Little Creek Bee Ranch

Essential Oil Stimulant, Base Mix

2010-03-07T10:46:00.018-06:00

This is one of the most important recipes that I mix up and use for the season. Not only does it help to stimulate feeding and improve health of my Honey Bees, it's CHEAP! There are similar products on the "bee market" and very expensive too! I'm all for saving lots of money, and still yet accomplishing the same outcome. Aren't you? So here goes;

I'll walk you through the steps of how I mix this Essential Oil Stimulant Base Mix. First, understand, that this is a "base mix". From this 1 gallon jug of mix, I'll take 2 tsp's for each Quart jar of sugar water, to feed the bees. Get the idea? So, this 1 gallon of mix will last me for the entire bee season, and then some. Also, I use it in my spray bottle, when I enter hives, to calm the bees. A "liquid smoke" of sorts. In my spray bottle, I may put 4 to 6 tsp's of this mix. I think you get the idea.

Lets go through each ingredient and the amounts before we mix. The "what" and "why".

I'll add 1 tsp of Fumi-B to my recipe, simply to ward off Nozema. A bacterial tummy sickness that gives Honey Bees the poopy-runs. An easy visual indication of this, is if you see yellow streaks on the face of your brood box. Bees don't poop inside the house, so when they hit the air, they can't hold it any longer and let go! Leaving yellow poopy streaks on the face of the brood box. If you see this, you'll want to get some Fumi-B sugar water on them quick. For this recipe, I'll use it as an "aid", in hopes of preventing such sickness. I've had colonies die out quick, after I've seen these signs, and not gotten this med on them quick enough. So I take it rather seriously. This Essential Oil mix is primarily fed to Baby colonies, in Nucs, starter bees, and to full strength colonies in early Spring and late Fall. I DO NOT feed this to the "honey production" colonies during Nectar flow. If I did, I'd get a Lemony flavored honey. I don't think it would harm me, but not something that I'd want to sell. However, my first year I did this, not knowing exactly what I was doing, my kids LOVED the Lemony flavor! Great? LOL

To my dry mix, before I add warm water, I'll add 2 tsp's of Fruit Fresh (@ Wal-Mart), simply to keep this sugar mix as fresh as possible throughout the bee season. I don't feel it harms the bees in anyway, and can tell no negative side affects on the bees in using it. Remember, I'm mixing nearly a gallon of liquid and then only a few tsp's per Quart jar for feeding. So it's "cut" to such a degree, that I feel comfortable adding it to this Base Mix.

To key Essential Oils are added. These are 1 oz bottles of oil. On the left, is LemonGRASS oil, and on the right, is Spearmint Oil. DO NOT use "lemon oil", but "lemonGRASS oil". There's a difference. There are 2 types of Lemon oils, you'll want to use LemonGRASS oil. Note; these are CONCENTRATED oils. They'll go a VERY LONG ways. Even though they are small 1 oz bottles, I'll only use 1cc at a time. This "oil concentrate" goes a very long ways. These 2 little bottles, of only 1 oz each, will last me several seasons. The eye dropper you see, is "graduated", or marked. The top marking, is 1 mml, pretty close to 1cc. I'll suck up and use 1cc of each oil. But there is a certain way we add this oil. For now, just make note of the TYPE of oil, and respect the fact that it's a CONCENTRATED oil, and must remain in a GLASS bottle. It will certainly melt plastic, I know, I've tried. (story for another time. LOL) These types of oils can be found at http://www.lorannoils.com/ or your local health food stores.

This item is called Lecithin. A natural Emulsion. Made from Soybean Meal powder. In pellet form. The purpose for this product, is to BREAK DOWN and DISPERSE the 2 oils used above. Oils tend to BALL UP in liquids, we don't want this. We want the oils to disperse among the entire mixture. On the left is a Half Pint jar. The day before I make my Base Mix, I'll fill this jar half full of water. With the lid off, I'll place jar in microwave to bring to a boil, which happens quickly. Use a hot pad, remove jar, and to this water add 1 tsp of Lecithin granules. Screw the lid on jar of water, and shake vigorously. Be sure to use a towel or hot pad. This jar is hot, but needs to be, in order to break down these Lecithin pellets. I'll shake this jar off and on throughout the evening, and also the next morning. Periodically I'll unscrew the lid, let the air in, equalize the pressure and screw it back down. It must be shaken, in order to break down these small pellets of Lecithin. You can find this natural Lecithin at most Health Food stores, a common item. ie, GNK, Health Foods, etc. Set this jar aside over nite. You'll make up your mix the next day. I simply left it out on the counter over nite.

My 1 gallon jug, which is shown empty here. This jug is from Apple Cider Vinegar. The bottle is made of a thicker plastic, versus a standard milk jug. I like this jug for the thicker plastic, and the pop-top lid. Of course, it's been washed and rinsed thoroughly before mixing.

This bucket contains 1/2 gallon of table sugar. I simply used 2 Quarts jars to measure out the sugar, and poured it in this "holding bucket", for later use.

A funnel. Why show a darn funnel? Well, this one fits nicely in the top of the jug above. It also has a wide mouth and a wide spout. You can find this funnel at Wal-Mart in the automotive section.

Here's the entire grouping of ingredients, so you'll have an idea of what you're about to mix. The most important part of this, is the ORDER OF MIXING. Pay close attention to "the order" of mixing these ingredients. There is a reason for doing so. Notice the half pint jar of Liquid Lecithin on the left. It was mixed the night before, and is now ready to be used. This is an Emulsion, and is key, in order to disperse the oils.

Here we go! To your 1 gallon jug, pour in your dry table sugar (half gallon of sugar).

To this DRY sugar, add 2 tsp's of Fruit Fresh.

Then add 1 tsp of Fumi-B, to the DRY mix.

Place jug in sink, turn on HOT water. Let this tap water come to full heat. When you feel the water is as hot as it's going to come out, add water to the jug. Let this level of hot water come up to about 2/3's full. Leave yourself some "shake room", for later on. Once it's 2/3's full of hot water, place cap on securely, hold the jug securely and shake aggressively in order to mix and melt the dry ingredients. Let stand, in a few minutes, shake again, repeat. Don't add anything else to this liquid until you feel it's all melted and mixed together. It shouldn't take too long.

This is what it should look like when finally mixed (1/2 gal sugar, 2 tsp's Fruit Fresh & 1 tsp Fumi-B, is all that's in this jug right now.)

Now, onto the half pint of Lecithin Emulsion. Add 1cc of Lemongrass oil, and then add 1cc of Spearmint oil. (Note; 1cc equals about 20-25 drops of oil.) This emulsion is at room temperature, since you left it on the counter the night before. I do not heat this up at this point, due to the fact that the HEAT tends to evaporate the oils too quickly and also, makes the smell rather strong. Add the oils, screw the lid on, and shake well. The emulsion will break down these oils droplets and disperse the oils. We don't want the oils to BALL UP on the top of the liquid.

Here, you see that I've added the oils and HAVE NOT shaken the jar yet. See the oil balls at the top of the liquid? This is what we DO NOT want to happen in our gallon jug of mix. The tsp is setting to the side only for size comparison.

Once again, screw the lid on the jar, shake well.

With these 2 liquids mixed and ready to go, you're half way there. Here comes the important part.

In the "holding bucket", that just contained your 1/2 gallon of dry sugar, POUR IN the jug of sugar water. We MUST mix the Emulsion a specific way, or the oils will tend to ball up at the top of the mix. We want this sugar water OUT of the jug, FIRST.

Sugar water OUT of the jug, waiting.

To this now EMPTY jug, we'll add our Emulsion mix.

