Beekeeping and Occam’s Razor

Looking back on bee-related articles that I’ve written during the summer months, it’s no surprise to me that they all deal with similar themes: honey, queen bees, and swarms. This year is no different in that the work is the same as ever; we are marking new queens (blue this year), checking that the foraging bees are bringing in plenty of varied pollen for the ever-increasing amounts of brood, and dealing with swarms. We have been pro-active with our swarm control methods this season, especially with the colonies we are raising in Dadant hives – read on to find out about the bees in the Warré hives! It seems to us that there are more swarms around this year, or perhaps the general public is more aware of them, as we and other beekeepers have been contacted a lot more than usual with requests for help where unwanted bees are concerned. Sadly, we haven’t been called to any ‘easy’ swarm captures. Instead the calls are usually from homeowners who have bees in the chimney or under the eaves which makes removal very difficult. However, recently we did enjoy doing a good old-fashioned ‘cut-out’ of a nest that had been built between a window and the shutters, and we managed to not only find the queen but re-hive the colony back at base.

All We Can Do

Here we are, then; the clocks have gone forward and I am reminded of an old rhyme from my school days: “Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the lawnmower iz?!” However, this month, as beekeepers, we have more important things to do than cut the grass. Hopefully the temperatures are now consistently high enough for us to open the hives and carry out the first inspections of the year. We did everything we could do to help prepare our colonies for the winter, and so now we are looking forward to finding that it was all worth the effort and our bees are fighting fit, ready to face the challenges ahead.

When Plan A actually works!

Earlier in the summer we collected a few swarms of bees that did not make for easy work!  We might share a few of the stories once the scars have healed but for now we'd love to share a positive story (it helps with our therapy 😂😂😂).  Last month, on a sunny morning, we received a call from a couple who had noticed a large group of bees in one of their plum trees. We asked them to send a photo so we could assess it and yes, they were right, a swarm cluster had formed on a branch. It was almost text-book in its size, shape, and position, perfect for collecting and re-homing in a hive.

Here Comes Spring 2023!

I’m not admitting to being slow on the uptake, but most things in my life tend to be one step ahead of me these days; it must be the recent high temperatures (any excuse…). That fact is definitely true of the bees, but they are several strides in front when it comes to planning.  Forget about already having the Christmas shopping done, they are thinking about next Spring and how the colony is going to build up. As beekeepers we can help them with these preparations, and Autumn is an important time for assessing the health of the queen bee, the size of the colony and the amount of stores they have gathered. 

The power of imagination

Warning:  this post contains a little ask 😉

When did our addiction to digital gossip, reality TV and the 24/7 need to be connected start?  Was it sudden or, like us, does anyone else think that it's been a bit like the boiling frog urban myth?

 

Here at 13 Bees we think it wouldn't hurt to slow down a little and to help others do the same.  To this end, the ever-creative Amanda brought together her love of honeybees and telling stories to publish her first children's book on Kindle. If you know any 7-11 year-olds who might just appreciate something that isn't Fortnite, Tiktok or a PS5, this might be just up their street..... 

 

It tells the story of an intrepid (but not always smart) honeybee named Thistle as she faces all the joys and challenges that our bees face in real life.  It reminds me of the stories my grandparents used to tell that fired our imaginations when we were kids 😁  At 99p, why wouldn't you give it a try?  You might even help to inspire the next generation of beekeepers and imagineers (that's a real word, we checked).

Follow the link to read a preview over at Amazon:

https://amzn.to/3sWCrgK

Pests and Posies

 

2020 continues to be a challenging year for everyone, but back in the spring we tried to mitigate things a little for our bees. We decided to turn over a section of our land to provide forage for pollinating insects; we're very lucky here to have the space to do that! In April the field was ploughed and we spent a few back-breaking days clearing it of roots and stones, then after the earth was tilled, we had fun sowing around 5kg of mixed wildflower seed. Stunning purple phacelia was the first to appear at the end of May, then over the next few months cornflowers, calendula, cosmos, zinnia, crimson clover, poppies and anemones showed up in force. Our delight was shared with that of bumble bees, honey bees, butterflies and many more, and we are overjoyed to see that the flowers are still blooming even in mid November. Even better, new young phacelia plants are growing again, so hopefully we'll have some early flowers next year too. With everything else going on in the world, the spirits are certainly lifted when a cloud of purple and pink blossoms greet you on a gloomy day.

 

Unfortunately the Asian hornets are also thriving this year, and our bees have been under sustained attack for a couple of months now. We have done our best to protect them by fitting muzzles on the hives and restricting the entrances so that the hornets can't get in. We've also put out several traps which are specifically designed to trap Asian hornets, minimising the amount of other insects that are caught. As yet we haven't been able to find the nest which is a real shame, but we're hoping that the coming winter will mean the workers will die off and we'll have trapped young queens before they go into hibernation. We'll be ready for them when they emerge in a couple of months, and will do our utmost to trap them before they start making new nests.

Here's to better days...

Cheeky Blighters!

Last week we moved a couple of hives to a new location elsewhere in our meadow. The colonies in these hives have grown quickly this Spring and all of a sudden there were far too many bees flying close to the house for my comfort.

Hello and Goodbye!

Thanks to the current virus pandemic, 2020 is turning out to be quite a different year from the one we had planned, but our bees are carrying on as if nothing has changed. Lockdown caused by adverse weather is the only thing they are experiencing and, like us, when they can get out, they do!

Spring is always an exciting time of year; we’ve got our colonies through the winter, we’ve found the queens and checked that they are laying, and we’ve seen pollen being brought in by the foragers. We’ve noted how rapidly the numbers of bees are increasing – it’s still amazing to see a baby bee hatching, pushing its way out of a wax cell, and to see newly-emerged fluffy pale drones wandering around on the frames. It’s now that we have to pay attention to what the bees’ plans are, and to keep an eye open for queen cells, and if the bees are planning to swarm and propagate the colony, or replace the queen without dividing the colony.

Honeybee swarm hanging 5 metres up!

Typically, if we judge the bees are planning to swarm, we try to beat them to it, and split the colony so that we don’t lose the majority of them. I swear our bees wait until our backs are turned and then they’re off! There they are, quietly getting on with the business of constructing comb, storing nectar, generally moseying around – we say ‘hello’, don’t spot the queen cell (usually covered in bees) and the next thing we know, they’re cheerily waving ‘goodbye’ as they thrum up into the air. Well, this year we were ready for them, and within a matter of days we went from six colonies to ten. During the current situation, beekeepers are allowed ‘out’ with the correct paperwork, and in the past fortnight we have been asked to collect four more swarms. We’ve seen queens in all of the swarms we captured, so now we just have to check that they are laying in their new homes….wish us luck!

Stay safe and enjoy your beekeeping. If you have any questions about bees, please call us or email us and we’ll try out best to help.

How was it for you?

Ok, so it's not quite year-end, but it's the middle of November and cold enough and wet enough to look back on 2019 and weigh up the year as a whole. Even though it happens every year, I am still taken aback in the autumn to realise that only a few weeks ago I was sweltering in my bee suit as I placed parasols over the hives to provide them with some shade from the relentless sunshine. How things change - it's 4c outside now, but two months ago we were harvesting honey in 32c!

The warm wet Spring meant that there was an abundance of forage (in this area, at least) for our bees. Our meadow was chock-full of the usual borage,