31 May

On Wednesday 1st June Colin and I will be on the Apiary from about 09.30am.  We hope to inspect and manipulate the colony in hive7 and maybe Colin's wild bees near the Andersen shelter. Colin is talking to Bill Mundy about the best way to proceed with this colony and we hope Bill will be on hand to advise.
I may have said this before but - we hope to make hive inspections on Saturdays in future, this is so that they coincide with our regular open days, which are scheduled for every second Saturday in the month.  Bill Mundy often opens a hive as part of the proceedings on such days.  On Wednesdays we can usually be found on the Apiary, from about 10.00am on.  If anyone wants to visit, phone me on the day (Wed. & Sat.) or for any other day a bell on the evening before would be appreciated.
mob.phone 0758 153 1623

Barry

29th May

Bill Mundy and I receive numerous requests for help with bees that have taken up residence in peoples houses, gardens or outbuildings.My initial question is phrased to ascertain what their concerns are relating to the bees and they are usually about the danger of bee stings because the bees have built a nest in an area where they are in close contact with people especially children. If they are honeybees we'll coax them out of their nest, take them away and re-house them but if they turn out to be Bumble bees then the location of their nest is very important.   If the nest is situated out of the way where the bees are unlikely to feel threatened by people going about their everyday activities I try to persuade the householders that they are privileged to have the bees.  Often information about the bee's species and life cycle stimulates interest in preservation and a sense of ownership.  So far this year we have re-housed four colonies of Bumble bees on the Apiary.  Two are of the species Tree bumble bee (Bombus hypnorum) and the other two are either Buff-tailed or White-tailed bumblebees (B. terrestris or B. lucorum).  Later this year we have an "Apiary Talk" by Nicki Gammans of the Bumble bee Conservation Trust and I'll get a positive id then.
I'm giving some thought to keeping a "Swarm log", (on this blog), with dates, locations, technical detail and information on the challenges encountered by Dartford Beekeepers when collecting swarms.  More later.
Barry

25 May

We didn't get around to finding the Queen in hive 7 yesterday nor the day before as planned.  This was however for v. good reasons (see last two posts).  Today we have raised the priority and finding the Queen comes in just after a litttle gardening we have planned as our first job for today.  Find Bill Mundy, Colin, Jimi and I on the apiary at about 11.30 when we should be getting set up for the operation!  For some manipulations, not least re-queening you simply have to find the Queen so this is an extremely useful experience for us all.  Today my friend Jimi (ex Ghurka) will be trying to spot the Queen visually, something he's very good at, but if this fails plan 'B' is to "sift" the bees through a Queen excluder.  Colin is making up the necessary equipment, basically a funnel fixed to a queen excluder.
It should be an interesting day!
Barry

24th May

I'll be on the Apiary today installing a colony of Bumble bees, collected this morning, not sure which species yet.  I'll also be planting herbs, some donated by members, some grown on my allotment adjoining the Apiary.
Colin and I had a good day yesterday,  we visited a beautiful Elizabethan country house where the owner wants us to remove two established colonies. We also set up Nuc with a Porter bee escape mechanism under the eaves on the main building of Bean Primary school.  This feral colony will have to pass through the Porter bee escape when emerging from the nest but will not be able to pass through it when returning and will build a second nest in the Nuc.  There's an old saying that we learn by our mistakes and if this is true then this season I'm getting cleverer by the day.  Yesterday I inserted a frame of brood in the Nuc at Bean school in the hope that the feral bees would establish a separate colony much more quickly if they had some brood to cover.  On sober reflection I doubt they'll occupy the box in sufficient numbers and quickly enough to prevent the brood becoming chilled and perishing!
Barry

23 May on the Apiary

Tomorrow Colin and I will be around from about 11.00am until 12.00 for routine work.  From 1.30pm till 3.00pm we'll be looking for the Queen in hive 7, and replacing her with a queen we've reared ourselves.
On Saturday we set out the Dartford Beekeepers stall at the Bean School Fete.  We made some useful contacts one of whom is chair of the Bean Parish Council and she wants us to attend the Bean Village Fete with our displays and the various "products of the hive" in September.  The school also has a resident colony of bees in their roof and we are planning to recover these bees.  Colin suggested that we record the process of recovery for the interest of the staff and children.  Perhaps photos and videos on discs or maybe a Powerpoint presentation.
Barry

