Showing posts with label Bees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bees. Show all posts

27 September 2022

Bees Bee Gone

Keeping Bees in a Suburban Backyard is a Wonderful thing.

However! They are a Lot of work.  You can't just plop a Flow Hive on the top of a Box full of Bees and that's the end of it until they fill it with Honey.

There are Brood Inspections and Disease Checks and Maintenance to be done in the Brood (Bottom) Box.

Which means lifting a VERY heavy Flow Hive Box off the top.  It can have around 3kg of Honey per Frame x 7 Frames Plus the 9 kg weight of the Frames plus Box.

If you have the time and help - It can be a very rewarding Hobby.


We had a very strong Queen and when the Girls Swarmed last year 
It was one of the biggest Swarms our Bee Keeper contact had ever seen.

One Year to the Day later they swarmed again - even after doing a Hive Split.  This time they went back over our Neighbours fence and also into HER neighbours garden. Another large Swarm.

This was more than I could handle. We decided to Surrender the Girls.


Our Bee Keeper Contact had been working with the recent Varroa Mite Quarantine crew and a lot of hives had to be destroyed .  

A Strong Disease Free Colony would not be hard to Rehome.


It was sad to see them go.  

But I have had progress reports and they are doing very well in Macedon.



24 October 2021

Still Busy

Lockdowns come and go and Life also goes on.

Yes, we can now go out for all the 'Important' things like Coffee & Cake, Haircuts and (my favourite) a Massage!  

The Shops are still to Open when we get to our 80% Double Vaxed but that is not far away. 
(I can wait a week for new Shoes.)


In the meantime I am reminded of my Grandfather saying
 "Spring has Sprung, The Grass has Riz, 
I wonder where the Birdies - or in this case Bee Hive - Is?"

We were somewhat interrupted during our January inspection when DD was Stung, and have not dealt with the hive since. 
So time to deal with it!

Extreme Gardening is Required.
Just as well the Greens Bins were emptied this Morning!

Bees don't like Power Tools - Noise, Vibration and Fumes get them irritated, so this job had to be done 'Old School'. 
Pruning Sheers and a Rake!

With the Workspace cleared and before we can Inspect the Brood Boxes it was time to lighten the weight of the Flow hive Which meant Harvest!

No fancy jars this time - just Get in and Get it done.



And the Result?

Not too bad.
This is what 10 Kg of Honey looks like!

And THIS is what Little Miss A Thought of her first taste of real "Home Made" Honey!

(She only got a little taste. As this photo was taken she dropped the spoon into the bucket - 'never to be seen again'!)

I am a little concerned though. She got very excited when seeing a picture of someone in a Bee suit.  Having only seen us in Bee Suits recently she thought it was Grandma and Grumpy! 😂






12 October 2021

… and then the Phone Rang

 "Hi Wendy.. You know we have that trailer down the back well there is something odd going on..."

At that point the no visiting the neighbours COVID rules went out the window  - or in our case Over the Fence. 


From her description I knew the Girls had swarmed.

And as a registered Bee Keeper it is my responsibility to deal with any swarms that may or may not be from my hive.


Under Covid regulations I am permitted to "Tend to Livestock - Including Bees"


The last swarm I dealt with was back in January when I helped remove one from My DD's friend's garden.

It was a little swarm and we brought them home to our place.


This one was far from small.  

There is an estimated 20,000 Bees in this cluster all hanging out on the Magnolia Tree

And as I had no desire to start another hive or had any friends who wanted their own.

I needed help.

Fortunately it was just a phone call 
(and a 90 minute wait) away.

This was the easiest capture our new Bee Keeper Friends have ever done.

Move the table underneath, 
Put a - no make it TWO boxes underneath and Prune the Tree branch. 

Done!

While the stragglers were joining the swarm I had the offer to check the health of my Hive.

It is a 'Good Strong Colony' with heaps of Bees left and TWO new Queens ready to hatch! 

"We will take one of those as well, so they don't Swarm again."


Last I heard they had settled in nicely and were already drawing out Comb.

They will be relocated to happily forage in a Farm in Gisborne.


