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[enigmatica]

Hi, my name's Nigel, we've a smallholding a little North of Narberth in Pembrokeshire. Many years ago our school had beekeeping classes (extra curricula) and my fascination began there. Now that the holding's nearly finished I can at last turn my attention to bees again. It was so long ago that I'm a beginner now. I want to spend my time here learning from you and preparing for a nucleus next year. My intention is to utilise the honey towards self-sufficiency as an ingredient and preservative.

 

[enrico]

Hi, things have changed over those 'many years' mesh floors, varroa, treatment and size and type of hives just for starters. Lots of reading up to do for you I think..... Looking forward to how you get on
Best wishes for the future
E

 

[pargyle]

Hi, my name's Nigel, we've a smallholding a little North of Narberth in Pembrokeshire. Many years ago our school had beekeeping classes (extra curricula) and my fascination began there. Now that the holding's nearly finished I can at last turn my attention to bees again. It was so long ago that I'm a beginner now. I want to spend my time here learning from you and preparing for a nucleus next year. My intention is to utilise the honey towards self-sufficiency as an ingredient and preservative.

Hi and welcome ... my dad kept bees and taught rural studies to school children which included beekeeping ... I came to beekeeping after a 40+ year gap ... all changed but the basics are still the same. Best of luck with your smallholding.

 

[enigmatica]

It's been a couple of frustrating years to be honest. I've been wanting to dive in with this for a while but the recent problems apiarists have had has put me off. But, as you say E there have been many changes and the fight back by the experienced beekeepers against colony collapse appears to be gaining ground. When I finally get my bees I'll feel a responsibility towards them so I need to know I've done everything possible to ensure their success.

On a similar note we are a few months away from getting a house-cow and I've spent a lot of time preparing the land by clearing and over-sowing, building a hay barn, learning how to make hay by hand and so on. Quite where this sensible, studied approach has come from I've no idea. I used to thunder in to things and crisis manage like crazy.

P, we did Rural Studies too! but it was our metal-work teacher who was the beekeeper. I can still see him tutting and scraping a sting from his hand as though it were nothing at all.

Part of my preparations was to tolerate vast quantities of wasps eating the grapes in our conservatory. I thought if I could sit there and accept them without fear then I might just make it as a beekeeper. I'm glad I did as they are immensely clever individuals deserving of respect. At one point I thought enough is enough and I put plastic bags over the bunches to at least have some sort of crop. They found the tiny air holes punched in and remembered where they were to exit again. I was building an extension to the conservatory at the time, consequently new barriers went up to prevent their access but each time they overcame their problems and returned. Amazing little creatures and of course, it demonstrates a map exists within them and for any map to make sense it requires a 'you are here'. It isn't too far from that to conclude that something as basic as an insect can have an awareness of self!

 

[Luminos]

A house-cow?
Do you have any idea of the size of litter tray she will need!?

by the way

 

[pargyle]

It's been a couple of frustrating years to be honest. I've been wanting to dive in with this for a while but the recent problems apiarists have had has put me off. But, as you say E there have been many changes and the fight back by the experienced beekeepers against colony collapse appears to be gaining ground.
QUOTE]

You don't have to worry about CCD in the UK ... no real sign of it, unlike the USA.

It seems to have been a good year for low Varroa counts - Varroa being the biggest problem we face these days and the vector diseases.

The media have hyped some of the problems beyond recognition to most beekeepers. My bees have done remarkably well starting from a swarm in June and I think the general opinion is that it's been a really good year despite a slow start ... good honey harvests in most areas and there are some really good beekeepers down in your neck of the woods.

Join a local beekeeping association if you haven't already, best get some up to date beekeeping books and spend the winter nights reading and with a bit of luck you should catch up. There will be a basic beekeeping course somewhere local to you which will help refresh the knowledge ..

Good luck with it all ... sounds like you've found the Good Life ! I'm hoping to do the same in a couple of years if all goes to plan.

 

[itma]

Nigel, beware of being influenced by anything about beekeeping in the USA - at least until you understand the context --- it is quite different from keeping a few hives in Wales! "CCD" is part of US beekeeping - not the European version.



Over the last 20 years beekeeping has had to change, varroa control is now a vital element in the annual cycle.
Unchecked, a colony would be expected to die out in less than 3 years as a result of varroa and the viruses that it vectors.
Varroa control isn't optional in the UK. It is a massive part of the keeping of bees alive.
Download (free) and study the official advice "Managing Varroa" from https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?pageid=167
It will give you a good understanding of the nature and scale of the problem. The forum can help greatly with practical questions when the time comes.
There are lots of other useful info sheets and booklets on the linked page - bookmark that page!



