Adding Bees to a new hive!

[histopicker]

Here is a little how to video on adding bees to a new hive. The squirt bottle contains sugar water. The bees drink their fill and become docile.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjoRbWwkPns&feature=youtu.be

[nytrapper23]

Thanks histo, I gotta get this deal fined tuned so I can get a hive going

[rendezvous]

Histopicker, your hive box, housing?  From what I have seen it is not of the conventional design, is that design specific to your climate/area or is it a new design?

[histopicker]

Feb 13, 2015 8:50:22 GMT -5 rendezvous said:

Histopicker, your hive box, housing?  From what I have seen it is not of the conventional design, is that design specific to your climate/area or is it a new design?

It is in fact an ancient design that is just modified from the original. The ancient Greeks first used this design. It is called a horizontal top-bar hive and is used in Africa alot because of it's low construction cost. The common commercial hives we see here are called Langstroth hives. They are the stacked boxes. You will get more honey production from a Langstroth thus giving it advantage to that end. The top-bar hives require the bees to do all the work themselves and quite possibly produce healthier bees. With top-bar hives you get more wax production plus the benefit of comb honey.

I made this hive with store bought materials at a total cost of 70.00 American and had some material left over for the next hive. A comparable Langstroth will cost around $250.-300.00.

[SkFarm25]

Awesome video, keep them coming! I'm most likely going to go with the langstroth myself. Have you been keeping bees long?

[histopicker]

Feb 13, 2015 15:32:45 GMT -5 SkFarm25 said:

Awesome video, keep them coming! I'm most likely going to go with the langstroth myself. Have you been keeping bees long?

In colder climates like yours, Langstroth is the better choice because the clutch of bees will move vertically through their honey stores during the winter. I have been beekeeping for 1 year now. I have studied them for years and lived next to an apiary in Texas that had 6,000 hives. I was friends with the owner and learned a bit from him.

[SkFarm25]

That's awesome you have a lot of knowledge at your disposal then. Keep us updated

[farmertrappe]

Cool Mike, installing a new package is always a nice spring ritual. Of course I'm either a big Puss or smart enough to wear gloves. Your months ahead of us on starting new packages, not until Late April here.

[bk]

Good video, histopicker.

Step son and I use the same basic method and it just works. Last spring, by the time we got out to my hives, it was dark. We skipped the sugar water and just dumped them in the hive in the dark - a red flashlight was very helpful.  Placed the queen cage in between frames and we were good to go.  Bees were so calm it was un-real.  Cool enough the bees poured out of the box like marbles.  we plan on trying to do it that way again.  It was a happy, successful accident.