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à Editor’s Notes à Hints for Beginners à Beekeeping & Farming<= /p> à Bees & Business à Further Activities à It started in Gormanston<= /p> à Tips & winter work
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à Rearing a half dozen queens à Going Wild à Comb Honey Production à Buzz Board à Important facts about bumble bee= s à Ivy à Buzz Board
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Editorial At this stage the snowdrops are almos= t a distant memory and the first of the Oilseed Rape will soon be in bloom = how time flies. Its hard to believe that in less than three weeks time the = first supers will be going on. Our news letter is very timely with once aga= in a great selection of articles. I’m sure you will find them all very inte= resting. As usual if you have any comments please let us know or better sti= ll why not submit an article sharing your experiences with us. Thanks to al= l of our writers. Without your contribution we could not have this edition.=
Hints for Beginners . . . . . = Dennis Ryan Spring Examinations: First Inspection Suppress the urge to open up the hive= until that pleasant warm day dawns. A good guide is when the Flowring Cur= rant plant is in bloom – it provides early season colour in gardens everywh= ere. The temperature should be over 15ºC. This first check should only take= two minutes and so avoid chilling the brood. At this time of year a minim= um of smoke is necessary, just a couple of gentle puffs in the entrance to = drive in any guard bees, then a two minute wait before continuing. Take off= the crown board and check for: 1. Queen right – eggs or bro= od 2. Stores – honey and pollen= 3. Disease Nosema There will be = no bees on the outer frame so gently lift it out ad lean it again the outsi= de of the hive, now use the have tool to separate the next frame from the t= hird, pulling it over to the end noting how much sealed food there is in it= . Repeat this with the next frame and possible one or two more until the br= ood nest is reached. You do not need to see the queen, just a patch of egg= s or brood to convince you that she is present and laying. Do not attempt t= o clip and mark her for fear of causing her damage as the bees may not be a= ble to replace her this early in the season since there are not drones flyi= ng to mate with her. Finally, push back the frames, replacing the outer one= , and close up. There should be at least one outer frame heavy with sealed = food as well as a layer of food perhaps 50mm deep at the top and sides of t= he central combs. Look carefully for any sign of soiled combs, where bees m= ay have defecated inside the hive; also look for stains on the front of the= hive itself. In some cases = the answers to the above three questions may be obvious without having to o= pen the hive; for example if the bees are flying freely around midday and t= aking in massive loads of pollen, then all is well with the queen. If the h= ive still feels really heavy when hefted, then they have enough food. Possi= ble about one hive in three will either feel light, or show little flying a= ctivity with not much pollen going in, and in these cases some action is re= quired. Expanding Over wintered Nuclei Hive the nucle= us using a dummy board and frames of drawn comb. You could source the draw= n comb from a deep national brood box drawn as a super the previous year. T= his will greatly speed up the rate of expansion of the nucleus into a honey= production colony. If you have very strong stocks in the apiary – add fra= mes of emerging brood from those to the nucleus. Only do this from disease= free stocks. Add one frame only at each inspection in order to avoid chill= ing. During this mo= nth our goal should be to keep our queens laying the maximum number of eggs= . This is done by using astute management techniques such as stealing some= brood from the strong to help the weak and providing plenty super space, w= hich will give our bees no excuse to break rank and swarm. Swarm Prevention Why should you= bother about swarm prevention or control? If the colony = swarms you lose most of the foraging population of bees and the queen. For = the previous 10-14 days the queen has been gradually reducing her egg layin= g to enable her to fly and the scout bees have been out looking for a new h= ome instead of looking for better supplies of food! This all adds up to con= siderably less honey for the beekeeper at the end of the season and less po= llination of the plants in the immediate area. There is also the problem of= the swarm taking up residence in a totally unsuitable place – down a chimn= ey for instance. And, of course, as a beekeeper one has a duty to the gener= al public who are in general terrified of insects – be they bees or wasps.<= /span> There are seve= ral ways to prevent swarm preparations being made by the bees but none of t= hem are fool proof – in fact the beekeeping world would be extremely gratef= ul to anyone who finds a consistently successful method to prevent swarming= . 1. Ensure the colony is = headed by a young queen – a 1 year old queen is less likely to swarm than a= 2 year old & 3 year old is very likely to swarm. 2. Give the queen plenty= of room to lay eggs. This means making sure that the brood area is not cho= ked with food. One way of doing this is to remove two frames of food from t= he brood chamber when the flow starts, and replace with two frames of found= ation for the bees to draw out. If you use a double brood chamber then rev= erse them. Since the queen will not have laid right to the bottom of the bo= ttom box nor to the top of the top box, this manoeuvre gives the queen more= room to lay. 3. If all the frames are= full of brood then take two or three fames of the brood and make up a nucl= eus, adding plenty of bees to take care of the brood. Give it a new queen o= r queen cell.
