Two new hives placed at an out apiary today, I have 8 more new hives that need bees - I'll be making a few more splits to fill them, so not expecting much in the way of a honey crop this year. I guesstimate that I have about 100lb of honey to extract at the … Continue reading
Today's score, two brood boxes, six supers, two floors and two roofs. I have five roofs, five floors and two brood boxes left to make. Hopefully I can get to B&Q and get some paint for them soon.
My new Supers Heater Trolley from Abelo arrived this morning, so I hope to be able to warm up the supers that are in my bee shed so that I can extract the honey, somewhat later than planned. To use, you stack your supers on this heated platform to warm them for extraction. The heavy … Continue reading Supers Warmer
I recently purchased a microscope, mainly to use for checking samples in our hedgehog rescue, but also to add a new string to my beekeeping bow. The kit I purchased comes with a USB ocular, so that I can look at, and take pictures via my computer monitor. Here are a few pictures of … Continue reading A New Dimension to My Beekeeping – Microscopy
Today was the day to collect the new beekeeping equipment I had pre-ordered from E.H Thorne's open day at Stockbridge in Hampshire, it's an hour and a half drive up, but it was a lovely day for it. It was nice to meet several members of the local beekeeping association there too - and the … Continue reading Spending Money made from honey
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
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!
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
I moved the nucleus colony with my new breeder queen into a full-sized hive today, it was too hot to wear a bee suit or jacket, so I wore just a hat and face veil. I'm pleased to say that even though my smoker was lit, and on standby, I did not have to use … Continue reading New Queen, New Palace
Finding The Queen Generally this poses a problem for beginners, as indeed for some of the more seasoned beekeepers, who are not accustomed to examining their colonies on a regular basis. Perhaps the ability to spot the queen may be described as a gift, which comes with experience in the routine handling of bees. The best … Continue reading Queen Marking
