re: Anyone here keep Bees?

I’ll let ya know when they swarm once I move them again .

There’s nothing wrong with going into a nuc first. It’s a little more work, because you’ll have to move them again later, but they can actually defend their hive better in a smaller area like a nuc vs a full hive body. Sometimes, the swarms are so large, you need to go to a full hive body from the start.

There are a couple things you can do for the beetles. If you have screened bottom boards with the pull out corrugated plastic sheet, you can place swiffer sheets on it and slide it back into place. Or, you can buy one of those cheap red and white plastic table cloths from Walmart and cut it to the size of your hive. Turn it upside down and tape it on the corrugated plastic sheet.

In either case, rough up the fibers before sliding it back into the bottom board. When the bees chase them down, they get tangled up in the fibers.

Placing your hives in full sun helps with beetles as well. They either can’t tolerate the heat, or just don’t like it.

As Cave Canem mentioned above, I believe there are also cheap plastic beetle traps that you can get from eBay. I’ve never used them, but I think you put some type of poison bait in them. I’ve heard they work really well. Here’s a link for making your own from CD cases: LINK

If you want to go the expensive route, look up Beetle Buster bottom boards. LINK /

They look well made and people seem to love them. They seem pricey to me though.

Cave, did you put the Flow hive cells on a new hive? If so, you should let the bees fill out two deep hive bodies the first year without using the flow cells (honey super). After the first year, add the flow cells to the hive just before the nectar flow starts. It also helps to melt some beeswax and, using a pain roller, roll it onto the flow cells.

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Cave, did you put the Flow hive cells on a new hive? If so, you should let the bees fill out two deep hive bodies the first year without using the flow cells (honey super). After the first year, add the flow cells to the hive just before the nectar flow starts. It also helps to melt some beeswax and, using a pain roller, roll it onto the flow cells.

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yes I added it as they built out the deep so fast, now I will have to figure out a way back up and punt.

Just seems counter intuitive as I am stacking supers on my regular langs as fast as they build them out.

On a positive note just left the garden a few min ago and the bees were lined up to get on the squash and zucchini which was the original reason I wanted bees so I was

If they already filled out two deeps, there’s no harm in putting the flow cells on there. It just helps them make it through winter if they have two deeps completely filled.

People also suggest not harvesting honey from the bees during their first year. Again, just to help them through winter.

I will leave two boxes on each hive unmolested, the others I will harvest.

A few will be deep+medium combos because I ended up scoring a large amount of medium boxes and frames from someone very cheaply.

So far I’ve learned they love Privet and blackberry bushes. Some say in Mississippi that the Chinese Tallow tree contributes to the majority of honey production in Mississippi. They were going to release a beatle to kill off all of those trees since they're an invasive tree, but many were scared of the consequences to the bees.

Not sure about your water question.

Thanks to both of you guys for the replies.