Natural Beekeeper and Organic Gardener
I grew up on a farm on the edge of the Nebraska sandhills. A cattle ranch that bears our family name, founded in the late 1800s by my ancestors, is still owned and worked by my cousin. Life events have put me in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area in middle America, where my wife and I have raised our two kids. It's in this environment that I work to make as sustainable a life as I can, converting much of our backyard to grow food, including a garden, fruit trees and bee hives.
I attempt to use natural methods, as much as is possible, in my gardening and beekeeping. I garden organically and continue to learn to work with the soil and the plants, without the use of chemical supplements, herbicides or pesticides, to improve our harvest. Our honey bees are sourced from local colonies through swarms, trap-outs and cut-outs, and are kept, using treatment-free, natural methods, in Layens horizontal hives.
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has anybody ever tried to cross breed with the asian honeybee apis cerana???- i read where they made it to australia and they tried to exterminate them and failed sooooo it seems that would bee a good place to study the effects of crossbreeding-i seem to remember in 94 when ccd hit the us they imported bees from australia and thats how varroa got here-i never used chemicals and i lose alot of bees
Rubber bands looks likw it worked a lot better than the monofilament. Thanks for sharing all of this. I am learning a lot
The way I like to empty out the swarm trap of leftover bees after transfer is to set it down into the empty section of the hive (no lid of course) and let them meander out and join their sisters at will. I then remove that box a day or two later with next to no bees in it.
That's a good idea, and might save my frames. 😁
Thanks for listing! Bee watching!!
Excellent content... Hopefully this will be very helpful.. Loaded the 2nd Commander a couple days ago and finally saw a couple honey bees on some flowers.. Keeping fingers crossed.
One thing for sure I’ll never be a sod buster, I heard it in westerns many times as a disrespectful term
I like using insulated hives very much. However I can also bare witness to how easily a mouse can chew a hole into a pure styrene hive. So go easy.
About how late in the year will they swarm in middle Tennessee?
Although the main swarm season is in the spring, swarms can happen throughout the year. The spring swarm season generally coincides with the nectar flow, with more swarms occurring earlier than later. I can't speak for middle Tennessee, but here in Missouri we're on the tail end of our season. Swarms caught later in the year may require some additional help to get started and to prepare for winter.
@@SuburbanSodbuster And additional help may mean feeding (honey or sugar as a last resort) and or even uniting with a stronger colony.
@@SuburbanSodbuster Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to put out these very helpful videos.
Nice presentation. You hit on all the points as to why I chose this for my first hive this year too! Thank you
If the bees were still and not metabolizing their insulation ability would be measurable as any static material would be. But they ARE moving and metabolizing, totally different calculation!
Thank you! This was very helpful.
I have a swarm trap from Dr Leo, and I'm in the process of building my first 20 frame layens. My nuc is currently occupied by a small swarm I caught in somebody's yard.
Just started watching. Tell you this though. Used swarm commander. Ain't ever caught nothing but my own bees
What if you are transporting your hives bc your main income comes from rental for pollenation? ... Oh...you answered that question
It's called a nuptial flight where males small winged ants mate with future female queen ants on flight.
I've just started bee keeping thanks to having a couple of old hives sitting around. I got the old hives because I'd planned on starting bee keeping, I just wasn't sure when. However, the bees made up my mind for me. So now I'm the proud posessor of two hives. Needless to say it's a steep learning curve, but thanks to your excellent YT channel my task is a little easier. Many thanks 👍
Thanks, Mr Sodbuster, here in Spain we use the layens mostly and like you say, it's so much less hassle. I'm new to beekeeping and have other interests too, so not having to spend so much time "messing around" with my bees is a bonus.
I enjoyed this presentation, gave me lots of ideas on how to improve my hive designs. Thanks for the inspiration.
As a suburban sodbuster myself and a descendant of Nebraska farmers (outside Inavale), your story resonates deeply with me. Thank you for sharing!
I use the same ratchet straps, first I cut off the hooks then I sew the strap back to the ratchet. It makes them much easier to use not having to fumble with hooks especially when I strap the box to a tree someone does not want me putting screw into. I also took a stick of 3/4 electrical conduit and put a short piece of 2x6 on the top end by drilling a hole in the 2x6. It gives me something to set the box on while the straps are installed.
Newbie bee keeper here. Like week 1!😆Ive watched most of your videos. I’m so impressed with what you’re doing. You’re so honest and that can be tough sometimes. Please don’t stop , you are such a great mentor!! And you’re doing exactly what I want to be doing. Same way as Dr Leo. I’m Iway up here in Canada . British Columbia. Thank you thank you!!
