[RUSTYME]

During the winter sometime , my bees deserted their hive . CCD maybe ? not sure what to put it down to . But they left plenty of honey ...nearly 2 supers full , plus the brood .  I was sad as they seemed to have settled in well . They had come to the hive as a swarm on their own . The hive was one of a few I had collected off of freecycle.
 When they left as I say, they left plenty of food and there were only a few dead bodies around , not much more than you see at anytime really .
 Anyway yesterday I noticed bees going in and out of the same hive , it still has the honey etc in there , I left it as a lure for bees this year . It seems to have worked as they are still there today, and the bees comming in are carrying pollen , and those leaving are clean , so I don't think it is robbing ? the next few days will tell . I shall give them till the weekend and take a peek ..Fingers crossed I shall have bees again , I hope so as I spent £108 last year on an extractor and bits and bobs ...it was the economy extractor from Thornes ...

cheers

Russ

[enzyme]

Given your unknown reason (CCD is a load of rubbish by the way!), you might have been wish to clean the hive out before taking any more bees in it or they might "leave" for the same reason the others did.

Did you treat for varroa last year?

Did you sorch the hive when you first recived it?

Did you check for, EFB, AFB or nosema?

[RUSTYME]

yes fair comment about cleaning the hive out . I didn't when I got the hives, as they were to be repaired and then used !! Well the bees moved in before I cleaned the hive !!.
 That doesn't excuse allowing the hive to be repopulated without disinfecting this time though ...My fault I should have done that .

No I didn't treat for Varroa last year . Firstly I had no money (and I mean literally no money !! ) , and secondly , I don't want to use chemicals if I can possibly help it .
 I was thinking of trying the small cell way of keeping bees , I have read of many who have had success with it in respect to varroa . Is it any good ? Does it work ?

No I didn't go over the one that the bees moved into first time . I did 3 of the hives with the blow torch , thourally , cleaned out all the old wax and went over all the frames with the torch too. But the Hive the bees settled in , was as it came !.

No to the last question too , sad to say .  The bees moved in when I was busy doing other things and basically had to fend for themselves . This year they were to get sorted properly as I had made time to look after them , but they buggered off before hand .

 Going back to CCD . You say it is a load of rubbish !! Have bees always had this problem ? Is it new ? If it is rubbish why are so many people losing all their bees ?

 The bees that moved in the year before last were very dark almost black bees . The ones that may have moved in now are much more stripey and yellow , more like wasps ...no they aren't wasps though  ...lol.

 cheers

Russ

 

[Anke]

You could be very lucky in getting "free" bees, up here there are people queuing up for them... and none to be had! But as you don't know where they are coming from.... you really have to take the varroa issue seriously, its not the varroa itself but the viruses they carry that will easily kill off the bees. It might be advisable to contact your local beekeepers group and get one of them to check out the hive with you. You shouldn't use Apistan or Apiguard during honey collection time, but if your bees are heavily infected than that might be the only way to save the colony (You would then need to discard all honey from this year from human consumption!).

Also I now keep my hives on mesh floors all year round (and had them on all last winter, and my three colonies survived and are thriving), it seems not just to help with varroa, but also with ventilation/moisture. You can easily build them out of your existing hives (or get second hand floors from someone else and make them into mesh ones, then exchange with your current floors).

[egglady]

you can treat varroa by dusting icing sugar over the frames.  Even with no money this is possible I'd think.  Keeping bees, as I'm finding out, ISN'T cheap and given the state of the bee population, i think we should be careful to reduce to an absolute minimum the amount of disease and potential for disease to stop numbers decreasing even further.

Sorry if this osunds like a rant, it isnt meant to be, but bee keeping isnt just a case of obtaining a hive and sticking some bees in it and then waiting for the honey to appear!

[enzyme]

CCD is a very broad sweeping (mainly American) cover all for many bad beekeeping practices mainly by USA bee farmers. Have you seen how they cart them around feeding them mono culture crops?

But back to the UK. What is the main cause of bee loses? Beekeepers! Simple as that.

They are hard things to keep not like hens or pigs etc.

Varroa is not an issue that should concern you IF you treat. Yes we would all love to be in a time when we do not have to use "chemicals" but we are not there, and until ALL work together and stop Varroa not treating is not helping those that do.

Oxalic Acid for up to 5 hives costs less than £1 so no real excuse to not treat. And although Oxalic acid is a "chemical" it is naturally occurring in rhubarb.

Open mesh floors also are good as Anke says.

What you keep your bees in is irrelevant from a zero cost or free wooden hive, be that a top bar hive or traditional hive to the latstes Omlet bee haus, bees still need to be managed or you are not a Beekeeper, but simply a Keeper of bees, and one who will not keep them for long.

