Bumble bees going cheap! Or should that be buzz?

Our 1st swarm of 2010

A message to all YABeeP members:

Whoopee, the swarm season has started for us!

As you know we already operate a honeybee swarm waiting list.

However, if you built a bumblebee box which didn't attract any bees this spring so is currently vacant and you still want some tenants then bring it along to tomorrow's meeting - please write your name clearly on or under the box in weatherproof ink. The calls have started and Ali and I have already been to 3 bumble calls this week - she is now the proud mum of a nest of buff tails.

YABeeP's bumble recovery service!

We will then use your box on any future calls when we recover bumbles which you can then place in your garden and enjoy - again they'll be offered on a first come first served basis.


Robin

Bees of Yatton

[Note: This YABeeP webpage records the bees seen in and around the local area. Started in April 2010 the development of this page is very much a 'work in progress' - species will be added as members photograph, research and record them - please be patient.]

Bees are classified in the family Aculeata, part of the order Hymenoptera and are listed below according to their 3 general groupings - Solitary bees, Bumble bees and Honeybees. We have decided to also include other species of interest either because they mimic the bees (e.g. Bombylius major, a parasite of the solitary bee) or because they evolved from a similar species - e.g. wasps.      Click on any photo to enlarge it.

A. Solitary Bees

There are over 200 species of Solitary bee in the UK and are generally grouped as ground nesting, cavity nesting and parasytic bees.

Species: Hairy-footed flower bee - Anthophora plumipes

Description: Active from March to late May. Flys with a darting movement - moving quickly then hovering. The male can be easily confused with a bumble bee although the female is all black with orange-yellow hind legs. The male is similar to Bombylius major, although the latter only has 2 wings being a fly which mimics a bee.

Female Anthophora plumipes entering nest in the mortar of Yatton church. Note orange hairs on hind tibia

Link to BWARS pictures

Genus: Mining bee - Andrena

Description: There are over 60 species of the Andrena mining bee in the UK. Mostly active April to early June. The female tunnels into ground to make nest in soil, often unnoticed in the grass of our gardens though they can have volcano like mounds surrounding the holes which are glued by a substance the bee excretes.  The tunnel can be up to 12" deep with many branches where the female stores pollen & nectar and lays eggs in individual cells. The eggs do not hatch until the following spring.  Some species share a common entrance but build separate branching chambers below. Whilst they do posess a sting it cannot puncture human skin so is harmless to children. 
Pictures - Species probably Andrena nitida or Andrena haemorrhoa nesting in lawn in Yatton during May

• Link to the Garden Safari website for identification of the more common species of Mining bee. 

 B. Bumble Bees

There are around 20 species of bumble bee in the UK.

C. Honeybees

Apis meliffera

There is only one species of honeybee in the UK known as Apis Meliffera - our native bee being from the race European Honeybee or Black bee. However, because of the commercial interest attached to honeybees different races of Apis Meliffera have been moved around the world by beekeepers in search of a 'better', ie more commercially productive, bee - a practive YABeeP strongly disagrees with. These races have all interbred and the true native British bee, which had over the millenia adapted to our  environment and climate, is only found in a couple of pockets. The honeybee you see in your garden will be a mixture of several races of bee.

Species: European honeybee - Apis meliffera

Apis meliffera with full pollen baskets

Description: A true social bee common in the area and active year round though the colony goes into winter cluster so is rarely seen flying over the cold winter periods.

D. Bee mimics and others
Species: The Common Bee-fly - Bombylinus major

The Common Bee-fly (Bombylinus major)

hovering to feed on Myosotis (Fotget-me-not)

Description: This fly which mimics a bee acts like a cuckoo and flicks her eggs near to the entrance of solitary bee nest sites. The larvae are brood parasites of these bees esp. Andrena species.

Adults feed on nectar, using their long proboscises whilst hovering beside a flower. Aubretia is one common garden plant frequently visited.



