Swales Honey - Saving starving bees.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- The bees are running really low on food reserves. The continuing poor weather just exasperates the situation.
We have supers with some of last years honey in. These could save the day.
#beekeeping
#bee #
#honey
Top Tip for ya Trev... Pop a Neo Dymium Magnet in your pocket, then just stick your hive tool to your leg on the outside.. Works a treat.
Well first I had to search for Neo Dymium magnets on Google.
I think that’s a great idea and I’m going to give it a go.
Thank you.👍
Only just started watching your videos. Great to watch an honest beekeeper who tells it as it is. Brilliant. Keep it up.
Thank you Phil. That’s kind of you. I do try to say it as it is.👍
Good day! I am a beekeeper from Ukraine, I also run a TH-cam channel. This month I came to Ireland with my family. The war forced us to leave everything and go. We are from the city of Zaporizhzhia, the front line is 40 km from the city, constant rocket and drone attacks forced us to leave Ukraine. I wanted to ask you if it is possible to buy a small bee colony from you? because I can't do without bees, I'm very used to them. Thank you!
Hello and thank you for contacting me.
I am sorry for the awful situation in the Ukraine.
I am not really geared up to sell bees and the hives I use are not the most common in the UK.
You would be better trying to source bees in Ireland and I’ll be emailing an Irish beekeeper later and ask his advice.
I’ll be back in touch. Thank you.
Thank you for your answer. For some reason I thought that you were from Ireland. I have delved so deeply into the world of bees that I feel bad without them. I would like to buy at least one small colony, for the soul. I also made a video about beekeeping before the war. I was making matrices for wax. I have a lot of videos on this topic on my TH-cam channel if you are interested. Thank you for your response.
Great video, Trev. Hopefully the "flooded" colonies are doing OK. 😀
Thank you, I appreciate the comment.
I haven’t checked the flooded colonies properly yet but they looked fairly good when I took the strips out and added a super yesterday.
I just hope the moved stocks didn’t ball their queen.🤞
Why not store them in a stack with two pallets?
From the bottom...pallet...six supers...pallet...six supers. It would almost eliminate all the manual lifting.
Thanks Hugh. The reason I don’t do as you suggest is quite simply because the idea never dawned on me.
It’s a great suggestion but it would mean me making up another 22 pallets from scratch and also fabricating another 88 clearer boards or some sort of covers.
I should have done this years ago. Do I want to commit time, funds and effort at this late stage of the game???
I’m not sure but you’ve certainly given me something to think about. Thank you.
Another great video Trevor. Shocking weather here in West Cork. The bees seem to be building away alright but it’s too cold to open hives for a proper look see. I’ve never seen ground so wet.
No the weather has been appalling.
I normally move bees onto Oilseed rape but although it’s flowering, the ground is way too soft. They may just have to stay where they are this year.
Thanks for your input.
I found a nice wharehouse quite local to us that does big blocks of fondant at a good price and just cut it into smaller pieces or sometimes use a frame that is the same size as 2 frames and put a block of fondant into it. I normally leave it on and the bees fill it with honey that I use for myself as chunk honey and tastes yummy as its mainly clover
The inventiveness of beekeepers,I like the chunk honey idea. Thank you Barry.
Great video , thanks for sharing
I’m glad you enjoyed that. Thank you.
A lot of hungry bees this Spring.
Yes there seems to be a shortage of stores in hives not only across the UK but in other parts of the world as well.
Thanks for the comment.
Trevor, many thanks for showing us the blackthorn. We are the same here in Ireland. I think u are great common sense beekeeper. Looking forward to seeing how your year goes. I am particularly interested in the work required as prep for the Heather honey. J
Thanks Jim, I appreciate the comment.
To be honest, regarding the heather, I just take the stocks I have and hope for the best. A terrible confession, I know but basically true.
I do like to have a few nucs available to sort weak stocks, drone layers etc. but that’s about it.
I do think that early splits can make excellent heather stocks.
Glad to see your video again, Trevor! No matter what, winter is over and summer is ahead. If only the weather would be good and we will do the work. The bees will regain their strength and thank us for our work with a good harvest. 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🤝🤝🤝🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🐝🐝🐝✌✌✌
Thanks Ivan. It is amazing how things can turn around. We just have to do our best. Here’s hoping for a good crop for you and your family. 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦👍👍👍🐝🤝🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Sometimes when I get into the same situation with the fonant been on the bee and you wanting to add a super I take a frame or 2 our of the super and fill the void with the fonant. That way soon as the fonant is clear you can pop back the super frames. But its a pain trying to add supers whist feeding. Hope the weather improves for both of us.
That’s a good way of achieving the same result, thank you.
Great idea!
Keep up the good work Trevor it’s interesting what we all find in our boxes this early in spring
Thank you Colin. We just don’t know what to expect. It keeps the job “interesting “.🤔
Really interesting, thank you
Glad you found it of interest, thank you.
As a new beekeeper, I've been told not to use black gloves, as bees dont like them. I suspect its more my novice handling skills they like less :-) . How do you find them?
Fair point! I always used the light blue nitrile gloves and still would but…..
During the pandemic my usual supplier (farm store) couldn’t get them. Then they had a few at 4x the previous cost.
Eventually they secured a fairly regular supply of the black ones at 1.5x the old cost and I’ve used them ever since.
Not sure I get more stings on the fingers with them but it is sound advice to avoid dark colours where possible.
Ah that explains why I see most beekeepers with yellow marigold gloves then thanks
@@clewis5220 The lighter colours are definitely better. The yellow marigolds are also thicker than the nitrile ones.
It’s yet another compromise between protection and dexterity.
I could not understand what he was saying... seems like he was just muttering to himself.
Thank you for your comment.