Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: New in New York  (Read 3515 times)

Offline McGoo

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 35
New in New York
« on: March 25, 2010, 11:36:38 am »
Hi all.  Can't wait to meet all of you and get your advice on beekeeping.  I'm wanting to try my hand at raising honeybees.  Read a bit about Top box hives and thought it might be good.  Seems that once you start it becomes hard to change from one system to another.  Everything I've read about the top box sounds good... except one situation - getting my first group of bees and putting them in there...  I've never done this before and it seems more difficult - honestly a bit scarey. 

I'm looking for your ideas and ways and places to purchase bees. 

thanks,
Colleen


Offline Natalie

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1478
  • Gender: Female
Re: New in New York
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2010, 11:45:18 am »
Welcome to Beemaster!
Some of us have topbar hives and some of use have both the tbh and the langs so you will get alot of advice here if you need it.
I don't know about getting bees in New York, other members from that area will have some info on that but you should try and hurry if you want them this year because alot of places are already sold out since we usually pick them up in April or by mid May, at least around here.
Good luck and have fun with it! :)

Offline indypartridge

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1131
Re: New in New York
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2010, 08:25:36 am »
Hello and welcome!

Please update your profile with your location so we can remember where you're from. Much of beekeeping is location specific, so knowing where you are will help us in answering questions.

Be sure to check out the tutorials on the main Beemaster page. Lots of good info there.

If you're interested in top bar hives, you may be interested in these links:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm
http://beenatural.wordpress.com/natural-beekeeping/top-bar-hives/

Lastly, I encourage you to get involved with a local bee club. Clubs are great places for finding mentors, getting connected with local beekeepers, and learning how best to keep bees in your area:
http://www.masterbeekeeper.org/resources/beegroups.htm

Offline McGoo

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 35
Re: New in New York
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2010, 10:33:58 pm »
Great advice.  My location is posted and I'm now connected with a local group and registered for a couple of classes!  You are the best.  Thanks so much! 

Offline Highlandsfreedom

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 450
  • Gender: Male
    • Organic gardening and Bee Services.
Re: New in New York
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2010, 12:51:52 am »
You are going to have so much fun on here.  I got my first couple of hives (10) from an ad I put on craigslist for swarm capturing I had I pic of a good swarm.  If you go that route you will get the occasional " I have a (1) bee in my yard can you come with a butterfly net and get them"  call but that's the way it goes.  As for the top bar you will have fin with those and if you stay a Beek for a while you will end up with both kinds of hives and maybe a few others for fun and decoration.  Welcome to the group and ask all the questions you want theres not a silly question out there about bees so don't worry about it.
To bee or not to bee that is the question I wake up to answer that every morning...

Offline Jahjude

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 144
  • Gender: Male
Re: New in New York
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2010, 01:43:13 am »
Welcome Newyork-wish u all the best ok.Hey Indy those some great links-i've found them to be very informative
I've chosen understanding over knowledge-since knowledge is all about knowing where to find facts and understanding is knowing how to manipulate knowledge...I've also chosen knowledge over beliefs!! We all need to..

Offline Cindi

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 9825
  • Gender: Female
Re: New in New York
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2010, 10:59:51 am »
Colleen, welcome to our forum, so great you found us.  Interesting handle, by the way, reminds me of an old cartoon, smiling.  Getting to know the bees, to understand their secret little lives is nothing short of fascinating.  Soon, you will be held deeply under their mysterious spell.  The life of the honeybee is a thing of beauty and pureness.  Study, stick around here, we can help you to learn, all you have to do is ask the questions, search our forum for the many answers to questions you will have too.  We love new members and you will find that every time you visit here, it will be a wonderful thing.  Have that great, most wonderful day, with love and health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline McGoo

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 35
Re: New in New York
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2010, 04:16:50 pm »
Thanks for your warm wishes both on the forum and with the little ladies.  I just finished a beek 101 class by SEBC, which is a club in Orange County.  They were soooo informative and open-minded...  just great.

I'm told that a swarm would be the best means of obtaining my bees and have sent off a message to a bee removal company.  I will also put a message on Craigslist and keep a lookout with members of SEBC. 

Thanks and I'll be buzzing around this forum quite a bit. 

