# Big Bee Buzz 2013



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I guess I'd better be there...


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Yup, probably should. Are you driving down?


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## monrovi (Jan 22, 2012)

Wish I lived closer. Sounds like it would be an interesting and informative event to attend.


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## trainwrecker (May 23, 2010)

do we need to preregister to get in.


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

:thumbsup:



Michael Bush said:


> I guess I'd better be there...



:ws:


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

just reserved for myself and my wife. looks like a blast...especially for us new beekeepers who love doing it !!!!


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

As far as I know, you don't have to preregister. NeilV is the official contact person if you would like more details.


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

Solomon Parker said:


> As far as I know, you don't have to preregister. NeilV is the official contact person if you would like more details.


or go to : neoba.com


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## trainwrecker (May 23, 2010)

thanks , i will look at neoba and see. i am so far behind in equipment to put together but there is not an opportunity like this so close. 3.5hrs


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

It's two hours for me, and it's most definitely worth it. Last year the mesh jackets were a huge hit. Very reasonable prices on equipment.


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

Solomon Parker said:


> It's two hours for me, and it's most definitely worth it. Last year the mesh jackets were a huge hit. Very reasonable prices on equipment.


hmmmm maybe we'll do a little shopping there as well .


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

> Are you driving down? 

Yes.


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## NeilV (Nov 18, 2006)

You do not need to pre-register to attend. The reality is that most people do not pre-register. Nobody will complain, even a little, if you fail to pre-register. In other words, please do not stay home just because you forgot to pre-register.

However, if you plan to attend, we would GREATLY APPRECIATE IT if you would pre-register. It helps us to know how much food to cater and to otherwise plan the event. You can pre-register by going to the NEOBA.org website. 

The $30.00 fee includes two meals and a very good conference, making it a ridiculous deal. As a club, we basically subsidize this event and plan to lose money. It is not a fundraiser but is instead part of our organization's mission to educate people about beekeeping. So don't miss this opportunity.

Also, the primary vendor for this event is Ozark Bee Supply, and their website is www.ozarkbees.com. You should contact them any place orders for equipment in advance to make sure they have what you want.

Thanks, and hope to see you there. 

Neil


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*two fantastic meals


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

:thumbsup:


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

I'm going to be blogging the event this year in case anyone is interested in hearing about the presentations. Last year I did more general blogs. This year I'm working off my phone so I will be able to post in real time and I plan on doing articles on each individual presentation.

Hopefully the event will be on video, but I don't know anything about that.


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

how many people generally show up to the big buzz ?


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

I was only there last year, but there were probably about 100 give or take.


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

oh nice. my wife and i are pretty excited to be going. how about equipment for sale ? did they have a descent amount for sale ? i know after dealing with this cutout and having to crush and strain the comb , we really want to get one of those bucket strainer set ups and maybe a couple honey gates. it would be nice to save some money in shipping if we can get it there


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

I doubt they'll have specialized equipment like that. Last year they had Ultra Breeze jackets, hive tools, a few hives, feeders, beetle traps, frames, boxes, things like that.


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## tommysnare (Jan 30, 2013)

okie dokie. ill go on ozark's website and see if they can bring a couple things with them for me.


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

They brought honey gates!

About to get going.


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

The evening has started and I've started blogging if you'd like to follow along.


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

The Big Bee Buzz put put on by NEOBA was again a fantastic event. This year's festivities were a substantially treatment-free themed affair. It was so much fun, I got to meet and hang out with Sam Comfort, got to hang out with Michael Bush, and got to know Ed Levi (former Arkansas State Bee Inspector) better. So what did I take away?

Some context. Everything I say is from the perspective of someone who is a Bond method beekeeper, and quite evangelical about it. I believe people should raise their own bees. I firmly dislike monoculture and the migratory beekeeping that enables it. My focus is pretty strictly on small beekeepers, backyard beekeepers, hobbyists, avid hobbyists, and sideliners.

