The no-frills method to hive a swarm is also known as the Brutal way. Here’s how it’s done… Continue reading How to hive a swarm: the No Frills Way
All posts by Gimlet
How to hive a swarm: the Pretty Way
There are several ways to hive a swarm. Here’s how to do it the traditional way with a ramp and a sheet. It’s probably the slowest method but well worth doing at least once for the spectacle! Continue reading How to hive a swarm: the Pretty Way
How to hive a swarm: the Easy Way
Here’s the quickest, easiest way to hive a swarm from Master Beekeeper Jim Donohoe… Continue reading How to hive a swarm: the Easy Way
First Swarm
Your first swarm is something you never forget…
It was our first year as beekeepers. We’d done the course, joined the local association then, come spring, we bought two nucs. Continue reading First Swarm
Chilli Honey Recipe
Here’s a recipe that’ll blow your socks off but you’ll need really hot chillis for this, not those namby-pamby, supermarket chillis.
Ingredients
- 500g honey
- 30g of small red-hot chillis
Method
- Cut the tops off the chillis and chop them up – include the seeds;
- Stir the chopped chillis into the honey and warm it up to 40-50 degrees C and leave for about 10 minutes;
- If not hot enough, leave a bit longer or add more chilli;
- If too hot, remove chillis and add more honey;
- Strain through muslin or a fine sieve and Bob’s your uncle.
This is really good with grilled meats such as sausages or chicken and even pizza.
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What to do with queenless Apideas
An annual quandry for beekeepers is – what to do with all those queenless Apideas at the end of the queen-rearing season.
Most advice is to set the Apidea over a nuc and unite the two but this often comes to one sort of sticky end or another and is less viable when you have a number of them.
Here’s a neat alternative: Continue reading What to do with queenless Apideas
MAQStrips – Do they work?
Mite Away Quick Strips (MAQS) were the beekeepers’ Great White Hope but the results this spring are not great – has something unexpected interfered or were our expectations unrealistic?
The first spring inspections of 2015 have been a bit of a shock. Not that I’ve had many losses – only about 5% – and the cause seems to have been queen failure (Click here for guidance on how to conduct a post mortem). The rest are mainly good and strong heading into the summer.
However there are problems out there… Continue reading MAQStrips – Do they work?
How to find the Queen
Finding an unmarked queen is difficult enough so getting her marked early in the season is vital for what comes later. As an illustration of that – see if you can spot the queen in the photo above – experienced beekeepers hold your whist!
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the same photo but with the queen marked. Continue reading How to find the Queen
Apiguard Eke
If you use Apiguard – be sure not to leave the eke on over winter or if you do, make sure get back to it before the dandelions do!
Perhaps this is why we call it an eke – we just spell it wrong; it should be eek. But note the rich yellow colour of dandelion honey – click the photos for a better look.
Click here for more on dandelions. Continue reading Apiguard Eke
Importance of Pollen
A good supply of pollen is essential to a honeybee colony because…
… bees cannot live on honey alone. While the sugars in honey supply the bees’ energy needs, in addition they require the protein, fats, minerals and the miscellaneous dietary supplements found in pollen. The protein content of the pollen of different plants is variable but generally very high, containing amounts comparable with peas and beans (Witherell), or seeds and peanuts (Dietz). Continue reading Importance of Pollen