Is my pekin bantam male or female?

[The Cast of Rainbow]

Hello! 

My colony that was new last year is now really full. So it's time to put supers on my Beehaus for the first time- yippee! BUT, they've been in situ for 1month and there is just no activity in them. The bees enjoy propolis-ing the queen excluder (its really difficult not to squash bees when putting on the Q excluder because there is no bee space) and when I check the supers there are an handful of bees wandering around but zero wax has been drawn the foundation yet. The hive is rammed with bees so I'm really surprised that more bees aren't venturing up there. Any tips on how to lure them up?!

[Patricia W]

Hi, not many beekeepers on here these days, but Ill try and bump this up for you. 

[jimgen]

Hi - there is a specific Beehaus Facebook group - Beehaus Beehives - that I find very helpful.

Leaving off the QX until the bees have started to draw out the comb is one solution.

Putting a feeder on a clearer board above the super also helps.

[The Cast of Rainbow]

On 8/11/2020 at 7:01 AM, jimgen said:

Thanks for taking the time to reply jimgen. I have just applied to join that FB group.

 

[AndyRoo]

If you don't mind my asking: how difficult are you finding keeping the bees? I've wanted to keep them for many, many years, but I always assumed it was really difficult.

[jimgen]

Hi - I started keeping bees just over a year ago with one Beehaus - now I have four!! 

There is a quite a bit to learn, but there are great Facebook groups - e.g. Beehaus Beehive, Stewart's Beeking Basics - and numerous helpful videos.

It is truly fascinating and intriguing to learn about bees, their lifecycles, etc. Tasting your first honey will be a real treat!

I found the Beehaus very easy to use - it's the right height, the guide book is amazingly helpful and everything is easy to clean.

My key learnings are:

* don't have a colony in each half as one half is needed for swarm management as, like me, you will need to split when the colony expands

* strapping the supers together can help eliminate any gaps that might attract robbing and / or wasps

* you will buy endless amounts of kit

* you will become obsessed, but very enlightened and happy

 

[AndyRoo]

This might sound like a stupid question: do bees produce honey all year round? Or do they make it in a particular season and then it gets harvested later on?

I'd love to get a hive to put on top of the garage or something, but I am not sure how the neighbours would feel.

[Patricia W]

I thought about it too.  So went to an introductory day held by our local bee keeping Group.   I discovered I wasn’t comfortable with handling the bees.  However, the friend I went with was!  So she’s now got two hives and she gives me honey each year.