Wallace Family Apiary

A diary of our Apiary and our Beekeeping work

We are back

I took a break from writing on our beekeeping blog.  I was reading the October issue of The American Bee Journal, and came across an article about the Glacier Honey Company. I read the article and enjoyed the beautiful photos of this companies outfit.  BTW, I’ve been to Glacier National Park, and it is beautiful. So, I checked out their web site, and ran across their WordPress blog: www.glaciercountyhoney.Wordpress.com . It made me think about my blog, and here I am.

Happy beekeeping! Be sure to visit the Glacier County Honey company, and enjoy this short nuc vdeo.

Santiago & Angela Wallace

October 12, 2011 Posted by | acupuncture, Agriculture, All things honey, American Beekeeping, American Honey, and bottom boards, and queen rearing, Apiarist, beekeeping | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Introducing the Wallace-Harper 3 frame and two frame mating Nuc

Hello all and Welcome to this posting from the Wallace Family Apiary. We are in the process of rearing local queens and making up 5 frame nucs. We are pleased to have some new equipment to the Wallace Family Apiary.
Introducing the Wallace-Harper mating nuc. The Wallace-Harper mating nuc comes in two sizes. The three frame mating nucs are made up of three medium frames 6 5/8. The two frame Wallace-Harper mating nuc are mating nucs utilizing two deep size frames 9 5/8. Designed by the Wallace Family Apiary and Harper’s Wood Shop, created/built by Harper’s Wood Shop

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Happy Beekeeping!

 

Update on t he Wallace-Harper mating Nucs 10/12/11:  Although the three frame Wallace-Harper mating nucs worked out well, the two frame Wallace-Harper mating nucs did not.  The two frame Wallace-Harper frames did not work primarly because the walls where just two thick. The thick walls made for the colonies over-heating during the very hot August Months.  Will continue to use the three frame Wallace-Harper Nucs…although I’m going to design a better lid.

Again, Happy Beekeeping!

April 23, 2011 Posted by | beekeeping | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Episode 1 My visit with a commercial beekeeper

A beekeeper smoking a hive.

Image via Wikipedia

This is one of my favorite beekeeping videos I’ve made.  I hope you listen and enjoy it as much as I enjoyed producing  it.  As the title suggests, It’s about my visit with a commercial beekeeper and the enormous information I learned from working side-by-side with his crew. 

Santiago & Angela

Wallace Family Apiary

April 1, 2011 Posted by | Agriculture, All things honey, American Beekeeping, Apiarist, apiary, apiculture, apimondia, apis mellifera, Backyard Apiary, backyard beekeeping, Bee Friendly FarmingTM, beekeepers, beekeeping, beekeeping blog, beekeeping hive, beekeeping in Florida, Beekeeping in North Florida, beekeeping podcast, Beekeeping videos, bees, Bees and Beekeeping, Biodiversity, Blackfoot Daisy, Blog, Blogroll, branding hives, Commercial Beekeeping, Country living, Farming, Florida, Florida Beekeeping, food, Food&Nutrition, Garden, gardening, Hobby, hobby beekeeping, Hobby Farm, home and garden, honey and honey bees, honey bee, honeybee, Keeping bees in the country, Kenya top bar hive, Lawn and Garden, Mead, News, North America Beekeeping, North Florida, North Florida Beekeeping, Organic, organic beekeeping, Organic Farming, Organic garden, pollination, pollination and pollinators, pollinator, save the bees, sustainability, Sustainable Beekeeping, tbh, Top bar, Top Bar beekeeping, Uganda Honey, Uncategorized, urban beekeeping, Urban Bees, Urban Homesteading, video, Wallace Family Apiary, Wildflower Honey, wildlife | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Colony Splits and Divisions, easy and without a mated queen

2010 Queen Bee of the Year

Image by steveburt1947 via Flickr

“let no one tell you he can beat nature in rearing queens” – Jay Smith author of, “Better Queens”.  It’s been 62 years since Mr. Smith’s book, and  he still has it right…let no one tell you otherwise!

