Author Topic: Welcome to Beekeeping (Read 28949 times)

princesspiggy · « **Reply #30 on:** January 12, 2011, 06:32:48 pm »

thats a really good idea, a bit of branch off beach would work cos that would float i expect. never thought of that. it used to upset me seeing so many dead (about 5 a day all summer long) and then see things on telly that bumble bees are on decline. i do like them, we could count 200 at any one time on our phacelia in summer, though we planted a crop that flowered early autumn but not many bees were around then, where do they go? iv no idea

Daisy-at-the-dairy · « **Reply #31 on:** January 16, 2011, 09:03:03 am »

Quote from: scattybiker1972 on January 05, 2011, 08:10:18 pm

thinking of buying a beehaus from omlet.
whats your opinion of it as a hive?

Not tried it myself but here are a couple of points for you to consider:

Last year, the BBKA's insurers decided not to cover any kind of plastic hive against disease. This is because these hives cannot be sterilised in the traditional way, by flaming with a blow-torch, and the insurers are not yet convinced that other methods are effective. Bee disease insurance comes as part of your BBKA membership, but won't cover any colonies in plastic hives for the time being. Of course, the manufacturers of plastic hives say you can sterilise them quite adequately with washing soda and household bleach, so the choice remains yours. Do you want the cover or not?

Have you considered the Dartington hive, which is made of wood? The omlet hive is substantially based on it. I have a couple of friends round here who use it with great success. You should be able to find it via google but if you have trouble let me know and I'll try and dig out the link for you.

Finally, just to let you know my own experience of plastic hives. I used a heavyweight expanded polystrene hive in 2009 the colony sailed through last years cold winter, emerging stronger than ever. the same colony this year in a wooden hive died of isolation starvation (got so cold the colony couldn't reach the stores they had available. very sad) during the recent cold spell. Having said that, there are always other factors at play and my other 2 colonies in wooden hives are flourishing.

I didn't like the design of that particular polystyrene hive much. It got very gungey with propolis and was hard to clean (see above). There is a wide range of plastic hives now on the market but most of them are Langstroth - because that's what most of the world uses! Thanks to the legacy of Mr WBC, we in the UK have the National as standard which makes us something of a niche market and we don't necessarily get the best of new developments. It's a bit like driving on the left so that all overseas car manufacturers have to adjust their designs to suit us! What it is to be British

Sorry, a bit of an essay here. What do other folks think of different hive designs?

OhLaLa · « **Reply #32 on:** January 16, 2011, 11:17:39 am »

Interesting post Daisy-at-the-dairy, thanks for sharing.

I use both National and Commercial hives. For extra insulation they fit inside the WBC outers which I also use. I won't be moving on from these as everything I have is geared up for these sizes. Plus I like wood. And I like being able to have a few 'traditional' WBC's in the bee garden.

Rosemary · « **Reply #33 on:** January 16, 2011, 02:05:28 pm »

We've got two National hives and we're hoping to get nucs this year. Our local BK Association is doing a queen breeding programme and members get them at a very good price. With a nuc, you also get a mentor, which is great. The local BKA also runs a beginners course, which John and I did last winter but our hive visits were cancelled due to bad weather in spring, so we're catching up with them this year. Got the suit but it's still got the packing creases in it

We've identified a fenced off area of the five acre field. If the battery of the camera is charged when I come back from the supermarket, I'll take a bit of video and post it on the site proper for comment.

TenTors · « **Reply #34 on:** January 16, 2011, 06:23:28 pm »

Hi Princess Piggy - the BBKA run a series of 'Official' correspondence courses in Beekeeping - leading to written exams and formal qualifications. I think that there are about six different specialisms - but I am sure that there are more details on the BBKA (sorry - British Beekeepers Association) website. But normally the first step would be to go for the BBKA Basic Certificate in Beekeeping. I don't know if you have contacted your local county Beekeepers Association. Mine is Devon Beekeepers (DBKA) - but they should be able to put you in touch with local to you beekeepers who run courses leading to the Basic Certificate. I took mine several years ago. It is a practical exam - including bee disease recognition, basic knowledge of Queen, Worker and Drone lifecycle and functions within the colony (hive), making up a frame and opening up and handing a colony - using the smoker and identifying open and sealed brood, workers and drones (and ideally - but not essentially - the queen).

