Looking to Trade Tortoises or Supplies for Beekeeping Equipment

TylerStewart

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That's right, strange, I know, but I've been teasing the idea of getting some hives together, and need a lot of stuff for it (everything), including the bees and queens in the spring. I'm assuming out there somewhere, there's someone with a big pile of bee keeping stuff that they don't use or need that has an interest in tortoises.

I am hoping/preferring to get everything new and unused.... In my head, I'm planning on buying it all anyways in the next month or two, but figured I'd make a shout out to see if I can get any of it in trade.

If interested, shoot me an email at [email protected]. Thanks!
 

Tom

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I don't have any stuff, but you know I do bee jobs sometimes, right? I can hook you up with one of my bee guys if you need tips or equipment. Lemme know if you are already all set in this department. My knowledge is just rudimentary basic stuff, but these bee guys know everything about it. Did you see my bee beard thread a few years back? The dude in that pic is like the Godfather of beekeepers.
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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Tyler
I understand cause I've been thinking about it for years but my wife says NO cause she thinks bees stock people just to sting us . But good luck with your idea .


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TylerStewart

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Thanks, Tom! I think I have the process sorted out, just need to get it all together and then I'm sure I'll have questions and problems arise. Apparently you can't really start this late in the year, which sucks, because I'm really itching to get going. I have to prep for spring, and then try to find bees hopefully in February (seems like that might be too early to be realistic). If I knew I could get bees in a week, I would probably throw it all together now and go for it. The book seems to think July is too late to start (such a pessimist).

Tyler
I understand cause I've been thinking about it for years but my wife says NO cause she thinks bees stock people just to sting us . But good luck with your idea .

Yeah, I think everyone starts out with that idea, myself included, but reading these books kinda puts your mind at ease ("Beekeeping For Dummies," seriously). My wife is/was pretty nervous about the idea but I've calmed her down quite a bit. Today I rescued one out of a pool and had it on my hand, kids were all in awe LOL. I won't be keeping them at my house with our kids and dogs around, but we have land a few miles away that is very remote, and my parents have a lot of land in Utah where I can park some hives also.
 

Tom

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Worrying about them stinging is just a foreign concept to me. We work with them bare handed. Heck I had 65,000 of them on my face. Its really a fascinating thing once you get into it a little bit. I think you will love it.

Make sure you offer them a water source near the hive. Otherwise they will fly for up to 2 or 3 miles and raid some poor dogs bowl for water. Had this happen to some friends recently. They had to contact the bee keeper whose name and number was on the hive and ask them to put a water source near his hives.
 

Levi the Leopard

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So, let me get this straight....you can scoop a bee out of the pool with your hands and it won't sting you? Are you sure?? I'd love to know if this is actually possible...it sure would come in hand and be easier than my current method of removal...lol.

If a bee lands on you while in the garden, will it only sting you if you swat at it? Should I try blowing it away instead? Would that "shoo" the bee away and keep me sting free?

What about a wasp? Are they like bees or no?

Sorry Tyler, this post in no way answer your questions! Instead it's full of more questions..but sorta relevant..??.. ones...lol
 

johnsonnboswell

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One of my housemates kept bees. He wore a complete suit & they still stung him. I helped him once, in ordinary clothes, and they left me alone. Personal scent may be one factor. The other was that I had nice calm thoughts & was slow & gentle, & he'd keep mashing bees when he moved supers. Annoyed him greatly that they didn't sting me.
 

TylerStewart

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Make sure you offer them a water source near the hive. Otherwise they will fly for up to 2 or 3 miles and raid some poor dogs bowl for water. Had this happen to some friends recently. They had to contact the bee keeper whose name and number was on the hive and ask them to put a water source near his hives.
Yeah, I was going to leave a bucket of water right there with chunks of foam floating in it (apparently that's the standard so they don't get stuck in the water).

So, let me get this straight....you can scoop a bee out of the pool with your hands and it won't sting you? Are you sure?? I'd love to know if this is actually possible...it sure would come in hand and be easier than my current method of removal...lol.
If a bee lands on you while in the garden, will it only sting you if you swat at it? Should I try blowing it away instead? Would that "shoo" the bee away and keep me sting free?

