WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.660 in a world brimming with complexity few creatures 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:12.839 embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:17.699 precision she dances from bloom to bloom each 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:22.420 motion guided by millennia upon millennia of 00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:28.800 instinct each act in service to the whole and 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:34.560 then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:40.500 of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist, 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:45.460 part poet, they move along their hives with the 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:50.560 efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.219 the bees' needs as best they can comprehend, 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:59.670 and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the 00:00:59.670 --> 00:01:05.569 Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing 00:01:05.569 --> 00:01:12.150 like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their 00:01:12.150 --> 00:01:24.090 journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping 00:01:24.090 --> 00:01:26.790 presented by our great friends and partners in 00:01:26.790 --> 00:01:30.379 beekeeping, Man Lake. Today we'll have a discussion 00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:33.500 with two of the most fun beekeepers around, Kim 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:36.239 and Steph. If you're thinking about getting into 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:39.420 beekeeping, believe it or not there are some 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:42.200 big decisions you need to make before you take 00:01:42.200 --> 00:01:44.579 the leap. What kind of honey bees should you 00:01:44.579 --> 00:01:48.099 start with? What kind of hive design? Why are 00:01:48.099 --> 00:01:50.359 you getting into beekeeping in the first place? 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:53.980 In this multi -episode series we're taking a 00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:57.120 deep dive into the 10 decisions you need to make 00:01:57.180 --> 00:02:00.560 before you start your beekeeping journey. But 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:03.599 first let's take just a minute to go inside the 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:07.859 hive this feature presented by Primal Bee. So 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:10.780 you see a cloud of bees pour out of a hive and 00:02:10.780 --> 00:02:13.620 land on a tree branch in a big clump and your 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:16.740 first thought is oh something has gone very wrong. 00:02:17.099 --> 00:02:20.500 Actually it's the opposite swarming is how a 00:02:20.500 --> 00:02:23.830 healthy colony reproduces. When a colony gets 00:02:23.830 --> 00:02:26.129 strong enough, starts running out of room or 00:02:26.129 --> 00:02:29.150 is just ready to reproduce, the workers raise 00:02:29.150 --> 00:02:32.550 new queen cells. When those queens are almost 00:02:32.550 --> 00:02:35.889 ready to hatch, the old queen takes off with 00:02:35.889 --> 00:02:38.919 about half the bees in the colony. That terrifying 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:42.180 cloud of bees, they're actually in a great mood. 00:02:42.539 --> 00:02:45.280 They've gorged on honey before leaving and they're 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.780 not defending anything. They're just temporarily 00:02:47.780 --> 00:02:50.840 homeless. They'll cluster on a branch while scout 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:54.479 bees go house hunting and those scouts are incredibly 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:57.879 picky. They want thick walls, a small entrance, 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:00.919 the right amount of space. When a scout finds 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:03.819 a good spot, she comes back and does a waggle 00:03:03.819 --> 00:03:06.979 dance to pitch it to the rest of the group. Sometimes 00:03:06.979 --> 00:03:10.199 you even have multiple scouts lobbying for different 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:13.680 locations at the same time. The colony basically 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:17.500 votes. Once enough bees agree, the whole swarm 00:03:17.500 --> 00:03:21.020 lifts off, flies together to the new location 00:03:21.020 --> 00:03:24.879 and moves in. Back in the original hive, a new 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:27.960 queen hatches and takes over. Now there are two 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:32.099 colonies instead of just one. In bee terms, that's 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:35.719 a success story. Next time on Inside the Hive, 00:03:36.139 --> 00:03:38.699 we'll take a deeper dive into the waggle dance. 00:03:39.300 --> 00:03:42.419 Bees literally give each other GPS directions 00:03:42.419 --> 00:03:46.120 by dancing. Now how about a warm welcome for 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:54.349 our very special guests. I am so happy to have 00:03:54.349 --> 00:03:58.509 on the line with us today Kim and Steph from 00:03:58.509 --> 00:04:00.650 Mandalay, Clearback in Pennsylvania. How are 00:04:00.650 --> 00:04:04.409 you two this morning? Good, how are you? Fantastic. 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:07.789 You were asking about our weather earlier and 00:04:07.789 --> 00:04:10.789 I am so happy to report here in the mountains 00:04:10.789 --> 00:04:13.750 of Utah we are finally getting winter. We have 00:04:13.750 --> 00:04:17.129 a big snowstorm going on and it's fantastic. 