Urban Bees ran another beekeeping taster course to a full house. Mochilas Big It was another informative and busy day with some really keen participants. hypervenom The weather was just good enough to see some bees flying.
Due to inclement weather on our regular Wednesday night’s session we didn’t get to look at the bees so I dropped into Camley Street on the following day to have a hive inspection.
Paul and Silvio managed to find the time to join me and we looked through the hives together.
Hive 1 (nearest the entrance). huarache This hive had swarmed earlier in the year and the new queen had started to lay around 12 days ago. Backpack We saw 4 frames of brood in all stages (eggs, larvae and pupae). They have still to fill out the brood box which they are doing niceley. The super box had some honey in it but there are still a few frames that need to be drawn out. I took of the 2nd empty super since they don’t need that now.
Hive 2 – I found 2 capped queen cells and 3 uncapped queen cells with larvae in it. We saw the blue marked queen. This might mean that they are superceding. I left it as it was so we can see by next week what happens.
Hive 3 was very strong. Backpack It has a brood and a half (brod box and a super box as the brood chamber). They super was full of working bees so we added another super.
HIve 4 (the new nuc) is developing slowly.
Not the sharpest photo but it does show how hairy the honey bee is.
Bees in the City
Our new book is being published on 4th August but Amazon are already selling our book.
Beekeeping – once seen as an old-fashioned country pursuit – is increasingly attracting young metropolitan professionals, Kanken and new hives are springing up all over our cities. Whether you’re attracted to beekeeping because you want to produce your own honey, mercurial vapor do your bit to combat the threats that honeybee colonies face today, Mochilas Infantil or simply reconnect with nature, Bees in the City provides a comprehensive guide to the subject. Written by the authors of the bestselling A World Without Bees, 97 it:
– introduces you to the school teachers, inner-city youngsters, City professionals and budding entrepreneurs who are at the forefront of this exciting new movement
– suggests creative ways you can help bees in your own back garden without keeping a hive
– provides extensive, practical information for the novice urban beekeeper, including tips on getting started and a month-by-month job guide
Packed with invaluable advice on how to understand and support these extraordinary creatures,
We were rained of on Tuesday so we didn’t have a look at the bees ( I had a look yesterday and they are all expanding in the brood box nicely).
We heard the stories of the group’s bees – they have been there over a week now. All seemed to be ging well.
We had a look at The Natioanl Bee Units website https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm which is full of usueful information and advisory leaflets – https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?pageid=167
Also home to the varroa calculator which lets you know the level of infestation and wether treatment is needed.
This Wednesday there were 5 of us on the roof of Wolff Olins for our weekly sessin with the honey bees. The colonies had expanded really well in their brood box so a super was added to encourage the bees to store the much needed winter food.
Hive 2 is the stronger of the 2 colonies but it is very aggressive. Not a lot of fun.
It was a great night at our training session with the Capital Bee 2011 trainees.
You can now register for this blog by using the link on the right
The Co-operatives bees are ready for collecting.
I’ll be picking them up on Saturday and passing them onto their new beekeeper guardians.
This year’s cohort of Co-op sponsored London beekeepers – as part of the company’s Plan Bee campaign – are at their early stages of hands on beekeeping.
The nucs arrived 2 weeks ago and the group are getting to grips with handling the frames and the bees.
Our Tuesday night session was all about finding those elusive eggs and young larvae.
Having a torch really helps to see in the dark honeycomb.
Today we had another great session with the bees.
It was a chance for the Wolff Olins and Global Generation beekeepers to get a close look at the bees and the goings on inside the honeycomb.
Update leaflets on Managing Varroa (Feb 2011) at the NBU website – BeeBase
https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?pageid=167
A lovely close-up photo of one of our winter honeybees.
We are off to the Capital Bee Summit.
Boris has his bikes now he has his bees.
http://www.capitalgrowth.org/bees/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/16/boris-capital-bee-beekeepers-criticise?CMP=twt_gu
Battersea Honey – A Poem
Battersea Honey,
It’s right on the money,
Just having a spoon
Will make you feel sunny!!
Una Devine
Well done to Kairos Community Trust for getting Martha Kearney’s vote as the ‘tastiest’ honey in London.
Glad to see the trust is doing so well with their bees and we are happy that it was our taster course that got them on their way.
See the Evening Standard’s article (9th Nov 2010)
It such a great sight. mercurial Pollen on the back legs of the bees. Even better when it is Feb and only 10 degress. The pollen was a very brigh white colour. Not a huge amount coming back but at least they were finding something. tn Does anyone know what it might be. My pollen chart says Hazel pollen is white and the http://tinyurl.com/c9todd says maple is light.
I came across this supplier in Hounslow.
Published on Wednesday 22 December 2010 at 9:30am
Scientists may be able to halt global honey bee losses by forcing the deadly Varroa mite, lethal in the freezing weather, soldes to self destruct.
The blood-sucking Varroa is the biggest killer of honey bees world-wide, having developed resistance to beekeepers’ medication. tn It is particularly destructive in winter as depleted colonies do not have enough bees huddling together to keep warm.
See more at this DEFRA link.
