Red and BBs home.....the adventure continues

[ReamviThantos]

Is there no worry of a totally "human" dependant world. Seems a Hitlerian ethos has developed here in not only farming, if the world is not up to the use we put it to -then the world shall fall.

Sorry to hijack your thread i won't muse / vandalise any further. Sometimes i'm my own worst enemy. The best of luck in your endevours. I am very impressed by your work out put though.

 

[British Red]

Sadly the current honey bees are not native - the old British Black bee has been out competed by modern, farmed bees. Whilst bees may live in the wild for a while after swarming - like these


Honey Bees in Tree small by British Red, on Flickr

They are almost always swarmed Western Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera).

There are still wild bees - miner bees, bumble bees and others. Clearly they have natural resistance or different breeding methods that render Varroa less problematic. But with honey bees, they are livestock now, and like all livestock it falls to their owner to have a duty of care and ensure their health and wellbeing.

I too wish we could farm less intensively - but that would mean a huge reduction in population to support such a way of life.

Red

 

[ReamviThantos]

One lives in eternal hope. Best of British luck with it all.

One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity. -Lee and others

 

[bigroomboy]

Very interesting posts! I really hope I will be able to keep bees sometime in the future when I have more space. It is really interesting to have posts in this much detail from time to time which will really help other people starting out or doing early research. I can't wait to find out how the honey turns out.


Bee keeping in this way is much better than raiding wild bee populations which only now happens in very remote areas of the amazon and other places. Frantically ripping bits of comb out of wild hives must do huge damage, and with no effort to provide replacement food it would not take much to irreparably damage a hive. Modern farming has been happening for hundreds of years and is the only way to support modern populations.

Alex

 

[santaman2000]

Very interesting posts! I really hope I will be able to keep bees sometime in the future when I have more space. It is really interesting to have posts in this much detail from time to time which will really help other people starting out or doing early research. I can't wait to find out how the honey turns out.


Bee keeping in this way is much better than raiding wild bee populations which only now happens in very remote areas of the amazon and other places. Frantically ripping bits of comb out of wild hives must do huge damage, and with no effort to provide replacement food it would not take much to irreparably damage a hive. Modern farming has been happening for hundreds of years and is the only way to support modern populations.

Alex

Wild bees are quite common here, although no humans raid them to my knowledge. They do seem to continue to thrive despite the bears raiding them though.

 

[wattsy]

Sadly the current honey bees are not native - the old British Black bee has been out competed by modern, farmed bees. Whilst bees may live in the wild for a while after swarming - like these


Honey Bees in Tree small by British Red, on Flickr

They are almost always swarmed Western Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera).

There are still wild bees - miner bees, bumble bees and others. Clearly they have natural resistance or different breeding methods that render Varroa less problematic. But with honey bees, they are livestock now, and like all livestock it falls to their owner to have a duty of care and ensure their health and wellbeing.

I too wish we could farm less intensively - but that would mean a huge reduction in population to support such a way of life.

Red

there's been reports of native black colonies surviving in North Wales and East Anglia nothing confirmed yet though

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/18/black-honeybees-rediscovered-in-britain

 

[EdS]

I think they have been confirmed. I vaguely remeber when I kept bees there was talk about crossing native blacks with improted bee.

Do miss keeping them - just not enough time to fit everything in.

 

[MrHare]

Sadly the current honey bees are not native - the old British Black bee has been out competed by modern, farmed bees.

Native black bees were more or less wiped out by Isle of Wight disease (acarine) in the early part of the 20th C:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseases_of_the_honey_bee#Acarine_.28Tracheal.29_mites

Good luck with the bees I'm at the end of my second season now - still no honey, but lots of fun and surprises. I love to go watch them on one of those rare sunny summer evenings with a cup of tea.

Addt: it's worth subscribing to the Irish Beekeeping list:

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/irishbeekeeping/

It's medium traffic, and sometimes gets a bit heated, but I've learned a lot from reading messages on there.

 

[luckylee]

Fantastic red, I love these posts you do, always great info, and great pics.

 

[British Red]

Thanks for the kind words all and for the updates on the Native bees - long may they remain!

