Could my holiday stop me from keeping bees?

[Wanna bee]

I would like to start keeping bees this year but I am away for 2 weeks in July.

I was planning on getting a 5 frame nuc. I've read that bees tend to swarm in the months of 'May, June and to a lesser extent July.'

Since I'd be getting a nuc and they have already swarmed then would it be safe to assume they would'nt swarm while I was away?

 

[Moggs]

Nope. If they build well, they will have exactly the same swarming instinct that drives any strong colony. Welcome to the world of beekeeping! By the way, they probably would not have "swarmed already". A nuc isn't a 'swarm'.

 

[richardbees]

No - and being in Scotland should be a deterrent.

(I meant cooler weather!)

 

[Baggyone]

Find a buddy who will look after your hive(s) whilst on your hols.

Sent from my ZTE-U V880 using Tapatalk

 

[oliver90owner]

Welcome to the forum.

A nuc is not a swarm. Entirely different.

Depends on when you are getting your nuc, on what attention it may need in July (start, middle or end?), but a nuc with a good choice of strain is unlikely to be swarming in the first year.

Regards, RAB

 

[For want of a better word]

possibly unlikely to go awal if nuc is placed into 11 frames in whatever pattern of hive you wish to move them to.............. should bee too busy deciding on colours of new carpets, planning new kitchen, laying new lawn etc etc...... you know what girls are like!

 

[biglongdarren]

i started beekeeping with a 5frame nuc last may,i now have three stong colonies from it............

 

[Wanna bee]

Thank you for all the replies.

I was planning on using a fairly big hive to keep them busy to help prevent them from swarming.

Not sure where im going to get my nuc from. I live in a fairly isolated place so the nuc would have to be posted . Locating one is my next problem.

 

[Rosti]

I was planning on using a fairly big hive to keep them busy to help prevent them from swarming.

Wanaa bee, by all means target a larger hive format e.g. 14x12 but your nuc will still need to build-up into the full brood box and you'll need to carefully expand their living quarters as they need it to help maintain hive temperature (vital to help with wax production) but without causing restriction. You can get into all that later. One of the best things to do when it comes to bees is plan what you would like to happen but react to what you see happening!
If you are going for a larger hive format then mention this to your chosen nuc supplier, whilst most nucs come on standard national frames you may be lucky and be able to get them on the frame format that you want to use - makes things much easier! Dont be afraid to ask - don't ask then definately won't get! Welcome and enjoy. R

 

[Wanna bee]

With both the colder weather and the bees being kept busy while I'm away acting as measures to prevent swarms should I try and give it a go or is it just too risky?

 

[Skyhook]

You'd probably be OK- first year queen, and give plenty of space- but there is a risk of swarming. Your best bet is to have someone who can cover, and the best way to do that is join your local association.

 

[oliver90owner]

Risky? You need to risk assess for your particular locale. We have no idea if you are close to Hadrian's Wall or on a remote northerly island. Your first post said you wanted to -, now at post #10 you seem to be faltering before even getting started. Is this a complete lack of confidence, or looking for an excuse not to do it?

Bees looked after themselves for millions of years, even before man's ancestors climbed down from the trees and started a walking existence. Two weeks is nothing in that context.

I ask you a question: When do you think beekeepers go on holiday, only mid-winter?

Even if they were to swarm, you would have half the bees remaining - unless they threw secondary 'cast' swarms. But you would be home by then, anyway.

July in Scotland will have long daylight hours and can be hot - loads of midges about! I see no reason, unless too far north to prevent you keeping bees.

Ask the local BKA re beekeeping in your local district. I am sure there will be one, and others are already keeping bees around you - as long as you are not on one of those remote northerly islands.

RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

Not read the thread but it is a common worry.

From a fellow Scot by the way.

Build up Nuc into hive.

Pre going on holiday, find queen and pop her into a nuc. Let your colony raise a queen while you are away.

On return pick between the queens and unite or keep increase.

PH

 

[rae]

Depends when your nuc arrives.

