Lucky??? :D Im so chuffed

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Insy

House Bee
Joined
May 23, 2011
Messages
304
Reaction score
2
Location
Essex
Hive Type
Commercial
Number of Hives
Only I know :D :D
Hello All

Im a beginner in beekeeper been doing ltos of reading and building like ive said in previous posts, but in the last weeks ive had some luck and half :D.

A week or so ago i picked up a cast swarm from paloabee and ive been watching closely its been swarming due to virgin queen needing to mate but last 2 visits it looks like shes stayed inside so she may be mated. The wax foudnation is sloewly drawing out but its VERY slow progress due to small amount of bees, i also have them on 1:1 syrup to try and help them. There progressing but like i said slow so im going to leave them to it now and fingers crossed they make it, but they are bringing in pollen on there legs so looking good i just think its wheres its a small cast.

2-3 days ago i took a national hive which i steralised up to the land im allowed to use for keeping my bees, i stuck some old comb inside it and i place pure lemongrass oil on the frames and on several wooden posts ina circle surrounding the hive. I had reports from the shooters up there saying there seemed to be a few bees going in and out, so today i went up there loaded up with me smoker, suit, bee brush and tool and braced myself and prayed it was good news. I took off the lid and i could see lots of bees through the little hoel in the crown board, i got all excited i then took off the crown board and i was like JACKPOT!!!!!!! Bees everywhere! so i took a stpe back and fired a bit more smoke in there direction getting ready to check the frames. I starting pulling the frames out and checking 1 by 1 and at least 5-6 frames were completely covered in honey bees and the other frames had bees on but wasnt full. LOTS of bees flying in and out collecting i suppose, i tried to look for queen but no luck was so many bees it was hard. I found queen in the cast swarm above but coudlnt find in this one due to so many bees, BUT there seems to be alot of shiny honey/jelly in the combs which wasnt there when i place there so there collecting and sotring honey/jelly. I couldnt see eggs but i didnt check all frames as i didnt want to disturb them to much as its a present colonized swarm.


So now i have a few questions:

1) I was planning to leave for a week or so to let them settle in properly and make themselves feel at home, would u recommend shoudl i be checking every 3 days.
2) Bees wings didnt looked deformed as far as i could see and they all looked healthy but as a beginner i could be mistaken.
3) What tips could u give me to help find the queen on next inspection, i know what a queen looks like but there was alot of bees to try and shuffle through.
4) Is it a good sign that there was already LOTs of shiny sibstance in the combs?

Any tips or advice about other stuff is also welcome.

They didnt seem aggressive at all they were friendly, not 1 attempt of stinging me even tho there was 1 buzzing drone sounding very annoyed but thats it :D.

thanks
regards
ben
 
Great news.

1.You shouldn't open them more than weekly.
2. You should put in the varroa tray and check the drop against the figures on the Fera website
3. What do you think the shiny substance was? nectar? Very young larvae? I'm thinking you might need to follow around a beekeeper or go on a course otherwise you will get in a pickle soon.
 
yes i plan on sorting that out this week, i wasnt planning on luring a nice sized swarm in 2-3 days as i heard it can take months.

The shiny stuff didnt seem to look like it had eggs or larvae in it looked just like stores but liek i said i could be wrong.

heres a couple of pictures sorry about quality was taking on the blackberry phone

003-1.jpg


002.jpg
 
Excellent result! Your enthusiasm comes across really well, and I still feel that excitement when with the bees that I did when I first went into a hive....although the fears passed lol.

Next step, learn about what you are seeing and doing. Quickly or you'll end up in a pickle. Ask lots of questions, join your local beekeeping assoc and get lots of books. Don't worry about spotting the queen, as long as you see eggs and grubs, then you know she's been there in the last week at least.

Get some understanding as quickly as possible though, at least of what you are seeing, then you can pose any questions with as much information as needed, so you can get informed answers. It is a very steep learning curve.

