Bees! We have bees!

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Bees! We have bees!
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chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:30 am Post subject: Bees! We have bees!
They arrived last week - Arvo went and ferried them and all their bits over in two cars the chap we got them off and they seem to be happily doing their thing at the top of the garden. The rain not withstanding :/. Bugger. That didn't do what I expected. Excuse me while I go and RTFM. Edit: Fixed by the link fairies Edit again: I heart the link faires! Thanks .

2steps

Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 5349
Location: Surrey

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:51 am Post subject:
excellent! how exciting. I thought about having bees but I don't even like honey

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 11:58 am Post subject:
looks great. They have a lovely view! This is on our plan for this year and by coincidence we go and collect our hives on saturday and order our nucleus of bees (so they'll be ready to collect in May/June weather depending)

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 12:04 pm Post subject:
What are the ski jump thingies in front of the first two hives?

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 12:05 pm Post subject:
It is a ramp for any who can't fly yet, who may have got disorientated during the move to be able to crawl back up again.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 12:12 pm Post subject:
That makes sense - although it had never occurred to me that bees would have to learn how to fly.

bernie-woman

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7824
Location: shropshire

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 12:15 pm Post subject:

judith wrote:

That makes sense - although it had never occurred to me that bees would have to learn how to fly.

me neither - how sweet

Just Jane

Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 140
Location: France

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 12:28 pm Post subject:
Four hives - that'll be quite a lot of honey I see you have them fenced in - are you afraid they will escape?

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 12:30 pm Post subject:

bernie-woman wrote:

judith wrote:

That makes sense - although it had never occurred to me that bees would have to learn how to fly.

me neither - how sweet

Aww - that is lovely

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 12:37 pm Post subject:
I'm just dead jealous!

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 1:30 pm Post subject:

The little ski-ramps are bits of foam that they used to shut the hives up with in the cars - they were covered in bees when they removed them, so they left them like that for them to buzz back inside

.

The high fencing was in-situ when we moved in - a half-assed attempt at terracing by the previous owners, combined with a long and complicated boundary dispute. However, it works in the bees favour, because if you put them about four feet away from a fence, they attain cruising height (15ft) quicker than they would otherwise and won't bump in to us as we potter around the garden.

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 1:34 pm Post subject:
We had to put a ramp out for ours to hive them when we collected our swarm. It is also worth doing if the queen hasn't been located, and she has already finished flying. Just for 24 hours or so.

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 1:50 pm Post subject:
Good - the world needs more bees ... https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6400179.stm?ls

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 2:21 pm Post subject:
hope you enjoy your bees chez----we've already moved ours to wales and we're still in lancs----really miss watching "the girls" about their business they've come through the winter though---I was worried as they moved last year from sheltered to exposed--just praying we get moved before the swarming season---otherwise we'll be back and forth alot

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 07 2:41 pm Post subject:
I must go and check on mine, they have been in and out but I havent see how their stores are looking yet. Somehow so much seems to be in bloom that I think they will be fine

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