My hive rearranged!

Ok today I decided to take the bull by the horns and sort out the mess I had created last year in my hive by mixing brood and brood and half frames in a brood and a half box.

I've thought long and hard and sort advice from fellow bee keepers.

The plan was to open the hive on a nice spring day, remove as many of the extended brood and a half frames, cut away the extension and then put them in a new brood box along with as many of the four standard brood frames which would be full of capped cells, larvae, eggs and stores. Then make make up the full box by fitting new clean brood frames at either end. The new box would then be put on top of the old brood an half and allow the colony to settle down in the top box before switching top for bottom a few weeks later. Confused well I was!

First things first was to get absolutely anything that I thought I would need out in the garden and then anything that I thought I wouldn't need! Then stick rigidly to the plan.

So here goes nothing, I knew the bees would be pissed so had plenty of smoke ready to try and calm them down, I smoked the entrance, took off the lid which I would invert, cracked the crown board and smoked again, then I put the new brood box on the inverted roof.

With the old brood frames exposed another squirt of smoke and lift the first brood an a half out which was almost like new, this was put to one side to use to close down the size of the old brood and a half box once as many frames were removed as possible. Two new clean brood frames were put in the new brood. Time to remove the stores frames, these came out easily and the extensions were cut away with the now standard size brood going into the new brood box. I was soon into the four standard brood frames, these had loads of brace comb hanging from the bottom a mixture of stores and capped drone brood, I carefully cut away the brace comb, the bees didn't like that and then put the brace comb in the bottom of the brood and a half. The second of these had the Queen on so I carefully placed her with frame into the new box, transferred a couple more stores frames and completed the new brood with two more new frames.

At this point I changed my mind, time will tell whether I was right or wrong, knowing that the Queen was in the new brood box, I decided the best place for her was at the bottom of the hive, I lifted the brood an a half off the mesh floor and put it onto a spare inverted roof. Then quickly I put the new standard brood plus Queen onto the old mesh floor and stand, on went a Queen excluder, that was on of the bits I didn't need with plan A! Carefully put the old brood and a half that had about four frames in on top, next I carefully put all the frame extensions and brace comb with stores and brood into the brood and a half, standing them up so that the bees could access both sides, this also included the drone brood, think that might have been a mistake, should have culled them for varroa. With everything back in the hive I replaced the crown board, brushed the bees off the roof put that in place and then tidied up, all in all this took about 20 minutes.

As you can see the hive is now quite a bit taller, I will leave them alone now for a few weeks, hopefully by then the drone brood will have hatched and the bees will have salvaged all the stores from the top brood and a half. The aim is to remove the top brood and a half, salvaging anything of use to the bees, maybe using a super for anything left and then revert to a relatively straight forward summer of bee keeping!

Famous last words.

Sorry if I have lost anybody with this post, it's really just a record so that other fellow beekeepers can say what I did right and wrong!

Spring is here......at last :-)

Well it looks like spring is here a balmy 12.5 degs C outside and the bees are busy. The bees have made it through their first winter. They were out and about and bringing back plenty of bright yellow pollen, which means the queen is busy laying eggs and the colony is building up for the coming summer.

All I have to do now is work out how to correct the mess that I know will be in the hive because I mixed up the frame sizes last summer, I have a cunning plan, but can't really implement until the end of March and after that all I need to do is somehow stop the colony from swarming!

Oxalic Acid treatment for my bees

The temperature was ok today (10degC) and no rain, so being the right time of the year to treat the bees for varroa using oxalic acid it had to be done.

It's the right time of year because there should be no brood (bees in the making) in the hive and so all the varroa mites will be in the colony taking a ride on the backs of the bees where the oxalic acid will have the maximum effect.

It's always a bit unnerving trying something new, so read up on the treatment and got everything all ready and to hand.

Each seam of bees needs 5ml of the acid, so first up needed to count how many full seams of bees there were in the hive, fortunately the bees were near the top of the hive so quickly counted 8 seams, by my maths that's 40ml that I needed to but into the syringe. Just a case of evenly dribbling the acid along the seams.

Actually it was all pretty straight forward and very quickly done, so crown board and roof back on and theory has it that's all I should need to do with the colony until March and the approach of Spring!

An email I received today, not nice reading, wonder how true it all is?

