Guest Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Not taking any of the feed in spite of my dribbling more into the hive. I've been told that this might be because they are finding ample stores outside at the moment. However providing I keep the super feeder topped up then I can't be doing any harm Actually seem to have come a long way over the last few days in my Beeking career with all the changes i have made to the set up. There is a feeling that the Beehaus is this years fad and that for many they will simply be skip fodder That would be a shame and I hope that my little video has impressed on those who look how easy this all can be. after all we need bees and beeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 As posted on another forum, sealing the lid like that is a waste of time and effort. That space can be left accessible as the coverboards are there to seal the hive from infiltration. Any trapped bees need to be able to escape. If access to the nest is possible around the coverboards, the hive is at fault. RAB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Rob - I sent you a PM earlier today........ As this has been used on another forum I feel the need to add that I posted this on here as Rob (being new to forums I think) hadn't picked up the PM I'd sent. I actually asked him whereabouts in Leicestershire he was as i wanted to see the Beehaus - not to offer any advice, as a relative newcomer I would hesitate to offer advice to another newbie apart from the later post where I mentioned a potential wasp problem. I did lose my one and only colony this summer due to very, very, difficult circumstances, some of which I have touched on briefly in another thread. Experienced beeks lose colonies and being new doesn't mean that i have no experience or have learned nothing. There's nothing wrong with enthusiasm and with the right help we can all make a difference. I'm very interested in Rob's videos and any helpful comments that aid him on his journey with bees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Hi Lesley I actually did respond to your email regarding where I live. sent from this forum have you not received that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Yes, thanks Rob, I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Great video Beesrob, really good video diary, thanks for sharing this . Look forward to the next instalment. good luck indie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Nice turn up today my local association have emailed me and have added my name to the training list for this winter [for beginners] without my asking. Mind you I was planning to email them this week but loads of other work kept me busy and I forgot There are some really nice people out their who do want beginners to succeed. Getting a little bit worried about the weather now, as below 14c and the guys don't like to be disturbed and you have seen where I put my verroa treatment. Seems to me that I will have to pick up the cover board gently and slide the next treatment in place. Any advise about this would be most appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8landy Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Just pick a nice sunny day, as warm as you can. It only takes less than 60 secs to take lid off and pop them in, so in that time no real issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 ...I'm hoping for a nice warm non-windy day on Thursday when I do my second treatment Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 I've just completed my varroa treatment and was truly shocked at how many varroa had dropped dead onto the board. At least my bees will be going into winter with a few hundred less of the horrible little parasites. We had our last apiary meeting of the season last night. No more now until April 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somerford Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 MedUSA, it is amazing how many varroa live within the hive, especially if it wasn't treated well previously or came from a wild swarm. don't forget to use Oxalic over December. Yes - a shame beekeeping comes to a halt every autumn - but in fact that is one of the pleasures, it helps sustain the hobby as you start the new season refreshed, full of ideas and ready to go ! S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 Doesn't your local group meet over the winter? Mine has monthly meetings - obviously we are not looking at hives during this time, we meet indoors and instead there are talks about disease and treatments, equipment, hive management, candle making, and so on. I'm really looking forward to these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Yes we do still have our monthly meetings, Olly and there is also an additional monthly social evening and bee chat at a local pub over the winter months. Thanks for the reminder about Oxalic Acid treatment, Somerford. I will be doing that after Christmas. I want to make sure my bees start next season with as few Varroa as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somerford Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 the other way of reducing the mite population in a natural way is to cage the queen on a frame next season for about a week at a time. Because the mites prefer larvae to live on and breed on, you let the queen lay eggs on both sides of the frame, then once the brood is capped, remove the queen, re cage her on another frame and then remove the old frame and destroy the comb. Sounds drastic but eventually you focus all the mites onto one frame over the course of 4/5 weeks and the population is severely reduced. It has an impact on the brood levels, obviously, and therfore the population of the hive. However if done in a good year (lots of nectar, sunny weather) is a good alternative. There is alot on the web if you look about varroa control. Try the BBKA website - leaflets available to download. regards Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Thanks again for the really helpful tips, Steve. It's brilliant that we're getting some experienced beekeepers posting on here to help us newbeeks through the ups and (occasional) downs of beekeeping. I for one am really grateful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somerford Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 you are welcome ! I am pleased to be able to share knowledge ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Did anyone see the item on Countryfile on Sunday? James Wong was doing a piece on Guerilla Gardening and they featured a lovely couple of (?pink) beehauses. On a sadder note, there was a documentary programme on More4 the other night called "The Last of the Honeybees". They followed 3 beekeepers from the USA, 2 of whom were rapidly going out of business due to CCD. I'm sure moving them thousands of miles to California, by truck, for the almond pollination must be a major contributing factor. Poor bees must be so stressed and confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somerford Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I think, and this is a personal opinion, that the premise behind migratory beekeeping as displayed in the film is sound. IE - moving bees around, per se isn't an issue. However, the actions depicted, ie, blowing bees between colonies / making up 'packages' etc could and probably does, stress the bees, which could lead to disease issues. Commercial beekeepers in the UK manage their colonies in a far better way than depicted in recent films/documentaries. This is somewhat determined by the weather (ie. the seaosn is not conducive for making bee packages etc) and also the historical ways of keeping bees in the UK. It is a shame that a UK beekeeper hasn't been filmed to add a comparison ?! There are a great many hobby