We did an inspection today and things are progressing well with the stores. Had a bit of a heart stopping moment which I will illustrate in the pictures when I get them hosted up

 

[British Red]

Did our first full inspection today.....quite a nervous time. I took some photos which, on balance, was a dumb idea - should have done that on the next inspection when I was more confident - but as it happens, it was a useful thing to have a camera on hand.

So, we gave the bees some smoke. Removed the roof and the feeders.

Taking off the crown board revelaed that the bees had built some "brace comb" onto the crown board - this was scraped off with a hive tool.

Brace comb is what the bees use to extend and stabalise the frames - natural behaviour, but can make it hard to remove frames


Brace comb on crown board by British Red, on Flickr.

With the crown board off, you can pretty much see where the bees are working


Lines of bees by British Red, on Flickr

Taking out the frame farthest from the nucleus frames shows unworked foundation and almost no bees


Untouched Foundation by British Red, on Flickr

Moving further towards the nucleus frames shows a very different amount of activity!


Busy Frame by British Red, on Flickr

Examining the frame under the bees shows that the foundation has been "drawn out" and is full of glistening stores


Drawn comb and stores by British Red, on Flickr

The foundation frame nearest the nucleus is full of stores and the bees are "capping off" the frame. This means the moisture content has dropped to below 18.5% (normally) and therefore the honey is stable and will not ferment.


Capping Honey by British Red, on Flickr

We managed to spot the queen at this point - she is marked in yellow and, as you can see, much larger than the workers


The Queen by British Red, on Flickr

Around this point we had a fright. Look at the black cells in the brace comb below the frame


Brace comb, Pollen and Brood by British Red, on Flickr

One of the things we look for is "foulbrood" which has cells of black, nasty looking brood :shock: .

Closer inspection got me breathing easier - this is foul brood....


Picture Courtesy The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), Crown Copyright

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/gallery/index.cfm


The black cells in our hive are just dark, stored pollen.....phew

I'm not sure why the bees are drawing out below the brrod frames though - have emailed our mentor to see if he has a view....happy to hear from any experts who know

Thats it for now

Red

 

[British Red]

Great stuff Hugh really enjoying the thread. A question, I seem to remember a programme, may have been river cottage where the mice were getting into the hives and eating the bees, you foresee this beign a problem, or do you have it covered?

Just a follow up to this. This is a mouseguard...it has slots just wide enough to let a single bee in or out - but not wide enough to admit a mouse. If you put it in the other way up the tiny holes let air in but "pen up" the bees - this is used to transport the hive to other locations.

As another follow up

I've been told that a dusting with icing sugar helps prevent varroa mites too. Don't know how effective it is

If you fit a "Varroa floor" (a mesh floor), Varroa that fall off pass through the floor and out of the hive. Dusting with icing sugar encourages the bees to groom - and the mites are removed with the sugar. A wooden floor can go under the mesh floor for insulation or when fumigating with Apiguard


Varroa floor by British Red, on Flickr

Red

 

[British Red]

Just a quick post here on temperature control.

Bees like a nice warm hive - they keep the interior at around 34C. If the temperature drops too low, the brood (bee pupae) dies. In Winter the bees huddle together in a "Winter cluster" to keep themselves warm. Bees heat the hive by vibrating their flight muscles, to lower temperature they fan with their wings over droplets of water they carry in. Both of these activities require energy which means the bees consume food stores rather than laying up honey.

This shows that if we help them keep the hive at the optimal temperature, we get more honey. Fitting a mesh floor and removing the wooden slide helps with cooling in the summer. Replacing the wooden board will help in the Winter, but, like our own homes, loft insulation is a great help

Traditionally old sacks were used to make "quilts" for the top of the hive, but now we have more modern materials. Some use foam rubber, but there are better things we use in our own homes. 2" of closed polystrene works great - other than the fact the bees chew it up . If though you use modern "Celotex" type insulation boards, it is foil covered on both sides and this stops the bees chewing it.