BEEKEEPING and FARMING . . . Anne Horan Having grown u= p on a farm, I was surrounded by all the usual farm animals, cows, sheep, p= igs, fowl of every description, a pony to pull the trap, a horse to do the = farm work and one very cute donkey to take the milk to the creamery but als= o there were the bees. Not because my parents were beekeepers with a hive = or two at the bottom of the garden. No, bees were a presence in my young li= fe simply because there was two thriving colonies under the slates on each = gable end of the family home. Bees were always a fascination to me and duri= ng all those years I was never once stung, though our poor neighbour across= the road was never allowed trim a certain portion of his hedge until the s= un went down or it rained !. Now of course we never had the payout of a few= pounds of honey but on a hot summers night I can still remember the fabulo= us aroma of honey wafting into the bedroom, the glorious bounty, safely tuc= ked away out of reach above the ceiling. It was many years later after a l= ong chat with a local beekeeper that I decided to inquire about beekeeping;= this was to lead me to the late John Kearns R.I.P and from there to S.T.B.= A. When our estee= med Secretary, Tom, asked for a piece on the above, I started to think on t= he subject and whether the two pursuits mix well? There are times when I wo= nder, though I still persist at both. So let’s have a look at the different= approaches needed for both, remembering of course, that for the vast major= ity beekeeping is a hobby, albeit a demanding, challenging but very rewardi= ng one. There are many= similarities in both pursuits and in theory both should work very well tog= ether. What applies in farming largely applies to the craft of beekeeping t= oo. The need for good management, planning the year ahead, making preparati= ons for the expanding harvest and generally trying to be one step ahead of = whatever Mother Nature plans to throw at you, all apply to both. That of co= urse is the theory but when a farmer becomes a beekeeper or visa versa, he/= she may find they are faced with a number of conflicts too. As the farmer = becomes increasingly busy in spring time with the arrival of young calves a= nd lambs on the farm, the bee journals remind him of the need to be assessi= ng the strength of his colonies and perhaps the need for a spring feed of c= andy or light syrup. Followed in no time at all there is the need to put o= n the first super as the first of the late spring and early summer plants c= ome into flower, followed very shortly afterwards by the oilseed rape if it= ’s in the locality. Then comes the= hay/silage season, he’ll have given those bees all the supers they could p= ossibly need. Last time he checked there wasn’t a sign of a queen cell. It’= s a beautiful sunny day, lunch time or there abouts and that field of hay i= s just about right for turning. The bees find the conditions just perfect t= oo for what they have in mind, swarming! So after some choice language, he = grabs the bee suit, a box, basket or perhaps a skep if the bees are very lu= cky, “pots” them up as quickly as possible, moves them a couple of feet to = a shady spot and hopes they’ll stay put until night time, when he’ll have t= ime to hive them. The farmer wil= l not be used to “farming “a creature he can’t control. For the most part, = the bovine and sheep population have a very healthy respect for a good elec= tric fence and farm management today would be an impossible task without on= e. Just think how simple the beekeepers life would be if an electric fence = existed for bees! What a wonderful thought. The farmer is = also given to raising his voice and waving his arms about to get the attent= ion of an errand cow as she attempts to go her own way. Now the honey bees= are not at all impressed with that behaviour and are known to take great e= xception to it. There are farmers who seem to have great difficulty absorbi= ng that fact and the only time some men folk don a bee suit is when the cow= s are being brought home for milking as they pass a certain apiary. Now the= flight paths of bees and their aversion to waving are continually explaine= d and indeed emphasised, but all to no avail. The sight of a six foot able = bodied man being “herded himself by one determined little bee can be a very= amusing indeed! Harvest time, = the time when all the hard work and frustrations of the year are compensate= d for and rewarded. Perhaps this is the one time when the two interests can= be totally compatible. Because once the supers are taken off the hives and= safely in the honey house, the farmer/beekeeper can work away at extractin= g that bountiful crop regardless of the weather outside. So does farmin= g and beekeeping mix well? If you work with animals I believe you are alre= ady predisposed to handling bees, and with perhaps a few adjustments to one= s mind set, to accommodate the needs of these extraordinary creatures, farm= ing and beekeeping can happily complement each other or maybe the beekeepin= g should just be left