The jug now has the Emulsion mix at the bottom. Place the jug in the sink. If you spill the sugar water, no worries. Place the bucket of sugar water next to the sink. Place the funnel in the top of the jug. With the same 1/2 pint jar, scoop out the sugar water in the bucket. Why? If I poured this entire bucket of liquid into the funnel, the bottle is sure to Rock-n-Roll. No hurries, no worries. Just scoop out the sugar water with the small jar you just used for the Emulsion.

Make certain your funnel is STRAIGHT up and down and won't fall out.

Scoop out all the sugar water.

As you scoop out the sugar water and add it to the Emulsion mix, something happens!! It changes colors to a more Lemony Yellow color, AND the Emulsion disperses the oils among the entire jug. If I didn't do it in this order, most likely the oils would just end up balling at the top of the mix. We want the oil held in SUSPENSION as much as possible. I can't explain the "chemical process" for this, only that experience with Emulsions has taught me that "order of mixing" with oils, is important. Emulsion goes in FIRST, and THEN add the Base Mix. Shake this jug thoroughly in order to mix the liquids. As you let it set over the months, you'll see a yellow film ring form on top, against the jug. Simply shake it again. It's all good.

Also, I use a smaller bottle, to pour my little tsp amounts. It's tough holding this big jug, and pouring into a tiny tsp for measuring. Therefore, use a smaller bottle, for the actual measuring and pouring. Much easier. Remember, this jug is your BASE MIX, from which you operate for specific measured amounts....a few tsp's at a time.

Now you're finished. The reason for showing this bucket, is simple. Take this entire bucket, as you see it, OUT TO YOUR BEES. Let them lick up the residual sugar water, etc. After a day, you can bring it back in for a proper washing.

And finally, the Beekeepers Tool Box. Here's a good idea. You'll end up having small pieces of beekeeping equipment, ie, oils, meds, droppers, etc. A simple $5 plastic tackle box from Wal-Mart works great.

Why go to the trouble to make this mix up? 1) Cost savings - products like this on the market are EXPENSIVE. 2) Feeding Stimulant - the mixture of Spearmint oil and Lemongrass oil, does certainly encourage the bees to forage more. 3) The Lemongrass oil settles the colony down upon inspection - the Queens tend to smell like Lemon, to the bees. When opening a colony, I'll use traditional smoke first, then once in, spritz them with my bottle which has 4-6 tsps of this Oil mix. Settles them right down. 4) The Spearmint & Lemongrass oil together tends to knock out some of the Varoa mites. (per Univ of West Virginia research and findings). I would agree.

I certainly wouldn't go to this amount of trouble if I didn't think it was well worth doing. The 4 reasons mentioned above, are certainly enough incentive for me to go to such efforts.

WARNING! DO NOT sell this product. I only make it for my own personal use, etc. I do not sell this item for fear of Copyright violations. Got the idea?

Suggestion; make this exact recipe up and GIVE AWAY several bottles to your beekeeping friends. It will certainly go a very long ways. We run 15 to 25 colonies of bees, and will likely have 1/4 of this jug left over at the end of the bee season.

Hope I've helped! Keep your bees healthy!!

Thanks, Ken

How to Catch A Swarm-N-A-Bucket!

2010-02-26T12:35:00.014-06:00

When you see a swarm of bees like this, over 12 feet in a tree, what to do? I've lost several very large swarms of Honey Bees, only because they where so high up in a tree (15 to 22 feet), that I had no chance of getting them back. It's heart breaking to just stand there and look at them, knowing you aren't going to be able to catch them back. They might stay there for a day or two, but that's about it. Therefore, I came up with a serious plan for being able to catch them back. If you'll pay close attention to how we go about this, I'm certain you'll benefit from these tips.

Get your gear together, and setup. The pole and bucket that you see, is PRICELESS! The pole came from Atwoods, cost is about $15. It's a paint pole, that extends. The bucket on the end of the pole was bought from Brushy Mountain bee supply company, here's the link for the bucket,

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Hipps-Swarm-Retriever/productinfo/270/

cost is $35. Yes, you can figure out how to make your own if you'd like. I needed one, and quick, so I just bought my bucket.

You might need a helping hand in order to get this job done. Bees that have swarmed, are heavy with honey. Once the main swarm of bees hits the bottom of the bucket, you can't just TIP the pole over and dump it into the hive....the aluminum pole will just snap. After the bees hit the bottom of the bucket, one person holds the pole upright, while the other person screws the black handle lose, and let the pole slide down into itslef, and THEN you can dump them into a hive.

Get the bucket positioned under the swarm and give a solid push. Make certain that the swarm itself is even inside the bucket, before you thump them off the limb. You'll feel the weight hit the bottom of the bucket, and then it's up to you and your helper to get the pole upright, and keep it that way. Once the swarm hits the bottom of the bucket, pull the chord hard and close the lid on top of the bucket. Before I put the bucket up in the tree, I spritz inside with some sugar water.

Once the pole is under control, losen the handle and let the bucket come down to a managable level. Then you can walk over and dump them into a hive body. Be sure to take out several frames in order for the bees to have plenty of room to make it into the box.

You may even have to go back up with the bucket in order to get another shot at the remainder of the bees. You may do this several times, at least. The point here is; once the initial swarm has been in the bucket, that BEE SMELL from the Queen becomes your "bee lure". Use it to your advantage. The bees will come down into the bucket in order to find the Queen. You should have gotten the Queen in the first grab.

You might even leave the pole and bucket up against the tree for a few minutes, in order to the bees to settle in the bucket. You might even put in a few old, black brood frames if you have some extra. Bees love these black frames!

Have your helper take off the hive lid, and dump in more bees. This is repeated about 4 times, or more.

Notice on the hive above, the porch entrance is blocked with a towel. I have placed sugar water on them. I left the hole in the box OPEN. Once the bees get oriented inside this box, they'll start coming out for a look.

You can go back up for more bees.

Dump them in the box. Each time, you must COLLAPSE the pole.

Leave the pole against the tree for a few minutes. Bees that are flying around, will settle down, and find their way into the bucket to have a look around. You can close the lid again, and bring them down. They're a bit confused and lost. Help them find their new home!

Letting them settle into their new home.

Let the bucket lure in more bees.

Be patient. Let the smell in the bucket do it's magic. The bees will look for their Queen BY SMELL. They'll smell her in the bucket and go down to investigate.

Collapse the pole, bring down more bees.

Dump into hive body. Put the lid back on top of the hive body, but upside down...which makes it easier to remove and put back on. We want this lid to stay on while we work the bucket. I want the bees to come back out of the hole, and begin to fan. They'll "pooch and fan", telling their sisters to "Come home! Come home! The food is here, and the Queen is here! Come home!" This is what you're looking for, so watch the bees closely.

Once most all of the bees are in the box, put the lid back on properly.

Give the hole a squirt of sugar water. Let them get oriented to the front of this box.

When you bring your bucket back down, with more bees in it, just set the bucket facing the front of the hive, or tap the bucket off upside down in front of the hive. They'll quickly figure out where their new home is located.

All of these bees got up and made their way into their new home. After about an hour, these bees where all settled down in their new home. We left the hive in this wagon over night, giving the Scout bees a chance to make it back into their new home also. Later that night, well after sundown, I came out and plugged the hole with Cotton. Early the next morning, I gently moved this wagon to where I wanted to place them on my property. Sadly, within a week, we had a bad cold snap, and temps got well below freezing and we lost all of these bees. I was heart broken, after having done all that work. We fed them properly, but to no avail. They don't always grab food that is close by. On the flip side, this was our first big catch with our Pole & Bucket system. We learned a lot, and felt much more confident about our abilities to catch HIGH SWARMS. If there are swarms that are over 22 feet up in a tree, we'll just let them go. By doing so, I populate the surrounding area with "wild bees", in hopes of a KICK BACK swarm in the next few years.

