Rookie mistake number 6; be careful not to leave removed burr comb fall to the ground and not picked up and removed from the site. Stray bits of wax comb may attract wax moths to lay their eggs and lure them into the hive.

it's 3am and I should be sleeping for work in the morning but i've found myself fascinated by beekeeping videos for the last couple of hours...

Top bar beekeeper here who just hived a swarm into a Langstroth. Thanks for being willing to show your "comedy of errors"--I learned several tips. Need to turn my inner cover over--I put the notch down and while the bees are loving it I won't love all that burr comb.

I`ve seen quite a few videos on here and you deserve a slap on the back . Your commentry was clear ,with none of the usual rambling bull that is totally incoherent without a translator ( this especially is the case for professional beekeepers trying to sell you something for a company they work for ), As for the video ,in one word, superb .Lots of detail, in focus and clear as crystal glass . I rest my case .

"I hope that was my phone buzzing and not a bee in my pants..." LOL! That definitely made me laugh!

I appreciate you sharing this. We are all learning. You seem to have an attitude that will make you a successful beekeeper.

I enjoyed this video and watching you make mistakes. Watching experienced beekeeper videos doesn't give you the whole story and you can end up feeling like you'll never get it. When you see someone make a mistake, I believe you learn so much more. Thanks so much for sharing!

Thanks for putting yourself out there. I have enjoyed the videos and i am learning lots from them.. I am new BK and have made a few of the same mistakes you have made and probably others. Some of the comments are pretty harsh. Learning is a process and I have not found anyone who is willing to be a mentor. Taken lots of courses and read etc but actually standing in the bee yard and trying to interpret what you are seeing when the information is all new is no easy task. Many times I have walked away and a day or too later I have figured out what was going on...I have panicked when I didn’t need to and didn’t react when I should have, cheers to next year!

One really good tip: Learn to work with bees without clumsy gloves! If you just take a little time, and extra smoke, the bees will realise you are not an amateur, and you are less likely to get stung. If you get stung, just take a moment to realise why, Did you proceed with a plan? Learn from the bees, not too many books. Second tip: ALWAYS prepare your boxes well in advance with wood preservative, such as Copper Napthanate, because the inside of a box collects an incredible amount of evaporated moisture, and that, with the heat from the bees, facilitates "dry rot" particularly in the dovetailed corners. Corners should be sanded smooth, and particularly well sealed. I always paint the inside thoroughly firstly with primer, then undercoat, then gloss enamel. Mis tinted paint can usually be bought cheaply at hardware shops, and the bees don't care what the colour is. They just like a dry, hygienic, box. Do this months ahead, and expose the boxes outdoors so the paint de odourises. Oil based paint is better than acrylic. A good box is less likely to allow spores of disease, but even more importantly, it might last 18 - 20 years, which is more economical, perhaps at the rate of $1 a year! An unpainted box may warp within only a few years. Sometimes it helps to sit a new box on top of an existing hive, until it gets the hive smell inside.

Thanks for sharing and your humility, Best of luck.

well done. the main thing yr asking the right questions, asking for supportive comments and learning. Even the experts in be keeping are still learning. Assume yr a meme of a bee club you can all for help. A Bee buddy to advise and assist plus a club which have apirary (US Bee Yard) meet ups is a great way to learn. Well done, I've been doing this for 8yrs still learning

I have watched so many beekeepers drop frames, lay frames on the ground, break comb, all these awful avoidable errors due to those bulky ill-fitting gloves...you and others have been a great example from the beginning why to never wear a suit or gloves - just a head cover (I hate stings to the face). I want to thank you and many other beekeepers for teaching me by example and convincing me how not to do it. It's been a wonderful experience this first year, learning the art of gently and quietly handling bees. There's been a few stings, it was expected. I've had worst from cats, working with roses and my berry bushes. My 10 yr old granddaughter has now learned to handle bees in the same way. Thank you.

There is so much to learn when beekeeping. I know I have made many mistakes too and will likely continue to do so. It's awesome you are willing to share your experiences!

Great video. It is very informative and well done. One thing you may want to keep in mind is to have a container for putting bee products such as burr comb, propolis, etc. This will keep the hive area clear of things which may cause robbing behavior and stuff for bee pests to feed upon.It will also allow you to collect such bee products for later processing. It does add up.

I've been thinking about starting beekeeping for awhile, thank you for your honest interpretation of your harvesting techniques. It's good to show the mistakes as well as the successes, it saves the learner time in the long run so I appreciate you posting this video.

