new to bee's
New Bee
Hi, I'm new to bee keeping and I've just bought a hive with the bee's inside. I'm looking for someone who can come and give my bee's a once over. I'm in wombwell Barnsley area. I would really appreciate it. Thanks Ian.
Bee health check
- Thread starter new to bee's
- Start date
Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:
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Who did you buy it from ? Do you know their provenance ? It's an odd time of the year to be buying or even selling bees and it's too early to be inspecting them for anything. What did the seller tell you about them ? Is it a Nuc or a full size hive ?
Sorry - it may be all fine - but I've got alarm bells ringing in my ears ....
Sorry - it may be all fine - but I've got alarm bells ringing in my ears ....
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I second the concern. With 1 exception, where a beekeeper had to move to an inner city area at short notice, I've not heard of bees being sold in the winter, as you can't really inspect them for disease and general good health until we hit 15c.
OP
new to bee's
New Bee
I bought it from knaresborough from a father John he had to sell because he was moving and he couldn't take them.
- Joined
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- Messages
- 18,498
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Fareham, Hampshire UK
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 6
Well, that's probably the only reason anyone would sell their bees in mid winter. Did he give you any details about them ?
Were they treated for varroa in the autumn ?
Temperament ?
Have they been fed/level of stores present ?
Is it a full size brood box - or a nucleus ?
Did you go and collect them or did he deliver/meet you somewhere ?
Were there other hives in his apiary ?
Are they flying when the sun is out ?
The alarm bells are still ringing - just a little less loudly.
You are coming to the danger period in beekeeping with, it would seem, very little knowledge of what you have got into. Now is the time when colonies are at a critical stage and even experienced beekeepers can lose colonies - they can starve if there is insufficient stores in the hive and there is not a lot of forage about untl spring has sprung. If there is an excessive varroa load they could dwindle and die out ...
You could have bought a pig in a poke and you would not know. I'm not trying to disparage what you have done, it's just that there are pitfalls associated with buying bees ... it's the same as buying a second hand car, you either need to know what you are looking for or you buy from a reputable dealer with a warranty of some sort,
