tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258972982023-11-15T18:21:33.334+00:00Urban Bees - Queen's Park Bees - London - UKAlison and Brian's Blog on their urban bees.
email: info@urbanbees.co.ukUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1159376663155843972006-09-27T17:51:00.000+01:002007-06-12T15:47:20.060+01:00The great honey robberySeptember 24; harvest day, or as vegan's would call it, the day we steal the bees' winter food.We remove the two supers. The bees gorge themselves on additional honey comb they have made on top of the queen excluder. This is the first super, containing honey produced during the July heatwave. Out attempts to borrow a centrifuge failed. So instead of buying one for £200 we decided to harvest by Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1156161941872371792006-08-21T12:28:00.000+01:002006-09-02T10:10:38.460+01:00Inspecting the hive together Brian looking at the hive.I don't quite have all the gear - just a hat and veil- which may explain why I got stung. I think the bees were just saying hello.The hive has the super added above the light line of wood. This line of wood is the queen excluder, stopping the queen from moving around the hive into the upper layers and laying her eggs in the comb. We are leaving the comb egg-free so we Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1156159710622732812006-08-21T12:18:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:15:42.953+01:00Brian finally does some work! Saturday's weather was perfect for us to work on the beehive.We needed to add a couple more frames to the second super and generally have a look at the whole hive to make sure that all was well.I started by assembling the frames. They hold the foundation which gives the bees a running start in the process of making the comb that they use for nurseries, larders and long term storage.Each layer ofUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155644273043002722006-08-15T13:16:00.000+01:002006-09-02T10:08:46.936+01:00Falling trees... againAugust 13 - that bloody shrub has blow down again. Not so much of it this time, and it cleared the hive again. But my luck may run out. I'll have to get Brian on to it when he gets back. One of the many jobs I have on my list...We'll also have to sit down and read about how to harvest all this honey in September. That's the messy bit.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155644162083035252006-08-15T13:11:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:22:41.830+01:00Adding the additional super August 8 - all the frames in the super are now capped, so I add the 2nd one but with just 9 frames as Stamfordham (the mail order company) sent the wrong sized frames. As the bees seem to start their activities in the centre of the super I don't see what harm it will cause adding the two extra frames at the outer edges at the weekend.Still not inspected the hive. I think I'm going to have to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155643813614448962006-08-15T13:06:00.000+01:002007-06-12T15:58:44.087+01:00Honey almost readyJuly 31 - The month-long heat wave officially ended today, and we may even get some showers this week so the bees may have more joy finding nectar and pollen.I'm starting to really enjoy this. Much better when it's not boiling hot. The middle frames are mostly capped now (see photos), but the outer frames are not capped at all so I don't think I need to add the additional super just yet.Tried to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155643552393464072006-08-15T13:03:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:10:32.416+01:00Second super on its wayJuly 30 - still can’t hit a nail straight. Spend whole morning assembling frames for the second super (Brian should have been doing this - it's laborous). I may have to add it tomorrow. Two frames short, so have to order another 10 from the mail order firm as they only supply them in packs of 10.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155643409884809512006-08-15T12:50:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:09:33.133+01:00Hot and bothered20 July - more than two weeks since I checked the hive/super. Not sure what I'm looking for and how to negotiate both the hive and the super. I call Bee man for advice (his wife doesn't seem too happy). If the honey is capped on all the frames then they need another super he tells me. Yes they are agitated because 36 C is far too hot for them. I wait until 7.30pm when it's a bit cooler to see Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155642596542839412006-08-15T12:48:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:08:49.003+01:00Brian's father to the rescue16 July - Brian's father, David, came round this morning to fix the trellis, prune the shrub and put it back up. What a hero. He was only standing a few feet away from the hive most of the day, without any protective gear. I don't think the bees liked the drilling much. I'm getting atuned to their moods now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155642491990913232006-08-15T12:44:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:07:53.990+01:00Disaster strikes...almost15 July - Woke up at 6am and for some reason looked out the window, and had a horrendous shock. The large shrub on the trellis at the back of the garden to the left of the hive had completely collapsed. I assumed it had flattened the hive and there were now 30,000 very angry homeless bees either caught under its branches or buzzing around west London in search of a new home. FUCK. I put on my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155642251448173322006-08-15T12:34:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:06:29.286+01:00Time to add a super?July 1 - extremely hot day. Didn't really want to get my suit on and open the hive but if they're getting pretty overcrowded in there they'd appreciate some extra space to hang out and make their honey, so I needed to check on them and add the super (extra box) if nec.I was looking to see if the outside frames had cells that were pretty much all capped. If so the bees would need the super with Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155641470574640342006-08-15T12:24:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:06:02.706+01:00The first hive inspectionJune 20 - I have left the bees for almost two weeks without looking in the hive as one of the things the cameraman told me was if you keep disturbing their home they might fly away to find a more peaceful one. I have seen them come and go from the entrance (pictured), not in a big black cartoon-style cloud, but just a continuous stream. The weather has been dry and hot so they'd be out foraging Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155641042808490692006-08-15T12:23:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:05:18.373+01:00Bees first world cupJune 10 - Had 20 friends, including some kids, round for a BBQ for England's first came in the 2006 World Cup. The bees didn't bother anyone.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155641008866117702006-08-15T12:20:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:04:51.326+01:00Still getting the hang of the smoker. That hessian Brian bought burns really well when it gets going.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25897298.post-1155640769999883732006-08-15T12:16:00.000+01:002006-08-30T00:04:08.700+01:00No drowned beesJune 9 - I've been putting off opening the roof and removing the feeder in case I find 100s or even 1000s of drowned bees. To my delight there is not even one dead bee and the solution has vanished. It could have evaporated in the heat!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0