Enjoy the bees :D and try not to open them up just for the sake of it, difficult, I know, i'd be in there every day if I could lol
 
Yes i have about 7 books :D including the A guide to bees and honey by ted hooper. I have a grandad who was a beekeeper but hes not due down till end of july so he can only go by my descriptions, im going to phone the local beekeeping club as i know there meetings are on first friday of the month which is coming up so thats good.

I watch alot of youtube videos, when i looked the liquid shiny subtance in the comb did not have eggs or larvae (not in the parts i looked anyway) so i assume is nectar/honey making there stores. Im going to leave it a week as the hive was empty 2 days ago and its not long since they moved in so hopefully on my next visit in a week i should start seeing the eggs/larvae/grubs if shes laying.

I will be trying to examine for varroa in the next week by slotting some card in bottom, and monitoring the mite only problem is i didnt include the varroa excluder part ontop of flooring yet as i was still constructing it (i dont think noone would expect it woudl take 2 days to lure a swarm :p i thought i had a months reading or at least a couple of weeks more)

Ill let you know how it goes tommorow after i phone the chairman/executive of the beekeeping club.
 
That is really quick from what I've heard. I've only been beekeeping a year, but boy have I learnt a lot!

You'll pick it up in no time. The people on here are very supportive and great teachers. I wish you all the best with your shiney new bees :D
 
Well the place i have my beehive theyve already had 4 swarms removed this year lol this is there fifth and theyve all been nice sized swarms so ive been told, so there must be alot of wild bees about here or lots of hives that aren't being looked after properly.
 
Well the place i have my beehive theyve already had 4 swarms removed this year lol this is there fifth and theyve all been nice sized swarms so ive been told, so there must be alot of wild bees about here or lots of hives that aren't being looked after properly.

Maybe you could move your new bees and rent out the space to other wouldbe beekeepers! LOL. Just tell em to bring a hive ;)

:rofl: :p
 
Insy, where abouts in Essex are you? Not exactly but roughly? Just wondered as I am an Essex girl (but with brains!)
 
Im in the havering area, Im tempted to stick the other Empty national i cleaned there and see if something else arises lol. I know 1 will be enough for now aswell as the nuc with cast swarm but if there lying about the land owner will rather them be in hives then taking swarm in other place on land like on previous occasions,
 
Well done, Insy, but do get yourself down to Gidea Park next Friday at 2000 and tell the guy next to the signing in sheet (probably Terry and a lovely guy) that you're new, have bees and are looking to learn. Associate membershipmis only rennet, you get to go to the meetings and ask loads of stupid questions of people who have been there before you. It's invaluable in growing your knowledge.
 
little bit of advise on your inspection technique from the photo

take the frame on the cold ( North /north eat side out first and leave it out to give you more space to remove and move the frames around, ie inspect the first, then put it down or on a frame hanger, inspect the second and put it on the first frame position and so on until all frames inspected, you can then either push all frames up one and insert the first frame back in t postion or place it at frame 11

it means you roll less bees and are less likley to kill the queen putting and taking out frames

and well done


leave for at least 7 days, i leave my swarms 14 days then check for brood ( could be virgin etc) then another 14 days, then 7 days
 
Yes PSA i will be phoning the number tommorow and i will get down to the next meeting if i can, would be nice to meet some local people.

Muswell thanks for advice ill do that in 7 days on my next inspection, i was just so amazed and excited to take the crown board off and find soooooo many bees in there just after that short space of time i didnt want to disturb to much i just wanted to check if it was stealing or a swarm.

The land owner will be so happy :D 1 less swarm in there car park or barn :p
 
Yes PSA i will be phoning the number tommorow and i will get down to the next meeting if i can, would be nice to meet some local people.

Muswell thanks for advice ill do that in 7 days on my next inspection, i was just so amazed and excited to take the crown board off and find soooooo many bees in there just after that short space of time i didnt want to disturb to much i just wanted to check if it was stealing or a swarm.

