Christmas Bird count

Goldfinch on perch / Pine Siskens on tray

Wendy and I participated in the annual Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. It is a national event that is done in the last two weeks of December. The local chapter here usually does their count on the last Saturday in December.
 We just watch our bird feeders all day looking for species of birds and the most of a species at the feeders at any one time. This can give bird researchers a tool to look at trends in bird populations over time.
Our count:
12 - Cardinals
9 - Purple Finches
15 - Goldfinches
4 - Mourning Doves
5 - Black Capped Chickadees
14 - Pine Siskens
4 - Downy Woodpeckers
2 - Hairy Woodpeckers
2 - Red Bellied Woodpeckers
2 - Pileated Wood Peckers
2 - White Breasted Nuthatch
2 - Red Breasted Nuthatch
2 - Blue Jays
2 - Slate Colored Juncos

Hairy Woodpecker (male)

White Breasted and Red Breasted Nuthatch

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Mrs and Mr Cardinal

2019 Package bee update

We will start taking orders for package bees in late January. We will be getting two deliveries of bees, early April and mid April.
 We will no longer be selling 2 lb packages.
 Both deliveries will be 3 lb packages.
 I have been informed that there will be a price increase.
 Queen types in the package will be your choice of Carniolan, Italian and Saskatraz queen. The Saskatraz will cost $2.00 more, same as last year.
There are rumors going around about Nature's Nectar LLC.
 Lets put them to rest right now.
Wendy and Jim are still in the bee business and owners of Nature's Nectar LLC. If you have any questions about package bees or bee equipment please feel free to call us. We have done this business for twenty years and have continually put out some of the best bees in this part of the country. Nature's Nectar LLC is the only trusted source of Olivarez Honey Bees and Saskatraz queens in Minnesota.

Sub zero weather coming

The weatherman says sub zero weather maybe coming next weekend. Now is the time to make sure your hives are covered with a winter wrap and moisture board to prepare for the frigid onslaught.

2019 package bees Package Bees Update

Package bees being prepared for pick up

I should be getting my 2019 package bee prices out by mid January.
Talked to Olivarez Honey bees last week. They were near the big fire near Chico, California. Olivaerez Honey Bees run 16,000 colonies of bees. He had moved 12,000 colonies to Montana for honey production last summer. They had 4,000 colonies in the foot hills near Chico. They were not in the path of the fire. It was so smokey that the skies were very hazy. There was a pall of smoke in the air. The bees did not go out and forage because they could not get their bearing in relation with the sun. So they looked at the days as twilight. The bees were in fine condition, but they could not forage during these smokey days. So the bees had to be fed more than usual to bolster them for their winter. Ray told me his bees were in great shape and he was looking forward to another year of package bees and queens.
 Olivarez honey bees is probably one of the biggest package bee supplier in the country. He does have authorized distributors around the country.  They put out a quality product that is sought out by beekeepers who value his high quality queens.
Nature's Nectar LLC is the authorized Olivarez Honey Bees distributor in Minnesota. We are the only sellers of Saskatraz bees and queens in Minnesota.

Drone research with bumble bees

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/13/researchers-turning-bumblebees-into-live-drones-calling-it-living-iot.html?&qsearchterm=drone

End of Season Deep and Medium Box Sale

  Assembled Deep Painted Boxes with 10 assembled frames with Yellow RiteCell foundation $45.00 each. Regular price $55.00. Save $10.00
  Assembled Medium Painted Boxes with 10 assembled frames with Yellow RiteCell foundation $43.00 each. Regular price $53.00 Save $10.00

bears are still active

This bear was seen near some beehives in the City of Grant. The beekeeper still had his fence charged so the bear did not have a feast. This happened on Dec 3rd.

Think about package bee strategy

 Beekeeping is all strategy. The question to ask yourself, how can I get my hives to peak population at the start of the nectar flow? If you have a few hives with drawn comb there are things you can do to get your hive strength to a higher level.
 Here is a different strategy for you. Say for example you have four empty hives and you want to start the hives with 2 lb package bees. I am saying to get five 2 lb packages and start them all in one deep, or in nuc boxes. Then when it is time to add the second box, around May 5th to May 10th, take that fifth package and split it evenly between the four packages, add the bees to the second box of the four packages. Put the queen from the fifth package in a five frame nuc box.with a frame of bees. This will get all the packages an increase in hive strength. The extra bees will give the queen more bees to cover the frames for more brood. There should be two cycles of brood emerging after adding the bees and the start of the nectar flow. This strategy should give you a bigger hive population earlier than normal. Everything is timing of having peak or near peak population at the time of the start of the nectar flow. Our problem is that the nectar flow can vary by a week to ten days, So swarm control must be practiced.

 Now the economics, the extra 2 lb package will cost you $120.00. You are splitting the package between four hives. So, $30.00 per hive. If the new packages produce an extra five frames of honey, that is about 20 pounds of honey. @ $3.00 per lb. That would be $60.00 per hive. Now this is more than you paid for the extra package. You will also have an extra queen that is worth $35.00 is available for you to use if you need one.

 There are many ways to keep bees. Using well thought out strategy's before a new season starts, should give you a more successful season.

Velcro Winter Covers

My supplier finally got back to me about the rest of my Velcro winter cover order.
 He shipped the covers on Monday. I hope to have them by Friday.
Eight frame and five frame nuc velcro winter covers.

