Resistance is futile Gwenyn Mel 2...

This morning I returned to the workshop to check on the previous days swarm from Gwenyn Mel 2.  I peeked inside the window and was greeted by the sight of a mass of bees... Excellent... I thought, they like their new home...

At this point I decided to phone my Warré beekeeping friend and guru that is David Heaf.  We were have a nice chat about the bees and other bee related lines of conversation when I noticed that the bees in the Warré hive had decided that the Warré was just not quite adequate enough for them.  Hundreds, then thousands of them were pouring out of the hive and getting ready to swarm again.  Thankfully I was speaking with David who gave me short and simple advice to fix this little quandary.

Time to don the suit and gloves again and get the box ready to collect the absconded bees.  Without hesitation they went into the same field as yesterday, probably ready to have a laugh at my expense watching me clamber over that fence again.  This time though they decided to go that little further and thankfully for me settled on some ferns about 3 foot off the ground around 200 metres away in the next field over again. 

 

I really did not want to lose this prime swarm from Gwenyn Mel 2, they were a large swarm who have worked wonders so far this year, and as it happens, came from the swarm that I collected last August 29th 2012 which thinking back now was quite a memorable day.

Well the bees are now in the box, time to return them immediately to their Warré with one slight modification.  Once again the bees has changed my plans for the day but I intended this to be as swift as it could possibly bee.

After another debacle, climbing over the fence, I headed straight for my workshop to collect a queen excluder.  The bees were placed nearby the hive while I got it ready for their arrival.  Time to remove the roof, quilt, top bar cloth and top bars and place all of it to one side, as I placed a queen excluder between the bottom box and next box up.  It is a somewhat surreal experience transferring bees from cylindrical container to a hive, literally pouring bees from one box into another and using a brush to gently persuade the others to go in also.

I returned the top bars, top bar cloth, quilt and roof as quickly as possible without causing more disruption to them.  The reason for the queen excluder this time it to prevent the queen passing through into the bottom box and absconding again, taking the rest of them for another adventure.  The queen excluder will stay in situ for a couple of days just to ensure that they decide to settle in this home, so they can make it their own.

After allowing them to settle down, the visible signs of the queen inside were becoming apparent, with bees heading into the Warré hive and bee bums raised in the air telling all others to head this way, excellent...

Time for reflection and calm now... 

So as I lay down beside them to watch them regain order from their adventure from the previous hour, I begin making films and taking more photos, not only for my memory, but also so that I can share my experiences with you, as I'm sure you want to have a small insight into our adventures.  

Hopefully my record of photos and films will inspire you or others to get involved with bees or maybe even help you one day if you so happen to bee in a similar situation yourself.  

Anyway, time now for me log off and have some nice happy dreams.

Dabor 

The swarmy ones

On Tuesday 16th July I was sat on the bench just outside my workshop taking in the view and enjoying a well deserved break.  There was beautiful sunlight and an overpowering heat from the sun, freshly picked radishes to munch on, horses to watch, birds to listen to and then there is a noise...

This noise was gradually getting louder as the time flowed on by me.  I looked up and there was the reason for this noise, it was my bees.  There must of been a few dozen of them flying around in patterns around 3 foot above my head, within a few minutes there were hundreds of bees and the noise was dominating more and more... Oh well break time is over...

I stood up and stepped towards the hive to see what was happening, it appeared that the ladies of Gwenyn Mel 2 were thinking about swarming.  Quickly I went to the workshop to retrieve my bee suit, gloves, a box and most importantly my phone, as I needed to make a quick phone call to cancel some work that I was expected to go to that afternoon and so that I could record this experience.

The sky in front of me was transforming before my very eyes, the previously mentioned hundreds of bees had increased to thousands, then increased to tens of thousands, honey bees were flying in amazing swirling patterns in the sky, the noise of their tiny wings flapping was inspiring, obviously my first thoughts were to record this experience and share it with you.

I was fully kitted out with suit and gloves with a phone recording some of the Honey bee adventures. 

Ever so gradually they were hovering towards the hedge line nearby, so I clambered through the ditch to look into the next field to see the general direction that they were heading in.  Luckily for me they began to settle on a branch nearby, however to get to it was not going to be an easy task.  So after moving along the hedge line I noticed a potential way through into the adjacent field, but it did require climbing through a heavily overgrown ditch with stingy nettles, brambles and a temporary wooden barrier.

They were only 10 metres from their hive, but it must of took me 10 minutes just to get to them.  More filming of the swarm was required, my senses were in overdrive, being in awe of the noise that was being produced by the bees, awe of the sight of tens of thousands of bees flying around me, again in these amazing swirling patterns.  However I was there to collect the majority of the bees, place them into the box and return them to another home made by me.

Whilst waiting for the bees to settle down, I began to struggle with the heat from the sun, it was 1430hrs or 2.30pm on a cloudless, scorcher of a day, sweat was coming from parts of my body I didn't realise sweated.

After waiting for them to settle down and recording their activities on film, it was time to move them back towards their new home.  After another fence climbing expedition and walking an incredibly long way around I was back on familiar ground.  I decided to settle them down on the lawn under the shade from an apple tree.  The box was turned upside down with an entrance made for them to return, as they all settle back down, then a tarpaulin sheet was placed over the top of the box to exclude as much light as possible.  They finally calmed down around 1715hrs or 5.15pm, just enough time for me to change attire and drive to the reservoir to do a spot of cooling down in a kayak.

The plan was... To leave them inside the box to calm down, return after kayaking around 2100hrs 9pm to transfer them into a new home.  This time my accommodation choice for them had changed, previously they had lived inside one of my National Beehives, now however they were to be moved into my brand new and sparkling Warré Hive.  

After some assistance from a fantastically, patient friend, we managed to move them into their new Warré and left them alone in peace to adjust to their new surroundings.  

All that is left to do tonight is, return my friend home, and for me I must return in the morning to check on the lovely ladies.  TIme for bed I think.

Nos da, cysgu yn dda