00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:19.750 You guys already got yours a while ago, now it's 00:04:19.750 --> 00:04:23.149 our turn. We did we did so now we're just enjoying 00:04:23.149 --> 00:04:25.730 a rainy day today. It's a little drizzly out 00:04:25.730 --> 00:04:29.069 there What are your bees doing today right now? 00:04:29.209 --> 00:04:32.829 Well, if I had to think about it, I would say 00:04:32.829 --> 00:04:35.329 they're probably still a little clustered up 00:04:35.329 --> 00:04:37.509 It's been a little chilly. Well yesterday was 00:04:37.509 --> 00:04:40.430 a little warm but with the rain They're probably 00:04:40.430 --> 00:04:42.790 taking it easy today. They were out yesterday 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:44.910 foraging. I'm sure so today. They're probably 00:04:44.910 --> 00:04:48.089 taking it easy after those cleansing flights 00:04:48.089 --> 00:04:50.850 and little foraging they may have done. I wish 00:04:50.850 --> 00:04:52.870 you would have asked me yesterday. Yesterday 00:04:52.870 --> 00:04:55.410 they were all out and about but today they are 00:04:55.410 --> 00:04:58.029 safely in their hives. Cleansing flights are 00:04:58.029 --> 00:05:00.189 such a good thing but I worry a little bit about 00:05:00.189 --> 00:05:04.430 my bees on some of the really warm winter days 00:05:04.430 --> 00:05:07.189 that we've had here because they go out foraging 00:05:07.189 --> 00:05:09.589 and obviously there's absolutely nothing for 00:05:09.589 --> 00:05:12.670 them to find and I'm afraid they're wearing themselves 00:05:12.670 --> 00:05:15.350 out. That is something that we do worry about. 00:05:15.509 --> 00:05:18.290 And in fact, seeing them all out yesterday, taking 00:05:18.290 --> 00:05:21.470 the dead out, their movements you can see around, 00:05:21.689 --> 00:05:23.689 sometimes they'll drop in the snow and not be 00:05:23.689 --> 00:05:26.370 able to get back out. We know this time of year 00:05:26.370 --> 00:05:29.069 is very tricky in February because they'll be 00:05:29.069 --> 00:05:31.829 going out on warmer days, but less and less will 00:05:31.829 --> 00:05:34.689 be coming back to the hive to keep that cluster 00:05:34.689 --> 00:05:37.019 and keep the queen warm. All right well I want 00:05:37.019 --> 00:05:40.300 to jump into today's topic because we have a 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:43.060 lot lot lot to talk about. What we've come up 00:05:43.060 --> 00:05:46.160 with is everything that you need to know before 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:49.699 you take the leap into beekeeping. So for seasoned 00:05:49.699 --> 00:05:53.079 beekeepers out there you might think this is 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:55.459 a little boring but hey don't go away because 00:05:55.459 --> 00:05:58.220 you'll probably be helping somebody or there 00:05:58.220 --> 00:06:00.459 may be some gaps in your knowledge that you need 00:06:00.459 --> 00:06:03.850 to fill in too. But especially if you're new 00:06:03.850 --> 00:06:07.170 to beekeeping or just thinking about it, this 00:06:07.170 --> 00:06:10.750 is your big list of things to do first. And that's 00:06:10.750 --> 00:06:13.110 why I have Kim and Steph with me today, because 00:06:13.110 --> 00:06:15.290 they know what they're doing. They've been beekeeping 00:06:15.290 --> 00:06:17.689 for a long time. Have you guys taught classes 00:06:17.689 --> 00:06:21.149 too? No, we haven't taught classes, so to speak. 00:06:21.350 --> 00:06:23.670 It's something to think about. We teach more 00:06:23.670 --> 00:06:26.899 of what we do on TikTok. And you've got a lot 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:30.319 of fun content out there. And this is not a beginner 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:33.120 beekeeping class today. That's not what this 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:36.279 is. This is a whole different thing about things 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:39.620 to think about first. And I have a whole big 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:42.480 list here. You guys are welcome to jump in with 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:44.980 whatever you want. Now these are in no particular 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:50.959 order. So I think people should define why they 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:53.639 want to get into beekeeping before they do it. 00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:56.680 Why is that a big deal? Kim and I were discussing 00:06:56.680 --> 00:06:59.939 this and it's important to understand why you 00:06:59.939 --> 00:07:01.819 want to do it because you're going to invest 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:04.879 a lot of time in doing it. You're going to invest 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:07.079 your summer days, you're going to invest your 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:09.060 spring, you're going to invest a lot of energy 00:07:09.060 --> 00:07:12.459 into doing it. So it's important to really think 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:15.420 about, are you doing this for the honey yields? 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.980 Are you doing this to pollinate your garden? 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:21.879 It's just important to have a, you know, why 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:24.370 you're doing it. I do it. for a little bit of 00:07:24.370 --> 00:07:27.129 everything. I like the honey. I like a pollinated 00:07:27.129 --> 00:07:29.769 area. I like that we're helping our food sources 00:07:29.769 --> 00:07:32.329 out there. And of course you invest a lot of 00:07:32.329 --> 00:07:35.750 money into it. There's that. Let's be honest. 