Our 20 frame layen's hives are completely out of room and bursting at the seams with bees. We made a split in April from one and accidentally let another one swarm and they still ended up jam-packed. Any ideas on how to prevent this? Or know of an easy way to convert langstroth equipment to super a Layen's? My wife and I are not fantastic at wood-working.
hi, new to your channel. do you see any disadvantage of making a layens style hive but modified to accommodate langstroth frames? i'm only 5yrs into bees teaching me and layens makes sense. unfortunately it's all langstroth for me.
I've been loving your videos and I definitely subscribed! (from comparing Layens/Langtroths hives to how to build frames). You've helped me decide to go with a Layens and build it myself in my shop. Question: would you recommend a 20 frame hive or more frames if I have the space in my backyard? How many colonies do you keep in your 30 frame Taj Mahel at any given time? I'm debating going with a 30 frame hive as well to give me more flexibility in the future but I'm wondering if it's overkill. Hoping that you have some opinions based on your Taj Mahal hive experience. Maybe better to go with 2 hive boxes amounting to 30 frames instead? Thank you! And keep up the great work!
My preference is for a 20 frame hive - in my experience it's big enough to accommodate most colonies through a season. I've had a couple that filled the hive but many that didn't need all of the space. Also, 20 frame hives aren't too big to move, if needed. Areas with a very strong nectar flow might justify a larger hive, maybe 25 frames - but this can also be managed by replacing full honey frames when space is needed. My "Taj Mahive" is 30 frames and usually holds two colonies, but sometimes space gets tight. It's also too large to move, as a matter of practicality.
@@SuburbanSodbuster Thank you for these pointers! Will go with a 20 frame hive then. Really appreciate it.
So true.. I've gotten into hobbies now I wouldn't have before with this mindset. May not have what i ideally want, but I can do a lot with what I have.
I started with Dadant frames, not sure if popular in US. I can't imagine trying to transport a hive like that without using a crane :D I would love to have horizontal hives due to ease of use but I transport my hives twice a year and can't imagine anything else that styrofoam vertical ones.
I didn’t treat my initial hive and it made it very strong through the winter. I currently have two hives going strong. Neither has been treated. I am planting and putting mint, oregano and thyme around my hives to repel mites. I will likely use a powered sugar dusting in both hives this fall.
Thanks that was interesting 👍 ive never seen this before 👋👍
Good luck to you sir 🙂
Thank you!
Wrap and cover my hives. Also add an electric heater at the back side to kick on when it gets really cold.
Didn't lose any over winter BTW
A lot of people reinforce the joints with wood and spend a bit more on wood to get better durability. Especially across the joints on the top.
The company posts pictures of reinforcements that other customers have done; I made the mistake of assuming that my backyard was sheltered enough that the reinforcement wouldn't be necessary.
Hallelujah! Its time some closed minded people woke up and took notice. There is a big difference between Thriving and Surviving. I started insulating my hives from the start. and lost count of the amount of abuse from so called Bee keepers. Telling me that I was doing it all wrong and it would end in disaster and "They will end up with Nosema" Usually recomending I keep them in standard British National hives. Which in my opinion are too small, the wrong shape, uninsulated torture boxes which people keep using because 'thats how its always been done'! Well I havent lost a colony since I started 5 years ago. just increased each year from 1 to 7 hives. So what am I doing wrong?! No species want to become extinct. Provide the habitat its taken millions of years to evolve to live in. (In this case a good solid insulated hive) and it doesnt need any more help, Or hinderance from us. My hives are either Layens or 14 x12 national frames. The It is a lot more work To build them but well worth the effort. Iin the autumn the supers are removed and replaced with insulated supers containing pillow cases stuffed with wood shavings covered by the insulated roof. Once a month I check and if the shavings are very damp. (sometimes they are sometimes not) I replace the damp area. I never disturb the Bees underneath, they have plenty of honey on the brood frames.I only ever take honey from the supers. Love the Videos Cheers
Thank you for the comments. "The way it's always been done" can be a terrible trap, as can be assuming that we have all the answers. I hope that I don't fall into either.
