Poorly chicken

[Daphne]

We aren't keeping bees here as OH is allergic, but I thought some of you might be interested in a few observations I've made.

 

We went for a walk yesterday and in the middle of a forest someone has planted a small 'vineyard' (ie a patch about 150ft x 50ft ) It has been very warm this weekend in Portugal and there were about 10 hives there. I think they were commercial as they had lettering on them and they were all smart and identical. Interestingly all of them except one contained brood boxes only (no supers) - I'm guessing its because they have just been placed there to pollinate the vines (no flowers yet on our vines). The other thing I noticed, which I haven't seen before in a hot country, is that each hive had a semi-circular 'roof' over the top of the brood box, which looked as though it was either made of ridged plastic or ridged metal.

 

Other than that, I have seen honey bees flying and lots of bumbles. The bumbles are huge (if you include things like carpenter bees) and I have to say they seem more aggressive than bees in England. Last season I did a lot of creeping up on bumbles to identify them and it was really easy as they just sat about Here they do tend to dive bomb you and I had one brush against me yesterday whilst in the middle of nowhere.

 

Back at the house, they hate the smell of the washing (can't say I blame them) but as our washing line is in the same place as they like to congregate I have had to ban OH from hanging it out The other day I was hanging some up and something fell on my head. I thought it was rain (stupidly as I was standing under a roof at the time) and looked up - but no, it was a carpenter bee boring into the woodwork and the sawdust landed on me He/she has left a perfect circular hole

[Old Speckled Hen]

Ah, I can just smell the thyme and hear the buzz.

Sounds fascinating.

Can you post a picture?

Grape vines are hermaphroditic or wind pollinated. Bees do work them but they are a poor nectar source so it must be something else.

[Daphne]

Thats interesting OSH, I didn't realise grapes were wind pollinated. I can't imagine what else the hives were there for, unless it was pine

 

Yesterday we met a portuguese beekeeper. He's been keeping bees for 50 years (and asked me if I knew Ted Hooper ). He said bees in Portugal are aggressive (honey bees and bumble bees) and although many calmer strains have been imported they are beginning to realise that native bees seem to do better as they are better adapted. He showed me an old-fashioned hive, which he has seen being worked (he was at least 70). It was made of cork, with a cork lid. It was round. Cork has excellent insulating properties as well as growing in the part of Portugal we were in yesterday so it was cheap and plentiful. Inside was a criss-cross of sticks for the comb to hang from, and they'd take the lid off and extract from the top. Now they use wooden hives, but he still uses the cork one for swarm catching.

 

He also showed me the old fashioned gloves they used to wear, made of knitted cotton, just like old fashioned riding gloves you used to get in the UK. The hat would be a straw hat with a veil sewn onto it, and more recently they would use gaiters around the leg, but years ago people routinely got stung up the trouser Of course, nowadays he is bee-suited like the rest of us.

 

He also said that where he lives bees make honey from some special lavender, only from March-July. Amazingly, it is exported to China of all places, which he said was mad, but as it was rare it was expensive, and it was the cachet which attracted the market.