So we get an 8' by 4' Celotex board


Celotex Sheet by British Red, on Flickr

We could measure up - but a crown board makes a great cutting template


Mark with Crown Board by British Red, on Flickr

Each board makes enough insulation for 10 hives

I cut a strip the right width (this stuff cuts really easily with a panel saw)


Cut with panel saw by British Red, on Flickr

Then cut the strip into pieces using the crown board as a template



Roof insulation boards by British Red, on Flickr

Each piece will go under the roof of a hive as the cold weather comes


Fits in roof space by British Red, on Flickr

Hopefully this will keep the buzzies warm and give them a better chance of making it through the Winter

Red

 

[Tengu]

Isnt that great?

A couple of years ago Dad had a swarm nest in a box in his garden.

I was away that year, or I would have got a hive for them to live in.

but my beekeeper friend found them a grateful home.

 

[British Red]

Thanks Tengu,

Most local beekeeping associations will remove problem swarms. Its worth noting that bees gorge on honey before swarming and are "fat and happy" (not agressive) during swarming.

Most do not charge for swarm removal, but a small gift to offset petrol and time is usually welcomed

 

[Tengu]

They wernt worrying dad, I had to nag a bit, saying that beekeepers were short of bees and these would be happiest in a proper beehive making me WAX...

 

[MrHare]

I'm not sure why the bees are drawing out below the brrod frames though - have emailed our mentor to see if he has a view....happy to hear from any experts who know

They usually do that -it's often drone cells but not always. It's probably because the frames stop well short of the floor - bees like to make the most use of their available space.

Good idea for the insulation - I think I have some kingspan in my shed, just the thing for the winter. Really enjoying your posts - it brings back the utter delight of the first few weeks of keeping . Inspecting the bees is always fascinating, and occasionally worrying, but those first few inspections will always be memorable

 

[British Red]

Like a kid with new toys aren't we?

Our bee mentor said much the same - to leave the brace comb alone and cut it away in the Spring. He also noted that the dark pollen is probably poppy ...which is interesting!

 

[British Red]

A little bee update....we treated our bees today with Oxalic acid to reduce Varroa mite. This has to be done in Winter when they aren't rearing brood and are all clustered together for warmth. Ideally you want a really cold day.

The BBKA reccomends buying ready mixed solution at the right concentration - but we made our own (far cheaper)

You can by Oxalic in powder form - but be careful with it - other crystal acids (e.g. citric) are far "weaker". You can put citric acid on your tongue in powder form - this stuff burns through flesh!


1) Oxalic Acid by British Red, on Flickr

So read the instructions and wear gloves and eye protection


2) Gloves and instructions by British Red, on Flickr

The acid is dissolved in 1:1 Sugar:Water solution

So sugar


3) 500g sugar by British Red, on Flickr

is dissolved in water


4) 500ml Water by British Red, on Flickr

and the precisely weighed amount of oxalic acid added and dissolved.

The BBKA recipe is

The treatment material is 3.2% Oxalic acid in 1:1 sugar solution. The recipe for making this is:
1. Make a sugar syrup consisting of 1Kg sugar in 1 litre of water.
2. Add 75grams of Oxalic acid dihydrate and mix well.

Thats enough to treat 20 hives or more - so scale to suit. Use chemical scales on the Oxalic acid (0.1g accuracy)


5) Dissolve by British Red, on Flickr

To distribute draw about 50ml into a large syringe.


6) Draw into Syringe by British Red, on Flickr

Pick a cold day to do this as the bees are clustered


7) Cold Day by British Red, on Flickr

Take off the roof and insulation


8) Roof Off by British Red, on Flickr

Take off the cover board and you will see the cluster


9) Clustered Bees by British Red, on Flickr

You need to dribble 5ml down each "seam" of bees - a "seam" is a line of bees sheltering between two frames


10) 5ml per bee line by British Red, on Flickr

Repeat on your other hives


11) Repeat on second Hive by British Red, on Flickr

This must be done in the Winter as repeated applications can harm your bees. Varroa mite hatch in sealed brood cells and sealed brood is unaffected by Oxalic Acid treatment - so when bees (and hence Varroa) are actively breeding the efficacy is limited. At this time of year ot should eliminate at least 80% of Varroa from a hive.


Hope this is interesting

Red

 

[Niels]

Very interesting thread, thanks for taking the time and effort to make all this