My First Colony

I arrived back in Cardiff with my topbar nucleus hive complete with nucleus colony of bees at 9pm last night, after a 5 1/2 hour journey back from the Lizard. The bees are British Dark bees, and I collected them from Heatherbell Honeybees in Cornwall, who supply bees, hives, honey and all sorts of beekeeping equipment. They are to go into my full size topbar hive which I bought from Amazon, from Leeway Woodwork. I was a little confused about topbar hives, as there is no fixed design, and having read The Barefoot Beekeeper by Phil Chandler, I found that my topbar hive didn't quite match his description, and I wasn't sure where to put my bees. Phil Chandler's topbar hive has entrance holes in the middle of one side, plus holes on each end of the same side. He suggests that the bees should be placed in the centre of the hive with follower (or dummy) boards on either side. Extra top bars can then be placed between the dummy boards, to one side of the built combs, as the colony expands. The dummy boards are moveable, so the space the bees occupy can be expanded up to the full size of the hive. Dummy boards also, however, allow for the hive to be divided up, so that more than one colony can live in the same hive (hence the extra entrance holes), and makes swarm control and dividing the colony that much easier. The hive I have has holes in one side and in one end, so I wasn't sure how that fitted with Philip Chandler's description.
I asked Robert Bell of Heatherbell Honeybees for advice on the matter when I collected the bees. He advised that the bees should not be put in the centre of the hive, but at one end, and entrance holes should always be in the end for topbar hives in the UK. This is because the UK climate is generally rather cool, so, the hive entrance should always be "Warm Way" so as not to chill the brood. In hot climates, such as Africa, where topbar hives are the main type of hive, the climate is very hot, and the problem is that the brood can overheat, so, in hot countries the entrance hole is always "Cold Way". Warm Way and Cold Way refer to the positioning of the entrance holes with respect to the direction in which the combs are built. If the entrance holes face the edge of the comb, in the middle of the colony, more air gets in which cools or ventilates the brood. This is called Cold Way. If the entrance holes face the flat part of the outer comb, the brood is protected from the incoming cool air. This is called Warm Way. This explanation makes sense to me, so this is the way I shall put the bees into their new home. A follower board can then be put behind the colony and moved along as the colony expands.
At the moment my bees are still in their nucleus hive, where they will remain for a day to orientate themselves to their new environment. I plan to transfer them to the full sixe topbar hive tomorrow, weather permitting. I put them out in the apiary immediately I got home last night, and unplugged the entrance hole to let them out. Several bees poured out and flew around for an orientation flight, but as it was late evening and getting dark, the activity soon stopped. Today there has been lots of activity, despite the rain (British Bees cope much better with British weather than do Italian bees or other foreign bees that are often kept in this country). Its also encouraging to see that many bees are returning to the hive laden with pollen this afternoon.

I will need to give them some supplemental feeding though, to help the colony build up, as the poor weather is likely to mean that there is not a very good nectar flow, and I don't want the bees to starve. White sugar is not ideal for bees, but feeding them honey from other bees carries the risk of passing on infections. Brown sugar though healthier for humans, is not good for bees, as they can't deal with the other substances in it, so pure white sugar, mixed into a syrup with a one to one ratio with water is generally advised. This white sugar syrup can possibly be improved on for the bees though. Rudlof Steiner's biodynamic approach uses various herbal teas (Chamomile in particular, but other herbs as well) mixed in with the sugar rather than plain water. The herbs are best grown and gathered according to biodynamic principles, and not only provide micronutrients which are lacking in pure sugar syrup, but add the living energetic content of the plant. Things in the living world are both substance and process, and the energy of the particular herbs is important for the bees health. This is something I intend to learn more about, and will no doubt write about in future blogs, but for now I shall use a bit of chamomile tea in the mix.

Leafcutter Bees

As I'm preparing the apiary for the iminent arrival of my first colony of honey bees, I've noticed quite a lot of buzzing going on. Apart from the bumble bees and hoverflies that I've seen in the garden throughout the summer, I noticed some bees carrying small pieces of leaf.

These are leafcutter bees, which cut pieces of leaf and carry them off to build their nests. I have found the following information about them from the Bumblebee.org website : Leafcutter bees cut holes and semi-circles out of rose leaves, and other leaves, to line the cells in their nest. Leafcutter bees nest in a variety of places, in the ground, under stones, in cavities in wood and stone, pithy plant stems, and in dead wood.
Leafcutters do not have pollen baskets on their legs as bumblebees and honeybees do, but carry the pollen in hairs on the underside of the body.
The female bee places a supply of honey and pollen in the cell; lays an egg on this, then seals the cell and builds the next one in the cylindrical hollow. The cells look like stubby cigars - see right.

Once she has sealed the last cell she goes off and dies. When the new adult bees are ready to emerge they eat their way through the leaf parts. The last egg laid is the first to hatch. The last eggs laid are usually males, and they hang around on nearby flowers waiting for the females to emerge.

