Grow Your Own Magazine

Went into my hive yesterday...my first time since autumn.
Found brood (bee larva) eggs and best of all the queen (Atilla the hum)
It all looks good in there...amazing as so many people loose their colonies at this time of year!
I have to remark my queen as the yellow dot on her has almost worn off over winter. Yellow is the code colour for last year. It makes her more easy to find and helps you to know how old she is! If I were to get a new queen this year she would have a red dot on her - a 2008 queen!
I have added the rapid feeder with about a pint of syrup just while weather is unstable and the rape is not yet in flower round here (Oxon)
They are a little light on food, and are bringing in lots of pollen, so the queen is working hard to increase the size of the colony ready for the summer! MORE MOUTHS TO FEED- another good reason to feed them, I thought!
They had made two 'play cups' so I pinched them out- I just know they are going to swarm this summer. So as a beekeeper I will do my very best to stop them!
Play cups- they make a very large acorn looking cell/cup out of wax it hangs down on the frame. Very different from the honey comb most people know. In this they will rear a new queen, once hatched the colony will swarm- this will reduce the amount of nectar gathering bees by as much as half, not good for honey production! and more important -I don't want to bees troubling other people by swarming- not a good PR move for bee keepers! Play cups are just that, a practice run for the real queen cell building!
more up dates later!

It sounds absolutley fascinating!

Do you paint the dots on, what do you use?

Please doo keep us updated, I'm hooked.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Updated - 25th August

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Thanks for that Headfry, I will continue to read with great interest! I haven't seen any bees round here yet, though the gorse is coming out, but the weather is still very cool. Love your queen name!!

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

Wow, thats really fascinating, from what i understood anyway

Do you have any pics?

Hey Wayne - thanks- I still have ooodles to learn, but am loving it!
I catch my queen using a little plastic 1" tube that has a soft foam plunger, using this I very gently push her to the top of container which is covered in mesh. I use what looks like a paint maker pen. With her held softly, I very gently dab a dot on her back, her thorax.
Let her go back where I found her! sometimes the other bees will 'ball' her -kill her! .....not at all good, mine were ok last time and she settled back in well. Fingers crossed for this time.
Birdie Wife - Thank you - Mr Headfry named her! :-)

Clay garden, I not very good at posting pictures. There are a couple on the forum, will try and find them for you.

They were talking about beekeepers on the news on radio 4 this lunch time by the way headfry. They were talking about diseases and stuff, and how popular amateur keepers were now. Well worth a listen.

I cant find it on the web but heres a programme from a couple of years ago about it. Interesting
BBC - Radio 4 - Woman's Hour -Bees

Hi Headfry. My oh is really excited about taking up bee keeping, we have plenty of space and he has begun to amass the kit(so far, veil, gloves, jacket, smoker) but we're a bit stumped as to how to progress. Can you reccomend a really good book for getting started? We're not even sure how you go about obtaining any bees, okr which hive to chose yet!! Rather than go into it blind and possibly provide inaddequate homes for the bees we really need to lean a lot asap!

I once visited a Queen breeder who used tiny adhsive dots to mark her queens. Each one had a number so she could keep track of them when she sent them away for mating.

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Digger-07

"If you think you can, or think you can't, you're right" Henry Ford.

Janna, more great news yet another beekeeper!

Have a look at the other thread in this section...there I list some good books. The best I find (my bible) is Ted Hooper.
If you have the pennies, a new hive is the very best idea- all the bits fit together easy! and you don't have to worry a 'scorching' it to remove the nasty diseases that might be present in a 2nd hand hive.

2nd hand hives are still a good and often cheap way to start, but don't always fit together well. I have a few funny tales concerning an 'old boys' hive that I was kindly given. I spent hours doing it up- what a complete sod to work with, bit A would only fit with bit D and only if it went a certain way round etc, all to be worked out with hundreds of now angry bees about. Stress, stress and more stress- not good for me as a complete beginer!

A WBC hive is pretty but has an outer- normally white, and an inner section to deal with- twice the work, twice the bent over lifting type of work- how is your back?

A National hive which is very popular in UK and is just, just a pile of wooden
boxes really! less obvious to mischief makers ie; kids who think it fun to knock them over, bless.
I have had both and would always go for the National, it's quick to work with and there is far less lifting and working out what goes where. If your site is exposed however then a WBC offers more protection as it is double layered or If your want traditional looks go for the lovely white WBC.

What area do you live in? Look at the British Beekeepers Associations web site.
Do they have any contacts in your area? Evening classes are a great start to beekeeping, and you should have easy access to swarms, a good way to get your first bees!
Does this help at all?

I was reading about bees in the Times last week & it was saying that the government is going to enlist more beekeepers to act as inspectors due to the increase in problems which are killing bee colonies. It sounds a fascinating hobby - though a bit tense what with the chance of the other bees killing your queen, mites getting into the hive, the bees swarming etc., not the gentle hobby you'd imagine! Here's a link to the Times item.
Dad’s Army to defend honey bees against deadly foreign pests - Times Online

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

I once read a quote by bob flowerdew that hives are best opened and delt with in the afternoons only...... as i work, i thought that was the end of that for me.... but as a beekeeper Headfry, is this true....?