to the “other half”! <= /p> Bees and Business . . . Irene Power On a recent bu= siness trip to Copenhagen, I took advantage of my free time to meet up with= members of the Copenhagen Beekeepers Association. A work colleague of mi= ne put me in email touch with the President of the Association and arrangem= ents were made. They are a society of beekeepers in the central and wester= n part of Copenhagen and have increased to more than 150 members. More tha= n 40 new members started last year. They have three association apiaries, = two in the Western part of the city which contain small huts where they kee= p the equipment. In the centre is the oldest apiary which dates back to 19= 28. During the summertime they meet each week on certain weekdays at the th= ree locations to do demonstrations, train and educate beginners. Most mem= bers have their own bees in their gardens or some other places. The presid= ent keeps his bees in the cemetery. On average the members would have 2-4 = hives of bees, somewhere around 400 hives in the city. It was a cold = dark, snowy night and I made my way through a city boosting with Christmas = decorations, lots of candles and a festive atmosphere to a small coffee sho= p at Rolighedsvej 8. I met with Henning Willads, (the President) a very un= assuming gentleman. His passion for bees was immediately evident as with m= inimum introduction he had beekeeping books/manuals on the table and we wer= e engrossed in bee talk, comparing notes on our beekeeping practices. The = summer season brings temperatures averaging around 20oC, with highs of arou= nd 21oC in July and August.= Rainfall from June through September is between 50 to 75mm and is not esp= ecially predictable. Winters get a little cold but are on the whole relati= vely mild, with temperatures generally around 2oC to 4oC and only occasional= ly dipping to freezing. Rainfall is actually lower than in the summer mont= hs, with December seeing around 50mm, but January and February seeing less.= Rain and gray skies dominate all year long.= Flora is not dissimilar to ours where fruit tree, dandelion, sycamore, bla= ckberry & clover all feature along with many trees, garden flowers and = shrubs. For varroa treatment they carry out Drone larvae removal in May/Jun= e and they use Formic acid after the last harvest of honey & Oxalic aci= d Dec/Jan timeframe. I’m not sure if I got it correctly in language transl= ation, but I think he said they use Ant Acid for treatment of Acarine. The= y change out all combs every year as standard practice as a hygiene/disease= and swarm control measure. The main type of bee in the city is the Buckf= ast & breeding takes place on breeding islands. Their first crop is re= moved on 6th June. They don’t heat their honey so sells in crystalliz= ed form. We walked from=
the coffee shop, Henning with his bicycle of course, to the Apiary nearby =
in a small park. It was a lovely apiary setting on a snow covered night, 1=
0 or so unique Danish hives, didn’t get the measurements but quiet differen=
t to any of the standard ones we are familiar with. They appear to be doubl=
e walled. What mainly caught my interest was the scale hive. It is manu=
factured by a German company called “Capaz” (www.capaz.de), which is software and dental company, where I am told that seve=
ral of the family members are beekeepers. It is an electronic hive scale,=
measuring the weight of the hive up to 12 times a day all year round. Als=
o temperature, humidity, brood temperature and rainfall are measured. The =
scale is connected to a mobile phone. That mobile phone opens up every nig=
ht at approx 22.10 – where it will send a text with all the data. The text=
is then converted to an email. There is a software package available whe=
re the beekeepers can download all the data to their computers. From the apiar= y we went to the nearby Faculty of Life sciences at University of Copenhage= n where all the association meetings are held there in an auditorium. I ga= ve them an informative talk on beekeeping in Ireland and my method of beeke= eping from which there were many questions and great interest. Hope to see= some of them in Gormanston as a result! As this night was also their Chris= tmas meeting, we finished the night eating homemade cakes and sweets and dr= inking mead with teas and coffee and a great night had by all. The joys of = business trips! <= /p> <= /p> Rearing a Half Dozen Queens . . = . Gerry Ryan <= /p> This method is= for the beekeeper with one or two hives who wants to make an increase and = raise a few queens for those increases. Building up in Spring. From the middle of February start feeding your co= lony fondant which you can buy in a good bakers shop. This encourages the Q= ueen to start laying. Around St. Patrick’s Day (17th.March) you can start= feeding syrup (2 kg sugar to 2 litres water) in a rapid feeder. Continue t= o feed a little as necessary while the colony is building up. Wait for the swarming season Wait until the= colony makes swarm preparations. A swarming colony makes first class queen= s and in order