Any Beekeeper in Mansfield ng199df help needed

[fast_muchly]

Hi,

I wouldn't mind having another bee keeper who lives local near to Mansfield woodhouse pop round and check my wifes hive over please for a 2nd opinion.

They were sold to us as black bees but I think there local mongrels and im pretty sure there queenless I cant see brood,eggs or the queen.

We are novices and learning plz don't flame us about the local bee keepers society as I don't have the time.And at least im trying to do something to help the bees.

Whats making me wonder is they have been this way for a while and if they were queenless as I wasn't certain they were queenless I have read they should have died out before now.They have got through the winter but they were on 3 frames when we bought them and there down to two now.

Yes we treated for varoa mite last September and we have fed them syrup and fondant at right times.

Like I said if anyone local plz pop over will check this thread a lot in next few days or PM me.

 

[oliver90owner]

A local beek is going to tell you the same as here. They need a new queen (there may be one still present that would have to be removed before adding any new queen), the colony is very weak and most probably would not be viable without addition of extra bees. Might be better to go back to the local supplier.

As they are now, they will dwindle for weeks or months before dying out completely.

 

[Moggett]

....We are novices and learning plz don't flame us about the local bee keepers society as I don't have the time.....

Joining the local association doesn't mean you have to attend all their meetings and volunteer your spare time. If you don't have time to join the local association where you can access knowledge, help and advice, where are you getting the time to look after the bees?

I hope you get things sorted out.

 

[ratcatcher]

not wanting to rub it in, but you say your doing this for the bee's, well joining your local club would have been doing that too, Im a night worker, so rarely attend my local evening meetings, but I show my support by paying a membership and attending weekend shows, and then you have a group of willing helpers at your fingertips and on your doorstep, rather than hoping on a forum

 

[fast_muchly]

Joining the local association doesn't mean you have to attend all their meetings and volunteer your spare time. If you don't have time to join the local association where you can access knowledge, help and advice, where are you getting the time to look after the bees?

I hope you get things sorted out.

Travelling 15 miles to Alfreton and back takes a lot more time and effort than 20 secs walking down to the end of the road and checking the bees on the allotment.This is exactly the type of reply I was on about and it doesn't help.

There is nothing wrong if we want to keep bees NOT attend the local bee keeping association but also want to ask for help from a local bee keeper and learn that way.
There are people on forums I swear that only come on just to put others down and actually enjoy it.

 

[fast_muchly]

Again any help from a local willing to pop over would be appreciated,rather than condescending replies.

 

[fast_muchly]

A local beek is going to tell you the same as here. They need a new queen (there may be one still present that would have to be removed before adding any new queen), the colony is very weak and most probably would not be viable without addition of extra bees. Might be better to go back to the local supplier.

As they are now, they will dwindle for weeks or months before dying out completely.

This is the only reply so far that actually tries to help us in the right way and thanks for that.

The reason we haven't done this so far is I want to be 100% there is no queen there.I might try today to get a pic of all four sides of the two frames there on to see if others on here can see anything we cant.And yes it will be a close up.

 

[HM Honey]

Travelling 15 miles to Alfreton and back takes a lot more time and effort than 20 secs walking down to the end of the road and checking the bees on the allotment.This is exactly the type of reply I was on about and it doesn't help.

There is nothing wrong if we want to keep bees NOT attend the local bee keeping association but also want to ask for help from a local bee keeper and learn that way.
There are people on forums I swear that only come on just to put others down and actually enjoy it.

fast_muchly....the attitude you have displayed responding to what was a reasonable suggestion, will pretty much guarantee you not receiving the help you are after....

Good luck with your bees though...

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Travelling 15 miles to Alfreton and back takes a lot more time and effort than 20 secs walking down to the end of the road and checking the bees on the allotment.This is exactly the type of reply I was on about and it doesn't help.

There is nothing wrong if we want to keep bees NOT attend the local bee keeping association but also want to ask for help from a local bee keeper and learn that way.
There are people on forums I swear that only come on just to put others down and actually enjoy it.

I'm not going to castigate you but point out advantages of joining your local association
Contact with local beekeepers
Insurance cover
Registration on beebase
Training
Practical assistance
Source of brood/queens
The list goes on and on. Most importantly you get face to face interaction when discussing problems not a faceless voice in the ether. Rab gives sound advice (but sometimes abrasively which can be disconcerting to the thin skinned). Others also give good advice but there are a lot more out there with wild or fanciful solutions and you need to be skeptical to what you are told unless you are confidenthe it's correct.
You haven't mentioned if you own any reference books but I would advise you to get your own copy of Ted Hoopers Guide to Bees and Honey and David Cramp books. Also the library may be useful to you.
Lastly most allotment societies requiremeets include certain conditions which membership of an association is a step towards compliance.
Good luck

 

[Richard Elder]

Mansfield Help

Fast Mulchly

I completely sympathise with your views about help on this forum sometimes. It does appear that a lot of the older hands seem to enjoy lording over anyone who asks for help with a problem and seem to be trying to discourage new or novice beekeepers from asking for help. I learned much of my beekeeping knowledge from my Grandfather and Father 40 years ago and have only recently got back into keeping bees, and I know things have changed dramatically in that time, but we all make mistakes and it is discouraging when you get several members with completely different solutions to any problem.

