A Year In Beekeeping – The Results Are In

A Year In Beekeeping – The Results Are In

This article was first published in the newsletter of The British Beekeepers’ Association (December 2015).

As the 2015 beekeeping year came to end and I packed away my suit, my sanity and any excuse I had to desert my wife with the two toddlers, it was time to evaluate. Had I succeeded or failed; enjoyed or silently suffered; protected my bees or squashed a few too many? And how, my dear friends, does a beekeeper actually evaluate a year in beekeeping?

Unlike a football manager I don’t have a league of success where I can rate my achievements (or lack thereof). So what do I look for? Is it producing buckets of honey or above average winter survival rates? Is it learning new skills or having more colonies than you started with? Or is it just surviving the year? Well it’s a bit of all of that …

Kick Off

My beekeeping year started with disaster. By April my four colonies had all expired. I can’t be sure, but I think it was due to a combination of the following factors: moving two hives to an exposed location in the middle of winter, an old queen and possible nosema.

Lesson learnt: don’t listen to some of those old knowledgeable dudes. Not feeding the bees or not insulating their hives might work for them but not for novices (three years in and I still count myself as one). Hefting hives and colony insulation is the way to go for beekeepers like me.

The Transfer Window

In April, I bought two nucs of bees from a Mr Bee. As the name suggests he’s a bit of a don so I was happy with my new team and confident they would lead me to beekeeping glory.

I was optimistic. Some might say overly optimist. I was the Jose Mourinho of the allotment; talking about the strength of my team, the buzz of the crowds and the perfect conditions. My coat wasn’t quite as swanky as his but I perfected his arrogance and knack of talking nonsense – without the threat of an apiary ban.

I regularly visited the bees and all looked good. From a distance at least as I was trying the ‘hands off’, observe the bees, theory of beekeeping. I realised I quite liked my beekeeping visits now that they consisting of simply having a coffee.

Unexpected Attack

They came from nowhere. I didn’t see it coming. Then all of a sudden the wasps were on the attack. They were like the Bayern Munich to my Bristol Rovers. No hope …

And of course it wasn’t just the bees feeling the imminent threat but the neighbours and more hysterically, my wife. Perhaps, in hindsight, I should have better sealed the winter syrup laden supers I decided to leave in the garage. Yes, perhaps that didn’t help.

Teamwork

In some ways the bees have been kind to me this year. Only one sting and I caught a swarm that went on to become a strong colony. (I highly recommend swarm traps and the pheromone lure by the way).

However… and it’s a big however… the hives only produced 5 x ½ lb jars of honey. Yes, that’s the total result from 4 hives, 50 hours of effort and about £500 spent on nucs and equipment.

I also had to let my toddler know the plan for a pop-up honey stall at the end of the garden might have to be put on hold. That was a toughie. I had to agree with her, they were indeed ‘naughty bees’.

The Final Minutes

I started my countdown to winter in August, as me and my bees were not going down without a fight this year.

I firstly treated the colonies with Apiguard and then started feeding in September. They still had a high varroa count in October and it was warm enough to use MAQs strips. I then tried to be more scientific measuring the weight of the hives to ensure they had enough stores to see them through (each side of hives hefting at 15Kg by the end of October). I made sure the hives had minimal air space and wrapped them up in an insulated, waterproof and breathable jacket. Looking proper snug I regained a certain smugness.

Beekeeper With Insulated Hives
Beekeeper With Insulated Hives

The Final Result

So in conclusion – me and the bees have SURVIVED. And that’s the real test of a beekeeping year.

With two kids under three years of age and a full time job, often the beekeeping can become a bit of a “to-do” list. There’s loads of parts of it that I don’t actively enjoy (you know the tidying up, sterilising equipment, carting loads of hive bodies around) but I know I’ll have had a successful beekeeping year when I get a bit more time to do the bits I do enjoy (the inspections, the honey extraction, the ‘watching them sessions’!)

And it’s because I’m hunting down some more quality time with my bees that I’m biding you farewell for a bit. I’m not sure when I’ll next write for this lovely BBKA magazine but please keep in touch through my blog. And wish me luck.

