News from the hive!

[Headfry]

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!

[HeyWayne]

It sounds absolutley fascinating!

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

Please doo keep us updated, I'm hooked.

[Birdie Wife]

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!!

[ClayGarden]

Wow, thats really fascinating, from what i understood anyway

Do you have any pics?

[Headfry]

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! :-)

[Headfry]

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

[ClayGarden]

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.

[ClayGarden]

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

[Janna]

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!

[Digger-07]

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.

[Headfry]

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?

[SueA]

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

[seasprout]

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...?

[seasprout]

Link to Hedfrys other thread with photos in.... http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ees_14682.html

[scarey55]

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