I'm taking advantage of the decent weather and painting a load of new poly mating nucs so I think it's time that I tidy up the stands for them too - 'insect friendly' paint being used, of course. I also have some new Maisemore's 6 frame poly nucs to paint. I use Valspar "Oxford Blue' … Continue reading End of season work
An Inspector (or 5!) came calling…
I had a visit from the National Bee Unit today, two bee inspectors and 3 auditors (why are there always more bean counters?). The auditors were checking that the bee inspectors carried out their work as per ISO standard, and that they were using and filling in the correct paperwork. The National Bee Unit (NBU) … Continue reading An Inspector (or 5!) came calling…
Use Honey first for a cough, new guidelines say
New guidelines for doctors from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) say they should tell patients to use honey first when they have a cough. This is based on 3 studies that showed honey reduces symptoms by 2 points on a 7 point scale. Honey and over-the-counter medicines should be the first line of … Continue reading Use Honey first for a cough, new guidelines say
The Asian Hornet: a giant threat to British beekeeping
Asian hornets are exceptionally aggressive predators of our native insects but they pose no greater threat to human health than our native wasps and hornets, writes Ann Chilcott, Scottish Expert Beemaster. Around the world, there are 22 species of hornets (Vespa) and 23 species of wasps (Vespula) from the order hymenoptera. All hornet species are … Continue reading The Asian Hornet: a giant threat to British beekeeping
Rain stopped play
I took a chance on the weather today, as the forecast said 38% chance of rain, and took a new hive out to one of my out apiaries and was going to inspect the rest of the hives at 2 sites. I got the new hive set in place with no problem, and inspected the … Continue reading Rain stopped play
Bargain!
I bagged myself a bargain on eBay yesterday, and it has just arrived. A nice 27 litre capacity electric wax melter, that can also take a 30lb bucket to soften or re-liquify honey. It is virtually identical to the well known Kochstar wax melter, and is sold at a similar price. It is usually on … Continue reading Bargain!
Looking good
I inspected all my garden hives and nucs today, and merged some of the mating nucs to make larger colonies for over-wintering. I have to say, I am very happy with the queens I have produced this year, they have all come on really strong, have lovely brood patterns and are very calm. I got … Continue reading Looking good
Telling the Bees
The telling of the bees is a traditional European custom in which bees would be told of important events in their keeper's lives, such as births, marriages, or departures and returns in the household. If the custom was omitted or forgotten and the bees were not "put into mourning" then it was believed a penalty … Continue reading Telling the Bees
Autumn Jobs
By now, most beekeepers will have finished the harvesting of the honey, unless they get a second honey flow from plants such as balsam and heather. The Ivy will start to flower soon, and provide more nectar, but it is a very bitter honey and many don't take it but instead leave it for the … Continue reading Autumn Jobs
Thieving gits!
My honey for sale sign always attracts a lot of attention - some of it unwanted. I've had to replace the screw eyes and chain with heavy duty one's, as somebody has been trying to cut them to steal the sign. The base has 2 paving slabs in it, so it's (hopefully) too heavy to … Continue reading Thieving gits!
