Beekeeping chit chat

The reason I want to put them inside is that it is meant to get cold. My concern is it might be too cold for them to take it down.

Danzy wrote: »

The reason I want to put them inside is that it is meant to get cold. My concern is it might be too cold for them to take it down.

Put fondant directly on the frames over the cluster and they will have no issues taking it no matter how cold it gets

Danzy wrote: »

They are flying and pollen is going in.

All but one of my 17 colonies survived the winter.

I merged weak ones pre winter.

Surprised at the success rate, wettest 9 months I've seen.

Happy days! Did your nuc that you picked up towards the end survive?
I have 7/7... think they're safe enough at this stage although it's to get quite cold over next couple of weeks I think.

Danzy wrote: »

They are flying and pollen is going in.

All but one of my 17 colonies survived the winter.

I merged weak ones pre winter.

Surprised at the success rate, wettest 9 months I've seen.

Great to hear.

Our two (a nuc and a full hive) seem to have survived, seeing plenty of pollen going in.

I had fed them with fondant, and have just replaced the nuc's fondant as they had eaten most of it. Hopefully, both queens are still there and laying, and it doesn't get too cold over the next few weeks!

My mentor said never feed fondant after St. Patrick's Day. If they need feeding after that date it's to be syrup. (Am in North Cork).

Danzy wrote: »

Probably right, they are hungry bees and I was concerned that they would be hungry and dead.

They are buckfast, by God but they eat and eat. I have them in Cork City. Would never keep them in Duhallow, to not taint native strain but also because last year you'd have been feeding them with a shovel to stand still. Some bees aren't built for months of rain.

Had he reasons for that, I can guess it is that it mimics natural flow for the time of year while fondant is long term.

I guess so. It was texted so he didn't elaborate. I shall ask him when I see him next!

There is about 6 weeks of a difference between hives in Cork City and North Cork.

Honey bound, starting swarms, seen in Cork in a nice April. Have one hive that I will give a deep to in another week, weather permitting.

Not a chance of that in the north of the country.

Question for ye:
Do you remove supers when they are filled or do you leave them to the bitter end?
I've seen some that say remove when capped and others that leave them on. If you have a particularly productive hive and get, say, three to four supers on them, if you keep them on then you'd have to be lugging them off each week/fortnight to inspect...not good for the back. Or is it a case that if you get that far that they are unlikely to swarm so you just let them to it?
Interested in the feedback.
Thanks

Mellifera wrote: »

Question for ye:
Do you remove supers when they are filled or do you leave them to the bitter end?

I would remove when capped. Usually, the two frames adjacent to the walls are not fully capped, so I would stick them into another super to be capped.

SouthWesterly wrote: »

How much honey would you expect to get from a hive of native bees?

It really depends on the year.

Think 55lb was the average given by Teagasc.

Last year, nothing and they had to be fed.

You live in North Kerry, if I recall from other threads, you'll have a longer and earlier season than many.

I've had 70lbs in Cork City and 25lbs in North Cork.

This is only my 3rd Summer so limited experience and very bad weather.

12 cold and/or wet months here since June 10th last year.

One swarm caught this morning, 6 other boxes being scouted.

It's like everyone after lockdown, first day out and everyone will be on The move today.

First day that's been a cracker.

The site is in Cork City.

I've boxes set up in a town in North Cork and not a scout seen.

There hives are more like ones in early April, in make up, activity etc.

Mad Benny wrote: »

I have boxes on the garage roof. Do you only put boxes on your own property/land? I was tempted to put one in a hedgerow next to the canal.

I have traps in my apiary + on the roof of the back garden shed. But I use spare nucs for traps, so I do not want to lose them. But you can make some cheaper traps and put them in different places.

If this is not the correct place to post this query could someone please redirect it?

there is an apiary near our property in a rural location. There are about 11 or 12 hives in the apiary which is about 40 or 50 ft from our back garden. The bee keeper does not live locally and does not seem to regularly tend the bees. We have lived here for 12 years and the hives have been there for most of that time AFAIK although there may have been less of them previously.

I have made my concerns known to the beekeeper and he has acknowledged them but has never done anything to fix the situation. Every year some or many of us get stung - we are a family with young children. Two of our children have needed medical care following stings - one to A&E due to facial swelling and another time one of my children was off school for several days due also to facial swelling. In both cases it took days for the swelling to subside and both needed medication.
Sometimes we are stung by a number of bees at a time in our back garden. Always, they just come out of nowhere and seem determined to lose their lives! Visitors - kids and adults - to our garden have been stung, some multiple times. Our pet dogs have been stung multiple times and have required emergency veterinary care and medication on two occasions. The bees seem to be very aggressive. We don't go near the hives obviously. Sometimes we can hear the bees from our garden, but not always.
On a few occasions we have seen the bees swarm, which to the lay person, who has had the above experience of bees, is quite frightening.

After the beekeeper has inspected the hive it can take the bees 2 or 3 days to 'settle down'. While he is working with the bees we can forget about leaving the house and in those days afterwards we have to stay in the house for a lot of the time. Sometimes we pack up and leave because otherwise we are just locked in for the day.

I completely understand the importance of bees for the environment. And I appreciate that this is a really fulfilling hobby. And I do know the difference between a wasp and a bee for anyone who may suggest that it is the former that we are having trouble with!
When I see pictures of calm hives being tended by beekeepers with no gloves (!) it doesn't feel representative of how we have experienced living beside hives. Incidentally, the beekeeper gets stung multiple times when he goes near his hives even though he is wearing the protective suit and gloves etc.

We don't know what to do about the situation. We have spoken to the beekeeper and he has acknowledged what we tell him but it never goes beyond this. Can anyone offer any advice please?