Very interesting 👍🥰 tremendous stuff, thanks from central Otago southern New Zealand 👋🥝
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Hi an interesting Video on a controversial subject. Have you seen videos about using powdered sugar to encourage the bees to remove the mites as part of their grooming ? Icing sugar can work but it has drying agents added. If you grind sugar into a powder and cover the bees with it it helps get the mites off. You can simply pour the powder onto the top of the frames and get it to fall down between the gap between frames. Otherwise you can take out one frame at a tome and blow the powder over the bees on the fram and then put it back, doing all frames one by one. The sugar does not harm the bees, the mites the mites do not become resistant because it is not a chemical treatment. you do need to have a grill at the bottom of the hive for the mites to fall through and a sticky board underneath to trap the mites. The bees will eat the sugar so win win. there are videos out their showing this.Probably too much work for the commercial beekeper but not to much for the back yard keper. Another method is the use of heat. Taking advantage of the maximumum heat the varroa can stand is less than the bee can stand. The hive is heated and held at a maximum temperature for about an hour then brought back down to normal. Varroa die the bees will be put under some strain but they survive. Hope this helps
Thanks for your comment and question. My perspective is that the only sustainable mite control is to keep and propogate bees able to manage bees on their own. Beyond that I avoid any artificial interventions. Researchers working with Tom Seeley have done mite counts on honeybees living in the wild - populations which have recovered since originally being decimated by mites. Those colonies tested all had mites - sometimes with counts higher than would be considered "acceptable". Besides that, the colonies were otherwise thriving. Through natural selection, bees without intervention have developed resistance and/or tolerance to mites. If we keep bees with these traits then our actions to remove the mites are, at best, unnecessary and, by putting unnatural stress on the bees, could be detrimental.
Do you find that hive color matters at all in respect to winter survival (for absorbing sun) and do you recommend treated ply for the exterior sheeting on the hive, or just paint untreated?
Do you find that hive color matters at all in respect to winter survival (for absorbing sun) and do you recommend treated ply for the exterior sheeting on the hive, or just paint untreated?
I generally recommend light colors for hives so as not to absorb much heat from the sun. With the insulated hives the color is probably less important. Over winter the bees will generate their own heat; if we can help them retain that there's no need to add external heat. As for the exterior, I use untreated sheathing grade plywood and paint with an exterior paint.
What a fine puzzle you have built there!
I usually blow on them with my own breath as I move the frame closer horizontally. Bees don’t like human breath and move lower on the frame allows me to close it completely.
You almost had me converted until you mentioned the extractor issue. Darn it, anyway! I’m four years into beekeeping and last year sunk about $1,200 into a Maxant motorized extractor. Sucks to be me because I would convert to Layens.
So styrofoam around and maybe heat tape around the hive it is! 😵💫
I would advocate for the insulation but not anything that adds heat to the hive. The bees will produce the heat; by insulating we can help them retain it. Adding heat could cause the bees to react in unseasonable ways - e.g. act as if the weather is warming and start building up brood early which will increase resource usage prematurely.
Wow, they've really closed that entrance down.
Lost queen, i guess that's a risk...?
good video, learned stuff, thanx.
Thank you! I'm glad this was useful.
Some very interesting comments.
With the third variant you can smash the bees that are inside between the the sides of the frames when they get closer and eventually touch each other. The second variant is the best IMO
That's a possibility I've recognized but haven't seen it to be much of a problem in practice. At least the approach minimizes the surface area between which the bees can be trapped. I generally use a mix of approaches and actually do prefer to slide the frames in vertically, but sometimes the bees crowd in and make it impractical.
COMMENT I like that there is versatility in the build of your hive. As it's built with interlocking boxes, it makes it easier to carry to its location as opposed to one big heavy box, which would take two people carry.
I recommend doing away with the wires in the frames. Instead put a dowel in the middle of the frame to support the weight of the top half of the comb the bees will build. Then an angled piece of wood in the top of the frame to guide the bees to build down the middle. the wax won't sag so much when it gets hot in summer like it does on the wires. Also when I go to harvest the honey, I can just cut the comb out of the frame- big cut comb! Then the bees will build all new fresh comb. A dowel in the middle is just all round better than wires, imo.
I was wondering about that...
To each their own. I prefer to use an extractor and return newer comb to the bees to re-use. I've started using cross-wired frames to provide better comb support and have also found that it often results in more even comb than straight wires.
@@SuburbanSodbuster Maybe a video about the different frame options, horizontal or vertical wired, or wood starter strips or wax or plastic foundation starter or dowels would be a good idea if you are up for it?
@@SuburbanSodbuster I was thinking. maybe the ultimate frame would have a horizontal 1/4 oak dowel to stop the horizontal wires from pulling the sides in? What thinks you?...
I see you wired a couple frames with a cross-wire pattern. Do you think this gives a benefit in Layens frames over the traditional inline method?
I started wiring frames with a cross-wire pattern in hopes that it would provide better support and prevent comb collapse in the heat. I haven't had enough opportunity to really test that, yet, but I have found that the bees tend to build better comb on the cross-wire. With vertical wires bees will sometimes build long sections of narrow comb between the wires, but they can't avoid the angled and crossed wires so seem to build across the wire better.
Is this better or worse than having a laying worker in terms of ability to save the hive through the correct interventions
An intercaste queen is easier to correct than laying workers, as the queen can be removed and replaced in the same manner as any requeening operation. A laying worker hive is more difficult to correct as there can be multiple laying workers and they all must be shaken out of the hive in order for the colony to accept a new queen.