Blog 22 may

I'm locked out of the blog

19th May Queen rearing

Today we'll be on the Apiary to find a particular Queen, mark her and then take her off to a member's apiary in Belvedere.  There she'll be introduced into a queenless colony.  The bad news is that I haven't yet collected my new prescription from Specsavers, the good news is she's in an Apidea mini nuc.
Any one who wants to see the proceedings come to the Tredegar allotments gates and phone me on 07581531623 (we share a gate with the Allotmenteers).
There was a problem reading the blog on at least one mobile telephone so I've changed the design.  Let me know if it's OK now.

Barry

Sunday 15th May

Next Wednesday, Colin and I will be on the Apiary from about 10.00am until 3pm or there-abouts.  We will be working on our rainwater collection systems, ironically if it's raining we'll probably be in the Pavilion just talking about it.  We hope to incorporate an automatic top-up for the new pond and maybe a charcoal filter to achieve water suitable for making mead.  May as well aim high!  Another pressing task is planting up the herb garden.  I have various mints, lemon balm, lovage, catnep, chives, garlic chives, coriander, marjoram, rosemary, wormwood, sorrel lavender and thyme etc.
Today we made up two more mini nucs using the Beehaus as donor hive (for the queen cells).  So far the Beehaus colony has been good tempered and quiet on the comb though productivity has been poor thus far.  Colin also installed a frame of brood complete with two queen cells, from the same source, in the feral colony living in a hollow tree on the site of the old Joyce Green hospital.

Barry

Apiary Newsletter 15th may

Saturday's meeting was good, well attended by a very wide cross section of the public including the Mayor and local politicians.  I think I can claim, at least I hope I can, that everyone including the strong contingent of children present were entertained and found something of interest in the proceedings.

Thanks to the team who helped prepare and run the event.  

Today we'll try to remove some of the queen cells found in the Beehaus hive and install them in mini nucs.

Bedonwell Teaching Apiary news

Changes are afoot on the Apiary in 2011. Our goal is to create a model Bee Garden or get as close to it as our resources will allow.   We want the Bees to thrive and visitors and beekeepers to have a pleasurable and instructive experience when they visit.

Work so far has mainly been to establish the basic infrastructure, new woodchip paths have been laid and the hive stands  have been positioned to minimize “drifting” and to allow audiences to observe hive manipulations during demonstrations of practical beekeeping.  We’ve installed two, discreetly screened, “Tardis” type toilet cubicles, which have proved to be an excellent site amenity.   Another important improvement to the Apiary is the housing of the Generator in its own shed.  This shed, which I thought of as little more than bonfire fuel was in pieces and seriously damaged but Colin Mann has somehow managed to salvage and modify it to a very high standard.  We have installed all but 6’ of a new fence, bordering the allotments and three new water containers for rain water collection.

Building maintenance is also underway.  The pavilion roof has been repaired with new felt laid along the ridge (Colin again), and the solar power system is under repair though still operable.  The Andersen shelter has been modified, part of it is now a compost enclosure.

Pavilion furniture now includes an improved mounting for Bill Mundy’s slide projector, two new cupboards for visitors’ bee suits and veils, two large tables for demonstrations and presentations, a 3 by 5 metre tarpaulin for the canopy attached to the front of the pavilion and four new picnic tables. 

The garden is taking shape, we want it to look good, to smell good, to bear fruit, to resound with birdsong and importantly to hum with insect life.  We’ve cut down almost all the blackberry thickets on site but will allow some plants to re-grow to clothe the chain-link fence. These will be managed to maximize forage and fruit. A small lawn has been laid as a “stage” for the chairman’s Saturday lectures and for visiting speakers. Beds have been dug to eliminate competition with our choice of plants from “weeds” and brambles, annuals will be cultivated where there’s bare soil but most of the planting will be of perennials shrubs and trees which will be allowed to naturalise if they will.  These will be planted in drifts where possible .  The plantings will be selected mainly to supply a succession of forage for the bees.  Preference will be weighted for early and late pollen or nectar production as at these times of the year adverse weather and short daylight hours may make long distance foraging difficult or impossible. Other factors to be borne in mind are - length of time in flower,  the height of plants, quantity of nectar (number of flowers per square metre), the presence of extra floral nectaries ,as with field beans or Cherry laurel,  the time of day when nectar is released, provision of shade from hot sun and shelter from prevailing winds and wildlife habitats to suit expected fauna including nesting sites for birds and insects.  A much larger pond is a must, it attracts people almost as much as it attracts wildlife, Colin and I have noticed that on a warm day honey bees, collecting water for the hive, cover the damp moss on the rocks in our existing pond and also that children make a bee-line for this pond (which is about one square metre in area), as soon as they come on site.