00:07:35.810 --> 00:07:39.089 There is a financial investment here. Yeah. What 00:07:39.089 --> 00:07:42.509 would you say for your average beginner jumping 00:07:42.509 --> 00:07:45.490 in with two hives, what's their investment? Give 00:07:45.490 --> 00:07:47.970 us a round number. First year. I'm gonna say 00:07:47.970 --> 00:07:51.519 easily could be a thousand dollars. Easy. And 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.879 that's your full setup, though. So that's going 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:57.060 to be with us. That's everything with your bees 00:07:57.060 --> 00:08:00.579 and your heads. A thousand dollars is a very 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:03.579 good starting point. Just to get into a little 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:07.079 bit more of the why, I think another reason why 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.339 people need to define their why is because beekeeping 00:08:11.339 --> 00:08:14.579 is harder than most people think it is. You may 00:08:14.579 --> 00:08:17.819 get stung. You may get stung a few times. You 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:21.339 may have bees die. You may have neighbors mad 00:08:21.339 --> 00:08:24.680 at you. There are things that can happen and 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:27.939 with that really defined why it helps you keep 00:08:27.939 --> 00:08:30.980 coming back. It helps you put in the effort that 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:34.159 you need to learn what you need to learn. Instead 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:37.340 of avoiding, oh man, I don't even want to deal 00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:39.940 with varroa. I don't even want to know what it 00:08:39.940 --> 00:08:43.779 is. No it'll help you go, I need to figure out 00:08:43.779 --> 00:08:45.740 Varroa, I need to figure out the climate where 00:08:45.740 --> 00:08:49.620 I am, I need to do my homework to do this right. 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:53.559 Because being an irresponsible beekeeper, that 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:55.940 doesn't make a lot of sense for anybody. Not 00:08:55.940 --> 00:09:00.039 for you, not for the bees. So to find that why, 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:03.820 like for me it was hey seasonal allergies, and 00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:06.220 I had read a whole bunch of things about how 00:09:06.220 --> 00:09:09.240 raw local honey can really help those allergies. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:12.120 And I'm the kind of person that just likes to 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:16.120 test stuff. So I bought some raw local honey. 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:20.240 It was from some beekeepers about 150 miles from 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:24.000 me. And I religiously like ate some of this honey 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.980 every day and it didn't do anything. Have you 00:09:26.980 --> 00:09:30.889 heard this before? Okay, and so I read more and 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:35.129 it said no really local like hyper local honey 00:09:35.129 --> 00:09:38.809 Because what I have growing around me is not 00:09:38.809 --> 00:09:41.730 the same thing growing around that guy 150 miles 00:09:41.730 --> 00:09:45.029 from here That's why I got bees at first and 00:09:45.029 --> 00:09:48.590 I'll tell you what it helps in a big -time way 00:09:48.590 --> 00:09:51.590 My allergies are so so much better. They're not 00:09:51.590 --> 00:09:55.590 gone They're not cured. They're like 75 % better. 00:09:55.590 --> 00:09:59.009 For me, that's a huge thing. Then, like you said, 00:09:59.029 --> 00:10:01.990 there's other reasons too. Maybe we can actually 00:10:01.990 --> 00:10:05.389 help the bees some. We can help pollinate our 00:10:05.389 --> 00:10:07.850 orchard that we have at our house, whatever it 00:10:07.850 --> 00:10:11.210 is. And most of us love honey too. Yeah. Yes. 00:10:11.590 --> 00:10:14.110 I was going to say that that's one of the reasons 00:10:14.110 --> 00:10:16.970 why I got into it. I have seasonal allergies 00:10:16.970 --> 00:10:19.629 very badly in the fall. And I remember years 00:10:19.629 --> 00:10:23.600 ago, riding my bike to a few miles down the way. 00:10:23.940 --> 00:10:25.980 There's a backyard beekeeper. I would buy their 00:10:25.980 --> 00:10:28.620 raw honey. And I wanted to be able to use it 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:31.279 in things that I make. I like to make a lot of 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:34.220 skin care and natural products and the food. 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:38.440 It did help some. But when we moved and I started 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:41.639 working at Man Lake and I realized what local 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:45.399 truly meant, then yes, I wanted to have bees 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:48.940 on my property that would forage in my area. 00:10:49.149 --> 00:10:52.190 And I have noticed the same, that I hardly have 00:10:52.190 --> 00:10:54.830 any allergies in the fall. It's really helped 00:10:54.830 --> 00:10:58.169 tremendously with that. To add on to the benefits 00:10:58.169 --> 00:11:02.289 of that, I find that beekeeping keeps me grounded 00:11:02.289 --> 00:11:05.129 in a healthier state of mind. That's one reason 00:11:05.129 --> 00:11:07.710 I really got into it. I was, you know, not as 00:11:07.710 --> 00:11:09.710 healthy as I could have been. And then I got 00:11:09.710 --> 00:11:12.950 into the beekeeping from working where I'm at. 00:11:12.990 --> 00:11:16.509 And I found that It really put me at ease and 00:11:16.509 --> 00:11:19.870 all the other added benefits. It's very therapeutic 00:11:19.870 --> 00:11:23.509 for me personally. That is so true. I've had 00:11:23.509 --> 00:11:26.789 a guest on the show from Hives for Heroes and 00:11:26.789 --> 00:11:29.450 we talked about the therapeutic aspect and dealing 00:11:29.450 --> 00:11:34.009 with PTSD and stuff and beekeeping is such a 00:11:34.009 --> 00:11:36.289 good hobby for that, for your mental health. 