The Buzz Newsletter

January 2005

 

 

Page 5

Choosing a Location for a Bee Yard

Here it is January and we have just started winter. Boy, did winter appear on the first day of winter not only according to the almanac, but also with the sudden change in the daily temperatures. It seems strange to have been in the forty’s on December 18 and be in the low digits with below wind chill in less than a week. That just goes to show how quick the weather can change and those sudden changes can be very hard on over wintered hives of bees. It is a good time for you to pay your hives a visit and check to see that skunks or other animals have pulled none of the entrance reducers out and that no mice have moved in the hives.

While in the bee yard take a few moments to see if the hives are protected from a northwest breeze. It could be that your hives are exposed to an extreme chilling breeze and you didn’t realize that as being the reason for losing most of the hives in that yard year after year. It could be that a snow fence placed behind the hives would reduce the effect of the wind If the yard is own your land or if the land owner wouldn’t object, you may want to plant some evergreen trees behind the hives. It will amaze you as to how fast the trees will grow and make a natural wind break and if you plant pines in just a few years you will have one of the best smoker fuels available and a good source of weed control to put in front of your hives. Pine straw makes an easy to light smoker fuel and gives a cool aromatic smoke. Placing the pine straw on the ground in front of the hives will after a year or two keep the weeds from growing. I have only touched on one of the things to consider when you locate a bee yard. You should also look to a good source of water preferably within a quarter of a mile of the bee yard. It should be accessible during all kinds of weather as there will be times you will need to go to the yard just after a three day rain, or when there is a foot of snow on the ground. If it is in a pasture what kind of animals are in the pasture, i.e.; sheep, goats, cows, horses or hogs. Sheep and goats generally don’t do too much harm to a bee yard. Cows love to rub their necks or sides on the hives and will knock them over. Horses love sugar and if they get a taste of the honey they will kick the hives over and tear up the combs eating the honey. Hogs will stick their noses under the front, back or side of your hives and flip them over so they can root out the grubs in the moist soil under the hive. All three of the later can cause you to lose a honey crop, bees and ruin equipment. I have never understood why a farmer that is supposed to know the value of pollination and the importance of it to make better crops is so opposed to allowing a beekeeper to place a bee yard on his land and then give him honey for the (quote) rent of the land to place the bees. It should be the farmer paying the beekeeper to put bees on his farmer so that he can benefit from the pollination of the bees.

I have had a bee yard on the top of a hill in the sun and I have had them in the shade of trees. I have had them on the side of a hill and on flat ground. I have found that a bee yard in the shade of trees in the summer can help the bees to cool the hive and let the bees produce more honey, while the hives on the hill in the sun barely made winter food. The bees on the side of the hill would not be covered by fog and kept cool until mid morning and the hives on the flat may not get enough drainage after a heavy rain and I would get stuck with the truck. I have hauled honey supers in a wheelbarrow a hundred yards in 90-degree weather to remove the honey crop. I have had to open several gates to get into the bee yard and have had to wallow through deep ruts left by the farmers tractor from going in and out the only gate available to the bee yard. The farmer doesn’t care whether you can get to the bees or not, but just don’t leave the xxxx gate open and let his cows out unless you are moving your very last hive of bees off his land. If you leave the gate open and the cows get out you won’t ever be welcome back on his farm with bees and you never know how far his relatives live and you just may have your best bee yard on his in laws farm. So close the gate and move your bee yard if you don’t like the present location.

Over the years I have kept bees on two farms for over 30 years and I have had the hives in three different locations on both of these farms during that time. I will probably move the hives again in the next five years if I continue to keep bees on these two farms. I no longer have to be concerned with livestock on either of these farms and only one gate on each farm to get to the bees. Good luck on finding and choosing a good bee yard and here hoping that each and every one of you have healthy and wonderful year of beekeeping in 2005.

Rambling from The Old Man