The Apiary in January

Fetching the fondant

 

We’ve been patiently waiting for the right conditions to treat our colonies for Varroa mites.  The idea is to reduce Varroa Mites to a minimum now so that when the weather starts to improve and the Queen starts laying eggs the colony has the best chance of outstripping the increase rate of Varroa Mites.  A healthy and strong colony at the start of the season will give them the best chance of combatting other diseases that can be spread by the Varroa.

We don’t like the idea of using chemicals but the recommended treatment is oxalic acid.  We bought a handy dispensing container of ready mixed oxalic acid which came complete with a demonstration from Bob at the bee shop on how to use it.  He showed me how to use a finger to mark the seam (the gap between two frames) that you’re treating and then move the finger to the next seam before squeezing the dispenser to measure out the next dose.  He zipped the dispenser along the imaginary seam to indicate the speed of application.

Oxalic acid is supposed to be applied after a suitable cold period so that the queen has stopped laying and the amount of brood is as low as possible.  It’s not good for brood.  However, the day for application should be cold enough for the bees to be in a huddle in their nest but not wet or windy to minimise exposing the bees to cold and damp.

After a long cold, wet spell, finally we had the right conditions with a glorious sunny day,  the air temperature at +4C and no wind, or if any, wind from the South.

In the middle of the afternoon, we decided to go ahead with Operation Oxalic Acid.    As instructed by Bob, we were both there for this two man operation; one lifting the lid, top lift and crown board and the other dispensing the chemical to minimise the time the hive was open.

We loosened the straps securing the hives against high winds and “went in”.   In Queen Bee’s hive there was absolutely no sign of life.  We hope the bees were huddled in their nest but it was ominously quiet.  We were in and out as quickly as possible, the sun was shining, we moved on to the G Bees.

Anyone who has read all of these blogs will already be expecting a different situation in Queen G’s hive and you will not be disappointed.  True to form, when the crown board was lifted we could see lots of bees moving about on the top of the frames.  They were close together and fairly central but definitely looking very lively.   Our instructions were that if the bees were crawling around on the frames that implied a high enough temperature for brood so we shouldn’t use the chemical.  We immediately closed the hive.  The top of the hive is where it should be warmest but if the bees are there, they may not be accessing stores lower down or at the sides.  Therefore we rushed back in to the house and put a block of fondant over the hole in the crown board.

We calculated, as best we could, that with the honey we left and the feeding we did in the Autumn, both colonies should have enough stores to get through the Winter but we bought fondant as an emergency top up.  We are assured that the bees will use it if they need to and if they haven’t finished the fondant when they start going out foraging in preference, any that remains can be kept in a sealed container for next year.  So, the G Bees have fondant immediately above their nest and don’t have to go out to the cold edges of the hive for stores.

As new beekeepers, we don't know which of the two situations we found was more normal for the time of year.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Beebettes but I am worried for them. 

 

 

Happy New Year 2015

What do bees do at Christmas?

Do bees sleep?

What do beekeepers get for Christmas?

Want a heads up on our plans for the coming year?

Read on….

Mahonia flowering in the apiary on a frosty morning

 

Lots of friends have asked us whether bees hibernate.  We didn’t know either but we were fascinated to learn that they don’t.   As temperatures drop bees huddle together in a roundish nest.  The colder it gets, apparently the smaller the huddle.  The bees fan their wings and expand the nest to disperse heat and they generate heat by uncoupling their wings and contracting and relaxing their flight muscles to regulate temperature at the centre, keeping it at a remarkably constant 32 C.   So at Christmas this year, the bees were in their nest, creating metabolic heat to keep their Queen snug in the middle.

We didn’t even sneak a look because we don’t want to expose our lovely bees unnecessarily to the cold.

Our interrogators normally swiftly follow the hibernation question by asking whether bees sleep.  Again, we didn’t know but it transpires that bees can’t close their eyes but they do have a kind of resting state which some observant beekeeper's can spot.  Not us though – not yet!

Our top bee related Christmas present this year was a much needed 14x12 brood box for the G Bees to move into in the Spring.  It’s made to measure by Thornes with top bee space and we collect it on 6^th January.

A rain gauge  is a welcome addition to the garden weather station.  We can report that we had 15mm of rain/sleet on 27^th/28^th December.  A super deluxe wasp trap will come in handy but the greatest excitement was generated by a bright yellow stethoscope.  We’re looking forward to using it for non-invasive hive inspections.  So far it’s been too cold and wet to attempt to use it.  We have heard that hungry bees are louder than happy bees – but how will we recognise the difference? And can we make a recording for the blog?

We were also given a bee hotel for solitary bees and two hedgehog houses. I bet nobody else got two of them but I’m not complaining.

Bee hives in December

I’ve got a present for the bees but haven’t given it to them yet.  It’s a packet of fondant per hive.  I’m sure we gave the bees enough feed on top of their honey stores to get them through the Winter but the fondant is the insurance policy.  We cut a flap in the plastic cover and place it over a hole in the crown board and the bees should find it.   We’ve also placed an order for pollen patties via the local beekeepers’ association as it seems bees need pollen as well as honey stores to survive and thrive.

 As for our other plans for 2015, assuming we get both colonies safely through the Winter….

Ø  Move the G Bees in to a 14 x 12 brood box

Ø  Breed new queens from Queen G.   We don’t know how old she is but she has some great qualities – her offspring are good tempered, she lays prolifically, her colony produced lots of honey and they are noticeably diligent about cleaning out their hive which is deemed good for resisting Varroa infestations. 

Ø  Set up a third colony – must make a shopping list of extra equipment required first and this assumes we can make some extra Queens.

I'm studying the Jack Berry method from his book “Queen Rearing with Simplicity” which Sally has loaned to me.  I can see that lots of detailed planning and logistics will be required.

The first real bee related activity of 2015 will be the AGM of the local beekeepers ‘ association and annual dinner.  We're making extra efforts to be able to attend this time because last year we were thwarted in our attempts to get there by widespread flooding and massive traffic congestion.

Best wishes to our reader (you know who you are) for a “hap bee” new year!

 

P and L