Making a Start, the Honey Flow Will Come Fast

a Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog

[MatWalter-qh]

Good day sir: Today is the day I drive 5.5 hours to pick up my bees from Wild Antho. I saw your hives from BC, asked where you got them and now I am off to get some.
It is impossible to convey gratitude I owe you for the education I have gleaned from you. Five months ago bees were insects that made honey. Now I have a new hobby to obsess over.
I grew up a farmer, I am from a line of farmers, 6 generations back on the male side and 12 on the female side. I farmed for 15 years but quite as the market tanked on the main BC export. NOW THIS. I am thrilled to be back farming and obsessing over things that matter to me.
Dirt rooster is a character, Mr Ed is a comedy waiting to happen... you are like an uncle that is just "showing you how to fish"
May the nectar flow. cheers

[jasonstahl]

Ian I prefer that treatment to be done after honey flow before feed. Everything sits better after honeyflow. Full hives handle fumes better, brood breaks are more affordable/ tolerable.

[tmcuevs]

Amazing video as usual Ian. Your camera doesnt shake. Doing almost everything alone. Sometimes im beginning to think you're not human 😊

[hallapiariesnh]

Keep up the good work, Ian. I personally feel that formic is best used after your honey crop is secure and realized.

[BUDsBs]

Love your videos bro great information. Thanks for all the education.

[strenderfad]

You can't watch what happens to the bees after the formic acid treatment. I gave it up completely 25 years ago. In my opinion, it is animal cruelty. In addition, the bees that are still bred have a very short lifespan. Temperature regulation in the bee colony can no longer take place optimally when formic acid is used. All of this damages the bees' immune systems. It is very valuable that this is shown here and that you are sharing your experiences with it. Greetings from Germany.Thank you!

[illumi-Nate]

Well atleast u tried the formic, but now u know...u already had an amazing bee building program & have literally showed the world some of the best & biggest colonies imaginable!! U have set the bar high of what colonies have the potential to do! Don't overthink it

[sidelinerbeekeeper]

You would have to forget to put the honey supers on to get a kona to swarm. Slow to build up here in Nova Scotia to be able to split before pollination vs an Italian but Konas are great queens and gentle. They are good at requeening themselves every year also.

[tsor]

I’d never used formic, but I always use oxalic acid during the flow when I need to kill mites. Hello from Argentina!

[aidanquick]

Love how the feet fit into the lids when stacking, smart

[peteo]

Good work picking the right queens for the bulk bee splits.
I have wondered, if the FA is to much for the bees at the treatment level that you use, why not experiment with a lessor amount, half a strip...
I understand the associated risks.
I very much enjoy your experiments, even the failures.
I hope that it's a profitable season for you. Pete

[hamburghoney]

There is no doubt that Formic Pro will stop your queen from laying for several days and set back your colony a bit. So does Api Guard and several other treatments. I look at it as a tool to use for several purposes. It can be used to slow down buildup during swarm season to keep your bees out of the trees. I checked on 16 of the 40 colonies I treated with 1 strip(single box management). Lost one of the queens, and the rest started laying again after 6 days. Your season may be too short for this type of setback. I am located in central wisconsin

[jenohrasko]

Thank you this video! I can see the difference from formic acid! 😉

[russellkoopman]

One plus for Formic is it will reduce swarming pressure. I hope they can rebuild their population when the flow hits but I doubt it. Your short season complicates things.

[paulmadore]

I Formica pro is used, try treating them earlier when temperatures are cooler. I this method is not effective, start using Mite away strips. This method is not so toxic.

[tonyjenkins]

I didn’t have that great of mite kill from it either…. Along with snuffin several of my queens. I went back to rotating from apivar to apiguard and OAV. the girls are doin good 😊

[dcsblessedbees]

You have to get up way to early in the morning Ian, no wonder you need all that coffee.😂
It maybe a great product in locations that have longer seasons, in my opinion with a short season the set back isn't worth it. We don't have as much time for our bees to build back up. Blessed Days Ian...

[michaellavazza]

Formic is perfect for hives w huge mite loads you need to hammer and post flow dearth…

[Yoav]

"Not sure where to start" if that doesn't sum up beekeeping life

[Drewjober]

I can’t say I’ve ever seen them pull dead brood when I use it in the august heat, and then I have full healthy hives in October and 90-100% overwintering