RoseCottage
Field Bee
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2009
- Messages
- 718
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Near Andover, UK
- Hive Type
- WBC
- Number of Hives
- From 5 to 2 and hopefully a better year
It started a few weeks ago really.
For years now I have looked forward to September/October for a warm 'Indian Summer' and have yet to be disappointed. If I was planning a marriage and couldn't book the usual months I would be confident in the last week of September and the first of October to be dry and sunny.
So back to the story.
I received a call from a little old lady near me who has had a colony of bees living in the roof space next to her bathroom for years. She had got used to and enjoyed the noise they made whilst she was in the bathroom. lovely. No harm at all.
No fear no threat.
Sadly, her life has moved on and her loved one has passed over. Things are harder now than she deserves and the big old house needs some work that is simply beyond her. One job is the fixing of a flat roof next to her bathroom but the builders just will not get it done for fear of the bees.
They had to go or be killed. She phoned my friend Paul (Merylvingien) who offered the task to myself and Linn. We accepted and conversation around dates began between ourselves and Mary.
As time slipped by it became apparent that we were not going to be able to rescue these girls until late September and possibly early October. The worst possible scenario for the bees as they may end up homeless, storeless, broodless, and queenless as Winter and the desire to cluster comes upon them.
The week before and the phone goes again. This time my friend Jackie calls (again thanks to Paul). She has a similar scenario but with a derelict property. She wanted someone to give her a hand, someone with a beevac.
I agree to help Jackie as these bees could be very good experience for the job on Mary's bees.
So next day every useful bit of kit is packed and I am off to meet Jackie.
Neither of us had ever cut out a complete colony that are settling for Winter.
Battle Armour all present and determination spread across our faces we arrive.
Six hours of tearing, digging, ripping, slicing, hoovering bees, and scooping glupy burst stores up we have a Nuc and Bee Vac of bees.
We think we saw the queen and put her into the Nuc.
We are soaked not just from sweat but from a Thunderstorm directly overhead and from hailstones of considerable size bombarding us and the colony. It started sunny and warm, clouded over, rained, cooled dramatically, hailed for a good length of time, thunderstorm and lightning in the next field, and even flooded somewhat.
We drove to Jackie's to deposit the bees on the white sheet and plank to march the bees into their new home.
It was raining, many thousands of bees seemed to be dead on arrival. Still we persevered. Onto the sheet they went but no marching occurred. Instead we had to shake them into the reduced hive from the top. Many flew to the next hive and negotiated entry.
All in all a small population some comb and a distinct chance of colony failure.We felt it hadn't been possible to get all the comb, perhaps we missed the queen, and it will be hard to turn this round at this time of year.
So with hail and torrential rain doing the operation down we did our best and that is the best we can say. Jackie has a lot to do to succeed with them.
Now its Thursday last week. We arrived and spent six hours in Sunshine to cut out an enormous colony of settled bees. We had 4 boxes of bees, 3 large boxes of brood and honey comb. There were probably 60,000 plus bees including we think the queen. We left a couple of hundred behind at most.
This colony was given to a local enthusiast. Bees everywhere and they need much feeding.
Now we have all his great weather. The second colony should be able to establish themselves and could be OK.
We learnt so much. Primarily, not to do colony cut outs very often as they demand so much effort and time. A swarm is one thing but a full colony this time of year is something else.
Cross your fingers for these two colonies. One taken in a thunderstorm with heavy hail bombardment and one in clear skies, all in a week.
All the best and thank goodness for the good weather,
Its a funny old world,
Sam
For years now I have looked forward to September/October for a warm 'Indian Summer' and have yet to be disappointed. If I was planning a marriage and couldn't book the usual months I would be confident in the last week of September and the first of October to be dry and sunny.
So back to the story.
I received a call from a little old lady near me who has had a colony of bees living in the roof space next to her bathroom for years. She had got used to and enjoyed the noise they made whilst she was in the bathroom. lovely. No harm at all.
No fear no threat.
Sadly, her life has moved on and her loved one has passed over. Things are harder now than she deserves and the big old house needs some work that is simply beyond her. One job is the fixing of a flat roof next to her bathroom but the builders just will not get it done for fear of the bees.
They had to go or be killed. She phoned my friend Paul (Merylvingien) who offered the task to myself and Linn. We accepted and conversation around dates began between ourselves and Mary.
As time slipped by it became apparent that we were not going to be able to rescue these girls until late September and possibly early October. The worst possible scenario for the bees as they may end up homeless, storeless, broodless, and queenless as Winter and the desire to cluster comes upon them.
The week before and the phone goes again. This time my friend Jackie calls (again thanks to Paul). She has a similar scenario but with a derelict property. She wanted someone to give her a hand, someone with a beevac.
I agree to help Jackie as these bees could be very good experience for the job on Mary's bees.
So next day every useful bit of kit is packed and I am off to meet Jackie.
Neither of us had ever cut out a complete colony that are settling for Winter.
Battle Armour all present and determination spread across our faces we arrive.
Six hours of tearing, digging, ripping, slicing, hoovering bees, and scooping glupy burst stores up we have a Nuc and Bee Vac of bees.
We think we saw the queen and put her into the Nuc.
We are soaked not just from sweat but from a Thunderstorm directly overhead and from hailstones of considerable size bombarding us and the colony. It started sunny and warm, clouded over, rained, cooled dramatically, hailed for a good length of time, thunderstorm and lightning in the next field, and even flooded somewhat.
We drove to Jackie's to deposit the bees on the white sheet and plank to march the bees into their new home.
It was raining, many thousands of bees seemed to be dead on arrival. Still we persevered. Onto the sheet they went but no marching occurred. Instead we had to shake them into the reduced hive from the top. Many flew to the next hive and negotiated entry.
All in all a small population some comb and a distinct chance of colony failure.We felt it hadn't been possible to get all the comb, perhaps we missed the queen, and it will be hard to turn this round at this time of year.
So with hail and torrential rain doing the operation down we did our best and that is the best we can say. Jackie has a lot to do to succeed with them.
Now its Thursday last week. We arrived and spent six hours in Sunshine to cut out an enormous colony of settled bees. We had 4 boxes of bees, 3 large boxes of brood and honey comb. There were probably 60,000 plus bees including we think the queen. We left a couple of hundred behind at most.
This colony was given to a local enthusiast. Bees everywhere and they need much feeding.
Now we have all his great weather. The second colony should be able to establish themselves and could be OK.
We learnt so much. Primarily, not to do colony cut outs very often as they demand so much effort and time. A swarm is one thing but a full colony this time of year is something else.
Cross your fingers for these two colonies. One taken in a thunderstorm with heavy hail bombardment and one in clear skies, all in a week.
All the best and thank goodness for the good weather,
Its a funny old world,
Sam
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