Get you a pole at Atwoods and a make you up a bucket or buy one from Brushy Mountain. You're sure to need one, if you're going to keep bees!! Otherwise, you'll be standing there just like I did for 2 years, wondering what to do.

Why use Solar Powered Ventilators?

2010-02-24T11:53:00.017-06:00

What am I looking at here? These are Solar Powered Ventilators, that I put on all of my Honey Production hives. There are many good reasons for doing this, which I'll cover a little later. Just get the basic idea here. The hive on the right, has the Queen Excluder turned sideways, because I was having an issue with the bees NOT WANTING to go up and through the excluder to work on the top boxes. Sometimes, they'll baulk at going up and through the excluder. If so, you can turn the queen excluder sideways for a week or so, until the girls get the idea. The Queen will likely stay below the excluder, on her brood. After the worker bees get the idea, you can turn the excluder back to it's normal position. An important tip, if your bees won't go up and work high. Anyway...back to the Solar Powered Ventilators (SPV's). You can go to http://www.beecoolventilators.com/ and learn more about this product. I can personally attest to the value and benefit, in helping produce more honey, keeping the bees healthier, and generally getting more production out of my bees, versus NOT having a SPV on a hive.

The total cost to me, including UPS shipping to my door, was $133 each. A bit concerned about the cost, I tried only 1 the first year. After about 2 months, I could easily see a huge difference in the condition of the bees. I then bought 4 more. Since then, we currently run 12 SPV's and will be buying more. They'll pay for themselves the first year, no doubt about it. The rest is pure profit. (and I don't get paid by the company for advertisement either! darn!) Certainly worth the purchase!!

As you go through and look at these pictures, notice how many boxes of Honey I have on these hives. Here are some of the reasons I use the SPV's. Bees bring in lots of "moisture". Get the moisture OUT, and the bees do MUCH, MUCH better. They're healthier, produce more honey and have less issues with Varroa Mites. The mites thrive on the moisture.

Another reason, the honey cures faster. The bees won't stay inside the hive and fan, fan, fan. I get more bees out in the field, working harder for me. I get "more work" done, with more bees. I'll help them "fan", ...while they go out and do more work in the field for me.

Notice that this little hive is set close next to the trees. Not really the best spot for such a set up. The bees do SO MUCH BETTER in full sunlight. Sun up, to sun down...put them in full sun. And yet, this group of girls gave up 4 full boxes of great honey. When the shade hits solar panel, it begins to shut down, and the bees begin to stop working. Shade tends to PROMPT the bees to shut down for the day. If the hive is in full sun, even past sun down, the bees keep working well past sun down. I get much more honey, from the bees working LONGER into the evening.

Notice we have cattle panels around our hives. I took these panels down, and just let the cows eat the grass down. The bees tend to keep the cows from working the hives over. One bee flying into the ear of a cow, will soon send the cow packing. ha! It became too frustrating dealing with the weeds....and I didn't want to weed eat around the hives. These colonies are in full sun, and well past sun down. They produced some great honey for us.

Notice the Moth Trap bottles hanging on the fence? They work! Use them! Learn how to mix up your own Moth Trap mix. Just remember to top off the bottle with water so that the sun doesn't evaporate all the liquid out of the bottle. If you don't, you'll have a sweet slurry in the bottom of the bottle, and the bees DO LOVE this sweet slurry! They'll all pile into the bottle, and die! It's happened to me! Makes a grown man cry! Keep the bottle half full, top it off with clean water when it gets low.

There are 5 boxes on this STRONG colony. The SPV's get the bees really moving. In the future, I won't let them get this high. Reason being, the Small Hive Beetle will want to "go high" and stay high. The beetle will want to get away from the Wintergreen disc that I've placed down low on top of the brood box. Keep the boxes knocked back to 2 or 3. Harvest some of the honey.

Again, the colony is set up next to this line of trees. I've since moved the hives away from this tree line. The fan, inside this SPV box, will run, well past sun down. Inside this box, on top of the hive, is a small "computer fan", with a 70 degree thermal couple. When the colony heats up down low, the fan is tripped on when the temps get over 70 degrees AT THE TOP of the colony. The solar panel at the top, runs the fan. The fan is strong enough to suck up FRESH AIR from the bottom of the colony, THROUGH the screened bottom board. All of our colonies have screened bottom boards on them.

Fresh air coming up from the bottom of the colony, is a HUGE key in keeping your bees healthy and the Queen loves the fresh air! She really takes off and lays great! She loves the fresh air! And besides, 2 shallow boxes of honey, nets me 5 gallons. Count how many shallow boxes I have on the hive to the left, in the picture above. About 12 gallons of honey sitting there!

Again, these colonies are set up too close to the trees, in a corner, and have been since moved.

About once per week, I'll get some paper towels and use Windex to wipe off dirt, pollen and bird poop from the face of these solar panels. Keeping them clean, helps them run more efficiently.

Initially, I was a bit nervous about Oklahoma Hail hitting these front panels and busting them up. After a few nasty thunderstorms, my concerns where put to rest. They're tough. They've stood up to some serious storms, with no issues. The hard plastic pedestals that these panels are mounted on, have never been busted by strong winds. I've never had any break off, nor have I had hail break the panel face.

Here is a short list of basic benefits to running SPV's on your colonies;

1) It helps remove more harmful moisture, quicker.

2) More bees leave the colony to forage, with less bees staying inside to fan.

3) With less moisture, there is much less of a Varroa issue. Mites thrive on moisture.

4) The bees never pile out on the front porch and hang, on hot summer days.

5) The fresh air encourages the Queen to lay much better brood patterns!!!

6) The honey cures out quicker and capping seems to be quicker.

7) In full sun, the colony will work well past sun down, gaining you more production.

8) I certainly get more honey from each colony that has the SPV on top!!!! 4 boxes min.

9) The bees pay for the SPV the first year, the coming years are pure profit.

10) Since the bees are healthier, they're easier to care for, less medications.

11) No need for a long power cord, these units are self sufficient.

12) Hail & high winds haven't done any damage at all. They're tough.

If there is a draw-back, it's "the ants". The ants like to go up and lay eggs near the fan, and wiring inside. There seems to be a mild electrical pulse that attracts the ants. This is quickly taken care of by rubbing fresh, wild mint, inside the box and brushing out the ants. No big deal, when you consider all the benefits listed above. The bees aren't harmed in anyway, from this fan sitting on top of their hive. There is a thin plastic screen that is attached to each side of the fan, which will keep the bees away from the moving blades of the fan.

I've also made 1" spacers, with hardware cloth (screen) stapled to the spacer, to keep the bees off the bottom of the slotted fan & box. They seem to like to Propalize a part of this screen. If they think it's too much air on them, they like to "cut back" on the air flow. ha! But this only shows up during early Sept, as they want to close up all cracks and holes in preparation for winter. I DO NOT leave these SPV's on past Oct 1. By that time, they've been pulled off and are in the honey hut for storage. Every other year, I have to remove the fans for a good cleaning. The blades of the fan collect up pollen, dust and gunk and need to be cleaned up with some paper towels and Windex. If there is any propilis in the slots of the fan screen, you can soak these plastic screens in a bit of rubbing alcohol and will soften the propilis for removal.

All in all, the SPV's are well worth the investment and certainly worth keeping your bees healthier. They've allowed me to create a very large amount of honey, per colony. Certainly more than a hive without the SPV. I'm very pleased with my "new toys". ha! A good investment for the bees. And a great investment when it comes time to harvest 5 boxes of honey, or more.....PER HIVE!!

