Starting this blog for those who are interested in skep beekeeping.
I do not keep bees in skeps and am quite happy with my Nationals but I get the impression there are plenty on here who might consider the former. From my perspective, if the advice of many on the forum about the more common moveable frame hives cannot sway you, I'd rather that there is some advice to maximise your chances of success and somewhere where questions can be asked without any slanging. The bees come first.
I would ask those who might want to discuss on this blog to consider this before responding to others, whatever your view. It is fine to challenge but do it constructively. If someone irks you, be the bigger person. Let's leave the faeces for cladding skeps with!
As a first post, and this is outside of my expertise so they may be irrelevant, I will suggest some potential issues and ask that those who have experience, ideas or relevant knowledge give pointers, even if not skep keepers. I probably won't be very involved but if it gets cantankerous I'll go running to the mods, so there.
I do not keep bees in skeps and am quite happy with my Nationals but I get the impression there are plenty on here who might consider the former. From my perspective, if the advice of many on the forum about the more common moveable frame hives cannot sway you, I'd rather that there is some advice to maximise your chances of success and somewhere where questions can be asked without any slanging. The bees come first.
I would ask those who might want to discuss on this blog to consider this before responding to others, whatever your view. It is fine to challenge but do it constructively. If someone irks you, be the bigger person. Let's leave the faeces for cladding skeps with!
As a first post, and this is outside of my expertise so they may be irrelevant, I will suggest some potential issues and ask that those who have experience, ideas or relevant knowledge give pointers, even if not skep keepers. I probably won't be very involved but if it gets cantankerous I'll go running to the mods, so there.
- A straw skep does not offer much insulation or protection from the harsher weather. As such overwintering is a potential concern. Some form of shelter (e.g. Bee boles) is probably going to be useful.
- If coating it in faeces, check with the farmer that the livestock it's from haven't been wormed recently. Many wormers have an insecticidal activity.
- Inspections will be hard/impossible. How do skep keepers monitor for diseases and is it possible to mitigate the risk of swarming?