Read More

BBKA News: Which Is More Complex – Keeping Bees Or Children?

BBKA News: Which Is More Complex – Keeping Bees Or Raising Children?

Raising a fully functioning child who isn’t addicted to Peppa Pig, Hula-Hoops and screaming ‘no’ to perfectly reasonable requests not to engage in life-threatening behaviour is undoubtedly more stressful than managing a bee colony. My two kids are to blame for my overly salted hair and not the bees.

Beekeeper & Baby
Beekeeper & Baby

However, as I look at the two books currently residing beside my bed (Toddler Taming and Beekeeping: A Seasonal Guide) I realise each of the disciplines have a claim to being the more complex.

Both bees and small children refuse to follow the rules and often fail to understand that we are trying to help. That said, they are usually happy to get on with it whilst we observe.

Still, we-who-love-them hope that one day, by reading the right books, talking to the right people, finding the ‘secret’, we will finally get them sussed.  Yes, one day we will get them to sleep through the night and to produce lots of honey.

So as I continue to research the theories behind child-rearing and bee-keeping, I wonder which is taking more toll on that grey matter of mine. And to work that out, I devised a completely non-scientific comparison study.

Feeding

Bottle or breast. Baby-led or purees. The blue spoon or the impossible-to-find pink one. Feeding a child can be tricky, with militant campaigners on either side. The older generation seem to think us lot are insane with our Annabel Karmel recipes books (yes, she teaches us how to mash broccoli) but we need to put our £30 baby sized food mixer to good use. My mum says it wasn’t that complicated in her day but now of course we know how dangerous food can be! Whole grapes (choking hazard), nuts (allergy) – quite frankly the kitchen is a danger zone for the first 18 months.  Child Brain Toll (CBT) rating: 3/5

Ideally bees won’t need any feeding but weighing the hives and calculating how much stores they need for the winter does take a bit of thinking.  Making the fondant or syrup is my kind of cooking.  I might have over-fed bees my bees last autumn and I’m sure this contributed to my dismal survival rate. Bee Brain Toll (BBT) rating: 3/5

Health

With kids you get them vaccinated and try to make sure grandparents don’t get them addicted to chocolates and ice cream. At the first sign of illness, the wonder drug that is Calpol comes out. We now buy magnums of the stuff.  CBT: 1/5

Bee health is extremely complex.  We have to be the doctors and nurses. We have to diagnose and treat.  Ideally – even a general inspection should be done to the same hygiene standards as open heart surgery. BBT: 5/5

Sleeping

This is when rituals can become complex.  A lot has been written about getting babies to sleep and it’s a hot topic.  With our eldest, we had 12 months of “bouncy time”, involving up to 30 minutes of jumping on the bed between bath time and reading, followed by a song and rocking.  She never slept in the cot during the day meaning that when we were exhausted we still had to take her out in the pram for her daytime naps. Luckily our second child read the instruction manual and has been much more compliant. Nine months in we even get the odd night when he actually sleeps through the night.  CBT: 4/5

OK, bees don’t sleep, but I’m going to include over-wintering in this comparison.  This activity involves a varroa treatment in August; in September checking the bees are disease free, have a laying queen, are a strong colony, have enough stores and fed as required; in October providing insulation and a mouse guard.  You only need to do this once per year per hive (compared with 3 times a day per child) but it’s more complex than “bouncy time”. BBT: 5/5

Development & Play

I must have said “da-da” to my children 10,000 times before getting any reward.  I definitely wore out a pair of jeans with each baby as I helped them toddle around the house. And play – they got that all by themselves!  Not complex, just repetitive. CBT: 1/5

Bees go through the cycle of house worker to forager all by themselves without any input from the beekeeper. I’m not sure if bees play, perhaps the drones, but they do dance! BBT: 1/5

Behaviour

If my eldest does any more moaning, I’m going to sign her up to the next series of Loose Women.  Whilst child experts on TV can make improving behaviour look simple, it’s an issue for all parents.  From trying to get your infant not to drop the spoon again for you to pick up, to the benefits of sharing, these are difficult messages to get through. Persistence and a firm voice is key – as are threats of a CBeebies-ban.  CBT: 5/5