Colleen

Offline Robo

  • Technical
  • Administrator
  • Galactic Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 6778
  • Gender: Male
  • Beekeep On!
    • Bushkill Bee Vac
Re: New in New York
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2010, 06:21:30 pm »
Hi Colleen and welcome.  You will find the SEBC a great group of people, in fact, their president James Thomas is a member here as well.   I'm not sure how many TBH beekeepers are in the SEBC though.   May be a bit of a ride for you, but their is a relatively new club in Dutchess County (Red Hook I believe) that is run by Sam Comfort who is one of the few commercial TBH beekeepers.

BTW,  I believe I'm the "bee removal company"  you contacted  ;)

Swarms are like free candy and you need to be by the phone and get there first.   Almost like an ambulance chaser.  Everybody and their brother wants "easy to get to" swarms around here.  That is why I don't get any swarms, but focus primarily on cut outs.  The survivor bees from a cut out are the genetics I'm looking for anyway,  not a swarm from some commercial pollinator or beekeeper who is on a steady chemical plan.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline McGoo

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 35
Re: New in New York
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2010, 07:05:53 pm »
Robo,
How would I know where the swarm came from?  geez, never thought about that  :roll: .  Well, if I don't get a swarm, I'll get the loose bees soon and hope for the best. 

And thanks for the contacts.  James is really knowledgeable and open-minded about the tbh.  He connected me with GoldStar, in Bath, ME.

Colleen

Offline Robo

  • Technical
  • Administrator
  • Galactic Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 6778
  • Gender: Male
  • Beekeep On!
    • Bushkill Bee Vac
Re: New in New York
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2010, 07:38:56 pm »
You don't know where they come from, that's the problem.  I don't know your exact location, but at least here in Dutchess/Ulster counties, most of the early swarms are from the commercial guys coming in to pollinate the apples.     I normally don't see local swarms until around Memorial Day. 

Yes, Christy sure does make a beautiful TBH,  but it kind of goes against the strong point of TBHs as being a cheap hive.   It also seems like a niche market, mainly promoted by those who have only every used TBHs.   You find very few folks that have any appreciable amount of experience with Langstroths that will back up all the claims of TBHs.  A lot of us have tried them and either gone back to  just Langs or just keep a TBH or 2 to play with.

Best of Luck.....
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



Offline McGoo

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 35
Re: New in New York
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2010, 07:48:29 pm »
Quote
Yes, Christy sure does make a beautiful TBH,  but it kind of goes against the strong point of TBHs as being a cheap hive.   It also seems like a niche market, mainly promoted by those who have only every used TBHs.   You find very few folks that have any appreciable amount of experience with Langstroths that will back up all the claims of TBHs.  a lot of us have tried them and either gone back to  just Langs or just keep a TBH or 2 to play with.

I chuckled reading your comments.  You are so right about TBH being touted as a low cost savings, green and the like and here I go and consider an expensive hive.
My comeback: Good news is that I will now have a prototype for future hives that have survived in colder winters. 
And since I haven't done this before, why not give the tbh a try. 
And there are other benefits which we know about and/or presume and yet others that perhaps we don't have a clue about. 
Yes I have vacilated and yes I have decided on the Top Bar Hive.  Life is supposed to be a challenge - so here goes.  I'll keep you posted as I progress. 
Colleen

Offline Robo

  • Technical
  • Administrator
  • Galactic Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 6778
  • Gender: Male
  • Beekeep On!
    • Bushkill Bee Vac
Re: New in New York
« Reply #12 on: April 06, 2010, 10:11:46 pm »
My comeback: Good news is that I will now have a prototype for future hives that have survived in colder winters. 

Well actually, a vertical top bar hive fairs much better in the cold than a Kenyan horizontal type.  The honeybees natural inclination is to progress up a comb to get to new stores, and not horizontally across combs.  Clusters can easily move up comb without having to break, moving across combs is not as easy for them and usually requires a warm weather break in the extreme cold periods.  Obviously long periods of extreme cold is not an issue in the tropical climates where horizontal TBHs gained popularity.  I stopped using my horizontal TBHs and now have two Warre hives that seemed to do much better in my cold climate.  Granted horizontal hives do survive in colder climates,  but it makes me question the claims of "better for the bees".

Good luck, it's a fun adventure
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison



 

anything