So far I’ve drifted through different topics making videos. A new year is here and I want to make a master plan.
At some point this spring, I’ll put out a Swarm Trapping DVD, and some videos on how to light a smoker, cover basic equipment, and one on how to get into beekeeping.
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But…
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Now that I have something of a following, I want to hear from YOU what you’d like to see videos on. 
Tell me what Videos You want to see!
2011
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How about some videos about how to get the honey out of the TBH? Or How to tell when honey’s gone bad. Perhaps show how to tell if the hive has mites – what to look for etc.
I just like watching beekeepers do their thing. You, commandoBear2 and theOhioCountryBoy are some of the better ones to watch because of two things: You’re good at narrating what you’re doing and thinking, and most critically, you use a tripod. I hate wobbly beekeeper chase video.
Include lots of video about your cut-out adventures. I think this is fun to see some of the crazy places bees come out of and what it takes to remove them.
I’m sure down in Texas you have to deal with the occasional “Africanized” (we used to call these ‘vicious’) hives and queens. Lets see some queen replacement techniques – ie Order new queens with new genes, bringing in brood from a more gentle hive etc.
Queen rearing in general might be an interesting topic to cover. Raising queen cells, using them to correct vicious or queenless hives etc. This could be shown in several different ways: Using a pick and plastic cups to start queen cells, shuffling young brood into a starter hive.
Swarm catching is always fun to watch, of course.
Hive construction is interesting, particularly in the winter. Langstroth, British Nationals, Top Bar and even whacky things like building them with “Golden Mean” dimensions – to give the brain a some exercise with some simple mathematics.
It might be cool/fun if the opportunity presents itself, to do some actually bee lining and find a hive in the woods or something. Maybe rather than cut it out, put up some swarm catchers around it and catch some “survivor” bees out of good survivor stock.
Maybe try building some pollen patties from scratch. Trap some pollen from a good strong hive, mix it and feed it to a weak or starter colony? I don’t know, something like that might be fun.
Thanks for the fun stuff you’ve already done, and here’s hoping for much more to come!
I’d be interested in video of an observation hive – if the quality was good, and you can ID the queen, etc, I think it could be made into an interesting teaching tool as an app for iPad/iPhone/Android etc. Most of the ones I’ve found are hand-held and shaky, and it’s hard to see the bees because of reflections off the glass.
Beginner organic beekeeping with a top bar hive 101. I’ve never had a hive and want to start but all the schools around my area are in to chemicals. I’d pay for a DVD or a book that you’ve written, but you can’t leave out anything basic assuming we beginners know what you meant because we don’t know.
I love following you videos, thanks so much for all you do.
As a beginner, I am not familiar with the major players involving parasites. It would be helpful to see what is most common, ie mites, shb, and the foulbrood or chalkboard. I know that you might not see all of these on a regular basis, but seeing what to look for and more so some natural remedies if any would be interesting. Afterall, we are trying to keep it simple. I have read that you can uses powdered(confectioners) sugar on the bites to promote grooming, or opening drone cells for example in dealing with mites. Anything else?
respectfully,
John
Hello,
I saw you had some information already on your website regarding pests, but I was hoping to maybe see as a close-up more on these signs and symptoms with pests, as well as some eco friendly/ chemical free ways to battle them. As stated before you do have info on mites, and I dont think you have issues with SHB do you? How about with ants? Here in NC we have the fire ants and the sugar ants. Are there any good ways to defend our hives against fire ants, sugar ants…etc. Maybe some talk about the mediums of platfoms the TBH rest on, legs vs logs vs blocks etc. What home remedies could we employ. I have read about cinnimon and vinegar. I would like best not to use chemicals.
Hey McCartney,
In your Building a Swarm Trap video http://youtu.be/na3owKhF9m4 you detail how you built a swarm trap box, but passed over the Top Bar trap, sorta kinda indicating you might cover that some other time (maybe that was wishful thinking on my part). Any chance you’ll do a quickie on the Top Bar style trap? There are, obviously, different aspects to a Top Bar angled box that would be nice to see explained.
I note that in the Swarm Traps book’s section “Top Bar Hive Option”, you simply use Top Bars in a square box; perhaps you could discuss the differences & benefits (if any) of using an angled box vs a squared box as a Top Bar trap?
Also, a question on that section: would building the box to a dimension where the bars fit *inside* and sit on side supports not be a better solution than the wire-and-screws cover deal to hold down bars sitting on the box sides? With the bars enclosed, this would allow for screwing the cover right onto the box frame, same as you do with the box-style, no? Or is there a reason “standard” Lang boxes would have the Top Bars sit on top? I don’t own nor have played with an actual Lang box so I don’t know if this is the case.
Thanks for your great work here.