Bee at home.

[Mr. Whippy]

Today, we put our new nuclear colonies into their final hives.  It went extremely well, especially since BossLady and I had never handled bees before 

The first frame.  Trying to find the queen, even when they're marked, is quite the feat.



They are really quite peaceful



The BossLady has seen the queen and is quite pleased



Blue dot marks the queen.

Overall, a very fun afternoon

[Grant Lamontagne]

And here I was expecting to see Neil on his couch with a beer in his hand! 

Seriously, I visited a bee farm years ago and thought it was really fascinating!  Since then I've learned a bit about real natural honey, and I really think this is a great idea!

Def

[Ashley]

I feel the only good bee is a dead one.

[David]

Wow Mr. W I wish you great success with your bees!!!

[GraysonK]

I feel the only good bee is a dead one.

[AHB]

Looks like a interesting day..  Good luck with those little suckers.. 

[ryan1835]

woo good luck looking after them 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I love Bee's

So when can we expect honey sales in the Miscellaneous Sales Forum

[Gareth]

Best of luck Nate.

[Benner]

Interesting thread Nate! 

[Neil]

Bags some of the first golden goodness 

We have bees now as well, not intentional, they just decided that under the garden shed was quite cosy  

[ryan1835]

i always thought you had some like nate  maybe its the face there in every picture of yours 

[Neil]

They're just my minions

[cerbera147]

Very interesting 

Where does the humble bumblebee fit in?

[Mr. Whippy]

Bumble bees are solitary bees.  That is, they don't have a large hive with workers.  Each female is a "queen" bee.  Their hive is a single small structure, not extended combs AND they don't make honey.

They are impressive wild pollenators, visiting about 100X more flowers per day than a honey bee.  The only downside is bumblebees are very selective as to which flowers they visit, unlike honeybees which hit up a huge variety of flowers.

In short, they're different but really awesome bees.

(BTW, over 90% of stings are due to hornets and wasps--the predators of the bee world)

[ryan1835]

i once got stung in the head by a bumble bee  its a shame as it killed it, i hate it when i see people trying to kill bees 

[Neil]

I've never been stung by a bee but plenty of wasps have had a poke at me    Evil little sods they are 

[GraysonK]

Mr. Whippy, that's awesome.  I used to love watching the bee keepers at the local craft fairs.  And I love honey comb.  Awesome stuff.  We had to be pretty careful with bees around the house when I was younger and now because my sister and now my niece are allergic to stings, but I love watching them.  And there are these huge bees of some kind that are really neat...they seem to literally drill into the wood of support beams at my sis' house.  You can see the little wood dust being kicked up.  They're neat.  Good for you...that looks like a lot of work but a lot of fun.   

[ryan1835]

at work i found an aerosol can labels "canned death" with a picture of a wasp on it  

[cerbera147]

Bumble bees are solitary bees.  That is, they don't have a large hive with workers.  Each female is a "queen" bee.  Their hive is a single small structure, not extended combs AND they don't make honey.

They are impressive wild pollenators, visiting about 100X more flowers per day than a honey bee.  The only downside is bumblebees are very selective as to which flowers they visit, unlike honeybees which hit up a huge variety of flowers.

In short, they're different but really awesome bees.

(BTW, over 90% of stings are due to hornets and wasps--the predators of the bee world)

Thanks Mr. W 

Very informative answer The bumblebee is only one I've seen apart from the evil wasp 

[Mr. Whippy]

These girls (who were living in the clothesline pole) had to go this spring early.  They attack honeybees (who now live about 30 feet from this shot)

[Mr. Whippy]

Mr. Whippy, that's awesome.  I used to love watching the bee keepers at the local craft fairs.  And I love honey comb.  Awesome stuff.  We had to be pretty careful with bees around the house when I was younger and now because my sister and now my niece are allergic to stings, but I love watching them.  And there are these huge bees of some kind that are really neat...they seem to literally drill into the wood of support beams at my sis' house.  You can see the little wood dust being kicked up.  They're neat.  Good for you...that looks like a lot of work but a lot of fun.   

