Hello from another new member!

[Ewok]

A super is a box of frames that goes on top of the brood box, & it's where the bees store the honey. As the bees build up their numbers & store more honey, you add more supers to give them more room.

Welcome to the forum, I'm a newcomer myself.

Sorry Heather beat me to it!

 

[taff..]

hello and welcome to the forum.

So, first things first, what's a "super"?

take a look here

http://www.somersetbeekeepers.org.uk/Tour%20a%20Hive.htm


its an exploded diagram of a national hive.

 

[Frisbee]

Hello Bee Me Up and welcome to the forum

Everyone else has said all you need to know

Frisbee

 

[MuswellMetro]

Thanks for your input RoofTops


I can think of vandalism / arson / scarcity of food / disease and predation perhaps by other animals, some of which I'd like to seek greater detail on - for example - what animals can wreck a hive? If we take the woodland scenario for instance - do birds, squirrels, deer, rabbits, badgers, foxes or voles interfere with hives in any way?

Vandalism: normally only in the City, if you have ahive on an allotement but to be safe your hive should blend in to the area...A new hive sticks out and a old hive/grey wood or painted green blends in ,Dont paint it white unless its a WBC hive andyou want it to look pretty in your garden

Scarcity of food: if you do not replace their honey you removed with a feed of sugar water they starve to death over winter, naturally the hive would balance with the food supply or swarm..but we remove the honey

Disease: various but hopefuly the only one you will see is varroa mite, that is a pain but managable if you follow ALL the advice

Damage: cows and sheep scratching their backs often push over hives

Threats: Woodpeckers break into hive and kill your Bee in winter, Mice enter nest and live in the hive and eat the honey comb, Rats: the same but can bite their was through wood floors

Other threat: Beekeepers, problalbly kill more bees due to BIS....... B***dy idiot Syndrome

Swarming : yep , whatever you do you will lose a swarm, its in a bees nature

 

[tonybloke]

Welcome to the forum, you are in good company!!
Books, ask the OH tp get you a copy of Ted Hooper for x-mas http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Bees-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259605124&sr=1-1
Make sure that you have close vehicular access to both as carrying a full super for a long way is difficult.
(or do as the rest of us, get a wheelbarrow!!)
ask loads of questions (the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask)

 

[hedgerow pete]

hello bee me up and welcome to the forum, hedgerow the heretic/video super star here, autographs done at cost to you, cheap at £25 each.

as for your first question , dont worry about to many of those if we all did we all would stop keeping bees, yes you will have worries and problems but we can all help out. for the woods thing i would personaly get the hive nearer the outside edges of the woods my self but away from falling branches unless its a very small one in which case it dont matter much

 

[Bee Me Up]

Thanks for the replies people - that exploded diagram was quite good for a beginner. I'm still confused as to why the roof isn't slanted though (i.e., like on most houses to help the rain drip off...). But fair-dos.

I'm worried about vandalism in the woodland scenario because being isolated, the occasional idiot might shoot at it with air rifles, set it on fire, etc for a lark, although I do hope this is only my imagination running away with me rather than the norm!

Woodpeckers breaking in and mice nesting in the hive concerns me a bit, so does anyone have any ideas as to how that can be prevented? Perhaps wirenetting around the hive, big enough for the bees to fit through and to keep the birds out? I've seen woodpeckers in the area I'm thinking of putting the hive...

Also, I wonder if other birds might just hang about and pick them off one by one over time? So many questions, I'll stop for a while now!

 

[Black Comb]

Welcome from me too.

27 posts on your first thread - well done.

 

[thurrock bees]

hi bee me up
there are mouseguards for the winter to keep mice out and concerning woodpeckers, they are okay till they lrean what is in the wooden box(hive), they then tell every woodpecker around, to beat this you roll some chicken wire into a cylinder shape, place it over the hive using bamboo to hold it in place, the bamboo lays across the roof,and they cant perch on the hive, hence stopping them.
With large animals that may use it as a scratching post, i place a small rachet strap over the hive with a large brick on top, that way if they knock the hive over the hive is in one piece and the weather will be less likey of getting in.
TB

 

[Bee Me Up]

hi bee me up
there are mouseguards for the winter to keep mice out and concerning woodpeckers, they are okay till they lrean what is in the wooden box(hive), they then tell every woodpecker around, to beat this you roll some chicken wire into a cylinder shape, place it over the hive using bamboo to hold it in place, the bamboo lays across the roof,and they cant perch on the hive, hence stopping them.
With large animals that may use it as a scratching post, i place a small rachet strap over the hive with a large brick on top, that way if they knock the hive over the hive is in one piece and the weather will be less likey of getting in.
TB

Thanks for this info - that makes a lot of sense. Do you know whether squirrels eat bees / honey?

Also, whilst I'm here - this will sound daft to all of you, but I'm guessing bees don't go out at night (I suppose because flowers close up and probably because the bees navigate by the sun perhaps), but I just wondered about bats too - I take it they are no problem to bees as they are safely tucked up inside their hive with some milk and honey, electric blanket and chicklit?

 

[thurrock bees]

bees dont fly at night out of choice,if you bang or move the hive at night and the entrance is unblock they will come out and say hi ouch, so bats will not be a problem.
As to squirrels i have never heard of problems with them and never had problems myself.

 

[Bee Me Up]

Great - I only ask about squirrels as they will be one of the many likely animals to naturally encounter the hive in a woodland and as they are so damn pesky for the health of trees, I was beginning to wonder if they cause any mischief to hives. Thank you for your input.


Any other woodland enemies to think about - large or small? The hive if I do put my plan into action may be unattended for short periods, so I'd like to consider as many eventualities as I can to prevent mishaps.

 

[RoofTops]

I wouldn't worry about large animals other than humans, which is why beekeepers tend to keep their hives out of site. I would also, if at all possible, avoid entering the wood in sight of public roads wearing your veil etc.

Any other creatures which decide to have a go can usually be dealt with by some means or another, such as fencing. Some threats do not seem to be a problem, for example, we are surrounded by badgers but I have never heard of any problems from them and this includes the hives in a wood nearby I mentioned originally, which are on quite low hive stands.

The only really small creatures to worry about are varroa, which will come as a free extra with your bees. In the future we may/will have small hive beetle to contend with but don't let any of this put you off. There will be enough challenges in your first year from the bees themselves. You can learn to enjoy the challenges from God's other creations later.

 

[thurrock bees]

I wouldn't worry about large animals other than humans, which is why beekeepers tend to keep their hives out of site. I would also, if at all possible, avoid entering the wood in sight of public roads wearing your veil etc.

Any other creatures which decide to have a go can usually be dealt with by some means or another, such as fencing. Some threats do not seem to be a problem, for example, we are surrounded by badgers but I have never heard of any problems from them and this includes the hives in a wood nearby I mentioned originally, which are on quite low hive stands.

The only really small creatures to worry about are varroa, which will come as a free extra with your bees. In the future we may/will have small hive beetle to contend with but don't let any of this put you off. There will be enough challenges in your first year from the bees themselves. You can learn to enjoy the challenges from God's other creations later.

I agree, if you go on a course you will/should lrean about the main problems involing beekeeping, the only ones that really worry me use two legs and wears clothes,but if you dont tell anyone the location then you should be fine.
If you get any other problems they should be local problems and just post the problems on here and some other beek will have came across it.

TB