beekeeping 101...beekeeping 101 rebecca bills of r and r acres welcome • bathrooms • breaks •...
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BEEKEEPING101
Rebecca Bills of R and R Acres
Welcome
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• www.RandRAcres.com• Social Media
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Bees are themost important
Bees have been determined to be the most important living creature by the Royal Geographical Society in 2019 in London.
35% of our crops arepollinated by bees
• Almonds
• Blueberriers
• Avocados
• Apples
• Alfalfa
Pesticides link to 90% loss of bee colonies
◦ American versus European safety on
pesticides
◦ Pesticide kills
◦ Plants are food
◦ Alternatives
Monarchs eating milkweed
◦ This is there food source, one must allow
the butterfly larva to feast to become
butterflies. This means sometimes there
will be chew marks on the leaves
Alternatives to Pesticides
◦ Predatory insects like ladybugs and
praying mantis are helpful.
◦ Mechanical Control (weeding, plucking,
pinching)
◦ DE (diatomaceous earth)
◦ Know your enemy
◦ If it kills one bug, it will kill others.
◦ Choosing the best plants
Say No to Mosquito “Joe”Daytime bug sprayers are
the worst! Just say No!
Herbicides are not any
better
Neonicotinoids are
horrible
BEES
Protection for you
Ways to get bees
Package
Nucleus Colony (Nuc)
Swarm
Complete Hive
Package versus Nucleus Colony
Package of bees
◦ About 3 pounds of bees and 1 queen
◦ Inexpensive
◦ Sourced from large producers
◦ Treated for varroa and other illnesses
◦ No wax, food, larva, young
◦ Colony will diminish by about ½ before new larva will begin to emerge, colony will weaken
◦ Easier to install in some alternative hives
Nucleus Colony
◦ 3-5 frames of wax, honey, larva, bees and a queen
◦ More expensive
◦ Can be sourced locally
◦ Depending on breeder, may be naturally or chemically treated
◦ Bees will increase in number quickly, will need a larger hive
◦ Designed for Langstroth deep hives mostoften
Choose your comfort level
Tools of the tradeHive tools
Brushes
Smoker
Frame rests
Frame grabber
Torch
Basic Hive
Langstroth in the 1800,
moveable frame hive
Hive stands
Hive placement
How much space is too
much
How much can you lift
To vent or not to vent, that is
the question
Hive placement
Be a good neighbor
Easy access
Early morning sun at least
Full sun is my favorite
Workable height
Weed free
Honey Bee
Worker
• Different tasks though life
Drone
• One job, half the DNA
Queen
• Hive would be lost
without her
Hello ladies!
First 3 days, royal jelly
Then “Bee Bread” for
workers and drones
Only royal jelly for queens
Queens 17-18days
Workers 21 days
Drones 24 days
To swarm is natural
Preceding a honey flow,
especially in spring when
the queen is laying the most
eggs per day, nice weather
= swarm season
Half the colony, filled with
honey, and your queen
leave the hive to start a new
colony elsewhere.
Swarming Pros and Cons
Pro
◦ Brood break for varroa cycle
◦ Way to collect free bees
◦ Chance for a new, fresh queen to lay
◦ Allowing bees to enter the “wild”
Cons
◦ The new queen may not successfully
mate and return to the hive
◦ Half of your honey collectors just left with
the honey
◦ Hive is weaker, prone to robbing
◦ May end up in someone’s house or BBQ
Swarm Prevention
Allows allow empty drawn comb in brood space, adding boxes before swarm instinct begins
Split the colony early
Cage the queen
Place queen and a few frames in a nuc box
Use a queen excluder at entrance-not a good long term plan
Prepare for the inevitableEven if you try everything,
swarming may still happen.
Placing traps to help collect
the bees will help prevent
them from going into a
neighbors house.