The new name I am using for my philosophy which I got with permission from Sam Comfort is Expansion Model Beekeeping. My twist is this: As a beekeeper, rather than spending a load of time learning about all the treatments, what they do, how to use them, all the mechanical and cultural methods of controlling mites, brood breaks, screened bottom boards etc., rather than putting energy into learning and internalizing all that stuff, learn how to breed and expand and to outrun the mites. And the thing is, outrunning them is only necessary for a relatively brief period of time. Once your local and localized population becomes sustainable, the mites are not a problem at all. Focus on creating and maintaining a population from which you can lose a few and not have coronaries about it. It's no big deal because you'll just raise some more in the spring. The last two years, I've only lost a single hive. That's after three years in this location with some higher losses, but a no point was it unsustainable. And with the methods that I have discovered and implemented now, I could have done it without buying new bees or queens. Run your operation, whatever size, on an expansion model rather than trying to maintain some certain benchmark. Hives are much easier to reduce in number than increase.

A handy trick I learned from Mike Bush was when a queen flies off, to dump some bees on the topbars of the hives. They will begin scent fanning and she'll have a better chance of making it back to the right hive.

Something I have been convinced to do is register my bees. I had been concerned that some inspector was going to tell me that I had to treat them. Ed Levi calmed my fears and said that they can't do that. The only thing they can do in Arkansas is burn them if they have American Foul Brood. I'm not so concerned about that. I've never had foulbrood and if I did, burning them is probably a good idea even though every deep box costs about $30 and every medium box costs about $25. It could get not cheap but it would be even more not cheap if it were allowed to spread. Anyway, the biggest benefit of registering and getting inspected is that I can ship queens and bees around.

I'm also going to start going to the Northwest Arkansas Beekeepers meetings. I need to learn more about my area and get to know the local beekeepers.

Sam thinks I should move up to 100 hives, but I doubt that's going to be happening any time soon. There's other things I like to do too you know. From talking to him I will also try putting my entrances somewhere in the middle of the hives to hopefully keep the brood and pollen separated a bit better from the honey.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

nice synopsis sol.

go into more detail about the expansion model when you have time, maybe start a thread about it.

many thanks.


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

I plan on it. It's going to be a major thrust of my philosophy and I've been invited to go back to Tulsa later this year and talk about it.


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

Expansion Model sounds interesting; my concern is that some beekeepers, new ones in particular, will adopt the name of the philosophy but not the work that goes along with it. My take is that it requires observing what is going on in your hives and responding to those observations in keeping with the philosophy. It is most certainly not dumping a commercially produced package on new foundation in the spring, ignore them all summer, and b*tching about their either dieing or not producing a honey crop.

Learning to see what you are observing is key. Beginning this year I will be making the effort to keep my TF bees going rather than experimenting if TF bees will survive and thrive in my area. I can't afford to bring in new bees every year only to have them die. So I will be looking into the whys deeper - why has this over wintered colony not taken off? Stuff like that.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

it will be interesting to see how this differs from the approaches of mike palmer (creating and over wintering nucs), and mel disselkoen (out breeding mites).


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

Nice report Solomon. I'm surprised, after all the discussions there have been on beesource about Apiary Inspectors and Apiary Inspection, that you didn't already know that AFB is the only thing States really regulate and try to control. Only APHIS has ever made anyone kill hives for having mites. And that was in the mid 1980s. And no one regulates viruses.


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*



Solomon Parker said:


> A handy trick I learned from Mike Bush was when a queen flies off, to dump some bees on the topbars of the hives. They will begin scent fanning and she'll have a better chance of making it back to the right hive.



Cool tip I hadn't ever heard before. 

Thx. Don


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

Don, that should read "hive" not "hives". You dump bees on the home hive, they will scent fan so the queen may find her way back better. As we beekeepers tend to move things around, often the hive where she returned on her mating flight is not in the same location as she is now. I don't even know if she would be able to remember that.

Mark, I have heard some horror stories about inspectors overstepping their bounds, whether they were performing their jobs according to the law or not. So it was not just what was legal that I was concerned about. I've always been the sort that likes to stay out of the spotlight, preferring to do my own thing on the sidelines. It's fine if one of y'all gets vendetta on the mind here on Beesource. It's a bit different when I get somebody who thinks treating is the law of the land and wants to make my life miserable and has the power to do so, legally or not. My bees and their genetics are precious to me and I'm not one who thinks all bees are the same. I'd prefer if registration were optional here like several of the amendments have proposed and I could just stay out of it until I wanted my little "Inspected" piece of paper. But that's not the way it is.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

Thanks for the report - it gave Mark and I something to discuss as we wandered through the blueberry fields feeding some hungry bees. I particularly appreciate the M.B. - Sam Comfort pics.... Barry B. sent me a separate pic of Niel... so now I am set. I suspect Sam C. may be correct about the 100 hives.... you might be pleasantly surprised at how little difference there is in keeping 20 hives and keeping 100.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*



hpm08161947 said:


> I particularly appreciate the M.B. - Sam Comfort pics.... Barry B. sent me a separate pic of Niel... so now I am set.