If it arrives in say, early June as a "good" nuc - three frames of brood, two of stores, then you can put it straight into a brood box that is dummied down to say, 6 frames. By the end of June you will be at 8 frames or so, and when you go away, give them the lot and they will happily expand into it.

If the nuc arrives the week before you go away, then you'll have to give it more space than it needs quite quickly, and if the weather turns pants, it could (note, could) cause problems.

As long as they have enough space, I wouldn't worry overly about a nuc swarming. It does happen, but it is generally when they are kept in a nuc box for too long, and it fills up completely with brood and stores.

Having said that, when we started, one of our nucs arrived while we were on holiday - just started 2 weeks in Spain and got a call from the postie. Supplier cock up! We had to talk the father in law through releasing them, and they stayed happily in the nuc box for two weeks, then we hived them - they were fine.

 

[enrico]

Hey _ we all lose swarms it doesn't matter how good a beekeeper you are. I say, keep bees, and go on holiday. if you lose a swarm so be it, you will still have some bees left to carry on with. It is the most satisfying hobby you could have and you never know, you just might prefer the bees to a holiday!
Go for it.... You only live once

 

[Wanna bee]

Risky? You need to risk assess for your particular locale. We have no idea if you are close to Hadrian's Wall or on a remote northerly island. Your first post said you wanted to -, now at post #10 you seem to be faltering before even getting started. Is this a complete lack of confidence, or looking for an excuse not to do it?

Bees looked after themselves for millions of years, even before man's ancestors climbed down from the trees and started a walking existence. Two weeks is nothing in that context.

I ask you a question: When do you think beekeepers go on holiday, only mid-winter?

Even if they were to swarm, you would have half the bees remaining - unless they threw secondary 'cast' swarms. But you would be home by then, anyway.

July in Scotland will have long daylight hours and can be hot - loads of midges about! I see no reason, unless too far north to prevent you keeping bees.

Ask the local BKA re beekeeping in your local district. I am sure there will be one, and others are already keeping bees around you - as long as you are not on one of those remote northerly islands.

RAB

As it turns out I am on one of those remote northerly islands so my nearest BKA would be in Aberdeen which is a boat trip away.

It could be a lack of confidence or even me trying to be cautious. If I am going to get into this hobby then I'd like to do it properly.

 

[mandabow]

Thank you for all the replies.

Not sure where im going to get my nuc from. I live in a fairly isolated place so the nuc would have to be posted . Locating one is my next problem.

How about trying to find a local bee population and putting up swarm traps. nearby.

you'd then not be importing foreign bees to your isolated island, thereby keeping the genepool for locally acclimatised bees, not risking bringing a new dieseas onto the island etc etc

Plus you have the bonus(?) of them taking a fair bit longer to get sorted out, therby less likely to swarm when your away as they'll still be building up from nothing.

less honey this year, but better in the longrun + i wager having pure bred local bees would make future nucs far more valuable to send back to the mainland, as pure breeds, if you ever decided to go into queen rearing.

otherwise i suspect yo'll have to have a trip to the mainland to pick up a nuc. have no idea if courriers would transport them for you, but for the wellbeing of the bees i'd want to check they were beign transported carefully and in good calm conditions across the water etc.

Edited to add:

you can encourge the local hive to swarm by feeding them sugar water until there stores are full then they want to expand ;p

 

[psafloyd]

As it turns out I am on one of those remote northerly islands so my nearest BKA would be in Aberdeen which is a boat trip away.

It could be a lack of confidence or even me trying to be cautious. If I am going to get into this hobby then I'd like to do it properly.

Which remote northerly island is that, Wanna bee?

 

[Wanna bee]

I'm in Shetland. Don't think there are wild bees here. I've never actualy seen any. We have plenty of bumblebees.

I'm going to try to locate a nuc in the mainland.

 

[keithgrimes]

If you live on a remote Northerly Scottish Island, why would you want to go on holiday?
Seriously, I would just go ahead and get your bees. Swarms are not 'inevitable' and can be avoided, but I'm prepared to bet that most of the people on this forum have suffered from it. I had one last year six days after hiving a new nuc. Bite the bullet, but join a loal association and get help/mentorship.