Making Creamed Honey

This is the time of year I make creamed honey for holiday gifts.
 Making creamed honey is easy to do. The science of creamed honey is simply the granulation of honey. Honey that granulates on its own usually results in a coarse, grainy texture. To create a smooth creamed honey we need purchase creamed honey from the grocery store and follow a process.
  Creamed honey is granulated honey, that through this process, fine granulation crystals of the store bought creamed are stirred into the warm honey. As the honey sets up, the crystals of the creamed honey will be replicated and the result will be smooth and creamy honey that is a spread. .
 The process is to take honey that is clear of granulation and warm it up to 95 degrees.  Then, stir in a commercially made creamed honey from the grocery store. One pound of creamed honey to ten pounds of honey. I usually make the creamed honey in 30 lb batches. I use 4 pounds of creamed honey in a 30 lb batch. This assures that there is ample creamed honey crystal to make sure the batch will turn out properly. Cool down the honey quickly by putting it outside for a couple hours. Stir it again the next day, then bottle. Always bottle one plastic tub. This way you can tell when your creamed honey is properly set by squeezing the sides of the plastic container. When the container feels firm, the creamed honey is ready.
 I like making cinnamon creamed honey. I mix 1/8 cup of powdered cinnamon per 10 lbs of honey. I mix the powdered cinnamon in a bowl with the liquid honey. This gets the cinnamon wet with honey then I stir it in with the large batch of honey. The next day it is common to have the cinnamon float to the surface of the batch of creamed honey. I usually stir the batch again then bottle it. I move the bottled creamed honey outside to cool it off. Then I will do a rotation of bring it inside, then a few hours outside for a few days. This will help keep the cinnamon suspended in the honey and not as likely to rise to the top of the bottle.
 To be ready for holiday gifts the creamed honey should be made by December 1st. It can take 14 days to set up. There is timing involved this year. Christmas is on a Tuesday so there will be a four day weekend for most folks. That makes Friday, December 21st the last day for sharing your creamed honey with coworkers if that is your goal. So, don't dawdle on making the creamed honey.

Making Creamed Honey

9-18 Motorized Extractors Sale Price

We are taking orders for 9-18 motorized extractors $1025.00 cash or check only.
You save $270.95 off of catalog price.
In store sale.
It usually takes about a week to get.

MN Pollinator task force, trying to give bees a chance

http://www.startribune.com/protect-bees-governor-s-task-force-delivers-a-long-list-of-ideas/500882012/

Closing Out all extractors

We are closing out all remaining extractors in stock.
We have two new in the box three frame hand crank extractors $369.00 each, cash or check.
Also, our three frame hand crank rental extractors $300.00 each, cash or check.

Forever Green Project from the Univ of MN

I attended the MN Hobby Beekeepers monthly meeting tonight. The guest speaker was Dr Don Wyse. He gave a presentation of a project that he and his research team from the U of MN is working on, called Forever Green.
 Forever Green is a plan to change the farm landscape from what it is today, a two crop (corn and soybeans) to a multi crop diversified landscape that promotes harvest-able cover crops. These cover crops will change the landscape with more economic opportunities for farmers, better soil conservation, better and safer water quality, more pollinator forage, and better protection of our natural resources.
 What this means for beekeepers. Less pesticide use, more bee forage ( the potential could be millions of acres), cleaner water for the bees. The landscape could change from beekeepers, at the present most beekeepers are staying away from corn and soybean fields. With the Forever Green project. beekeepers may start actively looking for corn and soybean fields for larger nectar sources. Some of these plant cover crops bloom at times of the year when bees need forage that may not be widely available.  One of the plants for example, Pennycress, blooms in April. Imagine large farm fields blooming in April when bees are looking for pollen and nectar sources.
 This initiative is supported by large food manufacturers such as General Mills and  Pepsico to name a few. General Mills has committed to lower their carbon usage by 30%. They need this type of ag initiative to help achieve this goal.
Here is a couple links for more information:
Forever Green https://www.forevergreen.umn.edu/
 New Crops Hold Economic Promise 
 Here the website explains strategy and plant types
A brief YouTube Video about the project:

Scientists spy on bee colonies for harmful effects of inseticides

Scientists Spy on Bee Colonies for harmful effects of insecticides

Cold Weather Moving In

The weather is going south for the short term. It would be a good idea to cover your hives now. It is going to turn windy with below normal temperatures.
Bees can handle cold with no problem. It is the cold wind that bites into a colony.
The cold weather was a surprise for most of us.  Many beekeepers have not treated with Oxalic Acid yet. Rainy weather on the weekends have cut into our treatment timing. Feeding with this cold weather may be impossible. The bees will be clustered off the feed and will more than likely not taking not taking syrup.
 It looks like late next week the temps may get into the 40's again, so hopefully the weather gives us a break for a few days so we can finish up our late fall bee work.

Nature's Nectar LLC has gone solar

We have been concerned for a long time about the environment.
Global warming, the huge die off of insects and mammals from the planet. This is our part to help make the world a better place. We set up a solar system that should cover most of our electric consumption.
 The system is a 16.5 kilo watt system. This means the system can generate a peak performance of 16.5 kw per hour in a full midday sun. Solar systems start generating electricity when sunlight hits the panels. The wattage may be low in the morning, then peak midday, and moving lower as the sun goes down in the afternoon.
 Our solar system is grid tied. This means whatever solar that we are not using, the power goes back to the grid and we will get a credit from Xcel energy on our bill. So far after a month of being turned on, we have generated over 1200 kw of power. Not bad for the short days and a cloudy October.
 If you are thinking of a solar system, now is the time to consider it. Right now there is a 30% federal tax credit available for systems installed through 2019. In my case, Xcel energy also pays me $1300.00 per year for 10 years for the renewable energy credits. These two payments will cover half the cost of my system. Plus my electrical bill will be pretty much non existent.
 If you are interested in something like this, or want to see the system, you are welcome to stop by or call me for more information.
This is the company that did the install:
www.allenergysolar.com
or contact Jeff for more info: jeff.wiberg@allenergysolar.com>

10 frame velcro covers are in

We did receive our shipment of 10 frame Velcro Covers.

Treat Now With Oxalic Acid

Now is the time to finish up with Oxalic Acid if you haven't done it yet. The weather over the next few days is ok for applying Oxalic Acid. Beekeepers that need to apply the dribble method, should have temperatures at about forty degrees at the time of treatment.
 As we get into later next week the weather starts cooling off into the 30's for daily high temperatures, and the window for the dribble method will be closing.
 The vaporizer is a little more forgiving on temperatures, meaning that a hive can be vaporized when it is in the high 30's and the high forties at the time of treatment. The nice thing about the vaporizer is that the hive does not have to be opened. But, the entrance has to be open to slip in the vaporizer.
 Anytime after the Oxalic Acid treatments, winter covers can be put on the hives.

Velcro Cover update

I am expecting the delivery of the 10 frame Velcro covers, hopefully sometime on Friday.
 We did get in a shipment of moisture boards.
 I will post when the covers come in.

10 Frame Velcro Cover

Here is a video of a ten frame winter velcro cover. Also, how I cut in my top entrance.

