Busy season for beekeepers and buyer beware

When the honeybees are busy so too are the beekeepers. Beekeepers are now in the busy season attending to their hives and bees.

The dandelion and oilseed rape kicked off brood rearing, where bees were close by the headland. Honeycombs within the hives were coated in yellow pollen from these flowers.

The cool east breeze during the early days of flowering of both crops did keep the lid on the nectar flow.

This cool breeze made it almost impossible to open hives and mark queens. We mark queens simply to make them easier to find during the regular checks throughout the season.

This job is best done early in the season, since the volume of bees is not great and so it is easier to find the queen. Marking queens is done using a special coloured marker to place a dot on her thorax.

Opening a hive to find and mark a queen is best done using little if any smoke. Remove dummy board and any frames empty of bees, leaving only those with bees.

Always check as frames are removed, since the queen could easily be present on one. The remaining frames should have the queen on one of them, and she will most likely be found on a frame which has lots of eggs.

The secret in finding a queen is to develop the habit of viewing the frame periphery and working inwards.

Honeycombs in the brood chamber will have raised many brood cycles in the previous year. It is good practice to replace the darkest of these, assuming they have not yet been laid up with brood.

In their place, frames of new wax foundation are put in and bees will eventually draw honeycomb on them.

This procedure is a good way to ensure a healthy colony, since, old black honeycomb may contain pathogens likely to produce disease in the colonies.

Moving on in the season

As the bee season moves on, beekeepers will be paying particular attention to the quality of the brood, bees, and of course, swarming preparations.

Bee forage will peak in May, when bees will have a choice before falling away in June, creating the June gap before the main flow of blackberry and clover come on the scene.

During the swarming season, beekeepers will be busy preparing nuclei, building them up for overwintering. They may then be used by the beekeeper or sold.

There is always demand for bees and overwintered nuclei, since, they have stood the test of all weathers, making them a valuable, marketable product.

Beware of the source

Those beginning in beekeeping will be trying to source bees. Many beekeeping associations try to fulfil this demand.

It is important to say that bees should not be imported, but rather purchased within Ireland. In Ireland we have the “dark native bee” best suited to our climate.

The native Irish Honeybee Society (NIHBS) can offer advice.

Those in the market for the purchase of bees should take advice from reputable beekeepers regarding where and whom to buy from.

Like many things in society, there are some who might be trying to sell hives to beginners, but, the source of their hives may be suspect.

Farming falls foul of those ready to steal stock or machinery. The theft of eight of my beehives, complete with bees, earlier this year, would show that thieves are a bit like the rat, never too far away.

Read more

Nuclei in beekeeping

Honeybee legs – not just for walking