Note: All photographs on this page are originals © YABeeP

Let's all pull together

I think that everyone would agree with me that our last meeting was all the richer because of the efforts by Ali, Beanie and Jenny who had, at my request and sometimes reluctantly, prepared brief talks on subjects for the meeting:

• Ali - The Importance of Pheromones to the Sustainable Bee Keeper and YABeeP Schools Project
• Beanie - Planting for Bees
• Jenny - RBI Day Report Back

They also kindly gave me their notes which have been added to the website as a permanent resource for those who missed the meeting, future members and others who I know follow our website from around the globe!

Not only did their contributions expand our knowledge and enrich the website but they found that their research benefited them and, most importantly, they enjoyed it!

Can I again ask ALL YABeeP members who attend meetings to volunteer to do the same at future meetings? We make no charge for joining YABeeP so here is your golden opportunity to give something back, enrich your life and learn something useful at the same time – I'd call that win-win!

Remember, you can do this even if you are new and know next to nothing about bees and beekeeping – you'll be amazed at what you can learn from just half an hour's research on the internet using a search engine – Google is your friend!

There are no experts in YABeeP, and that applies especially to me, so you'll not be criticised, you'll be applauded – you are amongst friends here.

If you want some inspiration see this document for ideas but you can choose any topic you like, whatever interests you so long as it's bee related. In particular we have little expertise on Bumbles and Solitary bees.

It's been suggested that those contributing in this way could maybe jump a couple of spaces in the 'waiting for bee swarms' queue which might be an idea for an incentive, though for the present I'm hoping that contributing to YABeeP is the only incentive required.

Go on, give it a go and let me know!

Robin

Misc subjects

We will add links to miscellaneous topics posted on this site page which will, over time, build to form a subject matter linking page.

• Bees of Yatton - A page describing the varieties of bees found locally
• Bumble Bees - How to make a Bumblebee box from a recycled pallet
• Bumble Bees - YABeeP's Bumblebee Rescue Programme page
• Conventional bee hives - Why don't sustainable beekeepers use conventional hives?
• Gardening - Planting for Bees
• Honeybee cut-out - a description of a 'cut-out' we did in Claverham
• Horizontal hives - Where should my entrance be?
• Interesting Snippets - links to ad hoc snippets on bees
• Member's Hives - pictures of YABeeP members hives
• Noema - see this article by Nick Delaney
• Pheromones - The Importance of Pheromones to the Sustainable Bee Keeper
• Schools - YABeeP Schools Project
• Temperature - Dealing with extreme cold weather
• Varroa destuctor - see this article by Nick Delaney
• Warré  hives - Finishing touches to a Warré hive
• Warré  hives - How to Modify a standard Warré floor
• Warré  hives - Moving a swarm into your Warré hive

Horizontal Hive - Where should my Entrance be?

Several folk are starting horizontal hives (aka Kenyan or long hives) this year [2010] whereas the main hive of choice last year was the Warré - see footnote.

There are, however, a couple of issues around the 'management' of the horizontal hive that, from my own experience, I don't think work so well so I have been seeking advice from a friend, and experienced beekeeper, Gareth John, who uses horizontal hives and whose opinion I really respect. Thank you Gareth.

YABeeP members who have recently built horizontal hives may wish to take Gareth's suggestions on board when starting their own hives and if so, will need to make a small adaptation to their hive entrances before they are populated.  At least you will have time to consider this alternative before starting and, if unsure, discuss it in the group or seek advice on internet forums like the Natural Beekeeping Network.

Background
The horizontal hive we use follows plans generously made available by Phil Chandler - The Barefoot Beekeeper. Admittedly, we tend to make a couple of adaptations by adding top bar rims/buffers, extended varroa trays and windows, but the main hive body is exactly to Phil's design.  I always recommend that new horizontal hive users buy his book as it's excellent value for money and gives you information on how to manage his hive design.

