| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Sally |
BEES! Bees in the garden! 2 happy hives!Hello folks, I haven't posted here for a while but was delighted to find a few "bee" threads - which I've just spent some time reading.My husband is keen to keep bees, and has infected me with the bug too. He has joined the local Bee Keeping Club, but not yet done a course. Anyway I was chatting in work about his enthusiasm, and discovered a colleague keeps 8 hives! So I kept asking questions over coffee (admittedly very little prompting was required) and last week the friend said he'd show us the inside of one of his hives. Well we were out on Tuesday evening - all dressed in borrowed bee kit -and it was fascinating. OH said he has dreamt bees the last few nights! 
And now our good friend has said he will split a hive to give us a nuc in May or so.  Can't wait.
So I'm delighted to find a few bee folk on here. I'll let you know how we get on. Any other newbs? I've got to admit I was delighted that I felt confident round the hive even when a number flew out and round us. |
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| Tavascarow |
Infectious hobby isn't it.
Good luck with your new venture.
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| Sally |
Hey you're up early! And I love you avatar. Thanks for the encouragement.
Has anyone read Sue Hubbell's Book of Bees? It's a lovely ramble through a year of beekeeping and really helped to enthuse me. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Bees-Keep-Them/dp/0395883245/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_ttl_in Well worth a read I think. It's funny the knock on effects - I've an area now I plan to plant in clover just for when the bees arrive. The flower garden now seems more important again, having taken a back seat to veg in the last few years! |
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| Mrs Baggins |
Good morning Sally! Well chuffed to find another budding bee buddy on here!
I know what you mean, I have been thinking about bees, bees and more bees for weeks now! The other day I went out my front door only to hear this humming noise. There is a bush beside the door and it was buzzing. I ran and got the kids and we sat there for ages watching honey bees doing their thing. It was fab.
I was explaining to the kids what they were up to and we are all excited about having bees this year. I am on a few swarm lists and one catcher I contacted has offered to give me a shout when a suitable swarm comes up and let me come catch it myself! Really excited about that. So good luck! I am sue we will be chatting more over the coming months! |
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| Sally |
 Hi Mrs Baggins, I've read a few of your posts. Here's hoping your swarm comes good soon. Our nuc is still a "maybe & if everything goes well" thing, but I'm hopeful.
Not much bee activity round here yet.... although it could be because I am in work most of the day when the sun is out 
We have bought a National Hive which is waiting to be assembled. (And now it's the weekend! Yay!) I have also bought Ted Hooper's "Guide to Bees & Honey" which our mentor said was THE book to buy! It has just arrived today. So after a busy day at work I'm about to curl up for half an hour with it and a cuppa.... I'll probably just look at the pictures first! 
What ages are your children? My youngest is 12 and already taller than me, so when our bee kit arrives she'll be able to wear my stuff if she wants to get close. We have just bought gloves and jackets with attached veils. I have good gardening dungarees (which I usually wear over my jeans) and wellies so I don't think I'll need a full suit. I'm told that it's easiest to work in pairs. Sally |
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| Ginkotree |
I too was taken to look at my friends hives this week. It was amazing as I have never looked inside a hive before but she had a glass top under the roof so it was not going to let the bees get cold by lifting the lid. We have had some nice weather but it has still been cold so the activity was subdued but I did see some going in with pollen on thier legs.
Isnt it lovely to have a good excuse to grow flowers as well as veg, They love my lavenders but I am told that Privit flowers make poisonous honey ..there is so much to learn.
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| Mrs Baggins |
Thx Sally, I would love the chance to catch my own swarm so fingers crossed.
