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Category Archives: Swarms
The arrival of the bees
A couple of months ago, I put a bait hive out in my garden. An empty National brood box, apart from a dark old brood comb pushed to one side and some lemongrass oil smeared on the walls. Then I … Continue reading
How to catch a swarm – advice from an expert beekeeper, Roger Patterson
A few weeks ago I listened into a zoom talk all about swarms by Roger Patterson. I last heard Roger speak in person almost a decade ago, back in 2012, when his talk was “Improve your bees and beekeeping – … Continue reading
Swarm collecting tips from Tamsin Harris
This week I listened into a great talk for the West Cornwall Beekeepers Association by their member Tamsin Harris, she is a very experienced commercial beekeeper. She came across as a practical person with a quick, dry sense of humour. … Continue reading
Posted in Events, Swarms
13 Comments
Swarming from the bees’ perspective
My notes from our second talk by Scottish bee farmer Tony Harris at Cornwall Beekeepers Association/West Cornwall Beekeepers Association ‘Bit of a Do’ conference this September. I’ve read books on swarm behaviour and studied it for the BBKA’s module exams, but … Continue reading
Maximising your honey crop – tips from Tony Harris
At the weekend I heard Tony Harris, a Scottish bee farmer, give two talks at the annual Cornwall Beekeepers Association/West Cornwall Beekeepers Association ‘Bit of a Do’ conference. Here are my notes from his talk, which had plenty of jokes … Continue reading
Posted in Colony management, Events, Honey, Swarms
19 Comments
Surrounded by bees: a tale of four swarms
What happens when a beekeeper gets behind on their inspections in May? SWARMS. This was the first: It was rather high up… The hives underneath are my comical attempt to tempt the bees down. I smeared lemongrass oil inside the empty … Continue reading
Posted in Swarms
15 Comments
How I came to have bees again
This weekend I was still beeless, as there has been an outbreak of American Foul Brood (AFB) in my supplier’s area and movement of bees and hives has been suspended. “Let me know if any swarms come your way”, I … Continue reading
Getting my bee-jo back
I didn’t post about the bees last weekend because I felt especially down about my beekeeping skills after an intense catalogue of failures on Saturday. First, I failed to find Queen Stella in my allotment bees, which would have been particularly useful … Continue reading
A wedding present from the bees
I see the last time I posted was April 21st. Since then I have become a married lady named Emily Scott and met the wildlife of Borneo. And in Beeland… the bees have been equally busy. The day of my … Continue reading
Posted in Swarms
42 Comments
Our queens come in eights
Last week Emma and I split our hive into two. Today we returned to check the progress of the two colonies – luckily the rain storms of Friday had subsided and beautiful sun ruled the skies. At the time we … Continue reading