Apiary inspection 03/07/2011

Today I did a quick inspection of the inside of the hive. Technically not a full inspection though as I didn't check all the combs due to time allowed. The main point of today's visit was to add a super to the hive. Unfortunately this time I was on my own so was unable to get any pictures of the inspection, though I did do this short video of the activity in front of the hive.

After I'd lit the smoker and sent a few puffs into the hive I removed the roof and started my inspection. From the few frames I did manage to check there were eggs, larva and capped brood present, as well as plenty of food. The amount of Bees inside the hive seems to have risen a lot since last time also, so all in all I'm happy with the progress so far of my Bees.

Once I'd checked a few frames I tried to remove as much of the wax that the Bees had made on top of the brood frames so I had room to put on a Queen excluder. The Queen excluder is used to stop the Queen getting into the supers and laying eggs as this area is meant just for honey storage and not brood rearing; no Queen, no eggs, no brood. Once I'd removed as much comb as I could I added the excluder and then put the super on top. The Bees will now, hopefully, start to draw out the comb in the super and then start making honey!

Once home I took a picture of the brace comb I'd removed and then washed it in hot water to get rid of any syrup that was in the cells. When it was nice and warm I rolled it into the ball of wax I already had. When I have enough wax I may have a go at candle making!

Brace comb. The ball in the corner is what I've collected already.

After I'd packed up all my equipment I collected 1.4 kg of raspberries and a handful of cherries from the allotment.

Wakefield and Pontefract Beekeepers: September Meeting

Yesterday I attended my first Beekeepers meeting at Newmillerdam. I would say I was definately the youngest person there by several years so felt a bit out of place at first. The meeting had a guest speaker who was talking about candlemaking and the properties of Beeswax. I found it very informative and when I finally get some bees and eventually have a bit of spare wax, I will then have a go at making a candle or 2!

After the meeting I got talking to someone who does beginner courses in beekeeping starting in May and I was surprised to find they only cost about £35!! Bargain! They also come with the option to buy some Bees at a discounted price at the end, approx £75, however by the end of the course it would be too late in the year for a new colony to produce enough honey for the beekeeper to take. I told the guy I intended to get my Bees prior to the course starting and do the course alongside being a first year Beekeeper and he said this isn't a problem. Maybe I'll still take advantage of the discount Bees with a mind to have a second hive up and running by the summer. One of the main questions I had to ask when at the meeting was whether members of Wakefield Beekeepers had access to a extractor for when the honey crop was ready, unfortunatly that question slipped my mind at the time and I forgot to ask. Oops!! I told the guy who hosts the course that I had already bought and assembled my hive and that I'd already made the frames including putting the foundation in. Unfortunately this was the wrong thing to do as the wax foundation can spoil if taken out of it's protective plastic wrapping. Oh well, I was excited about it all arriving and the foundation isn't the most expensive if I need to replace it. He did say that as long as I don't store it somewhere too cold it should be ok. I will see in the new year how big a mistake I made!!