Dear friends,

Bees are dying off worldwide and our entire food chain is in peril. Scientists blame toxic pesticides and four European governments have already banned them. If we get the US and the EU to join the ban, other governments across the world could follow, and save bees from extinction. Sign the petition and forward this urgent appeal:

Silently, billions of bees are dying off and our entire food chain is in danger. Bees don't just make honey, they are a giant, humble workforce, pollinating 90% of the plants we grow.

Multiple scientific studies blame one group of toxic pesticides for their rapid demise, and some bee populations are recovering in countries where these products have been banned. But powerful chemical companies are lobbying hard to keep selling these poisons. Our best chance to save bees now is to push the US and EU to join the ban -- their action is critical and will have a ripple effect on the rest of the world.

We have no time to lose -- the debate is raging about what to do. This is not just about saving bees, this is about survival. Let’s build a giant global buzz calling for the EU and US to outlaw these killer chemicals and save our bees and our food. Sign the emergency petition now, and send it on to everyone and we’ll deliver it to key decision makers:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl

Bees are vital to life on earth -- every year pollinating plants and crops with an estimated $40bn value, over one third of the food supply in many countries. Without immediate action to save bees many of our favourite fruits, vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves.

Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations -- some bee species are already extinct and last week we learned that some US species are at just 4% of their previous numbers.Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals. But increasingly independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. France, Italy, Slovenia and even Germany, where the main manufacturer Bayer is based, have banned one of these bee killers. But, Bayer continues to export its poison across the world

This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of this problem. If we can get European and US decision-makers to take action, others will follow. It won’t be easy. A leaked document shows that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s "highly toxic" product is a "major risk concern to non target insects [honey bees]".

We need to make our voices heard to counter Bayer’s very strong influence on policy makers and scientists in both the US and the EU where they fund the studies and sit on policy bodies. The real experts -- the beekeepers and farmers -- want these deadly pesticides prohibited until and unless we have solid, independent studies that show they are safe. Let's support them now. Sign the petition below, then forward this email:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?vl

We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of research run by the chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning this pesticide will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about and depend on.

With hope,

Alex, Alice, Iain, David and all at Avaaz

MORE INFORMATION

Bee decline could be down to chemical cocktail interfering with brains
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/22/chemicals-bees-decline-major-study?INTCMP=SRCH

Bee briefing
http://www.soilassociation.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=RXLEm9WXrHk%3D&tabid=439

$15 Billion Bee Murder Mystery Deepens
http://www.businessinsider.com/colony-collapse-disorder-still-unsolved-lead-researcher-had-connections-to-bayer-2010-10

“Nicotine Bees" Population Restored With Neonicotinoids Ban
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/nicotine-bees-population-restored-with-neonicotinoids-ban.php

EPA memo reveals concern that pesticide causes bee deaths
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=79910

Beekeepers want government to pull pesticide
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/beekeepers-want-government-to-pull-pesticide-1107701.html

Bees in freefall as study shows sharp US decline
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/03/bumblebees-study-us-decline?INTCMP=SRCH

Pesticide industry involvement in EU risk assessment puts survival of bees at stake
http://www.corporateeurope.org/agribusiness/news/2010/11/16/pesticide-industry-future-bees

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Snow has finally gone for now!

Snow has finally gone and temperatures were 8-9 degs so thought would look to see how many had died in this spell, took off the porch and had a quick look in entrance, all blocked up with dead bees, hooked them out, maybe 150 plus bees! But did see a few bees moving about, then all of a sudden bees flying everywhere, temperature had hit 10 degs and they needed a bathroom break, can bees cross their legs for that long? :-)

Thought also that would be a good time to feed them too, but didn't have any fondant solid food, so a quick call to Sue and an internet search came up with a recipe, boiling up sugar and water, letting it cool and then pouring into a suitable container, hopefully a Marks and Spencer curry container will do the trick?

Have to fed them solid food this time of year as syrup requires the bees to expend too much energy converting to honey stores, they need to evaporate the water.

Bees and this snow!

More snow again, the last lot of snow was scary for a first time beekeeper, I found 150 plus dead bees jammed in the entrance of the hive and outside, I thought that was it, colony all dead, but common sense eventually kicks in and you begin to think what is 150 bees out of an over wintering colony of 8000 or so bees! But still pretty scary! I was told that maybe when the cold hit the hive some of the bees were away from the ball of the colony getting honey stores and might have been chilled and died?

Cold wouldn't really kill a colony off, it's damp that does, so with this last lot of snow I decided I would make them a little porch to help keep the worst of the snow away and in turn the damp. The entrance mouse guard is still bunged up with bees but I guess as soon as the weather warms a bit the bees will soon clear them out? Can you tell I'm still not that confident!

