It is always great to get together with other bee-keepers and get to learn some new tricks. Everyone has a story to share and a tip to help. Today was particularly good due to to the variety of hives we were able to view and the enthusiasm of the apiarist. So what were the highlights of what I learnt this time....
Pretty as it is, the WBC Hive is a real nuisance to work with, the insides are compact and the outside shell, although good for insulation, is tedious.
The outer shell kept getting stuck and the hive had to be built up aligning each box to ensure a proper fit, or the outer shell snagged up.
It is not easy to swap between boxes, and this WBC needed an extra super, and a national super wouldn't fit. Leaving our beekeeper set to to beg or borrow, a spare super to see him through the current nectar flow.
This Hive has a brood box and another half of a brood box on top. Then the Queen excluder. So it is commonly called 'a brood and a half' ....clever stuff.
We made our way through the various hives, with various stories, some colonies stronger than others, but generally all the hives were in really good condition. Our apiarist was saving the best till last...my opinion, not his!
He had a top bar, my first, apart from my own. I was looking forward to seeing how it was done properly!
This top bar had 2 colonies inside, one was weak and had lost its Queen, the bees had been trying to replace her and there was evidence of failed queen cups.
There was 2 dividers in the middle of the hive keeping them separate and the bees had holes at either end for access.
The plan now is to combine the 2 colonies by removing the dividers and and putting some newspaper in between enabling the weak hive to gradually infiltrate the strong hive and hopefully they will become one really strong colony.
See above the stand that I would like to try and copy. With top bar, the best way to view the comb is to support it and walk around it rather than risk turning it. Although, due to my cowardice, my combs have braced together more. I need to make a stand that will hold 5 or 6 top bars at a time so I can cut up and segregate for inspection. We will see, if it was a Warre hive, I wouldn't be able to inspect at all, so perhaps it is not all so bad.
Ultimately, at the end, the general assessment of the top bar, by the members present, was that the top bar was a bit of fun, for the hobbyist, but not for a serious bee-keeper. And of the 2 association members present who have kept top bars, they both prefer the framed hives, although not WBC. I am still content with my top bar, despite my incompetence as a bee-keeper, the bees seem to be happy, and that's what its all about.
All in all I had a lovely afternoon with our association, it was a beautiful afternoon, ideal for inspections, although we did feel rather over dressed on the hottest day of the summer so far. Finished off by some lovely home made quiche and a tin of Ginger Beer, inspired by good old Enid Blyton. Thanks to our resident apiarist for hosting us.
Talking of snacks,
Some drone comb was removed as part of a Varroa Mite control, we could clearly see some mites living in the cells with the drone grubs. Normally the comb would be taken home and disposed of away from the hive to prevent the mites getting back into the Hive, but....
our bee-keeper knew of a more appreciative crowd. The chickens loved it, they were scrabbling and scrapping over the comb. Nice to see an organic use for the drone grubs, rather than see them left to rot in a black bag. Bet they are very nutritious, although, I am not tempted to try!
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