Newbees
August started wet and windy as we were hit by a storm (I won’t add to the hysteria by ‘naming’ it), but quickly gave way to some calm, warm and sunny weather. The bees immediately took the opportunity to go out and forage, quickly brining in the pollen and nectar.
The 1st of August also saw the addition of new bees. These were from the same supplier at 58° North who messaged to say he had a few spare nucs available before shutting up for winter. I wasn’t intending to purchase more bees to overwinter however I also thought the odds of getting a colony through my first winter were higher if I had two colonies heading into Autumn. Knowing how quickly the first colony expanded I was not concerned about adding another this late in the season. The season in the Outer Hebrides seems to be a month behind the mainland, and I was banking “it’ll be sunny next”. It also gave me some redundancy or options should anything happen to the queen or colony in Hive 1.
Movin’ on Up
Mid-August saw another new addition to the apiary, in the shape of two new poly hives. The decision and reasons to move to poly hive are discussed in my Beekeeping: Cedar vs Poly Hives post. So this month I was found juggling boxes and frames and bees. Lots and lots of bees!
The first move was the six frame nuc into their new twelve frame poly hive. After two weeks in the Paynes nuc they were ready to upsize. They’d taken down all of the food and filled the feeder with new, drawn out comb and I estimate the number of bees in here had doubled in an already crowded box. So yeah, they were in need of more space!
The second move was the original colony into the second poly hive. The queen in this box is a prolific layer. I gave her extra room with a second brood box last month and she had gone straight to work in filling it. I had put a queen excluder in last month and a super above it. The idea was that the bees could move up and take some stores with them, and give the queen room to lay in the brood below. Except the queen decided she quite liked the penthouse suite and somehow squeezed up through the queen excluder and stared laying up in the super!
I moved her back down and was pleased to see she continued to lay in the lower brood box. As there was a nectar flow on I also added another super of foundation. I doubt this will be touched, but it keeps it out of the shed (which is in a desperate need of a tidy) and if the bees need it, it’s room for them to keep busy drawing out much needed comb for the spring.
Taking Note
Before moving the bees into their new hives I made notes and sketched out a plan to take out to the apiary with me. Previously I had come back and realised I had forgotten to do something or I had deviated from the plan. Either the weather, the bees, or something distracted me and I tended to forget what I was supposed to be doing. It looks quite chaotic in and around the hives and when you are sweating away in your bee suit, struggling to see through the veil, things don’t go as smoothy or considered as they might. As I have become more familiar with the bees, the equipment and the handling of the bees I feel less rushed and more focused. Â
The move of colony one into it’s new home proved that. I sketched out what was going where, the arrangement of the boxes and frames, and the reasons for doing so. I then took this drawing up to the apiary with the parts I needed and set them out. Once suited and booted I followed the plan. Despite tens of thousands of bees flying around me, and the sweltering heat, I finished the job calmly and as planned. I looked like I had come out of a sauna and was ready to get out of the suit though! I think a new, cooler suit might be needed as I expand the number of hives!
Purple Rain
“Honey, I know, I know, I know the times are changing” as the middle of August saw the end of the rain and a good spell of warm, dry weather. Autumn may be around the corner but it’s great that summer is pushing on.
The bees made the most of it; as the bell heather dropped away the ling heather took over, turning the hills a wonderful haze of purple. Closer inspection of the ground revealed lots of wildflowers that were also thriving and berries began appearing. Beekeeping has certainly enhanced my noticing of the smaller changing days within the wider seasons, with subtle differences that I had noticed before but note taken notice of. One thing I have noticed is that the bees don’t forage in the apiary. The photograph below was taken there, but there must be an all you can eat buffet advertising further afield as I never see them foraging here. They obviously enjoy the day out and time to stretch their wings.
As August nears its end I am pleased to see a super almost full of honey. The smell was amazing and I can’t wait to have my first taste of the Hebribees Honey. But wait I shall. I’ll give the bees a little more time to fill the remaining space and cap it over if they wish. It also gives the colony more room for the bees. I have noticed that drones are being ejected from the colony this week, which is a sign that they are preparing for winter. Drone bees add nothing productive to the hive once they have mated with a queen, and at this time of year they are just another mouth to feed. So they are brutally ejected and left to fend for themselves outside. Which they can’t, so they die and become bird food I guess? I have noticed a lot more birds hanging around the hives this week so assume they are feeding on the banished male bees.
There’s no rush to remove the honey just yet. It will need to be removed before I can feed the colony syrup over the winter and before I treat for varroa mite should I need to (currently there are no mites on the drop boards). I expect next months update shall be all about the honey, honey, honey..!
What was (or wasn’t) present this month:
- The Queen – just popped up to say hello, then I put her down below
- Brood in all stages
- Drones (both present but not!)
- No varroa mites
- Pollen mites (in the tray below the floor)
- Capped frame of honey (yay!)
All of the bees looked healthy and working doubly hard.
Learning Points for August
So what did August show us?
- Bees will do what they need given the space – or kick you out if they need more
- Stop asking beekeepers questions, stick to the learning and trust the bees
- Ask “why did the bees just do that” or “why have they done that”
- Write a plan/sketch before heading out to the hives and stay on task
- The Met Office will name a fart in a teacup!
Oh, and if you missed the announcement about the launch of Hebribees Honey then that’s because you didn’t sign up to our mailing list yet. It’s free, not full of spam, and can be done below.
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