What about a wasp? Are they like bees or no?
I pulled it out on a stick, and once it was situated, it let it walk to my hand. They are aggressive if you bang around on their hive, but out in the field, shouldn't really be.... People capture swarms with their bare hands (apparently). I just know what I'm reading, haven't handled them as much as Tom has, etc.

Wasps, hornets and yellow jackets are more bad-attitude, and are much more likely to sting. They can also sting over and over, where a honey bee can only sting once (and it dies).

One of my housemates kept bees. He wore a complete suit & they still stung him. I helped him once, in ordinary clothes, and they left me alone. Personal scent may be one factor. The other was that I had nice calm thoughts & was slow & gentle, & he'd keep mashing bees when he moved supers. Annoyed him greatly that they didn't sting me.
I'll be wearing a suit for sure, I wouldn't expect a lot of stings, but I don't want even one! In many photos and videos I've seen of people checking hives, they aren't even wearing gloves (sometimes only face protection). The book I'm reading suggests against using gloves because gloves make you clumsy (more likely to drop a frame). I really REALLY don't want a bee getting in my shirt or down my pants.
 
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Tom

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So, let me get this straight....you can scoop a bee out of the pool with your hands and it won't sting you? Are you sure?? I'd love to know if this is actually possible...it sure would come in hand and be easier than my current method of removal...lol.

If a bee lands on you while in the garden, will it only sting you if you swat at it? Should I try blowing it away instead? Would that "shoo" the bee away and keep me sting free?

What about a wasp? Are they like bees or no?


The pool thing is a 50/50 chance. I've done it and not been stung about half the time.

Blowing on them makes them more likely to sting. Gently brushing them off is the best way to get them off. Beekeepers often use synthetic paint brushes to wipe them off gently. Horse hair paint brushes are more likely to make them sting.

Wasps depend on the species. Some of them are more likely to sting than others, and proximity to the nest is a factor in there aggression level too.

One thing I never realized is the wide variety of personalities from hive to hive. My bee guy has "hot" bees, and very passive bees. We use use different types for different purposes.
 

Pokeymeg

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I don't have equipment to trade, but I am a beekeeper and can offer any advise you need free of charge! :)

For all of you with wives/husbands who are against but you want to do it - Send them my way! I'll talk them into it ;-)

Honey bees won't sting you without cause. I often sit, with no bee suit, right beside my hives and watch them. You only need a few feet of space if you place the hives next to a fence because the bees will fly straight up and away from your property.
 

TylerStewart

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Here's a question, while I have you.... How do hives get Africanized? We apparently have Africanized bees here in Vegas pretty heavily.... I'm under the impression that by bringing in an Italian queen (who will never mate in Las Vegas) she will produce only Italian bees.... So if bees only live 6-8 weeks, and she never breeds the rest of her life, where do the African bees come in? I guess if the queen died, they'd create a new one that could theoretically breed to an Africanized bee, but as long as my Italian queen stays in tact, I'd be African free, right?
 

Pokeymeg

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Here's a question, while I have you.... How do hives get Africanized? We apparently have Africanized bees here in Vegas pretty heavily.... I'm under the impression that by bringing in an Italian queen (who will never mate in Las Vegas) she will produce only Italian bees.... So if bees only live 6-8 weeks, and she never breeds the rest of her life, where do the African bees come in? I guess if the queen died, they'd create a new one that could theoretically breed to an Africanized bee, but as long as my Italian queen stays in tact, I'd be African free, right?

Right! A Queen bee does one big mating flight and has the time of her life gathering sperm from 20+ drone bees. When she's had her fun she goes back to the hive and will only ever leave if they swarm. So, if you buy a mated queen she'll have all the sperm needed for the duration of her life. Just make sure the queen is from a trustworthy supplier.

