Hello from a locked down rainy Wales 😁

[E&MBees]

Yes Emily
It’s a good thing to do.
We all help each other.
We may argue and stamp our feet at times but we are a community not just a forum
A family if you like.

Definately!

 

[pargyle]

Yes.
I give bees away though. Though not always the caught ones.
Some years ago when I got into trouble one of the forum members here gave me a nuc
Since then I try to do the same.

That's part of my problem ... people keep giving ME bees they don't want ... !!! There were so many swarms last season that you couldn't give them away ... and not enough newbies to inflict them all on ... and then of course ... having been given bees ... they find it's hard work and GIVE UP ! What happens to their bees .... they give them back .... easy come-easy go. A hive of bees is for life - not just for May June and some of July ...

 

[robmort]

That's part of my problem ... people keep giving ME bees they don't want ... !!! There were so many swarms last season that you couldn't give them away ... and not enough newbies to inflict them all on ... and then of course ... having been given bees ... they find it's hard work and GIVE UP ! What happens to their bees .... they give them back .... easy come-easy go. A hive of bees is for life - not just for May June and some of July ...

Next year you could offer some Chichester way as there were not enough to go round.

 

[seillean mil]

it's nice to read all this positivity about the persistence and proliferation of bees. Up to now, the general perception I've picked up on the forum has been that you're usually walking a knife-edge when you keep bees, and that one way or the other, the little beggars are determined to leave you for pastures new or just as likely, for the big beehive in the sky.

You're definitely inspiring me, next season, to provide a superior, AirBnB for passing bees.

 

[pargyle]

Next year you could offer some Chichester way as there were not enough to go round.

Your beekeepers are obviously much better at swarm prevention than those in Fareham !!

 

[Newbeeneil]

Next year you could offer some Chichester way as there were not enough to go round.

Put some bait hives up Rob, I had about 10 up around my area and picked up about a dozen swarms. ( none of them from my hives) I gave most away once they had been through my isolation apiary. I love catching swarms like this and, as you say there are always plenty of people wanting them.

 

[Nick Lang]

What sort of bees do people attract with bait hives then....is it all different species???

 

[pargyle]

What sort of bees do people attract with bait hives then....is it all different species???

Honey bees ... you might have a bit of difficulty milking the honey from other bee species....

 

[Nick Lang]

Honey bees ... you might have a bit of difficulty milking the honey from other bee species....

...Okay....sorry.....I kinda walked into that one didn't I...
my meaning was...when catching swarms...do people find they are typically Welsh black honey bees....buckfast...etc..or they just whatever is passing...and could literally be anything???
And do different honey bee types have different requirements....are some types less desirable than others due to things like productivity, temperament etc????

 

[pargyle]

...Okay....sorry.....I kinda walked into that one didn't I...
my meaning was...when catching swarms...do people find they are typically Welsh black honey bees....buckfast...etc..or they just whatever is passing...and could literally be anything???
And do different honey bee types have different requirements....are some types less desirable than others due to things like productivity, temperament etc????

Sorry ... just joshing ... in terms of swarms you get whatever comes your way - all honey bees swarm ... it just depends on what bees are in the vicinity that decide to swarm. They could be feral bees they could be bees from a beekeeper who hasn't noticed or done anything about the preparations their bees have made prior to swarming. If that beekeeper keeps Buckies, or Carniolans or AMM's or local mongrels or whatever ... that's what you get.

Yes .. all bees have different characteristics ... the attributes a beekeeper will take note of are principally:

Temperament., Productivity, Calmness on the frames, Frugality over winter, Propensity to swarm, Reistance to disease, Tolerance/resistance towards varroa, Queen fecundity. They can be bred to 'improve' these qualities by selective breeding from known stock. You can buy queens that should have known characteristics that suit your beekeeping, obviously you can't guarantee anything if the queen has been open mated so many breeders will use artificial insemination from known stock drones to ensure the characteristics they desire are passed on.

As a new beekeeper what you really want is gentle bees ... there is nothing more off-putting for a new beekeeper than a colony that tries its best to kill you as soon as you go near them or which pour out of the hive all over you when you open them up. There are bee breeders who will sell gentle stock - I have some lovely black welsh bees that came from a queen from Ceri Morgan which are a delight to handle and have most of the above qualities in spades.

