This past weekend, I received more hand-me-down tools; an old air compressor. After a long, entertaining trip to Northern Tool, I was the proud owner of a brand new pneumatic stapler. I chose a model that could do 1/4″ to 1″ staples, mostly because it was the only stapler they had. They had a brad nailer, but staples seemed like the better option for putting together frames. When I need to build more hives, I may buy a brad nailer.
I had purchased 100 unassembled, medium frames with wedged top and grooved bottoms. The local Brushy Mountain seller did not have any grooved tops in stock. The wedges will work well enough for foundationless frames. The groove spacing is 1/8″ and I have not been able to find any stock wood pieces with that depth. I found 1/4″ craft wood that I can rip in to strips and hold in place with glue and the wedge cleat.
The stapler allowed me to quickly build 49 frames without using a jig. I had to stop there since I ran out of side pieces (only 1 left). It turned out that both the seller and I made an error when I purchased the frames. I only received 1 bundle of side pieces containing 100 and every frame requires 2 side pieces. I cannot account for the odd side piece. I’m not sure if it was lost while I was building or if it was never in the bundle. I have no idea, so it will serve as a template for when I make my own frames in the future. I’ve already spoken with the seller and can pick up the missing bundle of side pieces when I’m in the area.
Easy Frame Building Steps:
- Place the top piece on a flat surface with the top of it facing down.
- Hold 2 side pieces together and apply a small amount of glue to the top and bottom notches.
- Attach each side piece to the top piece (larger notch).
- Slide the bottom piece (groove facing down) so it is securely attached to the side pieces.
- Put a 1″ staple down in to each of the side pieces to secure the bottom piece.
- Flip the frame so it is right side up and put a 1″ staple down through the top piece in to the sides.
- Rotate the frame so its top is facing left. Put a 1″ staple in to the side piece, parallel to the top piece, right where it meets the top. The staple should be off centered so it only goes through the wedge side of the top piece. Remember, you need to break off the wedge.
Me sporting my UltraBreeze Jacket and holding a frame with an unmarked queen (on the back)
For the first time in my life, I opened a hive to do an inspection. A local beekeeper, Bob, was kind enough to let me join him for hive inspections. We opened a total of 5 hives. The first two were strong and doing well. Each was a single 10-frame deep.
Beekeeping Tip: Label all of your frames in a consistent fashion so that you can replace them in the same orientation. E.g. mark one end of each frame and make sure all of them in a hive box are along the same side.
The first had a queen marked with a red dot. The second hive’s queen was not marked. We found her on the 3rd frame and gave her a red dot. Each year Bob uses a different colored, water soluble marker. Tagging all of his queens to a specific year lets him know the age of the queen and if a queen has been superseded. He lets the colonies decide when the queen needs to be replaced. Some beekeepers and books will state that you should replace your queen every year. From what I’ve read, queens will remain productive for several years. The only time I plan on purchasing a queen is if my hives face an emergency.
The third hive we opened was devoid of live. The bees had most likely froze to death. It was really sad to see a few workers who survived trying their best to remove the bodies of their dead sisters. We cleared out the hive of all bees (live and dead) before closing up the entrance. This was done to keep wax moths out of the hive while it is unoccupied. Hopefully the survivors join another colony.
The fourth hive consisted of a medium super on top of two deeps. This hive had a little bit of bee traffic at the entrance, but it turned out to be bees from other colonies. They were robbing out the honey and pollen. It seems that these bees froze to death also. The bees were covering the brood trying to keep it warm, instead of clustering to keep themselves warm.
The fifth and last hive was the same as the fourth. All of the bees died covering brood. After having the hive open for a few minutes, the stronger hives start to rob it. This hive had the most capped honey of the other hives we opened. Bob decided to leave it open to help feed the other colonies.
First Lessons In Beekeeping
My spouse and I signed up for a beekeeping workshop targeted at beginners. The registration fee included a copy of “First Lessons in Beekeeping” by Keith S. Delaplane. The book was a very quick read and covered all of the topics continually mentioned, on beekeeping forums as important for beginners. The real benefit of this book is the numerous color photographs that increased my excitement about getting my own bees in a few weeks.
I really liked how the book discussed dealing with pests and diseases. It takes the stance of using chemicals and antibiotics as a last resort. I have read many magazines, websites and books, but many of them too easily recommend the use of chemicals to resolve all sorts of problems. Beekeeping has been around for a very long time and the bees have done fine without the extra toxins. It annoys me that these products are approved and pushed despite not fully understanding their impact on the colony.
I highly recommend that you read this book if you are at all interested in honey bees or beekeeping. Check your library or contact the local beekeeping group before going to amazon (link above). For some reason, people are trying to sell the book for over $50, when it has to be worth less than $30 (workshop registration fee). I included that link so you can find the ISBN.
The next book on my plate is “The Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden” by Kim Flottum. I picked it up at the local home brewing store because it covers a lot more with regards to recipes, candles, wax and has lots of cool pictures.
