Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms and welcome to another beekeeping lesson! We are David & Sheri Burns and we are passionate about helping people become beekeepers. Here at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms, we love keeping bees, even though it can be a real challenge at times.

We can’t tell you how relieved we are that we got hundreds of packages shipped off! It took two postal trucks and 1 UPS trailer, but we did it!

Sheri and I babysat the UPS trailer until the driver hooked up to haul it away. Though it was a nice cool day, we hooked up a fan and blew air on the bees. We want our bees to reach the customer more than the customer does, so we went the extra mile. In fact, me and my daughter Karee missed a whole night’s sleep getting labels on and the boxes ready for shipment. Every year we tell ourselves we will never ship bees again, and we’ll only do local pick up. But we still ship year after year. It’s a bit treacherous shipping bees and so few of providers do it. Most prefer local pickup only but we realize so many live far way.  We will ship if you also buy hives.


When I see pictures from our customers like young James full of excitement as a young beekeeper about to install his first package, it makes me want to ship bees again next year. Way to go James!

Our package bee pickup day was a huge success. We brought in hundreds of packages and customers from 8 different states arrive to pick up packages.
Enough about the past, let me tell you about what’s coming up soon, and then I’ll teach on how to build up a strong colony.


LESSON 73: HOW TO BUILD A STRONG COLONY
The success of your colony will depend mostly upon their overall strength. The stronger your hive is the less likely they will be to develop a disease or be overtaken by pests.
A new colony, whether it is a nuc or a package, can benefit from these 5 growth tips:
1) Feed the colony 1:1 sugar water & pollen patties.
2) Only give them more boxes of frames as they need.
3) Keep all frames tight together and keep the hive level.
4) Use beetle traps if you live in an area that has small hive beetles.
5) Every 14 days, inspect your hive and make sure there is a good brood pattern and that you can see eggs. If not, you must replace your queen immediately or the hive will not become strong and may even perish within 40 days. Let me give more details.
First, feed you hive. When they are new, they do not have any food inside the hive. They need pollen and honey. And most new colonies are placed on undrawn foundation, meaning they do not have any drawn out comb in which to place incoming nectar or for the queen to lay in. Feeding them 1:1 sugar water can assist the younger bees in producing wax and thus they will be able to draw out their combs faster. This is not essential because spring usually provides more than enough incoming nectar that feeding is not necessary. But, spring can also provide several days in a row of cool, rainy weather. Then, the bees can run out of food and fail to build comb. This is why many beekeepers experience a slow build up of their hives. Entrance feeders are what we recommend.

How long to feed? Anywhere from not at all to several weeks. Most people will feed their bees until they have down out comb in both deep hive bodies.
Division board or frame feeders are the second best feeders, pail and top feeders last. Top feeders have always been very problematic for beekeepers. They can crack, leak, mold and generally allow bees in the reservoir and die. We sell them though they are not our preferred type of feeder. You just can beat the long tested and used entrance feeder. So feed your bees.
Feed your bees pollen patties. They need pollen. There is always plenty of pollen in the spring. Last year some of our hives were pollen bound, meaning there was so much pollen in the comb that the queen ran out of room to lay. Again, if the weather is cool and rainy then they will lack pollen and not be able to build up their population as fast. So feed your bees pollen patties for about 1 month after installation. Remember, you usually do not have to, but if you really want to ensure they become strong, feed.
Secondly, keep your new colony tight. Do not give them too much space. For example, only give them 1 deep hive body to start with. If you give them two, it can discourage them from building comb. And, the extra space gives room for pests to hide and grow, pests like mice, small hive beetle and wax moths. But, if you keep the bees tight then they can better grow their hive and defend it against intruders. Wait until your deep hive body has 7 frames that are drawn out and full of bees then you can add the second hive body. Do the same before you place on the super above the second hive body too.
I actually have a technique that works well for me. I install packages in a 5 frame nuc box, allow it to become completely filled, then transfer the frames over to a deep hive body. Bees work better when they are crowded. Will being crowded make them want to swarm? No, not a new set of bees. Bees are social insects which work better crowded. It is only when they become congested that they can swarm. Congested means they do not have any drawn comb for the queen to lay eggs in, or for the forages to bring in nectar or pollen. Congestion is not the same as being crowded. Crowd your new package but make sure they do not become congested.
3) Keep your frames tight together and your hive level. Bees are sensitive in how they draw comb on frames. If you leave too much space between frames, they will draw out odd shaped columns on the frame or they will build out a comb without attaching it to the foundation. So keep all frames tight against each other. Keep the hive level. Bees build comb straight down so if it is tilting slightly to the right or left, straight down will mean the comb will be slightly off the frame.
4) Use some sort of beetle trap to prevent the spread of small hive beetle. The best trap we’ve seen and one that we sell is the Better Beetle Blaster. We sell it with a syringe so you can easily fill it with your own vegetable oil. Watch our video below on how to use this trap.

