Biddenham Swarm

Although I collect swarms, a friend had collected a swarm from Biddenham, didn't want it and asked me if I wanted it. He had already put it in a skep and all I had to do was pick it up.
Tough decision.

Click the button to see the video.

Strawberry Grove Honey

Nearly a year ago I was asked by Fliss and Sam if I would attend an Open Day they were running on their farm in Granesden.

I did a blog about it here.

The nuc was installed and was joined by a colony I transferred from Scald End.

In the previous blog I said:-

'All being well Fliss and Sam will be able to offer Strawberry Grove honey for their customers next year.'

I didn't have too high expectations for the nuc and expected the other colony to produce the goods. However being the perverse creatures they are, the nuc has flourished and produced the first Strawberry Grove honey.
The honey has been extracted  - click the button to see how this was done.

We expect the other colony to produce a super of honey very soon.

Bees for the Top Bar and Warre hives

I've been keen to populate both my 'weird' hives.
Because of their structure it's not easy, nor cheap, to buy bees for them, so I decided I would rely on swarms to fill them.

It does mean I will probably have older queens in them and the conventional wisdom is that you should replace the queen from a swarm as soon as you can.
This is mostly driven by the issue of honey production.
You both know my view on this.

I'm quite happy having elderly queens provided the colony is healthy and has adequate food supplies.
They will get the same varroa treatments and food supplements when they need them as do my other colonies.
In time the bees will replace the queen themselves without having me to intervene.

The first swarm I collected for the Top Bar Hive absconded two days later so the swarm in the video is the second attempt.

Click the button to see the video about the Top Bar Hive.

There will be a separate video about the Warre Hive.

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.