Starting bees again.

[mrsbusy]

Just thought I would say hi. Several years ago - well 4 - having spent a year learning in evening classes and joining a couple of clubs and attending make your own hives workshop, I had a lovely summer with 2 populated hives - one lot didn't stay long and the other was a very docile small colony who were taken over by wasps.
The following years were busy with other things until now.
The hives are dusted down and I have bees to hive tonight.
I am feeling very rusty but reading up again and hoping all goes well!

[burnie]

Good luck, never kept them but the idea appeals, but I am on a sugar free diet now so maybe not a good idea for me lol.

[mothhawk]

Bees are so self sufficient - that's what I love about them. I picked up a swarm last weekend from the churchyard in the next village, very conveniently settled on a headstone, so an easy job. My first swarm collection. As i didn't want any more bees I donated them to my local association to give out to a new beekeeper - the beginners course has almost finished. I got my first bees simply by setting up a hive and waiting. It took a year, but eventually a swarm moved in.

[nickdub]

I've had two swarms in the last week. One I had to go a few miles to collect, but the other just arrived and conveniently moved into an old hive that was empty. :-)

I got one shock looking for some old kit to re-use when I opened another old hive and found it had been taken over by bumblebees, they were not please with me and went off like furry little fireworks ! Fortunately, I had my bee suit on, so I wasn't stung.

[Nicos]

What an interesting thread...how are you getting on mrsbusy?

[mrsbusy]

What an interesting thread...how are you getting on mrsbusy?

Hi. So far so good - the bees hived yesterday evening - some didn't go in the hive and stayed on the outside of the hive but went in ok later this morning. They've been busy coming and going all day. I'll add some photos

[mothhawk]

I had some scouts extremely interested in my nuc box at home, and was on the point of allowing them to have it if they wanted, but then 2 or 3 of them started to hassle me in the garden, not high pitch "I'm going to sting" but in my face "go away" types. I decided I could do without those sort of bees and removed the box indoors. After a day they gave up searching for it.

[mrsbusy]

The second swarm I had was an aggressive bunch of bees - I only had them 2 days - they hived perfectly then swarmed again the next day into my neighbours garden. I went and got them back and rehived them. The next day they swarmed again and went right away - I had no idea where they went but to be honest we found them much too feisty - they came at you if you got too close. The other hive was lovely - you could almost out your head in the hive and they just were not bothered. Sadly they could not defend themselves against wasp robbers as they were a very small colony. So far this swarm is quite docile but time will tell - once they have stores of honey and pollen and eggs they will be much more protective.