In the UK they fly from June to August. The female uses rose, birch, ash and many other leaves as long as they have a serrated edge. The tunnel diameter is 7 -8 mm, and 9 - 12 pieces of leaf are needed for each cell. The cells are thimble shaped inside, and each is sealed with 4 - 12 circular pieces of leaf.

There are usually 6 - 10 cells per nest. Each cell takes the bee around 6 - 8 hours of work to construct, provision with honey and pollen and to lay an egg. She does not have pollen baskets but carries pollen back to the nest in the bright orange brushes on the underside of her abdomen.

At night she rests in the nest entrance facing outwards and will bite anything that tries to enter. The eggs hatch in 12 - 16 days, feed then spin their cocoon 17 -18 days later. Fecal pellets help stick the outer layer of the cocoon to the inner leaf layer of the cell.

Setting up the Apiary

My Cornish Horizontal Topbar Hive finally arrived last week, and I'm due to collect a top bar nucleus from Heatherbell Honey in cornwall next weekend, so its all moving now. Been busy clearing the plot of land and getting it ready, with some help from friends, and treating the hives with a mix of beeswax and linseed oil.

After checking on the Natural Beekeeping Forum, it seems the general view is to use between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 parts beeswax to linseed oil, and to apply the mixture whilst it is hot to the outside of the hives only. Apparantly one coat is sufficient, and it takes a few weeks to dry completely, remaining slightly sticky to the touch for quite some time. Another coat can be applied yearly to keep the hives in good condition.

Beekeeper's Day -July 8th

"He who has tasted honey
Knows how sweet it can be"

Says an old Bulgarian saying. In Bulgaria honey is valued, not just as a sweet food, but as the elixir of life and immortality. It is used in rituals, healing practices, celebratory meals, rites of passage, and has an important role from birth to death. Various rituals still take place throughout the year in remote villages to bless the hives. In Spring, the girls sing songs about bees and honey to bless the new farming season.
In past times, newborn babies were welcomed into the world with a honey blessing which was chanted by the mother and grandmothers as they bathed the baby "may you buzz like a bee and be sweet like honey", meaning that they wished the baby to be healhy, skilled, industrious and sweet and kind. Ritual bread glazed with honey was shared for births and for weddings. After a wedding, the bride would place honey and butter on top of the gate and threshold before stepping into her new home, and was welcomed by her mother-in-law with a bowl of honey and a bowl of salt. An old Bulgarian saying still in use is "may your life be as smooth as butter and as sweet as honey".
With the importance of Beekeeping in Bulgaria, it is no surprise that there is a Bulgarian Saint of Beekeeping. Saint Procopius or Saint Prokopi is connected to beekeeping and his day is July 8th (tomorrow as I write). Beekeeper's wives would bake two ritual loaves and take them to the beehives before sunrise, burn incense and coat them in honey. A bowl of honey is then carried to church and left overnight in the church. The honey is then believed to have unique healing properties. On this day, women make "grass bread" in the shape of a beehive. The hive holds the bee family together, and so the bread is given to relatives to hoild the human family together, to be healthy and to live long.

Bulgarian Carniolan Bee on a Poppy

The Wonders of Bee Venom

Eros stung by a bee
Ran away and cried for plea:
Venus, mother, I cry,
Please help me or I'll die.
What a terrible disgrace
A dragon bit me on the face.
Venus, comforting her son
Speaking with a mocking fun - The little bee's tiny sting
Is for you an earnest thing
But far more painful and real hard
Are your stings in human's heart

from Anacreontean songs, 6 BC
Reprinted from Bee Venom: Composition, Health, Medicine: A Review


