Volunteers to help with bee keeping

[Chick]

I am looking for someone to help with bee hive inspections maybe once a week or once a month. Or whatever suits. Full protective suits supplied.

It's a fascinating hobby and if we get any honey that's a bonus.

I have one hive now but intend to get another over the summer.

PM me if interested social distancing to be observed.

[Chick]

More pics

[SpringTime]

Thanks Chick. Will PM you.

[sorchamr]

I would love to do this

[Chick]

Seend me your phone number and we will arrange a date? Chick

[simn]

Yea, I like to do this too

[RicB]

What a great initiative! Wishing you all the best with your hive(s). Good luck!

[Chick]

Thanks!

RicB Wrote:

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> What a great initiative! Wishing you all the best

> with your hive(s). Good luck!

[Chick]

My bee?s survived the last winter. I didn?t expect them to, it was a weak colony to begin with and last October they hadn?t fully populated the hive. I was delighted when my daughter saw them flying three weeks ago and I have since done an inspection and the queen is laying already.

When I brought them home and did an inspection last May the queen disappeared after one week. I don?t know why she disappeared but it sets you back six weeks at least.

I had to feed them fondant, a mixture of pollen and honey, looks like marzipan, through out the winter and it?s paid off.

The previous colony died of Nosema, a kind of bee dysentery:

https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/animal-diseases/honey-bee-pests-and-diseases/nosema-disease-of-honey-bees#:~:text=Nosema%20is%20a%20serious%20disease,seen%20using%20a%20light%20microscope.

I?ll try and get some pictures of the queen!

So I?ll continue to feed them and may extract some honey later on in the season.

Thanks for your interest.

[Chick]

Lots of volunteers so far thanks to everyone for the interest.

[angiepangie]

Had a great intro to bee keeping earlier this afternoon - so interesting to see a hive close up. Thank you Chick for the chance to learn about these little creatures right in the middle of Dulwich.

[Chick]

Bee keeping disaster.

Last summer I got a new colony which was very weak. After one week the queen disappeared so I let nature run it?s course and after six weeks we had a new egg laying queen. They were weak and I didn?t expect them to make it through the winter so I fed them fondant all winter, a mixture of honey and pollen which looks like marzipan.

I checked them two weeks running and they were producing queen cells which means they are about to swarm. The old queen disappears with half your hive and a new queen emerges and starts all over.

I decided to split the hive and give half to my sister in law who had given me a colony two years ago. I split them and put the spare colony in a poly-nuc and set off for Suffolk.

The journey took 4.5 hours instead of two. My mistake was driving at that time of day and too many bee?s in the nuc. When I got to Suffolk they had cooked and about 90% were dead. If the frames of brood survive it might have a fighting chance but I am not optimistic. Dumb dumb dumb.

[intexasatthe moment]

Huge sympathy .So sorry .

It's done now ,we learn from our mistakes ,try and consign it to the past .

[simn]

Hi Chick, sorry the Suffolk expedition turned so difficult.. when came over that afternoon and you and Tom so carefully split the hive, it allowed me a fantastic glimpse into the life of the hive, I was facinated.. thanks so much!

[Chick]

So after my disastrous split which killed half the colony I was left with one hive but no queen. I installed a frame from my second hive and they later produced a queen. I did an inspection with my son saw the virgin queen and she flew away. Eventually they produced a new queen who is happily producing lot?s of brood.

My new second hive is very strong. In June after a swarm there were no new eggs or brood. I purchased a new queen installed her, they come in a plastic cage which you leave in the hive for a day or two so they get used to her ?perfume?, then break a tab off and the bee?s eat in through some sugar candy and release the new queen. I checked a week later and no new queen. There had been a virgin queen in the hive that I had missed so that was a waste of ?50.00.

This hive is now extremely vicious and on Friday I will go through the hive to find and destroy this queen and replace her with a Buckfast queen which are bread to be gentle and good honey producers. This breed were reared in Buckfast Abbey.

[Chick]

So having found the queen which was producing very aggressive bees and destroyed her I have today released a new queen who I hope survive's and produces less aggressive offspring.

The new queen. Is the one with the white spot.