How to make easy Queen Candy~!

2010-02-16T08:34:00.016-06:00

At some point in your Beekeeping adventure, you'll need to learn how to make Queen candy, for the Queen cage. Here's a simple recipe that you can use. I'd suggest you get a 3-ring binder and start collecting "bee recipes", you'll be glad you did later down the road.

Here's the basic recipe; 3 tsp's powdered sugar, 3 tsp's pulverized table sugar, & 1 tsp honey.

The reason we take the time to pulverize the sugar, is "texture". You can put 1 cup of table sugar in a blender and pulverize the granules. It won't take much blending to create the texture we want. The sugar in the blender will get packed at the bottom as it turns powdery. Shake it lose, blend, shake lose, blend. Turn off blender. Feel the texture of the sugar. It should be half way between powdered sugar and normal table sugar. If you just use straight table sugar to make your Queen candy, it's too grainy....to much texture. By taking the time to pulverize some table sugar, we now have enough textured sugar to make an excellent Queen candy. When mixed with powdered sugar, this gives us just the right consistency and texture that we're looking for in our candy. It's worth doing.

The plate shown below, has the 3 tsp's of powdered sugar and 3 tsp's pulverized sugar. Notice how the powdered sugar holds the form of the tsp., the pulverized sugar does not. This is what you're looking for.

Mix these sugars together with a fork, mix them well. Make a crater in the middle of this pile of sugar.
In this crater, pour the 1 tsp of honey.

Use your finger to get all the honey off the tsp. And lick finger completely clean! ha!
This mix is now ready to work. Although it looks as if this is not enough honey, for what you are to mix, DO NOT add more honey than 1 tsp. This is enough honey to get the consistency that we need to make good Queen candy.
Use the side of your fork to work the sugar OVER and ON TO the honey. Don't smash it just yet, otherwise you'll have a mess on your fork. Just use the side of your fork to CUT the sugar into the honey.
With your fork, pull the sugar from the side of the plate and work it into the honey.
Now the candy is taking shape. Keep scraping and working sugar into candy. You can even flip this candy over several times.
Now use your fork to apply some pressure to the candy in order to suck up more sugar. Press firmly and flip this candy, using your fork to manipulate the candy. It will seem as if you didn't put in enough honey....it's fine....just keep working in the lose sugars.
Now it should be firm enough for you to pick up with your fingers and begin to work, or knead, the candy with your fingers.
Fold the candy into itself, pressing with your fingers and working the lose sugar into the candy.
Press firmly, and keep folding and working the lose sugar. Don't give up just yet, and DO NOT add any more honey.
The candy has now changed colors and should look just like what you see in the picture above. But there is still more lose sugar to suck up on the plate.
Take a moment, and use a damp wash cloth to wash off your sticky fingers. Dry your fingers. This helps you handle the ball of candy without it sticking to your fingers any longer. Strange, but it works.
Now fold and press, fold and press.....and fold and press. Your objective now, is to get all the lose sugar OFF the plate and into the ball of candy.
You can see the tips of my fingers, how firmly you have to press. It may seem tiring to your hands, but this is the very best way to get some good Queen candy made up. The reason being, is so you can FEEL what your doing. We're using our fingers to feel what the candy is like, it's texture.
Take this lump of candy and roll it in your hands to form a ball.
Pretty uh? Looks nice! Let this ball of candy set in the middle of the plate for a little bit. If your hands are sticky, use the wash cloth, wipe them again and dry your hands. We want this ball of candy to be able to hold it's shape for the most part. We don't want the ball to go too limp. We want it to hold it's form. This tells us that we have some good Queen candy, and it won't soften too much in the cage and run all over the Queen inside.
Roll this ball of candy in your hands, into a ROLL.
Pinch off 5 equal size pieces of candy. This recipe will make 5 candy plugs, for the standard size wooden Queen cages.
The candy is done, set it to the side. Get your wooden queen cage and find the end that has the SLITS on the side of the wood. Usually, there is a small sliver of wood that needs to be CLEARED from this slit. Use your fork, and CLEAR OUT this slit. The slit in the side of the wood is there for a reason. In case the queen cage is placed in the hive in such a way as to close off the screened side of the cage, the Queen still has a way to breath. Sometimes, beekeepers place this cage in between frames the wrong way. The screen should be left UNCOVERED and facing the center of the brood nest. This is an important step. Make sure that these 2 slits are clear of any blockage!
After you've cleared the slits in the side of the cage, find the OPPOSITE end. This is the hole where the candy will be placed. If you look closely, these three holes are NOT all the same size. The hole that takes the candy, is a bit smaller than the other two holes. Set this small ball of candy in the SMALLER of the 3 holes. If you set the candy in the other end of the cage, you'll then cover the 2 slits....which you just cleared. The Queen needs to BREATH.
Using your fingers, work this candy into this hole. Pressing it hard enough to push some of the candy out the small hole on the end of the cage. With your fingers, work it smooth and even with the top of the cage and end hole.
Check to see that the candy has now protruded out this small hole, but DO NOT let the candy push out beyond the edge of this hole. Using the tip of your finger, push some of this candy BACK IN.....so that the candy has not protruded from this small hole. The reason being; when this small amount of candy comes in contact with something, it makes a bit of a mess, sticking to whatever it touches.
If you feel that the ball of candy was a bit too big for the hole, and you can't get it all worked into the hole evenly, use your fingers and pinch off a small amount. Set this small amount of candy on the plate to be used with the other cages.
Work this candy smooth on the inside. Form it on the inside evenly. Just remember, the more candy you put in the hole, means that this is just that much more candy that the bees have to eat through in order to release the Queen. If this "candy hole" is evenly filled with candy, this is enough candy for the bees to eat through in a few days or more. No need to add more candy than what this hole will take.
Take a moment and look at your work! Nice! Time to place the screen on top.
Using a hand held staple gun, place 6 staples on the screen. This is the tricky part. There isn't much room for stapling this screen on the cage. I start with the candy end of the cage. All I need to do is catch the corners of the screen in order to keep the screen down. The issue is, I can't let a staple protrude down through the small holes on the end of the cage, where the Queen comes out, or goes in. If so, this could damage, or injure a Queen only to be superseded later on.
Do the best you can to place the staple on the side, just enough to catch part of the screen.
If the staple doesn't go down all the way, use the back side of your fork to PUSH the staple down. It will pop down, with a bit of force.
This is what it should look like from above. Notice the placement of the staples.
Look at the end, check the holes to make certain that the staples have not protruded down through these small holes on both ends. If so, remove the staple and do it again. You don't want to injure a Queen when she comes out, or goes in.
Check the candy end also. If there is a staple which has come down through this candy hole, take the time to remove the staple and do it again.

You're done! You've made a nice candy cage for a Queen and a few attendants. I'll do 5 cages at a time, over the weeks I'll make up more cages. I'll store my cages in an old plastic ice cream tub, 1 gallon size, and place a damp wash cloth over the top of the cages, placing the tub in the frig too keep moist. Later, when I'm ready to use them, I'll take them from the frig the day before and let the cages warm to room temperature.

Oh! If there are any small pieces of Queen candy left over....just give them to your kids! They'll love ya for it !! ha! Have fun and enjoy your new found skill.

See ya, Ken

ps. credit goes to Carl & Euvonne Harrison who gave me tips on how to make this candy! Thanks!

Change your thinking about the SHB's and IPM strategies

2010-02-09T16:04:00.010-06:00

The following letter, is in response to some questions abut HOW TO handle the Small Hive Beetles, and other pests that we must deal with in order to keep a colony of Honey Bees healthy. I felt it was important enough to copy it here...for all to learn from. I hope this helps your bees also. Picutures forthcoming.

