Beekeeping chit chat

Mad4simmental

Good to see this up and running. Don't have any my self but I am thinking of getting into it. My grandad had allot of them years ago on the farm. Numbers must be looking good this year??

rotun

I was listening to Darcy yesterday and he was saying a treatment for hay fever is to take the local honey..

1. Any truth in this?
2. Act of ye making honey around oldtown?

Username John

Disnt know this forum was coming, but it's a pleasant surprise

We had bees at home years ago. Last year a neighbour had problems with bees, and they swarmed, so I took the swarms.
But they didnt do over the winter, not sure why.

I meant to put the hives out to see if I could get another swarm this year, but I never did

Would like to get back into it tho.

Fries-With-That

Congrats to Hillybilly for suggesting this forum, and delighted to see it active.

Knowall Macduff

rotun wrote: »

I was listening to Darcy yesterday and he was saying a treatment for hay fever is to take the local honey..

1. Any truth in this?
2. Act of ye making honey around oldtown?

Some truth but it's a long process one spoonful won't cure you, it's about building up an immunity over a period of time to the pollens in your area.
Is that Oldtown dublin

_Brian

Great to see the Beekeeping forum up and running !

As for the local honey.
All I can say is we were using local honey few times a week up till mid winter when our local beekeeper supplies ran out and he no longer keeps bees.
One of our daughters has now developed hayfeever which she's never had in the past, maybe it's related or maybe it's just coincidence.

The Hill Billy

Fries-With-That wrote: »

Congrats to Hillybilly for suggesting this forum, and delighted to see it active.

Not to be confused with me, but nice to see this too. I've been giving some consideration to setting up a hive in my garden/field. Hopefully, I will get some good pointers here in due course.

nekuchi

Thanks to everyone who voted!

SC Kevin

Tis great to see this up and running, well done everyone and to HillyBilly for suggesting it!

Muckit

Best of luck with this! A great idea.

My sister keeps bees here on the farm and I have to say the honey is lovely! She has two hives on the go now this year!

Will post some pics if I get a chance!

Bees are essential for pollination. So if you are in the business of growing plants, bees are your friends!!

MayoSalmon

Great to see this forum. One of nature's fantastic creatures!

Hoping to get into this soon myself.

Brian

So who here likes Eddie Izzard?

on the river

Great to have this forum. Well done to everyone who got it up and running

Cul a cnoic

Hillybilly4 wrote: »

Hi - was trying to search for info etc on beekeeping in Ireland and have found several threads but they're all spread about...some in Smallholding, some in Gardening, some in Farming & Forestry, some in Nature & Birdwatching, some in Animals & Pet Issues, some in Arts & Crafts, some in Sustainability & Environmental Issues...any chance of a dedicated forum for this topic? Thanks!

And this is how it started, well done Hillybilly4

Hillybilly4

Thank you to everybody who voted for this forum and to the powers that be that have put it together!

Oldtree

I have a kids fishing net that I keep in the poly-tunnel, to catch bees and help them out at the end of the day, or whenever I am in there. Some of them seem smarter than others and can find their own way out, observed while sitting on a chair at the back over the years. They get very tired in then heat banging off the plastic, sometimes it gets up to 50 degrees.

Kovu

Every day now we're getting a load of bees in the house, only let out 2 in the last 10 mins. Could be a hive after starting up nearby?

brianmc

If they're honeybees it's more likely that there is a hive nearby that is currently planning to swarm. Scout bees head out to find a suitable new site to set up for several days before the swarming starts. It's the most likely thing to lure a honeybee into a house, unless you've some interesting smells coming from home recently.

If the hive is managed by a beekeeper, the swarm may never issue because the beekeeper would likely want to intervene to prevent it.

Kovu

Yes, they're honeybees! I can keep an eye out for a swarm from now on then

brianmc

Keep an eye out for a hole somewhere that they're all investigating... When a scout finds something interesting, it will go back to the hive and recruit other scouts to come and check it out, if they're interested, they'll recruit more and so on. Before a swarm moves into a place you'll see the number of scouts increasing until the day it happens.

the number of bees you describe makes me wonder if there's something interesting about your place...

Kovu

Catnip in the garden? Normally wouldn't see honeybees around here though, that's why it's a little odd.

Nekarsulm

Remember as a kid, one year the Mother made about 60 pots of jam and marmalade. These were left in the "parlour" and of course not looked at for a week or so. Bee's found a slight gap around a window and gorged themselves. Thousands in the room when someone opened the door. Closed it right quick, thought!

Knowall Macduff

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Remember as a kid, one year the Mother made about 60 pots of jam and marmalade. These were left in the "parlour" and of course not looked at for a week or so. Bee's found a slight gap around a window and gorged themselves. Thousands in the room when someone opened the door. Closed it right quick, thought!

