This is a video showing new bee keepers transferring a bee colonies from a framed hive into a top bar hive (TBH) and all the mistakes they can make. We do not have proper outfit but our local beekeeper mentor wears nothing, not even a hat! To cut the frames, Jacqueline wanted to get away from the hive so that we get less bees around us or make them angry. The original frames were nailed twice at their end so it made it quite difficult to cut, because so we broke one of the two frames we had to cut and format. We fixed the broken comb on a new top bar, and close the hive As you will see, we were lucky, my bees are very well mannered. Merci à Jacqueline for her help and thank you Motoko for being the camerawoman

Today was a beautiful sunny 60F day, and it’s the first day I am seeing the bees bringing in a substantial amount of tannish-yellow pollen. They definitely know where ‘something’ is blooming out there! It was VERY windy today and I was surprised they were braving the winds and flying out as much as they were. Looks like all 5 of my bee colonies have survived the winter- even the two little 5 frame nucs that I bundled together in one box. I feel pretty lucky about that. Now that pollen is available out there, I am pretty sure I won’t suffer any late winter losses due to starvation. They made it! No Spring feeding or coddling for my girls… they can darn well go rustle up their own food! Next week i plan to remove the tarpaper winter hive wraps and go into the hives to arrange them with the brood area down below. In other words, if the bottom deep boxes are empty, I will reverse them to the top so the queens will have plenty of comb to expand up into to lay brood. I may put some supers on at that point if they seem ready. I also will transfer the 5-frame nucs each into their own new roomy 10 frame deep hive and let them grow.

www.bluecollarbees.com It’s been said by many wise beekeeping sages, that the first test for a new-bee is lighting a bee smoker. The second test is keeping it lit. In this quick video, I give a quick overview of how to light a bee smoker. Warning Young girls and lovers of huge agricultural chemical mega-corporations may want to avoid this one. *Background music is freely available production music. Additional logos or images within are the property of their owners and no product placement is insinuated.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Some scientists suspect that pesticides are the cause of plummeting bee populations, which could have serious consequences for pollination and production of food crops.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Two beehives are being raided by feral bees. They are after the honey stored inside and want to steal it to take back to their hive. I used the smoker to subdue them long enough to cover the hive entrance to prevent any more honey from being stolen. Later I came back and put a special screen on the hive to prevent robbing.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Went to a box store and purchased around .00 worth of PVC pipe and parts for a prototype hivestand to get the hives up off the ground. It is 1″ PVC and strong enough to hold my entire weight so it looks like it will hold a hive with no problems. Concept is to get the hives up off the concrete pad for some air flow underneath and to get the hive up in the air about a foot to make it easier to inspect and move around. Less heavy lifting from lower heights.

Extracting honey – vytá?anie agátového medu. Beekeeping part 02

ZOLA’s head beekeeper, Walker Rollins, interviews Susan from the Backwards Beekeepers. Sorry about the abbreviated ending! But don’t worry, there are many more bee videos to come. Stay tuned for more information on homesteading, community farming, and being the change we want to see in the world. Pull out weeds, and sow good seeds!
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Presented with permission of the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education. To purchase the complete “Honey Bees and Beekeeping” television series on DVD or accompanying book, please call 1-800-359-4040.

Faith Mountain Farm installed 15 new honeybee packages on March 29, 2009. This video illustrates one of the installations. Since it was going to be cold that night, I put the queens on the top bars with a spacer to give room for the queen cage. Normally I put the queen on the bottom board, although nothing is really “normal” in beekeeping. Everyone has their own way of doing things. Enjoy and contact us at Back Yard Bee Hive if you have any questions, www.backyardbeehive.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5