Early this month I wanted to increase the number of colonies in our apiary by two.  Trying to find mated queens for sale, was impossible.  Most of the queen breeders I knew either didn’t have any mated queens for sale, or all of their queens where already sold.  I said to myself, “Santiago, honey bee colonies have been rearing their own queens for years, without any help from man.  When push comes to shove; given the right conditions, the right resources, and a bit of good weather, they could make excellent queens.  I bet the bees can rear queens better than any queen breeder ever could”.

I made two splits from two of my best colonies, back on March 2nd, 2011.  I looked into the colonies today, and I saw two of the best looking honey bee queens I have ever seen.  What I want to pass on to you, (my readers), is that you too, can make splits/divisions and not buy a mated honey bee queen.  Buying mated queens is not a bad thing, don’t get me wrong, but there maybe a time when allowing the bees to raise a queen is ok……after all, they do it all the time. I’m including a video, of myself and two of my daughters discussing how we split a colony without a mated queen.  The video  we made is  from several still photos and three short video clips combined to make a video, and we dubbed over the sound with our discussion.  This is an excellent post and especially the video that will leave you with a little bit of beekeeping knowledge in splits/divisions that is invaluable.  Enjoy the video and Happy Beekeeping,

Santiago and Angela Wallace

featuring Brittany and Sara Wallace

Wallace Family Apiary

March 27, 2011 Posted by | Agriculture, All things honey, American Beekeeping, American Honey, Apiarist, apiary, apiculture, apis mellifera, Art, Backyard Apiary, backyard beekeeping, beekeepers, beekeeping, beekeeping blog, beekeeping hive, beekeeping in Florida, Beekeeping in North Florida, Beekeeping videos, bees, Bees and Beekeeping, Biodiversity, Blog, Blogroll, Central Florida, Country living, Florida, Florida Beekeeping, food, Garden, gardening, grafting, Green/Sustainability, Hobby, hobby beekeeping, Hobby Farm, honey and honey bees, honey bee, honeybee, Keeping bees in the country, Native plants, News, North America Beekeeping, North Florida, North Florida Beekeeping, Organic, organic beekeeping, Organic Farming, Organic garden, Overwintering Honey bee colonies, pollination, pollination and pollinators, pollinator, pollinators, queen rearing, save the bees, small scale farming, sustainability, Sustainable Beekeeping, Top Bar beekeeping, Uganda Honey, Uncategorized, urban beekeeping, Urban Bees, video, Wallace Family Apiary | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Honey bee on the Spiderwort and Blackberry Flowers

Today my two daughters and I went outside to look at the progress of our family garden.  We brought our camera along and got some photos of the bees on the Spiderwort and Blackberry flowers.  enjoy the photos and Happy Beekeeping!

Wallace Family Apiary

March 22, 2011 Posted by | Agriculture, All things honey, American Beekeeping, American Honey, Apiarist, apiary, apiculture, apis mellifera, Bee Friendly FarmingTM, beekeepers, beekeeping blog, beekeeping hive, Beekeeping in North Florida, bees, Bees and Beekeeping, Blog, Blogroll, Country living, Farming, Florida, Florida Beekeeping, food, Food&Nutrition, Garden, gardening, Green/Sustainability, Hobby, Hobby Farm, home and garden, honey and honey bees, honey bee, honeybee, Keeping bees in the country, Kenya top bar hive, Langstroth Frames, Native plants, News, North America Beekeeping, North Florida, North Florida Beekeeping, Organic, organic beekeeping, Organic Farming | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

The Nectar flow is on

Honey in honeycombs

Image via Wikipedia

The Honey bees are bringing in the nectar and bringing it in heavy.  I checked on the colonies yesterday, ( 3/18/2011), and I had capped honey and lots of nectar in all of the colonies.  The Wallace Family Apiary 1st Honey Harvest of 2011 will soon be here.  I checked on the wild blackberry in the back yard and they have buds opening all over.  In this area the gallberry nectar flow is a combination of blackberry and gallberry….so soon the galberry flow will be in full swing.  I’ve seen the bees on the clover so it should be a nice wild-berry Honey harvest.  I’ve included a video and you can see the bees are very active, flying in and out like “gangbusters”.  Enjoy the fun video and Happy Beekeeping!