 Members and visitors are encouraged to use the “Wildlife Log” if they would like to record any unusual wildlife sightings around the garden.  Observations on the enthusiasm with which honey Bees are foraging particular plants and the time of day when this occurs would also be appreciated as this could help with improvements to the garden planting scheme.

Lastly,thanks Colin and thanks Darcy for the ideas and hard labour!  Thanks Jim, Roy, Mick Jean and the other members and friends of the Apiary who donated plants including bay, medlar and crab apple trees, rosemary, foxgloves and various other plants all of them fitting in nicely with our planting scheme.

Barry 

Saturday 14th May Apiary Meeting

Today's a big day!  The Mayor and Mayoress along with several other dignitaries will, I think, be in attendance.  Colin and I have been working to get the Apiary looking it's best and we'll be there today from around 10.00 am. The formal meeting will kick off at around 3.00 pm as usual but any students or members who fancy turning up early to help finalise preparations will be very welcome.

Barry

9th May 2011

I've been unable to update the blog for the past two days.....You guessed it I forgot the three things a blogger should keep in memory, the password, the G-mail address and my username!!
At our last beginner's class I was asked for info on wood preservative for hives and suppliers of mesh for varroa floors.  For mesh Bill Mundy has come up with this E-mail address J T Wenb Cloth, Banbury and has enquired about Langstroth mesh from them.  I have come across this E-mail tony@jtwirecloth.com but I've had no communication with them.  As to the wood preservative, on a website "Top Bar Hives By Mike Alsop", I came across the following quote "I recommend a couple of generous coats of boiled linseed oil and wax 20:1 mix".  Steve Clack told me that he just boiled up linseed oil and added some ready melted beeswax.  Hopefully Steve will be with us on Saturday next and you can quiz him.  Apparently you should ensure that the linseed oil dose not burn as this will darken the finished product.
I understand we're expecting theMayor and the council leader at the meeting on Saturday 14th so we want to put on a good show!


See you there - hopefully
Barry

Saturday 7th May 2011

Bill Mundy's last beginners class of this session.  The class studied re-use of old frames, building new frames complete with foundation and the fabrication of a hive from a 'flat pack' .
Colin and I recovered a swarm and housed it in the Dartington hive.  'Touch wood' it's still at home tomorrow!
We've acquired a new Kelly kettle.  It'll come in v. handy.
More tomorrow on floor mesh suppliers and protective wood treatment for hives.

Thursday 5th May

Yesterday Colin and I paid our usual Wednesday visit to the Apiary.  On our "to - do" list we ticked off the following items :- tidying the proposed Queen rearing area (which included preparing a site for a rather nice 8'x6' shed offered to us by Steve & Sharon), planting, digging blackberry roots and a bonfire.  We didn't get round to sorting out the bait hive which was dislodged by the recent strong winds but it was a very productive day anyway.  My 'work planned' lists tend to be a little on the optimistic side.

On Saturday next Bill Mundy will conclude his beginners classes at the Apiary.  He'll be dealing with Colin's feral bees and some practical stuff.  Colin and I will be there from 10am on, tidying up/making preparations and Bill's talk will begin at 3pm.

Barry

Wednesday 4th May

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is "bramble attack" day, unless the Nucs ordered by Bill Mundy are delivered, in which case we'll be assembling said Nucs.  We also need to tidy up around the Apiary ready for Saturday7th when Bill will be delivering his last beginner's class on site.
The next colony inspection will be of hive 7 when we'll be adding a split board.

Barry