Hopefully you will get someone to give you the assistance you are looking for.
Good Luck

Richard

 

[Ely]

If there hasn't been any eggs for a long time now I would almost certainly say that hive is queenless. The weather hasn't been severe enough for the queen to go off the lay. Most hives, judging by the forum, are flourishing. There is no point distressing the bees further by searching for the queen if no eggs have been present for a long time (that is no sure sign of finding out if they are queenless anyway as she is hard to spot for a beginner). Did you see any supercedure cells at any point? Are they worse tempered than usual? That is another sign of queenlessness when accompanied with no eggs. I wouldn't bother hanging around. Buy another queen. Hivemaker on here supplies good queens. If you had a local supplier that would be even better. Or if you do find a beekeeper to help you, maybe he can give you a frame of eggs but I'd go with the first as she will be able to lay straight away.

It is a shame you do not have 2+ colonies as what this hive really needs is uniting with another colony. Always a good idea to keep 2+ colonies

 

[Moggett]

Travelling 15 miles to Alfreton and back takes a lot more time and effort than 20 secs walking down to the end of the road and checking the bees on the allotment.This is exactly the type of reply I was on about and it doesn't help.

There is nothing wrong if we want to keep bees NOT attend the local bee keeping association but also want to ask for help from a local bee keeper and learn that way.
There are people on forums I swear that only come on just to put others down and actually enjoy it.

I haven't been to any association meetings or events for years so nil travel for me.

However, recently I needed to borrow a nuc box so was able to ring up an association member and borrow one. Also if I need any other help I can ring up one of my fellow members whom I only know through the association. Plus one of the association members lets me put colonies on his out apiary because I'm a fellow member. I also know I'm covered by liability insurance if anyone tries to sue me due to the bees.

At least in the association you would get to know who are the good mentors, just because someone is a beekeeper doesn't mean they are good at what they're doing!

I believe my original post was good advice for someone just starting off and definitely not a put down.

 

[oliver90owner]

it is discouraging when you get several members with completely different solutions to any problem.

There is often more than one single solution to any one poorly framed scenario. There lies the problem in a lot of cases. Replies not considering all the information - especially if it is not forthcoming - have a good chance of being wrong.

We have a reply above stating simply to requeen. 'Almost certainly' queenless is not good enough when £30 goes down the pan; there may be a queen which could well kill the incoming queen. Emerging brood (or more bees, which is tantamount to the same thing)) is what they need, not frames of eggs/larvae which they may not be able to support. They may not even be strong enough to support any worthwhile amount of brood before dwindling further, so any queen might not be any use.

But didn't I write all this in post #2?

Yes, there can be differing solutions and some can be wrong. But does the OP know enough to sort out the wheat from the chaff? Doubtful, in a lot of cases - and that is from experience on the forum.

RAB

 

[BeeJayBee]

it is discouraging when you get several members with completely different solutions to any problem.

This is a forum, comprising a whole range of beekeepers. There are new beekeepers, fairly new beekeepers, well-read beekeepers, and very experienced beekeepers. Each one will probably offer a different solution to a given problem because their experience and beekeeping practices vary, and none are likely to be completely wrong. It's very rare for everybody to wholeheartedly agree, so it's really up to the person who asks the question to work out which of the responses given will match what they want to do.

The only way you're going to get a single solution to a beekeeping problem is if you've only got one book to refer to, or if you have just the one mentor whose advice you slavishly follow.

Nobody's being nasty to the OP, but there is a consensus wrt joining a club. This is probably the worst time of year to ask for help because most beekeepers are quite busy with their own colonies and are unlikely to be able to spare the time. So it would probably be best to either join the local B8KA association or another beekeeping group. The internet will give contact details. It will cost money, but it's the only way of being absolutely sure of a local support network, because most groups will offer mentoring.

 

[Ely]

I know what the original poster means about not belonging to a club. You can still make beekeeping buddies though without belonging to one. I got a lot of help from a member on here who came over and said hello. He is sadly ill at the moment He was a lot more help than some of the superior arseholes on here so I fully recommend a good beekeeping buddy. Maybe pop down once or twice, have a chat and see how it goes. Lifes too short. Especially for forums.

 

[fast_muchly]

Hi
Just had a look today to double check and yes no brood no eggs.

There seems to be 2 frames off drones only present in the hive feeding off the honey supplies that are there and the frames are getting lighter by the day.

Today has been hot and there has not been any activity or coming and going from the hive.So I doubt there are hardly any female workers present in the hive.

Whats the best scenario.Would a ripe queen cell be an answer or a frame of brood from a local beek.Or a queen or would the drones kill her.

Any flaming I will just ignore thx for any constructive advice.

 

[oliver90owner]

Go back to post #2. If she went drone laying and there are no workers (all workers are female), the colony is not viable.

 

[fast_muchly]

Go back to post #2. If she went drone laying and there are no workers (all workers are female), the colony is not viable.

So are you saying there is nothing we can do to rescue them.Buying a queen cell or a mated queen,will not pull them through.

Basically I gather your saying I have to get myself a swarm or buy a small nuc and mix them. yes.

 

[oliver90owner]

and there down to two now.

That is your original post.

This is from your post #16:

There seems to be 2 frames off drones only present in the hive ... I doubt there are hardly any female workers present in the hive

IF that information is correct, not a chance of rescuing them.

 

[Ely]

If I come across a swarm I'll give it you. I have to travel to that part of the world anyway to sign a new tennant agreement at some point