00:11:36.990 --> 00:11:40.139 It truly, truly is. Let's just go with our next 00:11:40.139 --> 00:11:42.820 thing again in no particular order. One of the 00:11:42.820 --> 00:11:44.659 decisions that you need to make when you first 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:49.460 get into beekeeping is what kind of beehive design 00:11:49.460 --> 00:11:53.700 or style or philosophy of the hive itself, the 00:11:53.700 --> 00:11:57.340 box, what kind do I want to get into. Would you 00:11:57.340 --> 00:11:59.840 ladies just tell us what are some of the different 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:02.299 options and then we'll talk about some pros and 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:06.269 cons of them. Sure. Yeah. So we work with the 00:12:06.269 --> 00:12:08.809 Langstroth hives. That's what I am most familiar 00:12:08.809 --> 00:12:10.570 with because that's what I've used throughout 00:12:10.570 --> 00:12:13.549 my entire journey. There are so many different 00:12:13.549 --> 00:12:16.230 types of hives out there. Just this year alone, 00:12:16.230 --> 00:12:19.330 I learned about hives that people who are not 00:12:19.330 --> 00:12:22.389 as able to walk around can use themselves just 00:12:22.389 --> 00:12:25.289 by opening and looking. So there's so many different 00:12:25.289 --> 00:12:27.590 kinds of hives out there. I'm just personally 00:12:27.590 --> 00:12:30.610 know more about the Langstroth than anything. 00:12:31.019 --> 00:12:34.059 I have used Langstroth. I've had a top bar hive 00:12:34.059 --> 00:12:37.220 and I really enjoyed that. We had talked about 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:40.100 that a little previously before recording. That 00:12:40.100 --> 00:12:44.620 one is great. I will say that in using that style, 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:48.480 you really need to make adequate weekly inspections. 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:52.299 You don't want to miss any inspections because 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:54.639 in a top bar hive, you'll want to add a little 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:58.100 bit of wax to the top of the top. far and then 00:12:58.100 --> 00:13:00.460 the bees will draw everything out themselves. 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.419 However there's a lot of cross comb that can 00:13:03.419 --> 00:13:05.620 happen in that situation where they start out 00:13:05.620 --> 00:13:07.980 really well and then they're going to start cross 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:10.419 combing meaning they put comb on one but slide 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:12.460 it down to the other and then when you try to 00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:15.360 lift that out you get a lot of breakage you know 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:17.639 and you don't want that to happen but To say 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:21.100 I really enjoyed my top bar hive, and I would 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:23.860 definitely go back to that method again. Along 00:13:23.860 --> 00:13:26.519 with that would be the horizontal hive. So that's 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:29.039 also great for those that don't want to do any 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:31.399 type of heavy lifting, but you want to be able 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:33.899 to use the same frames that are in a Langstroth 00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:36.639 hive. That would be probably a little bit easier 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:39.620 to work with. It's still that long horizontal. 00:13:40.169 --> 00:13:43.230 hive, but you can put regular frames in there, 00:13:43.490 --> 00:13:45.769 which would be easier for inspections. I know 00:13:45.769 --> 00:13:48.950 there's a few others like the Flow Hive, which 00:13:48.950 --> 00:13:51.490 I think is just beautiful. I've done research 00:13:51.490 --> 00:13:54.169 on it. I found it to be a little too expensive 00:13:54.169 --> 00:13:57.110 for me at this time, but I do, I love watching 00:13:57.110 --> 00:13:59.789 videos of people using it. And I know it's great 00:13:59.789 --> 00:14:02.690 for getting that honey and the, I think it was 00:14:02.690 --> 00:14:05.929 the RZ method where it's in. Primarily in Europe, 00:14:05.950 --> 00:14:08.169 which just reminds me of like a library where 00:14:08.169 --> 00:14:11.370 you're just pulling out the droid But I don't 00:14:11.370 --> 00:14:14.169 have too much familiarity with that one So I 00:14:14.169 --> 00:14:17.070 know there's many different methods and I would 00:14:17.070 --> 00:14:19.610 say you know as much as we always say this do 00:14:19.610 --> 00:14:22.590 your research On the different methods out there 00:14:22.590 --> 00:14:24.809 to see what you think you might want to work 00:14:24.809 --> 00:14:27.950 with and also cost -wise Some things might will 00:14:27.950 --> 00:14:31.649 be more expensive if you take a first -year beginner 00:14:31.649 --> 00:14:35.559 beekeeping class They may push one kind over 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:39.539 another. If you happen to have a mentor, they're 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:43.480 probably more familiar and like one kind of hive 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:47.399 more than another. I will say that Langstroth 00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:51.200 is really the standard. It is probably, what, 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:55.100 90 % of the hives in the United States and Europe 00:14:55.100 --> 00:14:56.960 and other places. We have a lot of listeners 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:59.820 in Australia. Theirs are very similar. The sizes 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:02.100 might be a little bit different, but basically 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:06.649 the design is