Check out that drone comb and brood! Great looking bees Bruce!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yep they are doing well.

Bruce, my hives ROAR when they are queenless and of course they get mean.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yeah these bees were calm until o separated the boxes. Then they started roaring. I am thinking the queen was not in the roaring box. Time will tell.

It’s been in the 50s here in atlanta. About to have 3-4 days of rain. I just know our freezing isn’t over.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yeah there is typically a lithe cold/chilly snap here in Feb/Mar. I hope it doesn’t freeze when it’s too late.

Nice hives. I'd move a frame of eggs and brood from a strong colony into the colony that you didn't see the queen, eggs or brood. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good videos.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

That is a great idea. Will give them a couple of weeks and then I might just do that very thing.

Hey Bruce. I think that hive swarmed and you have a newly mated queen.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Could be. Will have to see how things look moving forward.

I wish you success

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Bruce I sat next to you on the bus on the way to the first day of the Expo. You’re just as nice in person as you are on the videos. Life time fan. Great video and lets me know my brood is about to take off. Checked the hives last Sunday and mine are just now bringing in pollen. Appreciate the info

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Hey thanks for reminding me. And thanks for introducing yourself. Awesome conference! The bees truly are the conduit to the people. I have met so many awesome folks through this beekeeping journey.

Jealous of your weather! LOL

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yes it’s been nice but I’m sure we have some more crazy weather coming.

Hey neighbor!!! I am in southern Dekalb County. I don’t have bees yet but I find beekeeping interesting. I have been watching videos for a while now and just subbed to your channel. Nice job on the video and Roll Tide too!!!! Bees and Bama Football, what’s not to like??? Catch you on the next one!!! Rick

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Awesome. Thanks so much for checking in and Rolling Tide!

February Drones! In Connecticut we are a month away from queens laying. I did find out to day that one of my hives was not dead. Small but still going.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Oh no. Hate to head that way hang in there and keep plugging along!

I would put a frame with larva from another colony to see if they start to raise a queen

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

That is always a good idea. Maybe should have done that. Will check back soon and if still no evidence of a queen I might do just that.

The red pollen is from Henbit (short weedy looking plant with purple blooms and has a square stem in the mint family, similar to purple dead nettle).

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yeah we have a lot of henbit around here.

Have a great season!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Thanks and you too!!!

Bruce, those girls and boys are looking like they’re ready for a big flow!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

They are. Just have to keep them from starving out in the next few weeks.

Great looking bees Bruce excited to watch your videos this season

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Glad to have you along for the ride!

I was looking today to see if mine had started drone brooding. Found a couple hives starting but not quite enough to get out the grafting stuff. I expect by months end they willl be. Your hives look great! Good luck this year with your bugs...

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

You too my friend. Crazy times are rapidly approaching!

Gorgeous brood, eggs, and walking drones are always a beautiful site in Spring. My guess is the one swarmed, but that there's a new queen there somewhere. 🐝💛

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

I hope that’s the case. We will see!

Bees looking great Bruce! Yep, in the south, aggravating as it is to run to different boxes, the medium and deep configuration is an ideal setup. People want to run singles, but I really think it's challenging, but the alternative is a medium and deep IMO. I don't do it because I segregate to one for honey and one for brood, but still a good setup in the south and what the old timers used to do. It's on for you for sure!!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yes it can be aggravating. I think a double deep 8 frame would actually be ideal but I started off as a 10 frame guy and it would en tougher to convert now.

@chuckshoneybees

4 ай бұрын

For me .. squeeze down to singles for the winter in November .. When the Maple pops in January, I start feeding, add a second deep for expansion to the flow/splits .. Then I take all my splits off the second deep after adding brood frames to be a 9 frames of brood when the flow starts in a single. Not sure that made sense.. but I add the second deep for the swarm prevention/splits

@MikeBarryBees

4 ай бұрын

@@chuckshoneybees makes perfect sense and kind of answers my questions on how to run singles thru winter. I love my singles coming out of winter. So much easier to control swarming for me. I need to think about this whole idea.

Game on! Looks good down there Bruce, good luck this season, looking forward to some liquid gold.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yep it’s definitely game on here. Busy days ahead!

Looking good Bruce!!!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for checking in Rodney!

Great day,nice spot

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yes. For sure.

NICE looking hives Bruce!!!! You saw more queens today than I'll see in half a season!!! 😄You're still a few weeks ahead of me. And now they are talking Winter weather and 20's/40's later this month around here. Lovely..... Take care!!!!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Hey thanks for checking in Keith. It’s always cool to crack open a hive and see what’s going on inside!

Glad to see your colonies are thriving 🐝💜 looks like that won't be the only swarm you'll have this spring. Let the games begin 😁 good luck this year.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Whew yeah! It’s game on!!!

Looking good buddy, that is going to be an awesome spot.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

It is promising so far but time will tell!

