Hope you have a speedy and total recovery Jerry. Being in isolation you can still do research on your computer to beat the boredom.
Cheers
1 Like
Just an update friends, I have made it through Covid and back to work, I have noticed my ant problem seems much better with the new hive support stand. Thanks to all of the encouragement of getting better, Tim_Purdie I may have led you to understand that I had a full bottom box and 6 1/2 frames up top, actually I have 6 1/2 on the bottom, and 2 up top, both boxes are 8 frame deep so I still have some room for growth. I would like to get suggestions about what hive top feeder to purchase, but wondered if I should start a new discussion in a different forum? Thanks and I wish you all good health.
5 Likes
Nice to see you back on the forum @Jerry. Be gentle with yourself, this virus can knock you down for quite a while. 
If you start a new discussion with an appropriate heading, it will help others with the same question to find the thread. However, as you asked here, I would say that the type of in hive top feeder that works best for me is a pail feeder:
You can also use an inverted mason jar over the hole in the inner cover. Just make some very small holes in the lid with a pin or very fine nail. I use an empty super on top of the inner cover to enclose the feeder.
I think @Eva loves baggy feeding, perhaps she will comment on that.
3 Likes
Jerry, you made my day knowing you are safe.
4 Likes
Great to hear youāre on the mend, Jerry 
(Think of that as more of an elbow-bump)
As Dawn says, I do love baggy feeding! Not a fan of baggies per se, since I am one of those ladies who saves all the bread bags to reuseā¦anyway, zip-close plastic bags do work well under a small roof space, whether itās a peaked Flow type or a regular flat one with a feeding shim.
2 Likes
I canāt claim I can compete with these ladies for giving advice because Iām just a beginner. I only needed to feed once so far.
I used inverted jam jars like @dawn_sd but I found that the bees went through a jar in just a couple of days. What I did was used multiple jars - and placed them on two thin strips of scrap wood on the inner cover so that bees can crawl under the jars to access the feeding holes. Then put an empty super (which you should have anyway) over the inner cover. Hope it makes sense.
3 Likes
Donāt knock yourself mate, you have provided another option for us to consider and a well worded explanation.
Cheers
First I want to say thanks to everyone, I am not super knowledgeable about these forums so my replyās are to everyone, I just noticed there is a reply button that replyās to the subject instead of just one individual, cool! Dawn_SD, Honeyeater, and Eva thanks for you input on feeding, I understand the explanation of the mason jars, and I need to get another empty super maybe build one. What I donāt know how to do is the baggy feeding, and yes I save every wally world, or Dillons bag I get, I would like to learn how the zip lock bag feeder works, very interesting, I will do some research. I must say you guys, and gals are great to talk with what a nice group.
4 Likes
Hey Jerry, youāre most welcome! The pic is one I found on the internet, not my own but shows how I do it on a hive with a regular Lang outer cover or roof/lid - thereās a 1.5ā shim placed on top of the inner cover, to make space for the baggy to sit next to but not covering the opening. Flow covers will not need a shim.
Supplies youāll need:
A half-gallon or two qt sized new (or hole-free re-used and washed) ziplock baggy
New/sharp razor blade
Sugar syrup (1:1 for spring plus 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar, let cool to room temp)
Large plastic pitcher or mixing bowl
Set the open baggy in your pitcher or bowl as a way to stabilize & catch drips while filling, pour cooled syrup in to fill about 2/3 and seal. If you can allow air to escape as you seal, great, but focus on sealing completely closed & tight all the way to the end of the zip strip.
Suit up, grab your hive tool, smoker and the razor blade, and use the pitcher/bowl to carry the baggy out to your hive.
Open up your hive and lay the filled baggy gently onto the inner cover as shown in the pic. Remaining air bubbles will be easy to see on the surface.
Take your razor blade and make two or three decisive slashes across the major air pockets on the bagās uppermost middle surface, about two or three inches long. Air will escape mostly by itself and you can very gently push any larger pockets toward your slash openings, to create a vacuum that contains the liquid as bees drink it from the openings.
Carefully replace the outer cover and youāre finished!
Check on the feed in a week or so, bringing out a new baggy to replace it if itās mostly gone. Your pitcher/bowl is a handy container for the used baggy, which will be sticky and still may have syrup left in it that you donāt want dripping around the hive and back to the house.
2 Likes
Awesome explanation totally understandable, Thank you so much thatās the direction Iām headed, this is such an expanding hobby I need more brood boxes, bottom boards, etc. etc. I am trying to decide if I want to do spits, capture swarms or just let nature take its course, and let them swarm. Letting them swarm each year seems like much less work, but not as rewarding for myself and the world, holy cow its just like any hobby its never ending. lol thank you Eva, and all of you for all the help.
