Monday 30 April 2012

Working from home

So there I was, quietly getting on with stuff from work, which I can occasionally do from the relative comfort of the spare bedroom, when the doorbell rang.....
Mostly expecting it to be a delivery of an internet purchase I shimmied down the stairs and opened the front door.  Only to be surprised by the sight of a rather agitated bee keeper..


You see Peter across the road, has 6 hives already, and rather unexpectedly one of his hives had produced a swarm of bees.  In all probability his one very prolific queen had been busily laying and as the colony hadn't been able to get out and fly much in the last week, thanks to all the droughty weather we've been having.  So, thinking they were rather housebound the colony had set about producing a new queen and newly hatched she had rounded up some supporters and with their tummy's filled with honey they had upped and left!
Only to land in a garden 5 doors down the road
Enter the agitated bee- keeper


Agitated Bee keeper: " Great!  you're in"
Me: " Is there a problem?"
Agitated bee keeper: " My bees have swarmed, they've landed over the road, I daren't go and bring them home  - the wife'll kill me if I start a 7th hive......have you made up that hive hubby bought for your birthday?"
me: " errrr......er....er ..this is all rather sudden...... I thought I was best waiting for another season and practicing with the hives in the training apiary this year.... and er...er.  errr.. .. no I don't know where he keeps the hammer.."
Agitated bee keeper: " Never mind ...can you make 5 frames by this evening? - I'll lend you the other bits....."
me:  " err yes.....errrr  I guess so......"
agitated bee keeper:  " Great - see you at 7pm!"
And with that ...he was off....


When I started thinking about keeping my own bees I hadn't really thought through exactly how the bees would arrive.  I'd read some articles on bait hives so I suppose some part of me thought I'd just make a hive, bait it and hope.  But you can actually order colonies and starter colonies of bees, called nucs, short for nucleus.  With increasing awareness of the value of bees to both the environment and economy and the need to keep bees healthy and disease resistant there are now bee farmers and bee keepers who consciously seek to breed healthy, prolific bees for onward sale to bee keepers.  The very best of these people have waiting lists for their colonies and having been a bit slow to start to get my thinking hat on about this I'd missed the boat for this years available nucs so had only just booked a nuc for 2013 the previous Thursday.


But here was an opportunity not to be missed
Possible free bees in 2012!
All I had to do was get ready for 7pm

There's nothing like a deadline to focus the mind.


With only the commute downstairs from the spare bedroom to deal with I had nothing to hold me back from making frames as soon as the day's work was done...


I gathered all the pieces of frame...

I found the workbench from the garage - even I worked out hammering bits of wood together on a glass table wasn't a great idea...

Nearly there...... 
Even 'im indoors helped to ensure the deadline was met...
Then 7pm arrived and the box of bees was delivered by less agitated beekeeper..
There really isn't a microwave in that box - honest!
So how do you persuade 5,000+ bees to leave a cardboard box-  where they are so comfortable they've started making wax, to the hive ?
...By the simple use of a board and a cloth....
 You open the box and let natural instinct take over...  they will walk to the place that looks warm and dark and safe ... the hive...
The speed walkers reach the front door.....
 

It takes a little while...
 

Now has anyone see the Queen yet?
Watch carefully ...see if you can spot her walking in before I do....





A few stragglers needed a helping hand to get into the hive as it was getting significantly colder as the sun dropped, but all were eventually safely bedded in..

Now fingers crossed they stay and start making wax!

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