A February swarm!!! Oh no. I need to get over to the farm and start preparing for splits.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yeah man. I done imagine we are very far ahead of you Hotlanta folks!

Thank you for sharing! Weather is looking near the same here in SC.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yeah I imagine it is similar throughout the southeast.

Glad to see the weather is good! You keep getting better and better at these videos. Very professional. Can’t imagine swarms in February.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Still working on it. Have a ways to go. Thanks for checking in Craig!

Great video Bruce, those hives look really good, I have 3 hives right now, the others unfortunately didn’t make but they weren’t the strongest going into Winter. My 3 hives are the strongest and are building up Quite Nice. Looking forward to the bee season ahead and hope your bees do well this Season! Have a great week Bruce! RTR 🏈😎🐝

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Same to you Grayson. Keep on plugging along. I have lost quite a few hives this year particularly im Ozark. It can be quite discouraging.

I think you’ve officially got the earliest Alabama swarm.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

My buddy Rusty caught one a few days before that one. And I think I have heard of some others. The bees are ready. Just hope we don’t have a hard freeze.

Terry at Guardian Bee Apparel is awesome.Its all me and the wife use since we started and i go through the jackets.I usually get a normal jacket and just leave it zipped up and use it as a pullover. I have one of those hive tools but havent used it yet.Looks to be working good but im worried about losing it .Might paint it flourscent yellow in case i plant it. Great video Bruce and thanks for sharing!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yes I am a fan of Guardian. And the hive tool take a little getting used to. I used mine all day today and becoming more of a fan. Probably my favorite feature is ho tough it is. It does not bend at all and seems to be superior at breaking boxes apart when glued together. It is super sharp though so when scraping frames it will take part to the wood or plastic with it. Overall a good product.

Your bees are looking great Bruce! I am jealous. Looking forward to the season. It was 52 here today and I saw pollen coming in and I have no idea where they are finding it? Thanks for sharing.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

It’s a lot of fun. Spring will be here soon for everyone! Hope you’re ready!!!

You got walking drones you are golden!!!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Oh yeah. Have had drones for awhile now. I’m not sure they ever go completely away down here.

@TennesseeTim73

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees so jelly right now!!! Cannot wait to start splitting!!! I love splitting big colonies down and starting new nucs!!! These are dripping with bees, looking great Bruce!

There was a queen cell top of frame in the middle box.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Hmm I will have to to look. Can you send me a time stamp?

Bruce my guess is they are queeless. When I'm in doubt i pull a frame of eggs and give it to them 3 days later you should have your answer.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

That is a great idea. I often do that as well. But didn’t not do it this time. Will see how they look in a couple of weeks and will do something about it if still no eggs or brood.

time to get splitting and grafting! i just finished putting sugar bricks on mine in NY, i'm at 32 of 37 alive so far, just need to hold out a few more weeks.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Gonna give it a little more time on the grafting. The weather can be a little inconsistent this time of year. But it won’t be long until I give it a try.

I enjoyed the video. I would be interesting to see the progression and production of that location throughout the year. Please keep the videos coming. I do have one question on the potentially queen less hive. Would it have been a good idea to equalize it with a few frames of brood and eggs from another hive?

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

That would have been an option for sure. Maybe should have done that. Thanks for checking in!

I think if you did little trickle of sucrose those units will blow up. Place your mating nucs in that tall grass helps with mating and they don't get robbed out so much. Some of the best advice I got from local queen producer . Adds like 20% if you're next to strong yard like that.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tips. I plan to use this and other strong yards as mating yards during the year.

I bet their is a queen hiding in there.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Could be. Hope to see evidence of a queen in a couple of weeks.

Looks great Bruce! What temps spark your maples to bloom? I just ordered my third and last hive for this year. So excited.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

I am kit sure but usually they bloom on January. I actually think they are about down.

Man up here in northern Utah and we got a few inches of snow yesterday. Wish we were having some beekeeping weather! Thanks for the video!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Where in Northern Utah are you located? My wife is from Sandy and we met at BYU

@barkersbees

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees really? That’s awesome haha! I’m on the outskirts of Brigham city! Just to the west of it. Between Corrine and bear river

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

@barkersbees nice!

@barkersbees

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees yeah man when you see your other buddy out here in Utah come up and say hello haha!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

@barkersbees maybe I will do that. Will just have to see how things look whenever I get back out there.

I hope you get honey this year

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Me too!

@JakeHoneyfarms

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees I need to come see them

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Where are you located?

@JakeHoneyfarms

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees I am in Georgia I am not too far from Alabama

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

@JakeHoneyfarms you are welcome to come down and hang with me in the bees sometime.

Did your early swarm hit a new record? Thanks Bruce!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Close. Can’t remember when the earliest on was before.

@sarashappyhives1828

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees 😎 It would be neat if it was a record breaking swarm!