Phil's plans use 3 entrance holes in the middle of the sloping side of the hive and use two follower boards either side of the colony to expand the size of the hive as the season progresses and retract it as winter approaches.

Irrespective of hive type bees tend to keep their brood area (where they raise their young) in the general vicinity of the entrance of their hive and use the further reaches of the hive for storage.

The Problem
By using a central entrance the beekeeper has to, as the season progresses, decide whether to move the follower boards to expand the hive area on the left or right or both sides of the colony. If only expanding in one direction, probably the most logical way, you are likely to meet the end wall well before the season reaches its peak in which case you then have no alternative than to expand at the opposite end. This can cause disorganisation for the bees and will certainly give you, the beekeeper, additional complications when deciding form what part of the hive to harvest comb, how to refresh tired brood comb, etc.. If you expand both sides simultaneously then again bees can be confused and they end up expanding outwards in two directions - basically you end up with a zig-zag colony.

The argued advantage for this central entrance method is that it provides more flexibility for you and also provides a false wall at each end to give additional insulation in the winter.

The Solution
The alternative suggestion, on the other hand, is to use end entrances and just one follower board as is commonly used in horizontal hives in other parts of the world. Indeed since suggesting this I have noted that most of the long style hives I have seen from around the world and those in use in earlier history tend to have mostly end entrances.

The end entrance provides a fixed starting point with expansion in only one direction – you have the whole length of the hive to expand into. Consequently, you end up with a hive with brood at one end and honey at t'other.

Additional advantages include a single direction for the bees to work when consuming stores over winter – they don't have to travel back and forth.

You also have more space at the opposite end to the entrance where you can store your bits and bobs or possibly raise another nucleus – I often found when the hives were getting full that 2 small areas were just too small for other uses whereas one larger space would have been much more useful. This additional space also makes it easier to raise 'splits' in the same hive body. A split is a way of raising an artificial swarm – you split your colony into two having ensured that each part of the split has the correct types of bees plus a queen or viable queen cells.

It is also probably easier for you to estimate the amount of honey you have with an end entrance as you will know that one end is brood and the other extreme pure honey store. With two ends in use there will be two ends where honey may be stored and the demarcation line is not always so obvious – you double the judgement needed.

An End Entrance

We are still advised to have the 3 x 1" (25mm) entrance holes at one end of the sloping wall, rather than the flat end - about 2" from the floor. This way the overhang provides better shelter and mouse protection for the entrance. It also means that your entrance is the 'cold way' on your hive giving your bees access to the sides of the combs. Note: Beekeepers refer to an entrance that that runs parallel to the comb as 'cold' and one that runs at 90° to the comb as being 'hot'. There are argued pros and cons for each but most UK horizontal hive beekeepers tend to use a cold entrance.

Of course, you are free to decide for yourself whether you prefer to use a cold entrance in the sloping side (see illustration) or a hot end entrance.

In Conclusion
Given my previous experience with central entrances and this new advice I am fully persuaded to try the end entrances myself – it makes total sense and will probably make my beekeeping easier. If you wish to do the same then, like me, you will need to stop your central entrances and add 3 holes to one end of the hive. As per Phi's original plans you can still have a second single entrance at the opposite end and side of the hive for future use if you ever choose to do a split or temporarily house a second colony. This second entrance will need to be plugged with a stopper until needed.

For YABeeP members I have purchased a new, more meaty, hole cutting saw since the last hive building workshop so please feel free to bring your hives back and make use of it. However, you'll have to buy your own champagne if you want the corks to bung up the old holes - though I could be persuaded to assist you polish off the contents of the bottle to save it going to waste!

Robin Morris

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Footnote: The Warré hive is, in my opinion, the best hive for both the bees and those starting out keeping honeybees due to its simplicity and non-interference management style. However the horizontal hive offers other advantages such as the ability to produce splits so makes an excellent follow-on hive.