Treating for mites with Oxalic Acid

Soon it will be time to treat with Oxalic Acid. I recommend doing this treatment.
 This treatment is done when no brood in the hive. With no brood in the hive, all the mites are on the exterior of the bees. These phoretic mites are riding on the adult bees. The mites are very vulnerable to Oxalic Acid at this time. The mites are not hiding in the capped brood any longer. So this external treatment is perfect for the external mites.
 Oxalic Acid is Wood Bleach. Beekeepers use the powdered kind of Wood Bleach. Wood Bleach (Oxalic Acid) can be applied with the dribble method or with vaporizer method.
 The best time to use Oxalic Acid is when there is no brood in the colony, which usually is around the third week of October. Italian honey bees can be tough to treat with Oxalic Acid, because they can run brood into November. But I would still treat any way.
 Treating with Oxalic Acid depends on the temperature at the time of treatment.
 With the dribble method, the temperature needs to be at 40 degrees at the time of application. That is four zero, 40 degrees. Not 45 degrees, or other temps in the forties. FORTY DEGREES. The temperature can rise later after the treatment without any problems. At the time of treatment it should be 40 degrees.

 The reason for me being persnickety on the temperature is this, at 40 degrees the bees will be in a tight cluster. The bees will be in a tight mass and can easily be treated with a syringe filled with the Oxalic Acid solution. As the temperature rises into the upper forties, the cluster becomes looser and the bees will start moving around the hive, making the dribble method less effective.
 The vaporizer on the other hand is much more forgiving. Because the vapor is everywhere in the hive, a treatment temperature range between 40 and 48 degrees works fine. Even if the cluster of bees loosens up and the bees are moving around, they will still get vaped. Don't treat if it is too warm, if it is in the fifties for temperature, that is too warm.
Here are a couple videos I made about treating with Oxalic Acid.
Dribble Method


Vaporizer Method:

Winter Cover Video's

 I made this video 8 years ago and it is still current on wintering a hive in the upper Midwest using a cardboard cover. It is still too early to cover your hive. Beekeepers will be doing Oxalic Acid treatments around the third week of October. The winter covers could go on anytime after that, if the weather is cool. If the temperatures warm up in late October, we may be waiting a little longer to cover the hives. The weather person tonight said 60's in about a week. But, we can never depend on a long range forecast and should not take that outlook as gospel.
 Right now, the bees should be checked for food stores. Feed if necessary. As it gets colder, the bees will not take syrup very well. A warm late October would help get the feed into the hives.
 Entrance reducers or mouse guards should be on the hives right now.



This is a video on how to use a Bee Cozy Winter cover

Topping Off The Hives With Feed

2-1/2 Gallon ProSweet

Beekeepers are finishing up feeding their hives. Many beekeepers need a small amount to finish feeding and want to feed ProSweet but don't want to buy a five gallon pail. Nature's Nectar LLC did get in a delivery of 2-1/2 gallon jugs. $26.00 per jug.

New Style of Winter covers

Here are some pictures of a new style winter cover that we are currently carrying.
They are constructed of a vinyl material, that is sewn on the edges and folds of the cover. They wrap around two deep boxes and secure with a strip of velcro. The covers are a snug fit.
 There is 1/2" pink Styrofoam as an insulator in the cover.
 The covers are E-Z on and E-Z off. They store flat when not being used.
The covers are available in 10 frame, 8 frame, and coming soon, nuc size for a five over five cover.
 The covers are heavy duty and should last many years.
 Nature's Nectar LLC is the only bee supply store in Minnesota carrying these covers.
 We have the 10 frame and 8 frame in stock right now.

 

These are snug fit covers

Velcro seam easily seals the cover

Cooler Weather

The weather has cooled off to more seasonable temperatures.

• The good news is robbing will be less because bees won't be able to fly for long periods during the day. 
• Entrance reducers or mouse guards should be installed. With the cooler weather, mice may start moving into the hives. Entrance reducers can be with the wide opening.
• We are still a long way off before winter covers are installed. Usually winter covers are put on anytime after Nov. 1st
• Feeding is still going on. Topping off the hive for sufficient food stores for winter. 
• One frame about in the center of the top box, should be only partially full of honey. It helps the bees move up into the top box, if they can move up on empty comb. If all the frames are full, the bees don't like to move onto the frozen capped honey. If a frame had the bottom third of the frame, empty of honey, will help the bees move up in January.

Different honey on frame

A beekeeper sent me this photo. They were concerned that something was wrong with the frame of honey. Looking at the frame, you can see different colors on the comb. Is there something wrong with this frame? Honey tainted?
 This frame has two distinct different honey's in the frame. Looking at the frame it is easy to see where one honey stopped and another started. There is a nice white comb at the top of the frame, but in the lower part of the frame the cappings have turned to a darker color.
 For an example the light colored wax could have been clover honey. Clover is white honey, very light in color and the beeswax tends to be light as well. The darker wax was a wildflower honey. This wildflower honey is a darker color. In this case the wax was a little darker when it is compared to the whiter wax. 

It is getting late

The window for feeding is getting smaller.
The weather forecaster from channel 5 said yesterday that we may see freezing temperatures in 7 to 10 days. As the temperatures cool off the bees will not take syrup as well as when it is in the 70's.
 Now is the time to feed your bees. The weather still is favorable for feeding.
The feed of choice right now is ProSweet. The bees can take it down and don't have to convert it to honey.
 Feeding sugar water, as we get later into the fall, the bees will have a harder time converting it to honey.
 The next few days and into early next week the temperatures are favorable for feeding.
 Any colder temperatures at this time, will not stress the bees. Winter covers don't have to be installed until November.
 Make the time to feed, now, if the bees need the feed.