Bee behaviour is fascinating. Preparing to swarm, swarming and the social aspect of storing honey for the winter for future generations.  But they get on with this all by themselves.  I can’t train them not to swarm, or to lay comb in straight lines. In a way it’s easier knowing we cannot take responsibility. BBT: 1/5

Results

So, the unweighted “Brain Toll” totals from above are:

  • Children: 14/25
  • Bees: 15/25

Conclusion

Bees might have just won this complexity battle but both disciplines are equally worth the effort. Both bring me joy, challenge, a smile and pride.  And with all this external focus, they might even be helping me to “regain my sanity”.

Read More

The Malborough Man

Beekeeping is a personal journey. For me it has been about finding purpose and nature and hence, regaining my sanity but a sub-theme has emerged. Beekeeping has made me ever more aware of my shortcomings: poor DIY skills, fear of bees and general worrying that the bees are OK (food, varroa, disease, mated queen, swarming, etc.). I’m not the self-sufficient adult I had hoped to be.  I have called this theme manliness.  I know, I know.  DIY and being brave is definitely not male-only territory but as a man I feel the pressure is on.

My last test was building a flat pack hive. It wasn’t perfect but hopefully the weather and weight of the hive is fixing the poor build.

However, another opportunity presented itself for me to prove my manliness … buying my first ever cigarette lighter, for my smoker.

Me: “Please can I have a cigarette lighter”.  I stumbled over my words, I squeaked like a teenager. It was obvious I was a virgin cigarette lighter buyer.

+ 2 man points.  It should have been a +10.

Man behind counter: “We don’t sell them” in the kind of way that made me feel like I had to clarify I was a beekeeper and it was for my smoker!

– 10 man points

I went to the shop next door and was successful in my purchase. I got the smoker to light first time.

+ 10 man points

I was very proud of myself and felt the testosterone radiating from me. When I got home my wife (not to be messed with at four months pregnant & yes, I have told the bees and now you) informed me it was my turn to do the dishes. I reassured myself that in 2014 it is still considered manly to wear Marigolds.

Smoking Hive
Smoking Hive

Read More

5 Things That Improved My Sanity This Week

It’s been a good week and this is why – in order of what cheered me up the most:

  1. I discovered the bees were alive (phew)
  2. The sun has started to make an appearance
  3. I got into the allotment, did some digging and planted some seeds
  4. I bought an assembled brood box and stand (and saved myself a day)
  5. I bought some new work shoes …
    1. for £21 – half the price I though I’d have to pay
    2. from my local corner shop – so I didn’t need to go into town
    3. and they’re synthetic – meaning I don’t need to polish them
    4. and I no longer need to try and hide my old work shoes behind chairs and under the desk as they were not polished for the five years I have been wearing them
Spot The Difference
Spot The Difference!

So that £21 bargain brought me a lot of pleasure. Is this my equivalent to shopping therapy?

Read More

Life Without Bees

Hello. It’s me!  It’s been a while.

You may be wondering how life has been for an enthusiastic/obsessive new beekeeper such as myself without bees. Well, I have descended further into insanity over the last few months. On the back of a foraging book I have taken to eating the Spring leaves from hawthorn hedges and the flowers of wild garlic. Instead of talking with bees I have been engaging in long, primeval squealing and screeching with our baby girl. I think I am imitating her … but it’s been going on so long now that she might be imitating me. I must try “da-da” a bit more, but it’s not as fun.

However, this post is a bit of a teaser to my main news! I have an update on the bee situation. I’ll download some photos and blog it in the next few days.

Postscript – please read: The Bees Are Back In Town

Sugar dilemmas for beekeepers and parents

They say “you are what you eat” and us beekeepers can dictate what the bees eat throughout the Winter.  I must admit to feeling slightly guilty to raiding the bees larder of honey and substituting it with sugar last Autumn, but it was the only way if I was going to get any honey in my first year.  This week, I have been forced to see the reality of how much food dictates well-being and maybe I need to be a more considerate when I harvest honey later this year.