the same. There are AZ hives. and 00:15:06.649 --> 00:15:09.289 a lot of other kinds of hives. We've talked about 00:15:09.289 --> 00:15:12.830 poly hives which are basically a Langstroth but 00:15:12.830 --> 00:15:15.629 not made out of wood. There's the primal hive 00:15:15.629 --> 00:15:18.190 which we've talked about on here too. I better 00:15:18.190 --> 00:15:20.549 not go down that road I could spend 20 minutes 00:15:20.549 --> 00:15:23.070 on that. But it's a little bit different but 00:15:23.070 --> 00:15:26.350 the beekeeping is quite similar to Langstroth 00:15:26.350 --> 00:15:28.850 kind of beekeeping. There are a lot of different 00:15:28.850 --> 00:15:32.049 designs and part of it's going to be how are 00:15:32.049 --> 00:15:35.070 you going to learn and how easy do you want it 00:15:35.070 --> 00:15:37.899 to be to buy equipment. Langstroth in general 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:40.759 is a pretty good place for most people to start. 00:15:41.299 --> 00:15:44.039 It's easy to get the equipment. Mann Lake and 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:46.799 a lot of other places are going to stock it. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.159 And then you have to decide do I want to use 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:52.860 10 frame or 8 frame. Why don't you talk about 00:15:52.860 --> 00:15:56.679 the difference there? Sure. So I started out 00:15:56.679 --> 00:16:01.220 using 10 frame equipment and just this past season, 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:04.299 I adopted an eight frame hive and I'm glad I 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:06.720 did because now I'm going to be able to, for 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.220 me, it's going to be easier for me to lift just 00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:12.019 the supers and the box in general. So with the 00:16:12.019 --> 00:16:14.820 eight frame hive. that's something to look at. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:16.980 Do you want as much weight? The eight frames 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:19.179 not going to give you as much weight as a 10 00:16:19.179 --> 00:16:21.700 frame would. So it might be easier for some people 00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:24.860 to have an eight frame as opposed to the 10 frame. 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:27.399 I'm excited to see how much honey I get in that 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:29.679 eight frame though. And then most people are 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:33.639 going to use deep boxes for their brood boxes. 00:16:33.899 --> 00:16:37.240 I'm transitioning towards mediums for the very 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:39.419 reason that you just talked about, which is the 00:16:39.419 --> 00:16:41.980 weight issue. And that changes things up a little 00:16:41.980 --> 00:16:44.460 bit. So there's a lot of things going on and 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:47.100 a lot of decisions to make even as far as this. 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:49.519 I think, yeah, just just how much weight do you 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.159 want to manage? That's most important because 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:53.700 you don't you're going to you don't want to be 00:16:53.700 --> 00:16:55.980 out there struggling with a heavy honey box. 00:16:56.019 --> 00:16:59.230 That's why I switched from one deep. brood box 00:16:59.230 --> 00:17:02.570 to then the rest medium boxes. Same. And I will 00:17:02.570 --> 00:17:05.150 say real quick before we move on, when I was 00:17:05.150 --> 00:17:08.650 a brand new beekeeper, before I knew really anything, 00:17:09.190 --> 00:17:11.529 I had no idea the difference between 10 frame 00:17:11.529 --> 00:17:14.170 and eight frame, no idea that it was even a different 00:17:14.170 --> 00:17:17.730 box. And so I remember asking some people I work 00:17:17.730 --> 00:17:20.650 with, like, do you just put eight frames in there? 00:17:20.650 --> 00:17:24.990 Or how does that work? So yeah, it's not as complicated 00:17:24.990 --> 00:17:27.940 as it seems to begin with. But the answer is 00:17:27.940 --> 00:17:30.160 no, you don't just put eight frames in a 10 frame 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.559 box. You'll be sorry, we'll leave it at that. 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:36.400 Are you planning on expanding your apiary this 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.759 year? Or are you a beginner thinking about jumping 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.779 into beekeeping for the very first time? Take 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:45.400 it from someone who's purchased beekeeping equipment 00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:49.420 from many different suppliers. If you want made 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:53.500 in USA woodenware, premium feeds, top quality 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:56.599 and great prices on everything, give Man Lake 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:59.579 a try. And whether or not you're a beekeeper, 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:02.279 you can help honey bees and other pollinators 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:05.700 by planting bee -friendly forage. Man Lake has 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:08.339 that too. In fact, download the free Man Lake 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:11.259 app and learn about some of the best plants for 00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:15.259 your area. Go to manlakeltd .com and be sure 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:18.420 to use discount code getstartedinbees. It's all 00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:21.480 down in the show notes for savings on live bees, 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:26.279 beginner kits, and even seeds. Temperature management 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:29.759 inside a hive isn't just a winter problem. In 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:32.519 summer your bees work overtime keeping things 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:36.599 cool. You see brood needs optimal temperatures. 