Great video, I am a relatively new beekeeper and it was great to learn from your inspection what to look for (and things I might do without realizing it was a mistake!) Thanks for sharing and being willing to teach, I look forward to more of your videos.

second year beekeeper here, love what you do ;) Got a Tip aswel from my teacher. We sprinkle water over the top not much just some hand sprayer. It works great, the bee's go down and you don't need the smoker to stay on. I love it, because they don't go eat them self fat plus with the water they have water for there honey and production and they can't fly until there wings are dry. try it you love it 2, saves time and doesn't put them in alert mode. sorry for my english I'm from belgium. Keep the bee's alive! keep doing what you do and pass it on to the next generation

Careful tilting the frames too far. Had one episode of a full comb falling off and being over the medium whole contents fell into the medium. all the honey cells broke open and bees actually got drowned in the mess. I think an important thing for beginners is yes, no matter how careful you may be bees do get squished, but don't panic and just puff a little smoke over it. when you panic you'll make more mistakes. the bees will start to panic when you're panicking and if you end up squishing more and you start smelling bananas they will go bananas on you. No matter what occurs stay calm. Watch your back when lifting anything. Unless working in pairs you don't want to throw your back out way out in the middle of your apiary. Because you still have to put the hive back together before you get yourself home and if its not done proper you risk the survival of that hive to the elements. If you were hauling the second or third medium you'd either lose your honey or worse and have to spend considerable time gaining their trust again. Like hiking, tell someone when you're going out to the apiary and when you plan to be back. Those mediums only get heavier. Drones are a good sign of them getting enough to eat, and yes they get fatter it seems. Splitting is an option if overcrowding is occurring. If you haven't fed them and they're doing well with two frames of honey I'd say go for it if you have the space. The bridge combs is an indication your inner cover isn't correct in spacing. There's an important concept call Bee Space. Basically... Bee space is considered to be a distance not less than 1/4" and not bigger than 3/8". If the opening is less than 1/4" wide it'll get sealed with propolis. Bigger than 3/8" you'll get a bridge/burr comb. Its a nuisance. I don't know of a way around it.

The first queen cell is a supercede cell because it's in the middle of the frame. Queen cells on the bottom of frames because they are going to swarm. That hive needs divided or a second brood box added. You can coax them in to the second brood box with 50/50 sugar syrup or a frame of honey. Beautiful brood! They need A LOT to eat, hope you're feeding them! Best regards

Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to video my next inspection to see if I can make more mistakes than 5. ;) way to take it nice and slow.

Thanks for the video; also new beekeeper here and just finished my certification exam. Since it's fresh on my memory; your 2nd mistake was technically turning the frames horizontal with the comb parallel to the ground. That's a very good way to lose a block of brood or capped honey... especially on a hot day when the wax is soft.

Really liking this video. Starting this year. Good to see how you move, how often you give smoke, get rid of the extra wax. Read a couple books on it but seeing it is different.

Thanks for a great video showing how calm you are, must make a difference to keep the bees relaxed as possible.

I'm surprised you don't have a frame hanger for your hive!

Thanks for posting this and asking the questions many of us newbies have. My bee adventures are also a comedy(or tragedy) of errors. I learned from the video as well as the comments. Keep the videos coming!

Great video! Loved it. I know I can easily add to your mistake quota! You are really confident and gentle (with one exception) around the bees- definitely beekeeper material. It looks like you put your two frames down at your feet- I always put mine a bit out of the way- that way you don't have bees climbing up your leg! Also, an older beekeeper taught me to cover the open hive with a towel. This idea really works for me- the bees like it in the dark, and I just lift the edge of the towel up when I take out a frame.

THANKS! This is the best video that I have seen doing an inspection.

Thank you. I'm still reading and learning about bee keeping. I learned a ton from this video.

Thanks for the mistakes video, very honest and I usually learn more from my or others' mistakes. Was thinking about starting a drinking game for every time I heard the word burrcomb but I realized I'd be out before the video ended.

Thanks for the video. This is a good demonstration / learning experience for beginners. I would recommend to all beginners to make a plan of action before opening your hive.

Brilliant information. I just subbed. This year I am trying out the Canadian Saskatartz bees. Thank you sir.

You made me laugh when you said "I hope that's my phone buzzing and not a bee in my pants" lol Loved the video. I'm the queen bee when it comes to making mistakes with my bees. Still learning at year two. Keep the videos coming! (add a super)

Beautiful frames. Great work, bees! :-). Thanks for sharing. I love keeping my bees, too! And you're right....It's hard on the old back!!

Nothing better in life than working gentle bees on a perfect summer day.