This change of heart was actually ignited with my Wife’s breast-feeding.  Using the analogy again, if you are what you eat, my Wife is a veritable Sugar Monster.  She kicks off the day with either Coco-Pops or Sugar Puffs.  Then has a hot chocolate (on a bad day with marshmallows).  Then a Ginger Bread Man.  Then the left over chocolates from Christmas.  Topping off the evening with the half-price Ben & Jerry’s chocolate fudge ice cream.

In essence, she fulfills every Scottish, culinary stereotype.  Over the years I have resisted preaching to her over the lure of the more natural sweeteners you can get from healthy things such as honey.

But a conversation with a friend made me realise that what she was feeding herself was also feeding our baby and our baby might not be such a fan of the e-number diet as my Wife.  My friend’s Wife is an alternative therapist and understands that a lot of problems in children and adults are down to nutrition.

All the baby handbooks might have said that many new born babies are likely to be fussy, grisly and/or colicky but the dramatic change we saw when Heidi substituted the chocolates for meat and veg was dramatic.  Literally the next day we had a different baby.  From one that cried a lot, was wide awake all day and difficult to put to bed, to one that hardly cries, naps during the day, and goes to bed easily.

Just this one change has helped me regain my sanity enormously in the last few days.

This has made me think more about what impact sugar has on the bees.  The honey they have made for themselves from nectar has to be better than the sucrose I fed them in September.  This year I will do my best to leave them with sufficient honey and in the meantime, I am trying my best to resist biscuit watching my Wife.

For information, the book we are using to help raise our baby is called Your Baby Week By Week (USA Link) and we have found it to be excellent.

Click here, to read more New Dad stories or please subscribe for updates.  WordPress users can specifically sign-up for just New Dad posts.

On being a Dad

And now, the questions you have all been asking.

Q. How is it being a Dad?

A. It’s alright!  It’s pretty good.  (Heidi – this is an understatement, I just don’t want to tell everyone how brilliant it is)

Q. What’s your role as the Man Of The House?

A. Hmmmm.  Good question.  It seems to be cooking, cleaning, shopping, winding.  When it gets too much, I sometimes go into the garage to build beehive parts.  I would describe myself as Man In The House, rather than Of.

Q. How are you getting on with all the blokey, technical stuff, like sorting out the pram?

A.  I can’t talk about the pram.  It brings me out in cold sweats.  OK, I can talk about the pram [fakes a deep breath].   It takes me about 20 minutes to either fold it up to put in the car, and the same time to take it out of the car and put it up.  Each time I go through this process (which has been twice now), something breaks as I force it into position.  I don’t think my baby girl’s life is in immediate danger in the pram, it still seems to work OK.  Each time I go through the process of collapsing and reassembling the pram, I have no idea how I got from A to B or B to A.  The pram is currently in a collapsed state in the garage.  Last time I went into town I didn’t have time* to work out how to use the papoose (baby carrier) so I carried Senen over my shoulder, in a manly way, like a sack of potatoes.

* When I say I didn’t have enough time … 30 minutes seemed plenty at the time, but it was not enough.

Q. And what is your role with the other gadgets like the breast bump and 2-way intercom?

A. I’ve delegated them to Heidi.  I can’t look at one more set of instructions – unless someone comes round and shows me how these things work.  The man doesn’t have to be in charge of all gadgets, does he?  I am choosing to be a New Man in this area.  No one needs to know.

Q.  How do you feel walking around town pushing a pram?

A.  Have you ever seen My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding?  A man’s relationship with a pram is complex.  It’s a bit like asking me how would I feel wearing a handbag or a dress or using one of those shopping trolleys that older people take to the shops?  There’s nothing wrong with it.  It’s practical.  It’s just that, errr, it does not fit comfortably with my self-image of Being A Man.  I prefer the baby carrier, but that does not fit my self-image of Being A Man either.  I’m looking forward to carrying her on my shoulders.

If you are wondering where all these male insecurities started, you might like to read I Am Not A Beeman or if you like the Dad theme, try It’s A Girl or Proud Dad.