Most likely wasps bees don't like jam according to the books they don't read

Qualitymark

rotun wrote: »

I was listening to Darcy yesterday and he was saying a treatment for hay fever is to take the local honey..

1. Any truth in this?
2. Act of ye making honey around oldtown?

If it's very local, it's said to work, as is local goat's milk; in fact, American homesteaders advise using goats to clear poison ivy (apparently they yum it), and drinking the milk they produce, if you want to have some immunity. In Ireland goat's milk was always given to kids with any kind of chest weakness ranging from TB in the family to asthma.

I'd love to keep bees but can't because I'm allergic; the allergy seems to have worn off over the years, but when I asked the doctor he whuffled his moustache worriedly and said he'd advise against bees in the garden; he said an allergy that's disappeared can come back with a bang all at once.

I'll enjoy it at second hand, and if anyone in the Harold's Cross/ Kenilworth/ Kimmage/ Terenure/ Rathmines/ Rathgar area has honey to sell, I'm here with the few euros in my hand, waiting.

A few books of ancient wisdom from archive.org, which you can download for free as PDF, Kindle ebook, etc:

1982 Peace Corps handbook on small-scale beekeeping:
https://archive.org/details/Small_Scale_Beekeeping

Beekeeping for All, by Warré, inventor of the easy-care Warré hive:
https://archive.org/details/beekeeping_for_all

Instruction in Bee-keeping for the Use of Irish Gardeners (1912), Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland:

https://archive.org/details/cu31924018397020

Beginnings in Beekeeping: a 1918 US government publication:
https://archive.org/details/BeginningsInBeekeeping

lucylu

rotun wrote: »

I was listening to Darcy yesterday and he was saying a treatment for hay fever is to take the local honey..

1. Any truth in this?
2. Act of ye making honey around oldtown?

1.Ireland is a small country so any Irish honey would be considered local as the flora in our hedgerows and gardens in the country are so similar.

2.where is Oldtown, near Newtown?

Nekarsulm

lucylu wrote: »

1.Ireland is a small country so any Irish honey would be considered local as the flora in our hedgerows and gardens in the country are so similar.

2.where is Oldtown, near Newtown?

There is an Oldtown near Tayto Park, probably lots of others.

Qualitymark

lucylu wrote: »

1.Ireland is a small country so any Irish honey would be considered local as the flora in our hedgerows and gardens in the country are so similar.

2.where is Oldtown, near Newtown?

Even though it's small, local means really local. Your locality may be full of birch trees, for example, or grass, or rapeseed, to which you can form an allergy.

Jellybaby1

'Hive Alive', a programme by Chris Packham on beekeeping is on BBC2 tonight at 8pm. I think it will be repeated on Saturday. Just thought it might be of interest to ye here. Its a two part series.

on the river

Ya pretty good. Learned alot

Knowall Macduff

Didn't get much new about bees but aren't electronics fascinating

stereomatic

There's a programme on BBC2 NI now, called "Hive Alive" and it's just started it's on between 16:40 to 17:40

Edit - The programme has just finished

coley

I see our forum gets a mention in Sept edition of An Beachaire.
Welcome to any new beeks who've landed here from there

-Coley.

Oldtree

Came across this, this morning:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29122851

and then this linked story from August:

Urban areas are hives for wild bees
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28888218

Qualitymark

Oldtree wrote: »

Came across this, this morning:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29122851

and then this linked story from August:

Urban areas are hives for wild bees
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28888218

Not at all surprised; my urban garden is buzzing with bees every summer, and I don't think any neighbours have hives!

on the river

what do bee keepers do in the winter months ?

brianmc

on the river wrote: »

what do bee keepers do in the winter months ?

Huddle in a dark corner and try to stay warm...

The real answer, I think, is probably just repairing equipment (or building new stuff), reading books and making plans!

A lot of beekeepers will do a winter treatment on their bees for varroa mite, typically around the New Year but that's a 10 minute job per hive.

solargain

Join a study group or set up your own

SC Kevin

on the river wrote: »

what do bee keepers do in the winter months ?

Sit down and make plans for the following year and work out what ill need,

Queen rearing - get some apideas
Increasing stock - get nucs/hives/wax/frames etc
Work out how many supers ill need and make them (usually 3 per hive)
Also look at what equipment need fixing/replacing
Try and find new apiaries
Keep an eye on the mead ive made! :P

I have a few books that i have read a few times but ive ordered a new one to read over the winter as well.

So even though the season is over, there is still plenty to do!

