Swarm of bees

[Chick]

And so to my bees. Never found the swarm and I expect they are holed up in some tree near me. That?s how they reproduce. I checked the hive shortly after and found three queen cells, destroyed two and left the strongest looking one. I have been checking regularly since but still four weeks on there is no new brood which is worrying. The weather has been rubbish so possibly there is a virgin queen in there but the weather hasn?t allowed her to do a ?mating flight?, they mate on the wing with male drones and fly up to 1.5km away. They will mate with up to five male drones and when they have finished the drones get their genitalia ripped out and die. At the end of the season any drones in the hive get their wings bitten off and get kicked out. I have also had a problem with wax moths. Their grub burrow through the hive leaving a trail of silk which kills the hive. So far have found two large moths and one small one and lots of grubs, all destroyed. I have gone through the hive very thoroughly and I don?t think they aren?t ensconced but just get attracted to it. So I will check again this week and in ten days time, if there is no brood by ten days I will have to get a frame of unsealed brood from another bee keeper or buy a new queen. Fortunately it?s early in the season and there is time to recover. At the moment I have two ?suppers?, boxes with 11 full frames of capped honey which I will harvest this weekend. I got my eldest son involved and he is as good as me, in fact better, at being a beekeeper. Bees are fascinating and if you get honey then that?s a bonus. My honey is absolutely superb, the best I have tasted. It?s a great family hobby. I got involved because at a Nunhead cemetery open day there was a stall from Park Bees and he convinced me it?s a good family hobby. Another (tongue in cheek slightly) reason was a friend who criticised me for have too many children so I thought stuff you, I?ll get bees and help the planet. I will post more at the weekend and upload some pictures of a honey harvest. Till then.

[Sue]

Too much information about what happens to drones 😀

[Chick]

Sorry Sue, that's nature.

[TE44]

Good luck Chick, sounds a great thing to get into, look forward to pics.

[Help-Ma-Boab]

Keep us updated Chick. Love bees.

[JohnL]

I take it these aren't yours

http://news.sky.com/story/huge-bee-swarm-sparks-rush-hour-standstill-in-southeast-london-10880994

[Chick]

No but thanks for the post!

[JohnL]

They've added to the story now as someone collected them (using a mobile hive) and said

"But then when we talked to people and explained to them that actually a swarm is very benign, the likelihood of getting stung is very, very rare, and in most cases it's only when people swat them or squash them on their body that the bee will sting them. "They're very calm and very docile when they're swarming."

Re-assuring :)

[treehugger]

For anyone interested in bees, can I suggest an excellent novel called "The Bees" by Laline Paull? It gives a fascinating insight into the what goes on inside a beehive.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Bees-Laline-Paull/0007557744/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495028154&sr=1-1&keywords=the+bees

[lance_elot]

I've just come back from the USA and i was in Texas, where they have swarms of killer African bees!a local told me that they had been released accidentally in Brazil and made their way up North!

Thankfully they are not here in Dulwich!

[Chick]

News on my bee?s. Checked them on 14th May, no queen and no new brood. That was five weeks after the swarm. Bee?s only last about six weeks so with out a new queen by the 21st I would be looking re-queening or finding a swarm. Some one suggested there may be a virgin queen in the hive but she had been unable to fly due to the bad weather. I checked again last Sunday 21st and there was lots of new grub she must have gone on a mating flight and was happily laying, the hive is safe for now. I seem to have wax moth, I have seen the larvae and a couple of moths. This needs keeping an eye on as they can destroy a hive. I also had my first harvest of the season with 15lbs of honey and will be harvesting again tomorrow.

Only down side was I got stung on the side of my head. I think I have only been stung about seven times in as many years but each time the reaction has been a bit more severe than previously, this was no exception. Within half an hour my skin had gone red and I was itching like hell. Piriton treated that and I thought no more. The next morning I woke feeling fine but the side of my head where the sting was had completely swollen up and my eye was puffed up and closed. It cost me two days off work. I have now got a couple of Epipen?s just in case. I will load up some pictures over the weekend.

[Help-Ma-Boab]

Jings Chick, a bee keepers curse to have a reaction like that. Hope you avoid further stings!

Nice to hear the progress of your bees. I love them.

[Guest Koermendi]

Chick, my father was a bee man. He came to it after I left home so I'm not. However, I remember that he had a couple of hives empty all the time in spring and that he was on the local contact list of the police, the council, the fire department, even the TV news stations, as someone who would head out to collect a swarm whenever one was spotted.

You might want to put your contact details out there. More swarms are a-comin'.

[Chick]

Thanks for all your comments. Some pictures.

[Chick]

Some more.

[Chick]

And finally.

[Lynne]

Our palm tree a mass of bees this afternoon. At least 5 varieties.

[Guest Koermendi]

Oh, Chick. Those pictures. EVERYTHING in our kitchen got sticky when it was honey-harvesting time.

[Chick]

I don't know why. Mine has always been sticky free. The honey is delicious.

Koermendi Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Oh, Chick. Those pictures. EVERYTHING in our

> kitchen got sticky when it was honey-harvesting

> time.

[nxjen]

Lynne Wrote:

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> Our palm tree a mass of bees this afternoon. At

> least 5 varieties.

So was mine this morning. And so noisy! In a nice sort of way.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

I am strangely gripped by his thread.

[Chick]

A bee emerging.

[Alec1]

I was over in Somerset a week or so ago and witnessed a scarm where my Mum lives. I checked on the bee association website and found several beekeepers who come out to collect. A few hours after swarming they were safely on their way to a new home. It's the second time I've done this and watching collection is fascinating.