What To Buy

[Cussword]

This will be my first solo season. I have a hive with two supers. As I've been part of a group responsible for some hives I have clothing, smoker,tools etc.
I'm on the list of folk to attend swarms. As I obviously have to buy more equipment, what should I buy first, a poly nuc, to collect swarms, or a basic hive, for when my bees swarm?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Get another hive - you can collect swarms in a crisp box easily enough - or get both - a secondary 'poste restante' address is handy for covert deliveries

 

[Gilberdyke John]

This will be my first solo season. I have a hive with two supers. As I've been part of a group responsible for some hives I have clothing, smoker,tools etc.
I'm on the list of folk to attend swarms. As I obviously have to buy more equipment, what should I buy first, a poly nuc, to collect swarms, or a basic hive, for when my bees swarm?

Not exactly sure what your being part of a group responsible for some hives indicates with regard to your personal experience/competency
I would suggest as many basic hives (om floor,brood box, frames & foundation, crown board and roofs) as you can reasonably afford plus some supers with frames and foundation once the auctions get underway. Get these ready for use BEFORE the swarms arrive.

 

[beehive1234]

More Hives, Jars, Labels, Security Labels, Honey for Sale sign, Sugar, Hive straps, Crown boards, Frames and Foundation, Push pins, Feeders, Duck Back Paint, Extractor, Diary, Bee Brush, Smoker, Rotting Wood dried out or Chain Saw Chips, Gas fuelled Blow Torch, (for lighting) Magnifying Glass, Water Sprayer, Anti-Histamines, PVA Glue, frame Nails, Old Pot for wax melting or Solar Wax Melter, Books, Videos, DVDs, Internet, but above all, Patience, Patience and a strong will, not to interfere because you feel PANIC.

 

[user 6228]

This will be my first solo season. I have a hive with two supers. As I've been part of a group responsible for some hives I have clothing, smoker,tools etc.
I'm on the list of folk to attend swarms. As I obviously have to buy more equipment, what should I buy first, a poly nuc, to collect swarms, or a basic hive, for when my bees swarm?

A single hive doesnt really work even for a single colony...
Cardboard boxes for swarm collecting. You can easily keep a colony in late spring for a fortnight in a card board box made waterproof by a bin bag. (be aware they are slowly chewing to pieces as time goes by)

 

[beehive1234]

by which time they have used all their stores and strength. Swarms should be housed in their permanent home ASAP.

 

[beeno]

Hi,
I would recommend buying a proper swarm box, light and sturdy with proper ventilation, but not as light as to take off. They cannot chew their way out, as mine did overnight in the garage, and they will not escape in the car. Furthermore in the summer they can be a temporary home, if you close up the vents and put something water proof over the roof, whilst you wait for them to prove themselves Q+. Gives a better impression as well if you are on the swarm collector's list. Have fun.

 

[peteinwilts]

Being on a list to collect swarms, does not gaurentee bees.

Also, collecting swarms can be tricky, depending on height/location. I have failed to catch a swarm at waist height. It was enormous and wrapped around a dense rose bush. Prickly, difficult to extract, and somehow missed the queen.

also, most swarms have older queens. They are not all good natured and can be downright savage. One swarm collecting trip resulted in a couple of dozen stings, with a loss of hundreds of bees as I looked like a dalmation.

Swarms can also up and leave if they do not like their new home. (QX under the brood box for a week or two helps)

swarms can be a baptism of fire. If you want to go down a much easier route, ask one of your group for a nuc. I have given nucs to new beekeepers, and am paid back on the hives first split/nuc. If you have friendly folk in your group, I am sure they would oblige.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Concentrate on keeping bees first - as Gilberdke John said get more hives,floors etc. Before spending money on a 'proper' swarm box - people won't complain if you collect them in a cardboard box, after all, you're doing them a service. Swarm collecting isn't the be all and end all.

 

[REDWOOD]

a cardboard box works fine, mine has a bit of duck tape for reinforcing joints and a bit of OMF mesh as ventilation, sadly it's a bit worst for wear after last summer so intend making a swarm travel box for next season. It is easier to move frames of bees than loose bees into a hive.

 

[itma]

As of now, it seems like you have a hive with 2 supers BUT NO BEES.


You don't really need anything else until the bees arrive.


BUT THEN ... you should aim to get to two colonies (so you are more sustainable and daft-mistake-proof --- but nothing is proof against really determined idiocy!) and fairly swiftly.
So that means two hives with oooh at least 3 supers available for each (with frames, etc), and another basic hive (floor/brood/cover/roof + brood frames) for swarm control (and having a poly nuc as well is going to come in very handy one day).
Having the odd empty (even of frames) super spare can also be handy. Even as a feeder eke. (Got any feeders?)