Consider what you will do
with the swarm
BEE PESTS AND DISEASES
Short and not so sweet
Enemy #1
Varroa Destructor
Feeds on the fatty tissue of
the bee
Carries and transmits many
viruses
Leading cause of CCD
No one agrees on treatment
Varroa Effects
Varroa Life CycleAll happens within the hive
Usually in drone brood
Hiding under the brood
cappings
Testing-same process, varying results
Sugar Alcohol wash
Varroa Treatment- Controversial
Natural Minded
◦ Re-queen
◦ Sugar dust
◦ Add to stronger colony
◦ Destroy the colony
◦ Oxalic acid
◦ Thymol treatment
Not so natural minded
◦ Apistan
◦ Api guard
◦ Check mite
◦ -there are more…. Will build up in the
wax
Public Enemy Number 2
Charleston Harbor ground
zero
Loves honey
Pupates in the ground
“Acts” like a bee, can trick
the bees to feeding it
Larva very similar to wax
moths
Treatment of Hive Beetle
◦ Prevention:
◦ Weeds low
◦ Sunny location
◦ Correct size hive for the colony
◦ Removing extra honey
◦ Do not open/limited during the honey flow
◦ DE
◦ Nematodes
◦ Black plastic
◦ Beetle trap within frames
◦ Freeman Beetle trap under hive
◦ Swiffer cloths
◦ Freezing frames
◦ Checkmite with patches
◦ Pyrethrin
◦ Guard star
Hive Beetle Larva versus Wax Moth
Hive Beetle Wax Moth
Clean up Crew-the wax moth
They clean, don’t kill
Opportunistic
Freeze to destroy
Para-moth
NOT MOTH BALLS
Sunlight
Strong Hives
FEEDING
Feeding, How and When
Sugar water, honey Pollen
When to feed
◦ New packages or colonies- most the first
year
◦ Every winter, from October-March at
least
◦ Whenever weak
◦ Possibly during Summer Dearth
◦ When stores are low
◦ When there has been little rain
◦ When they have swarmed or you split
them
Types of Feeder
Internal External
Avoid entrance feedersAka Boardman feeder
Bee candy/FondantOften best for winter
Can house hive beetle
Can purchase or make your
own
HARVESTING
SC Dept of Ag
ALL Honey sold needs to be
under SC Dept of Ag
guidelines
Exemption must be filed
Or
Bottled in a Certified Honey
House
Labeling
◦ • Statement of Identity (Honey) shall be in bold print, type size must
be comparable to the most prominent part of the label (larger than
other type) and must be placed on the Principle Display (Front)
Panel. • An ingredient list is not needed for pure honey. Infused
honey products will require an ingredient list. For infused honey
products, the ingredient list must be listed in a font size no less
than 1⁄16” as measured by the lower case letter ‘o’. Infused and
creamed honey require registration and inspection and cannot be
produced under an exemption. • Business name and street address
of the producer, packer, or distributor is required. Address shall
include a street address (if not in a local phone directory), city or
town, state, and zip code. A qualifying phrase is required to be
listed before the business name and address if the address is other
than that of the producer/processor’s. • Net Weight must be placed
at the bottom 1⁄3 of the Principle Display (Front) Panel. It must list
both customary (pound, ounce, etc.), and metric (kilogram, gram,
etc.) weights, and have a minimum type size (see below) based on
the area of the principle display panel. Measurements should be
rounded down to the nearest whole number. T
ALL labels must be
approved
Bee Inspections
◦ Clemson University's Department of Plant Industry:
◦ Inspects honey bees and fixtures to be moved from South Carolina into other states and countries, and issues certificates of inspection verifying apparent freedom from contagious and infectious diseases.
◦ Monitors honey bees and fixtures shipped or moved into South Carolina from other states and countries to assure that they have been inspected and are accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued by a plant or apiary official from the state, county or country from which the bees originated.
◦ Investigates incidences of suspected pests of regulatory concern affecting honey bees, and initiate regulatory action if indicated.
◦ Participates in USDA honey bee surveys on a regular basis.
◦ Provides regulatory expertise and support to the SCBA, local chapters, and individual members.
Brad Cavin through
Clemson Regulatory
Services