Hello from Bristol

[PhilM]

Edit: apologies realised I posted in the wrong section, could an admin please move me over to the introduction section please?


Hello all, I'm a first year beekeeper based in north west Bristol and currently have one 14x12 hive and one poly nuc which I'm attempting to bring through winter.

I was bought a three month beekeeping course by a family member last year and spent January to March attending once a week evening courses at my local club. When spring rolled around I've attended weekly practicals at the club apiary which I've gone to all the way through the season.

I purchased my first nuc from a club member, which due to the poor spring arrived mid June. This colony is really well tempered and currently residing in a 14x12 thornes cedar hive at the club apiary until Feb when I'll bring it to my own site. Really heavy when hefting and I love inspecting this colony.

A month later a swarm came up in cheddar so I went to fetch it under the guidance of more experienced keepers and brought it back to my own apiary.

My own apiary is located in Severn beach on a patch of wasteland which I reclaimed over the spring at work primarily as an apiary but also to house a small allotment for staff to use (suitable distance from the apiary has been established). The sites nice and secure, gated with close parking and plenty of room for expansion.

Working two colonies, one under guidance and the other solo has been great as it's allowed me to build confidence and learn under supervision and put into practice. I'd thoroughly recommend it as a way to learn.

My swarm is a bit lively compared to the nuc I purchased, much more defensive and has the odd bee that will ping but every group has their moody members. I am going to see what they're like in spring and possibly requeen. Currently in a masiemore poly nuc (14x12 again). By early sept they still hadn't drawn out 2 frames so fed on syrup after I treated with apiguard and then switched to fondant in Oct. They've gone through 80% of one bag so have put another on top end of last week to see them through.


Did my first vape today with a instantvap lite, covered the bottom of the ofm of the nuc with cardboard to seal up as much as I could. The hive entrance was set too narrow, so when I pulled the drawing pin and opened the dial up a big ball of bees came out to see what was up, as soon as they went back in I gave them a blast and removed the cardboard underneath. Really easy to do and hopefully made a positive difference. Will treat again next week and twice more after that.

Booked in for the improvers course in Jan to learn more in the downtime between seasons.

Goals for next year:

1. continue to learn by supporting once/twice a month at the club apiary

2. Possibly requeen the poly nuc swarm

3. Move the poly nuc swarm into a full hive

3. Try a split/get to three colonies

4. Attempt to get some honey and experience the extraction process

I've been reading this forum all year and thought it was time to become a member and contribute.

Also I didn't realise how much bees like to chew polystyrene, the landing ledge of the nuc and the entrance have all been nibbled, I guess I should have painted it first. When empty I'll have to use some filler and get the paint out.

 

[ericbeaumont]

requeen the poly nuc swarm

Good idea, and here's an idea:
1 When the main colony expands and before drones are produced, put on the main colony a sheet of newspaper and onto that a second BB.
2 Kill the nuc queen and put the nuc combs & bees into the new top BB; bang the nuc box over the BB to shake in the remaining bees. Add foundation frames to fill tthe box.
3 If supers were on the main colony, put a sheet of newspaper onto the top BB and add the supers. Close up.
4 Wait until drones are flying well, then split the colony onto another stand and allow the Q- box to make a new queen. Thin the QCs to one; if you wish, use a good sealed spare to make up a 3-frame nuc, and take it 2 miles away (to keep the flyers) until mated. Alternatively, make it extra strong on the same site, to compensate for flyers that return home.

 

[pargyle]

Edit: apologies realised I posted in the wrong section, could an admin please move me over to the introduction section please?


Hello all, I'm a first year beekeeper based in north west Bristol and currently have one 14x12 hive and one poly nuc which I'm attempting to bring through winter.

I was bought a three month beekeeping course by a family member last year and spent January to March attending once a week evening courses at my local club. When spring rolled around I've attended weekly practicals at the club apiary which I've gone to all the way through the season.

