Backwards Beekeepers TV: Swarm Capture For Beginners
As the Backwards Beekeepers club grows ever larger, more and more people at our meetings tell us that they're ready for feral bees of their own, but they're intimidated by the thought of capturing a swarm themselves.
Well, here is a step-by-step guide on how it's done.
A few things to remember:
• Always wear protective gear! Swarms are typically quite docile, but it's important to always be prepared.
• Take your time and don't rush.
• Re-read your copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping, search this blog (using the box on the right), or post a question to our Yahoo group if there's anything you're unsure of.
• Take photos (with people in them as well, if possible) and send them in to the blog!
You can subscribe to our Yahoo group to get notifications of bees that are available for rescue.
Backwards Beekeepers TV: Hive War
I recently watched one of our hives get attacked by another bunch of bees. By the time I got a hold of a camera, the damage was done—but I had Kirk come over to do his specialized bee detective work.
Here's the result: Hive War! Soundtrack by Black Sabbath, of course.
Backwards Beekeepers TV: Treasure In A Swarm Trap
Here Kirk tells us why a swarm trap is useful, how to set one up, and how to transfer the bees to a hive once they've moved in.
Backwards Beekeepers TV: Swarm capture and hive rescue.
Kirkobeeo visits the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles to capture a bee swarm and rescue a hive. These bees were living in the garden behind the beautiful and historic Union Theatre—home of the Velaslavasay Panorama, which is well worth visiting.
Backwards Beekeepers TV: Smoker and Hive Basics
Especially for beginners, here's Kirkobeeo demonstrating how to light a smoker and take a simple look inside your hive.
If the video playback stutters on your computer, try the YouTube version.
Backwards Beekeepers TV: Bee Housekeeping
The morning after a big rain storm, the our hive's front porch was littered with bee corpses and other debris. But the workers had already started the cleanup by early morning, and before long the place was spotless. Here's a brief look at what they were doing.
Backwards Beekeepers TV: How To Make Starter Strips
Starter strips are the Backwards Beekeepers' alternative to the wax foundation traditionally used in beehive frames; the wax sheets sold commercially usually come from hives that use chemicals and fungicides. Letting your bees draw their own comb also means that they'll build cells that are the size they want, not the size you tell them to build. This means you get bees that are slightly smaller (just like in the wild) and better able to resist mites and other problems.
Backwards Beekeepers TV: The Honey Harvest
Collecting honey is the part of beekeeping that gets everyone the most excited, but how do we do it the Backwards way? Kirkobeeo takes us through the process as he opens up two of his hives in Studio City, one of which becomes very testy in the process. Then he shows us the fast and easy crush-and-strain method of extracting honey, which anyone can do at home with just a few inexpensive pieces of gear.
It's honey time!
Backwards Beekeepers TV: The ShopVac Bees (How to do a Cut-Out)
Backwards Beekeeping guru Kirk Anderson (aka Kirkobeeo) brings a ShopVac-turned-beehive over to Eric & Kelly of Homegrown Evolution..
Once there, he shows us how to do a cut-out, which is a live transplant of a bee hive from a bad location into a good one.
Backwards Beekeepers TV: Principles and Strategies
Kirkobeeo does a video chat on Skype with Danielle, who is president of a beekeepers association in Birmingham, Alabama. She and Kirk talk about the ideas behind Backwards Beekeeping and strategies for getting people informed about them.
We're always looking to make contact with other beekeepers around the world. If you'd like to do a conversation like this one, drop us an e-mail.
