Bee Keeping

My father-in-law from a previous Mrs tonym was a very keen apiarist, who I used to help on occasion. They are indeed remarkable little creatures James, and they're pretty easy to care for as long as you follow the rules. Said father-in-law had hives in various places, including one in his very small garden, but you'd never know it - the bees drop down into the hive from altitude so there's little danger of being stung in the circumstances (as long as you don't knock the hive over of course). There's bound to be a Beekeeper's Association local to you, & in my experience beekeeping folk are very friendly and welcome novices. Then there's the honey of course.

James, good timing!  Coincidentally, I was only just the other day discussing my curiosity and possible desire to keep some bees here.

My Brother in Law took up bee keeping while at school and even kept bees on the roof of his house when he lived in London - it was sensational honey so I'm told, all thanks to being close to the Chelsea Physic Garden.  He continued keeping bees when he moved to the countryside but had to stop a few years back as he built up an allergy to stings.  The problem he had was time - often he could only do evenings and not always when the weather was good, which tends to make the bees agitated.

Anyway, I'll be watching this thread with interest...

Took it up last year, after an absence of 53 years or so  since I was a member of a beekeeping club in my primary school...

No time for detailed response at this instant, but maybe it would help to know what detail you're seeking in terms of sharing experience? 

Thanks chaps i thought this would be a zero answer thread so appreciate the replies already. I've just started doing some research but (and to answer your question IB) was just interested in anyone's experience - Any downsides, things you wish you'd known. Is this a hobby that you can take up when working full time (noting Richards comments), do you need to seek any permissions (neighbours, council etc) before keeping them etc ?

I've found a local association so i'll pursue that avenue too  

I think the local association s a very good idea - not just for knowledge but most offer "hiring" of equipment you don't use too often e.g. the honey extractors (unless you are going to have a lot of hives they are a bit expensive to buy).

A few of things we  didn't really think through - it takes quite a bit of space to store everything you need, the frames are much heavier than we realised when full of honey, and it's a really good idea to gen up on recognising your queen....sounds easy in the books but can take quite a bit of getting used to. A friendly experienced mentor is invaluable.

If you haven't bought your bees yet think about where to get them....we searched out someone who had strains that were regarded as fairly docile....you can find some strains are pretty angry at the drop of a hat, which is why we bought after a bit of research but didn't go for a swarm.

Also consider making your own honey warmer (ours was knocked up from an old pallet, some celotex insulation board and a 40 watt light bulb, worked very well) and think about wasps - also very valuable pollinators but they try to kill off your bees and take over the hive. Traps are not all that useful, but the wapsinator worked well for us.

Having said all that it's a great hobby, they are really lovely creatures and we haven't been stung very often, so enjoy.

Hope this isn't teaching you to suck eggs....or honey for that matter. 

Thanks John - that's very useful info. Absolute novice here so appreciate the advice. I was just curious to see if anyone would think it was a mad  idea and so far that's not the case. I've been reading through the BBKA website and have found a local association close to me which has an excellent website too.

Thanks again all - i'll make some enquiries. 

James

John, I'm interested when you mention buying bees.  I seem to recall reading that bees should never be bought but should be given.  And that leaving your empty hives open to welcome a swarm from your beekeeping neighbour was seen as very poor form.  Then again it was a very old book, so perhaps times have changed...

Strangely (or not!) I've been watching a lot of beekeeping video blog type affairs on Youtube lately and it is a most interesting subject.  There's absolutely loads of very good quality stuff on Youtube from around the world on this subject covering every single aspect of the hobby.

My grandparents had a dozen or so hives, and there was always honey in the house, which makes the gunk they sell in supermarkets these days seem pretty bland, so the results are certainly worthwhile in my books. My neighbour has been keeping bees for a few years now, and found the local beekeepers association invaluable. They have found people amongst their members to teach him, and to sell him bees and hives, and generally take him under their wing. This appears to be the norm amongst such associations, so I would certainly recommend contacting your local group if you have one. 

There's so much to tell that its hard to know where to start...

Our local beekeeping club runs a beginners course of about 10 evening classes early each year, followed up with some practical sessions at weekends. We'd been vaguely thinking about it for years, and decided to take the plunge last year (we being my wife and me). The course didn't put us off, and we bought a hive ready at about the time the practical sessions started, and by July we had our first colony - a split colony from the training apiary, which they do with the queen cells produced each year. No cost for the bees. Hive we bought through eBay - you can buy secondhand, but we bought new to avoid risk of disease. Cheaper than the main store, but still surprisingly expensive. Not difficult to make your own hives if you want, and instead just buy the frames.

now some snippets - happy to expand.