On another note to the day - 
It was Our Neighbours Son's Birthday and he happily told EVERYONE that he had 20,000 Visitors to his Party! The backyard was a 'Hive of Activity' and he got a real Buzz out of all the Puns.



18 February 2021

Shot of the Day.

 I must say I was pretty pleased with the Photo
Especially seeing it was taken on an iPhone 6s without my Moment Lens
(Or my Glasses!)



And considering this was within a few meters from our home
 - it might be one of "Our Girls".



10 January 2021

Out of the Frying Pan?

After my last Post - you will be forgiven for saying 
"What the heck are you thinking?" 

This project has been on the back-burner (or rather still in a box in the bungalow) for a couple of years.  And around here, things have a habit of bumping themselves up the "To Do" list.
This one came about 4 weeks ago, when my DD rang and asked "How's your Flow Hive Going?"

I knew it could only mean One Thing - We had a Swarm to Catch and rehome. 


Fortunately they had settled on the side of a Tree Pot in the Garden of a friend who lives close by.

Unfortunately - we had no idea whether the Queen was under the rim of the pot.

If we could have picked the pot up and shaken them into the Swarm Box it would have been a lot easier, but it was firmly rooted to the ground!

Bee swarms are normally quite docile as they are full of honey for the trip - however scooping up handfuls of them was a strange experience.



We left the Girls to settle into the Box overnight and came back the following evening to transport them to a new location which had to be more than 4-5 km away (or else they could return).



Which is HOW we ended up with our own Bees.

While they settled in to Life at Our Place....

We set about Constructing and Sealing our Western Red Cedar Flow Hive 2 for them to live in.

It went together very easily, with everything we needed including the tools and 'some extra bits in case you need them'.


With the Hive ready, it was time to place it in position. 

Even though the Hive has TWO inbuilt spirit levels - DH just had to check with his own before he was satisfied it was correctly levelled.


Now to Check on their progress and move them into their new "Forever Home".

They seem to have a calm temperament, all looks good - And we have new Brood.

A final check this evening showed us that they have happily moved house.

Our hope now is that they will go up into the Flow Super and start working in there - I am sure it will be more preferable to building in the rafters.

So we just need to 'Leave them Bee' to get on with what they do best!







1 January 2021

New Years Day 2021

 I usually like to start the New Year with an Inspirational Text or beautiful photo - full of Promise.

This Wayside Pulpit pretty much sums up my feelings about 2020.

Unfortunately - It is not that simple, I wish it were.

We hope and Pray that 2021 will be a Year of Hope and Healing.

* * *


New Years Day 2000 was a Day we will never forget.  It started as a Normal NYD - Pancakes at Maccas for Brekkie treat.

Ended with our DD being admitted to Hospital dangerously close to a Diabetic Coma. 
Today marks her 21st Anniversary as a Type 1 Diabetic.  We have ridden the Highs and the Lows (literally) of this condition. She says it is part of who she is and refuses to "be a Victim" to it.

New Years Day 2021 - Started equally simply. 

I wondered about Brekkie at Maccas (just for old times sake) but decided to go help DD check her Bees instead. 
A job that was long overdue.

What we didn't know was 'The Girls' were extremely grumpy.


We were both in full Bee Suits. We are still not sure HOW but DD got stung under her chin.

It was one sting too many. 

Our Family "Christmas Curse" has struck again. And with a feeling of Déjà Vu I found myself back, by her side in Emergency.



She now has a new "Alert" on her file.

Allergy - Bee Stings.

We have Epi-pens and instructions on how to use them.

But it leaves us with a Big Question.

How do we handle the (Very Grumpy Hive of)  Bees from now on?


Look like life has just got a Little Bit more complicated.



21 April 2020

Thought for the Day

Gardening is a very pleasurable pastime especially in these times of having to 'Stay at Home'

I didn't mind the Cabbage Moth Butterflies
until I planted Cabbages....

Other Bugs have come in for a look.

These are (according to our friend the Entomologist) a variety of "Stink Bugs" and not to be too concerned...

Fine as long as you don't step on them!


Then there are the Bees.