"Okay, I gotta make sure I'm not misunderstood here.....LOL ....I have to agree with Greg here. I just mentioned that I liked the "beetle trap"....because it was so thin. I didn't say I liked "the bait". I couldn't tell what Pluta was using. Greg might be right here. If it is ROACH BAIT......I'd figure that the beetles SMELL IT....and fly on into the hive. Maybe...maybe not. I sure wouldn't want to LURE THE BEETLES ON INTO the hive!! Yikes! however, in talking to various BIG BEEKERS in the far southeast...and east coast....Georgia and Florida DOES HAVE terrible beetle issues. I still strongly believe in my "oil management" techniques, and have NO DESIRE to LURE in more Beetles. however, I do think I could incorporate such a THIN beetle trap, in the upper part of my hives. Since the Wintergreen disc sets on top off the brood chamber, top bars.....the beetles may tend to get AS FAR AWAY from this disc as possible.....hince...going high. By placing this THIN beetle trap (minus Pluta's lure), at the top.....and maybe placing a small piece of Wintergreen disc inside...might help knock out a few bettes. The bettles simply want a DARK PLACE to go....to get away from the bees. It might work....it might not. A simple attempt is in order.

Also, I've learned, that THE HIGHER the stack of honey boxes over the brood nest......the FURTHER room I give the beetles to run HIGH and hide. I didn't think about this much until I pulled the 4th and 5th boxes from tall hives 2 summers ago. Mmmmm? It wasn't that the "disc's" didn't work.....it was simply that I was giving the COLONY TOO MUCH room...by continuing to add boxes, without taking honey off, that could have certainly come off anyway. Also, I understand, that if you do pull a few boxes of honey, before main harvest, this will STATISTICALLY produce you more honey. I did this last year, but since we went DRY in early june.....i could tell no difference. I will pay closer attention to this principle for this year. We could be in for a rather large honey crop this year....as it is SO DARN WET!!! No promises...I know.

As far as "luring the beetles away" from the hives.....this would be the function of THE MOTH TRAPS....in coke bottles. In my "sandwich box" trap...the center cup.....is placed a small amount of MOTH TRAP mix. The SHB's do love this mix. But they are so darn small, I can't easily see them in the Moth Trap bottles, with all the other THOUSANDS of bugs that are in there too!!!. I'd assume that they easily find these big bottles and dive in for a feast. I've actually seen them flying around the hives....with their little butts hanging down.....looks like a miniature June Bug of sorts.....and they're fast too! No way to slap them out of the air....not happenin'! ha! Therefore, we're left at the mercy of what we "already know". Beetles like bee hives. If you don't have them....you'll get them. If you got them...you gotta find a way to GET THEM OUT. I've seen too many pics of Beetle larva pouring out the bottom of the hive. That's just gross neglect on the part of the Beeker...sorry. It seems too easy, in my mind, to just throw on a Wintergreen disc...and knock them out...and keep them out. If the stack of honey boxes gets too high......and there is only 1 disc down low...then yes, maybe the beetles will run high. Of course, you could put 1 disc high as well....but this is a bit much....if anything, I'd cut the disc in half...or quarter it. But heck....just harvest the honey and be done with it. I want the honey anyway...right. AND..this will COLLAPSE the bees a bit...and focus their attention on finishing off the remaining boxes to be compeleted.....AND....force out more beetles, etc. When bees are tightly packed....just enough to where they won't think of swarming....the BAD BUGS have fewer places to run and hide.

Here is a YouTube video of a Beeker in Arkansas, who has made an Oil Tray bottom board....i thought this was unique......a bit messy in my mind....but worth considering. i might try one??? See what you think.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/user/jfreeman1944#p/a/u/2/G4Na95EjrPI
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/user/jfreeman1944#p/a/u/1/v8DQpla0biI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMiBuyyQ-BA&feature=related

Wow! a lot of work just to make this Arkansas Beetle trap up!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkfqxYL-45E&feature=related

I must go back to what Ray Crocker taught me over the phone. When he and his bee-buddies where testing Oils.....they eventually determined a RATIO of Canola oil and Wintergreen oil, that would knock out the mites and SHB's, but not harm the bees. This was so effective and so effecient...they headed off on a road trip to the Georgia and Florida State bee inspectors and actually had their BOTTOM BOARD TRAYS in tow!! ....in order to actually SHOW THEM what had been accomplished. Having kept my bees on these oil recipes that Crocker taught me, over 4 years now....I can see why. IT'S SIMPLE !! LOL. I can appreciate all these Beekers, coming up with all kinds of methods for traping out and getting rid of said BAD BUG. When you scour YouTube, looking for this kind of stuff....you really get a feel for what all kinds of things people are trying.

Yes, again, I'd agree with Greg....these BIG commercial keepers DON'T HAVE TIME.....they'll cut all the corners that they can. But did you see how many bettles where in his trap!!!! Good grief! that would tell me that the hives aren't checked that often. In other words.....THE QUALITY OF CARE suffers.....the larger you grow. The more hives......the less quality care....in my way of thinking.

In my phone visits with some larger beekers in florida and georgia....i asked them...."Do you know what Essential Oil management is for your bees?" ha! You should have heard their answers??/ ha! They just don't know. That's all....they just don't know.

I feel very fortunate to have learned from Mr. Crocker. Yes, he's still around. I'll make a point to contact him about once per year....just to visit. He did say that he liked the Mega Bee Diet pollen substitute. He was a bit leary to try it, but did so anyway....and his comment to me was...that he'd go ahead and use it. Mmmm? that's high praise comin' from a 60 year beeker!

I don't think I'm inclined to put ROACH BAIT up in my hives either. I find enough roaches in the lids, when I open up, etc. I don't need more. I know most people know about Boric acid and powdered sugar, as being a simple homemade roach killer. I just don't know about putting it in these thin bettle traps. Haven't convinced myself of that just yet. My Ace in the hole????? A full size wintergreen disc, ontop of the brood chamber....and keep the honey box stack under 3. ....if you can.

I don't like the idea of having to buy Guard Star, to spray around the hive, on the ground either. Just more cost...just more work. Beetles fly from one hive, to another, to another, to another..until they find one that they're comfortable with. keep all your hives on oils and strong.......(always in FULL SUNLIGHT)....and they'll all head over to Gregs hives...for a nice safe, warm home! ha! ha! (sorry, couldn't resist)

Here's what can happen if you neglect your colony, and this beeker atleast admits it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB6x68J6uLo

This just looks like something you'd want in your hives.....right? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQDFl_giWwc

John Pluta and his THIN beetle traps (like I said, i like the THINness of this trap...not what he puts in it) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0mO-cYTZ58

And yet ANOTHER way of doing it....with boric acid and powdered sugar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_KDPp8H6PU

This is just disgusting to look at, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibbEY2J9kfY&feature=related

This is a unique design that merits some consideration, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egLroAZ_Qn0&feature=related

Now....if you took the time to look at these YouTube videos, you can certainly see the issue with the darn little black beetle. What's the one thing, that all of these videos HAVE IN COMMON? Think about it a sec. Ans; they want to either TRAP them, ATTRACT them, or DROWN them. ..................uh? Why not DRIVE THEM AWAY? We just don't want them....that's all. Just learn how to DRIVE THEM AWAY. If I can "kill'em" fine....but I don't want them INSIDE in the first place. I don't want them around at all.....I don't care WHERE they live....I just don't want them living INSIDE my bee hives. heck, i'm not going to kill ALL OF THEM. They just don't like the Wintergreen discs. If they stay inside TOO LONG....they die. They can leave on their own accord. DRIVE THEM AWAY. Sounds like common sense to me...how 'bout you?

