Western Nebraska, Eastern Wyoming Panhandle Beekeeping

Life is SOOOO much simpler with all one size of brood frame. I would cut the deep down, or set it aside for a swarm trap (bait hive) and go with mediums from the start.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#uniformframesize

That is a good idea for the Deep.

Why is that, Michael?

He has regressed his bees and uses small cell for varroa management, if I understand his articles correctly.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beessctheories.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfoursimplesteps.htm

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Thanks for sharing Michael!

Yes, thank you Michael. Nicely put together and quite convincing. There’s a lot of data and research against out there but I realise you are not about actively converting others. Try and make your own mind up. I’m trying all foundationless this year on some of the boxes and the bees will make their own size cells from small to large, I guess. I have small bees already (the local Welsh Black) and some large Buckfast.

Not to resurrect a dead thread, but I am a first year beek and like the OP I ordered my bees from Prairie Wind in Cheyenne. I ended up with a 5 frame nuc and I’m located in Laramie, so I’m excited to see how everything goes!

So far so good. Looks like those NUC frames were wide enough I can’t do 9 frame wide. I also found my queen (see my post about the week one inspection) and a dead SHB then 6-8 SHB larvea so I’m doing the SHB trap with cloth that Cedar talked about.

I’m not familiar with that, perhaps I should find it.

I’m mobile right now, but see my post below and I talked about that and linked it.

http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/first-inspection-7-days-after-5-frame-nuc-installation-input-on-what-im-seeing-please/7198

Hello, I live in Kimball and we are moving to some pasture land next year. I am very interested in starting bees. I have gotten lots of reading on them but would love some tips from some locals. I have a year to get info under my belt and appreciate any and all help.

Thanks,
Mandy

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I never found any others to connect with around Scottsbluff, though I know there are many! My bees lived through the winter with just a single Deep, but I’m sure it helped I insulated them and it wasn’t a BAD winter ether.
There is a great looking club in the Cheyenne area that might be close enough to go mentor with? They have a FB Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1497651113858869/

Anything I can offer with my very limited experience I will glad do though :slight_smile:

Thank you for the FB group. Are you in Scottsbluff? I would love to see the flow hive in use if possible. I know of a few other locals that I need to get a hold of but very interested in seeing this system in person.

I am north of Scottsbluff, but the Flow Hive and Flow Frames probably won’t be installed and used until this Fall.

Hi Techieg33k
I’m new to beekeeping (I’m in the reading researching stage) I live a few miles north of Morrill. Are there any local classes offered? Either in Scottsbluff or even Torrington? I saw that Eastern NE offered classes but I teach at Morrrill and can’t attend.
Thanks!

I haven’t found any classes ever in our part of the state. UNL Extensions Center had one in North Platte or Grand Island last year I think. I didn’t go as it just didn’t work out for me. So far I am just going it alone for local support and otherwise reading and discussing a TON on the forums here. I got a NUC shipped from North CA and if I had to do it again I’d try to get a NUC or Package, but ether way I’d try to get them sourced somewhat locally. I heard that one of the guys from the Cheyenne Facebook Beekeeper group had/has some NUCs and maybe even packages that are sources from western WY I think it was.

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The Nebraska Beekeepers Association has spread out some since I started. I was in Mitchell and they always met near Omaha… so of course I never joined. Now they occasionally seem to have things out as far as the middle of the state. UNL used to do classes as far west as Sidney. I haven’t kept up. I only knew one other beekeeper back in the 70s when I started. He was just north of Mitchell. So pretty much I was on my own. Just the books and me blundering around making mistakes. :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the reply. I was too late to order local bees this year so I’m just going to get my boxes painted and set up for next year. I found a woman south of Morrill who has offered to teach me this summer. So, my plan for this year is to learn as much as possible and give it a go next year. I joined the Eastern WY Facebook site and found there were several others around the Mitchel/Morrill area.
Thanks again!

Very cool to hear! Glad you had better luck than I did when I was looking last year.