to do so it must have…. An abundance o= f stores - honey and pollen A plentiful su= pply of young bees producing brood food A strong forag= ing force The Artificial Swarm When queen cel= ls are found make an artificial swarm. Move the old b= rood box 1 metre to one side on the stand on a new floor board. Assemble a new= brood box on the parent site. Place one fram= e of brood without queen cells in this and fill the remainder with frames o= f foundation. Find the queen= and release her into this new box. If there were = supers place them back on top of the new box and put on the crown board and= roof. All the flying= bees will return to this box. Examine the re= maining frames of brood in the old box. Select 6 open = queen cells (large with a rough texture with larvae and royal jelly in all)= . Break down all= of the others. Note the day t= hese 6 are sealed (day 8) and break down any extras. Put a new crow= n board and roof on the hive. <= /p> Prior to hatching When these 6 c= ells are 2 days from hatching (day 14 or 6 days after being sealed) cut the= m out with a sharp blade with plenty of comb around them. Carefully put eac= h one in a sealed curler cage with a bit of honey in the base of each curle= r and tape the queen cell at the top of the curler with masking tape. Wedge= the 6 curlers between 2 frames of brood in the box, separating them slight= ly. The queens should hatch out 2 days later. Make nucs for each one of the= m with the brood and bees from the old box and there will be no problem wit= h queen acceptance as the queens will be with their own bees in each nuc. M= ove the nucs to an out apiary 3 miles away = and feed them the same syrup solution as recommended previously until they = are established. <= /p> Going Wild . . . Tom Prendergast Do you ever th= ink of doing something really wild? Well if you feel you have missed out on= life why not start now by planting a wild garden. Select an area in your = garden or better still on the farm and plant it with wild native plants. T= hese plants will not only benefit our bees but also the bumble and solitary= bees, our butterflies and numerous birds and mammals. As beekeepers we sho= uld always consider nature and how we can help. Over the last 40 years the = amount of flora and fauna which is now extinct from certain areas is one of= the crying shames of modern farming where herbicides and mono culture is t= he norm. Added to that cocktail are pesticides, fungicides and fertilisers= . I can still remember lying in the meadows with the many flowering plants = and listening to and following the sound of the grasshopper or exploring th= e cuckoo’s spit as we discover the nymph of the frog hopper. All are now di= stant memories. The good news is that we have the means of recreating those= childhood memories by constructing our own wild life garden which will att= ract some of those forgotten insects. Wild gardens and meadows are an ever = increasing feature of the modern garden. Some people are getting involved b= ecause of the great awareness of a need to return to Mother Nature’s way. O= thers just like the idea now that they have seen what was there and what ca= n be achieved. The choice of = plants is unlimited. It’s a personal choice. I have listed some of my favo= urites. What ever you plant remember it should help all of nature’s creatur= es. Some plants will have leaves that attract feeding insects and mammals. = The leaves of the common nettle is a feeding ground for caterpillars of th= e Red Admiral and Peacock butterfly. That beautiful black and red caterpil= lar of the cinnabar feeds on ragwort and indeed is used in Canada as an org= anic means of eradicating this very invasive weed. Although most flowering= plants are chosen for the actual colour of the flower don’t forgot about t= he value of the seeds to our birds and mammals. The finch family such as th= e Goldfinch can be enticed into your garden if seeds are readily available.= You can provide them in the bird feeders but a more natural way is by pla= nts such as the Teasel and let it go to seed providing instant feeding for= the birds. They also like the seeds of cornflower, a plant that provides u= s with a beautiful blue flower much loved by the bees. The Lesser Stitchwo= rth is a great favourite of mine. Its beautiful white flowers can be found = in our ditches from May onwards. Not often visited by our honey bee but ver= y attractive to other insects. Another delicate looking flower is Lady’s S= mock, a small mauve coloured flower. You can still see meadows of this plan= t, a real beauty. If you want a deeper colour why not include Field Scabio= us often seen in waste ground and on the road margins. The flower is a blu= e but the pollen collected is a bright orange. Flowering period is usually = Sept. – October time. Most people would consider Red Campion a real weed. I= t produces a pink flower head much visited by insect life. The leaves are = also attractive. If you want a splash of colour the Poppy is an obvious ch= oice. There are many colours. Our honey bees as do the bumble bee