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:40.559 Primal bees insulated hives buffer against temperature 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:44.500 swings year -round. Less extreme highs, less 00:18:44.500 --> 00:18:48.109 extreme lows. Less work for your bees. And right 00:18:48.109 --> 00:18:51.769 now Primal Bee is offering a 10 % discount just 00:18:51.769 --> 00:18:54.930 for bee love listeners. Click on over to primalbee 00:18:54.930 --> 00:18:59.309 .com forward slash bee love and use the discount 00:18:59.309 --> 00:19:03.730 code bee love at checkout. I've got one. I think 00:19:03.730 --> 00:19:06.630 you're gonna love it. Let's move on from there. 00:19:06.710 --> 00:19:09.529 Let's talk about different kinds of bees. What? 00:19:09.690 --> 00:19:12.759 There are different kinds of bees? I know, right? 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:15.859 That's amazing. They're not just honeybees. There's 00:19:15.859 --> 00:19:19.380 many kinds of honeybees, for sure. Another thing 00:19:19.380 --> 00:19:21.940 I have no idea about, I was thinking, what do 00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:25.200 you mean? There's there's Buckfest and there's 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:27.559 Italian and there's Southern Italian. What? And 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:30.319 there's California Italian. What? And there's 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.200 Russian and there's hybrids. There's a few others 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:36.819 in between. Where do people go find information 00:19:36.819 --> 00:19:40.019 to figure that one out? So actually, if we could 00:19:40.019 --> 00:19:43.119 just St. Man Lake is a great place to get that 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:45.839 information. We've broken it down so well for 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:48.460 the different types of bees that we carry. When 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:51.240 you go to the website, you can take a look at 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:54.720 the different attributes, their energy levels, 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:57.140 how they're going to act as far as swarming. 00:19:57.460 --> 00:19:59.680 So we've really broken that down for you and 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:03.299 put that right out there. Our website is full 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:06.680 of so much rich, just educational knowledge and 00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:09.779 just so much stuff out there. About all the bees 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:12.599 really and you can call us and you can call him. 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:16.779 We would be happy to discuss it further So just 00:20:16.779 --> 00:20:19.099 to give people an idea of what you're talking 00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:22.619 about. You've got a chart that will say something 00:20:22.619 --> 00:20:25.980 like Italian bees have more swarming behavior 00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:29.119 or less swarming behavior and and this kind of 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:32.079 bee does better in cold weather, and this kind 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:35.160 of bee may be better in warmer weather. This 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:37.980 kind of bee, speaking of Russians, they're a 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:41.140 little bit cranky. This kind of bee, like Buckfast, 00:20:41.539 --> 00:20:43.400 they're just sweethearts and they'll come give 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:45.859 you a kiss on the cheek. So you can look through 00:20:45.859 --> 00:20:48.680 all those traits, find out which are the most 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:52.000 important to you, and which fit best with where 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.819 you live. Hopefully talk to somebody in your 00:20:54.819 --> 00:20:58.220 area too. that's a beekeeper to make the right 00:20:58.220 --> 00:21:01.000 decision. I had somebody call me a couple of 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:04.420 years ago from up in my area saying, ah, can 00:21:04.420 --> 00:21:06.640 you come help me? I don't know what's going on 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:10.359 with my bees, but they're just mean. And she 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:13.019 was a first year beekeeper and turns out she 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:15.319 had bought Russian bees and I wouldn't recommend 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:18.240 that for first year beekeepers. Right. And they 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:20.680 were just, they were very aggressive and she 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:23.519 was scared and I don't blame her. And that's 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:26.079 important when you're, you don't want to be scared. 