| Author | Message | ||
     Just_ziptab |
This should take you to my pictures of them.Click:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21200&id=184 3016966&l=828c51e315 Click on the pictures and it should show the text of what is going on. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
You make my skin crawl. Friggin' HATE bees/wasps. | ||
| Firebolt32 |
As Dane Cook stated..."I'll punch a bee in the face!". That's one of God's creatures I'll never screw with. | ||
| Pwnzor |
•••• LET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!  | ||
| Roadcouch98 |
That was COOL!!! Thanks for sharing your story, and for the photos of the process. | ||
| Fahren |
Bees are not like wasps. We need bees, big time, and the bee population is decimated (thank you, human beings). Bees are cool. Wasps, on the other hand...... can't think of their purpose to exist.... except they make a nice crunching sound when you squish them (nature's bubble wrap?) | ||
| Rainman |
Wasps/hornets are evil. Bees are cool. If you get stung by a bee -- or even a small yellow jacket -- on your seriously arthritic big toe, it will reduce the pain and swelling for several days. Works on carpal tunnel, too. Don't ask how I know that. | ||
| Doerman |
What's going on with the fungus that killed a lot of bees a few years back? Is it under control now? All those bees did not seem to bother you and you were not wearing protective clothing. Were they dossile because of the cold temps? Cool pictures and captions. Thanks for sharing! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
We have those damn red wasps hardcore here. Evil little bastards. More than 5 in one spot, and they think they own the place. My wife came in yesterday and said "I got a present for you!" It was a can of wasp spray. My daughter asked what it was. I told her it was daddy's scream-like-a-little-girl-be-gone. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
I've never done anything like this before that was so damned interesting.No previous experience.My Dad had bees when I was a kid and I remember nothing about it other than the hive and box of equipment. Found an old photo of him, holding up a frame of honey with bees all over it. No gloves/veil,just a pipe in his mouth.I figured if he could do it.......so should I. My education is one book and plenty of you tube. Evidently that's all I needed as it looks like it working. Hornets/wasps scare me after getting stung in the eyebrow and ear.....YEOUCH! Bees are just like pesky flies. Just a little disconcerting when they crawl on my face(wasp flashbacks)! The honey bee stings I have received were like a mosquito bite,only a bit painful for the initial few seconds.In this damned deal,I have yet to get stung...so if I get arthritis,I may have to "stir their pot". So far,the $73.00 for the bee package has paid off,simply in entertainment value.Oh yeah,my "bee sun hat" has a Buell Racing logo on it.......  | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Doerman,No it's not under control. One guy picked up 29 boxes of bees because he lost 2/3rds of his colonies last year! They are working on it and have come up short on all causes and solutions. When I poured the bee's in the hive,I first misted them with a little sugar water,mainly to keep them from flying away instead of going into the hive. They can't fly with sticky wings.You can't get them all with the mist and there were hundreds of them flying around at that time.It was 70 degrees,so those girls were active,but a bit drunk from the sugar water they picked up in the misting.Curious social creatures,not aggressive like wasps and hornets. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I can at least respect a bee. I know if it stings me, it's going to die. Wasps are the trigger happy ass holes of the insect world. For me, they fly butt first just hoping to bump into me. Add to that the fact that I have severe topical reactions to wasp and bee venom. Got stung on the hand and my arm swelled up to my elbow. I then develop a permanent 1/4" scar at the sting site. One summer I devised a thick stream spray bottle. Filled that sucker with gasoline. Add a lighter and wasp armageddon ensued. I mowed the neighbors yard for her one day and discovered an in ground yellow jacket nest. Right after I ran the mover over the top of it and the little bastards flew up between me and the mower. Que screaming like a little girl. Dumped a pint of gasoline down the hole and dropped a match. Giggled. Hate those little bastards. I need to party with these folks: Oh, dear Lord! Bees! | ||
| Pushrodpete |
It is extremely painful if a bee crawls into your beer can and you take a swig and the bee stings the inside of your mouth. It also makes you talk more drunker as your lip swells.... DAMHIK.... | ||
| Doerman |
I live in CA and have a couple of palm trees in my yard. When the palms bloom, it is a buzz with bees! There's a lot of bees around here. I noticed you said the bees came from CA. I wonder what palm honey would taste like. Anyhow, I enjoyed the account of your introduction to bees. I think you will have a fine crop that'll taste mighty fine. | ||