All of these videos, most of them anyway...require you to BUILD something....drain something.....or buy something. UG! Too much darn work.....only to get rid of a LITTLE BLACK BEETLE. But if that's all they know...that's what they'll go with.

Here's an idea; 1 glass gallon jug, add 16 oz of Canola (or Corn) oil, to this add 1 oz of NATURAL Wintergreen oil (from www.lorannoils.com ) ....Go to Chilis resturant for Valentines dinner....ask for a stack of Coasters. Drop a few coasters in this mix, one at a time.....let them soak, they'll be fine. A full brood box gets 1 full disc. 1/2 a brood box gets 1/2 a disc. If the bees are on 3 frames, i'll cut it to 1/4 or less. Under 3 frames they're too tender and I don't give them anything. They'll chew up, walk on and drag out pieces of this disc. This RATIO of oils, is strong enough to knock out SHB, varroa and trachea mites. If it takes care of the beetles, then it's taken care of T-mites too. Crocker warned me, DO NOT go below 16 oz of Canola oil...if anything, you can go up to 23 oz of Canola...which dilutes the mix a bit. I keep it at 16 oz and I use Corn Oil....although, this year I may switch to Canola...why? just to change things up a bit. Canola is more expensive. And let the disc drip off a bit before you put it on. heck.....Crocker has used SHOP TOWELS and done this before. That's HUGE in comparison to a small disc. He just slaps the towel right down on the brood chamber...lets'em chew it up and out. A bit aggressive in my way of thinking. My point? the discs are a very safe and easy and CHEAP and efficient way of DRIVING AWAY (or killing) the BAD BUGS we have in our colonies. Too each his own. (pssssst ! and I'm not trying to SELL you anything either....just the fact that I've had great fun, and much success doing it this way..but, whatever.)

Off my soap box now! ha! gotta run...I hope i helped someone. check us out at www.littlecreekbeeranch.blogspot.com .....some cool pics and lessons.

see ya, Ken, Little Creek Bee Ranch."

How smart are Honey Bees? You decide!

2010-02-07T13:41:00.000-06:00

Spring of 2008, I got a phone call from my mother-in-law, who had a small swarm of bees in her back yard here in Inola. She only lives 2 miles from us, on the other side of Inola. I reassured her everything was okay, that I'd be coming over straight away to catch them up and all would be okay. When I arrived, this is what I saw.

As I arrived, I initially didn't see the bees right away. I was looking "high". I was expecting bees to be hanging from a tree limb above my head somewhere. She had to point them out to me, and they where only 5 yards away from her back patio. Surprised to see them so LOW, I was pleased that this would be an "easy catch". (so I thought) Now, how to get them "caught".

Take a good look at this little swarm of bees. They're just hangin' out on an Azalea bush. They're only about 6" off the ground. Mmmm? What to do?

My in-laws are great gardeners and take great pride in their flower beds, etc. So, I didn't want to just go to cutting limbs, etc. Out of respect, I decided to forgo any "cutting" and approach it a different way.

Since the bees where so low to the ground, I could simply spritz them with sugar water, and slip my little "carry box" (a Nuc box for swarm catches..which I modified) up under this little swarm of bees, give them a good tap and shake them off the limb, and into this box. A simple strategy.....at least I thought so.

I did just that...and watched the bees fall into the box, settle on a few frames. I already had a bottle of Sprite, set up for them, ready to close them off, and take them away.....until.....?

I see them "pooching" on the front porch. If you look closely, this bee behavior tells me that the Queen is inside and the bees are telling their sisters to "Come home! Come home! The Queen is inside. We have food and a new home! Come back and get inside!" I knew this was a good thing. This is the behavior that I look for when catching swarms in Nuc boxes. Give them a minute or two to orient themselves and you should see the same thing. You can even see their Nosenov gland on the tip of their abdomen.

They where coming and going nicely. I was pleased with what I was seeing. I stood back and admired what I had just accomplished, all while my in-laws where watching me from the back porch, asking me if I had finally caught them.

I turned to talk to them and acknowledge their questions....when all the sudden, the bees starting POURING OUT THE FRONT PORCH of the box! Ug! Now what? Sadly, I have no more pictures of this event, due to the fact that we went into panic mode, in order to get these bees caught back AGAIN! ha! ha!

I looked down and saw all the bees running along the OUTSIDE of the nuc box, headed to the back side. Not sure of what I was seeing, I got on my hands and knees to take a much closer look. After a minute or two of study, I determined that THE QUEEN must have flown out and gotten over to the side of the box (or she didn't initially make it into the box in the first place?) and hunkered up UNDER the wood handle of the box, out of sight. I watched the bees, as they came to this spot. I grabbed my Queen catcher and gently worked my finger up under the wood handle to get her to move. It took a few trys, but she eventually came out, and we took a snap shot with the camera. If you look closely, you can see the Queen in the TOP LEFT of the above picture, with her attendants surrounding her. She was on the move! I gently caught her back with the Queen catcher. Once safely secured in the Queen catcher, I THEN PLACED THIS CATCHER IN THE BOX, in the back & on the bottom. All the bees began to flow back into the Nuc box, and all was well.

But the story doesn't end here!

I finally got these girls plugged up in the box and took them back home to my Honey Hut, just 2 miles away. I left them inside the Hut, in their box, with air, sugar water and with their Queen still inside the Queen catcher. So, they weren't going anyway.

The weather wasn't so good, and I had to wait a few days before I hived them into their new home. On the third day, I was able to get them safely setup in their own hive body. I recall I did this in the morning, around 9am.

Later, that same day, I got a call from my mother-in-law again. She was a bit panicked, and mentioned that "...these bees are back again!" Rather surprised, I said that they where probably looking for their Queen. I reassured her, that they would come back home in a day or two, just leave them alone, don't bother them and they'll head back home. To reassure her, I did make another trip back over to her house to check them out and let her know I cared. Sure enough, some of these bees WHERE ON THE SAME BUSH, ON THE SAME LIMB in fact.....a bit more fidgety than usual. They where certainly looking for their Queen. I didn't feel that these where all "scout bees"...there were too many of them. I'd say about half the colony had left their NEW HOME that I had just given them early in the day, and CAME BACK to the same spot that I caught them only 3 days earlier!!!!!

So, what's all this mean, as far as bees go? Several points of interest actually. 1) When I caught them, and finally got them all in the box, I closed them up and took them 2 miles away, and sat them down in my Honey Hut....for 2 1/2 days. They didn't even know where they were going, nor did they know where they were sitting. 2) When I finally hived them, about half the colony MADE A DECISION to go BACK TO THE SAME LIMB that they where on several days ago. 3) This tells me that they can "choose", to stay or go. 4) This also tells me that they "hunt" for a specific location....a specific plant....a specific branch. 5) That they can certainly FIND what they're looking for!!!! 6) After a few days, THEY DECIDED to come back home.

It took me a few more days to think about what had just happened. As I explained this all to my family, they where just as baffled and impressed as I was. This certainly gives me a new appreciation for the Honey Bee. They are certainly an INDEPENDENT little bug. And a VERY, VERY smart bug a that......wouldn't you agree?

Trapping Bees out of a tree, without cutting the tree down.

2010-02-03T09:55:00.000-06:00

Here's a real challenge! Can you get these bees out of the tree safely and successfully, without cutting down the tree? Mmmmm? How would you go about doing that? Lets learn!

See this old knot? On the left side of this knot, the bees are coming and going. First, find out if there are any other holes in the tree that they are using. If so, plug them with old rags, or cotton batting. Use the main hole that they are using to enter and exit.