00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:28.000 You don't want to have that mindset when you're 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.859 going into your hives. So to be scared, that's, 00:21:30.859 --> 00:21:32.980 that's not enjoyable. You're not going to enjoy 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:35.460 yourself and ultimately beekeeping should be 00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:38.119 enjoyable. So what are your favorite bees, by 00:21:38.119 --> 00:21:42.200 the way? Well, funny you say that because I actually 00:21:42.200 --> 00:21:45.000 have Russians. They're my partners, but we've 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.380 loved them. They haven't attacked us. They haven't 00:21:47.380 --> 00:21:50.269 attacked him. They haven't attacked me. They're 00:21:50.269 --> 00:21:53.569 just sweet. They're amazing what what they do. 00:21:53.890 --> 00:21:56.750 But aside, but not for a beginner beaker. I did 00:21:56.750 --> 00:21:59.710 wait. I did wait. I will preface that with it. 00:21:59.710 --> 00:22:02.329 I think it was my third year before I got Russians 00:22:02.329 --> 00:22:05.589 or before we got them. I started with the Carniolans, 00:22:05.690 --> 00:22:11.029 which are beautiful, gentle, docile honey makers. 00:22:11.289 --> 00:22:14.930 They go out on cool days to forage early. So 00:22:14.930 --> 00:22:18.740 Carnolians, beautiful breed. We are Carnolean 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:22.380 lovers over here. Yeah, we are. I haven't worked 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:25.700 with Buckfast yet. Do you like them? Well, we 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:29.339 haven't either, but this is going to be our first 00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:31.819 year doing it. We are actually getting a package 00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:35.480 of Buckfast so we can take Everyone along with 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:38.799 us, we plan on showing some footage of that and 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:40.880 going along this season with our buck fast. And 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:43.079 we're going to be putting them in an eight frame 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:45.559 hive, which is also going to be new for me. So 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:48.440 a lot of new experiences. And so even beekeeping 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:50.880 for years, you know, you're still going to have 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:54.759 new experiences. And we hope to really enjoy 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:56.400 working with the buck fast. And then we'll be 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:59.059 able to talk a little bit more about that breed. 00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:01.599 Absolutely. I'm really looking forward to the 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:04.200 buck fast this year. I haven't heard. anything 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:07.440 but good things about them. So I'm really excited 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:10.099 for our bug fast journey. I don't need new bees 00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:13.140 this year, but maybe I should get some of those 00:23:13.140 --> 00:23:15.200 too, just to give them a try. I think you should 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:17.339 try them. We could talk about our experiences 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:21.240 together. That'd be fun. Yeah. We'll have a part 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:25.079 two of this. Now you mentioned the term package 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:28.539 a minute ago, package of bees. There's another 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:30.920 term that if you're new, you're going what? And 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:33.609 that is a nuke of bees. Why don't you explain 00:23:33.609 --> 00:23:37.269 what those two things are and why you need to 00:23:37.269 --> 00:23:40.250 order one or the other? Sure. So I'll actually 00:23:40.250 --> 00:23:42.890 show a package if you want to explain about it. 00:23:42.890 --> 00:23:45.349 I'll grab one. Yeah, that's another thing that 00:23:45.349 --> 00:23:48.069 can be a little confusing to someone who's just 00:23:48.069 --> 00:23:50.829 trying to order for the first time. This stuff's 00:23:50.829 --> 00:23:54.089 going to show you can get a package of bees which 00:23:54.089 --> 00:23:56.589 come in a bee bus. We like to use a fun little 00:23:56.589 --> 00:24:00.089 term. They'll be either in a white plastic bee 00:24:00.089 --> 00:24:04.089 bus such as this one, which essentially is a 00:24:04.089 --> 00:24:07.549 brand new bunch of bees, about 10 ,000 bees, 00:24:08.009 --> 00:24:10.710 roughly three pounds. They've just been put together. 00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:13.819 Right then and there they put them in the package. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:16.420 The queen is separate will come in a queen cage 00:24:16.420 --> 00:24:19.220 So has not been acclimated with that particular 00:24:19.220 --> 00:24:22.940 colony They do come with a syrup can so you can 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:25.960 get those either by picking them up at a facility 00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:29.039 Or you can actually get them by USPS through 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:31.920 the mail they go to your local post office where 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:34.660 you can just go there and Pick up your bees and 00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:37.339 bring them home within the bee bus. They're pretty 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:40.210 secure in there. So they won't be able to really 00:24:40.210 --> 00:24:42.609 get out and fly around. The one thing I like 00:24:42.609 --> 00:24:44.569 about the bee bus too when you're getting the 00:24:44.569 --> 00:24:46.809 package is you actually get a chance to see what 00:24:46.809 --> 00:24:49.089 a cluster of bees looks like in your hive in 00:24:49.089 --> 00:24:51.950 the wintertime too. They make such a beautiful 00:24:51.950 --> 00:24:56.009 cluster so it's fun to see. It's nice if you 00:24:56.009 --> 00:24:59.089 really want to experience it from the very beginning. 