I started off wanting nucs but they were a 'mare to track down, dead expensive and all of them MILES away. Then I decided that I'd rather avoid using 2nd hand comb and thought about a package of bees until finally I conceded defeat and accepted that I was going to try with swarms. Apparently the swarming season is good here so hoping that I get lucky with 1. My kids are 2 and a half and 1 and a half, so not quite big enough for bee suits yet BUT I would like to make an observation hive for them. We'll see if that ever happens LOL. I just thought it would be interesting to do. I got the Ted Hooper book too and the Bee friendly garden one that he did. Both really good, but my personal fav so far is The Buzz about Bees by Jurgen Tautz. The photography is amazing. Even if all you want to do to a bee when you see it is squash it flat - you would still be impressed! Hoping to get my hives from my tutor this weekend. Yay! Will be wearing my new snot green (sold as khaki but it is really snot green) bee suit that arrived today. I got a Sheriff Apiarist with washable leather gauntlets that turned out to be free. Hadn't realised that when I ordered. BARGAIN! |
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| mousjoos |
As an aside, I always wanted to keep bees & used to live a few houses away from Ted Hooper..... boring but true | ||
| Sally |
Well OH and I are now on a glass or two of red wine & I've been "reading" Ted Hooper's book (okay mostly pictures and the odd bit randomly through the book) while he's building the hive to Chris de Burgh music (does that date us?) .... so far only the lid is constructed. And mighty fine it is too.......
Sorry to hear about the colour of your bee suit... I'm sure if you garden in it for a week or two the colour will tone down to a more acceptable shade. Erm.... How visible to passers-by is your garden??
My son is drinking honey drinks as he has a miserable cough - last night I brought him the honey jar and suggested he eat a large spoonful. I'm sure Home Honey would be better than Lidl's honey! Any idea what else can I feed him - poor lad he's coughing so much he's chucking up! 
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| Sally |
Hey not a bit boring... what a resource! |
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| Mrs Baggins |
moosjoos - No way! And you never kept bees yourself? The poor guy would have been sick of the sight of me!
Sally - I jest, it's not that bad. I will be wearing it to bee class tomorrow as it is a practical session. Yay!
Hope your son feels better soon. |
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| Sally |
Our bees to arrive THIS WEEKEND!
Soooo exciting! |
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| Mrs Baggins |
Hooray! Fantastic news! I just got mine last weekend - we are on this journey together!
I have found it a bit different with my own bees than when I was looking at someone else's, sort of like the first time you get to drive on your own after passing your test. It is absolutely fantastic! GOOD LUCK!
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| cassy |
I had that feeling last year too; after all the supervised practice I was suddenly responsible for them! It was much better this spring, so don't worry, it doesn't last. Best of luck to all the new beekeepers! |
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| Sally |
So OH went 20mins ago to collect the bees. I think they are going to tip (entice or whatever) bees into our National Hive from a Langstroth hive.
Mentor keeps some house bees and the flying bees (I think I have this right) and we get the queen and a load of house bees tipped/brushed into our hive. No comb or brood. We then give them foundation and feed like mad. I've made syrup 1kg sugar to 1litre water and OH has made a feeder frame (with a floating raft). It took 2 litres of liquid to fill it. The idea is to give them the energy to draw out comb for the queen to start laying in. We have also made a dummy board so it's there if needed. Need to wait and see how many bees we get according to our mentor.... So - just thought I'd fill you all in while waiting... waiting... waiting.... 
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| gil |
Exciting ! | ||
| Sally |
Indeed..... .... now what on earth could bee keeping them?
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| Sally |
Delay.... queen cells in Langstroth hive not yet capped.... so a few more days to go now.....! Ah well they'll be worth the wait. 
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| Bernie66 |
Keep an eye on R4 farming today podcasts. They have their own hive this year and it crops up frequently. Interesting stuff. | ||
| Tavascarow |
So are they in their new home yet?
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| Mrs Baggins |
Come on bees! You have a nice welcoming home waiting for you! Get capping!
Hope you get 'em soon Sally. The wait must be killing you! |
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| Sally |
OH is away out again tonight. I don't think our bees are likely to be coming home yet (but I'm not sure I quite followed all the conversation) - any way he's away out with great excitement to look at and talk about bees!
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| Mrs Baggins |
Hope they come soon Sally!
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| Sally |
Well he came home with an apodea and a queen cell with a handful of bees to look after tonight!
They've to stay in the dark for a bit. Then we let our queen out for her mating flight and hope she comes back. Once we see she's back and laying then we can get some bees for her from the hive our mentor is going to split. All exciting. The bees are a buzzing!