If the bees decide to re-queen on their own (there are many reasons they may choose to do so), then you may have problems because when that new virgin queen hatches she has to go on her mating flight, and she doesn't discriminate against africanized bees! But as long as you keep an eye on your bees (you'll learn their rhythm and habits before long) you'll know when they're up to something like that and can take preventative steps.
 

TylerStewart

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Got it, that's what I thought... I'm gonna mark my queen (a 5 frame nuc box will be here in a week) so I will know if she leaves, and in the back of my head I'll probably just replace her with a new queen every 2 years or whatever, from a good source. I'll be doing a lot of splits the first few years probably anyways (I'd like to get a few hives in a few different locations), so I'll be buying new queens pretty regularly.
 

Pokeymeg

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Got it, that's what I thought... I'm gonna mark my queen (a 5 frame nuc box will be here in a week) so I will know if she leaves, and in the back of my head I'll probably just replace her with a new queen every 2 years or whatever, from a good source. I'll be doing a lot of splits the first few years probably anyways (I'd like to get a few hives in a few different locations), so I'll be buying new queens pretty regularly.

Yeah, I'm not sure I've ever had a queen last 2 years (some folks say you should switch the queen out every 2 years at least). Between my hives swarming, re-queening, or dying in the winter I get new queens fairly often... But I love when I manage to have a marked queen in residence, even for a little while!

Make sure to do a slow release of the queen, especially if you've just put a mark on her (the queens I buy usually come pre-marked) because they may not like the smell and kill her!
 

TylerStewart

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Yep, I bought the first batch in the nuc ($150 shipped) mostly so I could get a few frames of brood and honey to get them going since it's so late in the year, but I'll probably try to catch swarms in the future for new hives (and then just swap the queens which would fix the hostile stuff within 6 weeks as the African bees die out). Just today at lunch with two guys I work with, they had both chased swarms out of trees in their backyards in the past month (one killed them, the other sprayed with a hose till they went away). I told them both to call me next time and I'd go try to catch it. Kinda excited to catch a swarm, although it'll probably end up being painful.
 

motero

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You have a very small chance of requeening an africanized hive. They are very weary of out side queens. I have run into this problem before. On the other hand if your hives are not near any populated areas, It is not bad to have an africanized hive. They are stronger, more diease resistant, better producers, And nobody will steal your honey. You just have to suite up really well, thick clothing under your bee suit and tape up all cracks and cuffs in your suit. Oh and don't freak out when some get in your veil anyways. Your going to have fun!
 

Pokeymeg

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You have a very small chance of requeening an africanized hive. They are very weary of out side queens. I have run into this problem before. On the other hand if your hives are not near any populated areas, It is not bad to have an africanized hive. They are stronger, more diease resistant, better producers, And nobody will steal your honey. You just have to suite up really well, thick clothing under your bee suit and tape up all cracks and cuffs in your suit. Oh and don't freak out when some get in your veil anyways. Your going to have fun!
Hahaha fun... I'm so glad I live in the north and don't have to deal too much with africanized bees!
 

TylerStewart

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You have a very small chance of requeening an africanized hive. They are very weary of out side queens. I have run into this problem before. On the other hand if your hives are not near any populated areas, It is not bad to have an africanized hive. They are stronger, more diease resistant, better producers, And nobody will steal your honey. You just have to suite up really well, thick clothing under your bee suit and tape up all cracks and cuffs in your suit. Oh and don't freak out when some get in your veil anyways. Your going to have fun!
Yeah, I've been told the same about the Africanized bees (that they're good producers, easy to keep, tough bees). I'm starting with Italians and I'll try to maintain that. The closest house to these is about 1/4 mile away and they'll be sitting down in a wash, not really visible unless you were on the property. I have a small piece of fence that keeps getting washed out when it rains hard, so I may park a hostile hive right there as a guard dog during the times it gets washed out :)

I will almost certainly end up moving some bees up to Northern Utah next year also, and I'll make sure those are marked Italian queens when I do. I could probably swap frames with eggs/brood from those to create new Italian queens, or at least not Africanized ones, each year.

My second hive is already in transit to me (I'll build future ones). Was a little hot to ship bees this week, but probably next week.
 

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