I enjoyed this, and I appreciate you leaving the mistakes in. Very honest. I have never kept bees, but they have always fascinated me and I hope to do so in the future

ahaha cool video, you are fun guy i also like the way you take care of your bees.

I am a want-to-be bee non-keeper, Thank you for this channel! Subscribing now.

Great video I have made those mistakes before on my bees I am a new bee keeper here in West Virginia hope all is well with you and your bees.

Everything you did wrong is everything we've all done wrong, it's a learning curve that never stops curving, great vid.

Thanks for this! I am a brand new bee keeper but I got a great tip this weekend. If you use your hive tool to push the frames toward the back of the box (just slide the tool between the top of the frame and front of the hive, it gives space where the bees will chase and trap hive beetles with propolis. Then you can squish them and kill them, whereas if you don't push the frames back, the beetles will get loose when you shift the frames during inspection as you pull the propolis with the frame without having squished the beetle "trap." I hope that makes sense!

Thanks for an informative video. As a 2nd year beek I've made all of your mistakes at one time, sometimes 2 or 3 times. Still, I learned.

"Once they start bouncing off your head you know they're upset."

Can you add a sumary of the 5 mistakes at the video description? Thank you

I see there are a lot of good advice comments on the inner cover and ventilation. The bee space is a clear problem here so a flip is necessary in this cover, I would also as another super since the hive seems strong from our point of view, the bees will adapt to the added space and will move to make comb in frames. Hope this helps too. Looking forward to more videos.

I don’t keep bees, and have no reason to be here, but I’m mesmerized. I gotta watch folks like you on YT, as I’m allergic to bee stings, so keeping isn’t a good risk for me :) The industrious nature of bees, the and amazing structures they build fascinate me. Also they’re cute and fuzzy.

very powerful hive with respect to the amount of sealed brood. From Trinidad & Tobago also a beekeeper. you should definitely add a super to that hive.

Thanks for sharing, I started my one on one beekeeping learning. And my bees be home soon. I will also share with the community my journey. Wish me luck

Nice job sir & great information, i learned a lot' thanks for sharing.....

the fanning with their tails up, plus a small white area near the end of the abdomen exposed is called the Nasonov gland. is common when the hive is opened. It tells the workers and those returning this is the entrance, come here. Something has happened to the colony. A sort of regrouping alarm. Common to see when swam collecting. Tails up fanning the pheromone to collect all the colony into the swam box (new home).

great advice given, need to split the hive or add a box and remove the lower queen cell aka (swarm cell) by the way if your not coming into the nectar season you definitely need to feed them. great job on the hives and love the videos keep them coming.

Also I think experienced bee keepers make mistakes and that's how we learn, I started with 1 hive and now up to 3 its a learning curve as we go along cheers. One can learn more from the comments that anything cheers I wish you the best of luck with your bees keep on keeping on

New friend here!! I just found your channel and loving it!!

excellent as a complete newby to beekeeping (and not looking for honey production) I found this fascinating

Great video! Thanks from a beginner bee keeper!

I'm watching 4 years and 1 million plus views after upload and I appreciate you for uploading this video. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us.

Great job, thanks. I am doing my video studying before I try my own; hopefully next year.

mistake number 5 is so funny! hahahaha! BTW, not an expert or anything (I don't even have a hive yet), but I watched a video saying that if 80% of the first box has been occupied, then it's time to add another box on top. :) Keep on posting videos. I'm loving your channel. :)

Just ran across your video. I'm only 30 days into being a new BK. Started with a 5-frame nuc and a medium super on top of my brood box. My first inspection was at one week and I managed to get through it pretty well. I have a marked queen (courtesy of breeder Randy Oliver) and found her on the second frame. Next inspection is on this coming Saturday, which will be week 4 for the colony. I'm hoping it doesn't take me 26 minutes to do my next inspection! Thanks for sharing your second-year insights. Scott Bayles, Lake Elsinore, California

Excellent. Thank you for your contribution.

Thanks. Appreciate learning a few things from a seasoned rookie. The easy mistakes and easy care tips while you were doing them made me decide to study more and maybe even start a hive box of my own. Now I feel like I can balance my education from seasoned old pros, rookies and new bee farmers and feel like I'm getting a well rounded education on the subject. Cheers!

Hi , interesting to see your video. I think the reason you have so much burr comb is because you have a 'bottom bee space' crown board (and a pretty generous one at that) AND you have a 'top bee space' above your frames . Added together this gives way more than the 8mm you need for a conventional bee space-hence the wild comb . They wont build burr comb if the space is right. Good luck and I am sure if you change the space you will reduce the comb building to nearly zero.