visit th= em for pollen. The Lesser Celandine reputed to be poisonous to the bees is = occasionally visited for pollen. Flowers on the sunny side of the ditch are= particularly attractive to the forager. Maybe in time of dearth collectin= g a small amount won’t harm the bees. The Ragged Robin is a beautiful 60 c= m high plant with a delicate looking stem and equally frail looking flowers= . This plant is ideal for a damp garden. The pink flower of the Red Valeri= an although not on my favourite list is easy to grow. It can be seen on dr= y walls and ditches. Insects with a long proboscis can extract the nectar. = Remember most of the annuals that you grow in the flower border, hanging ba= skets and window boxes come originally from its wild cousins the verbena is= one such plant. Why not try the wild variety this year much loved by bees = and butterflies where as the “cultivated” variety is never attractive to ou= r insects. The last plant I want to mention is Phacelia. It may or may not = be a weed but it’s a plant I have grown for many years and only now most be= ekeepers are discovering the value of this plant. It will reseed itself eve= ry year. It had beautiful blue flowers and equally beautiful blue pollen. I= t’s a great plant if you want to study your bees collecting pollen. Remembe= r the list is endless. The important point is to make a start. When you pla= nt inspect the area every week and any plant that seems to be invasive or o= ver powering just remove them. For a more det= ailed list go to our website www.southtippbees.com and you will find our fact sheet on wild flowers. Also = check out “Irish Seed Savers” in Co. Clare or visit “Chiltern Seeds” or “Su= tton Seeds” on the web. Enjoy your wild experience and may it be fruitful = for many years to come. <= /p> Comb Honey Production. . . . Jim Power Comb honey pro= duction is an alternative method for the purpose of harvesting a crop eithe= r for ones own use, for sale or maybe for showing. It maybe useful for any = beekeeper or beginner who may not have an extractor and set up for run hone= y, properly produced it is no doubt the tastiest and purest of honeys as it= is not heated or processed by hand in any way, it comes straight from the = bee to the user. Well produced comb honey particularly sections fetch a muc= h higher price. Producing comb= honey requires certain criteria to be reasonably successfully at this type= of honey production. The CDB. double wall hive was the old traditional met= hod for producing sections, the double wall being the secret of retaining = the heat which is absolutely necessary for the bees to draw comb and produc= e wax, however a section crate to hold 21 sections is suitable for producin= g sections, this size crate will fit the national and commercial hives, it = is important to have hives level so as to have comb drawn even and perpendi= cular, sections can also be produced in round sections, other methods of pr= oducing comb honey are cut comb and chunk honey, it is necessary to produc= e the comb for same by fitting unwired foundation into shallow frames in th= e shallow supers. Other criteria are: some bees are better than others for = comb building such as white clean comb, bees that don’t over collect propol= is also well capped i.e. concave white level capping, this information can = be obtained by examination of the comb in the brood chamber, our own dark = native bees (Apis mellifera mellifera) are excellent for wax production. It= is important to have the colony headed by a young prolific queen and have = the colony as strong as possible also disease free. The location is importa= nt as regards flora and where a good flow of nectar is expected, a start st= op flow produces uneven comb and can be visibly seen on the comb. Some of t= he best floras are fuchsia, clover, blackberry, willow herb, ling heather a= nd light to medium honeys, nectar that granulate quickly i.e. oil seed rape= , are not suitable for comb honey production. I will give a = general guide to preparing for section production. It is good practice to f= it a shallow super over a queen excluder on the brood chamber while buildin= g up and preparing the colony for the flow, this super can be fitted with w= ired foundation as this can be removed and the bees removed just as the fl= ow is beginning and given to a colony that is being used for run honey, in = its place put on a section crate, or it can also be left on and the section= crate fitted over the super, I prefer the latter, there are two reasons fo= r this, one is to keep the sections as clean as possible and free from poll= en and bee stain as the bees are inclined to store pollen in the lower cell= s of the first super even above the queen excluder, comb honey should be fr= ee from pollen, the second reason being that this method give the colony a = great boost in numbers to occupy and draw the foundation in the section cra= te, ordinarily bees are slow to occupy section crates, by having them stron= g forces them up into the sections. When the sections are nearing full and = capped a