Apart from the obvious useful products that we get from bees such as honey, bee venom may also have great therepeutic value. Apitherapy is a medical term which encompasses the medical use of all honey bee products, and this can include honey, pollen, bee bread, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom. Apitherapy dates back thousands of years to Ancient Egypt, Greece and China, and the healing properties of honey are mentioned in ancient religious texts including the Bible, Quaran, Vedas and Ancient Greek writings. Although less is written of the use of bee venom in the ancient world, bee sting therapy is mentioned in Huandi Neijing, an ancient Chinese medical book, dating to around 500 BCE, and by Aristoteles in his Historia Animalia around 300 BCE. Hippocrates also used bee venom for therapeutic purposes, calling it Arcanum, a mysterious substance, who's healig properties he didn't fully understand. Pliny, the Elder, in his Natural History, prescribed honey and bee venom as a cure for baldness, and Charlemagne (742-814 CE) reputedly used bee stings to treat his gout. Monfat (1566-1634) is reported to have used bee stings against kidney stones and to improve the flow of urine. The use of bee venom in Shamanic ceremonies is also likely. The modern study of bee venom healing was, according to Wikipedia and a number of other sources, initiated by an Austrian Physician Phillip Terc, who published a document entitled Report About a Peculiar Connection Between the Bee Stings and Rheumatism, in 1888. Bee venom has also been used in homeopathy and in 1858 C.W. Wolfe discussed it in his book Apis Mellifica or the Poison of the Honey Bee Considered as a Therepeutic Agent. In homeopathic preparations, whole bees are used in different potencies. Although I certainly wouldn't aprove of killing bees to make medicine out of them, perhaps the "natural wastage" of dead bees that can be found around a hive, ones that have come to the ends of their lives naturally, could be used in medicine.
Bee venom is thought to be good for arthritis, rheumatism, bursitis, tendonitis, dissolving scar tissue, herpes zoster and a number of other conditions. Bee venom is a complex composition of enzymes, proteins and amino acids, which stimulates the release of cortisone. It can be applied directly or by intramuscular injections. It is hemorrhagic, unlike snake venom which is coagulant, and contains substances which have the opposing functions of stimulating the heart and adrenal glands and inhibiting the nervous system. It also contains antibiotics and sulphur, which is the main ingredient in inducing the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands and in protecting the body against infection. The most powerful ingredient however is thought to be melittin, which has powerful anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antiviral actions. Bee venom therapists apply bee venom to specific points on the surface of the body. Applying bee venom topically has been found in many cases to provide a long lasting effect in helping rheumatism and arthritis.
More can be found on the healing properties of bee venom in the illustrated online Bee Venom Books

I also found this on the Internet - Cosmetics made with Bee Venom, Natures answer to Botox apparantly.







Bee Venom Therapy: Bee Venom, Its Nature and Its Effect on Arthritic and Rheumatoid Conditions

Warre Hives

Well my Warre Hives finally arrived, which I ordered from a company in Austria back in April. I had given up on them as I had heard nothing since placing my order, and they had not replied to several emails enquiring about the hives. So in the meantime I ordered a Cornish Topbar Hive from another source (which is also taking forever to arrive, due to the delivery company losing it!). Then suddenly I had an email from the company on Austria telling me my warre hives were ready and requesting payment! They arrived within a few days of making the payment. Both are made of untreated Spruce (Cedar is better, but twice the price), and I now have the task of coating them with a mix of beeswax and linseed oil.

One hive has observation windows, the other doesn't. Neither have a varroa mesh at the bottom but have solid floors, so I'm not sure what to do about that. I need to do a bit more research and maybe post some questions on the Natural Beekeeping forum. I'm also not sure about how many coats of linseed oil and beeswax will be needed (quite a few I should imagine), how long it will take to dry (ages!) and what proportions of beeswax to linseed oil should be used for the best results. I have used 1 smallish disc of beeswax from a craft shop, melted into 500 ml of linseed oil.

I also accidentally received a Queen bee a couple of days ago, but unfortunately I had to send her back, as without a colony of workers to look after her, she wouldn't survive. I had sent a deposit to the Glocester company to reserve me a package of bees for next Spring, and they misunderstood, and sent me a queen instead. I couldn't immediately find anyone who might want her, or obtain some bees to form a colony with her, and couldn't really hang about waiting to find some in case she didn't survive, so had to return her quickly. I hope she got back safely. I'm hoping that the Cornwall company will have a topbar nuc ready for me in a few weeks though, and that my cornish topbar hive will have arrived by then. Although I could of course put the nuc into a warre hive. The topbars may not be quite the right size though. In the meantime, I also need to clear the land and level the ground sufficiently to place the beehives.

Other Ways of Obtaining Bees

In the absence of a swarm of bees being attracted to my bait hive and coming to live in my garden of their own free will, it is very likely that I will have to end up purchasing some bees from somewhere. I've already thought about the problems with buying a Nuc or a colony of bees in a National Hive brood box, and considered the Rose Hive method as one way of moving to a more natural approach with bees purchased on frames and artificial foundation. I have, however, found a company in Gloucestershire that sells "package bees" - bees shaken from an overwintered hive, with a queen added, such that an artifical swarm is created. This would be much easier to transfer into a top bar hive, as there are no frames and no brood. The bees are supplied with some sugar syrup t keep them going until they are installed in the hive, but once in the hive they can start going about their business and doing what bees do, creating comb, the Queen laying eggs, etc. The only problem is, that it is not a natural swarm with the bees following their queen, but rather an artificially created swarm with a foreign queen. The bees may not therefore have such an allegiance, and there may be more chance of the swarm deserting. I have read some good reports from Natural Beekeepers who have bought bees this way though, so it may be worth considering.
However, I have also found a place in Cornwall where they produce honey, keeping bees in topbar hives and also sell topbar hive nuclei - i.e. a small nucleus topbar hive in which a small colony of bees has built some natural comb and produced brood, all with British bees and British Queens.
I feel a plan coming on...
I'm probably too late to get any bees this year, but may place an order for next Spring.