I think they swarmed but there is a virgin/new queen in the hive.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

That is kind of my theory. I hope so. We have had good enough weather for her to get mated and there are drones present so maybe we got lucky. We will know soon enough.

That brood less hive... give it a couple of weeks.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

That’s the plan. Will see how it goes.

Hi Bruce, What kind of groves are you wearing? I like those. Thanks

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZN53NiNYcyth7Q.htmlsi=zlvXTwhRcUtECgKD

@jeffwomble3058

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Bruce going to try those.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

@jeffwomble3058 just like them though there is no perfect glove that I can find. I wish they were a little longer.

Здравствуйте Брюс!!! Отличные семи .

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for checking in!

@user-gv7jl7cr1d

4 ай бұрын

Я часто смотрю ваши видимо очень познавательные и ще Боба Бени его есть видео перевод на русский квас очень развито пчеловодство есть чему поучиться спасибо!!!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

@@user-gv7jl7cr1dhey thank you so much. There is a lot pt learn from everyone!

Kind of random, but I'm wondering what you're using for your recording setup. Video is great and audio is nice and clear.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for checking in. It has been a work in progress and I still need to get better but this comment means a lot to me. I use my iPhone. It’s an iPhone 13 Pro. And I use the DJI mic system. Have recently started using the 4K setting on the iPhone. Makes a difference I think. I have been thinking about doing a video on how I shoot my videos. Just haven’t found the time to get it done.

@ryanscott9149

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees that would be great to see! Might be an idea for the down season.

Why do you use mediums as the bottom box?

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

It is not intentional. When I sent bees to pollination we sent them in a deep and a medium. It doesn’t matter which one top. When they came back I reversed some of not all of the boxes. It really doesn’t matter which is on top or bottom. Ideally I like to run single or double deeps but how honestly the deep and medium seems to be a good size for the brood chamber here. It’s just a pain at times because the equipment is not interchangeable. A deep and a medium 10 frame is similar to double deep 8 frame.

Did you catch that swarm?

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

It was too high. Even with my pole setup. I did have a smaller swarm move into a nuc at that same beeyard. I had set it out to see what I could catch. I hoped the larger swarm would go in it. I have another double medium set up there with some Swarm Commander. Maybe they moved into it. I hope so.

@NevadaBeeMan-nq3po

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees what do you bait your traps with?

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

@NevadaBeeMan-nq3po old comb and Swarm Commander.

why not give that broodless hive a frame open brood fom another hive? a week later you see what is going on.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

That would have been a good idea.

I don’t think they swarmed. I think the queen failed and died.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Could be. We will see.

Are those plain old nitrile gloves you're wearing?

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Here is what I use. kzread.info/dash/bejne/iZN53NiNYcyth7Q.htmlsi=kOEM8DdP7IUyarBW

I'd bet on a swarm.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Very well could have been a swarm. Otherwise don’t know why there wouldn’t be any eggs.

Do you have the seller contact info from NHBA for that hive tool? I want one!!!! 😊

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Pause the video and look at that packet of seeds. I think the contact info can be found there.

Had that scientist developer of that new AFB vaccine call me this morning. Said it's also 83% effective on deformed wing virus

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Interesting. I don’t know that I have ever seen a case of AFB but I have seen DWV.

No cupped brood, I think she died

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

It’s possible. We will see.

You have to many fingers on that one glove!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yep. I lose my index finger to a table saw accident which occurred back in 2014.

@keithfaithful3989

4 ай бұрын

@@brucesbees not a thumbs up for a lost finger but thanks for the reply.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

@keithfaithful3989 hey no worries. Initially they repaired it and when the repair failed we just decided to take it off. Has been so much better. You are very observant to notice.🙂

Skipping too many frames

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Not sure exactly what you mean but my main objective is to determine the health of the hive and give the viewer an overall experience. No need to go through every frame. Hopefully folks can get a feel for the strength of these colonies by watching the video footage I shared.

Great job marking those lovely Queens Bruce! Can't believe you already have a swarm! And I am guessing you were not feeding those bees? Here we go! Would love any of your viewers in my area of NE Florida to find my channel to keep up with the hyperlocal info in zone 9b. @chuckshoneybees.

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

No o have not been feeding these particular bees. It is amazing the difference from spot to spot. These bees were close to cotton late summer and early fall. Makes a big difference!

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Your channel is great by the way. I need to go down the rabbit hole and binge watch haha!

@chuckshoneybees

4 ай бұрын

Wow an early February unfed swarm. I am glad I have 12 swarm traps up. using a new lemon grass oil vial with a wick in them this year so I don't have to re-apply lure@@brucesbees

@brucesbees

4 ай бұрын

Yeah I use Swarm Commander. For clarification I have fed a little bit of fondant to some of the colonies. But they were way ahead of me before I did that. It’s game on here for sure!

@GrammyMidwife

4 ай бұрын

@chuckshoneybees I am subscribed to your channel as well! Great stuff!