A very good customer of mine who is somewhat familiar with bees asked me if I could set up a hive for him, I said sure. I housed one of the swarms I removed from yesterday for him, they were very gentle bees. Everything worked out beautifully. It was a very pleasant experience. I will be there in a week to see if we have a layer in there or a virgin, but she sure looked kinda plump today. Anyway it was a lot of fun, and they are tickled pink to have some bees! Go bees!
http://picasaweb.google.com/pyxicephalus/March212008
...JP
Awesome. Sounds like a win-win!
JP, that's so nice, you've helped bring a new beek into the world! :lol: Seriously, that's a wonderful thing to do, help someone out getting their first 'package'. Look how relaxed he looks, too, he'll do fine as a beekeeper.
What is this?! Promoting beekeeping to gasp the general public.
Didn't you realize this is an exclusive members only club.
We can't have just any riff raff doing beekeeping. Have you seen the price of honey lately. ;)
Keep it up. Another great thing you are doing there!!
Sincerely,
Brendhan
Quote from: Understudy on March 22, 2008, 10:18:03 AM
What is this?! Promoting beekeeping to gasp the general public.
Didn't you realize this is an exclusive members only club.
We can't have just any riff raff doing beekeeping. Have you seen the price of honey lately. ;)
Keep it up. Another great thing you are doing there!!
Sincerely,
Brendhan
Yeah, God forbid we should help others get started in beekeeping, right? The flowers out there are for OUR bees and OUR bees only!!! Don't spread the word!
...JP
Quote from: reinbeau on March 22, 2008, 08:27:56 AM
JP, that's so nice, you've helped bring a new beek into the world! :lol: Seriously, that's a wonderful thing to do, help someone out getting their first 'package'. Look how relaxed he looks, too, he'll do fine as a beekeeper.
Ann, that hive is a swarm, that will beat the pants off of any package of bees. I have come to realize how fantastic swarms build, its phenomonal! This colony was very gentle, they just wanted to show off for us, or perhaps, they are bluffing and waiting for that moment when I'm not there, to teach them all a lesson in insect politics! This little installation could not have gone better, we even had a neighbor over, Ms. Betty, an eighty something yr old, who was like a giddy lil child saying, I like bees, I like bees, while I was shoving drones in her hand as fast as I could get 'em!
...JP
Hey JP, I noticed that you used frames without foundation for this hive. Do you do this normally? Do they do ok from a swarm like that building their own comb. I know they do it in the trees or houses, I guess i was wondering if they build up as fast for you all down there?
By the way my wife has a cousin in New Orleans, I ought to see if he has any interest in beekeeping, you would make a great mentor!
DennisB
JP, I know a swarm is much better than a package, that's why I put the ''' around 'package' ;) We're on the mentor's list here, and we've had a few e-mails about equipment, etc. - no one has active hives up here yet! It's coming though.....
Quote from: DennisB on March 22, 2008, 10:30:52 AM
Hey JP, I noticed that you used frames without foundation for this hive. Do you do this normally? Do they do ok from a swarm like that building their own comb. I know they do it in the trees or houses, I guess i was wondering if they build up as fast for you all down there?
By the way my wife has a cousin in New Orleans, I ought to see if he has any interest in beekeeping, you would make a great mentor!
DennisB
Dennis, I am trying to get away from using foundation. In fact I have ordered some medium brood wax from Dadant that I will be using to make starter strips. What I did with that hive set up was to make starter strips from some foundation. Here's a pic to show what I did: http://picasaweb.google.com/pyxicephalus/March212008/photo#5180294948768359522
...JP
Wanted to give an update to this post. The swarm I posted about here^^^ has done remarkebly well, in fact approx 3 weeks ago this nice young couple invited my wife and I over for supper and we started off the meal with wonderful cheese and honey from this same hive harvested this past spring.
Yesterday, I went by and went through the hive with Albert, the guy pictured above.
They wintered in a deep and a medium. We took a quick peek about 3 weeks ago and I decided it was best he add another medium as the queen on this hive is just a beast and has been laying her fat little butt off.
So yesterday, discovered no swarm cells, lots of brood and very straight combs with absolutely no cross combing.
They've started building in the third box and we found the queen in the second and later again in the bottom deep, where there was picture perfect brood frames.
I set him up with a second hive from a cut out last yr as well but they are very mean and have lots of cross comb. I took 4 stings to the hands on that hive none on the other hive and decided against going much further with the inspection on the mean hive.
Next trip I go back I'm going to set up a nuc to make a queen from the good hive and once I get queen cells, I'll introduce a frame to the mean hive after I 86 that rotten girl.
Another good reason to have more than one hive.
Oh, and Albert's girl works at a cheese factory so he trades me cheese for helping him work his bees!
...JP
Great story and follow up. Thanks for sharing it!
Thanks, I'll take pictures next time I go in. What's cool is he actually harvested about 6 frames of honey from this same hive last season.
...JP
Wonderful update JP! Mmmmm, cheese & honey! Isn't it nice when things work out & you make new friends you would never have met before? J
His girl friend was interviewed for a local popular magazine about her backyard beekeeping, rabbit and chicken keeping and my name was mentioned a couple of times.
Now people are calling me who have bees or want bees, pretty cool.
...JP
I like this time of year when I get to see all the pictures from JP. :-D
Great story. Sigh!! Wish I lived closer to you JP. Would love to get ""FREE" bees so easily. Guess I'll have to get out there and catch those swarms.
Thanks Shawn, I'm happy to share them.
Annette, I sure hope you get some this yr, I just know you will be overjoyed with the experience and free bees!
...JP
Annette, I reread the op and I don't think JP said he gave them away free. Down south we say we let someone have something.It means we gave, sold, or traded it to them. He may or may not have gave them away, but since he did say "customer", I imagine JP still owns them, or he got paid for them.
Am I right, JP?
JP, I have been cosidering doing the foundationless frames also. Some time we just have to cut cost. Those look like my Itilaians. Good on you.
Sent you a P.M.
Quote from: iddee on February 21, 2009, 09:54:04 PM
Annette, I reread the op and I don't think JP said he gave them away free. Down south we say we let someone have something.It means we gave, sold, or traded it to them. He may or may not have gave them away, but since he did say "customer", I imagine JP still owns them, or he got paid for them.
Am I right, JP?
I have done work for Albert, inspected houses he bought, some he did not, for wood destroying insects. My company has also treated some of those bldgs for termite prevention/remediation.
Albert and his girlfriend are fine people and were interested in keeping some hives and I was more than happy to help them out. So we are friends and do business together.
Jimmy, got your pm, will contact you soon.
...JP