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beegraham Nurse Bee
Joined: 29 May 2016 Posts: 41 Location: Kenton, Devon, UK
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Barbara Site Admin
Joined: 27 Jul 2011 Posts: 1857 Location: England/Co.Durham/Ebchester
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Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 12:31 pm Post subject: |
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If these are strong colonies I personally would not feed, assuming they have some stores of their own. If I felt they needed topping up, I would probably give them a 500 mls jar every few days, so that they are foraging in between rather than just filling up on syrup..... nectar is healthier for them.
You need to do whatever you can to help prevent those wasps getting in. Place a screen across the entrance or reduce it down to one hole, maybe even a half and ensure that there are no other gaps that wasps can get in.... I know your hives are beautifully made and probably don't have any gaps but timber can warp and shrink, especially during the summer and it's easy for small gaps to open up without you being aware until you see wasps dancing around the hive and then disappearing from view.
Best wishes
Barbara |
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Turbulence New Bee
Joined: 05 Mar 2018 Posts: 7 Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm very interesting |
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beegraham Nurse Bee
Joined: 29 May 2016 Posts: 41 Location: Kenton, Devon, UK
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Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2018 4:52 pm Post subject: Horizontal TbH 14 degC November UK |
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Have four colonies now all flying today and redying for winter .
3rd November on a mild overcast day at 14deg.C sees activity levels at about 70%.
Pollen presumed to be Ivy is being brought in.
Ventilation holes were restricted and a couple of layers of cloth insulation added above the top bars.
One attack by a wasp is seen here being effectively repelled whilst another is seen to gain access unchallenged. The images below show the highly effective team collaboration as the bees move together to push the wasp away from the entrance. I don't know if the wasp survived or was fataly stung but it was desparate to gain access to the hive at all costs.
All four hives look to be in good health. The intention remains to treat for Veroa with an Oxalic acid vapour in December as they were previously treated in December 2017. Blog Post shows plenty of images https://moggo-blog.blogspot.com/2018/11/preparing-bees-for-over-wintering.html |
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Quality Top Bar Hives by Andrew Vidler
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Conserving wild bees
Research suggests that bumble bee boxes have a very low success rate in actually attracting bees into them. We find that if you create an environment where first of all you can attract mice inside, such as a pile of stones, a drystone wall, paving slabs with intentionally made cavities underneath, this will increase the success rate.
Most bumble bee species need a dry space about the size a football, with a narrow entrance tunnel approximately 2cm in diameter and 20 cm long. Most species nest underground along the base of a linear feature such as a hedge or wall. Sites need to be sheltered and out of direct sunlight.
There is a spectacular display of wild bee hotels here
More about bumblebees and solitary bees here
Information about the Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
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Barefoot Beekeeper Podcast
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4th Edition paperback now available from Lulu.com
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