The warm weather, pulling supers, feeding and robbing

The current warm weather can be helpful to beekeepers. The nectar flow is over, now is the time to get the supers off the hive, if you haven't done so. Fume boards and honey robber will work great to pull the honey off the hive. Next week it will be cooling off and fumigants used to pull honey will not work as well.
 When the nights turn cool, a bee escape board will be very effective to get the bees out of the super.
 If a beekeeper leaves the supers on too long, the bees may start moving the honey down into their hives. If the honey is uncapped, the bees will move it down very quickly.
 This warm weather is perfect for feeding. The bees will empty feeders at breakneck speed. If there is a lot of feeding in your future, you will want to take advantage of the next four days. Get the feed on NOW. 
 Next week, around Wednesday it is going to cool down into the 60's for highs. As the weather turns cooler the bees don't take the syrup with the same vigor as when it is in the 80's.
 Robbing, this weekend robbing will be in high gear. Hot temperatures, bees, wasps, hornets all have large populations. Large population with large appetites.  It would probably be a good idea to put an entrance reducer in with the large opening in the entrance. This may promote bearding from a hot hive, but it may prevent robbing from getting out of control.
 I have heard of a couple hives already getting overcome by robbers. Hive killed, dead bees everywhere, hive robbed of all honey. Oh, the carnage.
 Do not put supers near a hive to have the bees clean them out. This can start robbing. Once the supers are empty, the robbers can turn on your hive(s). One by one your bee yard can be overtaken. Don't get the robbing started.
 If you have supers to clean up, take off the telescoping cover and set the supers on top of the inner cover and put the telescoping cover back on top. The bees will come up from below and clean out the supers. This will protect the honey from robbers and the hive will clean the supers out in about three days.
 The hurricane in the Carolina's are holding this warm weather pattern for a few days. Take advantage of this and try to get the chores done.

Feeding

Beekeepers are getting in their last chores of the season. Making sure a colony has sufficent stores for winter survival is one of the last hurdles to cross for getting the hives ready for wintering. A colony of bees eats about 12 lbs of honey a month. This is about a frame and a quarter of honey. When brood rearing starts sometime in February, the honey consumption will increase. We can feed syrup again in early March, so that is our target for food stores. While this is a general rule of food consumption, use of stores can increase or decrease by the size of the overwintering cluster.
 For wintering we would like the following, if you have checked them off already that is a good place to be.

• Have a colony as mite free as possible

• In a perfect world, we would like to see 8 full frames of honey and one partially filled frame, say about two thirds full. The partially filled frame is located in the middle of the top box. The reason for the partially filled frame is that when the bees move up in January, transitioning from the lower box into the top box, it is easier to move up on a little empty comb instead onto cold honey or frozen honey. The cluster can move up and warm up adjacent honey in the moving process. The box under the top box should have about four frames of honey. This should give them enough food for winter. 
• Feeding should be done as rapidly as possible. Don't drag this out over six weeks. Feeding with a quart jar with six holes in the lid, does not cut it for fall feeding. Feed with multiple feeder pails or a hive top feeder. With 40,000 bees in the hive, feeders will get empty quickly. If colonies are close to being full, you can feed one colony, then three days later feed the next one. Or, if you have the feeders, feed them all.
• Your choice of feed for fall feeding is 2:1 sugar syrup, two parts sugar to one part water. The bees will have to suck this down, store it in the cells, dehumidify it to turn it into honey. After the bees turn it into honey, the net amount of actual food will be about 2/3rds of what you put in. Meaning if you fed 10 pounds of 2:1 sugar syrup, your net of honey would be around 7 lbs.
• Feeding with ProSweet. ProSweet is similar to honey. It weighs about 11.5 lbs per gallon. The bees can take down ProSweet and put it into the cells and they don't have to do anything to it. Put it in the cells and they are done. If you give the bees 10 pounds of ProSweet, they have 10 pounds of food.

How to feed fast:

Three feeder pails can be put right on top of the frames this time of year. The bees will drain them in about 3-4 days. Cover with and empty brood box and inner and tele cover.
Feeding with a top hive feeder:



Feeding needs to happen now. Feed fast and get it done. The longer we feed, the longer brood is in the hive. The longer brood is in the hive, the more mites we get. Feeding spurs brood production. Get the feeding done. We want the queen to stop laying, so when we treat with oxalic acid in late October, hopefully the hive will be broodless. With a broodless hive, all the mites that are left in the hive are on the bees. The oxalic acid treatment will put a serious hurt on any left over mites. Then the colony will be ready for the rigors of winter.

It's simple, if you plant it, they will come.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/bees-are-dying-alarming-rate-amsterdam-may-have-answer-n897856

Are you getting behind the eight ball?

The bee season is winding down quickly. Freeze warning this morning in northern Minnesota. The cooler weather is upon us.
  
Behind the eight ball. A term, referring to the game of pool, meaning in an unfavorable or uncomfortable position

Now is the time:

• To treat for mites. A graduate student did her work on Varroa studies. She concluded that if bees aren't treated for mites by Sept. 10th. the odds of the bees overwintering go down dramatically. Are you behind the eight ball?
• Feeding: Do you have enough food in the hive for winter? The top box should have eight full frames and one partially full frame of honey. The heaviest brood box needs to be on top of the brood boxes. Having a heavy box on the bottom of the brood boxes will do nothing to help feed the bees in the winter, it needs to be on top of the brood boxes. If you do not have this you need to feed now. If your hive has not enough honey and you are not feeding, are you behind the eight ball?
• Time is ticking by everyday. Get the work done now. If it cools down early, the bees may no longer take down feed. If they don't take down the feed, there will not be enough food for winter. Don't get behind the eight ball.

We are getting close to last call for mite treatments

I hate to be alarmist. But, beekeepers who have not treated for mites, are running out of time.
 Right now the hives are starting to make winter bees. Winter bees will be the bees that live through the winter. Winter bees will be in the hive from early September until March.
 For hive survival, the bees need to be as mite free as possible. Having your winter bees heavily parisitized by mites will decrease the odds of winter survival.
Mites can be a vector for viruses into the bees. This can lead to a colony dying in late February or March.
 Taking the time now to treat for mites is the best solution.
 There are some beekeepers who let their bees die every year and get new packages of bees. This works for them. But, they too have to treat for mites. Beekeepers who do this and do not treat for mites are a big problem for the beekeepers that winter their bees. Untreated hives can spread mites to other colonies.
 This week the weather is perfect for using Formic Pro. If you are trying to get some late season honey, Formic Pro can be on your hive with supers on. Formic Pro is considered an organic treatment. Take the time and treat your bees. The $16.00 you spend today, may save you $120.00 in the spring.
 Here again is my video on using Formic Pro:

Bears are roaming into new area's now

This bear was in Pepin City WI.