Also do Bees really have a 'cleansing flight' in the spring where they poo all over the washing on the line...?

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I wish i could make a yo-yo work.
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Link to Hedfrys other thread with photos in.... My bees!

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I wish i could make a yo-yo work.
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

This is truly a very interesting thread. Thankyou to all who have contributed especially you Sue who obviously have a real "feel" for the bees in your care.

I am following this with great interest even though it will take a lot of persuading to get OH to agree to my keeping bees

That won't stop me trying though

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A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)

Seasprout, Hi and thanks for doing the link thingy.
Mid day opening of the hive- Main reasons for doing it at this time of the day are two fold.
A good proportion of your bees will be out foraging, so less bees at home! makes life much more easy when checking through the frames. Also, the weather is often warm at this time of day.
It's very easy to chill the brood (eggs and larva). I once went into to the bees without any bee gear on, the first thing I noticed was how warm to hive was! I was amazed at the heat coming from the hive.... wearing gloves most of the time I had never noticed this before.
The only time I have ever 'bottled it' when doing the bees was one afternoon, gosh they were angry, came at me like little spitfires- yeep I bottled out, shut the hive up quick smart, had to go for a long walk to get the bees of my clothing. Within the hour- a HUGE thunder storm arrived. The bees knew!
So a good weather eye helps. Don't go in there if thunder is on the way!
I work full time so have to make many evening hive visits, the bees are fine, and in the summer they are most often still out working. Come to think of it, all our evening classes were just that- evening sessions!
so no worries there.
I Lifted the lid on my little box of tricks when I got home from work yesterday, the syrup (thick sugar and water solution) I had put on Saturday had almost all gone! so made Mr HF's breakfast and the 'girls' supper this morning.
I will add the syrup this evening. Rape almost in flower now which means I should be able to stop feeding and start to think HONEY :-)
Sorry if I waffle on,
Scarey55, don't give up theres plenty of time. sometimes at country shows they have a Viewing hive. you can see the bees working, most are so fascinated by this- maybe a good starting point for OH ;-)

If you want to make an hour or so's drive from you HF, the rape is blooming here. Stick the hive in the back of the car, drive over, let the bees have a nice day out, then take them home again ready for bed time.

Cool eh?

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - Updated - 25th August

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HeyWayne thanks, If it were Broad beans I might take you up on it!

Hi Headfry, thanks for the tip, have ordered the Ted Hooper book, and he's excitedly trawling the net for suppliers of the national hive, honey here we come!

Great news Janna, email Thornes and get a catalogue sent through....great for reference!
Where are you based?

Hi again Headfry, we're near Frome in Somerset. I've got a price list from a company called fragile planet, they are selling a 5 frame nucleus, with a carnolian queen, bees, hatching brood and eggs for £125, do you reckon this is a good bet?
They sell hives from reclaimed timber for £99, do you know if hives come in standardised sizes or if I were to get one of these I'd be limited to products from them, it doesn't say national on it?
Thanks for being there!!!

I'd love to keep Bees!

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Always aim for the best result possible not the best possible result

Peanut aka Joanna

£125 for bees.... that sounds a lot, but you get what you pay for, calm bees and you would expect them to be disease free. With 5 frames it's a good start!
A swarm is free, but is 'unknown' but not a ££££'s loss if something goes wrong! just a thought!

Yes hives do come in standard sizes, though some people like to tweak them a bit. You would need to choose the type of hive you want. ie, National, WBC, commercial etc.
Most beginers go for the National or maybe the WBC.
Take the National hive, It should not matter who you buy it from, it should always have the same dimensions. I would ask them what type of hive it was....You will need to know this. Does the hive come with frames, foundation, roof, crown board? more question that I would ask. A lot of us are using open mesh floors....to try and help with reducing varroa mites. Has it this type of floor.
When you extract the honey :-) some spinners/extractors work better with standard sized frames (where the honey is stored - honey comb) so that would be another reason to choose a standard sized hive. Some types of hives run on 'top' bee space and some on 'bottom' bee space. Again you would want to know about this too.
It sounds complicated but will come clear with time- don't panic.
I will have a look to see if 'Fragile Planet has a web site. I wont be able to report back till monday though - sorry.
Buy the way £99 is good if it's a whole hive! Mine are cedar so they will last, but I paid the higher price for that! I looked at it as a long term investment that the bees will pay for themselves ....I will sell some honey to get money back.

Peanut.....bees are fab! I spend hours watching mine. Went in the hive sunday.
Football match on in village. People watching match. Hive backs onto village playing field,behind hege. I am busy talking to my girlies, trying to find queenie-- asking them to "take me to your leader" said in gruff voice effect...some old boy watching the match shouted across..."you alright love"! I had to laugh.