I'd also note that practically, two colonies is a sustainable minimum, giving you a complete set of spare parts (bees, bee eggs, comb, etc) that money can't buy, available at any time that beginner's mistakes (or blind fate) may make them necessary.
Beyond that, you do need quite a lot (nearly 100% extra) of spare kit for swarm control (particularly in the early years!)


Wasp stings are different to bee stings.
And wasps are to bees rather as foxes are to chickens. As a beekeeper, you will find wasps attacking your bees, stealing their honey and destroying the colony.


Get some modern bee books from your local library - the Haynes manual is actually quite good - and only buy anything that you think you might refer back to.
Hooper (Bees and Honey) is very good, but the addition of a few pages on varroa has not brought it up-to-date. It needs to be read against an understanding of modern differences, and therefore it is emphatically NOT what you need right now.

 

[jd101k2000]

Hi Nigel,
I'm new, too - only started in May. It has been a bumper year. One of your local associations is the Carmarthenshire BKA. It meets in Carmarthen, so only about 24 miles from you. I got to my first meeting with them yesterday - seem like a friendly bunch. Good luck - if you enjoy it half as much as I do, then you are on to a good thing.

 

[IBeeHere]

Welcome, read lots and enjoy.

 

[REDWOOD]

to the wonderful world of beekeeping, if you'r looking for some interesting reading the welsh beekeeping association has lots to offer
http://www.wbka.com/

 

[norfolknchance]

Welcome to a place of no trust until you earn it, but very enjoyable as you will find out,

 

[enigmatica]

Thank you for your welcomes and advice. I take on board the varroa advice and I get that I'll need to earn my place! For the time being I'm very much going to read, watch and learn. I'm allowing myself this year to gather knowledge and equipment and decide on a site within our holding. I have an orchard which seems the natural place and have already been introducing more bee useful plants and shrubs to the hedges we have. The house-cow project is making good progress, I'm building a little pump house today to house the wherewithal for milking and the dairy will double up nicely as a honey house.

 

[enigmatica]

I've passed my first initiation test, assemble a flat pack hive. I've gone for WBC, I like traditional. I'm setting up a mock apiary in a corner of our back room to go through the motions suitably suited up. It might sound ridiculous but it's already highlighted the height issue. So part of the preparations will be to build a solid stand to raise it up and save my back. I can see also that the stand needs to have work areas built in to safely store the various hive bits and accommodate a second hive too. I also can see I'll need to mechanise the hefting operations to gently lift the hive with a lever and scales arrangement. The stand will also enable me to secure the hive to something substantial.

And, a decision looms...... warm way or cold.....

 

[pargyle]

I've passed my first initiation test, assemble a flat pack hive. I've gone for WBC, I like traditional. I'm setting up a mock apiary in a corner of our back room to go through the motions suitably suited up. It might sound ridiculous but it's already highlighted the height issue. So part of the preparations will be to build a solid stand to raise it up and save my back. I can see also that the stand needs to have work areas built in to safely store the various hive bits and accommodate a second hive too. I also can see I'll need to mechanise the hefting operations to gently lift the hive with a lever and scales arrangement. The stand will also enable me to secure the hive to something substantial.

And, a decision looms...... warm way or cold.....

I wouldn't worry too much about that decision ... it's simply whether you are more comfortable working with the frames from behind the hive or from the side ... don't think the bees give a stuff. If you are going to be working from the side make sure your stand will allow you to get at them from the side ... if you are building a double stand for two WBC's it's going to be BIG ...

If you are hefting a WBC just remember that you are going to have to dismantle the outer parts before you can get at the boxes ... you've made a brave decision to go WBC - they look lovely and they are great for insulation but they are considered, by most, to be a bit of a PITA ...

 

[mbc]

I've gone for WBC,

And, a decision looms...... warm way or cold.....

All the wbc floors I've seen are built to warm way so it may be an easy decision.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

One of your local associations is the Carmarthenshire BKA.

just noticed this thread - croeso! you also have Pembrokeshire BKA, decent bunch, I get along better with this lot personally

 

[pargyle]

All the wbc floors I've seen are built to warm way so it may be an easy decision.

That's a good point ... I rather assumed that he would be building his own floors and stand ...

 

[mbc]

just noticed this thread - croeso! you also have Pembrokeshire BKA, decent bunch, I get along better with this lot personally

The chairman of PBKA lives just north of Penblewin roundabout a hop and a skip north of Narberth.

 

[Nige.Coll]

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The chairman of PBKA lives just north of Penblewin roundabout a hop and a skip north of Narberth.

Tom's a really nice bloke I think he and Babs are the backbone of the association - you can't go far wrong getting in touch with them