It’s a girl! I tell the bees of the new arrival

It’s a girl

Whilst Queen bees can easily bang out up to 2,000 eggs a day … this is not the case for humans.  In fact, at times on the day of the birth, it seemed like humans were not designed for natural childbirth.  I will spare you the details, but I finally broke down when I was ushered out of the operating theatre for Heidi’s c-section.  Three minutes later a nurse came out and told me mother and baby Senen were fine.  It took me another 15 minutes to man-up and we are both still getting over the experience.  Next time we’re booking in for an elective cesarean!

We’ve had a few questions about the name, so in anticipation of further questions … There is a place we like in Cornwall called Sennen Cove and about two years ago Heidi thought it would make a great name for a child, boy or girl.  We looked it up in the baby name dictionary and there was a Senen, meaning “wise boy”, an Irish name.  We reckoned it could also mean “wise girl”.  We made a token effort looking through the rest of the name book, but our hearts were already set.

I took two weeks paternity which was the best holiday ever and at the end of this found the time to go and visit the bees and tell them the news.  One of the guard bees seemed particularly interested and I had to run away.

Postscript: For an update on how I am getting on you might like to read On Being A Dad.

Bee update

I have not had much time to think about bees in the last six weeks.  There were quite a few flying in and out on Sunday when it was about 12C … but I still don’t know whether there is a Queen in there.  I might not know, until it’s warm enough to open it up in the Spring.

I am planning based on the scenario that these is a Queen and will phone a friend to discuss sugar fondant and oxalic acid.

Christmas present

As a Christmas present to myself I bought another flat-pack beehive (14×12 brood box, 2 supers, roof, floor, stand).  It will take me about 16 hours to assemble but will keep me entertained during the dark Winter nights, especially as Senen should soon start having a bed time at 7.30pm.

So this my third hive … just need to catch a swarm … or better still, hope that someone brings me one in a cardboard box … and if they want to tip them in … please go ahead … they are scary those bees!

Proud Dad

Like a proud Dad, I can announce that there are larvae in both beehives*.  Absolutely, definitely this time. You can see the larvae curled up in the first photo below and you can also see some larvae that have been capped in the second photo (bottom left) … beautiful.

uncapped honeybee brood

 

proud dad

Like any new born, they don’t look pretty but you’ve got to think long term. In about 21 days these little grubs will reach puberty and then fly the nest (only in this case, I won’t need to fork out for tuition fees).

Having essentially ‘fathered’ these hives, I experienced intense relief, which lasted about 5 seconds, and some joy, which lasted about 3½ hours.  However this joy was quickly replaced by newly developed worries; timescales I suspect most new-Dads can appreciate.

Like two small children – my hives already have distinct personalities …

Beehive A – ‘the late developer’

Now this one had me worried. I had adopted Beehive A and so I couldn’t be sure of anything and as soon as I got it, it went off the rails and swarmed.  Seven weeks later, the colony has settled down in its home and despite keeping me on my toes with little evidence of a Queen, nature has come good and I’m very proud.

Beehive B – ‘the productive protégé’

These amazing bees have drawn out 9 of the 11 frames (in a 14×12 brood box).  The sugar syrup I fed them has done the job.  There were cells containing brood and some capped honey around the edges.  Very pleased.

Of course, with both hives, come worries…and my main one is whether they will produce any honey.

Worker bees take 21 days from egg until they hatch.  They then spend their first 18 days on jobs in the hive.  We’re looking at the end of July before these bees start foraging but the second main nectar flow finishes about then too.  Let’s hope there is some nectar and pollen for the bees to collect in August.

I also saw a moth during my “inspection” but at the time I didn’t consider it due to my usual panic.  However, I am now a bit worried that it might have been a wax moth.  I will look out for this next time I go in.

I need advice. Perhaps a little fatherly pep talk from more experienced beekeepers who know more than me?

  • Should I remove a super from the old hive (so they can cap more of the current honey in the first super)?
  • Should I add a super to the new hive or let them draw out more brood frame?
  • Should I feed the new hive again due to all this poor weather?

Let me know if you know!

* I should also probably tell you that the 20 week scan my wife and I went to this week shows that we are probably going to have a baby girl.  Hurrah!

Postscript: You might want to read It’s A Girl.