Backyard Beekeeping Questions and Answers 96, how to keep wasps OUT and more!

Welcome to another session of beekeeping questions and answers! This is a long one and you won't want to miss a new innovation that may assist in helping honey bees defend themselves against thieves and robbers. Please feel free to join The Way To Bee Podcast (for those who are driving or would rather just listen): https://frederickdunn.podbean.com/ Have a Bee Keeping Question that can't wait and you want advice now? Join The Way To Bee Fellowship... friendly, experienced beekeepers from all over the world are happy to give advice and opinions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3062274013832702 "No judgement, No put-downs, Just people talking about bees". Want to submit a question, just not on YouTube? Please go here to fill out a form and submit it: http://www.fredsfinefowl.com/thewaytobee.html Look for a new page on my website that will be dedicated to Product Testing and Citizen Science. We can test products and give feedback from all over and it won't come from a company that is selling you something. WELCOME! www.TheWayToBee.org testing page coming soon! Today we discuss the following topics: 1) Could we mix salt and sugar together as an early spring supplement? 2) If I bait swarm traps with old pre-drawn comb, will wax moths move in? 3) I have a good amount of honey leftover from last year, it's crystallized. Will bees rejuvenate the honey? This filter will aid in keeping honey liquid: https://amzn.to/2MCMchj 4) I typically lose most of my colonies every September-November. There are bottom board configurations that claim to help. I would love to get your thoughts? Please Join ME in a Citizen Science Project - I will be testing a specialized hive entrance that fits Flow-Hives and other entrances, early tests look very good. We will be able to post results at the end of 2021. I've always thought some sort of tunnel would be more easily defended by the bees. I purchased several of these Patent Pending entrances from an inventor in Auckland, New Zealand where wasps regularly destroy honey bee colonies. Please share your thoughts on this: https://beeiq.solutions I would be particularly interested in hearing from those who purchased them at Apimondia. I think, based on the design, that this would also be valuable as a combo defense feature for robbing bees, wasps, or hornets, as well as possibly Small Hive Beetles? Would they travel through a tunnel to access a hive interior? We'll figure all of that out. I hope you'll join me. :) Want to Help Evaluate/Test the HyfeGate? Please join me: OR, check in to see what I learn. http://www.fredsfinefowl.com/hyfegatetestingprogress.html 5) Can you explain why people suggest starting with two hives? Also, should I source my bees through Randy Oliver? 6) I need to replace an existing hive that I don't like, I'm concerned about the process of swapping frames and their order. Do you have a procedure for that? This will be my favorite hive-swapping and swarm transporting tool of 2021, I am very pleased with them: https://hivebutler.com/products/hive-butler-5-pack PLEASE tell them that Frederick Dunn sent you :) I receive no compensation from them. I just find many practical aspects to these totes. 7) If someone captured a late-season swarm, could they take pre-drawn comb frames and put honey in them and then paint melted wax over the cells to cap them? This is the pre-drawn foundation we're talking about: https://www.betterbee.com/foundation/bcombd10-bettercomb-drawn-comb.asp 8) How do I go about replacing the old comb and setting up a schedule for that? 9) In episode 95, you said that queen bees will fly up to 9 miles to a DCA. Could you please tell me which study you garnered that information from? Today's quote is from Dr. Thomas Seeley's book, The Lives of Bees: https://amzn.to/3rnw5D5 10) I want to experiment with the Long Lang, If you were to do it again, What would you do differently? 11) What are your thoughts on marking and trimming your queen's left or right wing? It's clear to me, the advantage for marking. Will - White 2021 You - Yellow 2022 Raise- Red 2023 Good - Green 2024 Bees - Blue 2025 12) I have three hives, I want to re-queen them to provide a brood break and reduce swarming. Can I rotate queens to other hives? 13) I have a long wire snake camera with about a 1/4" diameter that connects to my iPhone. I'm concerned that the light on it may bother the bees. Seems like a cool idea, but don't want to consider it if it will interfere with their winter survival. 14) I discovered some bees in the snow today and decided to retrieve them. If I release them on a warmer winter day at the same location, ight they fly their way back to their hive? Thanks for joining us today! Some of the links above are affiliate links. As amazon associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. The links to Betterbee, Hive Butler, BeeIQ etc, are not affiliates and we do not receive compensation for sharing them.