The land owner will be so happy :D 1 less swarm in there car park or barn :p


get another up their for saturday sunday and monday , very warm caste/swarm weather in SE england
 
Ok i know you lot said you check every week but im new and im a little eager to see things, so today was 3-4 days since last inspection.

When i opened up once again no aggression at all very pleasant and kept doing there thing, the 5-6 frames which was full of bees last inspection were ALOT heavier. I also managed to find the queen and shes looked alot BIGGER and CHUNKIER then the queen bee from the cast swarm which im hoping means that the queen from cast swarm as usual was a virgin queen which was still flying so means it was mating flights. She seemed to be very active and moving about with her little followers covering her and following her everywhere.

Yet ive still seen NO capped cells, no white dots in the liquid substances which are eggs/larvae and no larvae, but theres ALOT of uncapped cells which are half full/completely full with clear/shiny substance and a couple of cells which look to me like stored pollen as its a white/yellow substance in the cells.

Bees seemed very active going in and out and still lots of bee compared to the nucleus.

I COULD be wrong aboutt he eggs as im unexperienced but im pretty sure i couldnt see any, i phoned gidea park secretary and got no response and i left email, name, phone numbers and no response back yet :( so i will try phoning the chairman or someone else again this week before the monthly meeting.

Any tips or help much appreciated :D.

BUT i was glad to spot and find the queen :D she does look as dark as others on here that ive seen, seens a light colour but shes fairly big id say and im 100% SURE it was her.
 
The clear shiny substance will be nectar/honey. Where abouts is it? The bees, when Q+ will do their thing in like an arc. At the bottom will be the brood, the eggs will be in polished cells, which will be dry if worker brood. They are tiny things, about 3mm in length and white. Then they will grow into larva which appear as C shaped white grubs which get larger and larger until they fill the cell, at which point the bees will cap the cell. Above the brood they will usually have a band of stores, with wrinkly white cappings, the difference between brood cappings and honey cappings is quite remarkable.

I will try and find a link to a really good wide angle picture that has a lot of things you may encounter on it, including bee diseases.

Ours are queenless at the moment and are storing in the area usually reserved for brood, but they will move it once she comes into lay.

If I have any of this wrong, I'm sure more experienced beeks will correct me, but I think I've covered the basics to give you an idea of what you might be looking at :)
 
Yes ive seen pictures of the pollen and honey usually like a arch like you said on the top part of frame and middle and bottom usually brood, i believe this is what your trying to say.

The nectar/honey is in the middle some bottom of frame from what i see, there like half full of the stuff, but i cannot see white dots of grubs anywhere as i had a good long look with sun shining through and without, just looks like sotres of nectar/honey. But they were old combs so they may need cleaning and polishing and stuff before they start laying, would like to get a inspector or someone to come have a look with me but there definately alot more honey/necter than last inspection cause i felt the different with weight on the frames.

Ill try call the bee club again tommorow when i wake up from after doing my night shift and see if i can get a answer, would be nice to get some experienced opinions from looking at the hive as i find ithard to get decent pictures whilst holding frames.

Im happy i found queen tho and that frame alot more heavy, but then again i have my bees surrounded by MASS blackberries and a HUGE plants nursery along with acres of land and barn :D.
 
Heres a idea where most nectar/honey i see is

bees.jpg


Cannot see no white dots/larvae/grub tho but like i said i may be blind haha
 
Lucky old bees lol :p I just go off grubs, mainly the teeny ones and sometimes spot the odd egg, as it can be difficult seeing them on darkened combs. We also had the added problem of an elusive queen unmarked so couldn't shake the bees from the frames. We never saw that queen the whole time she was with us.

Good luck getting a reply. You'll learn a helluva lot from this forum though. I know how you feel not wanting to wait, I'm dying to get in that hive to see if she's laying yet, but I'm sitting on my hands to give her the best chance. I don't want to disturb them if she's out mating. Awwww, what to do?! LOL
 
Good on you. Well done. Romford BKA meet Friday 1st July at Chadwick Hall RM2 5EL for 8pm. You would probably be able to sign in as a visitor.
 

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