My hats off to you! I have never seen so many bees in all my life! I’m dizzy, nauseous and still squirming! I thought I wanted to get into beekeeping. Now I need a beer...

Definitely you need an extra super on top, well done your bees are nice & healthy

Anywhere there is too much space (ideally 3/8"), your bees will build burr comb to close what they feel is too much empty space. If you turn your hive top board over so it is installed the correct way, it will leave exactly 3/8" between the top of your frames & the bottom side of the hive top cover & your bees will not only ignore this area when building comb, but it will allow proper ventilation along the top of your frames also. Great camera work on your video.

All things considered, you did a fair job of checking the hive. With practice comes efficiency and speed. I'm sure you figured out that they definitely needed more room. One more deep on top of that one will help a lot in keeping the girls from building queen cells and all the extra burr comb. I hope they didn't swarm on you before you were able to add another body and frames to the top.

Yes its time for another box. Good funny vlog.

Some inner covers have a winter side and spring/summer side. I can't tell if yours are like that. The smaller bee space in spring and summer and the larger bee space for winter. Measure the depth of each side. Great videos!

I watched this before bed and dreamt all night about the problems you had! Bees in my pockets, missing queens, dropping things... haha

The burr combs under the inner lid may be due to a bee space (distance between the inner lid and the hive box cover) too big or too small for the bees. Bee space for the A. mellifera is between 3/8 inch and 1/4 inch. Too big or too small and the bees will bridge the gap. Try sand papering the edges of the inner lid to reduce the bee space or gluing a plastic sheet to increase the bee space and observe the space or distance with which the burr comb building stops or becomes minimal. You can do it with new inner lids and put the new inner lid in the hive box. Or if you think the bee space is too big you can cover the underside of the inner lid with PE plastic sheet so that wax won't stick to it hard.

It has probably been noted, but the inner cover on the first hive has comb because it is upsidedown. Entrance/exit on top. Thanks for the great video.

Thanks for the video. Don't know, though, why you put any of the frames on the ground, rather than just moved across the brood chamber. Since the Queen could have been on any of the frames in the brood chamber, if she'd been in one of the frames you put on the ground, it would have been really easy to lose her. I use deep brood boxes with 11 frames plus a flat spacer frame, to help make space between the frames when doing hive inspections. Good luck with healthy happy hives.

it would be better if you were to bring an extra empty box to set the frames into, just in case you happen to bump into them it won't kill the bees. it also gives you more room to put the frames rather than leaning them against their box. also, you shouldn't throw the removed burrcomb near the hive, because that'll attract beetles and other unwanted guests.

Your inner cover is up side down. That is causing the burr comb and will eventually set off a robbing spree.

LOVE, LOVE , LOVE YOUR CALMNESS WITH THE BEES YOUR REALLY GENTLE WITH THEM , THE VIDEO IS GREAT

This is my first year. Started with a five frame nuc. Put it in a 10 frame langstroth. After two weeks I felt like it was a pretty aggressive hive. A month in I was able to purchase a mated queen and split my original hive on my property. The split bees didn't swarm back and accepted the new queen. Put a second deep on the original. Bought another hive. Queen left or died. Grabbed a frame of brood from the aggressive hive and placed it right next door. The bees watching the brood immediately set to make a new queen and didn't return to the original hive. Had a local seasoned beekeeper come to treat the hives. He went back to his truck for gloves because of the aggressive hive. Been working with bees for decades and said it was pretty aggressive. X-) I'm keeping that hive anyway. Maybe they'll be strong enough to get through the winter.

I have no experience or reason to be here and I'm not really sure how I started watching this beekeeping stuff, but I really find it interesting.

I found this on a site dedicated to bees... Supersedure cells are often begun after the eggs are laid. The bees, knowing they need to replace the queen, begin feeding royal jelly to a young larva they have selected. They build a supersedure cell around this larva (or several larvae) and it hangs down from the face of the comb. It also said that the cell hanging from the bottom is not a supersedure cell but a swarm cell. Essentially, the bees don't have enough room in the hive, so they are creating an additional queen, not as a replacement, but as a new leader to take a swarm of bees and start a new colony. So, if you are getting one of those, you need more space. I don't raise bees, I would like to, but I have absolutely no authority whatsoever to tell you this, it is purely a regurgitation of someone else who did have the authority to talk about it.

My first year at this. Thank you. Very informative for me.

Your bees seemed very calm, nice video!

