Spruce's honey bees

Great news. It would have been so sad if they hadn't survived the winter. Now let's hope for sunshine and warm days.

 

that's fantastic news spruce

 

Hi Spruce,
a question that we will all be thrilled to know the answer to. For those of you, not tuned into Simon Mayo on Radio 2, a young tot has asked his Mummy "Mummy, do bees wee?"
So please can you enlighten us?
thank you
Jenny

 

Hi Jens

Yes & No more of a poo than a wee

If you were to look at the digestion organs inside a bumblebee/Honey bee and they are very similar, they are a lot like your own. They do about the same thing.

A Honey Bee has a throat (esophagus) that goes from its mouth to its stomach. It has a midgut that is a lot like our small intestines.

And it has a colon that is a storage place for poo a lot like our own large intestine is.




A honey bee also has a rectum. When a honey bee needs to poo, it opens its rectum and muscles push the poo out of the colon.
Honeybee poo is liquid and yellow, and almost always do their business while they are flying outside the hive.
So why listen to Radio 2 when GC has all the answers
Spruce

 

Spruce, you sound just like my mother. It took me years to differentiate between the act of pooing and someone who went off to the office .

Thank you Spruce for that useful information nevertheless,
Jenny
( sorry - can't stop laughing )

 

Thank you Spruce for this thread, it has been the motivation I needed to get my butt into gear and join a society. I met a very interesting man at a local festival that keeps bee's and it was as fascinating as when I read this post last year.

Ill be looking to join and start classes in the winter! also heard a local man that I know kept bee unknown to me, has 14 hives, so could look about helping out there!

Really looking forward to reading this thread as the year progresses
Chris

 

Hi Greecko

Very kind of you , it was a member on here suggested that I start the thread .
I just didn't realize how popular it would be.
And its all in the press and tv and Govt at the moment to get the pesticides sorted out.
I mentor two new beekeepers and they are both like chalk and cheese but enthusiasm can make up for lack of knowledge and its great to meet up with them to see how they are getting on.

Guide to bees and honey Ted Hooper is a good book to have.

Let us know how you get on, join a Society ASAP as they will have meetings through the year that you can attend outdoors and in the out doors one are fab as usually you have a afternoon tea that normally the wives have put on for everyone , and dont forget a decent ££ suit to keep you safe as if you buy a cheap one from "Ebay" or the like you will soon regret it.
Two good ones are:
http://www.bjsherriff.co.uk/
http://www.bbwear.co.uk/

Spruce

 

Well I'm very glad that you did, I must say I find them fascinating, I've always been into entymology since young, though never more than an amatuer.

Im hoping to email and get in contact with one very soon, Northern Ireland has about 8 or 9, and I am a little split as to where to go just at the moment. The "local" to me is based at our agricultural college and has its own apiary and about 16 members, though another has 160, in your experience is the smaller or bigger groups better? Of course the individuals makes it but as a newbie I'm slightly leaning towards the larger group, especially as it seems very few my age involved with it.

Realistically I wont be able to keep bee's until after University but would love to start learning

 

Found these today, middle of nowhere.



Only one of them had bees going in and out.

 

Hi All

1st inspection of 2013 , got out of work early to go Beekeeping it is 14c+ and no wind so Ideal to have a look inside, pleasantly surprised with how well they are both doing covering about 7 frames out of the 11, saw the queen in one she is a dark copper colour as she should pushed her way through the worker bees trying to get back in to the dark , saw about 10 drones as well plus lots of eggs and larvae .

Didnt get stung once not even the glove only used a little smoke as they all settled down really quickly , took me about 5 minutes to check through each hive as all the frames had been sealed down with "propolis" so all in all really happy so glad they have survived the winter and this manky cold spring.

Greecko
The College sounds the best one to go to if you can and thats the one I would choose as beekeeping has changed a lot over the past 10 years so at least they should be up on all the new ways of working I have a feeling you have a native Honey Bee in Ireland we have one in Wales as well that is suited to our climate wet and grey !!! I will have a nose about and see what I can can come up with ,
you will be surprised at the age mix not all and quite a few of these as well
send them a email they may have taster sessions during the Summer.

Spruce

 

Hi Zigs
They look quite old and weather beaten , the others may have bees in my two can be like that, lots coming out of one and not one out the other ? .

The grass has been cut so must be someones , not best kept in a row as they can get confused "drift" which hive they came out of this causes fighting and robbing of honey , they may just be there for the winter and will be moved soon .
Keep us updated

Spruce

 

They're surrounded by Rape at the moment, but we've got loads of orchards round here, so they'll probably be moved soon.

 

High crime area, Zigs?

 

Tis Somerset, lot of Sheep about.