Some of this old, flaky bark needs to be peeled off. Be sure to use your smoker a little bit, before you start digging at this bark. These bees where very nice, and didn't give me a hard time.

Another hole that they are using, got plugged up with cotton batting.
Before you begin, you need to make a Cone, from hardware cloth. The tip of the cone needs to be about as wide as a Pencil....rather small. Staple the Cone against the tree. Plug all gaps around the base of the Cone. This cone needs to be as level as possible. You'll need to create as smooth a surface as possible on the tree trunk.As soon as you get the cone properly secured, the bees will try really hard to "breech" your set up. See the bees on the cone above? They're feeding each other through the mesh cone. They'll try hard all day long to get through the base of the cone. Plug any gaps.When you set your Nuc up, it needs to be level with the hole in the tree. Use a folding table or cinder blocks, whatever, in order to get the Nuc level with this hole. In the back of the Nuc you need to have about an 1" wide hole, for your screened Tube to be inserted into the back of the Nuc. This tube is THE KEY. The other end of the tube needs to go OVER the outside tip of the Cone. Note; the tip of the Cone CAN NOT touch the inside of the tube. Otherwise, the bees will be able to travel back and forth. As long as the tip of this cone, doesn't touch the inside of the tube, the bees can't figure out how to get BACK INTO the tree....it becomes a ONE WAY trip. In the above picture, the Nuc box is too low, and I'll have to adjust it up, in order to level the Cone and Tube.

After surveying the situation, I need to get this table a bit higher. I used small flat stones to get the table higher and more level. Here's is the BIG TRICK; inside this Nuc box, is 4 brood frames that are FOUNDATION ONLY. The remaining 5th frame is a frame of brood, placed in the center of the Nuc, with another Queen on this brood frame. The bees come out of the tree, can't get back through the Cone, find that there is ANOTHER Queen inside this new box that needs help raising all this new found brood. These newly trapped workers then kick into gear INSTINCTIVELY and leave the FRONT side of the Nuc, go out and forage in order to care for their NEW QUEEN and brood, come back home and remain.

Notice that I have a jar of sugar water on the front porch. I'll keep a new jar of sugar water on this Nuc until I get all the bees caught out of the tree.

Get a good look at this set up. An old milk crate, a few old boards. The table that this is all setting on, is a folding plastic table that I bought at Wal-Mart for using at Farmers Market.

As the bees begin to fill the box, they'll add more and more weight to the table. This causes the table to sink into the ground. Over a 4 week period, I had to adjust the height of the Nuc 2 times. The weight of the bees put the table further into the soft soil. It may not be soft where you are, but this set up was classic. Keep this Nuc level with the hole in the tree!!

After a few weeks, I gently smoked the front of the Nuc and took off the lid for a short check on the bees. The Nuc was full of bees!! It was working! I could see that the bees where still coming out of the tree at this time, so I left them for another 2 weeks. I checked on them each week. But only opened them up once. If it's working, leave it alone. It took me 4 weeks to catch all these bees. The OLD QUEEN will remain inside the tree. She won't come out. We will sacrifice this old Queen. The end result? I was able to capture nearly all the bees out of this tree, over a 4 week period. It wasn't hard. I had to check on them 4 times. I didn't have to cut down a tree, and make a mess. And the owner of this land and tree was very pleased and excited. The tree was only 10 feet from their back porch. He even said I could cut the tree down and just suck up the bees if I wanted to do so. I prefer to trap them out, if possible. It's so much easier. A bit slower, not nearly as messy. Bees are calm and gave me no hassles. When it came time to take them home, I smoked them just a bit, and plugged the front with screen, and removed the tube in the back, covered the hole with Duct tape. Picked up all my gear and thanked the owner. They later got a few pints of honey for all their trouble. Everyone was happy. The bees got a new home. The beekeeper got some new bees, the easy way. And the land owner didn't have to hassle with anymore bees as he mowed his backyard.

How to catch a hanging swarm of Honey Bees!!

2010-02-02T14:21:00.000-06:00

So you walk out to check your Honey Bees, and you see this.....? What to do now? And where did they come from? See the hive closest to the swarm of bees? It's hive #4, and they've decided to swarm out, and get ready to LOOK FOR A NEW HOME!! Let's give them one!

Note the TIME OF YEAR, the date on the photo. This is the time of year when we see HUGE swarms of bees. They can be rather large. This one is a good size, but not huge. Also notice the honey suckle limbs that are in the way? They have to be clipped out of the way, carefully.

Inside this cluster of bees, is the OLD QUEEN. Likely, I won't see her as we work these bees, but she is there, ...in the middle some where. They're simply hangin' out while SCOUT BEES go out and look for a new home.

Once the Scout Bees find a pretty good home, they'll come back and DANCE on the cluster very aggressively, in order to convince their sisters to come along with her. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. They might hang here for a day, or 2, but not much more than that. Then, they're off.

An important tip here; once you come out and SEE the bees hanging....just remember, they SEE YOU too! And then, the GAME IS ON! If you don't go get your equipment right away and catch them back, likely they'll fly off to hang in a more private location. This has happened to me more than a few times. When you SEE THEM, they SEE YOU....catch them back NOW!!

The first step is to spray them down with a bottle of scented sugar water. You can put a little vanilla in your bottle of sugar water, and spritz them down, wet their wings...make them think about EATING, and not LEAVING. They'll fidget a little bit, but settle down and chill out. Just remember, they're LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME....that's all. So, give them one!

Now it's time to gently clip out the small SECONDARY limbs, and get them out of your way so you can get ready to dump them in a Nuc box. This is a classic, easy catch for a Beekeeper.

Once the secondary limbs are clipped out of the way, find the MAIN limb that the bees are hanging on to. Bees which have swarmed, are GORGED with honey....they chose to leave their home, in order to start a new one. Therefore, they must take as much honey as they can suck up, in order to build wax inside their new digs!! They're HEAVY. Slide the EMPTY nuc box up under this cluster of bees, and hold it firmly.

Once you've found the main limb, reach up with your free hand and clip the main limb gently. The bees will fall into the EMPTY nuc box......set the box down right under where they're where just hanging. Remember, you have Scout bees coming back, and they'll be looking for their Sisters and Queen.

Once the box is on the ground, reach in and grab the main limb. Gently shake off all the bees.

Place this main limb, just in front of the Nuc box. TIP; the Queen pheromone is on this main limb!! The other bees are looking for this limb. Leave it there in front of the Nuc box for a little while. Also, do you see the "white stuff" along the main limb, we just sat down in front of the Nuc box? That's small bits of wax that they laid down while hanging there. Cool uh? The bees now crawling on the limb, are likely scout bees who have returned and are looking for their Queen. A bit confused, they'll quickly determine that she is now inside, and head on in to check out their new house.

Now gently place your frames down inside the Nuc. DO NOT push the frames down! Remember, you have a pile of bees in the bottom, trying to get themselves oriented to their new house. Simply set the frames on top of them, carefully. As they come up and onto the frames, the frames will sink into the Nuc.