Of course, if you catch a swarm then you get what comes - but, if they turn out to be the bees from hell all you have to do is buy in a new queen, kill the existing one and replace her with your new one ... in a few weeks the new queen's genes will be the bees you have and the problem is solved. All this is pretty much in the future for you ,... Here's some background reading on the various types of honey bee and what you can expect.

https://www.osbeehives.com/blogs/beekeeping-blog/types-of-honey-bee-and-their-traits

Look out for a copy of Bees at the Bottom of the Garden by Alan Campion and read it - twice or three times ... it's not a beekeeping bible but it will give you a flavour of what you are letting yourself in for.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bees-at-...789455&hash=item1aa810d374:g:zOgAAOSwNkhfiEyM

 

[Nick Lang]

Sorry ... just joshing ... in terms of swarms you get whatever comes your way - all honey bees swarm ... it just depends on what bees are in the vicinity that decide to swarm. They could be feral bees they could be bees from a beekeeper who hasn't noticed or done anything about the preparations their bees have made prior to swarming. If that beekeeper keeps Buckies, or Carniolans or AMM's or local mongrels or whatever ... that's what you get.

Yes .. all bees have different characteristics ... the attributes a beekeeper will take note of are principally:

Temperament., Productivity, Calmness on the frames, Frugality over winter, Propensity to swarm, Reistance to disease, Tolerance/resistance towards varroa, Queen fecundity. They can be bred to 'improve' these qualities by selective breeding from known stock. You can buy queens that should have known characteristics that suit your beekeeping, obviously you can't guarantee anything if the queen has been open mated so many breeders will use artificial insemination from known stock drones to ensure the characteristics they desire are passed on.

As a new beekeeper what you really want is gentle bees ... there is nothing more off-putting for a new beekeeper than a colony that tries its best to kill you as soon as you go near them or which pour out of the hive all over you when you open them up. There are bee breeders who will sell gentle stock - I have some lovely black welsh bees that came from a queen from Ceri Morgan which are a delight to handle and have most of the above qualities in spades.

Of course, if you catch a swarm then you get what comes - but, if they turn out to be the bees from hell all you have to do is buy in a new queen, kill the existing one and replace her with your new one ... in a few weeks the new queen's genes will be the bees you have and the problem is solved. All this is pretty much in the future for you ,... Here's some background reading on the various types of honey bee and what you can expect.

https://www.osbeehives.com/blogs/beekeeping-blog/types-of-honey-bee-and-their-traits

Look out for a copy of Bees at the Bottom of the Garden by Alan Campion and read it - twice or three times ... it's not a beekeeping bible but it will give you a flavour of what you are letting yourself in for.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bees-at-...789455&hash=item1aa810d374:g:zOgAAOSwNkhfiEyM

Thanks so much....I really appreciate the reply.....I kinda suspected it might be the case.....and you're right arsey bees sounds like no fun whatsoever
I will deffo check out the reading you suggest...cheers

 

[Apple]

Swarms can be a bit of a Curate's egg....

Catch... Isolate.. check for disease ( 2 brood cycles) and then requeen with a queen of known provenance.....
or you could keep them and see what they turn out like!

Chons da

 

[HughMann]

Hello Hugh, I too am a relative ‘learner’, I’ve never heard of ‘swarm traps’ - can you enlighten me, please? I live in Normandy.
Austin

People have beaten me to it. I will be making as many traps as I have spare wood this winter. Just one catch and I will have saved far more money that would have gone on buying bees that are not used to the weather in my area, and the inexpensive traps will last years.
I suppose it depends on wher you live, but there are so many woods near me that I am sure there is a good chance my early catches will have overwintered without human help - so pretty hardy..
Don't just put them up in your garden - ask friends if you can put a box in their gardens too.
I started after seeing so many swarms land in my garden, it was silly not to offer them a home!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Save up your propolis folks. It's great to dissolve in alcohol or meths and paint the inside of your bait hives......better than lemon grass any day
Add One old clean brood comb, a couple of wired but empty frames and away you go.
The trap on my potting shed roof always attracts early prime swarms. I've seen them come practically every time and they always come from the same direction; little black bees.

Unfortunately......this years catch is still there

 

[Swarm]

What's the plan for moving it?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Stan's on it
Spring and an out apiary is as far as I can get my head round.
Maybe I could get him to build a permanent decking platform and a staircase ?
They need to go
It's a prime site for bait hives

 

[Swarm]

I suppose a mid Winter move is out of the question, they probably weigh a ton with that 14x12 and super. I don't envy him.

 

[pargyle]

Stan's on it
Spring and an out apiary is as far as I can get my head round.
Maybe I could get him to build a permanent decking platform and a staircase ?
They need to go
It's a prime site for bait hives

Have you dowsed for energy lines .... ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Have you dowsed for energy lines .... ?

I should

 

[madasafish]

Your beekeepers are obviously much better at swarm prevention than those in Fareham !!

That goes without saying.