BEEKEEPING101

Rebecca Bills of R and R Acres

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Bees are themost important

Bees have been determined to be the most important living creature by the Royal Geographical Society in 2019 in London.

35% of our crops arepollinated by bees

• Almonds

• Blueberriers

• Avocados

• Apples

• Alfalfa

Pesticides link to 90% loss of bee colonies

◦ American versus European safety on

pesticides

◦ Pesticide kills

◦ Plants are food

◦ Alternatives

Monarchs eating milkweed

◦ This is there food source, one must allow

the butterfly larva to feast to become

butterflies. This means sometimes there

will be chew marks on the leaves

Alternatives to Pesticides

◦ Predatory insects like ladybugs and

praying mantis are helpful.

◦ Mechanical Control (weeding, plucking,

pinching)

◦ DE (diatomaceous earth)

◦ Know your enemy

◦ If it kills one bug, it will kill others.

◦ Choosing the best plants

Say No to Mosquito “Joe”Daytime bug sprayers are

the worst! Just say No!

Herbicides are not any

better

Neonicotinoids are

horrible

BEES

Protection for you

Ways to get bees

Package

Nucleus Colony (Nuc)

Swarm

Complete Hive

Package versus Nucleus Colony

Package of bees

◦ About 3 pounds of bees and 1 queen

◦ Inexpensive

◦ Sourced from large producers

◦ Treated for varroa and other illnesses

◦ No wax, food, larva, young

◦ Colony will diminish by about ½ before new larva will begin to emerge, colony will weaken

◦ Easier to install in some alternative hives

Nucleus Colony

◦ 3-5 frames of wax, honey, larva, bees and a queen

◦ More expensive

◦ Can be sourced locally

◦ Depending on breeder, may be naturally or chemically treated

◦ Bees will increase in number quickly, will need a larger hive

◦ Designed for Langstroth deep hives mostoften

Choose your comfort level

Tools of the tradeHive tools

Brushes

Smoker

Frame rests

Frame grabber

Torch

Basic Hive

Langstroth in the 1800,

moveable frame hive

Hive stands

Hive placement

How much space is too

much

How much can you lift

To vent or not to vent, that is

the question

Hive placement

Be a good neighbor

Easy access

Early morning sun at least

Full sun is my favorite

Workable height

Weed free

Honey Bee

Worker

• Different tasks though life

Drone

• One job, half the DNA

Queen

• Hive would be lost

without her

Hello ladies!

First 3 days, royal jelly

Then “Bee Bread” for

workers and drones

Only royal jelly for queens

Queens 17-18days

Workers 21 days

Drones 24 days

To swarm is natural

Preceding a honey flow,

especially in spring when

the queen is laying the most

eggs per day, nice weather

= swarm season

Half the colony, filled with

honey, and your queen

leave the hive to start a new

colony elsewhere.

Swarming Pros and Cons

Pro

◦ Brood break for varroa cycle

◦ Way to collect free bees

◦ Chance for a new, fresh queen to lay

◦ Allowing bees to enter the “wild”

Cons

◦ The new queen may not successfully

mate and return to the hive

◦ Half of your honey collectors just left with

the honey

◦ Hive is weaker, prone to robbing

◦ May end up in someone’s house or BBQ

Swarm Prevention

Allows allow empty drawn comb in brood space, adding boxes before swarm instinct begins

Split the colony early

Cage the queen

Place queen and a few frames in a nuc box

Use a queen excluder at entrance-not a good long term plan

Prepare for the inevitableEven if you try everything,

swarming may still happen.

Placing traps to help collect

the bees will help prevent

them from going into a

neighbors house.

