It all started as a normal Wednesday evening Beekeeping session with the Reigate Beekeepers but it soon turned into an all out war with the bees. They were all over the place tonight and I learnt some very good lessons! Beware of a windy night and definitely when you are checking a colony without a queen Read the rest of this entry »
I haven’t written much this week because, quite simply, my hands have been buys scratching away at my left ankle. The sting(s) have developed through a variety of stages throughout the week which has been most interesting. So the sting(s) were on Sunday and nothing really happened until the evening. Here I was expecting a partial sighting of the Elephant Man’s leg and I got nothing, not even evidence of a bite. I had walked back to Jo expecting sympathy and had nothing to show for it.
I remember laying back in the evening desperate for evidence of some sort of red mark or even teeth marks but no, nothing. Monday arrived and I remember jumping out of bed and looking down at the ankle. Still no Elephant Man type symptons and still not even redness. However, as the day drew on I found myself scratching the area of the sting and it just got progressively worse. Read the rest of this entry »
So the day had come. Finally I had to change the floors. Now, from what I understand, closed floors are one of the few traditional techniques that is slowly being replaced with new modern open mesh floors. However, when collecting a swarm it is apparently better to collect them using a closed floor. Therefore at some point you have to change it. Today was the day.
I had concocted a plan, got everything ready and went for it! Smoker lit, hive tool ready and the open floor ready by my side. I also took a screw driver to undo the closed floor. It all went to plan, I unscrewed the joint and then smoked the entrance. Slowly I lifted the hive off the stand and placed it on the floor. A few of the bees were flying around but it was okay. Read the rest of this entry »
