Spring
is Here!
Hello
again, I am sorry that I have not blogged for some time, but a spell
in hospital put me all out of sorts!. Georgina has been doing
stirling work keeping an eye on the girls until I got back on my feet
again. ( not to mention our allotment and visiting me, what a
woman!).
You
will remember that we had lost two swarms through the winter, but
disaster struck when I found that one of the surviving two (
Victoria) had no queen , so I had no choice but to amalgamate them
with the thriving “Anne” .
You
do this by first placing news paper between the two with holes
punched through. That way the two swarms can become acquainted , they chew the holes much bigger smell and touch , become friends and
then as one.
But
we are our local swarm collectors, both registered with the council
and our local Bee Association.
So
it was that we had our first call out from the council that a lady
had a swarm in her back alley ( if you will excuse the expression).
It could not be found! More phone calls and a return trip found that
it was a swarm, but not one to be collected. they had made their home
through the corner of a flat roofed building and was in the roof
space. As I am not getting into building work this one was a false
start!.
On
the following Sunday going over to the Cornerfield to check on “Anne”
I met our nursery hosts who said they had been trying to contact us
since Friday. They had a swarm high in the outer branches of a tree,
also impossible to reach. As we looked on the swarms scouts must have
come back with a find and the swarm took off, flying so low over our
heads that we had to duck!. It first circled then then disappeared
down their chimney! They then started making its home in the living
room wood burner!!
Sadly
there was little else to do, and after several attempts to encourage
the girls to go and live some where else failed, but destroy them.
That
same afternoon we had a call for a swarm in a front gardens small
tree, this we collected and is safely ensconced in a hive with the
Ancient Queens name of “Bodica” ( lets hope they are not
aggressive as she was!).
On
the Monday we collected one swarm more and a “cast” this is a
second much smaller departure following a virgin queen about ten
bays after a main swarm has left the parent hive. They are now in a
“nuc” a sort of small hive and hopefully the new virgin queen
will get mated and become the “White Queen” ( white being this
years colour to mark the queens or hive so you when she was born).
On
arriving at the first swarm however the on Monday I had forgotten my
suit! A hectic drive home to return with the said suit, but wrong
short gardening gloves.
The
result was a successful swarm collected and two stings and a
bemused house holder! I recall from my Army days that “time spent
in preparation is seldom wasted” is one I really must remember!
So
the upshot of this May madness is that from one swarm we now have
three and a fourth potential, if our new Virgin goes out has a good
time, comes back with a huge smile on her face and gets laying!
Well thats it for now , I hope you are all well, I will write again soon.
Freddie