Not trying to preach but just give some help, of which a lot more can be forum at the www.beekeepingforum.co.uk

[RUSTYME]

I will give the mesh floor a go . I have plenty of spare hives and all parts , so shouldn't be to much of a problem .
 The one thing I really want to avoid is using chemicals if at all possible . I don't use them on anything else and would really have to think hard about using them on bees.
 It does seem as if I am lucky in getting another swarm this year .  I will take a look at the weekend to see if they have moved in , but they are there again today ..been there all day , so looks like they have done.
  Good tip about the icing sugar .. yes even I can afford that ( well I have a bag in the cupboard ).
 No beekeeping isn't cheap , and I never intended to to get any until I had all the stuff I needed ...they moved in  !!
I first got 6 hives off of freecycle and then during cleaning them , the bees moved in . I had bought a suit and smoker and other bits and bobs , but was lucky in getting given another suit , smoker , hive tool , two brand new tray sugar feeders , and lots of other stuff. I then Managed to get the economy extractor kit from Thornes , another step nearer to having all the kit needed.  At no time did I expect to keep bees for nothing , or think I could just get a hive and stick the bees in and then wait for the honey . The bees preempted my 3 or 4 year plan of collecting the gear !!
 Last year there were two complete supers full of honey plus most of the one above the brood box . This I left as food for the bees over this last winter , I took one frame of honey in late summer , that was it . So I don't think  that is the action of someone just on the take ? But I do take your point  , and I know I should have done more towards the upkeep of the bees once they had moved in .  I did however, suffer a rather nasty heart attack at about the time they moved in , and for some time I had other things on my mind ....such as " am I going to fall off me perch ?" .
Well I am still clinging on to the perch ...just ... and fingers crossed , I can spend more time doing things that need to be done with and for the bees . They will play a very important part of my life over the next few years (if I have them ?   ) , so fairs fair , they deserve more time at least.
  
If they have moved in  I will check for EFB , AFB , Nosema and varroa and treat accordingly . If I have to use chemicals due to no other choice, then I have no problem with not using the honey till next year if that is the case.
 All points noted and very helpful .


cheers

Russ

[egglady]

Russ, I'm sorry if i sounded a bit ranty - i truly didnt mean to, nor did i mean to have a go at you.  seems there's a lesson there for all of us in that if we leave empty hives lying around, then they can be 'inhabited' by swarms - obviously the better the swarm control measures in place, the less likely there is to be a swarm - so not entirey your fault! 

a neighbour of mine had a swarm at the weekend, but as her queen was clipped, they didnt get far...only made it to the underside of the hive floor!

[enzyme]

I can only back up what egglady has just posted, and also add that maybe I was being a bit OTT with the EFB and AFB and even nosema.

For a swarm to have happened, in general they will have come from a strong well developed hive, so in theory they are usualy very good condtion.

[RUSTYME]

yes I have seen how they move bees about in the states , and as you say about the monocultures they pollinate and feed off. I did think that that couldn't be good for them .  
 I have never called myself a beekeeper , I have just been collecting all the stuff to start keeping bees , so yes I am that keeper of bees at the moment , but I am getting there.
 Yes even I can afford the Oxalic acid , and it is chemicals such as that , that I don't mind using , along with the mesh floors .  
 Many thanks to all for the help and info . Didn't take any of it as ranting or preaching , you don't know my circumstances or what I am thinking or setting up,  and can only comment on what I post . No problems ...As I said, all points noted and very helpful , thanks again.

cheers

Russ

[enzyme]

We all just care for and are mad about bees

[RUSTYME]

just read the last 2 posts after I posted my last one ...

No problem at all Egglady , I didn't take it as a rant or that you were really having a go . Just giving a to the point answer. I do appreciate all the help , and I certainly need it  !!! lol.
 
 I had no idea that having hives about , that bees would just fly in and take up residence ... I just didn't know !! But I should have thought a bit more about it this time though  !!!
 I have blocked up the other hives so shouldn't get anymore , until I am ready for them , still got to move the hives 3 miles down the road to the land yet !!

Yes I can see that enzyme . I too love  the little things , and want to do right by them as best I can .

cheers

Russ

[doganjo]

Can I just say thank you to all of you, Laura, Russ and enzyme (sorry, don't know your real name) - I have read every line and learned a tremendous amount already about bees from you all.  I have had a visit from a  bee keeping friend to establish a good are in my garden for a hive (he said I had plenty of room for three but I am not that brave ), I have to phone him this week to,arrange a 3 hour lesson with him and his bees, as well as a bit of off roading in his landy (now THAT I am looking forward to a little more than meeting his bees )  I will take the bee keeping course early next year that Rosemary has been on, and he said he'd help me find second hand equipment if I decided to go ahead.  They are also breeding queens so I would be able to have one of theirs.  So thank you for this thread I have found it most interesting.

[egglady]

Annie, they are absolutely fascinating to watch - even things like the varying colours of the pollen they carry back to the hive is fascinating - so you get to know where they've been.  One of mine came back yesterday not only with bright yellow pollen baskets, but her whole body was bright yellow - i'm guessing she'd been in the oil seed rape field nearby!

i could watch them all day....that';s when i'm not watching the lambs cavorting around the fieldor the ducks messing around in the water, or the...., or the..... i wonder if i'll ever do any housework again!!!!!

[Greenerlife]

I saw that TV programme about America's bee population and I think mine would have sodded off if I treated them with all that clonking about!    I have had three swarms from my hive already this year (careless - I know) but now have one of the stolen queens that I have reared from the hive in situ, so hopefully they will become a little less tetchy!  I also can't believe how exensive this beekeeping malarky is!  Although thanks to the earlier poster I will now be checking with freecycle!