Once you have passed the Basic - if you want to pursue a less 'academic' route towards furthering your beekeeping knowledge - the BBKA also award a 'Certificate in Beekeeping Husbandary' - this is again a practical exam held at your own apiary - you need to demonstate full record keeping of hive inspections - and I think you also need to demonstrate honey extraction (and probably a Queen Rearing programme as well). I believe that gaining the Beekeeping Husbandary Certificate is a prerequisite for becoming a Basic Certificate examiner. I have yet to try it. Anyway - that's for the future - for now you shouldl be able to pick up loads of useful info from your local Beekeepers Association (plus good cheap second hand kit - and locally raised nucs). Best wishes and good luck with your bees.

princesspiggy · « **Reply #35 on:** January 17, 2011, 06:33:58 pm »

sounds serious stuff, iv got a couple of years to learn the basics. i have no knowledge at all really so will read these threads for now, maybe find out whats in my area. thanks

OhLaLa · « **Reply #36 on:** January 17, 2011, 06:52:40 pm »

Don't let the 'beekeeping exams' thing daunt you. They are optional and not essential, there are many good and respected beekeepers out there who have never taken an exam. They won't (and shouldn't) be forced down your throat - you take them if and when you decide you want to. First go along to a few meetings, meet the other new and experienced beekeepers and get a bit of hands on practice. You'll gain lots of confidence and knowledge and if you decide you want to take an exam at some future point, you can look into it then.

.......And if you do decide to try an exam or two, don't worry, they are quite interesting to do and informal.

ToGGoT · « **Reply #37 on:** January 18, 2011, 10:14:06 am »

Hi there!

I'm 'Shnoowie's' (less attractive) other half! We started a ten week BBKA introductory course yesterday, and are incredibly enthusiastic about the whole thing.

We've got three old dadent hives we picked up on the cheap at the end of autumn, however the guy running our course has suggested that 'nationals' are the way to go as that is what our local branch have been striving to get everyone using so that frames, kit, etc is interchangeable if something goes very wrong. So i think we might be getting the saw out and reducing our hives to National sizing. (I have plans for both style hives, and i don't see this being a problem).

As we don't currently have any usable frames anyway, i don't have a problem with this, and i see the logic of everyone using compatable kit if you're going to be "community beekeeping".

Anyway, my question is entirely unrelated to this - during the winter do you use any sort of cover, or insulation to keep the hives warm? After the cold snap and the snow we've had, i do wonder if a few hives around here have gone a bit quiet...

ToGGoT

OhLaLa · « **Reply #38 on:** January 18, 2011, 10:51:03 am »

Before you 'close down' for the winter the thing is to make sure they have enough stores to see them through (I don't take all of the honey) and do feed. I also have my frames in the 'warm' direction all year.

With regard to insulation, I overwinter some of my hives (I have Nationals and Commercials which although slightly differant in size, are interchangeable) inside WBC outers. I've not met many beekeepers who do this - commercial beekeepers wouldn't find it practical - it increases the price of the hives and increases the workload when doing hive checks. But I like to see an old WBC or two in the bee garden (but I think the original WBC interiors are just too small to be practical). Bee's usually over winter just fine.

One thing I do however, is pop a cement block (or a couple of heavy bricks) on top of the hives because of the wind. For a bit of protection against the elements I position my hives in a corner of the field where the hedgerow offers a bit of assistance, and not under a thick canopy of trees where it will be dark and damp.

Ask as many questions as you need to at your BBKA course, they know your area, they know the bees and will be able to give you some proper hands on advice.

waterhouse · « **Reply #39 on:** January 18, 2011, 11:17:14 am »

The stupid people on a course are those who don't ask the question that all the other stupid people don't ask either! There aren't any daft questions on a beginners course so ask away.

OH does the diseases section of the course in our area and she recommends that people don't use second hand frames cos they are relatively cheap and really hard to disinfect effectively.

There's a lot to be said for standardising within the group. Stuff happens in a hurry.

princesspiggy · « **Reply #40 on:** January 18, 2011, 06:52:09 pm »

a correspondance course would suit me. im too busy to attend anything in person for a while yet. something i could dabble at while farm is coming up to scratch would be good, then when im ready i will hopefully not be as ignorant

OhLaLa · « **Reply #41 on:** January 19, 2011, 10:30:21 am »

Quote from: princesspiggy on January 18, 2011, 06:52:09 pm

a correspondance course would suit me. im too busy to attend anything in person for a while yet. something i could dabble at while farm is coming up to scratch would be good, then when im ready i will hopefully not be as ignorant

You are doing ok princesspiggy, thinking of ways to help all bees (and indeed wildlife) is good, and needed. There aren't just honey bees that need our help, we need to give a bit of thought to bumble bees and other solitary bees too.

There's plenty of stuff on the internet, and some good books out there.

princesspiggy · « **Reply #42 on:** January 19, 2011, 07:15:12 pm »

i love bumble bees

not keen on wasps tho, we have a few nests of those around, but they are moving gradually further away from our house each year.last year was the first year we werent pestered by wasps, maybe they like the flowers we planted too.