Hello-New to the forum why not post a "Hi" message for other users to welcome you.

[Jonathan]

Thank you all for the welcome.

Finman - yes treatment was carried out in late Summer for all hives that had honey supers still on. For those that didn't have honey I started mid Summerish. All seem to have responded well.

 

[tony350i]

hi all,

been keeping bees 3 or 4 years, spent the last 3 regressing them down to 4.9mm foundation as well as letting them draw what they want with foundation-less frames,
it's not very ones way but I'm happy with the results.

look forward in getting involved with some debates on here , to much bad add vice on the site i was a member off, glad i stumble on this, nice to have alternative.




Regards
Tony

 

[Frisbee]

Welcome Jonathan and Tony350i to the forum.

Frisbee

 

[Widdershins]

Hello Tony!

Im intrigued by your 'signature' - can you tell us a bit more?

 

[tony350i]

Hello Tony!

Im intrigued by your 'signature' - can you tell us a bit more?

Hi,

it is believed by some that it can help against v mites, all my hives are on smaller and natural cell and look pretty good to me when i tucked them up for winter.
some think it's hocas pocas and some swear by it, it's something you would have to try for your self to see what you thought of it.

Regards Tony

 

[BKF Admin]

hocas pocas or not its nice to hear of members doing things their own way,if we all did things the same then this forum would just become an advice centre with a few experts giving answers to members questions.

 

[Finman]

been keeping bees 3 or 4 years, spent the last 3 regressing them down to 4.9mm and now let them draw what they want with foundation-less frames,

The worst what I know is the regressed beekeeper. Stepping 150 years backwards

 

[tony350i]

hello Finman nice to see you are still kicking

 

[Hivemaker.]

Welcome Tony,hope you like this forum.

 

[Polyanwood]

Welcome Tony

 

[iombeeman]

ahhh,,i seem to have missed this page,anyway hello to you all
from the varroa free island in the sun splashed irsh sea isle of man
hope you have the answers cos i sure got the quistions
iombeeman

 

[BKF Admin]

quistions ?

You seem to spell as well as the rest of us on here,you will fit right in.

Welcome iombeeman.

Question for you: can you get a national hive on the back of a motorbike? bet you have tried.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Welcome to the forum TT man,sorry i mean Iombeeman.

 

[Frisbee]

Hello Iombeeman, welcome to the forum

Frisbee

 

[Normandie]

Hello Beekeeping forum people -
I found you today after seeing a recommendation on the River Cottage forum. I'm from southern England but now live in Normandy. Friends moved recently and bequeathed us their hives - two, neither of which were very healthy. We had the usual beginners' problems of wondering if enough brood was being laid, whether we had a queen, was one hive diminishing in size despite the fact there was brood? and it was... we now have one hive that did fairly well over the summer.

We've left them with their honey stores this year (and we'll top them up with syrup if necessary as the winter / early spring progress) on the basis that as in our opinion they're still not a big colony so they're better having what they've laid down rather than us taking a relatively small quantity of honey and then doing top up feeding immediately.

The more experienced amongst you may disagree - and feel free to do so because that's how we'll learn. :-D

Anyway, we plan to get another colony in the spring and hope to build up to 3 or 4 hives over time.

 

[BKF Admin]

Hi Normandie welcome to the forum.

Nice to hear from a fellow Southerner,hows France treating you?

Regards the hives it sounds like they may of swarmed before you took them over or your queens may be getting on a bit.

Did you treat them this year ?

 

[Polyanwood]

Welcome to the forum.

I think you urgently need to be thinking about how you will treat for varroa, if you have not already. If you have not, post a question in this forum and one of the superbeeks will advise you.

Best wishes,
Karin

 

[Normandie]

Yes, we did treat for varroa. We had difficulty getting hold of a treatment initially because we can only get it from our local "county" bee-person and he was impossible to contact. We could not get the treatment without being signed up to the local association but as he would not return our calls or letter it was catch 22.

We persevered and eventually found a bee-keeping supplies shop some way to the north of us who did have a varroa treatment that we put into both hives - twice, the recommended treatments being about 3 weeks apart.

We are total novices at hands-on bee-keeping but in the past have been on bee-keeping courses at our local agricultural college when we lived in Wiltshire and read books and have watched friends deal with their hives so we understand some of the routines and practicalities... we'd just never had to do them ourselves prior to this year. And it's all very well knowing that one needs to do a) b) and c) but it's all the other little questions that arise around those actions that books don't cover and only experience - or forums like this - answer.

We have "winterised" the hive, having put in the mouse guards etc.

 

[Markbee]

Hi Normandie

Welcome to the forum.

Ask as many questions as you want. We have all been there made the mistake and bought the T shirt, so you can learn from us.

PS You will also see me on the river cottage forum (it was my link) as I am planning on getting a couple of pigs next year.

 

[MJBee]

No chance Enzyme I am already paying new members ?30 to join

p.s Hi Jules welcome to the forum.

Where's my ?30?