Bee Keeping

[bkln]

The idea is to move away from the NYC as far as you can... :-)

[scolopaxmatt]

The idea is to move away from the NYC as far as you can... :-)

 

I can understand that.  But then why start there in the first place?

[Sogaard]

I can understand that.  But then why start there in the first place?

 

Ummmm....born there?

[Jennifer]

Does anyone actually personally know someone who has participated in this and is happy with the way the thing is actually working? I am simply sending out a bit of caution. These internet offers are not always as good as they sound. The set-up has all the earmarks of a great scam.

 

Crowd funding has allowed many startups to get their feet off the ground. Think of it as either 1) making a donation to help them, or 2) being an investor in the product, with the promise of a reward (that you select).

 

As such, the crowdfunding has just begun, so no one actually has one of these yet. They will use the money from the crowdfunding campaign to pay for the manufacturing process. If you read the info under the rewards, it gives an estimated delivery time. That would be around December of 2015 for the hives. Check back next year to see how people are liking them. It's okay to not want to jump into the crowdfunding; the idea is that if this is successful they will be for sale retail later on. Probably at a higher price, but there would be less risk.

 

I have participated (meaning I was one of the people involved with) and also bought into a great number of crowdfunding campaigns to great results. You just have to go into it knowing there is some risk, and you should always do a bit of research on the person(s) running it. If it is not worth the potential risk, then hang tight and wait for it to hit retail, no harm in that.

[Jennifer]

To answer the question, I am going to be getting into keeping some native (solitary) bees this year. There is no honey to be had in the equation, but solitary bees are much better pollinators than honeybees and are important ecologically. They are super gentle too, so they are a good project for children.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Jennifer

[Geno C]

I think it's a cool idea! But what about robbing? They didn't show other hives or even that hive they are harvesting from with bees swarming the jars. Once that honey scent Is in the air it's a frenzy. I mean a bee keeper will have more then one hive on average in a pretty close distance to one another.

[jrm]

Beekeeping is fascinating to me but I know nothing at all about it. I have heard of a pert-time resident neighbor of mine getting some hive, so I have to think it is a relatively low maintenance activity (as opposed to something like livestock where someone needs to be around all the time)

Which leads me to a dumb question... what happens in the winter? I did some looking online and they talk about doing a few things for the hives. But in a winter like this, there are 8ft son drifts on my property. Do the hive survive being "buried" in snow? Or do they have to be moved for the winter? How does that work?

[growalot]

The biggest mistake New bee keepers make is taking too much honey...That is what they survive on in the winter.

[growalot]

 

Beekeeping is fascinating to me but I know nothing at all about it. I have heard of a pert-time resident neighbor of mine getting some hive, so I have to think it is a relatively low maintenance activity (as opposed to something like livestock where someone needs to be around all the time)

Which leads me to a dumb question... what happens in the winter? I did some looking online and they talk about doing a few things for the hives. But in a winter like this, there are 8ft son drifts on my property. Do the hive survive being "buried" in snow? Or do they have to be moved for the winter? How does that work?

 

JRM... NOT as low maintenance as you or even I thought....there is a lot of really hard work that goes into commercial bee keeping...there is so much more to it then growing a hive and taking the honey...and BTW those hives with honey in them are Damn heavy...but there are feeding schedules....medicating  schedules to maintain during the year and yes work in the winter...then there is splitting hives...making sure your hive doesn't swarm...  and destroying sick hives and knowing what disease or the weather may have killed the hive...and cleaning,repairing hives...I worked from 9:30 til 6pm daily last week W-F and will this week from T-F. Then after all that there is the collecting of honey and all the stuff you need to do with that...opening the combs ,extracting straining bottling then small commercial...it's going to festivals all summer and selling your honey and raw combs that you packaged plus any wax products you collected and packaged

[Skillet]

Ok. As a lifelong "north country" resident I'd just like to know something. Why do so many residents of the southern portion of our state move to our little towns up north? I'm not picking a fight here, just trying to gain some insight into a phenomenon I've observed.

Because you guys up there are just so awesome, we can't help but try to be like you. We figure by moving up there, a little of your awesomeness will rub off on us pitiful downstaters.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

really unique idea. I was wondering how the wax caps were removed to allow the cells to be refilled. Apparently the bees do it themselves. I like it.

[growalot]

What happens is there is a plastic frame put in...the bees build their combs on this frame...then a knife is used to"filet" the cap off that honey filled comb before it is put into the extractor...you can then take that cut off wax and strain and process...when a frame is no longer used and or they want to remove the bees wax comb completely from the frame....My guy has a solar box that he hangs the frames in and the heat generated in this box melts the wax off the plastic frame and into a collection pan...

Now a frame from a diseased hive HAS to be burned...say as in foul brood....then the plastic with comb is completely burned to avoid disease spread. all hives being cleaned get a once over with a torch after we scrape it down....

Edited March 23, 2015 by growalot

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Grow. I understand the "normal" process. Was talking about how the cap is dealt with in the new invention. It is basically "cracking" the cell and is reopened, sealed, refilled and recapped by the bees, apparently.

[scolopaxmatt]

Because you guys up there are just so awesome, we can't help but try to be like you. We figure by moving up there, a little of your awesomeness will rub off on us pitiful downstaters.

 

If only it were that simple and easy.  It's a long, hard road to surly north country bumpkin.

[jrm]

Ok.  As a lifelong "north country" resident I'd just like to know something.  Why do so many residents of the southern portion of our state move to our little towns up north?  I'm not picking a fight here, just trying to gain some insight into a phenomenon I've observed.

 

Two things at play.

One - many of us are born downstate. We move for the same reason many people move (job, retirement, not wanting to live in a congested area). Upstate NY provides an opportunity for a different setting, while still maintaining a close distance to family, friends and "known" areas.

Two - The "so many" observation is relative. Downstate is very populated. An example:

Suffolk County population is 1.5 million.

Delaware County population is 46,700

If one half of one percent have move out of Suffolk, that would be a 16% increase to Delaware County.

I have met people upstate who came from a town 1 mile from where I am on LI. We don't know any of the same people. We may as well be from two different states. However, in the rare instance I meet someone on LI who is from the same _county_ as I am upstate, we generally have at least one common acquaintance.

It's all relative.

JRM... NOT as low maintenance as you or even I thought....there is a lot of really hard work that goes into commercial bee keeping...there is so much more to it then growing a hive and taking the honey...and BTW those hives with honey in them are Damn heavy...but there are feeding schedules....medicating  schedules to maintain during the year and yes work in the winter...then there is splitting hives...making sure your hive doesn't swarm...  and destroying sick hives and knowing what disease or the weather may have killed the hive...and cleaning,repairing hives...I worked from 9:30 til 6pm daily last week W-F and will this week from T-F. Then after all that there is the collecting of honey and all the stuff you need to do with that...opening the combs ,extracting straining bottling then small commercial...it's going to festivals all summer and selling your honey and raw combs that you packaged plus any wax products you collected and packaged

Holy cow, that's a lot more work than I imagined. I have no idea how my neighbor is doing all this as a part-time resident.

Think I will wait until I retire and raise beef cattle.

[growalot]

Ya..... I believe once I have a season under my belt I'll try 1-3 hives...but no more than that...They are predicting honey will rise to 10.00 per pound this year due to the weather and losses...we'll see....

[Culvercreek hunt club]

This thread has really sparked my interest. I had thought about it before but I think I will be putting out a couple hives. Not sure which style yet Hate to but them when all the tools to build them are in my garage. Be nice to get them established this year even though first year production is low.

[growalot]

Now's the time...