Does anyone keep bees?

[Gromit]

Hiya Uncle Phil, I'm doing a bee keeping course over at the farming museum in Murton. Its run by the York beekeeping association, hopefully I will then qualify to keep a small colony of my own.

The 5 day course on the link you sent me looks really good too, possibly a bit more intense. I will see how this one goes, before signing [FONT=&quot][/FONT]up for anything else.

 

[summerdays]

One of my relations did when I was a child, and we would always come back with fresh honey when we visited - it was gorgeous. I'd love to hear how it goes if you give it a try.

(Do you need qualifications to keep bees?)

 

[Gromit]

One of my relations did when I was a child, and we would always come back with fresh honey when we visited - it was gorgeous. I'd love to hear how it goes if you give it a try.

(Do you need qualifications to keep bees?)

I don't think so, some people just get a hive and start beekeeping. I wouldn't like to risk that though, that's why I'm taking a beginners course on beekeeping.

 

[Arch]

Something like that, you could then take your bees for a walk.

Each on the end of a bit of thread for a lead....

BTW, once you're producing, bagsy a jar of honey!

 

[marinyork]

We had a hive in the yard in York. They were a very docile swarm though.

 

[dan_bo]

Mellitin (Active Bee Sting ingredient) is a standard used in Mass Spectrometry testing. I just thought i'd share that with you.

 

[Maz]

...got my first look inside a hive and it's fascinating.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Bee-holder...


Extraordinary creatures, bees. Saw a fascinating documentary on BBC about them. In California, bees were being employed as pollinators especially in almond groves. Worryingly, once they'd done their work, only a small fraction of them ever returned to their hives. Thousands of them were struck by some weird illness or virus or something.

 

[Over The Hill]

I kept them for about three years- good experience. Go for it as long as you have somewhere to keep them.

Get in touch with a local bee keeping group-there will be one near you. They are great for advice and the local bod will need to come and inspect your hive for pests and disease every so often and they have a set day when everyone treats the colony for mites.

Getting stuff. There are specialist Bee equipment auctions sometimes. Again the local contact should know of someone giving up who wants to get rid of his kit.

Get a good book on it and you should be OK.

Local "Bee man" is contacted by the council when someone reports a swarm (bit early in the year now) and you can go and get the swarm for free.

My first contact with bees was to catch a swarm. I got a call from bee man saying someone had reported a swarm and could I go and sort it out. So put on my new bee suit and read bit in book about catching swarm (sheet and a cardboard box) and off I went. Slightly worried when I arrived to find about ten people in panic at this swarm and cries of "its OK the Bee man is here" - Yikes that is me!

Anyway, all went as the book said it would and they came home in the boot of the car. I gave it up when wifey kept getting stung and I had a lot of time pressure and other demands from young family etc.

The smell of the hive is the best smell ever and to look in on their world is fantastic.

Your new bee mates will lend you the spinning thing to extract the honey and odd bits of kit you may need now and then. I got 52 jars of honey one year! I would recommend it.

 

[Andy in Sig]

There was an article in one of the local papers over here the other day to the effect that the bees are all stressed out this spring (this wasn't a spoof). Apparently it's because the winter was so long that all the blossoms burst at once instead of forming an orderly queue as is the normal practice. So the bees are being run off their feet gathering all the pollen and one lady was complaining that they haven't got round to her apple orchard yet as they have been too busy with the cherries down the road! You couldn't make it up.

 

[Gromit]

I bought a really good book, "A guide to bees and honey" by Ted Hooper, Its updated almost every year. Next purchase will be "bees at the bottom of the garden", forget who that's by, however its another really useful book.

I got a very good bee suit from ebay for £42, its really nice thick material and well sealed. Bee were landing on me, don't know if I got stung, so its doing its job.

 

[02GF74]

Each on the end of a bit of thread for a lead....

slightly OT - you can make your own insect powered plane - see linky below.

 

[Arch]

slightly OT - you can make your own insect powered plane - see linky below.

Funnily enough, Gromit and I were out with friends last week, and one of them who is into model aviation told us pretty much the same thing! Only he'd heard about it being done with one fly, and tiny paper dart....

 

[Dayvo]

This looks like a useful site:

http://www.fragile-planet.co.uk/investahive.html?gclid=CNWlvteTvJoCFRaA3godiRewcQ

 

[Gromit]

Thanks for that Dayvo, its really interesting. I wonder if they have sold many shares in their hives?

Its interesting to see that their hives are made out of reclaimed timber too. I could even use my woodworking skills and make some hives to sell to order in my spare time. Will have to look into it.

 

[Arch]

Once you've got the hang of a hive, you could also sell the mock ones people like to have for compost bins...