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| Mrs Baggins |
Wa hey! Cool way to start beekeeping or what?
Beekeeping. Isn't it an amazing thing to do? WHo knew? ANd we are only at the beginning! SO much more to learn! |
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| Tavascarow |
Excellent. When you let them out check the feeder & top up, those little mating nucs don't contain enough bees to form a functioning colony & will need constant feeding. |
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| Sally |
OH is home with detailed instructions! There's fondant in the apodea and he needs to spray water onto it daily I think.
Boy those few bees can make some hummmmm! |
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| Sally |
Well soon we can open our little bee box and see if our queen has come home!
We have the box in the hedge here and there's quite a bit of activity considering what a tiny box it is. I've even seen bright yellow pollen go in. So next nice evening and we take a peek. Meanwhile we were out visiting our mentor's hives last night. This was only my second visit, but OH has now been out quite a few times and is quite confident handling frames and so on. I'm still a bystander but enjoying it and not nervous. |
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| Tavascarow |
Cool.
If there is pollen coming in then it would normally be a sign the queen is laying. As you have had them a fortnight looks like she has mated & all is well. What's your plan next?
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| Sally |
Our mentor is going to split a hive of bees for us. | ||
| Sally |
BEES! Bees at the bottom of the garden! Pics added page 3!WE'VE GOT A SWARM!Well okay - our mentor has a swarm for us. The apodea thing didn't work - the queen hatched but never came home. So our mentor captured a swarm last week - but apparently the individual who alerted him to its location wanted it for another new beek. Anyway it seems the other newbie had got sorted with bees in the mean time so the swarm is ours!! Just needs to be closed up tonight, so it can be moved tomorrow evening..... YAY
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| goosey |
Wa-hey! That's brilliant news Sally
After all your waiting, it has come right in the end. Thanks for letting us know, I did wonder how the apodea thing was coming along. Tell us what happens tomorrow.... Good luck
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| Mrs Baggins |
Fantastic news Sally! Ohhh... you must have them by now! How's it going?
Good luck wtih everything! You're going to love having your own bees! |
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| Ginkotree |
congratulations..it feels so special, like sending congrats on having a baby or something
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| Sally |
Okay! So they arrived 10pm last night (after a last minute 24hr delay  ).
So far they are not out of bed yet... it's still cool here now. They are a small swarm, so for now, they are in our mentor's hive (or his brood box actually) as he suggested we don't disturb them until they settle. Our mentor is not 100% certain that they will "do" but some bees are better than no bees! We've to feed them with a contact feeder directly over the frames so that they don't need to look far to get food. Also close the entrance to one bee space so they can easily defend the hive. I'll have to take a picture or two soon... but we've been told only to open up to put sugar solution in... no messing with frames or inspections just yet! 
Still - we are now real beekeepers with our own BEES! |
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| stumbling goat |
good luck with it.
om |
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| Jamanda |
Yeah! Good luck - let's hope for some fine weather to help them get out foraging and building up. | ||
| Tavascarow |
Excellent news.
Hope they settle in & like their new home. |
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| Mrs Baggins |
HOORAY! Great news Sally! I hope they settle in really well for you! Fingers crossed we can share honey harvesting stories soon, eh?
ENJOY! |
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| Sally |
So far they seem to have settled. Good hum noise in the evening. Plenty of activity today.
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| Mrs Baggins |
Lovely! Such a nice noise, eh? You enjoy them Sally! | ||
| Sally |
I find them relaxing....
I went down this morning and lent on the hive to just watch them come and go. Then sat in the grass, in the sun, to try to catch where they were going to! They are still doing a few circles round the hive before flying anywhere so I guess they are still orientating.
Hens are relaxing in this way too. |
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| Jamanda |
Just went and opened up mine and there is frames and frames of HONEY!
So I thought I'd get a queen excluder and another super on, and while Sean was making up the frames the heavens opened. Never mind - it'll only take a minute to do it tomorrow. Gosh - I might get some actual honey to eat soon - how exciting! |
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| Sally |
Wow - Honey! The ultimate reward!
