Author Topic: Bees v's MRSA super bug (Read 31167 times)

rustyme · « **on:** May 01, 2008, 02:00:41 pm »

Thought that there would bee some interest in this . The link opens a page of different video clips all about bees. The top clip is the one about MRSA. There is loads of information about bees and medicine (Apitherapy) , interesting even if you don't keep bees:

http://apitherapy.blogspot.com/search/label/Apitherapy%20and%20Beekeeping

cheers

Russ

chickens · « **Reply #1 on:** May 03, 2008, 10:54:33 pm »

Very interesting thanks Russ - we have started looking in to bee keeping but it seems that bees are quite expensive to get off the ground.
Still, definitely a project for the future.

Nicki

rustyme · « **Reply #2 on:** May 03, 2008, 11:20:41 pm »

Hello Nicki,
yes , as you say it can be very expensive starting out, getting hives and such ....but .. I got my first one given to me complete with bees . That was for letting the chap keep his bees on my land for a couple of years , he also gave me loads of honey ...mmmmm. Since then I got six hives off of freecycle, plus loads of other stuff. So it can be done on the cheap , you just have to keep your eye out and be lucky. As far as costs are concerned though , you should be able to get your money back within a very short time as honey sells for 2.50-3.00 pounds a one pound jar, plus you can eat it yourself and use it instead of unhealthy refined sugar in cooking etc.

cheers

Russ

chickens · « **Reply #3 on:** May 17, 2008, 05:10:29 pm »

Hi Russ

Thanks for your reply - sorry I have not been on line for a while - out all hours in the garden fighting a losing battle against the weeds in the veggie patch.

Definitely going to find out more on the bees as we live in france we have found a site for bees in our area and hope to find out more.

Have a good weekend

Nicki

Ayeskint · « **Reply #4 on:** May 27, 2008, 10:17:09 pm »

Hi there, it's good to see there are other beekeepers out there. Let's hope it's a better year than last year. We had our first swarm on Friday, the good new was that I had taken the day off work, the bad news was that I had washed my bee suit!!!! Luckily the bees swarmed on a low hawthorn bush and not the 180 year old beeches near by. I don't know what my bees are on just now - they certainly aren't in the garden. Must be the beech or sycamore.

I managed to start out buying old second hand stuff from the local beekeeping society - this might also be a way to get things cheap. The local societies also help out with bees and sometimes give a bit space on a local apiary.

Carol

rustyme · « **Reply #5 on:** May 27, 2008, 11:31:57 pm »

at the moment I class myself as someone who has bees ....not a beekeeper!!! lol. I went with my nephew ,to collect the last of the 6 hives I got off freecycle the other day . Along with them came a beesuit and a jacket and veil, as well as another smoker a hive tool and all sorts of odds and sods. I was very lucky to get all that off freecycle, the people were really nice but didn't want to keep bees anymore as the lady had been stung badly and lost a bit of nerve and the chap has really very bad arthritus , such a shame , they may even have to sell their home as the lady can't cope with all the work . The terrible thing is the chap is only 2 years older than me and is waiting for hip replacements. I hope that this year is better for honey ( got none last year ) so I can give them some , the stuff they have given me has saved me a fortune. I am slowly going through the frames recovering the wax at the moment . I have only done a few and already have nearly 2lb. I have been melting the very dark (dirty ) stuff so far, the clean stuff I will save till later. I am going to make a solar wax melter to do the job. Some of the hive bodies need a lot of work on them , but all should be able to be saved ok , fingers crossed.
Good luck to anyone with bees this year .....lets hope for a good year....

stephen · « **Reply #6 on:** May 28, 2008, 09:25:13 am »

this is proberably a silly question but ill ask it anyway!

do you have to get a new 'swarm' of bees each year or do they have babies and stay at your hive??

rustyme · « **Reply #7 on:** May 28, 2008, 01:47:05 pm »

not silly at all Steve ,
you get your bees and then they stay with you for a long time , if properly looked after !!!. In the winter they form a tight clump within the hive and live off of stored honey . So, when spring comes around they stir and start searching for early food . During the year the workers have a very short life , but the Queen can last for years . During the season they can swarm , starting a new colony . The old one then rebuilds and gets strong again with a new Queen . They will do all this on their own , but it is the job of the beekeeper to manage the hive , feed when needed, split to prevent swarming and creat new colonies, and to take honey (if there is enough ?) and generally keep things tidy. This he/she does so they can have honey , wax, pollen etc , for their own use.

cheers

Russ