Consider what you will do

with the swarm

BEE PESTS AND DISEASES

Short and not so sweet

Enemy #1

Varroa Destructor

Feeds on the fatty tissue of

the bee

Carries and transmits many

viruses

Leading cause of CCD

No one agrees on treatment

Varroa Effects

Varroa Life CycleAll happens within the hive

Usually in drone brood

Hiding under the brood

cappings

Testing-same process, varying results

Sugar Alcohol wash

Varroa Treatment- Controversial

Natural Minded

◦ Re-queen

◦ Sugar dust

◦ Add to stronger colony

◦ Destroy the colony

◦ Oxalic acid

◦ Thymol treatment

Not so natural minded

◦ Apistan

◦ Api guard

◦ Check mite

◦ -there are more…. Will build up in the

wax

Public Enemy Number 2

Charleston Harbor ground

zero

Loves honey

Pupates in the ground

“Acts” like a bee, can trick

the bees to feeding it

Larva very similar to wax

moths

Treatment of Hive Beetle

◦ Prevention:

◦ Weeds low

◦ Sunny location

◦ Correct size hive for the colony

◦ Removing extra honey

◦ Do not open/limited during the honey flow

◦ DE

◦ Nematodes

◦ Black plastic

◦ Beetle trap within frames

◦ Freeman Beetle trap under hive

◦ Swiffer cloths

◦ Freezing frames

◦ Checkmite with patches

◦ Pyrethrin

◦ Guard star

Hive Beetle Larva versus Wax Moth

Hive Beetle Wax Moth

Clean up Crew-the wax moth

They clean, don’t kill

Opportunistic

Freeze to destroy

Para-moth

NOT MOTH BALLS

Sunlight

Strong Hives

FEEDING

Feeding, How and When

Sugar water, honey Pollen

When to feed

◦ New packages or colonies- most the first

year

◦ Every winter, from October-March at

least

◦ Whenever weak

◦ Possibly during Summer Dearth

◦ When stores are low

◦ When there has been little rain

◦ When they have swarmed or you split

them

Types of Feeder

Internal External

Avoid entrance feedersAka Boardman feeder

Bee candy/FondantOften best for winter

Can house hive beetle

Can purchase or make your

own

HARVESTING

SC Dept of Ag

ALL Honey sold needs to be

under SC Dept of Ag

guidelines

Exemption must be filed

Or

Bottled in a Certified Honey

House

Labeling

◦ • Statement of Identity (Honey) shall be in bold print, type size must

be comparable to the most prominent part of the label (larger than

other type) and must be placed on the Principle Display (Front)

Panel. • An ingredient list is not needed for pure honey. Infused

honey products will require an ingredient list. For infused honey

products, the ingredient list must be listed in a font size no less

than 1⁄16” as measured by the lower case letter ‘o’. Infused and

creamed honey require registration and inspection and cannot be

produced under an exemption. • Business name and street address

of the producer, packer, or distributor is required. Address shall

include a street address (if not in a local phone directory), city or

town, state, and zip code. A qualifying phrase is required to be

listed before the business name and address if the address is other

than that of the producer/processor’s. • Net Weight must be placed

at the bottom 1⁄3 of the Principle Display (Front) Panel. It must list

both customary (pound, ounce, etc.), and metric (kilogram, gram,

etc.) weights, and have a minimum type size (see below) based on

the area of the principle display panel. Measurements should be

rounded down to the nearest whole number. T

ALL labels must be

approved

Bee Inspections

◦ Clemson University's Department of Plant Industry:

◦ Inspects honey bees and fixtures to be moved from South Carolina into other states and countries, and issues certificates of inspection verifying apparent freedom from contagious and infectious diseases.

◦ Monitors honey bees and fixtures shipped or moved into South Carolina from other states and countries to assure that they have been inspected and are accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued by a plant or apiary official from the state, county or country from which the bees originated.

◦ Investigates incidences of suspected pests of regulatory concern affecting honey bees, and initiate regulatory action if indicated.

◦ Participates in USDA honey bee surveys on a regular basis.

◦ Provides regulatory expertise and support to the SCBA, local chapters, and individual members.

Brad Cavin through

Clemson Regulatory

Services