second crate can be fitted, when the first crate is capped the cra= tes are reversed so as to avoid bee stain on the comb of the crate that is = capped. The crates should be removed with the use of a clearer board as = soon as the sections are all capped and sealed and a new crate fitted if th= e flow continues. Sections can also be produced in round sections, round se= ction racks and sections can be purchased from any bee suppliers Just a few= pointers on assembling the section crate, the joints of the wooden section= s should be damped with water and placed in a stack and left over night to = soak before fitting, when assembling make sure to fold the sides into each = other with the v on the inside to avoid breaking and keep sections square, = fit into crate in threes (in the case of round sections in fours) keeping t= he full side on the bottom and the slit sides to the top and sides, slot i= n section foundation between every three sections to within 6mm of the bott= om of the sections this will keep the foundation from buckling also take no= te that that there is a right and a wrong way up for foundation, then the = straight lines should be latterly and the apex of the hexagonal cell to the= top, this will really matter when entering for shows where you might be ma= rked down for having them turned the wrong way. Another method is to only f= it starter strips, this will mean that the mid rib will be virgin comb and = more palatable, Fit section dividers between each row, tighten up sections = with the end board and springs keeping the sections level, square and tight= to prevent from being propolized, the cavity spaces on the sides can be pa= cked as this will give extra insulation, instead of fitting a crown board t= here can be a canvas quilt fitted on top of the section crate and the crown= board over. Section should be cleaned of propolis etc., packed and sealed= and stored in a freezer to sterilize and give a longer time before crystal= lization, cases or transparent bags are available when packing for marketin= g or showing at honey shows. If you haven’t got a freezer you can also clea= n and store those in biscuit tins sealed with cellotape and stored in the h= ot press, this will give them a longer life before crystallizing. The same = criteria applies when preparing for cut comb and chunk honey except shallow= frames fitted with unwired foundation in the regular shallow super are use= d instead of the section crate. For cut comb, when fully capped the comb is= cut from the frame and placed on a work top and cut into pieces, with the = use of a warm dry sharp knife, the size of cut comb containers is 100mm x 7= 0mm x 45mm, those are inexpensive plastic containers with a transparent lid= which hold circa 7 to 9 ounces (227 grams.), before putting into the conta= iner they should be placed on a wire grid over a container and left drain o= ver night. There is a special stainless steel rectangular cut comb cutter a= vailable for this purpose; this is very useful if cutting a large number. F= or shows it is advisable to make a template so that the comb fit neatly int= o the container. Much the same criteria apply if preparing a frame for extr= action to put into the honey show except it must be wired foundation, again= it must be clean and free from pollen, the best way to ascertain there is = no pollen in the frame, sections, cut comb and comb for chunk honey, is to = hold up the frame to a bright light to establish if it is pollen less, also= to establish that the honey is of the same colour, as having different col= ours would mark down the exhibit. When extracting keep any exceptional fram= es aside that may be suitable for shows. The same criteria apply when prepa= ring for chunk honey, again it is a good idea to use a template cut for the= type of honey jar being used, the chunk should be cut to fit neatly into t= he neck of the jar also fit from bottom to top so as to keep it standing pe= rpendicular, the remainder space should be filled with the same colour hone= y strained and free from foreign matter and pieces of capping also note th= at the chunk should be right way up, (cells slanting up) the mid rib centre= and no bubbles, to remove bubbles, lay the jar flat and roll to dislodge b= ubbles and bring to the top for removal. Other points to be aware of is tha= t that the comb should be free from Braula tunnels and wax moth. When entering = exhibits for honey shows, always read the schedule to make sure all points = are adhered to. Roll on the honey show. <= /p> <= /p> Buzz Board <= /p>
Outdoor demos in both Cahir and Clonmel, check out websit= e for more details.
Large selection of books and videos for loan to members.<= /span>
Thoughts for t= he year ahead <= /p> ·= Queen marking colours 2010 Blue 2011 White ·= Reduce spore count in the hive change 4 – 6 combs in the brood box. ·= Sterilise all out of use combs with 100mls of 80% acetic acid for 1 w= eek at 15oC ·= Super early to avoid swarming <= /p> Checkout our w= ebsite on www.southtippbees.com
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