Rain, SHB, Rain, Super and Rain.

G'day everyone.

Did I mention rain? Its been very wet here in South East Queensland, since the weekend it has rained pretty much constant until late yesterday evening and although today is predicted to be clear, as of tomorrow (Saturday) its supposed set in each day for at least until mid next week. Not that I'm complaining, we need the rain in this part of the world but it has made my beekeeping beginnings a little awkward. To start, I left the bees 2 weeks from the last inspection, so on Saturday again I had a look while my daughter helped out for the first time. All seemed well but in lifting the inner cover the amount of Small Hive Beetle there was startled me. There was probable 10 or so on the mat, I'm not sure yet if that's something to worry about or not with still being so new to all these issues. I do use traps, 2 AJ traps per box and a reusable DE (diatomaceous earth) traps shown below.

AJ Trap with DE.

AJ Trap.

DE Trap.

Originally I used DE in the AJ traps, I research and found they were meant to have vegetable oil in them to drown the beetle. I also read though that people used DE as it is effective and didn't go everywhere when trying to install or remove them from the hive. When I had them in after the hive was initially installed it seemed to work well, but was told that maybe oil would be better so I gave it ago. I'm  not saying it doesn't work, but the mess of trying to get it in the trap then install it or remove it was quite the pain. There were a fair few in the traps but I found they were running dry anyway where as DE doesn't "run out". What DE is, is basically microscopic crushed up coral that acts like razor blades to the gaps in an insects exoskeletal plates and also dries them out, yet is perfectly safe to humans. The DE traps sit on the bottom board and is designed for DE. I have decided to go back to DE for the AJ traps.

After checking the hive I decided they were ready for a honey super, I found they had all frames full and covered in bees. So I put that on with a Queen Excluder, and before I put the lid on I found a bunch of SHB in the corner of the lid, circled by bees guarding them, this is what bees do, they push them into a corner and keep them there, that's how traps work, the beetle try and hide in them to get away. I thought it was amazing and super cute when a bee chased a runner SHB back into the herd. I used my hive tool to crush them all before replacing the lid.

So that's where the rain comes in, that night, the weather report came in with rain. Great! not... I still am not sure if rain is getting in the hive or not. This is a bad thing with the bottom board traps, especially if you use poison based ones, but more on that later. With solid board hives you lean the hive forward slightly so the rain runs out, problem is, how much do you lean it, the only real advice is not too much.... how long is a piece of string? I don't know, I had around 2cm at one point but worried this was too much, so backed it off to around 1cm at the front. I then kept worrying again about the amount of SHB, and decided to go what most of the club use and that's Apithor traps, a poison style trap. Problem with them is that they are poison, so must be kept away from water, or it will run out of the trap and effect the bees. Our president puts his on top of the frames in the hive but at the last meeting it was explained how this isn't as effective and could get into the frames themselves. so whats the option? stop the rain getting in the hive.

First the Apithor Trap, it was developed after what many keepers DIY'd, they often used core flute board with poisons inside the holes and put it in the hive, put small holes in a CD case to do a similar thing, well this works both these ideas, it has poison covered wavy cardboard in it that is appitising to SHB and a hard shell exterior with a small slot for the SHB to go into. Put it on the bottom board, the SHB go in through the entrance and get chased straight away into the trap. There they eat the poison they cant resist and die quickly.

But still what about the rain? Well I had originally worried about the rain when thinking the lean was not enough, due to moisture in the hive not being an ideal situation, but it run out quickly enough to not become a problem. My thought was a roof, on top of the hive, which I made cheaply out of strap sealed ply and foam, its sticks out enough to stop light rain but its mostly to keep them cooler on really hot days. On heavy rains, wind blown rain or storms the rain would still get in due to the fact this roof would be way to high from the entrance. So I thought originally an awning or patio style shield, which is what I made, out of scrap tin sheet, and 16x16x 25mm pine. I put this at what I felt was a good height to keep rain out but enough to not get in their way while landing, and the few that do miss judge will land on it and climb down anyway, they get into much trickier spots in the wild. It all cost maybe $2 for 2 of them, and took only 10 minutes to make. This will stop the rain getting in and allow the use of an Apithor trap

Simple, yet effective. Even if using 10, 50 or 100 hives, this could be a cost effective way to keep out water and use Apithor traps. All just in time for the impending downpour coming!

 

Cheers

Wayne

Honey extraction on the cheap!

Hi all

Today I would like to show you a way to get good quality, yet cheap equipment for honey extraction. Firstly this week I have been a bit sick, and very busy, yet was able to do some of the DIY work during this time, so its quite easy to do.

If you are here on this page then you probably know some of the very basic things you need for extraction in what ever method you choose, be it crush and strain, gravity only or extraction machine that spines the honey out of the frames (leaving the Flow hive system out of this section). I have chosen the latter and more common honey extraction that uses a honey extractor, which spins the honey out of the frames, but more on this later. Firstly lets go over some basic equipment,for crush and strain, basically you cut the comb out of the frames in to a bowl or dish, mash it down with a large spoon or similar and then strain the honey through filtering. This is fine,but wastes the comb (wax), there are arguments for and against, some say its healthy for bees to make more wax, others say its not, I sit on the fence for most things like this so I go with what I feel. What you need is 2 buckets of food grade quality to put the crushed honey into, the top bucket has holes in the bottom and a mesh net to strain the honey and the bottom then collects it. Ill post some videos from some great Youtubers for this example.

Bee Vlog original set up.
Bee Vlog Modifications Part 1
Bee Vlog Modifications Part 2
Mahako Bees crush and strain tips.

