Ask SeñorGonbe About Keeping Bees

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gonbechan
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Ask SeñorGonbe About Keeping Bees

Post by gonbechan »

A place where you can ask about the birds and the bees.. well mainly bees.

First Question
CYEK wrote:SenorGonbe, recently saw an article about the Australian guy who made those bee hives with taps for honey. He is rolling in the money now.

http://www.honeyflow.com/

Business article

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/crowd ... tap-2015-2

Article against the invention.
http://www.honeycolony.com/article/3-re ... flow-hive/

What are your thoughts? I like honey but are allergic to bee stings. Would like to have a hive but have always been to worried. Would this work for me?

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Post by SeñorGonbe »

gonbechan wrote:A place where you can ask about the birds and the bees.. well mainly bees.

First Question
CYEK wrote:SenorGonbe, recently saw an article about the Australian guy who made those bee hives with taps for honey. He is rolling in the money now.

http://www.honeyflow.com/

Business article

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/crowd ... tap-2015-2

Article against the invention.
http://www.honeycolony.com/article/3-re ... flow-hive/

What are your thoughts? I like honey but are allergic to bee stings. Would like to have a hive but have always been to worried. Would this work for me?

Hello the idea of the Australian Hive is brilliant but in your case I think it is a bad idea because your allergy .You must open the hive from time to time to check if the bees don't have disease or parasites (in those cases there is medicine to cure them)
If you just want the honey and leave the bees alone they might live but not for long. If you don't mind a new hive every year, then I suppose you could use the flowhive.

Also it would be better if you keep Nihon honeybees as Suzumebachi will attack the hive and European honeybees have no defence.
Nihon honeybees are also varroa mite resistant so are much better and easier to keep than European honeybees even though they tend to swarm more.

Sorry about my English it is not my first language.

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Post by Zasso Nouka »

Will the flowframe work ok with Japanese honey bees ?

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Post by gonbechan »

I can answer that. (I type faster than SEÑORGONBE)

Cell size for Apis Cerana is very similar to that of Apis Mellifera (European honey bee)
The difference in the Flow Hive cells is that they are deeper than normal cells to discourage the queen from laying in them.
Apis Cerana might not be so picky so a queen excluder can be used if there is a problem of laying in the flow hive.

The only difference in keeping Japanese honey bees is that they do not produce propolis.
Propolis is the moneymaker in beekeeping, especially in Japan where people are bonkers about it.

So if you want to get rich, you will need to keep Apis Mellifera and make a wasp gate, and then also take good care to check for mites often.

If you just want some honey and some pollinators, then go for a flowhive and some Japanese honey bees, which you can attract a hive with Cymbidium Floribundum orchids.

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Post by CYEK »

Senor, thanks. Now who do I get to check the hive if I get one? Wife, daughter or son :twisted:

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Post by gonbechan »

Flow-Hive people also sell a reasonably priced beekeeper outfit.

You know if you are allergic to bee stings, you would be better off going with Japanese honey bees as they are much less aggressive than European ones. (fighting the urge to bring up European Swallows.)
Also as previously mentioned they are immune to varrao mites which means less hive maintenance.
You could always pay someone to come and check your hives once or twice a year.

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Post by CYEK »

G, Youve nearly got me convinced. Now can I convince the little lady :?:

Conversation probably like this.

ME: Darling I'm thinking of getting some bees for honey.
Little lady: You're allergic to bee stings.
ME: Well! You or the kids could collect the honey and check the hive or we could ask some one to check.
Little lady: You don't want to get stung but it's okay for the kids or me to get stung and will paying some one cost more than the honey you will get if we buy it?
ME: I think I will just eat some more ice cream.

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Post by xxxxtom »

Hi folks,
I just watched a doco here in Australia obout the Flow Hive story ,thought it might be of interest to you .
It's a weekly show called "Australian Story "( you guessed it , it's about Aussies ).
ABC.net.au or just google " Australian Story".
It was aired on the 26/10/2015.
It's a good story, not sure what he's going to do with his new found wealth.
Cheers
xxxxtom

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Post by gonbechan »

That flow hive is absolutely genius.
Not only the design but that it has sparked the interest of so many people.
People who always liked the idea of bees but were put off by the whole rigmarole of extracting honey.
Making casual beekeeping more common again is an excellent way to make people more aware of the plight of bees and also to increase the bee population albeit on a small scale.
It is not the kind of hive you would want for large scale commercial beekeeping where you would be harvesting wax as well as honey although you can still harvest propolis if you keep European honey bees.

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Post by ifd66 »

I've just received the flow hive - much quicker than expected, so now have to start studying. I will track down the beekeeper member I noticed when reading posts from here a few weeks back.

My main focus now is location of the hive and getting some bees.

And Zazzo's comment about keeping out Suzumebachi is useful - thanks!.

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