When you see the bees coming up and around the frames, they'll quickly take ownership of their new home! They're like little kids at this point. They'll run up and down the frames, very excited to have a new place to call home! Watch them and enjoy this moment. It's rather funny. They get just as excited to have a new house, as children do when we buy a new home! They go goofy!! Give them a fresh jar of good sugar water, on a porch feeder, and watch how they act on the porch. Bees want a Queen, food, and a safe home. If the Queen is inside, they'll POOCH backwards on the porch and fan hard. They'll point their bottoms up in the air, and roll out their Nosanov gland, telling their sisters to come home! "Come home! Come home! Our Queen is here! The food is here! And we've found our new home!" This is what you're looking for, once you have the bees in the Nuc. Put the lid on and let them settle down. You can plug the Nuc later in the day, well after sundown, and move the Nuc where you want to set it permanently. Leave them plugged, until early the next morning. Pull the plug early the next morning, and walk away. Leave them alone. They're sensitive, tender and a bit shy. I won't go back and check on them for a week or two. The Queen will crawl all over the frames, and the more she does, the more of her pheromone she spreads around. The more she crawls around, the greater the chances are that they'll stay put. If you have lots of other bee hives, a simple way to LOCK THEM DOWN, is to give them a fresh frame of BROOD, from another hive, but MINUS the bees. This is my INSURANCE POLICY in order to keep them in the box. If you don't have a frame of brood, just keep giving them good sugar water, they'll do the rest. When you do move them, try to move them 80 to 150 yards away from the hive that they just left. Otherwise, they may decided to just up and leave again. Bees will do, what bees want to do. Rathe independent little critters too!

Congratulations! You've just caught a swarm of Honey Bees! And the best thing is....that CAUGHT SWARMS produce LOTS and LOTS of honey! They really work hard! Get ready! Enjoy!

Summer of 2009 Honey Harvest

2010-02-01T12:42:00.000-06:00

The first step is to smoke the hive just a little bit. The bees think their house is on FIRE! They'll go suck up a little honey, thinking they might have to leave and find a new home. This also gorges their tummies, and they can't roll to sting me..a good thing. The smoke also stops them from communicating. Bees communicate chemically. Therefore, they can't get a "rally" against the Beekeeper, as he does his work.

We then carefully separate the honey boxes on the stack. The boxes are glued tight with wax and propilis. Slow and steady is the key here. No fast moving of hands. Once the box is separated, we'll pull a few frames to check for how much honey is on the OUTER EDGES of the box. This will give me an idea as to how much honey the entire box holds. A full honey box will usually hold about 40 lb's of honey! More than you'd think, depending upon the size of the box. See the bees on the frame of comb that I'm holding, as I pull it up. The bees are all chilled out, no problems. As long as I'm tender and slow, they'll let me do most anything.

It's time to turn the box on end, and use the leaf blower to blow out the bees. This is the fastest, easiest way to get the bees out of the honey boxes. This doesn't hurt the bees or make the bees mad, they're used to having the wind blow them around. They simply think that a strong wind came along and just blew them out of the house. Once out of the box, they'll float down to their front porch and go right back inside. We'll turn the box around a few times and blow all the bees out that we can see. There will be a few bees that we miss, but this is fine. We'll deal with them a bit later in the process.

It's always helpful to have another Beekeeper come and hold the boxes upright as we blow the bees out. We never want a honey box to fall to the ground. The frames and combs of honey would surely break open, and we'd have a huge mess on our hands. Needless to say, thousands of bees looking to gather all that honey back up. We'll also put on empty honey boxes for them to start filling back up again. This will be the SECOND harvest later in August. The first honey harvest occurs around early June, the Clover honey!! The second harvest is mid August....which is Wild Flower honey!

Once the initial blowing of bees is done, we'll carry the honey boxes over to the tractor/trailer and stack them, and cover them. We may even have to blow a few more bees out again. Easy, no problem. And no mean bees! Then, off to the honey hut!!

January 2010 Snow storm (Round 2)

2010-01-31T12:37:00.000-06:00

Wow! These are winter pics of our SECOND snowstorm! As I put these pics on my blog...the THIRD snowstorm is beginning right now! Credit goes to my daughter Meagan, she rocks! She does all our pictures for us. She has a good eye! See what you think.

We really do have honey on hand. This white sign stays in our yard, as long as we have honey on hand. I'll pull the sign if we run out of honey.

These frames are hanging here because there was a huge wasp nest on the inside of them a few summers ago. I sprayed the wasp nest with Wasp Killer, and took them outside to hang, letting the rain wash them off....they need to go back inside now....do ya think? ha!

Great pic! I love the Bee Cozy. For more info on the Bee Cozy, go to http://www.miteaway.com/

I think I paid about $13 for each Bee Cozy. Money well spent, in order to keep the colony safe and warm. When early April gets here, lets see how BIG the colony actually is. In the past, I've suffered too much "winter time dwindle". Going down from a full brood box, to only several frames of bees in the brood box. That's too much loss for me.

If you have too much winter time dwindle, it just takes too much TIME for the colony to build back out, and then up. This is lost honey time, in my mind anyway.

Stay tuned, more winter pics to come! This is rather unuusal weather for Oklahoma. We usually see just a dusting of snow and some cold days. So far, this winter has turned out to be a memorable one. And we're not done yet!!

Christmas 2009 Blizzard (Round 1)

2010-01-28T17:01:00.000-06:00

This is one of our Apiaries on a little hill. Despite the cold wind blowing hard, these hives are wrapped with Bee Cozy wraps in order to keep the bees much warmer. You can find Bee Cozy wraps at http://www.miteaway.com/ Cutting the cold wind off the bees is critical to keeping the colony alive and ready for Spring.

Sometimes, snow gets whipped around to the front, and blocks their little entrance. Here, I'm using my finger to open their entrance, in order for them to come out for a "cleansing flight". When it warms up a bit, the bees will take short flights in order to "poop". They don't potty inside their house.
Notice how the snow is whipped around the hive by the wind. This is an indicator, which tells me how much wind really hits the hives. Amazingly, they're all still alive in the center of this box!! The bees don't heat the entire box inside. They simply huddle closely together, called a Cluster, and vibrate in order to keep each other warm. A few bees that remain on the oustide of the cluster will die. But not many.
Notice the heavy brick on top of the lid. Sometimes, I've had winds so strong that the lid has been flipped off by the wind. And of course my cows like to rub on corners of the lid. A little weight helps to avoid such troubles.
It's all about protecting them from harsh, cold winds!

This colony has been an excellent honey producer for us. Blane owns this hive. Behind this colony, about 10 yards, is a few Blacklocust trees!! When in bloom, these trees produce tons of nectar! No wonder they do so well!!!!

The Bee Cozy wrap looks like it's pulled tight, but it's not. As the sun hits this wrap, it seems to swell with warm air. As the day warms up, it seems to losen. Very interesting tool for the Beekeeper, in order to keep his bees alive.

There's almost a 40 degree temperature difference from the inside of the hive to the outside. You would be amazed at how much HEAT honey bees can produce. It took me a few years to really understand, that these bees will be very much alive come early April. No worries!!

A Few Pictures

2009-07-31T21:34:00.000-05:00

So, we are still figuring out how this blog works.... But here are a few pictures of our honey. Below is our pure Clover/Wildflower honey.

We also have Buckwheat honey. This is a darker more robust honey.

We'll talk in detail about honey later though!

Fresh Raw Honey

2009-07-31T07:47:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Little Creek Bee Ranch. We are located in Inola, Oklahoma, just 25 miles east of Tulsa, Ok. on Hwy 412. Our beekeeping efforts started in 2005, with just a few colonies of Honeybees. Today, we run between 17 and 20 colonies of Honeybees. Last summer we harvested nearly 65 gallons of honey! You'll usually find us sitting at the Farmers Market in Claremore, Ok, at the north end of the Expo Center parking lot, just west of the Indian Hospital. The Farmers Market in Claremore has become very, very popular. It opens early, 7am on Saturday morning. But people begin to show up to buy fresh produce at nearly 6:30am! So get there early, to find the best produce and HONEY~! Thanks for stopping by out blog site and keep in touch, check in often, for various flavors of honey!