Bees, on your plot.

[Plot17B]

Iam a bit off topic here , but we have a bees nest in an area we need to walk through, they are nesting underground and we don,t want to hurt them ,but don,t want to be stung either!does anyone know what time they go to bed so we can collect our water , ! advice please!

We mentioned above about flightpaths. That's the most aggravating thing for the girls and without that or any other direct interference, will just ignore you. If they do bump into you, they'll just come back for a nosey and wonder at what they unexpectedly hit. Just don't flap or run around.....just keep walking slowly and even the guards will pootle off when they realise they are not under attack. They are sweeties really.


So can you force the bees to divert their flight away from your footpath? Some soft fencing or tall plant in a pot or something? Or some pallets or other temporary object? Just to divert their flight into the nest entrance away from your to'ig and fro'ing. Make them go upwards quickly and they'll be above your heads. Simple fix and works a treat. Wont take them long to adjust and you can all live happily together no matter what time of day.

Will usually be early eve when they settle to bed though and things quieten down.

P17B

[moggssue]

There are no bee keepers on my allotment - and hardly any bees either it seems I would be very supportive and encouraging of anyone wanting to start one up, as I'm sure most of my fellow plot holders would be.

Go for it Mikey - I would definitely be all in favour, I love bees!!

Is it true that you can get 200 jars of honey from one hive?? That seems an awful lot to someone as ignorant about these things as me?!

[JILLY JACKSON]

Thanks for link plot,will investigate further.

[Headfry]

Moggssue, I am sure an old boy in the village where I kept my first lot bees said he got close on 200 jars and held a record for it.
It all depends on what nectar crops are about, and the weather. They grew lucerene in my village- fields of it, whole area would smell of clover! bliss and sooooo much honey in the hives, could hardly keep up with it!
lovely fine grain honey when it set (took ages to set) beautiful stuff!
It's rape (yuck) here in Oxon, not even much of that this year????
My bees are having to hunt hard for food this year, and the weather is ....pants!

GardeningIM......most bees don't like hair, they get caught and then frightened so might well sting!
as p17b states- try not to panic, and please don't wave your arms about!
Try to think of how that tiny little bee must feel ;-)

[moggssue]

[QUOTE=Headfry;247711]They grew lucerene in my village- fields of it, whole area would smell of clover! bliss and sooooo much honey in the hives, could hardly keep up with it!
lovely fine grain honey when it set (took ages to set) beautiful stuff!
It's rape (yuck) here in Oxon, not even much of that this year????
My bees are having to hunt hard for food this year, and the weather is ....pants!

QUOTE]

So, being nosey now sorry, what do you do with all your honey HF??

[Headfry]

Hi Moggssue,

Well, when I was in the 'lucerene' area I would sell it at the door, village shop and village fair.

Here in Oxon, when I (if) I get any then I will sell it at door and maybe if I have enough, at the village fair, I also have a lady who has a shop and she waiting for some supplies!

All the beekeepers in this area that I know are struggling this year! It's quite a worry. I am not worried about the lack of 'sales' but more over the health of my girls!

[gardening in mind]

thanks for the info p17b ,headfry,we will attempt to divert them or we will have to leave them in peace.Another question though , do they leave the nest at the end of summer,they are bumble bees.?

[Plot17B]

Hiya,
Yeah, most likely to be bumble bees at ground level really. They don't reuse nests and the queen overwinters alone, as most of her colony don't survive it. She then pootles about in Spring foraging and searching for a new suitable nest site. So they will be there for just one season aka a couple more months in your case. Once she's gone though, block the nest entrance so it's not reused by anyone.

Which raises the question in my mind...the queen departs the nest to overwinter, which is why it is safe to block the entrance without harming her. Where does she overwinter?

We've had a bumble bee nests in our garden for 3 years now, through a gap in some rocks next to the pond. Could be same queen not venturing too far, could be luck. Dunno really. Never caused any probs tho. Are cute little chubby things
P17B

[gardening in mind]

cheers for the info p17b,I think we will leave them to buzz about for the next couple of months,then block the hole up. I always get a smile out of seeing a big bumble bee going about his business, they are lovely creatures. Jacki.

[Scubabe]

Question for the beekeepers on the site :
Do all honeybees have a sting?

I would *desperately* love to keep bees at home, but hubby is dead against it, even though we've an enormous yard and I could probably hide them so he would never see them... I certainly would never get bees without his okay, but trying to convince him that they're not all out to kill him is really hard.

Are there some species of honeybee which are more docile than others? Or some which don't sting at all?

*wistfully wishing for bees*.... Ness

[Headfry]

Hi Scubabe,
well it depends, if you take the hive as a whole then yes there is the potential to get stung.
Queen - has a sting, rarely uses it
workers have stings and will use them
drones (male bees) have NO stings! ( but don't collect honey either)

You can get more or less docile bees, but this would be an on going job to insure the colony stays that way. As any new queen will mate with any drone, ill tempered or not!
Why don't you both go to a bee keeping class..... ?

I have had hives in my garden and mostly you would never have known that they were there, unless they swarm.

Where on the county line are you Scubabe? if you wish to see mine I would be more than happy to have your company one evening ( both of you)