Keeping bees amongst the trees

[SteveA]

hi i have being keep bees 4 15 years. i keep my bees in national hives it is a lot easier to inspect the hives in summer ,you will find the comb will drop off the the top bar when you inspect the hive

 

Should a need for inspection be required (if really nescesary) the comb is fine on top bars... before separating boxes you run a cheese wire (I use a top E guitar string) between the boxes.

 

Individual combs can also be checked by running a knife up the sides of the box.

cheers, steve

[TGB]

Top Bars are more in line with what bees do naturally and harvesting honey combe will be easier. You won't get as much honey as from a National or Langstrath but you don't need to buy foundation. However, you'll have problems siting a TB on steep ground. If money for honey isn't your primary aim, go for the Top Bar.

Edited February 1, 2016 by TGB

[SteveA]

Top Bars are more in line with what bees do naturally and harvesting honey combe will be easier. You won't get as much honey as from a National or Langstrath but you don't need to buy foundation. If money for honey isn't you primary aim, go for the Top Bar.

 

I don't take a drip of honey from our Warres.... neither do I feed them sugar, or treat them for varroa.

If we want honey for the cornflakes we just buy a jar from Lidl.

 

Fascinating critters.

cheers, steve

[TGB]

Ah ha. A beekeeper who's more interested in just knowing the bees are alive and doing their thing. I like it. One could reasonably argue for not treating for Verroa, as ultimately, this may lead to the surviving bees being stronger.

 

Plus if you're not extracting honey, there's far less likelihood that the colony would run out of honey and then require fondant or sugar syrup.

Edited February 1, 2016 by TGB

[SteveA]

Ah ha. A beekeeper who's more interested in just knowing the bees are alive and doing their thing. I like it. One could reasonably argue for not treating for Verroa, as ultimately, this may lead to the surviving bees being stronger.

 

Plus if you're not extracting honey, there's far less likelihood that the colony would run out of honey and then require fondant or sugar syrup.

 

Absolutely bang on mate. We've had our bees a couple years now and have lost a couple of hives but also gained 3 (from our own swarms).

 

It's amazing how one hive behaves so differently to the next.

 

All this knocking queen cells off and preventing swarms can't be good either.... that's just messing about with natural selection.

cheers, steve

[roys]

Started bee keeping last year after a swarm found me, scared how little I know about bee keeping but trying to learn more. On a one day course next month. Be interesting to see if the little blighters have survived the winter in my cobbled together hive.

[SteveA]

Started bee keeping last year after a swarm found me, scared how little I know about bee keeping but trying to learn more. On a one day course next month. Be interesting to see if the little blighters have survived the winter in my cobbled together hive.

 

All the miserable wet weather can't be good for them but on the other hand it has been very mild.... so maybe they will consume less of their honey stores?.... or maybe they are more active/ burning energy out of doors looking for non existent winter forage..... or maybe they've found a big patch of snowdrops?

 

It'll be a welcome present if they have survived ~ and at that point I do a little bee dance, wiggling my bum and going around in circles.

Cheers, Steve

 

p.s.... or they might be all be dead, and I'll be on my knees crying and hitting the squitty soil with my fists!

Edited February 2, 2016 by SteveA

[breffni]

Thanks for the advice lads. Id like a bit of honey but I'm not into taking all the honey from them and just replacing it with sugar which isn't very good for them.