Tree Bumblebees

About half the calls I have had about swarms have turned out to be about Tree  Bumblebees.
They are quite small compared with other bumblebees and they often fly around the entrance to their nest and this can look like swarming.

They are particularly fond of bird boxes and I have collected two colonies that I have put at the end of my garden.

To download a leaflet about the bees click here

To see a video of them flying click the button.

Undertaker bees

Worker bees have a very regimented life and as they get older they have specific jobs to do before they are about 3 weeks old when they start to fly and forage.

When they are about 12 days old they become 'undertakers' for 2/3 days and have the responsibility for removing dead bodies from the hive.
They also remove rubbish and general debris.

I was aware they did this but today I saw a bee doing it from a swarm in a skep that had only been there for a few hours.
Looks like they take their responsibilities very seriously.

Click the button to see the video.

Bait Hives

As swarms of bees are cruising the countryside looking for a new home, you can wait for them to settle and collect them or put out a bait hive and catch them.

I have put them out for a few years now and generally get one a season.
I wasn't going to bother and I think I have enough bees [yes, I admitted it !!!!!], but I would really like to put something in my Warre hive so I will try again.

Apologies if the video perspective looks a bit odd but its the first time I have used my GoPro which has a very wide angle lens and it will take a while to get used to it.

A bit of hive cleaning

Bees are very conscientious about keeping the hive clean. Worker bees who are
about 12 days old have the job of keeping the hive clean and removing any rubbish that builds up in the hive.

One of my colonies at Ravensden was a swarm from last year and some of the comb from the swarm was transferred with the bees to a hive box in a frame and was held in with elastic bands.

The bees would then attach the comb to the frame securely with their own wax.
I knew that once they had done this they would chew through the elastic bands and get rid of them.


Today when I checked the hive I saw this.

Varroa - catching and counting them

Varroa are nasty little beasties. They eat the body fats of bees that weakens them and they spread diseases like Deformed Wing Virus.
If untreated they can kill a colony.
There's no way of completely eradicating them but bee keepers use various methods to try and keep the mites in check.

I treat for the mites twice a year, once in the Autumn and again in December/January time.

Its recommended that a beek should monitor mite levels in a hive so if they start to increase steps can be taken before things get too far advanced.

I do check my bees for mites but I will admit I don't do it regularly enough.
However this year I am going to try to be more methodical and check the mite levels on a [fairly] regular basis.

As with all bee related activities there are numerous methods of doing this and the way I do it is to use what are known as sticky boards.

Click the button to see the video.
However this year I intend doing it monthly.

Click the button to see the video.

I will do another blog about the results  and what happens next.

Bee afraid, bee very afraid.

A sense of fear fills the air.

Birds stop singing.

The temperature drops and clouds fill the sky.

Dogs howl at an unseen menace.

A nameless dread chills the soul.

People don't dare leave home.

Yes it's that time again.

The time millions of crazed, blood thirsty insects roam the countryside looking for small children, puppies and old age pensioners to terrorise.

The time when the Great British Press demonstrate their outstanding journalistic standards and start thoughtful, informative debates with headlines like this:-

The time when local newspapers produce articles about how a heroic local bee keeper saves their terrified community from certain destruction.

An alternative view would be to say it's the time of year when, as they have done for millions of years, honey bees swarm to try and maintain their population and far from being dangerous, they are at their calmest and pose no threat to anybody.

Even Daily Star readers.

The warm weather has meant that the swarming season may start earlier this year.

To download a leaflet about what to do if you have a swarm click here

Warre Hive - Finishing up

At long last its finished and given my limited woodworking skills, I'm reasonably happy with it.

As with everything I do , if I did it again I would do some bits differently, but whether I will make another one is doubtful.

A hive like this can cost about £250 but cedar is used whereas I used cheap box wood and bits of timber I had laying around and I imagine it cost me about £50 to make.

Like the sadly vacant Warre Hive, I intend occupying it with a swarm and I am on the association's swarm collectors list again this year.
Last year was very quiet for swarms but things are far more advanced and the calls could start in a few weeks.

Click the button to see the video.