Darwinian beekeeping
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- čas přidán 19. 03. 2020
- Lecture 3: Darwinian Beekeeping. This presentation provides an introduction to a way of being a beekeeper who wants to let his or her colonies live as naturally as possible. This is an approach to beekeeping that is only relevant for a small-scale beekeeper, one who has just a few hives, and for a beekeeper who does not seek to get a lot of honey from his or her bees. It is appropriate for somebody who wants to relate to the bees more as a beewatcher than as a beekeeper.
Another excellent presentation, I am thankful for your time and efforts! Thumbs UP of course!
Thank you very much Dr.Seeley I hope you are fine and healthy.
10-year beekeeper.
I never treated my bees. The first few years I had up to 60 percent loss in a given year. These were mainly purchased bees.
I caught many swarms over the years and produced more colonies from those swarms. Now I lose about 10 to 15 percent in a given year. Some of that is due to learning from experience and becoming a better beekeeper, but I am convinced the genetics of my colonies are getting more adapted to the local environment as a result of my refusal to treat.
I also used to run Warre hives. I believe the Warre hives are better for the bees due to the smaller overall cavity size and the ability of the bees to better regulate their temperature in the winter.
Very very fascinating. Your videos are always great to watch!
Grazie Tom, dalla liguria in Italia. Bellissima e interessante lezione.
I wonder if the height of wild colonies making a nest is because it affects chalkbrood? As the ground in spring is wet and ripe to throw spores. Being closer to the ground may affect spore transferring to the hive.
Dr. Tom. I've been working on a small layens poly hive (I don't think anyone in the world makes one). Its pretty much based on your principles of Darwinian Beekeeping. I wondered if you'd like to hear more about it.
Thank you dear Tom Seeley for sharing your knowledge and experience.
It is always a pleasure listening to you and learning.
And it is far more than just interesting and useful, it is a treasure.
Kind regards from Vienna/Austria
Kyros
Love your talks. Am trying to be a natueal beek. You and Dr Leo Shariskan have my attention with anything you put out. You have done so much specific to bees research. I however call it natural, not Darwinian. So many thing darwin couldn't connect the dots on, without God in the picture. Have a blessed day!
Hi Tom, superb information as usual. I live in southern Spain near Portugal. Would you happen to know if there is any evidence that painting hives very different colours or with bold markings reduces the amount of drift between hives which are close together? Hives are normally the same colour within an apiary.
Very useful. Thank you
Thank you Dr. Seeley. Some interesting things to think about.
Thank you…I learned so much.
Congratulations, I have read your books and I am a big fan of yours. Would it be possible to subtitle the video in Italian? Thank you
How mine has a round 3/4 inch hole in the front I was thinking about trying up down to see how that works
Nicely done. Thank you.
why don't you use horizonal hives? far less disturbance to the colony
Bees can prefer higher places because of low humidity and larger radius of flowers smell
I like your philosophy and your reasoning seems sound. I have a question. What do you bait your swarm traps with?
I use one old brood comb and fill out the remainder of the box with frames with starter strips of foundation.
Sir, when bee wants to show where to go she does "the waggle dance". What when she wants to warn her sisters not to go somewhere. Do they perform something opposite to waggle dance? I am not talking about beeping the waggling bee by another bee. Regards!
In Poland last 500 years we have been hives in tree trunks
You can get all answers from people having them in polish woods
czcams.com/video/YiAGgEkeeFE/video.html
No matter wild or not beetles, moths, and mites will come. I think, which is not epa friendly, the warre hive allows them to build what they can protect. But still warre brings its own difficulties of lifting ect. but over all the warre is like the wild more than any topbar and framed boxes.
Could you have a look at english subtitles, thanks
Have you ever seen colonies survive with high mite loads? Your suggesting killing off colonies with 10 mites in a count, but I've seen colonies survive with higher loads with no issues, and seems it takes the tolerance trait and balances out their colony with mites. What do you think?
He said 10 per cent-not 10 in ‘a count.’ If your count is 10 mites in 300 bees that would be 3.3 percent. If your count was 30 mites in 300 bees that would be 10 percent which he recommended euthanizing. He did also propose a beekeeper might euthanize at 5% or 2%. I think he was leaving it up to each individual where they might draw the line. Seemed like 10% was his personal max aka 30 mites in 300 bees.
Thank you from Joe in Northern Ireland.
Any ideas for reducing drone comb in foundationless frames?
I am foundationless and have been for 15 years. A healthy colony is going to build a lot of drone comb on foundationless frames. You can cut it out but if they want drones they will build it back because that is want bees do to reproduce. I like drone comb. Many drones mean well mated queens and well mated health queens are critical to healthy colonies.
@@tonyjetton8352 Thank you Tony for your reply. Usually people who use foundationless frames are concerned about the bees but I have more selfish motives. If I develop a method to get the bees to build worker only cells, would that be of benefit to you?
@@joeclen79 It would not be of benefit to me personally. I want lots of my drones from my bees in my yard. I see a benefit in saturating my bee yard with drones from my most desirable queens to insure their genetics are passed on. Many bee keepers do think negatively of drones. They eat a lot of honey and do no work. Any method you devise to limit drone production would be seen as favorable by them.
@@tonyjetton8352 Hi Tony. What type of frames do you use. Do you use treatments. What do you do with the frames of honey. Have you any tips for getting the honey frames drawn evenly. Have you had any experience with the Layens type hive? You can answer as much or as little of this as you like, no pressure.
@@joeclen79 I use frames with the wooden wedge under the top bar as would be used with foundation but I only install a 1.5 inch wide starter strip of foundation. I also use foundationless frames which have a wooden guide under the top bar. Either way the bees get to build the comb they want. To get straight comb I insert an empty foundationless frame or a frame with a starter strip between two straight combs in the brood nest. The bees draw it out nicely. At present I harvest honey by crush and strain so all the crooked comb in the honey supers gets crushed, melted down and stored. I count mites using the sugar shake/roll method. If I have a hive with a high mite load I do not let it perish. I treat with oxalic acid when they are bloodless and MAQS when there is brood present. I treat the hive but kill then replace the queen with a queen know to offer some mite resistantance. I raise those replacement queens from colonies that show good mite suppression. This is exactly why I want the colonies producing drones. I want the drone congregation areas saturated with my drones so my queens can mate with drones of good genetics and not droves from colonies that may not be as mite resistant. There is absolute no need to destroy a hive as Dr. Seeley does. Just kill the mites, kill the queen and cut out all the drone comb and replace the queen with a better one. The bad genetics will end with that approach and the hive can live to try again. Killing the entire hive accomplishes nothing more than my method.
Yes you are %100 right. We hunt regularly wild bees in forest. grandfather was old style hives like basket
.In basket hives bees never die winter. But he said when change hives turn modern beekeeping used langstroth hive 50 percent increased winter lost. Upper Insulation is very weak langstroth hives. He found empty honey comb and frozen bees. When we add top 4 cm insulation everything OK.
Great presentation. I wish you wouldn’t apologize for the Darwinian style. It has a place in commercial beekeeping. Timely splits to mimic swarming can actually increase honey production.
Hello Tom, do you have a video on "condensing hives for bottom entrances?" Thank you
Talks like a millenial. .emphasis on the last syallBLE. Most disTRACTING. Best to read his works, listenING will drive you NUTS.
Could you have a look at english subtitles, thanks