cheers
Les
[video=480,360]https://youtu.be/TVTH2ZcmlNM[/video]
Excellent! Your mini-frames are a great idea and you've got it working really well.
The jars are equally ingenious.
The jars are equally ingenious.
Here’s one for the beekeepers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04...-release-2-honey-bee-collector-coin/100976424
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04...-release-2-honey-bee-collector-coin/100976424
I like that Manpa. Could be a good little investment.
Sadly my beekeeing exploits have suffered a MAJOR setback.
The Lismore flood trashed EVERYTHING I had except a couple of computers, a basic set of tools (all the fancy stuff is knackered), and a the road bag I had on hand after bringing a truck back from Mt Gambier a few hours before the flood.
About ten hives survived and I have handed them over to a beekeeping mate of mine.
I'm out of Lismore now. That's enough of the place for me. Now over in Tamworth and start a job driving HUGE coal trucks in the mines outside Gunnedah this week. Might bring those ten hives over a bit later after things settle down a bit.
For now it's a matter of making a fresh start of everything out here west of the ranges.
Best wishes to anyone else who got washed out.
The Lismore flood trashed EVERYTHING I had except a couple of computers, a basic set of tools (all the fancy stuff is knackered), and a the road bag I had on hand after bringing a truck back from Mt Gambier a few hours before the flood.
About ten hives survived and I have handed them over to a beekeeping mate of mine.
I'm out of Lismore now. That's enough of the place for me. Now over in Tamworth and start a job driving HUGE coal trucks in the mines outside Gunnedah this week. Might bring those ten hives over a bit later after things settle down a bit.
For now it's a matter of making a fresh start of everything out here west of the ranges.
Best wishes to anyone else who got washed out.
Hope Tamworth works out for you. It can get cold up there.
Good luck MM, I hope it goes well for you.
Sorry to hear that MM. Lismore copped an absolute pasting with those two floods. I have heard that my old high school may be closing after the flood damage it received.
Hi Folks,
just thought I’d give an update as to how the hives are going. in most years there would be little action and I would be leaving the bees alone until spring. Unfortunately this is not the case this year. The spotted gums are flowering and I will be working the bees throughout winter. This will upset any long prospecting trips this season but that’s the way it is. Made a quick inspection of a few hives to see how they are progressing. Plenty of bees coming and going with pollen and nectar coming in.
When looking into the hives I can see new white wax being produced. This tells me that there is a bit of a flow occurring. (Can you see the white wax on top of some of the frames? )
Finally, a few frames were inspected. Quite a few are ready for harvest.
Looks like I be robbing and extracting in a couple of weeks. Will keep you guys posted.
cheers
Les
just thought I’d give an update as to how the hives are going. in most years there would be little action and I would be leaving the bees alone until spring. Unfortunately this is not the case this year. The spotted gums are flowering and I will be working the bees throughout winter. This will upset any long prospecting trips this season but that’s the way it is. Made a quick inspection of a few hives to see how they are progressing. Plenty of bees coming and going with pollen and nectar coming in.
When looking into the hives I can see new white wax being produced. This tells me that there is a bit of a flow occurring. (Can you see the white wax on top of some of the frames? )
Finally, a few frames were inspected. Quite a few are ready for harvest.
Looks like I be robbing and extracting in a couple of weeks. Will keep you guys posted.
cheers
Les
Good to see Les and i saw a great program on ABC Gardening Australia with bee's and a young bloke that has made a career out of his hobby now that he has left school. Very inspirational to see our young people succeeding. Cheers Mackka.
Good to hear Macka. Beekeeping is one area that a lot of the youngsters are drawn to. It seems to hit the spot with them in this complicated modern world. Hope the trend continues.
cheers
Les
cheers
Les
Mate as a type 2 i have to bee careful, however, i have found the best Almond Bread recipe which has 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey in it and mate it is a cracker. Cheers Mackka
Hi Folks,
Haven't posted about the bees for a while. At the moment I’ve got this nervous feeling about the Varroa outbreak. It’s going to be heartbreaking for beekeepers and anyone else that relies on bees for their living if this bug takes control. Looks like the infected areas are pretty well clearly defined at the moment. Not sure if they can wipe this little beast out. They only have to miss one or two mites and then the problem escalates. Registered hives can be destroyed but what about the feral colonies and the abandoned or unregistered backyard hives? The experts seem to be confident. I hope they can get on top of it. Two days ago I was out in the bush prospecting. It was thick, scrub that you could barely get through. At the bottom of a gully I noticed the bees working the wattle for pollen. There must have been a hive in a tree reasonably close to that spot. How would you find the hive? Hopefully there is some form of infrared technology that could be used in that type of situation. Anyway, fingers crossed at this stage. I will start testing for mites shortly. At the moment I just finishing extracting a winter crop of honey. Once that is finished, spring will be upon us and swarming season will create even more work. It’s been a big year for the girls. They have produced a lot of sweet stuff for my toast. Will keep you guys posted.
cheers
Les
Haven't posted about the bees for a while. At the moment I’ve got this nervous feeling about the Varroa outbreak. It’s going to be heartbreaking for beekeepers and anyone else that relies on bees for their living if this bug takes control. Looks like the infected areas are pretty well clearly defined at the moment. Not sure if they can wipe this little beast out. They only have to miss one or two mites and then the problem escalates. Registered hives can be destroyed but what about the feral colonies and the abandoned or unregistered backyard hives? The experts seem to be confident. I hope they can get on top of it. Two days ago I was out in the bush prospecting. It was thick, scrub that you could barely get through. At the bottom of a gully I noticed the bees working the wattle for pollen. There must have been a hive in a tree reasonably close to that spot. How would you find the hive? Hopefully there is some form of infrared technology that could be used in that type of situation. Anyway, fingers crossed at this stage. I will start testing for mites shortly. At the moment I just finishing extracting a winter crop of honey. Once that is finished, spring will be upon us and swarming season will create even more work. It’s been a big year for the girls. They have produced a lot of sweet stuff for my toast. Will keep you guys posted.
cheers
Les
Hey Lesgold, a question out of left field please? My son has bee boxes in Lithgow, nsw, and noted that some of his bees have died and he thinks it is due to the extreme cold temps that they have been having. Could this be true? Mackka
Hi Mackka,
The bees normally cope with the cool weather if they are nice and compact and have plenty of food. (stored honey) At this time of year, their stockpile of honey may be getting low and they could be starving. Having plenty of honey above the brood box also acts as a bit of an insulating layer and holds the heat. I wouldn’t expect much activity outside the hives in the cool country for a couple of weeks. (Depends on what’s flowering)
The bees normally cope with the cool weather if they are nice and compact and have plenty of food. (stored honey) At this time of year, their stockpile of honey may be getting low and they could be starving. Having plenty of honey above the brood box also acts as a bit of an insulating layer and holds the heat. I wouldn’t expect much activity outside the hives in the cool country for a couple of weeks. (Depends on what’s flowering)
Les,
years ago I watched a video on tracking bee's, it was an older guy in the USA, this link is not that original vid but pretty much the same.
Mentioning 'Thermal' or IR,
As soon as you post about Bee's, I am off exploring that world again, a really bad habit.
In theory the best way to look for a beehive in the bush would be Thermal spotting scope, you can use it day or night and likely see the buggers flying directionally to and from the hive, as far as I know they would be a consistent temperature for each bee, and you could isolate that with the device.
An interesting idea.
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