June to August – Tubbs Berry Farm

Hive is struggling to grow and produce, and has a bad attitude.

Heidi Tubbs — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 13:48:57 +0000

This short clip walks through one of the common causes of a hive that fails to grow and seems extra crank.y! Also note, it was only the one hive that seemed to be bothered by the skunk. The colony was also short pollen which limits the ability to raise brood. This hive check was preformed July 21.

Some favorite late July blooming plants !

Heidi Tubbs — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 13:42:26 +0000

Two plants that bloom in late July and really help the bees out,. Nectar and pollen flows can really vary depending on the moisture received.

July 21 Hive Check

Heidi Tubbs — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 13:35:48 +0000

Checking on the hives started on Bee day the end of April.

Our 10 year old explains swarms

Heidi Tubbs — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 21:46:29 +0000

Our 10 year old spotted a swarm in a tree and he tells a little about it and how to capture on in this video! We don’t show the actual capture in this video, to be honest this one didn’t go as smoothly as most. A swarm high in a tree over a stream as a storm is moving in is guaranteed to be eventful and this one delivered! No worries, the bees are safe in their new home.

Is my hive queenless?

Heidi Tubbs — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 21:40:21 +0000

Sometimes something happens to the queen, generally the bees raise a new one and it isn’t. This shows you what it looks like if things go wrong and they don’t raise a queen. This is a queenless colony that is dwindling. Kirk shows the frames, bees, and gives options for dealing with a queenless hive!

Bearding or Out of Room?

Heidi Tubbs — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 21:34:08 +0000

This video shows what bearding looks like. During warm weather bees will often beard on the outside of the hive, especially in the late afternoon. One easy check is if the bees go in at night. If they don’t, then that is a good indication they are out of room. Kirk gives some suggestions on how to improve ventilation to help the bees deal with the heat!

June 15, 2022 Hive Check

Heidi Tubbs — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 04:23:54 +0000

Hive check on new packages hived on Bee Day this year. They went into boxes with drawn comb. Nectar flows are on so they aren’t taking sugar water. Some are ready for honey supers! Kirk walks you through hive checks on 4 colonies. Some patchy brood due to the cold rainy weather we’ve had. He shows you to look for pollen, capped honey, supercedure cells, etc. Some talk of varroa, checking drone brood for varroa. Really will start looking in July for varroa though.

Pulling Honey Frames for Extracting

Heidi Tubbs — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 01:43:05 +0000

So, the bees have done well and it is time to harvest honey! How do you get the bees out of the honey supers so you can extract them?

Bee escapes work great if you plan ahead, there are several different options, they essentially create a one way door so that the bees can exit but can’t get back in. Make sure if you use them that you close up any holes in other places or it won’t work. Fume boards are common, not something we have used so I don’t have a lot of experience with them.

Brushing bees is a simple way if you have a few hives or if full honey supers are too full for you to carry. We simply grab a frame, brush the bees off, and drop it in a tote with a lid on it. When it is full or as heavy as I can carry then I carry the frames in to a bee proof room and unload them into an empty super. I just keep doing this until all the frames have been pulled and brought in! Easy and works great.

Kirk likes to use a leaf blower and blow them out of the supers if he is doing a lot of hives, especially in more remote yards. Make sure to use a leaf blower that doesn’t recycle the exhaust into the blower. Simply knock the bees down, then turn the super on its side and blow off the bees. Quickly stack the boxes on a lid turned upside down on the bottom, plug any holes in the supers, and put a lid on top to keep bees from going back/robbing from the supers. This does make them a little irritable so I wouldn’t recommend this method for bees in a small yard next to a house.

Is robbing going to be a problem for my bees?

Heidi Tubbs — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 21:36:49 +0000

If there is limited nectar available, bees can start robbing other colonies! Here is some information about how/why bees rob other hives and how you can help prevent it! Don’t feed outside the hive in the summer/fall!!! Top feed or us a division board feeder if you are feeding during a nectar dearth. Summer is the time to equalize colonies!

Honey Flow and Nectar Dearth in June and July

Heidi Tubbs — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 21:31:13 +0000

What is going on as far as nectar flow in the area and what does it mean for honey bee colonies. Should you be adding honey supers or feeding them? Depends on where you are and what is blooming. Here is some information to help you interpret the nectar flow in your area!

July Varroa Mite Check with a Screen Bottom Board

Heidi Tubbs — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 20:52:09 +0000

July is a good time to start watching for mites in new colonies. This is a quick way to see what is going on and can give you a heads up if you need to do more in depth hive sampling. We will periodically put the trays in during the summer just to get a 24 hour mite count and give us an idea about what is going on inside the hive. This hive had a low mite number. If there had been more mites, or we wanted a more scientific number, we would have used a powdered sugar roll.

Not on a screen bottom board? Here is a link to using a powdered sugar roll to get a mite count. https://youtu.be/_1UTseN3Em8

July 27 2021 Overall Conditions in Southern Idaho and What to Do About It.

Heidi Tubbs — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 20:43:25 +0000

What a fun year! We have the most honey supers on some of our hives in Twin Falls than any other time in the last 2 decades, yet our hives in Malad Valley aren’t going to produce any surplus honey. We are in a dearth, there has been no rain so non irrigated areas have not food. Some areas bees are struggling to find food yet there are some places that are making honey quickly. Look around and see which you are so you know how to help your bees. The video talks about some of the plants coming on in our area that can provide food so you can see if they are in your area. Now is the time to equalize hives a little if you have strong and week hives together, add honey supers if they are bringing in nectar, and if they don’t weigh anything and are starving then you might need to feed them! Don’t entrance feed or open feed this time of year!

Here is the link for powdered sugar testing: https://youtu.be/_1UTseN3Em8