Personally, I like framed rigid wire Queen Excluders, see-through no-hole coverboards, rhombus clearing boards ... and proper (flat) dummy boards. (You'll be needing a feeder or two, and likely a feeder board, possibly urgently after taking delivery of some bees - so prepare! The 4-pint rapids are the most versatility with cheapness.)
It isn't hard to make plywood feeder/clearing boards and dummy boards (B&Q will cut sheets for free and accurately into your dimensioned parts).. Twinwall polycarbonate coverboards are only very slightly trickier.
But it is simpler to just buy those QXs.

And then, hopefully you'll be borrowing/hiring the association extractor, but needing (at minimum) honey buckets to store it in. (Cheap, but get them before, not after, you need them). Then you'll be needing a bottling bucket, jars and labels ... but if the stuff is safe in decent buckets, it can wait for you.



And of course your equipment requirements would change if you were to move to double brood or brood-and-a-half...

The upcoming Sales are a great way of picking up kit at a better-than-usual price. Problem is that you have to pay for it well before you might need it, then store it, or in the case of JBM, you need to find a place to hide it out of sight of the wife...

One can play cleverly, buying a cheap 50-pack of super frames in the sale, and two dozen DN4 sidebars - so you could make up a dozen brood frames (using the topbars and bottombars from your pack). /// Assuming you are going National - I don't think you have specified your hive type, but the general principle applies regardless.

Don't leave your shopping until it is immediately needed. This last summer, everyone was putting on extra supers and amazingly this resulted in a shortage of shallow foundation. Don't get caught, but don't think you need to stock up for all possible eventualities - cover your plans, and work out how you are going to handle possible alternative scenarios.
Try and keep slightly ahead of the bees - which means monitoring how they are deviating from your Plan A. The further ahead you plan, the greater the potential variation from forecast!

 

[jonnybeegood]

More Hives, Jars, Labels, Security Labels, Honey for Sale sign, Sugar, Hive straps, Crown boards, Frames and Foundation, Push pins, Feeders, Duck Back Paint, Extractor, Diary, Bee Brush, Smoker, Rotting Wood dried out or Chain Saw Chips, Gas fuelled Blow Torch, (for lighting) Magnifying Glass, Water Sprayer, Anti-Histamines, PVA Glue, frame Nails, Old Pot for wax melting or Solar Wax Melter, Books, Videos, DVDs, Internet, but above all, Patience, Patience and a strong will, not to interfere because you feel PANIC.

I wouldnt use chainsaw chips as they have oil in them which is used to lubricate the chain as it cuts.

 

[Cussword]

Not exactly sure what your being part of a group responsible for some hives indicates with regard to your personal experience/competency

Sorry about that. we've been keeping bees on the allotment. I'm setting up on my own now.

Thanks for all the advice, I'll go for another hive and, if called for a swarm use a cardboard box. I only suggested the nuc box as that is what I've used before to collect a swarm, only it wasn't my box.

 

[pargyle]

One can play cleverly, buying a cheap 50-pack of super frames in the sale, and two dozen DN4 sidebars - so you could make up a dozen brood frames (using the topbars and bottombars from your pack)..

Yep ... this works ... what I did last year ... gives you a bit of flexibility as, in the early days of a couple of hives, you can just make up enough frames to see you through the next few weeks ... When you get to a few more hives then you will need a bee shed just to store everything and you will spend half the winter making up frames and boxes and cleaning/painting the ones you have already used and the rest of the time you will be extracting and bottling ... and hiding all that equipment you WILL need from any significant other ..

Are you SURE about keeping bees ?

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Just a small addition to the list of items for collections swarms.

Last year I had three to collect on a flat roof - one on the floor, one on a planter, the last round the hive itself.

A dustpan and bee brush were invaluable.

Dusty

 

[tudorcd]

And a nice old sheet, which has been retired from domestic duties, to bundle up your box containing the swarm and a nice bit of cord to tie it up.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And a nice old sheet, which has been retired from domestic duties, to bundle up your box containing the swarm and a nice bit of cord to tie it up.

 

[alldigging]

And a nice old sheet, which has been retired from domestic duties, to bundle up your box containing the swarm and a nice bit of cord to tie it up.

And duct tape. Because you never know when it'll be useful.

 

[user 6228]

by which time they have used all their stores and strength. Swarms should be housed in their permanent home ASAP.

I agree,
But construction/delivery cycles and swarm arrival/collection dont always match. So someimes ASAP gets close to a fortnight

 

[user 6228]

b.... Swarms should be housed in their permanent home ASAP.

I agree,
But construction/delivery cycles and swarm arrival/collection dont always match. So someimes ASAP gets close to a fortnight