In this part of the world – July is the time to get the bees to the heather – if the flow is early you’ll miss it. But before you do that – have you got a heather site?
Here are some notes on what makes a good one. Continue reading Heathering
All posts by Gimlet
Poplar leaf rust spores?
Here’s an interesting one…
One of my apiary sites is in a nature reserve on a small raised bog in Kildare. The clover and blackberry are in full bloom all around the fringes there so I expected to find the bees with brown or grey pollen loads. However, I was surprised to find them bringing in a lot of vivid orange pollen and no, that’s not propolis. Of course I’d come out without my camera so had to make do with my phone and these pictures don’t do the colour justice. Click photos to enlarge. Continue reading Poplar leaf rust spores?
Queen Rearing – How to Graft
Grafting is often seen as highly technical and an unattainable skill. It shouldn’t be though – because it isn’t – it’s just practice and knack.
After all, the aim is simple enough: – to transfer a young larva from one cell to another. How difficult can it be?
To maximise success you need to sit down and think for a bit though. Consider how to choose your larvae, which grafting tool to use and how to set up your rearer colony. Then get stuck in – what’s to lose? Continue reading Queen Rearing – How to Graft
How to use your Jenter Kit
Once you have your Jenter Kit set up you are ready to put it into action. Click here if you need the Jenter Kit Set Up instructions
Click here for a timetable to use your Jenter kit with a Cloake board system
How to Introduce a queen bee to an Apidea
Mostly Apideas are used to rear queens from queen cells. However, there are occasions when you may want to introduce a laying queen or a virgin into an established Apidea.
Here’s a simple introduction method: Continue reading How to Introduce a queen bee to an Apidea
Quick queen bee introduction – Paper Bag Method
Introducing a new queen can be a tedious, long-winded process. Here’s a good quick method of introducing her 1 hour after removing the old one. No seven day gap, no removing of queen cells, no stressed bees. Yes, it works – I’ve tried it.
Here’s what to do: Continue reading Quick queen bee introduction – Paper Bag Method
Cloake Board Method of Queen Rearing
A Cloake board is an essential piece of kit for anyone considering rearing their own queens. The method utilises a queen-right colony ensuring the best quality queens.
Click here for a timetable for the Cloake board system Continue reading Cloake Board Method of Queen Rearing
Irish Queen Bees for Sale
Sorry – sold out for 2015
Native Irish queen bees for sale (Apis mellifera mellifera) – ready now.
Selected for good temperament, productivity and low-swarming. Click here for more about JanesBees
Contact Jane info@beespoke.info
Click here for more about the Native Irish Bee
Click here for Bee Improvement
Click here for Colony Assessment
Click here for Colony Appraisal
How to set up your Jenter Kit
Here’s how to set up your Jenter kit. It’s how I did mine and that’s now working well.
By the way, be warned – the bees won’t like it when it’s new and the queen will be reluctant to lay into it. So get it set up and into a strong colony to get it drawn out and smelling beeish before you trot the queen into it. Continue reading How to set up your Jenter Kit
How to get Section Honey
Section honey is the creme de la creme of honeys.
Good sections command high prices and beekeepers will tell you the reason is that they are hard got. The bees hate to work all those corners and will often swarm instead. Or the weather will turn on you and you’ll be left with a lot of waste.
There is not much you can do about the weather but here are a few things you can consider to maximise your chances. Basically:
- The Hive
- The Bees
- The Forage
- Whether the Weather