http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/grd/1939740936.html (http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/grd/1939740936.html)
He puts the container in the hive, bees fill it, he puts a lid on it.
Yes, it is done all the time. You just need the proper equipment and supplies. I plan on switching one of my hives to this method next spring to supply a few special-request customers. You can find the necessary items in many supplier catalogs.
thanks. looks so clean with no propolis. I'll have to look at the supply catologs and figure it out.
Its a Bee-O-Pac. I can see some problems with this system. Unless you have a very large colonies packed down and a major flow I can see the bee's rejecting these plastic trays. Ross rounds would be easier to get the bee's to draw out because they use thin surplus wax foundation
As danno said, it isn't just a matter of sticking them on the hive and the bees filling them. There is a very delicate balance between a strong hive that needs space and will draw anything out, and a hive that just swarmed 3 times. You put them in just when the bees need space and take them out as soon as capped. Otherwise you end up with burr comb and propolis.
-r
As rick said its tough to get a colony at the strength and confinement that they wont just swarm. It takes going in and cutting queen cells every few days. If you miss just one cell they will be gone
I wonder if he manages his hives like one beekeeper in Fremont does. One deep, usually from a early spring package, a queen excluder and supers above. He claims to get high production rates that way. It might be easier to manage swarming, for this scenario.
Jay
Quote from: skflyfish on October 05, 2010, 12:35:52 PM
I wonder if he manages his hives like one beekeeper in Fremont does. One deep, usually from a early spring package, a queen excluder and supers above. He claims to get high production rates that way. It might be easier to manage swarming, for this scenario.
Jay
Jay
I think your talking about Larry Hasselman. He has about 85 - 90% die off every year most from starvation. He has never treated with anything If they die which they almost always do he just replaces them with 3 #ers from his package bee hauling business. That in its self helps with swarming and mite control for that matter.
1 1/2 storys with a queen excluder between works for migraters but it is not a good idea with our long cold winters.
I still have a few bee o pacs left from the summer before last I use to show people what honey comb looks like. They really did not sell very well. That is why I did not put them on the hives this summer. If you have a booming hive, they will fill it.
They are cheaper to run than ross rounds also, since there is less equipment to buy and use. You just put in the clear plastic frames, bees fill, you pull them and put on the lids and label them to go.
Danno,
Yes I was talking about Larry. I didn't want to mention his name, because of the die-off he has with his technique. I just mentioned his technique as a possible method. It may work till early July, then I personally would combine hives and let them build the rest of the year, so that they might survive our winters.
If it sold well, it might be worth doing. He is getting $14 per pound that way. From AllenF experience it doesn't sound like it.
Jay
comb honey (I don't do the fancy stuff like rounds) definitely has it's place here. it is HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE to certain folks. I place a premium on all comb honey relative to purely extracted honey.
traditionally comb honey was not something produced by southern beekeepers simply because the flows here are short and interrupted.
Reasons why comb honey does not sell, or why I don't sell it anymore. People are younger and just don't know what that is or that you can eat it and there is a lot of confusion about it. People would look at the bee o pacs and think they were cool, but did not know how to eat it or what to do with it. Then they would buy a pint glass jar of honey instead. This is of the people that would eat honey. I still run across people who would not eat it because they did not like honey or know that they could eat honey. Maybe they were allergic to it like the bee stings. So I just keep a few bee o pacs around to show people what honey comb looks like. I might make another super of them next year, who knows.
last time i saw it at the farmers market it was 14 dollars for 12 oz. most of mine comes from comb that won't spin well...unfinished frames and stuff. i eat it. :-) i get just enough that way to fill my needs....unless my granddaughter is here and then she eats it all.
I have several customers that go nuts over comb honey! I sell a 4"x4" square for $12 (used to charge $8 for it but couldn't keep up with demand).
I have one "very special" customer that will call me. We set up a time 2-3 days out and, since I'm running mostly foundationless now, she meets me at the bee yard and I pull frames until she sees one that she likes. I cut the comb for her right there. She sends a lot of business my way for that little effort.
Scott
scott that is very nice of you to do for a special customer like that.
Ron
I just read the book "Comb Honey" by Tyler. He recommends a honey business focused on comb honey, because it requires less equipment. However the hive management appears intense, intentionally creating hives that are busting full of bees (keeping just ahead of the swarms). The comb honey is all made during the flow, this is not a method for leave it be bee keeping.
In case you were wondering. http://www.betterbee.com/products.asp?dept=1581 (http://www.betterbee.com/products.asp?dept=1581)
And https://www.dadant.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=24_83 (https://www.dadant.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=24_83)