The only Honey produce we'll get this year will be Jack Russell Terriers! - Seriously our JR is called Honey and she is due at the end of July!
Okay - back to bees. We opened the hive to add the sugar the other evening... this was our first time doing something without our mentor. So my youngest daughter took photos! 
.........bee suits are not so flattering are they !
Anyway I think we look relaxed... I felt it too which was good. Nice that we are starting with just a few I think. We've been watching them each day and the hive seems busy which is a good
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| Mrs Baggins |
Lovely pics! You do look very relaxed indeed! | ||
| Sally |
I wandered down again tonight....just to listen to the hummmmm
................... That was the sound
Just silence.................................... Now either my ears are playing tricks or our bees have buzzed off somewhere else. Can't/won't open to check as "he who looks after the bees" is out with his motorbike! 
Also had our JR Terrier (Honey) scanned today and it seems she's not in pup..... Vet says they'll check again next week but.....
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| Sally |
"He who looks after the bees" has come home and listened and declared my ears defunct....
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| Tavascarow |
Next time 'he who looks after the bees' isn't around tap the side of the brood box with your nuckles (Standing at the side or behind the hive not in front) & then listen.
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| Mrs Baggins |
Sally, I bet they saw you coming and were all plastered against the insides of the hive giggling and shushing each other.
PS: SOrry to hear about Honey.. so disappointing. Hopefully she will be in whelp soon. |
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| goosey |
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| Sally |
Sure seemed like that......
Anyway OH opened the hive tonight to look in and see what's what with this swarm. Unfortunately no eggs being laid and no brood. So it looks like we have no queen. They've started to draw some comb but have taken down very little of the sugar solution..... 
Not sure what's next. I think our mentor is trying to raise another queen cell for us and may still split a hive........ |
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| Mrs Baggins |
Oh no! I really hope your colony is not queenless. What a shame!
Our old girl (the one we replaced stopped laying when the flow went over. I was really worried she was gone but when it came to re-queening, there she was and she was back in lay. The guy who did it for me said that happens. I really hope it is smth like that for you. |
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| Sally |
Opened up again... and definitely no queen.
Bees have been busy and there is some honey and stored pollen... just no eggs.
However... our mentor has found out about a captured swarm which we can buy and he is going to help us install it tomorrow evening.
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| goosey |
I've got my fingers crossed for you Sally. Hope your new queen and her colony settle in ok. Presumably your mentor will combine the two, or has he got another plan?
I find it gripping, listening to the ups and downs of Downsizer beeks, and learn something too. Let us know what happens. |
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| Sally |
So last night the nuc arrived. We were told to open it tonight and count the frames of bees to see what the cost should be.
First thing we lifted off the crown board and there was a huge bit of comb stuck to the roof with several capped queen cells! So we closed up and rang our mentor. Then he & his wife and OH and I all kitted up and examined the nuc. Lots going on. We split the hive in two (set on top of each other) and left one box with an unsealed queen cell & the flying bees and the top one with 2 or 3 sealed cells and most of the capped brood. THEN as we were walking back up looking at the bit of comb from the crown board we realise that a queen was hatching! No less than 3 queens hatched and we caught them into plastic cages ! (The were helped slightly, but were totally ready.) This was so exciting! Really fascinating etc. So we put one of them into the brood box with the unsealed cell. And our mentor took the other 2 queens for hives that he has. So HOPEFULLY we will have two hives out of this!
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| Mrs Baggins |
Fantastic news Sally! You've had a few disappointments along the way but you stuck with it and now look at you! Good on you! Keep us posted!
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| Sally |
Quick update.
We opened both hives last night and although one (bottom one) is much stronger, both hives have loads of sealed brood. Yay! Two active queens. The top hive however is pestered a bit by wasps. It got the unsealed queen cell during the split (bottom hive got the virgin queen) so it is a bit behind on producing new bees. However it seems strong enough. So    for the bees!
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| Mrs Baggins |
HOORAY! Great news!
Aren't the wasps horrid? 
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