Finally, you must inspect your hives every 14 days to ensure your queen is healthy and laying well. The queen lays about 2000 eggs a day. This allows the colony the ability to grow fast and have enough foragers to bring in lots of nectar. When you inspect, make sure you can see a good brood pattern and eggs. If the pattern of brood is spotty or looks to be drone brood only, replace the queen immediately. We raise our own queens and sell them all around the US. Please call us if you  need a new queen. 217-427-2678
We are working on another fun-filled Studio Bee Live podcast, so keep an eye out.
We have a new hive that we cannot keep in stock. It is a beautiful 8 Frame garden hive. We have these for sale now, so order yours today! Please allow 14 days for shipment. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR GARDEN HIVES.

If you need beekeeping hives or other equipment, remember we always appreciate your business! Here’s how you can contact us:
WEBSITE: www.honeybeesonline.com
Email: david@honeybeesonline.com
Phone: 217-427-2678
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Hello from David & Sheri Burns at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms in East Central Illinois.

I once asked the audience at one of my presentations to give a show of hands as to how many were raising their own queens. No hands went up. I asked a second time, because I thought maybe they didn't hear me. Still no one. I was amazed at how few beekeepers raise queens. And yet the queen is the most important bee in the hive. No doubt, a lack of courage and confidence in raising queens keeps many beekeepers from attempting to raise their own queens.

Many beekeepers never really become beekeepers, but only remain bee-havers. They have bees, but they really don't work or manage their bees. There are many reasons why people remain bee-haves and never become beekeepers but I think one of the biggest reason is FEAR and a lack of courage. The second reason is similar and that is a lack of confidence. Many beekeepers just don't feel confident in knowing what they are doing. They are afraid that their lack of "knowing what they are doing" will result in doing something wrong and killing their hive.

This is why most beekeepers never raise queens. To them, the place where the queen lives is mysterious and so deep within the hive, a place where no man has gone before. Every year thousands of "beginner" beekeeping courses are given around the country. These are great to help beekeepers get started, but there is rarely a follow up mentorship or advance class.

As a result most bee-havers know enough to install a package, dump expensive and unnecessary medication on their bees, watch them die in the winter and buy packages the following year only to repeat the same techniques that may have led to their bees failing the first time. We've got to break this cycle!

With a bit more education and mentorship, a bee-haver can become a beekeeper and develop a level of skill, knowledge and confidence that can catapult their beekeeping hobby to a whole new level of success. Education is the answer. But no matter how "book-taught" a beekeeper is, the best education is through a hands on course.

Another way that you can build your confidence and courage in beekeeping is to catch swarms. Swarms rarely sting and always draw an audience. It builds your confidence to retrieve a swarm and place it into your bee yard.

Once people hear that you keep bees, they will be calling you asking you to remove a swarm. We've build a perfect swarm catch box so you can place the swarm in it and transport it back to your bee yard. Click here for more information. It comes with a screen to shut off the front entrance once the swarm is captured as well as a tie-down strap to hold it all together for transport. Every beekeeper should have one just in case your own hives swarm on you. You can catch them and keep them as a new hive.

This extra hive will build your confidence know that you have extra equipment should you want to raise an extra queen or keep a smaller hive going or to support an observation hive. Lots of uses. During the month of May, many beekeepers call us and want us to rush a hive to them because they found a swarm. But, by time the hive arrives the swarm has left. So have one on hand! It is worth the investment. It will nearly pay for itself in one swarm catch because you save the cost of a package of bees.

We are here to help you keep bees with courage and confidence!

Visit our website at www.honeybeesonline.com

And listen to our beekeeping podcast available at:

www.honeybeesonline.com/studiobeelive.html And if you have questions about beekeeping that you want us to answer on our next broadcast just email them to: david@honeybeesonline.com

Feel free to call at: 217-427-2678. Until next time, remember to bee-have yourself!

David & Sheri Burns

Long Lane Honey Bee Farms

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We love honey bees, also known as Apis Mellifera. Apis Mellifera is just the scientific name which means honey carrying bee, which technically is incorrect, as honey bees do not carry honey. They carry nectar and turn it into honey in the hive. So let's just call 'em honey bees!

Honey bees swarm. They swarm for several reason, and for some reasons we'll never understand. Here I am watching a swarm from one of my hives land in my near by tree. You can click on the image for an enlarged view.

My wife and I clapped our hands, rattled a metal sheet around the swarm and believe it or not they went back into the hive they swarmed from. Either what we did worked, or for some unheard of reason, they just went back home. I know bees cannot hear, but they do "hear" by sensing vibrations.

