Bee Handling
A small group of us attended this very informative and interesting session at Course Tutor, Ray King's, apiary in perfect bee handling weather - bright, warm sunshine to make the bees happy and well-tempered, with a slight breeze to prevent overheating of bee keepers in full protective gear!
This course was scheduled as a follow-up to the earlier course where bee-keeping theory was discussed in great detail. Today we were shown how to open the hives, handle the contents, observe what was going on inside and decide what action, if any, needed to be taken.
We all kitted-up well away from the hives - checking that all zips, Velcro fastenings etc. were in their desired positions. We were advised that rubber gloves were the most practical to wear, the finer the better for comfortable handling of the equipment.
The smoker was lit, using - in this instance - rolled up hessian sacking, but rolled up corrugated cardboard would work as well, and it has been known for old egg trays to be used. Putting some fresh grass in the smoker cover cools the smoke. The smoker must be going well before attending the hives and should contain sufficient fuel to keep it going for however long you think you might be working with the bees. You can (and should) put the fire out at the end of a session, and reserve remaining fuel for future use - hessian sacks are not easily come by these days.
Ray pointed out that some bees will only need a small amount of smoke to keep them calm. Others may react adversely - a water spray can be used as an alternative.
We were also advised to make sure you take with you to the apiary all the equipment you could need.
I was so amazed when we first approached the apiary, that I failed to count the number of hives - there were a lot - some of different types and sizes, but mostly Nationals. All were raised from the ground - a precaution against damp conditions building up inside the hive, and to put them at a suitable working height for the keeper.
The atmosphere seemed to be full of bees, but they sounded amazingly calm and were happily going about their business without taking much notice of us. Ray advised that bee-keepers should always have a reason for opening a colony - they will perform better if they are disturbed as little as possible. It is tempting for new “beeks” to want to know what's going on inside, but patience is definitely needed.
First we opened a hive containing frames of Queen cells which Ray was using to breed new Queens for sale. He pointed out various small boxes on the perimeter of the field in each of which a virgin queens is later installed with a small number of attendant workers and from which she will eventually take her mating flight to encounter drones. Once mated she will return to the box ready to lay eggs. The bee-keeper can then either put the queen in a travelling cage for despatch by Royal Mail, or install the queen in a nucleus box (a hive containing 5 or 6 frames instead of 11 in a standard hive). The “nuc” will then develop into a colony ready for transfer to a full-sized hive - your own or someone else's - but do remember to charge a substantial deposit for the nuc box to make sure you get it back!
We opened nearly all the hives, were given the opportunity to handle frames (surprisingly heavy when filled with honey and brood), observe eggs (tiny), larvae, capped cells etc. etc. We saw a “split colony” and darkened brood frames which are replaced regularly with fresh wax foundation. We all tried to find the queen which was relatively easy when she was marked, but incredibly difficult if not.
We discussed disease/pests and treatments - when and what to use - winter feeding, swarms, predators etc.
Ray was very patient and encouraged questions at all times. We were all most grateful to him for the four hours of intense information exchange after which a cup of tea never tasted so good!
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