Beekeeping for Beginners March 2, 2016

Transcription

1 Beekeeping for Beginners March 2, 2016 Kenneth Williams Agriculture Agent, Professor University of Wisconsin Extension Waushara County Adapted from Paul Dietmann Wisconsin River Prairie Honey Co. and Badgerland Financial 1

2 Why Keep Bees? Honey Another product to market Pollination Value to US Agriculture - $40 billion/yr Worth times the value of honey & wax Positive Public Relations 2

3 Why Did I? Positive environmentally Acres for beef/cattle pasture 30+ acres of alfalfa/ clover/ grass hay Acres of flowering plants Positive sideline/hobby 3

4 Loss of Honey Bees as Pollinators More than 50% of managed colonies have been lost over 60 years (6 million in 1948; less than 2.5 million in 2008) Populations of native pollinators also in steep decline 70-90% of wild bees lost in many states More than 90% of flowering plants depend on pollinators to produce seed 4

5 Dependence of Selected Crops on Crop Honey Bee Pollination Crop Loss Without Honey Bee Pollination Apples 80% Cherries 60% Pears 50% Strawberries 30% Asparagus 90% Cabbage 90% Carrots 60% Sunflowers 80% Watermelons 40% Source: World Resources Institute,

6 Basic Equipment: Mesh helmet; folding veil; smoker with fuel and lighter; electric uncapping knife; hive tool; bee brush; stingresistant gloves. 6

7 A typical brood set-up: Bottom board, two deep supers, 20 frames, an inner cover (not visible in this photo), and a telescoping outer cover. 7

8 Open hive showing inner cover. 8

9 My Costs (2015) Feb 19 - bee suit, $84 2 starter hive kits $499 bee feeder (gallon) $21.50 Beekeeper handbook $30 Shipping $ / $ May 18 6 med supers, gal feeder $ bee brush, bee grip $ # bees $210 Sept 1 fume board, $32.60 Oct 1 5 gal bucket with gate, strainer, bottles $77.65 Oct 9 strainer $12 Other paint $10, Sugar $10 $20 Mileage-Watertown (4 x 160 x $.50) $320 Total $1643 9

10 Buying bees Packages 2 or 3 lbs of bees with a queen (~4000 bees /pound) (different colony) (21 days to new worker bees) Nucs Nucleus hives with 4 frames of eggs, brood, bees and a queen Full colonies 2 deep bodies with frames, bees and queen 10

11 A two-pound package of bees with syrup can. 11

12 Queen cage 12

13 Queen cage Installation of a package of bees. 13

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15 Feeding bees after installation. 15

16 Feeding Bees Feed from installation to dandelion bloom Also in the fall Feed a 1:1 or 2:1 (sugar:water) syrup 1# sugar/1# water, 2#sugar/1#water Pail feeders work well Pollen substitute?? 16

17 Brood nest with eggs visible in cells. Eggs hatch three days after being laid by the queen. 17

18 Checking the hive a week after installation 18

19 Capped larval cells. House bees cap the larva cells nine days after the eggs are laid. Bees emerge 12 days later. 19

20 Bee Life Span Queens 3-4 years Workers a few weeks to a few months Drones a few weeks to about 4 months Drones are driven out to the hive before winter 20

21 Worker bee covered with pollen and carrying full pollen sacks. 21

22 Honey Flow Management Add honey super as frames in brood nest fill When 5-6 frames of honey are capped, add another super Use medium-depth (6-5/8 ) supers Queen excluder?? 22

23 Burr comb filled with honey covering the top of a shallow super. Indicates that the bees need another honey super. 23

24 Typical colony with two deep supers, queen excluder, and medium depth honey supers above the excluder. 24

25 Honey Harvest Mid August-September in Wisconsin Getting bees out of the supers Fume board Blower Brush Protect it from robbers **** 25

26 Pull supers on a warm, sunny day. Smoke the hive then apply fume board. Cover with damp towels to keep out robber bees. 26

27 Extracting Honey Keep supers warm and dry Warmer is better Borrow an extractor Get free 5-gallon buckets from bakeries or delis, or buy new (food grade) Borrow an electric knife or use a warm filet knife for uncapping Extracting is messy do it in the garage 27

28 Inside the garage with the door closed!! 28

29 Manual uncapper at Paul Dietmann s. Birthday gift a few years ago from my wife: An electric knife! 29

30 Extractor is anchored to the floor. Heat lamp clamped underneath. 30

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32 Cranky extractor My old handcrank extractor 32

33 Bottling and Selling Wide variety of bottles available. Honey is exempt from food processing regs?? Current retail prices: oz glass jars - $3.00 $4 12 oz. bears - $4.00 $5 1 lb glass - $5.00 $6 Pints - $7.00 $8 Quarts - $12.00 $15 33

34 My bottling set-up 34

35 Other potential products: Rendered beeswax and candles 35

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37 Labor requirements? Spring High. Installation, feeding, manipulation to avoid swarming. Summer Low. Check occasionally, add supers as needed. Late Summer High. Remove honey and extract. Fall Medium. Bottling, labeling, marketing. Feeding and wrapping hives for winter. 37

38 A hive ready for a Wisconsin winter. Wrapped with 15# felt tar paper. Stapled all around. Entrance reducer installed. Top hole cut out to allow for ventilation. Top insulated. Entrance reducer 38

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40 Other things you need to know Disease and mite control Winter preparation Swarm control Swarm capture Everything else! 40

41 Where to get more info Other local beekeepers Magazines, particularly Bee Culture and American Bee Journal State and Local beekeeping organizations such as Sauk-Columbia Honey Producers Beekeeping workshops, particularly University of Minnesota Beekeeping Short Course 41

42 My Harvest (2015) 6 gal honey 10 gal honey 1 st Year 2 nd year?? 24qts x $15/qt = $ x $15 = $600 Total Cost $1643 / 5yrs = $329/yr Give the honey to family and friends Net Profit??? 42

43 Questions? Thank you! 43