New goodies on the For Sale page. Do have a look after you have read this post.
Last Thursday we had at least three swarm collection requests in Weymouth. All were dealt with by some of our most experienced bee keepers.
Collecting swarms is an important activity. The swarm holder is keen to get rid of a swarm which they may feel is a threat to every other living thing within several miles! The swarm collector is keen to obtain another colony.
It is also an ideal opportunity to educate the public. Once you have smoothly got most of the swarm into your skep you have time to educate Joe or Josephine Public about bees. In many cases this may be the only time they meet a beekeeper so make maximum use of the time.
The swarm I collected last week was, as ever, just out of reach up a tree and just as I described in a recent lecture. I was up a ladder which did not quite reach and I had to lean out with skep in one hand and then let go of the ladder so that I could use the other hand to knock the branch. Why is it always so awkward. Not only that but whilst I was up the ladder my phone rang. Needless to say it was not in my bee suit pocket but in my jeans pocket. That was exactly what I had told the beginners not to do!
The bees are now housed in a hive in the garden. They are the smallest bees I have ever seen! The only explanation I can come up with is that they are from a hive that has been chronically neglected. The worker bees clean out the cells from which adult bees have emerged but they cannot clean them completely. Over several brood cycles these cells fill up with discarded moults and pupa cases and the next occupant has less space to grow into so we end up with small bees. This is not good for the colony as a small bee cannot travel as far and cannot carry such a load of pollen, nectar or water.
Hopefully after a complete brood cycle I will see bigger bees emerge - I will let you know.
Meanwhile do check out the For Sale page where there are new adverts for a National Hive and a nucleus the a Buckfast Queen. Just what the enthusiastic beginner needs.