This time of year is the start of bear mating season.
Two year old cubs are chased off by their mother. The females don’t have a problem staying in their home range. The young male bears are now in the breeding area of a dominant bear. They are forced to leave their home range or risk a confrontation with the dominant bear. This will lead to a fight and the young bear could be killed.
 These young bears are forced into new territories. Beekeepers that have never had trouble with bears in the past are much more prone to a bear attack now if they have never been hit before.
I always tell beekeepers, put a bear fence up now before the bears hit the hive or you end up paying twice.

Moisture Checking Honey

The definition of U.S. Grade A honey is, it needs to taste like honey and have a moisture (water) content of 18.6% or less.
 The way to tell what the moisture level is to measure the water content with a refractometer.
 There are many refractometers used in many different industries. Refractometers are used in the food, HVAC, and the machine tool industries to name a few. Refractometers can be specific to what is needed to be tested.
 In the honey world, we need a refractomer that is specific to honey. Other refractometers look the same but they would not work to measure water in honey. So if you see one for sale on EBay you better know what you are buying. Every year I have beekeepers bring me their refractometers because they can't read it. Only to find out that they purchased the wrong one.
 Refractometers do have to be calibrated with a glycerin calibrating solution. Not calibrating the instrument can lead to a bad reading and your honey may not be U.S. Grade A. A tiny vial of calibrating solution costs about $10.00.
 I have a high end refractometer, like the one below. I calibrate it every year at the start of the honey season. It is very accurate and holds its calibration very well. I usually never have to change the adjustment. When you get to cheaper refractometers, the need to calibrate them before each season is imperative.
 At Nature's Nectar LLC we do moisture check honey samples for free. If you can't drive here, you can mail me a sample and I will call, text or email the results back to you. I need a thimble size of honey for a sample. The sample should pretty much fill the container. Don't bring a thimble size container in a quart canning jar for example. Any humidity in the jar will absorb into the honey, making the test inaccurate.
 Refractometers sell for $75.00 up to over $400.00. The one below costs over $400.00. We do sell the $75.00 refractometer in our store and I will calibrate it for free if you buy it from us. No other bee store offers this service.

Honey Refractometer

This is the scale in this type of refractometer. You can see at the bottom of the scale that it is for honey. Read the line where the blue and white meets. This honey sample reading is about 19.3% water content. This type of refractometer has a temperature adjustment thermometer on the underside of the instrument.. When adjusted for temperature the final reading was 18.5%.

Different bee comparison

Here is a Carpenter bee a bumble bee and a honey bee

The Carpenter bee is ginormous

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee

Be a State Fair Bee Interpreter - Sign up today

Beekeeper Steve talking bees with a civilian at the fair

Be a State Fair Bee Interpreter. Sign up by Saturday the 18th to get a free ticket to get into the State Fair. I can't say enough about this. Everyone who has done this has enjoyed doing it.
 All you do is sit on a stool with an observation hive and answer questions from the general public. Any new beekeepers is qualified to do this. Don't sell yourself short, any new beekeeper has the knowledge and expertise to interact with the general public. Most new beekeepers have the education and almost a full season of beekeeping under their belt. So you are the expert. Sign up, get into the fair for free, have a great time supporting the beekeeping industry.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080f48a5a628a1fe3-beehoney2
Find an open slot on the schedule. Click on the sign up and submit button at the bottom and fill out the form for the shift you want. Submit the form and you will see your name on the shift you want.

Pulling Honey off the hive

Here are a couple videos of how to pull honey off the hive.

Different items used for pulling honey:


Using a brush to remove supers:


Using a fume board to remove supers:

What is happening right now in the hive

Right now the nectar flow has grown very spotty. Some beekeepers are getting some nectar but,  I think most of us are done getting any more surplus honey.
Now we have to turn our attention to some pressing issues.

• Mites, it is time to treat your bees NOW. It looks like the weather next week from Tuesday on should be acceptable weather to put on Formic Acid. Either Formic Pro or Mite Away Quick Strips (MAQS). The longer we wait to put on mite treatments, the more mite issues can develop. When I say mite issues I mean, possible virus exposure, damaged bees and new larvae being weakened by the increased mite population. So what are you waiting for!
• Feeding, if you inspect your colony and your top box is not full, the time to feed is now. If you are using Formic Acid to treat your hives, you cannot feed. But, once the formic is finished, feeding has to be put on the front burner.  If you did a reversal after mid June, and you put the top box on the bottom and when you did this the box was very heavy. That box was your winter honey. You need to put the heaviest brood box on top of the hive. Bees will not go down to get this honey and the bees will starve later on in the winter. By having the top box basically full of honey, insures that the bees will have enough food for winter. Feeding in late August and into early September is the right time to feed. Feeding is a nectar flow. A nectar flow spurs the queen to lay more eggs. The more brood in the colony means more mites in the colony.  Beekeepers want the hive to stop rearing brood by early October. By feeding late into September usually means that brood will be in the hive until late October or early November. If the feeding lasts into late October there may be brood in the colony into late November. More brood means more mites. Again, this is a problem. The late feeding leads to bees being heavily parisatized by mites and will likely not survive.

Now is the time to get a plan on mites and feeding. Delaying can lead to a negative outcome of winter hive survival.

Extractor Sale

We are taking pre orders for extractors
3 frame hand crank, same as in the video in the previous post.
3 frame hand crank
Regular price $425.95 Sale price $395.00
3 frame motorized
Regular price $749.95 Sale Price $695.00
9 - 18 hand crank
Regular  Price $799.95 Sale Price $699.95
9 - 18 motorized extractor
Regular price $1295.95 Sale Price $1095.00
Delivery should be by Aug 17th
All of the hand crank extractors can be updated to a motorized extractor by purchasing a motorized conversion kit at a later date.
We service all extactors that we sell. Any warranty work is done here.
If you buy extractors online, what would you do if you had to send it back for repair?
That is the advantage of buying local.