00:24:59.329 --> 00:25:01.849 If you want to really grow along with your bees, 00:25:02.450 --> 00:25:04.890 a package will help you do that because you're 00:25:04.890 --> 00:25:07.569 going to take them home. You'll have your hive 00:25:07.569 --> 00:25:10.690 set up and you just gently put the bees in there 00:25:10.690 --> 00:25:14.549 and you all start together really. And a package 00:25:14.549 --> 00:25:17.349 of bees you can put in any of the hive styles 00:25:17.349 --> 00:25:20.099 that we talked about. Whether it's top bar, length, 00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:24.559 trough, AZ, whatever it is, primal hive, they'll 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:27.579 work in anything. Now a nuke is a little bit 00:25:27.579 --> 00:25:30.920 different. Explain a nuke. So a nuke is going 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:35.099 to be a set of bees. So it comes in a nuke and 00:25:35.099 --> 00:25:37.519 it's usually four or five frames that's already 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:40.440 been started. So think of it as a package that 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:42.640 has a jumpstart because you're getting a queen 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:45.319 that's already been introduced to her fellow 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:48.339 bees in there. There's already brood in there. 00:25:49.059 --> 00:25:52.059 There's nurse bees ready to go. So your frames 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:54.200 and then you have you generally have a frame 00:25:54.200 --> 00:25:56.559 of honey in there too. They'll give you frame 00:25:56.559 --> 00:25:59.819 of honey. So then that's where you probably will 00:25:59.819 --> 00:26:02.859 need a Langstroth because these nukes come on 00:26:02.859 --> 00:26:04.779 frames already. So you want to make sure you 00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:07.480 have equipment that those frames are going to 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:10.299 fit. These bees are ready to go. So they're going 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:13.079 to go out foraging faster. They don't need to 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:15.859 do a whole lot to get ready there. That's why 00:26:15.859 --> 00:26:18.660 a nuke is sometimes a good jumpstart. If you 00:26:18.890 --> 00:26:21.650 want to see maybe honey production that year. 00:26:21.970 --> 00:26:24.490 You want to, you know, maybe harvest a little 00:26:24.490 --> 00:26:27.769 more. A package might be somewhere to start as 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:30.609 well. Or a nuc, I'm sorry. A nuc is, yeah, ready 00:26:30.609 --> 00:26:34.529 to go. And nuc stands for nucleus colony. It's 00:26:34.529 --> 00:26:38.369 basically a small colony of bees. It's like a 00:26:38.369 --> 00:26:41.230 small beehive. You're going to then take the 00:26:41.230 --> 00:26:44.089 frames, put them into your full -size equipment. 00:26:44.230 --> 00:26:48.099 And if you're using traditional 10 frame boxes. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:50.119 Well, they don't even have to be 10 frame boxes. 00:26:50.180 --> 00:26:52.119 They could be eight, but they need to be deep 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:56.380 boxes. Then a nuke could work for you. Can you 00:26:56.380 --> 00:26:59.940 have a nuke ship to you? No, that is never a 00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:03.359 good idea. These bees have already, they're probably 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:05.720 a little, you know, they want to get to their 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:09.140 permanent home. So you can only pick up a nuke 00:27:09.140 --> 00:27:11.599 from us, but you wouldn't want to ship a nuke 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:14.140 anyway. You'd be on the receiving end with some 00:27:14.140 --> 00:27:17.619 angry bees. Well and it would weigh more and 00:27:17.619 --> 00:27:19.740 be bigger and all that kind of stuff. It's just 00:27:19.740 --> 00:27:22.579 not really practical. So a nuc you're gonna pick 00:27:22.579 --> 00:27:26.660 up from a local supplier like a man lake in your 00:27:26.660 --> 00:27:29.720 area or some other bee supplier in your area 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:33.519 or even a local beekeeper might be selling nucs. 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:36.299 And that's also a really great way to get bees 00:27:36.299 --> 00:27:39.920 because they're probably acclimated to your climate. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:45.779 Thanks again for joining us on Bee Love Beekeeping, 00:27:45.819 --> 00:27:48.359 presented by our great friends over at Man Lake. 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:51.099 Hey, and don't forget to order your bees. And 00:27:51.099 --> 00:27:53.519 a shout out to Vita Bee Health for their support. 00:27:54.019 --> 00:27:56.440 Vita's Varroa Control Ranger products includes 00:27:56.440 --> 00:28:00.779 Epistan, Epigard, and now Varroxan Extended Release 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:04.079 Oxalic Acids Trips. Thank you so much, guys. 00:28:04.430 --> 00:28:07.789 If you haven't yet, please subscribe and follow 00:28:07.789 --> 00:28:10.150 the show, tell your friends about it, and click 00:28:10.150 --> 00:28:13.230 on over to BeLoveBkeeping .com to sign up for 00:28:13.230 --> 00:28:16.630 our free newsletter. If you have a guest suggestion 00:28:16.630 --> 00:28:19.349 or topic that you'd like discussed on the show, 00:28:19.730 --> 00:28:22.730 shoot me an email, eric at BeLoveBkeeping .com. 00:28:23.069 --> 00:28:25.490 And remember, if you're not just in it for the 00:28:25.490 --> 00:28:28.009 honey or the money, you're in it for the love. 00:28:28.309 --> 00:28:29.269 See you next week.