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I've been keeping this blog for all of my beekeeping years and I am beginning my 19th year of beekeeping in April 2024. Now there are more than 1300 posts on this blog. Please use the search bar below to search the blog for other posts on a subject in which you are interested. You can also click on the "label" at the end of a post and all posts with that label will show up. At the very bottom of this page is a list of all the labels I've used.

Even if you find one post on the subject, I've posted a lot on basic beekeeping skills like installing bees, harvesting honey, inspecting the hive, etc. so be sure to search for more once you've found a topic of interest to you. And watch the useful videos and slide shows on the sidebar. All of them have captions. Please share posts of interest via Facebook, Pinterest, etc.

I began this blog to chronicle my beekeeping experiences. I have read lots of beekeeping books, but nothing takes the place of either hands-on experience with an experienced beekeeper or good pictures of the process. I want people to have a clearer picture of what to expect in their beekeeping so I post pictures and write about my beekeeping saga here.Master Beekeeper Enjoy with me as I learn and grow as a beekeeper.

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Showing posts with label bee gum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bee gum. Show all posts

Friday, July 26, 2013

Bees Up In the Trees with Romas

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Bees Up In the Trees with Romas, a set on Flickr - click on the link to see the entire slide show instead of just the thumbnails depicted above.

Although I've already posted on this amazing tree climb into the tops of trees to inspect high-up bee hives, this slideshow is more comprehensive and less difficult to scroll through.

I was so amazed by this process that I took lots of photos every step of the way.

BTW, all along this path were wild raspberries and huckleberries, so we feasted on them as we walked. There were also blackberries but they weren't ripe yet.

Romas also showed us his well for drinking water and his way of getting rid of the ants that bother his bees. He treats his tree trunks with a birch resin paint that he makes by steaming the birch bark in a dutch oven type arrangement in an outdoor fire pit.

There are ant lions living under his front porch and when he finds ants, he often throws them under his porch where the ant lions rather violently eat them (we saw this in action!).  Here's a link to a video of an ant being eaten by an ant lion.  And here's another.  I thought this was fascinating.

 To see the labels on individual slides, click on them in the slideshow:
Created with flickr slideshow.

Inspecting a hive in a tree

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Inspecting a hive in a tree, a set on Flickr - click on the link at the beginning to see the entire slideshow and not just these thumbnails.
The ancient way of keeping bees in Lithuania was to keep the bees in hollow trees. The beekeeper would hollow out the trunk to make enough room for the bees and cut an entrance that he/she could use to access the hive. It's a joke for me to say he/she because in ancient times all the beekeepers were male.

Romas showed us how he inspects the hives that he has at his place near the museum.

He also shared some honey comb with us that we all enjoyed. Everyone put on veils, including Lukas, our guide (he's in the brown t shirt).

Romas also showed us how he entices a swarm into the tree, as you will see in the photos.

Created with flickr slideshow.

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