2 Likes
The option of letting the hives swarm is something I wouldnāt entertain Jerry, think forward 10 years and you local foraging area having gotten full of swarms thru your bad hive management competing with your own hive for nectar. Swarms can take over hollow logs denying the natural animals and insects roosting sites. Sure, it is the easy option but please consider your environment.
Cheers
1 Like
Really bad idea, and probably one of the reasons why Flow Hive users get a bad rep.
1 Like
Thatās exactly what Iām looking for, honest opinions, I have heard the same thing from others, and I definatly want to do whatās best for the environment. Iāve been told all about letting nature take its course, and how it keeps the diseases under control, and now Iām hearing it the other way. Iām hearing if I donāt want more than 3 to 4 hives the extra bees will be easy to give away or sell so I will have to reach out to the local bee keepers, my resources are limited to about 3 hives and it donāt seem to take very long to achieve 3 hives. Thanks
1 Like
First let me say what a great attitude you have @Jerry. With those kind of thoughts, you will be a great beekeeper.
Second, let me tell you a few more reasons why you want to prevent swarming:
- It REALLY annoys the neighbors if you live in an urban or suburban environment.
- The first swarm runs off with your nice mated queen, ~60% of the bees and most of the honey. Lost. Gone. The remaining bees have to rebuild and get a new queen mated. She may not start laying for 3-6 weeks. That means that you may either get no honey for the whole season (best case), or you lose the hive because it canāt recover the numbers to get through winter.
- Secondary (or ācastā) swarms will completely destroy the hive by removing remaining resources.
That all depends on your local climate and forage. I agree that in subtropical zones, bees proliferate very fast. They donāt in my climate here in southern California. They did in the UK. You will find out as time goes by. Just it is good to have a plan in mind, and you are on your way to that, thanks to your sensible questions.
Good job, keep at it! 
1 Like
Hi Jerry, @Dawn_SD gave you two good reasons from a responsible beekeeperās perspective. Iāll give you a third from a conservation perspective.
Feral European bees in places where they are not native can be a very big problem because they are quite aggressive in taking over natural (and man made) hollows for the local native wildlife. I know it is a big problem here in some natural parks. I live next to one myself so I am a bit more sensitive on the issue of preventing swarms. Iām following a thread on this subject on another forum, and am gobsmacked with the misinformation and attitudes of some beekeepers. The folks on this forum seem to be more attuned to conservation issues, which is a good thing.
This is a screenshot from a video by the Bush Bee Man, where he makes a cut out from a nestbox taken over by feral bees. As you can see there were bird eggs in there already, and the bees killed the parents, native parrots, to take it over. The beekeeper suspected AFB first because of the rotten egg stench.
2 Likes
That would almost the entire planet, but because theyāre so productive/profitable weāve introduced them everywhere and allowed them to take over and become naturalised.
I totally agree with you about the loss of habitat for our native species, but I have a feeling the arrival of SHB on the east coast may have put a fairly large dent in the number of feral hives in the bush.
Maybe. But it is yet another exotic species. Does it have any affect on the native stingless bee hives over there? Hopefully not.
I also havenāt mentioned the relentless competition feral honey bees have with the native pollinators. I know that there are currently some studies being conducted on this. Feral honey bees are also excellent pollinators of most weed species, which is another major problems in natural parks.
I know, some beekeepers do not like to talk about this, but this is something that really tears me apart. As a conservationist first, and beekeeper second, living adjacent to a National Park I do have a lot of internal conflict on this matter.
An interesting article here on The Conversation
1 Like
I have no experience with native sting-less bees but a chap who lives about 10kās away and has 6 native colonies over the past 10 years and wanted to get into having a few honey bee hives so I invited him to my apiary to see what it is about. That was the first time he had seen a SHB. I wonder if they donāt go for native bee hives? Logically as SHB is an issue in both his and my areas and with him checking his native hives the next day and didnāt find a single SHB makes me wonder if SHB much prefer a honey bee hive to infest for some reason.
The chap has gone ahead with buying hives from me and he spends time with me learning about good practice in caring for his new venture. His back fence is the boundary to a National Park and he had no trouble registering his hives and approved for up to 50 hives.
It really is, in my opinion, to easy to register as a bee keeper with little or no understanding about good bee keeping and what is involved.
Cheers
In Qld a permit can be got to put honey bee hives in the National Parks but the location and number of hives is controlled.
From what Iāve read the native sting less bees commonly kept in Sydney entomb SHB in resin and wax as long as they are strong, but may be able to take down a hive that is weak after having just been split.
Iād say SHB probably target the type of bee that build large communal hives like that of EHB as they seem to need to consume a lot of material to fuel their onslaughts, but also a large hive may also provide the right conditions to reproduce, e.g. the nest of a solitary type of bee may not be suitable.
Sorry just ignore this post ! I misread a comment and I canāt delete the entire post without leaving 20 characters.
1 Like