I purchased my first nuc from a club member, which due to the poor spring arrived mid June. This colony is really well tempered and currently residing in a 14x12 thornes cedar hive at the club apiary until Feb when I'll bring it to my own site. Really heavy when hefting and I love inspecting this colony.

A month later a swarm came up in cheddar so I went to fetch it under the guidance of more experienced keepers and brought it back to my own apiary.

My own apiary is located in Severn beach on a patch of wasteland which I reclaimed over the spring at work primarily as an apiary but also to house a small allotment for staff to use (suitable distance from the apiary has been established). The sites nice and secure, gated with close parking and plenty of room for expansion.

Working two colonies, one under guidance and the other solo has been great as it's allowed me to build confidence and learn under supervision and put into practice. I'd thoroughly recommend it as a way to learn.

My swarm is a bit lively compared to the nuc I purchased, much more defensive and has the odd bee that will ping but every group has their moody members. I am going to see what they're like in spring and possibly requeen. Currently in a masiemore poly nuc (14x12 again). By early sept they still hadn't drawn out 2 frames so fed on syrup after I treated with apiguard and then switched to fondant in Oct. They've gone through 80% of one bag so have put another on top end of last week to see them through.


Did my first vape today with a instantvap lite, covered the bottom of the ofm of the nuc with cardboard to seal up as much as I could. The hive entrance was set too narrow, so when I pulled the drawing pin and opened the dial up a big ball of bees came out to see what was up, as soon as they went back in I gave them a blast and removed the cardboard underneath. Really easy to do and hopefully made a positive difference. Will treat again next week and twice more after that.

Booked in for the improvers course in Jan to learn more in the downtime between seasons.

Goals for next year:

1. continue to learn by supporting once/twice a month at the club apiary

2. Possibly requeen the poly nuc swarm

3. Move the poly nuc swarm into a full hive

3. Try a split/get to three colonies

4. Attempt to get some honey and experience the extraction process

I've been reading this forum all year and thought it was time to become a member and contribute.

Also I didn't realise how much bees like to chew polystyrene, the landing ledge of the nuc and the entrance have all been nibbled, I guess I should have painted it first. When empty I'll have to use some filler and get the paint out.

Welcome to the best beekeeping forum on the planet - much on here in the archives that you won't find in the courses and bee books.

Good plan but don't be surprised if the bees try and thwart your plans !

Are you sure it's the bees that have nibbled the entrance and landing board ? Sounds suspiciously like a rodent to me ... have a close look - are there any teeth marks ?

Good luck with your beekeeping - the second year is probably the most challenging ... get through that and you are well on your way to a lifetime of keeping bees.

 

[Murox]

Not always rodents; I have witnessed tits and other small birds hammer away at polystyrene nucs before now, especially the entrance area. Thankfully I've never had to deal with the aftermath of a woodpecker rampage.

Welcome to the Forum PhilM.

 

[Amari]

I think it was wasps nibbling my polys

 

[Swarm]

The early Paynes nucs, before the the disc type, had very small entrances, my bees opened those up to nearly twice the size.

 

[PhilM]

Thank you for the warm welcome, I've been using search a lot and the depth of knowledge here and straightforward approach is great. Providing I understand the logic behind something I'm happy, I don't just want to follow advice without background and that's not a concern here.

Good thoughts on pargyle on combining and then splitting. I was leaning forwards buying in mated queen to maximise time for colony growth and ensure good genetics as I don't know what the local drone population is like in my area.

Photo below of the entrance showing the wear, I've taken some photos underneath through the omf and everything looks clear, no signs of rodents entering the hive.

The field I have them on has a strong rabbit population but that wouldn't explain the wear around the actual entrance

 

[Swarm]

Looks like evidence of gnawing, especially the landing block.

 

[PhilM]

Looks like evidence of gnawing, especially the landing block.

Guess I'll see if there is any internal impact when I open up in march. As mentioned checking through the mesh floor there is no sign of debris so hopefully it's just external

 

[ericbeaumont]

just external

Probable; if the nuc is strong the bird or rodent will give up when bees come out. Different story with rats & badgers, but those have not caused your poly pecking.