Yeah true, I believe the queen has to have her wings clipped and also, as Whele pointed out, the cold blooded heartless murder of the drones is a necessity to keep the risk of mites down although you can add treatments also to minimise the risk. Yes, another factor is taking holidays and having someone in place to look after your babys Nothing yet has put me clean out of the running for keeping honey bees but I am still investigating and learning as it is a commitment. Whele, my bait box (i think that's what he called it) has a number of the chimney posse working in it but I assume they are doomed without a queen present? I think they are making honeycombs and i notice a lot of little white specs around the entrance similar to sugar grains but am not sure what these are. What options do I have at the moment, should I buy a hive and a queen ? Would the current bees accept the purchased queen? Do I need to buy a queen with some drones or workers attached to her? I am reading but it is a lot to take in. A friend of mine has two hives and he basically just leaves them to it. Sometimes they swarm and bugger off but are often replaced within 12 months or so. His seem to survive without any real input from him. Thanks Phil
The hives are expensive, but look like something you could build yourself, if you have spare time. I recall being surprised at the amount of bee keeping groups keen to give advice and training. They run courses, I don't like courses. Could save money on clothing, just use your biking gear and some duck tape. Great for the environment. We need the wee buggers.
Odd that you should worry about that when the cold blooded heartless murder of the mites does not seem to trouble you.
Very quiet on the Bee front this weekend, had none enter the living room and little action in the box outside. I am wondering if they don't bother coming out at all in torrential rain.
Your right, they are like Ducati owners and hate rain, they will spend their time in the hive making comb and eating honey rather than getting wet. Only after about 4 days to they venture out for nectar. As for your nuke box (bait box is fishing ), if they are making comb look for sealed cells, this is honeycombs with a wax cap on the top. If the cap is white it is honey, but if the cap is dark colour its brood (baby bees), and that means you have a laying queen present. If you have a mate with a hive you can make a queen yourself! Watch the linked youtube video, it really does work. Obviously you buy a frame (that fits your nuke box) and modify it as show by Fat Bee bloke, ask your mate to donate a few viable eggs from his hive, follow the process in the video, put it in your mates hive and after a few days look for downward facing cells being filled with a larva and royal jelly. When you see the jelly inside transfer the frame into your nuke box and the bees will continue to feed the emerging queens. The first queen to be born will then go out a kill all the other queen laurve. She will go for a fly, shag some bees from another village (for Norfolk folk - thats how they avoid in breeding ) and come back and start laying eggs. She will never fly off unless the hive becomes overcrowded and a new queen is born. Only then will she leave the hive with a few faithful followers. That’s what creates a swarm. There is no need to clip the wings; it’s an old practice to stop the swarm flying too far away. Some people mark the queen with a spot of paint, I don’t bother, sometimes I see her when I open the hive, she is easy to spot as she is twice the size of workers, but importantly the bees know she is there. Even if you accidentally squash the queen during a hive inspection, the bees will make another queen within a few weeks. Unless you go away on vacation for 3 months or longer, they will be fine by themselves, as you say I am sure they will miss you though! I perform an inspection usually every 10 to 12 days, but if I go away 20 or 25 days has never been a problem, unlike the pussy! Making your own hive is possible, I do it as I enjoy woodwork, but honestly, its a little cheaper than buying a hive, but red cedar is not cheap wood to buy and it takes a whole weekend to make a hive with 2 honey supers. As I said before, polly hives are the best way to go for new beekeeper’s, they are cheap as chips, lightweight even when fully of honey and they over-winter better. When you decide if it’s for you, then you can move to wooden hives. Only problem I have found with polly hives is they break when you step on them during hive inspections!
Whele, again, excellent assistance thank you! The bee man who left the nuke box is on holiday until next week so I am unable to look inside yet. I had not seen anything other than a dead bee outside the entrance until yesterday when a half dozen or so popped out, one flew off and the others went back in as it has rained pretty much non stop for a few days here. I have had nothing come down the chimney all weekend. The last one I found in the living room looked like a drone, I rescued him, put him next to the nuke box outside but he flew off. I am going to ask my mate to help me in the making of a queen. As I said, he has a hive but he is not really very knowledgeable on bee keeping, he simply lets them get on with it and takes some honey. The video is a big help. The only issue I see at the moment is the transfer of the current bees from the loaned nuke into a new home. Would I need to buy a nuke or could I move the bees directly into a polly hive? If you would be kind enough, could you point me at a cheaper end polly hive please ? Would I need a cage for the queen and feeder trays etc? I have a sloped roof steel bike garage which I would be putting the hive on. I won't do anything just yet until the bee man returns just in case there is a queen in the nuke. Again, thanks for the reply Whele
Once you have some queen cells with larvae and royal jelly inside, this frame can be transferred together with the bees from the nuke box directly into a full size hive. You don't need queen cages or anything else. I have just been looking at sites, full size poly hives are bloody expensive, so maybe I take back what I said, start with a wooden hive. here are a few suggestions - cheapest place to buy is Solway Bee Supplies - Beekeeping Equipment and Apiary Supplies They are a bit overworked, so sometimes delivery takes a few weeks and may need you to chase them up, but its a one man band, so he is busy at this time of year. This is a complete starter kit made of hardwood, it doesn't need painting, just a bit of linseed oil a couple of times a year (with the bees still in). Soft wood needs painting which you cant do with the bees inside. Ive suggested a Langstroth hive, they are universal. Because the brood box is big, you only need one. (Brit Nat hives need 2 bood boxes). 2 honey boxes (called supers) will be all you ever need to go on top in the summer. 10 brood frames and 10 honey super frames will be enough for the first year. you will not need the second super this year. so thats a complete assembled hive with assembled frames for £200. the bottom picture is a top feeder which you will need in late autumn to early spring, here is the cheapest I could find Mann Lake UK Langstroth Top Feeder with 4 5/8" (11.76 cm) Super Only other stuff you need is a bellow type smoker, big flat blade screwdriver, a pair of heavy duty marigold gloves and an old summer hat with a mozzy net around stitched around the brim. Watch a few more of fat bee mans early videos, he has a no bullshit simple way of bee keeping.
Another very interesting book I have read is 'The Urban Beekeeeper',written by Steve Benbow.Fabulous and informative book,the guy also runs a number of hives across Londons landmarks.A great read,and a lot in it for the novice,including the ups and downs of beekeeping.
Thanks Whele, Excellent info as usual. I will have a thorough look at the solway website. Still no sign of my bees. I have placed some sugary water next to the nuke box to try and encourage them out for a sup, that's if they are still in there.
If you're starting out I'd suggest a National is easier. I normally managed with a single brood box and moved the queen guard up if it got full. The frames are a bit easier to handle when full of brood. Not shopped for a few years but I got my hive and frames as flat pack which was the cheaper option. The local BBKA is a good source for mentors and advice. Also a source for swarms and queens. Upside is that it takes up little time and is rewarding. Kids love to get involved, and of course the honey. Downside is swarming, veroa, collony collapse, and woodpeckers if you're rural. A neighbour has just bought frames for their hive which have a system for extracting the honey without removing the frames. It comes from NZ. HTH
GULP, woodpeckers, yeah one often in the wood behind my house. I am still waiting for my bee's to show from the nuke box. Not looking good, I fear they have buggered off.