beekeepers who take their colonies to the Heather each Autumn and they can't be tarnished with the same brush, even thought they are practicing migratory beekeeping. Similarly, there are a lot of beefarmers who also move colonies about but do so with the bee welfare foremost in mind, althought they are first and foremost focused on honey production. S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Apologies if I caused any offence, Steve. I didn't mean to imply that bees shouldn't be moved. A lot of my UK beekeeping friends move their bees to take advantage of nectar gluts (Rape in particular). It was more the thousands of miles over several days and the rough handling of the bees that concerned me. I agree that a UK perspective would provide better perspective and be more relevant to us. I'm just a soft-hearted new beekeeper and each and every one of my "girls" is precious to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabbee Lady Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 As I hope to be a beekeper soon, and am attending classes until the end of April, I am interested in the Beehaus and have just spent time reading all the posts on the subject. At our class last week we inspected examples of all the types of hive in use at present. It seemed to me, who only wants one hive in a small garden that, bearing in mind the need for a spare hive, a Dartington or Beehaus would be the best. I like the idea of being able to extend the hive as the colony grows or divide it into two if necessary is a big advantage. I asked several people if they knew anything about Beehaus and noone could come up with anything useful. Most had heard of it and said they thought it v. expensive. I do not want a flatpack to assemble, nor does my husband!! The one criticism all the men I asked about non-wooden hives was that they could not be cleaned with a blowtorch. Is this a man thing? Liking to play with dangerous toys!! How do you clean and sterilise a plastic hive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8landy Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 (edited) . Edited February 22, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Fabbee Lady, A.S. I have a beehaus and Dartingtons as well as using other formats now and in the past, so speak from experience. The choice is yours. I would, of course, recommend two colonies - with only one colony you are always at risk of needing outside asistance if something goes awry in the hive; with two you have diagnostic help at hand (frames of brood), spare brood to boost a weaker colony (as long as one is strong!), and losing one colony over winter is not 100% loss! etc etc. Yes, the beehaus is an expensive item and other systems can be no more space consuming with possible extra options available as well. Down to your choice. I have had Dartingtons for about 4 years now and quite like them (I built a second one after trying the first). Beekeeping is easier, up to a point, with the long deep hive. It is mainly those half supers which I have found to be a pain in operation. I often use (a) standard National super(s) instead on my Dartingtons. There are numerous changes I would be making to my Beehaus to make it more useful (IMO) as a beetainer, but that is another story. Lifting 14 x 12 broods is not easy and I will now employ an alternative strategy for swarm control, for that reason. The Dartington/beehaus system is so much easier in that respect (the Dartington marginally more so). I shall be testing the plastic used in the beehaus construction for resistance to a very corrosive chemical (which happens to be a superb sterilising agent) as AFB spores can be sealed in wax and be released much later to re-infect (the spores can remain viable for many years). Most sterilising agents do not remove/dissolve, or penetrate wax. That may be a problem, it may not; I hope I never need to rely on it. In the future gamma radiation might become accessble as a sterilising method (widely used in the US) I note your criticism of men(?); have you not asked any women? If you have not, then you have no idea if their responses would be any different and so your assessment could be, I am afraid, regarded as a rather sexist comment! Or perhaps it was a criticism of plastic hives? Plastic hives have been around for thirty years, but they were probably cheap enough to be s"Ooops, word censored!"ped if infected with AFB (and stringent disposal rules have been much more recent). So really it comes to your choice. The beehaus may be more appealing to you than a Dartington; you could perhaps buy 4 complete hives for the cost of the one beehaus; wood is a natural product and wooden hives can be fabricated or repaired so much easier than plastic if they were to get damaged in some way (rather than having to buy new replacement parts). One point that few consider is that of when the colony is close to neighbours and requires removal (due to supercedure perhaps, and the new queen being, shall we say, less than docile?); one large beehive is not the easiest to transport safely at short notice. Just a few pointers from an experienced beek with bees in the garden and close to several neighbours. Regards, RAB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I note your criticism of men(?); have you not asked any women? If you have not, then you have no idea if their responses would be any different and so your assessment could be, I am afraid, regarded as a rather sexist comment! Or perhaps it was a criticism of plastic hives? I don't know which part of the country Fabbee Lady comes from but we attended two courses local to us - at both, the only women there were either attending the course as potential beekeepers or were wives of older, experienced, beeks and were only there to make the tea! Change seems to be very slow around here, but it is changing. I would certainly not have been able to ask a female for a point of view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melbourne12 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I note your criticism of men(?); have you not asked any women? If you have not, then you have no idea if their responses would be any different and so your assessment could be, I am afraid, regarded as a rather sexist comment! Or perhaps it was a criticism of plastic hives? I don't know which part of the country Fabbee Lady comes from but we attended two courses local to us - at both, the only women there were either attending the course as potential beekeepers or were wives of older, experienced, beeks and were only there to make the tea! Change seems to be very slow around here, but it is changing. I would certainly not have been able to ask a female for a point of view. I suspect this must differ depending on the local BKA. Certainly the Harrow BKA, which is our local one, has rather more active women members than men. It's never occurred to us that beekeeping was a particularly male thing to do, or at least not in modern times. I'm currently attending a local course to take the BBKA examinations. The course is run by a very knowledgeable and experienced woman beekeeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Interesting point - in my local group, the Chair and Secretary are both female, and one of the longest-standing members (30 years and more) is a woman! The groups' numbers have expanded dramatically with the recent interest in beekeeping and I'd say around a third of the members are women. Out of interest, the lady mentioned above who's been keeping bees since the 1970s has recently moved to a Dartington hive, because she is now of advanced years and she works her hives alone as her husband has never wanted to get involved in bees. She finds the Dartington hive easier as the supers are not so heavy to lift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