Carpenter bees.  Cool critters and ALSO really important wild pollenators.  They say the holes are not really structural and just cosmetic damage--seems like serious holes to me...

[GraysonK]

Mr. Whippy, that's awesome.  I used to love watching the bee keepers at the local craft fairs.  And I love honey comb.  Awesome stuff.  We had to be pretty careful with bees around the house when I was younger and now because my sister and now my niece are allergic to stings, but I love watching them.  And there are these huge bees of some kind that are really neat...they seem to literally drill into the wood of support beams at my sis' house.  You can see the little wood dust being kicked up.  They're neat.  Good for you...that looks like a lot of work but a lot of fun.   

Carpenter bees.  Cool critters and ALSO really important wild pollenators.  They say the holes are not really structural and just cosmetic damage--seems like serious holes to me...

I agree...there are a lot of holes in the beams.  But they are neat. 

[prime77]

That's really intersting. Mr. W. I have always thought Bees were really interesting. Those are some cool pics.  A quick question. I grew up in upstate NY and then moved down to western NC. There is a type of Bee or Wasp here that no one can tell me what it is. It's the biggest bee I have ever seen. Looks like a yellow jacket the size of your pinky finger. Scared me to death the first time one flew at my head. Any ideas what it is?

[Mr. Whippy]

That's really intersting. Mr. W. I have always thought Bees were really interesting. Those are some cool pics.  A quick question. I grew up in upstate NY and then moved down to western NC. There is a type of Bee or Wasp here that no one can tell me what it is. It's the biggest bee I have ever seen. Looks like a yellow jacket the size of your pinky finger. Scared me to death the first time one flew at my head. Any ideas what it is?

First time we saw one, we thought some portal to hell must have opened up on the farm.  Called the County Extension Office:

Cicada Killer Wasp.  Huge and essentially passive (except to Cicadas  ).  They sting them to paralyze them, lay eggs in them and bury them  (Like Aliens!  ).

Next time  I see one at rest, I'll try to get a picture.

[GraysonK]

That's really intersting. Mr. W. I have always thought Bees were really interesting. Those are some cool pics.  A quick question. I grew up in upstate NY and then moved down to western NC. There is a type of Bee or Wasp here that no one can tell me what it is. It's the biggest bee I have ever seen. Looks like a yellow jacket the size of your pinky finger. Scared me to death the first time one flew at my head. Any ideas what it is?

First time we saw one, we thought some portal to hell must have opened up on the farm.  Called the County Extension Office:

Cicada Killer Wasp.  Huge and essentially passive (except to Cicadas  ).  They sting them to paralyze them, lay eggs in them and bury them  (Like Aliens!  ).

Next time  I see one at rest, I'll try to get a picture.

LOL!  That's what I was thinking it was too.  First time I saw one of those...whew...I almost peed my pants.  Scared the crap out of me.  Used to see them a lot in NC and SC.  Huge freaking bugs!

[DaveK]

That is pretty cool Mr. W. Bees fascinate me.

How many times have you been stung so far?

[Mr. Whippy]

That is pretty cool Mr. W. Bees fascinate me.

How many times have you been stung so far?

Honeybee stings: 0

Wasp stings: 6 or 8 over 18 years on the farm (But then, I take a different approach to wasps. I hunt them .  Rather than flail and run from them, I go after them and try to "clap" them.  Usually they head off (unless there's more than 3 or so).

Cicada killers, Carpenter bees:  0

[DaveK]

I'd been told that bee-keepers rarely get stung. I wondered how true it was

I have a somewhat irrational hatred of wasps. I generally am a "live and let live" kind of guy, but wasps must be destroyed. Tennis racquets are good for wasp control.

Nasty, nasty, nasty (the wasps, not me )

[J-sews]

Looks like a great new project for you Mr W

Another question: About ten years ago there used to be many beekeepers in our area, but now there are almost none. I've heard reports of some sort of mysterious desease that wiped out the hives, and I've heard reports of "unfair competition from Chinese honey".

Any truth to either of those stories?