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| Could I raise bees without taking the honey? Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Yes, I attempted to overwinter 2 hives but lost both when they starved to death. I don't know why they didn't make enough honey to last the winter,but I didn't take any of it. |
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- Posted by konrad___far_north 3..just outside of E (My Page) on Sat, Feb 23, 13 at 21:36
| Normally, here we use 2 deep brood boxes, 10 frames each, when both have build up in spring and early summer, honey supers are put on top so bees have room putting surplus honey above brood boxes. This is the only honey to take off. Alberta colonies collect around 100lb of surplus honey each, average, last year I had about 200lb. Not sure what happened with your bees jammarcus, perhaps you have rain most often and bees can't fly? Perhaps you have a problem in your hive? |
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- Posted by catherinet 5 (My Page) on Sun, Feb 24, 13 at 12:33
| I guess what I'm asking is: can I raise bees just to have more pollinators, or do I have to, at any time, take some of the honey away? I suppose that is a funny question, since many of us think the bees are there to make honey for us. But I don't want any honey. I just want to encourage them around here. But would not taking any honey out, cause any problems? Thanks. |
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- Posted by konrad___far_north 3..just outside of E (My Page) on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 2:21
| Perhaps you want to look into native bees like bumbles mason etc. I find honey bees don't bother much with whatever flowers etc. you have around, they concentrate for the large scale gardens like Dandylion, orchards with many trees, farm sites with tons of nectar source. For a hive to thrive, honey boxes, [super] is put on for extra room/honey to put in to free up space below, so queen has room to lay eggs. Lets say you have two deep boxes of honey filled then what? Bees don't need this honey for winter, honey bees alway's store away more nectar then they need for themselfs. |
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- Posted by CharlieBoring 7 (My Page) on Mon, Feb 25, 13 at 12:51
| Konrad makes some good points, but the answer to your question is, "Yes you make keep honey bees and not take the honey, if you don't want to take it." In nature, honey bees keep all of their honey and the hive lives a long and productive life. Konrad's point about native, solitary bees, such as mason bees is a valid point. For polination purposes, solitary bees (especially mason bees) are a better choice. Regardless of whether you decide to keep honey bees, build some bee boxes to attract mason bees to your garden. See my post titled, "The Case for Mason Bees." I am developing an "edible landscape" yard and in addition to the evident edible fruits and vegetables I believe it needs mason bee boxes, a honey bee hive, a water feature (good for the bees), a birdhouse and a place to sit and watch nature work its majic. |
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- Posted by konrad___far_north 3..just outside of E (My Page) on Tue, Feb 26, 13 at 0:11
| Keeping honey bees is not that easy as it sounds, each hive has to be registered and the bee keeper should or has to be knowligdeble in what goes on in all aspect, escpecially diasese, this is important as to not spread it to someone else, especially to the beekeeper down the road who makes a livelihood from. Having bees without taking honey lets me to believe this beekeeper is not able looking after the hive and do everything nessesary for a the health of the colony. Most bee keepers today still use the proven Langstroth bee hive, patented in October 1852. This construction made it possible to check hives with ease, also the removable frames makes it easy for honey extraction.
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- Posted by catherinet 5 (My Page) on Sat, Mar 2, 13 at 22:47
| Thanks everyone. I'll look into the Mason bees. I just wanted to help with the honey bee population, without having to do all the work to retrieve honey. Sometimes I think we humans think we have to manipulate nature, for it to work right. I was thinking that, like you said Charlie, that bees would do just fine without removing honey, but I wasn't sure. Thanks to both of you for your input! |
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- Posted by swampmama3 none (My Page) on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 16:04
| catherinet, I use a top bar hive, and do nothing at all to 'keep' them. I don't feed them, or fumigate for mites, or handle them at all. In the fall, we move the false back forward to give them a smaller area to heat, then we move the false back again in the spring to give them room to grow. That's all. Oh, we mow a path by the hive so I can walk down there and watch them. They're so interesting. I spent $100 ordering the hive off ebay, and haven't spent a dime since. Feral bees showed up on their own and 'adopted' me. If you want a hands off approach to get pollination and support local bees, set out a top bar hive and see what happens. It's working wonderfully for us, and its so easy and maintenance free. As far as an untended colony being a danger to commercial beekeepers, who are you gonna blame for the feral bees in the woods? Or do you think we should seek out and destroy all bees except the ones that serve man for profit? Bees aren't only for making money. They can exist for their own sake. Or just for enjoyment. My advice is to try it and enjoy. It works for us. |
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- Posted by konrad___far_north 3..just outside of E (My Page) on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 23:21
| That's up to you, not doing anything can work a couple of years, eventually most will die out. They need new combs for the health of bees. European honey bees were brought here by man not too long ago for both, pollination and honey. These are the only bees here what make a surplus of honey. I don't really see much of a benefit keeping these bees and not taking honey. I have a fruit orchard with several hundred trees, native bee population is good enough for the pollination. When purchasing honey bees, I didn't see any difference. So,..helping out your native bee population would make more sense if you want to help bees in general. |
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- Posted by konrad___far_north 3..just outside of E (My Page) on Wed, Apr 10, 13 at 0:14
| Somebody else is backing up in what I've seen myself. An international study involving a University of Calgary researcher has found that managed honey bees aren't nearly as successful at pollinating as their uncultivated cousins. |
Here is a link that might be useful: University Of Calgary Researcher Says Bees Do it Better If They're Wild
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- Posted by konrad___far_north 3..just outside of E (My Page) on Wed, Apr 10, 13 at 0:44
| Feral bees out compete native birds and animals. The threat of feral bees out-competing native bees (there are over 2000 species of native bees which are at risk of extinction). |
Here is a link that might be useful: Frequently Asked Questions
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