Santiago and Angela Wallace

Wallace Family Apiary

March 19, 2011 Posted by | Agriculture, All things honey, American Beekeeping, American Honey, Apiarist, apiary, apiculture, apis mellifera, Art, Backyard Apiary, backyard beekeeping, beekeepers, beekeeping, beekeeping blog, beekeeping hive, Beekeeping in North Florida, Beekeeping videos, bees, Bees and Beekeeping, Biodiversity, Blog, Country living, Florida, Florida Beekeeping, Food&Nutrition, gardening, Hobby, Hobby Farm, home and garden, honey and honey bees, honey bee, honeybee, Langstroth Frames, langstroth hive, Lawn and Garden, News, North America Beekeeping, North Florida, North Florida Beekeeping, Organic, organic beekeeping, Organic Farming, Organic garden, pollination, pollination and pollinators, pollinator, pollinators, save the bees, small scale farming, sustainability, Sustainable Beekeeping, Syngenta, Tomatoes, Uganda Honey, Uncategorized, Urban Bees, Wallace Family Apiary, wildlife | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Full circle

Well, here I am 4 years of beekeeping under my belt. I’ve done numerous splits/divisions, reared queens, completed several bee removals, caught a few swarms, and even pollinated commercial and private groves and crops. The reason I got into beekeeping was because, my garden did not do as well as I had hoped.  Specific fruits, (cantaloupe, pumpkins, and cucumbers), didn’t bear fruit. In my investigation and research I learned it was because of lack of feral pollinators, specifically honey bees. I immersed myself into honey bees and beekeeping, and ditched the gardening. Four years later, we have another garden, it’s actually my wife’s garden. This past Sunday we, (four of my daughters, my wife and myself) ,planted tons of fruits and vegetables ….this time we have several colonies, no more than 30 yards from where the honey bees are. So, I guess you could say…I’ve come full circle,  and now we will see if they will bear fruit. Wish us luck, and be prepared for tons of photos as the garden progresses.
Happy Beekeeping and look for my future posts of how our garden is doing.

I  wanted to mention our beekeeping blog has passed the 6,000 visitor mark.  That number is from the United states and 92 other countries. check this out: http://s05.flagcounter.com/countries/CNy

March 15, 2011 Posted by | Agriculture, All things honey, American Beekeeping, American Honey, and bottom boards, and queen rearing, Apiarist, apiary, apiculture, backyard beekeeping, beekeepers, beekeeping, beekeeping and tomatoes, beekeeping blog, beekeeping hive, Beekeeping in North Florida, bees, Bees and Beekeeping, Biodiversity, Blog, Blogroll, Boy Scouts of America, BSA, Central Florida, Citrus, colony collapse disorder, Country living, enviornment, Farming, Florida, Florida Beekeeping, food, Food&Nutrition, Garden, gardening, Green/Sustainability, Hobby, Hobby Farm, home and garden, honey and honey bees, honey bee, honeybee, Keeping bees in the country, Langstroth Frames, langstroth hive, Lawn and Garden, live bee removal, Native plants, News, North America Beekeeping, North Florida, North Florida Beekeeping, organic beekeeping, Organic Farming, Organic garden, pollination, pollination and pollinators, pollinator, pollinators, Producing queens from survival stock, save the bees, small scale farming, Survival stock colonies, sustainability, Sustainable Beekeeping, Tomatoes, Uganda Honey, Uncategorized, urban beekeeping, Urban Bees, Urban Homesteading, Wallace Family Apiary, wildlife | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Happy Birthday Brittany

Brittany and her nuc

Brittany Happy 18th Birthday!!! I can’t believe my little girl just turned 18! I hope your birthday is wonderful!
Love DaD

 

March 2, 2011 Posted by | apiary, backyard beekeeping, beekeeping, Uncategorized, Wallace Family Apiary | , | Leave a Comment

Happy Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you have a BEEutiful Birthday….I have to keep the blog some what bee related.  I Love you Honey!!!! Stay Sweet!!!!

February 23, 2011 Posted by | beekeeping | , , , | 1 Comment

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