I was starting to suspect there was something fishy about NeilV's existence. But then, I haven't seen the pics.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*



cg3 said:


> I was starting to suspect there was something fishy about NeilV's existence. But then, I haven't seen the pics.


He looks like the kind of guy you would want in your corner the next time you are arrested.....


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

Herb, I sent you a picture of him on Facebook, did you not get it? He does exist. He's a really nice guy, and he seems to be coming over to the treatment-free way of seeing things. He is the one who booked the speakers after all.

I suspect Sam may be correct management wise, but I cannot keep more than ten hives in any location due to mass robbing issues. That's a lot of travel time on my precious spring Saturdays. Any expansion will have to be mostly on funding provided by continued beekeeping profits, which I also want to spend on solar panels. We'll see. I'm already deciding I can make an expansion from 20 to 25. Must build a bunch more boxes. I'm running out. I think I now have less than ten available deeps on hand.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

So- if a colony can't fend off some robbing, then what?


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

If they survive, then I pick up the pieces and move on. If they don't, then I do the same thing. 

http://youtu.be/uLlbuwJUg2U

If I'm putting too many hives together and it's causing robbing, then it's obviously my fault and I need to not do that. It's the same sort of situation if I take too much honey and they starve to death over winter. I need to manage in a way that doesn't apply too much undue stress.


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

Do the hives tend to get a bit unbalanced? Several strong ones and a few weak ones? Then the weak ones get robbed out. 

If this is the case, have your tried banlancing the hives, ie... moving a few frames of brood and bees into the weak ones... from the strong?

BTW.. the utube video says "Private".


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

I've been having robbing problems with nucs and particularly when moving nucs into 10 frame equipment. Robbing screens seem to have solved it.


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*

Sorry about that Herb, I don't know how all my videos got set to private. Fixed it. http://youtu.be/uLlbuwJUg2U I wondered why I hadn't been getting any comments lately.

I don't tend to see robbing necessarily from the smaller ones, unless they get killed off while I'm not looking, which does occasionally happen in the summer. So there is some selective pressure there.

The one in the video has long been my strongest or at least top two hive. I have kept it with continuous unbroken lineage for ten years treatment-free. It was completely robbed out, not a drop of honey left in the hive. After the robbing was over and the robbers stopped coming back, I gave them a frame of honey, reduced the entrance to a single bee size and let them start rebuilding. That was two summers ago, and after being knocked over by a mobile trampoline this winter, they are still alive and were doing fine yesterday when I peeked in.

On a side note, I don't consider it the same hive if it has been requeened artificially.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: Big Bee Buzz 2013: My Conclusions*



Solomon Parker said:


> Don, that should read "hive" not "hives". You dump bees on the home hive, they will scent fan so the queen may find her way back better. As we beekeepers tend to move things around, often the hive where she returned on her mating flight is not in the same location as she is now. I don't even know if she would be able to remember that.
> 
> Mark, I have heard some horror stories about inspectors overstepping their bounds, whether they were performing their jobs according to the law or not. So it was not just what was legal that I was concerned about. I've always been the sort that likes to stay out of the spotlight, preferring to do my own thing on the sidelines. It's fine if one of y'all gets vendetta on the mind here on Beesource. It's a bit different when I get somebody who thinks treating is the law of the land and wants to make my life miserable and has the power to do so, legally or not. My bees and their genetics are precious to me and I'm not one who thinks all bees are the same. I'd prefer if registration were optional here like several of the amendments have proposed and I could just stay out of it until I wanted my little "Inspected" piece of paper. But that's not the way it is.


I understand. Those sorts of things can happen w/ anyone in a position of power or assumed authority. Enjoyed the Post.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>A handy trick I learned from Mike Bush was when a queen flies off, to dump some bees on the topbars of the hives. They will begin scent fanning and she'll have a better chance of making it back to the right hive.

Just to clarify. I'm talking about pulling a frame from the hive the queen left, and shaking that frame of bees back into their own hive. They then get on the top bars with their butts in the air ans start to nasonov...


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Thanks Mike, that's what I meant.


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