You never can tell with bees

[Robert_Brenchley]

I thought I'd had all the swarms I was going to this year (the first one seems to have settled in, though it is very small), but when I got to the plot today I found a much bigger one hanging off the side of an empty hive. It's not the first time this has happened. They're attracted by the smell of old comb, and with the shortage of hollow trees and inviting attics these days, they will often zero in on an empty hive. They're now inside rather than outside, the first lot have been treated for varroa, and everything should now settle down so I can concentrate on raising some queens.

[Robert_Brenchley]

[ceres]

Excuse my ignorance about bees but do they swarm naturally 'in the wild' and if you're a beekeeper, you might get lucky if they end up near your hives?

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's a method of colony reproduction. the queen can't live on her own, so they raise more queens, then once the larvae are well developed and the cells closed up, half the bees fly off with the old queen, looking for new accommodation. So it's an essential part of their existence; without swarms there would be no new nests, and the existing ones aren't immortal, so the honeybee would soon become extinct. We collect them when we can, as it's a source of free bees. When one arrives like this (I once had one fly in and march into an empty hive while I stood there watching) it really saves us a job!

Losing a swarm is upsetting, as so many bees disappear that you're unlikely to get any honey off that hive that year. Not that I'll be getting much if the weather doesn't improve soon.

[ninnyscrops]

We had a swarm in our hedge many years ago, only stayed a couple of days. Didn't know, but they apparently rest when they have to.

[ceres]

Thanks Robert, that's interesting.  I've seen a chap in full beekeeping kit on our site so must go and have a chat next time I see him.

[Patrick King]

WoW what a site.
i have been reading up about bees for months now. hoping to get my own soon. did you make the hives you use or did you buy yours.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I buy them flat and assemble them myself. If you can wait till next year, the cheapest place to get them is Thorne's winter sale, when they get rid of all the seconds (the bees don't care if the wood has knots in it) cheap. Meanwhile, you could contact your local Beekeepers' Association and see if you could assist someone and learn how to handle bees. With any luck, they might have some cheap equipment, or some bees.

[manicscousers]

that's good to see, Robert, I've seen many more tiny, wild bees this year, are they increasing or is it just my poppies ?  ;D

[Ishard]

Robert have you any links you could post so I can read up please?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Not sure exactly what you want, but try the BBKA site http://www.britishbee.org.uk/ . Dave Cushman http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/newhome.html has endless pages of stuff, though he's in the middle of an update at the moment.

[Robert_Brenchley]

that's good to see, Robert, I've seen many more tiny, wild bees this year, are they increasing or is it just my poppies ?  ;D

I haven't heard that they're increasing, but if you've got lots that can only be good news.

[Ishard]

Thank you for the links Robert.  ;D

Bee keeping is a lot more complicated that I thought but it will give me something to learn over the winter :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Complicated it certainly can be! There was a time when you could get some hives, put bees in, and pretty much leave them to their own devices. Nowadays, with mites and all the viruses they spread, you can't get away with that. Join the Irish List (http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/irishbeekeeping/), ask any questions you want, and that way you'll keep up with whatever's going on. As for books, two good ones are Ted Hooper, 'Guide to Bees and Honey' and FIBKA, 'Bees, Hives and Honey: the Beekeepers' Companion'. You should get them on Amazon, but the local Waterstones has Hooper, so you might be able to look at that one before you buy it. If you try AbeBooks, you might find Ron Brown's 'Beekeeping: A Seasonal Guide', which is out of print, but I think it's one of the best ever. Never rely on a book for varroa; get your info off the Net, at places like the Irish List, because the situation keeps changing. A lot of people have lost a lot of bees because they didn't keep up to date. Get the contact for your local Beekeepers' Association from the BBKA site, and do join it.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I had a look at the two swarms today, and both have eggs and brood. They haven't yet reached the point where I can be absolutely certain they have viable worker brood, which is the crucial thing, but I'm now almost certain they both have properly functioning queens. They took a long time to produce eggs, so they were probably both headed by virgin queens, which have hopefully mated with my own drones. Everything's looking good so far!

[manicscousers]

after all the scary news this week, it's good to hear a (fingers crossed ) good news story  :)

[ceres]

Good news Robert!  Keep us posted please?

[Robert_Brenchley]

I will. The next step is to squash the one queen I don't want - not one of these - and replace her with one I do want. That'll save me some stings, and get rid of some bad genetics.

[ceres]

Poor queen!  Still, for the greater good and all that.  I have comfrey planted behind my shed and I sit beside it when I'm having a cuppa.  It's ciovered in bees and I find the activity fascinating to watch - they're so intent on what they're doing, head right inside the flower, bums in the air, on to the next one!

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's her given the thumb and finger treatment. Which rights one mistake I made. You don't get sentimental over bees, they're rather too well-armed for that. The workers will now get rather agitated and start raising new queens; the difference between a worker and a queen is just extra sugar in the diet when they're grubs. In a week's time I'll flatten all the queen cells, since I want to get rid of those particular genetics. Their own grubs will by that time be too old to be turned into queens, so they'll have to raise a new one from the eggs I'll give them from my best hive.

[ceres]

That's just amazing.  I had no idea there was such a complex process.  Are you getting rid of a 'bloodline' because of disease or poor performance or something else?