When beekeepers think heather, they think weather and ‘Will it ever stop bloody raining?’
Or you might wonder – ‘IS there a flow at all?’ Because often there isn’t and you can never tell in advance if it will or if it won’t. Heather honey is the most bewitching and frustrating of all honeys; if you can get a crop of sections or cut comb honey it’s close to heaven and so costly and disappointing when it fails.
A Snelgrove board is essential but it need not be an expensive addition to the beekeeper’s armoury. This one below was home-made by me and if I can make one anybody can. If you have never seen one before, click the picture below for a closer view. Continue reading Make your own Snelgrove Board→
The Demaree method of swarm control, devised by Kentucky beekeeper George Demaree in 1892, is a very effective method of preventing swarms but it will only work on strong colonies which have not begun making queen cells. I’ve been using it for the past 4-5 years with great success especially when used in conjunction with a Snelgrove board. That way you can prevent a swarm, get a new queen and a great crop of honey.
Ted Hooper’s five questions – as described in his book ‘Guide to Bees and Honey’ were devised to walk the beekeeper through his or her weekly inspections. The first 5 columns in the Colony Assessment Sheet are there for you record the answers.
Take a look at this frame of bees above – yes there are several things there that should put you on alert!
The South Kildare Beekeepers Association – ‘Beekeeping for Beginners’ Course starts on Monday 23rd February 2015 at 7.30 in the Church of Ireland Hall, Athy, Co.Kildare.
Includes talks, hands-on practical sessions, honey extraction and SKBA membership.
There are all sorts of bees for sale out there – Buckfast, Carniolan, Italian, Russian, Greek – you name it but how can they possibly be better than the locals on their home turf? Think about it, think about the risks in importing diseases and god knows what-all else. Don’t import bees – improve your own.
Here’s how and it isn’t difficult. In fact it’s fun and very rewarding – you will see real results year on year. We used to have some really horrible bees here and only a few hives of them but each year they would chase us round the garden. Now, in the middle of summer I have around 25 hives of bees here and stings are rare.
When deciding which colonies you are going to breed from and which colonies you are going to cull, data recorded in Colony Assessment Sheets can be tabulated using this Colony Appraisal Sheet devised by the Galtee Bee Breeding Group. It may seem pedantic but this is an invaluable tool in bee improvement and bee breeding.