PUMPINGPLUMBER

SC Kevin wrote: »

Sit down and make plans for the following year and work out what ill need,

Queen rearing - get some apideas
Increasing stock - get nucs/hives/wax/frames etc
Work out how many supers ill need and make them (usually 3 per hive)
Also look at what equipment need fixing/replacing
Try and find new apiaries

Hi folks
I did a course last year,i think maybe 6 or 8 night spread over 6 or 8 weeks.when finished the theory you have to buy a Bee suit to go to work with the hives,you can buy a hive [450 euro] maybe cheaper,you are given a Queen to put into your hive if you decide to buy one,if you dont buy a hive you can still attend and work on other hives .the course was 100 euro to do,WELL WORTH IT.Fingal area.When you get used to handling the Bees and can prevent swarming etc you can take your hive to your own neck of the woods.Im only a novice still under suspervision with my hive,but really enjoying

greysides

Is this of interest to any body from up north?

seanjdaly

Hey Sarah just to let you know I sent you a text via sms

Starscream25

Has anyone seen any hives swarming yet?, by chance a swarm settled in one of my dads empty hives earlier, it was fascinating stuff. Hopefully we'll be able to keep them alive, out of the 12 boxes he has about 8 are empty, hopefully we'll be able to bring on some more swarms looking for a home

Bullocks

Howye folks . Would it be normal to have wasps nesting beside beehives and how long does a wasps nest stay around for?
A lad has six hives over the river from us and i was putting down a fence for the sheep today when i saw the wasps on our side just across from the bees . Would they bother with the sheep at all ?

bpmurray

As long as the sheep stay away from the hives, the bees and the wasps will have no interest in them.

The location of the wasps nest is a coincidence - at this time of year, the adult wasps are catching small insects for the larvae, but later on in the year they'll be looking for something sweet, so they'll be annoying the bees just as they annoy us when we have something sweet. Normally the bees can keep them out and if there's a beekeeper about, he'll know how to help them.

Bullocks

bpmurray wrote: »

As long as the sheep stay away from the hives, the bees and the wasps will have no interest in them.

The location of the wasps nest is a coincidence - at this time of year, the adult wasps are catching small insects for the larvae, but later on in the year they'll be looking for something sweet, so they'll be annoying the bees just as they annoy us when we have something sweet. Normally the bees can keep them out and if there's a beekeeper about, he'll know how to help them.

Thanks, i have the fence 6' out from it so they shouldn't bother them .
There's a bee keeper comes in most weeks so I'll show it to him when i see him again

Buford T. Justice XIX

An interesting piece about other bees doing the work of honey bees.

http://archive.alleghenyfront.org/story/buzz-building-over-other-bees.html

bpmurray

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

An interesting piece about other bees doing the work of honey bees.

http://archive.alleghenyfront.org/story/buzz-building-over-other-bees.html

Unfortunately they didn't mention that exactly the same factors impacting honeybees are harming the other bees too. The solitary bees and bumble bees are just as critical as honeybees for our crops, and they're attacked by mites too and they're killed by pesticides just as easily. It's great that they're doing research into these, but that still doesn't address the problems caused by insecticides.

Loveinapril

PUMPINGPLUMBER wrote: »

Hi folks
I did a course last year,i think maybe 6 or 8 night spread over 6 or 8 weeks.when finished the theory you have to buy a Bee suit to go to work with the hives,you can buy a hive [450 euro] maybe cheaper,you are given a Queen to put into your hive if you decide to buy one,if you dont buy a hive you can still attend and work on other hives .the course was 100 euro to do,WELL WORTH IT.Fingal area.When you get used to handling the Bees and can prevent swarming etc you can take your hive to your own neck of the woods.Im only a novice still under suspervision with my hive,but really enjoying

I am hoping to start an evening course in Fingal in Feb. I really wanted to go to the one in Gormanstown last month but couldn't due to work. I have wanted to keep bees for years.

Effects

Make sure you get on the course early. I applied a few years back but had my cheque returned to me as it filled up fast.
I then did the course with County Dublin Bee Keepers instead and I'm still a member of that association.

Loveinapril

Thanks for the tip. Where is that one based? Would you recommend it?

Effects

Loveinapril wrote: »

Thanks for the tip. Where is that one based? Would you recommend it?

They are based just off Leeson St.in Dublin. That worked better for me anyway.
Being part of an association is good when you need help and advice.
I'd recommend it but I'd also recommend reading a lot yourself before the course.

Start with this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Haynes-complete-keeping-Including-Microfibre/dp/B00GA60ASU

Then read this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Bees-Honey-Selling-Beekeeping/dp/1904846513/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470820574&sr=1-1&keywords=ted+hooper+bees+and+honey

There's only so much a book and a course can teach you and hands on experience is definitely the best. You learn an awful lot in the first few years of bee keeping.