Queenless due to theft.

[Blue Spinnaker]

Some people are completely thoughtless with respect to the victims - you, the children and of course the bees.

Well done for looking forward to solving the problem you are faced with. Me and my daughters have had about £400 of washing nicked off our line recently, just thinking of imaginary ways to get back (we saw them do it the final time, but the police have closed the case saying we didn't get a good enough look to identify them) has helped us feel less angry..... electrified washing line, big sign saying Killer Guard Bees on Premises, etc etc...

 

[Dishmop]

dishmop

"spy cameras disguised as a cigarette lighter"

c'mon dish....even the biggest moron would find something fishy about a cigarette lighter cellotaped to a cane, how about buying one disguised as a Sunflower?

richard

Or one inside that takes a pic of the felon looking in.... wired to a taser gun and Mace spray.. and then fires poisonous darts from a blow pipe..............

 

[richardbees]

....now you're talking !

 

[kazmcc]

Thank you for the advice drstiton, am I right thinking the first emerging queen will destroy the remaining QC's?

I am looking forward to solving the problem put on us, as it's the first time I've done it and I am still in awe of the fact that I'm trusted to inspect alone LOL I am eager to learn and be in a position to be making all the decisions on the girls, not still a pupil as it were It's easy to try and run before you can walk though, so have to reign myself in a lot

Revenge. Ohhhhhh if only. There is a poster going up tomorrow, worded :

These bees are NOT community property.
DO NOT enter this hive.
They have their own beekeepers associated with the school.
If you wish to take part in an inspection, please contact Karen or Jane at St James C of E.

Any unauthorized entry to these hives will be considered trespass and will be dealt with accordingly.

I think that covers everything

 

[psafloyd]

Some people are completely thoughtless with respect to the victims - you, the children and of course the bees.

Well done for looking forward to solving the problem you are faced with. Me and my daughters have had about £400 of washing nicked off our line recently, just thinking of imaginary ways to get back (we saw them do it the final time, but the police have closed the case saying we didn't get a good enough look to identify them) has helped us feel less angry..... electrified washing line, big sign saying Killer Guard Bees on Premises, etc etc...

That happened to me 15 years ago. Final wash before leaving a house.

You'll probably find it was Arnold Layne.

 

[Midland Beek]

I guess someone wanted a test frame to insert in their own colony to test for queenlessness. Maybe they hastily shook off the bees on the front of the hive, and the queen was lost.

Destroy the poorest of the queen cells; but I would be inclined to leave more than one. Of those that you do leave, try not to damage them.

Another way is to destroy all queen cells so they will not get themselves a new queen, and then introduce a bought queen.

 

[drstitson]

if it were me I'd leave the best looking QC in the hive but take off a small nuc with one or two more cells as insurance. That way you either reunite if main colony QC is duff OR you have a second colony (which is always a good idea).

 

[kazmcc]

We have a second colony coming from the AS we did earlier in the year. There was nowhere suitable for them on the plot so mentor took them to his place until they are settled and laying. Queen didn't make it on that one so he's going to introduce a queen to that one for us. I know it would be quicker and easier to introduce a queen here too, but I need to learn this stuff before I go it alone. If we get any honey this year, that would be lovely, but training me up is a bigger priority for now.

Our mentor is pretty busy and we depend on him to bring equipment as we need it so end up waiting sometimes. If I'd have know all that I know now, back then, I wouldn't have allowed them to acquire the equipment in this way, I'd have kept the money and bought it myself. Getting everyone together to apply for another grant is proving difficult too. * deep breaths Karen * The less said about all this the better, lets just say I'm doing the best I can for them with the equipment we do have.

 

[richardbees]

good luck, kaz, perseverance over adversity is all!

I hope you moved your hand from that red bucket before he bashed it with that red spade..

richard

 

[kazmcc]

good luck, kaz, perseverance over adversity is all!

I hope you moved your hand from that red bucket before he bashed it with that red spade..

richard

Thank you Richard

Oh yes, me and Arran make sandcastles like a finely tuned machine lol

 

[kazmcc]

A quick update. A plot holder a two plots down had to hide in his greenhouse because....in his words.....thousands of bees attacked him. This happened about 2 weeks ago, around the same time the thief took our frame. When our mentor went to check his hive, there were QC's that had had the queens emerge. The plot holder assumed it was our bees that " attacked him " as he was unaware there was another colony on the allotments and complained. Mentor reckons it was a swarm, from thiefs hive. I reckon so too as we are certainly not down in numbers of bees.

This guy is starting to irritate me now. A bit.

 

[Hombre]

It seems that the truth will always emerge sooner or later in these matters.

Just a few thoughts. About the cheapest five frame nuc will easily set you back £125 or so, making a frame of bees easily worth £25, similar to the commercial replacement cost of a queen.

Not really something trivial at all when you think about it in those terms, is it? If the head doesn't think that it is something worth pursuing, then would he/she consider stumping up the commercial rate for a new queen - in the interests of the school of course.

Best wishes in your continuing endeavors.

 

[drstitson]

"making a frame of bees easily worth £25"

thats what B**k**s**ff*s charge according to their website.


BTW why did he need a frame of brood right after losing a swarm?

 

[kazmcc]

I have no idea. He said he was queenless, then a frame from my hive disappeared from the deep brood box. I don't think he knows what he's doing tbh. He was probably in a right mess, he's being advised by email I think, so he's getting advice going by his observations. All I can think is he was told he needed a test frame to check if he was queenless, and we are just a handful of plots away. I'm beginning to think my mentor knows what he did, but he's keeping well out of it.

Has anyone seen that Mr T program? Mr T's Crazy Fools? He has sections like driving fools, or sports fools. He needs a new one called beekeeping fools. It's quite scary if you ask me, that any old eejit with money to burn can keep bees. It's not like getting a rabbit.

 

[drstitson]

"It's not like getting a rabbit"

agree - bees need care and attention. rabbits just need new batteries every so often.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Kaz, given the proximity of his hive to yours and the fact that you cannot guard it 24 hours a day might it not be an idea for you to work together?
You never know, you might be able to make a beekeeper out of him yet and be able to help each other out......... just a thought.

 

[kathrynat]

agree - bees need care and attention. rabbits just need new batteries every so often

 

[Russel]

agree - bees need care and attention. rabbits just need new batteries every so often

Those ruddy rampant ones do

 

[plumberman]

"It's not like getting a rabbit"

agree - bees need care and attention. rabbits just need new batteries every so often.

Drstitson: given your other quote in the £1.50 honey stirrer thread, have you received an interesting new catalogue in the post recently?

 

[kazmcc]

Kaz, given the proximity of his hive to yours and the fact that you cannot guard it 24 hours a day might it not be an idea for you to work together?
You never know, you might be able to make a beekeeper out of him yet and be able to help each other out......... just a thought.

I am afraid I may throttle him.

It isn't up to me though. The school decide who takes part, I just arrange it and am the main beekeeper. The sorry thing is if he'd have asked, I'd have been happy to help. I probably wouldn't have given him one of the well drawn deep brood frames, but that isn't ( or wasn't ) where the action was anyway, she prefered the shallow brood box. I'd have been able to supply him with a nice frame with eggs without detriment to our colony. He just had to speak to me. I am quite approachable really