any Bee Keepers on the board??

[ThatBugGuy]

hello i'm trying to talk to experienced bee keepers to get an understanding of the profession, i'm from fresno CA and am mainly looking for a mentor to show me the ropes but any information would be helpful, I have already looked into the guild around my county and have gotten a pdf on bee keeping, but if you are a bee keeper and are willing to share knowledge and experience id love to give you a call and chat, thank you.

 

[XxSpiderQueenxX]

I keep bumblebees but you're probably looking for honeybee keepers lol

 

[DomGom TheFather]

I have two Warre hives that I built.
I gave up getting new bees a few years ago. I was trying to use formic acid to treat for varroa mites and was really discouraged when I would lose them. Since then, I have gotten swarms or a hive absconds from somewhere in the neighborhood and they move in. It happens every year. I don't treat them, I don't feed them and I don’t take honey unless the hive is empty, now. I lose them almost every winter... about the same as when I was actually trying. They are welcome to use my hives and I leave them up because I like seeing them but I gave up trying to keep them. Maybe someday I'll get back into it like I was.

 

[ThatBugGuy]

I keep bumblebees but you're probably looking for honeybee keepers lol

sounds interesting are the methods of keeping them the same as honey bees?

 

[ThatBugGuy]

I have two Warre hives that I built.
I gave up getting new bees a few years ago. I was trying to use formic acid to treat for varroa mites and was really discouraged when I would lose them. Since then, I have gotten swarms or a hive absconds from somewhere in the neighborhood and they move in. It happens every year. I don't treat them, I don't feed them and I don’t take honey unless the hive is empty, now. I lose them almost every winter... about the same as when I was actually trying. They are welcome to use my hives and I leave them up because I like seeing them but I gave up trying to keep them. Maybe someday I'll get back into it like I was.

with the experience you have would you say that its difficult to start and keep a hive, also you said you built your hives, would this be better than buying hive boxes to start with?

 

[Arthroverts]

Don't know how helpful they will be, but I know formiculture.com has a few sub-forums for bee keepers, see here.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[DomGom TheFather]

with the experience you have would you say that its difficult to start and keep a hive, also you said you built your hives, would this be better than buying hive boxes to start with?

They are easy to start but keeping them is challenging. Here in the northeast it's common for keepers who treat to have 50 percent losses or higher in the winter. The mites and the viruses they spread are just the freaking worst. I built my hives because I'm cheap but handy. You could start with prefab langs. That's what everybody uses. They make maintaining the hive much easier.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Alright,
The bees aren't giving up.
Two large swarms moved in this year.
I'm going to change things up.
Why not? They were freaking free!
Wish me luck, i jumped back in the pool.

 

[schmiggle]

Alright,
The bees aren't giving up.
Two large swarms moved in this year.
I'm going to change things up.
Why not? They were freaking free!
Wish me luck, i jumped back in the pool.

Interested to see how this progresses. Fingers crossed

 

[Tleilaxu]

I keep bumblebees but you're probably looking for honeybee keepers lol

Oh do elaborate, with pics if possible

 

[The Snark]

Give these people a try. Old family friends of mine in the business 90 years and 5 generations of bee keeping, not too far from Fresno.

Ross Apiaries

Ross Apiaries (trade name Ross Honey Co) is in the Apiary (Bee and Honey Farm) business. View competitors, revenue, employees, website and phone number.

www.buzzfile.com