Beekeeping comes with many challenges. During May and June our biggest challenge is keeping our hives from swarming. I run my hives tight and full because I believe bees like to be crowded--not congested, but crowded. This year, I've only had 2 of my hives swarm. This one was high up so I put an empty hive on top of my truck and climbed up the ladder and shook the swarm down into the box on the truck. Imagine going through a fast food drive up with that on top of your truck! When a colony swarms, it loses a large number of it's population. Most agree that if a colony swarms, the remaining bees probably will not produce honey that year. So, no one wants to see a swarm unless it is someone elses. :)

Another beekeeping challenge is failing queens. Has your queen gone feet up on you? Maybe she's deformed, like this one which has lost an antenna. Or like this queen in the picture, maybe she needs wound up again. Sorry, when the queen runs out, there is no winding her back up. She will not mate again. Time for a new queen. This is another challenge we beekeepers face...failing or missing queens. None of us want to find a bunch of queen cells in our hives when the queen is doing great nor do we want to find that our queen is gone. We must have strong, young and great laying queens to keep our hives striving.

Here's a queen cell in my hive. For those of you who have never seen a queen cell and have always wondered if you could identify one, here you go. Queen cells on the top half of the frame means they are replacing their old queen for some reason. And queen cells on the bottom of the frames mean they are preparing to swarm. Excessive swarming can be a trait within the queen's genetics. But it can also be environmental such as the hive is congested.

So, all of that being said, I want to wrap up my lessons on queen rearing for now with some final comments.

You are most likely going to keep buying your queens from reputable queen providers probably from the sunshine belt, where the weather is warmer longer so queens are easier to raise and can be raised earlier in the spring. And, we sell packages and queens from the south, so I don't want to shoot myself in the foot. But there are a few things we should consider about queens from the south.

First, they have to travel a long way to get to northern states. Shipping can be hard on bees and queens. It shouldn't be, but sometimes it is. Data recorders have shown that some queens were exposed to cold and hot temperatures that could effect the overall health of the queen. Delivery centers spray for insects. Could that spray residue effect queens as well? Not to mention that some states in the deep south are known to have Africanized bees. Great efforts are being made to keep the Africanized genetics out of the pool, but for open air mated queens, who can be sure, right?

I've heard farmers say you should buy your animals from the north and move then south but never buy them from the south and bring them north. Which brings us to the idea and consideration of whether a southern queen may not be able to survive a northern winter. That's hard to make a case around. Bees are bees, right. They are going to work and do what bees do. However, it makes sense to me to obtain a queen that is bred in the area of your own climate. For years people in the north have successfully over wintered hives purchased from the south. However, winter die outs are on the rise.

That being said, if you live in a northern state which has harsh winters, it just makes sense to purchase queens that have proven successful in northern climates. Here's why: First, you avoid shipping stresses. Secondly, you are obtaining a queen that has survived your unique climate. Thirdly, you know that your queen is from hives that have survived pests and diseases that are common in your area. To me, this makes sense. And with a near by queen breeder, you may be more apt to replace your queens regularly.

Come on! Would you buy a queen from a hive that is known to have CCD or is Africanized? Of course not? Even though she may not carry or transfer the cause of CCD, no one would want to do that. Then, why would you buy a queen without knowing anything about her genetic track record? Usually because we get desperate to have a queen, and most queen breeders are desperately trying to sell queens and can no longer carefully monitor the genetics that governs the overall success of queens. This isn't the case with all southern or western queen breeders, yet the reality of the stress placed on queen production can sometimes cause shortcuts to be taken, in my opinion. I know for a fact that last year queens are sold as this year queens. Again, not everyone does this, but money does talk, and the bottom line governs business.

Our long term goal is to raise queens from survivor hives, which are hives that have survived at least two northern winters, have gone untreated for all pests and disease for at least two years and have not been hindered by pests or diseases. And a hive that has other good qualities such as minimal swarming, gentleness and maximal honey production. That's a long term goal and will take years to improve this stock. For now though, we are achieving success along the way.

But remember, we can't always point the finger at our queens. There are some great coaches that just don't have the player skills to win games. Some queens may be great, but may face tough Springs. Is it fair to blame the queen for a tough spring? The older bees seem to be the ones that call a lot of the shots. Should we blame the queen when the older bees make poor decisions? Or, this is one none of us want to admit, but should we blame the queen for our poor management and poor manipulation of a hive? For example, some medications in the hive have been shown to reduce the queen's performance. Is it fair to blame the breeder or the queen because we poisoned her?

So be patient with the queen! We can all get a dude, but let's be sure before we give up on her.

This is why you should consider raising your own queens. This year introducing my own young, freshly mated queens has made a huge difference in the overall performance of my hives. I realize it is impractical for every beekeeper to raise their own queens. That's why we need more and more local beekeepers to form regional queen rearing programs.

We have a limited number of queens we are selling this year. If you'd like to try one, please give us a call at 217-427-2678. We ship queens on Monday and Wednesday. By purchasing your queens from us, we are able to use that profit to expand our queen stock improvment program.

Also, if you are planning on becoming a beekeeper next spring, then please order your equipment and hives from us this summer or fall. It becomes very difficult for us to keep up with all the orders between February-June. Plan ahead!!

That's all for now, and remember...BEE-have yourself!

David & Sheri Burns

Long Lane Honey Bee Farms

217-427-2678

EMAIL: david@honeybeesonline.com

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