How to extract honey

Here is a video that we made last year on how to extract honey. This 3 frame extractor is the same extractor that we rent for $30.00 a day. We have four extractors available and we are taking reservations for them at this time. All of the equipment in this video is available at Nature's Nectar LLC. We can explain how to use the tools if you need more instruction than this video provides. We also sell extractors and will be having an extractor sale coming up the week of August 13th through the 18th. There will be significant savings. All our extractors are quality built. All warranties are serviced here. When you purchase extractors online, you may have to ship them back to whomever you bought them from for warranty work. Depending on the size of the extractor that can lead up to a lot of money. Plus you need to crate it up. Buying local in the long run will save you time and money.
Also, Nature's Nectar LLC will be closing early on Sat. August 4th at 1 pm. We will be open regular hours on Saturday August 11th. If you need anything you can always order it off our online store www.naturesnectaronline.com

Putting On Formic This Week

I will be putting formic acid on my hives this week, no later than Wednesday. I was watching the weather this morning and the long term forecast calls for 90's coming back next weekend. I want to make sure I can get my mite treatment on before it gets hot again.
 There are several posts about mite treatments over the last week. Scroll down to see the older posts.

MAQS or Formic Pro and the nectar flow

Nature's Nectar LLC does carry both Mite Away Quick Strips (MAQS) and Formic Pro. We can show you how to put them on your colony and answer all of your mite treatment questions.
 FYI did you know Nature's Nectar LLC rents three frame extractors by the day? If you need to rent an extractor, we are taking reservations now.

 The nectar flow has slowed down for me quite a bit. I am not sure if it is over in the Stillwater area or there may be some late summer nectar ahead.
 I did see Goldenrod starting to bloom. Goldenrod will be very widespread when it peaks out usually in late August. What looks so promising of acres and acres of yellow flowering Goldenrod, more times than not, yields very little of a nectar flow. The bees do work it for the pollen and the nectar if it is present. For me, about every ten years I get a decent crop of nectar off of Goldenrod. You know you are getting Goldenrod nectar if you stand near your hives and the odor of wet sweat socks permeates the beeyard. This odor while it is a little stinky, does go away as the Goldenrod nectar ripens into honey. Goldenrod honey is actually quite tasty.
 As beekeepers we are naturally greedy and we want to get as much honey as we can. I think beekeepers need to resist that notion and plan on mite treatment and to make sure the hive has sufficient winter store of honey.
 Treating with formic acid forces the beekeeper to remove the top brood box to put the formic acid strips on. This removal of the top deep will clue in the beekeeper if there is enough honey for winter. Beekeepers like to see the top box basically full of honey. After the mite treatment beekeepers need to get serious about if they need to feed. Feeding cannot be done will formic acid is on the hive. So after the mite treatment is done, get any feeding done right away. Don't wait to feed. August turns into October before you know it and the next thing you know there is not enough food in the hive for winter.
 I will be talking about how to pull your honey off the hive and extracting your honey crop in my next few posts and videos, stay tuned. I have made many posts about mites, so scroll down and look at some older posts if you missed them.

Using Formic Pro

This is my YouTube video about using Formic Pro

Other Mite Treatments

There are several mite treatments available to use. Some are better than others.
One thing I want to say if you have Saskatraz bees. Synthetic Chemical compounds should not be used for treating Saskatraz bees. Synthetic Chemical compounds would be ApiVar, Checkmite, Apistan.
 The synthetic miticides while initially lowering the mite populations, may in the future, lessen the Saskatraz bees ability to cope with new mite infestations. In other words if you have Saskatraz bees Formic Acid may be your best mite treatment option. Having said that here are some other mite treatment options, pro and cons.

 Formic Acid, organic, ingredient formic acid, fumigant

• Pro, organic treatment, will not leave deposits in the wax, inexpensive, unused strips store well for a year, short treatment window 14 days, good mite efficacy, supers can be on, 2 hive, 10 hive or 25 hive treatment packs

• Con: Temperature dependent, has a temperature window to work properly, may injure some open brood, a fragile queen may be killed, especially when treating at the upper temperature limits.

http://nodglobal.com/formic-pro/

ApiVar: synthetic miticide, ingredient, Amitraz, direct contact strip

• Pro: works well on Italians and Carniolans, easy to apply plastic strips, Works at all temperatures,  
• Con: expensive, 42 day treatment, may leave wax residue, some resistance being reported, strips have to be in contact with the bee cluster to work, supers must be off, unused strips do not store well, 10 strip or 50 strip package. 2 strips used per deep of bees, up to 4 strips needed per hive treatment

http://www.apivar.co.nz/FAQs.htm#FAQ%207

ApiGuard: ingredient Thymol gel, fumigant

• Pro: works well, easy to apply tins
• Con: 30 day treatment, two tins 15 days apart, temperature dependent, a 3/4" shim need to be used for bee space for bee access, supers must be off, needs to be applied in the upper Midwest by no later than mid August because if it cools off in September it may not be effective. Need to purchase 10 tins (five hive treatments)

https://www.dadant.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Apiguard-QA.pdf

Checkmite and Apistan have shown mite resistance to these products

When to treat for mites - It is all about the timing

 I like to treat my bees for mites usually around mid August. My mite treatment of choice is Formic Acid. There are two types of Formic Acid, Mite Away Quick Strips (MAQS) or Formic Pro. They are both formic acid but their application is slightly different. Formic Pro and MAQS are both made by the same manufacturer.  MAQS has a shelf life of about 6 months, while Formic Pro has a shelf life of two years. Expired MAQS should never be used because the delivery method has been compromised. Expired MAQS when applied will give 100% formic acid, the intensity of the vapors may injure the colony.
 Formic Acid should not be applied if the daytime temperatures are over 85 degrees for the first three days of treatment. This is a fumigant, the slide of a screen bottom board should be in while treating.
 Formic Acid is considered an organic mite treatment and can be applied with the honey supers on.
 But, sometimes the weather is too hot to put on the Formic Acid treatment. I have the mite treatment ready to use by end of July. So I watch the weather in August, if there is a window of three days of the 70's in early August, I will treat. By waiting until mid August, then a beekeeper thinks about treating, the weather can get too hot and stay there for several weeks. Sometimes not cooling off until the first week of Sept. Beekeepers need to get Formic on their hives sometime during the month of August. So watching the weather and long term forecasts is what I do. 
Here is a couple of manufacturers video's of using Formic Acid. Always follow the manufacturers label instructions when applying any miticide:

Formic Pro:




MAQS:

Mite Treatments

From Scientific Beekeeping.com

Mite treatments will be the hot topic for all beekeepers very soon. Look at the graph above about the bee and mite population and the timeline. The Varroa population lags the bee population, up until early September. Then the mite population keeps increasing as the bee population goes down. This high infestation of mites damages the bees physically and also exposing honeybees to viruses. This high infestation of mites is what kills honeybee colonies.   Beekeepers need to stop this rising mite population during the month of August before the Varroa population explodes. Looking at the graph one can see there is a sharp rise in the month of August in the mite population. Treating colonies in September in many cases is too late. The bees may be so damaged by the rising mite population that they cannot recover.
 Starting in late August, and into fall, the new bees emerging will be winter bees. Winter bees have a different physiology than summer bees, they have more fat deposits to handle the rigors of winter better than summer bees could. Winter bees will live for 6 months. Winter bees need to emerge out of the cells as mite free as possible. Winter bees weakened by being parisitized by mites stand a tough time for long term survival. Winter bees emerging healthy with very low mite counts, have a great chance at winter survival. Overwintered colonies usually make much more honey than a new colony.
 For ALL beekeepers, treating colonies in August is the time to do it. If you are a beekeeper that kills your colonies off every year and get new bees in the spring, YOU need to treat for mites as well. Failure to treat for mites at the proper time can affect your neighbors overwintering success. Be a good neighbor and treat all colonies in August.

Stay tuned

I will be making several posts over the next week about pulling honey, extracting honey, and mite treatments, how to put them on and mite treatment options. So stay tuned. Scroll down on the posts, or you may miss some of them.

I have to say this was the winner

This pic is a testament of the quality of bees from Olivarez Honey Bees. Keep the hives from swarming and the result is usually positive.

Seven colonies with forty supers on. The two on the right were overwintered colonies. The others were splits or new packages. He is extracting today. Eleven Supers on the hive on the far right. If all the forty supers were full, that would be about 1600 lbs of honey. Carniolan Queens.                                                    Located in Pine City area / Photo T. Hinze

Saskatraz before and now

Here is a pic of how a hive can change in about four months time
These were all 2 lb package of Saskatraz started in early April. Through the cold and snow that we had for the first time in Twenty years. The packages were all installed on drawn comb. Why spend the extra money on a nuc. These Saskatraz queens really go to work. Located in the east metro.

About four months ago / photo by N. Gores

Now / Photo by N. Gores

More Saskatraz Hives

Here are a couple Saskatraz hives with their heavy supers

Saskatraz package hive from the western suburbs, Buffalo area. / photo by D. Casey

Saskatraz Hives from the Stillwater area. Left / - Overwintered Saskatraz Parent, / middle - the divide / Right - 3 lb Package with Saskatraz queen / Photo by G. Gehrman

Saskatraz packages - two full supers and the third is 2/3rds full / photo M. Thorp

What's blooming

As the white sweet clover starts to wane, more flowers are coming online. Late summer perennials are coming out. Also some weeds are blooming right now. Purple Loosestrife can takeover a swampy marsh and crowd out native plants.
Purple Loosestrife and Spotted Knapweed are both noxious weed. They should never be propagated. But as long as they are there the bees will work them.
 Purple loosestrife honey has a greenish hue. It looks like new motor oil.
 Spotted Knapweed has a buttery flavor. Both honeys are of very good flavor.

Spotted Knapweed

Purple Loosestrife

Great Saskatraz Hive

This is a pic of a Saskatraz hive. That is one huge honey crop in the making.
This is a result of a great queen, big hive population and no swarming.This was from a package of bees from this year.

photo by M. Hergott

Weather and the nectar flow

The nectar flow is booming for most beekeepers. Many beekeepers reporting that they have two or more supers with honey in the boxes.
 The upcoming week looks perfect for honey collection. Hot days and warm nights. Days and nights like this, get the nectar to flow, usually at a greater rate than if the highs are only in the 70's.
 Swarming is still going on. I have had several calls from beekeepers trying to collect their bees that are now up in a tree.
 When checking for swarm cells, all the boxes need to be looked at. If only one brood box is checked, there is no point on checking. Queens are being pushed down into the bottom brood box now as the top brood box fills with honey. This is what beekeepers want to see. Their top brood box full of honey for winter.
 Stay ahead of the bees. If there is two supers on a hive and both of them have honey in them, it is time to put on two more supers. This nectar flow looks like it has a long way to go. It would not surprise me if many beekeepers get four supers of honey or more.
If you are not getting much honey right now:

• Your bees may have swarmed
• You had queens issues sometime in the spring
• Poor population of bees in the hive due to a brood disease
• Poor nectar flow where your bees are located 
• You have put the same supers on for a couple years and the bees never made wax on the foundation. Now the foundation is no longer attractive to the bees, the beeswax odor is gone. The foundation should be replaced with new.

Now is the payoff for all of the hard work we have done to get our bees to this point. We have endured cold weather, blizzards, cold spring. All of this is now old news. The honey flow is on, now lets enjoy the show.

What's Blooming

Basswood / Linden Tree - photo N. Gores

 Basswood trees can produce a tremendous amount of nectar if the conditions are right. Basswood like hot days and warm nights to produce a good nectar flow. It does not produce every year. Last year we got Basswood honey, with the hot weather we are experiancing right now,  I am optimistic that we will have another good Basswood Flow.

Sumac - photo by N. Gores

 Sumac does produce nectar and the bees do work it. The honey tends to be in the reddish color.

Thistle -  Photo by N. Gores

Thistle is blooming everywhere right now. This is also a decent nectar plant that the bees work. 

White Dutch Clover - Photo N. Gores

Birdsfoot Trefoil and Daisy - Photo by N. Gores

Brood box tip

As this honey flow progresses, beekeepers need to think about wintering your bees. Wintering your bees means the top brood box being mostly full of honey.
 Over the next couple weeks, a beekeeper should examine the top brood box. Honey frames that are on the outside edges of the box, never get filled with honey very well. Beekeepers find themselves feeding syrup later in the season to bolster honey stores. By feeding syrup, this is a nectar flow, the queen lays when there is a nectar flow. With this new brood, mite production will continue to increase. Sometimes feeding is done very late and brood is then in the hive into November. This late brood in a colony and increased mite load can have a bad outcome for winter survival.
 Taking the time to go out, remove your supers. Look in your top box. Full frames of honey that are in the middle of the top box should be moved to the outside frames and the outside frames should be moved to the center of the top box. The bees will now be much more likely to fill the middle frames with honey. This should get you the honey you need for most of the winter stores and cut down on the fall feeding.