Bee Igloo

Well the snow arrived, wow has it arrived, this is day three, I've had to clear the entrance to the hive each morning, well I say I have had to, but to be honest not sure if I should! The first morning I tunnelled in, a bee flew out straight past me, I wonder did she ever find her way back? Each day there has been bees coming just outside the entrance, not flying, think they are carrying out the dead bees and rubbish. I'm hoping that the latest entrance will remain clear, but must watch closely because what kills bees is being damp and wet in hive, I have left snow on to insulate like an igloo, but as soon as thaw starts will need to clear away quick to avoid melt water in hive.

This morning it wasn't too bad first thing so I thought I had better pop out and see if the bees had been feeding, soon saw they hadn't so decided would remove feeder and close hive up for the winter, what did I do wrong? I was in a rush and decided that I didn't need my bee suit! Big mistake, a few bees started to fly and land on me, I quickly realised that retreat was best policy and dashed indoors and put on my suit, little did I realise that two bees had joined me inside my suit! They made there presence soon felt and no that isn't my elbow in the picture, it was a pretty impressive bee sting, think the whole venom sack was pumped into my arm! :-)

The other picture is the mouse guard that I put in place as well, mice like to live in the bottom of hives in the winter, the hives are dry and warm.

Last feed of the year? Perhaps.

It was a bit warmer at the end of last week and the bees were busy, so thought I would tempt them with some more sugar solution, I fed them 2 pints on Wednesday and by Friday morning they had polished it off, as I planned to be away over the weekend I thought I should continue feeding so gave then 4 pints, as yet it's too dark and wet to check, but hopefully I will be able to quickly look in the hive under floodlight before end of week to see if they are still feeding.
That will make 25kgs of sugar they have consumed since I started the winter feed!
Ok and this time I stuck the cover strip down in the feeder with some Duct Tape so that I didn't drown awhole lot more of my bees!
In about a month it with be time to think about treating with oxalic acid for varroa and also how on earth I am going to tidy up the mess in the brood box that I have allowed to happen by using different size frames! Well they do say you learn more by your mistakes, hopefully no harm will have been done:-)

Continue Feeding or Treat for Varroa again?

I've been worried for the last week or so that the count of Varroa mites falling onto the inspection tray as been far too high, so taking advice I bought some more Apiguard with the intention of starting treatment this weekend.

But on Saturday the weather was so nice and the forecast good for Sunday that I decided to feed one more time and then treat on Sunday. However there were 5 bees with deformed wings on the ground in front of the hive trying to fly, a sign that Varroa levels maybe too high.

Too high levels of Varroa can lead to the colony not surviving the winter!

I opened the hive on Sunday with the intention of doing a full inspection and hopefully get on last look at the Queen before leaving them be until March. Horror, the bees had managed to break into the feeder and floating in the sugar solution must have been over 100 bees in various stages of drowning! I took the feeder tray and eke off and set to with the inspection, would get back to the drowning bees at the end.

It was very obvious the bees had been busy with all that sugar solution they had been eating, lots of stores and new honey comb, as I came to the frames in the centre that I had not increased in size to brood and a half I found I couldn't remove the frames, the bees had build so much comb and bonded it to the sides of the hive that the frames were stuck fast, I didn't realise this until I forced the first frame out only to see a big lump of comb fall to the floor of the hive and another section tear apart with brood becoming exposed! Time to stop the inspection before I did any more damage, I hadn't seen the Queen so will now have to sweat it out until the New Year and hope I didn't harm her in my clumsy inspection!

So frames all put back, Apiguard tray installed and now time to see how many bees I could salvage from the sugar solution. I hope I saved about 20 of them but will never know for sure, I fished those still moving out and put them on the hive landing board in the hope that the other worker bees would clean the solution off them.

At the end I was covered in sticky solution and very popular with the bees and wasps, I beat a hasty retreat to the house with sticky buckets etc to clean up.

Fingers crossed all will be ok, don't like the idea of not feeding them, so I've made some sugar fondant, which is currently drying on a radiator, I'm told you shouldn't feed and treat at same time but will give it a try.

If they survive the winter I will have some fun in March trying to sort out the mess I have allowed the bees to make of the hive! But I have the winter to work out the best plan of attack, at the moment I am thinking that perhaps I should revert to ordinary sized brood frames, but I'm sure i will change my mind many times! :-)