There really isn’t much about for the bees in November but when the weather permits they really do love the Mahonia for that little bit of fresh nectar.
It hardly seems worthwhile putting this little table in here but let’s do it anyway: Continue reading Bee Flowers – November
White eyed drones are victims of a their genes. As we know, drones come from unfertilised eggs and as such they have only one set of chromosomes so all their genetic defects or mutations are expressed and some of them are out there for all to see – like white eyes. Continue reading White Eyed Worker Bee
Here are some flowers for the bees in July.
Irish Natives are in green.
Click the table for a close up then let me know if I’ve missed any: Continue reading Bee Flowers – July
By now we are all familiar with the mesh floor aka Varroa floor as part of our Integrated Pest Management. There are obvious benefits to these but there are also a few snags and an unexpected flaw: Continue reading Varroa Floor Flaw
The sting of bees and other Hymenopteran insects is thought to be a modified ovipositor. An ovipositor is a pointed tube used to pierce a hole to lay an egg into. Honey bees have evolved beyond the need for an ovipositor – instead they have adapted it as a weapon and despite the fact that using their sting is accompanied by disembowelment – they are not afraid to use it. Continue reading Bee Stings
Here’s something to write home about: five virgin queens – all on the same frame! Below – click it for a close up Continue reading Fighting Queen Bees
Here are some flowers for the bees in June.
Irish Natives are in green.
Click the table for a close up then let me know if I’ve missed any: Continue reading Bee Flowers – June
Here are some flowers for the bees in May.
Irish natives are in green.
Click the table for a close up then let me know if I’ve missed any: Continue reading Bee Flowers – May
Berberis darwinii is a great shrub for honey bees – yeilding a nice supply of early nectar and ample greenish pollen in the spring. Continue reading Bee flowers – Berberis
This question comes up quite often on our Beekeeping Course and it’s quite difficult to answer without making a list. There is much more choice of equipment available now with bargains to be had, but even then – it’s not cheap so be warned.
However something else to throw into the equation is that if you do take up beekeeping there should eventually be a payback in terms of honey which you can then either consume yourself or you can sell it. So an interesting way to consider the cost of starting up beekeeping is in jars of honey instead of euro.
The results of this exercise for 2009 and 2016 are shown in the table below where: Continue reading How much does it cost to start beekeeping?
