To bee or not to bee? That is the question.

[Mrsambulancekidd]

Sad but hopefully you missed the queen, that number will reproduce quickly to fill their new home. Well done for hosting hives I wish more people would do this. As you already have a bee keeper on site perhaps you should also consider your own hive and ask the keeper to mentor you. That will dispose of your guilt, well apart from the odd one or two you may squash when you put the hive lid back on. Crunch.

I would love to host a hive and learn more about them.

 

[suavecarve]

On my team at work I have the ex RSM of the Ghurkas and an ex major and lieutenant, I changed shift last year and used to have the highest ranking Nepalese Officer in the British Army. All of them are Gurungs.
I keep getting invited over to Nepal as 2 of them sort of own villages and are very highly respected within their communities over here, but if i go out there they insist that i have to do this.
It is insane and I will not be doing it. In another video they climb 100 metres up into the trees and just hang there with no kit on.

Well worthy of a watch as this honey gets you stoned.
Skip to 8 minutes if you dont want the history and see him stoned at about 18 minutes.
The Nepalese are actually treating Coronavirus with this honey (or i m being had by my team!) and it costs an extortionate amount. I think its about £100 for half a pound of honey and dont eat more than half a teaspoon at time !

 

[suavecarve]

I would love to host a hive and learn more about them.

If you are to do it this year then get one now.
Probably better to do some reading and watching videos.
It is advisable to do a beekeeping course (i didnt)
I have linked to a hive and gear for 260 nicker.
If you got a hive now you would have to get some bees and if you dont get them in the next 4-5 weeks they are giong to struggle to survive the winter up there as they need to get stores in (you can sugae feed them to help) but very little in the terms of yield this year.
Find a nice place in the garden and force them to fly upwards almost immediately so you dont get into their flight path. Preferably not near where you have to mow, preferably with sun to entice them out earlier.
Loads of advice on here and a beekeeping forum
What can possibly go wrong ???????

 

[tboy]

Ifthey are bumblebees,they wont over winter there they will died out.
After new queens raised in nest have left mated feed up ,then look for place to hibinate .
They are the ones that start it all of next year.I could go on but I wont bore you.
















i could go on ,but you all will fall sleep.

 

[Quackers]

In truth we would have been happy to have hosted a few hives but bee keepers do seem to be short in supply. I then purchased a starter hive as an Xmas present for the wife we did a few introduction to bee keeping lectures and spent time on you tube and got a few books and a few month later bought a small box of bees from a honey farm. We were lucky enough to have a friend who kept bees, some distance away from us but was always available to help us out with the first few inspections and bombardment of questions. That little bit of help and knowledge was amazing and gave us confidence in our new journey. The first time you put the suit on and bees are all over you is a real buzz, nerve racking experience probably for the bees as well. The honey farm were also very good and spent some time with us going through each frame of bees and explaining what they had provided.
A few years down the line and our bees are thriving and now expanded again into a third hive. They are fascinating creatures and you never stop learning with them. If you have some space please think about putting something back into nature. You will be well rewarded for your efforts the honey is superb I cant explain how different it tastes from what you get in the supermarket.

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[ManTheVan]

Sad but hopefully you missed the queen, that number will reproduce quickly to fill their new home. Well done for hosting hives I wish more people would do this. As you already have a bee keeper on site perhaps you should also consider your own hive and ask the keeper to mentor you. That will dispose of your guilt, well apart from the odd one or two you may squash when you put the hive lid back on. Crunch.

Very tempted to do this once we're allowed to approach each other close enough for me to see enough to learn anything. I've been given a couple of bee suits by my brother, who used to keep hives, so am already on the way.

£260 gets you a basic hive and basic equipment to pop a hive somewhere.

A mentor to oversee you is highly preferable. And buying Bill Turnbills "bad beekeeping book" is a must as i think we have all made the mistakes he has made and its more of a book than a guide so interesting to non beekeepers.

Bees on a Budget, The Basic Kit, National Hive 14" x 12" brood body, Flat or Assembled

Popular National beehive handmade from sustainable English cedar at our factory in Lincolnshire, UK. Ideal economical starter kit for beginners and novices, complete with essential beekeeping equipment.

www.thorne.co.uk

Again, giftie from my brother was a copy of "A Practical Manual of Beekeeping" by David Cramp, which makes interesting reading. Thanks for the link to the hive.

 

[scally]

I would love to host a hive and learn more about them.

You and me both. Sadly I haven't the room

 

[Quackers]

Very tempted to do this once we're allowed to approach each other close enough for me to see enough to learn anything. I've been given a couple of bee suits by my brother, who used to keep hives, so am already on the way.

Go for it, get your brothers advice and order your hive now, hopefully he will know where you can obtain some free bees. A local friendly bee keeper will normally help you out with a few starter frames otherwise you could be paying around £200 + for a nuc in some cases.

 

[suavecarve]

Go for it, get your brothers advice and order your hive now, hopefully he will know where you can obtain some free bees. A local friendly bee keeper will normally help you out with a few starter frames otherwise you could be paying around £200 + for a nuc in some cases.

ManTheVan couldnt agree more with this.
If you have 260 to lose then your brother should be able to source some bees this time of year. Short of that a couple of signs out locally should get you some.
Get creative with where you can put them. Garage roof ? Conservatory roof ? Work ?
In 4 months (or 16 months) you ll be thanking us for this advice !!!
Your wife wont be though when you try sieving the honey through her brand new tights by use of her hairdryer in the kitchen. That one gets raked up quite often

 

[Spanner]

Our daughter discovered this swarm in her garden today, fortunately she has a friend who’s taken up beekeeping and he collected the swarm this evening.

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[Quackers]

Bravo nice swarm and not too high, I was amazed how quick the bees we collected recently settled into their new home.
Hope people are looking at this thread and like ManTheVan considering bee keeping.