Honey Flow Update

I was out checking my hives this morning. It was mildly brutal in a bee suit.
 But I had put some Formic Pro on four days ago on some overwintered colonies. I decided to remove the formic strips this morning before it the day warmed up to the projected near 100 degrees. The bees were not bearding at all yet this morning, but I was concerned that two strips of formic pro, at these high temperatures, may cause me some queen and or brood loss. So I am going to call my shortened mite treatment good for now and I will treat the hives again in early August. The treatment was on at some elevated temperatures so I am sure it did have an effect on the mite level. I will do a mite check next week to see where the hive is at for mite count.
 The nectar flow is on. I do have nectar in most of my supers right now. Two of my overwintered colonies looked like they have swarmed, so the honey was a little lighter than expected in their supers.
 I have been hearing reports from several beekeepers that they have one or two supers 70% full of nectar and they were getting ready to add two more supers.
 There is white sweet clover blooming everywhere around the state right now. Driving around I see it in full bloom in huge stands in the ditches of roadways.
Summer perennials should start blooming soon.
Here is Paul's current hive scale pic. You can see that there has been a spike in honey weight. Looks like 8 - 10 lbs increase yesterday.
 If you look at the black line on the graph, that is hive weight. You can see that over the last two days it has seen a definite sharp rise.
So, if you have not put your supers on, do so now. It also looks like comb honey frames could be put in the hive now also.

AFB

 A beekeeper from the Hudson area brought me a frame to look at last week. He suspected something was going on in with his hive. After looking at the frame, I discovered American Foulbrood (AFB) scale in the cells of the frame.
 I have seen many frames of AFB over the years so the diagnosis was easy. I could see the scale on the bottom of the cells. The larvae had died and turned to a gel that sinks to the bottom of the cell. This gelatinous material will desiccate (dry out) and turn to a hard scale on the bottom of the cell. I did not do a rope test, because there was no active larvae  to test from on the frame.The AFB scale is highly infectious when accessed directly by the bees, such as if they robbed the AFB hive of all their honey and ingested a large number of AFB spores.
 We also checked the AFB scale with a black light. AFB scale lights up to a bright green color when hit with a black light. The brighter the black light the better if glows. So if you purchase a black light, don't cheap out, the black lights with a higher number of led's work better. This one has worked for me Black Light
 So, how did they get the AFB?
 The beekeeper has been very careful over the years, buying only new equipment and never buying nuc's. There is always a possibility of getting AFB if you purchase nuc's. The AFB scale can be on used frames in the nuc. This is why package bees are usually a safer bet.
 Did his hive rob a weak neighbors colony that was weak or dying of AFB? Was the neighbors hive dead from last year and they did not put bees in the hive and the bees robbed out the honey? Most of the time hobbyists do not even know they have AFB. They buy new bees every year and by August their bees are dead. If your bees are weak and being depleted of bees right now, if you don't have an explanation for the reason, look for AFB in the frames.
 Is someone in the Hudson neighborhood feeding store purchased honey to the bees? Some civilians will see honeybees and feed them store bought honey, thinking they are helping out the bees. Giving store bought honey to your bees, can be a way to give AFB to your bees. Is someone feeding honey to hummingbirds? The bees can be robbing this feeder. Somewhere near this beekeeper is the source of the AFB. This Hudson beekeeper is going to have to be vigilant checking their hives for AFB. There is a possibility they could get reinfected if the source is not discovered.
 The beekeeper also contacted a vet for a prescription for an antibiotic. The bees will be removed of the drawn comb and will be shaken onto new frames and new foundation. An antibiotic regimen is probably a good idea. The brood break and the delay of larvae at the start, feeding syrup to flush the AFB spores out of the bees bodies, and the antibiotics will get the bees off to a fresh start.
 I do have a frame of AFB comb. Anyone that wants to see it, can stop by my shop to see it.
 AFB is not widespread. I see it every year from beekeepers bringing me frames to look at, but a few beekeepers do discover it in their hives. Normally, beekeepers get it from used equipment. Before you use used equipment, it is best to have it looked at by a competent beekeeper.
 Having an undiagnosed source for AFB can be troubling.
 It is important to be on the lookout for AFB in your hives. Discolored larvae is a red flag that something is happening to your brood. It does not mean you have AFB, but paying attention to what is happening in the hive is key to staying ahead of any possible trouble.

Nectar Flow Update

Comb being built and nectar being stored in the new frame and foundation. Bees draw out the frame and fill from the top of the frame to the bottom of the frame. Photo by Paul J.
Paul has a good amount filled in one super and the bees are moving into the second super.

I have been polling beekeepers coming in to our bee supply store. There is a consensus that there is a nectar flow going on. Most beekeepers in southern half of MN and WI should be experiencing a nectar flow. It may be a little slow but as the temperatures heat up later this week, 90's in the forecast, the nectar should be increasing.
 It can be a little confusing to some beekeepers. No honey in the supers yet. I think you need to consider that the bees should fill up the top deep box first before the honey super. This honey in the top brood box will be the hives winter honey.
 At this stage of the season I think we are no longer doing reversals. If you have your supers on, and you should right now, if they are new foundation, I would leave the queen excluder off. Check the supers every five days, when the bees start making comb and storing a little nectar in the new comb, then put the excluder on.
 Supers go on two at a time. If the supers have drawn comb, they can just be stacked on top of one another. If the supers are new foundation, new supers should be placed directly above the brood boxes. Example, say you have two supers of drawn comb, the bees fill them up. Now you need to add two more, but they are new foundation. The full supers should be taken off the hive, the two new supers go on, then the full supers replaced on top of the new supers. The reason for this is that if the new supers with foundation were put on top of the drawn comb supers, the bees may not do anything with them.
 Check your supers weekly. Bees can draw out, fill with honey and cap with wax a super of honey in one week. Stay ahead of the bees with weekly super checks. Add supers as needed.
Here is Paul's latest hive scale update:

You can clearly see an upward trend of honey weight. Starting on the 21st.
Click on the pic for full screen.