Ok so thats crush and strain, not too bad, what about if you want to keep the comb intact? well theres 2 ways I know of, both you must remove the cappings (what the bees cover each cell once the honey is of the right moisture content) you can do this with long fillet knives, serrated bread knives, or purpose made uncapping knives that are serrated, or come with the ability to heat the blade up through an electrically powered heating element inside the blade or even steam. These make it much easier.

You may also need an Uncapping fork, this helps remove the caps that the knife cant get. I got mine in my initial package from Iwoohoo Beekeeping online, link below
http://beekeeping.iwoohoo.com.au/
I do intend on getting an electric knife at some point, that way I have to uncapping knifes at one time, hopefully shortening the time in that area.

One way to then get the honey out, is the gravity way, I have only found a little about this method as its slow and not used much anymore. I read that it was supposedly the method used by people before extractors were made. Basically you put the frame face down over a tub in a warm protected area for some time to let the honey dribble out, then flip it over to do the other side of the frame. This sounds very time consuming to me, I could imagine it being a long time with just 10 frames but say you have 20, 30, even 50 or more hives full of at least 10 frames each.... Eeekk! It would probably take up a lot of room to make it a little quicker by doing as many frames as you can at once. But if you are starting out, with a few frames, it may be a good way to get that first honey harvest done.

The most common, and by far easiest and less destructive way is by using an extractor. These are large drums that have machinery in it that spin a certain amount frames to use the centrifugal force to push the honey out of the cells. They can be hand driven, or electrically driven via a motor, they also come in different grades of construction and from plastics to stainless steel. The other things to look for is how many frames it can spin at once, they start at just 2 at a time which is perfect for a beginner, or just around the 1-4 hives, so I have read is recommended, yet I have seen people using just a 2 frame hand crank extractor do well over 100 hives and get it done in one day! They do come in more, such as 3, 4, 6 all the way up 20 frames and more!

Another thing too look at is how the spinner works, Im talking about whether it Tangential or Radial. Its not a huge issue I believe, one spines with the faces of the frames toward the wall of the extractor (Tangential) the other has the frames on edge (Radial).

Can anyone tell me what the difference is? WRONG....I mean RIGHT! ummm I cant actually tell what you might have thought so hrrmm sorry. Basically Tangential means you will have to flip the frames around and spin again as it only does one side at a time, Radial does both, basically the jist of it! Does it matter, ahh no not really, I mean go with what you want.

So what did I go? Well I was going to just hire the clubs one, reasonable price but I have a thing about not having my own, but to be honest local bee supplies have then starting at at $400 for just a 2 frame plastic extractor.... YOUCH! They then go up into the thousands depending on what number of frames, drive power and material they are. I found some online from brick and mortar stores around the country that are plastic 2 frame for around $190, still a bit steep for a plastic bucket and a wire basket.

So did I DIY my own? no, I found the effort and cost was not worth it here for me anyway, I know I wouldn't be able to hold the the machine in balance too well and didn't trust the metals I would have to use, but there are plans online if you wish to give it a go, I know I was close. I found a machine on eBay
though, good price, stainless, 2 frame, well built and can even come in sizes of around 3-4-6 frames, I went this way because one day I may wish to upgrade in size and I can just donate this one to the club when I do. A steal at $130 with a 10% discount, plus basically getting 2 honey gates free (more on them later). Here's the extractor:

Now onto another part, its not necessary but I really wanted one, its called an Uncapping Tank. Basically they are 2 food grade containers that sit on top of each other, the top one has a mesh bottom.

What you do is put the the frame on the screw on that wooden cross piece, this allows you to balance and turn the frame when uncapping, the cappings fall into the container with the mesh and the honey then drains down into the bottom container, which you can drain into your honey storage via the honey gate scene in the picture. Its basically a giant tap/plug for honey to flow easily.

I have tried to make my own, due to the fact they start at $160 from local bee supplies :O gasp! I made my first attempt from spare storage containers I had from cheap stores (such as the reject shop here in Australia)

The idea was simple, saw others try it online too, drill some holes in one containers bottom, uses a mesh or fly screen and then add some wood across the top of the bottom container to hold it all up. and another with a screw that would be the frame rest. This was fine, but to be honest I just couldn't handle that it wasn't food grade. I wouldn't leave it outside and I thought I wouldn't keep the honey in there long but it would still be long enough so I scrapped it.

I then decided to get my supplies from Bunnings (large Australian hardware chain), I knew I could get all I needed from there. I grabbed 2 54L food grade fish storage containers, the type the trawlers use to keep their catch in, I also grabbed just one lid that fit them, a piece of aluminum fly screen mesh as its stronger and safer to use then fiber glass mesh. I also grabbed 12 stainless steel bolts. I cut out the bottom of one contain and cut a piece of mesh out to the correct size and attached it the container floor via the stainless bolts. I still had the 2 supports from the first attempt but whats awesome is that these boxes can be switch around directionally and either fit inside one another or stack on top, so using these 2 supports made from left over 4x2 used in the bench build I added a screw to each and now have 2 frame holders for 2 people to use at once. This all cost me a total of $60 and is larger then store bought and I have plenty of things spare, especially mesh. I do have honey gates on the way, one to add to the bottom container and the other for my 20L bucket. Here's the pics:

I also ordered a strainer, theres a million types that are beekeeping specific, all expensive locally though, from plastic to steel ones that look like the meshed kitchen ones, which I would say you can use. I wanted one that would fit the bucket, so went for the double layer steel type that has and adjustable bucket bracket. Again, ebay is mine, and your friend, just make sure you check descriptions and use paypal!

So thats been my week in the apiary, hope this helps some of you, just remember, you get what you pay for, but not as most people think, sometimes the cheaper priced items last better the expensive ones, you just have to way up the options that suit you best!

Cheers