They are working frantically while the weather is still warm and the flowers are plentiful.

The Beekeeper down the road will be reaping the rewards of our Pollinator Garden and all is buzzing along beautifully.

BUT

Don't presume that just because the flowers are finished that the Bees are too....

Yep - I learnt a valuable and painful lesson - It not HOW you get the Sting out but how QUICKLY you do!

I think I am going to have to be EXTRA careful with wearing gardening gloves in the future.





13 January 2020

IF I Plant it - Will They Come?

That was the Question when I started planning and planting my Pollinator Garden.



And Yesterday, while I was sitting watching a Honey Bee get a drink from the Bird bath



I heard HER -
I got SO excited I think the neighbours would have wondered what the kerfuffle was all about. 

You can't see her in this photo - So I will zoom in!


My very first sighting of a BLUE BANDED BEE in MY Garden!

The Photo does not do her justice - Those Blue stripes were Iridescent in the Sunshine.



Female Blue Banded Bees have 4 Blue stripes - Boys have 5.
They are Native to Australia - to find out more about them Visit 







3 January 2020

Ooops

The Good News is - DD's New Queen Bee has been accepted by the Hive and everything is Humming along beautifully.

The Not so Good news is - Someone didn't get to checking on them earlier....
Well, at least with their new Pitched roof - they had the room to get creative!

I have been informed that the Flow super is now on and it looks like we might get a harvest this year after all.




18 November 2019

HRH - A New Palace

Earlier this Month I posted that Our DD's Bees needed a New Queen. The Hive would not have survived much longer without one so it was a matter or urgency.

Another matter was the state of the Hive Boxes.

These are the original boxes which are now 5 years old and the gap in the middle Super was big enough for the Girls to start using as a "Back Door".


Time to replace them.

And what better time than when a New Queen is in Residence!

A Couple of Coats of Good Quality Paint and some New Clips (instead of the old Ratchet Band).

And finally I am able to install the Pitched Roof I bought 2 Years Ago!

Now comes the delicate job of Moving the Girls to their new Boxes.

One Frame at a Time -

Checking each one Carefully for signs that the New Queen had been accepted by the Hive.



I have never seen anyone quite so excited at the Sight of Grubs!


The Queen is Laying and it is all looking Good.


So there you have it -

A new Palace for a New Queen!

I must admit it DOES look a lot better and will last for many years to come.


In the mean time we will get a few more boxes and Frames ready for when they are needed.

And just because you have read this far...


Meet "One of the Boys"

This is a Drone Bee - He is bigger than the Worker Bees, with larger eyes and does not have a Sting. 
Their Only purpose in Life is to mate with the Queen and when his job is done the Girls will Kick them out of the Hive!









12 November 2019

Pollinator Week

Bees are Pollinators. So are Butterflies, Native Bees, Bugs and Beetles.

I finally got around to assembling my 'Native Bee' Hotel.
They are made from the off-cuts and leftovers from Flow Hive construction and are a Limited release each year.

It has made a nice addition to my Pollinator Garden - All I need now is some "Tenants"!

As I went to write this Post I discovered that this week (10 - 17 November) is Australian Pollinator Week where we are encouraged to pay a bit more attention to the work these Insects do for us.

I was dismayed to discover how many of these Beautiful Creatures are verging on extinction.
  
If you have time I encourage you to Check out this Link to the Australian Pollinator Website and read about the Green Carpenter Bee Conservation Project.


2 November 2019

HRH - Queen Bee

DD's Bee Hive needs some maintenance, but at the moment there is a more urgent problem.
The Girls swarmed and DD has not observed any evidence of a New Queen.

One had to be urgently acquired and currently they are hard to find.

Thursday, I received an excited phone call from DD.
"We have found a Queen!"

Only problem is, they were a 3 hour drive away from home on the way to a well earned extra-long weekend adventure.


Collecting Her (and attendants) from the Beekeeper was easy enough - but,

DD was concerned that the Hive may not survive much longer without a Queen.  It was time for me (and DH) to "Suit up" and deliver HRH into her new home.

I wish I could say it was a painless manoeuvre but sadly not - seems I need my own gloves!