• you almost certainly will end up with 2 hives or more - difficult to manage things with just one.
• Another source of free bees is swarms - and local club may have some to home, or you can register with local police as someone willing and able to collect a swarm. (We ended up with 2 colonies very quickly because my wife saw a swarm on a bush, drove a couple of miles to a pub to blag a box, back and got the bees and brought them home! And we had only had the first colony for a couple of weeks!)
• Trick to minimise problems, put up a 2m mesh fence around the apiary - ours is barely visible from a distance. Holes small enough that bees can't fly through - they fly up, then they are above gphead height and don't bother anyone in the garden, even if only 6 feet from the hive.
• Neighbours can be a problem - but more one of ignorant fear than anything. We haven't told ours, and I don't think they know, but then our hives are about 50ft from each of our two neighbours boundaries. I think I would speak to them first if siting less than maybe 20 ft from the boundary, if only because if anything happens to get the bees over-excited when tending the hives they could be visible, maybe even audible. The school beekeeping clud I was  a member of in primary school had the bees about 10 ft behind a 6ft high fence, the other side of which was the infant school playground, with no bother at all. 
• bees do seem to think washing hanging out to dry is intended for use as a toilet, and you can get dots of bee faeces  - so can neighbours.
• 2 people tending at same time makes much quicker and easier.
•  During the potential swarming season - roughly May-July in Britain - the hives need tending at least once every 10 days to be sure they won't swarm.
• otherwise maybe only need to check every 3-4 weeks or so over summer and less frequently if in winter (latter mainly to top up sugar feed if you've harvested most of the honey)
• that said, if they swarm they do, you will still have half the colony left, but the trouble is the swarm could settle somewhere unsuitable and be a problem to someone.
• We had some honey the first year, though we didn't expect to. Pleanty this year. (At the moment all destined for family and friends. If you sell you must comply with relevant food legislation - local beekeeing club or BBKA can advise.
• BBKA membership is not expensive and provides insurance, could be relevant if a neighbour ever has a problem and seeks to claim off you.
• some bees can be much more aggressive than others, and UK bee population has become more so over recent decades due to introduction of other strains. Where I live we still have the older less aggressive type, though also less productive - however individual colonies can vary, and we were advised that even if the queen comes from a calm colony, once mated the offspring also inherit from the drone mate, which could be a different strain. If a problem, the answer is to get a new queen (you can buy them).
• Varroa mite is a pest that needs constant vigilance and action to deal with, apparently rife in much of UK.
• It is an enjoyable and rewarding hobby, and one where even very experienced beekeepers say they are still learning, 

That'll  have to do for today - I hope it helps.

To add to the above, I think if had to single out one single tip It is that one about two people being better than one - if you have a pattner, or maybe other family member, get them to learn with you from the start: you will each remember different bits of the mass of information, and when tending the hives it is partly a share of the physical work, which by the time you have two hives getting full of honey can share the lifting ets, but also it is mutual support if the bees do get over-excited (happened to us twice), and makes it easy  to go and get something you realise you need when in the middle of something but left in the house, similarly relight the smoker, or helping spot the queen and eggs (not always easy), or to discuss a solution in situ if you find a problem. I also find it nice that my wife and I have another shared hobby, as I have a numbe that hild no interest for her.

We do also tend the hives on our own, but together is better and quicker and we do that when we can, particularly when there is work to do.

Cheers IB - some very useful info there so appreciate you taking the time to share. 

I had a good look around last night and downloaded a lot of reading material so i've got a lot to read up on. No one has suggested it's a mad idea so that's good 

Thanks everyone for your input and info - really appreciated. I'll report back on progress.

James 

Richard Dane posted:

John, I'm interested when you mention buying bees.  I seem to recall reading that bees should never be bought but should be given.  And that leaving your empty hives open to welcome a swarm from your beekeeping neighbour was seen as very poor form.  Then again it was a very old book, so perhaps times have changed...

...and if someone dies in the household, you need to go and tell the bees. 

There is someone in Swindon is breeding a strain of the native bee that clean themselves more often - as a result this strain is much more resistant to infection by varroa.

I don't believe that they are generally available yet, but in any case, the technique should be encouraged to get more strains of actively self-cleaning bees to increase genetic diversity of varroa resistant strains.

tonym posted:

Richard Dane posted:

John, I'm interested when you mention buying bees.  I seem to recall reading that bees should never be bought but should be given.  And that leaving your empty hives open to welcome a swarm from your beekeeping neighbour was seen as very poor form.  Then again it was a very old book, so perhaps times have changed...

...and if someone dies in the household, you need to go and tell the bees. 

I remember as a child being told that when/if the bee keeper died the bees had to be told immediately otherwise they would swarm.  

We've also thought about doing it. A colleague at work has two hives. We have had honey from both. It is interesting how the flavour changes with the season - different flowers. He highly recommends joining your local club and doing their "beginners courses". And also recommends the "take a partner" approach

Out in the CA desert we have an assortment of bees some very small and I see a big fat black one on one shrub with cupped yellow flowers.  He'd get in, walk around and then out around me and back to another one.  They don't sting unless you  accidently squeeze one cleaning up the garden.  I heard a talk on them and am thinking of making a bee hotel in my utility side with various size holes drilled into a large piece of dried wood.  Someone nearby has tree logs the cut down. Seems odd to make bug hotels but most insects are beneficial here and some are really artful to look at.

Apparently the most difficult thing is deciphering what the Waggle Dance does.

TOBYJUG posted:

Apparently the most difficult thing is deciphering what the Waggle Dance does.

I believe that is now known