You can build a hive stand with 16” legs and a tabletop between hives so you can have a place for your frames off the ground and ability to tip the whole deep on its side to tabletop instead of having to lift. A must for back preservation. Also, table makes storage space underneath for supplies. Queen cells should be removed and add another deep immediately or allow queen cells and split.

Nice video, great work! I've learned recently that the position of the supercedure cell is important. If you find one in the middle of the frame, it's likely the hive wants to replace the queen. Reasons for that might vary, such as not having enough egg to lay... You've mentioned that she was small. I therefore wondered if you wanted to share the outcome of the development- Whether the hive decided to replace the queen? Greetings from Norway!

5:28 Ofcourse they need more space! It is obvious at first glance without actually looking in to the bee boxes! Every beekeepers video I have watched recomends at least twice as much space as you have given these bees. Two deep bee boxes as a minimum for the bee colony, that are never to be touched for harvesting honey, and on top of them the thin, half size exess boxes from which to harvest honey from. I suspect lack of space was also the main reason the bees had build all those queen bee supercells. Ready to swarm out looking for more space. Overall, very well made informative video! Thanks for sharing!👍👍

OK. You made a couple of mistakes. I hope you realize just how helpful that is to real rookies, like me. I think you did well, considering you were not only inspecting a hive, you were also making a KZfaq video. I know I'm commenting 2 years late, but, thanks for posting this. I find it, along with the comments, were helpful.

From most of the videos I have seen you want to add another box when 7-8 of the frames (in a 10 frame hive) are no longer empty, I assume that is because when the bees find that they are almost out of space they will begin preparing to swarm. I'm only an amateur though so I might be wrong but when 70-80% of the frames are being used by the bees (either full of brood or honey etc) then I would suggest adding an extra box.

No...that much burr comb means we are going to have a rough winter! All my bee keeping friends are reporting the same thing!

Thanks for sharing, mistakes, and all!

Very nice explanation of process. Greetings from Mt. Kozara, Bosnia and Herzegovina...

ah nice to see you put the other two frames back in. :-)

new worker cells built under bottom of frame is indicative of a young queen,also excellent brood pattern indicates same, this hive will not supersede and will not swarm if given adequate space

Loved the video esp the part where you forgot the other 2 frames .Just got my 1st hive this week end , happy to know Im going to make mistakes :)

beautiful looking spot you picked out. Would love to here a little more on the history. When do you plan to start building?

Not going to read all your replies but I am a use ta be bee keeper and had quite a few hives a bout 30 years ago. Lots of things have probably changed but here are my 2Cents. I was alway taught not to leave spaces larger than a bees body around the hive so I do not like your double top and you are getting a lot of comb on the bottoms of your frames so I would suspect that there is too much space down there also.. Bees like all space to be filled and as you are seeing they do a great job of doing that. I never had anywhere near the problem you had pulling off the tops.. my top set right down on the top of the box. Also it looked like you had left out the #3 frame, why? again the same problem and they will build out the cells on the adjacent frames to fill up that space. Never used or had seen that white pull out bottom but don't like the idea of attracting ants etc to the hive. Last thing, I promise, I would find a better way of building up your hives off the ground as two boards just are not giving you enough support as seen as your hive moving around while you are pulling up frames etc. As I said I have not kept bees for a number of years but I am looking to re-bee myself over the next year or so...If my back will allow...oh, oh, take off those queen cells and add another gum as those bees are getting ready to swarm.. Now I stop.

Thanks for this - as a rookie I want to see the real world not the perfection of the pro!

Great video! How to avoid mildew buildup on inside of hive during the winter months when using the silver insulation blanket wrapped around the exterior to keep them warm?

The bur comb may be just what you thought, an indicator of crowding. I read that when you have seven of ten full frames its time to super up. I'm just a novice however. Thanks for sharing.

Hi frank, Good to see things are going better this year. I'm not sure if you've been told this,but if you place a super frame in the brood box. The bees will draw it out to the same size as a brood frame,and the queen will lay drone brood in the newly made comb. If you are drone lite or have a varroa problem you can just cut off the comb and discard the cut off comb. It will reduce your varroa count a lot. Hope this helps.

at 7:20 on the first frame on the back, please notice the bees are starting a new queen, probably getting ready to leave or the first queen has some issues. The cell's in the middle might be empty because the bees hatched there first before the outer ones did.

Im a year 1 novice - thx so much for your effort of making/posting this.

"I hope that's my phone buzzing and not a bee in my pants again". LOL 😅

Mate when looking for the queen I always find it advisable to also look on the inside of the box walls also if your not seeing any eggs I would think about giving them a frame of eggs from one of your other strong colonies just incase.