| Delta_one |
that was very cool thanks for sharing  | ||
| Ulynut |
Thats so cool! My sister is raising bees now that she moved to the "country". It seems funny considering we grew up on the mean streets of Bridgeport, Ct. We only had one tree on our block, and it was a weed that grew up between a concrete wall and a chain link fence. Amazing creatures, thanks for sharing. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Ft_bstrd ...Damn,that link was cool,yet sad. Way more neat if it was hornets/wasps. Those bees were a swarm...which is half the bees and a queen from a full hive that are looking for a new home. They would have left the area as soon as a scout found a new place to set up shop. California bee export must be a multi million dollar operation. At least 4 truck loads came to Iowa..maybe more. | ||
| Glitch |
I agree, who needs a fungus when there are guys like him around? | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Here is a crappy video of my fun and games. (C'mom,first one I have ever tried) | ||
| Geforce |
For those of you who suffer from allergies... do yourself a favor and support your local bee keeper by buying a jar of honey in your area. If you can get a jar in the spring like we did and take 1-2 spoon fulls of honey a day *entire family* you'd be surprised how much it does for your allergies. My grand father kept bees and I remember as a kid he took me out to see them every summer. He only wore a hat with a net to protect his face and he got me suited up with a hat/net and gloves. We'd get the smoke gun and walk out with the honey pot. He would open up each hive and show me how they all interacted with one another. I learned quickly that being calm around them was important. At one point he had a dozen colonies and we had fresh honey on everything! It's the best stuff ever. I have always wanted to get into bee keeping, and perhaps some day I will have a couple of colonies to show my children and grand kids. Bees today get a bad rap because of Africanized "Killer" Bees. I dealt with them first hand in Texas. There was a show on TV a while back about a guy who rescues bees and displaces them back into wild hives. I don't believe he showed any mercy for AKBs though. Thanks for posting this ziptab. Take some video if you get the chance and let us know when you get that first jar of honey!!! | ||
| Geforce |
Figured I'd post this... kinda funny flash with a catchy song. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
"Bring me your dead" Worker getting rid of a shipping casualty. Crap,I spose now I need a tripod and a better camera.........  | ||
| Alchemy |
I have 7 hives now and 12 by the end of May. Great fun. On the serious side, the bee problems presently surfacing can be viewed as yet another message that our environment is having problems. Just last night watched a short movie called "Nicotine Bees" directed by Kevin Hansen. There is a trailer on You Tube but not the whole film. But Honey Bees are amazing on many levels. They can sting but usually won't. I look at them as vegetarians. Wasps and hornets are more like carnivores with multiple sting ability and they use their sting to hunt. Honey bees only sting defensively (in their view). Africanized Bees are very dangerous but I have no personal experience with them. | ||
| Spiderman |
Zip, Since you are surrounded by corn fields, does the honey taste different? We get clover honey by a local guy, it's great mixed in open pit bqq sauce with a shot of screech... | ||
| Just_ziptab |
I'm not a "connoisseur" of honey, but I'm sure there is a difference.........  | ||
| Delta_one |
my best friend and his dad raised bees while we were still in school. here is some of their "aged" honey  | ||
| P47b |
I want to do that. What is the cost for starting a hive up? Did you build your own hives? | ||
| Fahren |
Honey definitely tastes and smells different depending on what flowers they were sipping on: orange blossom, wildflower, clover; in our neighborhood, they love the privet hedges. Did you know honey never goes bad!!! | ||
| Just_ziptab |
To start,you need bees.....which might be hard to come by..... now. Package bees sell out fast. I ordered mine in January!An established bee keeper in you area may part with a hive of bees to get you started. Even more likely in swarm season. Dadant and Brushy mountain is where I got most of my stuff. Dadant:M58101 HONEY OF A HOBBY BEGINNER KIT NO 1, $139.50 Has pretty much every thing you need. Their on line site is full of info. Compare those prices to what's on eBay and go either route. Hive "kits' are the cheapest,other than building your own. The kits can be had in 3 qualities........no knots,knots and commercial. Course, you can get assembled/painted hives....kinda spendy. I bought the high quality kits and it was really fun assembling them. | ||
| Delta_one |
that honey was several years old (6-8 years) before it was harvested. I do have some that my dad gave me because it is all grainy and weird, i don't know if it froze or got too hot. i am told that if i heat it slowly in a double boiler i can save it. I'll try tonight |
